Hntt QJolUge nf JKgricuUurf 
 3Vt (Cornell Uninecsitg 
 
Cornell University Library 
 RV 431. K53 
 
 The American dispensatory. 
 
 3 1924 003 550 054 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924003550054 
 
THE 
 
 AMERICAN DISPENSATORY. 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN KING, M.D., 
 
 PROFESSOR OB OBSTKTRICS AND' DISEASES OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN, IN THE ECLECTIC MEDICAL 
 INSTITUTE OF CINCINNATI ; FORMERLY PROFESSOR OF THE SAME IN THE ECLECTIC COL- 
 LEGE OF MEDICINE, CINCINNATI; OF MATERIA MEDICA, THERAPEUTICS AND ilSiD- 
 ICAL JURISPRUDENCE, IN THE MEMPHIS INSTITUTE; AUTHOR OF "AMERI- 
 CAN ECLECTIC OBSTETRICS," " WOMEN, THEIB DISEASES AND TREAT- 
 MENT," *' CHRONIC DISEASES," ETC., ETC., ETC., ETa 
 
 REVISED A.NT> ENL-A^RG-ED 
 
 WITH SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN KING, M.D., 
 
 AND 
 
 JOHN U. LLOYD, 
 
 'professor of CHEMISTRY AND PHARMACY IN THE ECLECTIC MEDICAL INSTITUTE OF CINCINNATI. 
 
 SEVENTEENTH EDITION, 
 
 •*No one point is more universally denied by the American petfple than the bxclusive right of One set 
 of rai^n to judge and have sole control in any thing. Persecution or-'proscripCion for opinion's sUl^e is not 
 tolerated in political or religious matters; and certainly should not be in those pertaining to mediciae." 
 
 :<:^^i 
 
 cincinnati: 
 The Ohio Valley Company, 
 
 141 AND 143 Race Street. 
 1895. 
 

 Q 2 - 51 . ^7 
 
 Sintered acooiding to Act of Ckingress, In the year 1868, by 
 
 MOOkB, WILSTAOH, KEYS * CO., 
 
 In Hie Olerk's Office of the District. Conrt of the United States, for the Sonthem 
 
 District of Ohio. 
 
 Entered according to Act of (Congress, in the year 1864, by 
 
 MOORE, WILSTACH & BALDWIN, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Sonthem 
 
 District of Ohio. 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the years 1870 and 1880, by 
 
 WILSTACH, BALDWIN <fe CO., 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
 PRINTED AND BOUND 
 BY 
 
 T-!r.,CHI0 VALLEY 1'RES^, 
 CINCINNATI. V;. 
 
TO 
 
 AT.T. TRUE FRIENDS 
 
 OF 
 
 Throughout the World, 
 
 THIS WORK 
 
 Is Respectfully Inscribed, 
 
 BT 
 
 TffE AUTHORS. 
 
 Resolviion passed by the National Eclectic Medical Association at their Anmuil 
 Meeting in Cleveland, 0., June Wth, 1879 ; 
 
 " Resolved, That this Association adopt The American "Dis- 
 pensatory as its Standard Authority." 
 
 ALEXANDER WILDER, M. D , Secketaby. 
 
ABBREVIATIONS. 
 
 Trb principal Abbreviations employed In the work, both where oi«dlt Is given or 
 ftir other pnrposes, are as follows : 
 
 Nat. Ord Natural Order. 
 
 Bex. Syti Sexnal System of Llnnseus. 
 
 S. Blgelow's "Veg. Mat. Med.," and "Am. Med. Sot." 
 
 Ban Barton's "Veg. Mat. Med. of the XT. 8." 
 
 Brit. Pharm British Pharmacopcela. 
 
 C. Chrlstison's Dispensatory. 
 
 Ooxe Coxe's Dispensatory. 
 
 D. David Don, "Linn. Tram.,'' and " Philoi. Magazine,' etc. 
 
 De Oand De Candolle, " ^eai sur let Propr. Med. des Plantmi." etc. 
 
 Dub Dublin Pharmacopcela. 
 
 Dmus. .Duncan's Edinburgh Dispensatory, l^iJO. 
 
 E. * V. Edwards & Vavasseur, " Manual of Mat. Med.," translated by Togno. 
 
 and Durand. 
 
 Ed Edinburgh Dispensatory. 
 
 G Gray's "Botany of the Northern States." 
 
 J. K. or K. Prof. John King, M. D. 
 
 L Llndley's "Med. Flora." 
 
 Land London FbamiacopcsiA. 
 
 UHler W. A. Miller's " Organie OhemMiry." 
 
 N. Nuttall. 
 
 Off. Prep The Officinal Preparations described In this work. 
 
 P. Perelra'g "Mat. Med. and Therap." 
 
 S Baflnesque's "Med. Flora." 
 
 Bo. Roxbui-g, "Fl. Ind." 
 
 Sp, Or «. Specific Qravity. 
 
 T. Thomson's " Chemistry of Organio Bodies," and " /norgonio Ohem," 
 
 T. V. Jf................Prof. T. V. Morrow, M. D. 
 
 Xur Turner's Chemistry. 
 
 }fr. a. M. Wm. S. MerreU. 
 
 ip; Wood's " Class Book of Botany." 
 
 I ifr X. Wight and Amott. 
 
 yfi WiUdenow, "Sp. Plant." 
 
 Witt. „....„„.... Wlttsteln's " Practloal PharmaeeuUeai OhemMrg," 
 
 W. <t .il...'..~>—— Wight and Amott. 
 
 Wo ......—WoodvlUo's "Med. Botanv-" 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 It is well known to moat of the readers of this work, that a great amonot of 
 highly important knowledge, in reference to the therapeutic value of remedies, 
 and especially of our Native American plants, has been accumulated by liberal- 
 minded physicians in America ; which knowledge has not been embodied in the 
 voluminous standard works of Pereira, Dunglison, and other standard authoritieB 
 of " Old-School Practice," etc. This knowledge, being especially American in 
 ite origin, and having produced a marked peculiarity in the practice of a large 
 number of American physicians, it has been deemed proper to style this work, the 
 " American Dispensatory," to distinguish it from other works, which contain only 
 the ideas or views which are common to those pursuing the European or " Old- 
 School Practice," as well as from the former Dispensatories by the author. An- 
 other urgent reason for the publication of this work existed in the fact that the 
 important improvements and discoveries of American or " New-School " physi- 
 cians have not only been, to a great extent, overlooked by authors, but have al- 
 ready found their way into medical works, without any reference whatever to 
 their paternity ; and, in some instances, articles familiarly known and used for 
 twenty years past by Medical Reformers have been gravely brought forward as 
 new discoveries. 
 
 Among the liberal and progressive physicians of this country are a class who 
 have been termed "American Eclectics," and to which the author of the present 
 work is attached. The term Eclectic as thus used, implies something more 
 than what we usually associate with that word as a common adjective. It refers 
 to the existence of a large class of physicians in America, who believe that the 
 profession has been too much trammeled by the influence of authority, and by the 
 disposition to impose upon the younger members of the profession certain scien- 
 tific and ethical doctrines which their seniors have sanctioned; thus reducing a 
 noble profession, with a comprehensive science, to the character of a sect, with 
 -certain cherished dogmas. Ameeicait Eclecticism is thus opposed to medical 
 ' SECTAEIANISM, and especially to that most oppressive form of sectarianism, which, 
 like the Roman Hierarchy, denying that it is sectarian, assumes to be an embodi- 
 ment of unquestionable truth, and pronounces the medical system which may be 
 sanctioned by the majority of the present generation, a standard of scientific 
 truth, from which any deviation, or even the expression of dissent, should be 
 condemned and punished by professional and even social ostracism. 
 
 This assumption of infallibility in the existing and prevalent system of Thera- 
 peutics, or rather, of the right to enforce its acceptance, by dishonoring all who 
 dissent from its doctrines, is too extravagant to bear the test of serious examina- 
 tion. No one who is familiar with medical history, who recollects the incessant 
 changes in medical doctrines and practice from the days of Galen's infallibility 
 to the present time, and who remembers how sternly the main body of the profes- 
 sion have rejected and condemned the doctrines which their successors were com- 
 pelled to adopt, can suppose that a profession, so very fallible in all past time, 
 has even yet acquired infallibility ; nor can any one seriously believe it, when he 
 observes in the doctrines and practice of the present day the same slow, steady 
 progressive change as in past times. And if the idea of doctrinal infallibility as 
 
▼1 Peeface. 
 
 to Therapeutics, either in the mass of the profession or in its most gifted leaders, 
 be, in fact, too absurd foriserious argument, what possible foundation can there 
 be for the assumption that truthfulness and professional respectability belong ex- 
 clusively to the majority, and to their transitory doctrines, and that any different 
 scientific doctrines should be branded as empirical and disreputable? Such as- 
 sumptions, being essentially absurd and groundless, are based now, as they always 
 have been, on that arrogant and intolerant element of human nature which leads 
 all large masses of men to attempt to enforce conformity to their own sentiments, 
 and to dishonor all who oppose them — as an Egyptian rabble hoot at a passing 
 Christian. The liberal and humane spirit of the age is opposed to such intoler- 
 ance, and demands that sectarians in theology and in science shall extend mutual 
 toleration to each other. This toleration is demanded not only by sound morals, 
 by the spirit of humanity and the amenities of social life, but by justice to truth ; 
 for as no sect or doctrine can be based exclusively upon falsehood, and as it is cer- 
 tain that whatever has been received by any considerable number of men must 
 Contain an appreciable amount of truth, true philosophy dictates that we should 
 receive and examine with candor all medical doctrines, not only through courtesy 
 to their supporters, but for the sake of profiting by their truths. This duty is 
 especially urgent when the supporters of such doctrines claim to have achieved 
 much good by their medical practice ; and if their claims are well-grounded, we 
 should be culpable indeed, in neglecting to avail ourselves of the instruction 
 which they proffer for the sake of humanity. 
 
 Those physicians who, in America, have been most zealous in maintaining 
 these liberal principles, have generally been called " Eclectics," but they have 
 equally found able advocates among the followers of Beach, Thomson, Hahne- 
 mann, Priessnitz, and other reformatory teachers of medicine. It is true that 
 many physicians have contended that the whole profession should be Eclectic, 
 and that some even maintain that it is at present Eclectic, and liberally examines 
 or adopts whatever may be presented that is new and true. It is true that the en- 
 tire profession is not totally destitute of the spirit of Eclecticism, for such destitu- 
 tion would imply a total destitution of liberality ; but we can not recognize Ec- 
 lectic liberality in those who treat with bitter scorn the personal and professional 
 characters of scientific physicians whose doctrines differ from the more prevalent 
 views of Therapeutics, and who, instead of recommending, endeavor to discourage 
 or prevent, the free examination of what they consider heretical doctrines, and 
 who attach professional penalties to the avowal of what they deem heretical senti- 
 ments. If the investigation of different medical doctrines is to be carried on 
 under the threat of professional excommunication, unless certain conclusions are 
 adopted, and if, as has been recently arranged in certain medical colleges, the 
 young practitioner shall be entitled to hold his diploma only so long as he adheres 
 to certain opinions, there is no more freedom of investigation conceded on medi- 
 cal subjects than there would be freedom of suffrage when the polls were over- 
 awed by the bayonets of one of the candidates. 
 
 In extending our personal courtesy and professional liberality to the followers 
 of Thomson, Beach, Hahnemann, Priessnitz, and minor leaders of medical parties, 
 we are merely obeying the positive dictates of morality and religion, which forbid 
 nnkind, illiberal sentiments ; and as the time must come when all that has been 
 developed by the labors of medical sectarians shall be incorporated with the es- 
 tablished mass of recognized science, it is unwise and injurious to the progress of 
 the profession to delay such incorporation by encouraging animosities and isola- 
 tion among the cultivators of medical science. Such is the kindly and harmoni- 
 
PBia<AOK. vii 
 
 ouB spirit which American Eclectics desire to see introduced into the profession ; 
 but in addition to these ethical improvements, they desire a more faithful and 
 prompt adherence to the dictates of Glinical experierux. There are many changes 
 in the details of medical practice, the value of which has been amply demon- 
 strated by experience, in the various climates of the United States, but which 
 have not yet been adopted by the profession generally, because they are not yet 
 sufficiently known and understood by those who have not been pupils of the Ec- 
 lectic Schools of Medicine. For the nature of these improvements, and their 
 gratifying results in the treatment of disease, we must refer to the "American 
 Eclectic Practice of Prof. I. G. Jones ; " the " Eclectic Practice of Medicine," as 
 well as a " Practical Treatise on the Diseases of Women," " Diseases of Children," 
 and the " Principles of Medicine," by Prof. John M. Scudder ; the " American 
 Eclectic Obstetrics," as well as the work on " Women : their Diseases and Treat- 
 ment," and " Chronic Diseases," by the author of the present volume, together 
 with the forthcoming work on Surgery by Prof. A. J. Howe, and several other 
 volumes of a valuable character by various authors of the " New School of Prac- 
 tice." For further information of the American Eclectic system, we would refer 
 to the practice of American Eclectic physicians throughout the country, and to 
 the Lectures in their several Colleges. 
 
 The highest evidence of the value of American Eclecticism is found in the suo- 
 cessfiil treatment of disease by American Eclectic physicians ; in the treatment 
 of 1,503 cases of cholera, in Cincinnati, in 1849, with a mortality of only 65, and 
 many analogous facts, which will hereafter be more fully authenticated. These 
 great practical improvements are simply the fruits of patient and faithful atten- 
 tion by numerous physicians to the results of experience, and the liberal spirit of 
 American Eclectics, who have not disdained to gather knowledge from any source. 
 We should not overlook, in our passing reference, the distinguished services of 
 individuals who, if they were not, like Hahnemann or Dixon, the authors of a 
 special and exclusive theory of Therapeutics, have the more exemplary merit of 
 &iiUiful scientific observation in a liberal and candid spirit of improvement, and 
 the honor of arranging and presenting before the public, with untiring energy 
 and unshrinking moral courage, a mass of science much in advance of prevalent 
 ideas, and consequently greatly embarrassed by the habitual, resolute opposition 
 of conservative minds. We allude especially to the late Dr. Thomas V. MoK- 
 BOW, to whose reputation as a practitioner, and untiring zeal as a medical pro- 
 fessor, we are mainly indebted, for the establishment and maintenance of those 
 improvements and liberal principles in medicine so well known at the present 
 day throughout the Union and in Europe, and which have led to the successful 
 establishment of Eclectic Medical Colleges in Cincinnati and other cities. This 
 reference to Prof Mobbow is especially demanded by the fact that so little has 
 been left from his pen to bear witness to the value of his services as a medical 
 teacher and pioneer laborer in medical reform and improvement. His distin- 
 guished co-laborers. Prof. J. R. Buchanah and I. Q. Jones, have, by their pens, 
 made known to medical readers their conspicuous agency in medical progres& 
 We are greatly indebted to Prof. Bttchan'AN for his able and zealous services in 
 maintaining the success, the reputation and unity of Medical Eeformers, while at 
 the same time he has been known as a most distinguished exponent of the 
 philosophy of American Eclecticism. 
 
 To the late Professor I. G. Jones we are greatly indebted, as an early co- 
 laborer of Professor Mobeow, at Worthington ; as an eminent and veteran prac- 
 titioner ; an able teacher of medical practice ; and a successful author, whose 
 
viii Pbepaob 
 
 writings will conMbate much to the diffusion and adoption of the improved sys- 
 tem of Therapeutics, the value of which has been so well displayed in his own 
 practice. If the American Eclectic improvements in medicine are even one-half 
 of what is believed by those who have persooally tested them, they who have de- 
 voted their best energies and risked the entire loss of reputation for the sake of 
 such truths, will be gratefiilly remembered by posterity, and the names of Mok- 
 Bow, Buchanan, and Jones, with their coadjutors and successors in the labor 
 of scientific reform, will be held in distinguished honor. To this cause, the 
 author of the present volume has been devoted for about thirty-five years as a 
 medical practitioner, and, for many past years, as a medical professor and author, 
 and he Mrishes no higher honor than to be recognized as one of those who, from 
 the commencement of the American movement, have participated in the labors 
 of its pioneers. 
 
 An important characteristic of American Medical Reformers, which may be 
 illustrated by this volume, is the superior zeal displayed by them in making im- 
 portant and much-needed improvements in the Materia Medica, and especially 
 in developing the 'medicinal value of our native plants. There are many results 
 attainable in practice, by the use of these new resources, which could not be 
 satis&ctorily realized by the agents in ordinary use. One of these important re- 
 sults is the ability to dispense partially, if not wholly, with various unsafe or 
 deleterious agents, and accomplish the purposes for which they are used by safer 
 and more scientific treatment. We say more soimtific, because that is certainly 
 the most scientific prescription which accomplishes the object desired without in- 
 cidentally inflicting unnecessary injury. The many inconveniences and dangers 
 attending the use of mercurial medicines have produced a strong desire' to find 
 some safe and efficient substitute. There is no single remedy ever known to man 
 which has produced a greater amount of mischief by its indiscriminate use than 
 Mercury ; nor is there any other drug which has done one-hundredth part as 
 much to 6reate a prejudice against scientific medicine, to destroy the confidence 
 of the community in its practitioners, and to repel them from the physician to 
 the nostrum dealer. But with the mass of the profession, the desire to find a 
 substitute for Mercury has been rather an idle fancy than a positive desire or pur- 
 pose, and has produced no result whatever. Indeed, the conviction still prevails 
 that no substitute for Mercury can be found ; and we regret to record the fact, in 
 the year 1870, that medical schools, and medical authors, can still be found, who 
 continue to regard Mercury as the only powerful and reliable cholagogue, simply 
 because they are not acquainted with the powers of other agents ; the most spe- 
 cific cholagogue known, Extract of Leptandra, not having obtained a place in any 
 but the Materia Medicas and Dispensatories of American Medical Reformers, and 
 Jjeptandra itself having been heretofore excluded from the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, 
 on account of its supposed worthlessness. Leptandra, Podophyllum, Apocynnm, 
 and Iris, and especially the Extract, Resin, or Oleo-resin obtained from them, 
 with Sanguinaria, Taraxacum, Berberis, and Euonymus, and occasional combina- 
 tions, of other articles, accomplish far more than Mercury performs, in -the way 
 of arousing the liver, affecting the secretions generally, and even producing sali- 
 vation of a harmless character. It is not merely in substitutes for mercurials, 
 and for various prescriptions which the physician uses with caution, and without 
 entire satisfaction, that the improvement of the American Eclectic Materia 
 Medicas consists, but also in the introduction of agents and powers of a novel 
 ohaiacter, or the extensive application of articles previously little known and sel- 
 dom used. In previous editions of this work, I have enumerated therapeutical 
 
Preface. ix 
 
 agents wMcli were previously little known or used by the profession, but which 
 are now extensively used by the liberal and progressive medical men of this coun- 
 try and Europe, and many of which have been more recently introduced into the 
 Old School Materia Medicas and Dispensatories. 
 
 It is true that some of these articles have been referred io by medical writers, 
 and a few have been occasionally used in practice, but in general they have been 
 located at the extreme verge of the visible horizon of the profession — ^in the out- 
 side regions of empiricism, unknown to the mass of physicians, and but slightly 
 known to any who were not especially addicted to botanical pursuits. The honor 
 of their introduction into regular medical practice belongs to the Medical Ee- 
 formers of America, through whom their virtues have been made known ; and by 
 whom articles have been made prominent and important agents, in the Materia 
 Medica, which were previously treated with so much contempt that a physiciafi 
 felt almost ashamed to investigate their virtues, or acknowledge any acquaintance 
 with them. These therapeutical agents, or their concentrated principles, which 
 are absolutely of recent origin, are principally confined to the circle of practice of 
 Medical Beformers by whom they were introduced. Some of them have, how- 
 «ver, already been recognized as valuable agents by European physicians, whose 
 honesty and liberality in the matter stand out in bold contrast with that of the 
 Old School physicians of this country, who hardly deigned to notice them until 
 they had been received at second-hand, or " Europeanized," and even then with- 
 out fairly giving just credit to their discoverers. The only point to be regretted 
 is, that many worthless so-called " concentrated preparations " have been pre- 
 sented to the profession, purporting to be those of American Medical Eeformers, 
 and which have been gotten up by either ignorant or unprincipled parties, for 
 the sole purpose of realizing wealth. The failure of these worthless articles to 
 effect beneficial results in the treatment of disease, might lead many to reject even 
 those of value ; which consideration alone has elicited the above remarks. 
 
 The extensive use of the new therapeutical agents referred to in the pre- 
 ceding paragraphs, and their consequent substitution, on many occasions, for the 
 favorite remedies formerly in use, constitutes a practical improvement, the value 
 of which can scarcely be estimated, and the simplest statement of what we believe 
 and know to be true, as regards the superior success in practice resulting from 
 these improvements in the Materia Medica, would be regarded by those entirely 
 unacquainted with the facts, as the language of extravagant enthusiasm. For 
 their truth, however, we can but appeal to the final tribunal, universal experience; 
 and it was partly with the view of facilitating this appeal by candid physicians, 
 that this work was laid before the public, in the present edition of which, we 
 trust, every medical reader will find sufficient information, in reference to the 
 favorite remedies of American Eclectic physicians, to enable him tp enjoy in 
 practice what we deem the richest fruits of modern clinical experience, consti- 
 tuting the most recent and important practical improvements in the healing art. 
 
 In the present volume will be found a thorough account of the numerous me- 
 dicinal plants in use among the various classes of medical practitioners in this 
 country, especially those more generally employed by Reformers, and many new 
 and valuable remedies have been introduced, some of which are not described in 
 any other work. The matter of a useful and practical character, contained in the 
 former Dispensatories of the author, and which are now out of print, has been 
 transferred to the pages of the present one ; and to render the volume as thor- 
 ough as possible, the mineral remedies of Old-School practitioners, their proper- 
 ties and uses, etc., have been described in the Appendix, under the head of "Ob- 
 
X Preface. 
 
 Boleacent Remedies. " To render the work worthy the patronage of the entire 
 profession, including druggists and pharmaceutists, no labor or expense has been 
 spared in procuring such books from England, France, etc., as would contribute 
 to augment the value of the work by supplying its pages with the various im- 
 provements and discoveries in medical science, up to the present day. It will be 
 seen that the work is divided into three parts : 
 
 Part I. is devoted to the Materia Medica ; the various plants are arranged alpha- 
 betically, and their Botanical characters are given with sufficient accuracy to en- 
 able the medical botanist to select and determine them when met with. The 
 Natural and Artificial classifications of each are mentioned, also the German as 
 well as the Vulgar names by which they are known in the different sections of 
 our country. A brief reference is likewise made to their general history, with a 
 statement of such Chemical relations and incompatibilities, medically considered, 
 as will be necessary for practical purposes, and, as far as known, the Therapeutic 
 influence of each agent is fully but concisely presented. Since the introduction 
 of our new remedies, some of which were discovered and introduced to the pro- 
 fession by the author as far back as 1844, as Resin of Podophyllum, Resin of 
 Cimicifuga, Oleo-resin of Iris, etc., also incorrectly termed Podophyllin, Iridin, 
 CJimicifugin, a great improvement has taken place in American Eclectic treat- 
 ment, and the successful results have been so well marked and undisputed as to 
 have recently invited the investigation of the more liberal Old-School physicians, 
 and especially those of Great Britain, among whom I must not omit to name that 
 fearless and earnest inquirer after truth, Prof. J. Y. Simpson, of Edinburgh ; and 
 it is with no little pleasure we state that already hundreds of them, notwithstand- 
 ing arbitrary prejudices, have adopted our new remedies, and are gratified by find- 
 ing them greatly superior to the agents for which they have been substituted. 
 
 Part II. is occupied principally with American Eclectic Pharmacy, and those 
 Preparations chiefly have been described, which an enlarged and successful ex- 
 perience has justly entitled to the rank of officinal (primary or secondary) ; many 
 others might have been mentioned, but further investigations are required to test 
 their permanent utility. Indeed, the Pharmacy of American Eclectic Practice 
 may be said to be almost endless, as a vast amount of agents, both simple and 
 compound, are in constant use, which would require a volume equal in size to the 
 present for their thorough consideration ; and to select from these the more com- 
 mon and successfiil preparations has been a task of no ordinary labor. Our 
 Resinoids, Oleo-resins, etc., which in past editions were noticed in Part I., will in 
 the present edition be found arranged in Part II., for obvious reasons. Decoctions 
 and Infusions which are largely used in practice, have been briefly noticed, with- 
 out any special list, although the general rules for their preparation are laid 
 down ; and wherever there is a departure from these in any articles required in 
 inAision or decoction, it will be ascertained under the description of the article in 
 Part I. In the numerous pharmaceutical compounds, the recent and most im- 
 proved formulsB for their preparations are given. In many of the chemical com- 
 pounds, simples, etc., described in both Parts I. and II., the author has freely 
 availed himself of the " Practical Pharmaceutical Chemistry," of Dr. G. C. Witt- 
 stein, of Germany, translated by S. Darby, of England — a most excellent and 
 valuable work. He has likewise availed himself whenever required, of the 
 British Pharmacopoeia, the new French Codex, and tl^e " Organic Chemistry " of 
 Miller. 
 
 In the Appendix wUl be found an amount of selected matter of a valuable 
 character, consisting of Obsolescent or Mineral Poisonous Agents ; Mineral 
 
Fbefaoe. xi 
 
 Waters; Tables of Weights and Measures; Specific Gravities; Solubility of 
 Salts ; Medical Abbreviations and Latin terms, etc., which will be of much utility' 
 to the Chemist and Pharmaceutist, and which, we hope, will prove acceptable to 
 idl. The Index has been rendered as full and complete as possible, that no diffi- 
 culty may be experienced in readily finding any subject contained in the work. 
 
 In scientific matters, to write a purely original work is out of the question; 
 authors have to avail themselves of the information and discoveries promulgated 
 by each other, and in the endeavor to present a complete practical knowledge of 
 medicines, we have not hesitated to consult many excellent authorities ; and 
 though considerable information is introduced not to be had in other publica- 
 tions, yet the only originality claimed is the introduction of New Medicinal Plants ; 
 of " Concentrated Remedies " — their Preparations and Uses ; of valuable and 
 Officinal American Eclectic Pharmaceutic Preparations ; the selection and dispo- 
 sition of the matter, and the endeavor to systematically methodize the hitherto 
 crude material floating among New-School practitioners, as well as to rectify the 
 irregular classification and nomenclature of many valuable remedies ; thus pre- 
 serving for Medical Reform the proper credit for that to which it is justly enti- 
 tled. And as the liberal and progressive physicians of this country have, hereto- 
 . fore, from various causes, lost much of the credit to which they were justly en- 
 titled, it is hoped that this work, by a systematic presentation of their ample and 
 original resources, may serve to secure the honor of medical improvements to 
 their true sources. 
 
 It may be observed that reference is made in this volume to but a few of the 
 "concentrated preparations" which have been of late years manufactured and 
 presented to the profession, and for which omission some explanation is neces- 
 sary. In the first place, it would be exceedingly improper to recognize in a work 
 like the present, any agents designed for the profession, the method of manufac- 
 turing or preparing which is held as a secret. Parties certainly have a right to 
 prepare remedies and to withhold their mode of preparation from the profession ; 
 Ihey likewise have a right to publish them, and to extend the knowledge of their 
 existence by every honorable means ; but, in a volume professing to impart a 
 knowledge of remedies to medical men, it can not be expected that such secret 
 preparations should be recommended, or receive any greater notice than might 
 be accorded to " Wright's Universal Vegetable Pills," " Bull's Sarsaparilla," and 
 other kindred articles. In the second place, it is well known that many of these 
 preparations, from which the manufacturers have, in some instances, already 
 realized immense wealth, are valueless, or nearly so, while others again are down- 
 right impositions ; for what chemist can believe in the reduction, for instance, of 
 an active medicinal oil to the condition of a powder, without having its medical 
 power more or less destroyed by the process for such reduction, even were the 
 operation a mere trituration of the oil with some absorbent powder? These are 
 the chief reasons why such secret manufactures have not found a place in this 
 work, notwithstanding their professed, but extremely doubtful, American Eclectic 
 origin. And it is deeply to be regretted that persons occupying high stations, 
 have so far forgotten their true position as to wink at these matters, by their em- 
 ployment and recommendation of these secret remedies ; it argues unfavorably 
 for them, either that they are incapable of determining useful from useless arti- 
 cles, or that they take no true interest in the advance of the new American sys- 
 tem of medical practice. 
 
 In presenting this eighth edition of the American Dispensatory to the physi- 
 cians and pharmaceutists of this country, I wish them expressly to understand 
 
zii Preface. 
 
 that I have but one interest in view, and that is the advance of a true, liberal and 
 efficacious medical practice, by safe and reliable agents. I have no personal in- 
 terests to sustain, although I have been charged, in a work of recent publication, 
 with recommending the preparations of Cincinnati manufacturers. At the time 
 my Dispensatory first appeared there were no other manufacturers of " concen- 
 trated remedies," of whom I had any knowledge, except those in Cincinnati, and 
 as I was much indebted to them for information concerning their methods of man- 
 ufacture, etc., it was but simple justice to give them credit therefor. In the de- 
 scription of the various medicines and their compounds, accuracy has been aimed 
 at, as well as in the description of the methods of manufacturing concentrated 
 remedies. Not being a manufacturer myself, I have had, in some instances, to 
 rely upon the statements of manufacturers, who, alone, must be held responsible 
 for their correctness or falsity. The modes of preparing certain articles, as those 
 named Rhusin, Eiipatorine, etc., agents which are not received into general prac- 
 tice among American Eclectics, have been heretofore given as matters of infor- 
 mation, but have never been indorsed by me ; further experiments are required 
 before they can be ranked with the resins of Mandrake, and Black Cohosh, Oleo- 
 resins of Ptelea, Blue Flag, etc. My views with regard to the strictly chemical 
 terms which have been unfortunately applied to our non-chemical concentrated 
 agents, will be found expressed in various parts of the work, and I have endeavored 
 as far as possible to omit the former erroneous names by which they have been 
 designated, and to give those which more correctly indicate their true character. 
 
 The Botanical Description of the various plants have been selected and ar- 
 ranged from the best authors. And to those practitioners who would become ac- 
 quainted with the Botanical names and descriptions of new remedial plants, found 
 growing in their neighborhood, I would especially recommend " Gray's Botany 
 of the Northern United States," and " Wood's Class-book of Botany." 
 
 In the Historical, Chemical, Therapeutical and Pharmaceutical Departments, I 
 am under considerable indebtedness to Thompson's Organic and Inorganic Chem- 
 istry, Duncan's Edinburgh Dispensatory, the London, Dublin, Edinburgh, and ■ 
 British Pharmacopoeias, French Codex, Christison's, also Pereira's Materia 
 Medica, Miller's Elements of Chemistry, Chemical Gazette, Bell's Pharmaceutical 
 Journal and Transactions, Chemical Times, Mohr and Eedwood, the American 
 Journal of Pharmacy, together with many other valuable books and journals, 
 French, German, and English. The editor of the last-named journal. Prof. Wm. 
 Procter, jr., has a high reputation, both in this country and in Europe, as a 
 CSiemist and Pharmaceutist, and to his scientific knowledge and ability, a volum- 
 inous compilation of similar character to the present work owes most of its value 
 and popularity. While continuing under many obligations to the persons re- 
 ferred to in past editions, for valuable Pharmaceutical information in the present 
 edition, I must especially refer to Mr. Theodore Greve, of this city, who has a 
 deserved reputation as a skillful and honorable druggist and pharmaceutist ; also 
 to Prof. E. S. Wayne, who ranks among the best theoretical and practical Phar- 
 maceutists and Chemists in our country, and to him I am particularly indebted 
 for aid in his special department. I also return thanks to those members of the 
 profession who have imparted new and useful medical information, or who have 
 in any way contributed to aid in the preparation of the work. 
 
 CiNOiiniATi, March, 1870 THE AUTHOR. 
 
PART I. 
 
 MATERIA MEDICA. 
 
 ABBLMOSCHUS BSCULBNTUS. (Bisamkraut Abelmoschsamen.) 
 
 Okra. 
 Nat. Ord. — Malvaceae. Sex. Syst. — Monadelphia Polyandria. 
 
 FRUIT. 
 
 Description. — This is an annual plant, known also by the name of 
 Qombo, and is the Hibiscus Esculentus of some authors. Stems some- 
 what woody toward the base, erect, branched, round, three to six feet 
 in height, three or four inches in diameter. Herbaceous part covered 
 with sharp bristles, and often bears purplish spots. Leaves alternate, 
 petioled ; lower ones angular, central ones palmate, upper ones subdigitate, 
 the divisions lanceolate-oblong; all are serrate, somewhat bristly. 
 Petioles round, bristly, as long as the leaves. Flowers very large, 
 axillary, solitary, oh short peduncles, a- pale-yellow color, with a 
 dark-crimson bottom. Involucre one, from six to twelve-leaved ; leaf- 
 lets linear, bristly, deciduous. Calyx spathiform, of a very soft texture, 
 bursting lengthwise on one side ; stigmas equal to the cells in the 
 capsule. Capsule six to twelve inches in length, about one inch in 
 diameter, somewhat bristly, especially the ridges, equal in number to 
 the cells and valves, with a single row of round, smooth seeds in 
 each cell. — L. 
 
 History. — This plant is a native of the West Indies, and is also 
 cultivated in the Southern States, where the capsule, which abounds 
 in mucilage, is much employed in soups, and forpickles. The Hibiscus 
 Abelmoschus, or Abetmoschus Moschatus, is so named from the musky 
 fragrance of the small, reniform, striped, somewhat hazel -colored seeds ; 
 these have a pungent, aromatic flavor, and are used by the Arabians 
 to mix with their coffee. — JO. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Okra is mucilaginous, and may be employed 
 wherever emollients and demulcents are indicated ; an excellent soften- 
 ing and relaxing cataplasm may be made from the leaves. The seeds 
 of H. Abelmoschus are said to be cordial, stomachic, and nervine, and, 
 on account of their agreeable odor, are much sought after by perfumers 
 
 fl31 
 
14 Materia Medica. , 
 
 ABIES BALSAMEA. (Balsam Edeltanne.) 
 
 Fir Balsam. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Pinacese. Sex. Syst. — Moncecia Monadeiphia. 
 
 JUICE OR RESINOUS EXUDATION. 
 
 Descrvption.-^^lhis is a small, handsome tree, rarely above thirty feet 
 high, and having a regular pyramidal head. It is called, in some 
 sections of the country, Balsam Spruce, Semlock Fir, Balm of Gilead, etc. 
 Leaves half an inch or three-quarters of an inch in length, evergreen, 
 linear, obtuse, bright-green above, silvery-white underneath, with a 
 grooved line above, an elevated one beneath. Male flowers jeilow, 
 numerous, axillary, solitary, about as long as the leaves ; female catkins 
 lateral, cylindrical, erect, green ; bracts obovate, tipped with a point, 
 somewhat minutely toothed, shorter than the broad, compact scales. 
 Cones two or three inches in length, about an inch broad, erect, 
 cylindric, lateral, reflexed on the margin, shining, purplish. — G-. — W. 
 
 History. — This tree inhabits the northern portions of the United 
 States and British North America, also lower latitudes on highly ele- 
 vated situations. The juice procured from it is known by the names 
 of Canada Balsam, Balsam of Mr, Canada Turpentine, etc. It may be 
 had by making incisions into the tree, but more generally by collecting 
 the fluid, which is discharged from the bladders containing this oleo- 
 resin, which forms between the wood and the bark. Canada Balsam, 
 when recent, has the spissitude of syrup, but gradually solidifies by 
 age ; at first it is usually clear, but gradually becomes of a deep 
 yellowish color. It is strongly adhesive, has a peculikr, rather pleas- 
 ant turpentine odor, and a warm, slightly amarous,* terebinthine 
 taste. Moderately heated it becomes more fluid; a higher heat gives 
 off volatile oil, leaving behind resin somewhat empyreumatized. The 
 same result takes place when boiled with water, and the remaining 
 un evaporated water holds a little succinic acid in solution. It is 
 readily inflammable, giving a dense reddish flame and considerable 
 black smoke. Alcohol does not completely dissolve it; ether and 
 oil of turpentine dissolve it, and solution of- potassa forms a soluble 
 soap with a part of its resin. It has not been satisfactorily analyzed. 
 Accoi'ding to Bonastre, Canada Balsam contains 40 parts of resin soluble 
 in alcohol, 33.4 of nearly insoluble sub-resin, 18.6 of volatile oil, 4 of 
 caoutchouc, and 4 of salts, bitter extractive, and traces of acetic acid.- — 
 J&ur. de Pharm. VIII., 337. 
 
 Canada Balsam is extensively used by persons engaged in micro- 
 scopic investigations, as a cement, to impart a greater transparency 
 to certain objects, and to preserve and mount objects. It possesses 
 right-handed circular polarization ; but botb the oil and resin obtained 
 from it by distillation have left-handed polarization. — P. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In large doses, Canada Balsam acts upon the 
 bowels, and is apt to cause nausea. In small ones it increases the 
 urinary secretion, and also acts as a stimulant to the general system. 
 Its vermiflige properties are inferior to those of the oil of Turpentine. 
 From its direct stimulating action on mucous tissues, it has been found 
 a very efficacious internal remedy in gonorrhea, gleet, chronic mucous 
 inflammation of the bladder, chronic laryngitis, bronchitis, catarrh, 
 mucous diarrhea, hemorrhoids, and rheumatic affections. In gonor- 
 
 'Amarovs means bitter. 
 
Abies Canadensis. 15 
 
 rhea, where the use of copaiba is not desirable, I have found Canada 
 Balsam an excellent substitute in the following combination, viz : Take 
 of Canada Balsam two fiuidounces. Oil of Turpentine four fluidrachms, 
 Spirits of Nitric Ether eight fiuidounces, Pulyerized Camphor two 
 drachms ; mix these together. The dose is a fluidrachm three times a 
 day. In cases where the infiammatory symptoms have been subdued, 
 pulverized Kino, two drachms, may also be added. 
 
 Applied to the skin, Canada Balsam produces redness and slight 
 irritation ; and is frequently employed as a stimulant to indolent and 
 erysipelatous ulcers ; it likewise enters into the composition of several 
 salves and irritating plasters. The dose of Canada Balsam varies from 
 five to twenty grains, which may be repeated two or three times a day. 
 It may be administered in emulsion, or in pill form. When mixed 
 with about one twenty-eighth part of its own weight of calcined mag- 
 nesia, Canada Balsani solidifies in about twelve hours. — P. 
 
 ABIES CANADENSIS. (Canadische Edeltanne.) 
 
 Hemlock Spruce. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Pinacese. Sex. Syst. — Monoecia Monadelphia. 
 
 THE PEEPAKED CONCRETE JtTIOE, CANADA PITCH, GUM HEMLOCK. 
 
 Description. — This tree seldom rises above about seventy-five feet, 
 with the trunk large in proportion, straight, and covered with a rough 
 bark ; branches brittle, nearly horizontal, with pubescent twigs. , Leaves,. 
 about half an inch in length, linear, obscurely fine-toothed, glaucous 
 beneath, in two opposite rows. Cones or strobiles very small, ovoid, 
 terminal, drooping, with a few rounded, entire scales. — G-.^W- 
 
 Sistory. — The foliage of this tree is delicate, bright-green above, and 
 silvery-white underneath ; its timber is very coarse-grained. — G-. The 
 bark contains a large amount of tannic acid, and on this account is 
 extensively employed by tanners. The tree is found in the same lati- 
 tudes and elevations as the A. Balsamea. It fiowers in May. The juice 
 or oleo-resin oozes from the tree, without any incisions being made, and 
 concretes upon its external surface ; the bark is removed from the tree, 
 cut into large fragments, and boiled in water. As the resin ascends to 
 float upon the water, it is removed by skimming and thrown into cold 
 water. It is then placed in a coarse linen bag, and boiled a second 
 time, to remove its impurities. — Jour. Phil. Gol. Pharm., vol. II., p. 20. 
 
 Purified Canada-pitch or gum Hemlock, is at first whitish, but grad- 
 ually becomes darker colored, changing to a yellow, brown, or blackish 
 color. It is pulverable, almost insipid, of a faint characteristic odor, 
 unlike that of turpentine, and has the sp. gr. 1.033. A gentle heat 
 renders it soft and tenacious, and, when elevated to nearly 200° E., 
 liquefies it. It consists of resin, with a small quantity of volatile oil. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Gum Hemlock is a mild stimulant, and, when 
 in contact with the skin for a few hours, causes a slight degree of red- 
 ness. It is frequently substituted for Burgundy Pitch, as it possesses 
 similar virtues. The tincture of the Hemlock Pitch is diuretic and 
 stimulant. The essential oil of this tree, the Oil of Hemlock, has occa- 
 sionally been used by pregnant females to cause miscarriage, but 
 serious effects are apt to follow therefrom. As a liniment, this oil has 
 been used in croup, rheumatism, and other affections requiring a stim- 
 ulating local application. The essence of Hemlock is diuretic and 
 stimulant; Dr. w. K. Everson states it to be a superior remedy in 
 
16 Materia Medica. 
 
 gastric irritation to allay vomiting in cholera-morbns, etc. ; the dc>43 is 
 five or ten drops in water, every ten or twenty minutes, until relief is 
 afforded. I have found the following preparation very beneficial as an 
 internal agent in rheumatism, colic, flatulency, acid-stomach, pains or 
 soreness of the chest or stomach, languor, depression of spirits, hys- 
 terics, pyrosis, and many other chronic and painful affections. Take 
 of Balsam Tolu, Gum Hemlock, Guaiac Eesin, Myrrh, of each, coarsely 
 powdered, two ounces. Oil of Hemlock three ounces. Oil of Winter- 
 green two ounces. Alcohol one gallon. Mix and allow them to macer- 
 ate for two weeks, frequently agitating. The dose is a fluidrachm in 
 half a wineglass of sweetened water ;' or, in severe cases, it may be 
 increased to half an ounce. I have employed this preparation for 
 several years, and can confidently recommend it to the profession as an 
 effectual agent in the above disorders. A strong decoction of the bark 
 of this tree is beneficial in leiicorrhea, prolapsus-uteri, diarrhea, etc., 
 administered internally, and used in enema ; it is likewise of service,^ 
 as a local application, in gangrene. 
 
 ABIES EXCBLSA. (Hohe Edeltanne.) 
 
 Norway Pine. Norway Spruce Fir. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Pinacese. Sex. Syst. — Monoecia Monadelphia. 
 
 THE CONCRETE JUIOE. BURGUNDY PITCH. 
 
 Description. — This tree inhabits Germany, Eussia, Norway, and other 
 northern parts of Europe, as well as of Asia. It is a large tree, often 
 having a diameter exceeding four feet, and attaining an altitude of one 
 hundred and forty feet. Leaves somewhat tetragonal, short, scattered, 
 mucronate, dark green, glossy above. Male catkins solitary, growing 
 out of the axils, purplish; scales staminiferous at the apex. Female 
 catkins simple, purple, growing from the summit ; ovaries two ; cones 
 cylindrical, pendent, with oval, imbricated, slightly indented scales. 
 The Polyporus officinalis, or Larch Agaric, is a fungus, nourished on 
 this tree. The hymenium is concrete, with the substance of the pileus, 
 consisting of subrotund pores, with their simple dissepiments. Films 
 corky -fleshy, ungulate, zoned, smooth. Pores yellowish. 
 
 It is acrid, irritating mucous surfaces with which it comes in contact, 
 causing sneezing, cough, nausea, vomiting, or purging, according to the 
 parts acted upon. From three to eight grains, taken before bedtime, 
 is said to check the sweating of phthisis. 
 
 Abies Picba. — Silver Fir. — Silver Pine. — This tree grows in the 
 mountains of Siberia, Germany, and Switzerland. — L. Branches hori- 
 zontal ; leaves copious, linear, either acute or emarginate, entire, 
 spreading more or less perfectly in two rows, sometimes curved to one 
 side ; upper surface of a dark shining, rather glaucous, green ; under 
 glaucous white. Male flowers numerous, axillary, solitary, about as 
 long as the leaves, yellow ; their axis the length of the toothed invol- 
 ucre; anthers remarkable for their rounded two-lobed crest, crowned 
 with a pair of divaricated horns. Female catkins lateral, erect, cylin-^ 
 drical, green ; bracts much narrower than the capillary scales, distin- 
 guished by a long, projecting, awl-shaped point, very conspicuous in 
 the full-grown cones, which are also erect, three or four inches long, 
 cylindrical, of a reddish green, till they turn brown in drying. — L. 
 
 Sistory. — These trees yield the oleo-resinous substance of commerce, 
 called Burgundy Pitch. The spontaneous exudation from them is in 
 
Abies Bxoelsa. 17 
 
 the form of concrete tears, and is the Abietis Besina, or the Thus or 
 Frankincense of commerce ; which, when boiled in water and strained, 
 forms true Burgundy Pitch. When pure. Burgundy Pitch is in opaque 
 and amorphous masses, pulverahle, somewhat of a buff or straw color, 
 a strong, peculiar, balsamic odor, which diminishes by age, and a sweet, 
 faintly turpentine flavor, without bitterness. It melts very readily, and 
 is softened at 95° F., becoming very tenacious. It contains a very mi- 
 nute quantity of volatile oil. More commonly it is mixed with foreign 
 matters, from which it may be freed by straining the resin after having 
 melted it. The Burgundy Pitch of the shops is generally a spurious 
 article, being made of resin rendered opaque by the incorporation of 
 water, and colored with palm oil. — P. Spurious pitches may be known 
 by their different odor, their bright-yellow color, their numerous vesicles 
 and by the aqueous vapor they yield when heated. — (7.* 
 
 Frankincense is in the form of concrete tears, which are brittle, of an 
 external yellowish color, lighter within internally, a bitterish, acrid 
 taste, nearly inodorous, but yielding an agreeable exhalation when 
 ignited. It is acted upon by a heat of 95° F., the same as Burgundy 
 Pitch, on which account it is sometimes employed in the preparation 
 of plasters. 
 
 Properties and Uses'. — Burgundy Pitch is generally used externally 
 for the purpose of producing a redness qf the surface with a slight 
 serous exhalation. Occasionally it produces an eruption of pimples, 
 sometimes minute blisters, and in some rare instances has been known 
 to cause hardness, considerable suffering, and irritation, terminating 
 in one or more ulcers. It has been principally employed as a counter- 
 irritant in chronic diseases, especially of the lungs, stomach, intestines, 
 etc., as well as in local rheumatic affections. It enters into several 
 salves and plasters. 
 
 Strasburgh Turpentine is also procured from the Abies Ficea, the 
 properties and uses of which are similar to those of Oil of Turpentine. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Bmplastrum Picis Compositum ; Bmplast. Eesinje Com- 
 posit.; Linimentum Olei Composit.; Liniment. Oajuputi Composit; 
 Liniment. Camphor. Composit. 
 
 <■ According to Mr. Daniel Hanbury most of the article sold as Burgundy Fitch is a fao- 
 tltious substance, prepared by melting together yellow resin and Bordeaux turpentine 
 with water ; by gently melting white resin for a short time without the addition of water, 
 so that it is freed from part of Its water without acquiring the brown color of colophony; 
 or by melting common resin with palm oil, or other fat, water being stirred In to produce 
 an opaque appearance. In France the resin is procured from the Pinus maritima. No such 
 substance as Burgundy Pitch is ever produced in Burgundy, but the true article to which 
 the name properly belongs, the resin of Abies excelsa, is produced In Finland on a large 
 scale, also In Baden, and in Austria. He has noticed the following differences: 
 
 True Bwrgvmdy Ps'teA.— Color, dull yellow- Artificial Bwrgwndy J%cft.— Color usually 
 Ish brown ; fracture shining, concholdal, more brilliant than that of the true Bur- 
 translucent ; some samples contain much gundy Pitch ; free ftom sticks and such Im- 
 water, and are opaque, and of a dull, gray purities, 
 color, and require straining to free them 
 from impurities. 
 
 Odor peculiarly aromatic. Odor weak, hardly aromatic. 
 
 Not whoUy soluble in alcohol of .838, bat Still less completely soluble in alcohol of 
 
 leaves a small amount of fine white floccu- .838. 
 lent matter. 
 
 With doable Its weight of glacial acetic Similarly treated forms a turbid mixture, 
 add, in a vial, It Is dissolved, with the ex- which soon separates Into two layers— a 
 oeption of a small amount of flocculent thick, oily liquid above, and a bright sola- 
 matter, tlon below. 
 
 Land. JPharm. Journal, 1887. 
 
l& Matekia Medica. 
 
 ABIES LAEIX. — Larix Uuropcea. (Lerchentanne.) 
 
 Larch. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Pinacese. Sex. Syst. — Moncecia Monadelphia. 
 
 EESiNOtrs exudation. VENICE TURPENTINE. (See Oleum TerebinthincB.y 
 
 Description. — The Larch is a tree of straight and lofty growth, with 
 wide-spreading branches, whose extremities droop in the most graceful 
 manner. Buds alternate, perennial, cnp-shaped, scaly, producing 
 annually a pencil-like tufb of very numerous, spreading, linear, blunt- 
 ish, entire, smooth, tender, bright-green, deoiduous leaves, about an 
 inch long. Male flowers, drooping, about half an inch long, yelk w ; 
 female catkins, erect, larger than the male flowers, variegated with 
 green and pink ; cones, erect, oyate, about an inch long, purple when 
 young, reddish-brown when ripe, their scales spreading, orbicular, 
 slightly reflexed, cracked at the margin. — L. 
 
 Sistory. — The Larch inhabits the mountainous regions of Europe. 
 Ymice Turpentine is obtained from the trunk. The bark contains a 
 large amount of tannic acid. "A saccharine matter called Manna of 
 Briangon exudes from the branches, and when the Larch forests in 
 EuBsia take fire, a gum issues from the trees during their combustion, 
 which is termed Gummi Orenbergense, and which is wholly soluble in 
 water like Grum Arabic." — L. Flor. Med., p. 555. 
 
 Pure Venice Turpentine is a colorless, transparent liquid, somewhat 
 resembling Canada Balsam, having a sweet citron odor, and a moder- 
 ately bitter, hot taste ; sometimes it is met with of a darker color, more 
 opaque, more bitter, and less agreeable in odor. It possesses a left- 
 handed circular polarization. Alcohol dissolves it entirely, but slowly; 
 it is also soluble in caustic potassa or soda. A sixteenth of magnesia 
 speedily renders it solid. A spurious brownish article is met with, 
 composed of common resin and oil of turpentine, which should not be 
 confounded with the genuine. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — (See Oil of Turpentine.) 
 
 Off. Prep. — Unguentum Stramonii Compositum. 
 
 ABIES ISriGEA. (Schwartztanne.) 
 
 Black Spruce. Double Spruce. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Pinacese. Sex. Syst. — Moncecia Monadelphia. 
 
 DECOCTION or BRANCHES. ESSENCE OE SPRUCE. 
 
 Description. — This tree grows in the northern parts of this continent, 
 and in elevated situations in the Middle States. It attains the height 
 of from forty to seventy feet, having very dark green leaves, short, 
 erect, rigid, the cones one or two inches long, reddish-brown, ovate, 
 their scales rounded, entire, wavy, toothed at the apex. — &. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — An aqueous decoction of the young branches, 
 strained and concentrated, forms the well-known Essence of Spruce, 
 which enters into the formation of Spruce Beer, an agreeable and 
 salutary summer beverage, possessing diuretic and anti-scorbutic prop- 
 erties, and valuable on board ships. Spruce Beer may be made as 
 follows ; Take of Ginger, Sassafras bark, and Guaiacum shavings, each, 
 two ounces ; Hops, four ounces ; Essence of Spruce, ten ounces ; Water, 
 four gallons ; mix them and boil for ten or fifteen minutes, then strain. 
 
Abies Nigra — Acacia Arabica. 19 
 
 ftda ten gallons of warm Water, three quarts of Molasses, and twelve 
 fluidounces of Yeast, and allow it to ferment. "While fermentation la 
 going on, put the fluid in strong bottles, and cork them well. 
 
 ACACIA AEABICA. — Acacia Vera. (Arabischer Schotendom.) 
 
 Acacia. (Gum Arabic. Arabischer Gummi.) 
 
 Nat. Ord. — PabacesB, or Leguminosese. Tribe. — Mimosese. Sex. 8yst. — 
 Polygamia Monoecia. 
 
 THE CONCRETE JUICE. GUM ARABIC 
 
 Description. — ^Acacia Arabica, also known by the name oi Egyptian 
 Thorn, or Egyptian Gum Arabic, is a small tree or shrub, but which 
 sometimes attains the height of forty feet, with a trunk from three to 
 four feet in circumference. Leaves bipinnate, having about five pairs' 
 of pinnae, with a gland on the common leaf-stalk, between the first 
 and last pairs; leaflets linear, minute, glabrous, in fifteen or twenty- 
 pairs. Thorns stipulary, sometimes long, sometimes short, or almost 
 wanting. Flowers small, yellow, in globose heads ; corolla five-cleft ; 
 stamens numerous, distinct. Peduncles aggregated, axillary, or forming 
 a terminal raceme by the abortion of the leaves. Legumes stalked, 
 compressed, thickish, contracted on both sutures between the seeds. 
 This tree is common all over India and Arabia. — L. 
 
 Acacia Vera is a moderate-sized tree, inhabiting Africa, from Sene- 
 gal to Egypt, having its stem crooked, bark grayish, with many 
 branches, scattered and covered with a purplish,»or yellowish-green 
 bark. Leaves bipinnate, smooth ; pinnce in two pairs, with a gland 
 between them ; leaflets eight or ten pairs, oblong-linear. Spines sharp, 
 and in pairs. ' Flowers in globose heads; heads about two together, 
 stalked, axillary. Legume about five inches long, compressed, smooth, 
 moniliform, light brown. Seed flattish. — L. 
 
 History. — Of the trees from which Grum Arabic is obtained, and 
 which inhabit the southern parts of Asia and the upper portions of 
 Africa, the A. Arabica is the most common. Several species are said 
 to yield the gum, and, probably, contribute to supply that found in 
 commerce, but those above-named furnish the principal part of it. The 
 gum flows naturally from the bark of the trees, in the form of a thick 
 and rather frothy liquid, and speedily concretes in the sun into tears ; 
 sometimes the discharge is promoted by wounding the trunk and 
 branches. The secretion is most abundant in dry, hot seasons, and 
 among old stunted trees^ especially after a rainy season has softened 
 their bark, and rendered it apt to split during the succeeding hot 
 weather. The more sickly the tree appears, the more gum it yields ; 
 and the hotter the weather, the more prolific it is. — Jackson, account of 
 Morocco, M Ed., p. 137. 
 
 The best quality of Gum Arabic is colorless, or very pale yellowish 
 white, of a shining, conchoidal, vitreous fracture, opaque in mass, but 
 transparent in small fragments, hard but pulverable, inodorous, and 
 of a sweet and viscous taste. It is generally in tears, round or angu- 
 lar, and seldom larger than a hazel-nut. The yellowish-red or brownish 
 tears belong to the second quality, and may be rendered colorless by 
 the action of sunlight, or when treated with chlorine water. The 
 specific gravity is from 1.33 to 1.52. It almost invariably forms a 
 white powder. 
 
 Cold or Lot water dissolves its own weight of Gum Arabic, forming 
 
20 Materia Medioa., 
 
 a thick uiucilaginous solution, and from Hvhieh the gum miij bi> ob- 
 tained by evaporation, or loj precipitation with excess of alcohol: the 
 concentrated solution may be kept much longer than the dilute, which 
 latter, especially in warm weather, undergoes the acetous fermentation. 
 The gum is also soluble in solutions of the pure alkalies, lime water, 
 and dilute acids. Alcohol does not dissolve it, neither does ether or 
 the oils. When boiled with sulphuric acid an unfermentable variety 
 of sugar is formed ; but with nitric acid it passes into mucic, malic, and 
 finally into' oxalic acid. — Hd. Treated with a solution of the neutral 
 sesquichloride of iron, the mucilage of Gum Arabic becomes a light 
 reddish jelly ; with a solution of borax it forms a firm, colorless jelly, 
 which is liquefied by powdered sugar ; and, with a solution of sugar, 
 it furnishes, by desiccation, a clear, hard, amorphous mass. Its decom- 
 position is readily effected by the strong acids. Analysis has found it 
 to contain muriate and bimalate of lime, muriate and acetate of potassa, 
 and some other earthy matters; Berzelius, Prout, Mulder, and Guerin 
 have made ultimate analyses of the gum, and found it to consist of 
 Oxygen, Carbon, and Hydrogen. 
 
 Dr. G. G. Shumard has recently introduced to the profession a species 
 of gum discovered in Texas and New Mexico, and which answers the 
 purpose of the best Gum Acacia, forming a beautiful mucilage with 
 water, and possessing much greater tenacity. It exudes spontaneously 
 from the Mezquite tree, in a semifluid state, and hardens in a few hours, 
 forming lumps of various sizes and colors, which whiten by exposure 
 to sunlight, and finally become translucent and often filled with minute 
 fissures. It is calle^ Gum Mezquite, Mesquit, Muckeet, Musquit, etc. The 
 tree from which it is obtained is either the Strambo carpa pubescens 
 or Screw -pod Mimosa of Gray, or more probably the Algarobia glandu- 
 losa (or Prosopis dulcis of Kunth). According to Prof. Procter, this 
 gum consists of tears of various sizes and degrees of purity, from color- 
 less to dark amber color. The pieces are much fissured, and when 
 broken soon exhibit a tendency to crack into fragments. They are 
 easily pulverized, forming a dull white powder. Their specific gravity 
 is 1.311. It is soluble in water without swelling, and the solution has 
 a slight acid reaction ; alcohol precipitates it in white flocks like arabin ; 
 neither neutral or basic acetate of lead precipitate it, unless ammonia 
 is subsequently added, when a bulky gelatinous substance is thrown 
 down., BTo coagulation occurs with powdered borax, and no precipi- 
 tate with tersulphate of iron. Boiled with an alkaline solution of 
 oxide of copper, no reduction occurs indicative of glucose. Iodine 
 occasions no change ; oxalate of ammonia instantly causes a white 
 cloud in the clear solution. Concentrated sulphuric acid dissolves it, 
 and when heated chars it ; heated in nitric acid till effervescence ceases, 
 it affords mucic and oxalic acids ; exposed to a red heat, it swells up, 
 burns, and leaves a bulky -grayish white ash, amounting to 2.1 per cent, 
 of the gum heated. It may be obtained easily and in great abun- 
 d9,nce. Dr. Campbell Morfit found it to consist of water 11:640, foreign 
 matters 0,236, bassorin 0.206, arabin 84.967, ash 3.000; its ultimate 
 elements being Carbon 43-|-, Hydrogen 6+, Oxygen 47-)-, Ash 3. Prof. 
 Procter doubts the identity of the arabin in the above analysis, with 
 that found in Gum Arabic. A new gum has been introduced into com- 
 merce, termed Gum of India, which is used for dressing cloths, etc. Being 
 cheaper than Gum Arabic it is used to adulterate this gum, but it is 
 unfit for pharmaceutical purposes. It reaches London in cases of about 
 535 pounds ; the picking is done in France, where the whitest tears are 
 
Acacia Arabica— ^Acacia Catechu. 21 
 
 mixed with Gum Arabic and Gum Senegal. The method to detect this 
 adulteration is to mix 30 grains of the suspected article with a pint of 
 cold water, and allow the mixture to rest. In place of a homogenous 
 solution, a thick, transparent, tenacious magma is obtained, insoluble 
 in a large amount of water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Gum Arabic is nutritive and demulcent, and 
 exerts a soothing influence upon irritated or inflamed mucous tissues, 
 by shielding them from the influence of deleterious agents, atmospheric 
 air, etc. On this account it has been used in diarrhea and dysentery, 
 to remove tenesmus and painful stools, in catarrh, cough, hoarseness, 
 gonorrhea, ardor-urinse, etc. — Goxe. It may be given almost ad libitum 
 in powder, lozenge, or solution, alone, or combined with Syrups, decoc- 
 tions, etc. In acute diseases, where it becomes necessary to use the 
 lightest and most readily digested food, there is no article, probably, 
 equal to Gum Arabic. It may be used for this purpose by dissolving 
 half an ounce of the powdered gum in five ounces of water, and sweeten- 
 ing with loaf-sugar, of which a tablespoonful may be given every two 
 or three hours ; in low stages of fever, in typhoid fever, and wherever 
 a mild stimulant is required, one ounce of a saturated solution of cam- 
 phor in sulphuric ether may be added to the above, and administered 
 in the same way ; it is diuretic, promotes the action of the absorbents, 
 and does not materially increase arterial action. Equal parts of pul- 
 verized alum and Gum Arabic form a good preparation to check hem- 
 orrhages from small cuts, wounds, etc. 
 
 Externally, the application of its solution to burns and scalds has 
 proved serviceable, repeating it until a complete coating is secured. It is 
 likewise much used for compounding pills, lozenges, mixtures and emul- 
 sions ; also for administering insoluble substances in water, as oils, resins, 
 balsams, camphor, musk, etc. 
 
 Mucilage op Gum Arabic. — To four ounces of finely pulverized Gum 
 Arabic, add, very gradually, a pint of Boiling Water, and rub the whole 
 until perfectly blended. Dose, ad libitum. When Gum Arabic is adul- 
 terated with cherry gum, it is not easy to form a good mucilage ; the 
 cerasin of the cherry gum will cause it to be ropy. 
 
 ACACIA CATECHU. (Catechu Acacie.) 
 
 Catechu. {Cutch. Gambeer. Terra Japoniea.) 
 
 Nat. Ord. — EabacesB, or Leguminosese. TriJe.^-Mimosese. -Sex. Syst. — 
 Polygamia Monoecia. 
 
 EXTRACT OP THE WOOD. 
 
 Description. — Acacia Catechu is a small-sized tree, from fifteen to 
 twenty feet high. Bark thick, scabrous, rust-colored, slightly bitter, 
 exceedingly astringent ; branches spreading, armed with strong, black, 
 stipulary spines, downy toward their extremities. Leaves bipinnate ; 
 pinnce ten to thirty pairs; leaflets thirty to fifty pairs, linear, bluntish, 
 unequal and auricled on the lower side of the base, ciliated ; petiole angu- 
 lar, channeled above, downy, with one orbicular urceolate green gland 
 below the lowest pair, smaller ones between the two, three or four ter- 
 minal pairs of pinnae. Spikes axillary, one or two together, slender, cylin- 
 drical, on downy stalks. Flowers numerous, white or pale-yellow, sessile. 
 Calyx downy, tabular, five-toothed ; teeth erect. Corolla rather longer 
 than the calyx, five-petaled, glabrous. Stamens twice the length of the 
 corolla, very numerous, distinct; anthers roundish. Ovary green, gla- 
 
22 Materia Medioa. 
 
 brous, ahortly stipitate; style capillary, as long as the stamens; stigma 
 simjpie. Legumes flat, linear, thin, straight, glabrous, with about six 
 orbicular, compressed seeds. — L. 
 
 Sistory. — The Catechu tree is common to the Bast Indian continent, 
 tbriving in Bengal, on the Coromandel and Malabar coasts, etc., and, 
 according to Pereira, in Jamaica. According to Dr. Eoyle, it is pre- 
 pared by concentrating a strong aqueous decoction of the reddish inner 
 wood, and pouring it into square clay molds to dry. Catechu is like- 
 wise obtained from the Areca Gatechu and Unearia Gambir. There are 
 several kinds of it met with in commerce, but the best are those which 
 are the most astringent. 
 
 Catechu is met with in square, round, and irregular piecxss, pale red, 
 pale brown, dark brown, or blackish in color, friable, odorless, astrin- 
 gent, and sometimes having a sweetish after-taste. Its specific gravity 
 is 1.28 to 1.39. The best Gatechu varies in color from deep chocolate 
 brown to arnatto-red, is compact, brittle, presenting an uneven, splin- 
 tery, glistening fracture, and very astringent. It is soluble in hot 
 water, which takes up its tannic and catechuic acids, but a reddish 
 matter is deposited as the solution cools. It is imperfectly soluble in 
 cold water. The tannic acid of Catechu is easily soluble in water and 
 alcohol, but very slightly so in ether. Alcohol or ether dissolves its 
 ' catechuic acid. Its solutions are not precipitated by alkalies. Accord- 
 ing to Sir H. Davy, Catechu contains from four to five parts of tannic 
 acid, 3 to 3-| of peculiar extractive, ^ to f of mucilage, and nearly the 
 same amount of insoluble matters. Buchner found the extractive to 
 be principally composed of catechuic acid, or catechine. The tannate 
 of iron, made by adding a solution of the salts of iron to a decoction 
 of Catechu, is colored greenish black. The gallotannic, or catechu- 
 tannic acid of catechu, termed mimmotannic acid by Berzelius, differs 
 from ordinary tannic acid by giving a greenish gray precipitate with 
 the iron salts, by not precipitating a solution of tartar emetic, and by 
 not furnishing pyrogallie acid on exposure to heat. CatecMn is another 
 of the essential constituents of catechu, and is found in that part of it 
 not soluble in cold water. When pure, it forms minute colorless crys- 
 tals, which are acted on by alkalies, causing them to absorb oxygen, 
 giving yellow, then red, and finally a black color. 
 
 Catechu is incompatible with solutions of the pure earths, with sulphuric 
 or muriatic acid, salts of alumina, lead, copper, and of the sesquioxide 
 of iron ; also with gelatin, opium, cinchona, and those salts of the 
 vegetable alkaloids which form insoluble salts with tannin . 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Catechu possesses strong astringent properties. 
 It is used for arresting mucous discharges when excessive, for remov- 
 ing relaxation or congestion of mucous membranes, and for checking 
 hemorrhages. In chronic diarrhea, chronic catarrh, colliquative diar- 
 rhea, and chronic dysentery, it has proved beneficial, especially when 
 combined with opium. As a local application, it is a valuable agent 
 for removing cynanche tonsillaris, aphthous ulcerations of the mouth , 
 elongation of the uvula, and relaxation and congestion of the mucous 
 membrane of the fauces, especially of the kind to which public singers 
 are subject; it is also useful in congestion, tenderness and sponginess 
 of the gums, particularly when the result of mercurial ptyalism. The 
 tincture of catechu is often useful in fissure of the nipples, when 
 applied twice a day with a fine hair pencil. An ointment composed 
 of four ounces of Catechu, nine drachms of alum, four ounces of white 
 resin, and ten fluidounces of olive oil, with a sufficient quantity of 
 
AOETUM. 23 
 
 water, is in great repute in India as an application to ulcers.— jfTioniSdn 
 Lond. Bis. Chronic and phagedenic ulcers are frequently benefited by 
 the application of Catechu to them. Chronic gonorrhea, old gleets, 
 and fluor-albus, as well as hemorrhage from the nose and other parts, 
 have heen cured by the local application of an aqueous solution of 
 Catechu. Powdered Catechu may be 'given in a dose of from five to 
 twenty grains, or more, repeated as often as required ; it may be ad- 
 ministered in pill form, or in treacle, or in gum-mucilage. The dose of 
 the tincture is from twenty minims to half a fluidounce. Dr. B. Hop- 
 kins states that Catechu is not incompatible with opium and quinia, as 
 no precipitate ensues when their respective solutions are united. He 
 recommends, in diarrhea, a compound of Catechu ten grains. Opium 
 one grain, Sulphate of Quinia two grains ; mix, and make into one or 
 two powders, according to the urgency of the case. 
 
 ACBTUM. (Bssig.) 
 Tinegar. 
 
 VINEGAR, PKEPARED BY FEKMENTATION OP CIDER, MALT, OR WINE, AND BT 
 THE OXIDATION OP ALCOHOL. 
 
 AoETUM Brittanicum. (Bnglischer Bssig.) — Common British-made 
 Vinegar, from infusion of malt. Specific gravity 1006 to 1019. 
 
 AoETUM Gallicum. (Pranzosischer Bssig.) — French Vinegat from 
 wine. Sp. gr. 1008 to 1022.— 5r. Pkarm. 
 
 AoETUM Destillatum. (Destillirter Bssig.) — Distilled Vinegar, ^p. 
 
 gr. 1006. 
 
 See Ptroligneous Acid. 
 
 History. — Vinegar is the result of a peculiar fermentation, known as 
 the acetous, by which certain liquids or infusions undergo a change, 
 causing them to have a manifest sourness to the taste. Those fluids 
 which are capable of acetous fermentation possess more or less sac- 
 charine matter, as fruits, grain, etc., whose expressed juices or infu- 
 sions have undergone a previous fermentation, called the vinous. In 
 order to effect an acetous fermentation, nothing more is required than 
 mere contact of the liquid with the air, at a temperature ranging from 
 70° to 95° F., and which is accompanied with the formation of a 
 remarkable vegetable, of a fungus and microscopic character, consist- 
 ing of the mycelium of penicillium glaucum, vegetating actively, and 
 increasing by crops of conidia or gemmae ; by some this vinegar plant 
 has been named torula aceti. During this process, the alcohol of the 
 
 Sreviotis vinous fermentation disappears, and its place is occupied by 
 'inegar. The theory of fermentation is but imperfectly understood, 
 but the supposition is, that by absorbing oxygen from the atmosphere, 
 the ethyle of the alcohol of liquids which have undergone vinous fer- 
 mentation loses two equivalents of hydrogen, thus converting the alco- 
 hol into aldehyd, leaving the radical acetyle, C4 H3, in the place of 
 the ethyle. The radical acetyle next takes up two additional equiva- 
 lents of Dxygen, forming aldehyd. Aldehyd, or dehydrOgenated alcohol, 
 is a clear, colorless liquid, of a peculiar and powerful ethereal odor, of 
 specific gravity 0.79 at 65°, and boiling at 70°; it is neutra,l, inflam- 
 nr.able, and mixes in all proportions with water, alcohol, and ether. It 
 rapidly imbibes oxygen, and is a constant ingredient of nitrous ether. 
 
24 Materia Midioa. 
 
 Its formula is C4 H3 0+H0=04 H4 Oj. By the absorption of twc 
 additiqnal equivalents of oxygen, aldehyd is converted into acetic acid, 
 Ci Ha 0+H:0-|-0,=Ci Hi 04=60. When heated with caustic potassa, 
 aldehyd is rapidly converted into resin of aldehyd, which swims on the 
 surface of the liquid in the retort in the shape of a brownish, plastic 
 substance, which, when exposed to the boiling point, evolves a disa- 
 greeable odor. 
 
 Vinegar is prepared from many substances ; in France red wines are 
 principally employed; in Britain it is made from different kinds of 
 malt liquor, cider, saccharine fluids, etc.; and, in the United States, 
 from^cider and whisky chiefly. The Germans have a quick method of 
 making. Yinegar, by mixing certain proportions of alcohol, water, and 
 honey, extract of malt or ferment, and which, by a certain process. 
 named in Pereira's Materia Medica, is converted into Yinegar in from 
 twenty-four to thirty-six hours. Yinegar is likewise made by several 
 other processes, some of which require a comparatively short time foi 
 its formation. The surface of Yinegar is frequently covered by moldi- 
 nebs, mucor mucedo ; a small fly, musca cellaris, is apt to infest it ; micro- 
 scopic animals, called vinegar eels, anguillula aceti, are common to Yin- 
 egar containing mucilage and no sulphuric acid ; and, on long stand- 
 ing, or when kept in open vessels, a gelatinous, vegetable substance, 
 caUed the "mother of Yinegar," mycoderma cerevisia, is formed at the 
 expense of the acid, rendering the vinegar turbid and weaker. These 
 matters may be removed by boiling the Yinegar, and then filtering it. 
 
 Good Yinegar has a peculiar and grateful odor, and an agreeable 
 sour taste, fis color depends somewhat on its mode of manufacture ; 
 when prepared from malt liquors, it is yellowish-red ; when from wine, 
 it is pale or deep red, depending upon the white or .red wine from 
 which it is made ; and when from cider, it is pale yellow. The high- 
 colored Yinegars may be rendered colorless by filtration through char- 
 coal. 
 
 The most injurious adulterations in Yinegar are the following : Sul- 
 phuric add, which forms a white precipitate when a solution of chloride 
 of barium is added to it, and which is insoluble in nitric acid ; when 
 Yinegar is free from sulphuric acid, acetate of lead has no action upon 
 it. Copper may be detected by the addition of ammonia in excess, 
 which renders the Yinegar blue ; when Yinegar is free from copper, it 
 lyields no precipitate on the addition of hydrosulphuric acid. Yinegar 
 containing lead gives a yellow precipitate of iodide of lead, when iodide 
 of potassium is added to it ; when it is free from lead, hydrosulphuric 
 acid causes no precipitate. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Yinegar forms an agreeable cooling drink in 
 fevers, especially when the tongue is coated dark or brown ; it dimin- 
 ishes inordinate vascular action, allays thirst, neutralizes excess of 
 alkali, and increases the urinary discharge. In typhus, scurvy, and 
 putrid diseases, it acts as an antiseptic. In urinary affections, attended 
 with a white sediment, consisting mainly of phosphate of lime, and 
 ammoniaco-magnesian phosphate, it has been recommended. In dys- 
 entery and scarlatina, Yinegar, saturated with common house-salt, has 
 been very beneficial. A large tablespoOnful of the mixture must be 
 added to four of hot water, of which a tablespoonful is to be taken,, as 
 hot as may be, every two or three minutes, till the whole is consumed. 
 A similar preparation proved very effectual in the treatment of Asiatic 
 cholera, in Cincinnati, during 1849-50, and has likewise been found 
 beneficial as a local application in external inflammations, contusions, 
 
Achillea Millefolium. 25 
 
 severe injuries to joints, swellings, etc. According to Christison, the 
 vapor of vinegar, inspired with . that from hot water from a proper 
 inhaler, is of decided service in most varieties of laryngeal inflamma- 
 tion, hoarseness, putrid sore-throat, relaxed sore-throat, and ulceration 
 of the fauces ; this inhalation will also fee found of great utility in dry- 
 ness and irritation of the pulmonary tubes during measles and other 
 exanthematous diseases. Diluted, it is a favorite domestic remedy for 
 fumigating the apartments of those ill of contagious diseases ; it does 
 not destroy the infection, but renders the atmosphere less disagreeable. 
 
 Vinegar has been used as a gargle in the same affections of the throat 
 and fauces. It has also been applied locally in some cases of ophthal- 
 mia, in epistaxis, several cutaneous diseases, and, diluted with water, 
 has been used as an injection into the rectum in hemorrhoidal affections, 
 and intjo the uterus in cases of uterine hemorrhage. It forms a valu- 
 able adjuvant to cooling lotions. The dose internally is from one to 
 four fluidrachms ; as an injection, one or two fluidounces, diluted with 
 twice or thrice its bulk of water. 
 
 Distilled Vinegar is used for the same purposes as above, and is the 
 solvent to be employed in making the various medicated Vinegars of 
 opium, squill, colchicum, etc. Care must be taken, when using Vinegar 
 medicinally, not to obtain the spurious and adulterated . articles, con- 
 taining sulphuric acid, muriatic acid, nitric acid, copper, lead, etc. 
 One part of acetic acid to five of distilled water forms a very good 
 Vinegar for culinary and medicinal purposes. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Acetum Emeticum ; Acetum Lobelise ; Acetum Sanguina- 
 risB ; Acetum Scillse ; Tinctura Opii Acetata ; Tinctura Sanguinariffi 
 Acetata ; Lotio Eefrigerans ; Lotio Lobelise Compositum.' 
 
 ACHILLEA MILLEFOLIUM. (Schaafgarbe.) 
 
 Yarrow. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia Superflua. 
 
 THE HERB. 
 
 Description. — Yarrow, also called Milfoil, is from ten to twenty inches 
 high, with simple stems, branching at top. Leaves bipinnatifid, crowded, 
 alternate, with linear, dentate, mucronate segments ; flowers white or 
 rose-colored, and arranged in a dense, flat-topped, compound corymb; 
 involucre oblong, imbricated. Bays four or flve, short ; receptacle chaffy, 
 small, flattish' Achenium oblong, flattened, margined. — G. — W. 
 
 Sistory. — ^Yarrow inhabits Europe and ISTorth America; it survives 
 and produces flower-stems from year to year, and is found in pastures, 
 meadows, along roadsides, etc., flowering from May to October. The 
 .plant possesses a faint, pleasant, peculiar fragrance, and a rather sharp, 
 rough, restringent taste, which properties are due to tannic and achil- 
 leic acids, essential oil, and bitter extractive ; alcohol or water is its 
 proper menstruum. 
 
 According to M. Zanon, the active principle of this plant, Achilleine, 
 has been used as a substitute for sulphate of quinia in intermittent 
 fevers, in the south of Europe. It is prepared by boiling five pounds 
 of the dried plant with sixteen pounds of rain-water for about two 
 hours. The residue is again boiled twice with smaller quantities of 
 water; the decoctions are then filtered and mixed. These are then 
 clarified with white of egg, and evaporated at a gentle heat until a 
 
26 Materia Medica. 
 
 whitish pellicle is formed on the surface. After twenty-four hours, the 
 cold liquid deposits a mass consisting, for the most part, of a vegetable 
 fiber, green coloring substance, with some coagulated albumen, extract- 
 ive matter insoluble in alcohol, lime salts, and traces of silica. The 
 bitter and acid liquid is filtered, and then treated with an excess of 
 hydrate of lime, which produces a white precipitate ; upon this the 
 liquid, is treated with acetate of lead as long as any precipitate is 
 formed. This precipitate is collectcid on a filter, and the solution 
 saturated with sulphureted hydrogen, after which it still possesses a 
 yellowish color and a very bitter taste. On evaporation, it yields 
 nearly half a pound of dry extract, which, as well as the previously 
 filtered sulphuret of lead, are exhausted with alcohol. The two mixed 
 and evaporated yield about seven ounces of Acbilleine. 
 
 The Achilleine obtained in this manner contains some acetate of lime, 
 resin, etc., but which may be avoided by treating the neutralized de- 
 coction (above, by hydrate of lime) with animal charcoal, then evapo- 
 rating to dryness, and finally extracting with boiling absolute alcohol. 
 
 The color of Achilleine is instantly destroyed by chlorine ; it is not 
 precipitated by tincture of galls por acetate of lead, but it is thrown 
 down by basic acetate of lead ; it is soluble in ammonia, and the solu- 
 tion, when exposed to the air until the ammoniacal odor has disap- 
 peared, deposits brown flakes, which are less soluble than Achilleine ; 
 the slight trace of resin in Achilleine may be removed by solution in 
 water. 
 
 Achilleic acid is obtained by treating the decoction of Yarrow with 
 acetate of lead as long as any precipitate is formed ; this is suspended 
 in water, and decomposed with sulphureted hydrogen. The liquid 
 obtained will be very acid, and contain some lime and green coloring 
 substance ; to precipitate the lime, supersaturate it with carbonate of 
 potassa, and then treat it with animal charcoal. The potassa-salt may 
 be precipitated with acetate of lead, and the precipitate decomposed 
 with sulphureted hydrogen. Achilleic acid is not volatile at 212° F. ; 
 its solution can, therefore, be concentrated by evaporation in the water- 
 bath. The greatest concentration to which it can be brought is 
 1.014825. In this state it is perfectly colorless, but on further evap- 
 oration it becomes straw-colored. Exposed to the air in a glass or 
 porcelain dish, it crystallizes in perfectly colorless quadrilateral prisms. 
 The crystallized acid requires, at 56° P., two parts of cold water for 
 solution; the solution is very acid, makes the teeth rough, h&,s no odor, 
 and strongly reddens litmus paper. 'Added by drops to a clear solution 
 of acetate of lead, it does not render it in the least turbid ; but in a 
 solution of basic acetate of lead it immediately produces a white pre- 
 cipitate, which is very slightly soluble. 
 
 Achilleic acid forms salts with carbonates of potassa and soda, am- 
 monia, lime, magnesia, and quinia, which may become useful thera- 
 peutical agents. The achilleate of quinia is- very soluble, and may be 
 found superior to the sulphate of quinia ; it may be made by dissolving 
 quinia in very slightly diluted acid, allowing the substances to act on 
 each other for several days, stirring them frequently, until the liquid 
 no longer reddens litmus paper. Then filter, and add some alcohol , 
 heat it nearly to boiling, and allow it to cool, when nearly the whole 
 liquid is converted into very beautiful radiated-grouped prismatic crys- 
 tals, which are very bitter, and readily soluble in water or alcohol. 
 
 Properties and Uses.-. — ^Yarrow possesses slightly astringent properties, 
 and is said to be likewise alterative and diuretic, in decoction. Its 
 
Achillea Millefolium. 27 
 
 use in chronic diseases of the urinary apparatus, is especially recom- 
 mended by Prof. J. M. Scudder. It exerts a tonic influence upon 
 the venous system, as well as upon mucous membranes. It has been 
 efficacious in hemoptysis, hematuria, incontinence of urine, diabetes, 
 hemorrhoids, and dysentery; also in amenorrhea, flatulency, and 
 spasmodic diseases, and in the form of injection in leucorrhea. The 
 infusion may be given in doses of from two to four fluidounces, three 
 or four times daily ; the essential oil, from five to twenty drops. In 
 menorrhagia, half a fluidounce of the saturated tincture, repeated three 
 or four times daily, has been found advantageous ; a few drops of oil 
 of anise will cover its unpleasant taste. The late Prof. T. V. Morrow 
 made inuch use of an infusion of this herb in dysentery. 
 
 Achillea Ptarmica, or Sneezewort, grows in hedges and thickets, and 
 in moist places in various parts of the country. It is about two feet 
 in height, with the leaves sessile, linear or slightly lanceolate, acumi- 
 nate, equally and sharply serrate, with appressed teeth, smooth ; 
 flowers white, arranged at the top of the plant in a diffused corymb 
 The leaves are remarkably distinct from the Yarrow. The whole 
 plant is pungent, exciting an increased flow of s'aliva. The powder of 
 the dried leaves, when snuifed into the nostrils, produces sneezing, 
 which is supposed to be owing to their small, sharp, and marginal 
 teeth. 
 
 ACIDUM ACBTICUM. (Essigaure.) 
 Acetic Acid. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Acetate of Soda, two pounds; Sulphuric Acid, 
 nine ounces ; Distilled "Water, nine fluidounces (Imp. meas.) — JJond. In a 
 tubulated glass, or leaden retort, large enough to hold twice the quan- 
 tity of substances employed, the acetate of soda is first to be put, and 
 then the sulphuric acid mixed with the water is to be added. Agitate 
 the retort until a uniform mixture is obtained, then place it in a sand- 
 bath, the bed of sand being about half an inch thick, and connect it with 
 a capacious glass-receiver, into nearly the center of which the retort 
 neck should reach. A leaden retort is preferable to glass, as there is no 
 fear of its cracking as the temperature rises, nor will it contaminate the 
 liquid, as when cast-iron vessels are used. That part of the retort neck 
 in contact with the receiver should be surrounded with a strip of white 
 paper, which fixes them more firmly, and renders them less liable to 
 crack than when the two glass surfaces are in contact. Sand should 
 now be added and raised around the retort to a level with the contents, 
 and the retort be gently heated, gradually increasing the temperature. 
 As soon as the receiver^becomes warm, a continuous stream of cold 
 water must be allowed to flow on it till the distillation is ended. The 
 fire must be continued until the residue appears dry, and no more drops 
 are visible at the beak of the retort ; care being taken not to have too 
 great a heat toward the end. When the apparatus has thoroughly 
 cooled, the contents of the receiver must be poured into a glass-stoppered 
 bottle. The specific gravity of the acid thus obtained is 1.048, and 100 
 grains of it are saturated by 87 grains of crystals of carbonate of soda. — 
 Witt. Lond. 
 
 "Acetic Acid may also be prepared by pouring on five parts of the 
 impure dried acetate of soda, a mixture of six parts of concentrated 
 sulphuric acid, and five parts of water. Distil as in the preceding case. 
 
28 / Materia Medica. 
 
 " In order to decompose one equivalent of acetate of soda entirely over 
 a sand-bath, it is necessary to use two equivalents of sulphuric acid, and 
 thus to convert it into the bisulphate. 1028 parts of anhydrous acetate 
 of soda require 1226 parts of concentrated sulphuric acid; or five parts 
 of the first, and six of the acid. The five parts of water mixed witli the 
 acid, correspond to nine equivalents ; and as the sulphuric acid gives up 
 one equivalent of water (the other equivalent of water from the two 
 equivalents of sulphuric acid combining with the bisulphate of soda), 
 ten equivalents of water distil over with the Acetic Acid. The common 
 acetate of soda generally contains a small quantity of extractive matter, . 
 and, toward the end of the process, the action of the sulphuric acid on 
 it causes a blackening of the contents of the retort, with, at the same 
 time, a disengagement of sulphurous acid, which renders the product 
 impure. In this case, the distillate is shaken with a little peroxide of 
 manganese, by which the sulphurous acid is converted into sulphuric 
 and hyposulphuric acids, which combine with the oxide of manganese. 
 The liquid is poured off the excess of peroxide of manganese, and re- 
 distilled. The bisulphate of soda remaining in the retort readily dis- 
 solves in water, and the solution, filtered from the insoluble black 
 organic matter may, after neutralization with lime, be use'd as Griauber's 
 salts."— M#. 
 
 In the first (London) formula, given above, the proportions of the 
 several articles are nearly equal to one equivalent, or 137 parts, of 
 crystallized acetate of soda, one equivalent, or 49 parts, of the strongest 
 sulphuric acid, and six equivalents, or 54 parts, of water. The resulting 
 acid consists of 51 Acetic Acid, 114.58 water, while 2.42 of water remains 
 in the retort. 
 
 Chemical Properties. — Acetic Acid is colorless, and of a pure, strong, 
 acid smell and taste, free from empyreumatic odor. Its vapor reddens 
 litmus, and fumes with ammonia. It is readily miscible with any quan- 
 tity of water, and a definite proportion is soluble in alcohol. It decom- 
 poses carbonates of potassa, soda, lead, zinc, strontium, barytes, and 
 magnesia, disengaging their carbonic acid. It dissolves several soft 
 animal tissues, essential oils, resinous substances, camphor, etc., but they 
 are precipitated by dilution. — Coxe. No residue should occur in evapor- 
 ation. Sulphureted hydrogen, nitrate of barium, nitrate of silver, and 
 ferrocyanuret of potassium should cause no change in it. For tests, see 
 Distilled Vinegar. 
 
 Crystallized, glacial, or bydrated Acetic Acid, is the strongest Acetic 
 Acid procurable. At nearly 32° it forms a mass of colorless or pearly 
 crystalline plates, of a very penetrating smell and sour taste ; it melts 
 between 55° and 61° P., and then forms a colorless, caustic, volatile 
 fluid, having a specific gravity of 1.063. It boils at 243°, and it is evapo- 
 rizable at 160° F. Exposed to the air,'the crystals iume, from the ab- 
 straction and condensation of the vapors of water contained in the 
 atmosphere, gradually lose their crystalline property, and become liquid. 
 Glacial Acetic Acid blisters the skin, and soon produces a painful sore. 
 From its volatility and tendency to absorb moisture from the atmo- 
 sphere, vessels containing it should be well closed. It consists of Car- 
 bon 4, Hydrogen 4, Oxygen 4, and its symbol is Ac". 
 
 Pfoperties and Uses. — Concentrated Acetic Acid is corrosive and irri- 
 tant ; it dissolves the fibrin, albumen, and gelatin of the animal system. 
 When used at all, it is as an external counter-irritant, producing red- 
 ness or vesication as desired; to prevent its evaporation, it must be 
 applied and covered with lint or cloth. It forflis a very efficacious ap- 
 
AciDUM Pyroligneum. 29 
 
 phoacion in nnea capitis, and ringworm of the scalp ; and from its sol- 
 vent power over the soft tissues, it forms a!n excellent corrosive for 
 corns ana warts. Its vapor is very pungent and irritating, but "v^hen 
 moderately innaled, forms a useful stimulant in some forms of head- 
 ache, fainting, noarseness, etc. Half an ounce of Camphor triturated 
 with a little Alcohol to reduce it to powder, and then dissolved in six^ 
 fluidounces of this Acid, forms the Camphorated Acetic Acid of the 
 Dublin Pharm., which is a pungent stimulant when snuffed up the 
 nostrils; as it is extremely volatile and corrodes nearly all common 
 metals, except gold, it should be kept in glass vials, with ground-glass 
 stoppers. Senry's aromatic vinegar is merely an acetic solution of cam- 
 phor, oil of cloves, lavender, and rosemary. A preparation of this kind 
 may be made extemporaneously by putting one drachm of Acetate of 
 Potassa in a vial, with a few drops of some essential oil, and twenty 
 minims of Sulphuric Acid. — Goxe. M. Eicord speaks highly of this^-cid 
 as a l^al application to venereal ulcers in the primary stage; to be ap- 
 plied as freely as any other caustic, and repeated as often as the con- 
 dition of the chancres may require. Under its influence the ulcer 
 speedily assumes a healthy aspect and promptly heals. He believes 
 that it neutralizes the venereal poison, and thus obvifites all danger of 
 constitutional symptoms. We believe the same may be truly said of 
 other acids, as the nitric, muriatic, tincture of chloride of iron, etc. 
 Half a pint of Acetic Acid, added to five pints of distilled water, forms 
 a valuable substitute for distilled vinegar, and is used in all prepara- 
 tions where precision is necessary. 
 Off. Prep. — Linimentum Terebinthinas. 
 
 ACIDUM ACETICUM EMPYEEUMATICUM. ACIDUM PYEO- 
 LIGrNEUM. (Holzessigsaure.) 
 
 Pyroligneous Acid. 
 
 IMPURE AOETIO ACID, OBTAINED FROM WOOD BY DISTILLATION. 
 
 History. — Pyroligneous Acid is obtained by the destructive distilla- 
 tion of wood ; it is a dilute acetic acid, containing creosote and other 
 products arising from the distillation. By distilling it several times, 
 then adding chalk, limestone, or carbonate of soda to neutralize the 
 rectified crude acid, and decomposing the resulting acetate by sul- 
 phuric acid, a pure acetic acid may be procured'. Pyroligneous Acid 
 has a blackish color in quantity, but in small amounts is a clear, pale- 
 yellowish, or chestnut-colored fluid, having a vinegary, empyreumatic . 
 odor. The tar remaining after the removal of the acid forms a valu- 
 able irritating plaster. Fish and meats, fresh or salted, immersed in 
 the crude Pyroligneous Acid, acquire a smoky taste, and are as well 
 cured as by the usual mode of smoking, beside being preserved from 
 " skippers." 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Stimulant and antiseptic. Used as a local ap- 
 plication for arresting or preventing sloughing, for cleansing old sores, 
 abscesses, and burns, scalds, ringworms, tinea capitis, excoriated nipples, 
 etc., and as a gargle in inflamed and ulcerated throat, and scarlatina 
 maligna. Internally, in doses of from ten to thirty drops, it is useful 
 in all cases where an antiseptic is indicated. The pyroligneous tar forms 
 a valuable irritating plaster. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Linimentum Terebinthinse. 
 
30 Materia Medica. 
 
 ACIDUM BBNZOIOUM. (Benzoesaure.) 
 Benzoic Acid. 
 
 Preparation. — "A layer of coarsely powdered Benzoin, not more than 
 half an inch thick, is spread over the surface of a flat earthen dish 
 with a raised rim, on which a sheet of white bibulous paper is strained 
 and pasted ; over this is aflixed a conical-shaped cap of glazed paper, 
 with a diameter at base somewhat larger than the edge of the dish ; 
 and the apparatus thus prepared is placed on the iron plate of a stove, 
 in which a gentle fire is kept up, which may afterward be somewhat 
 increased, but not sufficiently to allow the resin to char, as the products 
 of decomposition would, in this case, contaminate the sublimed Benzoic 
 Acid. From time to time the paper cap is taken off, and its contents, 
 as well as the crystals on the filtering paper, brushed off into a proper 
 vessel. When no more sublimate is formed, the process is ended." — 
 Witt. This forms a perfectly white product, being equal to 'about 
 j'jth or Yg-th of the resin taken. As a certain portion is always lost in 
 this process, owing to decomposition, another mode is recommended 
 by Wittstein, called the wet method, in which eight parts of benzoin 
 yield one or one and a half parts of the acid, not quite so white as by 
 thp former process, but sufficiently pure for medicinal purposes. "In 
 a glass or copper vessel, mix eight parts of powdered Benzoin with 
 two of Hydrate of Lime, shake well together, and add about sixteen 
 parts of Distilled Water, so that the whole forms a thin paste. Place 
 the flask or vessel in a sand-bath for twenty-four hours, frequently 
 agitating it, and renewing the water as often as it evaporates. The 
 pasty mass must now be transferred to a copper vessel, one hundred 
 parts of water added, and being constantly stirred with a wooden 
 spatula, the whole is boiled until about thirty parts of water have 
 evaporated ; while still hot, filter through white blotting-paper spread 
 on linen ; again boil the residue with fifty parts of water, filter, mix 
 the two solutions together, and evaporate to thirty -two parts. To the 
 solution of benzoate of lime thus formed, add Hydrochloric Acid sp. 
 gr. 1.130, as long as it causes a turbidness, or about two parts, con- 
 stantly stirring all the time.. Then allow the whole to remain undis- 
 turbed in a cool spot for a day or two, when the whole will be found 
 changed 'into a thick crystalline paste; the hydrochloric acid decom- 
 posing the benzoate of lime, separating the Benzoic Acid in fine crys- 
 tals, while the chloride of calcium remains in solution. The Benzoic 
 Acid may be separated by a linen strainer, pressing the solution well 
 through, drying, and then boiling with twenty times its weight of 
 water, which separates it from any resin which may be present. 
 When dissolved, the solution is strained through linen, and allowed to 
 stand a day or two; the crystals are then separated, pressed in bibu- 
 lous paper, and dried." Or they may be sublimed to render them 
 pure, but in which process a loss will inevitably ensue. On the large 
 scale, benzoic acid is prepared by adding nitric acid to naphthalin, 
 converting this into phthalic acid, H^ Cg H4 Og, distilling this with dry 
 slaked lime, from which results calcic carbonate and benzol. It is 
 also obtained from other sources. 
 
 Chemical History. — Benzoic Acid forms groups of needles and scales, 
 flexible, exceedingly light, and of a brilliant white, satin-like luster. 
 That prepared by the wet method appears as pale yellow needles. The 
 odor accompanying ordinary Benzoic Acid is due to a volatile oil which 
 adheres to the crystals ; pure Benzoic Acid is feebly acid, and some- 
 
AanuiM Carbazotioum. 31 
 
 what acrimonious, odorless, but acquires a vanilla or benzoin odor by 
 heat ; is volatile, inflammable, soluble in alcohol, ether, acetic acid, the 
 mineral acids, oils, and alkaline solutions. It requires about 200 parts 
 of cold, and, 20 of boiling water for its solution. Heated in a platinum 
 spoon it fuses, and is entirely converted into a white, vapor, which, 
 ■when inhaled, causes a peculiar pricking sensation in the throat. Its 
 presence characterizes the true balsams. Its formula is H C^ Hj 04= 
 H B, 0,. 
 
 If Benzoic Acid contains hydrocMorate of ammonia, the addition of 
 solution of potassa to it, will liberate ammoniacal vapors. When 
 heated, should there be a residue, it is some foreign substance. Should 
 the residue be carbonaceous, it may arise from the presence of resin, 
 or the salt of some organic acid. If the acid has the odor of the sweat 
 of a horse, Mppuric acid is present, which may be known by the ammonia 
 evolved, when the acid is mixed with lime and heated in a glass tube. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Benzoic Acid appear-s to exert a stimulating 
 influence on mucous surfaces, and has occasionally been serviceable in 
 coughs and catarrhs. Taken internally, it promotes the excretion of 
 nitrogenous matter, the retention of which is the supposed cause of 
 disease ; and which matter appears in the urine in the form of hippuric 
 acid. It does not aifect the quantity of uric acid in the urine. Phos- 
 phatic urinary deposits are said to be removed by its use. It has also 
 been recommended in gout and rheumatism, with or without carbonate 
 of potassa, for preventing the tophaceous or urate of soda concretions. 
 Externally, it has been used in the form of an ointment in some cuta- 
 neous diseases, and enters into some of the advertised lotions for 
 beautifying the skin. It may be given in doses of from five grains to 
 half a drachm. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Tinctura Opii Camphorata; Unguentum Zinci Oxidi 
 Compositum. 
 
 ACIDUM CAEBAZOTICUM. (Kolenstickstoffsaure.) 
 
 Carbazotic Acid. 
 
 Preparation. — Eeduce the best Indigo to a coarse powder, and digest 
 it with ten times its weight of hot Nitric Acid, of sp. gr. 1.43, added in 
 small portions at a time. It dissolves with a copious emission of ni- 
 trous fumes, while it froths up very considerably. After the violent 
 ebullition is over, raise it to the boiling temperature. , Then add a 
 little more concentrated Nitric Acid, continuing it from time to time 
 as long as red fumes are disengaged. When the liquid has cooled, 
 there will be deposited a great, quantity of yellow-colored, semi-trans- 
 parent crystals ; and, supposing the process properly conducted, neither 
 resin nor artificial tannic acid makes its appearance. Wash these 
 crystals in cold water, and dissolve them in boiling water, and crystal- 
 lize a second time. To obtain the Carbazotic Acid quite pure, dissolve 
 these crystals again in boiling water, and saturate them with Carbonate 
 of Potassa; on cooling, crystals of carbazotate of potassa form. It is 
 best to dissolve and crystallize them two or three times. When this 
 salt is sufficiently pure, dissolve it in water and decompose it by nitric, 
 muriatic, or sulphuric acid. When the solution cools, Carbazotic Acid 
 is deposited in beautiful crystalline plates. More of the acid may be 
 obtained from the mother -waters by a similar process. Pour parts of 
 indigo yield about one part of Carbazotic Acid. Great care ia neces* 
 sary to obtain it free from indigotic and oxalic acids. 
 
32 Mateeia Medica. 
 
 Chemical Properiies.^Carbazotie Acid, also called Trinitrophenic Acid, 
 Picric Acid, Mtro-Picric Acid, Welter's Bitter, Mtro-phenisic Acid, Nitro- 
 pJienolic Add, is the product of the action of strong nitric acid upon 
 coumarin, indigo, salicine, carbolic acid, oil of gaultheria, and several 
 other complex organic substances, aided by heat. It forms in long, 
 brilliant, whitish yellow prisms, with rectangular bases, which, in thin 
 layers, are almost colorless. It reddens vegetable blues, and has an 
 exceedingly bitter taste; it is fusible and volatile, and burns with a 
 yellow flame, leaving a residue of charcoal. It is nearly insoluble in 
 cold water, but soluble in hot water, alcohol, and ether. It is not acted 
 upon by chlorine, iodine, hydrochloric acid, nitro-hydrochloric acid, or 
 cold sulphuric acid. Concentrated sulphuric or nitric acids dissolve 
 it unaltered, and deposit it on the addition of water. Heated in an 
 amount of water insufficient to dissolve it, the acid melts to a yellowish 
 transparent oil, which solidifies on cooling. Heated alone, the acid 
 foBeB to a yellowish oil ; if the temperature be gradually raised, it may 
 be partially sublimed ; suddenly heated, it decomposes with explosion. 
 It colors the skin, hair, and especially animal membrane, yellow. It 
 forms salts with the bases, and these carbazotates also detonate in high 
 temperatures. Its alcoholic solution is a good reagent for detecting 
 the presence of potassa or soda ; the carbazotate of potassa is sparingly 
 soluble, and is deposited in minute yellow crystals ; while the carbazo- 
 tate of soda is very soluble. G-. Calvert prepares this acid, by allowing 
 one pound of carbolic acid to fall drop by drop into six pounds of nitric 
 acid, sp. gr. 1.52. After five or six hours, the whole of the carbolic 
 acid having been dropped in, the liquor is evaporated to one-fourth its 
 bulk, and then allowed to cool. The solid mass thus formed is dissolved 
 in water which is boiled by the injection 6f steam, and, on cooling this 
 solution gradually, the acid is deposited in crystals. Its formula is 
 H O, On H, (NO4), 0. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Carbazotic Acid is tonic and astringent, the lat- 
 ter influence being effected by improving the general tone of the sys- 
 tem. It has been efficaciously used in convalescence from acute diseases, 
 cephalalgia, chronic diarrhea, gastric irritability, dyspepsia, anemia, 
 and intermittent fever; in which last disease it is considered a valuable 
 substitute for quinia, and ^s especially efficacious in those cases of ague 
 in which from continuous use quinia has lost its effect. As the free acid 
 is apt to occasion cramps in the stomach, the carbazotates of ammonia 
 and iron have been found the best. The carbazotate of ammonia 
 and gallic acid, one grain each, with one-sixth of a grain of opium for a 
 dose, and repeated three times a day, in obstinate diarrhea. By the use 
 of these agents the skin and conjunctiva become temporarily colored, 
 so as closely to resemble jaundice, and would deceive the keenest ob- 
 server; the acid has been detected in the urine, even when this has been 
 kept several days. The dose of these is from half a grain to a grain, 
 repeated three times a day. — Moffatt, Grace Calvert. 
 
 ACIDUM CAEBOLICUM. 
 
 Carbolic Acid. 
 
 Preparation.' Carbolic Acid is procured from those portions of oil of 
 coal-tar which boil at between 300° and 400°. This is mixed with 
 twice its volume of a hot saturated solution of potassa lye, adding a 
 quantity of powdered potassic hydrate. The liquid portion is then de- 
 canted from the white crystalline deposit, which last is dissolved in a 
 
AciDUM Carbolioum. 33 
 
 gmall quantity of water. The solution forms two layers, a light oily 
 one, and a heavy one consisting of an aqueous solution of carbolate of 
 potassa; upon separating this from the lighter layer, and neutralizing it 
 by hydrochloric acid, the carbolic acid ascends to the surface. This acid 
 is then digested upon chloride of calcium to remove its water, and then 
 distilled, and exposed to a temperature which is gradually diminished. 
 Ohemical Properties. — Carbolic Acid, also called Phenic Acid, JSydrate 
 of Phenyl, Phenol, was discovered by Eunge, in 1834. It crystal- 
 lizes in long colorless rhonibdoidal needles, which melt at about 
 95°, and boil between 369° and 370°. The minutest trace of moist- 
 ure causes their liquefaction. Carbolic Acid is very sparingly sol- 
 uble in water, freely soluble in alcohol, ether, volatile' oils, and 
 concentrated acetic acid, also soluble in glycerine, the fixed oils, and 
 fats, which, however, modify its properties. It does not redden litmus 
 paper, but leaves a transient oily spot upon it. It ha,s a burning taste, 
 and an odor like that of creosote. It dissolves sulphur, resin, and copal, 
 forming with the latter a brilliant varnish that remains soft for many 
 months after its application. It coagulates blood and albumen, produces 
 flakes in milk, and destroys the odor of cheese, rendering it soft and 
 unctuous. As an antiseptic it has been much employed. It combines 
 with the metallic oxides, and reduces several metallic salts, especially 
 those of copper and silver. Its alkaline' salts are not very permanent, 
 and have an alkaline reaction ; water decomposes its potassa salt ; all 
 the soluble carbolates, as well as carbolic acid itself, communicate to 
 pine wood moistened in it, and subsequently dipped in nitric or hydro- 
 chloric acid, a black blue color as it dries. When heated in a sealed 
 tube with ammonia it yields aniline and water. Nitric acid forms car- 
 bazotic .acid with it. A beautiful orange-colored dye, aurine, is made 
 by heating in a glass vessel to 260° a mixture of carbolic and sulphuric 
 acids, and then slowly and carefully adding an amount of oxalic acid tq 
 it, nearly equal to the quantity of sulphuric acid used ; this having been 
 done, the whole is thrown into cold water, and the resulting green solid 
 mass is well worked in boiling water to remove all excess of sulphuric 
 acid. A crystallized hydrate of carbolic acid may be obtained by agi- 
 tating four parts of carbolic acid with one of water, and exposing it to 
 a temperature of 39°, when fine six sided prisms 2 (Cm Hj Oj),, H^ O2, 
 are formed, which liquefy at 61°. The formula of carbolic acid is (C12 
 Hg Oj^HCij H5 O2), and though in composition exactly like that of the 
 alcohols, yet it does not behave like them. 
 
 Dr. E. E. Squibb states that pure crystallized phenol or carbolic aejd 
 has a sweet and comparatively bland taste, and is nearly odorless, ajid 
 that the ordinary liquid article of commerce is impure, and owes its 
 azymotic power to another coal-tar principle, cresol, which has a smoky, 
 dry, and pungent taste. He is therefore disposed to consider the re- 
 jection of cresol in the therapeutical article as objectionable, and would 
 prefer the impure article (the commercial liquid carbolic acid, or coal- 
 tar creosote) in cases where the azymotic and antiseptic effects are re- 
 quired. (Am. Jour. Pharm., May, 1869, page 259.) Carbolic Acid when 
 pure remains clear; but when its congeners are present, xylol or 
 cresol, it becomes colored, as with the fluid carbolic acid of commerce. 
 The pure acid in crystals may be rendered fluid by placing the vifd 
 holding it in hot water, being carefal, however, to guard against break- 
 ing the vial. The odor of carbolic acid renders it very objectionable 
 with many, but this may be overcome by adding a few drops of oil of 
 lemon to it. 
 
3-4 Materia Medica. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Carbolic Acid is an antiseptic and azymotii, 
 being a violent poison for vegetables and inferior organic bodies ; it 
 checks fermentation, prevents the formation of mold in vegetable infu- 
 sions or juices, and preserves animal tissues from decomposition. It 
 exerts an escharotic influence upon animal tissues when applied, undi- 
 luted, producing considerable pain, followed after a time by a white 
 appearance of the part, severe inflammation, and after fifteen or twenty 
 days, by an exfoliation of the epidermis. It should never be employed 
 in an undiluted state for ordinary use. But as a caustic, acting super- 
 ficially,, it may be used in indolent or gangrenous ulceration, hemor- 
 I'hoids, fistula in ano, syphilitic and other warts, soft chancre, carbuncle, 
 diphtheria, and malignant sore throat. Its antiseptic power renders it 
 very valuable as a local application in surgical cases accompanied with 
 purulent, offensive, or other discharges; it is also said to facilitate the 
 healing of wounds by the first intention. Two to three parts of car- 
 bolic acid to 100 parts of water, applied to necrosis, gangrenous, and 
 other ulcers, modifies the suppuration and favors cicatrization. Its 
 principal use, however, has been in the treatment of certain cutaneous 
 affections, especially those due to, or accompanied with, animal or vege- 
 table parasitical formations, as in pediculi, scabies, eczema,, lepra, im- 
 petigo, tetter, pityriasis, etc., in which cases it is used in combination 
 with glycerin, one part of acid to four, six, eight, or more parts of gly- 
 cerin. A very excellent application for several cutaneous affections is 
 one part of carbolic acid to four parts of acetic acid, and fifteen parts 
 of water. A dilute aqueous solution of carbolic acid employed as an 
 injection will destroy worms in the rectum; and injected into the vagina 
 has proved beneficial in leucorrhea, gonorrhea, fetid discharges, and 
 ulceration of the os uteri. A solution of from two to five grains to a 
 fluidounce of water, injected into the urethra, has cured gonorrhea. It 
 has proved decidedly useful in boils, whitlows, and abscesses, injecting 
 it into the cavity of these after the pus had been discharged. In chronic 
 pustular conjunctivitis, a solution of equal parts of carbolic acid and 
 glycerin, applied to the palpebral conjunctiva, has promptly arrested 
 the disease. A solution of the acid in water, used as a wash immedi- 
 ately following coition, is supposed by many physicians to effectually 
 prevent any consequent chancre. One part of carbolic acid to one hun- 
 dred parts of water, injected into the bladder, has been successful in 
 cystitis, in which irom prostatic hypertrophy or urethral stricture the 
 urine putrefies in the bladder with formation of Zoophytes, penicillium 
 glaucum, etc. In burns and scalds carbolic acid affords immediate re- 
 lief, also in bites and stings of insects. One part of the acid to six or 
 seven parts of olive-oil, applied with lint, and covered with tin-foil oi 
 oil-silk, will be found useful in cases of severe burns or scalds. Inter- 
 nally, pure, crystallized carbolic acid has been advantageously employed 
 in obstinate vomiting, in sarcinse ventriculi, gastric pain following meals, 
 flatulency, diarrhea from eating' articles causing fermentation, scarla- 
 tina anginosa, offensive bseath, etc. One drop, largely diluted, is tho 
 usual dose. Or, five grains of the acid to five fluidounces of water, in 
 two fluidraehm doses, repeated two or three times a day. 
 
 One drachm of carbolic acid dissolved in one fluidraehm of alcohol, 
 and two fluidounces of water, and sprinkled around a sick chamber by 
 means of a spray instrument or otherwise, will be found a valuable dis- 
 infectant. Still farther diluted, the spray will be found useful in nasal 
 catarrh, ozcena, ulcerated sore throat, chronic pharyngitis, chrgnic bron- 
 chitis, pertussis, foul breath, and has even been recommended in phthisis 
 
AciDiJM Chromicum. 35 
 
 pulmoualis, as an auxiliary means of treatment; for this latter piu'pose, 
 a grain or two to an ounce or two of water is the strongest solution that 
 should be used. Its use must be discontinued if faintness, giddiness, 
 trembling, with a wea^k pulse, should follow its inhalation. It has proved 
 very valuable in dissections, the difficulty of presei-ving the subject being 
 eifectually overcome by injecting carbolic acid mixed with water, and 
 it does not materially affect the appearance of the tissues. In poisoning 
 by carbolic acid, after the use of the stomach pump, it is advised to ad- 
 minister freely of olive or sweet almond-oil, to which a little castor-oil 
 has been added. 
 
 The alkaline carbolates have been highly extolled for uses similar to 
 the acid. The carbolate of soda,, Phenol Sodique, is the one more com- 
 monly used; it is an easily decomposed preparation, soluble in water 
 and carbolic acid, and may be made by neutralizing pure crystallized 
 carbolic acid in solution with caustic soda ; press the resulting crystals 
 between bibulous paper, and then dry them under a bell glass over a 
 dish of sulphuric acid. As a local application this will be found very 
 useftil in burns, scalds, stings of bees, wasps, spiders, etc. ; in chilblain, 
 erysipelas, many cutaneous affections, hemorrhoids, and soft, spongy, 
 swollen, or ulcerated gums; when applied by means of compresses it 
 arrests hemorrhage from leech bites, cuts, etc. ; when sprinkled around 
 places infected by insects, parasites, or animalculae, it destroys them, or 
 drives them away. 
 
 ACIDUM CHEOMICUM. (Chromsaure.) 
 Chromic Acid. 
 
 Preparation. — To one volume or 100 measures of a cold saturated solu- 
 tion of Bichromate of Potassaadd one volume and a half or 150 meas- 
 ures of pure Sulphuric Acid, and allow the mixture to cool in a covered 
 capsule, or in a flask; the Sulphuric Acid unites with the Potassa, set- 
 ting free a deposit of beautifdl deep-red needles of Chromic Acid. The 
 liquid being drained off, these are laid on a porous brick to dry, covered 
 with a glass bell-jar. They must be preserved in very tightly stoppered 
 vials. 
 
 Chemical Properties. — Chromic Acid is a strong acid, isomorphous with 
 sulphuric, selenic, and manganic acids. It is very soluble in water, and 
 is highly deliquescent in the air. It destroys the color of indigo, and 
 of most vegetable and animal coloring matters. It is a powerful oxid- 
 izing agent, yielding half its oxygen readily to oxidizable bodies, and 
 being reduced to sesquioxide. It is a teroxide of chromium, Cr O3. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Chromic Acid is recommended as an escharotic 
 in the treatment, of piles; the acid is to be applied freely over the whole 
 of the diseased surface, and when properly managed it will not spread 
 beyond the prescribed limits. It occasions uneasiness for some hours, 
 and sometimes acute burning pain — a slough passes away, and the tumor 
 shrinks and becomes insensible. As soon as its erosive operation is 
 finished, the acid passes into a dtate of inert pulverulent sesquioxide. 
 It may likewise be found advantageous in cancer, malignant tumors, 
 ulcers, etc. It is less painful than other caustics, and may be used to 
 destroy morbid growths. One part of the acid to four and a half parts 
 of water forms a solution for removing syphilitic morbid growths, as 
 warts, etc. ; it may be applied by means of a small glass rod, in all 
 cases being carefiil not to allow it to act upon the healthy tissues, nor 
 to penetrate too deeply or extensively into the parts upon which its 
 
86 Materia Medica. 
 
 action is directed. It has also been recommended in obstinate granu- 
 lar conjunctivitia, but should be used with great care, that it may not 
 prove destructive to the cornea especially. An aqueous solution of 
 Chromic Acid of a pale yellow color is used to harden and preserve 
 nerve and muscle tissue, so that they may be cut into thin sections 
 for the microscope. Pus, mucus, blood corpuscles, and other delicate 
 Structures for microscopic investigation, may be preserved in a solution 
 of one part of chromic acid to twenty of water. 
 
 The Bichromate of Potassa in saturated solution has been recom- 
 mended as a local application to warts, excrescences, and tubercular 
 elevations; it causes bat little pain, and often removes these growths 
 by absorption without any slough ; or if a slough has formed, it serves 
 to expedite the cure, and is not followed by deep, unmanageable ulcers. 
 Internally, it is emetic and irritant in doses of three-fourths of a grain. 
 In doses of one-fifteenth of a grain, repeated three times daily, it acts 
 as an alterative, and occasionally as a sialagogue, and has been advan- 
 tageously used in syphilis ; gradually increasing the dose to one-third 
 of a grain. It should be used in pill form in combination with some 
 tonic or alterative vegetable extract. 
 
 When this salt is applied in solution to the skin, habitually, it first 
 produces an eruption of papulae, which become pustularj and, provided , 
 the exposure be continued, form deep sloughs under the pustules, of a 
 peculiarly penetrating character. 
 
 A green ink may be made by dissolving 180 grains of bichromate of 
 potassa in onefluidounce of water; add to the solution, while warm, half 
 a fluidounce of spirit of wine, then decompose the mixture with strong 
 sulphuric acid until it assumes a brown color. Evaporate the liquid to 
 6ne*half, l6t it cool, dilute it witb two fluidounces of distilled water and 
 filter it, then add half a fluidounce of spirit of wine, and a few drops of 
 Strong sulphuric acid, and let it stand. After some time the ink assumes 
 a beautiful green color, and is rendered fit for use by the addition of a 
 small quantity of Gum Arabic. 
 
 A Very cheap ink, costing about two or three cents a gallon, may be 
 made by neutralizing a solution of bichromate of potassa with salt of 
 tartar (or until effervescence ceases). Then add a sufS^cient quantity of 
 this to an inftision of logwood, to give it the desired color. This ink, 
 however, is apt to fade, and precipitates from the slightest causes; the 
 smallest proportion of common black ink will cause a precipitate. To 
 render the aboVe ink perfectly permanent, and of a more intense black 
 color, add to it a few drops of a solution of corrosive sublimate. 
 
 ACIDUM: CITEICUM. (Oitronensaure.) 
 
 Citric Acid. 
 
 Sistory.—Gitric Acid is a vegetable abid found in the juices of many 
 kinds of fruit, either free or combined with lime or potassa. The acid 
 of commerce is usually obtained by saturating the juice of Limes or 
 Lemons with Prepared Chalk ; the white powder which falls to the bot- 
 tom (citrate of lime) is separated by filtration, and then washed with 
 warm Water till the water passes off colorless. Dilute Sulphuric Acid 
 is now added to the powder, the mixture boiled for some minutes, and 
 then filtered to separate the resulting sulphate of lime. The liquid is 
 evaporated to the consistence of syrup, and set aside to cool, when crys 
 tals of Citric Acid form. 
 
ACIDUM GA:;LICtJM. 3? 
 
 Chemical Properties.— Citric A-cid crystallizes in colorless, odorless, 
 very sour, transparent, right-rhombic prisms, terminated by four planes, 
 which are not altered by exposure to dry air, and have the sp. grJ 1.617. 
 They are exceedingly soluble in water, requiring 75 parts of cold and 
 50 parts of boiling water to dissolve 100 parts of the acid. The aqueous 
 solution spoils by keeping. They are also soluble in alcohol or ether ; 
 -and combine with alkalies, earths, and metallic oxides. Heated witli 
 nitric acid. Citric Acid becomes converted into the oxalic; also when 
 heated with potassa. Its formula is C12 H5 Oii+3HO=;Ci. Citric Acid 
 is free from sulphuric acid when the deposit caused by the addition of 
 a solution of chloride of barium is insoluble in nitric acid. It may eon- 
 tain tartaric acid as an adulteration, which may be known by cautiously 
 adding to a solution of the suspected Citric Acid a solution of caustic 
 lime ; if tartaric acid be present a white precipitate, tartrate of lime, is 
 formed, which is soluble in a solution of hydrochlorate of ammonia, or 
 a salt of potassa, forming bitartrate of ammonia or potassa. Citric acid 
 may be determined from tartaric acid by boiling the acid in an alka- 
 line solution of permanganate of potassa ; tartaric acid and the tartrates 
 decompose it with a precipitate of peroxide of manganese ; while tke 
 citric acid and citrates do not decompose, but acquire the green colol* 
 peculiar to the manganates. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This acid is used as refrigerant and antiscor- 
 butic, rendering the blood more fluid by lessening its coagulability. In 
 all febrile diseases, a sweetened solution of it will be found a very bene- 
 ficial draught, especially in those cases where the tongue is coated 
 brown or dark ; it may be flavored with a few drops of the essence of 
 lemon. It is likewise beneficial in scurvy, acidity of the stomach, and 
 some peculiar forms of sick headache. It has also been advised in gout 
 and inflammatory rheumatism, but its liability to occasion gastric acid- 
 ity, and increase of uric acid in the urine, are serious objections to its 
 employment in these diseases, aside from the failures that have followed 
 its use on many occasions. A lemonade powder, which will keep for 
 years, if preserved dry, is made by mixing together four ounces of 
 powdered white sugar with three drachms of powdered Citric Acid and 
 two drops of oil of lemon. Half a teaspoon&l of this mixture may be 
 dissolved in a tumbler of water, for a draught. The continued use of 
 Citric Acid disturbs the functions of the digestive organs. It enters 
 intt, the solution of Citrate of Potassa, Citrate of Iron and Quinia, 
 Citrate of Iron, and Citrate of Quinia. 
 
 ACIDUM GALLICUM. (Gallussaure.) 
 
 Gallic Acid. 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Galls, in fine powder, one pound, mix them in 
 a shallow porcelain or glazed dish, with sufficient water to form a thin 
 paste. The mass is to be frequently stirred, and allowed to stand for 
 several months (renewing the water as it evaporates), until the filtered 
 solution of a portion, previously mixed with water, gives no precipitate 
 •with a solution of gelatine ; the temperature at which the mass is kept 
 should be between 60° and 70° F. If, on testing with gelatine solution, 
 only a slight turbidness ensues, this will not be of consequence, as the 
 ' tannic acid present will eventually remain in the mother liquid. The 
 mass is now to be mixed with at least eight times its weight of water, 
 boiled for half an hour, the gray or blackish solution strained through 
 
38 Materia Medica. , 
 
 a thick lineu cloth, and the residue well washed- with hot water. The 
 whole of the filtered liquids are now to be evaporated in the same por- 
 celain vessel, previously cleaned, until of the thickness of syrup ; then 
 mixed with about one-quarter of a pound of finelj'-powdered wood 
 charcoal, and carefully evaporated to dryness. The dried mass is to be 
 powdered and digested in the sand-bath with four times its weight of 
 alcohol, of at least 80 p. ct., filtered while warm, and again digested 
 ivith the same quantity of alcohol ; the filtered yellow alcoholic solutions 
 are mixed with some water, and then distilled from a retort, in order to 
 recover the alcohol. The crystalline pasty mass is rinsed out into a 
 dish, and so much water added that, on heating it, forms a solution, which 
 is to be quickly filtered and placed in the cold. After several days the 
 crystalline mass is pressed, and purified by dissolving several times in 
 hot water and crystallizing. Eather more than one-third of the weight 
 of galls used is thus obtained in G-allic Acid. 
 
 " G-allic Acid does not exist in galls ready formed, but is produced, 
 together with carbonic acid, by the action of the atmospheric oxygen 
 on the tannic acid contained in them. One equivalent of tannic acid 
 absorbs eight equivalents of oxygen, and forms two equivalents of Gallic 
 Acid, six of water, and four of carbonic acid. 2650 parts of tannic acid 
 must, therefore, form 1638 parts of Anhydrous Gallic Acid, or 2363 parts 
 of crystallized acid, combined with three equivalents of water. So much 
 as this is, however, never obtained in practice, because during the di- 
 gestion of the gallnuts with water, a portion of the first formed Gallic 
 Acid becomes converted into a gray or black carbonaceous body. To 
 separate this entirely, the watery extract must be treated with alcohol, 
 in which this foreign body is insoluble, and the charcoal powder is added 
 to dry and powder the extract more readily, as well as to decolorize the 
 product." — Witt. Miller, in his Organic Chemistry, states that G-allic 
 Acid exists ready formed in the gallnut, etc., although the quantity is 
 but small. 
 
 Kent has extracted Gallic Acid from ink by ether. Wetherill pro- 
 cured an abundant crop of Gallic Acid, by adding to tannic acid thir- 
 teen drachms, sulphuric acid twenty-two fluidounces, and quadruple 
 this volume of water ; this mixture was raised to a temperature of 
 212° F., and then set aside for a few days. He supposes that the dif- 
 fercBce between tannic and Gallic Acid consists entirely in the excess 
 of water contained in the former acid. — Am. Jour. Pharm. xx : 12. More 
 recently the opinion has been advanced by some chemists, that galls 
 contain a principle (pectose) which produces the transformation of 
 their tannic acid into gallic. It is not yet satisfactorily determined 
 whether tannic acid contains saccharine matter or not, as stated by 
 Strecker ; but if such should be found the case, it is prabably that the 
 principle in galls, above referred to, occasions a fermentation with the 
 saccharine substance, the decomposition effected thereby resulting in 
 alcohol and carbonic acid, at the same time setting the G-allic Acid 
 free. 
 
 History. — Gallic Acid forms delicate, white, satiny, needle-like crys- 
 tals, odorless, of a sweetish, acid, styptic taste, and which entirely sub- 
 lime when heated, forming the so-called Pyro-gallic acid. Gallic Acid 
 dissolves in one hundred parts of temperate water, but much more 
 readily in hot water, as well as in alcohol ; it is also tolerably soluble 
 in ether. Glycerin dissolves it, and the solution added to water forms 
 a useful local application. Nitrate of silver converts gallic acid into 
 tannic. With bromine, monobromated, or bibromated gallic acid are 
 
AciDUM Htdbiodicum Diltjtum. 39 
 
 formed, according to the quantity of bromine. When acted upon by 
 the atmosphere, gallic acid absorbs oxygen, becomes dark colored, and 
 decomposes. Neither gelatin nor the ferruginous protoxides are affected 
 by it ; but the ferruginous seS(juioxides form a bluish-black precipitate 
 with it. If a solution of gelatine is rendered turbid by it, tannic acid 
 is present. It combines with all bases, and gives in part orystallizable 
 salt ; its formula is H3 Gu H, Om, H^ 02=170+18. 
 
 I)/rogallic Acid forms white, brilliant plates, which possess but little 
 acid properties, are astringent, bitter, inodorous, soluWe in ether, alco- 
 hol, and in three and a half parts of water, give a deep blue color with 
 the protosalts of iron, and absorbs oxygen, which converts it into a dark- 
 brown substance, insoluble in water or alcohol. They fuse at 257° F., 
 and sublime at about 400°. When galls undergo dry distillation, a 
 sublimate and a fluid are formed, which form impure Pyrogallic Acid; 
 this dissolved in distilled water, the solution decolorized by animal char- 
 coal, concentrated by evaporation, and mixed with alcohol and some 
 essential' oil, forms a permanent hair-dye, giving to the hair a dark- 
 brown color ; it must be used with care, as it stains the skin. The for- 
 mula of Pyrogallic Acid is C12 Hg 0^ ; and when it is sublimed it forms 
 Metagallic Acid 0,2 H4 O4 -\- Hj O,. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Gallic Acid is much inferior to tannicacid as a 
 topical astringent ; but, administered internally, it is more powerful as 
 a remote astringent. Indeed, tannic acid, in its passage through the 
 system, becomes changed into Gallic. Acid. As a remote astringent, 
 Gallic Acid has been found very beneficial in uterine, pulmonary, and 
 nephritic hemorrhages. Menorrhagia has promptly ceased under its 
 use. It has also been found useful in night sweats, pyrosis, chronic 
 mucous discharges from the bowels or bladder, and has some reputa- 
 tion in arresting the excretion of albumen in Bright's disease of the 
 kidney. Oostiveness is not produced by its use. Its dose is from three 
 to twenty grains, three times a day, or oftener ; it may be used in the 
 same form as 'tannic acid. Its hydro -glycerine solution may be em- 
 ployed as a wash, gargle, or injection. Pyrogallin or Pyrogallic Acid 
 instantly reduces a solution of argentic nitrate into metallic silver. It 
 is much used in photography to develop the latent image, upon the 
 argentiferous collodion film after it has been exposed to the action of 
 light. It is also employed as a mordant to facilitate the dyeing of hair 
 black with a solution of nitrate of silver. 
 
 ACIDUM: HYDEIODICUM DILUTUM. (lodwasserstoffsaure.) 
 Diluted Hydriodic Acid. (Hydriotsaure.) 
 
 Preparation. — ^Hydriodic Acid, prepared according to the following 
 formula of Dr. A. Buchanan, of Glasgow, is, according to its originator, 
 possessed of all the therapeutical powers of iodine, without its irritat- 
 ing properties. Dissolve 330 grains of Iodide of Potassium in a fluid- 
 ounce and a half of Distilled Water, and to this add 264 grains of Tar- 
 taric Acid, also dissolved in a fluidounce and a half of Distilled Water. 
 When the bitartrate of potassa formed has subsided, filter, and to the 
 filtered liquor add sufficient water to make fifty fiuidi-aohms. 
 
 History. — ^Hydriodic Acid is a colorless gas, having a strong affinity 
 iDr water, with which it forms a transparent, colorless liquid, of an acid 
 taste and suifocating odor ; its specific gravity is 4.385, and its formula 
 HI. The spiscific gravity of the strongest liquid, acid is 1.7 ; of the 
 
40 Materia Medioa. 
 
 officinal dilute acid 1.112. It is decomposed by the air, and gradually 
 becomes darker or red, from dissolving the disengaged iodine. A ccord- 
 ing to the above method a small portion of bitartrate of potassa is held 
 in solution with it, but not enough to render it objectionable. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This acid may, according to Dr. Buchanan, be 
 used in doses of five drops, gradually increased to a flui drachm, in all 
 cases where iodine is indicated. It should be sufficiently diluted with 
 ■^ater, when given, to render it pleasantly acid, and the dose may be 
 repeated two or three times a day. Hy&odic Acid forms salts with 
 the vegetable alkaloids. Sixty drops of the acid is equal to five grains 
 of iodine. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia has, in its last edition, introduced 
 the diluted acid as an officinal article ; it is prepared by passing hydro- 
 sulphuric acid gas through a mixture of five fluidounces of Distilled 
 Water, and thirty grains of Iodine ; when the liquid becomes turbid and 
 deprived of its iodine color, four hundred and fifty grains of Iodine are 
 gradually added with constant agitation, and hydrosulphuric acid gas 
 is again passed through the fluid until it becomes colorless, when it is 
 decanted into a matrass and boiled to drive off the hydrosulphuric acid 
 gas, then filtered to remove sulphur, and enough Distilled Water passed 
 through the filter to make six fluidounces of the dilute acid, which 
 should be ,kept in a well stoppered bottle. The Iodine used must be finely 
 pulverized, and the operation should be carried on in a tall half-pint 
 bottle. The difference between this acid and that formed by Dr. Bu- 
 chanan's process, as given above, is that a purer article is obtained, of 
 double the strength, sixty drops holding ten grains of iodine. When 
 the acid becomes dark colored from disengagement of iodine, it acquires 
 more or less irritant properties according to the amount of iodine set 
 free, in which case to neutralize such property it should be adminis- 
 tered in starch water, or rice water. 
 
 AOrDUM HTDEOCHLOEIOUM. (Salzsaufe.) 
 Hydrochloric Acid. Muriatic Acid. 
 
 Preparation.'—'Rj&vochloric Acid, also called' Spirit of Sea-salt, is ob> 
 tained from chloride of sodium by the decomposing power of sulphuric 
 acid, which unites with the soda to form sulphate of soda, and at the 
 same time liberates the hydrochloric acid in the form of gas ; and this' 
 is passed into vessels containing water, which absorbs 480 times its 
 volume of the gas and forms the liquid acid. 
 
 Chemical Properties. — ^Hydrochloric acid is a colorless, invisible, pun- 
 gent gas, forming white fumes in the air, in consequence of its affinitj 
 for aqueous vapor. When in solution, it is a transparent fluid, of a pun- 
 gent smell and taste, evolves acid fumes in the air, and varies in specific 
 gravity from 1.11 to 1.21. If the acid has a yellow color, this is due to 
 the presence of some organic matter, though it is usually attributed to 
 iron ; but sufficient of this metal is never present alone to cause it. Iron 
 may be detected by supersaturing the acid with ammonia, when the 
 hydrated oxide of iron will be thrown down in Ijrown flocks. If the 
 ammonia does not throw down a flocculent brown precipitate, instan- 
 taneously, let the liqtiid stand in the test-tube for an hour, and then add 
 Bulphuret of ammonium, when the black sulphuret of iron will be formed. 
 Tannic acid will produce a violet or bluish-blacli; tannate of iron. If 
 the acid is reddish, selenium, is present. When sulphuric acid is in com- 
 bination with the Hydrochloric, a solution of nntrate of baryta added 
 
AciDUM Htdrooyanicum. 41 
 
 to the suspected acid diluted with five or six times its volume of water, 
 will cause a heavy white precipitate of sulphate of baryta, which is in- 
 soluble in nitric acid. Sometimes chlorine exists in the acid in a free 
 state ; it colors the liquid yellow, and may be detected by its decolor- 
 izing a solution of sulphate of indigo, and also by its enabling the acid 
 to dissolve leaf-gold. If to the solution containing the gold a solution 
 of protoChloride of tin be added, a purplish-red precipitate is formed. 
 Sulphurous acid is detected by protochloride of tin, which, after some 
 time, yields a yellow, then a brown precipitate of sulphuret of tin ; or, 
 place a piece of pure zinc into the acid and conduct the gas evolved 
 into a solution of acetate of lead, when a black precipitate will be 
 formed. Lead may be detected by the black precipitate "occasioned 
 when sulphureted hydrogen is passed into the acid. Arsenic may be 
 ascertained, when present, by Marsh's test. The formula for Hydro- 
 chloric Acid is H 01=36.5 or 456.25. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Concentrated Hydrochloric Acid is occasionally 
 ased as a topical application to cancrum oris, some obstinate ulcers of 
 the tongue in certain syphilitic and mercurio-syphilitic diseases, in 
 phagedenic ulceration and also in chilblains or frost-bites. Internally, 
 it is always DILUTED, so as to reduce its specific gravity to about 1.038 
 and which may be eifected by adding one fluidounce of tte strong acid 
 to three fluidounces of distilled water. The dose of this diluted Hy- 
 drochloric Acid varies from ten drops to a fluidrachm, which should be 
 added to four or six fluidounces of water, and sucked through a quill 
 or glass tube, to prevent its injuring the teeth. The dilute acid has 
 been used as a gargle for elongated uvula, aphthse, and sore-throat of 
 scarlatina. Internally it has been administered in typhus and typhoid 
 febrile diseases, malignant scarlet tever, some forms of dyspepsia, and 
 in torpor of the liver ; also as a tonic in cases of phosphatic urine. 
 
 Chalk, whiting, magnesia, soap, and oil are the antidotes to poison- 
 ous doses of Hydrochloric Acid, combating the gastro- enteritis in the 
 usual way. According to Prof. Maisch, sulphuretted hydrogen is a 
 direct antidote to the poisonous effects of the inhalation of Chlorine. 
 
 It enters into the Nitro -Muriatic' Acid ; Chloride of Calcium ; Muri- 
 ate of Morphia; Muriate of Quinia; Tincture of Chloride of Iron; 
 Ointment of Muriatic Acid ; and Cyanuret of Potassium. 
 
 ACIDTJM HYDEOCTAlSriOUM. (Cyanwasserstoffsanre.) 
 Hydrocyanic Acid. Prussic Acid. Cyano-hydric Acid. — Blausaure. 
 
 Preparation. — " Dilute Sulphuric Acid one ounce and a Half with 
 Distilled Water four fluidounces in a tubulated glass retort, and when 
 cooled, add Ferrocyanuret of Potassium two ounces, dissolved in Dis- 
 tilled Water ten fluidounces. Pour Distilled Water eight fluidounces into 
 a cooled receiver, and having adapted this to the retort, with a gentle 
 sand-bath heat distil six fluidounces. Dilute the product with Jive or 
 six fluidounces more of water, or so that 100 grains shall exactly satu- 
 rate 12.7 grains of nitrate of silver dissolved in distilled water, and 
 which forms the medicinal DILUTE HTDEOCYANIC ACID. 
 
 " Dilute Hydrocyanic Acid may also be prepared, where it is to be 
 more quickly used, by agitating in a close vial nine grains and a half of 
 Cyanide of Silver, nine minims of diluted Hydrochloric Acid, and cne 
 fluidounce of Distilled Water, and then pouring off the clear liquid 
 after a short interval. This acid ought to be kept excluded from the 
 
42 MaTEEIA M.EDICA. 
 
 light." — Lond. The U. S. Pharm. differs from the above only by mixing 
 41 grains Hydrochloric Acid, with a fluidounce of Distilled Water, then 
 adding 51J grains of Cyanide of Silver. The result is the same. 
 
 There are several other modes of preparing the medicinal Hydro- 
 cyanic Acid, but those given above, from the London Pharmacopoeia, 
 will be found to yield a pretty good article. According to Mr. Everitt, 
 six equivalents or 294 parts of sulphuric acid react on two equivalents 
 or 426 parts of crystallized ferrocyanuret of potassium [composed of 4 
 eqs. cyanide of potassium, 2 cyanide of iron, and 6 of water], and pro- 
 duce three equivalents or 384 parts of the bisulphate of potassa, three 
 equivalents or 81 parts of Hydrocyanic Acid, one equivalent or 174 
 parts of a new salt (biferrocyanuret of potassium), and nine equivalents 
 or 81 parts of water. The bisulphate and the new salt remain in the 
 retort, ^while the Hydrocyanic Acid with some water distil over. In 
 the above formula an additional quantity of water is employed to- 
 assist the condensation of the acid. — P. 
 
 "Wittstein gives the following formula for Dilute Hydrocyanic Acid, 
 which forms quite a permanent acid, one that may be freely exposed 
 to the light for ten or twelve weeks without any apparent change : To 
 sixteen ounces of distilled water add four ounces of ferrocyanide of 
 potassium; when dissolved, add a mixture, cold, of twelve ounces alco- 
 hol sp. gr. 0.840, with three ounces sulphuric acid. Let this mixture 
 stand for twenty-four hours, with occasional agitation. By means of 
 a strainer separate the crystalline precipitate, introduce the clear 
 liquid into a retort which has an inch in depth of its bottom covered 
 with clean quartz sand, in order to check the thumping during the 
 distillation, and distil off twenty fluidounces. Eeduce the distillate to 
 the proper strength by the appropriate tests. 
 
 Chemical Sistory. — Concentrated or anhydrous Hydrocyanic Acid is 
 not used in medicine. The medicinal acid is a clear fluid, having a 
 peculiar, penetrating, diffusive odor, and a peculiar, rather disagree 
 able taste. It is very poisonous, is very volatile, imparts a slight red 
 tinge to litmus paper which is not permanent, and is decomposed by 
 the action of light, giving rise to -a black substance, paracyanogen. 
 Vials in which it is placed should be well stopped, and covered with 
 some dark, opaque varnish, paint, or other substance which will ex- 
 clude the light. If the acid strongly reddens litmus it contains some 
 other acid ; if it be sulphuric acid, a solution of nitrate of baryta, which 
 occasions no precipitate in the pure acid, will yield a white deposit of 
 sulphate of baryta, insoluble in nitric acid. If hydrochloric acid be 
 present, nitrate of silver forms a white deposit of chloride of silver 
 insoluble in boiling nitric acid, whereas the white cyanide of silver is 
 soluble in nitric acid at 212°. These acids are objectionable only inas- 
 much as they render it difficult to determine the strength of the Hydro- 
 cyanic Acid. The formula of Hydrocyanic Acid is Cj IT H=H Cy. 
 
 Hydrocyanic Acid may be known : 1. By its peculiar odor ; 2. by 
 its forming Prussian blue when, after having accurately saturated it 
 with caustic potassa, a solution of sulphate, or tincture of muriate of 
 iron is added to it, and to the precipitate thus procured some dilute 
 sulphuric or hydrochloric acid be added ; 3. the white precipitate of 
 cyanide of silver, caused by the addition of a solution of nitrate of 
 silver, is 'soluble in boiling concentrated nitric acid; 4. when the sus- 
 pected acid, is small in quantity, place the article in which it is sup- 
 posed to exist, in a small watch-glass, and over the top of this accu- 
 rately adjust a larger one, in the center of which has been placed a 
 
AOIDUM HYDROOrANICTJM. 43 
 
 drop or two of a solution of hydrosulphate of ammonia containing an 
 excess of sulphur. In three or four minutes remove the upper watch- 
 glass, and gently dry the moistened spot over a spirit lamp, which will 
 leave a white film ; moisten this with a drop of water, and then allow 
 a drop of solution of persulphate or perchloride of iron to fall upon it, 
 if the Hydrocyanic Acid was present in the suspected substance a 
 blood-red liquid appears, which color is removed by the addition of 
 one or two drops of corrosive sublimate. — P. The following is Schon- 
 bein's test for the millionth part of a drop of Hydrocyanic Acid in 
 water, or in vapor in the atmosj)here : Dissolve 3 grammes (46^ troy 
 grains) of guaiac resin in 100 grammes (1543J^ tr. grains) of rectified 
 alcohol. Moisten enough filtering paper in this solution to absorb the 
 whole of it ; the paper should remain white. Also make a solution of 
 sulphate of copper 1 decigramme (1| tr. grains), to 50 grammes (771f 
 tr. grains) of distilled water. When it is desired to use this test, cut 
 off a small strip of this paper, moisten it with the solution of sulphate 
 of copper, and place it in contact with the suspected fluid or vapor, 
 and if Hydrocyanic Acid be present, the paper becomes blue instantly. 
 
 Hydrocyanic Acid is incompatible with the mineral acids, the salts of 
 iron, the sulphurets, chlorine, the oxides of mercury, of antimony, 
 nitrate of silver, etc. Light decomposes it, hence it should always be 
 kept in bottles that are darkened or covered so as to prevent the rays 
 of light from passing into them. In using* this acid medicinally, care 
 should always be taken to procure the dilute preparation. Scheele's 
 medicinal hydrocyanic acid is stronger than the officinal dilute acid of 
 the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, as 2 is to 5. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Hydrocyanic Acid is a very active and power- 
 ful poison, often causing instant death ; but when diluted it has been 
 employed in medicine as a sedative to subdue spasm, and allay nervous 
 irritability. It has been used to relieve severe vomiting and purging, 
 to check colliquative diarrhea, to cure pertussis and spasmodic coughs, 
 asthma, hysteria, chorea, dyspepsia connected with morbid irritability 
 of the stomach, etc.; also externally in several diseases of the skin. 
 It has likewise been found beneficial in the cough of 'consumptives, 
 cardiac palpitations, hypertrophy of the heart, and in difficult breath- 
 ing. But, from its volatility, its variability of strength, and its prone- 
 ness to decomposition, it will very frequently disappoint the expecta- 
 tions of the practitioner, either by inducing fatal symptoms, or being 
 wholly inert. The dose of the dilute acid is from one to five drops in 
 water, mucilage, or syrup. , • 
 
 In cases of poisoning by Hydrocyanic Acid, there is seldom time to 
 administer an antidote ; but when life is not extinct, we may confi- 
 dently rely on the antidotes we possess. The best is that proposed in 
 the Lancet for 1844, vol. II., p. 41, by Messrs. T. & H. Smith, of Edin- 
 burgh, viz : In a fluidounce or two of water, dissolve carbonate of 
 potassa twenty grains, and cause the patient to swallow it ; and, im- 
 mediately following this, administer a solution of protosulphate of iron 
 ten grains, tincture of chloride of iron a fluidrachm, in a fluidounce of 
 water. This will convert about two grains of the strong acid into an 
 insoluble Prussian blue. While these are being prepared, the symp- 
 toms already produced will be best combated by ammonia inspired 
 from a sponge, -or taken, diluted, internally ; by chlorine water, used 
 by inhalation, and internally, in teaspoonful doses, diluted with water ; 
 cold affusion, dashing the .water more especially on the head and along 
 the spinal column ; and also artificial respiration. 
 
44 Materia Medica. 
 
 ACIDTJM LACTICUM. (Milchsaure.) 
 Lactic Acid. 
 
 Preparation. — To six pints of Milk, add eight ounces of Bicarbonate 
 of Soda. Expose it to the air for some days, till it becomes sour, and 
 saturate it with more Soda. Eepeat this as often as it becomes acid. 
 Eoil, filter, and evaporate to the consistence of syrup, and digest with 
 Alcohol. Filter the solution, and add Sulphuric Acid as long as it 
 occasions a precipitate. Again filter, and concentrate the clear solu- 
 tion by evaporation, till its density is 1.215. 
 
 Another mode of preparing this acid is, according to A. Beusch, to 
 dissolve Oane-Sugar six pounds, and Tartaric Acid half an ounce, in 
 Boiling Water twenty-six pounds, and set it aside for some days ; upon 
 this, old stinking Cheese eight ounces, well diffused in curdled acid 
 Milk from which the cream has been removed, are to be added to the 
 above mixture along with finely-powdered Chalk three pounds, the 
 whole to be kept in a warm place, so that the temperature of the liquor 
 shall be from 86° to 95°. It must be well stirred several times every 
 day; in the course of from eight to ten days the entire mass will 
 solidify to a stiff paste of lactate of lime ; to this paste are to be added. 
 Boiling Water twenty pounds, and Caustic Lime half an ounce, then 
 boil for half an hour, and filter through a linen bag. The liquid is 
 then to be evaporated to the consistency of a syrup, and set aside for 
 four days, in which time the lactate of lime will separate in a granular 
 crystalline form ; it must then be expressed, agitated with one-tenth 
 its weight of cold water, again submitted to pressure, and this opera- 
 tion to be repeated two or three times. 
 
 The lactate of lime, after being expressed as well as possible, is dis- 
 solved in twice its weight of Boiling Water ; and for every pound of 
 expressed lactate of lime, three and a half ounces of Sulphuric Acid 
 previously diluted with its weight of Water, must be added to the 
 solution. The hot liquid is to be immediately filtered from the pre- 
 cipitated gypsum, through a conical bag, then boiled with Carbonate 
 of Zinc one and three-eighth pounds for every pound of sulphuric acid 
 which has been used ; it must not be boiled longer than a quarter of 
 an hour, if over this time, a very insoluble basic salt is formed. The 
 solution, filtered boiling hot, soon deposits perfectly colorless lactate of 
 zinc in crystalline crusts, which may be obtained perfectly free from 
 sulphuric acid by rinsing with cold water. The mother-lye is to be 
 again- boiled with any of the salt which may have remained on the 
 strainer, or concentrated by evaporation. It yields nearly to the last 
 drop, perfectly white lactate of zinc. 
 
 To separate the Lactic Acid from this salt, dissolve it in seven and 
 one-half parts of Boiling Water, pass a current of Sulphuretted Hydro- 
 gen into the hot liquid until it has become cold and no ftirther separa- 
 tion of sulphuret of zino can be perceived. The liquid filtered from 
 the sulphuret of zinc is to be boiled to expel the excess of sulphuretted 
 hydrogen, and then evaporated in a water-bath to the consistence of 
 syrup. Bight parts of lactate of zinc yield, in this manner, five parts 
 of perfectly pure Lactic Acid. 
 
 The separation of the Lactic Acid may likewise be accomplished by 
 adding barytic water, which produces lactate of baryta, and precipi- 
 tates the oxide of zinc; th'e addition of sulphuric acid removes the 
 baryta, and the filtered liquid is pure diluted Lactic Acid, which must 
 be concentrated by evaporation, in vacuo. 
 
ACIDDM NiTRICUM. 45 
 
 The ucid of sour-krout is Lactic Acid, and by boiling it with carbon- 
 ate of zinc, lactate of zinc may be obtained. 
 
 Chemical and Medical Properties. — ^Hydrated Lactic Acid (G^ Hj O5 -f 
 HO=90), is a clear, thick fluid, of a very strong but pleasant acid 
 taste, no odor unless heated, non-crystalline, and when dry forms a 
 smooth varnish which gradually absorbs moisture from the air. It is 
 soluble in water, forms soluble salts with the bases, coagulates albu- 
 men, and has the sp. gr. 1.215. According to Gregory, the hydrate is 
 decomposed at 482° P., and yields a solid crystalline sublimate, 
 Cg H4 O4, which has been called anhydrous or sublimed Lactic Acid ; 
 this compound dissolves readily in hot water, and the solution if 
 evaporated yields the original hydrate. The hydrated acid is inodor- 
 ous, attracts moisture when exposed to the air, and is dissolved in all 
 proportions by water or alcohol. It quickly dissolves oxalate of lime, 
 and phosphate of lime, especially that which is contained in the bones, 
 and hence has been recommended in oxalic and phosphatie urinary 
 deposits. It is not employed in medicine in its uncombined state, but 
 is used in the preparations of Lactate of Iron and Lactate of Quinia. 
 According to Pereira this acid was introduced into medicine by Ma- 
 gendie, who suggested its employment in dyspepsia, and in phos- 
 phatie urine. It has recently been advised in gout. The dose is from 
 half a drachm to two drachms, in sweetened water, or in the form of 
 lozenges. It is better to take the acid during or immediately follow-, 
 ing meals. Added to pepsin, as prejjared foi- therapeutical use, this 
 acid renders it still more valuable as a solvent of the food received into 
 the stomach. According to Bricheteau and Adrian, the false mem- 
 branes of diphtheritis, croup, pseudo-membranous bronchitis, etc., 
 are soluble in a solution of lactic acid, forming a translucent liquid 
 with almost imperceptible fragments of a gelatiniform substance float- 
 ing upon its surface and looking like froth ; while acetic, citric, formic, 
 and chromic acids have no such action. They recommend in croup, 
 diphtheritis, etc., a gargle composed of Lactic Acid five parts, water 
 100 parts, and orange syrup 30 parts ; in conjunction with the use of 
 the same, minus the syrup, in the form of spray thrown upon the 
 aflfected parts. 
 
 ACIDUM NITEICTJM. (Saltpetersaure.) 
 Mtric Acid. Azotic Acid. Aqua Portis. 
 
 Preparation. — Mtric Acid is generally procured by submitting to 
 distillation either Mtrate of Potassa or of Soda with Sulphuric Acid — 
 the soda or potassa unites with the sulphuric acid to form a sulphate, 
 while the Nitric Acid is liberated in the form of gas, which is passed 
 into a vessel of water, this fluid absorbing it and acquiring acid prop- 
 erties. According to Deville, dry or uncombined Mtric Acid may be 
 obtained by decomposing dry nitrate of silver by dry chlorine gas. It 
 forms large, brilliant; colorless crystals, belonging to the right-rhombic 
 prismatic system, which fuse at 85°, boil at 113° F., have the formula 
 NOj, and equivalent weight 54 or 675., 
 
 Chemical History. — Mtric Acid is met with of various strengths, as 
 follows : 
 
 1. The most concentrated or Monohydrate, qalled also Hydrate of Nitric 
 Acid, Nitrate of Water, etc., is a transparent and colorless fluid, of an 
 intensely acid, corrosive taste, and emitting gray fumes of an irritating, 
 peculiar odor. From the presence of hyponitric acid it is commonly 
 
46 Materia Medica. 
 
 of a deep golden yellow color, but this acid may be dissipated and the 
 Nitric Acid rendered colorless by boiling. The fumes arise from the 
 great eagerness of the acid to seize more water ; so soon as the acid 
 vapors meet with aqueous vapors in the air, they condense, and com- 
 bine with them, forming very minute drops of water and acid. These 
 fames redden litmus, and become white when mixed with ammoniacal 
 vapor, forming nitrate of ammonia. Nitric Acid boils at 248°, con- 
 cretes at — 50° P., and is of sp. gr. varying from 1.50 to 1.54. It is 
 easily deoxidized, evolving oxygen and developing nitrous acii, as 
 known by its yellowish or brownish color, when exposed to the action 
 of light. Nitric Acid decomposes vegetable and animal tissues, and 
 communicates a permanent yellow stain (xanthoproteic acid) to the 
 skin', which becomes orange-colored on the addition of alkaline soap. 
 The facility with which it parts with a portion of its oxygen to all 
 combustible or oxidizable bodies, renders it an energetic oxidizing 
 agent, and very useful in effecting decomposition of organic matters, 
 and chemico-solutions of metals. When combined with hydrochloric 
 acid, it forms Nitro-hydrochloric acid or Aqua Eegia, in which liquid 
 gold is soluble. Nitric Acid changes morphia to a red or yellow color, 
 and is itself changed to a blood-red color by the addition of brucia. 
 When left open to the air, it absorbs moisture and becomes weakened. 
 Its formula is N054-HO, and its equivalent 63.268. Its most important 
 salts are the nitrates of potassa, soda, silver, strontia, copper, lead, 
 mercury, etc. 
 
 Nitric Acid is found in both the organized and inorganized world in 
 combination with soda, potassa, lime or magnesia, as in the juices and 
 tissues of vegetables, in earths, mineral waters, etc., and is found in 
 rain-water after a thunder-storm. 
 
 2. Concentrated Nitric Acid, or Second Hydrate, has a sp. gr. varying 
 from 1.42 to 1.45. Concentrated Nitric Acid is more corrosive than 
 the preceding kind, giving out its oxygen more readily; it congeals 
 into a dark red mass at — 56° 2', P. 
 
 3. Double Aqua Fortis is an impure Nitric Acid, containing nitric and 
 hyponitrous acids, and is used by jewelers and color-makers ; its sp. 
 gr. is 1.36. 
 
 4. Single Aqua Fortis is principally employed by dyers for dissolving 
 tin; it is still weaker than the preceding, having the sp. gr. 1.22 to 
 1.25. 
 
 Pure nitric acid ought to be entirely volatile ; and when diluted with 
 distilled water, to give no precipitate with the salts of baryta or of 
 silver. Its presence in a liquid is best ascertained by adding at least 
 one-fourth its volume of pure sulphuric acid, and then, when the mix- 
 ture is cold, a drop or two of solution of protosulphate^of iron ; if Nitric 
 Acid be present, a purplish or brownish color will appear when the 
 two liquids meet — and, by this test, ^^fjnr °f Nitric Acid may be de- 
 tected ; or, put into a watch-glass one cubic centimeter (16-^ minims) of 
 pure, concentrated sulphuric acid, to which we add, drop by drop, 
 half a cubic centimeter of sulphate of anilin, made by adding 10 drops 
 of commercial anilin to 50 cubic centimeters (1 fl. oz. 5J fl.. drms.) of 
 sulphuric acid diluted with six parts of water. Moisten a glass rod 
 with the liquid suspected of containing nitric acid, and stir the aniline 
 liquid with it; then blow upon the surface of the liquid, and red streaks 
 will be observed, darker in proportion to the nitric acid present, and 
 gradually the whole liquid will become reddened. This test is very 
 delicate, and will detect nitric acid in sulphuric acid, or in rain-watei 
 
ACIDUM NiTRICUM. 47 
 
 just fallen. Vice versa, sulphate of aniline may be detected by nitric 
 acid. — Braun. 
 
 Mtric Acid is frequently rendered impure by the presence of sul- 
 phuric, hydrochloric, or nitrous acids. The latter imparts to it a yel- 
 low or orange color, and may be removed by boiling the acid. Sul- 
 phuric acid may be detected by diluting the nitric acid with eight times 
 its volume of distilled water, and then adding a few drops of solution 
 of chloride of barium, which will give a white precipitate, if sulphuric 
 acid be present. If a solution of nitrate of silver be used, instead of 
 the barium, it will give a white precipitate, if hydrochloric acid be pre- 
 sent. Sometimes, when those foreign acids are not present in large 
 quantity, instead of a precipitate, a mere white cloud will be observad, 
 in either of the above cases. Occasionally, iodine is contained in the 
 acid of commerce, which may be detected by adding a carbonated alkali 
 to the acid, to saturation, then adding a small quantity of a solution of 
 starch, and, lastly, three or four drops of sulphuric acid, which will 
 produce a blue tinge if iodine be present. 
 
 "When Nitric Acid is added to a solution of glue, it prevents it from 
 forming a jelly, and makes what is called a liquid glue, which is very 
 convenient for cabinet-makers, joiners, paste-board workers, toy- 
 makers, etc., inasmuch as it is applied cold. The liquid glue is made 
 by taking two and one-fifth pounds of good glue, and dissolving it in 
 two and one-ninth pints of water, in a glazed pot over a gentle fire, or, 
 still better, in the water-bath, stirring it from time to time. "When all 
 the glue is melted, pour in, in small quantities at a time, of nitric acid 
 specific gravity 1.32, seven ounces avoirdupois. This addition pro- 
 duces an effervescence, owing to the disengagement of hyponitrous 
 acid. When all the acid is added, remove the vessel from the fire, and 
 allow it to cool. This preparation preserves nearly all the primitive 
 qualities of the glue, may be kept in an open vessel for years, without 
 undergoing any change, and will be found very convenient in chemical 
 operations ; gases may be preserved by it, by covering strips of linen 
 with it. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^Nitric Acid is a corrosive poison, and is never 
 used internally, unless very much diluted. DILUTED NITEIC ACID 
 is made as follows : " Take of Nitric Acid (the second hydrate) three 
 fluidounces; Distilled Wa,tev fifteen fluidounces, or enough to make a pint 
 of Diluted Acid of specific gravity 1.068. One fluidounce of this mix- 
 ture is saturated by 154 grains of crystallized carbonate of soda. Its 
 dose is from ten to fifty drops in four or six fluidounces of water ; it 
 should be sucked through a quill or glass-tube, to prevent its injuring 
 the teeth, and the mouth should be rinsed with an alkaline solution 
 immediately after each dose. Internally, it is refrigerant, expectorant, 
 and antisyphilitic." A refreshing acidulous draught is formed by 
 making a very dilute, sweetened, solution of Nitric Acid, which is use- 
 ful in fevers, especially when there is a disposition to prostration or 
 putrescenoy; it has likewise been recommended in hepatic and syphi- 
 litic affections. Dr. Gibbs recommends the following mixture as very 
 valuable in hooping-cough : Take of diluted Nitric Acid twelve fluid- 
 rachms; compound tincture of Cardamon, three fluidrachms; simple 
 Syrup, three and a half fluidounces ; "Water, one fluidounce. Mix, 
 For a child one or two years old, a teaspoonful may be given every 
 hour or two, washing the mouth out immediately after with some alka- 
 line solution, to prevent the teeth from being injured. He says the 
 i«cid supplies the blood with nitrogen, which neutralizes the excess of 
 
48 Materia M.edioa. 
 
 fibrin that exists in the blood in hooping-cough. Ten or twenty drops 
 of the acid added to a pint of water, forms a useful wash for sloughing 
 and other' ill-conditioned ulcers, and in various chronic eruptions, 
 porrigo of the scalp, etc. Concentrated JSTitric Acid has been used 
 externally for several purposes, as the destruction of warts, cauteriza- 
 tion of poisoned wounds, and in phagedenic ulcerations, in which the 
 acid should be brought in contact with the living surface. I have 
 also found it very useful in removing pterygium, and ulceration of 
 08 uteri, fistula in ano, syphilitic ulceration of the throat, etc., applied 
 fiaily, or every two or three days, by means of a pine wood porte- 
 caustic, first introduced to the profession by Prof A. J. Howe, M. D. 
 
 In the treatment of piles. Nitric Acid is said to be very eflScacious; 
 the small tumors may be destroyed by a single application of it, while 
 the larger may require two or three applications. If the tumors can 
 not be extruded from the anus, a speculum must be used. The acid 
 may be applied by a bit of sponge not larger than a grain of wheat, 
 attached to a gold or glass probe. The severe pain which usually fol- 
 lows may be relieved by njorphia exhibited internally, and lard, or 
 opiate suppositories applied locally. If too much acid has been applied, 
 extending to contiguous parts, and causing unnecessary pain, it may 
 be neutralized by applying a piece of sponge or cotton, 8a,turated with 
 soda or potassa. Dr. Dixon expresses a hope, grounded on the success- 
 ful results of its application, that all cases of piles may thus be cured, 
 with greater certainty than by excision or ligation. 
 
 For several years past I have used Nitric Acid as a local application 
 to chancre in hundreds of instances, and have not yet heard of any 
 return of the disease, either in a secondary or tertiary form. It must 
 be applied while the chdncre is in the pustular form, and unbroken, 
 and before the virus is acted upon by the oxygen of the atmosphere, 
 iand, consequently, previous to its absorption in the system. As soon 
 as the pustule is discovered, the physician will open it, and apply sev- 
 eral drops of undiluted Nitric Acid to it, thus destroying the virus at 
 once, and curing the disease in a few minutes. The pain occasioned is 
 hardly noticed by some patients. Sometimes, I subsequently wash the 
 ulcer with the muriated tincture of iron, which is one of the best local 
 applications to a chancre with which I am acquainted. No other 
 treatment is required, unless for the purpose of allaying the patient's 
 fears. Since having introduced this employment of the acid to the pro- 
 fession, many have employed it, and uniformly with successful results. 
 Hope's mixture for diarrhea and dysentery is composed as follows: 
 Nitrous Acid (or Double Aqua Fortis), half a fluidraehm; Camphor 
 Water, four fluidounoes ; mix, and add Laudanum forty minims. The 
 dose is a tablespoonful every two hours. 
 
 When swallowed internally, without dilution. Nitric Acid proves 
 fatal; the same means may be employed to counteract its effects, ae 
 named for hydr9chloric acid. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Acidum Nitro-muriaticum ; Acidum Nitricum Dilutum; 
 Spiritus MtheviB Nitrici ; Unguentum Acldi Nitrici. 
 
 ACIDUM NITEOHYDEOCHLOEICUM. (Saltpetersalzsaure.) 
 
 Nitrohydrochloric Acid. 
 
 NiTROMTJRiATio ACID. AQUA EEGiA. — Kmnigswosser. 
 
 Freparation. — The usual form for preparing this acid is to combine 
 
 one part, by measure, of Nitric Acid, with two parts of Hydrochloric 
 
ACIDUM OXALICUM. 49 
 
 Acid ; but as I introduce it here merely because- it enters into the for 
 mula for the White Liquid Physic, given below, I will state that, in this 
 instance, it should be made ■oi equal parts of Nitric and Muriatic Acids. 
 
 This acid promptly dissolves gold, and, as it readily parts with its 
 chlorine, it, together with its preparations, should always be preserved 
 in close bottles. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Similar to the above mineral, acids. Bathing 
 with a dilute solution of this acid, say one part of acid to six of water, 
 is asserted to have cured several cases of obstinate constipation. Dose, 
 i.hree or four drops, sufficiently diluted. 
 
 A preparation has been highly recommended called White Liquid 
 Physic, or Dow's Physic. — It is made as follows : Take Sulphate of Soda, 
 half a pound ; "Water, one and a half pints ; dissolve, and then add Ni- 
 tromuriatic Acid, two fiuidounces, Powdered Alum, one drachm and eight 
 grains. 
 
 This preparation is used as a cooling purgative ; also to allay nausea 
 and vomiting — for colic, hepatic diseases, oxaluria, diarrhea, etc. 
 Given by some as a substitute for mercury. In intermittent fever, 
 given in laxative doses, it has proved highly beneficial, especially 
 when occurring in broken-down constitutions, and has cured the most 
 obstinate cases of dysentery. Dose, one tablespoonful in a gill of 
 water, three times a day; or, in dysentery, given every hour, until it 
 slightly operates on the bowels, after which, every three or four hours. 
 In order to protect the teeth from the action of the acid, in this prepa- 
 ration, each dose should be sucked through a straw, reed, or glass 
 tube ; and, immediately after the dose has been swallowed, the mouth 
 should be rinsed once or twice with a solutioti of saleratus, or super- 
 carbonate of soda in water. The above is the original recipe, and the 
 addition of sanguinaria, etc., are uncalled for. ' 
 
 A preparation which is highly recommended for the cure of corns, 
 warts, cancers, etc.. Dr. Bleeker's remedy, is said to be a compound of 
 nitro-muriatic acid and cobalt. 
 
 Diluted Niteo-Mueiatio Acid is prepared by mixing together six 
 fiaiidrachvns of Nitric Acid and ten fluidrachms of Hydrochloric Acid, and, 
 after the mixture has stood for 24 hours with occasional agitation, add- 
 ing enough Distilled Water to make eight fluid ounces of Diluted Acid ; 
 the dose of which varies from five to twenty -five minims, largely diluted 
 with water, and repeated two or three times daily. 
 
 ACIDUM OXALICUM. (Oxalsaure.) 
 
 Oxalic Acid. (Kleesaure.) 
 
 History. — Oxalic Acid was discovered by Scheele, and is met with in 
 the organic, as well as in the inorganic kingdoms. In plants it is gen- 
 erally met with in combination with lime or potassa ; rhubarb, rumex 
 acetosa, oxalis acetosella, etc., contain the oxalate of potassa ; rhubarb 
 also contains oxalate of lime, as likewise do many lichens, and, in the 
 human being, it forms the mulberry calculus, a form of gravel frequently 
 met with. It may also be formed artificially by the action of nitric acid 
 on sugar, starch, gum; wool, and many other organic compounds, which 
 are free from nitrogen. Berthelot has obtained it synthetically from 
 acetylene, ethylene, propylene, and allylene, by oxidation with perman- 
 ganate of potassa. 
 4 
 
50 Materia Medica. 
 
 Preparation. — There are several methods by jvhich Oxalic Acid may 
 be procured, the following are considered among the best: 1. Gently 
 heat one part of pure Starch with eight parts of Nitric Acid of sp. gr. 
 1.20 or 1.25. A powerful reaction ensues with an evolution of red 
 nitrous acid vapors; when this diminishes, heat must be applied, and 
 continued until no more red vapors are given off; if sufficiently evap- 
 orated, a large quantity of crystals of hydrated oxalic acid are depos- 
 ited as the liquid cools. These are dried on a porous tile, then dissolved 
 in a little Hot Water, and pure Oxalic Acid is deposited as the solution 
 cools. The mother liquor remaining after the first deposit of crystals 
 contains much free nitric acid, saccharic acid, and other products. 
 2. Digest one pint of sugar dried at 212° P., with 8.25 pints of Nitric 
 Acid of sp. gr. 1.38. Evaporate the mixture to a sixth, and leave to 
 crystallize. This process requires but an hour or two, and yields from 
 50 to 60 per cent of handsome crystals. 3. Add 144 parts of Nitric Acid 
 (made by mixing the acid of commerce with ten parts of water), very 
 gradually and portionwise, to 24 parts of Starch, and after the reaction 
 ceases, apply gentle heat. When nitrous vapors cease, set aside to crys- 
 tallize. This process yields 12 parts of acid. Upon further treatment 
 with nitric acid, the mother liquor will yield more. 4. An ingenious 
 and economical method of manufacturing Oxalic Acid from Sawdust 
 has been made known by Mr. Dale, of England. It is as follows : Two 
 equivalents of soda, and one equivalent of potassa, are mixed together, 
 dissolved in water, and the solution evaporated until it has a sp. gr. 
 , 1.35, when enough Sawdust is to be stirred in to form a thick paste. 
 This paste is heated on iron plates, being constantly stirred. At first, 
 water escapes ; the mass then swells ; inflammable gases, hydrogen, and 
 earburetted hydrogen are evolved, along with a peculiar aromatic odor. 
 When the temper^ure has been maintained at 400° for an hour or two, 
 this stage of the process is complete. The mass has a dark color, con- 
 tains from 1 to 4 per cent, of oxalic acid, and about 0.5 per cent, of 
 formic ; the balance of the mass consists of an unknown substance, 
 which is intermediate between the cellulose and oxalic acid. The next 
 stage consists in heating the mass till quite dry, being carefiil that no 
 charring takes place ; a gray powder is formed, containing from 28 to 
 30 per cent, of oxalic acid, in combination with the soda and potassa. 
 The gray powder is now washed on a filter with solution of carbonate 
 of soda, which decomposes the oxalate of potassa, and converts it into 
 oxalate of soda, which is decomposed by boiling milk of lime, oxalate 
 'of lime being precipitated, while the soda remains in solution. The 
 oxalate of lime being placed in leaden vessels, is treated with sulphuric 
 acid, which precipitates the lime, and leaves the oxalic acid in solution, 
 which may be obtained in crystals by evaporation. The soda left in 
 solution after the addition of milk of lime, may be recovered by boil- 
 ing down, and be again made use of with fresh Sawdust. The same 
 may be done with the potassa salt which filters through in the last 
 stage. By this process two pounds of Sawdust are made to yield one 
 pound of Oxalic Acid. 
 
 Chemical Properties. — Oxalic Acid crystallizes in colorless, transparent, 
 oblique, quadrilateral prisms with two-sided summits, of composition 
 Cj O3HO+2HO, and specific gravity 1.507.' The crystals are inodorous, 
 have a strongly acid taste, faintly effloresce in a dry atmosphere, redden 
 litmus paper, and when pure are completely volatilized by heat, and 
 without becoming blackened. They dissolve in from eight to eleven 
 parts of water at 60° F., in their own weight of water at 212° F., and 
 
AciDUM Phosphoricum Dilutum. 51 
 
 in.four parts of alcohol ; the addition of a small quantity of nitric acid to 
 the water causes it to dissolve them more readily. Nearly all the oxal- 
 ates are insoluble in water, excepting the alkaline. Oxalate of lime is 
 insoluhle, and hence Oxalic Acid is useful as a test for lime, and is 
 usually employed in the form of oxalate of ammonia ; if the liquor to 
 be examined contain any free acid, this must first be neutralized, as the 
 oxalate can only detect lime in neutral or alkaline fluids. Oxalic acid 
 reduced by hydrogen is converted into glycolic and acetic acids, and if 
 the action be kept up sufficiently long the glycolic becomes wholly 
 formed into acetic acid. 
 
 Oxalic Acid may be detected in any solution, by being entirely vola- 
 tilized by heat ; by yielding a white psrecipitate with nitrate of silver, 
 soluble in nitric acid ; and by giving a white precipitate with lime- 
 water, which is insoluble in water, readily soluble in nitric acid, and 
 which, when dried and heated to low redness, is converted, without 
 blackening, into carbonate of lime. Solution of sulphate of lime pro- 
 duces a bluish -white precipitate with Oxalic Acid. 
 
 Oxalic Acid is sometimes contaminated with nitric acid, which gives 
 a faint odor to it, and stains the cork of the bottle in which it is kept, 
 yellow. If a very dilute solution of sulphate of indigo, containing the 
 impure crystals, be boiled, the nitric acid present will decolorize the 
 solution. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This article is a poison, and an unfit agent for 
 internal administration. For a number of years past I have used a 
 saturated aqueous solution of it as an external application in cutaneous 
 cancer, acne, scald-head, and several forms of cutaneous disease, since 
 which, on my recommendation, others have employed it with success 
 in similar aflfections, sometimes alone, and again with a small portion 
 of creosote added. The saturated solution neutralized by caustic potassa, 
 forms an excellent application to discuss indolent tumors. The acid may 
 likewise be used for removing iron-mold from linen, ink-stains, and is 
 employed in calico printing as a bleaching and discharge agent. 
 
 Poisoning by Oxalic Acid, oxalate of ammonia, or oxalate of potassa, 
 is best remedied by the speedy administration of chalk, suspended in 
 water ; when chalk can not be had, magnesia may be used ; either of 
 these form insoluble oxalates. Wlien this acid is taken in poisonous 
 doses, it operates quickly. 
 
 ACIDUM PHOSPHOEICTBI DrLUTUM:. (Verdunnte Phosphorsaure.) 
 Diluted Phosphoric Acid. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Phosphorus an ounce; Nitric Acid four fluid- 
 ounces; Distilled Water ten fluidounces (imperial measure). Add the 
 phosphorus to the nitric acid, mixed with the water in a glass 
 retort placed in a sand-bath; then apply heat until eight fluidounces 
 are distilled. Put these again into the retort, that eight fluidounces 
 may distil, which are to be rejected. Evaporate the remaining liquor 
 in a platinum capsule until only two ounces and six drachms remain. 
 Lastly, add to the acid, when it is cold, as much distilled water as may 
 be sufficient to make it accurately measure twenty -eight fluidounces. 
 One hundred grains of it saturate forty-two grains of carbonate of soda. — 
 Lond. — G. 
 
 In order to avoid breakage of the itinnel and consequent loss of phos- 
 phorus, caused by the addition of the water or nitric acid during reac- 
 tion, C. L. Diehl, Jr., recommends the following process as a perfectly 
 
62 Mateeia Medioa. 
 
 safe one : Into a French glass tubulated retort of 42 parts capacity 
 introduce twelve parts of distilled water and two parts of phosphorus. 
 Place the retort on a sand-bath, and introduce through a funnel tube, 
 ixed in the tubulure by means of a cork and reaching half an inch be- 
 low the IcTcl of the liquid eight parts of nitric acid. Apply gentle heat, 
 and watch the operation closely as soon as reaction commences. When 
 the reaction slackens add more nitric acid in portions of about one 
 fourth at a time. Should the reaction become violent, small quantities 
 of warm water must be added until it is reduced to its ordinary action, 
 which may be compared to the gentle boiling of water. The formation 
 of frothy bubbles on the surface of the liquid is always the forerunner 
 of violent reaction, and should be checked at once. I have found that 
 if checked at this stage, a comparatively small amount of water would 
 answer, but if allowed to react violently a much larger quantity of 
 water will be required. After the phosporus is all oxidized, evaporate 
 the acid in a porcelain capstile. As owing to the rapid disengagement 
 of nitric oxide, the liquid will froth up toward the termination of the 
 process of evaporation, the capsule should have about three times the 
 capacity of the acid when concentrated, and a little distilled water 
 should be kept conveniently near, to add in case there is danger of 
 frothing over. The operation should be conducted under a good fur- 
 nace hood, or else the beak of the retort should be introduced into a good 
 flue, to carry off the vapors.-^ Am. Pharm. Jour. 1867, p. 138. 
 
 Ghemical Properties. — Phosphoric acid prepared according to the 
 above London formula, is a transparent, odorless fluid, of sp. gr. 1.064, 
 having an agreeable but intensely acid taste, reddening litmus paper, 
 and forming salts with alkalies, earths, and metallic oxides. 
 
 Anhyidrous Phosphoric Acid can only be had by the combustion of 
 phospOuus, in an excess of dry oxygen gas; heat and light are evolved, 
 and the acid lines the receiver in the form of white flakes, from which 
 it fklls like snow. Its formula is P 05^72 or 900. In this state it is 
 non-crystalline, exceedingly deliquescent, fusible into a vitreous mass, 
 and volatile at a fii,ll red heat ; if it be colored yellow, phosphoric oxide 
 iB present. "When perfectly dry it has no odor, and is not acid nor cor- 
 rosive ; a few dtops of water added to it, produces a hissing noise, with 
 development of heat, and converts it into a solution, of the Protohydrate 
 of phosphoric acid, which has a sour taste and a strong acid reaction. 
 Hydrate of lime mixed with anhydrous phosphoric acid, forms a very 
 hard substance, which has been used by some dentists as a cemen-t for 
 filling cavities in teeth. 
 
 There are several modifications of this acid, P Oj, which, as well as 
 their compositions, were but imperfectly known until Mr. Thos. Graham, 
 of London, made them the subject of analysis, anb gave a correct his- 
 tory of them; his experiments demonstrated, that Phosphoric Acid forms 
 three distinct Hydrates, depending upon the amount of water combined 
 with the P O5, each hydrate having a definite reaction with reagents, 
 and, by them, being readily distinguished and" detected. These acids 
 have been designated by him, as follows : 
 
 a. Phosphoric Acid, P Oj+H O. Glacial Phosphoric Acid. 
 
 b. Phosphoric Acid, P 05-(-2 H O. Pyrophosphorio Acid. 
 
 e. Phosphoric Acid, P Oj+S H O. Common Phosphoric Acid, or 
 Phosphoric Acid having one, two, or three equivalents of water as a 
 base, and replaceable by metallic oxides in the same proportions. 
 
 a. Protohydrate or Monobasic Phosphoric Acid, or MetaphospKoricAcid, 
 P O5+H 0. This acid is obtained from the aqueous solutions of eithei 
 
AciDUM Phosphokicum Du.utum. 53 
 
 of the other acids, when their solutions are evaporated until they cease 
 to give off water. Upon cooling it solidifies into a glassy -like mass, and 
 is commonly known as Glacial Phosphoric Acid. Upon exposure to moist 
 air this acid rapidly absorbs water, and is reconverted into Ordinary 
 phosphoric acid. It precipitates albumen, lime, silver, and baryta, the 
 color of these precipitates is white, and they are non-crystalline. 
 
 b. Bihydrate, Bibasic, or Pyro-Fhosphoric Acid, P O3-4-2 H O, is obtained 
 by heating common phosphate of soda to redness, which expels one 
 equivalent of water ; the fused mass is then dissolved in water, and pre- 
 cipitated by acetate of lead. The lead precipitate is decomposed by 
 sulphuret of hydrogen, which decomposes the lead salt, forming a sulph- 
 ide of lead, and leaving the acid free in the solution. The acid in a free 
 state does not yield precipitates with albumen, nitrate of silver, or baryta, 
 but its salts give precipitate with bases. Its solution in a dilute form may 
 be kept without change, but boiling converts it into the terhydrate, or 
 ordinary phosphoric acid. It may be distinguished from the Mono- 
 hydrate or Protohydrate by the precipitate which it forms with nitrate 
 of silver, being insoluble in an excess of the acid. 
 
 c. Terhydrate, or Gammon Phosphoric Acid, P Oj-j-S H O, is found in the 
 common phosphate of soda, and may be obtained from it in the same 
 manner as described in the preceding process for pyrophosphoric acid. 
 It may also be made by the direct oxidation of phosphorus by nitric acid. 
 The latter process requires some care in manipulating so as to avoid 
 accidents. In addition to the formula already given for preparing the 
 dilute acid, the one described by Mr. Thompson, of Baltimore, Md., will 
 be found expeditious as well as safe; it is as follows: Phosphorus and 
 nitric acid, with water, are placed in a porcelain capsule, and a glass 
 funnel inverted over it so as to just touch the liquid ; heat is then ap- 
 plied, 'and continued as long as red nitrous fumes are given off, and until 
 the phosphorus is all decomposed into Phosphoric Acid. The liquor is 
 then evaporated to a syrupy consistence, in order to expel any nitrio 
 acid present, after which it is diluted with water until it has a sp. gr. 
 1.056, forming P Oj-f-S H 0. It will require from four to five ounces of 
 Nitric Acid to convert half an ounce of Phosphorus into Phosphoric 
 Acid, and this is as large a quantity as should be operated upon at a 
 time Dilute Phosphoric Acid may also be prepared from a Phosphoric 
 Acid (glacial acid), by the aid of nitric acid; one troy ounce of the 
 phosphoric acid boiled with three fluidounces of water and forty grains 
 of nitric acid, will in a short time be converted into c Phosphoric Acid, 
 P Oj-j-S H O. It should then be boiled to a syrupy consistence to expel 
 the nitric, acid, which is not decomposed in the first part of the process, 
 and afterward diluted with water to a sp. gr. 1.056. 
 
 This solution of Phosphoric Acid, P O5+3 H 0, of the sp. gr. 1.056, 
 forms the DILUTE PHOSPHORIC ACID of the pharmacopoeia. (See 
 Mr. Diehl's process.) Fifty grains of the dilute acid should saturate 
 eleven and seven-tenths grains of bicarbonate of potassa without yield- 
 ing any precipitate. It forms white precipitates with salts of lime, 
 baryta, and lead; yellow, with salts of silver, which is a distinguishing 
 character of this acid, as both of the other hydrates or their salts givb 
 white precipitates with silver salts. These precipitates are soluble in 
 an excess of tlie acid. By evaporation this acid gradually loses water, 
 and, by heating it to a red heat, it parts with two equivalents of water, 
 forming the monohydrate, P O5+H 0. The last equivalent of water 
 can not be expelled by heat, as, upon urging the heat, the acid evapo- 
 rates unchanged. 
 
64 ' Materia Medica. 
 
 Molybdate of ammouia, made by dissolving molybdic acid in exeti^i' 
 of ammonia, is a test for phosphoric acid, detecting even traces of it ; i1 
 forms with this acid a bright yellow precipitate, the quintimolybdatc 
 of ammonia. If Dilute Phosphoric Acid be saturated by ammonia, 
 nitrate of silver occasions a yellow precipitate of phosphate of silver. 
 ArBenious acid is the only acid similarly acted on; and it may bo le- 
 termined from phosphoric acid by the action of sulphuretted hydrogen, 
 which causes a yellow precipitate with the arsenious acid, while it has 
 no effect at all upon the phosphoric. When concentrated till the tem- 
 perature attains 300°, Diluted Phosphoric Acid acquires its greatest state 
 of concentration, and presents the appearance of a brown oily liquid, 
 which consists of one equivalent of acid, and three of water. Although 
 evaporated so as to become dense, it does not act upon animal and vege- 
 table matter like sulphuric acid. The acid may be obtained in crystals, 
 by evaporating the brown oily liquid, mentioned above, in vacuo. From 
 its saturating power, diluted phosphoric acid is shown to contain 10.5 
 per cent, of real phosphoric acid. If the brown oily liquid be deprived 
 of its water by a long-continued heat of 415°, one equivalent of its 
 water is disengaged, and the acid acquires new properties, and a yel- 
 low precipitate will no longer be occasioned by nitrate of silver. 
 
 If phosphoric acid contain sulphuric acid, chloride of barium causes a 
 white precipitate; if hydrochloric acid be present, nitrate of silver occa- 
 sions a white curdy precipitate; if nitric acid be present, it will de- 
 colorize a solution of sulphate of indigo, and when supersaturated with 
 lime, nitrate of lime will be found. If phosphorous acid be present, a 
 small portion of red oxide of mercury will be transformed into white, 
 and finally into gray. Arsenic may be detected by Marsh's test. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This acid produces the usual effects of the dilute 
 mineral acids, but is milder and more assimilable. It has been used to 
 check abnormal osseous secretions, to remove phosphatic urine, to re- 
 lieve spasmodic affections, and is frequently beneficial in the nervous 
 debility of persons advanced in years, in the thirst accompanying dia- 
 betes, impotency, or feebleness of the sexual functions, and fluor albus. 
 Externally, it has been advantageously applied to indolent ulcers. From 
 ten to thirty drops may be given for a dose, mixed with an ounce or 
 two of water, and this may be repeated two or three times a day. 
 
 Off. Trep. — AmmonisB Phosphas; Ferri Phosphas; Sodse PhosphSs. 
 
 ACIDXJM SULPHUEICUM AEOMATICUM. (Aromatisohe 
 Schwefelsaure.) 
 
 Aromatic Sulphuric Acid. Elixir of Vitriol. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Alcohol two pints; Sulphuric Acid six ounces; 
 drop the acid gradujally into the alcohol. Digest the mixture with a 
 very gentle heat, in a closed vessel, for three days; and then add Cin- 
 namon bark, bruised, one ounce and a half; Ginger root, bruised, one 
 ounce. Digest again in a close vessel, for six days, and then filter 
 through paper, — Ed. 
 
 Sistory. — This tincture is of a dark reddish color, and owes its vir- 
 tues chiefly to the sulphuric acid it contains, which by the admixture is 
 rendered more pleasant to the taste. It has an agreeable odor imparted 
 to it by the aromatics, and a very sour taste rendered palatable by dilu- 
 tion with water. The U. S. Pharm. at first orders the acid to be diluted 
 by gradually adding to it a pint of alcohol ; and then percolates through 
 
AOIDUM SULPHURICUM. 55 
 
 the mixture of cinnamon and ginger, enough alcohol to form one pint 
 of tincture, which is added to the diluted acid. Th-is forms a prepara- 
 iion almost identical with that made by the Edinburgh formula. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — It possesses the same properties as dilute sul- 
 phuric acid, for which it is generally substituted for internal exhibition. 
 It may be given in doses of ten to thirty drops or more, diluted with 
 about four fluidounces of water, and repeated three or four times a day. 
 The same means must be used to protect the teeth from the action of 
 the acid, as named Under hydrochloric and nitric acids. 
 
 ACIDUM SULPHUEIOTJM. (Schwefelsaure.) 
 Sulphuric Acid. Oil of Yitriol. Vitrioloel. 
 
 Preparation. — " This acid can not be formed by the direct union of its 
 elements, but is produced by causing Sulphurous Acid to unite with an 
 additional equivalent of Oxygen, in contact with the elements of "Water. 
 Sulphur is burned with the aid of Mtrate of Potassa or Soda, thus yield- 
 ing a mixture of sulphurous acid and nitrous acid gases. These gases 
 are conducted into leaden chambers along with atmospheric air and 
 steam, the bottom of the chambers being also covered with water. All 
 the changes which take place are not thoroughly understood ; but this 
 much is certain, that the sulphurous acid is oxidized at the expense of 
 the nitrous acid, reducing it to the state of deutoxide of nitrogen. The 
 water becomes gradually charged with sulphuric acid, and the deutox- 
 ide of nitrogen, being reconverted into nitrous acid by contact with the 
 oxygen of the air, again yields half its oxygen to a fresh portion of 
 sulphurous acid ; and thus, for an indefinite period, acts as a conveyer 
 of oxygen from the air to the sulphurous acid. In this way a compar- 
 atively small quantity of nitrate (one part) is required for a large quan- 
 tity of sulphur (eight parts). When the liquid has become very acid, it 
 is boiled down in platinum or glass vessels, until it acquires the sp. gr. 
 1.845, when it begins to be converted into vapor itself, all the super- 
 fluous water being now driven off." — Gregory. Other methods are pur- 
 sued, but the principle is about the same in all. 
 
 Diluted Sulphuric Add may be freed from any azotic acid contained 
 in it by agitating it with recently calcined and pulverized charcoal, and 
 then filtering; the sulphuric acid thus purified no longer gives a rose 
 color with solution of protosulphate of iron, which it did before. Yery 
 little sulphate of ammonia gives the same purification and with less 
 trouble. 
 
 Chemical History. — Sulphuric Acid is a heavy, transparent, odorless 
 fluid of an oily consistence, an overwhelming acrid, acid taste, and 
 dissolving and charring all organic substances. It freezes at — 29° P., 
 and boils at 617° F. It has a powerful affinity for water, and when 
 mixed with it a great amount of heat is developed, depending partly 
 on the energetic chemical action, and partly on the condensation 
 which takes place ; on this account when exposed to the atmosphere 
 its absorption of moisture rapidly reduces its strength. It unites with 
 water in all proportions, arid the heat evolved is so great as to crack 
 glass vessels, which may be avoided by adding the acid gradually. 
 The presence of Sulphuric Acid, in the smallest quantity, whether free 
 01- combined, is detected in solutions by the characteristic property of 
 forming, with any soluble compound of/barium (as the chloride or 
 nitrate), a precipitate of sulphate of baryta, which is not only insolu- 
 
56 Materia Medica. 
 
 ble in water, but also in the strongest acids, and which is decomposed 
 and comrerted into sulphuret of barium when ignited with charcoal. 
 Free Sulphuric Acid add«d to sugar, and then heated by steam to dry- 
 ness, produces a black or brown color. "When mixed with iodic acid 
 and starch, it produces the blue iodide of starch. Sulphuric Acid red- 
 dens salicin, piperin, veratria, phloridzine, oil of bitter almonds, etc. 
 Its formula is SOs+HO, and its equivalent 49. 
 
 In Saxony, Sulphuric Acid is prepared by distilling partially dried 
 green vitriol ; it often fumes on exposure to the air, and is called 
 Fuming Sulphuric Acid, or Nordhausen Oil of Vitriol; it is a compound 
 of one equivalent each, of anhydrous acid, and common or hydrated 
 sulphuric acid, 2 SO3+HO. When it is distilled at about 290° F., 
 anhydrous acid passes over, and hydrated acid remains behind. Anhy- 
 drous Sulphuric Acid, is a white crystalline solid, which gives off thick 
 fumes in a moist air, is converted into vapor at about 160° F., and has 
 so strong an affinity for the elements of water, that when thrown into 
 water it hisses as a red hot iron would do, combining with the water 
 to form oil of vitriol. Its sp. gr. is 1.97; it melts at 66°, and boils at 
 from 104° to 122° F., does not redden litmus unless moisture be present, 
 and has the formula SO3, and the equivalent 40 or 500. 
 
 According to Graham, there are three hydrates of Sulphuric Acid, 
 besides the fuming acid, viz : the Monohydrate, Oil of Vitriol, SO3+HO, 
 sp. gr. 1.845 ; the Binhydrate or eisol, SO3+2 HO, of sp. gr. 1.78, and 
 which, in cold weather, freezes, producing large, hard, transparent, 
 regular crystals, having the sp. gr. 1.924; and the Terhydrate of sul- 
 phuric acid SO3+3 HO, of sp. gr. 1.632. 
 
 The impurities met with in Sulphuric Acid, and the methods of de- 
 tecting them are as follows: organic matter, which colors the acid 
 brownish or black ; arsenic, which may be detected by Marsh's test. 
 Selenium, which when the acid is diluted with alcohol, falls down in 
 red powder ; lead will occasion a black precipitate or brown discolora- 
 tion when sulphureted hydrogen is passed through the diluted acid, — 
 the precipitate is more certain if the acid be previously almost neutral- 
 ized by ammonia. If tin be present, hydrosulphate of ammonia will 
 dissolve the sulphuret of this metal which was precipitated with the 
 lead, leaving the lead behind ; by evaporation of the filtered solution 
 the hydro-sulphate of ammonia is removed, and by heating to redness 
 in the air, the sulphuret of tin is converted into sulphurous acid that 
 is given off, and non-volatile oxide of tin. If the Sulphuric Acid be 
 diluted and almost neutralized with ammonia, and ferrocyanuret of 
 potassium be added, a blue precipitate will ensue, if iron be present ; 
 if the ammonia be added in excess, a brown flocculent precipitate of . 
 hydrated oxide of iron will take place. If alumina be present, excess 
 of ammonia will cause an almost colorless precipitate, which, shaken 
 with solution of potassa is dissolved(the oxide of iron being insoluble) ; 
 if the alkaline solution be filtered, a solution of sal-ammoniac added to 
 it will, after a short time, render it turbid by precipitation of the 
 alumina. "When lime is present, oxalate of ammonia added to the acid 
 after it has been treated with excess of ammonia, will cause a white 
 precipitate. If a crystal of sulphate of iron be placed in Sulphuric 
 Acid, and, after a short time, becomes surrounded by a brown layer, 
 a compound of Sulphuric Acid and nitric oxide is present. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Externally, Sulphuric Acid .has been used as a 
 caustic, in ulcers and malignant growths, combined with enough saffron 
 or sulphate of zinc to form a paste that will not spread beyond the 
 
AOIDUM SULPHUEOStJM. 57 
 
 part to which it is applied. It is sometimes used in the form of oint- 
 ment. As an internal remedy, it is only used in a dilute form. The 
 OFPICESTAL DILUTE ACID is made by adding to Sulphuric Acid 
 a sufficient quantity of distilled water to give the sp- gr. 1.082, or one 
 part of acid to seven of water. Diluted Sulphuric Acid is an excellent 
 tonic, exciting appetite, promoting digestion, quenching thirst, and 
 checking fermentation in the stomach, and is therefore used with suc- 
 cess in morbid acidity, debility, and relaxation of the stomach. As an 
 astringent, it is used in hemorrhages of a passive charjiycter, diarrhea, 
 dysentery, Asiatic cholera, etc. As a refrigerant, it is very useful in 
 checking the perspiration in hectic fever ; and forms a pleasant acid 
 drink, when sufficiently diluted with water, in continued fevers, and 
 during recovery from exhausting diseases ; as an antiseptic, it is bene- 
 ficial in putrid febrile diseases. As a diuretic, it may be used in drop- 
 sies, and some forms of fever, but its use should not be continued too 
 long, as it is apt to cause griping and looseness. It has likewise been 
 advantageously exhibited in "some cutaneous diseases, phosphatic cal- 
 culous affections, dyspepsia, etc. The dose is the same as the aromatic 
 sulphuric acid, on page 55, and may be taken in the same manner. 
 Added to gargles, it will be found of service in ulceration of the throat 
 and mouth, profuse salivation, etc. ; and may be used in the form of a 
 wash in indolent ulcei» and several diseases of the skin. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Acidum Sulphuricum Aromaticum ; Acidum Sulphuri- 
 cum Dilutum; Ferri Sulphas; Linimentum Nigrum; Morphia Sul- 
 phas ; Quinise Sulphas ; TJnguentum Acidi Sulphurici ; Zinci Sulphas. 
 
 ACIDUM SULPHUEOSUM. 
 Sulphurous Acid. 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Sulphuric Acid four fiuidounces; Wood Char- 
 coal, recently burned, dry, and in coarse powder, one ounce ; Water, 
 two fiuidounces; Distilled Water, twenty fiuidounces. Put the Charcoal 
 and the Sulphuric Acid into a glass flask ; heat by a gas lamp, and pass 
 the evolved gas first through a small wash bottle containing the two 
 (fluid) ounces of Water, and afterward to the bottom of a pint bottle 
 (Imperial meas.) containing the Distilled Water which must be kept 
 cold. Continue the distillation until the bubbles of gas in the wash bottle 
 appear to be equaled by those passing through the fluid in the larger 
 bottle. The product should be kept in a stoppered bottle and in a cool 
 place." — " One fluidrachm mixed with a little mucilage of starch, does 
 not acqiiire a permanent blue color with the volumetric solution of iodine, 
 until 164 measures of the latter have been added to it." — British Ph. 
 
 Sulphurous Acid may also be made by heating in a glass retort a mix- 
 ture of 10 parts sulphur with 24 parts of anhydrous protosulphate of 
 iron, or other metallic sulphates. This gives it very pure ; and a little 
 sulphur may be readily separated by passing it through loose cottou. 
 The residue may be used for producing sulphuretted hydrogen. — Franz 
 Stolba. Upon exposing a mixture of sulphuric acid and charcoal to 
 heat, the acid parts with an equivalent of its oxygen, which is taken 
 up by the charcoal, and is changed into sulphurous acid gas, which is 
 cleansed of impurities by passing through water, and is then further 
 passed into distilled water which absorbs it to saturation. At 60° P., 
 water dissolves nearly 50 times its volume of the gas. Miller states 
 that water at 32° F., will absorb 68.8 volumes of the gas; at 59° P 
 43.5 volumes; and at 75° P., 32 volumes. 
 
58 Materia Medioa. 
 
 The principal difference between the processes for making Sulphur- 
 ous Acid of the British, and the United States Pharmacopoeia is, that 
 in the latter work, eight troy ounces of sulphuric acid, one troy ounce 
 of charcoal, and thirty -six fluidounces of Distilled Water are directed ; 
 and the gas evolved by the process, that is not absorbed by the water, 
 is passed into a vessel containing a solution of carbonate of soda, to 
 prevent its passing into the surrounding atmosphere, thus at the same 
 time forming sulphite of soda. The solution of the U. S. Pharm. holds 
 about 37 volumes of the gas, and is, therefore, not a fully saturated so- 
 lution. The test given by the U. S. Pharm. also differs from that given 
 above, from the Br. Pharm. thus : " When saturated with ammonia and 
 then treated with an excess of chloride of barium, it should afford a 
 clear or nearly clear solution on the addition of muriatic acid in ex- 
 cess;" demonstrating that sulphuric acid is not present. As the 
 gas, in a solution of Sulphurous Acid gas, is prone to escape, the solu- 
 tion should be put into half-pint dark blue, or yellow bottles, which 
 must be well stoppered, and kept in as cool a place as possible. 
 
 Chemical Properties.' — Sulphurous Acid gas is colorless, irrespirable, 
 having the o^or of burning sulphur, and an acid taste. It is very heavy, 
 having the sp. gr. 2.2112, forms an anhydrous limpid liquid at 14° P., 
 and at a very low temperature it solidifies. Eespired in a concentrated 
 form it proves fatal to life; if diluted it causes«cough and headache. 
 It it highly destructive to all animals. Its reaction is strongly acid. 
 It extinguishes combustibles in a state of flame, and in case of burning 
 soot in a chimney, a handful of sulphur thrown into the fire will promptly 
 extinguish it. The upper part of the flue should be stopped, and no air 
 be allowed to pass up the chimney, which may be effected by placing a 
 blanket in front of the fire place, leaving a small opening below. It 
 blanches many vegetable and animal colors, and its va^por, from 
 burning sulphur, is used to whiten straw, bleach silk, etc. When dry 
 it shows no affinity for oxygen, but in contact with a 'little water it 
 slowly combines with that gas, forming sulphuric acid. It consists of 
 one equivalent of sulphur, and two equivalents of oxygen, and therefore 
 has the formula S02=32 or 400. 
 
 Sulphurous Acid, of officinal strength, is a colorless fluid, possessing a 
 taste and odor similar to that of the vapor of sulphur, combined with 
 a degree of astringency to the former. That made by the British pro- 
 cess has the sp. gr. 1.04 ; that by the U. S. 1.035. However, it is a 
 question whether either of these are not improper strengths for internal 
 therapeutical use, and whether a solution containing about 5 per cent, 
 of the acid gas, of sp. gr. 1.027, could not be advantageously substituted. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Sulphurous acid has been recently introduced 
 into medicine owing to its destructive influence upon inferior organic 
 growths, whether animal or vegetable, and from its apparent azymotic 
 property. It has been found very useful in typhoid or enteric fever ; 
 in sarcinsB ventriculi ; and in pyrosis, checking the excessive secretion, 
 stopping the vomiting, and lessening epigastric pain. Dr. H. Lawson 
 has found the fluid of pyrosis to contain sarcinse, torulae, huge clusters 
 of leptothrix, and myriads of vibrions and bacteria, which, by their 
 presence, keep up the irritation causing pyrosis ; the sulphurous acid 
 checks these unusual processes from its parasiticidal properties. He 
 gives from half a drachm to a drachm, three times a day, shortly be- 
 fore meals, largely diluted with distilled water. The 'sulphites of soda 
 or magnesia will undoubtedly produce similar results, as they become 
 decomposed when in the stomach, and give out Sulphurous Acid. 
 
AciDCM Tannicum. 59 
 
 Its principal use, however, has been as an external application in all 
 cutaneous parasitic affections, and in which, before its application, the 
 scabs have been removed, so as to have the diseased surface directly 
 exposed to the agent. For this purpose it may be applied pure, or di- 
 luted with glycerin or water, of -the required strength. As a wash, or 
 in the form of spray, it has been found effectual in thrush, diphtheria 
 follicular pharyngitis, clergyman's sore throat, chronic irritation of the 
 larynx and vocal chords, weakness or, loss of voice from the preceding 
 cause, chronic bronchitis, pertussis, asthma, wounds, and ulcers. I have 
 effected cures in several cases of extensive syphilitic ulceration of the 
 throat and posterior nares, by the spray, repeated two or three times 
 a day, of Sulphurous Acid, used of oflScinal strength, or diluted with an 
 equal volume of water. It is equal, if not superior to carbolic acid in 
 eiiiciency, besides being free from the objections to the latter, as its dis- 
 gusting odor and its powerful irritant action. Dr. Dewar has found it 
 very efficacious in pleuropneumonia of cattle, chilblains, chapped hands, 
 obstinate grease of the heels in horges, ringworm, molluscum, mange, 
 lice, hospital gangrene, and as a disinfectant ; having in all these diffi- 
 culties made use of it in the form of sulphur fumigation, paying proper 
 attention to ventilation of the apartment in which the cattle or persons 
 are exposed to the vapor. He has even met with unexpected success 
 in a case of supposed phthisis, with which several other eminent medi- 
 cal men were acquainted. 
 
 ACIDUM TAJSTJSriCUM:. (Gerbsaure.) 
 Tannic Acid. Tannin. Gallotanic Acid. 
 
 Preparation. — Cause Sulphuric Ether to percolate through any quan- 
 tity of powered Galls, in a glass adapter, having the lower end loosely 
 closed with carded cotton. The liquor obtained in the receiver separates 
 into two parts, and the ether must be allowed to percolate through the 
 galls until the lower stratum of liquid in the receiver no longer in- 
 creases. Pour off the upper layer, and evaporate the lower portion with 
 a moderate heat, to dryness. 
 
 M. Sandrock states that a much larger quantity of Tannic Acid may 
 be obtained by employing a mixture of sixteen parts of Ether and one 
 part of Alcohol. The percolated liquid separates into two layers. The 
 lower one contains the Tannic Acid, which may be obtained perfectly 
 pure on evaporation ; the upper layer contains the gallic acid, coloring 
 matter, and some Tannic Acid. The Tannic Acid in the upper layer 
 may be had by evaporating the liquid to dryness, treating the residue 
 with pure Ether, until the lower of the two layers into which the liquid 
 separates no longer presents a green color; and then separating it, add- 
 ing, if necessary, a little Alcohol, and evaporating. 
 
 The French Codex give a formula for the preparation of Tannic Acid 
 which has been adopted in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia; it is as follows: 
 "To prepare a large amount of Tannic Acid, we adopt the following 
 process: Place the powder of nutgalls in the cellar, and allow it to ab- 
 sorb moisture for three or four days. Then place it in a vessel 
 with a large orifice, that may be hermetically closed; add enough 
 alcoholic ether (ether with about 8 per cent, of alcohol added to it) at 
 54° B., to form a soft paste; let the whole remain in contact for twenty- 
 four hours. At the end of this time, prepare a piece of strong ticking 
 or canvas, no larger than will be necessary to envelop the nutgalls; 
 
60 , , Materia Medica. 
 
 uncork tho vessel, remove the mixture from it, and by means of the 
 canvas form a mass or cake, which must be immediately subjected to 
 expression. A certain quantity of matter flows out, of a consistence 
 varying from that of syrup to that of honey, and which is due to the 
 lesser or greater amount of ether that has been poured upon the powder. 
 Remove the cake from the press, and scrape it externally with a horn 
 scraper, to remove any tannin that may adhere to it. Powder the nut- 
 gall cake thus exhausted, reintroduce it into the vessel, and add to it, 
 before the two liquids have had an opportunity to become separated, a 
 mixture of 100 parts of ether with six parts of water, and operate as in 
 the first instance. The syrupy liquid that flows out is mixed with the 
 first obtained liquid, and then spread upon glass or porcelain plates by 
 means of a brush, and are then dried quickly in a stove heated to 113° 
 F. The substance becomes greatly puffed up, and leaves the tannin in 
 delicate, almost colorless scales." 
 
 Ohemical Properties. — Tannic Acid is of a nearly white or pale yellow 
 color, having a spongy, shining appearance, it is not crystalline, unalter- 
 able in the air when solid, and having the formula. Cji Hi, Osi-|-3 HO, 
 and equivalent 212; or, according to Strecker, when carefully dried, C^ 
 H22 Ou- It possesses no odor, has a most astringent taste devoid of bitter- 
 ness, readily dissolves in water, glycerin, and in diluted alcohol, but is 
 hardly soluble in ether. The watery solution, exposed to the air, absorbs 
 oxygen, and is transformed into carbonic acid gas, which escapes, leav- 
 ing behind gallic and ellagic acids. Oils do not dissolve it. Tannic 
 Acid combines with a solution of animal gelatin, forming a white, curdy, 
 insoluble substance, the tannate of gelatin; a piece of prepared skin 
 introduced into a solution of Tannic Acid, absorbs the acid and is con- 
 verted into leather. With the sesquisalts of iron, Tannic Acid and its 
 salts strikes a deep blue, nearly black color, which is a tannate of iron, 
 and the principal ingredient of ordinary ink. Ink stains are tanno- 
 gallates of iron, and are readily removable by oxalic and citric acids, or 
 chloride of lime, which decomposes them and the solubility of the iron 
 basis. Added to solutions of most of the vegetable bases Tannic Acid 
 causes a precipitate. With solutions of the vegetable alkalies it produces 
 precipitates which are slightly soluble in water but readily so in acetic ' 
 acid; and has hence been used to test their presence even in very minute 
 quantities. When potassa is ■ added in excess to a solution of Tannic 
 Acid, the tannoxylic or rubitannic acid is formed; if the mixture be 
 boiled instead of exposed to the air, tannomelanic or tannohumio acid 
 is formed, a bibasic, dark, humus-like powder, whose formula is Cu H5 
 Ot+2 ho. Tannic Acid precipitates most metallic oxides from the solu- 
 tion of their salts; -is more or less completely precipitated from its solu- 
 tion by mineral acids, and gives, with those acids, compounds soluble 
 in pure water. If Tannic Acid be treated with oxidizing bodies, as with 
 nitric acid, chromic acid, chlorine, bromine, or the superoxides, it Is 
 completely destroyed, under production of formic and oxalic acid. Ace- 
 tate of lead added to a solution of Tannic Acid produces a white pre- 
 cipitate ; tartar emetic gives a white precipitate of a gelatinous character. 
 Tannic Acid may be obtained from catechu, coffee, fustic, quercitron, 
 gall-nuts, kino, cinchona, tea, the oak, willow, elm, horse-chestnut, phim, 
 pear, sumach, whortleberry, etc., and in each instance will be found to 
 possess nearly the same properties, though their chemical composition 
 is different. Some of them form a dark green color with the salts of 
 iron, and a few form a gray color. When given internally. Tannic ^cid 
 
AciDUM Tannicum. 61 
 
 will be found, when passed in the urine, to have changed into gallic 
 acid. There is a substance formed in white wines called gla'iadine, 
 which renders them turbid and disposed to mucous fermentation, a solu- 
 tion of Tannic Acid will arrest this by coagulating the above-named 
 substance. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — A pure astringent. Used in chronic dysentery 
 and diarrhea, and in uterine and other passive hemorrhages, and as a 
 wash or injection' to remove chronic mucous discharges, as in bronchial 
 catarrh, gonorrhea, gleet, leucorrhea, etc. It has likewise been recom- 
 mended in diabetes, combined with opium, and to arrest excessive per- 
 spiration — also in conjunction with morphia in Asiatic cholera. Ex- 
 ternally, it has been successfully used in excoriation, prolapsus ani, piles, 
 fissure of the anus or rectum, sore nipples, phagedenic ulcers, aphthous 
 ulceration of the mouth, sore throat, severe salivation, and in toothache, 
 in solution with ether. Applied to nasal polypus it is stated to have 
 produced a rapid disappearance of the abnormal growth. In the form 
 of ointment, it will frequently prove effectual in curing vaginal leucor- 
 rhea, being introduced into the vagina on lint or cotton, and allowed to 
 remain there, changing it every three, four, or five hours. In solution 
 or powder, in the form of spray passed upon the affected parts, it grad- 
 ually overcomes chronic mucous irritation or congestion, and has been 
 beneficially applied in chronic nasal, faucial, pharyngeal and laryngeal 
 mucous affections. Dissolved in three parts of mucilage it has effected 
 cures in chronic granular conjunctivitis, corneal ulceration, and other 
 affections of the eye. Its solution in glycerin is a powerful styptic. It 
 may be employed nn form of a wash, by adding five grains to a fluid- 
 ounce of water; or in ointment, one part of the acid to ten or fifteen of 
 lard. It is a valuable remedy, the only disadvantage being its tendency 
 to jjroduee constipation, which may be avoided by the addition of a 
 small quantity of podophyllum resin, in cases where this resin is not 
 contra-indicated. 
 
 Tannic Acid should not be given during the presence of active in- 
 flammation. Several cases of cholera in the collapsed stage have been 
 cured by our physicians, by doses of ten or fifteen grains of Tannic 
 Acid, repeated every ten or fifteen minutes, until the discharges ceased ; 
 and continuing it afterward at longer intervals, with other appropriate 
 treatment. The Geraniin is now universally preferred by American 
 practitioners to the Tannic Acid, as an internal astringent, as it does 
 not leave the tissues upon which it acts so harsh and dry, as is the case 
 with the latter agent. ' Dose of Tannic Acid, from half a grain to five 
 grains. Suppositories, consisting each of twelve or fifteen grains of 
 butter of cacao, and three to five grains of tannic acid, are valuable in 
 some rectal and vaginal diseases, as anal prolapsus, hemorrhoids, abra- 
 sion of the vaginal epithelium, leucorrhea, etc. 
 
 Dr. Chausarel has proved that Tannic Acid is the best antidote against 
 poisonous fungi, or mushrooms, etc. Thirty or fbrty grains of Tannic 
 Acid dissolved in a pint and a half of water, may be taken in small 
 glassful doses every five minutes; if too much time has not elapsed an 
 emetic may be first administered. Tannic Acid is the best antidote 
 against poisoning by strychnia, forming an insoluble tannate of strych- 
 nia; it may be given freely. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Ferri Tannas. Quinise Tannas. Suppositoria Acidi Tan- 
 nici. Troohisci Acidi Tannici. Unguentum Acidi Tannici. 
 
62 Materia Medioa. 
 
 ACIDUM TAETAEICTJM. (Weinsteinsaure.) 
 Tartaric Acid. 
 
 Preparation. — Tartaric Acid is a constituent of grape juice, existing ag 
 a tartrate of potassa, and is also contained in many other plants, as in 
 the juice of the pine-apple, tamarind, sorrel, mulberry, etc. It is pre- 
 pared somewhat similar to citric acid, by' forming tartrate of lime, and 
 decomposing it by Sulphuric Acid ; this is generally effected by adding 
 an excess of Carbonate of Lime to a solution of Bitartrate of Potassa, 
 which yields a precipitate of insoluble tartrate of lime. This is acted 
 upon by sulphuric acid, which sets the Tartaric Acid free, and forms a 
 precipitate of sulphate of lime. To obtain the acid pure, it is evapo- 
 rated, crystallized, re-dissolved in water, strained, and evaporated three 
 or four times. For an improvement in the manufacture of Tartaric Acid, 
 see Am. Jour. Pharm., XXVI., 324. 
 
 Chemical Properties. — Tartaric Acid crystallizes in colorless, trans- 
 parent, large oblique rhombic prisms, and having the formula Cg H4 0,j 
 2 HO=150. It is permanent in the air, has a strong, pleasant, sour taste, 
 is inodorous, dissolves in alcohol, wood spirit, and in j^j parts of cold water, 
 but more freely in boiling water, and having the specific gravity 1.75. 
 Its aqueous solution molds on exposure, yielding acetic and butyracetic 
 acids. A high temperature decomposes it, giving rise to several new 
 products, as acetic acid, hydrocarbon, empyreumatic oils, etc. Fused 
 with hydrate of potassa, it decomposes into acetic and oxalic acids and 
 water. When gently heated, the crystals of tartaric? acid acquire elec- 
 trical polarity equal to that of tourmaline. Tartaric Acid possesses in 
 a remarkable degree the property of turning to the right polarization's 
 plane of light, which is increased by warming the substance, as well as 
 by combination with bases. Nitric acid immediately decomposes it into 
 oxalic and carbonic acids ; chlorine does not decompose it. It has a great 
 tendency to form acid salts and double salts; with potassa and ammonia 
 it forms neutral salts easily soluble, and acid salts not easily soluble. 
 Tartaric Acid may be reduced to succinic acid by saturating its con- 
 centrated aqueous solution with hydriodic acid, seaLig it up in a strong 
 glass tube, and heating it for six or eight hours, not to exceed the tem- 
 perature of 248°. Tartaric Acid may be known by its sour solution, 
 which gives white precipitates with solutions of caustic lime, baryta, 
 strontia, and acetate of lead, the precipitated tartrates being soluble in 
 excess of acid. Sal ammonia dissolves the precipitate produced by lime 
 water. Sulphate of lime gives no precipitate ; a solution of chloride of 
 platinum causes a black precipitate of metallic platinum. 
 
 The presence of sulphuric acid may be detected in the aqueous solu- 
 tion of Tartaric Acid, by its white, insoluble precipitate with chloride 
 of barium ; lime by oxalate of ammonia occasioning a white precipitate. 
 Either of the above impurities renders the acid more or less deliques- 
 cent. Bitartrate of potassa may be known by not dissolving so readily 
 in water, and by being converted into carbonate of potassa, when in- 
 cinerated. Bisulphate of soda, or of potassa, may be detected by under- 
 going scarcely any change when heated on platinum foil, whereas 
 tartaric acid will be almost dissipated by the heat, leaving a carbona- 
 ceous residue. Nitric acid will cause the solution to decolorize a weak 
 solution of sulphate of indigo ; oxalic acid will yield a white precipitate 
 with lime water. Tartaric Acid is incompatible with nearly all acids, 
 lime, baryta, strontia, magnesia, muriate of ammonia, sulphates of 
 
AcoNiTUM Napellus. 63 
 
 potassa, soda, and magnesia, and acetate of lead, etc. See Citric Acid, 
 for detection of the two acids. 
 
 Bacemic Acid, or paratartaric acid, is isomeric with tartaric acid, as 
 determined- by M. Pasteur's researches, and generally accompanies 
 ^.artaric acid in greater or less quantity. It has no action on polarized 
 light, and is a compound of dextrotartaric and Isevotartaric acids. It 
 crystallizes more readily than tartaric acid, in eflorescent, oblique 
 rhombic prisms, containing one atom of water of crystallization, which 
 is expelled when heated to 212°. It is less soluble in water than tar- 
 taric acid, and has the formula Hi, Cg H4 Oj^Hj Oj. Inactive tartaric 
 acid, of Pasteur, also isomeric with tartaric acid, has no action upon 
 polarized light, forms in beautiful crystals, and can not be resolved 
 into dextrotartaric and lasvotartaric acids. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tartaric Acid is refrigerant, antiseptic, and 
 antiscorbutic. It is used as a drink in febrile or inflammatory dis- 
 eases, forming a cooling, refreshing, and agreeable acidulous draught. 
 It is less costly thaiL citric acid, and may be used instead of this acid 
 to form lemonade. Tartaric Acid enters into the composition of Seid- 
 litz, as well as Soda powders. A colorless solution of sulphate of quinia 
 has long been employed by physicians ;• it may be made by adding 
 equal parts of Tartaric Acid and sulphate of quinia to as much water 
 as may be desired. The dose of tartaric acid is from ten to thirty 
 grains dissolved in water or syrup ; in large doses it is an unsafe agent, 
 causing gastro-intestinal inflammation and death. 
 
 Off. Frep. — Ferri et Morphse Tartras; Ferri et Quinia Tartras; 
 Quiniffi et Morphise Tartras; Quinise et Salicinise Tartras; Potassse 
 Bitartras ; Potassse Tartras. 
 
 ACONITUM JSTAPBLLUS. (Bisenhut.) 
 
 Monkshood. — Sturmhut. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Eanunoulacese. Sex. Syst. — Polyandria Trigynia. 
 
 LEAVES AND ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant is known also by the name of Wolfsbane; 
 ibe root is spindle-shaped or napiform, from three to six lines in 
 diameter, about four inches long, tawny on the outside, whitish inter- 
 nally, giving off numerous fibers ; stems simple, straight, erect, round, 
 about five feet high, with the inflorescence at its termination ; leaves 
 alternate, completely divided to the base into five wedge-shaped lobes, 
 which are trifid ; their segments being also slashed, linear, and acute, 
 usually callous at the re-entering angles, dark green above, lighter 
 underneath, petioled; flowers large, deep bluish purple, sometimes, 
 white, hairy, in a terminal raceme, on short pedicels , racemes simple 
 and cylindrical; petals five, the upper ones helmet-shaped, convex, 
 gradually tapering to a point, the lateral ones hairy inside ; stamens 
 filiform; anthers whitish. Ovaries three to five, smooth; stigmas sim- 
 ple, reflected. The capsules correspond in number with the ovaries ; 
 seeds numerous, angular, corrugated, — JL. — De Gandolle. 
 
 History. — This perennial herb is a native of most parts of Europe, 
 growing in wooded hills and plains, and is much cultivated in gardens ; 
 it flowers in May and June. The root, which consists of numerous 
 Blender radicals, is the most powerful part of the plant, but all parte 
 of it contain powerfully poisonous properties. There are several vari- 
 eties, but the A. Napellus and A. Paniculatum are the only ofiicinal ones. 
 
64 I Materia Medica. 
 
 The dried leaves and root retain their acridity and narcotic virtues ; 
 and the expressed juice possesses the properties of the plant. Its medi- 
 cinal virtues are best extracted by alcohol, and the alcoholic extract is 
 the most convenient and energetic preparation. It contains an alka 
 loidal principle, termed Aconita, or Aconitina, a black oily matter, 
 albumen, muriate and sulphate of lime, starch, etc. The smell of the 
 plant is feeble but nauseous, and its taste acrid and bitter, leaving in 
 the mouth a sensation of heat and pungency, and a degree of ijumb 
 ness. According to Prokter, the American plant contains twice as 
 much aconitine as the European. Hubsehman has procured from the 
 aconite lycoctonum two alkaloids, which he named, 1, acolytine, a white 
 powder, soluble in water or alcohol, but not in ether ; 2, lycoetonine^ 
 crystallizable, very soluble in alcohol, but difficultly soluble in water 
 or ether. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Aconite is an energetic acro-narcotic poison in 
 improper doses, occasioning symptoms of gastric irritation, with great 
 depression of nervous energy and brain. The usual effects of an im- 
 proper dose of either the tincture or powder, is a pricking or slight 
 thrilling in the mouth and limbs, accompanied with a benumbing sen- 
 sation, but without coma or convulsions. Several of the following 
 symptoms will soon manifest themselves — vomiting, perhaps great 
 thirst, sometimes violent purging with painful spasms of the stomach 
 and bowels, sense of great exhaustion, pale face, impaired vision, 
 scarcely perceptible pulse, coldness of feet and legs, and coma or de- 
 lirium ; and, from paralysis of the respiratory muscles, death follows. 
 These symptoms may vary in different cases, though several of them 
 will always be present. Gastritis and enteritis, with pulmonary and 
 cerebral congestion, are exhibited upon a post-mortem examination. 
 There is no antidote known for poisoning with Monkshood, yet a 
 timely and thorough evacuation of the stomach, with the internal and 
 external use of stimulants, have restored persons in imminent danger 
 to perfect health. In maximum medicinal doses, it causes gastric heat, 
 which extends throughout the general system, and occasionally the 
 pricking sensations will be experienced, with, perhaps, benumbing 
 feelings; or, these may pass over the whole system, with dizziness, 
 more or less pain in the head, acute pains, excessive depression of the 
 vital forces, with feeble circulation and respiration. Aconitum should 
 never be given in sufficient quantity to produce these effects. A drop 
 of a solution of Aconitum in the eye occasions the pupil to contract. 
 
 Aconite should not be administered in chlorotic and paralytic affec- 
 tions ; though it may be given in the former disease, associated with 
 iron or manganese. As a sedative and anodyne, it is useful in all 
 febrile and inflammatory diseases, and, indeed, in all affections in 
 which there is an increase of nervous, vascular, or muscular action. 
 In scarlatina, inflammatory fever, acute rheumatism, pneumonia, peri- 
 tonitis, gastritis, and many other acute disorders, it has been used 
 with the most decided advantage. Added to cimicifuga, it greatly in- 
 creases the curative influence of this agent in acute rheumatism. Its 
 action is more especially displayed in the higher grades of fever and 
 inflammation. M. Marcq has found the fallowing preparation to be 
 almost a specific in anasarca following scarlatina ; take of tincture of 
 Aconite (of the whole plant) eight minims, mucilage four fluidounces ; 
 mix. This quantity to bo taken daily. The best preparation is the 
 alcoholic extract, formed by evaporating a tincture made of a pound 
 of Aconite and a quart of Alcohol. The dose is one-eighth of a grain 
 
ACONITINA. 65 
 
 Qne part of the extract, with two of lard, forms an excellent ointment 
 for painful affections. The powdered rOot or leaves may he given in 
 one or two grain doses, gradually increased. The tincture made by 
 macerating one ounce of the powdered root with six ounces of alcohol, 
 for two or three weeks, may be given in doses of two or three drops in 
 a teaspoonful of water, repeating every hour or two, as may be re- 
 quired. Its continued use sometimes produces vomiting and diarrhea. 
 
 Therapeutically, Aconite is a special sedative, and, according to 
 Prof. J, M. Scudder, is the remedy when there is difficulty in the capil- 
 lary circulation, a dilatation and want of tone in these vessels, as it 
 moderates the force and ficequency of the heart's actioji, increasing the 
 power of the heart and the tone of the blood-vessels, and hence advan- 
 tageous in asthenia and extreme debility; it also has a. tendency to 
 lessen pain and nervous irritation. He considers it the remedy in 
 cases where there is a frequent bu,t free circulation ; where there is an 
 active capillary circulation ; and. where there is a marked enfeeblement 
 of the circulation, manifested by a frequent small pulse, a hard and 
 wiry pulse, a frequent, open, and easily compressed pu,lse, a rebounding 
 pulse, or an irregular pulse. In congestion, especially of the nerve- 
 centerg, to relieve coma, and in diabetes insipidus, he associates its 
 administration with belladonna ; with the bitter tonics in phosphuria 
 and oxaluria ; and with the mineral acids in night-sweats. While it 
 acts upon the excretory organs, increasing excretion, yet it controls 
 excessive activity of these organs, whether of the skin, bowels, or kid- 
 neys, and hence its value in summer complaint of children- Thirty to 
 sixty minims of the tincture of the root are to be added to four fluid- 
 ounces of water, and administered in fluidrachm doses every two, 
 three, or four hours. — Ec. Med. Jour., 1868, p. 430. 
 
 Off. Prep.. — Extract, Aconiti Alcoholicum; Tinctura Aconiti; Tinc- 
 tura Aconiti Fol. ; Bmplastrum Extract! Aconiti Eadicis; Extract. 
 Aconiti Pluidum. 
 
 ACOJiflTINA. (Acomitin.) 
 Aconitina- 
 
 Preparation. — "Take of Aconite Hoot, dried and bruised, two pounds; 
 Bectifled Spirit, three gallon^; Diluted Sulphuric Acid, solution of Am- 
 monia (Water of Ammonia, U- S.), purified animal Charcoal, each a 
 sufficient quantity. Boil the aconite with a gallon of the spirit, for an 
 hour,, in a retort with a receiver fitted to it. Pour off the liquor, and 
 again boil the residue with another gallon of the spirit, and with the 
 spirit recently distilled, and pour off the liquor also. Let the same be 
 done a third time. Then press the aconite, and having mixed all the 
 liquors and filtered them, distil the spirit. Evaporate the remainder 
 to the proper consistence of an extract. Dissolve this in water and 
 filter. Evaporate the solution with a gentle heat, so that it may 
 thicken like %yrup. To this add of Diluted Sulphuric Aoid, mixed 
 with Distilled water, sufSicient to dissolve the A,conitina. Next drop 
 in solution of Ammonia, and dissolve the precipitated Aconitina in 
 Diluted Sulphuric Acid, mixed, as before, with Water. Then mix in 
 the Animal Charcoal, occasionally shaking for a quarter of an hour. 
 Lastly, filter, and having again dropped in solution of Ammonia, so as 
 to precipitate the Aconitina, wash and dry it."^^Lond. 
 
 Chemical Properties. — Aconitina has npt yet been had in crystals ; it 
 forms a shining, transparent substance, or is precipitated in white 
 5 
 
66 Materia Medica. 
 
 grains, having the formula NGeo H„ 0„. It is free from odor, but has 
 a disagreeably bitter, sharp taste, is not volatile, easily fusible, but may 
 be completely dissipated when exposed to a high temperature on plat- 
 inum, is easily soluble in alcohol, ether, chloroform, or the acids, re- 
 quires one hundred parts of water at 60°, and fifty of water at 212° P., 
 to dissolve it, is precipitated from its acid solution by ammonia, has a 
 strong alkaline reaction, and completely saturates acids. Its salts do 
 not crystallize, but appear as a gum-like mass, having a sharp and 
 bitter taste. Ammoniacal products are produced when Aconitina un- 
 dergoes dry distillation. It is incompatible with tinctures of iodine and 
 galls. Mr. A. Morson's Aconitina is the most active j^reparation made. 
 See. Hyoscyamia. 
 
 An English preparation, called aconitine, but which is probably 
 aconelline or napelline, has laeen found in commerce, in white crystals, 
 which are slightly soluble in ether and much less so in alcohol ; when 
 dissolved in boiling alcohol, it crystallizes as the liquid cools. It is 
 difficultly soluble in chloroform, does not soften in boiling water as the 
 true aconitine does, but remains pulverulent, and its reaction is less 
 alkaline. It does not color sulphuric acid yellow, like the true article. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Aconitina is too powerful a poison to be used 
 internally, one-fiftieth of a grain of Morson's preparation having en- 
 dangered life. Dr. Turnbull has used it externally in neuralgia and 
 rheumatism, in the form of tincture or ointment. His ointment is 
 composed of Aconitina sixteen grains, Olive Oil half a drachm. Lard 
 an ounce ; mix. To be rubbed for several minutes over the affected 
 part. The tincture is made by dissolving eight grains of Aconitina in 
 two fluidounces of Alcohol. In using these preparations they should 
 not be applied where the skin is broken or excoriated. They usually 
 produce the numb and tingling sensations common to the root. 
 
 ACOEUS CALAMUS. (Kalmus.) 
 
 Calamus. Sweet Flag. 
 
 Ifiat. Ord. — ^AracesB. Acoracess. Sex. Syst. — Hexandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE KHIZOMA, 
 
 Description. — Calamas has a fleshy, thick, creeping, rather spongy 
 rhizome, with many long fibers ; rhizome somewhat flat, jointed at inter- 
 vals of from six to twelve lines, of a pale greenish-white color exter- 
 nally. I/eaves radical, long, ensiform, erect, bright green, near an 
 inch in width, somewhat reddish below, sheathing at their lower ex- 
 tremities ; stalk like the leaves, thicker below the spadix, not quite so 
 tall; spadix about three inches long, " sessile, cylindrical, tapering, 
 emerges laterally from the scape near its center, covered with numer- 
 ous, thick-set, small, pale-green flowers, which have no scent except 
 when bruised ; flowers surrounded with six petaloid scales. Stamens 
 six ; filaments linear ; anthers one-celled, reniform ; ovaries sessile, three- 
 celled, with six pendulous ovules in each cell ; stigmas minute, pointed, 
 three-lobed ; capsules dry, few seeded. — Jj. — JBar. 
 
 Sistpry.— This perennial herb grows in nearly all parts of the world, 
 in damp or watery places, as swamps, meadows, etc., and flowers from 
 April to July. The rhizome is the part employed ; it should be gath- 
 ered in the months of October and ISTovember, cleansed of its fibers and 
 dirt, and dried quickly in a room gently warmed. The dried roots of 
 commerce are in compressed pieces, from three to six inches long, of a 
 
AOTJEA. 67 
 
 light brown or fawn color externally, whitish or of a slight roseate hue 
 internally, corrugated outside, and of a spongy or corky texture inter- 
 nally. It has an agreeable, aromatic odor, and a peculiar, warm, 
 bitterish taste. Water or. alcohol takes up its medicinal virtues. 
 Trommsdorff found it to contain essential oil, resin, extractive with 
 chloride of potassium, gum with phosphate of potassa, starchy matter, 
 woody fiber, and water. The first three are its active constituents. 
 The oil is lighter than water, and is pale-yellow, very odorous and 
 pungent. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The root is carminative, slightly tonic and 
 excitant, and forms a useful adjunct to other tonics and stimulants. 
 It may be used in cases of flatulent colic, dyspepsia, feebleness of the 
 digestive organs, and to aid the action of bark or quinia in inter- 
 mittents. It forms an excellent substitute, in syrup, for Godfrey's 
 Cordial. Externally, it is a valuable application to' indolent ulcers, 
 and to keep up the discharge from blistered surfaces and issues. Dose 
 of the infusion made by scalding four drachms of the root, coarsely 
 bruised, in eight fluidounces of water, from four to six fluidounces ; or 
 the powdered root, one or two scruples. In flatulent colic of infants, 
 it is best combined with magnesia. 
 
 Off. Prep.— Decoct. Acorus ; Infus. Acorus. 
 
 ACT^A. (Christophkraut.) 
 
 AoT.a;A. Alba. — "White Cohosh. (Weisses Christophkraut.) 
 AoT.fflA EuBRA. — Eed Cohosh. (Eothes Christophkraut.) 
 AoT.a!A Spioata. [Achriges Christophkraut.] — Baneberry. Herb 
 Chxistopher. 
 
 Wat. Ord. — ^Actsea. Sex. Syst. — Polyandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE RHIZOMA. 
 
 Description.— Actsen Alba, sometimes called White Baneberry, is about 
 two feet high, with large, decompound leaves; raceme oblong, with 
 pedicels as large as the general peduncle; petals truncate at the apex, 
 equaling the stamens; Jerries milk-white ; flowers white, appearing late 
 in Mb.j.—G.— W. 
 
 Actsea Eubra, or Bed Baneberry, is about two feet high, with large 
 decompound leaves; raceme ovoid or hemispherical, petals acutish, 
 shorter than the stamens ; pedicels of the hemispheric raceme, slender, 
 less than the ftiU grown peduncles ; berries oval, ripe in summer, 
 cherry red, forming a raceme three or four inches long ; flowers white, 
 appearing in April and May. The above two plants are natives of 
 this country, they are perennial herbs, inhabiting the rich soil of 
 forests, from Maine to Carolina. 
 
 Actcea Spicata inhabits the elevated parts of Europe, Caucasus, and 
 Siberia, reaching the height of three or four feet. Stem erect, leafless, 
 triangular, not much branched, scaly at the base ; root perennial, creep- 
 ing ; leaves biternate or triternate, petiolated with ovate-lanceolate, 
 serrated or slashed leaflets ; flowers white ; spike terminal, ovoid ; pedi- 
 cels as long as the flowers, downy; sepals four, transient; stamens 
 numerous, the exterior spathulate, obtuse and sterile. Berries round- 
 ish, juicy, black. — L. 
 
 Sistory. — ^Actsea Spicata has a blackish-brown root, which, when 
 fresh, has a sickening Ojdor, and a disagreeable, amarous and acrimo- 
 nious taste. The berries are poisonous, causing mental hallucination, 
 
68 Mateeia Medica. 
 
 gastric irritation and even death. The properties of the root are im- 
 parted to waiter by infusion, and to alcohol. 
 
 Properties_ and Uses. — The recent root of Actsea Spicata is a violent 
 purgative, resembling that of the black hellebore in its action ; when 
 dried it is not so active. It is rarely used internally. A decoction 
 iised locally destroys parasitic insects, as Uce, and the itch, insect. 
 
 The A. Alba and A. Rubra, possess similar qualities ; they are said to 
 possess purgative and emmenagogue properties, and are viewed as 
 Substitutes for the Oimicifiiga Eacemosa, and Caulophyllum Thalic- 
 troides ; but this is undoubtedly an error. 
 
 ADEPS. (Fett.) 
 QA3:;ungia, Ed. Adeps Suillus Preparatus, Dub.) \_Schweineschmalz.'] 
 
 LARD. THE PEEPARBD FAT OF THE SITS SCKOFA OE COMMON HOG; FREE 
 
 FROM SALT. 
 
 History.— Jj&x A. used for medicinal pui-poses should not contain salt ; 
 when good, it is white, somewhat translucent, of granular appearance, 
 smooth to the touch, somewhat of the consistency of butter, a faintly 
 sweetish taste, and no odor ; but by exposure to the air, it absorbs 
 oxygen, acquires an unpleasant odor and rancid properties^ and is said 
 to be rancid. Water does not dissolve it, and alcohol but slightly; 
 ether is a solvent of it, and. so are the essential oils. The concentrated 
 ■acids decompose it, and caustic alkaline solutions form soap with it, 
 when boiled' together. It melts at about. 80° to 90° F., and then com- 
 ljin^,8 with resins, wax, and fixed oils, forming ointments, lininients, 
 etc., as may be required. When heated in close vessels, it undergoes a 
 species of destructive distillation, by which margaric, oleic, acetic, and, 
 probablyj benzoic acids are formed, together with other less important 
 modifications of its constituent fatty pi;inciples. It consists of three 
 neutral fatty principles, called Olein, Stearin and Margarin, which are 
 found in most animal oils and fats, whose hardne.ss oi; softness is owing, 
 to the. quantity- which they contain of each of these principles. ((Sfee 
 8oa^-.) 
 
 Olein, or the Oleate of Glycerin, is the liquid principle of oils, and is 
 unknown in the native state. It is an oily fluid, devoid of color, taste, 
 and" odor, of sp. gravity about 0.9, is partially dissolved' by alcohol, 
 but not by water, readily so by ether, and becoines solid at 20° P. It 
 is convertible by saponification into glycerin and' oleic acid, and, ac- 
 cording to Saussure, is composed of carbon 76'-\-, hydrogen 11+, oxy- 
 gen l'2-[-, and nitrogen 0.353. Its present formula is stated to be Cm 
 
 Stearin, or Stearate of Glycerin, is a crystalline solid somewhat re- 
 sembling cetaceum, is sufficiently friable to admit of pulverization, 
 freely dissolved by ether at 96° P-;, but is completely separated again, 
 on cooling, is insoluble in alcohol and water, melts at 14i^'' P., and is 
 convertible by saponification into stearic acid- and glycerin. It may 
 be obtained from Lard or Mutton Tallow, by washing either of these 
 with ether until they- suffer no more loss; the stearin remains behind, 
 andmay be collected in flakes by boiling it in- alcohol andthen allowing 
 it- to cool. It' consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, Giu Huo O^. 
 
 Margarin, or the Margarate of Glycerin, may be procured by evapor- 
 ating. the ethereal solution obtained- in the preparation of stearin, and 
 pressing the prodT;ict between- folds of bibulous paper, to free it from- 
 
iEsCULUS HiPPOCASTANUM. 69 
 
 any adhering olein. In. most of its properties margarin is identical with 
 stearin. It varies in being soluble in ten parts of cold ether, and in 
 melting at 119° P. It is said to be composed of margaric acid and gly- 
 cerin. Its formula is Cjos Hmj Oij. See Oleum OUvce. 
 
 Lard speedily becomes unfit for medicinal use by the action of the 
 atmospheric oxygen, on which account it should be kept carefully se- 
 cluded from this action. When pure it contains 62 per cent, of olein 
 and 38 of steariti and margarin together. Benzoin or Benzoic acid 
 added to Lard in a melted state, stirring till cold, prevents it from be- 
 coming rancid. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Lard is emollient, and is a convenient article 
 for the formation of ointments, plasters, and liniments. It is also used, 
 without addition, to discuss tumors, by friction, or with cataplasm. — 
 Bd. Sometimes it is added to purgative injections. "When applied to 
 blistered or excoriated parts, it will be apt to cause ulceration, unless 
 it be free from rancidity. Many of the vegetable alkaloids are soluble 
 in oleic acid, (the red oil of soap and candle manufactories,) and form 
 with it useful and readily absorbed external applications. 
 
 ADIANTUM PEDATTJM. (Fussformiger KruUfarrn.) 
 Maidenhair. 
 Nat. Ord. — Pilices, or Polypodiacese. Sex. Syst. — Cryptogamia 
 Monogynia. 
 
 THE HEKB. 
 
 Description. — ^Adiantum Pedatum is a delicate and most graceful fern, 
 growing from twelve to fifteen inches high, with the stipe^or stalk and 
 rachis, slender, polished, and black or dark purplish, very glabrous; 
 frond or leaf pedate, with pinnate branches ; pinnce halved, triangular- 
 oblong, entire on the lower margin from which the veins all pi-oceed, 
 incised at the upper and fruit-bearing margin ; barren segments toothed, 
 fertile ones entire. Sori linear, oblong ; arranged along the margin of 
 the frond ; involucre formed by turning back the margin of the frond 
 over the sori, it opens inward. Petiole smooth. — G. 
 
 Mistory. — This plant is perennial, and is found in deep woods on 
 moist, rich soil, throughout the United States. The leaves are bitterish 
 and somewhat aromatic, and yield their properties to boiling water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^Maidenhair is refrigerant, expectorant, tonic, 
 and subastringent. In decoction it forms an elegant refrigerant drink 
 in febrile diseases and in erysipelas, and is also beneficial in coughs, 
 chronic catarrh, hoarseness, influenza, asthma, etc. It is likewise re- 
 puted efficacious in pleurisy, and in jaundice. The decoction or syrup 
 may be used freely. This plant is highly valued by some practitioners, 
 and deserves investigation. 
 
 Off Prep. — ^Decoctum Adiantum ; Infusum Adiantum. 
 
 ^SCULUS HIPPOCASTANUM'. (Gemeine Wildkastanie.) 
 Horse-chestnut. 
 Nat. Ord. — Hippocastanacese — Sapindacese, and .ffisculaceffi. Sex. 
 Syst. — Heptandria Monogynia. 
 
 BARK AND FRUIT. 
 
 Description. — The jEscuIus Hippocastanum is a beautiful middle-sized, 
 round-headed tree, fifty or sixty feet in height, with many branches, a 
 rugose tawnj' bark, and a white not very firm wood. Leaves opposite, 
 
70 Materia Medica. 
 
 jiigitate, long-stalk, consist of seven obovate-lanceolate, acuminate, 
 bright-green, coarsely and irregularly serrated leaflets which diminish 
 in siz^ from the center. Flowers in thyrses, or pyramidal racemes, pink 
 colored and white, terminal. Calyx light green, campanulate, obtusely 
 five-toothed; corolla spreading, composed of five oblong, unguiculate, 
 fringed, wSiYj petals, with a small reddish spot above the claw. Stamens 
 seven; filaments shorter than the petals, subulate; anthers reddish- 
 brown, oblong ; ovaries roundish ;. style short ; stigma pointed. Fruit a 
 prickly, thick and tough capsule, three-valved, one to three celled, with 
 usually two large, deep chestnut-brown seeds, and a large broad space 
 forming a hilum. — IJ. 
 
 History. — Horse-chestnut is indigenous to certain parts of Asia, from 
 whence it was conveyed into Europe. It is now common to many parts 
 of the United States, where it grows rapidly, blossoming from April to 
 July, and maturing its fruits in the latter autumnal months. The bark 
 has a rough amarous taste, and M nearly odorless; analysis has found 
 in it tannic acid, a bitter alkaloid, discovered by Canzoneri, which he 
 called jSlsculin, and some other principles. Water or diluted alcohol 
 are the best solvents of the virtues of the bark; the aqueous infusion is 
 bitter, fawn colored and non -astringent. Gelatin precipitates its tannic 
 acid; iron gives a green precipitate; infusion of galls and tartar-emetic 
 produce no effect upon it. According to Eochleder, Horse-chestnut con ■ 
 tains SBScigenin, sescinic acid, argyrcBscin, aphrodoescin, fraxine, and 
 quercetrine. 
 
 JEsculin, C42 Hji O26, may be prepared from a strong hydro-alcoholic 
 tincture of the bark, by distilling off the alcohol, and setting the residue 
 in a cool place for some time. It is mostly prepared by treating an aque- 
 ous infusion of the bark with acetate of lead, then filtering, removing 
 the excess of lead by sulphuretted hydrogen, and evaporating the 
 liquid to a syrupy consistence. In a few hours crystals of esculin form, 
 which may be washed with cold water, recrystallized at first from weak 
 alcohol, sp. gr. 0.940, and lastly from boiling water. It appears as a 
 white powder, which is formed of minute acicular crystals, having a 
 bitterish taste, no odor, soluble in 12^ parts of water at 212° P., and in 
 672 parts at 50° P., partially soluble in alcohol, and insoluble in ether. 
 Its solutions are fluorescent which is destroyed by acids, but heightened 
 by alkalis. It is colored red, and then yellow by hydrochloric acid. 
 
 The JEsculus Glabra, or Buckeye, common to the Western States, is 
 said to be useful as a substitute for the ^. Sippocastanus ; the fruit 
 contains an abundance of very fine starch, which it is surprising has 
 not ypt been introduced into commerce. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Horse-chestnut bark is tonic, astringent, febri- 
 fuge, narcotic, and antiseptic. In intermittent fever the bark has 
 effected cures when given in doses of a teaspoonful four or six times a 
 day. Ten grains of the powder of the rinds of the nuts, have been 
 found equi.valent, in narcotic power, to three of opium. Gangrenous 
 and ill-conditioned ulcers have been benefited by a strong infusion of 
 the bark. The whitish, central part of the nuts, when in powder, have 
 been recommended as a .sternutatory in some cases of ophthalmia and 
 headache. — Coxe. The oil of Horse-chestnuts is considered in Europe 
 a valuable local application in neuralgic and rheumatic affections ; it is 
 made by exhausting the powdered Horse-chestnut in ether, filtering, 
 and evaporating. jBsculin, in doses of from five to thirty grains, re- 
 peated two or three times a day, has proved beneficial in periodical 
 febrile affections, and in neuralgia of the internal viscera. 
 
Agaric. 71 
 
 AGAEIC. (Lerchenschwamm.) 
 Touchwood. Spunk. Tinder. 
 Nat. Ord. — Fungales, or Pungacero. Sex. Syst. — Cryptogamia Fungi. 
 
 Sistory. — This, is obtained from various fungus plants, of the mush- 
 room tribe. These plants afford a great diversity of form and structure, 
 being in their simplest character little articulated filaments composed of 
 chains of cellules, as in the mildew of the rosebush, and in moldiness, 
 mucor ; again, they may present an even and imperforate surface, and 
 another separa,ted into plates or cells, in which the sporules are depos- 
 ited. They absorb a great amount of oxygen with evolution of hydro- 
 gen and carbonic acid gas, and contain considerable proportions of ni- 
 trogen. They are destructive to nearly all organic matter upon which 
 they grow. According to Dr. M. A. Curtis, of ]f . C, " the genus Boletus, 
 as now constituted, includes only fleshy species, with a hymenium com- 
 posed of sparable tubes. Those species formerly included in Boletus, 
 and whose hymenium is composed of pores, now form the genus Poly- 
 porus." 
 
 The Polyporus Officinalis, (^Boletus Laricis,) known by the name of 
 Larch Agaric, White Agaric, Purging Agaric, etc., is procured from As'a, 
 Corinthia, Eussia, Central America, and the Eocky Mountains, where 
 it is found growing upon the larch. It is in masses varying from the 
 size of an ordinary apple to that of a large nutmeg-melon ; its shape 
 somewhat resembles a horse's hoof; it is reddish-gray or yellowish ex- 
 ternally, whitish internally, and of a spongy, friable consistence ; hy- 
 menium concrete ; substance of the pileus consisting of subrotund pores, 
 with their simple dissepiments; pileus corky-fleshy, ungulate, zoned, 
 smooth ; pores yellowish ; it has a feeble odor, and a bitter, acrid, some- 
 what sweetish taste. Braconnot found in it 72 parts resinous matter, 
 2 bitter extractive, 26 of a nutritious animalized principle, which he. 
 termed fungin; benzoic acid and several salts have likewise been found 
 in it. It is collected in August and September, deprived of its outer 
 covering, and then dried and bleached in the sun. 
 
 The Polyporus {Boletus) Ignarius, Agaric of the Oak, is a fungus found 
 on oak, cherry, willow, plum, and other trees. "When young it is soft 
 but gradually becomes hard and woody. In shape it somewhat re- 
 sembles the preceding ; its upper smooth surface is marked with dark, 
 circular ridges, and its under is very porous and of a yellowish-white 
 color. It is tasteless and inodorous. The Polyporus (Boletus) Fomen- 
 tarius, growing on similar trees with the P. Ignarius, when cut in slices, 
 beaten, soaked in a solution of nitre, and dried, /forms an inflammable 
 substance known as Spunk, Amadou, or German Tinder. The Poly- 
 porus Pinicola grows upon the pine, birch, tamarac, fir, and similar 
 trees ; with absolute alcohol, the fresh fungus forms a dark red, in- 
 tensely bitter tincture. A white amorphous powder, called laricin, is 
 obtained from some of these plants ; it has a bitter taste, is soluble in 
 alcohol and oil of turpentine, forms a paste with boiling water, and has 
 the formula C^ H,2 O4. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The dust of the Larch Agaric is irritating to 
 mucous surfaces, causing tears when it enters the eyes, and sneezing, 
 cough, and nausea, when the nostrils are exposed to it. It has been 
 used in half drachm or drachm doses as a purgative ; in larger doses 
 as an emetic. In doses of from three 10 ten grains, gradually increas- 
 ing to sixty grains, in the course of the twenty -four hours, it has been 
 
f^ Materia Medioa. 
 
 found efficacious in arresting the nocturnal peTspiration of consump- 
 tives. Externally, it has been used, together with the Agaric of the 
 Oak, as a styptic, and said to restrain not only venous, but arterial 
 hemorirhages, without the use of ligatures; it d^es not appear, how- 
 ever, to possess any real styptic power, or to act otherwise than dry 
 lint, sponge, or othfer Soft application. I^epared with nitre as for tin- 
 der, it has been. used as a species of moxa.— .^d. Duncan. The P. Oj^- 
 cinalis and the P. FinicolO, m doses Of three or four grains of the pow- 
 der, repeated every three or fonir hours, or of the concentrated tincture 
 in doses of five drops, haVe both been found valuable in tho cure of 
 obstinate and long standing intermittents, and other diseases common 
 to maliarial districts, as obstinate bilious remittent fef er, chronic diarrhea, 
 chronic dysentery, periodical neuralgia, and nervous headache, ague 
 cakie, and increased flow of urine ; they have likewise proved useful in 
 long standing jaundice, and in the chills and fever common among con- 
 BTitoptive patients. 
 
 AGAVE VIEGimCA. (Virginische Agave.) 
 
 False Aloe. 
 
 Nut. Ord.^Amaoyllidacese. Sex. S'ysif.-'— Hexandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE BOOT. 
 
 Description.— ^hw is a perennial, herbaceous, stemlesS or scape-bear- 
 ing plant, with a premorse, tuberous root. Leaves linear-lanceolate, 
 fleshy, glabrous, radical, with cartilaginous serratures on the margin ; 
 scajpe simple, glabrous, with leaf-like scales and sessile flowers, terete, 
 firotQ three to six feet in height ; floijoers scattered in a loose, wand-like 
 spike, very fragrant, greenish-yellow, with the tube longer than the 
 acute segments; corolla erect, superior, tubular or funnel-form; fila- 
 ments erect, longer than the corolla ; anthers introrse. Capsule round- 
 ish, obscurely triangular, three-furrowed, three-valved, three-celled, 
 many-seeded. — G. — W. 
 
 MiStory. — This plant is common to Pennsylvania and the Southern 
 States, growing on dry or rOcky banks, and flowering in August and 
 September. In some parts of the country this plant is considered a 
 valuable antidote to wounds by poisonous snakes, and is termed " rat- 
 tlesnake's master." The root is Very amarous, and yields its properties 
 to alcohol and water by infusion. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — False Aloe is reputed laxative and carminative, 
 and has been beneficially employed in Obstinate diarrhea, flatulency, 
 spasm of the intestines, etc. 
 
 The Agave A'miiiICAna, American Aloe, also called Century Plant, 
 from an erroneous supposition that it blossoms only once in a hundred 
 years, is the largest Of all herbaceous plants ; it inhabits the warmer 
 latitudes of the American continent, where it flourishes as an ever- 
 green. The pulp of the leaves, locally applied, acts as a rubefacient, 
 somewhat like mustard. A wine may be obtained from the juice of 
 the plant, by subjecting it to fermentation. The fresh juice is said to 
 act upon the kidneys and bowels, and also to promote menstruation. 
 Dr. Or. Perrin considers it a superior remedy in scorbutus, preferring 
 it to lime-juice, in doses as high as tSvo fluidounces three times a day.— 
 N. t. Jour. Med. N. S. VIL, 181. 
 
AGEIMONIA EUPATOEIA. (Odermennig.) 
 
 Agrimony. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eosacese. Sex. Syst. — Icosandria Digynia. 
 
 THE ROOT AiJU LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — Agrimony has a reddish, tapering, not creeping root, 
 branched at the summit. Stems about two feet Mgh^ leafy, scarcely 
 branched, covered with soft, silky hairs ; leaves alternate, nearly smooth 
 beneath, interrn|)tedly pinnate, and consist of three, five, or seven oblong- 
 obovate, or oval-lanceolate leaflets, from one to three inches long, about 
 one-third as wide, sessile, coarsely serrated, almost glabrous, with va- 
 rious minute intermediate ones; terminal leaflet with a short petiolule. 
 Stipules of the upper leaves, large, rounded, dentate or palma-te. Mowers 
 very numerous, subsessile, yellow, in a dense tapering spike, with lobed 
 bracts, about four lines in diameter. Bacemes six to twelve inches long, 
 spicate. Petals Siv^, rarely 'twice the length of the calyx. Galyx infe- 
 rior, five-cleft, invested with an outer lobed one; calya;4ube cxuriously 
 fluted with ten ribs, surmounted with reddish-hooked brifetles. Stamens 
 twelve; carpels two; fruit hispid. — IJ.^G. — W. 
 
 Mistory. "^^hi^ perennial herb is common to Canada and the United 
 States, as well as Europe and Asia. It is found along road-sides, and in 
 fields and woods, bearing racemes of yellow flowers in July and August, 
 and is sometimes called Cockleburr, Stickwort, etc. It has a fragrancy 
 which is more perceptible in the flowers, and a harsh, aromatic, astrin' 
 gent taste, which is strongest in the root. It yields its properties to 
 water, or alcohol. Its volatile oil may be obtained by distillation. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^Agrimony is a mild tonic, alterative and astrin- 
 gent. A decoction of it is highly ij-ecommended in bowel complaints, 
 gonorrhea, leucorrhea, chronic mucous diseases, chronic affections of the 
 digestive organs, profuse bleedings of an asthenic character, certain cuta.' 
 neous diseases, icterus, etc. A strong decoction, sweetened with honey, 
 is reputed an invariable cure for scrofula, if its use be persisted in for 
 a length of time ; and it has also been highly extolled in the treatment 
 of gravel, asthma, coughs, and obstructed menstruation. Dr. D. C. Payne 
 speaks highly of a continued use of a decoction of this plant in the 
 treatment Of erysipelas, and scrofulous affections, to be-used freely in 
 connection with diet and regularity of the bowels. It is also reputed 
 to be valuable as a diuretic, and has been considered a specific in dropsy, 
 and in gonorrhea. As a gargle, the decoction is useful in ulcerations Of 
 the mouth and throat. A drachm or two of the pulverized leaves may 
 be taken for a dose, or two or three fluidounces of the decoction. The 
 astringency of the root renders it very useful in those afl'ections requir- 
 ing the exhibition of astringents. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Decoct. Agrimonise; Infus. Agrimonise. 
 
 AJUGA CHAM^PITYS. (Zwerggamander.) 
 
 G-round Pine. 
 
 Wat. Ord.^-Jjamiacesd. Sex. Syst. — Didynamia Gymnospermia. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Biescription. — ^Gi-ound Pine has an annual diffused stem, with three cleft 
 ledvps ; flowers solitary and axillary, shorter than the leaves Corolla with 
 
74 Materia Mbdioa. 
 
 the upper lip minute and two-toothed. Stamens longer than the upper 
 lip ; anthers all reniform, one-celled. 
 
 History. — This herb inhabits Europe and several sections of the United 
 States, where it is also known by the names Bugle or Germander, The 
 parts used' are the leaves and tops, which have a slightly terebinthine, 
 not unpleasant smell, and a rough taste, which properties are imparted 
 to diluted alcohol. An essential oil, somewhat terebinthinate, is furnished 
 by distillation. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The leaves of this plant are somewhat excitant, 
 and exert an influence on the urinary organs; they have proved effica- 
 cious in menstrual derangements, and arthritic affections ; and are said 
 to be of service in dropsy, jaundice, strangury, and all visceral obstruc- 
 tions. From thirty to sixty grains of the pulverized leaves may be 
 administered every two or three hours; but their vinous tincture is pre- 
 ferred in doses of from half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm. 
 
 ALCOHOL. Bthylic or Vinic Alcohol. (Weingeist.) 
 
 Absolute Alcohol. — Hydrate of oxide of Bthyle. Specific gravity, 
 0.794-6. 
 
 Spiritus EECTiricATUs.^Eectified spirit. Specific gravity, 0.835. 
 
 Alcohol Dilutum. — Proof-spirit. Diluted Alcohol. Specific gravity, 
 0.941. 
 
 Alcohol Fortius. — Stronger Alcohol. Specific gravity, 0.817. 
 
 Preparation. — The pure spirit obtained by the distillation of fluids 
 that have undergone vinous fermentation is called Alcohol, and which 
 appears to have been prepared as early as in the twelfth century by the 
 Arabians. Chemists recognize many alcohols, obtained variously, by 
 fermentation, destructive distillation, etc., but here we only refer to the 
 ordinary vinic alcohol, or Spirit of Wine. Difi'erent materials are employed 
 in different countries to undergo the vinous fermentation, as the pre- 
 vious step to distillation, in order to separate the alcohol therefrom; 
 thus, in Prance, Spain, etc., wine from the juice of the grape is distilled 
 for the purpose, affording the well-known liquor, Brandy. Malt Spirit 
 is made from barley and otheir grains, infused in water, and suffered to 
 ferment, forming Beer, Porter, Ale, etc. When it is in a fit state, it is 
 subjected to distillation and furnishes the common Gin of commerce; 
 infusions of rye, potatoes, etc., fermented and then distilled, yield the 
 same liquor, which is generally flavored by re-distillation with turpentine. 
 Eum is made from the refuse of the raw sugar manufactories, mixed 
 with molasses; or, from the juice of the sugar-cane. Cider and Apple 
 Brandy, from the juice of the apple ; Perry, from the juice of the pear; 
 Arrack, from the juice of the palm-tree in Batavia, and from rice or 
 millet in China. Koumiss, from mare's milk, by the Tartars, and a 
 similar spirit, though weaker, has been obtained from the milk of the 
 cow. — Coxe. Each of these liquids contains a greater or less proportion 
 of Alcohol in combination with various matters, and from which it may 
 be separated by distillation. By repeatedly distilling these various 
 liquors, and using carbonate of potassa or lime to prevent the water 
 from rising during the process, the Alcohol is deprived of its volatile oil, 
 water, coloring matter, etc., and is obtained as rectified spirit; the pro- 
 cess of purification is called rectification; and the liquid left after the 
 A.lcohol has been removed, contains, among other substances, /wseZ oil, 
 or grain oil, and which may be obtained by still further distillation. 
 Common Whisky, which contains a large percentage of Alcohol, at least 
 
Alcohol 75 
 
 as great as that of any other ardent spirit, aad which is much cheapei 
 and more quickly prepared, is generally the only liquor employed 
 in the manufacture of Alcohol. If Alcohol be mixed with an equal bulk 
 of pure ether, then an equal bulk of water be added to the mixture, and 
 the supernatant ether be separated, we can easily determine whether 
 the Alcohol was obtained from rum, brandy, potato spirit, etc., by evapo- 
 rating the ether spontaneously in a capsule; the residue will give the 
 charao;eristic odor of the original liquor. 
 
 With the exception of Alcohol and Whisky, but very little pure liquors 
 are.to be had in this country, as thej^ are almost entirely superseded hy 
 the factitious articles manufactured by liquor dealers. The following 
 formulae for some of these domestic preparations are from an old dealer 
 and manufacturer: Domestic Gin is made of Neutral Spirits forty gallons, 
 good Holland Gin four gallons, Oil of Juniper three ounces. Oil of Anise 
 one ounce; mix together. Domestic Brandy consists of Neutral Spirits 
 one gallon, good Brandy one pint. Molasses enough to color. Sweet Spirits 
 of Nitre eight ounces. • 
 
 Alcohol is said to be proof, when at 60° F. it has the specific gravity 
 0.941 ; if the specific gravity be above this, it is said to be below proof; 
 if it be below, the liquor is above proof. The wea]j:er Alcohol employed 
 in pharmacy has about the specific gravity of proof-spirit. By distilla- 
 ation, an Alcohol of specific gravity not less than 0.825 may be pro- 
 cured; but when a still stronger spirit is required, it is accomplished 
 by rectifyifig the Alcohol, over well-barnt charcoal, to free it from the 
 fusel oil, and then allowing it to stand for a few days with coarsely- 
 broken fused chloride of calcium, which absorbs the water and pre- 
 vents it passing over in a gasiforln condition during the subsequent 
 distillation. The result is absolute or anhydrous Alcohol, or the Oxhy- 
 drate of Ethyle, and which has the formula of AeO-fHO. Other chemi- 
 cals which have a greater affinity for water than Alcohol has, may be 
 employed in the production of Absolute Alcohol, as carbonate of potassa, 
 calcined sulphate of soda, etc., but none of them are preferable to the 
 chloride of calcium. Caustic potassa can not be safely used, as it is 
 apt to alter the Alcohol, especially when in contact with the atmos- 
 phere. Should unslacked lime be used, it must be added in excess, as 
 there is danger of the hydrate of lime formed parting with its water 
 toward the latter part of the distillation, and thus weakening the 
 Alcohol. 
 
 Sistory. — Pure Absolute Alcohol is a colorless, mobile, very thin 
 flowing liquid, having a faint, pleasant, fruit-like odor, and a sharp, 
 burning taste. At 60° P., its specific gravity is 0.7947 ; and at 68° P., 
 it i& 0.792-0.791 . It boils at 172° F., and at 146° below zero assumes 
 an oleaginous consistence ; it is very combustible, burning with a pale 
 blue flame, without smoke or residue, giving out a very intense heat, 
 and producing carbonic acid arid water. — Goxe. Chloride of sodium 
 added to it will render its flame yellow; chloride of potassiuta, whitish - 
 violet; boracic acid, or a salt of copper, green; chloride of lithium, 
 carmine red; chloride of strontian, crimson; and chloride of barium, 
 greenish -yellow. A small lump of anhydrous baryta placed in Abso- 
 lute Alcohol, will not crumble into powder unless water be present. 
 It mixes in all proportions with water, wood-spirit, and ether ; heat is 
 evolved when it is added to water. One part of ether added to two 
 parts of Alcohol, forms with -j^th part of Oil of Wine, Hoffman's Ano- 
 dyne Liquor. On account of its aflSnity for water, it preserves animal 
 and vegetable tissues from putrefaction. It dissolves hydrate of po- 
 
76 Materia Medica. 
 
 tassa and of soda,' most chlorides and bromides of metals, the organic 
 ^eids, camphor, volatile oils, iodine, urea, resins, balsams, caseine, most 
 deliquescent salts, and the different sugar-like substances. With nearly 
 ail acids it produces the compound ethers. Most oxygen salts with 
 inorganic acids, excepting lime and nitrate of magnesia, starch, caout- 
 choiie, the proteine compounds, etc., are insoluble in it. Of the fixed 
 oils, castor-oil is the most freely dissolved by it. It combines with 
 many neutral metallic chlorides, as of magnesium, calcium, manganese, 
 etc., taking, in these compounds, the place of water of crystallization. 
 Sulphur and phosphorus are dissolved by it to a limited extent. Dry 
 chromic acid introduced into a mixture of air and alcoholic vapor, 
 causes an explosion. If a spiral piece of platinum wire be placed upon 
 the wick of an alcoholic lamp,' and the flame be suddenly blown out, 
 the platinum wire will continue to grow with a white heat, caused by 
 the imperfect combustion of the alcoholic vapors, which give rise to 
 the fprmation of lampic acid, of a pungent and disagreeable smell. 
 
 The Alcohol of commerce possesses the above properties in propor- 
 tion to its freedom from water, as known by its specific gravity ; the 
 rectified Alcohol of the United States has the specific gravity 0.835- 
 and is used in pharmacy to form tinctures, extracts, etc. Dilute Alcohd 
 is composed of equal parts of Alcohol sp. ,gr. 0.835, and Distilled Water ; 
 its specific gravity is 0^941, and it is employed for similar purposes as 
 the rectified spirit, in those instances where a stronger liquor is not 
 required. One hundred parts by measure of the several liquors named 
 below, were found by Mr. Brande to contain the following percentages 
 of Alcohol: Brandy 55.39; Eum 53.68; Gin 51.60; Scotch Whisky 
 54.32; and Irish Whisky 53.20; the Alcohol being at 60° P., of specific 
 gravity 0.825. The value of Alcohol and of ardent spirits is propor- 
 tioned to their various specific gravities, which are determined by 
 alcohometers. Alcohol is represented by C, Hg 0^=46. Alcohol is 
 deodorized by distilling it over peroxide of manganese, or perman- 
 ganate of potassa ; also, by rectification through charcoal. 
 
 The presence of amylic alcohol in alcohol renders this unfit for inter- 
 nal use, and even dangerous ; it may be detected by introducing the 
 suspected alcohol into a burette, diluting it with its volume of rectified 
 ether and with an equal volume of distilled water ; the whole is slightly 
 agitated, and upon standing the ether floats upon the surface of the 
 liquid holding the whole of the amylic alcohol in solution. Separate 
 the ether by the usual method, and upon spontaneous evaporation, the 
 amylic alcohol remains, which may be known by its odor. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Alcohol is seldom or never used internally, 
 except in dilution. Undiluted, it is a powerful irritant and poison, 
 rapidly causing "intoxication, and, if in large quantities, death. It is 
 usually employed in the form of wine, brandy, gin, beer, etc., which, 
 in moderate doses, act as diflfusible stimulants, which are highly bene- 
 ficial in prostrating diseases, and in cases in which this kind of stimuli 
 are indicated. In large quantities, and continued daily, these liquors 
 occasion intoxication, nervous derangement, loss of appetite, mental 
 imbecility, dyspepsia, indurated liver, granular disease of the kidneys, 
 paralysis, mania, apoplexy, and death. The alcohol is absorbed, and 
 may be detected in the blood, urine, breath, brain, liver, and other 
 organs, producing permanent injury to them. Brandy is said to be 
 cordial and stomachic; rum, heating and sudorific; gin and wjiisky, 
 diuretic. The danger of manufacturing drunkards by the medicinal 
 administration of wine or brandy, bitters, cordials, and the like, which 
 
Alcohol Amylicum. 77 
 
 was so common a few years since, we are glad to say, has now almost 
 entirely ceased ; and although alcoholic tinctures are sometimes pre- 
 scribed, yet it is in such small doses, and so well diluted with water, 
 that no fear of intemperance can arise in the mind of the physician. 
 There are very few cases in which alcoholic stimulants are given, and 
 those are never of a chronic character, or in which these fluids have to 
 be used longer than a few days. The discovery of our concentrated 
 preparations, and improved modes of treating diseases, have done 
 much to set aside this dangerous and unscientific practice. 
 
 Dr. Christison recommends " a mixture of equal parts of rectified 
 spirit and white of egg as an application to excoriations from pressure 
 in fever and other exhausting diseases. It is to be applied frequently 
 with a fine brush or feather, and renewed as it dries, till an albumin- 
 ous coating is formed over the part." Alcohol may be made to act as 
 an external stimulant or refrigerant, by merely applying it to a part, 
 and preventing its evaporation by placing a compress of linen or mus- 
 lin over it to produce the first effect ; or, by allowing it to evaporate 
 to produce the latter. 
 
 Pharmaceutists make great use of Alcohol of various strengths, in 
 the numerous officinal preparations ; also employ it as a fuel emitting 
 a high temperature during combustion without depositing soot upon 
 bodies introduced into its flame. 
 
 ALCOHOL AMYLICUM. (Amylgeist.) 
 Amylic Alcohol. Fusel Oil. Grain Oil. — Fuselbl. 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of the light liquid, which may be obtained at 
 any large distillery, by continuing the distillation for some time after 
 the pure spirit has all been drawn off, any quantity. Introduce it into 
 a small still or retort connected with a condenser, and apply heat so as 
 to cause distillation ; as soon as the oil begins to come over unmixed 
 with water, the receiver should be changed, and the distillation being 
 resumed and carried nearly to dryness, the desired product will be 
 obtained. The liquid drawn over during the first part of the distilla- 
 tion will consist of an aqueous fluid, surmounted by a stratum of the 
 Ajnylic Alcohol. This latter, though impregnated with a minute quan- 
 tity of water, should be separated and preserved, as being sufficiently 
 pure for use." — Duh. 
 
 History. — Amylic Alcohol was first noticed by Scheele,'in the spirit 
 obtained by distilling fermented potatoes, and was called Oil of Potato 
 Spirit; since his time its general character has been more fiilly investi- 
 gated by several chemists. It is now found not only in potato spirit, 
 but among the products of alcoholic fermentation generally ; in which 
 it exists in the 4-^nth or ^-J-^jth part. When alcohol is distilled from 
 potatoes, toward the termination of the process a whitish fluid passes 
 over, which, when allowed to rest, yields a deposit of Amylic Alcohol, 
 combined with nearly equal parts of water and alcohol. This is washed 
 several times in water, then placed in contact with chloride of calcium 
 to remove the water, and distilled over again, in order to purify it. 
 Alcohol and water pass over at first, but as the heat becomes elevated, 
 to 270° P., a clean receiver is substituted for the one just used, into 
 which the pure Amylic Alcohol is received as it passes over. It is 
 viewed as a hydrated oxide of amyle, whose formula is Cm H12 Oj=88. 
 Tt is sometimes called Corn Spirit Oil. 
 
 Amylic A-lcohol is a limpid, transparent, very mobile, oily liquid, 
 
78 Materia Medica. 
 
 colbrless, or of a light yellow color, having a very nauseous odor, pro- 
 ducing Btupefactioh, and an acrid, sickening taste. Its vapor, when 
 inhaled, causes cough and spasmodic dyspnoea, resembling asthtna,, 
 often followed by vomiting. It produces an evanescent stain on paper ; 
 gives a bluish-white flame when burned with a wick or heated ; boils at 
 268° P. ; forms s'hining crystalline plates at 4° P. ; has the specific 
 gravity at 60° of 0.812; and absorbs hydrochloric acid gas largely, 
 heat accompanying the process. It unites in any quantity with alco- 
 hol, ether, fixed and volatile oils, and concentrated acetic acid ; is 
 hardly dissolved by water, to which it imparts its odor, and the pro- 
 perty of becoming beaded when shaken. Iodine, camphor, phosphorus, 
 resins, fatty matters, sulphur, etc., are dissolved by it ; and it combines- 
 with solutions of potassa or soda without alteration. Heated with dry 
 potassa, it undergoes decomposition, evolving hydrogen, and forming 
 valerianate of potassa by absorption of oxygen. According to Pasteur, 
 ordinary amylic alcohol consists of a mixture of two metameric bodies, 
 one being inactive on polarized light, the other producing left-handed 
 rotation of a polarized ray ; these two alcohols can be separated. 
 Pusel-oil may be detected in alcohol by introducing the suspected 
 fluid into a burette, diluting it with its volume of rectified ether, and 
 an equal volume of distilled water ; slightly agitate and allow it to 
 rest. The ether will float upon the surface of the liquid holding all 
 the fusel-oil in solution. Separate the ether by the usual method, 
 allow it to evaporate spontaneously, and the fusel-oil remains behind, 
 known by its bad odor. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Talerianic acid, and several medicinal valerian- 
 ates, are prepared by the aid of Amylic Alcohol. 
 
 ALBTEIS PAEmOSA. (Aletris.) 
 Unicorn Eoot. 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Liliacese, Idndley. Hsemoderacese, Brown. Sex. Syst. — 
 Hexandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — ^Aletris Parinosa, also known by the several names of 
 Star-grass, Colic-root, Ague-root, Orow-corn, etc., has a premorse, peren- 
 nial root, with radical leaves, rosulate in a single circle, sessile, lying 
 flat upon the 'ground, ribbed, broad, lanceolate, smooth, the large ones 
 being three or four inches long, and one-fourth as wide. Scape or 
 flower stem from one to three feet high, erect, simple, invested with 
 remote scales or bracts which sometimes expand into small leaves, 
 surrounded at the bottom by the radical leaves. Spike slender, scat- 
 tered, endh flower with a short pedicel and a minute bract. Calyx none. 
 Perianth, white, of an oblong bell-shape, divided at the mouth into six 
 acute, spreading segments ; the outside, especially as the flower groT^rj, 
 old, has a wrinkled, roughish, or mealy appearance. Stamens six, 
 short, inserted near the mouth of the perianth at the base of the seg- 
 ments; ovary three-lobed, pyramidal, tapering, semi-inferior; style 
 triangular, separable into three. Capsule triangular, invested with the 
 permanent corolla, three-celled, three-valved at top. Seeds numerous, 
 minute, fixed to a central receptacle. — Jj. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — Unicorn root is' indigenous to N'orth America, growing 
 most generally in low grounds, edges of woods, sandy soils, etc. Its 
 flowers are white, and appear from May to August. The part used is 
 the root, which is from half an inch to about an inch long, averaging 
 
Ar.isjiA Plantago. 79 
 
 aboiit three-eighths of an inch in diameter, brownish-yellow or clay 
 color externally, lighter internally, crooked, irregular on its external 
 surface, wrinkled in the form of annular rings, giving off from its more 
 convex surface many fine light yellow rootlets several inches in length, 
 and which when broken off leave a porous surface, hard but readily 
 broken, the fractured surfaces, under a lens, presenting a mealy resin- 
 ous appearance and showing the internal insertions of the rootlets 
 around their peripheries ; the root has a faint odor, and a peculiar, 
 .somewhat nauseous, and qiiite bitter taste, which diminishes with age 
 and drying. Alcohol is its best solvent. {8ee Helonias Dioica.) 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Unicorn Eoot, in the recent state and in large 
 doses, is considerably narcotic, with emetic and cathartic properties. 
 When dried these properties are destroyed, and it becomes a very 
 valuable bitter tonic. It has been used in decoction or tincture, in 
 flatulent colic, hysteria, and to increase the tone of the stomach. It is 
 of much utility in dyspepsia, as well as in cases of general or local 
 debility, especially where there is an absence of urinary phosphates. 
 But its most valuable property consists in the tonic influence it exerts 
 upon the female generative organs, giving a normal energy to the 
 uterus, and thus proving useful in cases where there is an habitual 
 tendency to miscarriage. In chlorosis, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, 
 and engorged conditions of the uterus, as well as in prolapsus of that 
 organ, it is one of our best vegetable agents. The alcoholic extract is 
 an elegant form in which to employ it, in the above affections. In 
 uterine diseases it may be given alone with advantage, or employed in 
 combination with extract of asclepias, extract of senecio, resin of caulo- 
 phyllum, resin of cimicifuga. In flatulent colic and borborygmi, a mix- 
 ture of extract of Dioscorea, two grains. Ginger four grains, and Alco- 
 holic Extract of Aletris two grains, may be divided into two pills, of 
 which one may be given every two or three hours with decided benefit. 
 (See Asclepidin.) The resinous extract of the root, Aletrin, is not so much 
 employed at present as the alcoholic extract, Aletridin, although it pos- 
 sesses active properties. Dose of the powdered root, from five to ten 
 grains, three times a day; of the saturated tincture, from five to fifteen 
 drops, in water. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Bxtractum Aletridis Alcoholicum. 
 
 ALISMA PLANTAGO. (Gemeiner Froschloffel.) 
 
 "Water Plantain. 
 
 Nat. Orif.^Alismacese. Sex. Syst. — Hexandria Polygynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — This is a perennial, caulescent herb, sometimes ' called 
 Mad-dog Weed. Leaves radical, oval, oblong or lanceolate, subcordate 
 at the base, cuspidate or abruptly acuminate, five to nine nerved, from 
 four to six inches in length, about two-thirds as wide, on long radical 
 petioles. Scape one or two feet high, with whorled panicled branches ; 
 panicles loose, compound, many -flowered; branches of the panicle with 
 bracts at the base. Carpels fifteen to twenty, obliquely obovate, form- 
 ing an obtusely triangular whorl in fruit. Flowers small, white, whorled, 
 numerous ; petals three, tinged with purple, roundish, deciduous, larger 
 than the green, ovate, persistent sepals. Stamens six; achenia obtusely 
 three-cornered. Boot fibrous. — G. — W. 
 
 History. — Water Plantain inhabits the !N'orth American continent, as 
 well as Europe, growing in watery places, and flowering in July. The 
 
80 Materia Medioa. 
 
 root was formerly considered efficacious in hydrophobia, but recent trial* 
 have shown it to be impotent. The leaves are the parts used. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — An infusion of the dried leaves is an excellent 
 remedy in urinary diseases ; the leaves, dried and powdered, have been 
 successfully employed in gravel and other urinary affections. Dose of 
 the infusion, from four to six fluidounces three or foiir times a day; of 
 the leaves, one or two drachms. The fresh leaves bruised and applied 
 to the skin irritate and redden it, and not unfrequently will cause vesi- 
 cation. 
 
 ALLIUM SATIVUM. (Knoblauch.) 
 
 Garlic. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Liliacese. Sex. Syst. — ^Hexandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE BULB. 
 
 J?escrip^ion.— There are over sixty species belonging to this genus. 
 The A. Sativum has a stem about two feet high, leafy below the middle. 
 Mulbs clustered, very proliferous, many enveloped in the same silvery 
 skin ; leaves acute, distichous, glaucous, channeled above. The stem ter- 
 minates in a head of flowers, intermixed with bulbs, enveloped in a 
 calyptriform, horned spathe. Umbels bulbiferous. Flowers, if any, are 
 pink, red, or whitish, rather longer than the stamens, and appear in July. 
 Perianth deeply six-parted, segments mostly spreading, permanent, equal ; 
 ovary angular; stigma simple, acute; capsule three-lobed. It is a native 
 of Sicily, but cultivated in various sections of the country. — JJ. 
 
 Mistory.—'Xhe bulbs of this plant are officinal; when removed from 
 the ground some of the stem is left remaining, so that after desiccation 
 by exposure to the sun, or in a warm room, several stems may be- 
 secured together, thus forming small bundles for sale. The root loses 
 about one-half its weight by drying, but scarcely any of its smell or 
 taste. All parts of this plant, but more especially the bulbs, have a 
 stf ong, offensive, very penetrating ajid diffusible smell, and an acrimo- 
 nious, almost caustic taste ; both of these properties are owing to an 
 acrid, volatile oil, of a yellowish color, heavier than water, and pos- 
 sessing in a strong degree the odor and taste of the plant ; sulphur is 
 one of its constituents ; and in contact with tie skin it occasions vio- 
 lent pain, rubefaction, and frequently vesication. Garlic yields its 
 properties to alcohol, acetic acid, and boiling water by infusion. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Garlic is stimulant, diuretic, expectorant, and 
 rubefacient; it is used both for medical and culinary purpose^. The 
 medicinal effects above stated are owing to the absorption of its vola- 
 tile oil, the stimulating action of which causes thirst, promotes the 
 ajctivity of the various excretory organs, as the skin, kidneys, and mucous 
 membrane of the air-tube, communicating its odor to their excretions. 
 It has been beneficially used in coughs, catarrhal affections, pertussis, 
 hoarseness, worms, and calculous diseases, during the absence of 
 inflammation. Externally, it has been employed as a resolvent in. 
 indolent tumors, and as a counter-irritant in cerebral and pulmonary 
 affections. When applied along the spinal column and over the chest 
 of infants, in the form of poultice, it is very useful in pneumonia ; and 
 placed over the region of the bladder, it has sometimes proved effectual 
 in producing a discharge of urine when retention has arisen from 
 torpor of the bladder. Garlic juice, oil of sweet almonds, and glycerin, 
 of each equal parts, mixed, and dropped in the ear, has cured several 
 oases of deafness, due probably to excessive cerumen, or to chronic 
 
Allium Cepa. (il 
 
 debility of the mucous tissues of the organ of hearing. The dose of 
 fresh Garlic is a drachm.' or two; of the juice a small teaspoonful. 
 Large doses cause nausea, vomiting, purging, and other unpleasant 
 symptoms. The juice is often made into a syrup with sugar, by nurses, 
 for coughs, catarrhs, and pulmonary affections of infants. The odor 
 imparted to the breath, by Garlic and onions, may be very much 
 diminished by chewing roasted coffee grains, or parsley leaves and seeds. 
 
 ALLIUM CEPA. (Zwiebel.) 
 Onion. 
 Nat. Ord. — Liliacese. Tribe. — Scillese. Sex. Syst. — Hexandria Mon- 
 ogynia. 
 
 THE BULB. 
 
 Description. — The Onion has a root bearing a tunicated bulb, com- 
 pressed, or round, or oblong in figure, invested with a shining, thin, 
 dry membrane. Scape, appears the second year, two to four feet high, 
 straight, naked, smooth, stout, fistulous, bearing at the top a large, 
 round umbel of greenish-white flowers, swelling toward its base. 
 Leaves fistulous, terete, distichous, glaucous, acute, shorter than the 
 stem. Spathe reflexed, generally longer than the lower flowers. Umbels 
 large, regular, compact, many-flowered, not bulbiferous. Pedicels about 
 an inch long, thickened at the point. Stamens nearly twice as long as 
 the perianth. — L. — W. 
 
 History. — This biennial plant is supposed to be a native of Hungary, 
 but is now found in all parts of the world. Onion bulbs are of various 
 shapes and sizes, usually globular, tunicated, the layers being juicy, 
 and having a dry external covering of a white or reddish color. They 
 are less pungent to the taste than garlic, with some degree of sweet- 
 ness, and a peculiar, well-known odor. According to Fourcroy and 
 Vauquelin, Onion contains an acrid volatile oil, uncrystallizable sugar, 
 gum, albumen, woody fiber, acetic and phosphoric acids, phosphate and 
 citrate of lime and water. — P. The oil is colorless, acrid, and contains 
 sulphur. A peculiar wine may be made by fermenting the juice of 
 the Onion. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Onion possesses properties allied to those of 
 garlic, but in a milder degree, and the absorption of its oil and influ- 
 ence upon the system is somewhat similar to that of the oil of garlic. 
 Onions do not agree with all persons, especially dyspeptics, in whom 
 they favor the production of flatus, which, however, is a common symp- 
 tom among all those who eat largely of them; boiling, in a great 
 measure, deprives them of this property. Sugar and onion juice form 
 a syrup, much used in domestic practice, for cough and other affections 
 of the air-tubes among children. A roasted onion employed as a 
 cataplasm to suppurating tumors (Coxe), or to the^ ear in earache, has 
 proved beneficial. Dr. B. Eorer recommends in epistaxis, a paste made 
 by bruising the inner portion of the onion with an equal weight of 
 flour, and sufficient vinegar to form a paste ; this is applied by pressing 
 it in the nostrils from which the hemorrhage issues until filled, and then 
 securing it with a bandage. This was found to act after alum, nutgall, 
 and tincture of chloride of iron had failed. A saturated tincture of 
 onions made with good Holland gin, has been found serviceable in 
 gravel and dropsical affections. A cataplasm of onions pounded with 
 vinegar, has been found to cure corns and bunions, applied for a num- 
 ber of days, and changed three times a day. 
 6 
 
P2 Materia Medica. 
 
 AL]!fUS EUBEA. (Eothe Erie.) 
 
 Tag Alder. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Betulaoese. Sex. 8yst. — Monoecia Tetrandria. 
 
 THE BARK. 
 
 -DesGription. — This plant is the Alnus Serrulata of Alton and Willde- 
 now, and Ib known by the names of Smooth Alder and Common Alder. 
 It is a well-known shrub, growing in clumps, and forming thickets on 
 the borders of ponds and rivers, and in swamps. Stems numerous, 
 rather straight, from six to fifteen feet high. Leaves obovate-acumi- 
 nate, doubly serrulate with minute teeth, thiekish, smooth and green 
 on both sides, strongly veined, the veins and their axils being hairy 
 beneath, from two to four inches long, by two-thirds as wide, on peti- 
 oles one-half or one-third of an inch long; stipules elliptical and 
 obtuse. Aments two or three inches long, slender, pendulous, fascicled 
 at the ends of the branches ; fertile aments short, thick, dark -brown, 
 persistent, ovoid-oblong, several together a little below the sterile one. 
 Stamens four. Fruit ovate. — W. 
 
 History. — This shrub blossoms in March and April, bearing flowers 
 Of a reddish-green color. The bark is the part used and imparts its 
 properties to boiling water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tag Alder Bark is alterative, emetic, and 
 astringent. A decoction or extract of it is useful in scrofula, secondary 
 syphilis, and several forms of cutaneous disease. The inner bark of 
 the root is emetic ; and a decoction of the cones is said to be astrin- 
 gent, and useful in hematuria, and other hemorrhages. An excellent 
 ophthalmic powder is made by boring a hole from half an inch to an inch 
 in diameter, lengthwise, through a stout piece of a limb of Tag Alder. 
 Fill the opening with finely-powdered salt, and close it at each end. 
 Put it into hot ashes, and ,let remain till the Tag is almost charred 
 (three or four days), then split it open, take out the salt, powder, and 
 keep it in a vial. To use it, blow some of the powder upon the eye, 
 through a quill. An article named Alnuine is said to have been ob- 
 tained from this plant, which possesses alterative, tonic, and astringent 
 properties, and is recommended in herpes, syphilis, scorbutus, scrofula, 
 impetigo, etc., in doses of one to three grains, three or four times a day. 
 Likewise an essential agent, Alnuin, for the same purpose. We have 
 not been advised of the manner in which these agents are prepared, 
 and therefore can say but little concerning them ; though a saturated 
 tincture or decoction of the bark will be found equally as effectual as 
 these two agents are represented to have been. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoetum Alnus. Infusum Alnus. Tinct. Corydalis 
 Comp. 
 
 ALOE SPICATA. (Aloe.) 
 
 Aloes. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Liliac®. Sex. Syst. — Hexandria Monogynia. 
 
 INSPISSATED JUICE OP THE LEAVES. 
 
 JDeseriptian. — The Aloe Spicata, or Spiked Aloe, inhabits the southern 
 parts of Africa, where it grows in sandy soil. The stem is woody, 
 round, and about four feet high, from three to five inches in diameter ; 
 leaves thick, fleshy, subverticillate, broad at the base, gradually narrow- 
 
Aloe Spicata. 83 
 
 ing to the point, full two feet long, channeled, distantly toothed, with 
 a few white spots ; their parenchyma almost colorless. Spike a foot long, 
 very compact; flowers scarlet, horizontal, campanulate, filled with a 
 purplish honey. The thr&Q petals broader, ovate, obtuse, white with a 
 triple green line ; sepals narrower, less concave. Stamens much longer 
 than the perianth. — L. This tree furnishes the Cape Aloes of com- 
 merce. 
 
 Aloe Socotrina, inhabits the island of Socotra ; stem woody, straight, 
 a foot and a half high, or more, naked below, where it is strongly 
 marked with the scars of leaves. Leaves amplexicaul, ascending, 
 ensiform, green, curved inward at the point, convex below, rather con- 
 cave above, marked with numerous small white marginal serratures ; 
 parenchyma abounding in a bright brownish -yellow juice. JRaceme cylin- 
 drical, un branched; flowers scarlet at the base, pale in the middle, green 
 at the point. Stamens unequal, three of them longer than the flowers. — 
 L. This tree furnishes the Socotrine Aloes of commerce. 
 
 Aloe Vulgaris grows in the East Indias and Barbary; is now culti- 
 vated in the West Indies, as well as in some of the southern sections of 
 Europe. Stem woody, simple, cylindrical, short; leaves fleshy, amplexi- 
 caul, first spreading, then ascending, lanceolate, glaucous-green, fiat 
 above, convex below, armed with hard, distant, reddish spines perpen- 
 dicular to the margin, a little mottled with darker color ; parenchyma 
 slightly colored brown, and very distinct from the tough, leathery 
 cuticle. Scape axillary, glaucous, reddish, branched. Spike cylindrical- 
 ovate. Flowers at first erect, then spreading, afterward pendulous, 
 yellow, not longer than the stamens. — I/. This tree yields the Barba- 
 does Aloes of commerce. 
 
 There are several other species which furnish the medicinal aloes, 
 but the three above named are supposed to yield the principal portion. 
 The mucilaginous juice expressed from the parenchymatous tissue of 
 the leaves has no remedial infiuences ; but only that which is procured 
 by incising the air-ducts of the leaves, transversely, so that the juice 
 may fiow from them, or as stated by M. E. Eobiquet, from the inter- 
 cellular stucture between them. 
 
 Sistory. — Gape Aloes has a glossy or resinous fracture, a deep brown 
 or olive color, with a greenish tint, a shining, smooth surface, and thin 
 scales of it are nearly transparent, having a ruby color. Its odor is 
 more powerful and unpleasant than the Barbadoes Aloes ; its taste pe- 
 culiar and bitter ; and its powder is bright-yellow, somewhat like gam- 
 boge, but having a greenish tint. The finer East Indian varieties are 
 sometimes confounded with the Socotrine. Socotrine Aloes consists of 
 small angular fragments of a yellowish or garnet-red color, a shining 
 and unequal fracture, frequently roughish, a peculiar rather fragrant 
 odor, and a bitter and disagreeable taste, though accompanied with 
 some aromatic flavor. It is hard and friable in the winter, somewhat 
 plastic in summer, and growing soft between the fingers ; easily pul- 
 verizable ; and when reduced to powder, of a bright, golden color. Aloes, 
 of superior value, whether from the island of Socotra or not, are com- 
 mercially designated as Socotrine Aloes. — Ud. Duncan. Barbadoes Aloes 
 is not Sebright and clear as the Socotrine, is of darker color, more com- 
 pact texture, drier though not so brittle, with a stronger and more disa- 
 greeable taste, being intensely bitter and nauseous, with little or noth- 
 ing of the aromatic fiavor of the Socotrine ; it is extremely apt to 
 induce hemorrhoids, and is principally used among veterinary physi- 
 cians. The above-named are the principal kinds of aloes met with in 
 
84 Materia Medica. 
 
 the shops ; there are some others, but as they arc rarely seen in this 
 country, it will be useless to describe them. M. Mars-is states that three 
 distinct kinds of Barbadoes Aloes have been found in commerce, two 
 of which are probably obtained by simple exudations of the juice from 
 the incised leaves, while the third is the result obtained by boiling the 
 plant in water, and evaporating. These three kinds may be distin- 
 guished &om the other species of aloes by a common property they have 
 of giving a perfect emulsion when triturated with a little cold water. 
 
 Aloes is almost completely dissolved in boiling water, and as the de- 
 coction cools, the substance called resin, but which is the inert apo- 
 theme, is deposited. — Berzelius. It should never be boiled for any length 
 of time, as its medicinal virtues are thereby diminished. It is dissolved 
 by alcohol, whether diluted or not. A clear solution made with cold 
 water reddens litmus, gives a deep olive-brown color with sesquichlo- 
 ride of iron, is deepened in color by alkalies, is unchanged with gelatine, 
 and forms a copious yellow precipitate with diacetate of lead. Heat 
 occasions fusing, frothing, charring, and ignition, burning with a crack- 
 ling noise, and a dense smoke which has the peculiar aloetic smell. All 
 articles which precipitate its soluble principles, or which effect changes 
 in them, are incompatibles. M. E. Eobiquet has found the best Socotrine 
 Aloes to contain 85 per cent, of bitter extractive or aloetin, 8 per cent, 
 of albumen, and 4.5 per cent, of various salts, etc., — as ulmate of potassa, 
 sulphate of lime, gallic acid, etc. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tonic, purgative, emmenagogue, and anthel- 
 mintic. In doses of from half a grain to a grain, two or three times a 
 day, it exerts a decided tonic influence, but is seldom resorted to for 
 this purpose. As a laxative and purgative, its applications are un- 
 bounded ; it acts more especially on the muscular coat of the large in- 
 testines, rather increasing their peristaltic motion, than effecting copious 
 thin or watery discharges ; and from its tendency to produce heat and 
 irritation about the anus, it is extremely improper for persons disposed 
 to, or troubled with piles. When applied endermieally to an ulcer or 
 blistered surface, it purges as effectually and promptly as when taken 
 into the stomach j ten grains used thus will purge in from six to ten 
 hours. It is commonly supposed to have no action on the jejunum or 
 ileum ; and some imagine it to influence the duodenum, and especially 
 the mouths of the biliary ducts, causing an increased flow of bile; 
 stimulating the intestinal canal, when that secretion is suspended as in 
 jaundice. It acts upon the uterus, promoting the menstrual flow, and 
 which is partly owing to the stimulation of the organ, and the deter- 
 mination of blood toward it, occasioned by the medicine. It is said 
 that one to three grains of extract of Hyoscyamus, or Hops, or two 
 grains of Ipecacuanha, mixed with the Aloetic dose, will prevent its 
 irritating effect on the lower intestines. An increase of the quantity 
 of Aloes beyond the medium dose, is not attended by a corresponding 
 increase of effect. Aloes has been efficacious in constipation, dyspepsia, 
 and asearides;. in this last instance being used in form of an injection, 
 ten grains to three ounces of water, for children. In chlorosis and 
 amenorrhea it has often proved serviceable, and is used for this purpose 
 in various combinations. In cases of delicate females, with loss of ap- 
 petite, torpor of the bowels, and suffering with suppression of the menses, 
 the following has been recommended for the purpose of exciting proper 
 ovarian or uterine action : Take of the best Aloes, pulverized, Asafcet- 
 ida, pulverized, each, half a drachm, Cantharides, pulverized, twenty 
 grains; mix and rub well together with a little Soap, and divide into 
 
AhOiNE. 85 
 
 twenty pills. Of these give from one to three, three times a day. If 
 the patient be very feeble, some of the Salts of Iron may also be added. 
 Injections of Aloes, composed, of from ten to thirty grains dissolved in 
 two or three fluidounces of water, and thrown up the rectum daily, and 
 continued for a week previous to the menstrual period, have sometimes 
 proved effectual. 
 
 Aloes should never be given in inflammatory affections, in irritable, 
 plethoric habits, in gastritis, enteritis, where piles are present, to fe- 
 males liable to sudden uterine evacuations, nor during pregnancy. In 
 hemorrhoids it may be given when modified by combination. Soap, or 
 an alkaline carbonate, lessens its irritant action. The union of other 
 purgatives with Aides, often modifies its tendency to irritate the rectum. 
 One grain of Aloes with two or three grains of sulphate of iron, will 
 also modify this action and will produce as much effect as two or three 
 grains of Aloes. As a cathartic. Aloes will be found useful in habitual 
 constipation from intestinal torpor, jaundice, scrofula, l^pochondriasis, 
 and where there is a tendency to cerebal congestion. Dose of Aloes, is 
 from two to ten, or even twenty grains ; aijd the most convenient form 
 of administration is that of pill. It enters as a constituent into a great 
 number of useful compound remedies. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Decoctum Aloes Compositum; Enema Aloes Composita; 
 Bxtractum Colocynthidis Compositum ; Pilulse Aloes Compositae • Tinc- 
 tura Aloes ; Tinctura Aloes et Myrrhse. 
 
 ALOBSm. (Aloebitter.) 
 Bitter Extractive of Aloes. Aloetin. 
 
 Preparation. — M. E. Eobiquet obtained Aloesin by exhausting pow- 
 dered Aloes with cold Distilled Water ; evaporating the infusion one- 
 half, over a water bath ; adding an excess of neutral Acetate of Lead, 
 which precipitated a light-yellow flocculent substance. To the clear 
 liquor. Ammonia was added, which precipitated the Aloesin combined 
 with Oxide of Lead, of an orange color. This precipitate was quickly 
 separated and washed with Boiling "Water, and then decomposed in 
 water with Sulphuretted Hydrogen, atmospheric air being shut out. 
 The precipitate of Sulphuret of Lead was separated from the colorless 
 liquor by filtration, and the latter being evaporated in vacuo, deposited 
 Aloesin. — C. 
 
 History. — Thus prepared, Aloesin is in colorless, or pale-yellow scales, 
 like a varnish, non-crystalline, of a powerful aloetic taste, soluble in 
 cold water, alcohol, and especially weak spirit, sparingly soluble in 
 ether, and not at all in fixed or volatile oils. Its aqueous solution, 
 when exposed to the air, owing to oxidation, becomes dark -red ; it is 
 not precipitated by_ iron salts, acetate of lead, isinglass solution, or in- 
 fusion of galls. Heat, exposure, and moisture convert it into an inso- 
 luble, inert oxygenated extract. — G. It is probably an impure Aloin, 
 in which this active principle is combined with foreign substances, that 
 interfere with its crystallization. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Same as Aloes. Bight grains of Aloesin being 
 equal to ten of Socotrine, and fifty of Cape Aloes. 
 
 ALOINE. (Aloin.) 
 The» Purgative Principle of Barbadoes Aloes. 
 Preparation. — Pulverize the Aloes with sand, to prevent the particles 
 from agglomerating, and then treat it with Cold Water ; strain off the 
 
86 Materia Medioa. 
 
 liquid, and. evaporate it in vacuo to a syrupy consistence — set it aside 
 for a few days, when it will be filled with a niass of brownish-yellow 
 granulal- crystals. This is impure Aloine. To remove the brown 
 matter associated with it, re-crystallize it repeatedly from Warm Water, 
 until the crystals are of a sulphur-yellow. In making these solutions, 
 the temperature of water should not exceed 149° F. At 212° Aloine 
 oxidizes rapidly, and is decomposed. At 302° P., it melts, and if heated 
 strongly in the open air it burns with a smoky flame. 
 
 History. — When pure, it crystallizes in stellated groups of small pris- 
 matic needles, whose purity is shown by the color, which should not 
 deepen by exposure to the air in desiccation. It is completely neutral, 
 sparingly soluble in cold water, but readily in warm, with a taste, at , 
 first sweetish, but soon becoming intensely bitter. Its solutions in the 
 alkalies and their carbonates is of an orange yellow, and the liquid ab- 
 sorbs oxygen upon contact with the atmosphere, which rapidly deepens 
 its color. Boiled with alkalies or acids, it is speedily transformed into 
 a brown resin. Corrosive sublimate, nitrate of silver, or neutral acetate 
 of lead, do not cause its precipitation ; concentrated subacetate of lead 
 produces a precipitate of an intiense yellow, soluble in excess of water, 
 aihd becoming deeper colored on exposure. Cold fuming nitric acid 
 dissolves it, without disengaging gas, forming a reddish-brown liquid ; 
 to wbich, if sulphuric acid be added in great excess, a yellow pulveru- 
 lent body is thrown down, which explodes when heated. By dry d;s- 
 tillation, Aloine furnishes a slightly aromatic, volatile oil, and a quan- 
 tity of resinous substance. It forms crystallized compounds with 
 bromine, but not with chlorine, although it combines equally wellwith 
 this latter. Bromine, added to a cold aqueous solution of Aloine, in- 
 stantly forms a yellow precipitate, while the supernatant liquid assumes 
 a very acid reaction, consequent upon the formation of hydrobromic 
 acid. By dissolving the precipitate in warm alcohol, and cooling the 
 solution, bromated Aloine is 'obtained in brilliant yellow needles, 
 grouped in stars. Stenhouse gives its formula as O34 His ^u- It also 
 exists in Socotrine Aloes. 
 
 Pt&perties and Uses. — Same as aloes. Dose of Aloine, one-fourth of a 
 grain to a grain. 
 
 ALPDSriA CAEDAMOMUM. 
 
 Cardamom. — Kardamomen. 
 
 Wat. Ord. — Zingiberaceae, lAndley. Scitamineae, Brown. Sex. Syst. — 
 Monandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE FRUIT. CARDAMOM SEED. 
 
 Description. — Alpinia Cardamomum has a knobbed,"perennial rhizoma, 
 with many fleshy radicles ; stems numerous, erect, simple, jointed, envel- 
 oped in the spongy sheaths of the leaves, about four or six feet high. 
 Leaves bifarious, subsessile on their sheaths, lanceolate, fine-pointed, 
 somewhat villous above, sericeous underneath, entire, one or two feet 
 long, nearly half a foot broad ; sheaths slightly villous, with a rounded 
 ligula rising above the mouth. There are from three to five scapes 
 proceeding from the base of the stem, which are from one to two feet 
 long, lying upon the ground, flexuose and jointed; branches or racemes 
 alternate, one from each joint of the scape, sub-erect, two or three 
 Inches long. Bracts solitary, oblong, smooth, membranous, striated^ 
 
Alth^a Officinalis. 87 
 
 sheathing, one at each joint of the scape. Mowers altei'nate, short- 
 stalked, solitary at each joint of the racepies, opening in succession as 
 the racemes lengthen. Calyx monophyllous, funnel-shaped, three- 
 toothed at the mouth, ahout three quarters of an inch l(tog, striated, 
 with fine veins, permanent. Tube of corolla slender, Ss long as the 
 calyx; limb d.ouble, exterior of three, oblong, concave, nearly equal, 
 pale greenish-white divisions; inner lip obovate, much lotiger than the 
 exterior divisions, somewhat curled at the edge, with the apex slightly 
 three-lobed, marked chiefly in the center with purple violet stripes. 
 Filament Bhort, erect. Ani^er double, emarginate. Ovary oval, smooth. 
 Style slender. Stigma fannel-shaped. Capsule oval, somewhat three- 
 sided, size of a small nutmeg, three-celled, and three-valved; seeds pale 
 brown, coriaceous, numerous. — i. 
 
 History. — Alpinia Cardamomum, or rather Mettaria Cardamomum, in- 
 habits the mountainous parts of the coast of Malabar, where it grows 
 w^ithout cultivation. The fruit, which is the officinal part, is not obtained 
 until the shrub has reached its utmost height, which requires four years ; 
 it consists of an obtusely triangular, oblong, coriaceous capsule, ribbed, 
 grayish-yellow, and from one or two lines to nearly an inch in length. 
 They contain about 75 per cent, of numerous, nearly triangular, rugose 
 seeds, of a dark -brownish color externally, white within, having a fra- 
 grant, camphoraceous odor, and an agreeable, intensely aromatic taste. 
 The seeds contain the active properties, while their covering, which has 
 very little smell ov taste, should be rejected ; the flavor of the seed is 
 soon lost when deprived of the capsules covering them. "Water or alco- 
 hol takes up the virtues of the seeds, which Trommsdorff found, in 1834, 
 to be due to a colorless, strongly fragrant, volatile oil, of sp. gr. 0.943J 
 which is very soluble in alcohol, ether, oils, and acetic acid; insoluble in, 
 potash-lye. By keeping, it becomes yellow, viscid, and loses its pecu- 
 liar taste and smell ; its constitution is Cm Hg. — P. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Cardamom seeds are very warm, grateful, pun- 
 gent and aroijiatic, and form an agreeable addition to bitter infusions, 
 and other medicinal compounds. They are chiefly employed as a car- 
 minative in flatulency, and to flavor syrups, tinctures, etc. Dose of 
 the powder, from ten grains to two drachms. As the powder rapidly 
 loses its aromatic property, the seeds should be pulverized from time 
 to time, as they are required for present employment. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Syrupus Stillrngise Compositus; Tinctura Cardamomi; 
 Tinctura Cardamomi Composita. 
 
 ALTH^A OFFICINALIS. (Althee.) 
 
 Marsh-Mallow. — Eibisch. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Malvace®. Sex. Syst. — Monadelphia Polyandria. 
 
 THE BOOT. 
 
 Description. — Althaea Officinalis is a peculiarly soft, and downy, hoary, 
 green herb, having a tap-shaped, rather woody root. Stem.s several, 
 erect, from two to five feet in height, simple, round, leafy, tough, pli- 
 ant; leaves ovate or heart-shaped at the base, various in breadth, 
 plaited, five-ribbed, unequally serrated, petioled, soft and pliable, more 
 or less' deeply divided into five acute lobes. PlOwers large, in very 
 short, dense, axillary panicles, rarely solitary, of a delicate, uniform, 
 
iS8 Materia Mbdica. 
 
 blash color. Involucre with 8, 9, 10, or 12 divisions. Fruit formed of 
 numerous capsular carpels, closely and circularly arranged around the 
 axis, one-seeded. — L. 
 
 History. — This perennial herb is found commonly on the banks of 
 rivers, and in salt marshes. It is indigenous to Europe, in some parts 
 of which it is cultivated in great quantities for medical use, and moist 
 sandy soils are preferred. It flowers from July to September. The 
 whole plant, but especially the root, abounds with mucilage. Although 
 the plant grows to some extent in the United States, the root is prin- 
 cipally obtained from Europe for medical purposes, that which comes 
 from Germany being much whiter but not so thick as that from the 
 south of Prance. As met with in the shops, the root is in pieces three 
 or four inches long, or more, roundish, about half an inch in diameter, 
 with a feeble odor, and very mucilaginous taste. It should be chosen 
 plump, and little fibrous ; with a very white surface, well cleared of its 
 yellowish epidermis, downy from the mode of dressing it with files ; 
 and possessing no moldy acid, nor musty odor, and no acid taste. 
 Sometimes it is met with divided lengthwise. The plant contains 
 nearly twenty per cent, of mucilage. — Ed. Duncan. 
 
 Althcea Rosea, or Hollyhock, which is a native of China, but introduced 
 into our gardens, likewise contains a considerable amount of mucilage, 
 and is sometimes used as an emollient and demulcent. 
 
 The Hibiscus Palustris (ov. H. Moscheutos), Marsh Hibiscas, of this 
 country, has a root very much resembling that of the Marsh-mal- 
 low, possesses exactly the same properties, and may be as effectually 
 used. 
 
 It is a tall, showy, perennial plant, growing in salt marshes, near 
 salt springs, and on wet prairies, and flowers in August. Stem simple, 
 erect, herbaceous, round, downy, from four to six feet in height; leaves 
 from four to six inches, by three to four inches, often with two lateral 
 lobes, ovate, obtusely dentate, hoary -toxusktose beneath ; flowers larger 
 than those of the hollyhock, rose-colored, purple in the center. Pedun- 
 cles long, axillary, or connected with the petiole, usually distinct from 
 it, but sometimes united with it, jointed above the middle. Styles one 
 inch longer than the stamens. — W. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The roots of each of the above plants are de- 
 mulcent and diuretic, and may be used indiscriminately, the one for 
 the other. They will be found valuable, in the form of decoction, in 
 diseases of the mucous tissues, as hoarseness, catarrh, pneumonia, gon- 
 orrhea, vesical catarrh, renal irritation, acute dysentery and diarrhea. 
 In strangury, inflammation of the bladder, hematuria, retention of 
 uriije, some forms of gravel, and indeed in nearly every affection of the 
 kidney and bladder, their use will be found advantageous. I make 
 much use of them combined with equal parts of spearmint, in urinary 
 derangements. They are likewise efficacious in gastro-intestinal irri- 
 tation 'and inflammation. As the decoction soon decomposes, or be- 
 comes moldy or acid, it should always be made in small quantities, not 
 more than a pint or two at a time, according to the temperature of 
 tbe weather. Externally, Marsh-mallow root is very useful in the 
 form of poultice, to discuss painful inflammatory tumors, and swellings 
 of every kind, whether the consequence of wounds, bruises, burns, 
 scalds, or poisons ; and has, when thus applied, had a happy effect in 
 preventing the occurrence of gangrene. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Althsese; Infusiim Althsese. 
 
Altjmen. 89 
 
 ALUMBN. (Alaun.) 
 
 Alum. Sulphate of Alumina and Potassa ; and, Sulphate of Ammonia 
 
 and Alumina. 
 
 Aluminium or Aluminum (Al=13.7 or 171.2) is the metallic basis of 
 the earth Alumina. It is as white as silver, malleable and ductile in 
 the highest degree. But when worked it appears to become harder, 
 and its tenacity probably approaches nearly to that of iron. It may 
 be hardened, and again softened, by annealing. Its specific gravity is 
 2.56. It may be melted and run out into the air without being sensibly 
 oxidized. It is a good conductor of heat, and is completely unalter- 
 able in dry or moist air. It does not become tarnished, and remains 
 bright by the side of freshly cut zinc and tin, while the latter lose 
 their brilliancy. It is not acted upon by sulphuretted hydrogen. Cold 
 water has no action upon it, and boiling water does not tarnish it. 
 Nitric acid either concentrated or diluted, and diluted sulphuric acid, 
 when applied cold, are also without action upon it. Its true solvent is 
 hydrochloric acid, which evolves hydrogen, and forms sesquichloride 
 of aluminium. "When heated to redness in hydrochloric acid gas, dry 
 and volatile sesquichloride of Aluminium is produced. It is lighter 
 than glass, and is found in large quantity in nature, its ore being clay. 
 If the chloride of aluminium be treated with sodium, and the mass be 
 heated to bright redness in a porcelain crucible, the excess of chloride 
 of Aluminium will be driven off, and there will remain a saline mass 
 naving an acid reaction, in the midst of which will be found globules 
 of varying size, of perfectly pure aluminium. — Deville. 
 
 History. — Common or potash alum, KO, SO3-J-AI2 O3 3 SO3-I-24 H0= 
 258.4+216, or 3230+2700, known by the name of alum, is the ofdcinal 
 article. It is chiefly found in volcanic countries, in the earths of 
 which it exists naturally. Generally, however, it is obtained from 
 native mixtures of pyrites and clay, or sulphuric acid and clay. In 
 Great Britain it is prepared from aluminous slate, or aluminous schist, 
 which is calcined, then submitted for some weeks to atmospheric in- 
 fluence, and finally lixiviated and concentrated by evaporation. — P. 
 The Sulphate of Alumina and Ammonia, NH^ 0, SO3+AI2 Og 3 SOs+ 
 24 HO, is now more commonly met with as the Alum of commerce, 
 and has the same therapeutic use and value. 
 
 Alum usually crystallizes in regular octohedrons, consisting of two 
 four-sided pyramids applied base to base, frequently with truncated 
 edges and angles, and sometimes in cubes. It has a sweetish but very 
 astringent taste. It is soluble in fifteen times its weight of water at 
 60" P., and in three-fourths of its weight at 212°.' It reddens litmus, 
 and slightly efloresces in the air. — Ed. Duncan. It has the specific 
 gravity 1.71. Exposed to a gentle heat, it fuses in its water of crys- 
 tallization ; a strong heat causes it to swell and foam, and to lose about 
 44 per cent, of its weight, consisting chiefly of water of crystallization, 
 forming burnt or dried alum. A very strong heat expels its acid. 
 
 Alum is decomposed by baryta, potassa, soda, strontia, and all salts 
 of which these are the bases ; by the nitrate, muriate, phosphate, car- 
 bonate, borate, and fluate of ammonia ; by the nitrate, muriate, phos- 
 phate, and carbonate of magnesia ; and by the nitrate, muriate, and 
 carbonate of lime ; also by gallic acid, coloring matters, and many 
 animal and vegetable substances. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In doses of from thirty to sixty grains, repeated 
 every three or four hours, Alum exerts a purgative influence ; if these 
 
90 Materia Medica. 
 
 doses are repeated every ten or fifteen minutes, they will cause vomit- 
 ing. From five grains to a scruple, dissolved in some aromatic infu- 
 sion, and repeated every three or four hours, will exert an astringent- 
 tonic influence. As an astringent. Alum has been used in hemorrhages 
 and immoderate secretions, as in diarrhea attending typhoid fever, night 
 sweats of exhausting diseases, passive bleeding from the lungs, stomach, 
 kidneys, or uterus, fluor albus, etc. In the inflammatory stage of gonor- 
 rhea, it will often be found useful in solution with an infusion of marsh- 
 mallow. In colic it has been found very useful when given in large 
 doses, especially in that form of colic to which workers in lead are sub- 
 ject. In spasm of the glottis and diseases of the throat accompanied 
 with membraniform exudation, it is advised in emetic doses. As an 
 antispasmodic, it appears to exert a beneficial influence in pertussis. 
 In! several affections of the throat. Alum, in solution, may be beneficially 
 employed as a gargle, or it may be finely powdered, and blown upon 
 the parts through a CLuill or small tube; thus used it will be found valu- 
 able in sore throat, relaxed uvula, etc. In the form of powder spray itwill 
 be found especially useful in many chronic mucous diseases, as in con- 
 gestion, catarrhal affections, thickening of the mucous tissue, etc. Its 
 solution may also be used as a wash for ptyalism, and as an injection in 
 gleet and leueorrhea, alone or conjoined with sulphate of zinc. It has 
 likewise proved very useful in purulent ophthalmia of infants, and in 
 the latter stages of conjunctival inflammation. In colica pictonum it 
 may be given in doses of from thirty to sixty grains, every three hours ; 
 it mitigates all the unpleasant symptoms in this disease more promptly 
 and permanently than any other remedy. It is often used externally, 
 either in powder or solution, to check bleeding from the nose, excessive 
 menstruation, and to check the bleeding from cut surfaces; it may be 
 applied on lint, or on a small piece of sponge if used in solution. From 
 four to ten grains of alum to the ounce of water, is of sufficient strength 
 for a collyrium. To use in the form of spray in faucial, tracheal, laryn- 
 geal, and nasal affections, a solution of from four to fifteen grains of 
 alum to a fluidounce of water may be used. I have found much advan- 
 tage from the use of the following preparation in troublesome cough, 
 especially when attended with tickling or irritation of the fauces, la- 
 rynx, etc. : Take of a Saturated Solution of Alum, Syrup of Balsam of 
 Tolu, each, two fluidounces. Camphorated Tincture of Opium one fluid- 
 ounce, mix. The dose for an adult is a tablespoonful three or fljur times 
 a day, or whenever the cough is very troublesome. Several prac- 
 titioners to whom I have recommended the preparation have found it 
 very efficacious. 
 
 Altjmen Exsiocatttm. — Dried or burnt Alum, sometimes called Alu- 
 men Ustum, is prepared by heating alum, until ebullition ceases, and it 
 becomes dry. It is principally used as a mild escharotic, to destroy ex- 
 uberant spongy granulations, known as proud flesh. It differs from 
 Alum only in the absence of water, and may, like it, be used in form of 
 powder spray. 
 
 Alum Whet is made by boiling Alum with Milk, in the proportion of 
 five grains of the former to every fluidounce of the latter, and then 
 straining off the thin liquor. — G. It may be given internally, in diar- 
 rhea, etc., in doses of from half an ounce to one or two ounces. Exter- 
 nally, applied over the eye as a poultice, it is very serviceable in in- 
 flammation of that organ. 
 
 Off. Frep. — Alumen Exsiccatum; Cataplasma Aluminis; Lotio Zinci 
 Compositum; Pulvis Stypticus. 
 
Alumen. 91 
 
 Iron Alum has lately been brought to the notice of the profession by 
 Dr. "Wm. Tyler Smith and others. There are three Iron Alums, one 
 with Potassa, Fe^ O3 3 S03 + KO SO3 + 24 Aq. j another with Soda, Poj 
 Os 3 SOs + lTaO SO3+24 Aq.; and the third with Ammonia, Fe^Os 
 3 SO3 + NHj SOs+ 24 Aq. Of these two have been used, viz: the 
 Potassio-sulphate of Peroxide of Iron, and the Ammonia-sulphate of Per- 
 oxide of Iron. The first has long been used in St. Mary's Hospital, Lon- 
 don, as a more powerful astringent than common alum, and not liable 
 to produce the stimulating effects of other salts of iron; the second 
 possesses similar properties. The first may be made by dissolving per- 
 oxide of iron in sulphui'ic acid, or by peroxidizing protosulphate of iron 
 with nitric acid, and adding an equivalent of Sulphate of Potassa. If 
 the salt with ammonia be required, sulphate of ammonia is added in- 
 stead of sulphate of potassa. The solution, with excess of sulphuric 
 acid, is to be evaporated until crystals are formed on cooling. Next to 
 common alum and chrome alum, this is one of the most easily formed 
 of the whole series. It. is a beautiful, pale violet colored salt, more solu- 
 ble than common alum, the solution having a reddish color. It may be 
 distinguished from an alum containing protosulphate of iron, by the 
 color of the precipitate formed on the addition of caustic potassa, which, 
 with the salt under notice, will be brown, while with the other it will 
 be green. It presents the octahedral forni of common alum, but con- 
 tains not a trace of 'alumina. — Pharm. Jour., Jan. 1854,^. 306. 
 
 Mr.Wm. Hodgson, Jr., in Am. Jour. Pharm., XXVIII., p. 306„ gives the 
 following formula for preparing the Feeri et Ammonia Sulphas, Bul- 
 phate of Iron and Ammonia, or "Ammonio-Ferric Alum," as he terms it; 
 Boil pure crystallized Protosulphate of Iron, eight Troy ounces in two pints 
 of Distilled Water, and add to it gradually Sulphuric Acid seven fluid- 
 drachms; when dissolved, add, in small portions gradually, Nitric Acid 
 (common strength or 36° B.) two and a half fluidounces, or a sufficient 
 quantity, boiling for a minute or so after each addition, until the Nitric 
 Acid ceases to produce a black tint in the liquor. The complete change 
 of the Protosulphate of Iron to a Persulphate, is, toward the last, accom- 
 panied by a violent .boiling and evolution of Deutoxide of Nitrogen ; 
 rendering it necessary to use a vessel for the operation capable of hold- 
 ing double the quantity put into it. Boil the solution of Persulphate of 
 Iron to about half its volume ; then add Sulphate of Ammonia two ounces 
 and two drachms, Troy weight, and set it aside for spontaneous evapora- 
 tion and crystallization. Wash the crystals rapidly but thoroughly in 
 very cold water, then press them wrapped in copious folds of bibulous 
 paper, and afterward dry them in the open air. The crystals should be 
 nearly colorless, but with a slight dark tint. They are octohedrons, 
 usually truncated. They are quite soluble in water. Based upon the 
 preceding process, the IJ. S. Pharmacopoeia have given a formula for 
 the preparation of this salt, in which it is recommended to "heat two 
 pints of a solution of Tersulphate of Iron to the boiling point, then to 
 add to it four Troy ounces and a half of Sulphate of Ammonia, and when 
 this is dissolved, set the fluid aside to crystallize, wash the crystals 
 quickly with very cold water, wrap them in bibulous paper, and dry 
 them in the open air." The result is the same as from Mr. Hodgson's 
 process. 
 
 Dr. Wm. Tyler Smith speaks very highly of these iron alums in leu- 
 corrhea, in doses of from three to ten or fifteen grains, in infusion of 
 Colombo, or in water, repeated three times a day. They have also been 
 found useful in choleraic diarjrhea, dysentery, and other disorders in 
 
92 Mateeia Medica. 
 
 which tonicity and astringency are required. They are more effective 
 than the sesqnichloride of iron, being at the same time less stimulat- 
 ing, more easily assimilated, and rarely causing any nausea or head- 
 ache. Occasionally they induce slight constipation, which may be 
 obviated by an occasional laxative. 
 
 AMAEANTHUS HYPOCHONDEIACUS. (Amaranth.) 
 
 Amaranth. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Amaranthacese. Sex, Syst. — Monoecia Pentandria. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — Amaranthus Hypochondriacus is an annual herb, with 
 a stout, upright stem, growing from three to four feet high. Leaves 
 oblong, lanceolate, mucronate, green with a red purple spot, or tinged 
 with purple; flowers clustered in racemes, of a bright-red purple, as 
 well as the awl-shaped bracts. Racemes pentandrous, compound, erect, 
 compact. Stamens five. The whole plant is dark-red, or reddish -purple, 
 with long plume-like clusters. — G. — W. 
 
 History. — This plant, also known by the names of Princes' Feather, 
 Lovely Bleeding,' Red Cocks-comb, etc., is a native of the Middle States, 
 and is cultivated as an ornamental plant in gardens. It bears deep 
 bright-red flowers in Augiist. The leaves, which are the parts used, are 
 also red, and yield their virtues to water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Amaranth is astringent. The decoction drank 
 freely is highly recommended in severe menorrhagia, and has also been 
 found beneficial in diarrhea, dysentery, and hemorrhage from the bow- 
 els. It has likewise been used as a local application in ulceration of the 
 mouth and throat, in leucorrhea, and as a wash to foul, indolent ulcers. 
 
 AMBEOSIA TEIFIDA. (Dreitheilige Ambrosie.) 
 
 Tall Ambrosia. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteraeese. Sex. Syst. — Monoecia Pentandria. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 2>escrtp Won .^Ambrosia Trifida is variously known by the names 
 Horse-weed, Bitter-weed, Great Rag-weed, Horse-cane, Rich-weed, Wild- 
 hemp, etc. It is a rough, hairy, herbaceous, annual plant, with an 
 erect, branching, furrowed stem, from five to ten feet in height. Leaves 
 opposite,' from four to seven inches broad, scabrous and hairy, with 
 three large, deep lobes which are oval, lanceolate, acuminate, closely 
 serrated; lower leaves often flve-lobed. Petioles narrowly-winged, cili- 
 ate ; racemes often paniculate. Flowers mean and obscure, in long leaf- 
 less spikes, axillary and terminal. Fruit (fertile involucre) turbinate- 
 obovoid, with a short conical pointed apex, six-ribbed, the ribs termi- 
 nating in as many cristate tubercles. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — This plant grows in low grounds and along streams, from 
 Canada to Georgia, and west to Louisiana and Arkansas, bearing green- 
 ish-yellow flowers in August. It is much in use among farmers, for the 
 "slabbers" in horses, effecting a cure in a few hours. It has a spicy, 
 pleasant, aromatic taste, slightly resembling ginger, and imparts its 
 properties to water. 
 
AMMONIACUM. 93 
 
 F^ifa-Ti.if. aAd Uses. — This plant is slightly stimulant, astringent, and 
 autiseptic. Lisefal in decoction as an injection in leucorrhea, prolapsus 
 uteri, cnronic gonorrhea, and gleet ; also valuable as a collyrium, in 
 ophthalmia, and as a wash or gargle^ — with its internal use also — in the 
 sore mouth of nurses. It will be found an excellent application to 
 mercurial, and all other ulcers of a fetid or gangrenous character. As 
 a remedy for mercurial salivation, used every half hour as a wash, it is 
 said to be prompt and efficacious. Internally, the decoction is usefu-l 
 in fevers, attended with a disposition to putrescency, diarrhea, and 
 dysentery. Dose of the decoction from one to two ounces. Two prep- 
 arations are said to have been obtained from this plant, caljed Ambro- 
 sine and Elatine. The former, it is stated, is found associated with 
 elatinfe, and forms beautiful and brilliant pearl-like, prismatic crystals 
 with sulphuric acid ; it is tasteless and inodorous, and can be retained 
 on the most sensitive stomach. It is recommended as a tonic, diuretic, 
 a'nd alte:i*ative in dropsical affections with great loss of vitality ; in 
 nephritis and albuminuria ; likewise in diabetes, consumption, scrofula, 
 etc. Dose, one to three grains, three to six times a day. If this agent 
 is as effectual as its manufacturers state, it will becoiiie one of the most 
 valuable in the Materia Medica. Elatine is obtained in the form of a 
 white, flocculent precipitate. Properties and dose similar to ambrosLae. 
 We have not been able to learn the mode of preparing these articles, 
 nor do we place any confidence in the statements made regarding them. 
 
 The Ambrosia Artemisi^folia (A. Elatior) Eoman wormwood, or 
 Rag-weed, has a slender stem, rising from one to three feet high, much 
 branched, and pubescent when young ; leaves opposite, the upper alter- 
 nate, twice pinnatifid, smoothish above, paler or hoary beneath ; barren 
 flowers small, green, in terminal racemes, or spikes loosely panicled ; 
 fertile ones sessile about the axis of the upper leaves ; fruit obovoid, or 
 globular, pointed, armed with about six short acute teeth or spines. — 
 W. — G. It is sometimes called Hog -weed. It is very common in all 
 our fields, and ■v^ould probably prove fully as efficacious, if not more 
 so, than the A. Trifida. It is highly recommended as a fomentation 
 in recent inflammation from wounds or injuries of any kind. Made 
 into . a salve by bruising the green leaves, and simmering them in 
 spirits and cream, it is very useful in hemorrhoidal tumors, and some 
 forms of ulcer. 
 
 AMMONIACUM. (Ammoniak.) 
 
 Gum Ammoniac. — Ammoniakgummi. 
 
 K'at. Ord. — Apiacese. Sex. Syst. — ^Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 THS CONCRETE JUICE OP DOREMA AMMONIACUM. 
 
 De&cription. — The Dorema Ammoniacum is a glaucous green plant 
 k.. king like opoponax. Boot perennial and large, with smooth stems, 
 eight or ten feet high, over an inch in diameter at base, having petio- 
 late leaves about two feet long, somewhat bi-pinnate ; pinnae in three 
 pairs; leaflets inciso-pinnatifid, with oblong mucronulate, entire, or 
 slightly lobed segments, from one to five inches long, half an inch to 
 two inches broad; petiole downy, very large, sheathing at the base. 
 Umbels proliferous, racemose ; partial umbels globose, on short stalks, 
 often arranged in a spiked manner. General and partial involucre want- 
 ing. Flowers sessile, immersed in wool. Teeth of calyx acute, mem- 
 branous, minute. Petals white, ovate, reflexed at the point. Dish 
 
94 Materia Medica. 
 
 large, fleshy, cup-shaped. Fruit elliptical, compressed, buried in wool 
 surrounded by a broad flat edge; dorsal primary ridges distinct, fili- 
 form; lateral confluent with the margin; secondary ridges slightly 
 elevated, rounded. Vittce, one beneath each secondary ridge, one be- 
 neath each of the broad, marginal, primary ridges, two on each side 
 of the suture of the commissure, the external ones being very minute. 
 
 History. — Prom a want of correct knowledge of the plant furnish- 
 ing this gum-resin, it was formerly considered a Ferula, but specimens 
 of the Persian plant having been investigated by Don, he ascertained 
 that although it was somewhat related to this genus, yet it differed 
 from it in several characters; he, therefore, gave to it its present 
 name. The plant grows on arid, exposed situations in several parts 
 of Persia, and in the course of the summer it is replete with a lacte- 
 ous gelatinous juice, which is readily obtained. Mr. Jackson says,: 
 "It is remarkable that neither bird nor beast is seen where this plant 
 grows, the vulture only excepted. It is, however, attacked by a 
 beetle, having a long horn proceeding from its nose, with which it 
 perforates the plant, and makes the incisions whence the gum oozes 
 out." Col. Johnson states that" " in the month of May, while the plant 
 is soft, an insect of the beetle kind begins to puncture the stem in 
 every direction with his proboscis," etc. Capt. Hart gives a similar 
 account. But Pontanier asserts that it flows naturally, and is gathered 
 ' in June. It is still supposed, however, to be sometimes furnished by 
 other and dissimilar plants of Asiatic, as well as African growth. 
 
 Gum Ammoniac is not a pure gum, but a gum resin ; it is met with 
 in tears and in lump. The tears vary in size frorn that of a small pea 
 to that of a walnut, are of a yellowish or pale reddish color externally, 
 opalescent internally when recently fractured, are hard and brittle at 
 ordinary temperatures, and soften by the heat of the hand. The lump 
 Ammoniac varies in appearance, according to its quality. The best 
 kind is composed chiefly of tears agglutinated together, though foreign 
 impurities are frequently present. Ammoniac in either form has a 
 faint, peculiar odor, and a bitter, nauseous, and acrid taste. It does 
 not melt, but softens by heat ; at a red heat it burns with a white flame. 
 It may be partly dissolved by water, forming a white emulsion, which 
 upon standing precipitates a resinous portion, leaving the supernatant 
 liquid clear. Alcohol dissolves more than one-half, the remainder being 
 a resin insoluble in this liquor, and the soluble white resin is precipi- 
 tated by the addition of water to the alcoholic solution. Ether dissolves 
 resin and volatile oil, leaving the gum. Vinegar fqrms a smooth, uni- 
 form emulsion with it, but does not dissolve it. Mr. Hatchett found it 
 soluble in alkalies. The specific gravity of Ammoniac is 1.207. The 
 resin of Ammoniac, is reddish or yellow, transparent, tasteless, but 
 having, the odor of the gum -resin, is brittle, softens in the hand, melts 
 at 130° P., and is soluble in alcohol. Ether separates it into an insolu- 
 ble resin, and a resin soluble in sulphuric acid, and fixed and volatile 
 oils. Alkalies form a cloudy solution. Nitric acid converts it into a 
 yellow bitter matter, soluble in hot alcohol and water, and which will 
 dye silk a fine yellow color without being affected by chlorine. The 
 gum is reddish yellow, transparent, brittle, somewhat bitter, soluble in 
 water, from which it is precipitated by subacetate of lead, and is con- 
 verted into mucic, malic, oxalic, etc., acids by the action of nitric acid. 
 The oil, which may be obtained by distillation of the gum resin with 
 water, is transparent, cglorless, and lighter than water Ammoniac 
 
Ammonia. 95 
 
 has been analyzed hj Braconnot, Bucholz, Hagen, and others, and ap- 
 pears to consist of a large proportion of resin, with gum, basBorin; 
 volatile oil, and water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — G-iim ammoniac possesses stimulant, antispas- 
 modic and expectorant properties, and is said to purge in inordinate 
 doses. It has been found especially useful in chronic affections of the 
 respiratory organs, especially among the aged, or those in whom the 
 expectoration is scanty, as in cough, asthma, etc. ; and has likewise 
 been found .advantageous in profuse mucous discharges, the result of 
 weakness of the parts involved, as in bronchitis or laryngitis, catarrh, 
 leucorrhea, etc. It has also been advised in hysteria, but is inferior to 
 some other of the fetid gum resins, as asafoetida. Ammoniacum may 
 be of service in small doses, in the headache resulting from disease of 
 the frontal sinuses, in affections of the optic nerve, in catarrhal affec- 
 tions of the throat, nasal passages, eyes, ears, and stomach, in mucous 
 diarrhea, and in pains in the limbs accompanying disease of more or 
 less of the mucous tissues generally. Applied externally in the fbrm 
 of plaster, it irritates the skin, frequently producing a papular erup^ 
 tion, and has been employed beneficially in this way, as a resolvent to 
 indolent buboes, white swelling, tumors of thejoints, chronic glandular 
 enlargement, and other indolent swellings. The dose is from one to 
 thirty grains in pill, or in emulsion. 
 
 AMMOISTIA. (Ammoniak.)! 
 Ammonia. Aetzammoniak. 
 
 Sistory. — Ammonia was unknown to the ancients ; it was discovered 
 in a state of solution by Black, in 1756, and in the pure gaseous condi- 
 tion by Priestley in 1774. It is supposed to be the oxide of a metal 
 which has been termed ammonium, and has the formula NHj ; equiva- 
 lent weight, 17; or 212.5 ; and specific gravity, 0.59. 
 
 Ammonia may be obtained from any one of its salts by the process 
 of single decomposition; but on account of its cheapness it is most gen- 
 erally obtained from the muriate of ammonia or sal ammoniac, acted 
 on by lime. The chemical changes that occur are disengagement of the 
 Ammonia, and a union of the lime with the hydrochloric acid, forming 
 chloride of calcium and water. Under ordinary atmospheric temper- 
 atures and pressures ammoniacal gas is permanent; but at 50°, and 
 under a pressure of six atmospheres, it is condensed into a colorless, 
 very mobile liquid, of the density of 760. It is an invisible gas, possesses 
 an acrid, alkaline taste, and a highly acrid, peculiar, urinous odor, ren- 
 dering it irrespirable, and causing spasm of the glottis on attempting 
 to inhale it; animal textures are irritated and inflamed by it. Its action 
 is strongly alkaline, turning reddened litmus paper purple, turmeric 
 brown, and blue cabbage green. It combines readily with acid, form- 
 ing crystallizable salts which are either sublimed or decomposed by 
 heat — those with volatile acids being sublimed without change, while 
 those with fixed acids part with their Ammonia. In contact with a 
 gaseous acid, the two gases unite, and solidify, forming a white powder. 
 It is absorbed by alcohol, but more especially by water. Water of 59° 
 F., at the atmospheric pressure of thirty inches, absorbs 670 times its 
 volume of Ammonia. The salts of Ammonia are divided into hydracid 
 salts, in which it is supposed that when Ammonia unites with a hy- 
 dracid, it takes the hydrogen of the acid and forms ammoniumNH,, 
 
96 Materia Medioa. 
 
 which then unites with the radical of the acid ; and oxyacid salts, in 
 which the oxyacids form salts with the oxide of ammonium. Thus sal 
 ammoniac NH4 CI, is a hydracid salt, and sulphate of ammonia FHj O 
 SO3, is an oxyacid salt. This is the theory of Berzelius, and is pretty 
 generally adopted by chemists. 
 
 ' Off. Prep. — ^Liquor Ammonia3 ; Liquor Ammonise Acetatis ; Liquor 
 Ammonise Fortior; Linimentum Ammonise; Tinctura Castorei Am- 
 moniata ; Tinctura Guaiaci Ammoniati ; Tinctura Valerianse Ammoni- 
 ata; Ammonise Carbonas; Ammonise Hydrochloras ; Ammonise Phos- 
 phas. 
 
 AMMONIjB CAEBONAS. 
 
 Carbonate of Ammonia. (Kohlensaures Ammoniak.) 
 
 Also known as Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia; Mild Volatile Alkali. 
 
 Prffparation. — Take of finely-powdered Hydrochlorate of Ammonia, 
 one pound ; Carbonate of Lime (Chalk) finely powdered and dried, 
 a pound and a half. Mix them together thoroughly, and subject the 
 mixture in a retort with a proper receiver, to a gradually increasing 
 heat so long as any vapors sublime. — Ed. 
 
 " The aljove mixture, is exposed in a sand-bath for an hour or two, 
 according to the quantity, to a gentle heat until all the moisture is driven 
 off, and is then quickly transferred to a cast-iron retort having a short, 
 wide neck dipping into a large glass receiver, without being luted, and 
 the retort heated so long as ammoniacal fumes are evolved. In order 
 to prevent the receiver from becoming too hot, it is best to pass the 
 neck of the retort through a hole in the side of the furnace made on 
 purpose, and also to cool it with a stream of cold water. In emptying 
 the receiver it is often necessary to break it ; and this is best done by 
 just cracking the neck with a stone, then applying a red hot iron to the 
 place, and immediately afterward a drop or two of cold water. The 
 salt is to be. quickly put into well closed vessels. In the absence of an 
 iron retort, a glass one may be used, but it should be coated with clay 
 to prevent its cracking or melting during the operation. Such a luting 
 may be prepared by dissolving borax in eight parts of warm water, and 
 adding so much slaked lime that a thick pap is formed, which is painted 
 over the retort three or four times consecutively with a brush. When 
 dry a thin paste of linseed oil and slaked lime is applied the same num- 
 ber of times. If the luting cracks in the fire, more of the last paste is 
 applied to the spot and sprinkled with finely pow;dered slaked lime. 
 The yield will be about two-thirds the weight of the sal ammoniac 
 employed. Although Carbonate of Ammonia may be prepared as 
 above, yet it is a preparation usually made in a large way by manu- 
 facturing chemists from coal-gas liquor, by a process somewhat analo- 
 gous to the one above given, and is sufficiently pure for all medicinal 
 purposes. 
 
 History. — If a mixture of muriate of ammonia (N Hj CI) and carbon- 
 ate of lime (Ca 0+C O2) is exposed to a high temperature, decomposi- 
 tion ensues; the lime yields its oxygen to the ammonium, the calcium 
 combines with the chlorine, and remains behind as chloride of calcium, 
 while the carbonic acid passes to the oxide of ammonium ; but only 
 two-thirds of the latter unite with it, so that a combination of two 
 equivalents oxide of ammonium and three equivalents of carbonic acid 
 pass over, together with oxide of ammonium. 668 parts of muriate of 
 
Ammonia Carbonas. 97 
 
 ammonia do, not require more than 625 parts of carbonate of lime, but 
 as the chalk is not pure carbonate of lime, and an excess is by no means 
 prejudicial, half as much again is employed. A thorough decomposi- 
 tion ensues only at a low red heat, consequently the employment of an 
 open fire is unavoidable. If the mixture were not previously well dried, 
 a moist mass is obtained on distillation instead of a fine dry salt. The resi- 
 due may be employed for chloride of calcium." — Witt. Sesqui carbonate 
 of Ammonia is also made from sulphate of ammonia, coal-gas liquor, etc. 
 Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia is a firm, white, crystalline crust, smelling 
 strongly of ammonia, and havinga strong, alkaline and ammoniacal taste. 
 Its reaction is strongly alkaline ; it is volatile at a gentle heat, soluble in 
 two parts of cold water, but not in alcohol, and is decomposed in boil- 
 ing water, giving off carbonic acid. If not carefully excluded from the 
 air, its composition becomes altered, it suffers a considerable loss of 
 weight, and lastly falls into a powder. This change does not consist 
 in absorption of carbonic acid from the air, but a separation of the salt 
 into bicarbonate and simple Carbonate of Ammonia ; the last evaporates 
 quickly, while the former is more slowly volatilized. Bicarbonate of 
 ammonia dissolves in eight parts of cold water ; consequently, should 
 the Carbonate of Ammonia require more than two parts of water for 
 its solution, it contains bicarbonate. If a white insoluble residue is left 
 on treating with water, which dissolves with effervescence in nitric acid, 
 and blackens with sulphuretted hydrogen; lead is present (carbonate of 
 lead). If the solution, saturated with nitric acid, gives a white precipi- 
 tate with nitrate of silver, becoming violet on exposure to the light, 
 chlorine is present, from volatitized, undecomposed sal ammoniac. If the 
 solution is carefully neutralized with hydrochloric acid, and then is 
 precipitated violet or blue with tannic acid, iron is present. When its 
 solution, saturated with nitric acid, gives a white precipitate with chlo- 
 ride of barium, a sulphate is present (sulphate of ammonia). If the salt 
 does not return the color of red litmus to blue, it has become converted 
 into the bicarbonate. It is very apt to be contaminated with empyreu- 
 matic oil when prepared from gas-liquor, which colors the salt and ren- 
 ders its solution in dilute acids deeply colored or blackish; if the salt 
 be pure its acid solution is cplorless, and it leaves no residuum when 
 heated on platinum or glass. As copper and brass communicate a blue 
 color to Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia, it should be powdered in a glass, 
 wedgewood, or iron mortar. The formula of this salt is 2 N HjO-l-S C Oj; 
 its equivalent weight 118. 
 
 Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia is incompatible with acids, caustic potassa, 
 or soda, magnesia, alkaline carbonates, lime-water, chloride of calcium, 
 alum, bitartrate of potassa, bisulphate of potassa, bichloride of mercury, 
 most salts of iron, and lead, sulphate of zinc, etc. Combined with sul- 
 phate of quinia in fluid or solid form, decomposition ensues, with forma- 
 tion of sulphate of ammonia and quinia. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In large doses Carbonate of Ammonia is a 
 powerful narcotic and irritating poison ; in small doses it is an energetic 
 diffusible stimulant, and antispasmodiQ. The effects of an overdose are 
 pains in the abdomen, convulsions, and nervous derangement. Its 
 stimulating properties render it ufleflil in low continued fevers, in which 
 it acts without increasing the circulation or the cerebral functions. It 
 is also useful as an antacid in gastric derangement from dissipation, 
 epilepsy, and sick headache. It has also proved of great value in cer- 
 tain cutaneous affections, psoriasis, lepra, etc. Combined with guaiacum 
 it has been serviceable in chronic rheumatism, and has likewise proved 
 7 
 
°o Materia Medica. 
 
 beneficial in epilepsy, hysteria, chorea, scrofula, and other chronic dis- 
 orders, more especially when these are attended with acidity and de- 
 bility of the digestive orgajis. Full doses have been given to occasion 
 vomiting in paralysis. It is, much used under the name of Smelling 
 Salts, combined with some aromatic oil, as a stimulant in hysteria, faint- 
 ing, headache, etc. Mounsey's Preston. Salts are made as follows: Take 
 Oil of Cloves one fiuidrachm, Oil of Lavender two fluidrachms, Essence 
 of Bergamot five fluidrachms, Liquor Ammonia, sp. gr.. 0.880, one pint. 
 Mix, and make an essence. Half fill the bottles with rough Carbonate 
 of Ammonia, then fill it up with finely powdered Carbonate of Ammo- 
 nia, and add as much of the above essence as the Ammonia will absorb. 
 Externally it is a gentle rubefacient, but ia seldom employed in this 
 way. The dose is from five to twenty grains every three or four hours, 
 in the form of pill, or dissolved in some aqueous vehicle. 
 
 A plaster of Carbonate of Ammonia has been recommended by Phoebus 
 as an excellent application to cheek emesis from sea-sickness; it is 
 composed as follows : Melt G-albanum Plaster two ounces, add to it Opium, 
 in powder, one drachm. Camphor, in powder, two drachms ; stir together 
 constantly, and when nearly cool add Oil of Gajeput eighty drops, Car- 
 bonate of Ammonia, in powder, one drachm. Spread on cloth, and apply 
 over the pit of the stomach. In nervous headache; the following has 
 been advised, in doses of about half a drachm, three or four times a day: 
 Mix together five ounces of Carbonate of Ammonia, two drachms of Oil 
 of Lavender, and one ounce of Alcohol. Place in a retort and distil 
 as Iqng as any fiuid comes over. At the same time Aqua Ammonia 
 may be gently inspired through the nostrils from time to time. 
 
 AMMONIA HYDEOCHLOBAS. (Ammoniffl Murias. Salzsaures 
 
 Ammoniak.) 
 
 Chlorohydrate, or Muriate of Ammonia. Ghlorammonium. 
 
 SAL AMMONIAC. . SALMIAK. 
 
 Sistory. — " Hydroehlorate of Ammonia is found native, especially in 
 the neighborhood of volcanoes. It was first prepared in Egypt from 
 the soot of camel dung by sublimation." At present it is prepared in 
 various ways, for instance, by the union of dry hydrochloric acid gas 
 and dry ammoniacal gas ; or by the double decomposition of sulphate 
 oi ammonia and muriate of soda. The sulphate of ammonia is ob- 
 tained from various sources ; sometimes by lixiviating the soot of coal, 
 sometimes by decomposing with sulphuric acid the ammoniacal salts 
 contained in the^ watery fluid which is formed in manufacturing coal 
 gas, and sometimes by decomposing with sulphate of lime or sulphate 
 of iron, the impure carbonate of ammonia produced by the destructive 
 distillation of animal refuse, but more especially in the preparation of 
 aninjal charcoal from bones. 
 
 The hydroehlorate of ammoni^ which is consumed in the United 
 States, is of foreign manufacture, the crude variety being imported from 
 Calcutta ; the refined from England. It is usually sold in^ thick cakes, 
 convex on one S'Urface, concave on the other, colorless, translucid, 
 tough, fibrous, permanent in the air, no odor, but possessing a pungent, 
 sal-jna, aearid taste. It is an anhydrous salt, and consists of one equiva- 
 lent, each^ of hydrochloric acid and ammonia, or 17.15 of ammonia, 
 and 36.42 of acid, NHj-j-H CI, or according to the new view taken of 
 
AM.WtN^A SiDilOOHLORAS. 99 
 
 tlie constitTiti")!^ oi' ammoniacal salts, it is the protoc.hloride of ammo 
 nium, NHj CI. its dpeciflc gravity is 1.45. It is soluble in two and a 
 half parts of water at 60°, and in one part at 212'',-^cold being pro- 
 duced during the solution. It is also partially soluble in alcohol. It 
 is odorless, of a sharp, somewhat alkaline taste, has a fkintly acid re- 
 action, is permanent in the ordinary state of the atmosphere, is reduced 
 to a white powder by a gentle heat, and at a temperature below red- 
 ness it sublimes unchanged without previous fusion. It is not readily 
 reduced to powder, but this may be accomplished by making a strong 
 aqueous solution, heating it to 212°, stirring it constantly until it is 
 cold ; by this process granulation of the salt takgs place,: and after 
 thoroughly drying it, it may be easily pulverized. It^ is decomposed 
 by sulphuric and nitric acids ; by baryta, potassa, soda,, strontia, and 
 lime ; by salts containing these acids or bases ; and by those metal- 
 lic salts whose bases form an insoluble compound with hydrochloric 
 acid. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Muriatie of ammonia, according to its mod« of 
 employment, is refrigerant, laxative, diaphoretic, or diuretic. " It acts 
 primarily on the intestinal canal, as an irritating stimulus." — Ud. Its 
 action upon the general system is to promote secretion and exhalation 
 generally, soften and break down textures, check phlegmonous inflam- 
 mation, lessen inflammatory effusions and promote their re-absorption. 
 It is said to act upon all the tissues of the system, producing the sol- 
 vent effects accorded to mercurials, but without their injurious conse- 
 quences. In very large doses, it acts as a narcotic irritant, producing 
 inflammation of the alimentary canal, and also coma and tetanic con- 
 vulsions. It has been recommended internally in all tuberculoujs dis- 
 eases, in chronic pulmonary affections, rheumatic face-ache, hemicrania,. 
 ischuria, chronic enlargement of the prostate, chronic rheumatism, 
 chronic bronchitis, neuralgia, nervous headache, chronic dysentery, 
 amenorrhea the result of deficient uterine action, and in all chronic dis- 
 eases of mucous or serous tissues. From five grains to half a drachm is 
 the dose, which may be repeated three or four times a day ; it may be 
 given in the form of powder, mixed with powdered gum or sugar, or 
 dissolved with syrup, mucilage, extract of liquorice, etc. In large 
 doses it purges, but in small doses it rather constipates the bowels. It 
 may be given for a long time without any inconvenience, but at last it 
 impairs the digestive powers. — Ud. Durtean. In mucous diseases of the 
 throat, nasal passages, and Eustachian pavilion, it has been beneficially, 
 employed in the form of spray ; from 5 to 125 grains of the salt to an 
 ounce of water; or the impalpable powder may be used in form of 
 powder-spray, alone, or in combination with powdered extract of 
 liquorice, etc. The vapor of muriate of ammonia passed into the 
 inner ear, through the! Eustachian tube, by means of an instrument for 
 this purpose, has effected cures of chronic mucous diseases of these 
 parts. 
 
 , As an external application, it is used in the form of plaster or lotion, 
 as a stimulating discutient, and has been found valuable in chilblains; 
 " indolent tumors of all kinds, contusions, gangrene, psoi-a, ophthalmiay 
 cynanche, and in stimulating clysters*,'' and is also very beneficial in 
 hemicrania and other neui?algic aiffectionfl; in which it may be given in 
 doses of a tablespoonful every hour, of a solution of two drachms dis- 
 solved in six fluidounces of water, and continued until relieved. WTien 
 first applied, in solution, the coldness will diminish the sense of heat 
 and uneasiness of the part, and the subsequent stimulus will excite a 
 
100 Materia Medica. 
 
 more healthy action in the vessels. For these purposes a favorite 
 lotion with some physicians is a mixture of two drachms of Hydro- 
 chlorate of Ammonia dissolved in one fluidounoe of Distilled Water, to 
 which one fluidounce of tincture of Oonium Mac. is subsequently added. 
 In erysipelas and erysipelatous inflammations, I have found the follow- 
 ing mixture an excellent local application : Take of Muriate of Ammo- 
 nia one ounce. Distilled Water half a pint ; mix, and dissolve, then 
 add Tincture of Camphor four ounces, Tincture of Lobelia four ounces. 
 To be shaken each time previous to bathing with it. It allays -the 
 burning heat and itching, and in many instances assists in preventing 
 the further development or extension of the disease. As a gargle, or 
 in spray, in the chronic form of cynanche tonsillaris, it is often service- 
 able, in solution ;, one or two drachms of the Hydrochlorate to alJout 
 two 'or two and a half fluidounces of Water, and four fluidrachms of 
 Alcohol. In fluor albus and gonorrhea (as well as for a wash in scabias 
 and ulcers), from one drachm to half an ounce may be dissolved <n 
 twelve or sixteen fluidounces of Water, and used as an enema. 
 Off. Prep. — Ammonise Carbonas ; Liquor Ammonise. 
 
 AMPELOPSIS QUmQUBFOLIA. (Plinfblattrige Bpheuklimmen.) 
 
 American Ivy. 
 Nat. Ord. — Vitaeese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 BARK AND TWIGS. 
 
 Description. — This is a woody vine, with a rooting, climbing stem — 
 quinate and digitate leaves; leaflets, oblong, acuminate, petiolate, den- 
 tate, smooth, turn crimson in autumn ; flowers inconspicuous, greenish, 
 or white, in dichotomous clusters ; calyx entire ; petals five, distinct, 
 spreading ; ovary two-celled, cells two ovuled ; style very short ; berries 
 dark-blue, acid, smaller than peas, two-celled, cells one or two-seeded. 
 — W. 
 
 History. — The American Ivy is a common and familiar shrubby vine, 
 climbing extensively, and, by means of its radicating tendrils, support- 
 ing itself firmly upon trees, ascending to the height of fifty feet; in 
 the same manner it ascends and overspreads walls and buildings ; its 
 large leaves constituting a luxuriant foliage of dark glossy green. It 
 is found in wild woods and thickets throughout the United States, and 
 blossoms in July, ripening its small blackish berries in October. In 
 various sections it has different names, as Woodbine, Virginian Creeper, < 
 Five Leaves, False Grape, Wild Wood Vine, etc. The bark and twigs 
 are the parts used. Its taste is acrid and persistent, though not un- 
 pleasant, and its decoction is mucilaginous. The bark should be col- 
 lected late in the fall, after the berries have ripened. Ampelopsin, " a 
 concentrated humbug." 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^Alterative, tonic, astringent, and expectorant. 
 Used principally in form of syrup in scrofula, syphilitic affections, and, 
 wherever an alterative is required. It has also been recommended in 
 dropsy, bronchitis, and other pulmonary complaints. Dose of the 
 syrup or decoction, two to four ounces, three times a day. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Decoctum Ampelopsis ; Infasum Ampelopsis. 
 
AmYGDALUS OOMMUKIS. 101 
 
 AMTGDALUS COMMUNIS. (Gemeine Mandel.) 
 
 Almond Tree. — Mandel Baum. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — DrupacesB (De Candolle), Eosaceae. Suborder, Amygdalen 
 
 Sex. Syst. — Icosandria Monogynia. 
 
 KERNELS. 
 
 Amtgdala Amara. — Bitter Almonds. (Bittere Mandeln.) 
 Amygdala Bvlcis.— Sweet Almonds. (Siisse Mandeln.) 
 
 Description. — The Amygdalis Communis or Almond tree is from ten 
 to eighteen feet high, with a pale-brown rugged hark and dividing into 
 many spreading branches. Leaves upon glandular petioles, between 
 two and four inches long, about nine lines broad, lanceolate, acuminate, 
 thin, serrated, bright light-green, glandular near the base. Flowers 
 moderately large, pink or white, sessile, in pairs, appearing before the 
 leaves. Calyx reddish, with blunt segments. Petals variable in size, 
 always much larger than the calyx, ovate, concave, irregularly notched; 
 Stamens spreading, about half the length of the petals. Ovary woolly; 
 style simple. Fruit a leathery, hoary drupe, with the sarcocarp spon- 
 taneously cracking and dropping off the putamen. Stone oblong, or 
 ovate, acute, hard in various degrees, always rugged, pitted with irregu- 
 lar holes. Seed oblong, compressed; ovate, with brown testa, at the apex 
 of which there is a broad round brown chalaza. Cotyledons very large, 
 plano-convex. Both the sweet and bitter almonds are taken from this 
 tree, of which there are several varieties — ^the sweet almond is obtained 
 from the A. Dulcis, and the bitter almond from the A. Amara. — Jj. 
 
 History. — The Almond tree is indigenous to most of the southern 
 parts of Asia and Barbary, and is cultivated in many parts of southern 
 Europe. The best of the sweet kind comes from Malaga. The sweet 
 almond kernel is without odor, and of a pleasant flavor; that of the 
 bitter almond is also inodorous, unless it be rubbed with water, when 
 it exhales a smell similar to that of prussic acid— its taste is similar to 
 that of peach-meats. Both varieties of kernel contain oil; the sweet, 
 a fixed oil; the bitter, a fixed oil, and an essential oil impregnated with 
 hydrocyanic acid. The fixed oil may be obtained by expression ; it is 
 colorless or slightly yellowish, sweet and bland to the taste. The es- 
 sential oil, may be obtained from the bitter almonds by distillation with 
 water, after having deprived them of their fixed oil and subjected them 
 to the action of cold water for some hours. This oil, called Oil of Bitter 
 Almonds, or Benzoyl Hydride, C^ H5 O21 II=Bz H=106, has a golden 
 yellow color, an agreeable odor, and an acrid, bitter taste ; it is com- 
 bustible, burning with a white flame, of specific gravity varying from 
 1.050 to 1.084, soluble in alcohol or ether, communicates its odor and taste 
 to water, and yields foliaceous crystals upon standing for a time exposed 
 to the atmosphere. The volatile oil of bitter almonds is not a natural 
 product, but is owing to the action of water on the amygdalin and emulsin 
 or synaptase of the kernels ; amygdalin may be obtained from bitter 
 almonds in a crystalline form. Amygdalin, C40 Hj, NOjj 3 Hj Oj, has a 
 sweetish bitter taste and is not poisonous; its solution exerts a left- 
 handed, rotation; emulsin is a ferment existing in both the bitter and 
 sweet almond, and is also non-poisonous. Seventeen grains of amyg- 
 dalin dissolved in one ounce of emulsion of sweet almonds, furnishes 
 one grain of pure hydrocyanic acid, an amount of acid equivalent to 
 50 minims of the officinal dilute hydrocyanic acid. The oil of bitter 
 almonds is a poison acting in the same manner as hydrocyanic acid, 
 
102 Materia JVIeDio'a. 
 
 unless the acid be removed from it, by distillatio-a. vith oxidf» of Ivor 
 One drachm of it dissolyed in three fluidrachms of alcohol, foinm an 
 "essence of almondg," much used by confectioners, perfumers, etc. 
 
 Begidelt^ great specific gravity and peculiar smell, ^ny adulteration o* 
 oil of bitter almonds may be detected by the following characteristics, 
 viz.: its great, clear solubility in sulphuric acid, with a reddish-browo 
 coloration, and without any visible decomposition; the very slow action 
 which nitric acid has upon it, without either of the two substances un- 
 dergoing any change in its physical properties ; the only partial slow 
 solution of iodine without further reaction ; its indifference to chro- 
 mate of potash; the elimination of crystals from its solution in ap 
 alcoholic solution of caustic potassa; the peculiar inspissation by 
 caustic ammonia and mui^iatie acid, and the elimination of crystal? 
 from the alcohol solutions of these new compounds; and lastly, its 
 decidedly acid reaction. — Zeller. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Triturated with water. Sweet almonds produce a 
 white mixture called emulsion or milk of almonds, which possesses a very 
 remarkable analogy with animal milk ; it contains a great quantity of 
 oil, kept in suspension in water by the presence of sugar, gum, and 
 albumen, and is used as a demulcent, and as a vehicle for other medi- 
 cines. The oil, in small quantity, acts as a demulcent; in larger doses 
 it is laxative. It is frequently employed in cough, diseases attended 
 with intestinal irritation, and for mitigating the acrimony of the urine 
 \n calculous affections, cystitis, gonorrhea, etc. Externally, the oil is 
 sometimes used in lotions and cosmetics. Dose of the oil, one to two 
 fluidrachms. Bitter almonds are sedative, and in large doses poisonous. 
 The Oil of Bitter Almonds, or bitter almond water, is commonly em- 
 ployed, and may be used as a substitute for hydrocyanic acid. Dose of 
 the oil, one quarter of a drop to one drop, in emulsion, and cautiously 
 increased. Seldom used. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Aqua Amygdalae Amara; Mistura Copaibse Composita; 
 Oleum AmygdalsB. 
 
 AMTG-DALXJS PBESICA. (Pfirsich Baum.) 
 Peach. 
 ^(it. Ord. — ^Eosacese. Drupacese, De Gandolle. Sex. Syst. — loosan- 
 dria iMonogynia. 
 
 LEAVES AND KERNELS. 
 
 Deieription. — Amygdalus Persica, or Peach-tree, is well known by 
 almost every person. It is commonly considered to be a native of 
 Persia. Leaves lanceolate, serrate, with all the serratures acilte; 
 floMers, solitary, subsessile, appearing before the leaves, rose-color, with 
 the odor of hydrocyanic acid; drupe fleshy, tomentose, yellowish, tinged 
 with purple; calyx five-cleft, tubular, deciduous; petals five; nucleus 
 somewhat compressed, ovate, acute, rugosely furrowed, and perforated 
 on the surface. — W. 
 
 History. — The peach tree is cultivated in all parts of the United 
 States, where its fruit reaches a greater degree of completion and ex- 
 cellence than in any other country. Its height is from eight to fifteen 
 feet, its fruit is large, being from one to three inches in diameter, juicy, 
 containing sugar, malic acid, etc., and of a delicious flavor. The leaves 
 are from three to five inches long, about one-third as wide, smooth, 
 green, petioles short, with one or two glands. There are about two 
 hundred varieties of this fruit, of which, probably, one-third are cling 
 
Amtltim. 103 
 
 stones, the flesh adhering to the stone, and the remainder freestones or 
 clearstories, the flesh ^ee, or separating from the stone. The kernels 
 somewhat resemble bitter almonds, but are smaller, and, probably, 
 possess similar medicinal virtues. They contain over one per cent, of 
 amygdalin. Hydrocyanic acid can be obtained from most all parts of 
 the tree. G-melin procured a yellow volatile oil by distillation of the 
 leaves, which was heavier than water, and contained hydrocyanic acid. 
 
 —m.—p. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Peach leaves in infasion have been recom- 
 mended in morbid irritability of the bladder and urethra, pertussis, 
 ischuria, hematuria, and nausea, as well as in all inflammations of the 
 stomach and abdomen. They act as a sedative in doses of a table- 
 spoonful every hour or two, of the cold , infusion ; in larger doses they 
 slightly act upon the bowels, and are said to have been useful in re- 
 moving worms. Prof. J. M. Scudder has found th€ infusion useful in 
 gastro-intestinal irritation, in cholera infantum with nausea or vomit- 
 ing, in chronic diarrhea and dysentery, in chronic hepatitis, in chronic 
 bronchitis, and in dyspepsia attended with gastralgia and nausea. The 
 infusion may be freely administered. The kernels are similarly em- 
 ployed in the form of tincture, infusion, or syrup ; four ounces of the 
 kernels to a quart of brandy is asserted to form a powerful tonic in 
 intermittent fever, and to be remarkably efficacious in cuting leucor- 
 rhea ; dose, a teaspoonfal three or four times a day. Both leaves and 
 kernels give hydrocyanic acid, with emulsin. 
 
 Off. Prqp. — Infusum Persicse. 
 
 AMYIiUM. (Starkmehl.) 
 Starch. — Starke. 
 
 THE FEOTJLA OP THE SEEDS OF TEITICUM VULGARE. 
 
 Sistory. — Starch is one of the constituent products in various organs 
 of many plants, especially in the seeds of the Gerealia, of which it 
 forms between sixty and seventy -five per cent.; it is extracted from 
 many of them for dietetic and medicinal purposes, under the several 
 names of Starch, Arrow-root, Tapioca, Tous-les-mois, and Sago. It 
 abounds especially in the different kinds of grain, among which wheat 
 yields one of its purest varieties, and from which an average of about 
 from fifty to sixty per cent, is to be had. In preparing starch ft-oin 
 wheat flour, the flour, which consists of starch, gluten, mucilage, albu- 
 men, several salts, and some bran, is kneaded in a cloth with successive 
 portions of cold water. The gluten and bran remain in the cloth ; the 
 mucilage, albumen, and salts dissolve in the water ; and the starch, 
 passing away with the water in a state of suspension, gradually falls 
 to the bottom. By allowing the albumino-mucilaginous water, from 
 which it has subsided, to undergo fermentation, the starch is thereby 
 purified from the gluten; for the acetic acid formed during this process 
 dissolves the gluten. 
 
 Starch occurs in the form of white granules of varied size and form ; 
 these granules are definitely organized structures, although their exist- 
 ence in relation to that of the cell is transitory. They consist of 
 assimilated food, deposited in a definite form, insoluble in the ordinary 
 cell-sap of the plants containing them, through a process of organiea' 
 tion analogous to that by which the development of the cell itself is 
 effected. When these minute granules acquire appreciable dimensions, 
 concentric lines may be observed, more or less distinctly in different 
 
104 Materia Medica. - 
 
 cases; which lines' increase in number with the increase of size, in 
 many cases, however, soon becoming eccentrical from the preponder- 
 ating growth of one side of the granule. In freshly extracted granules, 
 the original center mostly appears solid or with a minute black point ; 
 but if the Starch is dry, the center appears hollow, sometimes is even 
 occupied by air, and some starch grains have a large cavity. If strong 
 alcohol be applied to fresh grains, the abstraction of water likewise 
 produces a hollow in the central point of growth, and in all these cases, 
 cracks not unfrequently run out toward the surface. The lines seen 
 in the Starch granules are the boundaries of concentric superimposed 
 layers of its substance; sometimes these are very distinct, sometimes 
 very faint ; often, more distinct lines appear at intervals in the series 
 of the same granule, and in these cases even, a thin vacancy, or in the 
 dried granules a stratum of air, seems to exist between the layers. 
 
 Starch, as met with in commerce, is of a granular and crystalline 
 appearance, friable, insipid, inodorous, permanent in dry air, and in 
 the form of irregular quandrangular or hexagonal columns, emitting a 
 peculiar sound when compressed. In a damp atmosphere it absorbs 
 about twenty-four per cent, of water, without losing its dry appear- 
 ance; a moderate heat removes its moisture. In its ordinary state it 
 contains about twelve per cent, of moisture. It is insoluble in cold 
 water, alcohol, and ether. — E. andV. "Warm "Water at about 190° F. 
 converts it into a kind of mucilage, which, when suflS.ciently concen- 
 trated, forms on cooling a jelly, hydrate of starch. When long boiled 
 the granule almost wholly dissolves, and the decoction on cooling does 
 not gelatinize. Alcohol removes from it a trace of essential oil, on which 
 its odor and taste, when any is present, depend. Diluted sulphuric acid 
 resolves it into sugar; nitric acid into malic and oxalic acids. When 
 Starch has been triturated or agitated with water, a dark purple com- 
 pound is formed with iodine ; a starch solution made with hot water 
 and subsequently cooled, yields on the addition of iodine an immediate 
 deep blue precipitate of iodide of starch. Pure Starch is colored blue 
 by iodine, whether in its natural state or softened by hot water, the 
 depth of the color depending on the quantity of iodine. Where much 
 is added the color is almost black. "When dilute sulphuric acid has 
 been added previously, the color is rather purple than blue, especially 
 the faint tinge given at first by weak solution of iodine. When the 
 starch-grains are heated dry, the color given by iodine changes pro- 
 portionately to the violence of the action from blue to purple, red wine 
 color, and finally brown. The best application is the solution of iodine 
 in iodide of potassium, and this should be used very weak in the inves- 
 tigation of starch. If iodine be almost a million times diluted, it can 
 be detected by starch. Iodide of Starch, in solution, heated to nearly 
 the boiling point, loses its blue color, which returns as it cools; alkalies 
 also remove the blue color; boiling it effectually removes the color. 
 Starch is dissolved by alkalies, from which it is again precipitated by 
 acids, diacetate of lead, infusion of galls, lime, and baryta. Heated, 
 starch melts, turns black, and is decomposed. Torrefaction at about 
 400° F. renders it soluble in water, and changes it into a soluble gum- 
 like body, known as British gum or dextrine, whose solution in water 
 forms a very tenacious paste. The specific gravity of starch is 1.53; its 
 composition CuHuOio. According to Pereira, wheat starch examined 
 under the microscope consists of large and small grains, the large ones 
 being rounded and flattened, or lenticular, the small ones rather spheroi- 
 dal. In the middle of the -flattened surface is the rounded elongated, 
 
Anacyclus Pyeethrum. 105 
 
 or slit hilum, surrounded by concentric rings, which frequently extend 
 to the edge of the grains. When heated the particles crack at the edges. 
 The grains vary m size from .0001 to .0009 of an English inch. These 
 granules have each a thin exterior pellicle or tegument, insoluble in 
 water, and an interior soluble substance. Amylin is the name applied 
 to the external integument; it is insoluble in water, is slightly yellow, 
 and pulverizable. Amidin is the internal or soluble part of starch ; it is 
 yellow when anhydrous, white when it contains water, is tasteless and 
 odorless, is transparent in thin plates, friable, melts and swells when 
 heated, is soluble in water, but not in alcohol or ether. According to 
 M. Biot it rotates a ray of polarized light to the right, about three times 
 more so than common sugar. Dextrin C12 Hjo On,, is amidin rendered im- 
 pure with variable proportions of starch-sugar and starch -gum, and may 
 be prepared by boiling the starch for a long time in dilute sulphuric, 
 muriatic, or oxalic acid ; and if the boiling be still further continued, a 
 saccharine substance is produced, similar to the sugar of grapes. Diastase 
 is a substance into which the protein matter of barley and other grains 
 is converted, after these have been made to gerniinate, and then their 
 vitality destroyed by drying; one part of diastase can convert 2000 parts 
 of Starch, at 149° F., into dextrine and a little sugar, or glucose. The 
 dextrine is convertible into sugar only by continued boiling with dilute 
 mineral acids. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — As a constituent of many vegetable substances, 
 Starch forms a most important alimentary substance; in a medical point 
 of view, it is to be considered as a demulcent. The powder of Starch is 
 used to take up acrid secretions from the external surface, to soothe 
 the pain in erysipelas, and to prevent intertrigo in children; in these 
 affections it is usually dusted on the party. It is also used in mucilage, 
 or in emulsion for suspending drugs, when to be given internally, or by 
 injection. Starch is sometimes triturated with the more active medi- 
 cines, in order to render them more bulky and easily taken. It is an 
 antidote to iodine when swallowed in large quantity. 
 
 ANACYCLUS PYEETHEUM. (Aechte Eingblume.) 
 Pellitory of Spain. 
 Nat.Ord. — Compositse {De Candolle) Asteracese {Lindley). Sex. Syst. — 
 Syngenesia Superflua. 
 
 ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This is the Anthemis Pyrethrum of Willdenow, the name 
 of which has been changed by De Candolle, and the plant placed into a 
 new genus on account of a difference in the structure of its seeds. Stems 
 numerous, procumbent, somewhat branched, pubescent. Radical leaves 
 spreading, petiolated,8moothish, pin nately divided; segments muct cleft 
 into linear, subulate lobes ; cauline leaves sessile. Branches one-headed. 
 Receptacle convex, with oblong-obovate, obtuse palese ; ray sterile, ligulate, 
 white; of the disk, fertile, with five callous teeth, yellow. — L. 
 
 Sistory. — Pellitory of Spain, or Spanish Chamomile, inhabits Barbary, 
 Arabia, Syria, etc. The officinal part is the rool;, which as found in the 
 shops, is about four inches in length and half an inch or less thick, ex- 
 ternally grayish or fawn-colored, studded with black, shining spots, 
 internally whitish, resinous-like, and presenting a radiated structure. It 
 is inodorous, and when chewed produces a peculiar sense of pricking in 
 the lips and tongue, and a glow of heat, with an increase of the salivary 
 discharge. In 1835, Koene found it to contain a brown acrid resin, in- 
 
106 ' Materia Mbdica. 
 
 solable in caustic potassa; an acrid brown fixed oil, soluble in caustic 
 potassa; a yellow acrid oil soluble in potassa; a trace of tannic acid; 
 giim, inulin, various salts, and lignin.— 71 Alcohol or ether dissolves its 
 active principle. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — It is an energetic local irritant ; and acts as a 
 rabefacient when applied externally. Its ethereal tincture relieves 
 toothache. The root chewed has been found useful in some rheumatic 
 and neuralgic affections of the head and face, and in palsy of the tongue. 
 The decoction has been used as a gargle in relaxation of the uvula. 
 The doee is from thirty to sixty grains as a masticatory. — P. — H. & V. 
 Oil of pellitory is made by evaporating the ethereal tincture ; it is an 
 excellent remedy for toothache. 
 
 AlfAG-ALLIS AEVBNSIS. (Gemeiner Acker-Gauchheil.) 
 
 Eed Ghickweed.^Suhnerdarm. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Primulacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — ^Anagallis Arvensis is a beautiful annual trailing plant, 
 growing in fields, roadsides, etc., introduced into this country from 
 Europe. Stem from six to twenty inches long, with elongated branches, 
 or simple, often dotted with purple, square, more or less procumbent. 
 Leaves sessile, ovate, many -ribbed, opposite or ternate, dotted with 
 purple at the back ; peduncles longer than the leaves; sepals linear-lan- 
 oeolate, about equaling the petals ; petals obovate, obtuse, longer than 
 the stamens, crenate-glandular. Mowers opposite, small but beautiful, 
 with scarlet petals, opening at 8 o'clock, a. m., and closing at 2, p. m. ; 
 in damp weather not open at all. Stamens purple, hairy, dilated, smooth 
 at the base. Anthers yellow, heart-shaped. Style purple, permanent. 
 Stigma capitate. Capsule pale and transparent, the size of a pea, sepa- 
 rating all round, the valves marked with some indications of longitu- 
 dinal separations which seldom take effect. Seeds roughish, abrupt 
 externally, each with a central dot. — Jj. — W. 
 
 History. — This plant has several names, as Red Pimpernel, Poor Man's 
 Weather Glass, Scarlet Pimpernel, etc. It blossoms from May to August. 
 The leaves are the parts used ; they are odorless, but have a rough, 
 unsavory taste. Water extracts their virtues. The plant appears to 
 possess energetic properties, for according to Lindley, Orfila killed a 
 dog by "making him swallow three drachms of the eitract; upon ex- 
 amination it was found to have infiamed the mucous membrane of the 
 stomach." Grenier obtained a similar result. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These are not fully known. It was considered 
 an antidote to poison many years ago, and has more recently been em- 
 ployed to prevent the evil results arising from the bite of a rabid animal. 
 Its internal use has been advised in mania, epileptic attacks, dropsical 
 affections and other derangements of the nervous system, but it should 
 be employed with caution. It may, however, be used in form of poul- 
 tice, as a local application to old and ill-conditioned ulcers. 
 
 ANAMIRTA COCCULUS. (Kokkels-Anamirte.) 
 
 Cocculus Indicus. — Kokkelskorner. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Menispermacese. Sex. Syst. — ^Dioecia Dodecandria- 
 
 THE FEtriT. 
 
 Description. — Anamirta Coccftlus, formerly called, according to Lin- 
 naeus, Menispermum Cocculus, is a strong, climbing shrub, with a oorky, 
 
Anamirta Cocculus. 107 
 
 ash-colored bark, with deep cracks or fissures ; leaves dense, smooth, 
 shining, coriaceous, rounc^ish, acute, very slightly cordate, if at all, some- 
 times truncate at the base, with five digitate ribs, about six inches long, 
 and as many broad; stalks, a little shorter than the leaves, tumid at 
 both ends, especially the lower. Mowers dioecious ; female flowers in 
 lateral compound racemes. Calyx of six sepals in a double series, with 
 two closely-pressed bractioles. Stamens united into a central column 
 dilated at the apex. Anthers numerous, covering the whole globos.e apex 
 of the column. Drupes, one to three, globose, one-celled, one-seeded. Seed 
 globose, deeply excavated at the hilum. Albumen fleshy. Cotyledons very 
 thin, linear-oblong, distant, diverging, very membranous. — L. — W. — A. 
 
 History. — Cocculus Indicus inhabits Malabar, the Eastern Islands, etc., 
 of India. The fruit as met with in commerce, consists of a dry, light, 
 roundish nut, nearly half an inch in diameter, of a grayish-black color, 
 wrinkled, inodorous, subreniform, and composed of an external, slightly 
 bitter, shell or layer, beneath which is a white, thin, ligneous endocarp, 
 containing an oleaginous, whitish -yellow, odorless, but intensely bitter 
 nucleus or seed, of a semi-lunar form, within which arises a central 
 placenta, contracted at base, but enlarged and divided into two cells 
 superiorly. According to Pelletier and Couerbe, the nucleus contains 
 picrotoxin, resin, gum, fatty matter, odorous matter, malic acid, mucus, 
 ^tarch, lignin, wax, etc. The shell consists of menisperrain, paramenis- 
 permin, yellow alkaline matter, hypopierotoxic acid, wax, starch, chloro- 
 phylle, resin, gum, fat, etc. 
 
 Picrotoxin or Picrotoxie Acid is the bitter and poisonous principle of 
 Cocculus Indicus. To procure it, bruise the berries, separate the hulls 
 by sifting, powder the inner part, warm it in a copper or iron vessel, 
 and strongly press it to remove the fatty matter they contain. Again 
 bruise the residue, digest it in a vessel for one day with three times its 
 weight of alcohol, then press, and treat the residue twice again with 
 the same quantity of fresh alcohol, which takes up the whole of the 
 picrotoxin, the coloring matter and some fat. To the alcoholic tincture 
 add one-sixth its volume of water, distil oif the alcohol, pour the resi- 
 due into a copper vessel, add a moderate quantity of wood charcoal, 
 and evaporate to dryness with a gentle heat. Finely powder the dried 
 mass, and digest it with ether three times, in a closed bottle at the ordi- 
 nary temperature, which dissolves the picrotoxin and a little fat. To 
 the ethereal tincture add one-sixth its weight in water, distil off the 
 ether, and then gently warm the residue in a porcelain dish until the 
 smell of ether has entirely disappeared, and then allowed to cool. The 
 fatty substance which solidifies and floats on the surface of the water is 
 separated by filtration, the fat washed with alcohol of 60 per cent., and 
 the filtrate evaporated to crystallization. After the picrotoxin has 
 crystallized, press it between filtering-paper to remove the last trace 
 of fat, and again dissolve it in three times its weight of alcohol of 80 
 per cent., and allow it to crystallize. Eight pounds of berries will yield 
 an ounce or an ounce and a half. Picrotoxin forms white, crystalline 
 crusts, or brilliant needles of an insupportably bitter taste, but odor- 
 less. It is permanent in the air, fuses when heated, giving off volatile 
 products having an acid. reaction, a carbonaceous residue being left, 
 which must be entirely combustible in the air. It dissolves in 150 parts 
 of cold water ; in 25 of boiling; in 10 parts of cold alcohol ; in its own 
 weight of boiling alcohol of 80 per cent. ; and in 2^ parts of ether ; the 
 solutions have no action on vegetable color. It is readily taken up by 
 caustic alkalies. — Witt. Its formula is Cio Hj O4. 
 
108 Materia Medica. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This article is never given internally, on ac- 
 count of its poisonous properties. Given to animals it acts on the 
 eerebro-spinal system, causing giddiness, staggering, tetanic convul- 
 sions and coma. It also produces gastric irritation. It is never used 
 internally, but the powder, or an ointment has been applied in barbers' 
 itch, scald-head, itch, and otber unyielding diseases of the skin, as well 
 as to kill lice. Given to fish, it poisons them, depriving them of sen- 
 sibility, and has been used for the purpose of catching them. Brewers 
 sometimes add it to their beer, etc., to give a due degree of bitterness 
 without the employment of hops, as well as to render them more in- 
 toxicating, but which is highly improper and dangerous. To ascertain 
 the presence of picrotoxin'e in beer, evaporate a part of the suspected 
 liquor to dryness, dissolve the residue in water, filter, evaporate to a 
 pasty consistence, digest with alcohol and a small amount of tartaric 
 acid, separate the fluid, evaporate the alcohol, add a little water to the 
 residue, treat this with ether, and evaporate this solution in a watch- 
 glass, when, if picrotoxine be present, feathery crystals having a bitter 
 taste will be present, and which will reduce a solution of the tartrate 
 of copper and potassa. — Journ. de Pharm., 1858. 
 
 M. Langley, relying upon the reaction of picrotoxine, acidulates the 
 suspected beer, and then agitates it with ether. This dissolves the 
 picrotoxine, and may be evaporated from it in a watch-glass. Tritu- 
 rate the residue with triple its weight of nitrate of potassa, moisten 
 the mixture with sulphuric acid, and upon then sprinkling it with a 
 concentrated solution of soda, the mass assumes a brick -red color if 
 picrotoxine be present. 
 
 ANDIEA INEEMIS. (Jamaikanischer Wurmbaum.) 
 
 Cabbage-tree Bark. — Kohlbaumrinde. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Pabacese. Sex. Syst. — Diadelphia Decandria. 
 
 THE BARK. 
 
 Description. — Andira Inermis {Geoffrey a Inermis), is a tree of mode- 
 rate height; branches suberect at their extremities, terete, glabrous, 
 ash-colored. I/eaves alternate, about a foot in length, unequally pin- 
 nate; leaflets five to eight paired, on short, roundish, ferruginous, downy 
 stalks, oblong-lanceolate, rarely ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, for the 
 most part rounded at the base ; entire, glabrous, thin, with the nerves, 
 scarcely prominent, about four and a half inches long, one inch broad; 
 petioles minutely downy. Stipules lanceolate, persistent. Panicles ter- 
 minal and axillary, erect; branches subdivided, spreading, angular, 
 brownish purple, covered with ferruginous down ; pedicels very short, 
 one-flowered, numerous, crowded. Mowers reddish-lilac. Calyx tur- 
 binate-campanulate, covered with ferruginous down. Standard and 
 wings unguiculate ; keel composed of two petals, smaller than the stand- 
 ard. Ovary s'tipitate, containing three ovules ; style subulate, curved ; 
 stigma simple. Legume size of a large plum. — L. 
 
 History. — This tree inhabits the West Indies; the bark, as met with 
 in commerce, is in pieces of various sizes, which are thick, grayish- 
 brown externally, covered with scales and eroded by lichens ; yellow 
 interiorly; furrowed; of a resinous fracture, nauseous odor, mucilag- 
 inous and sweetish taste, and pulverulent, the powder resembling that 
 of jalap. — Ed. — E. & V. It contains a crystalline, neutral, azotiferous, 
 bitter, and purgative principle, which has been absurdly named Jamai- 
 
Anemone Nemobosa. 109 
 
 civa. li xa browish-yellow, soluble in water and alcohol, and gives a 
 yello-w precipitate with tinpture of nut-galls. 
 
 " The Surinam bark, A. Betusa, has a grayish epidermis, covered 
 with lichens ; dark brown, lamellated, very tough, compact ; when cut 
 across, brilliant and variegated brown ; when recent nauseous ; no smell 
 when dried; taste a little acrid and bitter; powder pale-cinnamon." 
 Huttenschmidt found a white crystalline substance in it. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Cabbage-tree Bark is emetic, purgative, and 
 anthelmintic. It is thought by some to be a dangerous acro-nareotic 
 in large doses, causing troublesome sickness, fever and delirium ; on 
 which account itis not much used in practice, although it has proved 
 effectual in removing the lumbricoid worms. The bark in powder 
 may be given in doses of from ten to thirty grains ; of the decoction, 
 a tablespoonful two, three, or four times a day. Any unpleasant 
 symptoms resulting from its administration may be obviated by a dose 
 of castor-oil, and a free use of lemon-juice or lime-juice. 
 
 ANDEOMEDA AEBOEBA. (Baumartige Heide.) 
 
 Sorrel Tree. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Ericacese. Sex. Syst. — Decandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — Andromeda Arborea is a tree growing from forty to 
 fifty feet high, with a trunk from ten to fifteen inches in diameter. 
 Leaves oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, serrate, petiolate, deciduous, from 
 five to six inches long, from one to two inches broad, villous when 
 young, at length smooth, with a distinctly acid taste, early in autumn 
 they turn bright scarlet. Flowers pedicellate, secund, spreading, at 
 length reflexed; panicles terminal, consisting of numerous spicate 
 racemes. Calyx without braetlets. Corolla ovate-oblong, narrowed at 
 the summit, five-toothed, pubescent externally. Filaments thickened ; 
 anthers awnless, the cells long and pointed ; capsule pyramidal, pentan- 
 gular; seeds ascending from the base, linear, with a loose coat, taper- 
 pointed at both ends, bracts and braetlets minute, deciduous. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — This elegant tree inhabits rich woods from New York to 
 the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Alleghany valleys, and bears white 
 flowers in July. The leaves are the parts used, they have an agreeable 
 tartness, and yield their properties to water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Sorrel-Tree leaves are tonic, refrigerant and 
 diuretic. Fever patients will find a decoction of the leaves a pleasant, 
 cooling and diuretic drink. Some species of the Andromeda are pois- 
 onous, as the A. Ovalifolia, A. Polifolia,,A. Mariana, A. Nitida, and A. 
 Angustifolia. The blossoms and leaves of the A. Pulverulenta and A. 
 Speciosa, have a pulverulent substance upon their surface, which is 
 reputed a strong sternutatory. 
 
 ANEMONE NEMOEOSA. (Wilde Anemone.) 
 
 Wood Anemone. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Eanunculacese. Sex. Syst. — ^Polyandria Polygynia. 
 
 THE PLANT. 
 
 Description. — Anemone Nemorosa, sometimes called Wind/lower, is a 
 delicate and pretty plant, with a creeping root, and a simple, erect 
 stem, with a single flower on a naked peduncle, and from six to nine 
 
110 Materia Medica. 
 
 inches high. Leaves radical and ternate, leaflets undivided, or witli the 
 middle one three-cleft, latei-al ones two-parted, incisely dentate : invol- 
 ucre at the base of the flower-stalks, lo'ng-petioled, divided into three, 
 toothed and cut; sepals four to six,' oval, white, sometimes tinged with 
 ' purple outside; carpels fifteen to twenty, ovate, with a short style, 
 hooked. Stamens numerous, much shorter than the sepals; ovaries 
 numerous, free, collected into a roundish or oval head. — Q. — W. ' 
 
 History. — This plant is common to Europe and the United States, 
 bearing purplish -white flowers in April and May. There are several 
 varieties of it, which possess similar properties, as the A. Patens, of 
 this country, the A. Pratensis and A. Pulsatilla, or Meadow Anemone of 
 Europe. The last is probably the most active among them. The 
 Herbaceous part of the plant is employed in medicine. A volatile, 
 crystallizable solid, called Anemonine is obtained from the various species 
 of anemone, by distilling the plants with water, and setting the pro- 
 duct aside; it crystallizes in brilliant white needles. Its formula, ac- 
 cording to Lowig, is C]5 Hg 0^. Alkalies convert it into Anemonic acid. 
 A solution of it has been used ( externally in scald-head, ulcers, caries, 
 indurated glands, venereal nodes, serpiginous affections, paralysis, 
 amaurosis, cataract, and opaque cornea. Its internal use is question- 
 able. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These plants are acrid and poisonous. They 
 have been recommended in amaurosis and other diseases of the eye, 
 secondary syphilis, cutaneous diseases, and hooping-cough, in doses of 
 one or two grains daily. When applied locally, they are said to be 
 efficient in scald-head. In the recent state, the leaves bruised and ap- 
 plied to the skin are rubefacient. In large doses; this article produces 
 nausea, vomiting, looseness of the bowels, and hematuria. It is very 
 seldom applied in practice, except among the Homeopaths, who use 
 the 4. Pulsatilla. ■ 
 
 The Anemone JJudoviciana, or Pulsatilla Nuttalliana, American Pulsa- 
 tilla, growing on dry, sandy soils, in Minnesota, and Missouri, and 
 Platte rivers westward, with pale, purple, cup-shaped flowers, which 
 appear early in spring, and long, delicate, silken hairs on the leaves and 
 stalks. The plant has a faint, camphor-like odor, and a somewhat 
 saccharine taste in the dried flowers; the recent flowers and leaves are 
 very acrid and irritating, which properties are considerably lessened' 
 by drying, owing to the evaporation of a volatile acrid principle. This 
 plant has been found useful in many chronic cases of ophthalmic mala- 
 dies, as, cataract, amaurosis, and corneal opacity, also, in cutaneous 
 eruptions and secondary syphilitic diseases. It has likewise efl'ected 
 cures in uncomplicated amenorrhea, leucorrhea, pains in the testes, or 
 ovaries, and along the spermatic chord, sharp, cutting gastric pains, 
 frontal headache in onanists, and in chronic irritation of the nerves. 
 It will also be found useful in reflex paralysis, obstinate hiccough, chorea, 
 and in chronic mucous diseases generally. One or two drachms of the 
 saturated tincture may be added to four fluidounces of water, the dose 
 of which is a teaspoonful three times a day. It will answer as a sub- 
 stitute for the A. Pulsatilla of Europe. A strong infusion of the dried 
 herb, or an extract, may also be used; but the tincture is the preferable 
 form. 
 , Anemone Ctlindrica, of Gray, is used by the Indians for the cure 
 of a rattlesnake bite. Their mode of using it is, to chew some of the 
 tops of the plant, swallowing but little of the salivaj and then applying 
 it to the bite ; in a few minutes the poison is rendered harmless. When 
 
Antennaria Margaritaceum. Ill 
 
 chewed, the tops have a hot, pungent taste, somewhat like capsicnm, 
 All the Anemones are useful in menstrual suppression. 
 
 ANGELICA ATEOPTJEPTJEEA. (Meisterwurzel.) 
 
 Purple Angelica. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Umbelliferse or Apiacese. Sex. Sys.. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 ROOT, HERB, AND SEED. 
 
 Description. — Angelica Atropurpurea, also known as Masterwort, Sigh 
 Angelica, etc., has a root of a purple color, and a smooth, dark -purple, 
 furrowed, hollow, glaucous stem, five or six feet high, and one or two 
 inches in diameter. Leaves ternately divided ; petioles large, much in- 
 flated, channeled on the upper side ; leaflets pinnate, five to seven, 
 sharply cut-serrate, acute, pale beneath, the terminal one sometimes 
 three-lobed, the lateral one of the upper division decurrent. Umbels 
 three, large, terminal, many-rayed, spreading, spherical, six to eight 
 inches in diameter, without the involucre. Umbellets dense, subhemis- 
 pheric, on angular stalks, and with involucels of subulate bracts longer 
 than the rays. Galyx five-toothed ; petals equal, entire, with the point 
 inflected. Involucels short, about eight-leaved. Fruit smooth, com- 
 pressed, somewhat solid and corticate, elliptic. — G. — W. — JVut. 
 
 History. — This perennial plant grows in fields and damp places, de- 
 veloping greenish-white flowers from May to August. The plant has 
 a powerful, peculiar, and not disagreeable odor, and a sweet taste, suc- 
 ceeded by considerable pungency and spiciness ; much of these pro- 
 perties is lost by desiccation. They are due to a volatile oil, acrid soft 
 resin, etc. The fresh root is reputed to act as a poison. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Aromatic, stimulant, carminative, diaphoretic, 
 expectorant, diuretic, and emmenagogue. Used in flatulent colic and 
 heartburn. It is said to promote the menstrual discharge. In diseases 
 of the urinary organs, calculi and passive dropsy, it is used as a diu- 
 retic, in decoction with Uva ursi and Eupatoreum purpureum. Dose of 
 the powder, thirty to sixty grains ; of the decoction, two to four ounces, 
 three or four times day. The Angelica Archangelica, A. Triquinati and 
 A. JJucida, may be substituted for the above. 
 
 ANTEIWAEIA JMAEGAEITACETJM, (Antennarie.) 
 
 Pearl-Elowered Life-Everlasting. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Compositse or Asteracese. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia Superflua. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — ^Antennaria Margaritaceum is a perennial plant, with a 
 simple, erect stem, corymbosely branched above. Leaves linear -lanceo- 
 late, acute, three-veined, sessile, beneath the stem wooly; corymbs many- 
 flowered, fastigiate ; scales of the hemispheric involucre elliptic, obtuse, 
 opaque, pearl-white, outer ones only tomentose at the base. Heads 
 dioecious ; pistillate flowers very slender ; pappus simple, bristly, capil- 
 lary in the fertile flowers, and in the sterile club-shaped or barbellate 
 at the summit. Corolla yellowish. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — The name Antennaria is from the resemblance of the sterile 
 pappus to the antennae of many insects. — W. The plant is slightly 
 
112 Materia MiIdioa. 
 
 fragrant, and grows in dry hills and woods in various parts of the United 
 States ; it is from one to two feet in height, and bears yellow and white 
 flowers in July. The leaves are the parts used. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Anodyne, astringent, and pectoral. A decoction 
 has proved beneficial in diarrhea and dysentery, and in pulmonary 
 affections. Externally, it forms an excellent poultice in sprains, bruises, 
 boils, painful swellings, etc., and is said to produce sledp when applied 
 externally to the head, even in cases where a poultice of hops has failed. 
 The A. Plantagineum and A. Bioicum or White Plantain are reputed 
 efficacious in bites of poisonous reptiles. 
 
 AifTHBMIS KOBILIS. (Bdle Kamillen.) 
 
 Chamomile. Roman Chamomile. — Somisehe Kamillen. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Compositse Senecionidese, or Asteracse. Sex. Syst. — Syn- 
 genesia Superflua. 
 
 FLOWERS. 
 
 Description. — This is a perennial herb, with a strong root, having 
 long fibers. Stems in a wild state, prostrate, in gardens more upright, 
 about a span long, branched, leafy, round, hollow, furrowed, downy. 
 Leaves pale-green, doubly pinnate, sessile, with small, thread-shaped 
 leaflets which are rather fiat or channeled above, convex beneath, some- 
 what downy, acute, commonly tri-lobed. Flower-heads terminal, soli- 
 tary, rather larger than a daisy, with a convex yellow disk, numerous 
 white, spreading or reflexed rays. — L. Involucre, with small shining 
 membranous bordered scales, rather downy. Beceptacle obtusely coni- 
 cal, with minute chaffy' scales, which do not appear till the disk fiorets 
 are turned to one side ; the innermost are gradually narrowest. — W. 
 Bay florets eighteen, white, strap-shaped, tridentate. Bisk florets yellow, 
 many, tubular, in five segments. Stamens five; ovary obovate; style^ 
 slender; stigma reflexed, two-cleft; seeds flat, ovate. 
 
 History. — Chamomile is indigenous to Southern Europe, where it is 
 cultivated for the purposes of medicine ; there are two varieties, the 
 single 'and the double, of which the former is the best, the latter being 
 commonly the result of cultivation. The white flowers are the best ; 
 they have an aromatic, agreeably bitter taste, a strong and peculiar 
 odor, and yield by distillation a volatile oil of a pale blue color at.first, 
 but gradually becoming brownish or yellowish. Their aromatic and 
 stimulant properties are due to this oil, and a resin ; their tonic to 
 bitter extractive and tannic acid. A fixed oil may be obtained from 
 the seeds by expression. The flowers yield their properties to water 
 or alcohol. An alkaloid has also been recently obtained from the 
 flowers of the Com Chamomile. 
 
 The double flowers of Roman Chamomile, Anthemis Nohilis, may be 
 determined from the double fiowers of Feverfew, Matricaria Parthenium, 
 by the following characters : A. Nohilis flowers have a peculiar and 
 pleasantly aromatic odor; the involucre is nearly flat, and composed of 
 a number of spreading, nearly equal, overlapping bracts, with broadly 
 and evidently membranous margins; when the fiorets are removed, the 
 receptacle is observed to be a solid, conical body, more or less pointed 
 at the apex, and the scales on it are thin, concave, blunt-pointed or 
 obtuse, more numerous, more closely compiacted, and more membranous 
 than those of M. Parthenium. The flowers of M. Parthenium are less 
 
Apocynum Andros^mifolium. 113 
 
 double than those of A. Nobilis, have a strong, peculiar, and more 
 or less unpleasant odor ; the involucre is convex, and composed of a num- 
 ber of nearly equal, imbricated concave bracts, which are bent inward 
 above, and each having a prominent ridge on its dorsal service; when the 
 florets are removed, the receptacle is observed to be slightly convex or 
 nearly flat, and rounded above, and the scales on it are lanceolate, 
 acute-pointed, less in number than those of A. Nobilis, and less mem- 
 branous. 
 
 The Common, or Wild Chamomile, German Chamomile, Matricaria 
 Ghamomilla, is usually with single flowers, which have a strong, peculiar, 
 unpleasant odor, a convex involucre, composed of nearly equal, obtuse- 
 pointed bracts, not distinctly membranous at their margins, and the re- 
 ceptacle is hollow, broadly conical or nearly cylindrical in shape, naked 
 or without any scales. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In doses of from half a drachm to two drachms 
 of the flowers, or from one to three fluidounces of their infusion. 
 Chamomile is atonic; from five to twelve fluidounces of a warm strong 
 infusion usually vomits. The cold infusion has proved useful in dys- 
 pepsia, weak digestion, and in all cases of weak or irritable stomach, as 
 well as in obstinate gastro -intestinal irritation; also in intermittent andi 
 typhus. The oil is carminative and antispasmodic. Used in flatulency, 
 colic, cramp in the stomach, hysteria, nervous diseases, and painful dys- 
 menorrhea. Dose of the oil, five to fifteen drops on sugar; of extract, 
 prepared in vacuo, which is the best form for internal administration, one 
 to three grains. The flowers of the.Matricaria Ghamomilla possess simi- 
 lar properties to the Anthemis, but are rarely used in this country, ex- 
 cept by German practitioners. A poultice of Chamomile flowers is said 
 to prevent gangrene, and to remove it when present. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Extractum Anthemidis ; Bxtractum Anthemidis Fluidum; 
 Infusum Anthemidis; Oleum Anthemidis; Yinum Symphytii Compo- 
 situm. 
 
 APOCYNUM ANDEOSiBMIFOLIUM. (Eosenrothes Apocynum.) 
 
 Bitter-root. 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Apocynacese. Sex. Syst. — ^Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Apocynum Androsaemifolium is a smooth, elegant, indi- 
 genous plant, with a large perennial root, and a stem five or six feet 
 high, smooth, simple below, branching repeatedly at top, red on the side 
 exposed to the sun, milky. Leaves dark green above, paler beneath, 
 opposite, ovate, rounded at base and acute at the apex, petioled, downy 
 underneath, sometimes two or three inches long, nearly an inch wide. 
 Flowers grow in nodding cymes from the ends of the branches and axils 
 of the upper leaves, furnished with minute, acute bracts. Corolla white, 
 tinged with red, monopetalous, campanulate, with five acute spreading 
 segments. Calyx five-cleffc, acute, much shorter than the corolla. Sta- 
 mens five, with very short filaments, and long, sagittate, connivent an- 
 thers, cohering with the stigma about their middle, often holding fast 
 .such insects as may thrust their proboscis between them. Nectary con- 
 sists of five oblong glandular bodies, alternating with the stamens. 
 Ovaries two, ovate, concealed by the anthers, supporting two thick, 
 roundish, sessile stigmas. Fruit in the form of a pair of slender, linear- 
 lanceolate, drooping follicles, containing numerous oblong, imbricated 
 8 
 
114 Matekia Medica. 
 
 seeds attached to a slender central torus, each crowned with a long, 
 downy pappus. Every part of the plant is lactescent. — G. — L. 
 
 Sistory.-^lhXa plant, likewise called Bogsbane, Milk-weed, etc., is 
 found growing in dry sandy soils, and in the borders of woods from 
 Maine to Florida, flowering from May to August; when any part of it 
 is wounded, a milky juice exudes. The large, milky root is the officinal 
 portion, or rather its bark, which forms the greater part of it; it pos- 
 sesses an unpleasant amarous taste. It yields its properties to alcohol, 
 but especially to water. Age impairs its virtues. There has been no 
 minute analysis of the root, though -Zollickoffer states that it contains 
 resin, caoutchouc, and mucus. Bigelow supposed it to contain volatile 
 oil, coloring matter, extractive, etc. When given with capsicum or opium 
 its emetic action is checked, and with the latter drug diaphoresis is pro- 
 duced. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^Emetic, diaphoretic, tonic, and laxative ; it has 
 been found very valuable in the treatment of chronic hepatic affec- 
 tions, and in conjunction with Menispermum in dyspepsia and amenor- 
 rhea. When it is required to promptly empty the stomach, without 
 causing much nausea, or a relaxed condition of the muscular system, 
 the powdered root may be given in two or three scruple doses. How- 
 ever, it is said to occasion a subsequent weakness or languor, from which 
 the patient is some time in recovering. As a laxative, it is useful in 
 cases of constipation, and in hepatic derangements. As a tonic, ten or 
 twenty grains may be given to stimulate the digestive apparatus, and 
 thus effect a corresponding impression on the general system. As a dia- 
 phoretic it must .be combined with opium, in the proportion of one 
 igrain of the latter to forty of the former, and divided into three or four 
 doses; however, as a diaphoretic it is inferior. Also reputed useful as 
 an alterative in rheumatism, scrofiila, and syphilis. Prof. G-regory speaks 
 of Apocynine as the active agent of the Androssemifolium, but has given 
 no method of preparing it. It is said to be very bitter, and of a dark 
 orange color. Used as an alterative in syphilitic and scrofulous affec- 
 tions, in doses of half a grain to a grain; as a purgative, one grain to 
 two grains. It has been beneficiallj' employed in liver and stomach 
 affections, intermittents, and the low stage of typhoid fevers.* 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Decoctum Apocyni; Bxtractum Apocyni Alcoholicum, 
 Apocynin. 
 
 APOCYlSrUM CANNABINUM:. (Haiif Apocynum.) 
 
 Indian Hemp. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Apocynacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 ROOT. 
 
 Deseription. — This plant is perennial, and very much resembles the 
 A. Andros., so much so as to have been confounded with it. Boot creep- 
 ing; stems three or four feet high, straight, generally dividing above 
 into long, slender branches. Leaves oblong, mucronate, between two 
 and three inches long, about three-quarters of an inch broad, opposite, 
 
 * I have not been able to prdcare the so-called Apoimnin of Mr. J. B. Bobinson, after 
 several trials according to the formula given by him in former editions of this work. 
 Consequehtly I Omit it in the present edition. That which he furnished me was, as here- 
 tofore stated, of value; having ho more of it, and desiring to use it In certain instances,! 
 attempted to obtain more of It by his process, and with the above-named result. 
 
Apootnum Cannabintjm. 115 
 
 on short petioles, when young downy benea.th. Cymes have numerous 
 flowers in panicles, are terminal and lateral, with linear bracts ; flowers 
 about half as long as those of the preceding species. Sepals lanceolate, 
 acute. Corolla greenish white, with straight, obtuse segments ; tube cam- 
 panulate; calyx with lanceolate divisions, as long as the corolla tube. 
 Follieles three to five inches long, slender, pendulous. — W. 
 
 History. — This plant, also erroneously called Bowmari's root in Ken- 
 tucky and some other sections of country, is indigenous, inhabiting the 
 same locations and blossoming in the same months as the preceding 
 species. It is replete with a lactescent juice, which becomes hard, like 
 opium, under exposure to the air. The bark of the stem, when dry, from 
 its fibrous, cohesive nature, is a superior article in the manufacture of 
 rope, giving a white, strong, and durable production. A permanent 
 brown or black dye, according to the mordant used, is obtained from a 
 decoction of the plant. The root is the part used; it consists of a brown 
 cortex, rough externally, white and smooth on its inner surface, of a dis- 
 agreeable odor, and an extremely bitter and sickening taste. The in- 
 ternal woody part of the root is light yellow, with some odor and bit- 
 terness. The dried root-bark is very pulverable. Dr. G-riscom, who 
 analyzed the root in 1832, found it to contain tannic and gallic acids, 
 gum, resin, wax, fecula, apoeynin, coloring matter, woody fiber, and, 
 probably, caoutchouc. Water readily takes up the active properties of 
 the root, which are also partially soluble in alcohol; its virtues are im- 
 paired by age. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Dr. Griscom states that this agent has four dif- 
 ferent and distinct operations upon the system, which it almost inva- 
 riably produces, viz: 1st, nausea or vomiting; 2d, this is followed by 
 increased alvine discharges, which are succeeded, 3d, by copious per- 
 spiration, and in many instances, 4th, by diuresis. In a full dose it 
 occasions considerable sickness at stomach, lessens the pulse, and pro- 
 duces an inclination to sleep, probably from some somniferous principle 
 in it — copious vomiting soon ensues, and the other effects as above 
 stated. Snuffed into the nostrils, the powder will excite sneezing. A 
 strong decoction is exceedingly valuable in irritable and congested 
 uterus, accompanied with nausea, vomiting, tympanitic abdomen, head- 
 ache, and powerful pulsations of the abdominal aorta, in doses of a 
 teaspoonful every one, two, or four hours. In some cases it may be 
 advantageously combined with pleurisy root. As a hydragogue ca- 
 thartic, and also as a diuretic in those instances where this effect is dis- 
 played, it has been found most useful in dropsy. Indeed it has proved 
 very eflB.cient in dropsy -and its accompanying symptoms, when asso- 
 ciated with general debility or a strong tendency to struma, albu- 
 minaria being absent, removing the effusion without necessarily in- 
 ducing watery stools. In diaphoretic doses it has proved' beneficiS.1 in 
 intermittent and remittent fevers, and pneumonic affections. As an 
 emetic, from twelve grains to half a drachm of the powdered root-bark, 
 may be given ; as a hydragogue or diuretic, the decoction is the best 
 form in which to employ it, — one ounce of the root may be boiled in a 
 pint of water, of which half a wineglassful, or even less, may be given 
 three or four times a day. Smaller quantities of the decoction, given 
 warm, will cause diaphoresis; as a purgative, the aqueous extract may 
 be given in doses of from three to six grains. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Tinctura Apocyni. 
 
116 Materia Medioa. 
 
 AQUA. ("Wasser.) 
 Water. Protoxide of Hydrogen. 
 
 Sistory. — Prom the almost universal solvent ability of water, it is the 
 most extensive pharmaceutical agent that we possess, beside being, 
 when properly employed, a most valuable remedy for a large number of 
 diseases. The purest water that can be obtained is distilled water, which 
 when properly prepared in clean glass vessels, is colorless, transparent, 
 scarcely compressible, tasteless, and inodorless, with the assumed spe- 
 cific gravity 1, being the standard to which the specific gravities of 
 liquids and solids are referred. It is the only admissible water for 
 pharmaceutic and chemical tests, as the presence of organic or saline 
 substances in it, may decompose the articles to be dissolved, or impair 
 its solvent power. At a temperature of 32° P., or lower, it is converted 
 into ice; boils at 212° F., and is converted into steam. Its crystalliza- 
 tion into ice is accompanied with expansion, and the specific gravity 
 of ice is 0.916; the volume of steam is about 1700 times more than that 
 of water, and its specific gravity is 0.622. Water is perfectly neutral, 
 exhibiting neither acid nor basic properties, though capable of com- 
 bining with each, and increasing their activity, and the compounds 
 thus formed are called hydrates. It likewise readily combines with 
 many gaseous bodies, giving to them a fluid form. As a general rule, 
 its solvent powers are increased by heat, especially in regard to solid 
 bodies. It should always be kept in well-closed green glass vessels. 
 Pure water consists of one equivalent of Hydrogen 1, and one of Oxy- 
 gen 8=9, or 112.5 on the oxygen scale, and its formula is HO, being a 
 Protoxide of Hydrogen. Water is never found naturally pure, and the 
 only way to obtain it perfectly pure is to distil it. Although water 
 differs in many respects, according to its locality, yet it is generally 
 known as possessing three qualities, viz. : Soft water, Sard water, and 
 Mineral or Medicinal water. For most ordinary purposes soft waters 
 are preferred to the hard, and may be distinguished by the readiness 
 with which they dissolve soap, notwithstanding they may contain con- 
 siderable foreign matters. Hard waters, on the contrary, holding in 
 solution salts of lime or other earths, dissolve soap, but coagulate and 
 decompose it to a certain extent ; these are unfit for internal use or 
 ordinary household or pharmaceutical purposes. The hardness of 
 water is tested by a tincture of soap made by dissolving one drachm 
 of curd soap in a pint of proof-spirit (Imperial measure). It has no 
 actipn on distilled water; renders soft water slightly milky and semi- 
 transparent ; and gives to hard water a white opaque aspect. Good 
 common water is limpid, inodorous, dissolves soap, and is not affected 
 by either nitrate of silver, nitrate of baryta, or oxalate of ammonia. Water 
 is distinguished into several varieties, as follows : 
 
 1. Bain water. Aqua pluvia, and Snow water. Aqua nivalis, when col- 
 lected so as to prevent accidental impurities, are the purest waters to 
 be had naturally. They are generally impregnated with the soluble 
 matters in the atmosphere, which varies in different localities, the most 
 common impurities being carbonic acid, carbonate of ammonia, chloride 
 of sodium, organic and suspended mineral substances ; during a 
 thunder-storm traces of nitric acid and nitrates are said to be likewise 
 present. In collecting rain water, the first that falls should be rejected ; 
 if from, the tops of houses, two or three hours of continuous shower 
 will wash off any objectionable impurities, and the water will run clear 
 and transparent ; if from an open space at a distance from dwellings, 
 
Aqua. 117 
 
 it may be permitted to fall an hour or so before attempting to collect 
 it. To obtain it as pure as possible, it should be filtered, boiled, and 
 again filtered. No water should ever be used which comes in contact 
 with lead — for the lead becomes oxidized by the oxygen of the water, 
 which oxide is reduced to a carbonate by the action of the carbonic 
 acid derived from the air, and the water thus containing lead may pro- 
 duce the poisonous effects of the metal upon the system. The purer 
 the water the greater the hazard. 
 
 Snow water is said to be richer in oxygen than other water, and is 
 generally free from the atmospheric gaseous impurities found in rain 
 water ; it quenches thirst, while snow, not melted, augments it. The 
 opinion at one time entertained that the use of snow water disposed to- 
 goitre is undoubtedly an erroneous one, as the disease not only occurs 
 where snow is never seen, but is unknown in many sections of moun- 
 tainous countries where the water employed is chiefly that supplied by 
 the melting of the snow which covers the mountains. Eain and snow 
 waters, collected with a degree of care, are applicable to every domestic 
 purpose, as well as to many chemical and pharmaceutical processes. 
 
 Spring water, Aquafontana, is that which springs from the earth, free 
 from large amounts of carbonic acid, or salts, and not possessing ele- 
 vated temperatures; it is the general beverage of mankind, and is 
 applicable to all domestic purposes. Its quality varies according to 
 the nature of the soil in its vicinity ; those springs arising from trap 
 rocks, sandstones, transition, and primitive rocks are the purest ; those 
 from alluvial strata, limestone, and coal formations are the least pure. 
 All, however, contain variable traces of the salts of lime, soda, 'or mag- 
 nesia, according to the character of soil through which they flow. 
 
 Well water, Aqua puteana, very much resembles spring water in its 
 qualities, its purity being somewhat governed by the depth at which 
 it is procured, and its daily flow. The Artesian wells usually supply 
 a very pure water. Nitrates have been found in the well water of 
 cities, as might naturally be expected from the impurities of their soils. 
 
 Biver water. Aqua fluvialis, especially when passing through alluvial 
 countrJ«8, and near great cities, contains suspended in it more or less 
 earthy and vegeto-animal impurities, which lessen its clearness, but in 
 a short time ifbecomes purified of these by deposition during its down- 
 ward course. In countries where the rivers pass chiefly over primitive 
 rocks, the waters are found to be almost perfectly pure. When moder- 
 ately pure it is fit for all ordinary purposes, though if it contains much 
 vegeto-animal matters, it is apt to occasion dysentery, and other affec- 
 tions of the bowels, and then becomes inadmissible in pharmacy. The 
 Croton water of New York, the Schuylkill water of Philadelphia,. and 
 the Ohio Eiver water, are, when filtered, sufilciently pure for all domes- 
 tic purj)0ses, and for pharmaceutical operations, in which distilled 
 water is not expressly required. Grood river water should be colprless, 
 tasteless, and without odor. Lake water, Aqua ex lacu, resembles river 
 water in its qualities. 
 
 Marsh water, Aqua ex palude, on account of its stagnation and reple- 
 tion with putrescent matters is altogether unfit for domestic or thera- 
 peutical use. This water contains among other impurities animalcules, 
 ai'.d microscopic vegetation ; although these are met with in running 
 and clear waters in which there is considerable vegetable growth. 
 But they are absent in spring and well waters, and most of the river 
 waters supplied for domestic purposes. There is no doubt but that 
 the drinking of water' containing shreds or filaments of cryptogamous 
 
U8 Materia Medica. 
 
 plants, has occasioned sickness and even death. Eiver and lake water 
 should always be filtered, when used as beverage. 
 
 Prof. J'araday states, " that one grain of water will require for de- 
 composition an electrical current equal to a very powerful flash of 
 lightning." The chemical action of a grain of water upon four grains 
 of zinc, can evolve electricity equal in quantity to that of a powerful 
 thunder-storm ; and he states, that from his experiments it would ap- 
 pear, that 800,000 such charges of the Leyden battery would be neces- 
 sary to supply electricity sufScient to decompose a single grain of 
 water. The Leyden battery of which he speaks, consists of fifteen jars, 
 containing 3,510 square inches, or about twenty -four and a half square 
 feet of coated glass, charged by thirty turns of a plate electrical ma- 
 chine, the plate being fifty inches in diameter, and of immense power, 
 giving ten or twelve sparks an inch long for each revolution. In rela- 
 tion to this an author in the "Philosophical Magazine " remarks, that 
 " the estimate that 800,000 discharges of the battery of fifteen jars, 
 equal to a powerful flash of lightning, would be necessary to resolve a 
 single grain of water into its elements, is certainly astounding, when it 
 is recollected that, according to Prof. Paraday, the quantity of elec- 
 tricity that decomposes a body, is the equivalent quantity of electricity 
 that had previously held the elements of that body in combination ; 
 for he, with| Davy and others, conceives that electricity and cheraical 
 affinity are identical powers. Hence, in one grajn, that is, one drop of 
 •ytrater, there must be naturally existing, and constituting the afiinity 
 between its oxygen and hydrogen, no less a quantity of electricity, 
 than 800,000 charges of a battery, containing 3,510 square inches of 
 cdated glass, or the equivalent of a very powerful flash of lightning. 
 If this quantity of electricity were converted into one spark, it would 
 be 4,166 miles in length, taking Prof Faraday's mean estimate of one 
 charge of his battery as the basis of calculation." 
 
 The usual impurities in water may be detected by the following 
 means: 1. By -boiling, air and carbonic acid are expelled, while carbon- 
 ate of lime, when present is deposited ; the latter constitutes the fur or 
 crust which lines tea-kettles or boilers. 2. If water contains oxygen gas, 
 introduce the water, together with a crystal of the sulphate of protox- 
 ide of iron, into a vial, cork it well, and let it stand a few days, when 
 there will be observed a yellowish-brown precipitate of sesquioxide of 
 iron. 3. Blue litmus paper is reddened if acids be present ; when the 
 litmus paper is feebly reddened, it is restored to its original blue, if 
 alkalies be present. 4. If carbonic acid be in the water, lime water 
 causes a white precipitate of carbonate of lime, if employed before 
 boiling the water. 5. Sulphuric acid, or sulphates cause a white precip- 
 itate, insoluble in nitric acid, when chloride of barium is added to the 
 water, in solution. 6. Idme gives a white precipitate when a solution 
 of oxalate of ammonia is added. 7. A solution of nitrate of silver causes 
 a precipitate when chlorine or chlorides are present ; if organic matter 
 be present, the water becomes dark-colored by exposure to light; or, an 
 ounce or two of water may be placed in a glass or porcelain vessel, to 
 which may be added several drops of chloride of gold in solution, suffi- 
 cient to render the water of a yellow tinge. If the water contains no 
 undue amount of organic matter, boiling it will not affect the yellow 
 tinge, but if this matter be present in too great a proportion, the fluid 
 will assume a brown color, and then a violet or blue. Organic matter 
 may also be detected by evaporating the water to dryness in a glass 
 tube, and then igniting, when there will be a smoke, odor, and char- 
 
Aqtja. 119 
 
 ring. Ot, if the precipitate caused by adding nitrate of lead to the water, 
 be collected and ignited, globules 6f metallic lead will be obtained. Again, 
 When a standard diluted solution of permanganate of potassa is added 
 to a few ounces of water in which organic matter is absent, the color is 
 not discharged if the water be not heated above 160° F. If the color 
 is discharged, it indicates, in the absence of foul eflSuvia, the presence 
 of organic matter; and the greater the amount of permanganate decol- 
 orized before the water retains a pink color, the larger the quantity of 
 organic matter present. — Brandp & Taylor. 8. Magnesia in water may 
 be detected by first precipitating any lime present by boiling, and oxa- 
 late of ammonia, and then, after filtering, add aqua ammonia and a so- 
 lution of phosphate of soda, when, in a few hours, there will be a white 
 precipitate of the ammoniacal phosphate of magnesia. Iron may be 
 detected by tincture of galls forming a black liquor, and ferrocyanuret 
 of potassium a blue — or if the iron be in the form of a protosalt the 
 precipitate will be white, but become blue by exposure to the air. If 
 sulphuretted hydrogen turns the water brown or black, it contains lead 
 or copper. — P. 
 
 Mineral waters are those which present a large proportion of car- 
 bonic acid, with or without saline, alkaline, metallic, earthy and other 
 foreign substances, and which exert an appreciable therapeutical influ- 
 ence on the animal economy. For all practicable purposes, they may be 
 appropriately divided into acidulous, chalybeate or ferruginous, sulphurous, 
 and saline mineral waters. When the water is elevated in temperature 
 the springs are called Sot or Thermal; when of ordinary temperature 
 or lower, they are called Cold Mineral Springs. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — As a remedial agent, apart from its natural ne- 
 cessitous use, water internally is a tonic, diuretic, or sudorific, accord- 
 ing to its mode of administration. Small quantities, taken cold, between 
 45° and 60°, and occasionally repeated, act as tonic; in larger doses 
 it produces diuresis, and diaphoresis, the latter effect more especially, 
 if the patient be kept warmly covered ; and it is extensively used fi)r 
 this purpose in many acute diseases. "Warm water, of a temperature 
 varying from 65° P., to 100°, and especially when taken in large quan- 
 tities, will usually ' produce sickness and vomiting, and its continued 
 daily use in small quantities, will impair the tone of the stomach. Cold 
 water, from 30° F., to 45°, is a grateful drink, more particularly to 
 fever patients; allaying thirst, moderating the fever, often producing 
 sleep and relief from restlessness ; and is sufficient, unaided by other 
 means, to effect a rapid solution of the disease, in many instances. It 
 should never be withheld from patients laboring under febrile or inflam- 
 matory complaints, who crave it. During the operation of a vegetable 
 emetic, cool water at 60°, is more agreeable, and fully as beneficial in 
 assisting.the emesis, as warm. 
 
 Externally, water is frequently applied as a sedative in local inflam- 
 mations, as quinsies, sore-throats, ophthalmia, sprains and contusions, 
 and as a means of restraining hemorrhage. ■ Cloths wet with cold water 
 and applied to the abdomen, have relieved severe pain in the bowels, 
 retention of urine, etc. The cold dash or douche, has been successfully 
 employed in delirium tremens, apoplexy, tetanus, hysteria, convulsions, 
 obstinate constipation, congestive, bilious, and typhoid fevers. The wet 
 sheet is much used to allay febrile and inflammatory conditions, and to 
 promote diaphoresis. As an injection it has been efficient in Iiabitual 
 constipation, and excessive tympanitic distension, as well as dysentery. 
 Applied warm it is an excellent application to erysipelatous inflamma- 
 
120 Materia Medica. 
 
 tions. Ice and iced water, as a local application, are said to be very 
 useful in burns and scalds, also in many cerebral affections. Prof. C. 
 E. Brown-Sequard considers the application of cold to the spinal column 
 to produce a contraction of blood-vessels by a reflex action, but if this 
 action be very powerful, it will be followed by exhaustion and dilata- 
 tion of the blood-vessels, and an actual increase of the amount of blood 
 circulated in the cord. Dr. J. Chapman considers that ice applied upon 
 the spinal column augments the general circulation, checks the cramp 
 of voluntary and involuntary muscles, restrains the sickness of preg- 
 nancy, cures sea-sickness, and promotes menstruation. He states to 
 have used it successfully in epilepsy and other convulsive affections, in 
 paralysis, tetanus, and in cerebro-spinal fever. His views have been 
 published, and are worthy consideration. The effects of water employed 
 externally, depend upon its temperature. The cold bath acts according to 
 its degree of cold, the manner in which it is used, and the peculiar state 
 of the body at the time. "When below 50° F., the bath is considered very 
 cold. The primary effects of a cold bath constitute the shock, — its sec- 
 ondary effects the glow or reaction. The immediate effects of a cold bath 
 are a sensation of cold, which gradually ceases, and is succeeded by 
 numbness, the skin becomes pale, and covered with cutis anserina, there 
 is shivering, with quick and irregular respiration, and a contraction of 
 the cutaneous vessels, as well as of the volume of the body. If the im- 
 mersion be continued, the pulse becomes slow and small, drowsiness and 
 cramps come on, the heat of the body diminishes rapidly, and finally syn- 
 cope and death. A cold bath is usually taken for its stimulating and tonic 
 influence, and hence, should not be below 50°, nor above 75° F., and 
 the immersion should be temporary. Eeaction speedily follows, capil- 
 lary circulation is re-established, a glow is felt, perspiration comes on, 
 the pulse decomes full and frequent, and the whole system feels invig- 
 orated. Delicate or weakly persons should not take a cold bath. It is 
 a. common opinion that immersion in cold water is dangerous when the 
 body is heated by exercise or other exertion ; and hence it is customary 
 with bathers to wait until they become cool. The first is an erroneous 
 opinion; the second an injurious act. 
 
 Cold water may also be used by affusion, shower-bath, or douche, and 
 will be found tonic, stimulant, or sedative, according to its tempera- 
 ture, the length of time it is used, and the state of the body. 
 
 The warm bath relaxes the system, lessens the activity of the circu- 
 latory and respiratory organs, diminishes the temperature of the body, 
 and tends to tranquillize and occasion somnolency. It is useful in 
 spasms and convulsions of children, retention of urine, nephritic pains, 
 etc. ; and in high inflammatory and febrile diseases, it will frequently 
 prove advantageous. It should not be used in cerebral and pulmonary 
 affections. The vapor-bath increases the action of the capillary vessels, 
 causing excessive diaphoresis ; it renders the skin pliable, relieves ten- 
 sion and rigidity of the joints, and may be usefully employed in 
 rheumatism, cutaneous and several other affections. The h^t bath is 
 somewhat similar in its effects to the vapor, but is apt to prove dan- 
 gerous in some constitutions. Dr. J. Chapman states that heat along 
 the spine, lessens the general circulation, overcomes congestion in all 
 parts of the body, lessens fever, checks hemorrhage, and diminishes or 
 suspends the menses. 
 
 The following are the temperatures at which baths are usually ap- 
 plied : 
 
Aqua. 12] 
 
 Water, cold 50° to 75° F. 
 
 do temperate : 75 to 85 " 
 
 do tepid.. : .' 85 to 92 " 
 
 do warm ; .'..... 92 to 98 " 
 
 do hot 98 to 112 " 
 
 Vapor if breathed, tepid 90 to 100 " 
 
 do do warm 100 to 110 '< , 
 
 do do hot , 110 to 130 " 
 
 do if not breathed, tepid 96 to 106 " 
 
 dc do warm 106 to 120 " 
 
 dc do hot 120 to 160 " 
 
 Hot air, as a sudorific 85 to 100 " 
 
 do as a stimulant 100 to 130 " 
 
 In addition to the above uses of water, it has likewise other employ- 
 ments, as follows : 
 
 The "Wet-Sheet Packing, or Iden Tuch of the Germans. A mattress 
 of cotton, hair, or straw, has spread over it three or four large, thick 
 comfortables and over these one or two soft flannels. A linen sheet 
 having been previously dipped in cold water, or for very delicate per- 
 sons in tepid or even warm water, is lightly wrung out, so as not to 
 drip, and spread over the whole, having under it one or two pillows for 
 the head. The patient is made to lie upon these on his back, and is 
 quickly and snugly enveloped in the wet sheet, over which is placed 
 the flannels and blankets, or a light feather-bed may be thrown over 
 the top, in case comfortables are not plenty. Care should always be 
 taken to turn the clothing snugly and smoothly around the feet and 
 neck ; and if the feet remain cold, bottles of cold water should be 
 placed to them. Headache is prevented or removed by the application 
 of cold wet cloths applied to the head. 
 
 The time for remaining thus "packed" varies in difierent oases, 
 averaging from half an hour to an hour, depending on the effect; the 
 body should become comfortably warm before being removed. A dis- 
 agreeable sensation of cold is first experienced, which is soon followed 
 by a pleasurable warmth over the whole surface, and sometimes copi- 
 ous perspiration, though this last is not always indicated. On coming 
 out of the "pack," the plunge, the douche, rubbing wet sheet, or towel- 
 washing are to be employed, as the case may requiM. If the patient 
 experiences a chill after coming out, a thorough rubbing, followed by 
 fifteen or twenty minutes' dry packing, will usually obviate all injuri- 
 ous consequences. The process of packing should never be continued 
 so long as to cause headache, languor, muscular debility or giddiness. 
 
 This is said to act as a sedative, reducing the heat of the body, and 
 excessive arterial action, and as an alterative, correcting morbid secre- 
 tions and restoring healthy ones. In fevers and all acute inflammatory 
 disorders, it may be frequently* renewed according to the degree qf 
 fever or inflammation, until the temperature and circulation are re- 
 duced to the natural standard, and the skin becomes soft and perspira- 
 ble. Much sweating is not usually to be desired. In chronic diseases, 
 it removes internal congestions, develops external circulation, produces 
 a healthy condition of the skin, and may be used in many forms of 
 this class of maladies. If carelessly attended to, the wet sheet may 
 give rise to serious difficulties. 
 
 When- the wet sheet is applied to the trunk of the body only, as in 
 cases of feeble persons, where there is not sufficient vitality for the 
 whole sheet, or for other purposes, it is termed the "Half-Pack 
 Sheet." 
 
 The Douche (doosK) is the application of a stream of cold, tepid or 
 
12? Materia Medioa. 
 
 warm water, from a greater or lesser height, and continued for a time 
 indicated by its effects. The force of the stream and timeof ap^ica- 
 tion should be carefully adapted to the strength of the patient. Very 
 nervous persons, and those subject to determinations to the brain, 
 should resort to it with extreme caution. A strong douche should 
 never be applied to the head, nor should it be long continued on any 
 one spot along the vertebral column. A douche may be vertical, 
 oblique, horizontal, or ascending. The most common are in perpen- 
 dicular streams one or two inches in diameter. Its effect is to arouse 
 the activity of the absorbent system, and is hence very useful in gout, 
 rheumatism, paralysis, chronic enlargements of the viscera, tumprs, etc. 
 
 The ascending douche will be found beneficial in piles, uterine dis- 
 placements, prolapsus ani, constipation from debility, chronic enlarge- 
 ment of the prostate gland, impotency, etc. The stream may be half 
 an inch to an inch, and should not be forcible enough to cause absolute 
 pain nor serious inconvenience. Warm-water douches are for the pur- 
 poses of producing relaxation of the muscles of the part acted upon, 
 and are hence useful in rigidity of the muscles, painful swellings, 
 chronic inflammation of the joints, neuralgia, spasmodic and bilious 
 colic, retention of urine, amenorrhea, uterine rigidity, etc. In some 
 eases it should be followed by a momentary cold dash. Prof. Browi\; 
 Sequard considers the Cold Douche or Cold Shower Bath, useful in white 
 softening and reflex paraplegia ; and the Sot Douche, 100° P., when 
 applied to the spinal column over the painful part, very efficacious in 
 congestion or inflammation of the cord, but injurious in white soften- 
 ing and reflex paraplegia. 
 
 The EuBBiNG Wet-Sheet is a large sheet dipped in water, and wrung 
 out so as not to drip. It is then suddenly thrown around the patient's 
 body, enveloping him closely from the neck to the feet, and the body 
 is then rubbed for about five minutes by the hands of the attendants 
 on the outside of the sheet. It is to be followed by rubbing with dry 
 towels. This produces a strong and general determination to the whole 
 surface, and is applicable in all cases where a strong determination is 
 desired from internal organs or surfaces to the skin. It will be found 
 valuable in the early stages of bowel complaints, diarrhea, dysentery, 
 colic, fevers, etc. ; it is likewise useful for exhaustion following mental 
 exertion, many forms of insanity, delirium tremens, night-sweats, wake- 
 fulness, nightmare, etc. When the sheet is employed drippingly wet 
 (the dripping sheet) a large tub or pan is necessary for the patient to 
 stand in, to avoid wetting the floor. 
 
 The Hip or Sitz-Bath is a common tub, in which the patient sits so 
 as to have the water cover thie hips and lower parts of the abdomen. 
 A vessel made for the purpose, with a back to rest against is more con- 
 venient. The water may be of any temperature, and the time of ap- 
 plication varies from five to thirty minutes. According to its applica- 
 tion it is tonic, derivative, or sedative. Tonic when applied from five 
 to' fifteen minutes ; derivative when extended from fifteen to thirty 
 minutes; and sedative according to its effects. Derivative hip-baths 
 should not be carried to the point of producing paleness or lividity of 
 the lips, shiverings, nausea, faintness, or headache, and according to 
 the effect desired, and the coldness, torpor, and debility of the patient, 
 indicate that the quantity of water should be lessened, or its tempera- 
 ture elevated. It is useful in debility, irregularity, obstruction, and 
 torpor of the organs of the pelvis and lower part of the abdomen. A 
 blanket is generally thrown around the patient during this bath. 
 
Aqua. 123 
 
 The Shallow-Bath is a circular, or oval tub, raised about twelve 
 inches fipom the floor, and with water in it from four to six inches deep. 
 The patient sits in this, while the attendant sprinkles his head, and 
 rubs his chest, abdomen, and back. It may be employed from one to 
 thirty minutes, and should be followed by a good dry rubbing. It is 
 used at a temperature from 60° to 75°, and is excellent in cutaneous 
 affections, and other cases where a mild derivative, or moderately se- 
 dative influence is desired. 
 
 The Plunge-Bath may be any vessel or place, the water being from 
 55° to 65°, which will allow the patient to plunge into it, head, or feet 
 foremost as he fancies, or to quickly immerse the whole body up to the 
 neck. The time for remaining in it, varies from a few seconds to two or 
 three minutes, or in high fever, to ten or fifteen minutes. It is gener- 
 ally taken after the sweating process, and after the wet sheet, w'hen 
 the patient can bear the exertion ; in these cases the sheet is not to 
 be removed until at the plunge. It is very useful in all febrile and 
 chronic affections, but should be employed with care, or avoided alto- 
 gether in consumptive, and dropsical patients, and those laboring under 
 organic diseases of the heart. 
 
 These are the principal applications of water in Hydropathic prac-' 
 tice ; yet there are several others of a useful character, as the Foot-Bath^ 
 the Mead-Bath, the Shower-Bath, the Vapor-Bath, etc., the modes of 
 application of which are generally well understood, as well as their 
 effects. Cold water may likewise be used in form of a bandage or girdle, 
 by applying one or more folds of linen wet in cold water, to the part 
 affected, or around the abdomen, and covering it with a dry cloth or 
 other material to retain the heat. The wet girdle ov abdominal wrapper 
 or compress, is applied around the abdomen in all acute diseases of the 
 abdominal viscera. The bandages are applied warm or cold, according 
 to the indications they are intended to fulfill. 
 
 Mineral waters vary in their effects upon the system, according to 
 their constituent combination. The acidulous waters are powerful and 
 diffusive stimulants of the nervous and circulatory system, likewise 
 diuretic. G-enerally useful in dyspepsia, passive dropsy, chronic diseases, 
 chlorosis, and phosphatic gravel ; contra-indicated in recent palsy, apo- 
 plexy, and active hemorrhages and inflammations. 
 
 Alkaline waters are antacid, antilithic, and diuretic. Useful in gout, 
 gravel and stone. Purgative waters also possess diuretic properties, 
 and are useful in all cases where laxatives are required. Chalybeate 
 waters are tonic, and used in dyspepsia, all kinds of chronic cachexies, 
 gout, and chronic diseases generally. Sulphurous waters are stimulant, 
 diaphoretic, diuretic a,nd emmenagqgue, and are found beneficial in 
 chlorosis, rheumatism, dysmenorrhea, secondary syphilis, chronic cu- 
 taneous diseases, and deranged conditions of the stomach and liver. 
 They are contra-indicated in plethora, determination to the head, and 
 active hemorrhages and inflammations. Waters which contain iodine 
 or bromine, have been found of some use in g6itre and scrofula. Sea- 
 water internally is an emetic and purgative ; as a bath it has all the 
 effects of an ordinary cold bath, with the addition of exerting a more 
 stimulant action on the skin than fresh water,,owing to its saline con- 
 tents. It has been found serviceable in rickets, enlargement of glands, 
 or joints, some chronic cutaneous eruptions, scrofula, and many chronic 
 diseases, 
 
124 Materia Medica. 
 
 AEALIA HISPIDA. (Eauhe Aralie.) 
 
 Dwarf Elder. 
 
 JVat. Ord. — Araliacese. Sex. Syst. — ^Pentandria Pentagynia. 
 
 BARK OP THE BOOT. 
 
 Description. — Aralia Hispida is a perennial plant, with a low stem, 
 from one to two feet high, the lower part woody and shrubby, thickly 
 beset with sharp, stiff bristles, the upper part herbaceous and branch 
 ing; leaves are bipinnate; leaflets oblong-ovate, acute, cut-serrate;, um- 
 bels many, simple, globose, axillary and terminal, on long peduncles, 
 followed by bunches of dark-colored, nauseous berries. It flowers from 
 June to September. The whole plant exhales an unpleasant odor. — W. 
 
 Sistory. — This is a low undershrub, growing from New England to 
 Virginia, in fields, hedges, rocky places, and along the road-sides. The 
 fruit is round, black, and one-celled, containing three irregular-shaped 
 seeds. The bark of the plant is employed in medicine, but that of the 
 root is the most active. It yields its virtues to water. It is known in 
 various sections of the country by the name of Wild Elder, Bristlestem 
 Sarsaparilla, etc. 
 
 , Properties and Uses. — The leaves in warm infusion are sudorific. The 
 bark is diuretic and alterative; and has an especial action on the kid- 
 neys. Very valuable in dropsy, gravel, suppression of urine, and other 
 urinary disorders. The juice and decoction of the fresh roots are said 
 to be emetic and hydragogue, and have been found eflcacious in dropsy. 
 Dose of decoction, two to four ounces, three times a day. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Decoctum Aralise. , 
 
 AEALIA NUDICAULIS. (Stiellose Aralie.) 
 
 Small Spikenard. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Araliacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Pentagynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Aralia Ifudicaulis is a smooth, herbaceous, perennial 
 plant, with a large, fleshy, horizontal, creeping, tortuous root, very long, 
 about six lines in diameter, and yellowish or brownish externally ; from 
 this arises a solitary, large, compound, radical leaf; the leaflets being 
 oval and obovate, acute, finely serrate. A scape or flower-stem also 
 arises from the root, which is shorter than the leaf, naked, about a foot 
 high, terminating in three small, simple, manj^ flowered umbels without 
 involucres. The fruit is a small drupe Or berry. — D. — W. 
 
 Sistory.— This plant, sometimes known as American, Wild, or False 
 Sarsaparilla, is indigenous, growing in moist woodlands, in the Northern 
 and Middle States. The pai-t employed is the root ; it has an agreeable 
 balsamic odor, and a pleasant, spicy, saccharine taste. It yields its 
 virtues to water or alcohol. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Small Spikenard possesses alterative properties, 
 and is used in decoction^r syrup as a substitute for Smilax Sarsaparilla 
 in all cases where an alterative is required. It is likewise used in pul- 
 monary diseases. Externally, a decoction of it has been found beneficial 
 as a wash in zona (shingles) and in indolent ulcers.. 
 
 The Aralia Eacemosa Pettymorrel, or Spikenard, h&s a herbaceous, 
 widely -branched, smooth stem, three or four feet in height, dark-grcsen, 
 
- Aralia Spinosa. 125 
 
 or reddish, arising from a thick aromatic root ; leaves decompound ; 
 leaf -stalks divide into three partitions, each of which bears three or five 
 large, ovate, pointed, serrate, slightly downy leaflets. Umbels numerous, 
 small, arranged in branching racemes from the axils of leaves or 
 branches. — W. It flowers in July, and grows in rich woodlands. The 
 root is large, spicy, and aromatic, and possesses properties similar to 
 that of the A. Nudicaulis ; it is much used in pulmonary affections, and 
 enters into the Compound Syrup of Spikenard. 
 Off- Prep. — Syrupus Aralise Compositus. 
 
 AEALIA SPINOSA. (Stachlige Aralie.) 
 
 Prickly Elder. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Araliacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Pentagynia. 
 
 BARK. 
 
 Description. — The Aralia Spinosa, sometimes called Toothache Tree, 
 Southern Prickly As/i, and Angelica Tree, is a small tree, with an unsym- 
 metric, naked stem, about ten or twelve feet high, but taller in warm 
 latitudes, having prickles below, the leaves all crowded near the sum- 
 mit. Leaves on long, prickly petioles, very large, prickly, bipinnate; 
 leaflets ovate, acuminate, serrate, sessile, glaucous beneath. Umbels 
 numerous, forming a very large panicle ; involucres small, few -leaved. 
 Flowers white, appearing in August and September; berries juicy and 
 blackish. — W. 
 
 History. — The Prickly Elder inhabits the United States in various 
 parts, from Pennsylvania to Louisiana, and westward to Missouri, 
 growing in damp and rich woods and fields. The thin, ash-colored bark 
 is the part used, although other parts of the plant possess medical prop- 
 erties ; it has a peculiar, somewhat fragrant odor, and a slightly bitter, 
 biting taste ; alcohol or water extracts its properties. 
 
 Properties and Uses.— The fresh bark will produce vomiting and 
 J)urging; but when dried it is a stimulating alterative, producing a de- 
 termination toward the surface. The tincture has been used in syphil- 
 itic and rheumatic affections, and in some diseases of the skin. The 
 warm infusion, especially when strong, is apt to induce vomiting. The 
 berries in tincture have been found useful in lulling the paih from a de- 
 cayed tooth, also in various painful affections of other parts. Much use 
 was made of this bark by physicians in Cincinnati during the cholera 
 of 1849-50, in cases where cathartics were required, but where the 
 action of every purgative was very difScult to control ; the preparation 
 was composed of one drachm compound powder of Jalap, one drachm 
 Aralia Spinosa, and two drachms compound powder of Ehiibarb. Given 
 in powder, in half-teaspoonful doses; or the powder was infused in half 
 a pint of boiling water, of which infusion, when cold, a tablespoonful 
 was given every half hour. In no case in which it was given did it 
 produce a tendency to looseness or choleraic discharges. 
 
 It is a powerful sialagogue, and is valuable in diseases where the 
 mouth and throat are dry and parched, as a very small portion of the 
 powder will produce a moisture and relieve difficult breathing; also 
 useful in sore-throat. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Aralise Spinosa ; Tinctura Aralise Spinosa. 
 
126 Materia Medica. ' 
 
 AECTIUM LAPPA. (Klette.) 
 
 Burdock. 
 
 J!i[at. Ord.— Asteracese; Cynaracese {lAndley), Sex. .Syst. — Syngenesia 
 
 ^qualis. 
 
 ROOT AND SEEDS. 
 
 Bescription. — By De Candolle this plant is named Lcuppa Minor, and 
 by Gartner, Lappa Major. It is a well-known weed, with a tapering, 
 fleshy, brown-colored root, from eight to fifteen inches in length, throw- 
 ing off slender fibers. Stem erect, three feet or more in height, solid, 
 leafy,' fleshy, round, furrowed, hairy, with many wide spreading 
 branches; leaves large, alternate, petiolate, scattered, heart-shkped, un- 
 , dulated, veiny, three-ribbed at the base, somewhat hoary and downy 
 beneath. Floioer heads axillary, either sessile or stalked, generally glo- 
 bose, with little or no w'oolliness about the calyx. Florets, with their 
 anthers and stigmas, purple; corollas five-cleft, regular, with a ten- 
 nerved tube; stamens with papillose filaments; anther^ terminated by 
 filiform appendages, and with subulate tails at the base. Stigmas free 
 at the apex, diverging, curved outward. Involucre wlien in fruit easily 
 breaks from its stalk, and is well known by the name of a Bur, sticking 
 to the^hair, clothing, or coats of persons and animals. Receptacle rather 
 fleshy, flat, with stiff, subulate fringes. Fruit or achenia oblong, later- 
 ally compressed, smooth, transversely wrinkled, with a short, rough, 
 prickly pappus ; seeds quadrangular. — i. — B. 
 
 Sistory. —-Burdock is indigenous to Asia and Europe, and grows freely 
 in uncultivated soils, in waste places, and around dwellings in this 
 country, flowering in July and August. The root and seeds are the 
 officinal parts; the root is to be collected in the spring, and loses four- 
 fifths of its weight by drying. It is subcylindrical, externally black- 
 brown, internally white ; fleshy when recent, scaly when dried; having 
 a weak unpleasant smell; the bark has a subsaline, and the internal 
 parenchyma a sweetish, mucilaginous taste. It contains sugar, gummy 
 extractive, inulin, nitrate of potassa, etc. The seeds have a spicy, bitter, 
 subacrid taste. — Fd. Duncan. • 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The root is alterative, aperient, diuretic, and su- 
 dorific. A decoction of it has been used in rheumatic, gouty, venereal, 
 leprous, and other disorders, and is preferred by some to that of sarsa- 
 parilla. — Fd. It is also useful in scurvy, scrofula, etc. The seeds are 
 recommended as very efficacious diuretics, given either in the form of 
 emulsion,. or in powder to the quantity of a drachm. They form a good 
 diuretic alterative, and are much used in diseases of the kidneys, and 
 to remove boils and styes on the eyelids. An ointment of the leaves, 
 or their juice, has been used advantageously, in certain diseases of the 
 skin, and obstinate ulcers. The dose of a decoction or syrup of the root, 
 is from four to six fluidounces three or four times a day. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Arctii ; Extractum Arctii ; Syrupus Sarsaparillse 
 Compositus. 
 
 AECTOSTAPHYLOS UVA UESI. 
 
 Uva TJrsi. — Barentraube. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Erieacese. Sex. Syst. — Deeandria Monogynia. 
 
 LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — This plant, known also as Bearherry, Upland Cranberry, 
 etc., is a small, perennial shrub, having a long, fibrous root. Stems 
 
ARCTOSTAPHYLOiS UvA UrSI. 127 
 
 woody, trailing, and rooting, the young shoots only turning upward; 
 hark deciduous, smooth. Leaves alternate, obovate, acute at base, short/ 
 petioled, coriaceous, evergreen, glabrous, shining above, paler beneath, 
 entire, in young ones pubescent, the margin rounded, but scarcely re- 
 flexed. Flowers terminal, clustered. Peduncles short, red, reflexed, fur- 
 nished at base with a short, acute bract, two minute ones at the sides. 
 Sepals five, roundish, reddish, persistent. Corolla ovate or urceolate, 
 white with a reddish tinge, transparent at base, contracted at the mouth, 
 hairy inside, with five short reflexed segments. Stamensten, very slightly 
 adhering to the b^se of the corolla; filaments hairy ; anthers reddish, each i 
 with two horns and two pores. Ovary round ; style straight, longer than 
 the stamens; stigma simple. Disk a black indented ring. Fruit small, 
 globular, succulent, drupaceous, depressed, almost scarlet-eolored,' with 
 an insipid mealy pulp, five angular seeds. — JJ. This plant ip the Ar- 
 butus tJva Ursi of Linnseus, and Willdenow, from which it was sepa- 
 rated by Sprengel, principally on account of the difference of its berry. 
 
 History. — The TJva Ursi is a perennial evergreen, common in the 
 northern part of Europe and America, growing on sterile gravelly 
 ridges, and dry sandy soils. It flowers from June to September, and 
 ripens its berries during the winter. 
 
 The leaves are the parts used; the green leaves alone should be se- 
 lected, picked from the twigs in the fall,, and dried by exposure to a , 
 moderate heat. They' are about an inch long, and two or three lines 
 wide, often spatulate in form, and are frequently adulterated with the 
 whortleberry or cowberry leaves. These adulterations may be detected 
 by observing that the TJva Ursi leaf is reticulated beneath, while the 
 whortleberry leaf is merely dotted; the leaves of pipsissewa are longer, 
 cuneate-lanceolate, and sharply serrated. 
 
 Uva Ursi leaves are odorless, except when in powder, which is of a 
 light brown color, with a shade of greenish yellow, and has nearly the 
 smell of good grass hay, and to the taste is at first smartly astringent 
 and bitterish, which sensations gradually soften into a liquorice flavor. 
 The leaves yield their properties to water or alcohol, forming with the 
 latter a green tincture, which is rendered turbid by water, causing a 
 deposit of green resin. Meissner found them to contain gallic and 
 tannic acids, resin, oxidized extractive, gum with supermalates of lime 
 and soda, chlorophylle, pectic acid, extractive, lignin, and water. Mr. 
 Hughes found a peculiar principle called by him TJrsin, which contains 
 their diuretic power. ' 
 
 " Ursin is said, by J. 0. 0. Hughes, to be prepared as follows : Mace- 
 rate one pound of the leaves of Uva Ursi in water for twelve hours, 
 and displace until two quarts of liquor are obtained. Then precipitate 
 the tannin with a solution of gelatin and filter. Evaporate the filtered 
 liquor to dryness, and dissolve the remaining extract in strong alcohol, 
 and treat it with purified animal charcoal for twenty-four hours. Again 
 filter, evaporate, and redissolve in absolute alcohol, and treat again with 
 purified animal charcoal for tw/enty-four hours; filter and crystallize 
 by spontaneous evaporation. Press the crystals, redissolve in absolute 
 alcohol, treat with animal charcoal, filter, and again crystallize by spon- 
 taneous evaporation. The crystals are colorless, transparent, needle- 
 shaped prisms, soluble in alcohol, ether, and dilute acid, but insoluble 
 in fixed and essential oils. The subacetate of lead and carbonate of 
 potassa precipitate its aqueous solution; lime-water and tincture of 
 chloride of iron do not affect it. It is neutral to test paper, and com- 
 bustible. One grain acted as a powerful diuretic:" — Am. Jour. Pharm.. 
 
128 Materia Medica. 
 
 XIX., p. 90. Arbutin and Arctuvin have also been obtained froni the 
 leaves by Kawalier, laut their therapeutical influences are not positively 
 known. 
 
 Properties and Uses.— The effects of this medicine depend entirely on 
 its astringent and tonic powers. As an astringent it is applicable to 
 all the purposes for which astringents are used, as in chronic diarrhea 
 and dysentery, menorrhagia, diabetes, eneuresis, etc. In chronic affec- 
 tions of the kidneys and urinary passages it is frequently useful, in vesi- 
 cal catarrh, chronic gonorrhea, strangury, fluor-albus, and excessive 
 mucous discharges with the urine. Its tannic acid becomes oxidized 
 and converted into gallic and pyro-gallic acids, and humus-like sub- 
 stance, which communicates a dark color to the urine. It undoubtedly 
 lessens lithic acid deposits in the urine. In gonorrhea, with bloody and 
 mucous discharges, and pain in the vesical region, it speedily a;llays 
 all these unpleasant symptoms. Dose of the powder ten to sixty grains ; 
 of the decoction, one to three fluidounces, made by boiling one ounce 
 of TJva Ursi with a pint and a half of distilled water down to a pint; 
 of the extract five to fifteen grains. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Decoctum Uvse Ursi. 
 
 AEGENTI ISTITEAS. (Saltpetersaures Silberoxyd.) 
 Nitrate of Silver. Lunar Caustic. — Sollenstein. 
 
 Preparation. — "Two parts of pure Silver, in small pieces, are to be 
 dissolved in three parts of pure Nitric Acid, sp. gr. 1.41, diluted with 
 one and a half parts of Distilled Water, at a gentle sand hea,t,* and the 
 clear solution — after decanting and filtering the last portions, if neces- 
 sary — evaporated in a porcelain dish, at first over an open fire, and 
 afterward, when it has become thick, under constant stirring with a glass 
 rod, to perfect dryness in a sand-bath. On account of the nitric acid 
 vapors that are evolved, this process should be performed under a chim- 
 ney with a good draught. 
 
 " If the crystallized salt is required, the dried mass is again dissolved 
 in its weight of distilled water, and allowed slowly to evaporate in a 
 sand-bath to about half; it is then placed for some days in a cool spot, 
 the mother liquors poured from the separated crystals, and again slowly 
 evaporated. The crystals are not dried on paper, but drained in the 
 vessel in which they formed, dried, and kept in a bottle excluded from 
 the light. 
 
 "when required in sticks, a portion is fused over a spirit-lamp, in a 
 porcelain dish, being constantly stirred with a glass rod, and the liqiiid 
 mass poured into a bright iron mold that has been previously warmed. 
 The sticks as soon as cold are removed, and the tubes wiped with dry 
 filtering paper, to remove any adhering salt. Bight parts of pure silver 
 yield twelve parts of nitrate." — Witt. 
 
 HLv. B. S. Wayne prepares Nitrate of Silver as follows: Take coin or 
 any old silver and dissolve it in pure nitric acid to saturation; this 
 solution is then to be evaporated to dryness, then fused until the cop- 
 per contained in the coin, or silver and held in the solution as a nitrate, 
 
 « If silver reduced from the chloride be made use of, It should be borne in mind that 
 four parts of the latter yield three parts of metallic silver, which, being In a very flue 
 state of division, must, in order to prevent too powerful an action, be added in very small 
 portions and gradually. 
 
Argenti Niteas. 129 
 
 is decomposed, and the fused nitrate rendered colorless. This is ascer- 
 tained by dipping a glass rod in the fused nitrate, observing the color, 
 and also by making a solution of it in water, from time to time, and 
 testing the solution with ammonia, which turns it blue if copper be still 
 present. After all the nitrate of copper is decomposed, the nitrate of 
 silver is separated from the oxide of copper left from the decomposition 
 of the nitrate of copper,, by dissolving it in water, filtering, and evapo- 
 rating to the point of crystallization. This process yields a perfectly 
 pure nitrate of silver from coin. 
 
 When silver is brought in contact With moderately-dilute nitric acid, 
 a lively action ensues, even in the cold, yellow fumes are given off, and 
 as the temperature rises the metal is rapidly and entirely dissolved. 
 Before it can combine with the acid, the metal is converted into oxide,' 
 and this takes place at the expense of one portion of the acid, which, 
 separating into nitric oxide and oxygen, oxidizes three atoms of silver; 
 the nitric oxide as it is given off abstracting two equivalents of oxygen 
 from the air becomes hyponitric acid. Mitric acid sp. gr. 1.41, contains 
 54 per cent. Of anhydrous acid; 4,050 parts of silver require 2,700 parts 
 of anhydrous acid, which is contained in 5,000 parts of 54 per cent. ; 
 rather more acid than this must be taken, to allow for a portion which 
 evaporates during the solution of the metal. The liquid is allowed to 
 deposit,* and the clear portion evaporated to dryness to insure the 
 absence of any free acid, then dissolved in water and crystallized. All 
 organic matter must, from this as well as all other silver salts, be care- 
 fully excluded, as they facilitate their reduction and discoloration, con- 
 sequently the crystals must not be dried on filtering paper. To fiise 
 the salt, a porcelain dish is most convenient ; it is sometimes recom- 
 mended to rub the surface of the mold with oil, but this is unnecessary 
 and una.dvisable, as the sticks slide equally well out of the dry and 
 polished cylinders, and the oil will cause the gray appearance on their 
 outer surface. The salt must be poured into the mold so soon as it is 
 liquefied, as it soon begins to evolve nitric acid, and the oxide formed 
 becomes reduced to a gray metallic covering which is prejudicial to the 
 appearance of the preparation. If such a pellicle has formed (it will 
 mostly remain in the dish after pouring out the fluid portion), a few 
 drops of pure nitric acid must be added to the next portion Of the salt, 
 previous to fusing it. The salt must not be fused in an iron vessel. 
 
 Chemical. Properties. — If the solution be allowed to crystallize by 
 evaporation and cooling, it assumes various forms, as hexangiilar or 
 rhombic tables, or right rhombic prisms, of a transparent or colorless 
 appearance, which turn black when exiposed to the light, or to the 
 direct rays of the sun. Light alone, however, does not decompose the 
 solution of nitrate of silver, it requires the presence of organic matter or 
 sulphuretted hydrogen. The stick or rods of the salt, are at first white, 
 but from the action of light and organic matter, become grayish, and 
 when broken they present a crystalline texture with a radiated surface. 
 They differ from the crystallized nitrate only in form and color, and 
 do not contain any water of crystallization, as has been supposed. 
 
 Nitrate of silver is a very heavy salt, having a sharp, metallic, and 
 intensely bitter taste. One part of water at 60° P., dissolves it, and 
 four parts of alcohol at 178°. These solutions should have no action 
 on litmus paper. It does not deliquesce ; melts at 426° F. ; is decom- 
 
 • The black residue from silver, reduced by charcoal, is dried and reserved for anotlier 
 reduction, as it generally contains a little chloride of silver. 
 
130 Materia Medica. 
 
 posed at 600° F., parting with its oxygen and nitrous acid, and leaving 
 the metal in a state of purity. — 0. Its specific gravity is 3.521. It 
 corrodes the soft tissues, and in contact with the hair, skin, nails, linen, 
 and almost all organic substances, it stains them of an indelible black. 
 —Ed. Stains of Nitrate of silver may be removed by first applying a 
 strong solution of iodide of potassium, and afterward a solution of 
 hyposulphite of soda ; or, a solution of cyanuret of potassium will re- 
 move them ; or, the application of tincture of iodine, and afterward 
 liquor potassa. Indelible ink for marking linen, etc., owes its character 
 to this salt ; the common formula for this preparation is as follows : 
 Take of Nitrate of silver five scruples, gum Arabic two scruples, sap- 
 green one scruple, distilled water one fluidounce ; mix together ; with 
 ■ this the linen is to be marked, having had the following preparation or 
 mordant previously applied ; take of carbonate of soda two drachms, 
 distilled water four ounces, gum Arabic two drachms. 
 
 "An ink has, however, been recently used, which does not require a 
 mordant, flows freely from the pen, does not require a strong or long 
 continued heat to develop the black mark, and which will not destroy 
 the texture of the finest cambric. It is prepared thus: Dissolve Nitrate 
 of silver one ounce, in a sufficient quantity of distilled water ; also dis- 
 solve crystallized carbonate of soda one ounce and a half, in sufficient 
 distilled water. Mix the two solutions; a precipitate ensues which 
 must be collected and washed on a filter. Introduce the washed pre- 
 cipitate, still moist, into a "Wedgewood's-ware mortar, and add to it 
 tartaric acid eight scruples, rubbing them together until effervescence 
 has ceased ; add strong liquor ammonia in sufficient quantity to dis- 
 solve the tartrate of silver (about two ounces) ; then mix in archil half 
 a fluidounce, white sugar four drachms, powdered gutn Arabic twelve 
 drachms, and add distilled water sufficient, if required, to make six 
 fluidounces of the whole mixture." — Am. Jour. Fharm., XIX., 103. 
 
 Nitrate of silver, especially in solution, should always be kept in 
 bottles with glass stoppers, as cork quickly decomposes it. It is an 
 anhydrous salt, and is composed of 116 parts or one equivalent of pro- 
 toxide of silver, and 54.15 parts, or one equivalent of nitric acid (AgO 
 -j-NO5=170 or 2125), and is incompatible with all waters containing salt, 
 phosphorus, charcoal, vegetable astringent solutions, several chlorides, 
 most acids and their salts, earths, and alkaline solutions. 
 
 This salt is liable to adulterations, among the principal of which are 
 the nitrates of lead, copper, zinc, and potassa ; or it may contain free 
 silver, by being subjected to excess of heat while melting it. It almost 
 always contains a small proportion of free silver when in sticks, which 
 may be known by the undissolved black powder present in its solution 
 in distilled water. Precipitate a solution of Nitrate of silver by an 
 excess of chloride of sodium ; if this precipitate is entirely soluble in 
 ammonia the salt is pure; if not, lead is present. Sulphuretted hydro- 
 gen passed through the liquid, after having removed the above pre- 
 cipitate, gives a white precipitate if zinc be present, and black if there 
 be any copper. Nitrate of potassa may be suspected when a colorless 
 fracture is presented upon breaking the sticks, and when the salt is 
 entirely soluble without the black powder sediment. It is readily dis- 
 tinguished by precipitating all the silver as chloride, removing other 
 metals by sulphuretted hydrogen, and evaporating to dryness, when 
 the nitrate of potassa will be found in the residue. Impurities, with- 
 out regard to their character, may be ascertained by dissolving 29 
 grains of the salt in a fluidounce of distilled water, to which 9.12 grains 
 
Argenti Nitkas. 131 
 
 of muriate of ammonia are to be added ; briskly agitate the mixture 
 for a few seconds, and then allow it to rest, until precipitation has 
 ceased ; then if, on the addition of more muriate of ammonia, no 
 further precipitation ensues, the salt is impure. — Ed. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Some practitioners consider this salt as a tonic 
 and nerve-stimulant, allaying irritability of the nerve centers, and im- 
 proving nutrition, and employ it to fulfill these indications, in epilepsy, 
 chorea, angina pectoris, etc., as well as administering it in intestinal 
 ulceration during typhoid fever, diarrhea, etc. However, it is seldom 
 used as an internal agent, but externally as an escharotic, either in the 
 solid form, or dissolved in distilled water. The dose of the crystals of 
 nitrate of silver is from |th to ith of a grain, repeated three times a 
 day, and gradually increased to two or three grains. It may be given 
 in pill form with bread crumb, or in solution largely diluted. When 
 employed in solution, its strength is varied, according to the condition 
 of the parts to be acted upon, and the character of the affection^from 
 five to eighty grains to the fluidounce of water. It has been bene- 
 ficially applied to ulcers, warts, and other growths, fungous flesh, 
 chancres, and in ulcers of the cornea, some forms of ophthalmia, granu- 
 lation of the lids, fetid discharges from the ear, aphthous affections of 
 mouth, and spongy gums. It has likewise been recommended as a 
 topical remedy in erysipelas and various other external inflammations, 
 leucorrhea, gonorrhea, uterine ulcerations, granulations, and excoria- 
 tions, and stricture of the urethra ; also in ringworm, and some other 
 forms of chronic cutaneous diseases. A solution of it is highly recom- 
 mended in chronic laryngitis, pharyngitis, pertussis, asthma, and vene- 
 real ulceration of .the throat, applied by means of a sponge fastened to 
 one end of a piece of whalebone. It has recently been used in the 
 form of spray, in tracheal, laryngeal, nasal, and faucial diseases, one 
 to ten grains of the salt to one fluidounce of distilled water, and sprayed 
 upon the affected parts every day or two, or even oftener. A caustic 
 solution should not be passed into the lungs or bronchi. The solid 
 stick is sometimes used in ulcerations of the throat, and chilblains. A 
 modified nitrate of silver is much used in trachoma and other affections 
 of the eye, made by fusing together equal parts each, of nitrate of po- 
 tassa and nitrate of silver, and forming the mass into cylindrical sticks 
 by passing the melted ingredients into a proper mold, or t^o parts 
 nitrate silver, and one part each, of nitrate, and sulphate of potassa, 
 may be melted together in a porcelain crucible and then run into 
 ordinary molds. They may be covered with a solution of gutta-percha 
 in sulphuret of carbon, to keep them from deliquescing, and from dis- 
 coloring the fingers. If the pain be excessive from the application of 
 the nitrate, it may be at once relieved by washing the parts with a 
 solution of common salt, which decomposes it, and converts it into the 
 insoluble chloride of silver. The same article is an antidote xo its 
 poisonous effects when taken internally in too large doses. In obsti- 
 nate or severe dysentery, after having first cleansed the rectum by an 
 injection of soap and warm water, another injection composed of nitrate 
 of silver ten grains, distilled water one fluidounce, should be given, and 
 repeated in an hour, if necessary. The second or third injection usu- 
 ally effects a cure. Por a child less than a year old, one grain of the 
 nitrate to the fluidounce of water, and so in proportion. — W. H. Par- 
 sons, Oollege Journal, 'Cincinnati, 0., III., 269. The dark color of the 
 skin produced by the internal use of nitrate of silver, generally remains 
 for life. A premonitory indication of this discoloration is, as stated by 
 
132 Materia Medica. 
 
 Dr. Branson, the appearance of a dark blue line along the margins of 
 the gums, darker than that caused by the internal use of lead. Duncan 
 states that it is said to be at last removed by a steady course of cream 
 of tartar ; and Pereira suggests, to wash the body with dilute nitric 
 acid daily, at the same time administering it internally. For the pur- 
 pose of operating with greater safety in cavities where the fracture of 
 the caustic might be dangerous, Chaissaignac employs nitrate of silver 
 fused round a platina wire ; thus applied it adheres firmly to the wire, 
 even when cracked; or aluminium wire might be substituted for the 
 platinum. 
 
 AEISTOLOCHIA SBEPENTAEIA. (Virginische Schlangenwurzel.) 
 ' Virginia Snakeroot. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Aristolochiacese. Sex. Syst. — Gynandria Hexandria. 
 
 ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Aristolochia Serpentaria, also called Snakeroot and Snake- 
 weed, is a perennial herbaceous plant, with an extremely fibrous, knotty, 
 brown root, sending up numerous stems. Stems rise singly or severally 
 from the same root, are erect, simple or branched, jointed, flexuous, 
 cylindrical, often with a reddish tinge, most commonly under a foot 
 high. Leaves alternate, on short petioles, oblong, entire, acuminate, 
 heart-shaped, at base three-nerved, more or less downy on the surface, 
 having a slightly yellowish tint. Flowers grow close to the ground, 
 curve downward, have a stiff leathery texture, a dull brownish-purple 
 color. Peduncle, which supports them has one or more bracts, gradually 
 enlarges into a furrowed obovate ovary. Calyx, like others in this sin- 
 gular genus, consists of a long contorted tube, bent in the form of the 
 letter S, swelling at its two extremities, having its throat surrounded 
 by an elevated edge or brim, and its border expanded into a broad, ir- 
 regular margin, fbrming an under and upper lip, which are closed in a 
 triangular manner in the bud, dull-purplish or red. Corolla none. 
 Anthers twelve in number, growing in pairs to the sides of the fleshy 
 Style, which is situated in the bottom of the calyx, and covered by a 
 firm spreading, coiivoluted stigma, which extends over the anthers. 
 CajjswZe obovate, six-angled, six-celled, with numerous small flat seeds. 
 —B.—Ij. 
 
 History. — Several species of Aristolochia have been confounded with 
 the above, but as they are nearly identical in medical properties, it is 
 of but little importance ; they are the A. Sirsuta growing in the South- 
 ern States, and strongly resembling the above ; the A. Mastata of Nut- 
 tall, or A. Sagittaria of Muhlenburg, growing in the South ; the A. Beti- 
 culata of South-western growth, as well as the A. Tomentosa. 
 
 Aristolochia Serpentaria is found in rich woods, hedges, and thickets 
 from Connecticut to Illinois, and southward to Louisiana, being more 
 common near the Alleghanies, and flowering from April to July. In 
 commerce the dried root consists of a short, knotty, premorse root-stock 
 or head, with very numerous radicles, three inches or more in length, 
 filiform, flexuous, interlaced and brittle, the epidermis being greenish- 
 yellow or brown, the parenchyma yellowish-white, and the pith ferru- 
 ginous. It has a pungent smell, not unlike that of valerian, with 
 camphor and turpentine, and a warm, bitterish, pungent taste, very 
 mnch resembling that of camphor. — Ed. Its active principles are ex- 
 tracted by water, alcohol, or proof-spirit. The tincture is bright green. 
 
Arnkja Montana. 133 
 
 und is rendered turbid by water. Bueholtz found it to contain volatile 
 oil, yellowish gum resin, extractive, gummy extract, woody fiber, and 
 water. More recently Chevallier has found volatile oil, resin, extractive, 
 starch, ligneous fiber, albumen, malate and phosphate of lime, oxide of 
 iron and silica. The oil is yellowish, of an odor and taste like that of 
 valerian and camphor combined, and about half an ounce is furnished 
 by one hundred pounds of the root. The oil may be procured in greater 
 amount from the A. Beticulata, which is the most energetic of this family 
 of plants. Crystals resembling camphor have been obtained by allow- 
 ing the milky fluid formed when the volatile oil is distilled over with 
 water to stand for a short time. 
 
 Pink-root and Seneca are sometimes found mixed with the A. Serpen- 
 taria, as well as some other roots. ' These adulterations may be detected 
 by the difference in the appearance of the foots, and of the leaves and 
 stems when present, as well as by the absence of the peculiar Serpen- 
 taria flavor and smell. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Virginia Snakeroot in small doses promotes the 
 appetite and gives tone to the organs of digestion, and is very useful in 
 cases of enfeebled stomach following exhausting diseases, especially in 
 the form of vinous tincture. In full doses it stimulates the system, pro- 
 ducing increased arterial action, diaphoresis, and frequently diuresis. 
 In large doses it causes an uneasy sensation at the stomach, with sick- 
 ness, vomiting, and purging, headache, drowsiness, and disturbed sleep, ' 
 and in warm infusion it produces diaphoresis, and is beneficial in ady- 
 namic eruptive fevers, where the eruption is ta^rdy, or has receded, 
 in the typhoid stage of febrile diseases, where strong stimulants, as 
 brandy, etc., can not be borne, it will be found very available. In 
 ]>eriodic fevers it may be advantageously used with or without its com- 
 bination with quinia. An infusion of it forms an excellent gargle in 
 putrid sore-throat. Dyspeptics have been benefited by it in tonic doses, 
 and amenorrhea has been cured, especially when caused by cold. When 
 its use is too long continued, it occasions sickness at stomach, emesis, 
 gripings and tenesmus. Long boiling impairs its virtues. A cold in- 
 fusion is useful in convalescence from acute diseases. Dose of the 
 powder as a tonic, three to six grains ; as a stimulant, twenty to thirty 
 grains; of the infusion one or two fluidounces; of the tincture a flui- 
 drachm or two. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Serpentarise ; Bxtractum Serpentarise Fluidum ; 
 Tinctura Serpentarise Composita. 
 
 AElSriCA MONTANA. (Wohlverlei.) 
 
 Leopardsbane. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteraceae. Sex. /Syst— Syngenesia Superflua. 
 
 THE BOOT AND HERB. 
 
 Description. — Arnica Montana is a rather hairy plant, with a dark or 
 blackish root, from which are given off numerous radicles. Stem simple, 
 pubescent, rough, obscurely angled, striated, one to three-headed, from 
 ten tc twelve inches in height. ' Leaves entire, opposite; radical ones 
 obovate or oblong, ciliated, five-nerved; cauline in one or two- pairs. 
 Flowers large, orange-yellow; heads erect, or drooping. Involucre cyl- 
 indrical, rough with glands; disk florets many, tubular, five-lobed ; ray 
 florets about fourteen, strap-shaped, three-toothed,, striated, downy at 
 
134 , Materia Medica. 
 
 base; achenia somewhat cylindrical, downy, ribbed, blackish, with a 
 straw-colored, hairy pappus. — i. — DeOand. 
 
 Sistory. — This perennial herb inhabits Siberia, also the cooler parts 
 of Europe from the sea coast to the limits of constant snow, in moist, 
 shady, situations, flowering in June and July; it is likewise found in 
 the north-western parts of the United States. The whole plant has 
 been used in medicine; more especially the flowers. The flowers are 
 compound, radiated, yellow, with a calyx of linear equal follicles, the 
 length of the disc, ligulate, floscules twice the length of the disc, two 
 lines broad, three-toothed, with a sessile pappus, fragile and somewhat 
 scabrous ; taste acrid and bitterish ; causing sneezing when rubbed 
 with the fingers. The odor is unpleasant, but is much diminished, as 
 well as the taste, by drying. They yield their properties to water or 
 alcohol. The dried root is about the thickness of a small quill, flexu- 
 ous, brown bark externally', rugose longitudinally, with a somewhat 
 -hard whitish wood, larger pith, and long, dense radicles on one side ; 
 its taste is aromatic, acrid, and slightly bitter. It should be gathered 
 in the spring. Pfaff found it to contain volatile oil, acrid resin, extract- 
 ive, gum and woody fiber. Chevallier and Lassaigne found the flow- 
 ers to contain resin, a bitter nauseous substance resembling the cytisin, 
 gallic acid, a yellow coloring matter, albumen, gum, muriate and phos- 
 phate of potassa, traces of sulphate, carbonate of lime and silica. — T. 
 Mr. Bastick has announced the existence of an alkaloid in the flowers, 
 which he calls Arnicina. It is not volatile, bitter, slightly soluble in 
 water but more so in alcohol and ether. Its hydrochlorate is crystal - 
 lizable. — P. 
 
 Arnicina is obtained from the flowers, by subjecting them to a pro- 
 cess similar to that by which lobelina is extracted from lobelia inflata. 
 It has a decided alkaline reaction, and combines with acids, forming a 
 series of salts. It has a slightly bitter, but not acrid taste, and from 
 the aqueous solutions of its salts, it is precipitated by tincture of galls 
 in somewhat dense flocks ; it is more readily soluble in alcohol and 
 ether, than in water. A high temperature decomposes it, which also 
 obtains when it is subjected to the action of caustic alkalies. ' It has 
 not yet been employed in medicine, though it probably possesses the 
 active principles of the Arnica in a concentrated form. — Bell's Pharm. 
 Jour. & Trans. X., 386. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In large doses, it causes heat in the throat, 
 nausea, vomiting, spasmodic contractions of the limbs, difSculty of 
 respiration, and sometimes inflammation of the alimentary canal, and 
 coma. There is no known antidote to its poisonous influences ; vege- 
 table acids have been recommended. 
 
 In small doses, it accelerates the pulse, increases the perspiration, 
 excites a flow of urine, and is said occasionally to cause headache and 
 giddiness. In Germany, it is esteemed as a stimulant in typhoid fever 
 and other adynamic febrile diseases, in chronic palsy, and amenorrhea ; 
 also, as a tonic in chronic rheumatism, and as a tonic and diuretic in 
 the asthenic forms of dropsy. In intermittent fever it has proved very 
 successful, also, in nyctalopia and amaurosis ; and is reputed to be 
 highly efficacious in constitutional derangements caused by powerful 
 shocks to the brain, from thumps, kicks, etc., in internal pains, and 
 congestions from bruises, deficient action of parts, etc. It has also 
 been recommended in cases of deficient nervous sensibility, languid 
 vascular action, and almost every disease where there is debility, tor- 
 por, or inactivity of function. Externally, it is used in the form of a 
 
Artemisia Absinthium. 135 
 
 fomentation, or diluted tincture of the flowers, both to prevent and 
 discuss local inflammations, and to remove ecchymosis. Mr. J. M. 
 Maiscb prepares a fluid extract of Arnica, which has been found very 
 useful as an application for the bites of mosquitoes and other insects, 
 thus : Exhaust powdered Arnica flowers one pound, with diluted alco- 
 hol, filter, evaporate to the consistence of an extract, and redissolve 
 this in two pints of ordinary alcohol. By adding four ounces of this 
 fluid extract to one pint of Glycerin, placing the mixture on a water- 
 bath, so as to expel the alcohol, an elegant Gflycerole of Arnica may be 
 made ; it may be made stronger if desired. This may be used in all 
 cases where the local action of arnica is desired. The addition of a 
 small quantity of morphia to it, will render it more valuable in neu- 
 ralgic and rheumatic affections. 
 
 Dose of the powder, five to ten grains, two to four times a day ; of 
 the infiision, made by adding half an ounce of the flowers to a pint of 
 water, from half a fluidounce to a fluidoUnee ; of the extract, which is 
 an excellent form of administration, from five to ten grains, four or five 
 times a day. In preparing an infusion of the flowers, they should be 
 loosely tied in a bag, in order to prevent the down or fine fibers from 
 getting into the infusion, or else they will cause troublesome irritation 
 of the throat, nausea, and vomiting. — JEd. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infasum Arnicse ; Tinctura Arnicse. 
 
 AETEMISIA ABSINTHIUM. (Wermuth.) 
 
 Wormwood. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia Superflua. 
 
 TOPS AND LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — Artemisia Absinthium is a perennial sufitTjticose plant, 
 with a woody root branched at the crown, and having numerous fibers 
 below. Whole herb covered with close, silky hoariness; stems numer- 
 ous, bushy, growing from one to two feet in height, round, furrowed, 
 panicled at their summit 5 their lower part exists for some years, from' 
 which young shoots spring forth every year, decaying in cold weatherJ 
 Leaves alternate, doubly or triply pinnatifid, with broadish, blunted, 
 entire' segments ; rather greener on the upper side ; lower ones on long 
 petioles; upper on shorter, broader, somewhat winged ones; floral leaves 
 lanceolate; all are canescent. Flower-heads on aggregate, leafy clus- 
 ters, stalked, drooping, hemispherical, of numerous, pale-yellow or; 
 buff florets ; ray florets few. Styles very deeply cloven. Receptacle 
 convex, clothed -^yith fine upright hairs. — L. 
 
 Sistory: — ^Wormwood grows in various parts of Europe, the Crimea, 
 Siberia, Barbary, Newfoundland, and the United States. It flowers 
 from June to September. The dried herb with the flowers have a 
 whitish-gray appearance, a strong, aromatic, and somewhat unpleas- 
 ant odor, and an extremely bitter taste. Alcohol, or water takes up 
 its active principles. Braconnot found it to contain volatile oil, green 
 resin, bitter resin, albumen, starch, azotized matter having little taste, 
 bitter azotized matter, woody fiber, absinthate of potassa, nitrate of 
 potassa, etc. 
 
 Absinthine, the bitter principle of A. Absinthium, may be obtained as 
 follows : Exhaust the dry herb, with alcohol of 0.863, and distil the 
 clear liquid to the consistence of a syrup, transfer the residue into a 
 glass-stoppered bottle, and shake it well with ether. After some time 
 
136 Mateeia Medioa. 
 
 this separates with a yellowish-brown eolOr; and this treatment with 
 ether is to be repeated until it no longer has a very bitter taste. The 
 ethereal liquid is to be distilled in a water-bath; the residue will con- 
 sist of a viscid mixture of a blackish-brown acid resin, and Absinthine. 
 Treat it with water to which a few drops of ammonia have been added, 
 and the black smeary resin will be principally taken up, and the greater 
 portion of the Absinthine be left behind. In proportion as it becomes 
 purer it acquires a pulverulent form. On adding a further quantity of 
 ammonia, the Absinthine is also dissolved; but on triturating with con- 
 centrated ammonia, far less passes into solution, because the compound 
 of ammonia with Absinthine is very sparingly soluble in ammonia. To 
 remove the ammonia, digest it with dilute hydrochloric acid, then wash it 
 with water, dissolve it in alcohol, and add solution of acetate of lead to it as 
 long as any turbidity results, then filter, and pass sulphuretted hydrogen 
 into the liquid to decompose the excess of the lead salt. The alcoholic 
 solution is to be filtered from the sulphide of lead, mixed with a small 
 quantity of water^ and allowed to evaporate slowly in a warm place, 
 when the Absinthine separates in yellow resinous drops. These are 
 soft, and when mixed with water, become coated with an opaque mem- 
 brane, and in the course of some weeks all the drops become converted 
 dnto hard masses, which are jagged and rough externally, and inter- 
 nally are radiate and indistinctly crystalline. 
 
 Absinthine thus obtained is yellow, or brownish yellow ; its powder 
 is yellowish, of a faint, disagreeable, bitter odor of wormwood, an in- 
 tensely bitter taste, and dissolves readily in alcohol, concentrated acetic 
 acid, solutions of ammonia, and caustic potassa, sulphuric and hydro- 
 chloric acids. It is less soluble in ether, hardly at all in water, but 
 melts in boiling water. It has not been much used in medicine, but 
 probably possesses the medicinal principles of the plant, and may be 
 found tonic, hepatic, and anthelmintic. — Am. Jour. Pharm., XXIIL, 358. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Anthelmintic, tonic, and narcotic. Used in 
 intermittent fever, jaundice, and worms. It is also used to promote 
 the appetite in atonic dyspepsia, amenorrhea, chronic leucorrhea, ob- 
 »8tinate diarrhea, etc. Combined with a fixed alkaline salt, it proves 
 powerfully diuretic. Externally it is very useful in fomentations for 
 bruises and local inflammations, and has also been advised as an exter- 
 nal application in chronic affections of the abdominal viscera, either in 
 the form of tincture, infusion, or poultice. "When Wormwood is used 
 in too large quantity, it irritates the stomach, and increases the action 
 of the heart and arteries. Dose of the powder, ten to twenty grains; 
 infusion, one to two fluidounces. 
 
 The Artemisia Abrotanum (Southernwood), A. Santonica, and A. Vul' 
 garis (Mug^ort), possess similar properties. The A. Vulgaris, has 
 been reputed beneficial in epilepsy, hysteria, and amenorrhea. San- 
 tonin, or Santonicin, is a peculiar , white crystallizable principle, de- 
 rived from the A. Santonica, "Wormseed, and some other species ; it is 
 soluble in ether and alcohol, and is very efiicacious as a vermifuge, 
 given in doses of three or four grains, twice a day. Sajitonin has also 
 been advantageously given in amaurosis following acute inflammation' 
 of some of the internal parts of the eye. Its use often produces a 
 singular effect upon vision, causing surrounding objects to appear dis- 
 colored, as if they were yellow or green, and occasionally blue ; it also 
 imparts a yellow or green color to the urine. The high price of san- 
 tonin, and the difficulty experienced in obtaining it pure, has induced, 
 M. G-affard to endeavor to obtain from the wormseed a product which 
 
Aetemisia Absinthium. 137 
 
 may possess the advantages of the former, and at the same time be free 
 from the objections to the use of the latter. This product he calls 
 Brown or Impure Santonin; it is obtained as follows: Take of Aleppo 
 wormseed three ounces; carbonate of potassa one Ounce; slaked lime, 
 sifted, half an ounce; water from three to three and a half pints. 
 Place the mixture on the fire, stirring occasionally with a wooden 
 spatula ; let it boil for half an hour ; on removing it from the fire, 
 pass it with expression through a linen cloth ; let it settle, decant and 
 add hydrochloric or nitric acid until it reddens litmus without being 
 sensibly acid to the tongue. Allow it to rest, pass it through a filter 
 previously moistened, or through a piece of close canvas, and allow the 
 product which remains on the filter to dry in the open air, until it 
 acquires the consistence of firm butter. This product, which is a mix- 
 ture of santonin, resin, and essential oil, will answer for the various 
 pharmaceutic forms in which the practitioner may wish to exhibit it. 
 M. G. gives it in the form of lozenges composed as follows : Place in a 
 marble mortar, brown santonin three drachms ; add by degrees, and 
 with constant trituration, powdered sugar thirteen ounces, mixed with 
 powdered gum one ounce and a half, and oil of lemon twenty -five 
 drops, so as to make a homogeneous powder. Form with a sufficient 
 quantity of water a mass of the desired consistence, and divide into 
 lozenges, each of which shall weigh when dried, fifteen grains ; each 
 lozenge will then contain somewhat more than one-third of a grain of 
 brown santonin. For infants under six months, the dose is one lozenge 
 night and morning ; from six months to a year, two lozenges ; from 
 one to two years, three lozenges ; from two to four years, four, night 
 and morning : for those older, an extra lozenge for each year, to be 
 given night and morning, and continued until the desired effects are 
 produced, in every instance.* 
 
 M. Lecocq obtains santonin by taking one part of semen-contra of 
 Aleppo reduced to coarse powder, and boiling it for a quarter of an 
 hour with ten parts of water, after which a sufficient quantity of slaked 
 lime is added to render the liquor slightly alkaline ; it is again boiled 
 for ten minutes, then strained through a cloth, and the residue pressed. 
 If it is not considered sufficiently exhausted, which may be ascertained 
 by its leaving in the mouth the hot and pungent taste of semen-contra, 
 it is boiled again with five quarts of water and a little slaked lime ; it 
 is then strained, and the residue submitted to. pressure. The united 
 liquors are evaporated until they do not weigh more than the semen- 
 contra' employed ; they are then placed into a stoneware pot, allowed 
 to cool, and then treated with an excess of Hydrochloric acid. A fatty 
 and resinous matter instantly separates, in thick flakes, which float, 
 and santonin is precipitated ap an impalpable powder; it is strained 
 through a fine cloth ; the santonin passes with the liquor, and the resinous 
 matters , remain on the cloth. This substance, which contains only- 
 very little santonin, is rejected. After a day's repose, the impure san- 
 tonin is deposited at the bottom of the vessel. It is washed with dis- 
 tilled water, and purified by combining it anew with lime. For that 
 purpose, it is put into a porcelain capsule, with about two quarts of 
 
 ■* M. Z, Pattl, has found some specimens of santonin in Italy, where it is much employed, 
 adulterated with boro-tartrate of potassa in spangles, and some others again with stearic 
 aaid also spangled. To detect the soluble eream of iariw, the flame of a splrlt-larap gives 
 a green tint only on adding a little sulphuric acid to the solution, in order to isolate the 
 boradc acid. To detect the stearic ocM, add to a solution of the suspected article, in a test 
 tube, a weak solution of caustic potassa, which saponifies tlie stearic acid wltliout touching 
 the santonin. 
 
138 Materia Medioa. 
 
 distilled water, and boiled. A certain quantity (50 to 60 grammes) of 
 pulverized quicklime is then added to it, and the combination is 
 effected in a short time. The liquor is filtered and decolorized with 
 animal charcoal, and then treated with hydrochloric acid, which im- 
 mediately precipitates the santonin ; collect this on a paper filter, and 
 wash it with distilled water until the washing water does not redden 
 litmus paper, and dry in a stove secured from the light. Thus obtained, 
 santonin occurs in pearly-white bractese, of great brilliancy, and 
 promptly becomes colored by light ; it is therefore essential to keep it 
 in a black glass flask and well corked. 
 
 It is important for the success of the above operation not to add an 
 excess of lime in combining the impure santonin with this base, for the 
 bibasic salt of santonin is very sparingly soluble in water; it is better 
 to leave a slight excess of santonin ; which will remain on the filter, 
 and which may be treated anew with lime. 
 
 Crystallized santonin is tasteless and insoluble in water; but it ac- 
 quires a bitter, metallic, extremely disagreeable taste by trituration ; 
 hence, in forming it into lozenges it should not be triturated with the 
 other articles entering into them, but simply mixed together with a 
 spatula. Prof Giovanni is led to believe that the apparent yellow color 
 of objects observed by the eye when under the influence of santonin 
 does not depend upon an elective action on the optic nerves, but rather 
 to the yellow color which the drug itself takes when exposed to the air. 
 Santonin colored by the air does not produce this effect, which only 
 follows the white artioie. The air gives the yellow color to santonin, to 
 passed urine containing it, and to the serum of the blood when drawn from 
 a vein, and it is owing to its direct action upon the aqueous humor, 
 where it is carried by absorption, that objects present this color. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Absinthine ; Infusum Absynthii. 
 
 AETJM TEIPHYLLUM. (Dreiblatteriger Aron.) 
 
 Dragonroot. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Aracese. Sex. Syst. — ^Monoecia Polyandria. 
 
 COEMUS OR ROOT. 
 
 Description. — ^Arum Triphyllum (Ariscema Triphylla) is known by the 
 several names. Wake Robin, Indian Turnip, Jack-in-the-pulpit, etc. It 
 has a round, flattened, perennial rhizoma, the upper part of which is 
 tunicated like the onion, the lower and larger portion tuberous and 
 fleshy, giving off numerous long, white radicles in a circle, from its 
 upper edge ; the under side covered with a dark, loose, wrinkled epi- 
 dermis. Spathe ovate, acuminate, convoluted into a tube at the bottom, 
 flattened and bent over at the top like a hood, varying in color inter- 
 nally, being green, dark-purple, black, or variegated with pale-greenish 
 stripes on a dark ground, supported by an erect, round, green, purple, 
 or variegated scape, invested at the base by the petioles and their 
 acute sheaths. Spadix club-shaped, shorter than the spathe, rounded 
 at the end, green, purple, black, or variegated, contracted into a narrow 
 neck at the base, where it is surrounded by the stamens or ovaries. In 
 the fertile plants, it is invested with roundish, crowded ovaries, each 
 tipped with a stigma ; in the barren, its base is covered with conical, 
 fleshy filaments, each bearing from two to four circular anthers. Plants 
 which are perfectly monoecious, and which are the least common, have 
 stamens below the ovaries. The upper portions of the spadix withers. 
 
AsARUM Europium. 139 
 
 together with the spathe, while the ovaries grow into a large, compact 
 bunch of shining, scarlet berries. Leaves, generally one or two, stand- 
 ing on long, sheathing footstalks, ternate; leaflets oval, mostly entire, 
 acuminate, smooth, p^Ier on the under side ; becoming glaucous as the 
 plant grows, the two lateral ones somewhat rhomboidal. — L. — B. 
 
 Sistory. — This herb inhabits the American continent, in both hemi- 
 spheres, being found in wet locations, and flowering from May to 
 July. The whole plant is acrid, but the root is the only part employed ; 
 it is of various sizes, seldom, however, exceeding two and a half inches 
 in diameter, turnip -shaped, dark and corrugated externally, and milk- 
 white within. When just dug up, it is fiercely acrid — too much so for 
 internal employment; upon masticating it, it causes a persistent and 
 intensely acrid impression upon the tongue, lips, and fauces, like that 
 of a severe scald, with considerable prickling, and which is followed 
 by slight inflammation and tenderness. Milk relieves this sensation, 
 greatly modifying its intensity. It exerts no such influence upon the 
 external skin, except upon long and continued application. The ordi- 
 nary solvents, ether perhaps excepted, do not extract the acrid element, 
 which is exceedingly volatile, the root rapidly losing its acrimony by 
 age. It should always be used when partially dried. Its activity may 
 be preserved for a year or more by burying the root in sand. In 
 addition to its acrid principle, it contains a large proportion of starch ; 
 also, gum, albumen, saccharine matter, etc. When the acrid property 
 is driven off by heat, the root yields a pure, delicate amylaceous mat- 
 ter, resembling the finest arrow-root; very white and nutritive. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Acrid, expectorant, and diaphoretic. Recom- 
 mended in flatulence, croup, hooping-cough, stomatitis, asthma, chronic 
 laryngitis, bronchitis, pains in the chest, colic, low stage of typhus, and 
 various affections connected with a cachectic state of the system. - Ex- 
 ternally it has been used in scrofulous tumors, tinea capitis, and other 
 cutaneous diseases. The powdered root may be given in half-'scruple 
 doses, increased, if required, to twenty or thirty grains, and repeated 
 every three or four hours. It may be taken in sweetened mucilage, 
 syrup, or honey. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Bmplastrum Picis Compositum. 
 
 ASARUM EUROPIUM. (Europaische Haselwurzel.) 
 
 Asarabacca. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Aristolochiacese. Sex. Syst. — Dodecaudria Monogynia. 
 
 ROOT AND LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — This plant, sometimes called JSazlewort, or Wild Ifard, 
 has a creeping root or rhizoma, entangled with numerous stout, branch- 
 ing fibers. Stems very short, simple, round, herbaceous, pubescent, each 
 bearing two dark-green, shining, reniform, obtuse, entire, somewhat 
 downy leaves, which are opposite, two inches wide, on long, downy foot- 
 stalks ; also, one drooping ^ower, not an inch long, fleshy, of a dusky - 
 purple color, placed upon a short terminal peduncle. Calyx campanu- 
 late, greenish at the base, divided into three-pointed purplish segments, 
 which are erect, and turned inward at their extremity. Corolla want- 
 ing. Filaments twelve, prolonged beyond the anthers into a small hook. 
 Style surmounted by a six-parted reddish stigma. Fruit a six-celled 
 capsule, coriaceous, crowned with the persistent calyx. — JO. 
 
 Sistory. — This is a European plant, growing in moist, hilly woods, 
 
140 Materia Medioa. 
 
 and presenting a single, bell-shaped, dingy -brownish red flower froro 
 May to August. The root and leaves are used in medicine, and when 
 recent, are quite acrid. The root is ash-colored, two or three lines in 
 thickness, four-angled, contorted, rough ; has a pepper-like odor, a biting, 
 spicy taste, and yields an ash-colored powder. Its properties are taken 
 up by water or alcohol ; boiling evaporates, and age impairs them. The 
 leaves have virtues similar to those of the root; they have a very fee- 
 ble odor, a taste like that of the root, with some bitterness, and gi-^e 
 a green powder, having a yellow tinge. Grager has found in the root 
 volatile oil, asarum camphor, asarite, asarin, tannic acid, resin, starch, 
 extractive, gluten, albumen, various salts, etc. ; in the herb, asarin, tan- 
 nic acid, extractive, citric acid, chlorophylle, etc. — P. The root and 
 leaves of this plant should always be carefully dried for preservation. 
 Properties and Uses. — Emetic, cathartic, and errhine. Used principally 
 as an errhine in certain affections of the brain, eyes, face, and ttroat, 
 toothache, ophthalmia, and paralysis of the mouth and tongue. Inter- 
 nally, it is a stimulant in doses of ten or twelve grains ; and an emetic in 
 half-drachm or drachm doses. Said to be used in France by drunkards 
 to produce vomiting. 
 
 * ASAEUM CANADENSE. (Canadische Haselwurzel.) 
 
 Wild Ginger. 
 Ifat. Ord. — Aristolochiacese. Sex. Syst. — Dodecandria Monogynia. 
 
 ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Asarum Canadense, likewise called Indian Ginger, Colts- 
 foot, Canada Snakeroot, has a close resemblance to the A. Europseum. 
 Shizoma creeping, fleshy, somewhat jointed, yellowish, with rootlets. 
 Stem quite short, forked, each branch bearing a reniform leaf, downy on 
 both sides, three or four inches by three or five ; petioles long, round, 
 hairy. Flowers solitary, growing from the fork of the stem, upon a 
 pendulous, hairy peduncle. . Calyx verj woolly, consisting of three 
 broad, concave, pointed leaflets, of a brownish, dull-purple or greenish 
 color on the inside, at top and bottom, depending on the amount of 
 light which the plant enjoys, terminated by a long, spreading, inflected 
 point, with reflect sides. Corolla wanting. Stamens twelve, awl-shaped, 
 alternate ones longer, inserted upon the ovary at a distance from the 
 calyx. Ovary inferior, turbinate, somewhat hexagonal; style conical, 
 striated, parted at the top into six recurred, radiating stigmas. Capsule 
 six-celled, coriaceous, not bursting. — Ij. — B. 
 
 History. — Wild Ginger is a native of the United States, growing in 
 woods and mountains, and flowering in May and June. The whole 
 herb has a fragrant odor, and a spicy, amarous taste. The root is the 
 part used, and yields its active principles to alcohol, and partially to 
 water by infusion. It consists of crooked, ash-brown pieces, of various 
 lengths, from one to five lines in diameter, corrugated, pulverable and 
 whitish internally. It contains an acrid, bitter, reddish resin, a pale, 
 spicy, aromatic, volatile oil, gum, chlorophylle, fat, starch, and various 
 salts. 
 
 Properties and fZses.— Asarum Canadense is a spicy, stimulating agent, 
 causing perspiration, promoting expectoration, and possessing carmina- 
 tive properties. It may be advantageously added to tinctures and com- 
 pounds to improve their flavor, and render them more stimulating. It 
 is used in colic and other painful afi'ections of the stomach and bowels 
 
AscLEPiAS Cobnut I. 141 
 
 where no inflammation exists, and in chronic pulmonary afl'ections. It 
 has been successfully used by Dr. J. E. Black, in dropsy accompanied 
 with albumen in the urine. Used also as an errhine. Dose of the pow- 
 der, half a drachm; of the tincture half a fluidrachm to two fluidraehms. 
 Off. Prep. — Tinctura Lobeliae Composita 
 
 ASCLEPIAS COEKUTI. (Seiden Asclepias.) 
 
 Common Silkweed. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asclepiad^cese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. ' , 
 
 Description. — Asclepias Corniiti (the Asclepias Syriaca of Linnaeus), 
 known as Milkweed lA many parts of the country, has a large, stout, 
 simple, somewhat branched stem, growing from two to five feet high. 
 Leaves ovate-elliptical, spreading, opposite, with a short but distinct 
 petiole, gradually acute, tomentose beneath. Flowers fragrant ; umbels 
 several, axillary, subterminal, nodding, dense, globose, each of twenty 
 or more flowers. Calyx segments lanceolate. Corolla pale or greenish- 
 purple, reflexed, leaving the corona, which is of nearly the same hue, quite 
 conspicuous. But few of the flowers prove fertile, producing oblong- 
 pointed pods or follicles covered with sharp prickles, which contain a 
 mass, of long, silky fibers with seeds attached, and which fibers have 
 been used for beds, pillows, and in the place of fur in manufacturing 
 hats.— G.— W. 
 
 History. — This herb is indigenous to the United States, inhabiting ricb, 
 soils, uncultivated fields, etc., and bearing whitish purple flowers from 
 June to September. When woubded it emits a milky fluid, which con- 
 tains water, wax-like fatty matter, gum, caoutchouc, sugar, various salts, 
 etc. A crystalline resinous substance, allied to lactucone, has been ob- 
 tained from the juice of the A. Corniiti, to which the name of Aselepione 
 has been given. It is procured by boiling and then filtering the juice, 
 and separating the aselepione from the filtrate by ether, from which it 
 may be subsequently obtained by evaporation, and purified by several 
 washings with pure ether. Aselepione thus obtained, is a crystalline 
 solid, without taste or smell, and is readily dissolved by spirits of tur- 
 pentine, pure acetic acid, and sulphuric et er. — C. List. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The root of this plant is tonic, diuretic, altera- 
 tive, emmenagogue, purgative, and emetic; and given in large doses it 
 is stimulant and anthelmintic. Dr. Eichardson has attributed anodyne 
 j)roperties to it, but he must have had reference to some other plant. 
 It has been found useful in amenorrhea, dropsy, retention of urine, 
 asthma, dyspepsia, cough, dyspnoea, constipation, primary syphilitic 
 disease, worms, scrofulous aud rheumatic disorders. The action of the 
 heart is augmented under its use. A very excellent fluid extract may 
 be made from it as follows : To sixteen Troy ounces of the recently dried 
 root, finely bruised, add six fluidounces of ether, and four fluidounces 
 of alcohol ; form a tincture by slow displacement, and set it aside. Then 
 thoroughly exhaust the root by displacement, with six fluidounces of 
 alcohol and a sufficient quantity of water; evaporate this last over a 
 water-bath, add the first tincture, made with ether and alcohol, to it, 
 and reduce by evaporation to one pint. An aromatic, bitter, red fluid 
 extract is thus obtained, of which one fluidrachm is equal to one Troy 
 ounfle of the crude root. The dose is from ten drops to one fluidrachm ; 
 
142 Materia Medica. 
 
 it maybe taken in ginger syrup, lemon syrup, cinnamon water, or othei 
 pleasant vehicle, to cover its unpleasant taste. Dose of the powder, ten 
 to twenty grains ; of the decoction, two to four ounces ; of the tincture, 
 ten to sisrtiy minims. 
 
 ASOLBPIAS IJSrCAENATA. (Fleischfarbene Asclepias.) 
 
 Swamp Milkweed. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asclepiadaeese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 EOOT. 
 
 Description. ; — This plant is known by various names, as Swamp Silk- 
 weed, Flesh-colored Asclepias, Rose-colored Silkweed, White Indian Hemp, 
 etc. It has a smooth, erect stem, with two downy lines above and oh 
 the branches and peduncles, branching above, about three or four feet 
 high. Leaves opposite, oblong-lanceolate, acute, or pointed, obtuse at 
 the base, on short petioles^ slightly tomentose. Flowers red or reddish- 
 purple, sweet-scented, disposed in numerous umbels which are crowded, 
 erect, mostly terminal, often in opposite pairs. Hoods of the crown entire, 
 horns exsert, subulate. Leaves four to seven inches long, from half an 
 inch to an inch and a half wide; umbels are from two to six, on a 
 peduncle two inches long, consist of from ten to twenty small flowers. 
 There are several varieties of this plant, the A. Pulchra, which is more 
 hairy, with broader and shorter petioled leaves ; the A. Glabra, which 
 is almost glabrous, with two opposite longitudinal hairy lines on the 
 stem, and leaves glabrous, with rough margins, midrib glandular below; 
 and the A. Alba, which has white flowers. — G. — W. 
 
 History. — This herb inhabits damp and wet grounds throughout the 
 United States, and bears red flowers m July and August. On wound- 
 ing the plant a milky juice exudes. The part used is the root ; ■ it 
 varies in thickness from one to six lines, and is of a light-yellowish or 
 brownish color. It imparts its properties to water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Anthelmintic, for which purpose the powder 
 may be used in doses of ten to twenty grains, three times a day ; or 
 the decoction two to four fluidounces. It has been recommended in 
 rheumatic, asthmatic, catarrhal and syphilitic affections, and as a ver- 
 mifuge. Said to produce vomiting, and purging, but this is doubtful. 
 It is undoubtedly a valuable agent, and worthy further investigation. 
 It is useful in chronic mucous disease of the stomach, and in erysipe- 
 latous affections. 
 
 ASCLEPIAS TUBEEOSA. (KnoUige Asclepias.) 
 
 Pleurisy-root. 
 
 Nat. OrcZ.^Asclepiadacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant has several names by which it is known in 
 various parts of the country, as Butterfly -weed, Wind-root, Tuber-root, 
 Asclepias, etc., etc., but it is most commonly describe'd as Pleurisy -root. 
 It has a perennial, large, fleshy, branching, white, and sometimes fusi- 
 form-like root, from which numerous stems arise, growing from one to 
 three feet high ; these are erect, or more or less procumbent, round, 
 hairy, green or red, growing in bunches from the root. Leaves alter- 
 nate, the lower ones pedunculated, the upper sessile, vary from linear 
 
ASCJ.KPIAS TUBEROSA. 143 
 
 to oblong-lanceolate, hairy, dark-green above, paler beneath, waved on 
 the edge, in the old plants sometimes revolute. Flowers numerous, 
 erect, of a beautifully bright orange color, arranged in terminal, rare- 
 ly axillary umbels, which are corymbose. Involucre composed of nu- 
 merous, short, subulate bracts. Calyx much smaller than the corolla, 
 five-parted; the segments subulate, reflexed, concealed by the corolla. 
 Corolla rotate, five-parted, the segments oblong, reflexed. Coronet has five 
 erect, cucullate leaves or cups, with an oblique mouth, having a small, 
 inetirved, acute appendage or horn, proceeding from the base of each, 
 and meeting at the center of the flower. Mass of stamens a tough, 
 horny, somewhat pyramidal substance, separable into five anthers ; 
 each two-celled, bordered by membranous, reflected edges contiguous 
 to those of the next, terminated by a membranous, reflected summit. 
 Pollen masses ten; distinct, yeillowish, transparent, flat and spatulate, 
 ending in curved stalks, which unite them by pairs to a minute dark 
 tubercle at top ; each pair is suspended in the cells of two adjoining 
 anthers, so that if a needle be inserted between the membranous edges 
 of two anthers and forced out at top, it carries with it a pair of the 
 pollen masses. Carpels two, completely concealed beneath the stigma 
 and anthers, ovate, with erect styles, terminating by a flat, pentagonal, 
 disk-like stigma. Follicles two, often one or both abortive, long, nar- 
 row, acuminated, green, with a reddish tinge and downy. Seeds ovate, 
 flat, margined, terminated by long silken hairs.— jB. — i. 
 
 History. — This is a native of the United States, inhabiting gravelly 
 and sandy soils, more common in the South, and flowering in July and 
 August. Unlike the other plants of this family, Pleurisy -root is desti- 
 tute of a laeteous juice. The officinal part is the root ; it is spindle- 
 shaped, of a light-brownish color on the outer surface, white, coarse, 
 and striped within. When fresh it has a disagreeable, slightly acrimo- 
 nious taste ; when dried its taste is slightly bitter. Boiling water or 
 alcohol extracts its virtues. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Pleurisy -root is much used in decoction or infu- 
 sion, for the purpose of promoting perspiration and expectoration in 
 diseases of the respiratory organs, especially pleurisy, inflammation of 
 the lungs, catarrhal affections, etc. It is likewise reputed carminative, 
 tonic, diuretic, and antispasmodic. It does not stimulate. Acute rheu- 
 matism, febrile diseases, dysentery, etc., have been benefited by a free 
 use of the warm infusion. In dyspeptic complaints it is frequently 
 efficacious, and when combined with the I)ioscorea Villosa, it is very 
 beneficial in all cases of fiatus in adults and children. A number of 
 cases of prolapsus uteri have been cured under the use of one ounce of 
 Pleurisy -root mixed with half an ounce of the root of Aletris Farinosa, 
 and given in. drachm doses, three times a day. In uterine difficul- 
 ties this plant deserves further investigation. It is, undoubtedly, one 
 of our most useful agents. Dose of the powder, one scruple to one 
 drachm, three or four times a day; of a strong infusion, from two to 
 four fluidounces four or five times a day, until perspiration is produced. 
 
 Two concentrated preparations are obtained from this article, termed 
 Asclepidin or Oleo-resin of Asclepias, and Ascletine. The formei- was 
 first manufactured by Mr. W. S. Merrell, the latter by a firm in ISTew 
 York ; of the particular method of preparing the latter, we have been 
 unable to get any account. The asclepidin is a dark, semi-liquid mass, 
 and is prepared by evaporation oi- distillation of the saturated tincture 
 in water, similar to the plan pursued for obtaining resin of cimicifuga. 
 It may be used for all purposes to which the crude article is applied in 
 
144 Materia Medioa. 
 
 doses of from one to five grains, three or four times a day, or as may 
 be indicated. 
 
 A pill composed «f equal parts of alcoholic extract of aletris and 
 alcoholic extract of dioscorea, will be found very beneficial in flatu- 
 lency, borborygmi, and where persons are subject to flatulent and 
 bilious colic. In some cases, especially of long standing, the addition 
 of pulverized African ginger will much improve its efficacy. 
 
 Ascletine is said to be the active principle of the plant ; it is said to 
 be a beautiful, white powder, with but little taste or odor, soluble in 
 water, but insoluble in alcohol. It is recommended in the same dis- 
 eases in which the root is employed, to fulfill similar indications, in 
 doses of from one to three grains, three or four times a day. We have 
 never seen or employed it, having reasons to suspect it an imposition 
 upon the profession, as has been the case with many other so-called 
 " concentrated remedies." 
 
 Off. Pre;p. — ^Bxtractum Asclepidis Alcoholicum ; Extractum Asclepidis 
 Fluidum • Infusum Asclepidis ; Pulvis Asclepise Compositus ; Pulvis 
 Ipecacuanhse Compositus; Tinctura Lobelise Composita; Asclepidin, 
 or Oleo-Eesina Asclepidis. 
 
 ASPAEAGUS OFFICINALIS. (Spargel.) 
 
 Asparagus. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Liliacese. Sex. Syst. — Hexandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE YOUNG SHOOTS. 
 
 Description. — Asparagus officinalis is a perennial plant, with an erect, 
 herbaceous, unarmed, terete, very branching stem, from two to four 
 feet high. Leaves setaceous, flexible, fasciculate, filiform, of a pale 
 pea-green color, from half an inch to one and a half inches long ; floW' 
 ers axillary, solitary, or in pairs. Berries globose, red, three-celled 
 Cells two-seeded. — W. 
 
 Sistory.—ThiB herb is indigenous to Europe, and is extensively cul- 
 tivated there, as well as in the United States, as an article of diet> 
 The root has a faintly saccharine flavor, but no odor, and is active only 
 when in the recent state. The turiones (young shoots), which are 
 employed as an article of diet by many, have a disagreeable taste, 
 which is removed by boiling with water. Eobiqutet found in their 
 juice, asparagin Cg Hj N, 06+2 HO, which crystallizes in right rhom- 
 bic prisms, also mannite, oleo-resin, wax, albumen, salts, etc. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Both the fresh root and shoots act as diuretics, 
 communicating an unpleasant odor to the urine. A syrup or an extract 
 may be prepared from them, the dose of the former being two or three 
 fluidounces, of the latter from thirty to sixty grains. They are said 
 to cause copious diuresis, and are reputed very beneficial in repressing 
 an undue excitement of the circulatory system, and have been used 
 with advantage in enlargement of the heart, dropsy, etc. 
 
 ASPIDIUM FILIX MAS. (Farren'kraut.) 
 
 Male Fern. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Filices or Filicacese. Polypodiacese. Sex. Syst. — Crypto 
 
 gamia Filices. 
 
 EHIZOMA. 
 
 Description. — ^Male Fern has a large, perennial, tufted, scaly rhizoma, 
 sending forth yearly several leaves, three or four feet high, erect, dis- 
 
AspiDiuM PiLix Mas. 145 
 
 posed in a circle, oval, lanceolate, acute, pinnate, bright-green, leafy 
 nearly to the bottom ; their stalks and midribs having tough, brown, 
 transparent scales throughout ; divisions alternate, taper-pointed, pin- 
 nate ; pinnace or leaflets numerous, crowded, sessile, for the most part 
 distinct, occasionally somewhat combined at the base, oblong, obtuse, 
 crenate throughout, the lateral notches broadest and most shallow, the 
 terminal ones more crowded and acute, without any terminal bristles ; 
 both sides smooth, destitute of glandular globules, but a depression on 
 the upper one over the insertion of each sorus. Sori circular, tawny, 
 ranged in simple, close, short rows, near the partial midrib, scarcely 
 occupying more than the lower half of each leaflet. Indusium circular, 
 durable, crenate, tumid, with a cleft terminating in the central depres- 
 sion. Thecce numerous, shining-brown, prominent all round for a little 
 beyond the indusium. — Wo. — L. 
 
 Sistory. — Male Porn is found growing in all parts of Europe, and 
 likewise in various sections of the United States. The dried root or 
 rhizoma is the officinal part, which, divested of its leaf-stalks and radi- 
 cles, is from eight to twelve inches in length, and an inch or two thick, 
 compressed, tortuous, tuberculous, brown or dark-brown epidermis, 
 yellowish, rarely reddish parenchyma, fragile, striated, almost inodor- 
 ous, with a nauseous sweet taste, but at last becoming rancid, slightly 
 astringent, and bitter. The fibrous radicles are covered with brown, 
 paleaceous scales. — Hd. The fresh root is colored bluish-black by 
 iodine, which is indicative of the presence of starch. Prom the first of 
 June to the latter part of September is the proper time for collecting 
 it, — when it should be cleansed, without being washed, then dried 
 quickly in the shade and open air without heat, selecting those parts 
 which are greenish internally, immediately pulverizing, and keeping 
 in well-closed bottles. The powder is pale greenish-yellow, and has a 
 peculiar, earthy, disagreeable odor, and the same taste as the crude 
 root. — G. In two years the best article becomes useless. According 
 to Geiger, it contains green fat oil, green resin, uncrystallizable sugar, 
 easily oxidizable tannic acid, gum, salts, starch, and lignin. In addi- 
 tion to these, Bock found fixed and volatile oil, pectin, albumen, etc. 
 According to Peschier, the fern-buds contain a volatile oil, brown 
 resin, fat oil, solid fatty matter, green coloring principle, a reddish- 
 brown principle, and extractive. Three acids have been found by Dr. 
 C. Luck in the root ; two from the root itself, named " tannaspidie " 
 and "pteritannic acids," and one from its oil, termed "filicic acid." 
 
 The oil maybe obtained by digesting the powdered root in pure 
 ether, filtering, and then distilling or evaporating the ether from the 
 ethereal tincture. It is a thick black oil, having the taste and odor of 
 the root, reddening vegetable blues, depositing stearin when left at 
 rest, and yielding e. little volatile oil when distilled from water. Alco- 
 hol partially dissolves it ; it burns with a thick smoke, and is com- 
 posed, according to Peschier, of fat, resin, volatile oil, coloring matter, 
 extractive, chloride of potassium and acetic acid. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Male fern is used for the expulsion of the tape- 
 worm. Bremser says it is an excellent remedy against the Bothrio- 
 cephalus lotus, but is not so efficacious against the Toenia Solium, and 
 Merat entertained a similar opinion. According to Peschier, the best 
 mode of administration is the ethereal oil or extract, of which eighteen 
 grains, or from ten to twenty -five drops may be given in the form of 
 pill or emulsion, at night, and again in the morning ; two hours after 
 the administration of the last dose, a purgative dose of castor-oil is to 
 10 
 
146 Materia Medica. 
 
 be taken, and the worm is discharged dead, witht)ut any severe or un- 
 pleasant symptoms. Dose of the powder, one to four drachms ; of the 
 ethereal tincture of the buds, eight to thirty drops, and which is made 
 by digesting one part of the buds, in eight parts of ether. 
 
 ASTEAGALUS VEETJS. (Aechter Bockshorn.) 
 
 Tragacanth. — Traganth. 
 
 Wat. OrtZ.— Fabacese. Sex. /Sj/sit.— Diadelphia Decandria. 
 
 THE GTTMMT EXUDATION. 
 
 Description. — A small thorny shrub, a few feet in height, having the ^ 
 stem somewhat larger in diamete^ than the thumb, with dense, scaly 
 branches. Leaves about six lines long, divided into sixteen or eighteen 
 linear, hispid leaflets; stipules at first downy, afterward smooth. Flow- 
 ers, in clusters of from two to five, not large, papilionaceous, axillary, 
 sessile, yellow. Calyx tomentose, obscurely five-toothed. — i. 
 
 History. — Tbagacantha or Tragacanth is obtained from several 
 species of plants belonging to the genus Astragalus. The majority 
 of the species furnishing Gham Tragacanth, are Asiatic plants, having 
 rigidly persistent petioles, forming spines, but Botanists have not 
 positively determined as to the particular plants. 'According to Oli- 
 vier, the A. Verus yields the greater part, a low and very hispid shrub 
 growing in the south-western countries of Asia ; though an excellent 
 gum is obtained from the A. Gummifer, and some inferior kinds from 
 the A. Creticus and A. Strobiliferus. Tragacanth exudes natually from 
 July to September, either from wounds made in the shrub by animals, 
 or from spontaneous fissures during the great heats of summer. Ac- 
 cording as the juice is more or less abundant, Tragacanth exudes in 
 tortuous filaments, vermicular, elongated, rounded or compressed, rolled 
 up upon itself or twisted. It is almost transparent, whitish, or of a 
 yellowish-white. It also exudes in large tears, which have more or 
 less of the vermicular form ; this is more of a reddish color, and more 
 contaminated with impurities. — Ed. 
 
 The best Tragacanth presents the appearance of very thin, pale- 
 grayish, or grayish-yellow, almost parchment-like plates or scales, 
 marked by spiral or circular ridges. It is semi-transparent, difficultly 
 pulverizable, unless when thoroughly dried, and the mortar heated, or 
 in frost, and is odorless and tasteless. It has the specific gravity 1.384. 
 — Thomson. Is insoluble in alcohol or water, though it gradually 
 swells in the latter fiuid, forming a tenacious mucilage, part of it being 
 dissolved; iodine added to the insoluble portion changes it to a blue 
 color, indicating the presence of starch. According to Guerin Varry, 
 Tragacanth contains arabin, bassorin, and starch, water, and when 
 burned, ashes. Arabin, also named Tragacanthin, and Adragantin, i& 
 the soluble part of Tragacanth, and differs from gum Arabic in having 
 no change produced in it by silicate of potassa, or perchloride of iron; 
 oxalate of ammonia detects a calcareous salt in it. Bassorin is the 
 insoluble part of the gum. — F. The composition of Tragacanth is not 
 satisfactorily settled by chemists. 
 
 According to Sidney H. Maltass, Esq., Tragacanth is collected prin- 
 cipally in Gaissar, Yalavatz, Isbarta, Bourdur, and Angora. In July 
 and August the natives clear away the garth from the lower part of 
 the stem of the shrub and make several longitudinal incisions in th« 
 
ASAPCETIDA. 147 
 
 bark, with a knife; the gum exudes the whole length of the incision,' 
 and dries in flakes, 'and in three or four days is collected. If the 
 weather be hot and dry, the gum is white and clean ; if it be damp 
 with but moderate heat, the gum requires a longer time to dry, and 
 assumes a brown or yellow tinge. When packed for exportation, the 
 large, white, flaky, or leaf gum, termed French quality, is picked out, 
 and the residue is sifted through a coarse sieve ; what renaains upon 
 the sieve is common or sorts gum, termed English quality. The gum 
 which passed through the first sieve is now resifted in a finer sieve, 
 that which passes through being termed Sesame Seed, and that remain- 
 ing on the sieve. Vermicelli. All these latter varieties are carefully 
 picked by women, who reject the impurities, and place the purer pieces 
 with the first two qualities. Tragacanth he thinks probable is derived 
 from more than one tree, and it is very liable to adulteration with 
 Moussul gum and Caramania gum, two worthless articles, of a dark 
 color, and which do not occur in flaky pieces, but which are pounded 
 into small pieces after having been whitened with white lead. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tragacanth can only act as a demulcent; but 
 on account of its insolubility it is rarely given internally. In powder, 
 it is used as a vehicle for active and heavy medicihes, for the purpose 
 of giving cohesion and firmness to lozenges, and to form paste, which 
 druggists use to label their prescriptions. Tragacanth one ounce. Gum 
 Arabic, White Sugar, each two ounces, mixed together, in very fine 
 powder, forms an excellent paste for covering microscopic slides with 
 paper, as it dries quickly before it can become sour or moldy. It 
 should be made into paste only as required for use. 
 
 ASAFCETIDA. (Stinkasand.) 
 
 Asafetida. — Teufelsdreck. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Apiaceas, or Umbelliferse. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 QTTMMT RESINOUS EXUDATION OP FERULA ASAPffiTIDA. 
 
 Description. — Ferula Asafcetida, Linnceus, or Narthex Asafoetida, 
 Falconer, is delineated by Koempfer, who personally examined it. 
 Boot perennial, fusiform, several inches in diameter, with a coarse, 
 hairy summit, either simple like a parsnip, or with one or more forks ; 
 its bark is wrinkled, blackish, its internal structure is fleshy, white 
 containing a large amount of a thick, milky, fetid, alliaceous juice. 
 
 I/eaves radical, springing up in the autumn, growing vigorously 
 during the winter, withering in the end of spring, several in number, 
 one foot and a half long, shining, coriaceous like those of lovage, glau- 
 cous-green, pinnated, with pinnatifid segments whose lobes are oblong 
 and obtuse; petiole terete, channeled only at the base. Stem herbaceous, 
 eight or ten fefet high, about six inches in circumference at the base ; 
 solid, smooth, clothed with membranous sheaths. General umbels with 
 from ten to twenty rays ; partial ones five or six flowers. Flowers pale 
 yellow. Fruit flat, thin, reddish-brown, like that of parsnip, only 
 rather larger and darker, slightly hairy or rough. The plant varies 
 somewhat owing to its location and the character of the ground. — JJ^ — 
 Falconer. — Boyle. 
 
 History.— This plant is indigenous to Persia. According to Polak it 
 is principally gathered in the country from Ispahan to Kahior, and that 
 part which separates Abedeh and Murgab, and is much used as a culi- 
 
148 Materia Medica. 
 
 nary article, and to remove spasm. In several provinces it is planted 
 in gardens to keep away destructive insects. The gum-resin is obtained 
 by incisions into the upper part of the root, or by slicing it suc- 
 cessively in small pieces; plan tp under four years are not made use of, 
 as they yield but little, if any, of the juice. When the leaves begin 
 to decay, the root-leaves and stem are twisted off close to the root, and 
 the soil is removed from its crown. About forty days afterward, a 
 thin slice is cut off transversely from its top, and a milky juice of a fetid, 
 alliaceous odor gradually exudes. In about two days, or when this 
 exudation has become hardened, it is scraped off, and another thin slice 
 removed as before, from which juice again flows, and this process is 
 repeated until no more juice can be obtained ; while this collection is 
 going on, the root is constantly protected from the solar rays. The con- 
 crete juice from several plants, are then put together, further hardened, 
 and disposed of for home use or foreign exportation. 
 
 This gum-resin is brought to America in packages of various weights, 
 but seldom less than fifty or sixty pounds each. It is in amorphous 
 masses, of different sizes, of the consistence of wax, composed of agglu- 
 tinated tears, which are whitish, but by the contact of air become rosy 
 or reddish, and ultimately brownish, sometimes subdiaphahous, shining, 
 surface tough, becoming soft under the fingers, having a bitterish, acrid 
 taste, and a nauseous, alliaceous smell. The masses have an irregular, 
 amygdaloid appearance, being composed of tears of various shapes 
 and sizes consolidated together. Sometimes the tears are met with 
 in distinct grains, of various sizes and forms, of the 'same color, 
 odor, and taste, as in tbe lumps. Those masses should be selected 
 which are clear, of a pale, reddish color, and variegated with a great 
 number of white tears, and, on burning, they should not have an odor 
 of pitch. Berzelius and Thomson give a^ its specific gravity, 1..327. 
 Age hardens it, and impairs its properties ; it becomes pnlverable at a 
 diminished temperature, as in frosty weather ; in warm weather it be- 
 comes soft and adheres to the pestle. Moderate heat softens it so far 
 that it may be squeezed through a coarse cloth, and freed from impuri- 
 ties of a mechanical nature; a stronger heat causes it to froth up, and 
 at a red heat it burns with white flame. Eubbed with cold or warm 
 water, the gum is dissolved, forming a smooth white or reddish per- 
 sistent emulsion, in which the resin and volatile oil are suspended. 
 With rectified alcohol it forms a clear, yellowish -red tincture, which is 
 its best menstruum. Spirit dissolves the resin and oil, but is too feeble a 
 solvent. Sulphuric ether dissolves the volatile oil and a portion of 
 resin; solution of caustic potassa dissolves it almost entirely, forming 
 an emulsion when the alkali is neutralized; and solution of ammonia 
 dissolves the gum and oil, with part of the resin. It readily unites 
 with other resins, gum-resins, and wax; and is best preserved in blad- 
 ders kept in tin boxes. 
 
 Asafoetida contains volatile oil, resin soluble in ether, a tasteless resin 
 insoluble in ether, gum, bassorin, sulphate of lime, carbonate of lime, 
 oxide of iron and alumina, malate of lime, etc. The volatile oil may 
 be obtained by distillation with water or alcohol, at first it is pale- 
 green, but becomes yellowish-brown by age, is lighter than water, of 
 a powerfully offensive odor, and a taste peculiar to the gum-resin ; it 
 contains sulphur. In odor it closely resembles that of the persulphuret 
 of allyl, procured from oil of mustard, and is supposed to be identical 
 with it. This and the bitter resin are the active principles. Sulphate 
 of lime has been found as an adulteration of this gum-resin. 
 
' ASTEK PUNICEUS. 149 
 
 Froperties and Uses. — Stimulant, antispasmodic, expectorant, emmen- 
 agogue and vermifuge. — Ud. Improper in inflammatory conditions of 
 the system. Used in croup, pertussis, hysteria, infantile convulsions, 
 flatulent colic, chronic catarrh, chlorosis, spasmodic nervous diseases 
 of females, and, in combination with morphia and quinia, in sick or 
 nervous headache. With resin of podophyllum and resin of cimicifuga 
 it is beneficial in chorea. Likewise efficient in amenorrhea and dys- 
 menorrhea, and as an injection in tympanitic abdomen, lumbricus, and 
 ascarides. Dose, in powder or pill, from five to ten or twenty grains; 
 of the tincture, from thirty drops to two fluidrachms. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Enema Asafoetidse Composita; Tinctura Asafcetidse ; Tinc- 
 tura Castorei Ammoniata. 
 
 ASTEE PUNICEUS. (Punische Strahlenblume.) 
 
 Eed-stalked Aster. — Mothstdngelige Aster. 
 
 iVai. Ord. — Asteracese, or Composita. Sex. 8yst. — Syngenesia Superflua. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — The root of this plant is perennial and fibrous; stem 
 hispid, paniculate above, furrowed, generally red, or at least on the 
 south side, stout and tall, growing from three to six feet in height. 
 Leaves oblong-lanceolate, amplexicaul, more or less auriculate at base, 
 sparingly serrate in the middle with appressed teeth, rongh above, nearly 
 smooth underneath, pointed ; lower leaves with remote serratnres, rough 
 edged, rough on the upper surface, all acuminate and narrowed at the 
 base. Involucre loose, longer than the disk ; the scales linear-lanceolate, 
 long, revolute, nearly equal, in two rows. Flowers large, showy, of a 
 pale-purple or lilac-blue color. Bays from fifty to eighty, long and 
 narrow. — G. — W. 
 
 Sistory. — This plant is found growing in various parts of the United 
 States, in swamps, ditches, along the borders of small streams, and 
 sbmetimes in dry soils. It flowers from July to October. The radicles 
 or fibres of the root, are the parts used; they are about the size of a 
 pipe-stem, having a pungent, aromatic odor and taste, with some bit- 
 terness and astringency. Water or alcohol extracts their active prop- 
 erties. This plant is variously known by the names of Cocash, Meadow 
 ScabisK, Squaw-weed, etc. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Stimulant and diaphoretic. , The warm infu- 
 sion may be used freely in colds, rheumatism, nervous debility, head- 
 ache, pains in the stomach, dizziness, and menstrual irregularities. 
 This, together with the A. Gordifolius are probably equivalents of vale- 
 rian. 
 
 The Aster ^stivus, .named Rheumatic-weed, also Sampson Snakeroot, ' 
 Star-flower, etc., resembles the above plant, having lanceolate, subclasp- 
 ing leaves, tapering to the apex; margin rough; stem branching from 
 its base, erect, hispid ; hranchlets ^\\os,&; involucre sc&lj ; sca/es lax, linear, 
 acute, equal. Flowers middle-sized, blue. It is found more abundantly 
 west of the Alleghany mountains, and is recommended as an antispas- 
 modic and alterative. Principally used in the cure of rheumatism in 
 the form of infusion or tincture ; recommended, however, in hysteria, 
 chorea, epilepsy, spasms, irregular menstruation, etc., internally ; and 
 used both externally and internally in many cutaneous diseases, the 
 eruption occasioned by the poison Ehus, and in the bites of venomous 
 snakes Dose of the infusion one to four ounces ; of a saturated tiinc- 
 
150 Materia Medica. 
 
 ture half a drachm to two drachms. This plant deserves further in- 
 vestigation. 
 
 ATEOPA BELLADONNA. (Tollkraut.) 
 ! Belladonna. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Solanacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — Atropa Belladonna, also known as Deadly Nightshade^ 
 Dwale, Black Cherry, etc., is a perennial herb, with a thick, branched, 
 fleshy, creeping root, and annual, erect, round, dichotomously branched, 
 leafy, slightly dqwny stems, about three feet high. Leaves lateral, 
 mostly two together of unequal size, ovate, acutp, entire, soft, of a dull 
 green color, smooth, on short petioles. Flowers imperfectly axillary, 
 solitary, stalked, large, drooping, dark dull purple in the border, paler 
 downward. Calyx green, five-parted, permanent, nearly equal. Corolla 
 campanulate, with a short tube, limb divided into five shallow, nearly 
 equal segments. Stamens five ; filaments nearly as long as the corolla 
 tube; anthers cordate, four-lobed; stigma capitate, two-lobed. Fruit 
 a two-Celled, many-seeded berry, subtended by the enlarged calyx; 
 seeds reniform. — D. — Smith. When bruised the whole plant exhales a 
 fetid odor. 
 
 History. — This plant is common to Europe, growing among ruins and 
 in waste places, blossoming from May to August, and maturing its 
 berries in September ; the whole plant possesses poisonous properties. 
 The ^arts used are the leaves, which must be gathered while the plant 
 is in flower. When dry they are of a brownish-green or grayish-green 
 color, scarcely any odor, a faint, bitterish taste, and readily j'ield their 
 virtues to alcohol or water. — C. The root should be taken up in the 
 spring, from plants at teast three years old ; it is from six to twelve or 
 more inches in length, branched and spreading, fibrous, but pulpy and 
 juicy in the recent state, white or grayish internally, brownish exter- 
 nally, an inch or two in diameter, nearly inodorous, and of a mawkish, 
 slightly bitter taste. Water or alcohol is its menstruum. The extract 
 is rnore commonly used than any other preparation. Belladonna con- 
 tains, according to Brande's analysis, supermalate of atropia, pseudo- 
 toxin with malate of atropia and potassa, salts, wax, chlorophylle, 
 phytocolla, gum, starch, albumen, lignin, salts, etc. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Belladonna is an energetic narcotic poison. In 
 large doses, according to Pereira, it acts upon the cerebro-spinal system, 
 as paanifested by the symptoms, "dilatation of the pupils (mydriasis), 
 presbyopia, or long-sightedness with obscurity of vision, or absolute 
 blindness (amaurosis), visual illusions (phantasms), suffused eyes, occa- 
 sionally disturbance of hearing (as ringing in thfe ears, etc.), numbness 
 of the face, confusion of head, giddiness, and delirium. The mouth and 
 throa,t become dry, with difficulty of deglutition and articulation, con- 
 striction about the throat, nausea, vomiting, swelling and redness of the 
 face, and sometimes irritation of the urinary organs, or an exanthem- 
 atous eruption." If the dose be very large, the above-named symptoms 
 will be produced, but in a more violent form, with extravagant delirium, 
 followed by sopor. Convulsions are rarely present; when it causes 
 death, it is commonly by coma. 
 
 According to Prof Brown -Sequard, Belladonna diminishes the blood in 
 the spinal cord, and hence diminishes the vital properties of it and its 
 
Atropa Belladonna. 151 
 
 nerves; dilates the pupil, causes the secretion of milk to cease; is use- 
 ful in strangulated hernia, nocturnal incontinence of urine, etc. It 
 has a depressant influence upon the pneumogastric nerve, excites the 
 sympathetic, depresses the cerebro-spinal system, touches the secretions, 
 and is slightly aperient. , It imparts tone to most involuntary muscles, 
 causes wakefulness, restlessness, is a powerful excitant of the blood ves- 
 sels, and in large doses causes delirium ; it is useful in external neural- 
 gia, in congestive headache, and coma with contracted pupil, in para- 
 plegia with symptoms of irritation of the motor, sensitive and vaso- 
 motor or nutritive nerve-fibers of the spinal cord, or of the roots of its 
 nerves, as in spinal congestion, meningitis, myelitis, etc. It is a dan- 
 gerous agent in paraplegia without symptoms of irritation, as i n cases 
 of white softening, or of the reflex paraplegia. . 
 
 Prof J. M. Scudder makes much use of Belladonna to relieve con- 
 gestion of the nerve-centers, in which malady he considers it a specific 
 wherever there is an enfeebled circulation in the cerebro-spinal centers, 
 as manifested by enfeebled innervation, sluggish circulation, tendency 
 to coma, and to congestion of internal organs, a soft, oppressed pulse, 
 dilated pupils, pasty, soft skin, coldness of the extremities, and involunT 
 tary micturition; acting by causing contraction of the blood-vessels of 
 the spinal cord and the capillary blood-vessels, and which action may 
 be effected; by stimulation, through the sympathetic nervous system. 
 He adds from 30 to 40 minims of the tincture of Belladonna to four 
 fiuidounces of water, of which the dose is a fluidrachm every one, two, ■ 
 or three hours, according to the symptoms and influence of the agent. 
 In doses large enough to dilate the pupil, it exerts an opposite influence, 
 and then becomes useless as a remedy, and fails to produce its specific 
 action. The indications for this agent as a specific, are, a full, oppressed 
 pulse, tendency to congestion, diminished heat of parts distant from 
 the heart, a labored, slow, and imperfect respiration, dullness, hebetude, 
 sleeping with the eyes partly open, dilated pupil, and coma. When 
 much pain is present, it may be combined with tincture of aconite. 
 
 Dr. J. Harley, from a series of experiments instituted by himself, is 
 led to consider Belladonna: 1. As a direct and powerful stimulant to 
 the sympathetic nervous system, or to the heart, being superior to all 
 ' agents in its simple, direct, immediate, and powerful influence in exalt- 
 ing the force and rapidity of the heart's action, and, therefore, useful 
 in cases where there is a depression of the sympathetic nervous influ- 
 ence, as in syncope from asthenia or shock; in the collapse of cholera; 
 in failure of the heart's action from chloroform, or other cardiac para- 
 lyzers. 2. As a diuretic in cases of suppression of urine, whether ac- 
 companied by uremic symptoms or not. He has likewise found it effi- 
 cacious in acute nephritis, in which it calms the nervous irritation, and 
 at the same time contracts the dilated blood-vessels; in chronic albu- 
 minaria, in which it stimulates the kidneys to healthy action, and di- 
 minishes the albumen gradually. He also considers it useful in rheu- 
 matic fever, and in the uric and lactic acid diathesis. He states that, 
 as far as a hypnotic influence is concerned. Belladonna decidedly in- 
 creases the effect of opium, while, on the other h?,nd, opium invariably 
 intensifies all the effects of Belladonna. 
 
 It has also been recommended as a useful agent in convulsions, spasms, 
 epilepsy, puerperal convulsions, neuralgia, chorea, pertussis, mania, 
 prdnful menstruation, palsy, gouty and rheumatic affections, rigidity of 
 OS uteri, and all painful or irritable conditions of the nervous systepa, 
 but more accuracy or definiteness is required, before we can venture to 
 
152 Materia Medica. 
 
 rely upon it in all these maladies. It is much used as a prophylactic Id 
 scarlatina. Externally, it has heen applied in extract to the parts 
 around the eye, to dilate the pupil, before operating for cataract, in iri- 
 dectomy, to relieve internal ocular pressure in ulceration of the cornea, 
 and also in iritis to prevent adhesions. For these purposes, a drop or 
 two of an aqueous solution of the extract is sometimes placed upop the 
 conjunctiva. The ointment, or extract, has also been applied locally in 
 spasmodic stricture of the urethra, and of the sphincters of the bladder 
 and rectum, in great pain along the female urethra, in strangulated her- 
 nia, spasmodip contraction of the uterus, etc. — P. The following has 
 been recommended in neuralgia of the uterus : Mix together one grain 
 and a half of alcoholic extract of Belladonna, and three-fourths of a 
 grain of opium. Place the two extracts in the center of a little pledget 
 of carded cotton, and fold it up so as to inclose the extract; tie it up 
 with a very strong thread, and leave a double thread eight inches long 
 attached to it. The plug is to be introduced into the vagina by the 
 physician or patient, and placed upon the neck of the uterus, where it 
 is to be retained from twelve to twenty -four hours. In very painful 
 menstruation, accompanied by leucorrhea, from eight to fifteen grains 
 of tannic acid, or Extract of Geranium, may be added to the tampon; 
 Dose of the powdered leaves, one to two grains, once or twice a day, 
 and gradually increased till the peculiar effects of the medicine are pro- 
 duced ; of the extract one-fourth of a grain to two grains. 
 
 The proper remedies in poisoning by Belladonna, are, the stomach- 
 pump, emetics and purgatives, cold to the head, and, in the comatose 
 stage, ammonia internally, with external stimulants, electro-magnetism, 
 etc. — C. Bouchardat and Suiz Eioya recommend iodine as an antidote, 
 even when the symptoms of poisoning with Belladonna are of long du- 
 ration ; the compound solution of iodine may be given for this purpose., 
 Belladonna and opium appear to exert antagonistic influences, especially 
 as regards their action on the brain, the spinal cord, and heart; they 
 have, consequently, been recommended and employed as antidotes to 
 each other in cases of poisoning ; yet this matter is not positively and 
 satisfactorily settled ; hence, in all cases of poisoning, by either one or 
 the other, it would be injudicious to dispense with the other measures 
 that have been laid down by writers for such cases. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Atropia; Emplastrum Belladonnse; Emplastrum Bella- 
 donniB Compositum; Extractum Belladonnse Alcoholicum; Tinctura 
 Belladonnse; TJnguentum Belladonnse. 
 
 A.YWSM PAEINA. (Hafergriitze.) 
 
 Oatmeal. — Hafermehl. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Graminacese. Sex. Syst. — Triandria Digynia. 
 
 SEEDS OF AVENA SATIVA, GROUND. 
 
 Description. — Avena Sativa, or the common oat, has a smooth stem, 
 from two to four feet high, with linear-lanceolate, veined, rough leaves, 
 with loose, striate sheaths ; stipules lacerate ; panicle equal, loose ; spike- 
 lets pedunculate, pendulous, two-flowered, both flowers perfect, the 
 lower one mostly awned; palece somewhat cartilaginous, closely em- 
 bracing the caryopsis; root fibrous, annual. — W. 
 
 Sistory. — Oats have been noticed by the ancient Greek and Eoman 
 writers; at present they are cultivated in nearly all northern temperate 
 latitudes. Their native country is unknown. When the seed is stripped 
 
Balsamodendron Mtrrha. 153 
 
 ot all its teguments, including its innermost, silky, fibrous covering', it 
 constitutes Groats; and when this is ground into fine meal or flour it is 
 called Prepared Groats. When the seed is kiln-dried, stripped of its 
 husk and delicate outer skin, and then coarsely ground, it constitutes 
 the Oatmeal of Scotland, a common farinaceous article of food for labor- 
 ing people and children. — C. Vogel found Oats to contain 66 per cent, 
 of meal, and 34 per cent, of husk ; the dried meal consists of starch 59, 
 saccharomucilaginous extract 10.75, albumen 4.3, oleaginous matter 2, 
 ligneous fiber and moisture 24. — T. — G. Other analyses have been 
 made, which vary from the above in quantity and elements, showing 
 oats to consist of a large proportion of starch, some sugar, gum, oil, al- 
 bumen, gluten, a nitrogenous body, epidermis, alkaline salts, etc. M. 
 Payen found oats to contain starch 60.59 parts ; gluten and other azo- 
 tized matters 14.39 ; dextrine, glucose, or congenerous substances 9.25 ; 
 fatty matters 5.50; cellulose 7.06; silica, phosphates of lime, magnesia, 
 and soluble salts of potassa and soda 3.25. — P. 
 
 Oatmeal is odorless, is not so white as wheat flour, and has a some- 
 what bitterish taste ; it is insoluble in alcohol, ether, and the oils ; but 
 the first two remove an oleo-resinous matter from it. Water removes 
 its nourishing principles, when boiled with it. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — l^utritive and demulcent. Good in habitual con- 
 stipation, but not in dyspepsia accompanied with acidity of stomach. 
 In the form of gruel, either salted or seasoned with sugar, honey, or the 
 pulp of fruit, it is an agreeable nutritive during convalescence from 
 acute diseases, in the puerperal woman, and in some chronic diseases. 
 Oatmeal made into a cake with water, baked and browned like coffee, 
 then pulverized and made into a coffee, or infusion, forms a drink which 
 will allay nausea and check vomiting, in a majority of cases, when all 
 other means fail, and used thus, is very useful in diarrhea, dysentery, 
 cholera-morbus, and irritable conditions of the stomach. One ounce of 
 Oatmeal in two quarts of water, boiled down to a quart and then strained, 
 forms a very nutritive gruel. It may be rendered more palatable by the 
 addition of vegetable acids, aromatics, sugar, prunes, etc. 
 
 BALSAMODENDEON MTEEHA. (Myrrhen-Balsambaum.) 
 
 Myrrh . — Myrrhe. 
 
 Nat. Or A. — ^Amyridacese, or Burseracese. Sex. Syst. — Octandria Mono- 
 gynia. 
 
 CONCRETE GUMMY RESINOTJS EXUDATION. 
 
 Description. — The Balsamodendron Myrrha, has a shrubby, arbores- 
 cent stem, with squarrose, spinescent branches, a very pale gray bark, 
 and a yellowish -white wood. Leaves ternate, on short petioles ; leaflets 
 obovate, obtuse, somewhat tooth-letted at the apex, the lateral smooth. 
 Flowers unknown : Fruit ovate, smooth, brown, somewhat larger than a 
 pea, surrounded at base by a four-toothed calyx, supported on a very 
 short stalk. — Nees.—De Gand. 
 
 History. — The Myrrh-tree grows near Gison, on the borders of Arabia 
 Felix, and has been seen by Captain Harris in hilly localities, through- 
 out the fiat territory between Abyssinia and the Eed Sea. — C. The 
 juice flows naturally, like cherry-tree gum upon the bark ; at first it is 
 s-.ft and pale-yellow, but by drying becomes hard, darker and redder, 
 and forms the mediciiial Gum Myrrh. The best kind of Myrrh is in 
 irregular pieces, often tuberculated, varying in size from that of a 
 
154 Materia Medioa. 
 
 pea to that of a large walnut, or even larger, of a bright reddish-brown 
 color, becoming clearer red when breathed upon. Internally they are 
 brighter than on the surface, but varied Vith yellowish-white, opaque, 
 semicircular or tortuous streaks. Myrrh is friable and readily powdered, 
 and has a peculiar, agreeable, balsamic odor, and a bitter, aromatic, not 
 unpleasant taste. When heated it softens, then froths up, and at length 
 inflames and burns with difllculty. Its active constituents are oil and 
 resin, and its proper solvent is rectified spirit. It is not wholly dis- 
 solved by water, ether, or proof-spirit ; water dissolves its arabin, and 
 the mucilage retains the oil and part of the resin in the state of emul- 
 sion ; prooSspirit dissolves some of its resin. The tincture is transpar- 
 ent, and when poured into water forms a yellow opaque fluid, but lets 
 fall no precipitate, while the watery solution is always yellow and 
 opaque. Alkaline solutions are good solvents for Myrrh. According 
 to Brandes, Myrrh consists of volatile oil 2.6, resin 27.8, gum 54.4, mu- 
 cilage 9.3, salts, sulphates, benzoates, malates, and acetates of potassa 
 and lime, 1.4, foreign bodies 1.6. Of the resin 5.66 is soft and Boluble 
 in ether; the remainder is hard and insoluble in ether. According to 
 Bley and Diesel, genuine Myrrh yields with nitric acid, a liquid of a 
 dull yellow color ; while Bdellium Indicum may be detected as an adul- 
 teration by its not dissolving in this acid, but becoming soft, whitish and 
 opaque. M. Eighini states that Myrrh is pure when it wholly and 
 rapidly dissolves by triturating one part of it for ten or twenty minutes 
 with one part of hydrochlorate of ammonia, to which fifteen parts of 
 water are slowly added. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Myrrh is a stimulant, especially to mucous tissues. 
 It also exerts an antiseptic influence, and is used to promote expectora- 
 tion, as well as menstruation. It has also been used as a vermifuge. 
 Internally it promotes digestion, accelerates the pulse, and augments 
 the heat of the body; it is not antispasmodic, and is contra-indicated 
 in internal inflammations. It is generally used in enfeebled conditions 
 of the body, and has been found useful in cases of excessive mucous 
 secretion, as in gleet, chronic gonorrhea and chronic catarrh; also in 
 laryngitis, bronchitis, humoral asthma, and other diseases of the air- 
 tubes accompanied with profuse secretion, but expelled with dificulty. 
 Eeputed useful in suppressed menses, and some cases of anemia. As a 
 local application, to indolent sores, gangrenous ulcers, and aphthous or 
 sloughy sore-throat, spongy or ulcerated condition of the gums, caries 
 of the teeth, etc. It is sometimes combined with hydrastis and capsi- 
 cum, in aphthae, and with tincture of castor as an emmenagogue. The 
 dose of Myrrh in powder or pill, is from ten grains to a half a drachm ; 
 of the tincture, from half a fluidrachm to two fluidrachms. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Mistura Chenopodii Composita; Pulvis Nigrum; Pilule 
 Copaibse; Composite; Tinctura Myrrhse ; Tinctura Myrrhse Composita : 
 Tinctura Aloes et Myrrhse Compositse. 
 
 BAPTISIA TINCTOEIA. (Parbe Baptisle.) 
 
 "Wild Indigo. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Fabaceae. Sex.Syst. — Decandria Mono'gynia. 
 
 BARK OF THE ROOT AND LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — Baptisia Tinctoria, also known as Horse-fly Weed, Rattle 
 bush, etc., is a perennial plant, with a blackish and woody root, yellow- 
 ish- internally, sending off many rootlets. Stem two or three feet high 
 
Baptisia Tinctoria. 155 
 
 very much branched, round, smooth, glaucous. Leaves small, alternate 
 palmately trifoliate, subsessile ; leaflets rounded at the extremity, cune- 
 ate at the base, about three-quarters of an inch long ; stipules minute, 
 deciduous. Flowers yellow, in small, loose, terminal, few-flowered ra- 
 cemes. Calyx subcampanulate, four-cleft, bilabiate, the upper segment 
 broader. Six, twelve, or more flowers in each raceme. Vexillum round- 
 ish, crenulate, reflexed on the sides; wings obovate; keel of two obovate 
 petals, slightly united. Stamens ten, distinct, deciduous, nearly equal, 
 as long as the keel ; filaments slender, smooth ; anthers small, oblong 
 incumbent. Ovary smooth, pedicellate, tapering into a slender style • 
 stigma simple, minute. Legume short, inflated, bluish-black, gibbous, 
 on a long stipe; seeds small, subreniform. — L. 
 
 History. — This is a small shrub, growing in dry places in many sec- 
 tions of the United States, occasionally in damp places. It flowers in 
 July and'August, having bright yellow flowers, in small loose clusters 
 at the end of the branches. The fruit is an oblong pod, of a bluish- 
 black color. It contains indigo, tannin, an acid, and baptisin.? When 
 the whole plant, or any portion of it, is dried, it becomes black, and 
 yields a blue dye, inferior to indigo. In some parts of the country the 
 young shoots are used in the place of asparagus, to which they bear 
 some resemblance, and they occasionally cause drastic purgation, especi- 
 ally if used after they acquire a green color. Alcohol or water will 
 take up its active properties ; also chloroform, ether, and glycerin. 
 Both the root and leaves are medicinal, and deserve further investiga- 
 tion. The root is inodorous, and of a nauseous, somewhat acrid taste; 
 its virtues appear to reside chiefly in the bark. Mr. B. L. Smedley found 
 in the root, gum, albumen, starch, a yellowish resin, and a crystalline 
 substance, probably a new alkaloid. {Am. Jour. Pharm, 1862, p. 310). 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Purgative, emetic, stimulant, astringent and 
 antiseptic. Principally used on account of its antiseptic virtues. A 
 decoction of the bark of the root is an excellent application as a wash 
 or gargle to all species of ulcers, as a malignant, ulcerous sore mouth 
 and throat, mercurial sore mouth, scrofulous, or syphilitic ophthalmia, 
 erysipelatous ulcers, gangrenous ulcers, sore nipples, etc. ; or it may be 
 made into an ointment for external application. As a poultice or fo- 
 mentation it is highly useful in all ulcers, tumors, or inflammations 
 tending to gangrene. In fetid leucorrhea, fetid discharges from the 
 ears, etc., the decoction will be found efScient, if injected into the parts 
 with a suitable syringe. The leaves applied in fomentations have dis- 
 cussed tumors and swelling of the female breast, resembling scirrhus. 
 
 Internally, it may be used in the form of a decoction or syrup, in 
 scarlatina, typhus, and all cases where there is a tendency to putres- 
 cency. It acts powerfully on the glafidular and nervous systems, in- 
 creasing all the glandular secretions, and arousing the liver especially 
 to a normal action ; and is very efBcient in the atonic varieties of acute 
 rheumatism and pneumonia, also in dysentery. 
 
 I make much use of the dried alcoholic extract of the root-bark in the 
 low stage of typhoid, and typhoid conditions generally, in conjunction 
 with leptandrin ; and have used it extensively for the last nineteen 
 years, and with very excellent effect, in all diseases of a tuberculous 
 character. — Baptisin, prepared similarly to Aletrin, or it may be preci- 
 pitated by an acid, or by acetate of lead from the saturated tincture, has, 
 heretofore, been the supposed active principle of the plant, but it proves 
 to be an unknown compound, containing undoubtedly a greater or less 
 proportion of the real active principle. I have found it to exert a pow- 
 
156 Materia Medica. 
 
 erfal influence on the glandular system in doses of from one-'fourth t«> 
 one-half a grain ; if given in large doses it produces a very disagreeable 
 prostration of the whole system. It is also an excellent application to 
 gangrenous and erysipelatous ulcerations, and malignant and fetid 
 ulcerations of the cervix uteri. Combined with extract of leptandra, 
 resin of podophyllum, quinia, or resin of cimicifuga, in diseases where 
 these agents are indicated, it will be found valuable in typhus and 
 typhoid fevers, dysentery and all diseases of a typhoid cliaracter, when 
 administered internally. Baptisin is of a yellowish-brown color, a 
 strong odor, similar to that of the powdered root, and of a rather 
 bitter, not very disagreeable taste, persistent in its character. It is in- 
 soluble in water, ether, the mineral acids, acetic acid, also in volatile 
 oils, oil of turpentine, and chloroform, floating on the surface of this 
 last. Ammonia added to it in water, causes it to be nearly completely 
 dissolved, and gives a dense, light bluish-yellow solution. Liquor pot- 
 assa likewise causes it to imperfectly dissolve in water, giving a dark- 
 yellow precipitate, and a light-yellow saponaceous solution. It is par- 
 tially soluble in alcohol, and on t^le addition of ammonia becomes en- 
 tirely dissolved, but gives a precipitate on standing. Sulphuric acid 
 turns it a dark yellowish-red color; nitric acid yellowish-green; and 
 muriatic acid affects no change in its color. It is not a purely chemi- 
 cal preparation, probably consisting of the resin of the root, an alka- 
 loid principle, and some other minor principles; an improper name 
 has therefore been selected for it. 
 
 Dose, of the decoction — made by boiling one ounce of the powdered 
 bark in two pints of water, down to one pint — one tablespoonful every 
 one, two, or four hours, as required — if it purge, produce nausea, or a 
 disagreeable relaxation of the nervous system, lessen the dose, or omit 
 its use entirely, for a time ; of the alcoholic extract, one to four grains 
 every two, three, or four hours. 
 
 The Baptisia Alba, or Prairie Indigo of the "Western prairies, with 
 the flowers white, may be substituted for the above. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Bxtractum Baptisise Alcoholicum ; Pilulse Baptisise Com- 
 positae ; Unguentum Baptisise. 
 
 BAEOSMA CEBNATA. (Diosma Grenata.) Kerbblattrige Diosma. 
 
 Buchu. (Buchubldtter.) 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eutaceae. Sex. Syst.^-Ventandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — This plant is the Diosma Crenulata, D. Odorata, etc., 
 of former botanists. It is a slen.der, smooth, upright, perennial shrub, 
 between two and three feet in height, with twiggy, somewhat angular 
 J>ranches, of a brownish -purple color. Leaves opposite, flat, spreading, 
 about an inch long, ovate or obovate, acute, serrated, dotted, glandular 
 at the edge. Flowers pink, or whitish, terminal, solitary, on short, 
 lateral, leafy branches. Calyx five-cleft, dotted. Corolla five spreading 
 petals, with short claws. Stamens five, subulate; anthers ovate; ovaries 
 superior, top-shaped ; style erect, as long as the petals ; stigma simple, 
 minute, five-lobed. Capsule ovate; seeds oblong, shining, black. — De 
 Cand. — i. — Hooker. 
 
 History. — This plant, together with several others from which the 
 leaves are obtained, as the Barosma Crenulata, B. Serratifolia, etc., are 
 indigenous to Southern Africa, occupying a limited extent. The leaves 
 are the officinal parts. According to Burehell they are odoriferous/ 
 
Benzoin Odoriferum. 157 
 
 and are, when powdered, used by the Hottentots und^r the name of 
 Bookoo or Buku, for anointing their bodies. They likewise prepare a 
 Buchu Brandy by distilling the leaves with wine, and which they em- 
 ploy as an efficient remedy in all affections of the stomach, bowels, and 
 bladder ; they also apply a decoction of the leaves to wounds. 
 
 As met with in commerce, the leaves are from nine to twelve lines 
 long, from two to six lines in breadth, coriaceous, elliptical, lanceolate, 
 slightly acute, or shorter and obtuse, especially those from the younger 
 twigs ; their margin is very finely serrated and glandular ; their upper 
 surlace is smooth, of a clear shining green ; the inferior paler, and 
 beset with scattered glandular oil points, translucent when held be- 
 tween the eye and the light. They have a strong pennyroyal-like 
 odor, and a corresponding taste, without heat, bitterness,^ or evident 
 astringency, all of which qualities will serve to discriminate them from 
 the leaves of senna. If they be preserved with ordinary care, their 
 odor will remain for some years. The leaves of the B. Serratifolia are 
 linear, lanceolate, acuminate, smooth, serrulated, glandular at the 
 edges, three-nerved; those of the B. Crenulata are oval -lanceolate, 
 about an inch long, minutely crenated, with a few obscure, oblique 
 nerves, dotted with a pellucid oil-gland at every crenature. The 
 leaves of the several species possess similar properties. Buchu leaves 
 have been analyzed by Brandes and Cadet de Gassicourt. The latter 
 found them to contain volatile oil 0.665, gum 21.17, extractive 5.17, 
 chlorophylle 1.10, resin 2.151, lignin, etc., 69.744. Their virtues are 
 chiefly due to the volatile oil and extractive, which they yield to alco- 
 hol, or water. The oil has a powerful penetrating odor ; is yellowish- 
 brown, and lighter than water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Buchu is an aromatic stimulant and tonic. It 
 promotes the appetite, relieves nausea and flatulence, and acts as a 
 diuretic and diaphoretic. It is principally used in chronic diseases of 
 the urino-genital organs, as in cases of chronic inflammation of the 
 mucous membrane of the bladder, irritable condition of the urethra, in 
 urinary discharges with increased deposit of uric acid, and in inconti- 
 nence connected with diseased prostate. Some have found it beneficial 
 in dyspeptic, cutaneous, and rheumatic affections. I do not, however, 
 think it equal to many of our indigenous remedies, which are sadly 
 neglected by the profession, in their eagerness for something at a dis- 
 tance from home. "Were our native plants more closely investigated, 
 there would be but little use for foreign, and consequently expensive 
 agents. Under favorable circumstances a warm infusion of Buchu 
 leaves will cause diaphoresis. Dose of the powder, from twenty to 
 thirty grains, two or three times a day ; of the infusion, two to four 
 fluidounces, three or four times a day; of the tincture, one to two 
 fluidraehms. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Extractum Barosmae vel Buchu Fluidum ; Infusum Ba- 
 rosmae. 
 
 BENZOIN" ODOEIPEEUM:. (Benzoebaum.) 
 
 Spicewood. 
 
 Nat. Or^.— LauracesB. Sex. >S2/st— Bnneandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE BARK AND BERRIES. 
 
 Description.— ThiB is the Laurus Benzoin of Linnseus, and is also 
 known as Wild Allspice, Feverwood, Benjamin Bush, etc. ; it is a shrub 
 
158 Materia Medioa. 
 
 growing from five to twelve feet in height, with obovate-lanceolate, 
 veinless, entire, deciduous leaves, green on each side, slightly pubescent 
 beneath ; flowers yellow, in little naked umbels pn'the naked branches, 
 often dioecious ; buds and pedicles smooth ; fruit the size of an olive, 
 bright-red, in clusters, containing an ovate, pointed nut. Calyx six- 
 cleft, with oblong-segments. — W. 
 
 History. — This shrub grows in damp woods and shaded places, in 
 the United States and Canada, bearing greenish-yellow flowers in 
 April, and maturing its fruit, which consists of bright crimson -colored, 
 ovoid berries, growing in small bunches, in the middle of autumn. 
 The whole plant has a pleasant, aromatic taste, owing chiefly to a vola- 
 tile oil, and yields its virtues to boiling water, or proof-spirit. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Aromatic, tonic, and stiniulant. An infusion 
 or decoction has been successfully used in the treatment of ague and 
 typhoid forms of fever, also as an anthelmintic. The berries afford a 
 stimulant oil, much esteemed as an application to bruises, chronic 
 rheumatism, itch, etc., and has some reputation as a carminative in 
 flatulence, flatulent colic, etc. The bark, in decoction, is said to be 
 refrigerant and exhilarating, and exceedingly useful in all kinds of 
 fever, for allaying excessive heat and uneasiness ; a warm decoction is 
 employed to produce diaphoresis. The decoction may be drank freely. 
 
 BENZOINUM. (Benzoe.) 
 
 Benzoin. — Wohlriechender Asand. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Styracacese. Sex. Syst. — Decandria IMonogynia. 
 
 OONOEETE balsamic EXUDATION OP STYRAX BENZOIN. 
 
 Description. — Styrax Benzoin is a tree from fifty to seventy feet 
 high, with round, tomentose branches. Leaves alternate, petiolate, ob- 
 long, entire, acuminated, smooth above, tomentose beneath, a palm 
 long ; petioles round, striated, tomentose, very short, channeled. Flow- 
 ers on one side, in compound, axillary racemes, nearly the length of 
 the leaves ; common footstalks tomentose ; partial alternate, spreading, 
 tomentose. Calyx campanulate, very obscurely five-toothed, outwardly 
 tomentose ; above a line in depth. Petals five, linear, obtuse, out- 
 wardly gray with very fine down, four times longer than the calyx. 
 Stamens ten ; filaments inserted into the receptacle, rather shorter than 
 the petals, beneath connate into a cylinder of the length of the calyx, 
 ciliated on the upper part below the anthers. Anthers linear, longi- 
 tudinally adnate to the petals. Ovary superior, ovate, tomentose. 
 Style filiform, longer than the stamens. Fruit a globose drupe, con- 
 taining one or two nuts, angular, concave on one side, convex on the 
 other. — Jj. 
 
 History. — This tree inhabits Sumatra, where it is cultivated ; it is 
 called Benzoin Tree, or Benjamin Tree, and furnishes the Benzoin of 
 the shops. This resinous Balsam is obtained by making incisions into 
 the bark of trees six or seven years old, from which the balsam flows 
 in the form of a thick, milky, resinous juice, which is allowed to remain 
 for three months before it is collected, when new incisions are made. 
 There are several varieties of Benzoin, the best of which are in tears 
 of a whitish color, and agglutinated by a brown resiniform mass. The 
 dingy, dark-reddish brown, or blackish specimens of Benzoin, which 
 are more commonly met with, contain more foreign substances than 
 the preceding variety. 
 
Bbrbeeis Vulgaris. 159 
 
 Benzoin is firm, brittle, pulverizable, of an agreeable, balsamic odor 
 when rubbed, and of a sweetish, balsamic, somewhat acrid taste. When 
 pure it is wholly soluble in alcohol or ether. Upon exposure to heat, 
 IBenzoin consumes with the discharge of a dense, irritating, white 
 smoke, consisting of benzoic acid and a fragrant empyreumatized oil. 
 In pulverizing Benzoin, it irritates the lining membrane of the nostrils, 
 causing sternutation. Water added to its alcoholic solution, precipitates 
 it, forming a white liquid, which has been used as a cosmetic under 
 the name of virgin's milk. Benzoin has a specific gravity of about 
 1.068. It contains volatile oil, resin, a balsamic matter, aromatic ex- 
 tractive, with a large proportion of benzoic acid. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Benzoin exerts a stimulating influence on the 
 mucous tissues, and has been used to promote expectoration in chronic 
 diseases of the air-passages. It is also stated to stimulate the sexual 
 organs. It enters into the manufacture of elixir paregoric, and consti- 
 tutes the basis of Turlington's and many other balsams, which exert a 
 salutary influence in healing wounds; the tincture is also employed to 
 form .a coating over' the adhesive preparations so well known as Court 
 Plaster. The fumes or vapor inhaled into the lungs, has been strongly 
 recommended in chronic pulmonary catarrhs, and old laryngeal inflam- 
 mations. But principally used to prepare benzoic acid, to improve the 
 taste and odor of other medicines, and in perfumery. 
 
 A preparation has been recently used with some degree of success in 
 hemorrhages, called Pagliari's Hcemostatic or Styptic. It is made by 
 boiling together for six hours in a glazed earthen vessel, alum one 
 pound, tincture of Benzoin eight ounces, water ten pounds. As the 
 water evaporates it must constantly be replaced With hot water, so as 
 not to interrupt the ebullition, and stir the resinous mass round con- 
 stantly. Then filter the fluid and keep in stoppered bottles. It is 
 limpid, color of champagne, styptic in taste, and aromatic in odor. 
 White resin has been successfully substituted for the benzoin. Every 
 drop of this fluid poured into a glass containing human blood produces 
 an instantaneous magma; and by increasing the proportion of the styp- 
 tic to the quantity of the blood, a dense, homogeneous, blackish mass 
 results. It is said to be useful in all arterial and venous hemorrhages. 
 In applying it, lint and bandages should be used to prevent the coagula 
 which form from being removed from the mouths of the vessels ; an 
 application of them for twenty-four or forty-eight hours is sufficient. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Acidum Benzoicum ; Tinctura Benzoini Composita ; Un- 
 guentum Benzoini. 
 
 BEEBBEIS VULGAEIS. (Gemeine Berberize.) 
 
 Barberry. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Berberidacea. Sex. Syst. — Hexandria Monogynia. 
 
 BARK AND BERRIES. 
 
 Description. — Berberis Vulgaris is an erect, deciduous shrub, from 
 three to eight feet high, with long, bending branches which are dotted 
 with triple spines. Leaves, obovate-oval, simple, closely serrulate, 
 terminated by soft bristles, alternate, about two inches long, one-third 
 as wide, petioled, in their primary state three-parted, spiny. Flowers 
 small, yellow, in clusters on lax, pendulous racemes. Petals entire. 
 Stamens irritable, springing violently against the stigma when touched 
 Fruit hright red, oblong berries, in bunches, very acid.— i.— Tf. 
 
160 Materia Medica. 
 
 History. — This shrub is found in the New England States, on the 
 mountains of Pennsylvania and Yirginia, among rocks, and in hard, 
 gravelly soils; occasionally it is found in the West on rich grounds. ■ It 
 flowers in April and May, and ripens its fruit in June. Berberina is its 
 active alkaloid principle, which has also heen recently found in Hy- 
 drastis, Podophyllum, and other plants. According to Brande, it like- 
 wise , contains gum, starch, cerin, stearin, chlorophyll, bitter yellow 
 extractive, brown coloring matter, a resinous substance, lignin, and 
 water. A new alkaloid has recently been detected in the root, termed 
 vinetina, or berbina. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tonic and laxative.. Used extensively by prac- 
 titioners in the New England States, in all cases where tonics are indi- 
 cated, also in jaundice, and chronic diarrhea and dysentery. The ber- 
 ries form an agreeable acidulous draught, useful as a refrigerant in 
 fevers, also beneficial in dysentery, cholera-infantum, diarrhea, etc. 
 The bark is bitter and astringent, and has been used with advantage 
 as a tonic, and has proved efficacious in the treatment of jaundice. The 
 bark of the root is the most active ; a teaspoonful 'of the powder will 
 act as a purgative. A decoction of the bark or berries, has been found 
 of service as a wash or gargle in aphthous sore mouth, and in chronic 
 ophthalmia. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Berberina. 
 
 BETULA LENTA. (Schwarz Birke.) 
 
 Black Birch. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Betulacese. Sex. Syst. — Monoecia Polyandria. 
 
 BARK. 
 
 Description. — ^Betula Lenta, also known as Cherry Birch, Sweet Birch, 
 Mahogany Birch, etc., is a large tree growing from fifty to seventy 
 feet in height, with a diameter of from two to three feet. Leaves cor- 
 date-ovate, acuminate, acutely and finely doubly serrate, hairy on the 
 veins beneath, and on the petioles. ^ Fertile aments erect, elliptical, 
 thick, somewhat hairy; sterile aments two or three inches long, longer 
 than the fertile, and not so thick ; lobes of the veiny scales nearly equal, 
 obtuse, diverging. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — This is a well-known tree, growing in various parts of the 
 United States. The trunk is invested with a dark -brown or reddish 
 bark, which becomes rough in old trees, and has, together with the 
 leaves, an aromatic flavor and taste, somewhat similar to Gaultheria 
 Procumbens. The wood is of a reddish color, strong, compact, and 
 takes a fine polish ; it is much used in cabinet work. The cambium is 
 used in the spring by boys as a delicious morsel. The bark is the part 
 used, and yields its properties to water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Gently stimulant, diaphoretic, and astringent. 
 Used in warm infusion wherever a stimulating diaphoretic is required, 
 also in diarrhea, dysentery, cholera infantum, etc. In decoction or 
 syrup, it forms an excellent tonic to restore the tone of the bowels, after 
 an attack of dysentery. Said to have been useful in gravel, and female 
 obstructions. 
 
BiDENS BiPlNNATA. 161 
 
 BIDBNS BIPINNATA. (Doppeltgefiederter Zweizahn.) 
 
 Spanish Needles. 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia Frustranea. 
 
 BOOT AND SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — Bidens Bipinnata is an annual plant, with a smooth, 
 branched stem growing from one to four feet high. Leaves bipin- 
 nately parted, nearly smooth, petioled. Leaflets ovate-lanceolate, pin- 
 i.atifid, mostly wedge-shaped at the base; heads of flowers on slender 
 peduncles, each with three or foar obscure, obovate, yellow rays; outer 
 involucre of linear scales as long as the inner, nearly as long as the 
 short, pale, yellow rays; achenia long and slender, foar-grooved and 
 angled, nearly smooth, three or four-awned, which adhere to the dress 
 and to the fleece of animals.— ^G*. — W. 
 
 History. — This is a common plant, growing in waste places on dry 
 soils, flowering from July to September, and found from Connecticut to 
 Pennsylvania, and westward. 
 
 The Bidens Frondosa, common Beggar-Tick, has a smooth, branching, 
 rather hairy stem, from two to six feet high. Leaves three to five, 
 divided ; leaflets lanceolate, pointed, coarsely toothed, mostly stalked ; 
 outer leafy involucre much longer than the head, ciliate below;' rays 
 none; flowers in clusters at the end of the branches, yellow; achenia 
 wedge-obovate, two-awned, the margins ciliate with upward bristles^ 
 except near the summit. This is a common, very troublesome weed, 
 growing in moist, cultivated fields throughout the United States ; the 
 achenia, as in the other species, adhering by their retrorsely-barbed 
 awns to clothes; etc. It flowers from July to September. — G. — W. 
 
 The Bidens Gonnata (Bidens tripartita). Cuckold's, or Swamp Beg- 
 gar's Tick, has a smooth stem, four-furrowed, with opposite branches, 
 and grows from one to three feet high. Leaves lanceolate, opposite, 
 serrate, acuminate, slightly connate at the base; lower ones m.o&i\j trifid; 
 lateral divisions united at the base, decurrent on the petiole ; scales of the 
 outer involucre longer than the head, leafy, mostly obtuse, scarcely cili- 
 ate; rays none; achenia narrowly wedged -form, two, three, or four- 
 awned, with downwardly barbed margins. Flowers terminal, solitary, 
 consisting only of the tubular, yellow florets, surrounded by a leafy in- 
 volucre. This is likewise a common weed found in wet grounds,rich 
 fields, swamps and ditches, from Ifew England to Missouri. It flowers 
 in August. The root and seeds of all these plants are employed medicin- 
 ally, and may be used in decoction, infusion, or tincture. — G. — W. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Emmenagogue and expectorant; the seeds in 
 powder or tincture have been successfully used in amenorrhea, dys- 
 menorrhea, and some other uterine derangements; and an infusion of 
 the root has proved beneficial in severe cough. The Bidens Gonnata 
 has likewise been recommended in the above afi'ectibns, also in palpita- 
 tion of the heart, in which the infusion or decoction, drank freely 
 through the day, has been found effectual. The Bidens Frondosa in 
 infusion has cured several severe cases of croup, even where they 
 have been considered beyond aid. A strong infusion of the plaiit, 
 sweetened with honey, was administered to the children, warm, in 
 doses of a tablespoonful or more every ten or fifteen minutes, until it 
 vomited. A quantity of mucous and membranous shreds were ejected, 
 followed by immediate relief; the children passed into a sleep, from 
 which they awakened perfectly well. In a few hours aft<{r the emetic 
 11 
 
162 Materia Medica. 
 
 operation of the warin infusion, it acted as a cathartic. The leaves 
 from which the infusion was made, were, at the same time, placed in 
 a piece of flannel with some brandy added to them, and laid over the 
 chest and throat. This plan is also heneficial in colds, acute bronchial 
 and laryngeal attacks from exposures to cold, etc. An infusion of the 
 seeds formed into a syrup with honey, is useful in hooping-cough. 
 
 BISMUTHI SUBOTTEAS. (Basisch Salpetersaures Bismuthoxyd.) 
 Subnitrate of Bismuth. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Bismuth, in small pieces, and free from arsenic 
 or other impurities, two ounces, add this gradually in successive por- 
 tions, to a mixture of two and a half fluidounces (Imp. meas.) of Mtrio 
 Acid, and three fluidounces (Imp. meas.) of Distilled Water. When effer- 
 vescence has ceased apply nearly a boiling heat for ten minutes, and 
 decant the clear solution from any remaining undissolved particles of 
 the metal. Evaporate this solution to two fluidounces and pour it into 
 half a gallon of Distilled Water. Decant the supernatant liquid when 
 precipitation has ceased, and agitate the sediment with twenty-nine fluid- 
 ounces (Imp. meas.) of Distilled Water. After two hours, again decant, 
 and, placing the product on a filter, dry it at the temperature of 212" 
 F. — £r. Ph. Four parts of nitric acid sp. gr. 1.20, will dissolve about 
 one part of bismuth. Most of the metal may be dissolved without the 
 application of heat, and thus a waste of acid be prevented ; and only 
 when there is no more action in the cold, must heat be resorted to. If 
 the metal be not added gradually, the action will be so violent as to 
 fracture the flask, or cause the acid to boil over ; and at the same time 
 a basic salt will be formed, especially when the acid is partially satu- 
 rated, which can with diflBculty be redissolved. It is important that 
 the bismuth employed be free from arsenic, which may be ascertained 
 by the application of Marsh's test. 
 
 Concentrated nitric acid attacks bismuth with great violence, a vast 
 quantity of red nitrous gas is emitted, the metal is converted into. a 
 white oxide, much heat is evolved, and sometimes, it is said, even sparks 
 of fire. When the acid is diluted, the action is less violent, and the 
 oxide of bismuth is dissolved by the nitric acid remaining in the solu- 
 tion which has not undergone decomposition. The solution is colorless, 
 and on cooling lets fall white crystals of oblique rhomboidal prisms, 
 generally attached to each other in the form of stars, or the ternitrate 
 of bismuth. When a large quantity of water is added to the clear so- 
 lution, the ternitrate is decomposed, the subnitrate or trisnitrate of bis- 
 muth precipitating in very fine white, silky acicular crystals, while the 
 supernitrate of bismuth remains in solution. 
 
 History. — Subnitrate of Bi8muth,'known also by the names Trisnitrate 
 of Bismuth, and White Oxide of Bismuth, is a white heavy powder, nearly 
 tasteless, odorless, partially soluble in water, but quite soluble in nitric 
 acid without effervescence. Hydrosulphuric acid, or the hydrosul- 
 phurets, blacken it ; light also darkens it when it contains a portion of 
 silver. Or when in a moist state it is placed in contact with paper or 
 other organic substance. Under the blowpipe it gives out nitrous acid, 
 and is reduced to the yellow oxide of bismuth, and if the heat be con- 
 tinued globules of metallic bismuth are obtained. Its formula is Bi 0, 
 N0b+2H0, and its equivalent weight 300. 
 
 If any carbonate be present it effervesces in solution with nitric acid •, 
 
BiSMUTHI SUBNITRAS. 163 
 
 if lead be present, diluted sulphuric acid gives a white precipitate with 
 the solution in nitric acid. Arsenic, which may sometimes be present, 
 is best detected by Marsh's test. This preparation of bismuth was for- 
 merly known by the names of pearl white and magistery of bismuth. 
 Thallium is also stated to be frequently present in this salt ; and M. 
 Eoussin has frequently found it adulterated with phosphate of lime in 
 the proportion of 28 to 100. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The Trisnitrate of bismuth has a very soothing 
 influence upon irritated mucous surfaces, or when these are in a state 
 of chronic inflammation, and on this account it is very useful in some 
 forms of dyspepsia, chronic gastritis, heartburn, gastrodynia, water- 
 brash, colliquative diarrhea, etc. Also in obstinate affections of the 
 genito -urinary organs, in chronic urethritis, in muco-purulent leucor- 
 rhea, and in urethral injection in gonorrhea. In chronic diarrhea it 
 has been found serviceable in doses of ten or twenty grains every hour 
 or two ; in the diarrhea attending typhus and phthisis, five grains of 
 the Subnitrate combined with three grains, each, of magnesia and gum 
 Arabic, has proved efficacious — the dose to be repeated every four or 
 six hours. It is also very valuable in the dysenteries of hot climates. 
 In a long standing case of chronic gastritis, accompanied with a harass- 
 ing cough, laryngitis, great debility, night-sweats, loss of appetite, loose- 
 ness of the bowels, and a fiery red tongue, the following mixture proved 
 very beneficial j take of fluid extract of oubebs one fluidounce, mucilaga 
 of gum Arabic two fluidounces, lupulin, Subnitrate of Bismuth, each, 
 two drachms and two scruples, essence of lemon one fluidrachm ; mix. 
 The dose was a teaspoonfiil three or four times a day, shaking it thor- 
 oughly each time previous to its exhibition. Bismuth is sometimes 
 added to pills as a tonic. The action of the gases in the bowels causes 
 it to appear black in the stools. The dose of the Subnitrate is from five 
 grains to half a drachm, two or three times a day, in powder, or mixed 
 with mucilage. It has been considered a tonic and antispasmodic, but 
 I doubt whether it possesses any such properties, though it may relieve 
 spasm dependent upon an irritable condition of the mucous lining mem- 
 brane of the stomach and alimentary canal, upon which, as before stated, 
 it appears to exert a sedative influence. When given in overdoses, 
 Subnitrate of Bismuth produces unpleasant symptoms, as pain in the 
 stomach, sickness, emesis, derangement of the bowels, giddiness, insen- 
 sibility, etc., for which the remedies are, albuminous and mucilaginous 
 draughts, milk injections, and warm fomentations. Perhaps dilute 
 nitric acid would also be useful. The long continued use of the subni- 
 trate of bismuth occasions symptoms of scorbutus. The granular, 
 amorphous, hydrated oxide of bismuth must not be used in medicine; 
 it may be known from the Subnitrate by the crystalline character of 
 the latter, under the microscope. 
 
 The subnitrate of bismuth has been found useful as a drying local 
 application in ulcers and diseased mucous tissues with profuse dis- 
 charges, as in leucorrhea, catarrh, gonorrhea, gleet, etc., it may be ap- 
 plied upon the affected parts direct, through a tube, by powder spray, 
 or suspended in water and injected. 
 
 A secret preparation termed Liquor Bismuthi, prepared by Mr. Schacht 
 of England, and sold for some time, has been found useful in certain 
 maladies ; various formula have from time to time been recently given 
 by divers persons, for the preparation of an identical liquid, but most 
 of them have been rather complicated and troublesome. The simplest 
 atd perhaps the best, is that given in the Lond. Pharm. Jour., March, 
 
1^4 Materia Medioa. 
 
 1868, by Mr. C. H. Wood. His process is as follows : Dissolve Citrie 
 Acidtwo and a half ounces in DiBtilledWa.tev four fluidounces (Imp. meas.), 
 arid tti«n add to the solution Crystals of Ternittate of Bismuth nine 
 hundred and ninety-tight Troy grains. These dissolve rapidly, and after a 
 short time a white precipitate begins to form. As soon as the crystals 
 are dissolved add strong Liquor Ammonia two fluidounces (Imp. meas.), 
 (or q. s.), diluted with an equal bulk of Distilled Water; add this gradu- 
 ally, little by little, until the white precipitate is dissolved, and the 
 liquid is neutral. Then, if necessary, filter, and dilute with the Dis- 
 tilled Water to the volume of one pint. The dose of this solution now 
 termed lAquor Bismuthi et Ammonim Gitratis, is a fluidrachm, repeated 
 three times a day, and its use is recommended in painful and irritable 
 'affections of the stomach, no matter what may be the pathological con- 
 dition occasioning them. 
 
 Valerianate of bismuth, a white, amorphous powder, with a strong 
 valerian odor, has been highly recommended in dyspepsia with nervous' 
 irritability, and in neuralgic affections, in doses of feom half a grain to 
 , two grains, repeated three or four times a day. It is made by dissolv 
 lag pure metallic bismuth in nitric acid, saturating any excess of tin: 
 acid with carbonate of soda, and then adding a solution of valerianate 
 of soda to the bismuth solution, as long as any precipitate continues. 
 Collect the powder on a filter, wash and dry it. 
 
 Tannate of Bismuth has proved remarkably efficacious in the treat- 
 ment of both acute and chronic dia,rrhea ; it is a yellowish, insoluble 
 ponder, without taste, and may be given in pills, or suspended in a 
 mucilaginous fluid. It is prepared by treating 44 parts of crystallized 
 nitrate of bismuth with water, at the same time adding a alight excess 
 of caustic soda ; collect the white hydrated precipitate (oxide of bis- 
 muth) on a filter, carefully wash it, and then triturate it in a mortar 
 with 29 parts of pure tannic acid. Dilute the magma with water, throw 
 it upon a filter, wash it, dry it in the air, or at a very moderate heat in 
 a stove, and reduce it to powder. The dose is from thirty to sixty 
 grains. — M. Cap. 
 
 BEATEEA ANTHKLMINTICA. 
 
 Kousso. COBSOO. —Kosso. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eosacese. Sex. /%st— Icosandria Digynia. 
 
 THE FLOWERS. 
 
 description. — This is a tree growing about twenty feet high, with 
 round) rusty, tomentose-villose branches, marked by the annular cica- 
 trices of the fallen leaves. Leaves crowded, alternate, interruptedly 
 imparipinnate, sheathing at the base; leaflets oblong, or ellipticBl-lan- 
 ceolate, acute, serrate, villiMe, at the margin and on the nerves of the 
 under surface. Stipules adnate to the petiole, which is dilated at the 
 base, amplexicaul. Flowers dioecious, small, greenish, becoming purple ; 
 repeatedly diehotomous ; pedicels with an ovate bract at the base. The 
 so-called male flowers may be regarded as hermaphrodite flowers, inas- 
 much as the carpels are well developed. Female flowers somewhat 
 different ifl their structure. Outer Segments of the calyx much more de- 
 veloped than in the female flowers, are four or five times larger than 
 those of the inner row, and placed somewhat below them; the petais 
 are entirely wanting ; the stamina are rudimentary and sterile. Th« 
 ripe fruits are unknown. — Kunth. 
 
Buxus Sempervirens. 165 
 
 History. — This plant was introduced into notice by a pharmacien of 
 Paris, and its properties as an anthelmintic were investigated by the Aca- 
 demy of Medicine, as early as 1847 ; who, with the Academy of Sciences, 
 made a favorable report. It grows in Abyssinia, the flowers being the 
 parts of the plant used; they are reduced to a fine powder, which is 
 brownish, like jalap, bitter, somewhat nauseous, and an odor similar to 
 scammony. The flowers, not powdered, have a somewhat fragrant 
 odor, and a slight taste, which soon becomes nauseous and acrid. The 
 plant is named in honor of Dr.Brayer, who first made its virtues known 
 in Europe. Bruce, in his travels, Vol. VII., appendix, gives a minute 
 description of the plant, and calls it, in testimony of esteem for a friend, 
 "Banksia, Abyssinica." Dr. Kirk, in the appendix to the second vol- 
 ume of the " Highlands of Ethiopia," by Sir W. C. Harris, calls it "Ha- 
 genia Abyssinica," and states "that a cold infusion of the dried fiowers 
 jind capsules, constitutes the famous drasticum purgans and anthelmin- 
 ticum of the Abyssinisins." Wittstein found the flowers to contain 
 gum, wax, bitter acrid resin, sugar, tasteless resin, fatty matter, chloro- 
 phyll, tannin, and lignin. The resin is identical with Koussin. 
 
 A preparation named Koussine has been made by M. Pavesi and M. 
 Vee, according to the following process : Treat Kousso 300 parts with 
 alcohol 100 parts, and hydrate of lime 25 parts, at a temperature of 
 140° to 150" P. Also digest the residue with barley water 600 parts. 
 Mix the solutions thus obtained, filter, and precipitate by means of 
 a,cetic acid. The Koussine is yellow, bitter, non-crystallizable, and in- 
 soluble in alcohol and alkalies. It is very doubtful whether this article 
 is the real active principle. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Purgative and anthelmintic. Used by the Abye- 
 sinians for tapeworm, to which they are very subject, and it is said they 
 will not travel without having some of the Kousso with them. The 
 dose of the flowers in powder is a small handful, or about four drachms 
 and a half, which is to be macerated in about three gills of lukewarm 
 water for fifteen minutes. The infusion, with the powder suspended 
 in it, is taken either in one, two, or three doses, quickly following each 
 other. It is recommended that lemon-juice, or tamarind water, should 
 be taken freely before and after the Kousso. The patient must be pre- 
 pared by low diet for one or two days previously, and by a^ dose of 
 castor-oil, or other purgative, and the Kousso is to be taken on an 
 empty stomach before breakfast. The clear infusion has the color, and 
 a somewhat similar taste, of very weak senna tea. Its operation is 
 safe, speedy and most effectual, rarely causing any annoyance or uneasi- 
 ness, except a slight nausea, and this but seldom ; occasionally enlesis 
 takes place, or diuresis. A gentle cathartic after its operation is also 
 advisable. As far as it has been used, it has not failed to kill and ex- 
 pel the worm. 
 
 BUXUS SBMPEEJVIEENS. (Buchsbaum.) 
 
 Box. 
 
 Nat. Ord.- EuphorbiacesB. Sex. Syst.—KonodGia, Tetrandria. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description.— Bnxus Sempervirens is a small, dense-leaved, hard- 
 wooded, evergreen tree. Leaves ovate, opposite, deep shining, green, 
 becoming red in the autumn, quite smooth and entire, with the cuticle 
 of the underside readily stripping off ; petioles and young branches slightly 
 
166 Materia Medica. 
 
 downy; flowers aggregate, axillary, pale-yellow. Capsule globular, 
 three-horned, tricoccous, six-seeded, bursting elastically. Seeds paral- 
 lel, oblong, slightly compressed, externally rounded. — -L. 
 
 History. — This is an exotic though generally well-known plant, grow- 
 ing on dry chalky hills in Europe, and the west of Asia. One variety 
 of it, the B. Suffruticosa, Dwarf-box, with obovate leaves, and a stem 
 scarcely woody, and which is much esteemed for borders along the 
 walks of gardens, possesses similar medical virtues. It is of very slow 
 growth, a tree eight feet high must be one hundred years old. The wood 
 is yellow, very hard, and much used by wood-engravers for wood-cuts, 
 also for other purposes. The leaves, which are the parts used, are bit- 
 ter and nauseous, and impart their properties to water or alcohol. The 
 bdrk of box-tree was found by M. Faure to contain 0.6 chlorophylle, 
 0.3 buff-colored matter, 1.4 wax, 1.1 azotized tallow, 4.0 resin, 14.1 ex- 
 tractive, 1.1 malate of buxina, 4.4 gum, 67.8 lignin, 5.2 ashes, contain- 
 »ing sulphates of potassa and lime, carbonates of lime and magnesia, 
 phosphate of lime, iron, and silica. 'Buxina was obtained by exhaust- 
 ing the powdered bark with alcohol, evaporating the liquid, dissolving 
 the residue in water, and boiling the solution with ammonia. The 
 precipitate thus obtained was digested in alcohol, which, being evapo- 
 rated, left a dark -brown translucent mass, which is the buxina. It is 
 bitter, causes sneezing, is insoluble in water, slightly so in ether, readily 
 so in alcohol, and is difficult to obtain white, even when treated with 
 animal charcoal. It restores the blue color of litmus, and forms neu- 
 tral salts with acids. ]S"itric acid added to the sulphate of buxina, re- 
 moves a resinous matter and leaves the sulphate of buxina pure ; from 
 this salt, pure buxina may be obtained in crystals. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Cathartic, sudorific, alterative, and anthelmintic. 
 It may be used, in syrup or extract, in all diseases where an alterative 
 is required. In doses of ten or twenty gi-ains of the powdered leaves, 
 it proves an excellent vermifu'ge. The dose of a strong decoction, or 
 syrup, is from half a fluidounce to a fluidounce, three or four times a 
 day. And in combination with the Stillingia and Corydalis, in the form 
 of syrup, it forms a very useful tonic and alterative in syphilis. Ee- 
 puted to possess antispasmodic virtues, and to have been beneficially 
 used in epilepsy, chorea, hysteria, etc., but requires further corrobora- 
 tion. Chips of the wood are said to have the same properties, and have 
 been prescribed in secondary syphilitic diseases, and chronic rheuma- 
 tism. A fetid empyreumatic oil, oleum buxi, was formerly prepared, but 
 the use of which has become superseded by the preparations of Gruaia- 
 cum; it has, however, been successfully used in toothache. Camels who 
 eat the leaves are said to become poisoned. 
 
 CACTUS GEAKDIFLOEUS. 
 Night-blooming Cereus. 
 Nat. Ord. — Cactacese. Sex. Sysf. — Icosandria Monogynia. 
 
 FLOWERS AND STEMS. 
 
 Description. — Cactus G-randiflorus (Cereus G-randiflorus of De Can- 
 dolle), Night-blooming Cereus, also known by the names. Vanilla Cactus, 
 Sweet-scented Cactus, Large-flowered Cactus, is indigenous to Mexico and 
 the West Indies, and also grows in Naples, where it blooms in July. 
 In Mexico it was, at one time, a popular remedy for various diseases, 
 as irritation of the kidneys and bladder, intermittent fever, difficulty in 
 breathing, cough, etc. It is rarely met with in the higher temper- 
 
Cactus G-RANDiFLoaus. 167 
 
 ate latitudes, where it is of difScult culture. It is a creeping, rooting, 
 fleshy shrub; stems cylindrical or prismatic, with about five or six not 
 , very prominent angles, branching, armed with clusters of small spjnes, 
 arranged in radiated forms. Flowers terminal and lateral, from the 
 clusters of spines, very large, eight to twelve inches in diameter, ex- 
 panding at night, enduring for a few hours, exhaling a vanilla-like 
 odor. Petals white, spreading, shorter than the sepals; sepals linear- 
 lanceolate, brown without, yellow within. Fruit, or herry, ovate, cov- 
 ered with scaly tubercles, fleshy, of an orange or fine reddish color; 
 seeds very small, acid. 
 
 History. — Mght-blooming Cereus is a handsome and very showy 
 shrub. Its blossoms commence expanding about 6 or 7 o'clock in the 
 evening, and are fully blown about midnight; but about 3 or 4 o'clock 
 in the morning, they are quite decayed; during its continuance, how- 
 ever, there is scarcely any known flower of greater beauty. The peri- 
 anth, when open, measures nearly a foot in diameter; the outer leaflets 
 are of a dark brown color, the inner ones are of a splendid yellow, 
 gradually shaded, toward the center of the flower, into a pure and bril- 
 liant white. These flowers are delightfully fragrant, and fill the air 
 with odors to a considerable distance. When the flower has withered, 
 the ovary enlarges and becomes pulpy, and forms an acid juicy fruit, 
 having some resemblance to a gooseberry. The plant was introduced 
 to the medical profession by Dr. Seheele, of Germany; but little atten- 
 tion, however, was given to it, until Dr. E. Eubini, a Homoeopathic phy- 
 sician of Naples, brought it into especial notice as a specific in heart 
 diseases. The parts of the plant used in medicine are the flowers and 
 young and tender stems, which should be gathered in July, and be at 
 once made into a tincture. The plant contains a milky, acrid juice. 
 ITo analysis has been made of this plant, nor has it been satisfactorily 
 ascertained whether the plant growing in its natural latitudes has any 
 more powerful action than that cultivated in higher temperate latitudes. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Night-blooming Cereus diminishes the frequency 
 of the pulse, and increases the renal secretion, and is therefore sedative 
 and diuretic. It does not appear to weaken the nervous system in the 
 least. In large doses it produces gastric irritation, and also affects the 
 brain, causing . confusion of mind, hallucination, and slight delirium. 
 It is especially useful in diseases of the heart, in which it exerts a very 
 decided action, palliating or removing the symptoms, and frequently 
 giving prompt relief. This influence upon the heart is manifested 
 whether the disease be functional or organic. In palpitation, angina- 
 pectoris, cardiac neuralgia, rheumatism, or hypertrophy, valvular dis- 
 ease, etc., it is of much benefit, often giving great relief, even in incur- 
 able cases. It has been likewise found serviceable in some cases of 
 hemoptysis, dropsy, and tendency to, or incipient apoplexy. Its use 
 should be associated with iron in anemic cases, with tonics where great 
 debility exists, with anti-scrofulous agents where there is a scrofulous 
 disposition, etc. It has likewise been found usefal in cerebral conges- 
 tion, mental derangements, rheumatism, inflammations of mucous mem- 
 branes, prostatic disease, irritable bladder, renal congestion, oedematous 
 condition of the limbs, dysmenorrhea, chronic bronchitis, etc. Its value 
 in nervous and organic cardiac diseases is well known, but further in- 
 vestigation is required to prove its usefulness in the other maladies re- 
 ferred to above. It appears to be contraindicated in inflammatory af- 
 fections during their acute stages. 
 
 Off. Prep.— Tinctura Cacti. 
 
168 Materia Medica. 
 
 CALEISTDULA OFFICINALIS. (Eingelblume.) 
 
 Garden Mary gold. — Goldblume. 
 
 'Nat. Ord. — Asteraceae. 8ex. Syst. — Syngenesia Necessaria. 
 
 THE LEAVES AND FLOWERS. 
 
 Description.^ — ^^Calendula Officinalis has a fibrous, annual root, with a 
 stem about a foot high, having many patent diehotomous, or sometimes 
 trichotomous branches, striated, green, succulent, hispido-pubescent. 
 Leaves alternate, oblong, acute, mucronate, sessile, somewhat succulent, 
 broad, a little coi;date at the base, the margins quite entire, often scab- 
 rons-ciliate. Flower-heads large, terminal, solitary upon each branch, 
 of a rich, full, golden yellow,, deeper and brighter previous to their full 
 expansion. Involucre of many nearly equal, appressed, linear-subulate, 
 pilose-hispid leaves or scales, not one-third so long as the radiant florets, 
 the apices a little recurved. Achenia carinate, muricate, incurved. Cor- 
 ollas of the ray ligulate, female tridentate, broadly linear, lower tubular 
 portion hairy. Ovary singularly boat-shaped,. curved like a horse-shoe, 
 large, green, downy within, having a thickened margin, more or less 
 tuberculated on the back, Florets of the center all tubular, small, male, 
 and consequently sterile; mouth five-cleft, base hairy. Abortive ovaries 
 cylindrical, downy, green. Receptacle dotted. — L. — W- 
 
 History. — This is a common garden herb, with a feeble, aromatic, not 
 very unpleasant smell, and a salty, austere, rather disagreeable taste. 
 The leaves and flowers are generally used, and impart their active prop- 
 erties to alcohol or boiling water. Calendulin is obtained by digesting 
 the flowers and leaves of marygold in alcohol, and then evaporating the 
 solution to the consistence of an extract. This must first be digested 
 in ether, which dissolves a substance analogous to wax, and afterward 
 in water. The mucilaginous substance which remains is the calendulin. 
 It is, when dried, yellowish, translucent, and brittle; it swells up and 
 forms mucilage with water; it dissolves in hot water, but assumes the 
 form of jelly on cooling. It is insoluble in the diluted acids, alkaline 
 carbonates, lime, ether, and the fixed and volatile oils, and soluble in 
 concentrated acetic acid, dilute solutions of the caustic alkalies, and in 
 absolute alcohol. It is not precipitated by infusion of nut-galls. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Slightly stimulant and diaphoretic. Used for 
 similar purposes with saffron, but less active. Has been reputed use- 
 ful in spasmodic affections, strumous maladies, icterus, suppressed 
 menstruation, typhoid febrile conditions, cancer, etc. Used in infu- 
 sion, or in the form of extract, from four to six grains, three or four 
 •fiimesa day; also .applied locally to cancerous and other ulcers. Prob- 
 ably overestimated. Dr. Wm. J. Clary, of Monroeville, Ohio, writes 
 me as follows, in relation to this plant: "As a local remedy, after sur- 
 gical operations, it has no equal in the Materia Medica. Its forte is its 
 influence on lacerated wounds, without regard to the general health of 
 the patient or the weather. If applied constantly, gangrene will not 
 follow, and I might say there will be but little, if any danger of teta- 
 nus. When ajpplied to a wound, it is seldom that any suppuration fol- 
 lows, the wound healing by replacement or first intention. It has been 
 tested by several practitioners, and by one, is used after every surgical 
 operation with the happiest effect. You need not fear to use it in 
 wounds, and I would not be without it for a hundred times its cost. It 
 is to be made into a saturated tincture with whisky diluted with one- 
 third its quantity of water ; lint is saturated with this, applied to the 
 parts, and renewed as often as it becomes dry." 
 
Calx. 169 
 
 CALLITEICHB VBENA. (Fruhlings Wasserstern.) 
 
 Water-Starwort. 
 Nat. Ord. — Callitrichacese. Sex. Syst. — Monandria Digynia. 
 
 THE HEKB. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also known by the name Water -chickweed, ia 
 a small aqua/tic annual herb, which floats upon the water, its stem being 
 a foot or two in length, and composed of two tubes, simple or branched.. 
 Leaves opposite, three-nerved, upper ones oblong-spatulate, two at each 
 node, crowded above into a star-like tuft upon the surface of the water, 
 lower ones becoming gradually narrower, the lowesli quite liaear, ob- 
 tuse or emarginate. Flowers very minute, white, axillary, solitary, or 
 in .pairs, often monoecious; anthers little exserted, yellow; styles con- 
 stantly erect, fruit nut-like, indehiscent, one-celled, four-seeded; seeds 
 peltate, albuminous. — W. 
 
 History. — This plant is common to the United States, growing in shal- 
 low streams and muddy places, and flowering from April to September. 
 The whole plant is used ; it yields its properties to water, or alcohol. 
 There are several varieties, as G. autumnalis, G. terrestris, G. heterophylla, 
 all of which possess similar medicinal virtues. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This plant is a very valuable diuretic, and has 
 been found advantageous in some afi'ections of the kidneys and bladder, 
 dropsy, and gonorrhea. A decoction of it may be drank freely, accord- 
 ing to its diuretic influence. In dropsy a tincture made with spirits is 
 preferred. The plant deserves more attention than it has heretofore 
 received. 
 
 CALX. (Kalk.) 
 Lime. 
 
 Preparation. — Lime does not exist in the pure or caustic state in na- 
 ture, but is procured by heating a natural Carbonate of Lime, by which 
 process its carbonic acid is set free, while the lime is left in the residue. 
 It is found purest in limestone, chalk, marble, and the shells of oysters- 
 That procured from the last two is quite pure, and e^specially suited for 
 delicate investigations in the chemical laboratory. The Edinburgh 
 College orders White Marble, broken into small fragments, to be heated 
 "in a covered crucible at a full red heat for three. hours, or till the re- 
 siduum, when slaked and suspended in water, no longer effervesces on 
 the addition of Muriatic Acid." After the lime has become cool, it 
 should be at once secured in well-closed vessels, to prevent it from ab- 
 sorbing carbonic acid from the atmosphere, which it does very speedily. 
 
 Sistory. — Lime, when pure, is a white or grayish solid, moderately 
 hard, but easily reduced to powder, and having a speciflc gravity of 
 about 3.08. It has a hot, burning, alkaline taste, in some measure 
 corrodes and destroys animal tissues, reacts powerfully on vegetable 
 colors as an alkali, and is difficult of fusion, requiring the oxyhydro- 
 gen flame to both fuse and volatilize it. In contact with the atmos- 
 phere, it attracts water and carbonic acid, and is converted into a hy- 
 drated carbonate. A pint of water at 32° P., dissolves 13.25 grains 
 of Lime; at 212° F., it dissolves only 6.7 grains. The dense fluid, 
 termed Milk of Lime, is slaked-lime suspended in lime-water. "When 
 water is added to lime, this swells up, cracks, and becomes reduced to 
 powder, with the evolu tion of a considerable degree of heat ; in this 
 
170 Materia Medica. 
 
 state it is called slaked-lime (calx extincta) or the hydrate of lime (cal- 
 nis hydras), milk of lime. It is white, pulverulent, much less caustic 
 than lime, and is principally used for preparing chlorinated lime. 
 
 In 1808, Pavy showed that lirae was an oxide of calcium Ca = 28, 
 or 350, consisting of one atom of calcium, Ca==20 or 250, and one of 
 oxygen, = 8. Lime is soluble in hydrochloric acid without efferves- 
 cence, and the solution gives no precipitate with ammonia. Lime- 
 water reddens yellow turmeric paper; turns infusion of red cabbage 
 green; is rendered milky on the addition of carbonic acid; forms a 
 white precipitate with oxalic acid or an oxalate; and gives no precipi- 
 tate with sulphuric acid. "It enters very readily into coinbination with 
 all the acids, sulphur and phosphorus ; and decomposes the alkaline 
 carbonates, phosphates, ftuates, borates, oxalates, tartrates and citrates ; 
 the ammonical acetates, muriates, and succinates, the sulphates of alu- 
 mina and magnesia, the metallic salts, spirituous liquors, and astringent 
 substances." — Coxe. Consequently the above are incompatibles. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — For its internal employment, see Aqua Calais. 
 Externally it is a powerful escharotic. Potassa cum Calce, a powerful 
 caustic, for cauterizing the neck of the uterus, or other parts, and also 
 known as Vienna poijoder or paste, is made by reducing caustic potassa 
 one ounce and a half, and quicklime two ounces, each separately, to 
 powder in a heated mortar ; then mix them carefully and rapidly, and 
 keep the mixture in a wide-mouthed bottle with a ground stopper. In 
 using this caustic, the powder must be moistened with a little alcohol, 
 so as to reduce it to a soft paste, which is to be applied to the part to 
 be cauterized. In this case the potassa only acts upon a circumscribed 
 portion of skin, instead of spreading, as common caustic potassa gen- 
 erally does ; but to bound the space still more accurately, it may be sur- 
 rounded by a ring of diachylon plaster; vinegar will neutralize its 
 action. This caustic is sometimes made with equal parts of the two 
 articles forming it. It is also prepared in sticks. Dr. Filhos has pre- 
 pared a caustic of the same agents, which is more easily used ; it is 
 called the Caustic of Filhos. It is made by fusing together six ounces 
 of caustic potassa, and three ounces of quicklime ; the mixture is poured 
 into leaden cylinders inclosed in glass tubes, and which are to be 
 sealed afterward at each end. London Paste, also used as a caustic for 
 destroying abnormal growths, is made by making a pasty mass with 
 equal parts of caustic soda and upslaked lime, and a suflQlcient 
 ^ quantity of absolute alcohol; it should not be allowed to remain in 
 contact with the parts more than five or six seconds. It has been 
 especially recommended for the removal of enlarged tonsils. Bisulphite 
 of lime is a disinfectant and antiseptic, and is employed to prevent 
 fermentation in cider, wine, etc. As an antiseptic it is useful for a 
 number of pharmaceutical preparations, anatomical specimens, and 
 ' animal tissues of various kinds. 
 
 In cases where diaphoresis is desirable,, without disturbing the patient, 
 it may be effected as follows : Take a piece of Lime about the size of a 
 Sicily orange, wrap around it a wet rag, but not too wet. Around 
 this wrap several thicknesses of dry muslin or cloth. Place one thus 
 prepared on each side of the patient, and by both thighs ; it will soon 
 induce copious perspiration. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Aqua Calois; Liquor Calcis; Potassa cum Calce. 
 
Camphoea. 17J 
 
 CAMPHOEA. (Kampfer.) 
 
 Camphor. 
 
 Nat. Ord.r— LiiuracesB. Sex. Syst. — Bnneandria Monogynia. 
 
 Description. — ^Laurus Oamphora is a large tree witii lax, smooth 
 branches. Leaves evergreen, alternate, on long, slender, smooth peti- 
 oles, somewhat coriaceous, oval, acuminate, attenuate at the base, 
 bright-green and shining above, paler beneath, triple-nerved, with a 
 sunken gland at the axils of the principal veins, projecting at the upper 
 side, opening by an oval pore beneath. Flowers sm.a\\, smooth, yellow- 
 ish-white, in axillary, and terminal, naked corymbose panicles. Leaf- 
 buds scaly. Fertile stamens nine in three rows; inner with two, com- 
 pressed, stalked glands at the base; anthers four-celled; outer turned 
 inward; inner outward. Three sterile stamens placed in a whorl alter- 
 nating with the stamens of the second row; three others stalked, with 
 an ovate glandular head. Fruit placed on the obconical base of the 
 calyx. — L. 
 
 History. — Camphor is obtained from the Laurus Camphora of Lin- 
 nseus, or Camphor OfScinarum of Nees, which, in the crude state is 
 imported into this country, principally from Canton, where it under- 
 goes purification by sublimation, before it is in a state adapted to med- 
 ical use. The Camphor-tree inhabits the Eastern and warmer latitudes of 
 Asia. It is an aromatic tree, all parts of it yielding the odor of Camphor. 
 Camphor is obtained in Japan by cutting the wood, roots, etc., of the 
 tree in small pieces, boiling them in water, in large iron stills, fitted 
 with earthen heads, containing straw cones. The water is kept tioiling 
 for about forty -eight hours, the Camphor sublimes and concretes upon 
 the straw in the head, in the form of a gray powder. The Chinese 
 pursue a different process ; they steep the chopped branches in water, 
 then boil it, continuing the ebullition until a stick placed in the fluid 
 will, when cooled, be covered with the Camphor. The liquor is then 
 strained, and by cooling, the Camphor solidifies. This is then placed 
 alternately in layers, with powdered dry earth, in a copper vessel, 
 over which another one is placed; and the Camphor being sublimed 
 by heat attaches itself to the upper inverted vessel. It is of a dirty 
 grayish color, and is known as impure or crude Camphor. 
 
 The Camphors are closely related to the different varieties of turpen- 
 tine. Two species are known in the East, viz. : Borneo Camphor, Cjo Hi^ 
 O2, obtained from a very large tree, the Bryobaldnops Camphora, which 
 is so highly prized by the natives that it rarely finds its way to our 
 markets; and the Laurel Camphor, G^ Hie Oj, froi^ ^^^ Laurus Cam- 
 phora, and which is the ordinary Camphor of commerce. Many other 
 plants furnish Camphor by oxidation of their essential oil, as Lavender, 
 Eosemary, Marjoram, Pennyroyal, Camphor, Peppermint, Feverfew, 
 etc. Amber, and the oils of Valerian, Sage and Tansy, also yield it 
 when treated with nitric acid. Dr. W. A. Miller states that "three 
 isomeric modifications of Camphor are known ; they can not be dis- 
 tinguished from each other, except by their action upon a ray of polar- 
 ized light; one of the varieties produces rotation of the ray to the 
 right ; the second variety produces left-handed rotation ; whilst the 
 third has no sensible effect upon a polarized ray. The common Cam- 
 phor of the shops, and that obtained by the action of nitric acid upon 
 borneene, is the right handed modification. The Camphor contained 
 
172 Materia Medica. 
 
 in the oil of Matricaria partheniuni exerts a left-handed rotary aotiot 
 upon a. ray of polarized light (Chautard) ; whilst, according to Biot, 
 the Camphor deposited by oil of Lavender is destitute of any such 
 rotary effect upon a polarized ray." 
 
 Camphor is very white, pellucid, somewhat unctuous to the touch, 
 brittle, yet tough and elastic, so as to be scarcely pulverizable ; shining 
 in its fracture, and crystalline in its texture ; of a bitterish, aromatic, 
 pungent taste^ yet accompanied with a sense of coolness; of a strong 
 and very penetrating smell; very volatile, burning entirely away, 
 with a white smoky flame, without leaving any coal or ashes. — jEd. It 
 can not be pulverized alone, but is easily so by the aid of a few drops 
 of alcohol. It slowly volatilizes when exposed to the air, and is soluble 
 in alcohol, ether, fixed and volatile oils, chloroform, acetpne, sulphuret 
 of carbon, and acetic, nitric, and sulphuric acids. It requires about 
 1000 parts of water for solution; sugar, magnesia, carbonic acid or 
 spirit of nitrous ether renders it more soluble in water. Nitric acid 
 converts it into Camphoric Acid and Oil of Camphor ; sulphuric, into 
 artificial tannin and charcoal. Eesins and fats, when heated with it, 
 unite in all proportions. By the application of polarized light, the 
 smallest portion of natural camphor may be distinguished from the 
 artificial Camphor (Hydrochlorate of Camphene). If small fragments 
 of each be placed separately on glass slides, and a drop of alcohol added 
 to each, they dissolve, and speedily recrystallize. If the crystallization 
 of the natural Camphor is watched by means of the microscope and 
 polarized light, a most beautiful display of colored crystals is seen, 
 while with the artificial Camphor nothing of the kind is witnessed. 
 ' Camphor is lighter than water, and keeps up a constant rotary motion 
 when small pieces are placed on that fluid. It volatilizes at ordinary 
 temperatures, has the specific gravity 0.985 to 0.996, melts at 347°, and 
 boils at 400°. Dumas has suggested that Camphor may be regarded as 
 the oxide of a hypothetical base, Gamphogene, and whose composition 
 is Cio Hg, or C20 Hig. Camphor is found in many vegetables in small 
 quantity ; it is camphene, or pure oil of turpentine, with two equiva- 
 lents of oxygen G^ Hi^ O2; Camphoric Acid is camphene with eight 
 equivalents of oxygen ; and artificial Camphor, or hydrochlorate of 
 camphene, is camphene saturated with one equivalent of hydrochloric 
 acid. With bromine. Camphor fbrms garnet-red crystals, C^o Hjs 
 O, +Br. 
 
 Camphoric Acid, formed by heating camphor with ten times its weight 
 of concentrated nitric acid, has the formula Hj Cjo H14 Og. It crystal- 
 lizes in acicular prismatic needles, which are sparingly soluble in water, 
 but freely dissolved by alcohol, ether, or the essential oils, have a sour 
 taste, no odor, are dibasic, fuse at 158° P., and may be rendered anhy- 
 drous by sublimation. There are three isomeric modifications of it, 
 determined by their action upon a ray of polarized light. 
 
 Borneo Camphor contains two atoms more of hydrogen than common 
 camphor. It requires a heat of 388° P. to melt it, is less volatile, but 
 denser and harder than ordinary camphor; it boils at 413° P. Its 
 taste, smell, solubility, and general appearance, are like those of com- 
 mon camphor, and it exerts a more feeble right-handed rotary action 
 upon polarized light. It crystallizes in small, transparent, regular, 
 Xiolorless, six-sided prisms, and is converted into ordinary camphor 
 when gently heated with nitric acid of moderate strength, which causes 
 a loss of two atoms of its hydrogen. It is naturally associated with au 
 
Camphora. 173 
 
 oil (Cjo Hie) termed borneene, which ia identical with oil of turpentine, 
 and which is removed by distillation in order to obtain the camphor 
 free from it. 
 
 Dryobalanop's Camphor is a little heavier than water and falls to the 
 bottom, while the Laurel variety floats ; it does not possess the gyra- 
 tory movements of the Laurel Camphor; has generally a tabular form; 
 an ambreous odor, and is usually accompanied with foreign substances, 
 among which are amorphous resin, neither acid nor volatile, but which| 
 when heated, gives out an odor of colophony. 
 
 •When camphor is triturated with dragon's blood, guaiacum, gal- 
 banum, or asafetida, the mixture preserves the pilular consistence in- 
 definitely. "With benzoin, tolu, mastic, and ammoniac, the mixture 
 becomes soft when exposed to the air. With olibanum, gamboge, 
 euphorbium, amber, and myrrh, the mixture remains pulverulent, 
 though grumous. Asafetida, galbanum, sagapenum, tolu, dragon's 
 blood, olibanum, mastic, benzoin, tacamahac, guaiacum, and ammo- 
 niac, destroy to a greater or less extent the odor of Camphor.-^ilf. 
 Planche. When a small portion of natural camphor is dissolved in a 
 few drops of alcohol on a glass slide, and this is allowed to evaporate, 
 the crystals formed exhibit handsome colors when viewed under the 
 microscope by the aid of polarized light; this is not the case if the 
 camphor be artificial. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In large doses Camphor is a narcotic and irri- 
 tant; in small ones, sedative, anodyne, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, and 
 anthelmintic. It exerts an influence on the brain and nervous sys- 
 tem, is an excitant to the vascular system, and irritates mucous tissues 
 which are in proximity with it. It is used to allay nervous excite- 
 ment, subdue pain, arrest spasm, and sometimes to induce sleep. In 
 the delirium, watchfulness, tremors, and starting of the tendons in 
 typhoid conditions, it is of much utility as a nervo -stimulant. In in- 
 flammatory affections, as remittent and intermittent fevers, acute rheu- 
 matism, etc., it acts beneficially as a diaphoretic and sedative; and is 
 also valuable in gout, neuralgia, dysmenorrhea, after-pains, puerperal 
 convulsions, and painful diseases of the urinary organs, acting as a 
 sedative, anodyne, and antispasmodic. It is often advantageously 
 combined with opium in chordee, and hysteric nymphomania, and all 
 irritaliions of the sexual organs. It relieves the strangury caused by 
 the use of cantharides. By some physicians it is said to act as aa 
 aphrodisiac, exciting the reproductive organs, causing considerable 
 heat in the urethra, arid nocturnal emissions ; others, again, use it as 
 an antaphrodisiac, and to diminish urino-genital irritation. It is said 
 to be an antidote to poisoning by strychnia. An oleaginous injection 
 of Camphor in the early stage of gonorrhea, often allays urethral irri- 
 tation, as well as the tenesmus caused by thread-worms, flux, etc., 
 when injected into the rectum. It enters into many embrocations and 
 liniments for rheumatic, neuralgic, and deep-seated pains, cynanche 
 tonsillaris, contusions from blows, sprains, chilblains, chronic cuta- 
 neous diseases, and as a stimulant for indolent and gangrenous ulcers. 
 It has been found beneficial in asthma and spasmodic cough ; and the 
 powder may be used as a snuff for the relief of nervous headache, and 
 catarrh in its commencing stage. The best form of using an aqueous 
 solution of this agent is the Aqua Camphorse. The administration of 
 opium will best neutralize the evil effects of an overdose of Camphor. 
 Dose of the powder, one to ten grains. When given in the solid 
 
174 Materia Medica. 
 
 form, it 18 capable of producing ulceration of the gastric mucous mem. 
 brane.* 
 
 Off. Prep. — Aqua Camphorse; Bmplastrum Plumbi Compositum; 
 Bmplastrum Resinse Compositum ; Bmplastrum Calefaoiens ; Linimen- 
 tum Camphori Compositum ; Linimentum Saponis Camphoratum ; 
 Linimentum Olei Compositum ; Linimentum Capsici Compositum ; 
 Linimentum Opii ; Mistura Camphorse Composita ; Mistura CopaibsB 
 Composita ; Pulvis Ipecacuanhse at Opii ; Pilulae Camphorse Compositse ; 
 Pulvis Camphors Compositus ;, Tinctura Camphorse ; Tinctura Cam- 
 phorse Composita ; Tinctura Serpentarise Composita ; Tinctura Opii 
 Acetata ; TJnguentum Plumbi Compositum. 
 
 CANBLLA ALBA. (Weisser Zimmt.) 
 
 Canella — Weisse Kaneelrinde. 
 
 Nat. Or<Z;— Meliacese or Canellese. Sex. Syst. — Dodecandria Monogynia. 
 
 BARK. 
 
 Description. — Canella Alba is a straight tree from twenty to fifty feet 
 high, with erect branches at the summit only. Barh yellowish-white ; 
 inner bark thick, smooth, pale, with a biting, aromatic taste. Leaves 
 scattered, shining, yellowish-green, obovate, cuneate at base, dotted 
 when young, opaque when old, petioled. Flowers terminal, small, in 
 clusters, purple; petals concave, erect, thick, deciduous. Berry the size 
 of a pea, fleshy, smooth, blue or black, hot and biting while green ; 
 seeds generally two. Stamens combined in a tube ; anthers fifteen, re- 
 sembling furrows ; stigmas three.— i. 
 
 History. — This is a South American tree; the bark is of a pale yellow- 
 ish-white color, occurring in quills or hard twisted pieces, with an 
 acrid, peppery taste, an aromatic clove-like odor, and a short, white 
 granular ft-acture. Alcohol extracts its properties, the tincture being 
 of a yellow color, and becoming white when water is added. It pul- 
 verizes readily, yielding a powder of a pale yellow color. When dis- 
 tilled with water an essential oil may be had, of a dark' yellowish 
 color, having a powerful aroma and intense acridity ; a pound of the 
 bark yields about a drachm of oil. Analysis has discovered in it an 
 oil lighter than water, an oil heavier than water, gum, starch, canellin, 
 bitter extractive, resin, albumen, and various saline substances. — P. — 
 C.—T. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Canella bark is an aromatic stimulant and 
 tonic, useful in enfeebled conditions of the stomach and alimentary 
 canal. It is generally used in conjunction with other tonics. It is 
 employed in the West Indies as a spice, and has been advised in scurvy. 
 Some smokers add this bark to their smoking-tobacco to remove the 
 unpleasant odor from the tobacco, and to impart a degree of fragrance 
 to their smoking-rooms. 
 
 « SasvaU's Mm Sedative is made as follows ; three strengths being Indicated: 
 
 No. 1. No. 2. No. S. 
 
 Take of Solution of Ammonia (22°) 60 parts. 80 parts. 100 parts. 
 
 Tincture of Camphor, 10 " 10 " 10 " 
 
 Common Salt, 60 " 60 " 60 " 
 
 Water, 1000 " iOOO " 1000 " 
 
 Dissolve the Common Salt In the Water, then mix the Camphor and Ammonia together, 
 and add them to the Saline solution. It is employed in hemicrania, cerebral congestion, 
 and rheumatic affections, and is applied by compresses to the affected part ; and when 
 near the eyes, care should be taken to protect them. No. 1 is for persons whose skins are 
 easily irritated, No. 2- for allaying the pain from stings of insects, and No. 3 for persons 
 having a hard and callous skin. 
 
(;ani<abi=i Sativa. 175 
 
 CANNA. (Canna.) 
 Canna Starch. 
 
 History. — Canna Starch, also known by the name of " Tmis les Mois," 
 is obtained from a West Indian plant, supposed to be the Canna Edulis 
 (Bssbare Canna) of ^er, the tubes or roots of which are rasped, and 
 then subjected to the ordinary methods of washing, straining, deean- 
 tation of the supernatant fluid, and drying of. the deposited Starch. 
 Canna Starch is imported from St. Kitts, and is an excellent arrow ■ 
 root. It looks more like potato^tarch than any other amylaceoiis 
 substance, has a satiny or glistening exterior, and its particles are 
 large, varying in length from the 150th to the 400th of an inch. Bx- 
 .amined by the compound microscope, they are oval or oblong, generally 
 more or less ovate, have a very distinct nucleus or hilum, and fine, 
 regular, uniform, concentric rings. The circular hilum is usually placed 
 &i the narrow extremity, and is very rarely double. The hilum and 
 the body of the particle are frequently cracked. Tons les Mois con- 
 tains about 16.74 per cent, of hygroscopic water, is very soluble in 
 boiling water, and yields a very tenacious jelly when boiled in this 
 fluid.— P. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Canna Starch forms a salutary and agreeable 
 article of diet for invalids and children, and appears to be easily di- 
 gested. It may be boiled the same as arrow-root, and used in the same 
 cases. By many it is preferred to any other kind of arrow -root. 
 
 CAJOTABIS SATIVA. (Gebauter Hanf.) 
 
 Hemp. — Manf. 
 
 Bat. Ord. — Urticacese or Cannabinacese. Sex. /Si/st— Dioecia Pentandria. 
 
 THE DRIED TOPS AND RESIN. 
 
 Description. — Cannabis Sativa is a, herbaceous annual, growing about 
 three feet high, covered with a very fine, rough pubescence, scarcely 
 visible to the naked eye. Stem erect, branched, bright-green, angular. 
 Leaves alternate or opposite, on long, lax petioles, digitate, scabrous, with 
 linear-lanceolate, sharply -serrated leaflets, tapering into a long, smooth, 
 entire point; stipules subulate. Flowers in axillary clusters, with subu- 
 late bracts; males lax and drooping, branched and leafless at the base; 
 females erect, simple, and leafy at the base. Calyx of male, downy; of 
 female, covered with short brownish glands. Achenium ovate, one- 
 seeded; seeds roundish-ovate,. slightly flattened, one or two lines long, 
 without odor, of a sweetish, oleaginous unpleasant taste, glossy, and 
 grayish. — Jj. 
 
 Sistory.—Rem^ (Cannabis Indica), is indigenous to Persia and north- 
 ern India, and is cultivated in many other countries. The Hemp of ^ 
 this country is identical with the Eastern plant in its botanical charae-' 
 ters, but differs somewhat from it in its physical qualities, the Indui 
 plant being more powerful in its eflbcts on the system, and which is 
 probably owing to the influence of climate, cultivation, etc., or perhaps, 
 from the absence of some ethereal ingredient. In the Eastern countries 
 an infdsion of hemp is much employed as an intoxicating drink and 
 for smoking. The alcoholic or resinous extract is the form employed 
 in medicine ; it is prepared from the dried flowers and incipient fruit,_with 
 the smaller branches of the plant, and which is termed Ghinjah. This ex- 
 tract is prepared by the Messrs. Smith of Edinburgh, as follows : " Digest 
 
176 Materia jVIedioa. 
 
 bruised Gunjah in successive quantities of warm Water, till the ex- 
 pressed water comes away colorless ; and again for two days, at a mod- 
 erate heat in a solution of Carbonate of Soda, in the proportion of one 
 part of the salt to two of G-unjah. Coloring matter, chlorophylle, and 
 inert concrete oil being thus removed, express and wash the residuum, 
 dry it, and exhaust it by percolation with rectified spirit. Agitate with 
 the tincture, Milk of Lime containing an ounce of lime for every pound 
 of Gunjah, and, after .filtration, throw down the excess of lime by a 
 little Sulphuric Acid. Agitate with the filtered liquor a little Animal 
 Charcoal, which is afterward to be removed by filtration. Distill off 
 most of the spirit, add to the residual tincture twice its weight of Water,, 
 in a porcelain basin, and let the remaining spirit evaporate gradually. 
 Lastly, wash the resin with fresh water till it comes away neither acid 
 nor bitter, and dry the resin in thin layers." This resinous extract 
 contains the taste and odor of the Gunjah, and its activity is not im- 
 paired when exposed in air for eight hours to a temperature of 
 180° F. 100 pounds of dry Gunjah yield about six or seven pounds 
 of this extract. — P. It is of a dark, dull-green color, a peculiar nar- 
 cotic, somewhat fragrant odor, and a hot, somewhat bitter and acrid 
 taste. It is soluble in strong alcohol, chloroform, ether, oil of turpen- 
 tine, olive-oil, and partially in benzole jits terebinthine solution deposits 
 minute scaly crystals on standing. It may be determined from the 
 extract of common hemp, by the following tests : resinous extract of 
 Indian hemp only partially dissolves in liquor potassa, while that of 
 common hemp dissolves readily ; nitric acid, sp. gr. 1.38, converts the 
 former with red fumes and rapid reaction into an orange-red resinoid 
 substance, amounting in quantity to nearly the same amount as the 
 resin under treatment, while the extract of common hemp gives but a 
 small amount of resinoid. — Trof. W. Procter. The concrete resinous ex- 
 udation of the plant is known in India by the name of Ghurrus. The 
 leaves and capsules without the stalks, are termed Bang. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — India Hemp is an anodyne, hypnotic, antispas- 
 modic; and phrenic, producing sleep even where morphia has failed, 
 and without impairing the appetite, repressing the secretions, or caus- 
 ing constipation like opium and its preparations ; it frequipntly allays 
 paiin, and has been found of great benefit in hysteria, chorea, and 
 other nervous affections. Its effects upon the system vary under different 
 conditions, thus, it lessens pain, checks spasmodic action, improves the 
 appetite, causes sleep, exhilaration of spirits, and in increased doses, 
 inebriation with phantasms, catalepsy, illusory delirium, and strong 
 aphrodisia. Administered to healthy persons, in large doses it creates 
 more or less disturbance in the digestive tract, affects the nervous sys- 
 tem with convulsive movements and sudden shocks, causes congestion 
 of the brain, confused ideas, exalted imagination with frequently 
 changing pictures, torpor, and sleep; the cerebral symptoms being 
 more constant, while the others vary to a great extent, sometimes nothing 
 occurring but a few confused ideas followed by sleep. The long-con- 
 tinued use of this article induces prostration, dropsy, sudden attacks 
 of dangerous mania, and occasionally catalepsy. Medicinally, in small 
 doses its effects are less intense than those of opium, and the excre- 
 tions are not so much suppressed by it; it does not disturb digestion,^ 
 rather increases the appetite, seldom induces sickness of the stomach, 
 never causes congestion, and disturbs the expectoration far less than 
 opium, also effects the nervous system much less, and produces a more 
 natural sleep without interfering with the actions of the internal or- 
 
Cantharis Vesicatoria. 177 
 
 gang. It has been effacacious in delirium tremens, wakefulness in 
 fevers, neuralgia, gout, rheumatism, infantile convulsions, low mental 
 conditions, insanity, etc., and in inflammatory conditions in cases where 
 opium disagrees, and is often preferrable to opium. Its internal use will 
 likewise occasion dilatation of the pupil; and is said in many cases 
 to increase the strength of the uterine contractions during parturition, 
 without the unpleasant consequences of ergot, and for which purpose 
 it should be used in the form of tincture, thirty drops in sweetened 
 water or mucilage, as often as required. In menorrhagia, the tincture 
 in doses of five or ten drops, three or four times a day, has checked 
 the discharge in 24 or 48 hours,. The concentrated tincture is useful 
 in gonorrhea, chronic irritation of the bladder, and in senile catarrh 
 with harassing cough and profuse mucous expectoration, in chronic 
 cystitis with painful micturition, and in painfdl urinary affections gen- 
 erally. The tincture is made by dissolving twenty-four grains of the 
 resinous extract in a fluidounce of -rectified spirit; for ordinary pur- 
 poses, its dose is from ten .to thirty drops. The extract varies in 
 strength, which will require a variation in the doses ; when well pre- 
 pared, the dose is from half a grain to a grain ; but this may vary 
 from a grain to twenty grains depending entirely on the quality of the 
 article. From one-fourth of a grain to two grains, rubbed up with 
 half an ounce, each, of glycerin and distilled water, and the clear fluid 
 inhaled in the form of spray, has afforded relief in the painful cough 
 of consumptives. Externally, the resin may be applied endermically 
 or in embrocation with oils, ointments, chloroform, etc., in inflamma- 
 tory and neuralgic affections. It may also be used in injections. Very 
 large doses have produced symptoms of a fearful character. — P. — G. 
 The effects from large doses are best combatted by vegetable acids, 
 coffee, emetics, cold applications and leeches to the temples. The fol- 
 lowing is said to be a certain cure for gonorrhea : take, while in blos- 
 som, equal parts- of the tops of the male and female Hemp, Gdnnahis 
 Sativa, bruise them in a mortar, and express the juice, to this add an 
 equal portion of Alcohol. Dose, from one to three drops every two or 
 three hours. The green plant collected in the spring, and two or three 
 twigs placed in or between beds, will, it is asserted, certainly and 
 effectually cause bedbugs to remove from the room in which they are 
 used. Hemp seed in infusion has been found very useftil in after pains, 
 and in the bearing down sensation accompanying prolapsus uteri. 
 
 CANTHAEIS VBSICATOEIA. (Spanische Pliegen.) 
 Cantharides. 
 The Spanish-fly belongs to Glass Insecta, Order Coleoptera. 
 
 Gen. Ch.—Antennnce elongate, simple, filiform; maxillary palpi with 
 terminal joint somewhat ovate ; head large, heart-shaped ; thorax small, 
 rather quadrate, narrower than the elytra, which are as long as the ab- 
 domen, soft, linear, the apex slightly gaping; wings, two, ample.— J. F. 
 
 Stephens. , , ^ i- j • i 
 
 Description.— The Spanish-fly is of an elongated almost cylindrical 
 form, from six to eleven lines in length and one or two lines m breadth. 
 It has a nauseous, unpleasant odor, a grass or copper-green cotor, with 
 numerous whitish-gray hairs on its body and thorax. Mead large, sub- 
 cordate ; eyes lateral, dark brown; thorax not larger than the head, nar- 
 rowed at the base; elytra or wing-cw)ers from four to six lines long, and 
 12 
 
178 Materia Medica. 
 
 ft'om'three-fourths to one and a half lines broad ; costa slightly margined; 
 mngs two, tips folded ; legs stout, from four to six lines loug, the binder 
 ones longest ; abdomen soft, broadest in the female. In the female, near 
 the anus, are two articulated caudal appendages. — P. 
 
 Sistory. — There are a number of insects inhabiting various sections 
 of the world which possess acrid properties, and which, when applied 
 to the skin, produce vesication ; the most common in use are those under 
 present consideration, Spanish- iPlies, or Cantharides, the Canthuris Vesi- 
 catoria of Latrielle, Meloe Vesicatorius of Linnaeus, or IJytta Vesicatoria, 
 and Cantharis officinalis of other naturalists. At what period they 
 were introduced into the practice of medicine is a matter of uncertainty. 
 The $panish-fly is a native of Europe, and is imported into this country 
 from Messina and St. Petersburg. Those from Eussia are the best, and 
 may be known by being larger than the French or English varieties, 
 and more copper-colored. This insect may be distinguished from other 
 analogous ones, by presenting two shining green wing-covers, which 
 cover two membranous wings, ample, thin, veined, transparent, pale- 
 brown; black, jointed antennae, and a longitudinal furrow along the 
 head and chest. The Spanish-fly inhabits the earth in the form of larva, 
 and comes forth in the state of fly in the month of May, infesting various 
 trees. It is found on the elder, rose, plum, willow, poplar and elm, but 
 tnore especially on the privet, lila;c, ash, and honeysuckle. They are 
 caught during the month of May, either early in the morning, or late 
 at night, when the cold renders them less active ; to undertake their 
 removal in the daytime would be aserious measure. Those who gather 
 them cover their &ces, and guard their hands with gloves, then shake 
 tiiem from the bushes over sheets, and kill them immediately by im- 
 mersion in vinegar, or by exposure to the vapor of vinegar, spirit, or 
 oil of turpentine. They are then quickly dried in the sun, or with arti- 
 ficial heat. The Spanish -fly is found more abundantly in the Southern 
 parts of Europe. — 0. Their smell is strong, virose, Very disagreeable, and 
 compared to that of mice ; their taste is acrid, burning, and urinous. — ^d. 
 
 In the dried state the flies may be known by the preceding description 
 as to color, form, odor, and taste ; they are easily reduced to a dirty, gray- 
 ish-brown powder, dotted with numerous brilliant green points. These 
 points consist of the elytra, head, etc., and do not readily decompose, even 
 when mixed with -decaying animal matters. Orfila has recognized these 
 particles in a body nine months after interment. The vesicating prop- 
 erty of' the flies may be preserved for many years, if they are kept 
 from moisture in well-stoppered bottles, powdering them only as re- 
 quired. If purchased in tpo'wder they m&y have lost their activity, or 
 suffered from adulteration with euphorbium, capsicum, or with some 
 other insects. To preserve them from insects, various means have been 
 advised, as the introdiiction of a few lumps of camphor into the vessel 
 containing them, or the addition of cai*bonate of ammonia, or a few drops 
 of strong acetic acid. Exposing them for half an hour In glass bottles, 
 to the heat of boiling water/, destroys the insects and eggs, without im- 
 parting the virtues of the flies ; of course they must not be allowed to 
 come in contact with the water. The properties of the fly are much 
 diminished by the itasects which feed upon them. 
 
 Caatharides powder yields its active properties to boiling water, ace- 
 tic acid, alcohol, proof-spirit, ether, the fixed and volatile oils. The 
 active principle is a wMte, crystalline substance, termed Cantharidin. 
 It is ill smalli white, pearly prisms, which are neutral, insoluble in water 
 and cold lalcohol, but soluble in ether, benzole, chloroform, alkaline so- 
 
Cantharis Vesicatoria. 179 
 
 'utioflfi, acetic acid, the oils, and in boili'ng alcohol which deposits it 
 upon cooling, and insoluble in siQphuret of carbon ; it fuses at 210*, 
 volatilizes at a higher heat without decomposition, and evaporates slowly 
 at atmospheric temperatures. It is said to exist principally in the trunk 
 and soft parts of the body, and may be obtained by exhausting pow- 
 dered Cantharides with cold rectified spirit, by percolation, concentrat- 
 ing the tincture till most of the alcohol is expelled, and allowing the 
 residue to rest for a longtime until crystals form. It may be'freed from 
 impurities by elutriation with a little cold rectified spirit, which scarcely 
 acts on crystallized cantharidin ; and it may be obtained quite pure by 
 re-dissolving them in boiling rectified spirit, adding animal charcoal, 
 and re-crystallizing them by rest and cooling. Ether is, however, pre- 
 ferred to alcohol in preparing these crystals, as it dissolves less of the 
 green oil, which is very diflBcult to separate. The composition of can- 
 tharidin is carbon 61.68 per cent., hydrogen 6.04, and oxygen 32.28, or 
 CioHsOi. It may likewise be prepared by macerating, at three differ- 
 ent times, very finely bruised cantharides, for 24 hours, in a sufficient 
 quantity of chloroform, and then removing this by distillation. The 
 green, thick residue is then treated by sulphuret of carbon Which dis- 
 solves the fatty matter. Throw the whole on a filter. Which retains the 
 crystallized cantharidin, which may be purified by several solutions in 
 chloroform. — W. Procter. — A. Fumouze. — M. Mortreux. M. Pumouze 
 does not consider cantharidin to be the active vesicating principle of 
 the flies; some cantharides eight or ten years old, from which he could 
 obtain no appreciable amount of cantharidin, nevertheless, produced 
 prompt vesication when applied to the skin. 
 
 Cantharides contain cantharidin, a, green oil soluble in alcohol, black 
 matter soluble in water, insoluble in alcohol, a fatty matter insoluble in 
 alcohol, a yellow viscid substance soluble in water and Siloohol,.yellow mat- 
 ter soluble in ether and alcohol, free acetic and uric acids, phosphates of 
 lime and magnesia, etc. — P. Although cantharidin is insoluble in water 
 and cold alcohol, yet the decoction and tincture of Cantharides possess 
 the active properties of the insect, which is owing to the presence of the 
 yellow matter combined with it. The best menstruum for Cantharidess 
 is chloroform, or ether, which dissolves only the active constituents. 
 Cantharides in powder or tincture is sometimes used criminally for 
 aphrodisiac purposes, and is administered to the female victim in coffee, 
 chocolate, brandy -punch, wine, porter, ale, etc. If any particle of the 
 flies is present, the microscope will detect it ; otherwise, the only re- 
 source left is to ascertain whether cantharidin is present in the suspected 
 liquid. According to C. E. G. Tichborne, Esq., this may be accomplished 
 by the following process : To half a pint of the suspected fluid add one 
 fluidounce of chloroform (or in like proportions with smaller quanti- 
 tiw), and allow it to stand twenty -four hours, frequently agitating; 
 then allow the mixture to subside, carefully separate the chloroform 
 with a funnel, and filter it through bibulous,paper ; evaporate the chloro- 
 formic solution, spontaneously, in a watch glass, to dryness. A small 
 pellet of lint about half the size of a pea, made loose by teasing out tbe 
 fibers, and moistened with a dropof olive-oil, is.g>ently rubbed over the 
 suface of the watch-glass so as to mop off the whole of the film of ex- 
 tractive matter, then applied upon the arm, covered with a piece of 
 gold beater's skin, and allow to remain upon the arm for three or four 
 hours. Then remove the lint, wipe off the surfs^ee of the arm uponwhich 
 it had been applied, with chloroform, and, if the suspected fluid con- 
 tained cantharides, rubefaction and vesication will be observed. By 
 
180 Materia Medica. 
 
 this process, one grain of cantharides equal to about j^g^ths of a grain 
 of cantharidin, may be detected in solution. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In large doses, narcotic and irritant ; in medi- 
 cinal doses, stimulant and diuretic. In large doses, its use is dangerous, 
 being attended often by violent inflammation of the alimentary canal 
 and urinary organs, strangury, irritation of the sexual organs, in the fe- 
 male, abortion; also, headache, delirium, convulsions, and coma. Twen- 
 ty -four. grains of the powder or one ounce of the tincture have produced 
 alarming symptoms. There is no known antidote to its poisonous af- 
 fects, which must be treated on general principles. Medicinally, they are 
 sometimes given in chronic gonorrhea, gleet, leucorrhea, seminal weak- 
 ness, paralysis and chronic inflammation of the bladder. They have 
 also been reputed useful in the anasarcous swellings succeeding scarla- 
 tina, diabetes, scaly cutaneous eruptions,- chronic eczema, incontinence 
 ' of urine, amenorrhea, etc. Thirty drops of solution of potassa, given 
 every hour, is said to be an effectual remedy in cantharidal strangury. 
 Dose, of powdered cantharides, half a grain to two grains. (See Tine- 
 tura Ga.ntharidis.') The smallest dose of the tincture of cantharides 
 which has been known to destroy life was one ounce, equal to six grains 
 of powdered cantharides. 
 
 Externally, Cantharides cause redness, vesication, suppuration or 
 sloughing, according to the length of contact with the integuments. 
 Their most general use is to produce vesication. Blisters are sometimes 
 beneficial in tic-doloreux, sciatica, local chronic inflammations, diseases 
 of the brain, chest and abdomen, to excite the languid action of vessels, 
 in recession of exanthematous affections, and to rouse from general de- 
 fective sensibility, as in typhoid fever. In their application to children, 
 much care should be observed, especially in typhoid conditions, exan- 
 thema, and where a tendency to sloughing exists. A piece of white 
 paper soaked with the Cantharidin, which is greenish and liquid, laid on 
 the part, and covered with a compress, and confined by means of a band- 
 age, will vesicate in three or four hours. A vesicating oil has been rec- 
 ommended by B. Dupuy, prepared as follows : To one part of pulver- 
 ized Cantharides add in a close vessel, a mixture of chloroform and 
 castor-oil, of each, by weight, one and a half parts ; after some hours, 
 transfer the ingredients to a glass apparatus, and displace the liquid in 
 the usual way; it will amount to about two-thirds of the original bulk 
 of the liquid employed. A few drops of -this vesicating oil applied to 
 the arm of an adult will produce a perfect blister in about eight hours. 
 It is easy of application on any surface, holds the vesicating agent free 
 from the disagreeable concomitants of the ordinary fly -blister, and re- , 
 tains the Cantharides in a soluble state. Its action will probably be 
 favored by the use of oil-silk over the application of it to the skin. 
 
 Off. Trep. — ^Tinctura Oantharidis ; Bmplastrum Cantharidis. 
 
 CANTHAEIS YITTATA. 
 
 Potato Fly. Kartoffel Fliege. 
 
 Description. — ^The Potato Fly is common to this country, being found 
 principally below 39° N. latitude ; it appears in July and August, and 
 feeds upon the potato plant. Some seasons the Fly exists in great num- 
 bers. It resembles the Spanish-fly, though somewhat smaller, generally 
 not exceeding half an inch in length. " Head very light red, with black 
 antennae ; elytra or wing-cases black, margined with pale yellow, and 
 
Caoutchouc. Igj 
 
 4, stripe of the same color extends along the middle of them ; tarsi have 
 
 five articulations; mouth armed with jaws, and furnished with tarsi." 
 
 Goxe. Its abdomen is ash -colored, and in its cavity is a hard, white 
 substance, about the size of a grain of wheat, which, when powdered 
 appears like meal, and forms a milky emulsion with water. The Fly 
 inhabits the soils at the foot of the plant, ascending the vine in the 
 morning and afternoon, but avoiding the heat of the sun at noon. As 
 they fly with great difficulty, they are easily caught, and are prepared 
 for medicinal purposes, by shaking them from the plant into hot water, 
 and afterward drying them by the sun's rays. — Coxe. 
 
 History. — The Potato Fly, though not so much employed as the Span- 
 ish-fly, is an excellent substitute for it ; indeed, its effects are found to 
 take place more promptly than with the foreign insect, which is prob- 
 ably due to its more recent state. 
 
 There are several other species of blistering fly in the United States, 
 which are probably not at all inferior to cantharides, as the Gantharis 
 Ginerea, 0. Atrata, and C. Marginata, etc. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These insects may be used in all cases as sub- 
 stitutes for the Spanish-fly, as the property they all possess of blister- 
 ing the skin, when in contact with it, is duo to the same constituent. 
 The doses will also be the same. 
 
 CAOUTCHOUC. (Kautschuk.) 
 Gum Elastic. India-Eubber. Federharz. 
 Nat. Ord. — Euphorbiacese. Urticaceae. Sex. Syst. — Moncecia Syn- 
 genegia. 
 
 THE GUM. 
 
 Description. — The tree (Ficus Masticd) from which Caoutchouc is 
 obtained has a trunk from two feet to two and a half in diameter, and 
 from forty to sixty feet high. Leaves alternate, approximated, three- 
 foliate, articulated at the top of a long slender stalk, convex below, 
 furrowed above, swelled at its base ; leaflets smooth, oval, acute, green 
 above, cinereous beneath. Flowers monoecious. Galyx five-cleft. Fruit 
 oblong, greenish, three-cornered, broadest at base, tricoccous, each coc- 
 cus opening with two valves. Seed ovate, brownish variegated with 
 black, with a thin, brittle testa, and a sweet, nut-like, pleasant kernel. 
 
 Sistory. — Caoutchouc, xG^o Ha, is the coagulated or inspissated juice 
 of several tropical trees, the principal ones of which are the Ficus 
 Elastica and the Heuea Ghiianensis, also known by several other names. 
 A great quantity of white, tenacious juice flows from the branches 
 when wounded, and inspissates into an excellent Caoutchouc. — i. 
 This is dried on molds of clay, and comes to us in various shapes. 
 According to M. Weddell, Caoutchouc is obtained principally from the 
 Mcus Elastica of the East Indies, also the Urceola Elastica of Borneo and 
 Sumatra, and the Siphonia Elastica, or Syringe-Tree of the Brazils. 
 This latter tree generally averages sixty-five or sixty-seven feet in 
 height, with a diameter varying from thirty to forty inches, and fre- 
 quently reaching forty or fifty feet before a single branch is given off. 
 In collecting it, the natives fasten around the base of the tree, by 
 means of clay, a small, swallow-nest-shaped, glazed dish ; then, by 
 means of a hatchet, sever the bark immediately above this, and the 
 milky sap immediately exudes, and is collected in the dish below. 
 Twenty trees yield, daily, about two pints, continuing this amount for 
 some mnriths. " The most favorable period for extracting it is from 
 
182 Materia Medica. 
 
 April to November, during dry weather; and the trees have to be 
 wottndfed afresh every day. Some allow it to coagulate in a small 
 square box, but which requires several days with subsequent slicing 
 and' pressure, to remove air and water ; and some form it into bottles, 
 tubes, etc., by dipping a mold of clay, fastened to the end of a stick, 
 itttc the fresh juice, and immediately afterward holding it in a thick 
 smoke, produced by the combustion of oleaginous seedsj to dry. When 
 the first layer has properly solidified, it is dipped again, and so con- 
 tinued until a sufficient thickness has been obtained. The smoke 
 coagulates the milk, and exposure for some time to the sun hardens it. 
 A small quantity of alum accelerates the coagula.tion of the milk, while 
 ammonia has a contrary effect, and is useful when the milk is required 
 to be ke;pt some time in a liquid state. Caoutchouc is black when co- 
 agulated by smoke, but when pure it is in thin, transparent layers, of a 
 pa,le-yellow color, destitute both of taste and smell ; at 60° P., very 
 elastic and adhesive, with the specific gravity 0.9335 ; at 32° F., it is 
 hafd and non-elastic; at 248°, it melts, and, on cooling, remains in a 
 semi-fluid, adhesive state, undergoing but very little change for years, 
 if protected from the action of light, but when exposed to the action of 
 diffused daylight, in the air, it gradually absorbs oxygen, and becomes 
 converted into an inelastic viscid mass, soluble in alcohol. — T. W. A. 
 Miller. 
 
 It is insoluble in water, alcohol, dilute acids, or alkalies, softens and 
 swells up by long boiling in water, but resumes its former state on 
 exposure to the air, and is soluble in pure ether, chloroform, most 
 fixed- and volatile oils, coal naphtha, and bisulphuret of carbon. The 
 best solvent of Caoutchouc is a mixture composed of six parts of alco- 
 hol and ninety-four of sulphuret of carbon. Its solutions in ether, oil 
 of turpentine, and coal-tar naphtha, when dried up, leave the gum in 
 an elastic state, and on this principle water-proof cloth is made ; the 
 same is said to be the case with its solution in the oils of lavender 
 sassafras and cajuput. The fixed oils in dissolving it destroy its elas- 
 ticity. TJnder exposure to heat, . Caoutchouc first melts, and then .dis- 
 tils, yielding a mixture of several oily liquids, all of which, as well as 
 pure Caoutchouc itself, are carbo-hydrogens. Atmospheric air, ammo- 
 nia, sulpburic and muriatic acid exert no influence upon Caoutchouc. 
 .According to Faraday, Caoutchouc consists of 87.27 parts of carbon, 
 "and 12.73 of hydrogen.— T. 
 
 Caoutchoucine C^ Hi^, is said to be the lightest fluid known, and yet 
 its vapor is denser than the heaviest of the gases. It is prepared by 
 cutting India-rubber into small pieces containing about two cubic 
 inches each, placing them into a cast-iron still, connected with a well- 
 cooled worm-tub, or any flat vessel with a large evaporating surface, 
 the entire top of which can be removed for the purpose of cleaning it 
 out. Seat is to be applied in the usual way, until the thermometer 
 ranges at about 600° F., when as it progresses upward to this tempera- 
 ture, a dark-colored oil or liquid is distilled over. When the ther- 
 mometer reaches 600° or thereabout, nothing is left in the still but 
 dirt and charcoal. This oil is to be rectified, and thereby obtaining 
 fluids varying in specific gravity, the lightest of which has not been 
 under .670. At each rectification, the color becomes brighter and 
 paler, until at about specific gravity .680 it is colorless and highly vola- 
 tile. It must be rectified with one-third its weight of water. To en- 
 able the dirt to be removed from the bottom of the still with greater 
 ease, throw in common solder to the depth of about half an inch ; 
 
CAOtTTCHOTJC. 183 
 
 when this becomes fused the dirt is easily taken off. The disagreeable, 
 smell of this liquid may b^ removed by shaking it up with nitro- 
 murlatic acid, in the proportion of four fluidounces of the acid to one. 
 gallon of the liquid. JJixed with alcohol, caoutchoucine dissolves all 
 the resins, especially copal and India-rubber, at the common tempera- 
 ture of the atmosphere, and it speedily evaporates, leaving tlaem again 
 in the solid state. It mixes with oils in all proportions. It isromises 
 to be a very valuable article for the solution of resins in the manufac- 
 ture of varnishes, and for liquefying oil-paints with, instead of turpen- 
 tine. Being very volatile it requires to be kept in close vessels. 
 
 When Caoutchouc in sheet-form is immersed in a bath of fused sul- 
 phur, heated to 250° F., it gradually takes up from 12 to 15 per cent, 
 of its weight of sulphur, but without undergoing any change in its 
 chemical or physical properties ; but if it be heated for a few minutes 
 to about 302° P., it produces the elastic vulcanized India-rubber. The 
 same vulcanized condition can also be produced either by kneading the 
 India-rubber with sulphur, and then exposing it to the necessary tem- 
 perature ; or by dissolving the India-rubber in any knT)wn solvent, as 
 turpentine, previously charged with sulphur. It may also be effected 
 by immersing very thin sheets of caoutchouc in a solution of one paut 
 of chloride of sulphur in sixty parts of bisulphuret of carbon ; then^ 
 simple exposure to the air, causes it to take the character of vulcanized 
 caoutchouc without the aid of heat. Thus treated, Caoutchouc remains 
 elastic at all temperatures ; in its ordinary state it is quite rigid at a 
 temperatuj?e of 40' ; it is not affected by heat short of the vulcanizing 
 point, and acquires extraordinary powers of resisting compression. A 
 cannon ball was broken to pieces by being driven through a mass of 
 Yulcanized Caoutchouc, which exhibited no other trace of its passage 
 than a scarcely perceptible rent. This article may be used for various 
 useful purposes, as springs for locks, ornaments, bottles for volatile 
 fluids, as a covering to protect wires from corrosion, on sea or on land, 
 life-boats, etc. Vulcanized Caoutchouc does not readily undergo solu- 
 tion io naphtha or turpentine; the sulphur gradually destroys its elas- 
 ticity, rendering it brittle and rotten. 
 
 If the vulcanized rubber be exposed to a still higher temperature, 
 300° to 350° F., it assumes a carbonized appearance, becomes black, 
 hard and Hke horn, and is termed vulcanite or ebonite, and may be used 
 for most purposes to which horn is fitted. However, it is, very im- 
 proper to be connected with silver or gold articles, as the action of the 
 sulphur upon them keeps them more or less congtantly tarnished. 
 Vulcanite becomes negatively electric by frictwii, is one of the best 
 insulators of electricity known, and appea,rs to resist the action of 
 nearly all solvents, 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Caoutchouc is employed for ^ number of pur- 
 poses, as, rubbing out the writing made by l©aid.!peacil8 ; as a cement 
 or lute by chemists and others, being first fu^ed ; for forming tubes of 
 various kinds for surgical and other purposes ; and it also enters largely 
 into the prepamtion of water-pxoof cloth. Indeed, its peculiar charac- 
 ter has reudered it useful in various and numerous ways in the arts, 
 sciences, aijd for domestic purposes. Softened by heat, it has been 
 applied over small bleeding orifices to check further hemorrhage ; also 
 to arrest toothache, by placing some of it in the abnormal cavity so as 
 to protect the dental nerve from atmospheric actiow. E;xter.nally it has 
 been used as an ii\gredient of adhesive plasters and liniments. A graim 
 ' or two has been administered in consumption, repeating it three tiHiea 
 
184 Materia Medioa. 
 
 a day; but its results have not been such as to bring ^t into general 
 use ; it is seldom or never employed internally. Caoutchouc dissolved 
 in oil of origanum or cajuput, and spread upon oil-silk or cloth, and 
 allowed to dry, forms an excellent stimulating plaster for many local 
 diflSculties. 
 
 Marine glue or cement is made by digesting from two to four parts 
 of Caoutchouc, cut into small pieces, in thirty -four parts of coal tar 
 naphtha, promoting solution by the application of heat, and by agita- 
 tion. To the solution when formed, and which will have the consist- 
 ence of thick cream, add sixty-two or sixty-four parts of powdered 
 shell-lac, and heat the mixture over the fire, constantly stirring it, 
 until complete fusion and combination has been effected. Pour the 
 mixture while still hot on plates of metal, so that it may cool in thin 
 sheets like leather. In using the cement, put some of it into an iron 
 vessel, and heat it to about 248° P., and apply it with a brush to the 
 surfaces to be joined. 
 
 Marine glue is much used as a cement in the preparation of cells on 
 glass slides, etc., for miscroseopic purposes. An improvement upon the 
 above formula is, to dissolve one pound of Caoutchouc in four gallons 
 of coal-tar naphtha, and then mix one pint of the solution with two 
 pounds of shell-lac, to which some add a drachm or two of Canada bal- 
 sam. The French also prepare an excellent cement for those instances 
 where water, weak spirit, creosote, or naphtha, are the preservative 
 liquids. It is made by placing some common India-rubber in an 
 earthen pipkin over a fire, stirring the whole 'frequently, until it has 
 become a liquid mass. Then throw in small quantities of powdered 
 lime at a time, stirring the mixture well until it becomes thoroughly 
 incorporated; continuing the addition of lime until the mass becomes 
 very thick and tenacious. A fine rich brown color, may now be given 
 to it by the addition of a little Yenetian red or vermilion. The pro- 
 cess, being an offensive one, should be performed out of doors, and care 
 should be taken that the mixture does not take fire, which would spoil 
 it. All that is necessary is to roll a small piece of this out between the 
 hands, and lay it all around the top of the jar or cell; by pressing it 
 gently with the thumb and finger, it adheres firmly to the glass. The 
 vulcanized India-rubber is extensively employed in the formation of 
 the tubes and bellows-bulbs of the various spray instruments now in 
 use among physicians. 
 
 CAPSICUM ANNUUM. (Beisbeere.) 
 
 Cayenne Pepper. — Cayenne Pfeffer. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Solanacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 FRUIT. 
 
 Description. — This is an annual plant, of a dark-green color, almost 
 smooth, and growing one or two feet high. Stems herbaceous, angular, 
 furrowed, branched. Leaves ovate or oblong, acuminate, entire, on long 
 petioles, sometimes hairy on the veins underneath. Flowers white, soli- 
 tary, axillary, pendulous, with dark-colored oblong anthers; calyx angu- 
 lar, erect, persistent, with five short acute lobes; corolla hypogynous, 
 rotate, five-lobed; corolla-tubes very short; lobes, spreading. Stamens 
 five ; ovaries ovate; style filiform ; stigma blunt. Fruit of various forms^ 
 round, oblong, cordate, or horned, and either scarlet or yellow pods, 
 smooth, shining, two-celled, containing numerous flat, dry, reniform, 
 very acrid seeds. — 1/. 
 
Capsicum Annuum. 18S 
 
 Sistory.— There are several species of Capsicum, as the G. Annuum, 
 C. Frutescens, d Baeeatum, C. Minimum, etc. They are natives of the 
 Bast and West Indies, and of most hot climates throughout the globe. 
 Several species are cultivated in the United States, flowering from June 
 to September, and maturing their fruit in the latter part of autumn. A 
 very good variety is found indigenous in Texas. They all agree in pro- 
 ducing a shining vesicular berry of a greenish, yellowish, cherry -red, or 
 most generally scarlet color, consisting of a thin, fleshy, inflated, biloc- 
 ular, or trilocular capsule, and many small, flat, reniform seeds. The 
 Bird Pepper, 0. Minimum, is usually deemed the best; the C. Annuum, 
 and 0. Baeeatum are the most extensively used. All the varieties of 
 Capsicum have a faint, characteristic odor, and an extremely hot, acri- 
 monious taste, which in some is so intense that the smallest fragment 
 when chewe(J will excite a sensation of intolerable burning in the mouth. 
 This acridity is imparted to hot water, ether, spirit, vinegar, and fixed 
 oils. _ Powdered Cayenne Pepper, of good quality, is of a bright color, 
 varying from a beautiful red to a brown or yellow, which is considera- 
 bly discolored by the action of light. The color will assist much in 
 judging the quality of the article. Its active constituent is called Cap- 
 siein. It is obtained by making an alcoholic extract of capsicum, and 
 then digesting this in ether, filtering and evaporating the ethereal solu- 
 tion. It is a thick liquid, of a yellowish-red, or reddish-brown color, of 
 an overpowering acrid taste, volatilizes at a moderate elevation of temper- 
 ature, and disengages so acrid a vapor, that half a grain will cause every 
 person in a large room to cough and sneeze violently. "Water and vine- 
 gar slightly dissolve it, but ether, oil of turpentine, alcohol, chloroform, 
 and the caustic alkalies readily dissolve it. With baryta it forms a 
 solid, acrid combination. When long exposed to the air and light, it 
 becomes hard. Chlorine whitens it. — P. — T. According to an analysis 
 recently made by P. Victor Heydenreich, Capsicum consists of extrac- 
 tive with gum, a reddish-brown oil, a yellowish-brown oil or soft resin, 
 a peculiar fatty substance, albumen, pectin, a peculiar gum, starch, 
 coloring matter, carbonate and phosphate of potassa, chloride of potas- 
 sium, sulphate and carbonate of lime, sesquioxide of iron, alum, and 
 magnesia. He considers that the capsicin of Braconnot consists of 
 the two oils with the fatty substance, and that the true capsicin consists 
 of the two oils without the fatty matter. — Am. Jour. Pharm., Vol. XXX. 
 {third series), p. 296. When quite pure, capsicin maybe crystallized; 
 it forms crystallizable salts with acetic, nitric, or sulphuric acid. — W. A. 
 Miller. 
 
 Capsicum is sometimes adulterated with cantharides (which may 
 probably be an accidental adulteration), pulverized woods or barks, red 
 ochre, and minium. This last may be discovered, by steeping the cap- 
 sicum in nitric acid diluted with water, then adding sulphate of soda to 
 the filtered solution, which gives a white deposit, if the metallic oxide is 
 contained in it. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Capsicum is a pure, energetic, permanent stimu- 
 lant, producing in large doses vomiting, purging, pains in the stomach 
 and bowels, heat and inflammation of the stomach, giddiness, a species 
 of intoxication, and an enfeebled condition of the nervous power. The 
 infusion is much used in colds, catarrh, hoarseness, etc. In dyspepsia, 
 it stimulates the nerves of the stomach, promotes the secretion of the 
 digestive juices, and assists peristaltic motion. It forms an excellent 
 addition to quinia in intermittents, where there is a deficiency of gas- 
 tric susceptibility. It has been also used in spasmodic affections, pass- 
 
186 Materia Mepioa. 
 
 iye Lemprrhages, especially uterine, and, when combined with the com- 
 pound powder of ipecacuanha, will, in many instances, arrest hemor- 
 rhage after parturition promptly. It has been used successfully in Asi- 
 atic cholera. A preparation made by adding half an ounce of powdered 
 Capsicum, and two drachms of salt, to half apint, each, of vinegar, water, 
 has been found, an excellent anti-emetic, in all cases of vomiting or 
 nausea. To be given in tablespoonful doses, as often as required. It 
 has received the name of Anti-emetic drops. Capsicum may be used 
 wherever a pure stimulant is indicated, in all cases of diminished vital 
 action, and may be combined beneficially with other remedies, in order 
 to promote their action, as emetics, cathartics, diaphoretics, tonics, etc. 
 Dose of the powder, from one to six grains ; of the tincture, from half 
 a fluidrachm to one fluidrachm. 
 
 Externally, the infusion and tincture have been found valuable as a 
 stimulant gargle in the ulcerated throat of bcarlatina, or in chronic 
 cynanche tonsillaris ; also as a counter-irritant, as an application to in- 
 dolent ulcers, in chronic ophthalmia, and in chronic or indolent ulcera- 
 tion of the cornea. It enters into various tinctures and liniments. The 
 concentrated tincture of Capsicum has been highly recommended in the 
 treatment of chilblains and toothache. In the former a piece of spo.nge 
 or flannel must be saturated with it, and rubbed well over the seat of 
 the chilblain, until a strong tingling and electrical feeling is produced. 
 This application should be continued daily, until the disease is removed; 
 relief wiU be experienced on the very first application, and frequently 
 there will be a total removal of the disease after the second or third 
 aj)plicati6n. This, however, will depend upon the severity of the case. 
 This medicine possesses an extraordinary power in removing congestion 
 by its action upon the nerves and circulation ; if the skin is not broken, 
 it neVer causes excoriation by rubbing with it. For toothache, place a 
 drop or two of the tincture on cotton, and apply it to the affected part; 
 the relief will be immediate. Tinctura Capsici Concentrata, is prepared 
 by macerating four ounces of capsicum in twelve fliuidounces of rectified 
 spirit for seven days^ — then filter. 
 
 The Mhereal Oil of Capsicum, prepared by the evaporation of a satu- 
 rated ethereal tincture of the pods, is sometimes used as a rubefacient. 
 It is of a brilliant yellowish color, with a peculiar odor and aromatic 
 taste, and filled with crystals of solid fatty oil of curious dendroid forms. 
 
 Ojf. Frep. — Emplastrum Calefaciens ; Linimentum Olei Compositum ; 
 Linimentum Camphori Compositum; Linimentum Capsici Coijipositum; 
 Pulvis LobelisB Compositus ; Pilulse Camphorse Compositae ; Piluls9 Yal- 
 lerianae Compositae; Tinctura Capsici; Tinctura Lobelise et Capsici; 
 Tinctura MyrrhsB Composita; Tinctura Camphorse Composita; Tinc- 
 tura Viburni Composita; Yinum Hydrastis Composituni. 
 
 CAEBO ANIMALIS. (Thierkohle.) 
 Animal Charcoal. 
 
 OHAEOOAL OBTAINED FROM BONES — BONE-BLACK, IVORT-BLAOK. 
 
 Preparation. — When bones, or indeed any animal substances, are ex- 
 posed to a red heat in covered iron vessels, or retorts,, until they cease 
 to emit any vapor, the result is animal charcoal. J3.o»e Spirit, an am- 
 moniacal fluid, is also obtained by this process of destructive distillation, 
 from the vapor which passes over. The Animal Charcoal or bone-black 
 
Caebo Animalis. 187 
 
 thus obtained is impure, and although serviceable for many purposes 
 in pharmacy and the arts, yet it will be found unfit for others unless 
 purified. The impurities it contains are phospate iand carbonate of lime, 
 carburet, and siliciuret of iron, and sulphurets of iron and calcium. To 
 purify it, one pound of finely powdered Ivory -black is gradually mixed 
 with a pint and a half of diluted hydrochloric acid (consisting of equal 
 parts of hydrochloric acid and water), stirring it occasionally; it is 
 then to be digested with a gentle heat for two days, agitating fi-om 
 time to time. Then boil, digest with two pints of water; collect the 
 undissolved charcoal on a filter of linen or calico, and wash it with 
 distilled water till what passes through gives scarcely any precipitate 
 with carbonate of soda (nitrate of silver. — British Pharm). Dry the 
 charcoal by a moderate heat, and then heat to redness in a covered cru- 
 cible. The digestion in the dilute acid dissolves or decomposes all the 
 calcareous compounds as well as sulphuret of iron, with the disengage- 
 ment of much carbonic acid and some sulphuretted hydrogen ; the resi- 
 duum, after having been thoroughly washed, contains charcoal with a 
 small proportion of carburet and silica. The charcoal is now thoroughly 
 dried, at first by a moderate heat, and then at a low red heat; because its 
 decolorizing power which was destroyed in the previous steps of its puri- 
 fication, is only restored after the action of a pretty strong heat. — C. 
 
 Sistory. — Animal Charcoal, thus purified, is a tasteless, insoluble, rather 
 coarse powder, of a dark brownish-black color. It somewhat resem- 
 bles vegetable charcoal, but is more dense, and less combustible. Upon 
 long exposure to the atmosphere it absorbs moisture, and loses its decol- 
 orizing properties, for which it is chiefly employed. The nature of its 
 decolorizing action is not well understood, though supposed to be owing 
 to its peculiar porous texture. It not only removes the coloring prin- 
 ciple of vegetable infusions and tinctures, but is likewise capable of 
 taking up their bitter principles, and when purified, takes iodine from 
 solutions containing it, takes numerous salts from their watery solu- 
 tions, and changes chromate of potassa into the carbonate. When care- 
 lessly purified, Animal Charcoal may contain phosphate and carbonate 
 of lime; these impurities may be detected by eifervescence with muri- 
 atic acid, and the precipitation of phosphate of lime from the solution by 
 ammonia, or of carbonate of lime by sesquicarbonate of ammonia. 
 Incineration is recommended as a preferable test of purity ; well puri- 
 fied Animal Charcoal does not leave above a 200th of spongy ash when 
 treated in this way. H. Leplay and J. Cusinier have given a method 
 of restoring, by easy and speedy methods, the absorbing properties 
 that Animal Charcoal loses by use. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 1862, p. 551, from 
 Ghem. Nms, 1862. 
 
 Properties and Uses'. — Its principal uses are, to decolorize various 
 organic matters, as strychnia, cinchonia, etc., to purify syrups, and to 
 remove from spirit prepared from ^rain, its grain or fusel oil. It has 
 likewise been highly extolled as an internal remedy, in doses of half a 
 grain to three grains, twice a day, in scrofulous and cancerous affections, 
 goitre, obstinate chronic glandular indurations, etc. N'ot used in this 
 country medicinally. Like vegetable charcoal, it destroys the odor of 
 putrid animal matter. Dr. A. B. Garrod, in a paper read before the 
 Medical Society of London, Nov. 17th, 1846, recommends purified Ani- 
 mal Charcoal in cases of poisoning by opium, strychnia, aconite, bella- 
 donna, stramonium, tobacco, hemlock, arsenic, etc. First remove as. 
 much of the poison as possible by means of the stomach-pump, or 
 emetics combined with the antidote, and then give a large quantity of 
 
188 Materia Medica. 
 
 the purified Animal Charcoal diffused in warm water; a vegetable 
 emetic must not be used, as the charcoal would destroy its emetic prop- 
 erty. He considers this agent equal, if not superior, to the hydrated 
 sesquioxide of iron as an antidote to arsenious acid. According to M. 
 Lebourdais, Animal Charcoal may be used for the purpose of procuring 
 many of the active constituents of vegetable medicines. (See London 
 Pharm. Jour., 1851, p. 447.) 
 
 CAEBO LIGNI. (Holzkohle.) 
 Charcoal. 
 
 Preparation. — Wood or Vegetable Charcoal for pharmaceutical or 
 other purposes, is made by forming a conical -shaped pile of logs of wood 
 not more than six feet long, and six inches thick, covering it with a 
 compact earthy layer in such a way as to exclude the approach of 
 atmospheric air, and leaving several orifices below, and one above. It 
 is then fired from below, and when combustion has taken place and the 
 whole pile ignited, the various orifices are closed so as to limit the 
 draught as much as possible without extinguishing the flame. By this 
 process the hydrogen and oxygen of the wood are dispersed, while its 
 carbon is left, being a charred wood, or Charcoal. From 16 to 19 per 
 cent, of Charcoal is obtained by this process ; but if the wood be char- 
 red in iron vessels, or retorts, from 20 to 24 per cent, of Charcoal is 
 oht&m&^.— P.— a— T.— Ed. 
 
 For medical purposes, Charcoal thus prepared is not pure enough for 
 internal use, as all the woody evaporable matters are not entirely dis- 
 sipated. It may be purified according to Lowitz, by placing fine com- 
 mon Charcoal in a crucible, and when filled, cementing on a cover con- 
 taining several orifices. This is to be exposed to a red heat, which 
 must be continued as long as flame of a blue color emerges from the 
 orifices of the cover, and when this has stopped remove from the fire, 
 and when cold place the Charcoal as soon as possible in glass vessels, 
 which must be kept well closed. The best Charcoal for medicinal pur- 
 poses is that which is properly prepared from young willow shoots. 
 
 Sistory. — Wood Charcoal forms a dark brownish-black powder, com- 
 posed of shining particles, insipid, odorless, not soluble in water, easily 
 inflammable, much more so than animal chfircoal, and is an excellent 
 conductor of electricity, but not of caloric. It corrects the fetor from 
 putrid animal matters, and decolorizes vegetable infusions, bat not so 
 promptly as the animal charcoal. It decomposes metallic compounds 
 when heated with them by depriving them of their oxygen. If kept 
 in the air its weight is speedily augmented in consequence of its affinity 
 fol" moisture, which takes place to the amount of from ten to fifteeen 
 per cent. Combustion disengages its carbonic acid, leaving behind an 
 ash composed of earthy matters and carbonate of potassa. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — As a medicine, Charcoal should always be puri- 
 fied. "Charcoal is generally described as possessing antiseptic proper- 
 ties, while the very reverse is the fact. Common salt, corrosive subli- 
 mate, arsenious acid, alcohol, camphor, creosote, and most essential oils, 
 are certainly antiseptic substances, and therefore retard the decay of 
 animal and vegetable matters. Charcoal, on the contrary, greatly 
 facilitates the oxidation, and, consequently the decomposition of any 
 organic substance with which it is in contact ; it is, therefore, the very 
 opposite of an antiseptic." — Br. Stenhouse. It acts as an absorbent and 
 disinfectant. Its internal employment will be found useful in those 
 
CaBTHAMUS TiNCTORlTJS. 189 
 
 digestive derangements which are associated with an offensive breath 
 and disagreeable belchings ; also to correct the fetid condition of the 
 stools in dysentery. It is also useful in acidity of stomach, flatulency, 
 and in the nausea and constipation attending pregnancy. It is also 
 very useful in internal heat and irritation of the stomach, with acidity; 
 sick headache ; diarrhea ; cholera infantum, etc. In cases of sick head- 
 ache due to gastric acidity or derangement, and which are ushered in 
 with blurred vision, photopsia, and finally nausea and intense headache. 
 I have found a drachm of Charcoal mixed in a little syrup, to which is 
 then added about a gill of water, and ten or twelve drops of ether, to 
 afford prompt relief; in very obstinate cases, the dose may require to 
 be repeated two or three times, every twenty or thirty minutes. In 
 some cases Charcoal may be advantageously combined with the trisni- 
 trate of bismuth as a sedative ; and where a laxative action is required, 
 rhubarb may be beneficially added to it. Bilious colic is said to have 
 been cured by it, in doses of a drachm to two fluid ounces of burnt 
 brandy, repeated as required. The ordinary dose is from twenty grains 
 to two drachms, two or three times a day, in water, milk, or burnt 
 brandy, repeating it according to indications. Externally, it may be 
 used in poultices to correct fetor of ulcers, arrest gangrene, etc., and is 
 efficient in many cutaneous diseases. It is also a useful hemostatic, 
 having arrested epistaxis when persulphate of iron had failed. It occa- 
 sionally enters into tooth-powders, and may be used with advantage to 
 correct the fetor of the mouth, and cleanse the teeth. In such cases, the 
 Charcoal prepared from bread is the best, as it contains no gritty par- 
 ticles.* 
 
 Off. Prep. — Cataplasma Carbonis. 
 
 CAETHAMUS TESTCTOEIUS. (Saflor.) 
 
 Dyer's Saffron. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia vBqualis. 
 
 FLOWERS. 
 
 Description. — Carthamus Tinctorius, sometimes known as Safflower, 
 Bastard Saffron, etc., is an annual plant, with a smooth stem growing 
 from one to two feet high, striate, branching at top. Leaves alternate, 
 ovate- lanceolate, sessile, spinose-denticulate, subamplexicaul, smooth 
 and shining. Flowers numerous, long, slender, orange-colored, in large, 
 terminal, discoid heads ; florets tubular ; corolla infundibuliform, five- 
 cleft.— TF. 
 
 History. — This plant is cultivated in this country and Europe, though 
 inhabiting Egypt, and the countries surrounding the Mediterranean. 
 The orange-red florets are the officinal parts, and are generally met with 
 in the shops in laminated masses, with the yellow filaments accompany- 
 ing ; their odor is peculiar and aromatic, and the taste slightly bitter. 
 
 "Mr. W. L. Soott prefers the wood of box, willow, or llndeu, (pocoanut shells may be ad- 
 ded), because of their texture, which gives them a superior affinity for gases. The Char- 
 coal of the first carbonization is cooled In the cylinders out of contact with air; then 
 plunged into boiling water acidulated with muriatic acid ; washed with a large quantity 
 of water, the first portion of which is slightly alcoholic; dried in the air; calcined a 
 second time ; cooled In the same retort ; pulverized and passed through a very fine sieve. 
 of silk or bristle. From this he prepares an edible, granulated Charcoal, of pleasant odor, 
 not disagreeable taste, presenting no resistance to the teeth, and passing into the stomach 
 in so fine a state of division that its absorption is as prompt as easy. Of this prepared 
 Charcoal 360 parts are mixed successively with 40 parts of pulverized sugar, and 5 parts of 
 pulverized gum arable, by means of a little water aromatized with tmoture of benzoin. 
 The paste formed, is then spread on a marble slab, and cut into lozenges or granules as 
 may oe preferred.— iond. Pharm. Jour., 1867. 
 
190 Materia Medica. 
 
 The cultivated Safflower in this country is usually sold unpressed, as 
 American Saffron. It contains two coloring matters: the first, which 
 is soluble in water, is yellow ; the other has a beautiful red color, is 
 insoluble in water, fixed and volatile oils, and in dilute acids slightly 
 soluble in alcohol, but readily soluble in alkaline solutions, and is 
 termed Carthamine or Oarthamic Acid, C^ Hg 0;. Dried and mixed with 
 French chalk, it constitutes rouge, which is used as a cosmetic. — T. — 
 P. ' Dyer's Saffron is sometimes used to adulterate genuine Saffron, 
 but may be detected by the cannular form of the flowers, the reddish- 
 yellow color of their stamens and pistils, and the absence of the white 
 ends belonging to the true Saffron. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Dyer's Saffron is said to restore the menstruaJ 
 discharge which has been recently suppressed by cold, when the warm 
 infusion is used; also to produce an action on the bowels when taken 
 largely. The warm infusion is often employed in domestic practice as 
 a diaphoretic among children and infants in measles, scarlet fever, and 
 other eruptive maladies. It may be given tolerably freely. The infu- 
 sion may be made by infusing a drachm or two of the flowers in half a 
 pint of boiling water. The seeds are white and angular, and have been 
 much used as purgative and emmenagogue. They yield an oil by ex- 
 pression, which has been used as a local application in rheumatic and 
 paralytic affections ; also for bad ulcers. 
 
 CAEUM CAEUI. (Ktimmel.) 
 
 Caraway. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Apiacese Or UmbelliferaB. Sex. 8yst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 SEEDS (hale fruits). 
 
 Description. — Oarum Carui is a biennial plant, with a fusiform, fleshy 
 root, and a stem about two feet high, erect, branched, leafy, angular, and 
 furrowed. Lower leaves nearly a span long, bright green, petioled, 
 doubly pinnate, with numerous opposite, finely-cut leaflets, of which 
 the pairs next the midrib cross each other; those on the stem much 
 smaller, opposite, very unequal. Umbels numerous, erect. General 
 bracts, if present, capillary, connected, when more than one, by a mem- 
 branous base. Flowers numerous, white, or pale flesh-colored ; marginal 
 ones only perfect and prolific. Peduncles very small, convex. Calyx 
 extremely minute; ^petals flve, obovate, inflexed. Stamens as long as 
 the petals; anthers small, bilobed; ovary ovate. Fruit, or mericarps, nar- 
 row, bright brown, elliptic-ovate, about two lines long, with pale, ele- 
 vated, 'filiform ridges, and shining convex channels. — L. 
 
 Sistory. — Caraway is indigenous to Europe, growing in the meadows 
 and On the mountains of the southof France, and flowering from April 
 to July. It is also cultivated in the United States. Its seeds are com- 
 pleted in the second year of its growth, when ,they mature in the latter 
 part of summer. They are procured by beating the plant, after it has 
 been removed from its place of growth. They are termed mericarps, 
 are ovate, elongated, recurved, of a green-brown color, with flve lighter 
 colored primary ridges, and a vitta in each interval, and about one and 
 a half to two lines in length; their odor is aromatic and peculiar, and 
 their taste spicy and heating, which virtues are due to a volatile oil, 
 and are readily yielded to alcohol or ether. The oil is at first pale, be- 
 comes .darker by age, and has the peculiar fragrance and taste of the 
 seed. 
 
Caryophylltjs Aromaticus. 191 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Caraway is an aromatic carminative, used in 
 flatulent colic, especially of children, and to improve the flavor of sev- 
 eral officinal componnds. Dose of the seeds, from ten to sixty ^ains. 
 The oil (oleum carui) is more generally used. The seeds are frequently 
 added to cakes and Confectionaries, to render them more agreeable, 
 while, at the same time, they gently excite the digestive powers. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Oleum Carui ; Tinct. Cardamomi Com,p. 
 
 CAKYOPHTLLUS ABOMATICU.S. (Gewiirznelken.) 
 
 Cloves. 
 Wat. Ord. — Myrtacesp. Sex. 8yst. — Icosandria Monogynia. 
 
 UNDEVELOPED FLOWERS. 
 
 Description. — Caryophyllus Aromaticus is a beautiful tree, rising to the 
 height of fifteen or twenty feet; it is of a conical or pyramidal form, 
 evergreen, and the whole plant is glabrous. Branches numerous, slen- 
 der, opposite, and more or less virgate. "Wood of the stem hard; bark 
 grayish and smooth. Leaves opposite and decussate, persistent, some- 
 what coriaceous and shining, minutely punctated, about four inches 
 long and half as broad, ovate-lanceolate, more or less acute, quite entire, 
 pale beneath, tapering gradually at the base into a slender foot-stalk, 
 which is nearly two inches long. Flowers very odoriferous, and are in 
 short, terminal, many-flowered panicles, trichotomously divided and 
 jointed at every division. Peduncles terete, green. Calyx of four ovate, 
 concave segments, erecto-patent, placed upon the top of the ovary, and, 
 together with it, is first green, and then red, coriaceous. Petals four, 
 larger than the calyx, imbricated into a globe in bud, at length spread- 
 ing, roundish, concave, yellowish-red, very soon caducous. In the cen- 
 ter of the calyx, and occupying the top of the ovary, is a quadrangular, 
 elevated line or gland, surrounding, but not embracing, the base of the 
 shortish, obtusely-subulate s^j/fe; around this gland, immediately within 
 the petals, the stamens are inserted; these are longer than the petals, 
 yellow, with small, yellow, ovate-cordate, two-celled anthers. Ovary 
 oblong, almost cylindrical, two-celled, with many small ovules in each 
 cell. Berry purplish, elliptical, two-seeded. Seed covered with a thin 
 integument, of soft texture. — L. 
 
 History. — A tall and beautiful tree, growing in tropical climates. The 
 flowers are collected in October and November, before they are fully 
 developed, and consist of a tubular 'calyx, bearing a roundish bud of 
 unexpanded petals ; they are quickly dried in the shade to prevent the 
 escape of volatile oil. The finest kinds are plump, heavy, and dark, 
 and give out oil when squeezed with the nail. They are from half an 
 in6h to nearly an inch long, and a line or two in diameter, of a dark- 
 brown color, with a yellowish-red tint, a pleasant, peculiar, penetrating 
 odor, and a burning, aromatic, slightly astringent taste. Cloves con- 
 tain volatile oil, fixed oil, a peculiar tannin, gum, resin, fiber, water, 
 and two crystalline principles called Oaryophyllin and Eugenin.—P. 
 
 They yield their virtues to alcohol, spirit, and ether; water merely 
 acqtiires their aroma. The' active properties reside in the volatile oil, 
 which is of a pale, reddish-brown color, darkens by age, and is heavier 
 than water; it is extremely pungent and acrid. 
 
 Properties and ZJses.— Aromatic, stimulant, and irritant. Used to allay 
 vomiting and sickness at stomach, to stimulate the digestive fiinotions, 
 and to improve the flavor or operation of other remedies, and prevent 
 
192 Materia Medioa. 
 
 a tendency to their producing sickness or griping. Dose, from five to 
 ten grains. 
 
 Off, Prep. — ^Linimentum Olei; Mistura Cajuputi Compositum ; Oleum 
 Caryophyili; Pilulse Aloes Compositse; Tinctura Quinise Composita- 
 Tinctura Guaiaci Aromatica; Yinum Cinchonse Compositum. 
 
 CASSIA FISTULA. (Eohrkassien.) 
 Purging Cassia. — Purgirkassie. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Fabacese, or Leguminosae. Sex. Syst. — ^Decandria Mono- 
 gynia. 
 
 PULP OP THE PODS. 
 
 Description. — Cassia Fistula is a tree growing from twenty to forty 
 feet high, with many spreading branches toward the summit; wood 
 hard and heavy; leaves pinnate, alternate, from twelve to eighteen 
 inches long, deciduous ; leaflets opposite or nearly so, from four to eight 
 pairs, lower broad ovate, smooth, obtuse or emarginate, polished on both 
 sides, on short, round petioles, from two to six inches long, from one 
 and a half to three broad. Flowers large, fragrant, bright yellow, on 
 long, slender, smooth pedicels. Racemes axillary, pendulous, simple, 
 one or two feet long. Calyx five nearly equal, oblong, obtuse, smooth 
 sepals. Corolla consists of five petals, which are oval, unequal, concave, 
 spreading, and waved. The three lower filaments much longer than the 
 others, having a double curve, but no swelling. Anthers on the three 
 long filaments oblong, opening by two lines on the face, the other seven 
 clavate, with pores at the small end. Ovary filiform, smooth, cylindri- 
 cal, curved, one-celled, containing numerous seeds. Fruit a woody, 
 dark blackish-brown, cylindrical pod or legume, a foot or more in 
 length, about an inch in diameter, terete, smooth, blunt, indehiscent, 
 filled with a viscid, reddish-black, sweetish pulp, divided into many 
 cells by hard, transverse phragmata; cells one-seeded; seed oval, glossy, 
 somewhat flattened. — L. 
 
 History. — Purging Cassia inhabits Egypt and the Indies, and has be- 
 come extensively diffused in various tropical countries, as China, Hin- 
 dostan. West Indies, etc. The part used in medicine is the fruit or 
 pods, and those are to be preferred which are heavy and new, and do 
 not, when shaken, make a rattling noise from the seeds being loose 
 within them. The pulp should be of a bright, shining, black color, and 
 have a sweet taste, neither harsh, from the fruit being collected before 
 it be fully ripe, nor at all sourish, which it is apt to become upon keep- 
 ing, nor at all moldy, which is frequently the case when kept in damp 
 cellars, or moistened to increase its weight. — Fd. To obtain the 'pulp, 
 the pods are pounded, so as to break their outer coat, and then they are 
 infused in boiling water, which dissolves the pulp ; the infusion is then 
 strained, and evaporated to the proper consistence. The pulp has a 
 feeble, nauseous odor, a mucilagino-saccharine taste, and contains, ac- 
 cording to Henry, sugar, gum, impure tannic acid, coloring matter, a 
 gluten -like matter, and moisture. It keeps longest when preserved in 
 the pod. It is nearly soluble in water, and its active parts are taken 
 up by alcohol. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — One or two drachms act as a mild and effectual 
 laxative; an ounce or two is cathartic, but excites nausea, flatulence, 
 gripings, etc.^ — Ed. It is generally employed only in the electuary of 
 senna. 
 
Cassia Acutifolia. 193 
 
 CASSIA MAEILANDICA. (Marylandishe Eohrenkassie.) 
 
 American Senna. 
 Nat. Ord. — ^^Fabacese. Sex. Syst. — ^Decandria Monogynia. 
 
 LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — Cassia Marilandiea is an American, perennial herb, 
 growing from four to six feet high, with round, striated, smooth, or 
 slightly hairy stems. Leaves alternate, on long petioles, at the base of 
 which is a large ovate, shining green gland, terminating in a dark 
 point at top, which is sometimes double; each petiole contains from 
 eight to ten pairs of leaflets, which are oblong, smooth, entire, mucron- 
 ate, somewhat hairy at the edges, an inch or two long, from five to ten 
 lines broad. Flowers bright yellow, in axillary racemes, extending 
 quite to the top of the stem ; peduncles slightly furrowed, marked with 
 minute, blackish, glandular hairs; sepals five, oval, obtuse, the lateral 
 ones longest. Petals five, concave, very obtuse. Stamens ten, the three 
 upper have short abortive anthers; to these succeed two pairs of de- 
 flexed, linear, brown anthers ; the remaining lowermost three taper into 
 a sort of beak, the middle one being shortest. Legumes from two to 
 four inches long, pendulous, linear, curved, swelling at the seeds, fur- 
 nished with slight hairs ; seeds many. — L. It is sometimes called Wild 
 Senna. 
 
 History. — This plant is frequently met with in alluvial soils, from 
 New England to Carolina, flowering from June to September, about 
 which time the medicinal parts of the plant should be gathered. The 
 leaves yield their properties to alcohol or water ; they are nearly odor- 
 less, have a Senna-like, mawkish taste, and in medicinal power are 
 equal to foreign Senna. The Shakers cultivate the plant, and dispose 
 of it in firmly pressed packages. Mr. Martin, of Philadelphia, found 
 the leaves to contain albumen, mucilage, starch, chlorophylle, yellow 
 coloring matter, volatile oil, fatty matter, resin, lignin, salts of potassa 
 and lime, and a principle resembling cathartin. — Am. Jour. Pharm., Vol. 
 I., p. 22. 
 
 . The Cassia Ghamcecrista, Prairie Senna or Partridge Pea, growing on 
 the Western Prairies, is an excellent substitute for the above; it is like- 
 wise known as Dwarf Cassia and Sensitive Pea. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — An excellent cathartic, equal to the imported 
 article, for which it may be substituted. But owing to the presence of 
 argel leaves, the foreign Senna has its activity increased ; hence, in giving 
 the American article, its dose must be somewhat increased. It may be 
 given in powder or infasion, and should be combined with aromatics to 
 prevent any proneness to griping. The dose in powder is from half a 
 drachm to two. and a half drachms. The infasion may be made by add- 
 ing one ounce of the leaves, with a drachm of coriander seeds, to a pint of 
 boiling water. Macerate for an hour in a covered vessel and strain ; dose, 
 four or five fluidounces. 
 
 CASSIA ACUTIFOLIA. (Spitzblattrige Kassia.) 
 
 Senna. — Sennesbldtter. 
 
 Nat. Or<f.— Fabacese. Sex. >%si.— Deeandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — There are several species of Cassia plant, which are 
 supposed to furnish the Senna, as the C. Acutifolia, C. Obovata, 0. Mon- 
 13 
 
194 Materia Medica. 
 
 gata, C. Lanceolata, etc. Cassia Acutifolia is a perennial shrub, growing 
 from two to ten feet high; stem erect, smooth. Leaves alternate, nar- 
 row, equally pinnated ; leaflets in pairs, from four to eight on each leaf, 
 ovate, nearly sessile, smooth above, rather downy beneath, with the 
 veins turning inward, forming a flexuose intramarginal line; petioles 
 without glands ; stipules softly spinescent, semihastate, spreading, minute. 
 Flowers bright yellow, in erect, stalked, axillarj' and terminal raceme^, 
 rather longer than the leaves; pedicels without bracts. Sepals linear, 
 obtuse. Stamens ten, the five lowest small and sterile, the next two large, 
 curved, and perfect, the three uppermost minute and gland-like. Ovaries 
 linear, downy, falcate, with a smooth recurved style. Legumes or Pods, 
 pendulous, oblong, flat, membranous, about an inch long, half an inch 
 broad, quite straight, tapering abruptly to the base, rounded at the 
 apex; seeds many, ash-colored, cordate. — L. It grows in Ifubia and 
 TJpper Egypt, and yields most of the commercial Alexandria Senna 
 consumed in this country. 
 
 Cassia Obovata is a perennial herbaceous plant, smaller than the pre- 
 ceding, being about eighteen inches high, with an erect or procum- 
 bent, smooth stem, downy at the base. Leaves alternate, equally pinnate, 
 smooth, with no gland upon the petiole ; leaflets in four to six pairs, 
 opposite, obovate, rounded, mucronate at the apex, unequal at the base, 
 the uppermost gradually the largest; stipules narrowly triangular, rigid, 
 acute, spreading, persistent. Flowers pale yellow, on erect, rather lax, 
 axillary, stalked racemes. Legumes, oblong, falcate, membranous, smooth, 
 rounded at each end, with an elevated ridge upon the valves over each 
 side, so as to have an equally interrupted ridge along the middle, toward 
 which the veins of each suture are directed nearly at right angles; seeds 
 six to eight, cordate. — L. This species grow in the high, dry, uncultivated 
 lands of Mysore, Egypt, Nubia, desert of Suez, Central Africa, etc., and 
 is Ciiltivated in many parts of southern Europe. It is very nearly iden- 
 tical with the C. obtusata of Hayne. It furnishes an inferior Senna, 
 known as the Italian or Aleppo. 
 
 Cassia Mongata, although an annual, may with attention be kept 
 alive beyond the year, and made to assume a suffrtiticose character 
 It differs from C. Acutifolia in having its leaflets lanceolate instead of 
 ovate, and the legumes longer and not so round ; seeds deep-brown. 
 It grows in central India, and has been introduced in Tinnivelly. 
 
 Cassia Lanceolata resembles the above, having, however, never more 
 than four or five pairs of leaflets, oblong, and either acute or obtuse, 
 not at all ovate or lanceolate, and perfectly free from downiness even 
 when young ; the petioles have constantly a small, round, brown gland 
 a little above the base. The pods are erect, oblong, tapering to the 
 base, obtuse, turgid, mucronate, rather falcate, especially when young, 
 at which time they are sparingly covered with coarse, scattered hairs. 
 It grows in Arabia, and was considered by Porskhal as the true Mecca 
 Senna. — L. 
 
 Sistory. — These are supposed to be the principle species which yield 
 the Senna, though much uncertainty exists with regard to them, aris- 
 ing from the want of genuine specimens, the difficulty attending- the 
 investigation of the plants in their native soil, the ignorance of the 
 influences which a change of locality may exert upon them, and 
 whether any specific characters are to be based upon the appearance 
 of the petiole-glands. Although this confusion exists in the botanical 
 history of Senna, yet in commerce but three varieties of the drug are 
 found, or which are ever imported into this country; these are, the 
 
Cassia Actitit'Olia. 195 
 
 Ailexandrian or Egyptian, which is the finest and most valuable article, 
 tne Indian, and the Tripoli Senna. 
 
 Alexandria Senna is collected from Sennaar, Nnhia, and Upper 
 Egypt, and made up at Boulak, not far from Cairo, under the super- 
 intendence of the Egyptian government, from which place it is for- 
 warded to Alexandria, for the European markets. It consists of the 
 leaflets of C. Acutif.olia, C. Obovata, pods, broken leaf-stalks, flowers, etc., 
 likewise the leaves of Gynanchum OlecefoUum, or Solenostemma argel. 
 The leaves are gathered by cutting the branches in autumn, commenc- 
 ing in September, and are exposed to the sun and atmosphere until 
 they are quite dry, when the branches are removed by threshing, the 
 leaves placed in sacks, and sent to Boulak, at which place their adul- 
 teration with other leaves is said to take place. 
 
 As received in this country, Alexandria Senna is generally in bales 
 and barrels, and is considered the finest and most valuable variety ; 
 the best and most esteemed is that which contains the least quantity 
 of cynanchum leaves. Senna leaf-stalks and pods, where the entire- 
 lanceolate leaves are numerous, and where the odor and taste is strong 
 and pure. It has a peculiar but not disagreeable odor, with an un- 
 pleasant, nauseous, mucilaginous, and sweetish taste, with hardly any 
 perceptible bitterness, unless it be adulterated with the leaves of the 
 Argel or Cynanchum olecefolium which impart bitterness to the powder 
 or infusion, and which is the most important impurity to remove. 
 They may be recognized by having no visible lateral nerves on their 
 under-surface ; by being longer, thicker and firmer than Senna leaves ; 
 by the greater regularity of their base, being of a lighter color, of a 
 bitter taste, and often spotted with a yellow, bitter, gummy-resinous 
 incrustation. 
 
 I'eipoli Senna somewhat resembles the Alexandrian, but is con- 
 sidered much inferior to it ; the leaves are more fragmentary, and the 
 leaf-stalks more numerous. It seems to embrace one of the acute-leaved 
 species with a small quantity of C. Obovata, and very seldom contains 
 any adulteration with the argel leaves. There is much uncertainty as 
 to the place from which it is derived. 
 
 India or Mocha Senna is of three kinds, the Bombay, the Madras, 
 and the Tinnivelly, of which the first is usually imported from Bombay, 
 though it comes in the first instance from Mocha and other ports of the 
 Red Sea ; the second and third from Madras ; of these, the Tinnivelly 
 is esteemed the best. India Senna consists mainly of large, thin, un- 
 broken, acute, yellowish-green leaves, rarely adulterated, and is as 
 good as the Alexandrian. There are other varieties, but they seldom 
 
 Good Senna may be known by the bright, fre&h, yellowish -green 
 color of the leaves, with a faint and peculiar odor somewhat similar to 
 green tea, and a nauseous, mucilaginous, sweetish, and slightly bitter 
 taste ; and the fewer the stalks, seed-pods, broken leaves, and dirt, the 
 better is the Senna. Its active principles are taken up by cold or 
 warm water, glycerin, alcohol and proof-spirits; boiling destroys its 
 virtues unless it be in vacuo, or in a covered vessel. It should be 
 powdered only as wanted, because the powder absorbs moisture, from 
 which follows moldiness and destruction of its therapeutical virtue. 
 Various analyses have been made of Senna, but there are none on 
 which we can satisfactorily rely. M. M. Lassaigne and Feneulle found 
 it to contain a peculiar bitter principle called Cathartin, chlorophylle, 
 fixed oil, a small quantity of volatile oil, albumen, yellow coloring 
 
196 Materia Medica. 
 
 matter, mucilage, malate and tartrate of lime, and acetate of potassa, 
 and some mineral salts. The cathartin is a yellowish-red, uncrystal- 
 lizable substance, of a peculiar odor, and a bitter, nauseous taste, very 
 soluble in water and alcohol, but insoluble in ether. It is considered 
 to be the purgative principle of the drug, yet this is not universally 
 admitted, as several experimenters deny that it possesses any purgative 
 power whatever. Kubly and Draggendorf state that the active prin- 
 ciple of Senna is due to cathartic acid, as well as to the cathartates of 
 lime and magnesia, sennacrol, -eennapicrine, and an unfermentable 
 crystallizable sugar, cathartomannite, which turns the plane of polariza- 
 tion to the right, and does not precipitate the alkaline liquors of copper. 
 Cathartic acid, Cia, H96 Nj SOea, is a glucoside acid, insoluble in water, 
 strong alcohol, and etlaer, but is readily dissolved in alkaline aqueous 
 solutions. In doses of from one to three grains it acts as a purgative ; 
 in doses of 6 to 7 grains it purges violently. Boiled with a mineral 
 acid, it splits into' a peculiar kind of glucose, and a new acid, called 
 cathartogenic, C132 H58 JTj SO44. Cathartic acid is obtained by partially 
 precipitating by strong spirit a watery infusion of Alexandria Senna, 
 concentrated to a syrupy state by evaporation in vacuo. The filtrate is 
 now treated with a much larger bulk of absolute alcohol, and the pre- 
 cipitate thus obtained is purified by repeated solution in water and 
 precipitation by alcohol. A pure acid is made by dissolving. the crude 
 cathartate in moderately strong hydrochloric acid, and subjected to 
 dialysis on a diaphragm of parchment paper. — T. B. — Groves' Lond. 
 Pharm. Jour., Oct., 1868. No mode of preparation has been made 
 known for the so-called Gassine of an Eastern manufacturing estab- 
 lishment; said to form a whitish -brown powder of a slightly bitter 
 taste. Senna-like odor, soluble in water, and insoluble in alcohol. 
 Like many other of the so-called concentrated remedies it is probably 
 valueless. The infusion or decoction of Senna is incompatible with 
 strong acids, alkaline carbonates, lime-water, tartar emetic, acetate of 
 lead and tannin, or astringent plants containing tannin. The tartar- 
 ized antimony and acetate of lead do not precipitate the cathartin. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Senna is a certain, manageable, and convenient 
 cathartic, very usefiil in all forms of febrile disease, and other diseases 
 where a severe impression on the bowels is not desired. Its influence 
 is chiefly exerted on the small intestines, augmenting their mucous se- 
 cretions, exciting increased peristaltic motion, and producing loose brown 
 evacuations. It does not act as a sedative, as is the case with some 
 cathartics, nor as a refrigerant ; but has a slight stimulating influence, 
 insufficient, however, to contra-indicate its use in case of general excite- 
 ment, or reaction. Besides the nauseating taste of Senna, it is apt to 
 cause sickness at stomach, and very few persons can use it alone, without 
 experiencing more or less griping pains. The addition of cloves, gin- 
 ger, cinnamon, or other aromatics, are excellent correctives of these un- 
 pleasant effects. A teaspoonful of cream of tartar to a teacupful of the 
 decoction or infasion of Senna, is a mild and pleasant cathartic, particu- 
 larly suited for females where it may be required soon after delivery. 
 The addition of neutral laxative salts is another mode, adopted by a 
 certain class of practitioners, of preventing the tormina, and at the same 
 time of increasing the activity of the infusion of Senna, as phosphate 
 of soda, Epsom, or Eochelle salts; these are, however, rarely used by 
 Eclectics. Saccharine and aromatic substances are also sometimes com- 
 bined for this purpose, as sugar, manna, aromatic seeds, electuary of 
 Senna, etc. The purgative effect of Senna is much increased by the 
 
Castoreum. 197' 
 
 addition of the pure bitters ; the decoction of guaiacum is said to answer 
 a similar purpose. Senna is contra-indicated in an inflammatory con- 
 dition of the alimentary canal, hemorrhoids, prolapsus ani, etc. The 
 dose in powder is from thirty to fifty grains; in tincture, from half a 
 fluidounce to two fluidounces; electuary, two drachms; and of the in- 
 fusion, which is the most usual mode of administration, from two to four 
 fluidounces. But according to Mr. T. B. G-roves, the tincture of senna 
 is without action ; the decoction is of less value than the infusion, and 
 the infusion less than the maceration ; the solution by maceration alone 
 purges without gripings. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Enema Sennse Composita; Bxtractum Ehei et Senna 
 Pluidum ; Extractum SpigelisB et Sennse Fluidum ; Extractum Sennse 
 et Jalap» Fluidum; Infusum Sennse; Pulvis JalapseCompositus; Tinc- 
 tura Sennse Composita. 
 
 CASTOEBUM. (Bibergeil.) 
 Castor. 
 
 History. — This drug is a peculiar solidified secretion procured from 
 peculiar follicles, two in number, connected with the external-genital 
 organs of the Castor Fiber, or Beaver. These follicles are filled with a 
 thick fluid secretion, which slowly concretes when they are removed 
 from the animal. Most of the Castor of the present day is derived from 
 the beaver of North America. It has much the appearance of a pair of 
 dried testicles united by their spermatic chords, dark liver-brown and 
 wrinkled externally, paler liver-brown internally, resinous in fracture, 
 when perfectly dried of a strong, peculiar heavy odor, and of an aro- 
 matic, bitter offensive taste. Rectified spirit is its best solvent; though 
 €ther extracts a good part of its virtues. 
 
 The Russian Castor,- from the Russian dominions, is seldom seen in 
 this country ; it may be distinguished from the American by being more 
 fully developed, weightier, and less cohesive, by its more powerful odor 
 and taste, and by effervescing with hydrochloric acid. The American 
 Oastor gives a white precipitate with aqua ammonia, the Russian, an 
 orange-yellow. Castor, when of good quality, has a strong, heavy, char- 
 acteristic odor, and a bitter, aromatic, offensive taste. It is composed 
 of numerous salts, mucus, a volatile oil, a resinous substance, a horny 
 matter, osmazome, and a peculiar, crystalline, non-saponifiable principle 
 called castorin. Castor becomes • deteriorated by time, and this is has- 
 tened by an augmented temperature of the atmosphere; a damp atmos- 
 phere occasions its ready spoliation. When kept in a cool situation, in 
 well-closed vessels, its virtues will continue uninjured for some years. 
 A tasteless and inodorous article is inert. A spurious Castor is some- 
 times met with, which is composed of several drugs combined, inter- 
 mixed with dried lamina of mucous tissue, odorized by a small portion 
 of good Castor, and then placed within a goat's scrotum. The deficiency 
 of the little follicles which hold a fatty substance, the faint smell, and 
 the feeble Castor taste, and the want of other determinate characters, 
 will at once expose the imposture. Wohler has detected salicin and 
 carbolic acid in Castor; and Pereira has found the hydruret of salicyle 
 in aqua castorei prepared from American Castor.— P.— JEd. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Mildly stimulant, antispasmodic, and emmena- 
 gogue. Used in hysteria, amenorrhea, epilepsy, and many irregular 
 
198 Materia Medica. 
 
 nervous affections. Dose of the drug, from ten to twenty grains ; of 
 the tincture, from half a fluidrachm to two fluidrachms. 
 
 Off. Prep. ^Tinctura Oastorei; Tinctura Castorei Ammoniata. 
 
 CAULOPHYLLUM THALICTEOIDES. (Leontice Thalictroides.) 
 
 Blue Cohosh. — Wiesenrauten Stammblatt. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Berberidacese. Sex. Syst. — Hexandria Monogynia. 
 
 ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, likewise known as Squaw-root, Pappoose-root, 
 is a smooth, glaucous plant, purple when young, with a high, round stem, 
 from one to three feet in height, simple from knotted and matted root- 
 stocks, dividing above into two parts, one of which is a triternate leaf- 
 stalk, the other bears a biternate leaf and a racemose panicle of small, 
 yellowish -green flowers. I/Stives biternate and triternate ; petiole trifid, 
 supporting nine leaflets. Leaflets oval, petiolate, unequally lobed, ter- 
 minal one equally three-lobed, paler beneath, from two to three inches 
 long-. Flowers appear in May and June. Panicle small, shorter than 
 the leaves. Pericarp thin, caducous, dark-blue, resembling berries on 
 thick stipes. Seeds one or two, erect, globose, about the size of a large 
 pea.— TF.— Gf. 
 
 Sistory. — A handsome perennial plant, growing all over the United 
 States in low, moist, rich grounds, near running streams, in swamps, 
 and on islands that have been overflowed with water. The seeds rijjen 
 in the month of August, and, when roasted and boiled in water, form 
 a decoction strongly resembling coffee. The berries are dry and ratlier 
 mawkish. The officinal part is the root, which consists of a hard, thick, 
 irregular, knotty, branched, contorted caudex, from three to six lines 
 in thickness, from one to several inches in length, with numerous slender 
 radicles from two to seven or eight inches long; externally it is yellow- 
 ish-brown, internally whitish or yellowish, with a central light-brown 
 pith running longitudinally. It has a sweetish, somewhat bitter taste, 
 ultimately acrid and pungent to the fauces, and a slightly fragrant odor. 
 It imparts its properties to water, alcohol, or glycerin. Mr. A. B. 
 Ebert has detected in the root, gum, starch, phosphoric acid, extrac- 
 tive, salts of potassa, magnesia, lime, iron, and silica, resin soluble in 
 alcohol and ether, resin soluble in alcohol but insoluble in ether, 
 greenish-yellow coloring matter, and a body analogous to saponin. — 
 Ain. Jour. Pharm. 1864, p. 203. Prof F. F. Mayer states that saponin 
 forms a large proportion of the soluble constitutents of the rhizome. 
 In purchasing care must be taken that this root is not mixed with 
 other roots, especially those of the Hydrastis Canadensis, with which 
 the pressed and wrapped article prepared for sale is apt to be associated. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a favorite agent of American physicians, 
 which is becoming generally appreciated. It is principally used as an 
 emmenagogue, parturient, and antispasmodic; but it likewise possesses 
 diuretic, diaphoretic, and anthelmintic properties. It has been success- 
 fully employed in rheumatism, dropsy, colic, cramps, hiccough, epilepsy, 
 hysteria, uterine inflammation, etc. It is a valuable agent in all chronic 
 uterine diseases, appearing to exert an especial'influence upon the uterus, 
 andhasbeenfoundserviceable in uterine leucorrhea, amenorrhea, dysmen- 
 orrhea, etc. When used in decoction, for several weeks previous to thepar- 
 tnrient period, it is said to facilitate that process, acting as a preparatorj 
 
Ceanothus Americanus. 199 
 
 parturient, and it is sometimes combined with the Mitchella Mepens and 
 JEJupatoria Aromatica, for this purpose. Combined with equal parts of 
 powdered Hydrastis Can., made into an infusion, and sweetened with 
 honey, it forms an elegant and effectual wash for aphthous sore-mouth 
 and throat. In decoction, Blue Cohosh is preferable to ergot for expe- 
 diting delivery, in all those cases where the delay is owing to debility, 
 or want of uterine nervous energy, or is the result of fatigue. The 
 decoction or infusion may be made by adding an ounce of the root to 
 a pint of boiling water, and boiling or macerating for a short time ; 
 the dose of either is froni two to four fluidounces, three or four times 
 daily. The tincture should be made by adding three ounces of the 
 finely powdered root to a pint of alcohol, and allow it to macerate for 
 fourteen days; then filter. The dose is from half a fluidrachm to 
 two fluidrachms. 
 
 Off. Trep. — Bxtractum Caulophylli Alcoholicum ; Eesina Caulophylli ; 
 Tinctura Caulophylli Composita. 
 
 CEANOTHUS AMBEICANUS. (Amerikanischer Ceanothus.) 
 
 Eed-root. 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Ehamnacece. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 BARK OF THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, likewise called New Jersey Tea, Wild Snow- 
 ball, has a large root, with a red or brown epidermis, containing many 
 small white veins, and tolerably thick ; body of the root dark-red. 
 Stems from two to four feet high, slender, suffruticose, with many red- 
 dish, round, smooth, branches, the younger pubescent. Leaves ovate or 
 oblong-ovate, acuminate, serrate, three-veined, rather smooth above, 
 downy, with soft reddish hairs beneath, often heart-shaped at base., 
 Flowers minute, white, in long, crowded panicles from the axils of the 
 upper leaves. Calyx five-cleft, campauulate, cut round after flowering, 
 with the base permanent and adhering to the fruit. Petals five, sac- 
 cate-arched, with long spreading claws. Stamens five, exserted, inclosed 
 in the curiously vaulted corolla ; anthers ovate, two-celled; ovary, three- 
 angled. Fruit dry, obtusely triangular, three-celled, loculicidal, with 
 papery valves ; cells one-seeded ; seed convex outside, concave within. 
 —G.— W. . „ 
 
 Mistory. — C. Americanus is indigenous to the United States, and is 
 very abundant in the West; it grows in dry woodlands, barrens, etc., 
 flowering from June to August. The leaves are astringent and slightly 
 bitter, and have been used as a substitute for tea, to which they have 
 a strong resemblance when dried, both in taste and odor. The root is 
 the oflacinal part, and has a taste and smell somewhat resembling those 
 of the peach leaf. It has been occasionally used for coloring. Water 
 extracts its active principle. The leaves are said to contain tannin, a 
 soft resin, a bitter extractive, a greenish coloring matter almost identical 
 in color and taste with green tea, gum, a volatile substance, lignin, and 
 a principle called Ceanothine, but which does not appear to exert as 
 much therapeutical value as the inftision or fluid extract of the root- 
 bark This name should be applied only to the true active principle, 
 whenever this is obtained. It is said to be procured by first removmg 
 the resinous extractive, and most of the coloring matter from the leaves,. 
 by treating them with alcohol. The mass is then placed m an alembio 
 apparatus, and the alcohol remaining in the leaves displaced, after which 
 
200 Materia Medica. 
 
 the mass is submitted to the percolating process with hot distilled water, 
 until the active principle is displaced. The aqueous solution is then 
 evaporated in vamo to the consistency of thick syrup, and precipitated 
 and purified in alcohol nearly absolute. The precipitate is then placed 
 in vacuo at a temperature of about 100° F. By this means the alcohol 
 remaining in the precipitate is gradually removed, and the Oeanothine 
 remains in a dried mass partially in the form of crystals, after which 
 it is reduced to a fine powder, when purified it is white ; its odor and 
 taste is similar to that of green tea ; it is soluble in water, but insoluble 
 in alcohol. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Astringent, expectorant, sedative, antispasmodic, 
 and antisyphilitic. TJsed in gonorrhea, dysentery, asthma, chronic bron- 
 chitis, hooping-cough, and other pulmonary affections. Dose of a strong 
 decoction one tablespoonful three or four times a day. It has likewise 
 been successfully used as a wash and gargle in the aphthse of children, 
 sore mouth subsequent to fever, and in ulceration of the fauces attend- 
 ant on scarlatina. 
 
 Off. Frep. — ^Decoctum Ceanothi; Extractum Ceanothi Fluidum. 
 
 CBLASTEUS SCANDBNS. (Kietternder Celaster.) 
 
 False Bittersweet. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Celastracese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 BARK OF THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, likewise known by various other names, as 
 Staff-vine, Waxwork, Glinibing Bittersweet, Climbing Staff-tree, etc., is a 
 climbing, indigenous shrub, with a woody, twining stem, without thorns 
 or prickles. Leaves thin, oblong, acuminate, sei'rate, alternate, stipu- 
 late, petiolate, smooth; racemes small, terminal, axillary; flowers green- 
 ish-white, or yellowish-white, fragrant, diceeious. Galyx flat, five-lobed; 
 corolla spreading, of five sessile petals; capsule obtusely three-angled, 
 three-celled, berry-like; valves bearing the partitions on their centers; 
 stamens standing around a glandular, five-toothed disk; style thick; 
 stigma three-cleft. Seeds covered with a scarlet aril, one or two in each 
 cell.— ©.— TF. 
 
 History. — This plant grows in woods and thickets, from Canada to 
 Carolina, creeping on hedges and rocks, or twining about other trees, 
 or each other, and ascending to a great height. It flowers in June, and 
 bears a scarlet berry, which remains through the winter. The plant 
 thrives most luxuriously in a rich, damp soil. The root is very long, 
 creeping, woody, of a bright orange color, about half an inch in thick- 
 ness, with a thick red, or yellowish-red bark, which is the ofllcinal part. 
 On account of the similarity of name. Bittersweet, the plant has been 
 confounded with the Solanum Dulcamara, from which, however, it es- 
 sentially differs in appearance and therapeutic action. The bark has a 
 sweetish, rather nauseous taste, and imparts its medicinal properties to 
 water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Alterative, diaphoretic, and diuretic, with some 
 narcotic powers. Used in scrofula, secondary syphilis, chronic hepatic 
 affections, cutaneous affections, leucorrhea, rheumatism, and obstructed 
 menstruation. Externally, an ointment has been successfully employed 
 in inflamed and indurated breasts of nurses, in prurigo of the vulva, 
 burns, excoriations, etc. Dose of the decoction, from two to four fluid- 
 ounces, three times a day; of the extract, from five to ten grains. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Decoctum Celastri ; Syrupus Eumecis Compositus. 
 
Cephaelis Ipecacuanha. 201 
 
 CENTAUEBA BBNEDICTA. (Kardobenedikten.) 
 
 Blessed Thistle. — Gesegnete Distel. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia Frustranea. 
 
 LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — Centaurea Benedicta, or Cnicus Benedictus of De Can- 
 doUe, also known as Holy Thistle, is an annual, branched, woolly plant, 
 with a fibrous, whitish root, sending out several roundish, reddish stems, 
 one or two feet high. Leaves amplexicaul, somewhat decurrent, nearly 
 entire, pinnated or deeply pinnatifid, more or less hairy; upper leaves 
 sessile, lower petioled. Flowers yellow, in terminal bracteate heads. 
 Involucre ovate ; scales close-pressed, coriaceous, extended into a long, 
 hard, spiny, pinnated appendage ; lateral spines conical, distant. Florets 
 of the ray sterile, slender, as long as those of the disk. Fruit longitudi- 
 nally and regularly striated, smooth, with a broad lateral scar. Pappus 
 triple, as it were ; the outer being the horny, short, crenated margin of 
 the fruit; the intermediate consisting of ten long, stiff setse; the inner, 
 of ten short setse ; all the setae alternating with each other. — L. 
 
 History. — This plant is common to Southern Europe, and has been 
 introduced into this and several other countries. It flowers in June, 
 at which time the leaves should be collected, as the plant is at its high- 
 est degree of medical power ; they should be thoroughly and speedily 
 dried, and be kept free from moisture, light, and free access of air. 
 Their odor is faint and rather disagreeable, and their taste is exceed- 
 ingly bitter. Their properties are yielded to water or alcohol, forming 
 a pleasantly -bitter draught when infused with the former fluid, but a 
 sickening and repulsive decoction. The leaves yield, upon analysis, a 
 bitter principle, resin, a fixed oil, gum, sugar, albumen, some salts, etc. 
 The bitter principle is named Cnicin, and is supposed to be the active 
 one of the plant; it crystallizes in transparent white needles, which have 
 a bitter taste, are odorless, neutral, unaffected by the atmosphere, are 
 fused and decomposed by heat, slightly soluble in cold, but more so in 
 boiling water, sparingly soluble in ether, but readily in alcohol. Id 
 some respects it approaches to salicin and phloridzin ; consisting of 62.9 
 Carbon, 6.9 Hydrogen, and 30.2 Oxygen. Yomiting is produced by it in 
 doses of five or six grains ; seven or eight grain doses have proved bene- 
 ficial in periodical fevers. — Chem. Gaz., Vol. II., p. 462. ' 
 
 Properties and Uses.^A. cold infusion is tonic; a warm infusion dia- 
 phoretic, and, if strong, emetic. Used as a tonic in loss of appetite, dys- 
 pepsia, and intermittent diseases. Dose of the powder, from ten to sixty 
 grains ; of the infusion, two fluidounces. 
 
 OjS'. Prep. — Infiisum Centaureae. 
 
 CEPHAELIS IPECACUANHA. (Brechenerregende Kopfbere.) 
 
 Ipecacuanha. — Aechte Brechwurzel. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Cinchonaceae. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 EOOT. 
 
 Description. — Cephaelis Ipecacuanha is a small plant, with a perennial 
 root, descending obliquely into the ground, from four to six inches long, 
 simple, or divided into a few diverging branches, about as thick as a 
 
 foose-quill, ringed, when fresh pale brown, when dry umber-colored, 
 lackish-umbtjr-colored, or grayish -brown: cortical integument with a 
 
202 Materia Medica. 
 
 feddisli, resinous, glittering fracture, and readily separating from a cen- 
 tral woody axis. Stem suffiruticose, from two to ttree feet long, ascend- 
 ing, often rooting near the ground, smooth and cinereous at the base, 
 downy and green near the apex. Leaves rarely more than four or six 
 on a stem, oblong-ovate, acute, roughish with hairs, from three to four 
 inches long, from one to two broad; those at the top of the stem are op- 
 posite, those toward the base alternate. Petioles short, downy. Stipules 
 erect, appressed, membranous, deciduous, four to six-cleft. Peduncles 
 solitary, axillary, downy, erect when in flower, reflexed when in fruit, 
 about one inch and a half long. Flowers small, white, in semiglobose 
 heads, of eight, twelve, or more ; involucre one-leaved, spreading, deeply 
 four to six-parted, with obovate acuminate ciliated segments. Bracts 
 to each flower one, obovate- oblong, acute, downy. Calyx minute, obo- 
 vate, whitish, adhering to the ovary, with five bluntish, short teeth. 
 Corolla white, funnel-shaped, tube cylindrical, downy on the outside and 
 at the orifice ; limb shorter than the tube, with five ovate, reflexed seg- 
 ments. Stamens five ; filaments filiform, white, smooth ; anthers linear, 
 longer than the filaments, projecting a little beyond the corolla. Ovary 
 with a fleshy disc at the apex; style filiform; stigmas two, linear. Berry 
 ovate, obtuse, about the size of a kidney -bean, at first purple, afterward 
 violet-black, two-celled, two-seeded, with a longitudinal fieshy partition. 
 Nucules plano-convex, furrowed on the flat side. — L. 
 
 Sistory. — Ipecacuanha inhabits Brazil, in moist, shady situations, and 
 is also found in other sections of SOuth America, generally between 
 seven and twenty degrees of south latitude (JEd.), flowering from De- 
 cember to March, and maturing its fruit between April and June. The 
 root, which is the officinal part, is gathered by the natives from January 
 to April, who, after removing the stem from it, wash it and dry it by 
 exposure to the solar rays. It is principally imported from Eio Ja- 
 neiro, in barrels, seroons, and large packages. When brought to this 
 country it consists of bent and contorted pieces, four to six inches 
 long, about the thickness of a goose-iq[uill, generally attenuated toward 
 the base and apex, annulated, rings unequal, commonly of the breadth 
 of half the thickness of the root (Ed^, with a grayish-red or grayish- 
 brown, thick, brittle, resinous, and horny bark, yielding a grayish- 
 yellow powder with difficulty, and a slender, pale-yellow medituUium 
 or woody part. The bark is the most active part of the root. 
 
 Pharmacologists have divided Ipecacuanha into three varieties, the 
 grayish-black, the grayish-red, and the grayish-white, which are so 
 named from the relative color of the surface of the roots. But as they 
 are obtained from the same plant, and are about the same in properties 
 and constitution, the division is of no practical utility, especiaUy as they 
 are received into this country often so intermixed, as to render a separa- 
 tion of them almost impossible. 
 
 Ipecacuanha root is seldom seen by the druggist or practitioner of 
 this country, except in powder, from which circumstance it is much 
 liable to adulteration. The powder of the genuine article is of a gray- 
 ish-yellow color, with a faint, bitterish, obscurely acrid taste, and a weak, 
 musty, peculiar odor, which becomes stronger and nauseating during 
 the process of pulverization; in some persons it excites sternutation, 
 in others a difficulty of breathing resepibling asthma. It yields its 
 properties to water, and still better to alcohol, spirits or wines. Boil- 
 ing impairs its virtues. The bark of the grayish-black, or dark- 
 brown variety, consists of an odorous concrete oil, wax, gum, starch, 
 lignin, and emetia. The woody part contains but little emetia. The 
 
Cephaelis Ipboaouanha. 20S 
 
 grajish-Mack variety is supposed to contain more emetia than tha 
 grayish -red. 
 
 Mmetia or Emetine, which is the active principle of the root, is pre- 
 pared by removing the odoriferous fatty ,oil from the powder with 
 ether, exhausting the residue with boili;ng alcohol, distilling off the 
 alcohol after the addition of a little water, boiling the filtered liquor 
 with magnesia, washing the precipitate with cold water, exhausting it. 
 when dry with boiling rectified alcohol, distilling off the spirit, com- 
 bining the residue with a very diluted acid, decolorizing the solution 
 with animal charcoal, and then repeating the process from the decompo- 
 sition with magnesia onward. — C — T. It may also be obtained by 
 treating the alcoholic extract of the root with dilute sulphuric acid, 
 filtering from the oily matter, and after slightly supersaturating the solu- 
 tion with ammonia, agitating the turbid liquid with chloroform. On 
 evaporating the chloroform, the emetia is left as a yellowish resinous- 
 looking mass. It may be purified by conversion into a salt, and digest- 
 ing its solution with a small quantity of animal charcoal ; on adding 
 an alkali to the filtered liquid, pure emetia is precipitated. 
 
 Pure emetia forms a white, or pale-yellowish, non-crystallizable 
 powder, odorless, nearly tasteless, decidedly alkaline, permanent in the 
 air, insoluble in ether, essential oils, and caustic alkalies, very sparingly 
 so in cold water, but readily soluble in alcohol, chloroform, and in di- 
 lute acids ; at 122° F., it fuses, and at an increased temperature of a 
 few degrees further it decomposes. Nitric acid converts it into oxalic 
 acid. With acids it forms neutral, soluble, bitter, acrid, and for the 
 most part, uncrystallizable salts, whose solutions are precipitated by 
 gallic and tannic acids. It is supposed to consist of 35 equivalents of 
 carbon, 25 of hydrogen, 9 of oxygen, and 1 of azote (C35 H^ O9 N). The 
 root furnishes but a very small proportion of pure emetia. 
 
 Tannic acid, all astringents coptaining tannic or gallic acids, iodine, 
 salts of iron, and acetate of lead, are incompatible with ipecacuanha. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Emetic in large doses ; nauseant and expector- 
 ant in smaller ; and in still smaller doses, tonic, stimulant, carminative 
 and diaphoretic. Some authors suppose it to possess narcotic proper- 
 ties. Griven in scruple doses, it operates as an active emetic, causing 
 much nausea, continued muscular straining, with a free secretion of 
 mucus ; vomiting, however, seldom takes place, until fifteen or twenty 
 minutes after its administration. It is inferior to no other emetic, be- 
 ing safe even in large doses, seldom producing painful spasms of the 
 stomach or bowejs, and causing less prostration of the vital forces than 
 tartar-emetic; it is best employed in combination with other emetics, 
 as in the Compound Powder of Lobelia, which is ' much used by practi- 
 tioners, and is preferred to any other emetic in the early stage of febrile 
 diseases, and in other instances where a severe succussion of the system 
 is indicated. In spasmodic asthma, hysteria, pertussis, sore-throat, 
 common catarrh, and stricture of the chest common in phthisis. Ipeca- 
 cuanha as an emetic will be found very beneficial. In menorrhagia, a 
 scruple of the powder at bed-time followed by a saline cathartic in the 
 morning, has, in the hands of several practitioners, promptly phecked 
 the discharge. In fevers and inflammatory affections, small diaphoretic 
 doses have been highly beneficial. It will likewise act ,as a nauseam 
 sedative in all local inflammatory diseases, for which purpose it may be 
 extensively used, and will be found extremely valuable in peritonitis, ' 
 even the worst form occurring in puerperal women, in pneumonia, in 
 ■which it will assist expectoration, also in hemorrhages, especially uterine 
 
204 Materia Medica. 
 
 hemorrhages. From three to ten grains will produce nausea, which 
 may be continued for any length of time, and which is attended 
 with more or less depression of the pulse, languor, moisture of the skin, 
 and an increased mucous discharge from all the mucous tissues of the 
 system, which renders it very useful in pulmonary and hepatic diseases. 
 I have found it very useful in typhoid pneumonia in combination with 
 BU'lphate of quinia. In doses of from one-fourth of a grain to a grain it 
 has proved efficacious in the pneumonia of children, rubbed up with 
 sugar to render it pleasant. 
 
 In doses of one-quarter of a grain to one-half, it acts as a tonic, im- 
 proving digestion, increasing the appetite, and is valuable in some forms 
 of dyspepsia. In doses of half a grain to two grains, administered every 
 three or four hours, it produces perspiration, and is beneficial in febrile 
 and inflammatory diseases ; combined with opium its diaphoretic in- 
 fluence is greatly augmented, as seen in the Powder of Ipecacuanha and 
 Opium. In diarrhea and dysentery, both acute and chronic, it has been 
 regarded as a valuable remedy, free vomiting being first induced, 
 after which, two or three grains, with occasionally one-eighth of a grain 
 of sulphate of morphia, may be given every four hours. Prof. J. M. 
 Scudder considers it a specific in cholera infantum ; he adds from ten 
 to twenty drops of the tincture to four fluidounces of water, and admin- 
 isters it in teaspoonful doses every two, three, or four hours, as required. 
 Combined with resin of podophyllum, it increases the activity of that 
 resinoid, and induces perspiration. An excellent remedy for dysentery is, 
 one grain each of dried extract of leptandra and Ipecacuanha, and a half 
 a grain of resin of podophyllum, to be given every three hours until it 
 operates freely. Sometimes Ipecacuanha may be advantageously com- 
 bined with other emetic agents, as bloodroot, lobelia, etc., to render emesis 
 more prompt, certain, and effectual. In all cases where this drug can not 
 be given by the mouth, it may be used in injection, adding two drachms 
 of the powder to one pint of warm water, for an adult — it will operate 
 kindly and thoroughly as an emetic. 
 
 The French Codex give the following excellent formula for preparing 
 Syrup of Ipecacuanha : dissolve ten parts of the alcoholic extract of Ipe- 
 cacuanha in a sufficient quantity of cold water ; filter the solution, add 
 to it 990 parts of syrup, and evaporate until the syrup marks 1.26 at 
 30° B. Five drachms (20 grammes) of this syrup contains 3 grains 
 (20 centigrammes) of the extract. 
 
 Eeeently a liniment of Ipecacuanha has been introduced into prac- 
 tice, for the treatment of incipient phthisis, certain rheumatic affections, 
 chronic hydrocephalus, chronic inflammation of the synovial membrane 
 of the knee, and infantile convulsions. As soon as the pustular erup- 
 tion appears, the symptoms improve more or less rapidly, until a cure 
 is effected. It is made of powdered Ipecacuanha, sweet-oil, of each, two 
 drachms, lard half an ounce; mix them well together. To be rubbed 
 into the part affected, fifteen or twenty minutes at a time, and to be 
 repeated three or four times daily, covering the part after each rubbing 
 with flannel; in from twenty-four to forty-eight hours the eruption 
 appears. This has not been found of so much value as was at first 
 supposed. It is stated, that an infusion of two drachms of Ipecacuanha 
 in a gill of hot water and strained, will, if drank Warm, prove emetic ; 
 then if the same quantity of hot water is again added to the residue, 
 strained and drank cold, it will prove purgative ; and the same process 
 repeated the third time, and used cold, becomes a valuable tonic. 
 Emetia, the active principle of this drug, is so severe and uncertain 
 
Cera Alba. — Cera Flava. 205 
 
 in its action, that it is not used in medicine. Two grains of it will kill 
 a large dog. A sixteenth of a grain vomited an old man severely. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Pulvis Ipecacuanhse Compositus; Pulvis Ipeeacuanhaa et 
 Opii; Tinctura Serpentarise Composita; Unguentum Ipecacuanhse; 
 Vinum Ipecacuanhse. 
 
 CEPHALANTHUS OCCIDBNTALIS. (Amerikanische Kopfbluthe.) 
 
 Button-bush. 
 Nat. Ord. — Eubiacese. Sex. Syst. — Tetrandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE BARK. 
 
 Description. — This plant, sometimes called Pond Dogwood, Globe 
 Flower, etc., is a handsome shrub growing from six to twelve feet or 
 more high, the bark being mostly rough on the stem and smooth on 
 the branches. Leaves opposite, or in whorls of three, oval, acuminate, 
 entire, smooth, spreading, petioled, with short intervening stipules, 
 from three to five inches by two to three. Flowers white, terminal, in 
 spherical heads about an inch in diameter, resembling the globular in- 
 florescence of the sycamore {Platanus Occidentalis). Peduncles long. 
 Corolla tubular, slender, four-cleft. Calyx tube inversely pyramidal, 
 the limb four-toothed. Stamens four; anthers yellow; style thread- 
 form, much protruded; stigma capitate, yellow. Fruit, small, hard and 
 dry capsules, inversely pyramidal, two to four-celled, separating from 
 the base upward into two or four closed one-seeded portions. — G. — W. 
 
 History. — Button-bush is indigenous to the United States, and is found 
 in damp places, along the margins of rivers, ponds, etc., flowering from 
 June to September. The bark is the part used, and possesses much 
 bitterness. Water or alcohol takes up its virtues. 
 
 Properties and Uses — Tonic, febrifuge, aperient, and diuretic. The 
 bark has been used with much success in intermittent and remittent 
 fevers ; and the inner bark of the root forms an agreeable bitter, which 
 is often employed in coughs, and as a diuretic in gravel. The plant 
 deserves further investigation. It has never been analyzed, but con- 
 tains some volatile oil, and much bitter extractive. 
 
 CBEA ALBA. (Weisses Wachs.) 
 
 White Wax. 
 
 CBEA ^JjANA^.—Gelbes Wachs. 
 
 Yellow Wax. 
 
 History. — Wax is a substance which exists in small quantities in vari- 
 ous plants ; it is chiefly obtained, however, from the common bee. Apis 
 Mellifiea, which forms cells, in which its food and ova are contained with 
 wax. It is a natural product of the insect, being secreted upon the ab- 
 dominal scales or rings. The Wax produced by the bee is the ofScinal 
 article, of which there are two kinds, Tellow Wax and White Wax. 
 
 Yellow Wax is procured directly from the comb, which, after having 
 been deprived of its honey, is fused in boiling water, strained, again 
 fused, and placed in appropriate vessels of various sizes ; when cool, the 
 Wax is solidified, and forms the Yellow Wax of commerce. Much of 
 the Wax in our markets is imported from the island of Cuba, but great 
 quantities of it are furnished by several of our own States. It has a 
 
206 Materia Medica. 
 
 grayish-yellow color, a peculiar, rather pleasant odor, and a feeble 
 characteristic taste. It possesses considerable \firmnes8 and tenacity, 
 though somewhat soiapy, but not greasy, to the touch ; it is brittle, with 
 a short fracture, the fractured surface resembling an aggregation of 
 small grains; it becomes soft by gentle heat; melts at 154° F., and has 
 a specific gravity varying from 0.960 to 0.965. It is not dissolved by 
 water, alcohol, or ether ; the last two, when at 212° P., take up about 
 gij^th of Wax, the greater part of which is precipitated as the fluid cools. 
 Yellow "Wax is sometimes adulterated with resin, suet, and other sub- 
 stances. Eesin may be known by its solubility in cold alcohol. Suet 
 communicates a fatty and disagreeable taste. Meal, etc., may be de- 
 tected by their insolubility in oil of turpentine. — P. — T. 
 
 White Wax is prepared by exposing thin layers of Yellow Wax to 
 , air, sunshine, and moisture, when it loses its color, nearly all of its odor, 
 and becomes yellowish-white. The mode of bleaching Wax is thus 
 described by Pereira: "This is effected by melting Yellow Wax (either 
 in a copper vessel, or in a large vat or tub, by means of steam) running 
 it off, while in a melted state, into a trough, called a cradle, perforated 
 at the bottom with holes, and placed over a large water tank, at one 
 end of which is a revolving cylinder, almost wholly immersed in water. 
 By this means the Wax is solidified, converted into a kind of ribbon, 
 and conveyed on the surface of the water to the other end of the tank. 
 These ribbons of Wax are here lifted out, and conveyed in baskets to 
 the bleaching grounds, where they are exposed to the' air one or two 
 weeks (according to the state of the weather), being turned every day, 
 and watered from time to time. The Wax is then re-melted, re-rib- 
 boned, and re-bleached; it is subsequently refined by melting in water 
 acidulated with sulphuric acid." When finished, it is cut or cast into 
 flat, round cakes, to which a little spermaceti is generally added to 
 improve the color. Chlorine will decolorize Wax, but changes its char- 
 acter, causing it when burned to evolve irritating vapors of hydro- 
 chloric acid. When purified, as abo.ve named. Wax is white with a 
 slight tinge of yellow, is odorless, solid, brittle, tasteless, has the spe- 
 cific gravity varying from 0.8203 to 0.9662, softens at about 94° to 96° 
 P., fiises at 155° F., and concretes again at about 148° P. At a high 
 temperature it boils, and in close vessels distills over with little altera- 
 tion; at a red heat its vapor inflames, burning with a dense white 
 brightness. Boiling alcohol or ether slightly dissolves it, but deposits 
 the most of it upon cooling; cold alcohol or ether, or water, do not affect 
 it. — G. It readily dissolves in fixed and volatile oils, and combines by 
 fusion with fats and resins ; boiled with caustic alkaline solutions it is 
 imperfectly -saponified. The ultimate constituents of Wax are twenty 
 equivalents of carbon, twenty of hydrogen, and one of oxygen (Cjo Hj, 
 0). When treated with nitric acid, Wax is almost entirely converted 
 into succinic acid. According to Dr. John, Wax consists of two proxi- 
 mate principles, Cerin and Myricin, the former constituting about 70 
 per cent, of the Wax, fusible at 143°, soluble in boiling alcohol, partly 
 saponifiable by boiling with caustic potassa, and furnishing margaric 
 acid, oleic acid, and an unsaponifiable fatty matter called Cerain; the 
 latter fusible at 149°, sparingly soluble even in boiling alcohol, and in- 
 capable of undergoing saponification. Lewy and Ettling consider cerin, 
 myricin, and cerain to be isomeric, but Hess affirms they are not dis- 
 tinct principles at all, and the Wax is essentially a single proximate 
 principle. Mr. B. 0. Brodie considers cerin, when pure, as an acid hav- 
 ing the constitution G^ 13.^ 0^, and which he terms Gerotic add, which 
 
Cerevisi^ Feementum. 207 
 
 is fusible at 174° F., and on cooling solidifies into a very crystalline body. 
 Myricin, G^ H92 O4, when wholly freed from cerotic acid, is saponiJiable 
 with difficulty, and from the products of saponification he isolated Pal- 
 mitic acid (C32II31 Os HO) and a peculiar substance,JlfeWssme (Ceo Hjj O^), 
 which he views as a Wax-alcohol, convertible into melissic acid by the 
 loss of two equivalents of hydrogen, and the gain of two of oxygen. 
 
 Both Yellow and White Wax are liable to adulterations. Eesin may 
 be suspected by the fracture being smooth and shining instead of 
 granular, also by its solubility in cold alcohol. Insoluble substances 
 may be discovered and separated by melting and straining the Wax. 
 Tallow and suet, by the greasiness imparted, by the softness they com- 
 municate to the Wax, and its greater fusibility ; also by its unpleasant 
 odor when melted. Fatty matters may also be detected by their ren- 
 dering hot lime-water turbid, when agitated with chips of the suspected 
 Wax, and then allowed to rest. Chloroform dissolves stearin and stearic 
 acid completely, but only 25 per cent, of Wax ; then, if Wax, treated 
 with six or eight parts of chloroform, loses more than one-fourth of its 
 weight, it is impure. If the Wax contains starch, boil it in water and 
 add tincture of iodine to it, which will produce a blue color. {For 
 Myrtle Wax,-see Myrica Cerifera.') Paraffine is sometimes mixed with 
 wax ; the density of this mixture will correspond to the proportion of 
 each of the substances present. Wax has the sp. gr. 0.965; the sp. gr. 
 of paraffine varies from 0.870 to 0.876. Wax when placed in alcohol 
 sp. gr. 0.961 will fall to the bottom ; should it float, we may suspect it 
 to be mixed with paraffine. A wax from the north of Brazil, wax of 
 Oarnahuba, has been introduced into commerce, which possesses the 
 advantage over beeswax of not melting so readily, as it requires a heat 
 of 183.2° F. It readily saponifies, yielding an acid upon the decom- 
 position of the soap by an acid ; treated with alcohol, it gives ceratic 
 acid, which melts at 170.6° F. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Wax exerts little or no influence upon the sys- 
 tem, though it has been recommended in diarrhea, dysentery, and in- 
 flammation of the alimentary mucous. membrane combined with olive- 
 oil, and the yolk of egg. Its principal employment is in the prepara- 
 tion of ointments, cerates, and plasters, of which it forms an ingredient, 
 imparting to them due consistence and tenacity. 
 
 CBEEVISIiE FBEMEISTTUM. (Bier-Hefe.) 
 Yeast. — JSefe. 
 
 Preparation. — When an infusion of malt (barley steeped in water, 
 fermented, and dried in a kiln), technically called Wort, is subjected to 
 the process of fermentation, a dirty, grayish-brown substance, gradu- 
 ally separates, forming in part a frothy scum, and partly a sediment ; 
 this is Yeast, or Barm. 
 
 History. — Yeast is a thick, glutinous, foamy-like fluid of a wme-acid 
 odor, and a rather unpleasant taste ; it is a very mixed substance, con- 
 taining water, alcohol, carbonic, acetic, and malic acids, potassa, lime, 
 Bacoharo-mucilaginous extract, and a cryptogamous growth consisting 
 of nucleated cells, ^/hich is named Torula cerevisice. When exposed to 
 a moist air, or to a temperature above 59° F., yeast rapidly decom- 
 poses; but when subjected to a gentle heat, so as to dissipate its watery 
 parts, it forms a fragile solid, which may be kept without change for a 
 considerable time, but with a diminution of its fermentative properties. 
 
208 Materia Medioa. 
 
 Neither water nor alcohol dissolve Yeast. Its most important property 
 is, that when placed in contact with saccharine solutions at a tempera- 
 ture between 50° and 80° F., it excites vinous fermentation in them, 
 converting their sugar into carbonic acid and alcohol. Dr. Christison, 
 by means of Yeast, has been able to detect one part of sugar in 1,000 
 parts of urine, of specific gravity 1.030, and which is due to its crypto- 
 gamic cellular growth, being favored by the presence of sugar, and 
 which may be seen under an achromatic microscope. The cells appear 
 as small, ovoidal, ellipsoidal, or somewhat pyriform, transparent, nu- 
 cleated, varying in size from l-7500th to about l-250th of an inch. — P. 
 The fermentative power of Yeast is much impaired by drying it ; a 
 heat of 212° P., destroys it, as well as the addition of some of the con- 
 centrated acids, undiluted alcohol, or by continued trituration until all 
 the vesicles have burst and lost their structure. — C. It is also de- 
 stroyed by boiling water, sulphurous acid, sulphate or acetate of cop- 
 per, salt, nitrate of silver, black oxide of manganese, carbolic acid, 
 creosote, quinia, strychnia, a free alkali, pyroligneous acid, salts of 
 mercury, essential oils, etc. If, however, fermentation has commenced, 
 the vegetable bases have no specific power of arresting the process. 
 Arsenious acid, acetate of lead, and tartar emetic have no retarding 
 effect upon the progress of fermentation. Mitscherlich has detected 
 two modifications of yeast, which are propagated in different ways, 
 and each produces specific results upon the fermenting liquid. One of 
 these he terms surface yeast, developed at a temperature from 70° to 
 80° P. ; the other, sediment yeast, the ferment of Bavarian beer, devel- 
 oped at a temperature between 32° and 45° P. Por some interesting re- 
 marks on fermentation, by M. Pasteur, see Am. Jour. Pharm., XXX., 328. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Stimulant, tonic, nutritious, antiseptic, aod 
 laxative. Used in typhoid fevers by mouth and injection, and in tym- 
 panitis by enema. In all malignant ulcerations of the throat and 
 mouth,- in diseases where there is a disposition to putridity, in scarla- 
 tina, and low stages of fever, with or without the addition of olive-oil, 
 which renders it more laxative, it will be found highly beneficial. 
 Externally, in combination with elm bark and charcoal, it forms an 
 excellent emollient and antiseptic poultice in sloughing ulcers, stimu- 
 lating the vessels, removing the tendency to gangrene, and correcting 
 the fetor. 
 
 In the recent furunculoid epidemic which existed in this country 
 and Europe, given internally, in conjunction with quinia. Yeast was 
 found effectual in the treatment of boils, carbuncles and felons. The 
 dose of Yeast is from half a fluidounce to a fluidounce, every two or 
 three hours. 
 
 Yeast has been advised in diabetes mellitus in doses of a fluidrachm 
 three or four times a day, taken immediately before meals. It has in 
 some instances proved efficacious, and is supposed to act by decompos- 
 ing sugar or preventing its abnormal production in the stomach. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Cataplasma Permenti. 
 
 CETACBUM. (Wallrath.) 
 Spermaceti. 
 
 A CONOEBTE SUBSTANCE OBTAINED FEOM THE OILY MATTER Or THE SPER- 
 MACETI WHALE. 
 
 Preparaiion. — Spermaceti is obtained from the Cachalot or Sperm 
 whale, the Physeter Macrocephalus of naturalists, a species of the family 
 
Cetaoeum. 209 
 
 Cetacea ; it is a gregarious animal, inhabiting the Pacific ocean, the 
 waters of the Indian Archipelago, and the Chinese seas. It varies in 
 size, being from fifty to eighty feet in length, with a huge, quadrangu- 
 lar head, from twenty to thirty feet, or more, in circumference, and 
 which constitutes about a third of its whole length. Spermaceti is 
 found in various parts of its body, in small proportions, dissolved in 
 its blubber, but that which is met with in commerce, is obtained from 
 large cavities in the upper part of the head; these are divided into 
 numerous cells, which are filled with a milky, oleaginous solution of 
 spermaceti. Prom a large whale forty to sixty hundred weight of this 
 fluid may be collected. It is removed from the cavities and boiled to 
 separate the oleaginous matter from the solid substance, and as it cools, 
 the Spermaceti crystallizes. The oil is then drained off as much as 
 possible, and the remainder is removed from the Spermaceti by power- 
 ful pressure. The crude Spermaceti is subsequently purified by fusing 
 and skimming it, then fusing it in weak lye of potassa, and finally 
 by a third fusion at a gentle heat ; after which it is solidified in tin 
 molds. • 
 
 History. — Spermaceti is a concrete, crystalline, foliaceous, pearly- 
 white substance, without much taste or odor, easily indented or scraped 
 by the nail, slightly greasy, pulverizable on the addition of a little 
 alcohol, or almond-oil, fusible at 112°, combustible, insoluble in water, 
 sparingly soluble in cold alcohol, but more so in oil of turpentine, 
 ether, and boiling alcohol, which deposit it on cooling, and freely solu- 
 ble in fixed and volatile oils, chloroform, and fused fats or resins. It 
 is soluble in sulphuric acid, which decomposes it, but the other mineral 
 acids do not influence it. It differs from ordinary fats in not yielding 
 glycerin when saponified, but in furnishing in its stead a monobasic 
 alcohol termed ethal. Exposed for a length of time to atmospheric 
 influence. Spermaceti becomes yellow and rancid, owing to a small 
 portion of oil contained in it, but may be purified by boiling in alcohol, 
 which deposits the pure Spermaceti as it cools. By this method, or 
 when it is deprived of oil by means of an alkali, it becomes a pure 
 proximate principle, intermediate between wax and the concrete-oils," 
 and presenting all the leading properties of the ordinary article, but 
 less unctuous, rather harder, fusible only at 120°, and having the sp. 
 gr. 0.940, it is then termed Cetin, and is soluble in forty parts of boil- 
 ing alcohol of sp. gr. 0.821. When boiled in a solution of caustic po- 
 tassa, Cetin is partially saponified, forming a brittle soap, composed 
 chiefly of margarate of potassa, oleate of potassa, and a crystalline 
 principle called Ethal (G,^ B.^ O^), and which soap is not wholly soluble 
 in water. Cetin is a compotind of Ethal (hydrated oxide of cetyle), 
 with ethalic or cetylic acid, cetene or cetylene (C32 Hji O3 HO). When 
 melted or dissolved in hot alcohol it crystallizes beautifully; when 
 acted on by nitric acid, it yields first, pimelio acid (C^ H12 Og) ; which 
 is then oxidized into adipic acid (C12 Hjo Og), which is finally converted 
 into succinic acid (H^ Cg H^ 08=118.) Cetin or pure Spermaceti con- 
 sists of 81.66 per cent, of Carbon, 12.86 Hydrogen, and 5.48 Oxygen. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^Demulcent, much used among children in do- 
 mestic practice in coughs, colds, and catarrhal affections, combined with 
 equal parts of loaf-sugar, and in irritations of the intestinal mucous 
 membranes. If to Spermaceti be added half its weight of olive-oil, and 
 after mixing this, powdered gum Arabic be added, and finally, some 
 water be added by degrees, an emulsion may be formed, useful for chil- 
 dren and infants. Hollandt states that Spermaceti may be reduced to 
 14 
 
210 Materia Medica. 
 
 the most impalpable powder, by melting it over a gentle fire, and then 
 stirring it in a previously warmed mortar until cold. 
 
 Spermaceti forms a useful ingredient of several cerates and ointments. 
 It enters into the formation of a crayon which is of much value to 
 chemists, druggists, and others, inasmuch as it enables them to write 
 upon clean glass, the contents of bottles, etc., as labels or otherwise. 
 It is made by fusing in a cup four drachms of Spermaceti (or stearine), 
 three drachms of tallow, and two drachms of wax; after which six 
 drachms of red-lead, and one drachm of potassa are to be stirred into 
 it, keeping the whole mass warm for half an hour, and then pour it into 
 glass tubes the thickness of a lead-pencil. After rapid cooling, the 
 mass may be screwed up and down in the tube, and cut to the finest 
 point with a knife. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Ceratum Cetacei; TJnguentum Aquae Eosae; Unguentum 
 Cetacei. 
 
 CBTEAEIA ISLAISTDICA. (Islandisches Moos.) 
 Iceland Moss. 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Lichenacese. Sex. Syst. — Cryptogamia Lichenes. 
 
 Description. — ^Iceland Moss is a perennial, foliaceous plant, from two 
 to four inches high; thaUus erect, tufted, olive-brown, paler on one side 
 laoiniated, channeled, and dentato-ciliate, the fertile lacinse very broad. 
 Shields brown, oppressed, flat, with an elevated border. — Jj. 
 
 History. — This lichen is a native of Britain and the northern coun- 
 tries of Europe, particularly Iceland. It is diversified in color, being 
 brownish or grayish-white on some parts, and of a reddish hue in oth- 
 ers ; it is without odor, with a mucilaginous, bitter, somewhat astringent 
 taste, and when dry, the lichen is crisp, cartilaginous, and coriaceous, 
 and is convertible into grayish-white powder. It swells up in water, 
 absorbing more than its own weight of that fluid, communicating a 
 portion of its bitterness to it, as well as a little mucilage. When long 
 ■ chewed it is converted into a mucilaginous pulp, and when boiled in 
 water the decoction becomes a firm jelly on cooling. Iceland Moss 
 consists of starchy lignin, a peculiar starch, gum, uncrystallizable 
 sugar, chlorophylle, wax, various salts, and a bitter principle called 
 Cetrarin, or Oetrarie acid, which it is said is used in Italy instead of 
 Cinchona. Christison states that it may be obtained pure "by boiling 
 the coarsely powdered lichen in four times its weight of rectified alco- 
 hol, filtering the solution when tepid, acidulating it with dilute muri- 
 atic acid, diluting it with thrice its volume of water, and purifying the 
 crystals which slowly form, by squeezing them, and washing them 
 with a little ether." As thus obtained, Cetrarin is white, permanent, 
 odorless, intensely bitter, insoluble in water, sparingly so in cold alcohol, 
 more so in boiling alcohol, or ether, and readily soluble in alkaline so- 
 lutions. About 68 grains of Cetrarin have been obtained from half a 
 pound of the lichen. When its alkaline solutions are treated with acids, 
 the Cetrarin is procured without Jjeing changed in its properties ; con- 
 centrated hydrochloric acid converts it into a blue coloring matter. It 
 consists of cetraric acid, lichstearic acid, and thallocor, and is said, to prove 
 an efficacious febrifuge in two or three grain doses, administered every 
 two or three hours. The most important part of Iceland Moss, is its 
 nutritive principle, to which the name of Liehenin has been giv^n. It 
 may be obtained by macerating the chopped lichen for twenty-four 
 
Chelidonium Majus. 211 
 
 hours, in eighteen parts of water, containing a 250th of its weight of 
 carbonate of potassa — strain off the bitter solution without pressure 
 and remove the rest of it from the residuum by mac_pration with cold 
 water, and simple straining. Boil the residuum in nine parts of water 
 down to six, strain the decoction, and squeeze what is left in the cloth, 
 and then allow the strained liquor to cool. A firm jelly is formed, which 
 cracks and throws out much of the water, find then dri es into a hard, black 
 glassy -like substance. Theblaek coloring-matter may be removed by boil- 
 ing again, straining, cooling, and drying ; upon which the lichenin is ob- 
 tained in thin, transparent, and tough plates of a yellowish color. Gold 
 water renders it gelatinous, boiling water dissolves it, forming a jelly 
 on cooling ; alcohol and ether do not affect it. Iodine renders its watery 
 solution blue, and it is converted into sugar by sulphuric aid, and into 
 oxalic acid by nitric acid. It consists of Carbon, Oxygen, and Hydro- 
 gen, and in some respects resembles amidin. . 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^Demulcent, tonic, and nutritious. Used as a de- 
 mulcent in chronic catarrhs, chronic dysentery, and diarrhea, and as a 
 tonic in dyspepsia, convalescence, and exhausting diseases. Boiled with 
 milk it forms an excellent nutritive and tonic in phthisis, and general 
 debility. Its tonic virtues depend upon its cetrarin, which, if removed, 
 renders the lichen merely nutritious. 
 
 Off. Frep. — ^Decoctum Cetrarise. 
 
 CHELIDONIUM MAJUS. (Grosses Schollkraut.) 
 
 Great Celandine. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Papaveracese. Sex. Syst. — Polyandria Monogynia. 
 
 HEEB AND ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, sometimes known as Tetterwort, is an ever- 
 green perennial, with a stem from one to two feet in height, branched, 
 swelled at the joints, leafy, round, smooth. I/eaves smooth, spreading, 
 very deeply pinriatifid ; leaflets in from two to four pairs, from one and 
 a half to two and a half inches long, about two-thirds as broad, terminal 
 one largest, all ovate, cuneately incised or lobed ; lateral ones sometimes 
 dilated at their lower margin, near the base, almost as if auricled ; color 
 of all a deep, shining green. Flowers bright yellow, umbellate, on long, 
 often bairy stalks. Umbels thin, axillary, pedunculate. Oalyx tawny, 
 often hairy. Petals four, entire, yellow, very fugacious. Stamens nu- 
 merous. Capsules long, torulose, two-valved, one-celled. Seeds black 
 and shining, each with a whitish deciduous crest. — Jj. 
 
 History. — Celandine is a pale green, fleshy herb, indigenous to Eu- 
 rope, and naturalized in this country; it grows along fences, by road- 
 sides, in waste places, etc., and flowers from May to October. When 
 the plant is wounded, a bright yellow, offensive juice flows out, which 
 has a persistent, nauseous, bitter taste, with a biting sensation in the 
 mouth and fauces. The root is the most intensely bitter part of the 
 plant, and is more commonly preferred. Drying diminishes its activity. 
 It yields its virtues to alcohol or water. Analysis has detected in this 
 plant a deep yellow, bitter, resinous substance, an orange-colored, nau- 
 seous, and bitter gum-resin, mucilage, albumen, free malic acid, silica, 
 and various salts. More recently, a peculiar acid has been detected in 
 it, termed Ohelidonic acid; an alkaline principle, forming neutral red 
 salts with acids, wbich are narcotic and poisonous, denominated Ghe- 
 lerythrine; it is a gray powder, and excites violent sneezing when snuffed 
 
212 Materia Medioa. 
 
 into the nostrils ; another alkaline principle, bitter, insoluble in water 
 and forming crystallizable salts, called Ghelidonin (C^o Hjo ISTs Og); and 
 lastly, a neutral, yellow, crystallizable bitter principle, termed Chelidox- 
 ' anthin. 
 
 Ghelerythrin may be obtained hy forming a strong ethereal tincture 
 of the Celandine root ; through this pass muriatic acid gas, and dry the 
 precipitated muriate which is insoluble in ether. Then dissolve it in 
 hot water, filter, precipitate by ammonia, dry the precipitate, dissolve 
 it in ether, decolorize by animal charcoal, again precipitate by muriatic 
 acid gas, and decompose the muriate by ammonia, as before. (<See San- 
 guinaria.) 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Stimulant, acrid, alterative, diuretic, diapho- 
 retic, purgative, and vulnerary. tJsed internally in decoction or tinc- 
 ture, and externally in poultice or ointment, for scrofula,, cutaneous dis- 
 eases, and piles. Likewise useful in hepatic affections, and is supposed 
 to exert a special influence on the spleen. As a drastic hydragogue it 
 is fully equal to gamboge. The juice, when applied to the skin, pro- 
 duces inflammation, and even vesication, and has long been known as 
 a caustic for the removal of warts ; also applied to indolent ulcers, fun- 
 gous growths, etc., and is useful in removing specks and opacities of the 
 cornea, and in curing ringworms. Celandine is superior to arnica as a 
 vulnerary; an alcoholic tincture of the root (three ounces to a pint), 
 will be found ah unrivaled external application to prevent or subdue 
 traumatic inflammations. Dose of the powdered root, from half a 
 drachm to one drachm; of the fresh juice, from thirty to forty drops, in 
 some bland liquid ; of the tincture, from one to two fluidrachms ; of the 
 aqueous extract, from five to ten grains. 
 
 Off. Prep — Decoctum Chelidonii. 
 
 CHBLONB GLABEA. (Glatte Ohelone.) 
 
 Balmony. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Scrophulariaceaa. Sex. Syst. — ^Didynamia Angiospermia. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — This plant, likewise known by the names of Snakehead, 
 Turtlebloom, Turtlehead, Salt-rheum weed, etc., is a perennial, smooth, her- 
 baceous plant, with a simple, erect, somewhat four-sided stem, about two 
 or three feet high. Leaves opposite, sessile, or nearly so, smooth, ob- 
 long-lanceolate, acuminate, serrate, of a dark, shining green above. 
 Flowers large, inodorous, white, rose-color, or purple, subsessile, in a 
 short, terminal, dense spike, somewhat resembling the head of a snake 
 or tortoise ; corolla inflated, bilabiate, contracted at the mouth ; upper 
 Up broad and arched, keeled in the middle; lower woolly within ; calyx 
 deeply five-parted, with three bracts at base. Stamens four, with hairy 
 filaments and hairy cordate anthers, a fifth sterile filament smaller than 
 the others; ovary ovate; style long, exsert, bending downward. Fruit 
 an oval, two-celled, two-valved capsule, with many small, wing-mar- 
 gined seeds. — W. — (?. 
 
 History. — This valuable medicinal plant is found in the United States 
 in damp soils, flowering in August and September. The flowers are 
 very ornamental, and vary in color, according to the variety of the 
 plant, there being many varieties. The leaves are exceedingly bitter, 
 but inodorous, and communicate their properties to both water and al- 
 cohol. Wo analysis has been made of them. 
 
Chenopodium Anthelminticum. 213 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tonic, cathartic, and anthelmintic. Especially 
 valuable in jaundice and hepatic diseases, likewise for the removal of 
 worms, for which it may be used in powder or decoction, internally, and 
 also in injection. Used as a tonic in small doses, in dyspepsia, debility 
 of the digestive organs, and during convalescence from febrile and in- 
 flammatory diseases. Eecommended in form of ointment as an appli- 
 cation to painful and inflamed tumors, irritable and painful ulcers, in- 
 flamed breasts, piles, etc. Dose of the powder one drachm ; of the tincture, 
 one or. two fluidrachms ; of the decoction, one or two fluidounces. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Chelonis. 
 
 CHENOPODIUM ANTHELMmTICUM. (Wurmwidriger Ganse- 
 
 fuss.) 
 
 Wormseed. — Wurmsaamen. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Chenopodiacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. • 
 
 SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — This plant, known also by the name of Jerusalem Oak, 
 has a perennial and branched root, with an erect, herbaceous, much- 
 branched, furrowed stem, rising from one to three feet in height. Leaves 
 alternate or scattered, oblong-lanceolate, toothed, sinuate, nearly sessile, 
 distinctly veined, attenuated at both ends, of a yellowish -green color, 
 marked beneath with small, resinous atoms. Flowers very numerous, 
 small, of the same color as the leaves, arranged in long, slender, axillary, 
 or terminal racemes ; calyx with five, ovate, concave, permanent seg- 
 ments ; stamens five, opposite to the segments of the calyx, about as long, 
 with awl-shaped filaments ; styles two or three, short ; ovary orbicular, 
 depressed; seeds solitary, lenticular, crustaceous, covered by the perma- 
 nent, five-angled calyx. — L. 
 
 ^istor!/.— Chenopodium is found growing in waste places in almost all 
 parts of the United States, flowering fi;om July to September, and ripen- 
 ing its seeds throughout the autumn, at which time they should be col- 
 lected The whole plant has a strong, unpleasant odor, which is owing 
 to its essential oil ; when first obtained, it is of a light straw-color, but 
 gradually acquires a darker hue. The seeds contain a large quantity 
 of this oil, whichis obtainedfrom them by distillation. The whole plant 
 is occasionally employed, but the seeds only are officinal When dried, 
 they are of a greenish-yellow or brownish color, irregularly spherical, 
 very small, very light, and have a bitterish, warm, pungent taste, with 
 the peculiar odor of the plant. Chenopodina has been obtained from, 
 this plant, in form of a white, tasteless, inodorous powder, soluble in 11 
 parts of water, 202 parts of cold alcohol, and forming crystallizable salts 
 
 with acid. . , ,. ,. xj. ■ ^a ■„ 
 
 Properties and C/ses.— Anthelmintic and antispasmodic. It is used m 
 various forms to expel the lumbrici in children, as the expressed juice, 
 electuary, or decoction. The dose of the juice is a tablespoonful re- 
 peated night and morning ; of the infusion, prepared by infusing an ounce 
 of the recent plant in a pint of milk, with the addition of some aromatic, 
 a wineglassful; of the electuary, made by tl^o^^^l^lyi^f j°f *^,t£; 
 verized^seed in honey or syrup, one or two scruples Jut the essential 
 oil on which the vermifuge properties depend, is the best form, and is 
 more generally employed^ Its dose is from four to eight drops mixed 
 with sugar, or in emulsion, to be given corning and evening, for four 
 Tr five days successively, and then, as with the other forms of adminiB- 
 
214 Materia Medica. . 
 
 tration, it shoTild always be followed by a purgative. It is used in va- 
 rious combinations. Take of oil of wormseed and tansy, of each one 
 ounce, spirits of turpentine one ounce and a half, castor-oil one pound. 
 Mix. Dose, for a child, a teaspoonful every hour, until it operates ; for 
 an adult, a tablespoonful. The oil has likewise been reputed beneficial 
 in amenorrhea. 
 
 The C. Ambrosoides which has been successfully used in chorea, and 
 the C. BotrySy which has been used with advantage in catarrh and 
 humoral asthma, as an expectorant, are both indigenous, and though less 
 powerful, possess somewhat similar properties ; and, indeed, from the 
 superior powers of the 0. Anthelminticum, it might possibly be found of 
 more benefit in these affections, than the above. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Oleum Chenopodii; Mistura Chenopodii Composita; Mis- 
 tura Olei Composita. 
 
 CHIMAPHILA UMBELLATA.— P?/roZa Umbellata. (Doldentragen- 
 
 des Wintergriin.) 
 
 Pipsissewa. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Ericaceae. Sex. Syst. — Decandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE WHOLE PLANT. 
 
 Description. — This plant is known by various other names, as Winter- 
 green, Prince's Pine, Ground Holly, etc. ; it is a small evergreen, nearly 
 herbaceous, perennial herb, with a creeping, yellowish rhizoma, from 
 which are sent several simple, erect, or semi-procumbent stems, some- 
 what angular, marked with the scars of former leaves, and woody at 
 their base ; they grow from four to eight inches in height. Leaves in 
 two or more irregular whorls, from two to three inches long, about one- 
 fourth as wide, cuneate-lanceolate, acute at the base, sharply serrate, on 
 short petioles, coriaceous, shining, of a uniform dark-green color, paler 
 below, not spotted. Flowers corymbose, nodding, of a light-purple col- 
 or ; pedicels with liaear-subulate bracts about their middle, eight lines 
 long. Calyx small, consisting of five roundish, acute teeth or segments, 
 much shorter than the corolla. Corolla is composed of five roundish, 
 concave, spreading, cream-colored petals, exhaling a fragrant odor, 
 tinged at the base with purple. Stamens ten, hypogynous ; filaments 
 sigmoid, the lower half fieshy, triangular, dilated, slightly pubescent 
 at the edges; the upper half filiform. Anthers two-celled, each cell 
 opening by a short, round, tubular orifice, which points downward in 
 the bud, but upward in the flower. Pollen white. Ovary globular, de- 
 pressed, furrowed, obscurely five-lobed, with a funnel-shaped cavity ai 
 top, and supporting a large peltate, convex, obscurely five-rayed stigma. 
 Style short, straight, half as long as the ovary, inversely conical, inserted 
 in the cavity of the ovary, concealed by the stigma. Capsule erect, 
 depressed, five-celled, five valved, partitions from the middle of the 
 valves. Seeds numerous, linear, chaffy. — Jj. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — This little herb is indigenous to the north temperate regions 
 of both hemispheres, and is met with in the United States in dry, shady 
 woods, flowering from May to August. The leaves have no odor when 
 'dried, but when fresh and rubbed they are rather fragrant ; their taste- 
 is astringent, sweetish, and not disagreeably bitter. The whole herb is 
 used. Boiling water or alcohol extracts the active properties. Mr. S. 
 Fairbank found the leaves to contain gum, tannic acid, starch, pectic 
 acid, extractive, resin, fatty matter, chlorophylle, yellow coloring mat- 
 
Ghiooocca Eacemosa, 215 
 
 ter, lignin, and golden -yellow needle-shaped crystals, which he named 
 ehimaphilin; also potassa, lime, iron, magnesia, chloride of sodium, sul- 
 phuric acid, phosphoric acid, and silicic acid. — Jour. Trans. Md. Got. 
 Pharm., March, 1860. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Diuretic, tonic, alterative, and astringent. The 
 fresh leaves, when bruised and applied to the skin, act as vesicants and 
 rubefacients. It is especially useful in scrofula and chronic rheumatic 
 and nephritic affections. The decoction alone has cured ascites, and has 
 been advantageous in strangury, chronic gonorrhea, and catarrh of the 
 bladder; and as an antilithic it is said to diminish lithic acid in the urine. 
 In dropsy it can not be depended upon without the use of other more 
 active measures, and is better adapted to cases accompanied with weak- 
 ness and loss of appetite. In urinary disorders, it may be used as a sub- 
 stitute for the Tiva ursi, to which it is preferable on account of being 
 less obnoxious to the stomach. In many cutaneous diseases it has proved 
 very eflSoacious. Dose of the decoction, from one to four fluidounces 
 three times a day ; of the extract, from ten to twenty grains, three or 
 four times a day; a syrup may be prepared by macerating four ounces 
 of the finely -bruised leaves, in eight fluidounces of water for thirty -six 
 hours, then subject the whole to percolation till a pint of fluid is obtained, 
 evaporate to half a pint, and add twelve ounces of sugar. Dose, one or 
 two tablespoonftils. 
 
 The Ghimaphila Maculata, or Spotted Wintergreen, may be known from 
 the above by its leaves, which are opposite, or in threes, lanceolate, 
 acuminate, rounded at the base, where they are broader than near 
 the summit, remotely serrate, of a deep olive-green color, and veined 
 with greenish-white. The 0. UmbeUata leaves are broader near the 
 summit, tapering toward the base, of a uniform shining-green color, 
 serrated, and not marked with the whitish line along the mid-vein and 
 veinlets. 
 
 The 0. Maculata is probably possessed of similar powers with the 
 officinal article, and may be used as a substitute. An extract of it is 
 reputed to have cured epilepsy. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Chimaphilaa ; Syrupus Stillingise Compositus. 
 
 CHIOCOCCA EACEMOSA. (Trauben Schneebeere.) 
 
 ■ Cahinca. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Cinchonacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogyn'ia. 
 
 THE BARK OP THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — A somewhat climMng shrub, with a round, branched 
 root, and a stem eight to twelve feet high, arborescent, branches oppo- 
 site. Leaves ovate, pointed, smooth, with an uninterrupted margin ; 
 stipules short, pointed, joined together at the base. Flowers white, 
 without odor, but subsequently become yellowish and redolent, are 
 in short axillary, one-sided racemes. Calyx five-cleft. Corolla funnel- 
 shaped ; stamens five. Berry white, small, roundish, compressed. The 
 C. Anguifuga and C. Bensifolia are varieties possessing similar properties. 
 
 .History.— This plant, sometimes called Snowberry, is a native of the 
 West Indies, South America, and also of the sea-coast of Florida. The 
 root, as found in commerce, is in small round pieces of different sizes 
 and lengths, flexuous, with longitudinal rugse and a few rough spots, 
 having its thin cortical portion, of a reddish-brown color, fragile, of a 
 disagreeable odor, and a coffee-like taste, succeeded by a pungent nau- 
 
216 Materia Medica. 
 
 seousDess; its internal woody portion is without taste. The bark is the 
 oflScinal part, and yields its properties to water or alcohol. Besides 
 Cdhincic Acid it contains, according to Pelletier, gummy, oily, and color- 
 ing matters, the nature of which is not well understood. Its most 
 important medicinal constituent is the Cahincic Acid. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In medium doses it augments the urinary .lis- 
 charge, slightly accelerates the action of the heart, and increases the 
 peristaltic action of the bowels; and if the body be kept warm, and 
 warm infusions be drank, instead of purging it will produce perspira- 
 tion. In large doses it produces the most violent emetic and drastic 
 effects. It has been found efficient in dropsy, amenorrhea, rheumatism, 
 syphilis, and osteocopus, and in Brazil is used as an antidote to poison- 
 ous snake bites. From twenty to sixty grains of the powdered root- 
 bark will act as a purgative and diuretic ; or from ten to twenty grains 
 of an aqueous or spirituous extract. It may also be used in decoction 
 or tincture. 
 
 CEtONAITTHUS VIEGmiCA. (Tirginische Schneeblume.) 
 
 Fringe Tree. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Oleacese. Sex. Syst. — Diandria Monogynia. 
 
 BARK OP THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This is a shrub or small tree, growing from eight to 
 twenty -five feet high; leaves opposite, deciduous, oval, oblong or obo- 
 vate-lanceolate, entire-petioled, coriaceous, veiny, smooth, but in one 
 variety, G. Maritima, rather downy. Pedicels long, slender, one-flowered ; 
 flowers in dense, pendulous panicles; calyx very small, four-parted, per- 
 sistent ; corolla consisting of four long and linear petals about an inch 
 long, acute, snow-white; stamens two, very short, on the base of the 
 corolla; style very short; stigma notched. Drupes fleshy, oval, purple, 
 with a bloom, one-seeded; putamen bony; seeds not albunlinous : cotyle- 
 dons large and thick. — G. — W. 
 
 Sistory. — The Fringe-tree is a beautiful ornamental plant, much 
 cultivated in gardens ; it grows from Pennsylvania to Tennessee, on 
 river-banks and on elevated places, presenting light clusters of snow- 
 white flowers in May and June. It is also known in some sections by 
 the names of Old Man's Beard] Poison Ash, etc. The bark of the root 
 is the part used, and imparts its properties to water, or alcohol. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Aperient, alterative, and diuretic, with some 
 narcotic properties ; an infusion of the root-bark has been efficacious 
 in bilious and typhoid fevers, as well as in obstinate intermittents. It 
 forms an excellent tonic after convalescence from exhausting diseases. 
 As a poultice it will be found an excellent local application in external 
 inflammations, ulcers, and wounds. Dose, from half a fluidounce of the 
 infusion to two fluidounces, repeated several times a day, according to 
 its influence upon the system. 
 
 CHLOEOFOEMUM. (Chloroform.) 
 Terchloride of Formyle. — Formylsuperchlorid. 
 
 CHLOROFORM. 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Chlorinated Lime, ten pounds ; Eectified 
 Spirit, thirty fluidounces ; Slaked Lime, a sufficient quantity; Chloride of 
 Calcium, in small fragments, two ounces; Distilled "Water, nine fluid- 
 
Chloroformtjm. 217 
 
 ounces. Place the Water and the Spirit in a capacious still, and elevate 
 the temperature of the mixture to 100°. Add the Chlorinated Lime 
 and five pounds of the Slaked Lime, mixing thoroughly. Connect the 
 still with a condensing worm encompassed by cold water, and termi- 
 nating in a narrow-necked receiver; and apply heat so as to cause dis- 
 tillation, taking care to withdraw the fire the moment the process is 
 well established. When the distilled product measures fifty ounces 
 the receiver is to be withdrawn. Pour its contents into a gallon bottle 
 half filled with water, mix well by shaking, and set at rest for a few 
 minutes, when the mixture will separate into two strata of difi'erent 
 densities. Let the lower stratum, which constitutes crude chloroform, 
 be washed by agitating it in a bottle with three fluidounces of the 
 Distilled Water. Allow the Chloroform to subside, withdraw the water 
 and repeat the washing with the rest of the Distilled Water, in suc- 
 cessive quantities of three ounces, fl., at a time. Agitate the washed 
 Chloroform for five minutes in a bottle with an equal volume of Sul- 
 phuric Acid, allow the mixture to settle, and transfer the upper stratum 
 of liquid to a flask containing the Chloride of Calcium mixed with half 
 an_ ounce of Slaked Lime, which should be perfectly dry. Mix well by 
 agitation. After the lapse of an hour connect the flask with a Liebig's 
 condenser, and distill over the pure Chloroform by means of a water 
 bath. Preserve the product in a cool place, in a bottle furnished with 
 an accurately ground stopper. The lighter liquid which floats on the 
 crude Chloroform after its agitation with water, and the washings with 
 Distilled Water, should be preserved, and employed in a subsequent 
 operation." — Br. Pharm. The above weights are avoirdupois, and the 
 fluid measures Imperial. This forms a pure and colorless Chloroform. 
 Wittstein gives the following process and remarks upon it : " In a 
 copper or iron still, which must be only half-filled, there are placed 
 fifty parts of chloride of lime, one hundred parts of water, and three 
 parts of alcohol of 90 per cent. ; all are to be well stirred together, and 
 the head luted on ; with the still is connected a well-cooled' worm, to 
 which is attached a glass receiver, but not air-tight — and the still is 
 ^then heated. So soon as the first portion begins to distill, all the fire 
 is withdrawn from the furnace, and if the distillation proceeds too 
 rapidly, the head of the still must be cooled with wet cloths. When 
 the product ceases to come over in a continuous stream, the fire is 
 again added; the receiver is to be withdrawn as soon as it contains 
 eight parts. If the distillate reddens or bleaches blue litmus paper, 
 which is, however, not generally the case, it must be treated with small 
 portions of hydrate of lime, and be poured into a narrow, high, cylin- 
 drical glass, and when it has separated into two layers of liquid, the 
 upper' portion is removed by means of a syphon or pipette, while the 
 under portion is treated with half its weight of powdered anhydrous 
 chloride of calcium, and distilled with a gentle heat to dryness ; the 
 distillate to be kept in a well-stopped bottle and cool place. The yield 
 will be two or two and a half parts. * 
 
 " Chloride of lime consists of a mixture of about 50 per cent, hydrate 
 of lime=Ca O-fHO, 22 per cent, chloride of calcium=Ca CI, and 28 
 per cent, of hypochlorite of lime^Ca 0+Cl O ; which corresponds to 
 four equivalents of lime, one chloride of calcium, and one hypochlorite 
 of lime. These proportions vary in the commercial article, arising 
 partly from bad preparation in the first place, frorn^ age, or not having 
 been kept in well-closed vessels. The bleaching properties of chloride 
 of lime, and consequently its value, depend on the hypochlorite of lime 
 
218 Materia Medioa. 
 
 it contains. As in the preparation of chloride of lime equal equivalents 
 of hypochlorite of lime and chloride of calcium are always formed ; so, 
 in the fresh state, the chloride of lime, let its bleaching powers be what 
 they may, always contains the two chlorides in this proportion. When 
 by long exposure to the air its bleaching properties have become 
 weaker, the chloride of calcium will be found to be increased at the 
 expense of the hypochlorite of lime ; it readily attracts moisture from 
 the air, passing into a wet slimy mass. 
 
 "Anhydrous alcohol consists of C4 He Oj. In contact with chloride 
 of lime and the necessary amount of water, the action that ensues is 
 due to the hypochlorite of lime ; the chloride of calcium is an indiffer- 
 ent body, and the part taken by the hydrate of lime is only a second- 
 ary one, to saturate a portion of the products formed. The result 
 teaches that in Chloroform=C2 H CI3, only the fourth part of the car- 
 bon contained in alcohol is retained ; from the other three-fourths is 
 formed formic acid— C2 HO3 ; and as the Chloroform and formic acid 
 have one and the same radical (G, H), 2 equivalents of alcohol form 1 
 of Chloroform, and 3 of formic acid. Prom the alcohol are separated 8 
 equivalents of hydrogen, which are replaced by 3 eqs. of chlorine, and 
 5 eqs. of oxygen, yielding Chloroform and formic acid. The chlorine, 
 as well as the oxygen required for the oxidation of the hydrogen, is 
 furnished by the hypochlorite of lime, the base of which serves at the 
 same time to neutralize the formic acid. 
 
 " 1,150 parts of anhydrous, or 1,280 parts of alcohol of 90 per cent., 
 require 7,944 parts of pure hypochlorite of lime, or 28,371 parts of 
 chloride of lime; or 1 part of alcohol, 90 per cent., requires at least 
 22 parts of chloride of lime, and forms one part of Chloroform. Some 
 experiments I have made show, however, that when to 22 parts of 
 chloride of lime only one part of alcohol is taken, a considerable quan- 
 tity of chloride of lime is lost, as from the action of the heat some of 
 the alcohol volatilizes unacted on; in consequence of this, 3 parts of 
 alcohol are ordered to 50 parts of chloride of lime. Should the mixture 
 contain an excess of hypochlorite of lime, this has a decomposing action 
 on the formiate of lime ; chloride of calcium, carbonate of lime, free , 
 carbonic acid, and water, separate. 
 
 " So soon as the mixture is heated to 176° F., it experiences a very 
 violent reaction, the mass froths up, and would certainly come over if 
 the retort were more than half filled ; even when such is the case, this 
 is not quite impossible, and consequently the fire must be immediately 
 withdrawn, and, if necessary, the still-head cooled ; only when the effer- 
 vescence has subsided, which is known by the distillate coming over 
 more slowly than at first, may fire be again applied, in order to draw 
 over the remainder of the Chloroform. When about two and a half 
 times the volume of the alcohol has distilled over, the distillate will 
 contain all the Chloroform, and what now passes into the receiver will 
 have a weak, watery taste. The distillate consists of two layers, the 
 lower of which is the Chloroform, the upper the water, containing all 
 excess of alcohol and a trace of Chloroform. If several batches of 
 Chloroform are to be prepared, this watery portion need not be thrown 
 away, but reserved for the next mixture, to which it is then necessary 
 to add only two and a half parts of alcohol instead of three parts. In 
 order to withdraw any traces of water that may adhere to the Chloro- 
 form, it is rectified over chloride of calcium. The residue in the still 
 may be treated like that from the manufacturer of caustic ammonia 
 and used for chloride of calcium." 
 
Chlokoformum. 219 
 
 Chloroform may also be produced by a variety of reactions, but the 
 most economical process is by the action of chloride of lime upon di- 
 luted alcohol. Acetone, wood-spirit, oil of turpentine, and many essen- 
 tial oils, also yield it under the influence of chloride of lime. When 
 chlorine acts upon methyl chloride, or, when the hydrated alkalies de- 
 compose the trichloracetates, Chloroform is produced, etc. 
 
 As the chloroform of commerce is produced almost always more or 
 less impure, the U. S. Pharm. have given a process for its purification, 
 as follows : Sulphuric Acid eight and a half troy ounces is added to com- 
 mercial Chloroform fifty-one troy ounces, these are to be occasionally 
 shaken together during twenty-four hours. The lighter liquid is to 
 be sepsjated from the heavier and mixed with Alcohol, sp. gr. 0.817, 
 tkm fluidrachms. Then Carbonate of Potassa one troy ounce, previously 
 heated to redness, and rubbed while warm, into powder, is to be added. 
 Kow agitate the mixture thoroughly, and, by means of a water bath, 
 distill to dryness from a retort furnished with a condenser. Lastly, keep 
 the distilled liquid in well-stoppered bottles. 
 
 Mistory. — The first discovery of Chloroform was in 1831 , by Mr. Samuel 
 Guthrie, a chemist residing in Sackett's Harbor, E". Y. ; subsequently, in 
 1832, Souberain, of France, and Liebig, of G-ermany, prepared it; neither 
 of these gentlemen being aware of the other's discovery. It is a trans- 
 parent, colorless, very volatile, neutral fluid, of high refracting power, 
 of specific gravity varying from 1.48 to 1.5, having a peculiar, ethereal, 
 apple-like odor, and an ethereal, penetrating, and very sweet taste. It 
 is soluble in 2.000 parts of water, readily soluble in alcohol or ether, 
 is inflamed with difficulty, but imparts to the flame of an alcohol lamp 
 a greenish-yellow smoky flame, and boils at 142° P. A large amounj; of 
 water added to its alcoholic solution, decomposes it, setting the chloro- 
 form free at the bottom of the liquid. It does not coagulate albumen, 
 and exerts no influence on potassium when it is pure. It is a Terchlo- 
 ride of Pormyle, and has the formula C2 H, CI3. 
 
 Chloroform is a powerful solvent, and is thus a most valuable aux- 
 iliary to the chemist and pharmaceutist, and is preferable to ether in 
 many instances on account of its non -inflammability, and in some in- 
 stances it is superior to alcohol. According to M. Lepage, the follow- 
 ing is the solvent power of Chloroform in relation to various bodies: 
 Mastic, colophony, elemi, tolu, and benzoin, are dissolved in all propor- 
 tions, forming solutions, some of which might prove useful in varnishes. 
 Copal and caoutchouc also dissolve, but more reaiiily hot than cold. Am- 
 ber, sandarac, and shellac are only partially dissolved, either with or 
 without beat. Their constituent resins may be thus separated. Oli- 
 banum dissolves but slightly, hot or cold. Guaiacum and scammony 
 resin dissolves readily, while jalap resin is insoluble; it merely softens 
 and floats on the surface like pitch. Gamboge and dragon's blood yield 
 some substance and their flne color to the solvent, and might be advan- 
 tageously used as varnishes. Fixed oils and fats dissolve readily, in all 
 proportions. "Wax yields 25 per cent, of soluble matter to this solvent. 
 All volatile oils are soluble. Iodine, bromine, phosphorus, and sulphur 
 are soluble, the two last only slightly. Styracin, piperin, naphthalm, 
 cholesterin and cantharidin are very soluble; picrotoxin, slightly so; 
 paraffin only when hot, separating as the liquid cools ; while amygdalme, 
 phloridzin, salicin, digitalin, cytisin, urea, hematin, gluten, and sugar are 
 insoluble. Benzoic and hippuric acids are very soluble, tannic but 
 slightly, and tartaric, citric, oxalic, and gallic acids are insoluble. Qui- 
 ttia, veratria, emetia, narcotina, nicotina, conia, and atropia are easily sol- 
 
220 Materia Medica. 
 
 uble ; strychnia, with less readiness, and appears to undergo a chai ge 
 in its morphic condition ; brucia is moderately soluble, but morphia 
 and cinehonia are Insoluble. Tartar emetic, citrate and lactate of iron, 
 the acetates of soda and potassa, valerianate of zinc, and acetate of 
 lead are all insoluble. Sulphate and muriate of strychnia are soluble, 
 while sulphates of quinia, and of morphia, and muriate of morphia, are 
 insoluble. Corrosive sublimate dissolves very readily, but the iodide, 
 bromide, chloride, and ferrocyan uret of potassium, the chloride of 
 sodium, muriate of ammonia, and the iodides of mercury and potas- 
 sium are all insoluble. The iodates, chlorates, nitrates, phosphates, 
 sulphates, chromates, borates, arseniates, and alkaline hyposulphates, 
 are insoluble, as are also nitrate of silver, sulphate of copper, and prob- 
 ably all the metallic oxysalts. This article thus affords a most valuable 
 means of readily separating resin of guaiacum from jalap resin, cin- 
 ehonia from quinia, apd narcotine from morphia. One per cent, of 
 Chloroform added to milk, preserved it unchanged for one month, so 
 that it was boiled without coagulating. Pettenkoffer states that at the 
 I ordinary temperature, 100 parts of Chloroform dissolves of morphia . 
 0.57 parts, — narcotine 31.17, — cinchonia4.31, — quinia 57.47, — strychnia 
 20.16,— brucia 56.79,— atropia 51.49,- veratria 59.49. 
 
 The mixture of Chloroform and alcohol or ether, readily ignites. 
 Solution of nitrate of silver causes no turbidness when added to pure 
 Chloroform; mixed with concentrated sulphuric acid, the latter subsides 
 without affecting its color, or otherwise changing it ; on the other hand. 
 Chloroform sinks to the bottom of a mixture of equal parts of sulphuric 
 acid and water. Potassium and hydrate of potassa exert no action upon 
 it. With an alcoholic solution of potassa it is decomposed, in the cold 
 slowly, but when heated more rapidly, into formiate of potassa and 
 chloride of • potassium. In testing the purity of Chloroform, espe- 
 cial notice must be taken of its specific gravity; if less than 1.49 it con- 
 tains a mixture of lighter fluids (alcohol, ether, or aldehyde), and in this 
 case, on applying a flame to the vapor, it ignites, and the volume of 
 such a mixture sensibly diminishes when shaken with twice its bulk of 
 pure water. If it reddens litmus paper, it contains free hydrochloric acid, 
 and nitrate of silver causes in it a white precipitate of chloride of silver 
 insoluble in water; if free chlorine is present, litmus paper will be 
 bleached, and a precipitate also caused with nitrate of silver solution. 
 If the Chloroform has an acid reaction, and nitrate of silver causes in 
 it no precipitate, or one soluble in a quantity of water, acetic acid is 
 present, owing to the transformation of aldehyd, with which it was 
 contaminated, in the air. Sulphuric acid may be known by the Chloro- 
 form giving a precipitate when a solution of chloride of baryta is added 
 to it, and by its turning blue litmus to red. To test the purity of Chloro- 
 form, Souberain advises the following: To equal parts, by weight, of 
 distilled water and sulphuric acid (the mixture being of sp. gr. 1.38), 
 add one drop of the Chloroform ; if this be good, it will sink in the 
 mixture, but not without. To ascertain if alcohol be present, Mialhe 
 recommends to drop a little of the Chloroform into some distilled water ; 
 if any alcohol be present, the Chloroform becomes whitish, but if it be 
 free from alcohol, it remains clear and colorless below the water. — Am. 
 Jour. Fharm., Vol. XXL, p. 313. M. Souberain's method will not detect 
 a smaller quantity than 5 to 6 per cent, of alcohol in Chloroform. It 
 consists in shaking the Ohloroforni in a tube with oilof Sweet Almonds; 
 the mixture remains transparent if the Chloroform is free from alcohol ; 
 in the contrary case, it becomes more or leas milky. M. Eouesin's 
 
Uhloeoformum. 221 
 
 method is extremely delicate, and consists in introducing several gram- 
 mes of Chloroform into a tube or stoppered bottle, then adding a few 
 centigrammes of the binitrosulphide of iron, shaking the mixture, and 
 allowing it to settle. If the Chloroform is pure, it remains clear as 
 water; but if it contains alcohol, it assumes a brown tint, more or less 
 deep, according to the proportion present. This reagent will also de- 
 tect the presence of ether, aldehyd, methylic, and amylic alcohol, it 
 being very soluble in all these compounds. The binitrosulphide of iron 
 is procured by mixing a solution of nitrate of potassa with sulphide of 
 ammonium, then, while the mixture is being agitated, dropping in a 
 solution of protosulphate of iron. The whole is boiled, evaporated to 
 dryness, treated with alcoholized ether, filtered, and the solution crys- 
 tallized. 
 
 Staedeler states that Chloroform commencing to changeno longer gives 
 with the red of bile (bilirubine) a yellow color, but a more or less dark- 
 green color. About ^ grain of bilirubine is sufficient for this test. To 
 recognize the presence of alcohol in Chloroform, he^throws a crystal of 
 fuchsine into it and agitates it; if alcohol is present the angles of the 
 crystal become of a fine blue color, but if the Chloroform is chemically 
 pure the crystal assumes a rose tint. Impure Chloroform or ether be- 
 comes red when a crystal of fuchsine is dissolved in it, the color being 
 more or less intense in proportion to the amount of alcohol present; 1 
 part of alcohol in 100 parts of Chloroform may be thus detected. When 
 chloroform has been exposed to air and light for a certain time, it be- 
 comes acid, and emits white irritant vapors consisting almost wholly of 
 chlor-oxycarbonic acid, and which, according to M. Personne, is not 
 formed at the expense of the Chloroform itself, but of chlor-oxycar- 
 bonic ether, which it fortuitously contains. This ether boils at 93° 
 P., while pure Chloroform boils at 140° F. Such Chloroform may lie 
 readily purified by shaking it with caustic potassa which destroys this 
 ether. 
 
 According to Dr. Gregory, the chlorinated pyrogenous oils are the 
 most pernicious foreign matters in Chloroform, as they occasion, even 
 when slightly inhaled, pain in the head, unpleasant nausea, etc. ; to de- 
 tect these, add two or three ounces of the Chloroform to an equal volume 
 of concentrated and chemically pure sulphuric acid ; if the Chloroform 
 be pure, the mixture will not be colored, but if these oils be present the 
 acid will be colored dark -brownish yellow, owing to the quantity of , 
 these foreign substances contained in the Chloroform. Another test is, 
 to place a little Chloroform on the hand, it speedily volatilizes, leaving 
 a hardly appreciable odor if pure, but if these oils be present, they may 
 be recognized by their p'eculiar offensive, acrid, and penetrating odor, 
 while the odor of the Chloroform has dissipated. 
 
 Mr. J.M. Maisch, as the result of some carefully conducted experiments 
 madeby himself andgiven in the^m. Jour. Pharm., 1868, p. 289, states that 
 " Chloroform of sp. gr. 1.475* and less will keep in dry or damp bottles. 
 in diffused daylight and direct sunlight ; when of sp. gr. 1.480 to 1.484, 
 it will remain unaltered in diffuse daylight, and (for a limited period, at 
 least) also in sunlight, if free from moisture; in the presence of moist- 
 ure, sunlight decomposes it; when of sp. gr. 1.490, and above, it can be 
 kept unaltered only in the dark ; if decomposition should take place in 
 the dark, it must have commenced before the total exclusion of light." 
 Mr. Boettger states that in the presence of some fragments of caustic 
 
 « Reduced from 1.492 by the addition of alcohol, about 6 parts to 500 of Chloroform. 
 
H22 Materia Medica. 
 
 Boda, Chloroform may be kept unaltered in the presence of light; and 
 that this alkali will also restore Chloroform that has been altered by the 
 action of the sun's rays, if it contains hydrochloric acid and a chlorinous 
 odor, by being agitated with it. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Internally, Chloroform is a stimulant, sedative, 
 antispasmodic, and anaesthetic. It has been used successfully in asth- 
 ma, 8j)asmodic cough, scarlatina, atonic quinsy, hysteria, lead-colic, 
 cancer, neuralgic affections, and in ititermittents. It may be adminis- 
 tere'd in doses of from thirty to eighty drops in solution of gum Arabic, 
 or in a mixture of water and yolk of egg, repeati ng the dose, if required, 
 every half hour, hour, or two hours, until it has occasioned the desired 
 influence. When the pyrogenous oils are present, its administration is 
 apt to produce nausea. The solution of camphor in Chloroform is an 
 elegant form of administering that medicine. Dr. T. H. Buckler recom- 
 mends Chloroform in teaspoonful doses, every hour during the pain, 
 and three times a day subsequently, as a preferable solvent of choles- 
 terine in biliary calculi; to be followed by the use of the hydrated 
 succinate of peroxide of iron, to check the further formation of these 
 calculi. 
 
 Externally, it has been employed in several forms of disease ; and has 
 been beneficially used as a local application to gangrenous and cancer- 
 ous ulcerations, dry gangrene, ulcerations of the mouth and fauceS) and 
 in copious uterine secretions. It allays pain, corrects putrescent odors, 
 and hastens the sloughing process ; a fluidrachra or two of Chloroform 
 added to a pint of water, will answer for these purposes. — Tuson. When , 
 a sponge moistened with it is placed in proximity with the os uteri, it 
 has relieved painful menstruation. — Higginson ; and has also proved serv- 
 iceable when applied externally in tic-doloureux, rheumatic affections 
 of the eye, soreness of the spinal column, and in orchitis. Thirty min- 
 ims of Chloroform, mixed with five drachms of lard, has been employed 
 as an ointment in cutanenous eruptions of a papular character. When 
 applied to the uninjured skin there is no necessity for diminishing the 
 strength of Chloroform ; a piece of lint moistened with it may be ap- 
 plied to the part, and its volatilization may be retarded by covering 
 this with several thicknesses of muslin, India-rubber cloth, etc. If the 
 Chloroform is rendered impure by the presence of anhydrous alcohol, 
 it is thereby rendered cauStic. — Mialhe. Chloroform is also used by in- 
 halation as an anaesthetic agent, and, from the small quantity required, 
 the promptitude with which it influences the system, its rather pleasant 
 action, its more agreeable and less persistent odor, its moderate price, 
 and the facility with which it may be administered, it is superior to 
 ether, and is more generally preferred. It is principally used in surgery 
 and midwifery, as an ansBsthetic, for the purpose of producing insensi- 
 bility to, or relieving pain and facilitating labor. The effects xisually 
 occasioned by anaesthetic doses of Chloroform are, whizzing and pulsa- 
 tion in the head, a change in the apparent color of objects, pleasurable 
 ideas and visions, loss of consciousness, incoherent talking or mutter- 
 ing, and sometimes loud or noisy respiration, muscular relaxation, and 
 Com'plete insensibility to pain, from whatever cause. A minute or two 
 generally suffices to occasion anaesthesia, which will last for several min- 
 utes, but may be continued for an indefinite period, by carefully repeat- 
 ing the inhalation at certain intervals of time, as its influence is ob- 
 served to be decreasing. Sometimes from the coughing produced, or 
 other circumstances, it may require a long time before its anaesthetic 
 effect is induced, buj which may be obviated by holding it, at first, at 
 
CnLORoroRMUM. 223 
 
 a little distance from the nostrils, that it may be mixed with atmospheric 
 air, and then gi-adually approaching it to them. Its anaesthetic influ- 
 ence is succeeded by somnolence, or a calm slumber, and, usually, 
 Ihere is no remembrance of incidents which happen during the 
 ansesthesia. 
 
 Besides surgical operations, painful affections, and midwifery. Chlo- 
 roform by inhalation has been found of much utility in all irritable, 
 painful, excited, or spasmodic conditions of the nervous and muscular 
 systems, chronic turbulent insanity, pertussis, tetanus, dysmenorrhea, 
 etc. Prof. A. J. Howe, M.D., states that he has for some years been in 
 the habit of administering Chloroform, by inhalation, to break the force 
 of chills. If given when a chill is coming on, a condition foreshadowed 
 by gaping and other well-known signs, the influence of the anaesthetic 
 will prevent the paroxysm. He does not pretend that it eradicates the 
 poison which causes the chills, or in any way takes the place of quinia, 
 but by preventing or breaking up a paroxysm, time is gained in which 
 to get an action from antiperiodic remedies. Dr. O'Bryan recommends 
 a mixture of ten drops, each, of laudanum, tincture of aconite, and 
 Chloroform, as being almost a specific in intermittents ; it may be given 
 three times a day for seven or eight days, during the intermission, pre- 
 ceding its use by a purgative. 
 
 The full anaesthetic effects of Chloroform are always attended with 
 great hazard ; it has been ascertained that it may be administered to 
 an extent sufficient to produce torpor of the nerves of sensation with- 
 out completely destroying consciousness, so that, in most cases, it may 
 be unnecessary to risk the production of an entire suspension of the 
 mental powers. In inhaling Chloroform, the article should be pure, as 
 the presence of pyrogenous oils occasion vomiting ; this effect is also 
 apt to occur if the Chloroform be inhaled immediately after a full 
 meal. 
 
 About a fluidrachm is the quantity generally used at a time for in- 
 halation, and this should be renewed every three or four minutes until 
 the required effect takes place. The only apparatus needed to inhale 
 Chloroform is a handkerchief, closely, but not too tightly, rolled up, 
 and held in the hand, having a concavity into which the Chloroform is 
 poured, and then placed near, but not immediately in contact with, the 
 mouth and nose. A quantity of common air should always be allowed to 
 enter the lungs with the Chloroform vapor. As soon as the requisite 
 amount of insensibility occurs, its inspiration should be discontinued, and 
 only carefully repeated when there is too early a restoration to conscious- 
 ness. Epileptics, those laboring under disease of the heart, those predis- 
 posed to apoplexy, or cerebral determinations, and persons who have re- 
 cently lost much blood, should not be placed under the anaesthetic influ- 
 ence of Chloroform. It should never be administered immediately after a 
 hearty meal, as it may cause vomiting ; and when the pulsations fail ue- 
 low sixty, the inhalation should be stopped. Excitement, which often 
 marks the first degree of insensibility, is a mark that? the handkerchief 
 should be removed and not kept on, as is generally practiced. Violent 
 excitement, and the exclamation, "I am choking," should be followed 
 by the immediate removal of the handkerchief The patient should be 
 in the recumbent position, the head slightly raised by a pillow, and he 
 should be frequently asked, while he is being pinched, what is done to 
 him; and when he begins to answer with ill humor, "you pinch him," he 
 is on the point of losing the point of sensation. As soon as he answers 
 no more, sensation is abolished, the handkerchief should be immediately 
 
224 Materia Medioa. 
 
 removed, and the operation at once commenced, without waiting for a 
 complete resolution of the muscles. — M. Baudens. Beside the previous 
 named conditions, ansesthesla is improper in aneurism, chlorosis, 
 phthisis, chorea, and anemia. An impure article of Chloroform will 
 always cause pain in the head, sickness, and emesis. 
 
 As Chloroform may and has produced unfavorable as well as serious 
 effects, the operator ought always to be provided with a bottle of strong 
 aqua ammonia, and whenever these unpleasant symptoms arise, the pa- 
 tient should be made to inhale it from another handkerchief imbued 
 witli it in the same manner as named for Chloroform, and be either re- 
 stored to sensibility or not, as the case may require. According to 
 Christison, "When the effect produced by the inhalation of Chloroform 
 is too intense, the best remedies are the horizontal posture, cold air 
 fanned across the face, and a stream of cold water poured on the brow 
 and head only. Ammonia may be inhaled also ; but internal stimulants 
 should not be given till the patient revives in some measure, otherwise 
 the respiration may be further embarrassed. In urgent circumstances 
 artificial respiration must be promptly added to these means." 
 
 To obviate the alarming effects of Chloroform, Dr. "Warren has pro- 
 posed a mixture containing two parts of anhydrous alcohol, and one 
 part of pure Chloroform. This mixture is considered less dangerous 
 than Chloroform, and more pleasant than ether. The suggestion that 
 either alcohol or ether, by their stimulating qualities, overcome the 
 prostrating effects of the Chloroform, when in combination with it, is 
 probably correct. {SeeWarren, " On the effects of Chloroform arid Ghlorie 
 Mher."') A Chloroform liniment has been made of oil of almonds two 
 fluidounces. Chloroform two and a half fluidrachms; mix together ac- 
 curately. Pieces of flannel are to be soaked with this liniment, and ap- 
 plied to the painful part in cases of nervous headache, neuralgia, rheu- 
 matic, hepatic, nephritic, uterine or intestinal pains, lead-colic, etc. By 
 adding double the quantity of oil, it may be used for vaginal injections, 
 which may be retained by a plug of cotton, in cases of dysmenorrhea, 
 uterine neuralgia, or other painful affections of the uterus, bladder, or 
 rectum. 
 
 Dr. Thos. Skinner, of Liverpool, recommends the following prepara- 
 tions : 1. Spiritus Formyli Terchloridi (commonly called chloric ether). 
 Chloroform five fluidrachms, Alcohol, sp. gr. .838 at 60° P., one pint. 
 Mix. Dose, half a fluidrachm to two fluidrachms. 2. Mistura Formyli 
 Terchloridi (or chloroform julep). Chloroform half a fluidrachm. Pure 
 Water one pint. Mix thoroughly with brisk agitation for a minute or 
 two, in a vessel capable of containing double the quantity. Dose, half 
 a fluidounce to two fluidounces. 
 
 *Grelatinized Chloroform has been recommended as an application by 
 
 * An empirical preparation under the name ot-Chloroct/yne, has been somewhat popular 
 In the profession of England and this country, as a remedy in Asiatic cholera; it is said to 
 possess anodyne, diaphoretic, antispasmodic, and astringent properties. Several formulsB 
 for its preparation have been pablislied, from which I select the following: Agitate to- 
 gether sulphate of morphia 64 grains, alcohol 95 p. ct. 2 fluidounces, and purified chloro- 
 form 6 fluidounces ; then gradually add sulphuric acid q. s. to make the mixture clear upon 
 agitation ; add oleoresin of capsicum 12 drops, Allen's extract of cannabis indica 80 grains, 
 and Scheele's hydrocyanic aoid 96 drops. This forms a clear, dark, green liquid, each tea- 
 spoonful of which contains one grain of sulphate of morphia, about half a grain of ex- 
 tract cannabiSj and a drop and a half of prusslc aoid, equal to nearly four drops of XT. S. 
 Fharm. acid. The dose is from fifteen to thirty drops. This preparation is said to be pre- 
 ferred to the original one by Dr. J. OoUis Brown. But it Aiust be used with care, as it must 
 be extremely poisonous.— .B. Mclnall, Jr^ Am. Jon/r. J'harm., 1868, p. 209. A less dangerous 
 preparation has been proposed by Prof. E. S. Wayne, as follows : Aqueous extract of opium 
 12 grains, extract of hyoscyamus 8 grains, oil of peppermint 6 minims, oil of capsicnm 1 
 minim, camphor ten grains, alcohol 4 fluidrachms, glycerin 2 fluidrachms, chloroform 2 
 fluidrachms. Mix. 
 
Chondrus Crispcts. 225 
 
 friction or on compresses, to cause insensibility of the skin ; it may be 
 prepared in a few minutes, by agitating together the white of an egg 
 with four times its weight of Chloroform, and then setting the bottle 
 containing the mixture in water having a temperature of 140°. A 
 weaker preparation, requiring three or four hours for the gelatinous 
 change to occur, is made by agitating, in the cold, equal parts of white 
 of egg and Chloroform. Pournie states that equal measures of Chloro- 
 form and glacial acetic acid form a mixture, the vapor from which will 
 produce complete anaesthesia of the skin in a very few minutes. 
 
 The fumes from burning the common Puff Ball, Ly coper don Proteus, 
 are said to be anaesthetic, but not equal to ether or chloroform. It ap- 
 pears to possess a volatile narcotic principle, which is not taken up by 
 alcohol, water, or strong alkaline solution. 
 
 CHONDEUS CEISPUS. (Irlandisches Perlmoos.) 
 
 Irish Moss. 
 Nat. Ord. — Algaceae. Sex. Syst. — Cryptogamia Algae. 
 
 Description. — Irish Moss, sometimes called Carrageen, has a root-disk, 
 throwing up tufts of many flat, nerveless, slender, cartilaginous fronds, 
 from two to twelve inches in height, subcylindrical at the base, but im- 
 mediately becoming flat, generally dilating from the base upward^ un- 
 til thej' become three or four lines wide, then dividing repeatedly and 
 dichotomously, each division spreading and becoming narrower than 
 the preceding one, and taking place at shorter and shorter intervals ; 
 summits bifid ; segments linear, wedge-shaped, varying greatly in length, 
 rounded or acute, straight or curved, often twisted in such a manner as 
 to give the curled appearance denoted in the specific name. Fructifica- 
 tion roundish or roundish-oval, subhemispherical. Capsules imbedded 
 in the disk of the frond, prominent on one side, producing a concavity 
 on the other, containing a mass of minute, roundish, red seeds. Sub- 
 stance cartilaginous, in some varieties approaching to horny, flexible 
 and. tough. Color a deep purple-brown, often tinged with purplish- 
 red, paler at the summit, becoming greenish, at length white in de- 
 cay. — I/. 
 
 Sistory. — This is a very common European plant found along the sea- 
 coasts ; it is also said to grow on the Atlantic shores of this country. 
 When fresh its color is somewhat purple, but when cleansed, and dry, 
 as met with in commerce, it is in long crispy pieces, yellowish, or dirty- 
 white, nearly inodorous, and of a mucilaginous taste. It swells up in 
 warm water, almost entirely dissolves in boiling water, forming a jelly 
 when cold. It contains oxalate of lime, compounds of sulphur, chlo- 
 rine and bromine, starch, and a large portion of pectin. Pereira con- 
 siders the pectin to be a peculiar modification of mucilage, and has 
 called it Carrageenin; its composition, when dried at 212° P., is repre- 
 sented by the formula Cj^ H,„ Ojo, (Schmidt), or according to Mulder 
 Ca His O19. Carrageenin may be known from gum by its watery solu- 
 tion not affoi'ding a precipitate on the addition of alcohol; from starch, 
 by its not asuuming a blue color with tincture of iodine ; from animal 
 jelly, by tincture of nut-galls causing no precipitate; and from pectin 
 by acetate of lead not throwing down any thing, as well as by no mucic 
 acid being formed by the actionof nitric acid. — P. 
 
 Properties and Uses.— A decoction of Irish Moss, with water or milk, 
 is very nutritious, and may be used as a demulcent in chronic affections 
 15 
 
226 Materia Mebica. 
 
 of the air-passages, chronic diarrhea and dysentery, scrofula, rickets, 
 enlarged mesenteric glands, irritation of the bladder and kidneys, etc. 
 As a culinary article it may he employed in the preparation of jellies, 
 white soap, blanc mange, etc. The decoction is prepared as follows : 
 Macerate half an ounce of carrageen in cold or warm water, during ten 
 minutes ; then boil in three pints of water, or milk if stronger nourish- 
 ment is desired, for a quarter of an hour. Strain through linen. Sugar, 
 lemon-juice, tincture of orangepeel, essence of lemon, or other aromatics, 
 as cinnamon or nutmeg, may be employed as flavoring ingredients. 
 
 CICHOEIUM CSTTTBUS. (Gemeine Cichorie.) 
 
 Succory. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia iEqualis. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Succory, Chicory, or Wild Succory, is a perennial plant, 
 having a spindle-shaped, fleshy, whitish, and milky root. Stem solid, 
 round, furrowed, hispid, very tough, growing two or three feet high. 
 Radical leaves spreading, above a span long, numerous, runeinate, 
 toothed, roughish ; cauline leaves, smaller, sessile, less lobed, the upper- 
 most cordate, acuminate, entire. Flowers large, one or two inches in 
 diameter, axillary, in pairs, sessile, placed rather remote on the long 
 rather naked branches, of a beautiful bright-blue color. Corollas flat, 
 five-toothed. Involucre rovighish. Anthers emd stigma hlue. — JD. — W. 
 
 History. — Succory is a native of Europe, but cultivated in this coun- 
 try, where it grows in grass-fields and along roadsides, bearing large, 
 elegant blue flowers in July and August. The root is quite bitter, and 
 imparts its virtues to water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tonic, diuretic, and laxative. The decoction, 
 used freely, is said to have proved eflScacious in jaundice, engorgement 
 of the liver, and other chronic visceral diseases, as well as in cutaneous 
 eruptions, gout, hectic fever, etc. An ounce of the root to a pint of 
 water forms a good decoction. The young leaves are used as a salad. 
 The plant is extensively cultivated for its root, which is used as a sub- 
 stitute for coffee, or for adulterating it; it is dried, roasted, and ground. 
 J. L. Lassaigne states that an infusion of pure coffee acquires a more 
 or less intense green color, when some drops of a solution of persul- 
 phate of iron are added to it ; while an infusion of Chicory retains its 
 brownish color, becoming more intense with a greenish tint. If Chicory 
 be added to coffee, the infusion will give a brownish -yellow color after 
 the precipitate produced by the iron-salt has been deposited, and which 
 may be facilitated by adding a little weak solution of ammonia, allow- 
 ing the fluid to stand in long test-tubes. Mr. Horsley has proposed 
 the bichromate of potassa as a test ; it produces no discoloration with 
 an infusion of Chicory, but gradually changes the weakest infusion of 
 coffee to a deep porter-brown color. When the two infusions are 
 mixed, boil the mixture with the bichromate, add a few grains of sul- 
 phate of copper, and again boil. A flocculent precipitate is formed, of 
 a more oi* less deep sepia-brown color, the intensity of which varies 
 with the quantity of coffee contained. , 
 
 The Cichorium Endivia, or Garden Endive, is said, by some French 
 physicians, to be a remedy for jaundice. 
 
CimioifuGa Eaoemosa. 227 
 
 CIMIC1PU6A B,AG^M.OSA.—Macrotys Bacemosa. (Traubiges Waa- 
 
 zenkraut.) 
 
 Black Cohosh. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Eanunculacese. Sex. Syst. — Polyandria Di-Pentagynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, likewise variously known as Battleroot, 
 Black Snakeroot, Squawroot, etc.. is a tall, leafy, perennial herb, having 
 a liirge, knotty root, with long slender fibers, and a simple, smooth, 
 farrowed stem, from three to nine feet high. Leaves large, alternate, 
 ternately decompound ; leaflets ovate-oblong, incisely serrate, opposite. 
 Flowers fetid, small, in long, terminal, slender racemes. Sepals four 
 or five, rounded, white ; petals from four to six, small, not so long as 
 the sepals. Stamens very numerous ; anthers introrse, yellow. Stigma 
 sessile, lateral ; pistils oval, forming dry, dehiscent, ovate, follicular 
 capsules; seetfe numerous, small, compressed. — W. — Gr. 
 
 Sistory. — This perennial herb is indigenous to this country, inhabit- 
 ing rich upland woods and hill-sides, and flowering from May to 
 August. The officinal part is the root, though, probably, the seeds will 
 be found as active ; the root should be gathered early in autumn, and 
 dried in the shade. It includes a rough, knobby head or caudex, from 
 four to six lines in diameter, and of various lengths, from an inch to 
 six or more, from which are given off numerous brittle and small radi- 
 cles. The external color is blackish, or brownish-black, internally 
 pale-yellowish white : the odor is faint, earthy, and unpleasant, and 
 the taste bitter, slightly astringent, with a degree of acridity. Boiling 
 water takes up its properties only partially ; alcohol or ether wholly. 
 The root yields an impure resin, to which the names Cimicifugin or 
 Macrotin have been given ; likewise fatty substance, starch, gum, 
 black and green coloring-matters, tannic acid, gallic acid, salts of iron, 
 lime, magnesia, and potassa. — Tilghman. — Jour. Phil. Gol. Pharm., VI., 
 P. 20. Mr. G. H. Davis has found the root to contain gum, albumen, 
 extractive, starch, uncrystallizable sugar, tannic acid, gallic acid, resin 
 soluble in alcohol or ether, resin soluble in alcohol and insoluble in 
 ether, fatty matter, waxy matter, volatile oil having the peculiar odor 
 of the root, green and brown coloring-matters, lignin, and salts of po- 
 tassa, magnesia, lime, iron, and silica. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 1861, p. 391. 
 Mr. B. C. Jones found the seeds of Cimicifuga to contain gum, starch, 
 fat, tannic acid, gallic acid, a resin soluble in alcohol or ether, a resin 
 insoluble in alcohol but soluble in ether, and salts of potassa, and lime. 
 — Proceedings Am. Pharm. Assoc, 1865, p. 186. The leaves of Cimici- 
 fuga are said to drive away bugs, hence its name from dmex, a bug, 
 and/w^o, to drive away. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a very active, . powerful, and useful 
 remedy, and appears to fulfill a great number of indications. It pos- 
 sesses an undoubted influence over the nervous system, and has been 
 successfully used in chorea, periodical convulsions, epilepsy, nervous 
 excitability, asthma, pertussis, delirium tremens, and many spasmodic 
 affections. In chorea, it has been administered in teaspoonful doses 
 of the powdered root, to be repeated three times a day ; I, however, 
 prefer the alcoholic extract, which I have used successfully, both alone, 
 and in conjunction with the alcoholic extract of scuUcap. In phthisis 
 pulmonalis, cough, acute rheumatism, neuralgia, scrofula, phlegmasia 
 dolens, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, leucorrhea, and other uterine affec- 
 
228 Materia Medica. 
 
 tioQS, the saturated tincture is the best mode of exhibition, and which 
 exerts a therapeutic influence not to be obt.ained from the impure resin, 
 termed cimicifugin. The tonic and antiperiodic virtues of this root are 
 well marked in remittent and intermittent fevers, and I have found it 
 very useful in other febrile and exanthematous diseases, especially 
 among children where there exists a strong tendency to cerebral diffi- 
 culty. It uniformly lessens the force and frequency of the pulse, 
 soothes pain, allays irritability, and lessens the disposition to cerebral 
 irritation and congestion. In febrile diseases especially, it frequently 
 produces diaphoresis and diuresis. In doses of one fluidrachm of the 
 tincture, repeated every hour, it has effected thorough cures of acute 
 conjunctivitis, without the aid of any local application. As a partus 
 accelerator, it may be substituted for ergot; half a drachm of the 
 powdered root may be given in warm water, every fifteen or twenty 
 minutes, until the expulsive action of the uterus is induced, and which 
 it seldom fails to bring on speedily and powerfully; or half a fluidrachm 
 of a saturated tincture of the root may be given in the same manner. 
 After labor, it will be found effectual in allaying the general excite- 
 ment of the nervous system, and relieving after-pains. In large doses 
 it produces vertigo, iinpaired vision, nausea, vomiting, and a reduction 
 of the circulation, but no alarming narcotic effects. I have known 
 three drops of the saturated tincture given every hour, for twenty 
 hours, to produce symptoms in every way simulating those of delirium 
 tremens. , Green tea is said to counteract its narcotic influences. 
 
 The saturated tincture of the root is recommended as a valuable em- 
 brocation in all cases where a stimulant, tonic, anodyne, and alterative 
 combined is required, as — in all cases of inflammation of the nerves — ^tic- 
 doloureux, periodic cephalic pain, inflammation of the spine, ovarian in- 
 flammation, spasms of the broad ligaments, rheumatism, crick in the bach 
 or side, inflammation of the eyes, old ulcers, etc. If a more active prep 
 aration is desired, add tincture of grains of paradise in proper quantity, 
 and if a more powerful anodyne be useful, add tincture of sulphate o/ 
 morphia. 
 
 Oimicifuga' exerts a tonic influence over both the serous and mucoun 
 tissues of the system, and will be found a superior remedy in the majority 
 of chronic diseases. In all cases where acidity of stomach is present, 
 this must first be removed, or some mild alkaline preparation be admin- 
 istered in conjunction with the remedy, before any beneficial change 
 will ensue. Dose of the powder, from a scruple to a drachm, three times 
 a day ; of the saturated tincture, from five to' sixty drops ; of the de 
 coction, from two to four fluidounces. The saturated tincture of this 
 article was recommended by me in acute rheumatism, in the New York 
 Philosophical Journal, as early as in the year 1844; to be given in doses 
 of ten drops every two hours, gradually increasing to sixty drops, or 
 until its action on the brain is observed, which action must be kept up 
 for several days; it almost always removes the disease permanently, 
 especially if it is a first attack. The fluid extract of Black Cohosh may 
 be used in all cases where the article is indicated ; its dose is from half 
 a fluidrachm to two fluidrachms. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Decoctum OimioifugsB; Enema Oimicifugse Composita; 
 Extractum Oimicifugse Alcoholicum ; Extractum Oimicifugse Fluidum ; 
 Besina Cimiciftiga; Tinctura Colchici Oomposita ; Tinctura Oimicifugse; 
 Tinotura CimicifugsB Composita, 
 
Cinchona. 229 
 
 CINCHONA. (Chinarinde.) 
 
 Peruvian-bark. 
 
 Wat. Ord. — Bubiacese. Sub- Ord. — Cinchonacese ( Weddell). Sex. 8yst. — 
 
 Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE BARK. 
 
 The bark obtained from the Cinchona Calisaya, 0. Condaminea, C. 
 Micrantha, and other species, particularly the variety known as Cin- 
 chona Rubra. 
 
 History. — As a therapeutical agent of inestimable value, the Cin- 
 chona from its first introduction and use to the present day stands pre- 
 eminent. In fact, no article of the Materia Medica has borne so high 
 and unwavering a reputation. It is an agent for which, notwithstand- 
 ing the vast addition to the list of the Materia Medica, no other sub- 
 stance has been discovered in nature nor in the laboratory that could 
 fully substitute its therapeutical value. 
 
 The discovery of the medicinal properties of Cinchona is unknown. 
 Some fabulous stories are mentioned concerning it, but we have no re- 
 liable information as to when, or how it was discovered. Some writers 
 (Geoffiroy, Euiz, and Joseph de Jussieu) are of the opinion that the In- 
 dians were acquainted with its medicinal properties prior to the arrival 
 of the Spaniards; but even this is doubtftil, for La Condamine, who 
 visited Peru in 1738, found the natives then unacquainted with it; and 
 J. J. Caldas, pupil of the celebrated botanist, Mutis, who traveled from 
 1802 for many years in the mountains of Peru in order to examine the 
 natural history and geographical distribution of the Cinchonas, states 
 that the Indians who inhabit those regions, and among whom fever 
 •often makes sad inroads, will not use it, believing that it heats the 
 blood and the humors ; and that the heaviest chastisements are often 
 inflicted to compel them to employ it as a remedy; and he remarks 
 that this prejudice is much against the fact of their ever having been 
 acquainted with its use, as they cling with the greatest obstinacy to 
 their inherited customs, vices, and prejudices. tJlloa, and Humboldt, 
 also express the opinion that the Indians were unacquainted with the 
 use of Cinchona. 
 
 The introduction of Cinchona into Europe was about the year 1640; 
 it came to be known, it is said, from having cured the lady of the 
 Conde de Chincon, at that time Yiceroy of Peru, of a fever; and whp, 
 upon her return to Spain, carried some of the bark with her. For some 
 time after its introduction, the Jesuits, who received the bark from 
 their brethren in Peru, alone used it, and kept to themselves the secret 
 of its origin ; and it was through their use of it, that its fame as a feb- 
 rifuge so rapidly spread, and from which fact it derived the name, which 
 still clings to it, of "Jesuits' Bark." The medical profession at first 
 opposed its use, and it is recorded that it was not employed by them, 
 until Sturm of Antwerp, in 1659, and Bado of Genoa, in 1663, advo- 
 cated its employment and wrote in praise of its virtues. 
 
 Notwithstanding the length of time that has elapsed since the dis- 
 covery of the medicinal properties of Cinchona bark, its botanical history 
 is yet but imperfectly known. A number of botanists have explored 
 and described some of the sources of the barks of commerce, yet much 
 remains to be accomplished, as we do not at the present day know the 
 sources of the barks that are recognized as officinal by the Pharmaco- 
 poeias both of this country and of Europe. Much of the later informa- 
 tion we have concerning them is from the labors of M. Weddell, who 
 
230 Materia Medica. 
 
 accompanied a scientific expedition, under the patronage of the Fronoh 
 government, to Brazil and Peru in 1843, and who continued his re- 
 searches until 1848, since which others have written descriptions, as M. 
 Gruibourt, B. Eampon, A. Delondre, G-. Planchon, etc., but they have not 
 materially differed from Weddell. 
 
 Prior to him was Condamine, who first described the Cinchonas, Jus- 
 sieu, Mutis, Euiz, Pavon, Humboldt, and Bonpland. Weddell's re- 
 searches having been adopted by Pereira as authority, I shall, in the 
 following text, give in a somewhat condensed form his manner of collect- 
 ing the bark, description of the trees, and ^ome remarks upon the classi- 
 fication of barks into Eed, Yellow, and Pale barks, as adopted generally 
 in works upon Materia Medica. 
 
 The Cinchona seems to be exclusively confined to the Andes within 
 the boundaries of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and New G-ranada, from 11° 
 north latitude to 20° south latitude; chiefly growing at an elevation 
 varying from twelve hundred to ten thousand feet above the level of 
 the sea, and in a dry, rocky soil. There are at least twelve or thirteen 
 species which furnish the barks of commerce. 
 
 The only period in which the Cinchona bark is collected, is during 
 the rainy season, which continues some three or four months. The trees 
 rarely Constitute an entire forest, but form more or less compact groups 
 in various parts of the forests, termed manchas. Frequently, they grow 
 separately. Experienced cutters called diestros or practicos are engaged 
 to explore the forests, and report where the Cinchona trees are to be 
 found, their number, and the quality of the bark they yield. This 
 investigation requires much sagacity, patience, and experience, as the 
 chances of success depend wholly upon the report made. So well 
 skilled are these diestros that they can in most instances distinguish the- 
 trees by the appearance of their tops, by a peculiar slight movement 
 of the leaves of certain species, by a particular color of the foliage, by 
 the aspect presented by a great mass of inflorescence, etc. Sometimes 
 they are favored with success in a short time, while at other times, many 
 days maypass before they can reach the object which they have constantly 
 kept in sight from the moment of its discovery. Matters having been 
 satisfactorily ascertained, the merchant, or company desiring to procure 
 the bark, engage other parties to cut the bark for them, who are called 
 cascarilleros, and are trained to this occupation from infanQjj. A road is 
 at once made up to the point which is to form the center of operations, 
 and the cascarilleros, together with, a confidential agent of the company, 
 called the major domo, construct small huts or houses in a favorable site 
 near this point, both for the purposes of encampment and to shelter 
 their provisions and cuttings. And while the party are engaged in this 
 neighborhood, all parts of the forest adjacent to the' road are considered 
 the property of those who formed it, and no other cascarilleros are al- 
 lowed to work there. The trees are felled with hatchets, being cut a 
 little above the root, the bark having been previously removed from this 
 part, even removing the earth from around the trunk that the barking 
 may be more complete. As soon as all obstacles to the falling of the 
 tree have been overcome, and it lies upon the ground, the useless 
 branches are cut off, and the peridermis is removed by striking.it with 
 a wooden mallet, or the back of a hatchet, which exposes the inner 
 bark; frequently this is further cleaned by means of a brush. 
 
 The bark is then divided by incisions circumscribing the pieces to be 
 removed ; the size and regularity depending upon circumstances, but 
 generally for convenience of transport and facility of preparation they 
 
Cinchona. 231 
 
 are made from fifteen to eighteen inches long, and four or five ipches 
 wide. These pieces are removed from the trees, with a common knife 
 or similar instrumeat, and as close to the wood as possible. The bark 
 of the branches is similarly removed, except that its peridermis is not 
 beaten off. The thinnest bark from the branches is dried by exposure 
 to the sun's rays, and form hollow cylinders ; but the pieces of thicker 
 bark which are to form the flat Cinchona, tahla or plancha, are, after a 
 slight exposure to the sun, placed one on the other in crossed squares, 
 upon the top of which a heavy weight is placed. This exposure and 
 pressure is repeated for several days until the bark is flattened and 
 completely dried. This is the process more commonly adopted, yet it 
 will sometimes vary a little, according to the locality, or the nature of 
 the tree operated upon. Thus, the peridermis may be simply scraped, 
 or be only partially removed ; the bark may be imperfectly or not, at 
 all pressed ; or it may be imperfectly desiccated, thereby destroying its 
 value, etc. The bark prepared, is carried by the cascarilleros in heavy 
 shoulder loads to the camp, which is an inconceivably laborious task, 
 frequently requiring fifteen or twenty days for its removal from one ' 
 district alone. It may be proper to state here, that, as a rule, before 
 the bark reaches the coast, it passes through at least three or four hands, 
 and on each occasion its price is augmented ; its carriage from the coast 
 being expensive, and having to pass through other hands also, a pound 
 of the bark that would cost at the coast about half a franc is sold in 
 Paris for about ten francs. 
 
 As the bark is brought into camp by the cutters, it is examined by 
 the major domo, who, after rejecting that part of it which is bad, sub- 
 mits it, if necessary, to a fresh process of drying; it is then formed into 
 bundles of nearly equal weight, sewn up in coarse canvas, and conveyed 
 on the backs of men, donkeys, or mules, to the depots in the towns, where 
 they usually receive an exterior envelope of fresh hide, which as it dries, 
 forms the hard compact packages in which the bark is exported, termed 
 seroons. 
 
 Previously to the year 1775, Loxa Bark was the only kind of Cin- 
 chona known in commerce. It was not until 1772 that Mutis discovered 
 the valuable tree in the neighborhood of Santa I'e de Bogota, and at 
 this period Europe began to receive Cinchonas direct from the ports of 
 New Grenada, on the Atlantic. Some years later, the authors of Flora 
 Peruviana (Euiz and Pavon) studied the species of lower Peru, to the 
 north of Lima, and these were also introduced into commerce. The 
 only species, then, which, botanically speaking, still remained unknown 
 in Europe, were those growing in the Vast extent of country extending 
 southward. Notwithstanding the efforts of De Jussieu and the botanist 
 Thaddeus Haenke, little was added to the scientific knowledge of the 
 Cinchonas by their travels. In the work by M. Weddell, he has made 
 known the species observed by him in those regions during the years 
 1845, '46, and '47. The immense commercial demands on the Cin- 
 chonas of these parts, tending to exhaust the forests, rendered it neces- 
 sary that new sources should be discovered. 
 
 At a period when the consumption of these barks was becoming more 
 and more considerable, it was desirable that attention should be directed 
 to those Cinchonas which will have to replace the Calisaya bark, the 
 supplies of which latter bark are becoming less abundant, and more 
 especially as the mode of collecting this valuable article under the con- 
 trol of the half savages by whom it is performed, has been done in a 
 very ruinous and wasteful manner. To remedy the evil, at least as far 
 
232 Materia Medioa. 
 
 as lies in its power, the government of Bolivia prohibited the cutting 
 of the bark from the year 1851, for three years; this, together with a 
 monopoly by the government of all the bark then cut in its territory, 
 caused a rapid rise in the value of Calisaya bark, and forced the manu- 
 facturers of quinia to make use of other barks, in its preparation, from 
 New Granada, in which barks a new alkaloid has been discovered. 
 
 This one species, the Calisaya, may be exhausted, or, the supply be 
 very much diminished. To give some idea of the consumption of this 
 bark, and the enormous drain upon the localities from which it is ob- 
 tained, the Company, who have a monopoly of it, export annually more 
 than 850,000 pounds of it. From the observations of Weddell, this Cin- 
 chona does not spring up again in the localities from which it has been 
 cut; the circumstances peculiar to its growth being, as it were, altered, 
 and, a stunted growth, the variety B. Josephiana is the only represen- 
 tative of the majestic C. Calisaya to be found in the localities which 
 have been destroyed by the hands of the cascarilleros. The great ex- 
 tent of the country, however, over which the Cinchonas are spread, ex- 
 cludes the idea, which has been entertained, that we shall ever be de- 
 prived of this valuable drug, or that the price of it will be enormously 
 high, in consequence of the careless and destructful manner in which 
 it is collected; but, at the same time, it would be judicious to prevent, 
 if possible, the useless destruction of so valuable a product.* 
 
 Classification op Barks. — In most works on Materia Medica, we find 
 the Cinchona barks classified according to their color, i.'e., into the yel- 
 low, pale, and red barks; the Cinchona Calisaya, as yellow bark; the 
 C. Condaminea, and C. Micrantha, as pale barks; and, an undeter- 
 mined species, probably the C. Ovata, as red bark. This classification, 
 M. "Weddell observes, is very defective ; not only does it separate the 
 products of the same tree^ but it connects those which are essentially 
 different. Formerly, it was thought that all the gray Cinchonas were 
 furnished by the same species, and many persons at the present time 
 are of this opinion. But not only are they produced by many different 
 species, but very frequently they are the young bark of the same trees 
 which yield the yellow and red Cinchonas. A more useful, and indeed, 
 more natural classifiQation would be founded, in the first instance, upon 
 the chemical composition of the barks, it being only necessary to study 
 their active principles, as quinia, Cinchonia, etc. But the results ob- 
 tained by this method, although satisfactorj'- in theory, would not be 
 BO in practice, on account of the unavoidable difficulties arising from 
 such a mode of classification, and, also, from the fact now fully proved, 
 that the same botanical species furnish barks varying greatly, accord- 
 ing to accidental circumstances. And he further remarks, that if a clas- 
 sification be absolutely needed, one which should be based upon the 
 anatomical structure of the bark would be found of much greater utility 
 than either of the preceding, inasmuch as we shall find existing, even 
 in the Cinchonas, a certain relation between their structural and chemi- 
 cal characters. M. Weddell gives the data upon which he bases the 
 latter conclusion ; they are, however, debatable, and as they, and the 
 objections to them, would occupy space, that to the student and gen- 
 eral reader might be more profitably applied, I shall omit them. A 
 classification of them, taking the color as a basis, has, however, been 
 
 *The Dutch Government, with the view of preventing the extinction of the Uallsaya 
 bark, have attempted the onltivation of the tree in Java, and thus far have met with some 
 Buccess. {See Am. Jow. Pharm., XXVIII., p. 326.) 
 
Cinchona. 
 
 233 
 
 made by M. Weddell, in his work {Hist. Naturelle des Quinquinas, 1849), 
 whinh is given below, together with the botanical species from which 
 they are believed to be obtained. 
 
 I. GRAY CINCHONA BARKS. 
 
 g 1. LoxA Cinchona Bakes. (Crown Bark Angl.—China-Ijoxa, Kron China Germ.) 
 
 Loxa Cinchona bark, gray compact Cinehmia Condaminea H. et BL 
 
 Loxa Cinchona bark, brown compact. Dunkele Ten, China') 
 
 Germ. — China pseudb-Loxa Bergen) yo. scrobieulutaS.. etB. 
 
 Loxa Cinchona bark, red chestnut.— Light Calisaya J 
 
 Loxa Cinchona bark, red flbtous of the King of Spain 
 
 Quinia estoposa Pav. in collect Lamb. Mus. Brit.) 
 Loxa Cinchona bark, yellow fibrous C. macrocalyx Pav. 
 
 J II. Lima or Huanuco Cinchona Babks. (Silver Bark, Gray Bark ^n«t;.— Chlna-Haa- 
 
 nuco, Graue China Germ.) 
 
 ^'"peruvf °°^ ^^''^' ^■■ay^™^"' (Ca^camia proiHn,>iancilfj „i^antha Ruiz et Pav. or 
 Lima Cinchona bark'.'grayordinary.;".;'.: ^- lai^eolaia Ruiz et Pav. 
 
 Lima Cinchona bark, white 7 C. pv/rpurea RulzetPav. 
 
 Lima Cinchona bark, very rugous, resembling the Callsaya") 
 
 bark.— CascariUa negriUa Peru v. (? Casaanlla lagariijada \- C. Glandvlifera Ruiz et Pav. 
 
 Lanbert.) J 
 
 Cinchona Bark, red of Jaeu or of Loxa ? 
 
 II. RED CINCHONA BARKS. 
 
 (Red bark Angl. Rothe China Germ.) 
 
 Red Cinchona bark, becoming white in the air 7 
 
 Red Cinchona bark of Lima ' 
 
 Red Cinchona bark true, non-verrucons, ( Cascarilla roja ver- 
 
 dadera, Laubert) 
 
 Red Cinchona bark, officinal 
 
 Red Cinchona bark true, verrucous 
 
 Orange-red Cinchona bark, verrucous 
 
 Pale-red Cinchona bark, with a white snrfaoe 
 
 Brown Carthagena bark 
 
 Red Carthagena bark 
 
 ' O. nitida Rnlz et Fay. 
 
 IIL YELLOW CINCHONA BARKS. 
 
 Yellow Cinchona bark of the King of Spain (CoicariUa 
 amarilladelrey. Laubert) 
 
 Callsaya Cinchona bark, or Royal Yellow bark {Konigs 
 China G&em.—YelUm bark Angl.— China regia Bergen).... 
 
 Orange-yellow Cinchona bark.— Cinnamon Cinchona bark 
 (quinquina— canneUe), light Calisaya (cascarilla claro- 
 o/marilla Laub) , 
 
 Pitaya Cinchona Bark. (Quinquina de la Colombie ou d'An- 
 UoquiaG\ii\>. Hist. Nat. Aes 010%.— Cascarilla paredda a 
 la Calisaya Laubert) 
 
 Woody Carthagena bark (Quinquinia de Colombie ligneux)... 
 
 Orange Cinchona bark of Mutis (Spongy Carthagena Bark • " 
 
 New Spurious YeUow bark Pereira) . 
 
 C. Calisaya Wedi. 
 
 C. micranihe Ruiz et Pav. 
 
 C. Condamineallatnp.etBonp. 
 C. land/olia Mutls. 
 
 HiTAMALiES Cinchona Bark. (Rusty Bark Angl— China, Huamalies, Braune China, 
 
 Germ.) 
 
 Huamalies Cinchona bark, dull gray O. Mi'swto Ruiz et Pav. 
 
 Huamalies Cinchona bark, thin reddish 7 C. pwpwea Ruiz et Pav. 
 
 Huamalies Cinchona bark, white 1, ■ ^^ ■.-, . ^^ 
 
 Huamalies Cinchona bark, ferruginous O. micranihanniz et Pav. 
 
 Yellow Cinchona bark of Cuenca C. ovali/olia H. et B. 
 
 IV. WHITE CINCHONA BARKS. 
 
 -Blasse' 
 
 Ash-colored Loxa Cinchona bark (Ash bark Angl.- 
 
 Ten-China QeTca.— China Jaen Bergen) 
 
 Gray Cinchona bark, pale ditto 
 
 White Loxa Cinchona bark 
 
 White fibrous Jaen Cinchona bark < ^ ^ xr r,, 
 
 Cuzco Cinchona bark j- S ??ri?£1!^ S?i' °^ 
 
 Arlca Cinchona bark • • •;w"J"^""i^""lZ" \ 
 
 Pale Yellow Carthagena Cinchona bark.— CHard Carthagena 
 
 bark Angl.— QMiraa amarilla Mntis.- CTwma flava dura 
 
 Orange^^llow'cShagen'a cVnchona bark (Quinquina 'de 
 
 Maraeaam.— China flava fil>rosa'BeT%en).....^.-^......-..y^ J 
 
 Pitayon Cinchona bark, or false Pitaya Cinchona bark 7 
 
 The following, according to M. Gulbourt, are the most active barks : 
 
 5. Non- verrucous true red Cinchona barK. 
 
 6. Red Lima 
 
 • C. Ovata Ruiz et Pav. 
 
 C. cordifolia Mutis. 
 
 ■ Ibid. 
 
 1. Calisaya (Cinchona bark. 
 
 2. Yellow Orange " 
 
 3. Pitaya " 
 
 4. Verrucous true red " 
 
 7. Gray Lima 
 
 8. Verrucous white Huamalies 
 
234 Materia Medica. 
 
 Botanical Description. — The botanical description of each variety of 
 Cinchona, from facts, heretofore mentioned, is an impossibility, and 
 the attempts to make an accurate description whereby the novice 
 could distinguish the commercial varieties of bark, are equally impossi- 
 ble. I shall not attempt either, and shall confine myself to the descrip- 
 tion of only the most valuable varieties, as — the C. Calisaya, 0. Con- 
 daminea, C. Micrantha and also the most recent information concern- 
 ing the so-called red bark, the origin of which is at present unde- 
 termined ; and shall refer the reader for further information upon 
 other varieties, sometimes met with in commerce, to Pereira's cele- 
 brated work on Materia Medica. 
 
 Cinchona Calisaya. — Specific Characters (M. H. A. Weddell.) — 
 I/eaves oblong or lanceolate, obovate, obtuse, attenuated at the base, 
 rarely acute on both sides, smooth, polished or pubescent beneath, 
 scrobiculate in the axils of the veins. Filaments usually shorter than 
 one-half the length of the anthers. Capsule ovate, scarcely equal in 
 length to the flowers. Seeds frequently fimbriate-denticulate at the 
 margin. 
 
 o. Calisaya vera. A tree, with obtuse oblong-obovate or oblong-lan- 
 ceolate leaves. 
 
 )3. Josephiana. A shrub, with somewhat acute, oblong-lanceolate or 
 ovate-lanceolate leaves. < 
 
 Cinchona Calisaya, "Wedd. Ann. Sc. Nat. x. 6 [^Pharmaceutical Jour- 
 nal, vol. ix., p. 232, for November, 1849.] 
 
 Sab. — Bolivia and Southern Peru. — (v. v.) 
 
 a. Calisaya vera. — A tall tree. Trunk straight or bent, naked, not 
 unfrequently twice the thickness of a man's body. The leafy head 
 (coma) for the most part elevated above all the other forest trees. , 
 
 Bark of the trunk thick. The periderm mostly thicker than in other 
 species of the genus, easily separable from the liber, and, when sepa- 
 rated, exposing on the surfaces of the latter, furrows or impressions 
 resembling carvings ; furnished with vertical parallel fissures, and 
 transverse, more or less, annular scissures ; whitish or also blackish. 
 Periderm of the branches whitened or variously marbled by the thalli of 
 lichens ; and marked by rather sinuated fissures and narrower scis- 
 sures. Bark of the branchlets thin, smooth, and brownish olive-colored 
 or blackish. 
 
 It grows in declivities and steep and rugged places of the mountains, 
 at an altitude of from 1,500 to 1,800 meters, in the hottest forests of 
 the valleys of Bolivia and Southern Peru ; between 13° and 16° 30' 
 south latitude, and from 68° to 72° west longitude ; in the Bolivian 
 provinces of Enquisivi, Tungas, Larecaja, and Caupolican ; and in the 
 Peruvian province of Carabaya. It flowers in April and May- 
 
 The bark is commonly called indiscriminately by the Spaniards and 
 Indians, Cascarilla Calisaya, Calisaya, or Ciilisaya. 
 
 j3. Josephiaria. — A shrub from two to three meters high, with a slender 
 branched trunk of from three to five centimeters thick. Branches erect. 
 Bark adhering firmly to the wood ; that of the trunk and branches 
 schistaceo — blackish, smoothish, or furnished with different lichens and 
 marked in an annular manner by some narrow, distant scissures; that 
 of the branchlets reddish-brown. 
 
 Observations. — It is to this species that we are indebted for the most 
 valuable of the barks employed in medicine; it is that met with in 
 commerce under the name of Calisaya bark, but of which the botanical 
 origin has, up to the present time, remained unknown. As met with 
 
Cinchona. 235 
 
 in commerce, it occurs both in quilled and flat pieces. The quilled hark 
 is in fragments varying from an inch or two to twenty -four inches in 
 length, from two lines to two inches in diameter, and from half a line 
 to seven lines in thickness. Yery small quills, however, are very rare. 
 They are generally singly quilled, though occasionally met with doubly 
 quilled. Usually coated, with an outer bark or periderm ; sometimes 
 uncoated, or deprived of its periderm ; the inner, living part of the 
 bark, Weddell terms its derm, in contradistinction to its external cover- 
 ing, or periderm. 
 
 In the coated specimens, the periderm varies in thickness, is more or 
 less rugous, and marked with transverse impressions, furrows, or 
 cracks, which sometimes form complete rings around the quills. The 
 edges are thick, everted, and raised. If the periderm is very thick, 
 the consistence of it is corky or elastic, and the annular furrows have 
 the appearance of deep incisions. Between these annular markings 
 are longitudinal wrinkles or cracks. In the large quills, these furrows 
 and cracks give the bark a very rough character, by which it may 
 easily be distinguished from the large quills of gray bark {Huanuco). 
 The periderm is nearly tasteless, having a naturally brown color, but 
 sometimes more or less gray or silvery from the crustaceous lichens 
 with which it is covered. , 
 
 The flat or uncoated bark consists chiefly of liber ; its taste is very 
 bitter, and feebly astringent; its transverse fracture, externally, is 
 resinous, internally fibrous. The color is brown externally, and it is 
 marked with impressions corresponding to the furrows or cracks of 
 the periderm. Internally, it is finely fibrous, and of a deep cinnamon- 
 brown color. 
 
 Flat Galisaya occurs in pieces from eight to fifteen inches in length, 
 from one to three inches broad, and from one to five lines in thick- 
 ness. It is but slightly curled, generally uncoated. It has consider- 
 able density, is perfectly uniform in texture, marked on its outer sur- 
 face by longitudinal digital furrows, more or less running into one 
 another, and separated by projecting ridges. Its external surface is of 
 a somewhat brownish tawny -yellow, often with blackish-red patches ; 
 its internal surface is fibrous, of a yellowish-tawny color, sometimes — 
 especially when the bark is fresh — with an orange tint, and often with 
 an undulating grain. The transverse fracture is fibrous, the fibers 
 being short, easily detached, and irritating the skin like the hairs of 
 Dolichos pruriens. The longitudinal fracture is not splintery, and 
 presents a surface covered with brilliant points, owing to the reflection 
 of light from the denuded fibers, and is of a uniform color. The taste 
 is very bitter; the bitterness being gradually developed by mastication, 
 with scarcely any astringency. 
 
 The great reputation of the Calisaya bark has made it so much sought 
 after, that it is becoming exceedingly rare, and there is no doubt that 
 it may one day disappear almost entirely from commerce, and that we 
 shall be obliged, ultimately, to be satisfied with one or other of the 
 species now judged of less value. Weddell says that the increasing 
 scarcity of Calisaya bark induces the cascarilleros constantly to mix the 
 barks of several of their Cinchonas, and this fraud is effected much 
 more successfully than it was formerly, and, without much experience, 
 it is sometimes difficult of detection. The admixture is made especially 
 with the barks of Cinchona Boliviana and Cinchona ovata var. Ruflner- 
 vis; or, more rarely, and only on the coast, with the bark of C. Scrobicu- 
 lata; in other words, with the barks which M. G-uibourt calls, with 
 
236 \ Materia Mebica. 
 
 much justice, the light calisayas of commerce. With tho bark of Scrobic- 
 ulata it would not be likely to be long confounded, but it may readily 
 be 80 with the first two; so much is this the case that in Bolivia the 
 bark of C BoUviana is also called Calisaya bark, a name which its prop- 
 erties will, at any rate, justify. The best characters by which to distin- 
 guish the true Calisaya from all other species, are, the shortness of the 
 fibers which entirely cover the surface of its transverse fracture, and the 
 facility with which these are detached, instead of remaining adherent 
 and pliant, as is the case with the Eufinervis and Scrobiculata. Lastly, 
 its uniform rufus color, and its not being marbled throughout its thick- 
 ness with white, sufficiently distinguishes it from the bark of C. BoU- 
 viana. 
 
 Added to these characters, its great density (which is such that on 
 drawing the nail across its internal surface it produces a bright mark), 
 the depth of the furrows and their projecting edges, are generally suf- 
 ficient to distinguish the flat Calisaya from all the other barks with 
 which it may be found mixed. 
 
 As to the rolled Calisaya, it is much more difficult to distinguish it, 
 for not only does its peridermis, in its physical character, much resem- 
 ble that of many other species, especially that of Scrobiculata and Eu- 
 finervis, but the fracture does not here present such clear characters as 
 it does in the older barks. If even a microscope be used in the exam- 
 ination, the characters are very slight by which it may be recognized ; 
 such, for instance, as a slight excess of thickness in the peridermis, and 
 a larger resinous circle, taking into the account, be it understood, the de- 
 gree of bitterness, which, in doubtful cases, is certainly the most sure 
 method that can be employed to decide the question." 
 
 Pseudo-Calisata Baeks. — Pereira, in his Materia Medica, designates 
 the following list of barks as pseudo-Calisayas. They occur in quilled 
 and flat pieces, more or less resemble the genuine C. Calisaya bark, and 
 as stated by him, are mixed with the genuine, in greater or less quan- 
 tity, by the cascarilleros, and also at the places of shipment on the coast. 
 They are: 
 
 1. C. Calisaya var. li Josephiana. 
 
 2. C. Boliviana. 
 
 3. C. Ovata var. /3 Eufinervis. 
 
 4. C. Micrantha. 
 
 5. C. Scrcrbiculata, two varieties ; o Genuina, and /3 Delondrianse. 
 
 6. C. Amygdalifolia. 
 
 Cinchona Condaminea. — (C Officinalis.) — J. J. Caldas. — "The genu- 
 ine quina of Loxa is a tree of from ten to sixteen Spanish ells (five to 
 eight fathoms) high. The trunk is seldom single, two or three or more 
 commonly growing from the same root. In the first case the trunk is 
 quite perpendicular, in the latter case it is somewliat inclined horizon- 
 tally, circular, about one-half ell in diameter, and the accessory trunks 
 from four to eight inches in diameter. The branches are at the lower 
 part terete, toward the extremities quadrangular, compressed, with two 
 longitudinal furrows opposite the insertion of the leaves, covered with 
 a white, very short tomentum, standing crosswise, perpendicular, rarely 
 horizontal. They divide into others, which are arranged in like man- 
 ner, with a reddish bark. The crown of the tree is oval and very leafy. 
 The leaves are opposite, between oblong and lanceolate, quite entire, the 
 circumference undulating, anteriorly somewhat contracted, and termi- 
 nating in an obtuse point; flat, shining on both surfaces, beautifully 
 green on the upper surface, somewhat pale on the under one ; the nerves 
 
Cinchona. 237 
 
 and v«>ins rose-colored. The leaves at the ends of the branches four 
 to eight inches long, two to four broad. When young and delicate they 
 are covered on the under surface with a short delicate down; when full 
 grown they are of a bright red color. The petiole is terete, above some- 
 what flattened, reddish, shilling, one to two inches long, at the bottom 
 slightly thickened and running down in the form of two distinct crests, 
 by which two opposite furrows are formed which extend to the next 
 leaves below. In the axils of the veins with the nerves the leaves 
 have, on their under surface, a gland or porus, covered with a very 
 short tomentum, similar to that of the coffee-leaf, or of Cedrela odorata. 
 On the upper surface of the leaves we observe, at the spot where the 
 glands are, small convexities. The stipules are opposite, between the 
 leaves, ovate with a point, externallj'- tomentose, internally smooth, 
 shining, deciduous, pale green when young, at the margin rolled back- 
 ward and reddish; when full grown half an inch long, 4' — 5' broad, to- 
 ward the top fixed to the leaf-stalk and forming the ring on the branch 
 described above. They are covered with a viscid and resinous juice. 
 At the inner part of the base we perceive many small knobs which re- 
 semble the warts on the tongue and the palate of many quadrupeds. 
 The stipules cover the leaves completely before their development, and 
 supply thus the scales of a scaly bud. They always protect the two 
 upper leaves, being regularly inserted higher than the leaf-stalk. 
 
 The upper surface of the bark is very variable. According to age, 
 temperature, and locality, it varies from a light brownish color to black. 
 If the trunk and the branches are much exposed to the sun and wind, 
 the bark becomes black, and if the tree is closely surrounded by other 
 trees, it assumes a brownish color, which varies to a light yellowish 
 gray. A large quantity of lichens grow on the whole of the surface. 
 On the epidermis, whatever its color may be, annular impressions or 
 furrows are always perceptible, although sometimes but slightly im- 
 pressed. They are the traces of the places where the stipules were sit- 
 uated. Immediately beneath each ring are two almost circular cica- 
 trices, formed by the petiole after the fall of the leaves. Between the 
 rings many other transverse furrows and cracks, varying in length, 
 depth, and distance from each other, are perceived, mostly parallel to 
 the rings, but never extending entirely round the trunk. All these 
 characteristics of the surface are also found on other species of Cinchona, 
 and are, therefore, insufficient by themselves to distinguish any species. 
 On the inner smooth surface, which is formed of fine, parallel, longitu- 
 dinal fibers, we perceive numerous whitish spots, some of which are 
 shining, but most of them dull. The color of this surface is similar to 
 that of dry cinnamon, passing rather into yellow when the bark is 
 fresh. The edges of the fractured surface of the bark are sharp, like 
 grass,' and only here and there a small p6int is perceptible on the inner 
 edge. Under a magnifier the epidermis appears attached [gubunden], 
 blackish, and shining; the subjacent parenchyma, which forms a con- 
 centric ring, is thicker than the epidermis, sometimes blackish, some- 
 times brownish -yellow with many shining spots. Next follow the layers 
 formed of parallel fibers, between which we observe shining points, 
 which proceed from the gummy resinous juice diffused through the 
 entire bark. The inflorescence consists of single and terminal racemes. 
 The manner in which this Cinchona flowers has been differently de- 
 scribed by various authors, and deserves, therefore, more strict attention 
 
 The peduncle terminates the branches. It is firstly divided into three, 
 the middle and stronger proceeds straight, and forming the axis of 
 
238 Materia Medica. 
 
 the whole inflorescence. The lateral branches are smaller, obliquely 
 erect and repeatedly tripartite, till they branch otf into the smallest, 
 which support the. flowers. The axis ramifies in a similar manner. 
 The pedicels stand always crossways on their common pedunculus. 
 Prom these circumstances I consider that the term Corymb is not ap- 
 plicable, and that Willdenow's description implies the true idea of 
 this inflorescence: Fanicula terminalis patens trichotoma. The peduncle ■ 
 and pedicels are quadrangular, with obtuse angles, compressed with 
 two ' furrows, reddish, and covered with a very short whitish tomentum. 
 The floral leaves, which are on the first, second, third, and also on the 
 fourth division of the chief peduncle, agree in consistence, form, and 
 tomentum, with the other leaves ; they are opposite stalked, and above 
 become gradually smaller. On all the other divisions and subdivisionu 
 of the inflorescence or acute bracts, which are opposite, half embract 
 their axis, are tomentose, internally shining, becoming smaller up- 
 ward, persistent till the fruit is perfect and then falling ofiP, when tho 
 latter dehisces and disseminates the seed. One, sometimes two, decidu- 
 ous, subulate, scaly, bractlets, very short, and of the same consistencri 
 as the bracts, are at the base of each flower. The monosepalous, su- 
 perior, campanulate, very small, tomentose calyx is divided into fiv« 
 acute straight teeth. The corolla is monopetalous and salver-shaped , 
 the tube cylindrical, a little constricted toward the top, imperceptibl) 
 curved, with five longitudinal furrows, corresponding to the sinuse. 
 between the segments of the limb, much larger than the calyx, exter 
 nally deep rose-colored, with a short, white tomentum, internally of < 
 beautiful rose-color and without hairs; the limb, flat, extended, wit't 
 five oblong, lanceolate segments, much shorter than the tube: the seg- 
 ments of the same color as the tube, and covered with tomentum oh 
 the outer side; internally of the same color as the inside of the tube, 
 and not tomentose, but at the margin woolly, ciliated. The apex of 
 the segment more tomentose than the rest of' the margin. The coloj 
 of this tomentum is white. The filaments are five, and subulate ; in- 
 serted below the middle of the tube. Prom thence they extend to tho 
 bottom of the corolla, corresponding to the furrows of the tube and 
 the sinuses between the segments. They are shorter than the tube. 
 The anthers are linear, straight, somewhat divided at the bottom, 
 hardly projecting with their points above the throat, two-celled, with 
 jellow pollen, attached to the filament a short distance from the base. 
 The pistil beneath the calyx, short tomentose, with an obovate ovary. 
 The style is filiform ; the two linear obtuse stigmata approaching one 
 another. The fruit is an oblong capsule crowned by the calyx, com- 
 pr.essed with two longitudinal furrows, two valves and two cells. The 
 dissepiment is formed by the union of the inner margin of the valves, 
 by which the fruit becomes, as it were, divisible into two capsules. It 
 dehisces longitudinally, and at the separation of the margins of the 
 valves, the seed and the seminal receptacle are expelled. The oalves 
 consist of two coats ; the external one is of the consistency of the deli- 
 cate bark of the smallest branches, and is marked on its convex sur- 
 face with five longitudinal lines. The internal membrane is parchment- 
 like (cartilaginous), strong, and almost ligneous; its internal surface 
 is smooth; the. seeds are numerous, imbricated upward, so that the 
 lower ends are covered, and the upper ones uncovered ; they are small, 
 elliptic, compressed, surrounded by a membranous, transparent, oblong 
 wing, which is frequently incised toward the lower end. Seminal recep- 
 tacle between oblong and linear, inserted where the margins of the 
 
Cinchona 233 
 
 valves unite and form the dissepiment. It is dotted throughout its 
 whole length, and these dots are the cicatrices left behind by the seeds. 
 
 The following are the dimensions in Paris feet in decimal parts : The 
 tree 6 — 7 toises high-; the trunk 1 — 2 feet in diameter; the leaf 3" 6'" 
 long, 1" 6'" broad; the leaf-stalk 8'"— 10'" long, 1"'—1|-" thick ; calyx 
 0.5'" high, 0.7'" broad; tube of the corolla 4.7'" long, 0.9'" broad; the 
 margin of corolla (a Lacinia) 1.4'" long; stamina 4.9'" long; the fila- 
 ment in its free parts, 2.3'" long; the same, as far as it is fixed to the 
 corolla, 1.0'"; anther 1.6'" long ; pistil 5.9'" long; stigma 1.1'" long ; 
 capsule 6.7'" long, 2.8'" broad ; seminal receptacle 4.2'" long; seed (i.e.! 
 its center without the wing) 0.8'" long, 0.6'" broad ; wing 1.5'" longj 
 0.8'" broad. 
 
 This species of Cinchona is the most valuable of all which have been 
 hitherto discovered in the Andes. It is the most eff'ective and most 
 sought after. It grows wild in the neighborhood of the town of Loxa, 
 in an extent of 275 Spanish square miles, and in no other parts not 
 only of the province of Quito, but of all America. It is met with 
 neither at all elevations nor in all temperatures of the Andes. It is 
 found only at a barometrical pressure of between 22 — 23'", and at a tem- 
 perature of between 14° to 18° E., in a zone having 1321 Varas east 
 latitude, and at an elevation of from 1898 V. east to 3220 above the 
 level of the sea. It is found between 3° 42' and 4°40' southern lat. Its 
 eastern terminus lies in 6° 35' westward of Quito, and the western ter- 
 minus in 1° 45' from the same meridian. The natives call it cascarilla 
 fina amarilla, and never quina. It fiowers very probably twice, in July 
 and August, and in December and January. The leaves fall successively, 
 as is the case with most equinoctial plants. By the epithet amarilla 
 flna it is distinguished from colorada fina, which diifers from the typi- 
 cal principle form by the color of the fresh bark, which is reddish, 
 whereas the other, as has been stated above, is yellow. This quality, 
 however, does not appear to be permanent, for when the amarilla is 
 dried it assumes the color of the other sort, so that the most experi- 
 enced person is unable to distinguish one from the other. There are, 
 however, a few other distinguishing characters. The leaves of colorada 
 fina are thicker and more obtuse; the corolla is of a more beautiful 
 rose-red, and slightly larger. The capsule is a little thicker; the glands 
 in the axils of the nerves are common to both species." 
 
 Cinchona Miceantha.— Weddell. — Leaves broadly ovate, obovate, or 
 roundish, rather obtuse, more or less attenuated at base, membranous, 
 smooth above, very slightly pubescent beneath, pubescent or hairy on 
 the veins and in the axils. Teeth of the calyx short and acuminate. 
 Fruit-bearing panicle thyrse-like, somewhat compressed. Capsule lan- 
 ceolate. Wing of the seeds toothletted at the margin. 
 
 This species grows in the Bolivian provinces Larecaja and Caupoli- 
 can; in Carabaya, and also near Chicoplaya and Playa Grande, in Peru. 
 Its bark is called by the inhabitants of Huanuco, Cascarilla provinciana ; 
 in Carabaya, it is termed Motosolo; and by the Bolivians, Quepo Cas- 
 carilla or Cascarilla verde. It is collected in large quantities in Cara- 
 baya, and is confounded with the bark of Cinchona ovata, under the 
 name Cascarilla morada ordinaria. The quilled bark constitutes part 
 of the Huanuco or gray barks of English commerce; the- flat pieces are 
 used to adulterate Calisaya bark. — P. "Weddell makes two varieties 
 of this species : 
 
 a. Eotundifolia; C. micrantha, Euiz and Pavon. Leaves ovate 
 rotund. — Peru and Bolivia. 
 
240 Materia Mbdioa. 
 
 |3. Oblongifolia; C. affinis, Weddell. Leaves oblong-ovate. — Peru. 
 
 Cinchona Ovata.^ — The knowledge, heretofore, concerning the source 
 of the true red bark has been very ambiguous and doubtful, but the 
 following article by John Elliot Howard, Esq., throws considerable light 
 upon the subject, and is probably the correct account of it.* 
 
 "It has long been a desideratum in Quinology to ascertain the bota- 
 nical origin of this article of the Pharmacopoeia which is still so much 
 
 *Tlie following barks have been recently Introduced into commerce, and, in a great 
 measure, supply the place of Calisaya bark, in furnishing the alkaloids peculiar to the 
 Peruvian bark, as ctuinia, qninidin, and Cinchonia. The description is by Ezequiel Uri- 
 coechea, of Bogota : 
 
 " The increasing commerce in the Cinchona barks of New Granada, and a desire to con- 
 tribute something to the knowledge of them, are my reasons for writing these lines. 
 
 Much has been lately said of the Bogota Cinchona bark {China Bogoiensis), in which the 
 new base quinidin has been found. As the new alkaloid differs from quinia, and was 
 thought to be much inferior to it in medicinal properties, there was a check on the com- 
 merce of the Cinchona barks coming from New Granada, all of them passing under the 
 name of China Sogotensis; more recently, however, considerable quantities have been ex- 
 ported to England. That the barks which now come from that country differ from one 
 another, I hope to show in what follows, for of the old Cinchona trees from New Granada 
 it is too well known that there was a great many species, the barks of which were then 
 exported. 
 
 Having received by private means, and not through a mercantile house, seven specimens 
 of bark direct from Bogota, Professor Wingers, of Gottingen, had the kindness to examine 
 them ; and as I have had the opportunity of comparing them with other known speci- 
 mens in his possession, I entertain no doubt of the correctness of his determination. 
 
 In addition to the barks, 1 obtained an ounce of the sulphate of quinia made by Manuel 
 TJmana & Co., in the Tequendama manufactory, regarding a qualitative analysis of which 
 I may be p^'mitted a few lines. 
 
 1. China pseudoregia. From Chipaque, sixteen leagues from Bogota. There are some seven 
 subordinate barks that come under this name. According to Belohel's analysis it contains 
 per cent. — quinia, 1.01, ciuchonin, 0.63, quinic acid, 1.29. 
 
 2. Chvnaflava dura. From Siiaque, ten leagues from Bogota. This Clnchoiia contains, ac- 
 cording to Pelletier andCaventou, the discoverers of quinia, and to whom we owe the first 
 scientific investigations of these barks, quinate of quinia and of Cinchonin. 
 
 3. China Cartagena. From Chipague. Here we see that in the same place there are two 
 kinds of bark collected— this and Was pseudoregia ; and probably in the woods trees of very 
 different species grow by each other, so that these specific names taken from localities are 
 worse than none, for they confuse instead of clear up the subject. This Cinchona, bark is 
 but a variety of the China flava dura. 
 
 4. China Bogoiensis. From ii'tuaf^'om^'a, eight leagues from Bogota. Of the whole number 
 of specimens that I obtained, this is the only one that has been recognized as the Bogota 
 bark, which has given rise to so many contradictory views with respect to the bases which 
 it contains. 
 
 5. China ^"uMginosa. Pound ten leagues from Bogota. 
 
 6. China rubigindsa. From El Acerradei'o, also ten leagues distant. Having these two 
 specimens, I am able to give the locality of this bark, until now unknown. We can there- 
 fore say with certainty, that it comes from New Granada, and that M. Von Bergen was 
 right when he asserted that this bark was exported thence, although it can also be said that 
 the same species has come from and is produced at Cuzco, in Peru. 
 
 The chemical constitution has been but little studied ; from an imperfect analysis it ap- 
 pears to contain : according to Franck, in 100 pounds, forty-eight to fifty ounces of cin- 
 chonin. The large quantity of cinchonin here found is Improbable. 
 
 7. China rubiginosa. From New Granada, exact locality unknown. 
 
 Sulphate of QvAnia of the Tequenda/ma Manufactory. It is very white, porous, and crystal- 
 lized in small needles, the planes of which possess a vitreous luster. By the well known 
 test with ammonia and sulphuric ether, the solution of the salt was so complete that the 
 very small quantity that remained between the two liquids was only extraneous matter. 
 The ethereal solution was allowed to evaporate, and it left only a residue of amorphous 
 quinia, with no traces of crystals, which well proves the absence of quinidin. By this test, 
 then, we have to consider the sulphate of quinia manufactured in New Granada as on a 
 parallel with similar European preparations. 
 
 Rem/me. We find from what precedes, or at least we have good reason to suppose, that 
 the seeming contradictions which h ave been published about the Cinchona bark of Bogota, 
 and of its chemical constitution, are easily accounted for by considering the varieties of 
 bark coming into commerce under the same name from the same district. Secondly, that 
 the barks that are now a days exported from New Granada are not all China Bogotensis, 
 but are so different from one another, that we must acknowledge that they come from dif- 
 ferent trees ; a few of these barks, those growing in the plateau of Bogota or its vicinity, 
 I have noticed above. And further, that because the barks come from New Granada they 
 should not be underrated, for they contain some of the best sorts. Schauffele and Bouquet 
 have shown, that some barks obtained by them direct from the exporter Lopez, of New 
 Granada, are as rich in quinia and cinchonin as the China calisaya vera, while naturally, 
 others are not so rich, and some are poor ones. 
 
 Finally, with regard to the composition of the impure sulphate of quinia of New Granada, 
 it must be expected to vary, and much, according to the different kinds of bark employed 
 at this or that time of manufacturing. However, the sulphate of quinia, such as given by 
 the manufactory of Tequendama to-day is quite pure; and it is with no small degree of 
 pleasure that I can say, that our country not only produces the source of the renowned 
 tpeetjic, but the men and the mind to preserve It, and to distribute it to our feUow-crea- 
 tures." 
 
Cinchona. 241 
 
 esteemed, and commands so high a price in the market. I have at 
 length succeeded in obtaining authentic specimens from the place of 
 growth, which will, I trust, tend toward a settlement of the question, 
 although still leaving something to be desired, and to be ascertained by- 
 future researches. 
 
 Dr. Weddell points out the native locality of this species of Cinchona 
 in his Voyage dans le Nord de la Bolivie, published at Paris in 1853. 
 Touching at the Port of Guayaquil, he says :* 
 
 'One of the barks produced by the forests of this region is the tme 
 red bark, which rivals the best Bolivian bark in the' quantity of alka- 
 loids, which it contains. The tree which produces this precious bark, 
 and of which I recovered the lost traces in my previous passage by 
 Guayaquil, grows on the western slope of the Assuay, and of Chimbo- 
 razo, between Chilian es and Guaranda. These geographical data will 
 perhaps assist in deciding the botanical species to which it ought to be 
 ascribed.' 
 
 It is exactly from this district, and in the region in which, according 
 to Laubert,f ' red bark ' was first discovered, that I have obtained a 
 specimen tree which I now describe, and of which I received a few 
 weeks since, contained in two chests, the following portions, viz. : two 
 pieces of the trunk, three of the large roots, five of the thickest branches, 
 and one small box containing small boughs and leaves placed between 
 . paper. The leaves, though injured by imperfect drying, are still suffi- 
 ciently characteristic of the species. The collector apologized for not 
 sendina: the flowers or fruit because the time of vear was not favorable 
 The tree was cui m September. 1855. The account sent was as follows . 
 after enumerating the parts above described, he says : 
 
 ' All from the same tree of red bark (cascarilla roja), cut in 2° 16' 
 south latitude and 16' longitude west of the meridian of Quito, from a 
 mountain called Chahuarpata, near the village of Cibambe, in the pro- 
 vince of Alausi, which is one of the spots which produces the best red 
 bark. There are not now large trees to be found, but only a little larger 
 or less than the one sent, which is of middling size. Bach piece has at- 
 tached to it a paper, showing the part of the tree to which it belongs.' 
 
 The trunk of the tree at the lowest part, from which the roots have 
 been cut away, is not more than between two and three feet in circum- 
 ference, and the branches are from about fourteen to eighteen inches of 
 similar measure. The roots are of proportionate size. The thickness 
 of the bark on branches of four and a half inches across is not more than 
 one-tenth of an inch. The weight ef the bark is about one- -.wentieth 
 that of the wood. The very large and fine red bark which we sometimes 
 see, and which commands a price of seven or eight shillings per pound, 
 must thefefore be procured from trees of great age and size, and these 
 no doubt fall quickly under the axe of the cascarillero, thus accountmg 
 for the scarcity of the finest samples. The age of the tree has also 
 probably some influence in producing the light spongy texture of those 
 specimens which have the highest color— the coloring matter amount- 
 ing in some cases to about one-third the weight of the bark.J The bark 
 
 • Page 48. ^ ^ 
 + "It mows as we have stated, in the mountains of Klobamba, Cnenca, and Jaen, on 
 yjry ele?ated' ^, cool at nlgh't, and well exposed to the sun, as do all other fine spe- 
 (Aea. "—LauberCs Memoir, etc. 
 
 16 
 
242 Materia Medica. 
 
 varies much in different parts of the tree. That, on the trunk, and 
 even on the large roots, presents the familiar aspect of commercial red 
 bark with the peculiar brick -red appearance, where the warty excres- 
 cences are rubbed and chafed. Near the roots the bark becomes thicker 
 and more corky. 
 
 The small branches present the silvery epidermis which we meet 
 with in the small quills. That on the larger branches resembles exactly 
 stouter quills of red bark, and where the outer coat has exfoliated, the 
 derm shows the small pock marks or indentation, which are character- 
 istic of the best commercial quality,* to which indeed the tree evidently 
 belongs ; and as I have the pleasure of presenting specimens to the Mu- 
 seum of the Pharmaceutical Society, I need not further describe it in 
 this pla,ce, except to say that the different portions of the trunk and 
 branches exhibit the variety of coating usually seen in commercial red 
 bark of genuine quality, thus showing that it all proceeds from one tree. 
 
 The leaves vary in size and form. The largest in my possession, a 
 little imperfect at the apex, measured about nine inches in length by 
 six in width. The shape of the leaves is that of Cinchona ovata, ap- 
 proaching perhaps more nearly to the variety a vulgaris than to the var. 
 y rufinervis, in which the latter leaf appears to be somewhat longer in 
 proportion to its width. The red bark leaves, however, instead of 
 being ' subeoriaceous ' (as in the a variety, illustrated by specimens given 
 me by Dr. Weddell), are ' submembranaceous, ' thus confirming its con- 
 nection with the variety y erythroderma, the bark of which agrees very 
 closely with the sort under consideration. 
 
 Of this variety. Dr. Weddell says if 
 
 'No Cinchona (unless it be C. condaminea') is so susceptible of varia- 
 tion through soil and climate as C. ovata. It is particularly in the 
 bark that these changes become manifest. * * A single individual 
 of C. ovata frequently produces distinct varieties of bark on different 
 sides of the trunk. The periderm is generally (in this species) much 
 thinner on the eastern than on the western side. * * The variations 
 which are to be noticed in the young bark of different individuals are 
 still more striking, particularly in the periderm. * * I at one time 
 thought that the ' true red bark ' ought also to be attributed to Cin- 
 chona ovata, but in looking at the specimens which M. Guibourt has 
 shown me, I have been obliged to suspend iny judgment. The barks 
 on which I have founded this opinion were gathered in the valleys 
 north of Ouzco, and as the tree which produces them presents at the 
 same time some differences in the leaves, I have made it into a separate 
 variety, giving it the name erythroderma, which recalls its most inter- 
 esting character.' 
 
 This seems to have been a most felicitous designation thus conferred 
 by anticipation by this excellent botanist, who has done so much to 
 illustrate the history of this invaluable genus. This variety will in the 
 future be, in all probability, regarded as affording the true red bark of 
 cornmerce, of which it is well known there is but one sort which passes 
 current and obtains a high price, while other samples (however red in 
 
 the heart-wood of the tree to be rich lu kiuovic and less so in cincho-tanuic acids, forming 
 together rather more than two per cent, of the weight of the wood. The leaves contain a 
 large quantity of chlorophyll, affording an alcoholic solution of a beautiful dark-green 
 color, rich purple by reflected light. 
 
 » See Pharm. Jowr., Vol. XI., p. 497. The red bark which came In the same ship, and I think 
 from the same place, was of very good quality, and contained from three to four per cent, 
 of alkaloids, including a fair proportion of quinla. 
 
 t Sistoire^ etc., p. 62. 
 
Cinchona. 243 
 
 appearaoce), which proceed from C. micrantha, var. rotundifolia,* or 
 from C. scrobieulata,^ or Q. pubescens, or even from a variety of C. land- 
 foUa, are not at all received as ' red bark, ' hut are regarded as ' spu- 
 rious,' and the price is low in proportion. 
 
 I can not, therefore, coincide with M. Guibourt in the opinion which 
 Dr. W. appears at one time to have derived from him, that commercial 
 red bark is the produce of a variety of trees. On the other hand, I 
 am glad to agree fully with the opinion of this able professor, as given 
 in his Histoire Naturelle des Brogues Simples that the Quinquina rouge 
 vrai non verru^uez (viz. : that of the branches), and the quinquina rouge 
 verruquez (that of the trunk and roots), constitute together the true red 
 bark of commerce. 
 
 M. Guibourt adds (and I think his observations are very important, 
 as determining the next question which presents itself to our view) : 
 
 ' I have shown before how this bark has been, according to false indi- 
 cations of Mutis, attributed to the Cinchona oblongifolia. This error was 
 only discovered when Humboldt had brought into Europe the pretended 
 ' red bark ' of Mutis, or the bark of Cinchona oblongifolia. The error 
 was first discovered in Germany by Schrader and De Bergen, who 
 found that the red bark of Mutis, or the bark of C. oblongifolia, was that 
 which bore in Europe the ijame of Quinquina nova. To the irresistible 
 proofs which these two authors have given, I will add — 1. That the 
 red bark of Mutis deposited by Humboldt in the Museum of Natural 
 History at Paris, is nothing else but Quinquina nova. 2. That three sam- 
 ples examined by Yauquelin under the following denominations : No. 2, 
 Quinquina de Santa Fe ; No. 10, Cinchona magnifolia; No. 16, Quinquina 
 rouge de Santa Fe; were Quinquina nova, shown to be such by the 
 characters of the bark and by the chemical qualities of the macerating 
 liquors. Thus nothing is better proved than this fact, that the Cin- 
 chona oblongifolia or magnifolia produces the Quinquina nova and not the 
 true red bark.' 
 
 It must therefore be fully admitted that Cinchona oblongifolia (Casca- 
 rilla Magnifolia — Weddell) \anot the source of commercial red bark, but 
 only of the worthless Quina nova, a bark which has been sold at an ex- 
 tremely low price to the tanners, though I never heard that they prof- 
 ited by the bargain. However frequently this name may be repeated by 
 the old Pharmacopoeias, no druggist who regards his character would 
 venture to sell the bark of Cinchona oblongifolia of Mutis as having any 
 value in medicine. 
 
 • It is true that Messrs. Delondre and Bouchardat, in their recently 
 published Q^inologie, have given forth as their opinion that the "red 
 bark of Mutis" was none other than what is usually considered to be 
 the red variety of the laneifolia bark of New Granada. It is not improb- 
 able that these might enter into the composition of the immense cut- 
 tings of coarse red barks ('cortezones roxos'), which, it appears,t that 
 Mutis sent over to Spain, since it was doubtless then, as now, too fre- 
 quently the practice to cut any tree that resembled that which they 
 were seeking,]: and to intermingle the products ; but this does not dis- 
 prove the testimony, which appears to me conclusive, that the Cinchona 
 oblongifolia of Mutis (furnishing the Quina nova, which I have described 
 
 « These two sorts Illustrated by samples gathered by Dr. Weddell. 
 t See Fliwm. Jour., Vol. XII., page 340. 
 
 t " Se sabstltuen en su logar las oortezas del arbol que se enooutran mas pareoido."— «BfM«- 
 mento de la Quinologia, page 36, 
 
244 Materia Mebica. 
 
 in a previous volume,*) was that on which this botanist relied to com- 
 pete with the genuine red bark of Quito. He was determined that New 
 Granada should supply its red bark, and since the country did not fur- 
 nish the article, he fixed upon a sort which externally bore some resem- 
 blance, and made a powder of a similar color, and to which, it is but 
 just to Mutis to say, that he only ascribes anf 'indirectly febrifugal' 
 power. 
 
 I think tha!t I have thus sufficiently shown that the old, venerable 
 name of Cinchona ohlongifolia may be safely disposed of In the next 
 place, in order to give some greater certainty in this attempted identi- 
 fication with the new term, I must mention that I wrote to Dr. Wed- 
 dell, and also transmitted to him some of the leaves. He says (under 
 date of August 2d), in reference to ' Quinology:' 'You have evidently 
 solved one of its most interesting desiderata,' and (under date August 
 12th, having received the leaves) he adds, 'The leaves I find in a better 
 state of preservation than 1 might have expected from ■ your account. 
 They undoubtedly appear to correspond exactly to what you infer as to their 
 botanical origin.' 
 
 I have thus given all that it is in my power to afford at present for 
 the direct elucidation of this question. It remains that I add one or 
 two indirect but confirmatory notices. First, as to the Cinchona color- 
 ado de Huaranda proceeding from a species called by Pavon Cinchona 
 succirubra, and which I have described in Vol. XI., p. 497, of Jour. 
 Fharm., as commercial red bark. In the course of last year I found, at 
 Kew, Euiz and Pavon's, a botanical specimen of this, and it proves to 
 be also a Cinchona ovata, akin in the sub-membranaceous character of the 
 leaves to, those which I have since received direct. 
 
 In reference to this specimen. Dr. Weddell remarks in the Bulletin de 
 la Societe Botanique de France, Tome 11., p. 438; 
 
 'It seems to me now demonstrated that the tree to which I applied 
 in my Histoire des Quinquinas the name which I have mentioned, is re- 
 ally that which produces the officinal red bark. My hypothesis is con- 
 firmed by an interesting discovery made quite recently by Mr. Howard, 
 in the herbarium of Sir "W. Hooker. It is that of a flowering specimen 
 of Cinchona, bearing, in the handwriting of Pavon, the provincial name 
 
 • See Fharm. Jowr., Vol. XII., page 340. 
 
 1 1 extract from the Suplemento de la Quinologia, page 109, the following Information from 
 the pen of Dr. Mutls, wnlch Is stated to be the only botanical description of the barks of 
 New Granada which he published. As the authority of Dr. Mutis nas been very prev- 
 alent, it is well to give the quotation in its original language and form, that it may lose 
 nothing of Its Importance by translation : " The following is the statement of the num- 
 ber ana properties of the officinal barks inserted by Dr. Mutis In the periodicals of Santa 
 Fe: 
 
 En La Botanica— (Smeftono. 
 
 Lanclfolia, OblonglfoUa, Cordlfolla, Ovalifolia. 
 
 Quina. 
 Hojadelanza, Hojaoblonga, Eoja de corazon, Hojaoval. 
 
 EK 'EL COUESCIO. 
 
 Narajada prilultlya, Boxa sucedanea, AmarlUa substitulda, Blanca forasten. 
 
 EnLa Mxdicika: Amargo. 
 Aromatico, Austero, Paro, Aoerbo 
 
 Balsamlca, Astrlngente, Acibarada, Xabonosa, 
 
 Antlpyrecllca, Antlseptica, Cathartlca, ■ Bhyptica, 
 
 Antidoto, Polycresta, Ephratica, Propnylactlca, 
 
 Nervlna, Muscular, Humoral, Visceral. 
 
 Febr(/iiga. Tndtreetamente /ebri/ugas." 
 
 This enumeration of qualities for the bark of the oblonglfolia clearly points to the Quina 
 nmia, as his recognized red ban-k. 
 
 The bark of the lancifolia is alone admitted to be directly a febrifuge. 
 
 That of the ovalifolia can only act through the kinovic acid it contains. Is this Inert 
 or has it any action on the human system ? 
 
Cinchona. 
 
 245 
 
 which is now generally known to be that of 'red bark,' Cascarilla color- 
 ado de Suaranda. 
 
 'Mr. Howard having obligingly communicated to me the figure which 
 he had caused to be drawn of this specimen, I had no diflSoulty in seeing 
 in it the image of my 0. erythroderma. It is true that the differences* 
 which I mentioned between the bark of my tree and that which is com- 
 monly met with in commerce exist still as before, but I have found in- 
 termediate forms which so perfectly connect these two types, that there 
 no longer exists in my mind any doubt concerning their identity. 
 
 'There may be a doubt, on the contrary, as to the rank which should 
 be attributed to the plant which produces them. Should it still be at- 
 tached to Hinchona ovata as a variety, or should it be raised to the rank 
 of a species? It is a point which can scarcely be finally decided till we 
 know its fruits. Whatever it may be, the discovery made by our col- 
 league, Mr. Howard, of a flowering branch of the Q. de Suaranda, has 
 certainly made a great step toward the solution of the problem, and 
 has appeared to me worthy the attention of the Society.' 
 . I may add, in reference to the piece of the bark of 0. erythroderma 
 v,C. ovata var. y erythroderma), given me by Dr. Weddell, that it agrees 
 in minute particulars with that of commercial red bark. The color of 
 the deniided derm, the indentations upon this, and the impression of 
 the cross crack, forming a ring at distant intervals, also the character 
 of the periderm, — all these correspond; but the color is not fully equal 
 to the finest red bark, and it is perhaps rather more dense and woody ; 
 but even the bark of the branch and trunk of the same tree vary in 
 these particulars. 
 
 The Huaranda bark in the British Museum, which both M. Guibourt 
 and myself regard as genuine ' red bark,' has also peculiarities such as 
 might mark a tree grown in less favorable soil. The leaves and small 
 branches of my red bark tree give the impression of luxuriant vegeta- 
 lion. That of Pavon's specimen, on the contrary, tells of rather stunted 
 growth. But such variations must be expected in a tree growing in 
 localities so distant from one another. 
 
 The last particular which appears to me confirmatory of the correct- 
 ness of this botanical derivation, is the very close analogy which exists 
 between the 'red bark' and that which is called in commerce' Caro- 
 baya bark,' and which, according to Dr. Weddell, also proceeds from a 
 variety of 0. ovata. This struck me long ago, and would occur to any 
 person who will take the trouble to compare the two sorts ; but it is 
 not a matter susceptible of demonstration, and I will not dwell upon it. 
 
 It is to be hoped that the remaining links of this chain of investiga- 
 tion will shortly be added, through our being put into possession of 
 the flowers and fruit, as well as a farther supply of the leaves of this 
 interesting tree ; and that these will afford materials for completely 
 determining whether it coincides with Dr. Weddell's Cinchona ovata 
 var. y erythroderma ; and whether, if such be the case, that plant ought 
 to be raised to the rank of a species." — Jno. E. Howard, JSsq.f 
 
 *" The texture of my ba.rk is more woody than that of the typical red bark." 
 
 t The New Granada Cinchonas are used almost exclusively in London, Paris, New York, 
 etc., in the manufacture of quinia ; they come in leather sacs called seroons, weighing, 
 €acn, from 130 to 160 pounds; sometimes they come in a coarse kind of canvas, but 
 never in cases or boxes. They are principally exported fi'om St. Martba, Savanilla, and 
 Buenaventura, dnd at least on an average 12,000 bales are exported annually. The, true 
 gray and red barks are not exported from New Granada. 
 
 J. give the foJlowing table to show the average amount in Troy grains of sulphates of 
 quinia and cinchona that can be obtained from a kilogramme, (about '2% Troy pounds) 
 'each, of the various Cinchonas of commerce. 
 
 MM. Delondre and Boucliardat, from whose writings this table is compiled, and who 
 
M6 
 
 Materia JVLbdica. 
 
 Chemical History. — Alcohol, sp. gr. 0.835 is abetter menstruum fbt 
 exhausting Cinchona barks than diluted alcohol ; a larger amount of 
 extract is obtained, less heat ,is required for its concentration, and it 
 forms a clear solution with a mixture of glycerin and alcohol. G-ly- 
 cerin is valuable for preventing deposits in the fluid preparations of 
 the Cinchonas. Bucholz found in Cinchona Bark (JJoxa), Cinchonia 
 0.36, Kinic acid 1.17, Kinate of lime 1.30, hard resin (red Cinchonic} 
 9.97, bitter soft resin 1.56, fatty matter with chlorophylle 0.78, tannin 
 
 have devoted some time to the investigation of tlie Cinchona barks, and the quantity of 
 alkaloids contained in them, have ascertained that the leaves and fruit of the Cinchona 
 trees do not contain the alkaloids found In the bark of the trunk and roots, and also, that 
 the bark of the trunk and branches contain a greater proportion of them than the bark 
 of the root. In operating separately upon thousands of kilogrammes, the yield for each 
 kind of bark scarcely varied at all. The sulphate of (juinla obtained from the red bark of 
 Mutis, was furnished most readily, and Is of a peculiar form, being soluble in sixty parts 
 of ether and sixty parts of ammpnla, while that obtained from Calisaya Carabaya and 
 orange-yellow barks is soluble in eight parts of etlier and two parts of ammonia. The 
 crystals of qulnldin In most instanced were not formed until several days had elapsed. 
 
 KIND OF BARE. 
 
 Flat Calisaya, without epidermis (Bolivia) (Cinchona calisaya, var. 
 
 Vera, Weddell)...., : 
 
 Quilled Calisaya, with epidermis (Bolivia) (Cinchona calisaya, var, 
 
 Fern, Weddell) 
 
 Bark from root or Ichu cascarilla (Bolivia) (Cinchona calisaya, var. Jo- 
 
 sephiana, Weddell) i 
 
 False Calisaya (Bolivia) (C rufinei'vis or C. JPubescens. Weddell), (C. 
 
 Moranda, Planchon) 
 
 Flat and quilled Carabaya (Peru) (O. Pefuvianaf C. Micranthaf Peep- 
 
 pig). (C ovata, Phoebus). (Flor. J'eruv. var. ruflnerms, Weddell'?)... 
 Bed Cinchona of (juzoo, with and without epidermis (Peru) (C. scrobi- 
 
 culaia, var. DeUmdriana) 
 
 Flat Huanueo, without epidermis (Peru) (C. ««ida, Ruiz & Pavon), 
 
 Cinchona with small flowers (C. micrantha, Poepplg, O. Peruviana, 
 
 Howard) 
 
 Qnllled Huanueo, with epldermls^(Peru) (C. micrantha, Ruiz & Pavon, 
 
 utsimra) 
 
 QiHilledHuanuoo, pale yellow (Peru) (C. Feruviana, Sowaviui supra). 
 Jaen Cinchona (Peru.) (O. oilata, Ruiz and Pavon, contains no quinla 
 
 nor cinchonia, only aricine) 
 
 H^amalies bark, (C. Pubescens Purpurea, Planchon). 
 
 Bright red bark (Equator) (O. suooirubra, younger branches, Pavou, 
 
 Spruce) 
 
 Fale red bark (Equator) (C siicdrubra) 
 
 Fine gray bark of Loxa, (Equator) ( C. officinalis, L., C. Condaminea var. 
 
 lueunia/olici) , .• 
 
 Fine gray Condaminea (Equator) (O. officinalis, L., C. Condaminea, var. 
 
 Cnanuarguera, Bouohardat) 
 
 YeUow Cinphona of the King of Spain, or Guayaquil (Equator) ( C, offi- 
 
 einalia, L., C. Condaminea var. Uritastnga, Bouchardat — C. coccinea, 
 
 Pavon, Phoebus).. , 
 
 Blcolor Cinchona (Equator) W. Ladenbergensis, Phoebus {doubtful Cin- 
 
 ehoTia, Bouchardat) .•, 
 
 Sante Fe de Bogota Calisaya (New Granada) Delondre and Bouchardat j 
 
 {0.laneifolia,M.uti&, Rampon) 
 
 Fitayo bark, noipitayon nor pltaya, C. pitayensis, Weddell. Brownish 
 
 red and yellow, the former containing more tannin and coloring 
 
 matter. These barks are equal to the best Bolivia. 
 
 Quina amarilla or Q. cmarajanda, Mutis 
 
 Orange-yellow bark (New Granada) ( C. var. lanci/oUa, Mutis) ( Colunibia 
 
 CHn., Rampon) 
 
 Quilled orange-yellow (New Granada) ( C. var. land/olia, Mutis) ( Colum- 
 bia Oin., Rampon) 
 
 Yellow bark (New Granada) (C var. lanai/olia, Mutis.) (Columbia Cin., 
 
 Rampon) 
 
 Ligneous Carthagena (New Granada) of commerce. ( C. var. lanei/olia, 
 
 Mutis.) 
 
 Pale-red bark (New Granada) (G. var. lamd/oUa, Mutis.) 
 
 Maracaybo bark (New Granada) pale yellow. (G cordi/olia, Mutis) 
 
 Red bark of New Granada (C oblongMlia, Mutis).. 
 Yellow Cusco bark (Peru) C. Ovata f Pavon.. 
 
 Brown Cusco bark (Peru) C. Ovataf Pavon 
 
 Gray bark of Quito (Peru) C. Ovataf Pavon. (In the three barks Just 
 referred to, the alkaloid is given by M. Bouchardat, as, " S. quinla 
 or rather arloine.") 
 
 Bark from the Lagos Isles (coast of Africa) 
 
 Pale red of New Granada (C. oblongi/olia, Mutis) 
 
 Sulphate Sulphate 
 
 of of 
 
 (^uiuia. Cinchouia 
 
 463 to 495 
 231 to 308 
 123 
 
 11 
 
 231 to 277 
 
 61 
 
 92 
 
 Oto 10 
 
 308 to 385 
 231 to 277 
 
 30 
 123 
 
 46 to 61 
 46 
 
 See 
 
 Bolivia 
 
 barks. 
 
 308 to 385 
 
 231 to 246 
 
 277 
 
 184 to 214 
 
 308 
 
 "77 
 
 "30 to "is 
 184 to 214 
 
 9 
 
 7J^ 
 
 93 to 124 
 123 to 154 
 
 7 
 
 61 to 77 
 184 
 
 184 
 
 123 to 154 
 123 to 154 
 
 13 to 92 
 
 123 to 154 
 77 to 92 
 
 154 to 184 
 
 92 
 
 463 
 
 15 
 
 46 to 61 
 
 92 to 123 
 92 to 123 
 
 77 
 
 7/ to 92 
 
 61 
 
 154 to 184 
 92 to 1U8 
 
 yi- 
 
Cinchona. 
 
 247 
 
 with some chloride of calcium? 5.80, gum 4.43, starch a trace, lignis 
 74.43. According to MM. Pelletier and Caventou, the pale, yellow, 
 and red bark contain— Kinate of Quinia, Kinate of Cinchonia, Soluble 
 Cinchona red, or Cincho-tannic Acid, Insoluble Cinchona red. Yellow 
 coloring-matter. Grass-green coloring-taatter, Kinate of Lime, Starch 
 Gum, Lignose. ' 
 
 In the pale bark the relative amount 'of the Cinchonia is much more 
 abundant than that of the quinia. In the yellow bark the relative pro- 
 portion of the latter considerably exceeds that of the former. Adding 
 the respective amount of the two alkalies together, the yellow bark is 
 twice as rich in vegeto-alkali as the pale bark. In the red bark the 
 relative proportions of the two alkalies are more evenly balanced, with 
 a slight excess, perhaps, in favor of the quinia. The red bark is rarely 
 as rich in vegeto-alkali as the yellow variety. To this I have to add> 
 that MM. Henry and Plisson have found that a considerable proportion 
 of the two alkalies is combined with the Cinchona red. 
 
 In addition to the above several other constituents have been found 
 in the bark, as, chinoidin or amorphous quinia ; B-quinia or chinotin, a 
 peculiar alkaloid which forms basic and neutral salts; quinidin or 
 quinidina, from Bogota Cinchona, with which several salts have been 
 formed ; paricin, from the Para Cinchona ; cinchonicin, from cinchonia 
 or any of its salts ; quinicin, from quinia or its salts ; and aricina in 
 the cusco or arica bark. 
 
 Soluble Cinchona Red has all the properties of tannin ; it precipitates 
 iron solutions green (the red from the pale bark, however, precipitates 
 these solutions brown). It also precipitates gelatine and tartar emetic, 
 and forms a compound with starch, insoluble in the cold, but soluble 
 above 122° F. — Insoluble Cinchona Bed is ino&orous, insipid, reddish- 
 brown, nearly insoluble in water and ether, readily soluble in alcohol 
 and alkalies, does not precipitate gelatine, but does precipitate tartar 
 emetic. — Aricina or cinchovatine, C^e Hj, IS", Og, crystallizes in white 
 non-volatile needles, fusible at 370° P., and soluble in ether ; in the 
 form of a sulphate in alcoholic solution, it crystallizes in silky needles ; 
 in solution in boiling water it forms a tremulous jelly, assuming the 
 appearance of horn on drying. — Paricin closely resembles aricin, but is 
 more soluble in ether and is uncrystallizable. — Cinchonicin and quinicin, 
 isomeric bases of Cinchonia or Quinia, are respectively obtained by 
 heating Cinchonia or any of its salts, and Quinia or any of its salts. 
 Chirioidin or amorphous quinia is only a mixture ; considered to be a 
 modification of quinia, deprived, however, of its crystallizing property. 
 When pure, it has the same medicinal power as quinia. 
 
 The Cinchona nova contains a peculiar acid (Kinovic), of which the 
 properties are so analogous to those of salsaparin that Buchner and 
 
 M. Phcebus of Giessen, has given the microscopic appearances of sections of several of 
 the barks Just referred to in the Table ; they are briefly as follows : Cinchona nitida, cor- 
 tical fibers isolated as in the Calisaya ; herbaceous envelop thickish ; numerous cellules 
 of resin in the liber; lacunee between these two spaces.— G. micrantha, cellules and lactl- 
 ciferons vessels less abundant and less developed than in the preceding ; the fibers more 
 frequently isolated, of small diameter, and often open.— C. suadrubra, many cellules and 
 some lactlciferous vessels with crystals in the middle bark ; crystals are kin ovate of quinia, 
 which are precipitated ttom the juice of the bark outside of the cellules.— O. landfoUa, 
 cortical fibers ai-ranged in a radiating series, and at the same time in concentric? layers, 
 marked especially in the external layers of the liber ; generally the pores of these fibers 
 are quite marked ; the middle bark is more or less developed, and, as well as the liber con- 
 tains cellules with resin, or crystals ; in the young barks, the arrangement of the fibrous 
 elements is in concentric layers; many cellules are alsoopening and in the progress of forma- 
 tion ; here and there Borne laoliclferous vessels, and in the two internal zones, some cellules 
 with resin.— Pilayo barlts, dermis often fortned of the liber alone, or of the liber With a 
 portion of middle bark, more rarely of the three parts of the bark ; cortical fibers Isolated, 
 as in the Calisaya ; here and there some cellules with crystals. 
 
248 Materia Medica. 
 
 Winckler were thereby led to confound it with the latter principle 
 Schnedermann has since demonstrated that the Kinovic acid and sal- 
 Baparin are perfectly distinct principles. The yellow bark contains 
 equally Kinovic acid. The fatty matter, the kinate of lime, and the 
 coloring-matter which exist in bark, are of no importance in a iuedical 
 point of view. — Quinia and Cinchonia (quinine and Cinchonin), are 
 the vegeto-alkalies which are contained in the several species of bark, 
 and to the presence of which the latter owe their medicinal properties. 
 These two alkaloids have been found in the three ofl&cinal species of 
 bark, viz., the pale, the yellow, and the red. 
 
 Quinia or Crude Quinia. — Treat the bark with hydrochloric acid, 
 lime, and alcohol in the same way as you would do if you intended to 
 prepare sulphate of quinia ; but, instead of acidulating the alcoholic 
 liquor, distill it off at once. The residuary product consists of a plastic 
 mass of firm consistence ; this mass is a mixture of quinia, Cinchonia, 
 fatty matter, and coloring-matters. It is technically term«d ' crude 
 quinia." It has been used successfully as a febrifuge by Dr. Trousseau; 
 it does not purge, like sulphate of quinia, and proves eflcacious in 
 smaller doses than the latter preparation. It has, moreover, this great 
 advantage over the sulphate, that it is not very perceptibly bitter, 
 which makes patients, particularly children, take it with less reluctance 
 than they would the intensely bitter sulphate. One kilogramme of 
 good Calisaya bark yields about 32 grammes of crude quinia, 
 
 Quinia is an energetic alkaloid. It presents itself usually in the 
 form of a resinous mass ; but it may be obtained also in six-sided , 
 prisms. The formula of quinia is, Ci,, 'K^ Nj 04=324+54. The equiv- 
 alent number of this alkaloid is 412. In the state of hydration it con- 
 tains 6 equivalents of warter=14.1 per cent., which it loses upon fusion. 
 Quinia is white, inodorous, and has a very bitter taste ; it fuses readily. 
 It. is only very sparingly soluble in boiling water, and, according to 
 Magonty, still less soluble in cold water. In water at 140° F. it loses 
 its hydration water. It is readily ^soluble in alcohol ; hot alcohol dis- 
 solves a larger proportion of it than cold alcohol. It dissolves also 
 tolerably well in ether. It forms with acids readily crystallizable salts, 
 of nacreous aspect. They have all of them an exceedingly bitter taste. 
 Most of them are soluble in water, alcohol, and ether. The mineral 
 acids precipitate the quinia from the solutions of its salts. Ammonia 
 decomposes the quinia salts only partially in the cold, while, on the 
 other hand, quinia decomposes the ammoniacal salts upon ebullition. 
 Gall-nuts precipitate the solutions of quinia salts. — Quinia is obtained 
 usually by precipitating the solution of any of its salts with ammonia, 
 collecting and drying the precipitated quinia. To obtain it in the 
 crystalline state, M. Pelletier recommends to dissolve the resinous mass 
 in alcohol of 90 Cent., and to leave the solution to spontaneous evapo- 
 ration in a dry place. M. Henry proposes to dissolve the crude quinia 
 in alcohol of 80 Cent., to add water to the solution until the liquid 
 commences to turn milky, and to leave it then in the open air ; in a 
 few days the portions which had precipitated at first in the form of a 
 fluid resin will be found converted into radiated crystals. M. Magonty 
 advises to let the quinia crystallize from water ; Liebig conducts the 
 operation in a hot ammoniacal solution. Pereira states that a solution 
 of quinia in alcohol or acidulated water, possesses the power of left- 
 handed rotatory polarization, which decreases at a temperature above 
 72° F. Laurent gives the formula of quinia, Css Hj, N, O, ; its equiva- 
 lent weight is 370, ard its symbol QI. 
 
Cinchona. 24S 
 
 Cinchonia or Oinchonin. — Cinchonia crystallizes readily in anhydrous 
 <jnadrilateral prisms bounded by oblique facets. The formula of Cin- 
 chonia is C40 Hm N2 02=308. Cinchonia is colorless and inodorous ; it 
 has a bitter taste. It fuses at 329° P., only when on the point of de- 
 jomposition. It requires 2.500 times its own weight of cold water for 
 solution, but is a little more readily soluble in alcohol, though some- 
 what less 80 than quinia. Hot alcohol dissolves a larger proporti,on of 
 it than cold alcohol. In cold ether it dissolves to a very trifling extent 
 only. It combines readily with acids. The salts of Cinchonia are 
 bitter ; they possess all the characteristic properties attributed to 
 quinia salts. Cinchonia is obtained by precipitating its salts with 
 ammonia ; it crystallizes readily from alcohol. The salts of Cinchonia 
 bear, as already stated, very considerable analogy to those of quinia ; 
 yet they may be distinguished and separated from the latter, as the 
 alkaline bicarbonates precipitate Cinchonia in presence of tartaric 
 acid, while they fail to , precipitate quinia under the same circum- 
 stances. Pereira states that an alcoholic, or acidulated aqueous solu- 
 tion of Cinchonia possesses the property of right-handed rotatory 
 polarization. Laurent gives the formula of Cinchonia Cse Hj^ Nj Oj ; 
 its equivalent weight 294, and its symbol CJ. 
 
 Cinchonia may be obtained by exhausting 125 parts of powdered Pale 
 Bark, by three successive boilings with 2f parts of Muriatic Acid, and 
 500 parts of water, each time (so that 8 parts of acid and 1500 of water 
 will be employed in the three boilings). Add the decoctions together, and 
 then add 12^ parts of quicklime diffused in water, and when precipita- 
 tion is completed, wash and dry the precipitate. Dissolve this in boil- 
 ing alcohol, filter the solution while hot, distill in a water-bath, evap- 
 orate to dryness, digest in cold alcohol, and then-dissolve the residue in 
 boiling alcohol, with the addition of some animal charcoal ; again filter 
 while hot, and allow the Cinchonia to crystallize spontaneously on the 
 cooling of the liquid. — Par. God. 
 
 Cinchonia differs from quinia by containing one equivalent less of 
 oxygen, and there is no doubt but that ultimately chemistry will be 
 able to convert one intq the other; both quinia and Cinchonia yield 
 quinolin. 
 
 The sulphate, acetate, muriate, etc., of Cinchonia, are made by dis- 
 solving Cinchonia in the required diluted acid, filtering, evaporating, 
 and crystallizing. Cinchonia may also be made from the mother-wa- 
 ters, after the sulphate of quinia has been prepared ; the process is to 
 considerably dilute the mother-waters with water, and then add am- 
 monia ; the precipitate thus formed is collected on a filter, washed, dried, 
 and proceeded with in the same manner as named in the preceding 
 process of the Parisian Codex. 
 
 Oinchonidin, C40 H^ Kj 0^, is isomeric with Cinchonia, and may be 
 obtained by spontaneous evaporation of its alcoholic solution, in hard, 
 brilliant, striated, rhomboidal, anhydrous crystals, insoluble in ether, 
 and its solution in absolute alcohol producing left-handed rotary polar- 
 ization. It fuses at 347° F., and at a higher heat is decomposed, emit- 
 ting an odor of oil of bitter almonds. The sulphate of cinchonidin 0,, 
 H24 ISTj O4 (Hj SOs) forms stellate groups of silky acicular crystals. 
 
 Quinidin or Quinidina, C^, B[„ Nj 0„ 2 H, 0^ and symbol Qdn, is a new 
 alkaloid, isomeric with quinia, recently discovered in the new barks, 
 and found also in the C. ovata, C. cordifolia, C. lancifolia, etc. It is ob- 
 tained by the same process as that by which quinia is procured from 
 the quinia-yielding barks; but its sulphate, being very soluble, is left 
 
250 Materia Medioa. 
 
 in the mother-waters. In order to obtain the alkaloid pure, it is to be 
 repeatedly crystallized from its alcoholic solution to deprive it of a 
 greenish-yellow resinous substance, and then shaken with ether, to re 
 move any adherent quinia, until the ethereal liquor no longer indicates 
 the presence of quinia by yielding a green color on the addition first 
 of chlorine water, and afterward of ammonia. Pereira states that an 
 acidulated aqueous solution of quinidin is fluorescent, and possesses the 
 property of right-handed polarization. 
 
 H. Gr. Leers describes the chemical composition of quinidin as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 "Quinidin, discovered several years ago by Winckler,* in a bark re- 
 sembling Huamalies Cinchona, and also in Maracaybo Cinchona, has 
 never, yet been subjected to an accurate analysis, although this base 
 appears to be daily acquiring a greater importance in relation to- 
 quinia. 
 
 In consequence of the government of Bolivia having monopolized 
 the exportation, and by this means raised the price of Galisaya Cin- 
 chona (the 'principal material for the manufacture of quinia), a cheaper 
 bark is now imported, under the name 'of Bogota Cinchona, f which 
 contains chiefly quinidin, and but a small proportion of quinia. j 
 
 From this Bogota Cinchona, large quantities of quinidin are now 
 prepared for admixture with quinia. The proportion of alkaloids in 
 this bark was, in two experiments, 2.61 and 2.66 per cent. It appeared, 
 therefore, of great interest to obtain a more exact knowledge of the 
 chemical relations of this substance, which, in the crude state in which 
 the author received it from Mr. Zimmer, was beautifully white and 
 distinctly crystallized, but still not perfectly pure. It contained an un- 
 crystallizable yellowish-green resinous substance, together with quinia 
 (according to the test with chlorine water and ammonia), and very 
 probably also a third substance, containing a larger proportion of 
 carbon." 
 
 The following operations were performed in the laboratory of Prof 
 
 In order to obtain the base in a perfectly pure state, the rough quin- 
 idin was dissolved in alcohol of 90 per cent., and the solution allowed 
 to evaporate spontaneously in the air, when a greenish-yellow, resinous 
 substance soon appeared on the walls of the vessel. The most beauti- 
 fully formed crystals were then selected, washed with alcohol, and re- 
 dissolved in spirit of wine, when the same greenish-yellow substance 
 was deposited. The re-crystallization having been performed five or 
 six times, until the yellow substance was no longer perceived, and the 
 proportion of carbon in the base not yet proving uniform, the crystals 
 obtained aftei' five or six times repeated re-crystallization were finely 
 powdered and shaken with ether, until all reaction of quinia disap- 
 peared, and the pi'oportion of carbon remained constant. 
 
 Paricin has been found in certain Cinchona barks from Para, by Dr. 
 J. P. L. Winckler, who gives the following process for obtaining it : "If 
 we digest the bitter resin of Para Cinchona with a strong solution of 
 
 * Buchner's Sepert. de Pharm [2] XLVIH. [See also a paper in the pharmaceutical Jour- 
 nal, Vol. VII., p. 527.] 
 
 t [Tbe bark here called Bogota (Hnchona is usually known In England as a Carthagena 
 bark ; and to distinguish it from the common hard Carthagena bark, it is sometimes called 
 fibrous Carthagena bark. Coqnetta bark is one sort of this bark.— Ed. Pharm. Journ 1 
 
 t In order to ascertain whether Bogota Cinchona, like other Cinchona barks, contained 
 kinic add, some finely powdered Bogota bark was boiled with hydrate of lime and the 
 obtained kinate of lime submitted, along with peroxide of manganese and sulphuric acid, 
 to distillation, by which was obtained a liquid containing kinoue. 
 
Cinchona. 251 
 
 caustic ammonia for a few days, a brownish-yellow, loose powder, of 
 about half its weight, is precipitated, and the supernatant fluid is clear 
 and deep-brown. The precipitate is colored Paricin, which may be 
 easily purified. The ammoniacal liquid, on being evaporated, leaves a 
 residue of an amorphous, shining, almost black mass, which contains 
 ammonia." The whole subject of Cinchona barks, their alkaloids, 
 etc., is by no means perfectly settled, still further investigations are 
 called for.* 
 
 Tests for Spurious Barks. — As there are many spurious barks in com- 
 merce, it is of importance that some ready means for their detection 
 should be made known. Bitterness is not always characteristic of the 
 value of Cinchona bark ; barks which do not contain traces of alkaloids 
 and yet contain considerable kinovic acid, have a very bitter taste, 
 which may be mistaken for the presence of alkaloids in the bark. An 
 infusion of such barks will give, upon the addition of a solution of sulphate 
 of copper, a greenish precipitate of kinovate of copper. Tannic acid is 
 the best reagent for determining the genuine from the spurious barks, 
 as this acid forms insoluble compounds (tannates) with the alkaloids of 
 genuine Peruvian barks. In using this test, all that is necessary will 
 be to make a decoction or infusion of the bark under examination, filter 
 it, add a solution of tannic acid, when, should the bark contain any of 
 these peculiar alkaloids, the addition of the solution of tannic acid will 
 imriiediately cause a precipitate of them as tannates. . Consequently 
 those barks which yield no precipitate with tannic acid, are destitute 
 of these alkaloids.f 
 
 * Pelletier regarded Cinchonla, quinia, and aricina, as being respectively tlie monoxide, 
 blnoxide, and teroxlde of a hypottietical nitrogenous base, wliloh lie called quinogen, and 
 whose formula is Cm H12 N.-s-P. L. Pasteur makes the following remarlcs on the Cinchona 
 alkaloids: " It is now about half a century since Cinchonla, whose existence had been 
 previously pointed out by Dr. Duncan, of Edinburgh, was first isolated and obtained; in a 
 state of purity by Gomez, a physician of Lisbon. He attributed the efUcaoy of Cinchona 
 barks to the presence of tliis body ; but he failed to recognize its alkaline character, 
 which, indeed, was not fully appreciated till toward the year ISaj, by Pelletier and Caven- 
 tou, at which time the same chemists likewise made the important discovery of quinia. 
 About twelve years later, two other French chemists, MM. Henry and Delondre, discov- 
 ered, in yellow Cinchona bark, a third alkaloid, to whioli they gave the name ot quinwUn. 
 In 1829, Sertuerner, already celebrated by his discovery of morphia, observed in the mother- 
 liquors of sulphate of quinia an uncrystallizable base, which he called quinoidin, and to 
 which he attributed wonderful febrifuge properties."— /SoMftej-am. 
 
 t W. Bird Herapath, M. D., makes the following remarks in Bell's London Pharmaceuti- 
 cal Journal, relative to the methods for testing the Cinchona alkaloids : " In consequence 
 of the gradually increasing scarcity of the cortex elnchonm caXisayce and its chief product 
 quinia, many other barks have been introduced into commerce, which furnish 9,lkalolds, 
 having a strong general resemblance in the physical characters of those preparations of 
 them more commonly employed in medicine, but differing widely in medicinal proper- 
 ties and commercial values. 
 
 In order to prevent fraudulent adulterations, it has long been highly desirable to have 
 some ready methods of detecting admixture of these alkaloids and their salts. The author 
 having discovered several optical salts of these vegetable alkaloids, proposes to make 
 their well-marked optical characters the means of such detection, and in a subsequent psi- 
 per has fuUy developed his views upon this ready method of analysis, while in the pres- 
 ent he hag passed under review the various existing tests for the different Cinchona alka- 
 loids, and the results of his Investigations may be enumerated under the following con- 
 clusions: 
 
 The following different methods of detecting the various Cinchona alkaloids have been 
 proposed : — 
 
 To Bonohardat and Paisteur we are indebted for the use of polarized light as a means ot 
 discriminating these alkaloids by the rotatory power which they exercise upon its plane. 
 
 Liebig employs the difference of their solubility in ether for the same purpose. 
 
 Almost all the other tests proposed have for their object only the discovery ot quinia. 
 
 Professor Stokes employs fluoresence, combined with the peculiar reaction in respect 
 to this phenomenon, of hydrochloric acid, alkaline chlorides, etc. Brandes, the green reac- 
 tion produced by the successive addition of chlorine and ammonia, while Vogel has mod- 
 ified the latter test in several ways. „ ,, . J ,, , J „„„= 
 
 PeUetier has employed the agency of a stream of chlorine gas, and Marohaud uses 
 nascent oxygen, obtained from puce-colored oxide of lead and sulphuric acid for the dls- 
 
 "°Leefs flrst^pro^posed a combination of Liebig's ether test with that of Brandes' chlorine, 
 and ammonia reaction, as a means of establishing the purity of cinchonidln (miscalled bj 
 him quiuidlu, in common with all German chemists). 
 
252 Mateeia Medica. 
 
 Hr. Grahe has also instituted the following ready process for distin- 
 guishing the true from the false barks. He finds that true Cinohona 
 bark, when submitted to dry distillation, gives a product of a bright 
 carmine color; this product is characteristic of these barks, and is 
 not furnished by any others that do not contain the Cinchona alkaloids. 
 The quantity of this red substance depends upon the amount of the 
 alkaloids, and it appears to afford a tolerable indication of this amount. 
 This test is applied by heating the fragment of a bark weighing about 
 five or ten grains, in an ordinary test-tube, gradually raising the heat 
 to redness. With Cinchona bark a whitish smoke is given off, and 
 also water vapor, which condenses upon the sides of the tube. Very 
 shortly afterward, the red color begins to appear, communicating to the 
 vapor a reddish tinge, and at about one inch distant from the heated 
 portion of the tube, there is deposited a red pulverulent film, which 
 gradually passes into a thick oleaginous liquid, running down the glass 
 in drops or streaks of a fine carmine color, in the water condensed with 
 it. Close to this point are deposited the tarry products, generally re- 
 sulting from the destructive distillation of vegetable substances. .The 
 presence of some substances prevents the production of this red color, 
 even in the case of the true Cinchona barks, such as caustic alkalies, 
 
 De Vry has advised the employment of hydriodle acid or iodide of potassium, in order 
 to discover the qulnidln of Pasteur. 
 
 Van Heijnlngen depends on oxalate of ammonia to discriminate quinia from quiuidln. 
 
 All these diflferent tests the author has examined most critically, and. as far as it is pos- 
 sible to do so, determined the absolute humerical value of each method experimentally, 
 with the following results : 
 
 He first explains MM. Bouchardat and Pasteur's researches on these remarkable alka- 
 loids, from which it appeared that quinia and oinchonidin are powerfully Isevogyrate, 
 quinidin and cincliouia pre-eminently dextrogyrate, and that qulniciu and ciuchonicia 
 are only slightly dextrogyrate upon plane-polarized light. These eminent experimenters 
 determined also with accuracy the amount of these molecular rotations for each alkaloid. 
 Yet the expensive nature of the apparatus, the complex formula requisite to reduce the 
 observed amount of angular rotation to the normal molecular standard, and the many in- 
 terfering actions necessary to be guarded against, effectually prevented this from ever be- 
 coming a process for general adoption, either among chemists or manufacturers. 
 
 Ano&er method of recognizing the presence of quinia is founded on the optical phe- 
 nomena of fluorescence, which have been investigated by Professor Stokes. While en- 
 deavoring to turn this process to account in thequantitatlve estimation of quinia by means 
 of excessive dilution, and marking the points at which the various phenomena of " epi- 
 polism," " fluorescence," and " internal dispetslon " vanish, the author arrived at the 
 following extraordinary results ; premising that he employs the term "Internal dispersion" 
 to mean the positive, "fluorescence" the comparative, and "epipollsm" the superlative de- 
 grees of the same optical power : 
 
 I. Solutions containing 1 grain in 35,000 of either quinia or quinidin of Pasteur, exhibit 
 eplpolism and fluorescence ; solutions with 1 grain in somewhat less than 140,000 grains of 
 water are still fluorescent, with slight infernal dispersion. 
 
 ' When diluted with from 3 to 10 gallons of water, these alkaloids continue to exhibit in- 
 ternal dispersion. 
 
 Solutions of quinioin are only slightly eplpolio, and if the change has been perfect, 
 scarcely at all fluorescent, but nevertheless strongly absorptive of rays of high refrangi- 
 blllty. 
 
 Cinchonidin also exhibits optical phenomena, but in a much slighter degree ; about 
 1-lOOth part of that of either quinia or quinidin. 
 
 Cinchonia is also fluorescent about l-120th part of the same alkaloids. 
 
 II. That on mixing fluoreseentsolutlonsof quinia, quinidin, or other Cinchona alkaloid 
 with the soluble chlorides, although all traces of optical phenomena are lost to the eye, 
 yet the media still possess powerfully absorbent powers ou the rays of high refrangibility, 
 and, if sufficiently concentrated, are wholly opaque to them, without exhibiting any of 
 the phenomena of dispersion, and greatly impede chemical action. 
 
 This was proved by three methods of observation : 
 
 1st. By introducing vessels containing fluorescent solutions of quinia into other vessels 
 fllled with non-fluorescent solutions of the alkaloids, produced by previous admixture 
 with chloride of ammonium, when all optical phenomena disappeared from the inner 
 vessel. 
 
 2d. By surrounding fluorescent specimens of fluor-spar with these prepared solutions of 
 the alkaloids, when the blue color in the spar immediately disappeared, 
 
 3d. By photography; employing concentrated solutions of quinia mixed with chloride 
 of ammonium In troughs to intercept the incident light from any object anterior to the 
 camera, when it was found almost impossible to obtain any image upon the sensitive col- 
 lodion plate, although the intensity of the visible image received on the ground-glass 
 screen did not suffer any apparent diminution. 
 
 4th. By photographic printing ; troughs containing these solutions obstructed the chem- 
 ical rays very considerably, thus interfering with the production of a positive picture 
 from the negative, much longer exposure being necessary to produce any elieraical etteot. 
 
Cinchona. 253 
 
 lime, nitric and chromic acids, bicliroinate of potassa, glacial phosphoric 
 acid, and sulphuric acid. The nature of the red substance obtained 
 is, as might be expected, very complicated. The red oleaginous sub- 
 stance is always accompanied by an acid, watery liquid, and has a 
 peculiar aromatic, empyreumatic odor, like that of leucoline and that 
 of the Cinchona bark combined. When this substance is exposed to 
 the air it becomes brownish-red ; its taste is bitter, burning, and like 
 that of pepper; it irf lighter than water, to which it communicates a 
 slight taste and smell, without appearing to dissolve; it is soluble in al- 
 cohol, and water precipitates from its alcoholic solution, a soft, dark- 
 colored resin. 
 
 For the accurate examination of the Cinchona harks the following 
 tests, by Dr. J. F. L. Winckler, are, probably, the best. He observes : 
 
 As regards the testing of Cinchona barks for the alkaloids, no notice 
 has hitherto been taken of the proportion of kinovic acid, but as the 
 very bitter taste of the spurious Cinchona barks depend exclusively on 
 this acid, and in some of the genuine barks kinovic acid is found, a 
 mistake may he easily made by the taste. I have, for several years 
 past, devised and employed a method by which not only the proportion 
 of the alkaloid, but also that of the kinovic acid may be quantitatively 
 
 III. That certain reagents do not destroy fluorescence : others only mask Its appearance 
 by their own color; while some destroy it by neutralizing the excess of acid; others do so 
 by producing salts which are themselves non-fluorescent media. While a third class de- 
 stroy It by really modifying tlie alkaloid itself. ^ 
 
 IV. That as so many reagents of comrnon occurrence interfere with the manifestation 
 of fluorescence, and as It is also a property common to all the Cinchona alkaloids herein de- 
 scribed, its appearance becomes no longer of any value as a test for quinia. 
 
 V. Brandes' chlorine and ammonia test will discover 1 grain of either quinia or quinidin 
 In 1 gallon of water, but shows no diflference between these alkaloids, except in very con- 
 centrated solutions, when there is a precipitate with quinidin, but not with quinia. 
 
 aulnioin is also influenced by this test, but less extensively. 
 
 VI. Dr. Vogel's first modification of this test is of no apparent value;. but by also em- 
 ploying ammonia, the author has found that it will indicate both quinia and quinidin, 
 detecting readily 1 grain of either In a pint, and showing slight evidence with 1 grain In 
 10,000 grains of water. 
 
 There Is scarcely any reaction with qulnicin. 
 
 VII. Dr. Vogel's other modifications of Brandes' test are unimportant, with the excep- 
 tion' of the fourth, viz., excess of chlorine, and very little ammonia. This detects 1 grain 
 In about 2,000 grains of fluid very readily. If excess of add be avoided at first. The test, 
 however, Is equally Indicative of quinidin ; It gives scarcely any perceptible reaction with 
 
 VIII Pelletler's chlorine-gas test succeeds very well with the free alkaloids, but does 
 not show any indication with their salts. It is equally capable of detecting quinidin, and 
 gives the same phenomena. 
 
 IX. Marchand's test is not a delicate reaction. ^ , ^^ ,. t- , , 
 
 X. All the foregoing tests, although specially proposed for the discovery of quinia, pos- 
 sess equal powers and show the same appearances with quinidin. But they have no reac- 
 tion on Cluchonia, clnchonidin, or cinchonioin- . ^ 
 
 XI. Van Heijnlngen's test by oxalate of ammonia, produces, after some hours, a crys- 
 talline oxalate of aulnia. when using a fluid containing only 1 gram of alkaloid In 80C 
 imlns of water, an^veiyr^adUy detects immediately 1 part in 350. It does not precipitate 
 quinidin or clnchonidin, but It produces a white precipitate in concentrated solutions of 
 
 XII°DeVrv's test for quinidin by hydriodio acid, or Iodide of potassium in neutral solu- 
 tions produces a well-marked crystalline precipitate as a colorless salt, when one part 
 of The alkal^d is present in 1,000 of the fluid ; the crystals being short hemihedral prisms, 
 arerladilvreSignlzldTthe neutral hydriodates of clnchonidin are colorless silky, pris- 
 matic nee5les?°andXih more solubll. If to agol»«°° "^/"IP'l^te °/„2"'^^^^^ 
 spirit (%) we add hydriodio acid, and expose to the action of light during some days, tnere 
 
 "ThJifut^'arhydrfortl'oVquta^ lemon-yellow prisms. The neutral hydrio- 
 
 '^iflS&fr^tlfdSsI^^^^^ 
 
 SfSSifM^h^X^fed^ ^'e^^r^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 IiVS?.Siiri • whiip an amornhous powder Is demonstrative of Cinchonia Jither also extiacis 
 ?h.?honiA ftom CiSc1"nlSrbuUt° «P^"»g solubility in ethernecessltates the employment 
 of warmth, and a. large quantity of ether. 
 
 propor 
 ased ii 
 
254 Materia Medica. 
 
 and qualitatively determined, while at the same time the proportion of 
 both kinic acid and oxidized tannin (Cinchona red) is indicated. So 
 that all these constituents of the bar Is, which are of importance for 
 medical practice, are determined. 
 
 The barks tested by this method, yield, when employed for the manu- 
 facture of the alkaloid on a large scale, exactly the same quantity 
 which they yield by the experiment, generally one-eighth to one-quar- 
 ter per cent, more, th6 loss in working with large quantities being 
 naturally less in proportion, and this indeed is the best proof of the 
 efficiency of this method.* 
 
 In the qualitative examination of Cinchona barks, a number of tests 
 have hitherto beeij employed, which have not only aided this exam- 
 ination, but have rendered it much more difficult. 
 
 The efficacy of the bark depends, as is well known, chiefly on the 
 proportion of alkaloid, and of that of pure and oxidized Cinchona- 
 tannin. Of the kinovic acid, we only know that it does not act as a 
 febrifuge. The medicinal virtues of kinic acid or kinate of lime have 
 not yet been determined. We must, therefore, confine ourselves to the 
 application of those tests by means of which these compounds can be 
 detected in an infusion of bark, and their quantitative proportion at 
 least approximatively determined. These are, as has been before 
 stated in my monograph on genuine barks, as follows: 1. Tannin, for 
 detecting the alkaloids. The more abundant the precipitate produced 
 'by this reagent in the aqueous filtered infusion, the more alkaloid dc 
 the barks contain. 2. Chloride of iron determines the proportion of 
 oxidized tannin by the more or less intensely dark -gray coloration, 
 which speedily becomes brown, and by the subsequent more or less 
 abundant pulverulent precipitate of a dark, dirty, brownish -green color. 
 3. Gelatine (solution of isinglass), like chloride of iron, occasions the 
 oxidized tannin to be precipitated. In the liquid filtered from the 
 magma, the proportion of non-oxidized Cinchona-tannin may be deter- 
 mined by iodic acid. The latter oxidizes the tannin, and causes the pre- 
 
 * Dr. Dewj' gives the following method of testing Cinchona ; Pulverized Cinchona, dried at 
 100° is mixed with one-fourth its weight of slaked lime , this is boiled for a few minutes 
 with ten' times its weight of alcohol 185°. The mixture is thrown on a Alter and exhausted 
 with boiling alcohol, until about twenty times the weight of bark employed is obtained 
 In the strainer. After having acidulated this by diluted acetic ateid, the alcoholic solution 
 is evaporated to dryness in a water-bath, and the residue of the evaporation is treated 
 with water until no turbidness is produced by the addition of an alkali. This liquor fil- 
 tered, contains the alkaloid, "while the kinovic acid, the fatty matters, and the insoluble 
 resinous substances remain on the Alter, By treating the last With milk of lime, the kin- 
 ovic acid Is separated. The aqueous liquid concentrated by evaporation in a water-bath 
 is treated with an excess of slaked lime which precipitates the alkaloids. The precipitate 
 thrown upon a very small filter is washed with a little cold water ; if tlie bperation has 
 been well carried on, the amount of water necessary to separate the coloring matters will 
 be quite small, so that we may avoid the loss of any of the alkaloids occasioned by their 
 slight solubility in the lime-water. The filtrate properly washed is dried, and boiled sev- 
 eral successive times, until exhausted, with alcohol 179° 6. i\ After filtration, the alco- 
 liolic solution, slightly colored. Is evaporated to dryness in a platinum' capsule of known 
 weight, and the residue dried in a water-bath, we now know the proportion of alkaloids 
 contained in the bark under Investigation. If, by way of exception, the quantity of res- 
 inous matter is plentiful enough to be determined, we must ascertain its weight and de- 
 duct it from the total weight of the alkaloids. The acetic solution of these is thrown into 
 a funnel with stop-cock, agitated with a slight 'excess of caustic soda and a quantity of 
 ether equal to fifteen times the weight of the alkaloids. These are allowed to remain in 
 contact for six hours, and although the gulnidin and the cinchonidin are but slightly 
 soluble in ether, quite a large proportion of them will be dissolved after the first agitation, 
 and will crystallize in several hours. The residue of the evaporation of the ethereal solu- 
 tion consists of quinia, with traces of cinohonin, quinidin, cinchonidin, and in certain 
 cases of a fusible alkaloid, not yet detei^mined. The alkaloids that are Insoluble in the 
 ether are dlssolvedln a little diluted acetic acid, the solution is treated wltfc & Siv drops 
 of a concentrated solution of iodide of potassium ; we agitate, and if quinidin Is present, 
 It precipitates in the state of an iodhydrate, in the form of a crystalline sand ; we deter- 
 mine its weight after desiccation at 100° ; by calculation , we deduct the weight of the quin- 
 Idine from it, knowing that 100 of the iodhydrate contains 76.08 of quinidine. The liquor 
 separated from the iodhydrate by the filter and precipitated by caustic soda gives the cin- 
 chonla pure or mixed with cinchonidin.- -PftO'>'m. Jow. 
 
Cinchona. 255 
 
 cipitation of a yellowish -brown powder; the mixture soon smells of 
 iodine. The quantities of these two precipitates show the proportion 
 of oxidized and of pure Cinchona-tannin. 4. Sulphate of copper is per- 
 fectly indifferent to the aqueous infusion of bark, which contains no 
 kinovic acid, but indicates the smallest proportion of this acid by a 
 dirtyish-green coloration of the mixture, which is speedily followed by 
 a similarly colored fine powder, which is easily separated by the filter, 
 and, after being washed, is distinctly recognized by its very bitter and 
 metallic taste, as kinovate of copper. The more abundant this precip- 
 itate, th« greater is the proportion of kinovic acid. All other reagents 
 hitherto employed can be absolutely dispensed with. 
 
 Of all the hitherto known methods for the quantitative determination 
 of the alkaloids, I prefer the following : If the quantity of bark at com- 
 mand be large, it is necessary, in the first' place, to ascertain whether 
 it consist of one or of several sorts. An experienced eye can readily 
 determine this. The several sorts should be separated, and, for experi- 
 ment, not too small a quantity selected from the entire mass of the 
 coated and uncoated of the coarser and finer barks, taking of each sort 
 according to the various dimensions in which it is contained in the 
 whole mass, about an equal weight. These pieces are to be finely pow- 
 dered, and the residue mixed with the powder. Of this powder 500 
 grs. or 1,000 grs. are to be completely exhausted by digestion in the 
 water-bath, with the necessary quantity of alcohol of 80 per cent. (I 
 use six ounces of alcohol for 1,000 grs. bark) ; the cold tincture is to be 
 strained through a thin but close piece of linen, the residue washed with 
 alcohol and again digested and completely exhausted with half the weight 
 of the first employed quantity of alcohol. The residue which is now 
 obtained is to be once more exhausted by alcohol, then dried and pre- 
 served. (There is no occasion to spare the alcohol in this process, as 
 the greater portion of it is recovered.) The united alcoholic tinctures 
 are to be filtered and digested at the common temperature, with a mix- 
 ture of equal parts by weight of recently prepared slaked lime and of 
 crude well-burnt animal charcoal, of which in general half the weight 
 of the employed bark is required. The mixture is to be frequently 
 shaken, and the digestion continued until the supernatant liquid be- 
 comes perfectly decolorized. In the case of most of the genuine barks, 
 this takes place in a short time; but the alcoholic tinctures of the spu. 
 rious barks, which contain kinovic acid, as well as those which con- 
 tain pariein, are very imperfectly decolorized by this process, a circum- 
 stance which serves to distinguish the pariein barks and spurious barks 
 from the genuine ones. 
 
 The decolorized liquid is now to be removed from the residue, and 
 the latter repeatedly shaken with small quantities of alcohol, washed 
 on the filter with spirit of wine and dried. From the mixed filtered 
 alcoholic tinctures the greater portion of the alcohol can be recovered 
 by distillation in the water-bath. Beindorff's distillatory apparatus 
 with Liebig's refrigerator is well adapted for this purpose— a similar 
 and much cheaper appaiatus can be constructed of tin. The whole 
 quantity of alkaloid which was contained in the bark is now m the 
 residue, and, if the bark contained kinovic acid, in combination with 
 the latter, and a peculiar fatty substance. Small proportions of oxidized 
 tannin are frequently mechanically mixed with it. In order to purity 
 the alkaloid of the latter, and to remove the kmovic acid and tatty 
 matter, the residue is to be placed in a small evaporating basm, the dis- 
 tilling vessel is to be washed with a small quantity of water, slightly 
 
256 Materia Medica. 
 
 acidulated with sulphuric acid, and the solution added to the residue 
 A small excess of diluted sulphuric acid is to be dropped into this mix- 
 ture, which is to be heated, and when it again becomes cold is to be fil- 
 tered, and by this means the precipitated kinovic acid and fatty matter 
 are removed and washed with distilled water. From the filtered acid 
 solution the alkaloid is to be thrown down by a slight excess of ammo- 
 nia; and the mixture evaporated by a slight heat to dryness. The sul- 
 phate of ammonia contained in the cold residue is to be removed by a 
 small quantity of very cold water, and the residual alkaloid dried and 
 weighed in this impure state ; for the perfect purification of small quan- 
 tities is attended with too great a loss to admit of the exact determina- 
 tion of the quantity of alkaloid contained in small quantities of bark. 
 After having thus determined the weight of the alkaloid the further 
 examination of it is proceeded with, the Cinchonia and quinia are sep- 
 arated by ether, etc. 
 
 In order to determine the proportion of kinovic acid, dilute solution 
 of ammonia is to be added to the yellowish, glutinous matter which ad- 
 heres to the filter, and which 'is, for the most part, greasy to the touch. 
 This takes up the kinovic acid but not the fat. The solution is to be 
 filtered, and to it a slight excess of muriatic acid added to precipitate 
 the kinovic acid, which is then to be collected on a filter. The well- 
 washed glutinous precipitate is to be removed while moist from the 
 filter, and dried upon a watch-glass or porcelain capsule, and the weight 
 of the thus obtained kinovic acid marked down. This, however, is only 
 the larger portion of the quantity of kinovic acid actually obtained 
 ^om the bark. A smaller iDortion of it is still contained combined 
 v:ia iizne. ;r: zne inne resiaue wnicn nas Deen aiaestea witn tne alco 
 none tincture of bark. This kinovate of lime is very diflcultly soluble 
 in spirit of wine. 
 
 In order to obtain this smaller portion, the lime-residue, exhausted 
 by alcohol, is to be dried and powdered, and then digested with cold 
 distilled water. Prom the filtered liquid, which is almost as clear as 
 water, the white and nearly pure kinovic acid is thrown down by a 
 very slight excess of muriatic acid. It is then to be weighed, and the 
 sum added to that before obtained. By the direct treatment of pow- 
 dered bark with milk of lime, the whole quantity of kinovic acid can 
 be extracted from the bark. Also for the quantitative determina- 
 tion of the acid it is advisable to weigh it in the imperfectly pure con- 
 dition, the loss accompanying the purification being very considerable. 
 
 If the qualitative examination of the bark has shown that this sub- 
 stance contains none or only a small proportion of alkaloid, but a large 
 quantity of kinovic acid, or the latter only, the bark is more appro- 
 priately first treated with diluted milk of lime, and the kinovic acid 
 precipitated by muriatic acid, by which method the testing of the resi- 
 due for a possibly slight proportion of alkaloid is considerably facili- 
 tated. The dry residue of lime is then exhausted by alcohol, like the 
 powdered bark, etc. In this manner I obtained from sixteen ounces of 
 bark, containing kinovic acid, one grain of Cinchonia, besides a large 
 quantity of kinovic acid. The last more important constituent of the 
 bark, the kinic acid, is now easily obtained by exhausting the residue 
 of the bark, which has been treated by alcohol, with cold distilled 
 water, evaporating the filtered liquid and distilling it in a not too concen- 
 trated state with peroxide of manganese and moderately strong sulphu- 
 ric acid ; the least proportion of kinic acid in the liquid is soon indicated 
 by the development and evolution of kinone, which takes place dnr 
 
Cinchona. 
 
 257 
 
 lug this process, and the smallest quantity of the kinone, which is not 
 distinctly perceptible by the smell, may be soon detected by tl;ie dark 
 color, which the distillate assumes upon the addition of a few drops of 
 a solution of ammonia. 
 
 This method of testing barks is distinguished from others by its great 
 simplicity, by the correctness of the results, and by the possibility of 
 detecting and quantitatively determining in one succession, and with 
 the same material, all the more important constituents of the bark; I 
 consider it as the best method known, not because it originates with 
 me, but because it is adapted for the present stage of our knowledge of 
 the chemical composition of Cinchona barks, and is practical. It may 
 be objected that it is rather troublesome, but this ought not to be of 
 any consideration if we can be but sure of a correct result. 
 
 In conclusion, I must observe, that my method, though chiefly adapt- 
 ed for testing genuine barks, can be advantageously applied for exam- 
 ining new and apparently spurious barks. The occurring phenomena 
 will then safely guide the experienced operator. With the barks con- 
 taining paricin, the separation of the alkaloid is made very difficult, by 
 its forming with the C3inchona-red contained in the bark, compounds 
 soluble in acids and alkalies, which can be decomposed only with great 
 difficulty. I refer in this respect to my last treatise on the Production 
 and Chemical Condition of Paricin, in Buchner's EepertoriumJ' 
 
 The following table is taken from Pereira : 
 
 Comparative Table of some Distinguishing Properties of Quina, Quinidina^ 
 
 and Cinchonia. 
 
 The anhydrous alkaloid is.. 
 Taste ^ 
 
 Optical OTopertieB "Jin'oreacency, 
 of a' siuution of > Rotary po- 
 the alkaloid } larization. 
 
 Solubility 
 of 1 part 
 of alka- 
 loid in 
 
 Cold water 
 
 Boiling water.. 
 
 Cold rectified spirit] 
 Boiling rectified 
 spirit J 
 
 Cold ether 
 
 A solution of the alkaloid (e.g. ^ 
 of the sulphate in waterj I 
 treated first with chlorine- [ 
 water, then with ammonia.... J 
 
 Solubility fCold water 
 
 of 1 part 1 Boiling water 
 
 of the I Cold rectified spirit- 
 sulphate^ 
 
 ^of the j Boiling rectified \ 
 alkaloid .spirit / 
 
 in I Cold ether.. 
 
 Amorphous (the 
 hydrate crys- 
 tallizes with 
 difficulty) 
 
 Very bitter 
 
 Fluorescent- 
 Left-handed.. 
 
 In 400 parts 
 
 In 250 parts 
 
 In2p'rt8 of boil 
 ing spirit ; the 
 solution does 
 not deposit any 
 thing when c'ld 
 
 In 60 parts.... 
 
 Becomes emer- 
 ald green 
 
 In 740 parts.. 
 In 30 parts.... 
 In 60 parts.... 
 
 Much more aol. 
 than in c'ld spir. 
 
 Slightly soluble. 
 
 Crystalline (crystal- 
 lizes from the alco- 
 holic solution) 
 
 Bitter (leas intensely 
 so than guina) 
 
 riuorescent?.. 
 Left-handed ... 
 
 Crystalline (readily crystallizes 
 from the alcoholic solution). 
 
 Bitterish, unpleasant (somewhat 
 analogous to sulphate of mag- 
 nesia). 
 
 Kot fiuorescent. 
 
 Bight-handed, 
 
 In 2,580, parts 
 
 In 1,858 parts 
 
 In 12 parts of cold 
 spirit ; the alkaloid 
 is much more soluble 
 in boiling spirit 
 
 Kt'mains unchanged, 
 or yields a white pre- 
 cipitate 
 
 In 130 parts 
 
 In 10 parts 
 
 Easily soluble , 
 
 Very easily soluble.. 
 Almost insoluble..., 
 
 CINCHONIA. 
 
 Almost insoluble. 
 In 2,500 parts. 
 In 33 patts. 
 
 luBolnble. 
 
 Becomes pinkish, and yields a 
 white precipitate. 
 
 In 54 parts. 
 
 In 6H parts [in ll>i parts of an- 
 hydrous alcohol]. 
 
 Properties and Z7se5.— Cinchona bark is tonic, antiperiodic, sliglitly 
 astringent, and topically antiseptic. When swallowed, a sensation of 
 warmth is experienced at the st(5mach, which gradually spreads over 
 the whole trunk j occasionally, it produces an unpleasant excitement 
 of the stomach and bowels, with retching and emesis, more especially 
 if the former be very sensitive. In a little while after its administra- 
 tion, the general system becomes more or less influenced, the pulse 
 
 17 
 
258 Matekia Medica. 
 
 being fuller and more rapid, and a gentle stimulus imparted to the 
 various organs of the body. With many persons it occasions symp- 
 toms which have been termed cinchonism, and which, when produced, 
 are evidences that the remedy is exerting a favorable influence ; but 
 these symptoms should never be pushed too far. They are — throbbing 
 headache, and giddiness, of greater or less severity, tinnitus aurium, 
 and imperfect hearing. Cinchona is valuable in functional derange- 
 ment of the stomach, improving digestion, and invigorating the nerv- 
 ous and muscular systems in diseases of general debility, and in con- 
 valescence from exhausting diseases. As a tonic, it will be found use- 
 ful in all febrile, eruptive, and inflammatory diseases, which manifest 
 a degree of periodicity, in which it should be administered during the 
 remissions ; it is also valuable during the low and typhoid conditions 
 of these diseases, and also in those cases, where, from an excessive and 
 continued secretion of pus, the system becomes very much enfeebled 
 and prostrated, in which it supports the powers of the constitution 
 until all abnormal action is removed. It is likewise of much benefit in 
 all chronic affections attended with periodicity, great feebleness, or 
 nocturnal perspiration. When it occasions vomiting, its use should be 
 suspended for a time. Its employment is contra-indicated in acute 
 inflammation, inflammatory fever, plethora, active hemorrhages, and 
 in all nervous or vascular irritations. 
 
 Cinchona bark, however, exhibits its most important therapeutical 
 powers as an antiperiodic, and in the consequent influence it exerts in 
 almost invariably curing remittent and intermittent fevers, and the 
 generality of diseases which are accompanied by symptoms of marked 
 periodicity, as neuralgia, hemicrania, epilepsy, diarrhea and dysentery 
 when epidemic, etc. Its use should in most cases be preceded by a mild 
 laxative, after the a6tion of which the powder may be given in doses of 
 from ten to sixty grains, and repeated according to circumstances, 
 every one, two, or four hours, until one or two ounces have been'taken 
 during the periods of intermission, and continue thus until a cure is 
 effected, or the remedy is found insufficient for the cure of the disease. 
 In the use of the barks, to obtain their antiperiodic influence, the red 
 and yellow are considered superior to the pale, and of which the red is 
 preferred. As a tonic, the pale bark is generally preferred, being less 
 obnoxious to the stomach and intestines. Quinia, or its salts, especially 
 the sulphate, is usually employed as a tonic and antiperiodic in place 
 of the bark itself, but there have been many instances in which the 
 bark in powder has succeeded in effecting a cure, when its alkaloidal 
 salts failed ; the cause of this is not well understood. In suffh cases, 
 when the powder, from its bulk, or otherwise, offends- the stomach, the 
 infhsion, decoction, tincture, or extract may be administered. Some- 
 times bark or its preparations, occasion purging, which may be obvi- 
 ated by small portions of opium or laudanum. 
 
 lExternally, a poultice of the bark. has been found an excellent appli- 
 cation to felons, fetid and gangrenous ulcers, etc. ; also as an injection 
 with opium, when the stomach rejects it ; the powdered bark, placed 
 between muslin, and held in its place by sewing it in cross-bars, the 
 same as in quilting, making medicated jackets, to be worn in contact 
 with the body, has been of utility irf obstinate intermittents. Dose of 
 Cinchona as an antiperiodic, from half a drachm to a drachm ; as a 
 tonic, from ten to sixty grains ; of the infusion or decoction, two 
 fluidounces, to be repeated two or three times a day ; of the extract 
 from five to thirty grains. 
 
CiNNAMOMtJM ZeYLANIOUM. 259 
 
 Quinia, Cinchonia, and Quinidina appear to possess similar medicinal 
 properties, in similar doses ; their salts (as the sulphate) appear to be 
 best adapted for medical use, principally on account of their ready sol- 
 ubility. Dose of either from one to four grains, three limes a day, or 
 oftener, if required ; in severe intermittents as high as ten grains may 
 be administered for a dose. 
 
 Off. Frep. — Cinchonia ; Decoctum Cinchonse ; Extractum Cinchonae ; 
 Extractum Cinchonse Fluidum ; Infusum Cinchonse ; Quinise Sulphas ; 
 Tinctura Cinchonse ; Yinum Cinchonse Compositum. 
 
 CINNAMOMUM ZBYLANICUM. (Laums Cinnamomum.) (Zimmt- 
 
 lorbeer.) 
 
 Cinnamon . — Zimmt. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^LauracesB. Sex. Syst. — Enneandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE BAEK. 
 
 . Description. — This tree has a rough bark, and grows from fifteen to 
 twenty-five feet or more, high, having a trunk from a foot to a foot and 
 a half in diameter. Branches somewhat four-cornered, smooth ; leaves 
 ovate, or ovate-oblong, from six to nine inches long, two to three inches 
 broad, tapering into an obtuse point, triple-nerved, reticulated on the 
 under side, smooth, the uppermost the smallest, opposite, coriaceous. 
 Flowers small, hoary, silky, white ; segments oblong, deciduous in the 
 middle ; panicles terminal and axillary, stalked. — L. — Fd. — P. 
 
 Oinnamomum Aromaticum is a tree similar to the above, with angular 
 branches and petioles covered with broken downiness. The leaves also 
 resemble the above, but differ in being oblong and acute, with curved 
 veinlets on the undersides, and in havi&g a very fine down on their lower 
 surface. The panicles are narrow, silky. 
 
 History. — Cinnamomum Zeylanicum is a native of Ceylon, Sumatra, 
 Borneo, etc., and is cultivated in many parts of both the new and old 
 world. The bark is the ofiicinal part; it has the odor peculiar to Cin- 
 namon, and an agreeable, warm, aromatic flavor, with a mild degree of 
 sweetness. The leaves are similar in taste and odor, but less powerful, 
 and contain a volatile oil, which may be procured by distillation. The 
 odor of the flowers is to most people disagreeable, like newly-sawn 
 bones. — Fd. The tree throws out no fragrance beyond its immediate 
 sphere. The bark is the Cinnamon of commerce. It is usually col- 
 lected from trees about nine years old. The peeling of the shoots and 
 branches commences in May and continues until the latter part of Oc- 
 tober. The bark is freed from its epidermis, and then dried, flrst in the 
 shade, and afterward under exposure to the sun ; it curls in drying into 
 quills, which are subsequently placed within each other, as they will ad- 
 mit. The best bark comesfromCeylon, which is in the form of rolls about 
 half an inch in diameter, and thirty to forty inches long, and composed 
 of many quills within each other. They have a light-yellow color, are 
 thin, smooth, shining, a little thicker than cartridge paper, and break 
 readily with a splintery fracture, being easily pulverizable. They pos- 
 sess a rich, pure, peculiar odor, and a warm, spicy, sweetish and agree^ 
 able taste, and yield their virtues to water, but more readily to alcohol 
 or spirit. A small amount of volatile oil may be procured from it by 
 distillation. The thick, dark-brown, and feebly-flavored bark is of an 
 inferior quality. Cinnamon, according to Vauquelin, contains volatile 
 oil, tannic acid, coloring matter, resin, an acid (cinnamic), and ligneous 
 
260 Materia Medica. 
 
 fiber ; starcli has also been found in it. The tannic acid is of the na- 
 ture of catechu-tannic acid, as it gives a dark -green precipitate with 
 the salts of iron. S. Martin obtains cinnamomine by macerating 50 
 parts of Ceylon bark in a receiver with 80 parts of water acidulated 
 with sulphuric acid ; after eight days contact, filter, add to the liquid 
 carbonate of lime, in small portions, to neutralize the acid. The 
 magma dried, is treated with alcohol, and after macerating several 
 days filtered, and the alcohol removed by distillation. The residue is 
 allowed to evaporate spontaneously when acicular crystals are deposited 
 of a light-yellow color, sweetish taste, and soluble in water or alcohol. 
 
 The C. Aromaticum is a native of China, and furnishes the cassia of 
 this country, which is, in fact, a mixture of a variety of different qual- 
 ities of Cinnamon. It is generally met with in cylindrical rolls or 
 quills of various sizes, from two to twelve lines in diameter, or in semi- 
 tubular segments, twelve or eighteen inches long, with the external 
 layer much thicker than that of Cinnamon ; externally more of a dark 
 red, traversed with thicker and more shining, straight or serpentine 
 veins; more fibrous and paler in fracture; internal layer coarsely 
 fibrous ; heavier and more compact, with an odor similar to that of Cin- 
 namon, but not so strong or agreeable, and a corresponding taste, more 
 acrid, burning and lasting, at the same time mucilaginous. It is used 
 in tinctures instead of Cinnamon, and is the kind usually sold as Cin- 
 namon. There are several other species of Cinnamon, as the G. Niti- 
 dum, 0. Tamala, 0. Loureirii, G. Gulilawan, etc., but they are not recog- 
 nized as officinal. 
 
 Cinnamon is often adulterated with the poorer sorts, and likewise 
 with the bark after having been deprived of its oil. These adultera- 
 tions must be detected by the taste and odor of the article. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Stimulant, tonic, stomachic, carminative, and 
 astringent; also reputed emmenagogue^ and capable of diminishing the 
 secretion of milk. The tincture of the bark is useful in uterine hem- 
 orrhage and menorrhagia, given in drachm doses in sweetened water, 
 and repeated every five, ten, or twenty minutes, or as may be required. 
 Cinnamon is generally used to correct the effects, or improve the flavor 
 of other drugs, and is one of the best additions to cinchona bark for 
 correcting the nausea or vomiting sometimes occasioned by that drug. 
 Internally, it is very useful in diarrhea, colic and cramp of the stom- 
 ach, flatulency, and to allay nausea and vomiting. Dose of the powder, 
 from five to twenty grains; of the tincture, from ten to sixty drops. 
 (/See Oil of CHnnamon^ 
 
 Off. Pre/p. — ^Acidum Sulphuricum Aromaticum; Aqua Cinnamomi; 
 Oleum Cinnamomi; Tinctura Cinnamomi; Tinctura Cardamomi Com- 
 posita; Tinctura Catechu; Tinctura Guaiaci Aromatica; Tinctura Olei 
 Cinnamomum; Vinum Cinchonse Compositum. 
 
 CIESITJM AEVENSE. {Cnicus Arvensis).—Ee\dL. Pederdistel. 
 
 Canada Thistle. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia Squalls. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, called in England Cursed ITiistle, has a per- 
 ennial, creeping, very long root, extremely tenacious of life, with a 
 stem three or four feet in height, having a branching panicle at top- 
 Leaves alternate, oblong or lanceolate, sessile, smooth, or slightly woolly 
 
CisBAJirELOs Pareih,a. 261 
 
 beneath, sinuate-pinnatifld, priokly margined. Heads rather small, 
 numerous, imperfectly dioecious; flowers rose-purple; involucre round 
 or ovate, with minute spines ; scales close pressed, ovate-lanceolate — 
 W.~G. 
 
 History. — Canada Thistle grows in various sections of the United 
 States, fn cultivated fields and pastures, roadsides and waste places, 
 flowering from June to August. It is an extremely troublesome plant 
 to the farmer, requiring his utmost vigilance to extirpate it from his 
 fields. The involucre is the only part of the plant that can be handled 
 with safety. The root is the part employed, which yields its proper- 
 ties to water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tonic and astringent. Used principally in 
 diarrhea and dysentery, boiled with milk ; some recommend the addi- 
 tion of dried codfish skin to the decoction. Also, used as a local applica- 
 tion to some cutaneous diseases, ulcers and leucorrhea. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Decoctum Cirsium. 
 
 CISSAMPBLOS PAEEIEA. (Brasilianische Waldrebe.) 
 Pareira Brava. 
 Nat. Ord. — Menispermacese. Sex. Syst. — Dioecia Monadelphia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Pareira Brava, also termed Velvet-Leaf, Ice Vine, is a 
 shrub with a round, ligneous root, stems either smooth or with close 
 pressed down, and climbing over trees. Leaves large, nearly orbicular, 
 peltate, aristate at the point, when full grown smooth above, under- 
 neath covered with silky pubescence, i)ut not truly downy. Flowers 
 dioecious, hispid, in racemes ; sepals eight, four inner united into a cup, 
 with usually an entire margin ; peduncles solitary or in pairs, branching 
 from the base, as long as the petiole, or longer, racemose corymbose, 
 with divaricating downy ramifications. Racemes, in the female plant, 
 longer than the leaves, bearing the flowers in spiked fascicles. Bracts 
 sessile, somewhat orbicular, scarcely mucronate. Ovary solitary, and 
 surmounted with three stigmas. Berries scarlet, round, reniform, com- 
 pressed, shriveled, thinned to the edge, all over hisped with long hairs. 
 —L. 
 
 History. — This plant is a native of the West India Islands and the 
 Spanish Main. The root is the officinal part, though there is no rea- 
 son why the bark should not also be employed. The root is in cylin- 
 drical pieces or billets from half an inch to four or five inches in diam- 
 eter, and from two to three inches to several feet long, and frequently 
 split longitudinally ; it is covered with a thin, dark-brown, very coher- 
 ing epidermis, furrowed longitudinally with transverse ruges, and in 
 some pieces with tuberculations. The interior is woody, reddish-yel- 
 low, very foraminous, a transverse section presenting a number of con- 
 centric circles, and having no odor, but a sweetish, aromatic flavor, suc- 
 ceeded by an intense and nauseating bitterness. It readily yields its 
 bitterness and active properties to water or alcohol. According to 
 Peneuille it contains a yellow bitter principle, a brown coloring prin- 
 ciple, a soft resin, vegeto-animal matter, fecula, and several salts. — 
 p. — G. Wiggers discovered the active principle to be an alkaloid, 
 which is called Gissampelin or Pelosin, said to be a white powder, un- 
 crystallizable, insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol, ether, and the 
 acids, of an intensely bitter and sweetish taste, and forming soluble 
 salts, of which the hydrochlorate crystallizes. 
 
262 Materia Medica. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tonic, diuretic,, and aperient. Used in chronic 
 inflammation of the bladder, and various disorders of the urinary 
 organs. Also recommended in calculous affections, leucorrhea, dropsy, 
 rheumatism, and jaundice. Dose, of the infusion, from one to four 
 fluidounces ; of the extract, from ten to twenty grains. 
 
 The Cissampelos Glaberrima, growing in Brazil, a species of this plant, 
 appears to possess similar properties. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Pareirse. 
 
 CITEUS AUEANTIUM. (Pomeranzenbaum.) 
 
 Orange. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Aurantiacese. Sex. Syst. — ^Polyadelphia Icosandria. 
 
 THE PEEL OR OUTER RIND. 
 
 Description. — Citrus Aurantium is a middle-sized evergreen tree, 
 with an arborescent stem, covered with bark of a greenish-brown color, 
 having axillary spines on the branches. Leaves alternate, ovate-oblong, 
 acute, slightly serrulated or entire, shining green, the stalk more or less 
 winged. Flowers large, white, rendering the atmosphere around very 
 fragrant, calyx urceolate, five-cleft ; petals five, oblong; stamens twenty 
 or even more; filaments compressed at the base, more or less united 
 there, polyadelphous ; anthers oblong, yellow. Ovary many-celled. 
 Fruit roundish, golden-yellow or tawny, several celled, with a fleshy, 
 juicy pulp ; seeds white, several. Cysts in the rind convex. — i. 
 
 History. — The orange is a native of Asia, and is cultivated in the 
 southern parts of Europe and America, and in the West Indies. Its 
 varieties are numerous. The fruit likewise varies in its character, that 
 of the C. Aurantium, the China Orange, being sweet, while that of the 
 C. Vulgaris, or C. Bigaradio, the Seville Orange, is acid and slightly 
 bitter. The leaves are studded with vesicles containing volatile-oil, 
 and have a bitter, aromatic taste, and when rubbed between the fingers 
 are very redolent. They yield by distillation an oil termed Essence 
 de Petit G-rain. 
 
 An infusion of them are sometimes employed as a gently stimulant 
 diaphoretic. The flowers have a delicious fragrance, which is imparted 
 to the surrounding atmosphere, but which is lost by drying ; those of 
 the bitter orange are considered the most delicate. They owe their 
 aroma to an essential oil, which may be obtained by distillation ; it is 
 termed Oil of Neroli, and is much used in perfumery. An Orange 
 flower water is prepared in Italy and France, which is quite pale, has a 
 rich odor of the flowers, and a bitterish, aromatic taste ; it is employed 
 for the purposes of perfumery, although reputed to possess antispas- 
 modic virtues. The peculiar fragrance of the flowers may be pre- 
 served for a long time by beating them into a pulp with one-fourth 
 their weight of common salt. The juice of the orange consists chiefly 
 of sugar, mucilage, and citric acid. The outer rind of the mature fruit 
 is the officinal part, the inner being destitute of useful properties, and 
 the two should always be separated from each other when drying the 
 rind for medical purposes, as the spongy, inner rind is apt to occasion 
 moldiness from its absorbing moisture from. the air. , Orange-peel has 
 a deep orange color, a grateful aroma, and a pleasantly bitter taste, the 
 Seville variety being more bitter than any other. It contains a volatile 
 oil in visible vesicles, and which is lost in dr3'ing, a saccharine prin- 
 ciple, a bitter principle, and a ligneous fiber. The fresh rind, grated 
 
Citrus Limonum. — Citrus Acida. 263 
 
 and expressed, will yield the volatile oil, or it may be obtained by dis 
 tilling the fresh rind with water. Water or alcohol takes up the sensi- 
 ble properties of the rind. The finest Orange-Oil, which must not be 
 confounded with the Oil of Neroli, is obtained from Portugal, and is 
 prepared from the rind of the sweet Orange. It has a pale straw tint, 
 and a rich fragrance of the rind. It is imported in tinned copper cans| 
 and is much used in perfumery and for other purposes. On exposure 
 it spoils rapidly, acquiring a turpentine odor. When about the size of 
 a pea or cherry, the fruit is sold under the name of Orangettes or 
 Cura§oa Oranges ; and the small ones are sometimes used to maintain 
 the discharge from issues. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Orange-peel is aromatic and slightly tonic, but 
 is seldom used except to cover the taste of disagreeable medicines, or 
 to lessen their tendency to nausea, and for these purposes, it is fre- 
 quently added to bitter tinctures, infusions, etc., as quassia, Peruvian 
 bark, etc. ; though care should be taken not to subject it to long boil- 
 ing, on account of its oil, which will thus be dissipated. As a tonic, 
 the rind of the Seville Orange is preferred ; its dose in substance is 
 from thirty to sixty grains, three times a day. Large quantities of it 
 have caused violent colic, convulsions, and even death. The juice of 
 the Orange is not only a light refrigerant article of diet, but has a 
 direct beneficial medicinal influence in several diseases; as, in all fevers 
 and exanthematous diseases, where acids are craved, and the patient's 
 ;tongue is coated brown, black, or any intermediate color; in such cases 
 its free use may be allowed with advantage ; it is also useful as an 
 antiscorbutic in scurvy. In administering the juice, the membranous 
 portion should always be carefully rejected. The distilled water of 
 the flowers are said to have proved beneficial in chorea, hysteria, epi- 
 lepsy, and many other nervous disorders, in doses of one or two fluid- 
 ounces. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Aqua Florum Aurantii. 
 
 CITRUS LIMONUM. (Citronenbaum.) 
 Lemon. — Gitrone. 
 
 THE OtTTEE RIND AND JUICE. 
 
 CITETJS ACIDA. 
 Lime. 
 
 THE JUICE. 
 
 JVat. Ord. — ^Aurantiacese. Sex. Syst. — Polyadelphia Icosandria. 
 
 Description. — The Lemon-tree is an evergreen, about fifteen or twenty 
 feet in height, with branches easily bent. Leaves alternate, ovate-ob- 
 long, usually serrulated, smooth, glossy, dark-green, with a winged peti- 
 ole. Flowers middle sized, white, purple externally, odoriferous. Calyx 
 and petals similar to those of the orange. JPruit oblong-spheroid, some- 
 times almost globular, with a thin, pale-yellow rind, and a juicy, very 
 acid pulp. — I/. 
 
 The Lime, Citrus Acida (or Citrus Limetta, Bisso), is a tree about 
 eight feet in height, with a crooked trunk and ditfuse branches with 
 prickles. Leaves ovate, obovate, oblong and serrate, being placed upon 
 petioles not winged as in the orange and lemon. Flowers small, white. 
 
264 Materia Medioa. 
 
 Stamens thirty. Fruit ovate or roundish, pale-yellow, with a boss at 
 the point, and about an inch and a half in diameter. Cysts in the rind 
 concave. Pulp subacid, flat, slightly bitter. — Jj. 
 
 History. — These plants are of Asiatic origin, and cultivated in the 
 West Indies, and some other tropical countries. The exterior rind of 
 the Lemon, and the juice of its pulp, are ofiScinal. The rind or Lemon- 
 peel has a peculiar characteristic fragrance, an aromatic, bitterish taste, 
 and imparts its properties to alcohol, wine, or water ; and which depend 
 upon a volatile oil contained in the minute vesicles with which it is 
 filled, and which, when obtained by distillation with water, or by ex- 
 pression, forms the Oil of Lemon, of commerce. {See Oil cf Lemon.) 
 
 Lemon-juice has an intense, grateful, acid taste, and a slight odor of 
 the rind. One part of brandy or alcohol added to ten parts of Lemon- 
 juice, and then filtered to separate the mucilage, will preserve the acid 
 for a long time ; it will become slightly bitterish, but retains its strong 
 acidity undiminished. The juice is frequently preserved in sugar, 
 forming Lemon syrup, which, however, is very apt to spoil by age. 
 Hence, citric acid in solution may be substituted for it, about four 
 drachms of the acid being dissolved in eight fluidounces of water, which 
 may be flavored with a few drops of oil or essence of Lemon. , Lemon- 
 juice contains 2.5 per cent, of solid matter, of which 1.77 is citric acid, 
 and the rest chiefly mucilage and malic acid. The finest Lemons are 
 those which are smoothest and thinnest in the skin. 
 
 The Lime is of considerably less size than the Lemon, globular or 
 oval, of a similar color, but frequently with a green or greenish tinge, 
 its outer coat is not so thick and rough as that of the Lemon, and its 
 internal pulp contains a large amount of juice of an excessively acid 
 taste ; this juice is chiefly used in the manufacture of citric acid. A 
 variety of the Lime-tree, 0. lAmetta, furnishes a fruit from the rind. of 
 which is obtained the Oil of Bergamot. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Lemon-peel is used in cookery, and confec- 
 tionery, and also in medicine to correct the taste and augment the pow- 
 er of bitter inftisions and tinctures, its virtues being similar to that 
 of the orange-peel. The juice of Lemon is tonic, refrigerant and anti- 
 scorbutic, forming a refreshing and agreeable drink, possessing some 
 medicinal influence, called Lemonade, and which, as with otange juice, 
 may be used freely and advantageously in the febrile and inflammatory 
 diseases, for which this last has been recommended. It may also be 
 added to the nutritive drinks of the sick, as gum-water, gruel, barley- 
 w water, etc. Its power of preventing and arresting scurvy is unequaled 
 by any other remedy, except a liberal supply of fresh vegetables of the 
 cruciform family. In scurvy, an ounce or an ounce and a half of the 
 juice per day, is a preventive dose, and when the disease manifests 
 itself, four or six ounces per day will arrest it. Occasionally, but rarely, 
 it fails to efi'ect any benefit in this disease. Ships about to make long 
 voyages, should be furnished with a bountiful supply of citric acid and 
 oil of Lemon, or Lemon syrup with a small portion of brandy added. 
 Scrotal pruritus, and uterine hemorrhage have been benefited by a local 
 application of the juice. My colleague Prof A. J. Howe, M. D., states 
 that although chloroform will arrest a paroxysm of hiccough tempor- 
 arily, yet if a permanent subsidence of the spasmodic action of the 
 stomach and diaphragm be required, lemon juice is superior to all 
 other known remedies ; in several instances he has cured obstinate and 
 dangerous-hiccough with it. 
 
 Off. Prej). — Acidum Citricum; Liquor Potassse Citratis ; Syr. Limonia 
 
Clematis Virginiana. 265 
 
 CLEMATIS VIEGINIANA. (Virginische Waldrebe.) 
 
 Virgin's Bower. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eanunculacese. Sex. 8yst. — Polyandria Polygynia. 
 
 THE BARK, LEAVES AND BLOSSOMS. 
 
 Description. — Clematis Virginiana is a perennial, climbing plant, with 
 a stem tfom eight to fifteen feet or more in length, supporting itself on 
 shrubs, fences and brushwood, by means of its long petioles. Leaves 
 deep-green ternate; leaflets ovate, cordate, acuminate, lobed, cut-den- 
 tate, from two to three inches in length by one or two in breadth; 
 flowers in clusters, paniculate, often dioecious ; panicles large, axillary, 
 dichotomous. Sepals four, white, spreading, oval-oblong, obtuse. Sta- 
 mens from twenty-eight to thirty- six. Fi-uit furnished with long, plumose 
 tails, appearing in large, downy tufts ; seeds compressed. — W. 
 
 History. — The Clematis Virginiana is a native of the United States, 
 and grows by river-banks, in hedges and thickets, from Canada to 
 Georgia and the Mississippi. It flowers in July and August. The 
 parts used are the bark, leaves, and blossoms, which yield their virtues 
 to water or alcohol. The leaves should be gathered when they are 
 fully grown, say in August, spread in the shade, and after drying 
 thoroughly, should be closely pressed and packed in firm papers to ex- 
 clude the air as much as possible, or what is better, should be placed 
 into well-closed glass jars, whose mouths are sealed, or covered with oiled 
 silk, bladder, or other impervious material. 
 
 The G. Viorna or I/eather flower, which is more common in the West- 
 ern States, and may be found growing in woods from Pennsylvania to 
 the Mississippi, may, probably, be employed as a substitute for the 
 above. It differs from it in having a cylindrical, striate stem; with 
 opposite, decompound, pinnately divided leaves, consisting of from nine 
 to twelve ovate-lanceolate leaflets, acute at each end, entire or three- 
 lobed ; flowers large, purple, nodding, solitary, axillary, campanulate ; 
 sepals thick, leathery, acuminate, and peduncles from three to six inches 
 long, with a pair of small, simple, entire leaves near the middle. — W. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — When applied to the skin in a fresh state, they 
 blister it; and if taken internally, act as a corrosive poison. Both dry- 
 ing and boiling destroy the virulent property. They have been used 
 externally in the treatment of several cutaneous affections, and in the 
 form of a liniment made with oil for the cure of itch ; internally, as 
 diuretics and sudorifics in chronic rheumatism, palsy, etc., in minute 
 doses. The extract, in doses of one or two grains, is recommended for 
 osteocopic pains. The green leaves bruised are sometimes employed to 
 produce vesication, also, as an escharotic and detergent for venereal 
 and other foul and indolent ulcers. 
 
 The C. Virginiana has been highly spoken of as a nervine in uterine 
 diseases ; place two drachms of the dried leaf into a cup filled with hot 
 water, cover it, and allow it to stand until the liquid is cool enough to 
 drink; strain, sweeten with sugar if desired, and let the patient drink 
 it at once. Eepeated as often as may be required, the doses being regu- 
 lated by its efiects upon the system. The root of the C. Dioica, a native 
 of Jamaica, boiled with sea-water, acts as a powerful hydragogue ca- 
 thartic, and is useful in dropsy; and an infusion of the leaves and 
 flowers, removes spots and freckles from the skin. The roots of the C. 
 Vitalba boiled for a short time to diminish their acrimpny, and then in- 
 fused in boiling oil, were applied to the skin several times a day, in itch, 
 and a cure was eff'ected in twelve or fifteen applications. 
 
266 Materia Medica. 
 
 COCCULUS PALMATUS. (Handformige Kokkel.) 
 
 Colombo. Golumbo Wurzel. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Menispermacese. Sex. Syst. — Dioecia Hexandria. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Colombo is a climbing plant, with a perennial root, 
 formed of a number of fasciculated, fusiform, somewhat branched, 
 fleshy, curved, descending tubers, of the thickness of an infant's arm, 
 covered with a thin, brown epidermis, marked, especially toward the 
 upper part, with transverse warts; internally they are deep yellow, ino- 
 dorous, very bitter, filled with numerous, parallel, longitudinal fibers 
 ^or vessels. Stems, of which one or two proceed from the same root, 
 annual, herbaceous, about as thick as the little finger, simple in the 
 male plant, twining, branched in the female, rounded, green ; in the 
 full-grown plant, below, thickly clothed with succulent, longitudinal 
 hairs, which are tipped with a gland. Leaves alternate, large ; younger 
 ones thin, pellucid, bright-green, generally three-lobed, upward grad- 
 ually more numerous; older ones remote, a span ia breadth, nearly or- 
 bicular, deeply cordate, five to seven-lobed, the lobes entire, often de- 
 flexed, wavy on the surface and margin, dark -green above, paler beneath ; 
 hairy on both sides; nerves according to the number of lobes, are three, 
 seven, or nine, pale, connected by veins which, in themselves, are re-r 
 ticulated, prominent beneath. Petioles about as long as the leaves, 
 rounded, glandulosopilose, thickened below. Flowers small, indistinct, 
 arranged in the male-plant in solitary, axillary, drooping, compound 
 racemes, covered with glandular hairs, and with small caducous bracts 
 at the base; in the female also axillary, solitary, simple, spreading, 
 shorter than those of the male. Sepals six, glabrous ; petals six, in a 
 single row; stamens six; anthers terminal, four-celled. Fruit drupa- 
 ceous or berried, about the size of a hazel-nut, densely-clothed with 
 long spreading hairs, tipped with a black, oblong gland. Seeds black, 
 striated transversely, subreniform. — L. 
 
 History. — This plant inhabits the forests near the coast of Mozambique, 
 and Oibo in Bast Africa, and has been cultivated at Madras, and in the 
 Isle of France. It was formerly incorrectly described as Menispermum 
 Palmatum, and has only recently been properly ipvestigated and classi- 
 fied. It grows abundantly on the south-eastern coast of Africa, in the 
 neighborhood of Mozambique, where it is known by the name ofKalumh. 
 The root is dug up in the dry season in the month of March, and as it 
 is very fibrous and ligneous, only its spindle-shaped offsets are removed 
 being cut in slices, strung on cords, and hung up to dry in the shade. 
 As met with in the shops, Colombo root consists of transverse sections 
 from half an inch to three inches in diameter, and from one to eight or 
 ten lines thick. These sections are composed of a thin, olive-brown 
 and generally rugose cuticle; a thick, bright yellow, easily detached 
 inner bark ; and a pith or spongy ligneous internal structure of a pale 
 brown or yellowish color, more or less contracted, often exhibiting dark 
 concentric rings with radiated striae. The best pieces are those which 
 are firm, dense, and regular, of a lively color, and not much injured by 
 insects. The root is friable and readily reduced to a pale greenish- 
 yellow powder, having a faintly aro.matic odor, and an unpleasant, 
 bitter taste, without the Slightest acrimony or astringency. Alcohol, 
 or boiling water, extracts its virtues. The bark has the strongest taste, 
 which is readily taken up by water, alcohol, or ether. The central 
 
CocouLus Palmatus. 267 
 
 pith is almost mucilaginous. The.pO'wder soon spoils and becomes un- 
 fit for use, in consequence of absorbing moisture from a damp atmos- 
 phere. It is better to powder the root in limited portions, when re- 
 quired, keeping the powder in closely stopped bottles. According to 
 Planche, and Buchner, the root contains bitter matter, animal matter, 
 yellow resinous extractive, volatile oil, wax, gum, starch, vegetable 
 medulla, woody fiber, and water. Wittstock, in. 1830, discovered a 
 bitter principle, which be named Colombin. If the genuine Colombo 
 be first dampened, it becomes black when in contact with tincture of 
 iron ; iodine added to a decoction of the root, forms the blue iodide of 
 starch ; a decoction of the root does not redden litmus paper, nor is 
 there any prepipitate (tannic and gallic acids) when tartar emetic, 
 gelatine, or sulphate or sesquichloride of iron are added- to it; infusion 
 of nut-galls causes a precipitate (tannate of starch). The American 
 Colombo, Frasera Walterij which is sometimes added to the genuine 
 article, contains no starch, and is not therefore affected by iodine; but 
 it contains tannic acid, and, therefore, becomes blackish green when 
 sulphate of iron is added to its decoction, and yields a precipitate with 
 a solution of gelatine. — P. 
 
 Colmnbin may be obtained by treating Colombo root twice or thrice 
 successively with alcohol of specific gravity 0.835. Mix these solutions, 
 distill off three-fourths of the alcohol, and allow the residual liquid to 
 remain at rest for some days. Crystals are deposited which may be 
 collected by throwing the whole on a cloth and allowing the liquid 
 portion to pass through. Let these crystals be washed in cold water, 
 dissolved in alcohol, and the solution digested with ivory-black, and 
 filtered. When the solution thus treated is concentrated, it deposits 
 pure crystals of Colombin. The mother-liquor still contains abundance 
 of the same principle, which may be separated by mixing it with pow- 
 dered glass and evaporating to dryness, stirring it constantly when it 
 begins to become concrete. Digest this mixture of powder and glass in 
 ether, which dissolves wax, fatty matter, and Colombin. Distill off the 
 ether, digest the residue in boiling acetic acid, which takes up only the 
 Colombin, then evaporate, and crystals are formed. Sixty grains a^e 
 obtained from half a pound of the root. Colombin crystallizes in trans- 
 parent rhombic prisms, which are inodorous, but very bitter. They are 
 neutral, little soluble in water, alcohol, or ether, at ordinary tempera- 
 tures, yet giving a bitter taste to them ; boiling alcohol dissolves from 
 l-40tli to l-50th of its weight of them, but on cooling deposits them. 
 Volatile oils sparingly dissolves them. The caustic alkalies dissolve 
 Colombin, from which it is precipitated unaltered ]^y acids ; nitric and 
 sulphuric acids dissolve it, but hydrochloric acid has very little action 
 on it. Boiling acetic acid of specific gravity 1.04, is its best solvent. 
 It contains carbon 65.45, hydrogen 6.18, oxygen 28.37.-7. 
 
 Berberin is said to exist more largely in the Colombo root than Colom- 
 bin, being in union with colombic acid, forming a Colombate of Ber- 
 berin ; Dr. Bodeker obtained it by exhausting the Colombo root with 
 boiling alcohol of specific gravify 0.889, removing as much of the alco- 
 hol as possible by distillation ; and when a yellowish-brown mass of 
 impure Colombin had separated after three days standing, the super- 
 natant liquid, together with the aqueous solution arising from the rinsing 
 of the impure Colombin, was evaporated to dryness in the water-bath. 
 The residue was exhausted with boiling alcohol of specific gravity 0.863, 
 and this solution again treated as the preceding one. The residue was 
 then treated with boiling water,, and the filtered solution mixed with a 
 
268 Materia Medioa. 
 
 considerable quantity of muriatic acid. The precipitate thus formed 
 was collected on a filter, and well pressed between paper. Owing to its 
 great solubility in pure water and alcohol, it could not be washed. To 
 remove any free adherent acid, it was dissolved in alcohol of 0.863, and 
 precipitated from this solution by ether. The salt obtained was an in- 
 distinctly crystalline bright-yellow powder, of an unpleasant bitter 
 taste, and believed to be the hydrochlorate of Berberin. — Am. Jour. 
 Pharm., Yol. XX., p. 322. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — A pure, bitter tonic. Used in dyspepsia, chronic 
 diarrhea, and dysentery ; in convalesence from febrile and inflammato- 
 ry diseases, hectic fever, and in the muscular debility of young children. 
 It has been efficacious in sympathetic vomiting, not connected with 
 gastritis, as in pregnancy. Like other strong bitters, it occasionally 
 checks the remittent and intermittent fevers of hot climates. A pow- 
 erful tonic may be formed of the alcoholic extract of the root. In dys- 
 pepsia and vomiting, it may be advantageously combined with the 
 alkaline bicarbonates, as well as in debility with acidity of the stomach. 
 It is used in various combinations, with aromatics, antacids, cathartics, 
 or other tonics. Dose of the powder, from ten to thirty grains, three 
 or four times a day; of the infusion, from one to two fluidounces; of 
 the tincture, from one to two fluidrachms. 
 
 Colombin is highly useful in the treatment of dyspepsia, in doses of 
 from f of a grain to 2|- grains daily. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Colombse ; Tinctura Colombse ; Vinum Sym- 
 phyti Compositum. 
 
 COCCUS CACTI. 
 
 Cochineal. — C'oehenille. 
 
 Sistory. — The cochineal insect, Coccus Cacti, belongs to the class In- 
 secta, order Semiptera ; the general characters are, tarsi with one joint, 
 terminated by a single hook. Male destitute of a rostrum, with two 
 wings covering the body horizontally ; abdomen terminated by two 
 setce. Female apterous, furnished with a rostrum. Antennae of eleven 
 joints, filiform, setaceous. The males are very small, with antennsB 
 shorter than the body, which is elongated, deep red, terminated by two 
 long diverging setae ; the wings are beautifully snow-white, large, 
 crossed above the abdomen. The females are nearly twice as large as 
 the males, bluish-red, covered with a white farina, the antennae short, 
 body convex and flattened below, with short feet. — P. They inhabit 
 Mexico, and other parts of tropical America, where they feed on the 
 Opuntia and Cactus families of plants. They are also cultivated exten- 
 sively in the Canary Islands. " They are collected at various seasons. 
 The best are the product of the first collection, which consists of the 
 impregnated females ; the males not being gathered. Those killed by the 
 heat of a stove are said to be superior to those destroyed by boiling 
 water. As met with in commerce, Cochineal is in irregular hemi- 
 spherical grains, flat or concave on one side, and convex on the other, 
 rough and wrinkled, about a line and a half to two lines in diameter, 
 weighing about one-tenth of a grain, dry, friable, of a blackish-red 
 color externally, sometimes covered with a white bloom. Its powder 
 is of a purplish carmine color, and has a musty odor and taste like that 
 of sourish old cheese. When properly kept it is not liable to deterio- 
 rate. There are two varieties, silver grains and black grains. The Silver 
 Cochineal, of a reddish ash color, is said to be procured by destroying a 
 
Cocfcus Caoii. 269 
 
 female insect previous to laying its eggs, and is the most esteemed ; the 
 Black Cochineal, of nearly a black color, is obtained by killing the 
 female after the eggs have been laid. — Am. Jour. Pharm., XVIII., p. 47. 
 There is also an inferior sort, consisting chiefly of young insects, 
 called Granilla. 
 
 Cochineal is nearly odorless, unless in powder, has a warm bitterish 
 taste, feebly acid, and imparts a violet-red tinge to the saliva. It has 
 been analyzed by John, and Pelletier, and Caventou, and has been 
 found to contain carmine, peculiar animal matter, fatty matter, and 
 several salts. The coloring matter of Cochineal is dissolved out by 
 water, alcohol, or proof spirit. Carmine consists of Cochenillin, aniipal 
 matter, and an acid. 
 
 Carmine may be prepared by boiling one pound of powdered Cochi- 
 neal and three drachms and a half of subcarbonate of potassa, in a 
 boiler containing seven gallons of water. After boiling for a few min- 
 utes, take the boiler off the fire, and place it on a table, inclined to one 
 side so as to facilitate decantation. Add powdered alum eight drachms, 
 and stir the solution. The liquor changes color, and assumes a more 
 brilliant tint. After a quarter of an hour, the Cochineal will have de- 
 posited, and the liquor has become as clear as if it had been filtered. 
 It contains the carmine in suspension. The liquor is then decanted 
 into a similar pan and placed on the fire, adding three drachms and a 
 half of isinglass, which has been previously dissolved in two quarts of 
 water and strained. At the moment of ebullition the carmine rises to 
 the surface, and a coagulum forms as in clarification with white of egg. 
 The pan is then removed from the fire, and the liquor stirred with a 
 spatula. After a quarter of an hour the carmine will be deposited, 
 when the liquor is to be decanted, and the deposit drained on a strained 
 filter, and then dried in a stove at a temperature from 82° to 86°. If 
 dried in the open air it will become moldy. This makes a very fine 
 carmine The remaining solution will make fine carminated lake. The 
 red juice of the Cactus plants on which the cochineal feeds, will yield 
 carmine. A fine red ink may be made as follows : Take of Cochineal 
 in powder eight scruples, carbonate of potassa sixteen scruples, distilled 
 water eight fluidounces, mix together and boil ; then add of alum four 
 scruples, bitartrate of potassa two ounces ; let them stand for twenty- 
 four hours, filter, and add of powdered gum Arabic half an ounce. 
 
 Dr. Jas. Stark has called attention to a new variety of Cochineal, 
 "cake Cochineal," which is used as a dye-stuff by the natives of Cor- 
 dova for dyeing cloths all shades of red. It is a solid flat ciake, about 
 a quarter of an inch thick, of a deep red color, marked externally as if 
 it had been subjected to pressure between folds of coarse linen, has a 
 jagged fracture with whitish spots occasionally on its surface, and ap- 
 pears to consist of the bodies of the Cochineal insect in various stages 
 of development. It imparted a beautiful red color to water, and fur- 
 nished a carmine equal to that procured from the commercial drug, 
 though requiring a sixth more of the red dye-cake to produce a color 
 equal to that of ordinary Cochineal. 
 
 Cochineal has been adulterated with French chalks, lead, carbonate 
 of lead, etc., to increase the weight, and the grains have even been 
 imitated, but a careful examination will detect all these impositions ; the 
 microscope may require to be employed in the examination. Carmine 
 has also been adulterated largely with starch, vermilion, dichromate 
 of lead etc. but may be readily detected by the tests for these articles. 
 
 Properties and f/ses.— Anodyne, Used in whooping-cough, and neu- 
 
270 Materia Medica. 
 
 ralgic aifections. Also used to color tinctures and ointments. Dose 
 from five to ten grains, three or four times a day. 
 Off. Prep: — Tinctura Oardamomi Composita. 
 
 COCHLBAEIA AEMOEACIA. 
 
 Horse-radish. — Meerrettig. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Brassicacese. Sex. Syst. — Tetradynamia Siliculosa. 
 
 FEESH ROOT. 
 
 description. — Horse-radish root is perennial, thick, tapering, white, 
 long, acrid and very tenacious of life, from which arise many large 
 leaves, and from the center a round or angular, smooth, erect branch- 
 ing stem rises, about two feet in height ; those branches which flower 
 are corymbose, smooth, angular. Radical leaves near a foot long, half 
 as wide, oblong, crenate toothed, waved, sometimes pinnatifid, of a 
 dark-green color, upon long, channeled petioles; cauline feaues smaller, 
 lanceolate, dentate or incised, sessile, sometimes entire, without foot- 
 stalks; lower ones often pinnatifid. Flowers numerous, small, white, 
 peduncled, in terminal corymbose racemes. Calyx ovate, spreading, 
 equal at the base ; sepals four, concave. Petals obovate, obtuse, entire, 
 claw-like. Stamens without teeth, the length of the calyx ; anthers 
 cordate ; silicic sessile, oblong, or ovoid-globose, compressed ; dissepiment 
 thin ; valves ventricose, thickish ; cells many-seeded ; seeds not bordered ; 
 cotyledons flat, accumbent. — G-. — W. — JJ. 
 
 Sistory. — This is a well-known succulent plant, a native of Europe 
 and 'extensively cultivated for the use of its root as a condiment. It 
 flowers in June. The fresh root is the officinal part, and should be 
 dug up in the autumn, as its acrimony is then the strongest; it may 
 be preserved for some time fresh by burying it in a cool place in sand. 
 The root is whitish yellow externally, white ifiternally, of various 
 lengths tapering to a point, from half an inch to two inches or more in 
 diameter at its thickest part, fibrous, fleshy, succulent, of a very pun- 
 gent taste and odor, producing a flow of tears, and when smelt violent 
 sneezing. Water, alcohol, or vinegar extracts its properties, which de- 
 pend upon the presence of a volatile oil, and which is dissipated by 
 heat or desiccation. 
 
 The oil passes over when the root is distilled with water ; it is of a 
 light yellow color, possessing the pungent properties of the plant in a 
 high degree, causing irritation and even blistering when in contact 
 with the skin. It is supposed to be perfectly identical with the vola- 
 tile oil of mustard, and is obtained in minute proportion, six parts only 
 of the oil being procured from ten thousand of the root. It is believed 
 not to exist already formed in the unbroken root, but to be developed 
 by the mutual reaction of its constituents when the root is bruised. 
 Dr. A. W. Hoffman, however, has found these two oils to be entirely 
 different, the oil of cochlearia boiling at 320° F., while the oil of mus- 
 tard boils at 296° P. ; treated with ammonia, the oil of horse-radish 
 yields a beautifully crystallizing substance, thiosinnamin, which fuses at 
 275° F, The dried root possesses no pungency, and yields no volatile 
 oil when distilled with water, unless white mustard be added ; the 
 myrosine of the mustard supplying some necessary principle destroyed 
 by desiccation. In addition, the root contains a bitter resin, sugar, 
 gum, starch, extractive, albumen, acetic acid, acetate and sulphate of 
 Kme, water, and lignin. 
 
CoFPEA Arabica. 271 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Stimulant, diuretic, antiscorbutic, and rubefa 
 eient. It promotes all the secretions, the urinary in particular, and stim- 
 ulates the stomach, when this organ is enfeebled. The infusion is emetic. 
 It has been used with advantage in chronic affections attended with de- 
 bility of the digestive organs, and of the general system, as in paralysis, 
 rheumatism, dropsy, and as an antiscorbutic in scurvy. In dropsy, an 
 infusion of the root in cider, and drank as warm as could be borne, in 
 large quantities and freely, the patient being warmly covered up, has 
 caused copious diuresis and diaphoresis, and cured the disease in a few 
 weeks ; the operation being repeated nightly, or as the strength of the 
 patient would permit. Horse-radish is much employed to produce 
 abortion, frequently effecting this object, when other internal agents 
 fail; it is used as follows: make a saturated infusion of the recent roots 
 in whisky, of which four fluidounces is the dose, repeating it three or 
 four times every day, and continuing its use until the desired effect is 
 produced. The grated root with sugar to form a syrup with water, is 
 excellent for hoarseness, a spoonful or two may be swallowed as occa- 
 sion requires. It has been also used externally, as a rubefacient. Dose 
 of the root grated, from one to two drachms. 
 
 The Cochlearia Officinalis, or scurvy grass, is seldom used in medi- 
 cine ; it possesses similar properties. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Infusum Opii Compositum. Infusum Armoracise. 
 
 COPFBA AEABIOA. 
 
 Coffee.— Za#e. 
 
 N^at. Ord. — Cinchonaceae. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — Coffee-tree is an evergreen, large, erect bush or shrub, 
 quite smooth in every part, the bark being of a brownish color, and 
 its branches opposite. Leaves opposite, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, 
 shining on the upper side, wavy, deep-green above, paler below; petioles 
 short; stipules subulate, undivided. Flowers white, sweet-scented, on 
 short, axillary, four or five clustered peduncles ; corolla tubular, with a 
 five-cleft limb. Calyx small, five-toothed. Stamens inserted in the 
 middle of the upper part of the tube; anthers yellow, linear, protruded. 
 Fruit or berry oval, deep-purple, umbilicate at top, succulent, two- 
 seeded; seeds somewhat plano-convex, with a longitudinal fissure on 
 the flat side, they form the commercial Coffee. — i. 
 
 Sistory. — The Coffee plant is a native of Arabia Felix and Ethiopia, 
 and is extensively cultivated in Asia and America between the north 
 and south latitudes of 56°. The plant is propagated from the seed, 
 which sprout in three or four weeks, and are sufficiently advanced in 
 the course of twelve months for transposition. The fruit appears in 
 about three years, and the ripening of the seeds may be known by the 
 dark-red color of the berries, when they must be gathered, else they 
 will fall off spontaneously. The fleshy part is removed from the seeds 
 by certain apparatus, and their thin covering is detached after drying. 
 There are many varieties of Coffee, the characters of which depend 
 upon the soil, the locality and the method of cultivation. The origin 
 of its employment is still surrounded with many obscurities. The 
 Mocha Coffee is esteemed the best, and the Java next ; but the coffee 
 consumed in this country is chiefly furnished from Brazil, Demarara. 
 
272 ' Materia MEDibA. 
 
 Jamaica, and other West India islands. Good Coffee should be firm 
 and solid, and heavier than water, in which it immediately sinks ; a 
 blackish -colored Coffee not compact, and floating on the top of water, 
 is an inferior article. Mocha Coffee comes from Arabia, in small, yel- 
 lowish, and almost round grains, and emits an agreeable odor when 
 properly roasted. Zanzibar is frequently sold under the name of 
 Mocha, its bean is rather small ; its color the same, a little paler, of a 
 light yellow, slightly greenish ; the grains are irregular, round like 
 those of Mocha, sometimes compressed like those of the Bourbon coffee ; 
 the odor, and taste after torrefaction are like those of good Mocha. — ■ 
 Martinique, a very good kind of coffee, presenting large, elongated 
 grains, of a persistent greenish color, and covered with a silvery pelli- 
 cle which separates upon roasting ; the longitudinal furrow is quite 
 marked, very open. The coffee is rich in active principles, and has an 
 agreeable odor on roasting. — Hayti and Porto ^ico are in more irregular 
 grains, of a clearer green color, rarely provided with a pellicle. Taste 
 and odor less agreeable than the preceding. — Bourbon, or Coffee of the 
 Reunion, is somewhat like the Mocha, but it is larger, not so round, 
 equally yellowish, but less perfect in the agreeableness of its odor upon 
 roasting. Tfie inferior kinds of coffee improve in quality by keeping, 
 and if kept for several years before roasting, they yield a much more 
 fragrant and agreeable infusion than when roasted shortly after they 
 have been gathered. Coffee has a feeble, characteristic odor, and a 
 rough, sweetish, peculiar faste. According to Payen, it contains cellu- 
 lose, hygroscopic water, fatty substances, dextrine, glucose, and an 
 undetermined vegetable acid, legumin, casein, chlorogenate of potassa 
 and caffein, a nitrogenous substance, • free caffein, a concrete essential 
 oil, aromatic fluid, volatile oil, and mineral substances. — P. Water 
 removes from- coffee its caffein combined with the chlorogenic acid; 
 malates and azotized substances have also been found in it, and soluble 
 salts of potassa. 
 
 H. J. Versman states the following to be the most profitable and 
 simple mode of obtaining caffein : Ten parts of bruised Coffee are 
 mixed with two parts of caustic lime, previously converted into hy- 
 drate of lime. This mixture is placed in a displacement apparatus, 
 with alcohol of 80°; until the fluid which passes through no longer 
 furnishes evidence of the presence of caffein. The coffee is then 
 roughly ground, and brought nearly to the state of a powder, and the 
 refuse of the already once digested mixture from the displacement 
 apparatus dried, and ground again, and, mixed with hydrate of lime, 
 is once more macerated. The grinding is more easily effected after the 
 Coffee has been subjected to the operation of the alcohol, having lost 
 its horny quality, and the caffein is thus certainly extracted. The 
 clear alcoholic fluid thus obtained is then to be distilled, and the refuse 
 in the retort to be washed with warm water to separate the oil. The 
 resulting fluid is then evaporated until it forms a crystalline mass, 
 which is to be placed on a thick filter, and the moisture expressed. 
 The moisture, after evaporation, still furnishes some caffein. The 
 impure caffein is freed from oil by pressure between folds of blotting 
 paper, and purified by solution in water with animal charcoal, and 
 then crystallized by evaporation. Good Brazilian Coffee, thus yields 
 0.57 per cent, of caffein. 
 
 Caffein crystallizes in white, silky, long needles, which are slightly 
 flexible and transparent, and have a specific gravity of 1.23. Its taste 
 is weak, but bitter and unpleasant. It is fusible at 454° F., volatile. 
 
CoFFEA Arabica. 273 
 
 and soluble in water, alcohol, or ether. At an elevated temperature it 
 BTiblimes in needles similar to those of benzoic acid. Tannic acid pre- 
 cipitates it from a watery solution. Its formula is Cis Hk, Ni 0^ K, O^ 
 —194+18, and according to the analysis of thein from tea by M. Jobst, 
 caffein appears to be identical with it. Caffein gives with iodide of 
 potassium and mercury, a precipitate of white, shining, acicular crys- 
 tals. — P. — T. Oaflfein exists in other substances, as, tea, mate, kola- 
 nut, guar an a, etc. 
 
 The Hanoverian Pharmacopoeia directs caffein to- be made by precip- 
 itating a decoction of Coffee with acetate of lead, filtering and washing 
 the precipitate, evaporating the liquids to dryness, and after mixing 
 the powdered extract with sand, the mass is sublimed in Mohr's appa- 
 ratus, just as in making benzoic acid. 
 
 With a view of extracting all the caffein from Coffee, M. Pucetti tried 
 the following method: He brought the decoction of Coffee to the con- 
 sistence of an extract, and treated it with alcohol, which left undissolved 
 a resinous substance of the appearance of bird-lime; he then dissolved a 
 slight excess of pulverized caustic lime in the alcoholic fluid, which, when 
 filtered and evaporated to the necessary degree, furnished crystals of 
 impure caffein. This was pressed between thick linen, to get rid of 
 the adherent mother liquor, and then dissolved in well-water, and 
 treated with animal charcoal, by which means the alkaloid was ob- 
 tained pure. One pound of Coffee yielded one-twentieth of an ounce of 
 caffein . He also obtained it in larger quantity from tea. 
 
 Yogel's new process for procuring caffein is to treat ground Coffee 
 with benzine; this dissolves out the caffein and fixed oil. Distill the 
 benzine solution to dryness, and boil the residue in water, which dis- 
 solves the caffein, and deposits it on filtering and concentrating the 
 liquid. 
 
 By roasting. Coffee acquires new properties, it expands eonsideratly, 
 becomes lighter by 16 or 18 per cent., has a peculiar, agreeable odor 
 imparted to it, and a bitterish, aromatic taste, owing to the products of 
 the torrefaction, viz. ; a brown aromatic oil, and a brown bitter princi- 
 ple; the caffein, however, almost wholly disappears and ip transformed 
 into methylamine, the transformation being caused by the heat, aided by 
 the tannin. The flavor of Coffee depends upon its minute quantity of 
 aromatic volatile oil, and if the roasting process is carried too far, this 
 is dissipated, and the Coffee then becomes bitter without the aroma. In 
 roasting Coffee, it should be effected by a gentle heat, carefully watch- 
 ing the process, not driving it too rapidly ; the Coffee niust be removed 
 as soon as it becomes of a russet tint, friable, and emitting an agreeable 
 aroma. Two different kinds of Coffee should never be roasted togeth- 
 er, but each one separately, as one may require such a length of time 
 for proper torrefaction as would either destroy the desired properties 
 of the other, or, fail to develop them. To make a superior infusion, 
 the grains should be roasted only as required for use, be at once ground 
 or pounded, then have boiling water poured upon the powder, in a 
 proper vessel, the whole set over a fire and allowed to remain until the 
 Uquid begins to boil. Let it stand a couple of minutes after removal 
 from the fire, and it is ready for use. Or, it may be made by percola- 
 tion with boiling water. White of egg favors the rapid settling of the 
 Coffee, so as to insure a clear infusion; some prefer isinglass. The sol- 
 uble materials of Coffee furnish the aromatic and bitter principles, for 
 when Coffee not roasted is exhausted by water and then roasted, it fails 
 to impart these principles to boiling water. Eoasted Coffee should be 
 18 
 
274 Matebia Medica. 
 
 of a. chocolate color, should be used soon aftej- roasting, and should be 
 ground only as wanted, as otherwise it loses nearly all its flavor and 
 activity. Eoasted corn, peas, beans, oats, rye or potatoes, when added 
 to Coffee, may be known by the deep blue, blackish -blue, or purplish- 
 red color, which a solution of iodine imparts to the infusion ; pure and 
 roasted Coffee in infusion, is rendered of a deeper reddish-brown unt 
 by the iodine. ((See Chicory i) A few drops of Tincture of Chloride of 
 Iron, added to an infusion of coffee berries gives a sap-green color, *nd 
 are recommended as a test for the genuineness of essence of Coffee. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — An infusion of roasted Coffee is an agreeable 
 S'timulant, anti-soporific, and anti-emetic. It produces a mild stimu- 
 lating influence upon the organs of digestion, and slightly accelerates 
 circulation ; taken too freely, it impairs the nervous and digestive sys- 
 tems. A cup of strong Coffee will cause a degree of wakefulness for 
 several hours, and will frequently overcome the soporific or intoxicat- 
 ing effects of opium or alcohol. In delirium, tremens strong black Cof- 
 fee acts as a good and valuable hyposthenisant. In poisoning from 
 opium it should always be given. It has also proved temporarily use- 
 fiil in light nervous headaches, asthma, hysteria, obstinate chronic diar- 
 rhea, and also calculous nephritis. It is contra-indicated in all inflam- 
 matory affections of a high grade. Dr. A. Brown, of Cincinnati, has 
 found a strong decoction of the pulverized, unroasted Coffee, a supe- 
 rior remedy in some forms of chlorosis or amenorrhea. When fullness 
 in the head, and pain in the back are present, he gives a gentle purga- 
 tive, then uses the warm foot-bath, and administers the decoction in 
 wineglassful doses every half-hour or hour. 
 
 Coffee has also been used with much success in whooping-cough, and 
 in asthma, in the form of syrup, made with the extract of Coffee pre- 
 pared without heat, or a strong infusion by percolation given in small 
 and repeated doses. Dr. L. Delahage gives the following formula as 
 almost infallible : Take of syrup of extract of Coffee four pounds, ex- 
 tract of belladonna, extract of ipecacuanha, of each, two scruples. Mix 
 together. Dose, two fluidrachms or a dessertspoonful, morning and 
 noon, and dojible this dose at night on going to bed, for children of 
 three to five years old ; it should be taken in two or three tablespoon- 
 fuls of warm water. 
 
 Prof. Lehman considers Coffee to increase the activity of the vascu- 
 lar and nervous systems, while at the same time it retards the metamor- 
 phosis of plastic constituents; and which effects are owing chiefly to its 
 empyreumatie volatile oil. C. Voit, from recent experiments instituted 
 by himself upon a dog, is led to infer that Coffee rather increases the 
 metamorphosis of nitrogenous tissue, and the excretion of urea, and at- 
 tributes its principal effects to its action on the nervous system, and 
 not to its influence on the tissue-change. 
 
 With regard to the influence of coffee upon the circulation, there is 
 a discordance among authors, probably depending upon the quantity 
 used, and the conditions under which it had been administered. In 
 moderate quantity it increases the pulsations from' 5 to 10 beats or 
 more. M. Jomand, who experimented carefully upon himself, found it 
 in an elevated dose to diminish the pulsations from 84 to 75. It 
 moderates digestion, removing the sense of fullness and heaviness after 
 meals ; diminishes the sense of hunger, and powerfully aids in support- 
 ing abstinence. It lessens the amount of urea and phosphoric acid in 
 the urine, as well as diminishes the quantity of carbonic acid evacuated 
 in the twenty-four hours, and has the power of retarding the disinte- 
 
CoPFEA Arabica. 275 
 
 gration of the constituents of the aniitial frame. It is an active diureti'6, 
 especially when its action is seconded by a white wine rich in carbonate 
 of potassa. With some it regulates the bowels. It renders motility, ex- 
 ercise, more energetic, and diminishes the sensation of fatigue. It pro- 
 duces wakefulness without being followed by fatigue, and influence's 
 the brain so that one acquires an unexpected facility for intellectual 
 labor, conversation, etc. But when coffee is used in excess, or -^Vhen 
 only its bitter and other principles are employed, too long boiling hav- 
 ing driven off its aroma, it proves decidedly injurious. 
 
 Dr. "W. Hamilton considers the free use of strong Coffee almost a 
 specific for gout, rheumatism, and gravel. Bouchardat considers it 
 useful in malarial districts, and states that without it, the European 
 colonies would have been unable to dwell in several parts of Algiers. 
 
 It has been observed by Dr. Mosely, in his Treatise on: Coffee, that 
 "the great use of Coffee in France is suppdsed to have abated the pre- 
 valence of the gravel. In the French colonies, whei-e CoS6'e iS more 
 used than in the English, as well as in Turkey, where it is the pi^inci- 
 pal beverage, not only the gravel, but the gout, those tormentors of s6 
 many of the human race, are scarcely known. Du Four relates, as an 
 extraordinary instance of the effects of Coffee in gout, the case of Mr. 
 Deverau. He says this gentleman was attacked with gout at twenty- 
 five years of age, and had it severely until he was upward of fifty. With 
 chalk-stones in the joints of his hands and feet ; but for four years pre- 
 ceding the account of his case being given to Du Four to lay before the 
 public, he had been recommended the use of Coffee, which he had 
 adopted, and had no return of the gout afterward." But its eflicacy 
 is not confined to the cure or mitigation of these maladies. Sir John 
 Floyer, who had suffered under asthma for more than sixty years, 
 without finding relief from any of the numerous remedies he tried, was 
 at length cured, when above eighty years of age, by the free use of 
 Coffee. 
 
 S. Martin observes that the decoction of green coffee (unroasted), 
 when it possesses all its cafeine, forms a liquid possessing stupify- 
 ing properties ; while roasted coffee furnishes an excitant fluid. 
 
 The Citrate of Caffein, recommended as a remedy for the idiopathic 
 headache, called migraine (pain in the forehead), may be obtained by 
 two processes ; the most simple consists in infusing finely -ground raw 
 Coffee in a very weak solution of citric acid, at the temperature of 176° 
 F., filtering the liquid while yet hot, adding two-thirds of its volume 
 of ether, and agitating the mixture strongly, to remove the chlorogenic 
 acid from the watery solution. The latter is separated from the super- 
 natant ether, and is carefully evaporated with a gentle heat. The ci- 
 trate of caffein crystallizes in long needles, which, when redissolved in 
 distilled water and again evaporated, are obtained in beautiful, long, 
 acicular, white, silky crystals, in radiating groups. 
 
 The second process consists in making the compound by the direct 
 union of its constituents, the caffein being dissolved in a weak solution 
 of citric acid at the temperature of 112° F., and the solution evaporated 
 till the citrate crystallizes. 
 
 This salt is very soluble in water, and is assimilated much more 
 readily than pure caffein when taken into the stomach. It consists of 
 one equivalent of caffein, three of citric acid, and two of water. It may 
 be made into a pill mass with some simple extract, say eight grains of 
 the salt to fifteen of the extract, and divided into ten pills, of which one 
 may be given every hour or two. Or, two drachms and a half of the 
 
276 Materia Medica. 
 
 salt may be dissolved in four ounces of simple syrup, of which one table 
 spoonful may be given as above, according to the violence of the at- 
 tack. Ten grains of caffein dissolved in two fluidraehms of strong alco- 
 hol and half a fluidrachm of water, by the aid of gentle heat ; and, 
 when cool, two fluidraehms of chloroform added, is also useful in hemi- 
 crania, in doses of 15 to 20 drops at short intervals. The solution must 
 be protected from the light. 
 
 According to Dr. Stenhouse, the dried leaves of Coffee, roasted, form 
 a very agreeable infusion, and which may be used as a substitute for 
 tea and coffee. They contain a much larger amount of caffein than the 
 Coffee-bean, with caffeic acid, and will probably, ere long, be exten- 
 sively used in the same manner as tea. According to James Motley, 
 Esq., the natives of Sumatra cultivate the Coffee plant extensively, 
 but use only the leaves, entirely neglecting the berries. They are 
 fastened upon strips of bamboo, held over a clear blazing fire, until 
 they acquire a rich, brownish-green color, and become perfectly crisp 
 and brittle, then powdered and infused in boiling water, forming a dark- 
 brown liquid of the odor of tea, but the flavor of a mixture of tea and 
 coffee. This is much used by them as a beverage. 
 
 Eoasted Coffee is a powerful deodorizer, destroying the effluvia from 
 decomposed animal and vegetable matter. 
 
 COLCHICTJM AUTUMNALE. (Herbstzeitlose.) 
 
 Colchicum. 
 
 JVat. Ord. — Melanthacese. Sex. Syst. — Hexandria Trigynia. 
 
 CORMtrS OR BULB, AND SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — This plant is also known as Meadow Saffron. Corm 
 large, ovate, solid, fleshy. Leaves dark-green, very smooth, obtuse, 
 above a foot long, an inch and a half broad, keeled, produced in the 
 spring along with the capsules. Flowers several, radical, leafless, 
 bright purple, with a long white tube appearing in the autumn with- 
 out the leaves ; capsules three, distinct, though forming together a single, 
 oblong, elliptical, fruit, with intermediate fissures. Seeds whitish, pol- 
 ished. — L. 
 
 History. — Colchicum grows in meadows and low, rich soils in many 
 parts of Europe, and is common to England, The herb is annual, but 
 the root is annual or perennial according to the manner in xhich the 
 plant is propagated, which may be from the seed, by the formation of 
 a single mature bulb from a parent bulb, or by the separation of several 
 immature bulbs from the parent. A brief reference to its mode of de- 
 velopment may be useful : " In June or July a new bulb* about the 
 size of a grain of wheat, is formed at the lower end of the old one, in 
 close approximation with its radicles ; this little bulb increases with 
 rapidity, and at the same time sends up a leafless flower-stem. Toward 
 the first of October a lilac or pale purple flower springs from the ground, 
 the germen remaining at the base of the corolla tube, but the leaves do 
 not appear until early in the ensuing spring, at which time the germen, 
 consisting of three many -seeded capsules, is elevated, and the seed are 
 matured during midsummer, after which the plant speedily withers. 
 While the flower is rising in the autumn, the bulb is very small, but in 
 the winter it grows rapidly, being in April as large as a chestnut, and 
 attaining its greatest size, about that of a small apricot, in July. It is 
 
COLCHICUM AUTUMNALE. 277 
 
 now a year old, and the herb having matured its eeed, is withering 
 away, but a new bulb begins to appear at its lower end, close to its 
 junction with the radicles or root proper, which passes through a simi- 
 lar succession of changes ; while the old parent bulb gradually be- 
 comes more spongy and watery, but retains its size until the follow- 
 ing April, the second spring of its own existence, when it quickly de- 
 cays." — G. The seeds and the bulb are the officinal parts of the plant. 
 The bulb attains its greatest perfection about the beginning of July, at 
 which time it should be gathered for medical use. It resembles a small 
 tulip root, convex on one side, plane on the other, being brown exter- 
 nally, white internally, and containing a white acrid juice. The odor is 
 Mrcine, and the taste bitter, acrid, and nauseous. In drying, the bulb 
 is usually cut into thin transverse slices, having first been stripped of 
 its external dark brownish-black membranous tegument, and is dried 
 quickly; sometimes it is dried entire. — C.—Ed. 
 
 Good Colchicum bulbs, when dried, are of an oval-rounded form, 
 with a notch or deep groove on one side, of a grayish-white color, an 
 amylaceous appearance, firm, dry, and capable of changing their color 
 to blue when softened with distilled vinegar, and then touched with 
 tincture of guaiacum. The odor is much less than in the fresh bulb, 
 and the taste is strongly bitter, disagreeable and somewhat acrid. Their 
 virtues are imparted to alcohol, vinegar, or wine. The acetic tincture 
 is generally preferred to the vinous, as it is not so liable to change or de- 
 composition. Acids render the vinous tincture drastic, while alkalies 
 render its operation milder. They contain supergallate of colchicia, 
 fatty matter composed of olein, stearin, and volatile acid, yellow color- 
 ing matter, gum, starch, inulin in abundance, lignin, and a minute 
 quantity of ashes. The decoction of the fresh bulb forms, with a solu- 
 tion of iodine, a deep-blue precipitate (iodide of starch) ; with sesqui- 
 chloride of iron, a faint bluish tint (gallate of iron) ; with diacetate of 
 lead, or protonitrate of mercury, a copious white precipitate ; with ni- 
 trate of silver, a white precipitate which soon becomes black ; with 
 tincture of nut-galls, a very slight, dirty-looking precipitate ; and, with 
 a solution of gelatine, a slight haziness. — P. 
 
 Colchicum seeds should be gathered early in August, when they are 
 fully ripe; they are rough, roundish, dark-brown, about a line and a 
 half in diameter, and possess the same bitter, acrid taste with the 
 bulb, but in greater intensity. — C. It was formerly supposed that their 
 medicinal virtues resided in the husk or cortical part, and it was ad- 
 vised not to bruise them in making the tincture, but recent experiments 
 have proved that the bruised seeds yield the strongest tincture. Their 
 properties are similar with those of the bulb, and as they are considered 
 more uniform in strength than the bulb, they are usually preferred 
 to it. 
 
 Colchicia may be obtained by the same process through which hyos- 
 cyamia is obtained from henbane. (See Hyoscyamus.) Geiger and 
 Hesse have published a simple process, as follows : Digest the seeds in 
 boiling alcohol, this dissolves a supersalt, which must be precipitated 
 with magnesia; treat the precipitate with boiling alcohol, filter, and 
 evaporate. The colchicia is crystallizable, alkaline, inodorous, and 
 bitter. It differs from veratria by being a milder poison, crystalliza- 
 ble, more soluble in water, does not excite sneezing when applied to 
 the nose. One-tenth of a gra;in of colchicia, dissolved in weak spirit, 
 killed a young cat in about twelve hours. A very minute dose causes 
 purging and vomitiog. — P By decomposition of colchicia a crystal- 
 
278 Materia Medioa. 
 
 line jnaiis is formed, named Colchicein. C. L. Diehl, from experiments 
 ' institjited by himself, denies the alkaline character of Colchici.a. (See 
 Proceedings of Am. Pharm. Assoc. 1867, p. 363.) 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In large doses, an acro-narcotic poison. Jiledi- 
 cipally, sedative, cathartic, diuretic, and emetic. "Used in gout and 
 gouty rheumatism, dropsy, palpitation of the heart, gonorrhea,, enlarged 
 prost;ate, etc. C^re must be used in its employment. It sometimes in- 
 creases the uric acid in the urine of arthritic patients; and has been 
 beneficially employed in febrile, inflammatory and nervoiis a^ections, 
 and in chronic bronchial complaints. Equal parts of tincture of colchi ■ 
 cum and laudanum have been found efficacious in some cases of gonor- 
 rhea. A good acetic tincture may be made by macerating an ounce 
 and a half of the dried bulb, or seeds, in twelve fluidounces of the 
 strongest vinegar for fourteen days. Then filter, and keep in well- 
 stopped bottles. The dose for an adult is from thirty to sixty drops, as 
 often as may be required. An acetic extract may be prepared, contain- 
 ing all the powers of the plant, by rubbing the bulbs to a pulp to the 
 quantity of a pound, and gradually adding acetic or pyroligneous acid 
 three fluidounces. Express the liquid, and evaporate it in an earthen 
 vessel not glazed with lead, to the proper consistence ; the dose is from 
 one tp three grains, three or four times a day. Dose of the dried bulb, 
 from one to ten grains, gradually increased every four or six hours, 
 till the influence of the medicine is obtained. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Tinctura Oolchici Composita; Tinctura Colchici Seminis; 
 Vinum Colchici Eadicis ; Vinum Colchici Seminis. 
 
 COLLESrSONIA CAIfADENSIS., (Canadische Collinsonia.) 
 
 Collinsonia. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Lamiacese. Sex. Syst. — Diandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE plant. 
 
 Description. — This plant, known likewise by various other names, as 
 iStpne-ropt, Ox-balm, by some improperly called ffardhack, JSorseweed, 
 Heal-all, Bichweed, etc., is an American herb, with a knobby root, and 
 a fpur-sided stem, smooth or slightly pubescent, from two to four 
 feet in height. Leaves thin, broadly ovate, acuminate,, coarsely serrate, 
 petiolate; glabrous, from six to eight inches long by three or four wide. 
 Flowers in a large, paniculate, terminal raceme, with opposite branches 
 and pedicels; corolla greenish-yellow, two-thirds of an inch long, hav- 
 ing a lemon odor, funnel form, somewhat bilabiate, the lower lip elon- 
 gated and fringed. Calyx bilabiate, upper lip three-toothed, the teeth 
 short, subulate, lower lip bidentate. Stamens two, very long. Seeds 
 four, of which two or three are sterile. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — Collinsonia is found growing in rich moist woods, from 
 Canada to Florida, and flowering from July to September. The whole 
 plant has a peculiar, lemon-like, balsamic odor, rather disagreeable in 
 the root, and a spicy, pungent taste. Water or alcohol extracts its vir- 
 tues ; boiling destroys it, as the active principle is volatile. The fresh 
 root is the part used. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Collinsonia is a stimulant and irritant, and 
 when fresh, will cause emesis when swallowed in minute quantity. It 
 seems to exert an influence on mucous tissues, and has been found bene- 
 ficial in chronic catarrh of the bladder, fluor-albus, and debility of the 
 
Collodion. 2?9 
 
 stomach. As a stimulant it has been used in infusion in colic, head 
 ache, cramp, dropsical affections, etc. It also possesses gently tonic 
 and diuretic properties, and has been used with eflScacy in lithic acid, 
 calculous deposits, and other affections of the urinary organs. The 
 warm infusion will produce perspiration. Externally, the leaves are 
 used as a poultice or in fomentation to bruises, ulcers, blows, wounds, 
 sprains, contusions, etc. The Gollinsonia Verna, 0. Cordato-, 0. Ovata, 
 C. Soabra, and other species, probably, possess similar virtues. Dose of 
 the infusion, from half a fluidounce to two fluidounoes. 
 
 Prof. J. M. Scudder values this agent very highly as a stimulant and 
 tonic in cases of atonic dyspepsia, and in chronic disease with feeble 
 digestion, increasing secretion fronj the kidneys and skin, and in a 
 marked manner relieving irritation of the nervous system and increas- 
 ing innervation. In chronic diseases of the respiratory apparatus it 
 relieves pulmonary irritation and acts as a stimulant expectorant. In 
 irritation of the pneumogastric nerve, heart disease, and that peoiiiliarly 
 distressing asthma simulating, and sometimes attending phthisis, he has 
 oJDserved more particularly its superior influence in quieting irritation, 
 giving increased strength and regularity to the heart's action, and in- 
 creasing the strengtih of the patient. It will be found very efficacious 
 in chronic laryngitis, and in clergyman's sore throat. The dose of the 
 tincture is frOm ten drops to thirty, four or five times a day. He pre- 
 fers a mixture of one part of concentrated tincture of collinsonia with 
 five, six, or seven parts of simple syrup, given in doses of half a tea- 
 spoonfdl or teaspoonful, three or four times a day. In hemorrhoids 
 where there is rectal irritation, with the feces partly scybalous and 
 partly semifluid, no constipation being present, he has found it to 
 effect cures in doses of one or two drops of the concentrated tincture, 
 in water, repeated three or four times a day. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum CoUinsonise ; Tinctura Oollinsonise. * 
 
 COLLODION". (CoUodium.) 
 ETHEREAL SOLUTION OF GUN-OOTTON. — ScMeszbaumwolle in Aether. 
 
 Preparation. — " Thirty parts of concentrated Sulphuric Acid, and 
 twenty parts of powdered Nitrate of Potassa, are placed in a glass cylin- 
 der, well stirred with a glass rod, and one part of clean and lightly com- 
 pressed Cotton "Wool that has previously been well dried, added ; after 
 being allowed to remain not more than five minutes, it is withdrawn 
 and thrown into a dish of cold water, well washed several times with 
 fresh water, to remove every trace of acid, spread out on a glass plate, 
 and dried at the ordinary temperature. The dried preparation (named 
 from its explosive properties, Gun-Cotton) ifl pulled and cut as finely as 
 possible, then placed in a bottle with thirty times its weight of Ether, and 
 thoroughly shaken for some minutes, allowed to digest with occasional 
 shaking for some hours, strained through thick linen, and the clear so- 
 lution kept in well-stopped bottles. Only carefully prepared gun-cot- 
 ton must be used for Collodion, and that which, having undergone no 
 change, does not redden moistened litmus paper." — Witt. 
 
 Mr. Wm. Procter, jr., offers the following formula as an excellent one 
 for making Collodion, being less mucilaginous than that obtained by 
 the U. S. P. formula, but more adhesive, and drying more rapidly : 
 Mix in a suitable vessel capable of being covered, fuming Nitric Acid, 
 sp. gr. 1.42 to 1.45, and Sulphuric Acid, of eskch, four fluidounoes ; intro- 
 
280 y Materia Mbdica.. 
 
 duc^ Cotton free from impurities, half an ounce, and after pressing it 
 into the acid until perfectly immersed' and saturated, allow it to stand 
 four days. The cotton should then be removed, the excess of acid 
 pressed out, and then thoroughly washed until it is neutral to litmus 
 paper. It should now be strongly pressed between bibulous paper, then 
 immersed in strong Alcohol to abstract the adherent water, and again 
 pressed, when it may, without further drying, be put in two and a half 
 pints of Ether, and dissolved. 
 
 Dr. J. B. Maynard, the originator of Collodion, has giving the follow- 
 ing formula for preparing it, as being better suited for the requirements 
 of surgery : Take of Sulphuric acid, sp. gr. 1.850, and nitric acid, sp. 
 gr. 1.450 one part; mix them, aijd allow the temperature to fall to 
 about 100° F. Then add raw cotton to it, to the point of saturation, 
 and let it soak an hour or two. Pour oflP the acid mixture, wash the 
 cotton till it ceases to give an acid reaction with litmus, and then dry 
 thoroughly. The cotton will be found converted into a gum, soluble in 
 three parts of pure ether, completely soluble in ether sp. gr. 0.750, and 
 in one part of alcohol, of 95 per cent. About two ounces of this pre- 
 pared cotton will make about a pint of collodion, a less amount will be 
 sufficient for photographic purposes. Success requires precision in the 
 details, and careful manipulation. — Boston Med. and Surg. Journal, Aug., 
 1866. 
 
 By the action of sulphuric acid on nitrate of potassa, there are formed 
 bisulphate of potassa and free nitric acid. For the entire decomposi- 
 tion of the nitre in the warm, its weight of sulphuric acid is necessary ; 
 the first method above gives half as much again of sulphuric acid, which 
 partly compensates for the want of artificial heat, and also insures the 
 nitric acid in the most concentrated form. Of course this last acid may 
 be obtained by mixing the strongest nitric acid with a third, half, or 
 equal volume of concentrated sulphuric acid, but the nitre is preferred 
 as producing a cotton of greater solubility in ether. To obtain good 
 results the above method must be strictly followed ; the cotton immersed 
 in the mixture of nitre and sulphuric acid just made (and still warm), 
 and not allowed to remain in it more than five minutes, otherwise it 
 acquires a yellow color, loses its looseness of texture, and is only par- 
 tially soluble in ether. The change which the cotton wool, C12 Hjo Ou, 
 undergoes by the action of the nitric acid is to lose the elements of 
 three equivalents of water, which are replaced by three equivalents of 
 nitric acid. One equivalent C^ Hjo Oio and three eq. NO5, form one eq. 
 C12 H, N3 022=Ci2 H7 Ot+SI^Os and three eq. HO. (According to Ha- 
 dow the formula for G-un-Cotton is, C36 Hji, 9 NO4, O30.) 
 
 2,025 parts of cotton wool should give 3,713 parts of gun-cotton, but 
 somewhat less than this is obtained, as some portion of the cotton wool 
 almost always remains unacted on. The gun-cotton experiences an 
 incipient decomposition when gently warmed, increasing with the tem- 
 perature to 268° F., when it explodes. The drying, consequently, must 
 take place only at the ordinary temperature, but even then, after some 
 time, the gun-cotton undergoes a change, acquiring the smell and acid 
 reaction of nitric acid, becoming, according to the extent of the decom- 
 position, less and less soluble in ether. It is better to use that recently 
 prepared for Collodion. Ether dissolves the pure product entirely, leav- 
 ing the cotton wool behind, consequently, the solution never has a bright 
 appearance ; most of the cotton is removed by straining, the remainder 
 deposits on standing ; when strained it is clear enough for all ordinary 
 purposes. — Witt. 
 
Collodion. 281 
 
 According to Dr. Hoffman, G-un-Cotton is liable to sponianeous de- 
 composition, giving rise, first, to red vapors in the bottle containing it 
 and a crumbling down of the cotton to a loose powder,— then changing 
 to a light-brown, semifluid gum-like mass, containing crystals of oxalic 
 acid, while the side of the bottle becomes coated with a network of fine 
 needles of the same acid. 
 
 History. — Collodion is a colorless, thickish liquid, having a neutral 
 reaction, an ether-like odor and taste, and when not kept in well-secured 
 vessels, it thickens and becomes unfit for surgical use, frequently de- 
 positing acicular crystals of gun-cotton. "When prepared from gun- 
 cotton slightly decomposed, it has an acid reaction, and yields an 
 opaque residue, which is not adhesive, and consequently useless. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — "When placed upon the surface of the body, the 
 part being dry, by evaporation of the ether, a transparent, extremely 
 electric, and adhesive film is left, forming an artificial epidermis ; in 
 drying, the Collodion contracts very strongly, producing local pressure. 
 It has been successfully used in sore nipples, erysipelatous diseases, 
 leech-bites, ulcers, burns, wounds, abrasion^, and several cutaneous 
 diseases, over which, when applied, it forms a coating impervious to 
 air, and not affected by water. It may be placed upon the part by 
 means of a camel's hair brush, or by layers of thin muslin. The 
 haemostatic effect of Collodion is increased by the following collodium 
 tannatum : Take of collodion 100 parts, carbolic acid 10 parts, tannin 5 
 parts, benzoic acid 3 parts ; mix. In ulcerations around the neck of the 
 uterus. Collodion has been found beneficial, forming, after the evapora- 
 tion of the ether, a thin film or coating over the ulcers, thus protecting 
 them from atmospheric influence, and facilitating their healing. In 
 many instances, Collodion is not commendable, on account of its power- 
 fill contraction, which, however, may be obviated by adding to a solution 
 of one drachm of gun-cotton in two and a half ounces of ether, one 
 drachm of Venice turpentine. M. Sourisseau renders Collodion more 
 pliable by adding one-twelfth part of elemi to it. This same property 
 is imparted to it, as stated by M. Startin, by adding one-eighth or a 
 sixteenth of an ethereal solution of animal fat. Collodion may likewise 
 be prepared pliable and without any tendency to crack or break, by the 
 following formula : Take of Collodion thirty grammes. Castor-oil and 
 Soft Turpentine, of each fifty centigrammes. Collodion is said to have 
 gjven instant relief in chilblains. 
 
 A vesicating Collodion may be made as follows: Exhaust a pound 
 of cantharides, in coarse powder, by means of a displacement appa- 
 ratus, with a mixture of sixteen fluidounces of ether, and three fluid- 
 ounces of acetic ether ; in the -filtered liquid dissolve three or four 
 dradhms of gun-cotton ; five or six drachms of Venice turpentine will 
 add to its elasticity. It must be kept in the same careful manner as 
 Collodion. The part required to be blistered may be painted with two 
 or three layers of this mixture, and then covered with oil silk or other 
 material ; vesication will be produced in from two to four hours. — Ward. 
 Mr. C. E. C. Tichborne recommends, the following process for preparing 
 a superior vesicating collodion : Take of coarsely powdered Cantharides, 
 six or eight ounces ; Ether from methylated spirits, thirteen fluidounces, 
 or q. s. ; Glacial Acetic Acid, two fluidounces; Gun-Cotton, half an 
 ounce ; Methylated spirits of wine, seven fluidounces, or .q. s. Place 
 the Cantharides loosely into a displacement apparatus, the flow of 
 which can be regulated by a tap ; upon this is poured the ether and the 
 acetic acid, previously mixed together; after the whole has passed 
 
282 Matekia Medioa. 
 
 through, it will be found that the debris has retained by absorption seven 
 fluidounces, which must be displaced by the gradual addition of an 
 equal bulk of methylated spirits. If properly done, there lis no danger 
 of the admixture of the spirits with the percolated menstruum, as the 
 animal substance of the flies swells considerably under the prolonged 
 influence of the spirits of wine, so that the same bulk will be insuffi- 
 cient to quite displace the ether. The ethereal solution should then be 
 made to measure exactly fifteen fluidounces, by the addition of a little 
 spirit, and may then be converted into collodion by the addition of the 
 gun-cotton. To use it, paint the surfa'ce to be vesicated, thickly with 
 the collodion, by means of a brush, passed over and over again, until 
 abbut half a drachm has been used to the square inch ; over this place 
 a piece of oil silk, or sheet gutta-percha, two or three inches larger 
 than the surface of the intended blister. In ten or fifteen minutes, wipe 
 off the collodion from the skin with a little cotton-wool moistened with 
 ether, when the blister will almost instantly rise. This is of easy appli- 
 cation, is cleanly, may be applied to any wrinkled or jointed part, is 
 prompt in action, and safe from strangury. 
 
 BcBttger recommends Gun-Cotton as a filtering medium for highly 
 and easily decomposed liquids, for which powdered glass and asbestos 
 have been heretofore employed, as, strong nitric acid, nitro-muriatic 
 acid, fuming sulphuric acid, chromic acid, concentrated solution of po- 
 tassa, and permanganate of potassa ; the gun-cotton should be loosely 
 packed in the neck of a funnel. 
 
 COMPTONIA ASPLBNIFOLIA, (Aspleniumblatterige Comptonie.) 
 
 Sweet Fern. 
 Nat. Ord. — Myricacese. Sex. Syst. — Monoecia Triandria. 
 
 THE PLANT. 
 
 Description. — Sweet Fern is a low, indigenous shrub, with a long, hori- 
 zontal root, and growing from two to four feet high, the main stem being 
 covered with a rusty, brown bark, which becomes reddish in the 
 branches, and white downy in the young shoots. Leaves numerous, on 
 short peduncles, from three to four inches in length, half an inch broad, 
 alternate, linear-lanceolate, sinuate-pinnatifid, resembling the leaves of 
 the spleenwort fern, brown, rather downy on the underside, shining o'n 
 the upper; stipules in pairs, acuminate. Flowers green, monoecious, 
 amentaceous, appearing before the leaves ; barren ones in long, erect, 
 cylindrical, loosely imbricated catkins, terminal and lateral, with de- 
 ciduous, one-flowered bracts ; fertile ones in ovate, densely imbricated 
 catkins, situated below the barren ones, with one-flowered bracts. Sta- 
 mens six, adhering in pairs. Sepals six, larger than the bracts ; styles 
 two, capillary. Fruit a small, ovate, brown, one-celled nut. — L. — W. 
 
 History. — This plant is found growing in thin sandy soils, or dry, 
 rocky woods, from Maine to Kentucky, flowering in May. The whole 
 plant possesses a spicy, aromatic odor, especially when bruised, and an 
 aromatic astringent, faintly bitterish taste. The whole herb is used, 
 and imparts its virtues to water or alcohol. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tonic, astringent, and alterative. Used in diar- 
 rhea, dysenfery, hemoptysis, leucorrhea, rheumatism, debility succeed- 
 ing fevers, and in rachitis. A decoction of it is very useful in the sum- 
 mer-complaint of children, when given as an auxiliary. A pillow of 
 
CoNiuM Maculatum. . 283 
 
 tlie leaves is beneficial to rachitic children, and they may be used as a 
 fomentation in contusions and rheumatism. Dose of the decoction, 
 from one to four fluidounces, three or four times a day. 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Comptonise. 
 
 CONIUM MACULATUM. (Gefleckter Sohierling.) 
 
 Poison-Hemlock. ' 
 
 Ifat. Ord. — ^ApiacesB. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 LEAVES AND SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — ^Poison Hemlock, or Poison Parsley, has a biennial, fusi- 
 form, whitish, fleshy root; stem from three to five feet high, erect, round, 
 hollow, glaucous, polished, copiously spotted and dotted with dull purple. 
 Leaves tripinnate ; the lower ones very large, several times pinnate, 
 bright green, on long, sheathing footstalks. Leaflets ovate, lanceolate, 
 pinnatifid, lower lobes incised. Flowers numerous, small, white, all fer- 
 tile, outermost very slightly irregular, arranged in erect, terminal, com- 
 pound, many-rayed, smooth umbels. General involucre ovate, cuspidate, 
 with membranous edges, consisting of from three to seven lanceolate, 
 reflected bracts, with whitish edges ; partial involucre of three or four, 
 oval, pointed, spreading bracts, with the inner side wanting. Petals 
 obcordate, with acute, inflected points, five in number. Fruit about a 
 line and a half, or rather less in length, by a line in breadth, roundish- 
 ovate, compressed, of a pale-green color ; primary ridges elevated, 
 sharp, undulated ;' commissures and channels finely wrinkled. The 
 whole plant exhales a disagreeable, virose odor, more especially when 
 bruised. — L. — W. 
 
 History. — Hemlock inhabits Europe and Asia, and has been intro- 
 duced in many parts of this country ; it flowers from May to August. 
 The leaves and seeds are the parts used. The leaves are best when col- 
 lected during the flowering seasons of the herb ; they should be speed- 
 ily dried by a gentle heat, not over 118° F., and placed in closely cov- 
 ered vessels, to preserve them as much as possible from the influence of 
 the atmosphere, and light. The fruit, or seeds, as they are usually 
 termed, should be gathered shortly previous to their becoming ripe ; 
 their medicinal properties do not diminish so soon as those of the other 
 parts of the plant. If properly dried, the leaves should have a fine 
 greet color, with a disagreeable odor, less powerful than in the fresh 
 plant, and a peculiar, nauseous, saline, and somewhat acrid taste. The 
 seeds are of a dirty white or grayish color, with very little smell, and a 
 slight, rather bitter taste. Both the leaves and seed yield their virtues 
 to alcohol or ether ; the latter menstruum furnishes an excellent ex- 
 tract, possessing the properties of the plant in a high degree, so that 
 a half-grain dose will cause decided narcosis. The aqueous extract is 
 uncertain ; the alcoholic extract is the best, but even this becomes des- 
 titute of conia in a few years.— P. There has been no thoroligh analy- 
 sis of this plant — a volatile oil, vegetable albumen, resin, coloring mat- 
 ter, salts, lignin, moisture, and a peculiar basic principle, conia, have 
 been found in it. When hemlock leaves are subjected to a strong de- 
 composing heat, they yield an empyreumatic oil, which is very poison- 
 ous. C. A volatile, alkaline principle termed Conia, Conylia, or Con- 
 
 icine, is the active agent of the plant; it may be obtained by cautiously 
 distilling from a muriate of lime bath, a mixture of strong solution of 
 potassa with the alcoholic extract of the unripe fruit. The alkaloid 
 
284 Materia Medioa. 
 
 passes over into the receiver with the water, and floats upon it like an 
 oil. Or, the full grown, but still green fruit, may be distilled with 
 water, caustic potassa, and slaked lime, from a muriate of lime bath, 
 then neutralize the distilled fluid with sulphuric acid, and concentrate 
 it by evaporation to a thin extract ; act on this with a mixture of two 
 parts of rectified alcohol and one of sulphuric ether, and again obtain 
 an extract by evaporation, and finally distill the extract with a strong 
 solution of caustic potassa. As obtained in either of these ways, conia 
 contains — some water, which may be removed by chloride of calcium — 
 and also a little ammonia, which is separated by placing it on an air- 
 pump under a receiver, and exhausting it as long as gaseous bubbles 
 are given off. — G. In preparing this alkaloid, the fresh portions of the 
 plant should be used, as drying and exposure decomposes it. Bight 
 pounds of the green frait will yield half an ounce of hydrated conia, 
 beside a considerable portion which is decomposed in the process. 
 Conia may be more readily prpcured from the seeds, by distilling them 
 with water containing a small quantity of potash in solution ; the yellow- 
 ish oil may be purified by redistillation. "Wertheim found another base 
 in Hemlock,' less poisonous than conia, forming beautiful colorless 
 needles, freely soluble in alcohol or ether, and whi^h he named conhy- 
 drine, Cu H^ N" Oj. 
 
 When pure, Conia is an oily-looking, transparent, colorless liquid, 
 but becoming brownish by oxidation, of specific gravity 0.89, with a 
 very penetrating, tobacco-like odor, and a sharp, acrid, benumbing, 
 and oflensive taste. At ordinary temperatures it is volatile, disengag- 
 ing ammonia, depositing a resinous matter, and losing its activity ; its 
 vapor excites a flow of tears. It is sparingly soluble in water; but 
 forms a hydrate by uniting with about a fourth part of water. It is 
 very soluble in alcohol, ether, the fixed and volatile oils, and also in 
 weak acids, which it neutralizes. It boils at 340°. and distills over 
 with water at 212° It strongly blues reddened litmus paper; it forms 
 soluble salts with acids which are difficult to crystallize. Weak tinct- 
 ure of iodine yields a white precipitate, which acquires an olive-color, 
 with an excess of the tincture. Tannic acid gives a white, insoluble 
 precipitate ; corrosive sublimate gives a white precipitate ; chloride of 
 zinc gives a white gelatinous precipitate, soluble in excess of the Conia. 
 Sulphate of sesquioxide of iron and chloride of platinum yield yellow 
 precipitates ; chloride of gold a light yellow. Chloride of cobalt yields 
 a blue precipitate which changes to green, and which forms with am- 
 monia a red solution. Acetate of copper gives a gelatinous blue pre- 
 cipitate. The red permanganate of potassa is immediately decolorized. 
 Hydrochloric acid yields white clouds as ammonia does, and renders 
 it violet, especially when heated. Nitric acid imparts to it a topaz 
 color, unchanged by heat. Pure and concentrated sulphuric acid does 
 not alter it; but if heated produces a greenish- brown color, which 
 becomes blood-red, and finally black, if the heat be continued. Albu- 
 men is thi6kened by it ; potassa added to a salt of Conia sets the base 
 free, which is then recognized by its odor ; heat produces the same 
 eifects on most of its salts. Conia possesses the same remarkable 
 action on the spinal cord as hemlock itself A few drops will sufiice to 
 kill a cat, rabbit, or young dog ; a strong cat was killed in a minute 
 and a half, by three drops of it. Its effects are gradual paralysis, 
 slight convulsive tremors, and death from suspension of the breathing, 
 without any change in the appearance of the blood, and without any 
 depression of the heart's action. Its formula is Cm H,^ N=125. 
 
CoNitTM Maculatum. 285 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Narcotic, possessing, however, properties some- 
 whut similar to tliose of belladonna. On account of the difficulty in 
 procuring good preparations of this plant, it has not been so much 
 used, nor its virtues so fully investigated, as with some of its congeners. 
 The symptoms produced by its use are thirst, dryness of the throat, 
 dizziness, sickness at stomach, sinking, benumbing feelings, and more 
 or less prostration of the muscular system. If its use be continued or 
 in large doses, the pupils become dilated, there is a general paralysis, 
 rendering talking and breathing difficult, with coma, or convulsions 
 terminating in death. In about thirty minutes from its administration 
 its effects will generally appear, and continue from ten to forty hours. 
 It is supposed to effect its results by exhausting the nervous energy of 
 the spinal cord, and voluntary muscles. It is used for promoting sleep, 
 aud will be found extremely useful in allaying excessive action of the 
 heart in hypertrophy of this organ ; a pill of one or two grains of the 
 extract producing a calm, soothing influence, followed by a diminution 
 or removal of the palpitation or augmented action. Indeed, all affec- 
 tions attended with an excited or excitable condition of the nervous 
 and vascular systems, will be benefited by its use. Dr. J. Harley con- 
 siders Conium as a depressor of the muscular movem-ents, tranquilliz- 
 ing and renovating the whole muscular system, — being to the corpora 
 striata, the smaller nervous centers, aud the whole of the motor tract, 
 just what opium is to the brain. It depresses the motor function of 
 the third nerve, causing a lazy movement of the eyes, and sometimes 
 strabismus, with imperfect adjustment of the refracting media of the 
 eye. It affects the sedentary and strong more than the delicate and 
 active, so that its action is influenced more by the muscular activity 
 than by the muscular power. It has no pure cerebral effects, but 
 diminishes irritability of the spinal cord without disturbing the sen- 
 sory functions. It has no direct action on the sympathetic ; improves 
 nutrition ; and can not be detected in the urine, breath, or feces. He 
 considers it preeminently useful in laryngismus stridulus, convulsive 
 cough, and in tetanic muscular conditions. The dose must be propor- 
 tioned to the degree of motor activity of the child or adult ; by its use 
 we may almost measure the bodily activity of the individual. To a 
 child 21 months old he has given twenty minims of the prepared juice, 
 and gradually increased it up to two and a half fluidrachms. 
 
 I have used a preparation which I call the Conium Mixture, with 
 much advantage in several diseases ; it is prepared as follows : Take 
 of Precipitated Carbonate of Iron ten drachms; inspissated juice of 
 Conmw. five drachms; Tincture of Balsam Tolu six ounces; Oils of Cin- 
 namon and "Wintergreen, of each, twelve drops; Whit« Sugar two ounces; 
 Madeira "Wine, "Water, of each, half a pint. Mix together ; in a week 
 the mixture will be ready for use. In dyspepsia, attended with irrita- 
 tion of the stomach, pyrosis, or with an excitable state of the system 
 from debility, this mixture will be found very beneficial ; it may be 
 given in doses of from a drachm to half an ounce, from three to six 
 times a day before eating. Laxatives should be occasionally employed. 
 In cough, Conium will be found of much utility; I have used the fol- 
 lowing preparation in the cough attending phthisis, also in other 
 coughs, with benefit: Take of Tincture of Cyanuret of Potassium 
 (made by adding twenty-two grains of the Cyanuret to nine fluidounces 
 of proof Alcohol) six drachms ; Conium Mixture three ounces ; Tincture 
 of Opium four drachms. Mix. Dose, half a drachm to a drachm, three 
 or four times a day. In intermittent fever I have frequently derived a 
 
286 Materia Medica. 
 
 happy effect from the following pill, when quinia alone failed : Take 
 of Sulphate of Quinia ten grains; inspissated juice of Conium fifteen 
 grains. Mix, and divide into twenty pills, of which one pill may be 
 given every hour or two, until the effects of the Conium have com- 
 menced, after which give one pill every four or five hours, according 
 to its influence. In consequence of the action of Conium on the spinal 
 marrow it lessens the venereal appetite. It likewise lessens the secre- 
 tion of milk, In the neuralgic pains attending carcinomatous affec- 
 tions it usually gives relief, probably, from its causing relaxation of 
 muscular fibers; sometimes, however, it has exerted no influence what- 
 ever, in palliating them. In scrofula, goitre, and indeed in all tuber- 
 culous affections it will be found very effectual given in combination 
 with the iodide of iron. It enters into the Compound Plaster of Bella- 
 donna, an excellent preparation, whicb I have been in the habit of 
 using for many years. The leaves have likewise been employed exter- 
 nally as a poultice to painful tumors, ulcers, neuralgic and rheumatic 
 pains, etc. The aqueous extract of this plant is worthless ; the inspis- 
 sated juice, or the ethereal extract, are alone valuable only when they 
 are carefully and properly prepared. A strong solution of the inspis- 
 sated juice, or the juice of the fresh leaves, coated over the parts daily, 
 for five or six days, will cure the itch. Dose of the leaves and inspis- 
 sated juice, from one to three grains, three or four times a day ; of the 
 ethereal extract, which is an elegant extract of a rich dark-green color, 
 from one-eighth of a grain to one- half of a grain. Conia, the active 
 principle, is not used in medicine. Dr. Reid gives the following 
 formula for toothache : Take of Conia one drop; Eectified Alcohol, 
 Essence of Cinnamon, each four drops. Mix. This is applied by means 
 of a camel's hair pencil. It relieves the pain instantly, but produces 
 no effect where the nerve is not exposed by caries ; a few minutes 
 after its application there will be vertigo, difficulty of swallowing, etc., 
 which usually ceases in about ten or twenty minutes. It should not 
 be too frequently, nor too largely applied. 
 
 The Gicuta Maculata, Water Hemlock, is seldom used, being super- 
 seded by the Conium, which is deemed the safer article. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Bxtractum Conii Alcoholicum ; Bmplastrum BelladonnsB 
 Compositum; Unguentum Conii. 
 
 CONYALLAEIA MULTIPLOEA. (Polygonatum MMltiflorum.— 
 Desfontaines.) — Yielbliitige Siegelblume. 
 
 Griant Solomon's Seal. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Liliacese. Sex. Syst. — Hexandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant has a perennial root with a terete, recurved, 
 smooth stem, growing from one to four feet high; leaves alternate, dis- 
 tichous, lanceolate, amplexicaul, smooth and glossy above, paler and 
 generally pubescent beneath, from two and a half to six inches long, 
 by one to two and a half broad. Flowers five to eight lines long,' 
 pendulous, greenish -white, subcylindric. Peduncles axillary, filiform, 
 branching, scarcely a fifth as long as the leaves, from one to six 
 fiowered. Berry globose, thj-ee-celled, dark-blue or blackish when 
 ripe; cells two -seeded. — W. 
 
 CoNVALLARiA Eacemosa, the Smilaciua Racemosa of Desfontaines, 
 has a thick rhizoma, sweet to the taste, with a stem from one to two 
 
Convolvulus Pandukatus. 287 
 
 feet high, downy, and recurved at the top. Leaves from four to six 
 inches long, about one-third as broad, oval, acuminate, veined, min- 
 utely pubescent, on petioles not exceeding two lines in length, often 
 sessile. Flowers very numerous, small, white, on white pedicels, with 
 white, exserted, tapering filaments, constituting a large, compound, ter- 
 minal raceme. Berry three-c6lled, pale-red, speckled with purple, aro- 
 matic. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — These plants grow on the sides of meadows, high banks, 
 woods, and mountains, in various parts of the United States, especially 
 in the Northern and Eastern States, and Canada, and are in blossom 
 from May to August. The roots, which are the ofiftcinal parts, are in- 
 odorous, but of a mucilaginous, somewhat sweetish taste, fqllowed by a 
 faint sense of bitterness. There are several varieties of this plant, some 
 of which have been transferred to other families, as Smilacina, and 
 Polygonatum, but the roots of which, probably, possess similar medi- 
 cal virtues. Although used with much benefit in several diseases by 
 many physicians, yet this plant has received but little attention as to 
 its true therapeutical, as well as J)hysical characteristics. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tonic, mucilaginous, and mildly astringent, 
 exerting a specific influence upon irritated and relaxed mucous mem- 
 brahes. Of much value in leucorrhea, monorrhagia, female debility, 
 and pectoral affections. In piles, the root chewed and swallowed, or a 
 decoction drank as freely as the stomach will bear, will give prompt 
 relief, or the root may be applied to the part, with a similar result. 
 An infusion of the root will be of great efiicacy in irritable conditions- 
 of the intestines, as well as in chronic inflammations of these parts, 
 especially when attended with burning sensations, pain, etc. In ery- 
 sipelas, and cutaneous affections of an erysipelatous nature, as well as 
 those maladies of the skin produced by the poison-vine, or resulting- 
 from the poisonous exhalations of other plants, the decoction of Solo- 
 mon's Seal Eoot will afford direct relief, and an ultimate cure ; it may 
 also be applied externally, with advantage, to local inflammations. A 
 large dose of the decoction will often provoke emesis or nausea, and act 
 as a cathartic. Dose of the decoction, from one to four ounces, three 
 times daily. Solomon's Seal four ounceSj water two pints, molasses one 
 pint, simmered down to one pint, then strained, and evaporated to the 
 consistence of a thick fluid extract, and one ounce or half an ounce of 
 powdered resin, mixed with it, forms an excellent remedy for piles, in 
 doses of a teaspoonful several times a day. 
 
 Off. Fref. — Decoctum Convallarise ; Vinum Symphyti Compositum. 
 
 CONVOLVULUS PANDUEATUS. (Wilde Winde.; 
 
 "Wild Potato. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Convolvulacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. This plant, likewise known as Wild Jalap, Man in the 
 
 Ground, Mechameck, Man of the Earth, etc., has a perennial, very large, 
 tapering root with several stems from the same root, from four to eight 
 feet long, round, slender, purplish, smooth or nearly so, trailing or 
 twining. Leaves two or three inches long, about the same width, broad- 
 ly cordate at base, acuminate, entire, or wavy, alternate, sometimes 
 panduriform, smooth, deep-green above, paler beneath, on long petioles. 
 
288 Materia Medica. 
 
 Flowers white, dull purple toward the base, large, opening in the fore- 
 noon ; peduncles axillary, longer than the petioles, cymose, branching 
 at the top, several-flowered. Corolla large, campanulate, two or three 
 inches long. Calyx smooth, five-parted, naked; sepals ovate-oblong. 
 Stamens white, the length of the tube; anthers oblong. Style white, 
 thread-like ; stigma capitate, bilobed. Capsule oblong, two-celled, four- 
 seeded, without intermediate partitions. — L. — W. — (?. 
 
 History. — Wild Potato is indigenous to the United States, growing in 
 light and sandy soils, from Connecticut and West ISTew York, south- 
 ward and westward, and flowering from June to August ; it rarely grows 
 north, but is found in some parts of South America. The root is the 
 oflS.cinal part; it is very large, being from two to eight feet in length, 
 and from two to four or five inches in diameter, branched at the bot- 
 tom, brownish-yellow externally, whitish and lactescent internally, fur- 
 rowed lengthwise, of a disagreeable odor, and bitter, rather acrid taste ; 
 about seventy -five per cent, in weight is lost by drying it. It is gen- 
 erally met with in transverse cirbular sections, which are somewhat 
 tawny externally, whitish, with div^ging lines internally, and not 
 readily powdered ; the powder is somewhat grayish. Water or alcohol 
 extracts its active properties, but diluted alcohol or spirits are its best 
 solvents. It contains resin, bitter-extractive, starch, gum, gallic acid, 
 etc. Probably the active principle of this plant would prove more en- 
 ergetic than the crude root, and become a valuable agent. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The real properties of this plant are unknown. 
 It possesses mild cathartic properties, acting gently in doses of from 
 forty to sixty grains of the powdered root. The infusion, taken in 
 wine-glassful doses every hour, has been effectual in dropsy, strangury 
 and calculous affections. It seems also to exert an influence over the 
 lungs, liver and kidneys, without excessive diuresis or catharsis. The 
 saturated tincture is more energetic than the powdered root, decoction 
 or extract. It is asserted that the Indians can handle rattlesnakes 
 with impunity, after wetting their hands with the milky juice of this 
 root. 
 
 CONVOLYULUS SCAMMONIA. 
 
 Scammony. — Scammonium. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Convolvulacse. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE CONCRETE JUICE OF THE ROOT — GUM RESIN. 
 
 Description. — This plant has a perennial, fleshy, fusiform root, from 
 three to five feet long, and from three to five inches in diameter, 
 branched toward the lower end, with a grayish bark, and abounding 
 in an acrid, milky juice. Stems annual, numerous, slender, round, 
 smooth, branching, twining, very slightly angular near the ends, grow- 
 ing from twelve to twenty feet upon the soil, or on adjacent plants. 
 Leaves on long petioles, alternate, sagittate, oblong, acute, entire, quite 
 smooth, truncate and angular at the base, with acute, spreading lobes, 
 of a bright-green color. Flowers on axillary, solitary, three-flowered 
 peduncles, scarcely twice so long as the leaves. Sepals five, rather lax, 
 smiooth, ovate, repand, obtuse with a reflexed point, colored at the edge. 
 Corolla funnel-shaped, very much expanded, pale, sulphur -yellow, thrice 
 as long as the calyx, an inch or more in length ; limb entire, somewhat 
 reflexed. Stamens five, erect, converging, thrice as short as the corolla. 
 Ovary two-celled, four-seeded, supporting a slender style as long as 
 
Convolvulus Scammonia. 289 
 
 the siameus, with two linear-cylindrical, erect, oblong, parallel 
 distant and white stigmas. Capsule two-celled ; seeds small, pyramid- 
 shaped. — L. 
 
 History. — Scammony plant is a native of Turkey, Syria, Greece 
 Persia, etc., and somewhat resembles the Convolvulus Panduratus. 
 The oflScinal portion is the concrete juice of the root, the other parts 
 of the plant yielding no milky juice whatever. It is collected in the 
 month of June, the root being cut across, obliquely, near its crown, 
 and shells fixed beneath, into which the milky juice gradually flows. 
 This soon concretes under exposure to the air and evaporation, forming 
 the gum -resin of commerce, Seammony ; of which but a few drachms 
 are obtained from a single root. It is seldom had in a pure state, being 
 more or less adulterated with flour, ashes, meal, chalk, sand, etc. It is 
 imported directly from Smyrmia, or from some of the Mediterranean 
 ports. There were several varieties of Scammony formerly known, as 
 the Aleppo, Smyrna, and Montpelier, of which the first-named was the 
 best, but, owing to the adulteration of the drug, it is imj)0ssible to keep 
 up these distinctions any longer, and consequently the article is now 
 - "recognized as genuine or factitious Scammony. 
 
 Pure or Virgin Scammony, co^ntains but a small proportion of gum. 
 It is in irregular lumps of various sizes, compact, light, very brittle, 
 readily pulverdzable, with a somewhat conchoidal, glossy, resinous, 
 greenish-black fracture, soon becoming darker, and presenting small 
 air-eavities and translucent fragments of a grayish color, when ex- 
 amined by a magnifying glass. Its odor is strong, ipeculiar, cheesy, 
 and its taste is slight, but it subsequently produces a faint acridity in 
 the back of the throat. Its powder is of a whitish or light-gray color. 
 The whitish-gray powder which covers some of the pieces, effervesces 
 with hydrochloric acid. It is nearly wholly soluble in boiling alcohol, 
 and sulphuric ether takes up from 77 to 83 per cent, of it. With water 
 it forms a smooth emulsion, whioh is not permanent. Alcohol, however, 
 is its best solvent. Analysis has detected in it a large proportion of 
 resin, from 77 to 83 per cent., and small quantities of gum, fiber, sand, 
 starch and water ; the starch is an accidental ingredient, probably de- 
 rived from the root. 
 
 As met with in the shops, Scammony is in compressed circular cakes, 
 having two flattish surfaces, or one surface convex, about six or seven 
 inches in diameter, from six to twelve lines, or more, thick, of a dark 
 ash-gray color, paler on a freshly fractured surface, but becoming 
 darker on exposure to the air, and having a taste and odor similar to 
 that of the genuine article ; it is easily pulverized, forming a light-gray 
 powder, and when triturated with water gives a milky emulsion of a 
 greenish hue. These cakes are often broken and met with in pieces, 
 having a slightly lustrous, uneven surface, compact, with a minutely 
 foraminons texture, and sometimes semi-transparent at their margins. 
 This sort of Scammony is always m-ore or less adulterated with car- 
 bonate of lime, guaiacum, cow-dung, starch, etc. 
 
 At Montpelier, in Southern France, factitious Scammony is manufac- 
 tured to a great extent, being prepared from the expressed juice of 
 Cynanehum MonspeUacum, mixed with various cathartics and resins. It 
 has been bought for Smyrna Scaramony. It occurs in cakes somewhat 
 similar to the ordinary cakes of commercial Scammony, not quite so 
 large, much darker than the genuine artide, of a disagreeably bitter 
 taste, and an odor. resembling balsam of Pe u. It is more irritating 
 and less purgative than the true varieties.— i' There are several other 
 19 
 
290 Materia Medica. 
 
 kinds of Scammony occasionally met with, but which may be detected 
 by the proper tests. 
 
 Pure Scammony may be known by being light, of a glistening, almost 
 
 resinous fracture if it be old and dry,' friable, always of a brownish- 
 
 ,gray color, and not subject to the results of the tests given below for 
 
 detecting its adulterations. Sulphuric ether separates at least eighty 
 
 per cent, of resin dried at 280°. 
 
 Pure Scammony may be obtained by boiling the finely powdered 
 article of commerce in successive portions of proof-spirit, till the spirit 
 ceases to dissolve any thing; filter, and distill the liquid until but little 
 water passes over. Then pour away the watery solution from the resin 
 at the bottom ; agitate the resin with successive portions of boiling 
 water until it is well washed, and finally dry it at a temperature not 
 exceeding 240°. This separates the active matter of Scammony from 
 its impurities, and is called the Extract of Scammony. It forms with 
 milk not skimmed, an emulsion scarcely distinguished from good milk 
 itself. 
 
 The addition of carbonate of lime as an adulteration, may be detected 
 by its effervescing with muriatic acid ; starch, may be known by thts 
 tincture of iodine forming a blue precipitate with an aqueous solution 
 of the drug; guaiacum, may be detected by an application of some of 
 the tincture of the suspected' article on the fresh-cut surface of a raw 
 potato ; if guaiacum be present, it turns it quickly to a bright blue 
 color. 
 / Colophony may be detected in the resin of Scammony, by the oil of 
 turpentine, .which dissolves it at common temperatures, leaving the 
 Scammony resin almost wholly unacted upon. , But the best reagent 
 for this purpose is sulphuric acid, which possesses the property of dis- 
 solving many resins, and of modifying, more or less, their composition. 
 If a little of this acid be poured over colophony, it immediately, and by 
 simple contact, develops an intense red color. The same acid, when 
 poured over pure resin of Scammony, produces, on the contrary, no im- 
 mediate change ; it is only, after the lapse of some minutes, and with con- 
 tact of the air, that it becomes colored, and then but slightly, the color 
 being wine dregs. For this purpose four or five grains of the" resia may 
 be placed into a glass or porcelain mortar, and sixty or eighty grains of 
 the sulphuric acid of commerce added. Upon rubbing it with the pestle, 
 it will become red at once, if colophony be present. This method will 
 detect the one-twentieth part of the adulteration. 
 
 Owing to the adulterations and impurities found in commercial Scam- 
 mony, the resin extracted by alcohol is now alone adopted as officinal 
 by the last U. S. Pharmacopseia. According to Spirgatis, the active 
 principle of Scammony and Jalapin are identical. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Scammony is a powerful, drastic cathartic, 
 operating with harshness and griping. It was a favorite internal and 
 external remedy with the Arabians. It does not appear to be poisonous 
 even in large doses, but is seldom used alone, except in cases where a 
 powerful impression on the bowels is desired ; most commonly it is 
 combined with other cathartics, whose action it augments, while its 
 own virulence is diminished. Scammony is usually given in the form 
 of an emulsion with sugar or sweet almonds. But when triturated 
 with milk it is considered a superior preparation, as follows : Seven 
 grains of pure Scammony to be gradually triturated with three 
 ounces of unskimmed milk, to which a few grains of ginger may be 
 added, forms a safe purgative. Another form of using this gum-resin 
 
CoPAiFERA Officinalis. 291 
 
 18 that of biscuit. A paste is made of Scammony one drachm ; Venice 
 soap five grains ; sugar nine grains ; biscuit in powder one ounce, and 
 a few drops of water. Mix together, divide into two biscuits, and let 
 them dry ; one biscuit acts energetically. The dose of powdered Scam- 
 mony is from three to twelve grains; of the pure resin, one-half this 
 quantity. Its use is always contra-indicated by intestinal inflammation. 
 Off. Prep. — PilulsB Podophyllini Compositse. Pilulse Gambogiae 
 Compositffi. 
 
 COPAIFEEA OPPIOmALIS. (Copaivabaum.) 
 
 Officinal Copaiva-tree. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Fabacese, Jussieu, or Amyridacese, lAndley. Sex. 8yst. — 
 Decandria Monongynia. 
 
 THE OLEO-RESINOUS JtTIOE. 
 
 Description. — Copaifera Officinalis, the Copaifera Jacquini, of Desfon- 
 taines, is a tall and handsome tree, with many small, crooked branches 
 at the summit and a grayish-brown bark. Leaves large, alternate, gen- 
 erally equally pinnated. Leaflets in pairs of from two to five, incurved, 
 ovate, unequal sided, obtusely acuminate with pellucid dots ; petioles 
 short. Flowers white, subsessile, in compound axillary and terminal 
 spikes. Calyx four-parted ; segments oblong, concave, diverging, the 
 lowest the narrowest ; stamens ten, thread-like, declinate. Ovary round- 
 ish, compressed, with two ovules. Fruit pedicellate, oblique, obo- 
 vate, rounded, compressed, between woody and leathery, two-valved, 
 one-seeded ; seeds elliptical, inclosed in a one-sided aril. — L. 
 
 Sistory. — There are several species of the Copaiba tree, which fur- 
 nish the oleo-resin copaiba. For a long time it was supposed to be the 
 product of but one tree, but the examinations of Martins, Hayne, and 
 others, have shown that there are many species, and that, probably, sev- 
 eral of them contribute to furnish the Copaiba of commerce. Beside 
 the one described above, are the 0. Chiaianesis, G. Langsdorffii, G. Coriacea, 
 G. Beyrichii, G. Martii, G. Bijuga, G. Nitida, C. Laxa, G. Gordifolia, G. 
 Jussieui, G. Sellowii, G. Ohlongifolia, and C. Multijuga. These trees are 
 all peculiar to South America, growing in Brazil, the West Indies, and 
 other parts. Copaiba is principally collected in the provinces of Para 
 and Maranham, in Brazil, the trees of which yield the finer qualities of 
 juice. It is imported from Para, and other Brazilian ports, Carthagena, 
 Maracaibo, etc., each port giving a different quality of balsam. The 
 juice is obtained by deep incisions being made into the trunk or stems 
 of the trees, during or immediately following the wet season ; the bal- 
 sam flows freely, being clear, transparent and fluid, but soon becoming 
 thick and pale-yellowish. The incisions either heal spontaneously, or 
 are closed with either wax or clay. Sometimes the operation is per- 
 formed two or more times annually, and some trees so abound in the 
 juice as to yield twelve pounds in three hours. Although Copaiba dif- 
 fers much in its appearance, owing to its various botanical sources, yet 
 but two kinds are usually distinguished in commerce, the Brazil and 
 the West Indian. 
 
 The Brazil Gopaiha, which is the most common in use, is a clear, 
 transparent fluid, rather thinner in consistence than new honey, of a 
 pale wine-yellow color, of a peculiar, resinous, not unpleasant odor, and 
 of a bitter, nauseous, somewhat acrid, aromatic, persistent taste. Its 
 speciflc gravity varies from 950 to 1,000. "When long kept it becomes 
 
292 Materia Medioa. 
 
 -darker, more dense, and of greater consistency; after some years its 
 resin partly crystallizes in minute six-sided prisms. Water does not 
 dissolve Copaiba, tout acquires its odor ; it is moderately soluble in rec- 
 tified spirits, and freely so in alcohol, fixed and volatile oils, and sul- 
 phuric ether. With the aid of heat it dissolves iodine and sulphur ; 
 sulphuric acid unites with it, rendering it reddish-brown and thicker. 
 Solution of potassa forms a soap with it ; magnesia and its carbonate 
 are freely dissolved by it, especially with the aid of heat, producing a 
 honey-like, translucent mass which gradually hardens ; carbolic acid is 
 disengaged by heat. Hydrate of lime causes a similar change. It is 
 composed of volatile oil, copaivic acid, and resin. The newer the bal- 
 ■ sam the less acid it contains, and the more oil, but as it increases in age 
 the acid augments in quantity, while the oil diminishes. 
 
 The West India Copaiba is of a thicker consistence than the above, 
 likewise of a darker yellow color, turbid but translucent, of a less 
 agreeable and more terebinthinate odor, and more bitter and acrid in 
 taste. Neither of these varieties contain benzoic acid ; hence the term 
 bmlsam^ as applied to Copaiba, is incorrect. 
 
 The volatile 0i7 constitutes from one-fourth to one-half or more of the 
 Copaiba, and is obtained by distillation. (See Oleum Copaibce.') The 
 resinous matter which remains after the oil has been separaited, becomes 
 hard and brittle in cold, but continues soft in warm weather. It is 
 translucent, greenish brown, nearly inodorO'ms and tasteless. It con- 
 sists of a large proportion, 51 to 54 per cent., of a yellowish, brittle 
 resin, soluble in naphtha, alcohol, ether, fixed and volatile oils, bisul- 
 phuret of carbon, and forming bases with alkalies (^eopaivie acid) ; and 
 of a small amount, 2 to 11 per cent., of a soft, brownish nesin, uneteous, 
 insoluble in cold naphtha, but readily soluble in either or absolute alco- 
 hol, and having no affinity for the salifiable bases. 
 
 Copaiba, especially in European markets, is often adulterated with 
 oil of tiurpenftine, or fixed oils. If turpentine, or other volatile oil be 
 present, even in small proportion, it may be detected by its odor on 
 the application of gentle heat. Any fixed oil, except castor -oil, may be 
 discovered by agitation with absolute alcohol, giving a turbid, instead 
 of a clear and permanent solution,, from which the impurity slowly 
 iseparates. Carbonate of magnesia added to the suspected article, and 
 a gentle heat applied, is a better test for all fixed oils. Pure Copaiba 
 dissolt'es one-fourth of its weight of the carbonate, and remains translu- 
 cent ; but a small proportion of any fixed oil renders tiie product opaque. 
 
 The presence of castor-oil in Copaiba, may be detected in several 
 ways, one is to add one part of the balsam to one hundred and twenty 
 or one hundred and thirty parts of wa'ter, and boiling the mixture, 
 continuing the k-eat until complete evaporation has ensued, which will 
 leave the hard resin behind if the Copaiba be pure ; but if a fixed oil 
 be present, the resin will be of a degree of softness proportioned to 
 the amount of adulteration. M. Planche advises to agitate in a glass 
 tube one part liquor of ammonia, sp. gr. 0.965, with two or three parts 
 of the balsain ; if this be pure, the compound becomes clear and trans- 
 parent in a few instants, otherwise it becomes non-transparent. This 
 test, however, is said to be not reliable in every instance. — Am. Jour. 
 Pharm., XVI., 236. Three parts of Copaiba mixed with one part of 
 sulphuric acid, forms a plastic and reddish mass ; but castor-oil, when 
 thus mixed, only becomes of the consistence of turpentine, and is not 
 colored. All these tests, however, when taken singly, are open to 
 sources of error, and the best method of determining the purity of the 
 
CoPAiPERA Officinalis. 293 
 
 article is to distill the Copaiba, and note the amount of essential oil 
 obtained. — C. M. Guibort states that a Copaiba which possesses the 
 following four properties is to be preferred to all others : 1st. Of being 
 entirely soluble in two parts of absolute alcohol; 2d. Of forming at 
 60° F. a transpajent mixture with two-fifths its weight of a strong so- 
 lution of ammonia ; 3d. Of solidifying with one-sixteen'th its weight 
 of calcined magnesia ; 4th. Of producing a dry and brittle resin, after 
 prolonged boiling with water. The last character is an indispensable 
 complement to the three first, which alone are not sufBcient to certify 
 the purity of the balsam. On the other hand, one or two of the fii'st 
 characters may be wanting, without necessarily involving the adulter- 
 ation of the drug. When they are wanting, we must try to detect some 
 foreign substance, perhaps, peculiar to the tree from which the variety 
 of the Copaiba was procured. The solidification of Copaiba by mag- 
 nesia, has recently been ascertained to depend entirely upon its age 
 and the quantity of copaivic acid existing in it. According to an 
 analysis by Gerber, Copaiba gave volatile oil 41, yellow dark resin 
 51.38, brown soft resin 2.18, water 5.44 ; old balsam gave volatile oil' 
 31.70, yellow hard resin 53.68, brown soft resin 11.15, water 4.10. — T. 
 Properties and Uses. — When given in large doses, Copaiba is an irri- 
 tant ; in medicinal doses it is stimulant, cathartic, and diuretic ; it like- 
 wise exerts an especial influence on the mucous tissues of the system, 
 •diminishing their secretions when excessive, and for this latter pur- 
 pose it is principally employed. Taken internally, it causes warmth 
 in the gastric region, with unpleasant eructations, and sometimes nau- 
 sea, or even emesis. Its continued use impairs the digestive functions, 
 unless in very small doses. In the course of its action it becomes ab- 
 sorbed, so that its odor and bitter taste are communicated to the urine, 
 while the former can also be observed in the respiration. Among the 
 inconveniences attending its use, especially in large doses, the most 
 frequent are sickness at stomach, emesis, hematuria, cathai'sis, and feb- 
 rile symptoms ; these effects may be obviated very often by adminis- 
 tering the remedy more frequently, but in smaller doses, and by com- 
 bining it with cinnamon, nutmfig, or some other aromatic. At times, 
 it produces a transient, papular, cutaneous aifection, like the eruption 
 of rubeola, and which is accompanied with an unpleasant formication 
 or itching. It has been found most beneficial in chronic mucous affec- 
 tions, as in chronic gonorrhea, bronchitis, irritable conditions of the 
 bladder, gleet, leucorrhea, chronic catarrh, chronic diarrhea and' dys- 
 entery, and obstinate piles. Its effects in gonorrhea are much im- 
 proved by the addition of liquor potassa ; aird it is much more bene- 
 ficial in the gonorrhea of males than of females, because, in the latter, 
 the vagina is oftener affected than the urethra. However, the recent 
 improvements in the treatment of gonorrhea render the disease readily 
 curable, Copaiba being rarely, if ever, required to effect the cure. In 
 injection, it has been used with good results; make an emulsion of two 
 drachms of Copaiba with the yolk of an egg, add twenty or thirty 
 drops of laudanum to it, in order to prevent its too speedy discharge 
 from the rectum, and eight fluidounces of water. This may be used as 
 an injection, and repeated three or four times a day. Locally, it forms 
 an excellent application to chilblains, old ulcers, and fistulous ulcers, 
 in which it serves to speedily soften the callosity of the walls of the 
 fistulous canal. The dose of Copaiba is from twenty to sixty drops, 
 two or three times a day. It may be taken in emulsion, made by tritu- 
 rating each dose with the yolk of one egg, adding half an ounce of 
 
294 Materia Medioa. 
 
 mint, cinnamon, or other aromatic water, and sweetening with sugar ; 
 or it may be taken in the form of pill with magnesia ; the best and 
 least objectionable form in which it can be taken is in the form of cap- 
 sules. (See Article " Glue.") The oil is the best form for obtaining 
 the effects of the Copaiba, which see. 
 
 Off. Trep. — Mistura Copaibse Composita ; Oleum , Copaibse ; Pilulse 
 Copaibae Compositse ; Pilulse Copaibse. 
 
 COPTIS TEIPOLIA. (Dreiblattrige Coptis.) 
 
 Goldthread. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eanunculacese. Sex. Syst. — Polyandria Polygynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 JDeseription. — This plant, also termed Mouthroot, has a small and 
 creeping, perennial root, of a bright-yellow color. Stems round, slen- 
 der, invested at the base with a number of ovate, acuminate, yellowish 
 scales. Leaves ternate, on long, slender petioles, evergreen; leaflets 
 roundish, acute at base, lobed and crenate, smooth, firm, veiny, sessile, 
 four to eight lines long ; the crenatures acuminate. Scape slender, 
 round, bearing one small, starry, white flower, and a minute, ovate, 
 acute bract at some distance below. Petals five, six, or seven, inversely 
 conical, hollow, yellow at the mouth. Sepals five, six, or seven, ob- 
 long, concave, white. Stamens numerous, white, with capillary fila- 
 ments, and adnate, roundish anthers. Ovaries from five to seven, 
 stipitate, oblong, compressed; styles short and recurved; stigmas acute. 
 Capsules stalked, oblong, rostrate, compressed, diverging stellately, 
 containing many small, black, oval seeds. — JD. — W. 
 
 Sistory. — G-oldthread is found growing in the northern parts of the 
 United States, and in Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and Siberia; it 
 grows in dark swamps and sphagnous woods, flowering from early in 
 the spring to July. The root, as found in the shops, is in parcels, com- 
 posed of long, entangled, golden -yellow, brittle, filamentous fibers, fre- 
 quently containing the stem and other parts of the plant, and of a 
 bitter taste, but no odor. Autumn is the season for collecting them, 
 when they should be dried with care. Its properties are imparted to 
 water, but more perfectly to alcohol, and the solutions are precipitated 
 by nitrate of silver, and acetate of lead. It does not appear to contain 
 resin, gum, or tannin, its virtues depending, probably, on a bitter ex- 
 tractive substance, or, probably, berberio. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Goldthread is a pure and powerful bitter tonic, 
 somewhat like quassia, gentian, and Colombo, without any astringenoy. 
 It may be beneficially used in all cases where a bitter tonic is required, 
 and is decidedly efficacious as a wash or gargle, when in decoction, in 
 various ulcerations of the mouth. In dyspepsia, and in chronic inflam- 
 mation of the stomach, equal parts of goldthread and golden -seal, made 
 into a decoction, with elixir vitriol added in proper quantity, will not 
 only prove effectual, but in many instances of the latter kind, will per- 
 manently destroy, the appetite for alcoholic beverages. Dose of the 
 powder, or tincture, from half a drachm to a drachm ; of the decoction, 
 from two to six fluidrachms; the tincture, made by adding an ounce 
 of the powdered, root to a pint of diluted alcohol, is preferable to the 
 powder. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Coptis. 
 
CORALLORHIZA OdONTOKHIZA. 295 
 
 COEALLOEHIZA ODONTOEHIZA. (Gezahnte Korallenwurzel.) 
 
 Crawley. 
 Nat. Ord. — Orchidaoese. Sex. Syst. — G-ynandria Monandria. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also known by the various names of Dragon's 
 claw, Coral-root, etc., is a singijlar, leafless plant, with much-branched 
 and toothed coral-like root-stocks. Boot a collecfion of small, fleshy 
 tubers, articulated and branched much like coral. Scape from nine to 
 fourteen inches high, rather fleshy, striate, smooth, invested with a few 
 long, purplish -brown sheaths. Flowers from ten to twenty, ringe'nt, in 
 a long spike, of a brownish-green color. Lip white, generally with 
 purple spots, undivided, oval, obtuse, crenulated ; spur obsolete, adnate 
 to the globular ovary; anther two-lipped, terminal; pollen-masses four, 
 obliquely incumbent. Capsule large, reflexed, strongly ribbed, oblong, 
 or subglobose. — <?. — W. 
 _ Sistory. — This plant is indigenous to the United States, growing in 
 rich woods, about the roots of trees, from Maine to Carolina and west- 
 ward, flowering from July to October. Not very common south of 
 35° or 36° latitude. The varieties C. Multiflora, 0. Wistariana, 0. 
 Verna, 0. Inn^ta, probably possess similar medicinal virtues. By 
 some this plant is supposed to be parasitic on the roots of certain trees. 
 It was first discovered, in 1816, by Dr. D. S. C. H. Smith, although 
 long known previous to that time to herbalists. The entire plant is 
 destitute of verdure. The root is the officinal part ; it is small, dark- 
 brown, resembling cloves or a hen's claw, has a strong, nitrous smeU, 
 and a mucilaginous, slightly bitter, astringent taste. It has not been 
 analyzed, hence its proper menstruums are unknown. The dried root, 
 as met with in the shops, is composed of small, coral-like pieces, about 
 two lines in diameter, and from three to twelve lines long, the longest 
 pieces consisting of the.small coral-like branches, round or compressed, 
 crooked, wrinkled, lengthwise, more or less distinctly annulated at 
 distances varying from one to two lines, dark -brown externally, and 
 lighter within. Its fracture is short, presenting under the microscope 
 a shining, pulverulent or granular appearance, somewhat like the sac- 
 charine frost on figs and raisins. They are inodorous, with a taste 
 sweetish at first, somewhat resembling that of raisin-seed, and suc- 
 ceeded by a faintly bitterish, mucilaginous flavor. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Crawley is, probably, the most powerful, prompt, 
 and certain diaphoretic in the Materia Medica, but its scarcity and high 
 price prevent it from coming into general use. It is also sedative, and 
 
 firomotes perspiration, without producing any excitement in the system, 
 ts chief value is as a diaphoretic in fevers, especially typhus, and in 
 inflammatory diseases; it has proved efficacious in acute erysipelas, 
 cramps, flatulency, pleurisy, and night-sweats; ,and relieves hectic fever 
 without debilitating the patient. Probably it will be found to combine 
 tonic, sedative, diaphoretic, and febrifuge properties. Its virtues are 
 especially marked in the low stage of fevers. The dose is from twenty 
 to thirty grains of the powdered root, given in water as warm as the 
 patient can drink, and repeated every hour or two, accor jing to cir- 
 cumstances. The powder should always be kept in well-closed vials ; it 
 constitutes the "fever-powders" of some practitioners. Combined with 
 rosin of blue cohosh it forms an "excellent agent in amenorrhea and dys-x 
 menorrhea; and is unsurpassed in after-pains, suppression of lochia, and 
 
296 Materia Mbdica. 
 
 the febrile synjptoifls which sometimes occur q.t the parturient period . 
 In fevers it may he advantageously combined with extract of leptandra, 
 or resin of podophyllum, where it is found necessary, to act upon the 
 bowels or liver ; and mixed with extract of dioscorea, it will be found 
 almost a specific in flatulent and bilious colic. This plant has not been 
 recognized in the standard works on Materia Medica, but deserves more 
 attention than has been, bestowed upon- it. There is some doubt, how- 
 ever, as to the true plant which furnishes the Crawley root, and in my 
 first edition I described: it as th« Pteiynspora Andromeda, but from what 
 I have learned since, I am convinced that it is a Gorallorhiza. In many 
 respects; these plants resemble each other, as will be seen by the follow- 
 ing description of the Pterospora Andromeda, or Albany Beeob drops. 
 It belongs to the not. ord., Ericaceae ; sub order, Monotropese ; sex. syst.,. 
 Decandria Mono^nia. It is a. rare and; singular plant, found on. bar- 
 ren hills and shady uplands, and in a hard, clay soil, in the State of 
 H-ew York, and some of the Northern States and Osmada, flowering in 
 July. It has a perennial, fleshy, tuberculous root, with many tubers 
 which resemble the claws of a fowl. Stem or ^cape erect, simple, straight, 
 dark-purple, cylindrical, covered' with short viscid' wool, from eight to 
 thirty inches in height, leafless, sparsely beset with, scales. I/eaves none. 
 Flowers pale or reddis'b- white, lateral, nodding, disposed in a terminal 
 raceme from six to twelve inches long^ composed of fifty or more flowers; 
 pedicels irregularly scattered, from six to eight lines in length, ajtill.ary 
 to long, linear bracts. Calyx five jarted ; corolla roundish-ovoid, urn- 
 shaped, limb five-toothed, reflexed, inclosing the stamens. Stamens ten; 
 filaments flat ; anthers peltate/t wo -celled, two-awned, openhig lengthwise ; 
 style short ; stigma five-lobed, capitate. Oapsulesov pod globose, depressed, 
 five-lobed, five-celled, loculicidal. Seeds very numerous, minute, ovoid, 
 tapering to each end, the apex expanded into a biHiad, reticulated wing, 
 many times larger than the nucleus. — G. — W. 
 
 OOEIANDEUM SATIVUM. (Gemeiiier Koriander.) 
 
 Coriander. 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Apiacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 THE FRUIT. 
 
 Description. — Coriander is an annual, smooth herb, with a tapering 
 root, and a round, erect stem, twelve or eighteen inches high, more or 
 less branched, leafy, round, and striated. I/eaves compound ; lower 
 ones pinnate, on long, slender petioles, their leafiets wedge-shaped, 
 or fan-shaped, acutely notched ; upper leaves multifid, in fine, linear 
 segments. Flowers white, often with a reddish tint, disposed in com- 
 pound, terminal, stalked umbels, of rarely more than four or five rays; 
 partial rays more numerous. Galyx fivertoothed, acute, unequal, per- 
 manent. Petals obovate, emarginate, with inflexed lobes, the exterior 
 radiating and bifid. Fruit spherical, a line and a half in diameter, 
 somewhat coriaceous, carminative, aromatic. Seed excavated in front, 
 with a loose skin. — L. 
 
 Sistory. ^-GoTiander is an Italian plant, but introduced in all the 
 warmer portions of Europe, flowering from May to July, and maturing 
 its fruit early in the latter part of summer. When the fresh plant is 
 bruised, it emits a disagreeable bug-like odor, but by desiccation the 
 fruit acquires its peculiar aromatic odor. The pleasant flavor is owing 
 to a volatile oil, which may be procured by distillation: The fruit, or 
 
C0EN,US ClECINATA. 297 
 
 seeds, are spherical, about two lines in diameter, of a grayish-yellow 
 color, finely ribbed, and. consist ofi two hemispherical mericarps, adher- 
 ing by their concave surfaces. Alcohol takes up their active properties ; 
 water only partially. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Coriander is a stimulant and carminative, and 
 is employed in medicine as an adjuvant or eorrigent. Its dose is from 
 twenty to sixty grains. 
 
 Off. Prep— Confectio Sennse. 
 
 COENU CBRVINiE USTUM. (Gebranntes Hirschhorn.) 
 Burned Deer's Horn. 
 
 Preparation. — Take the horns of the deer — Cervus Virginianics — any 
 time from the month of August to December, or while they are in velvet 
 (until just before they fall off), and when dry rasp them to a coarse 
 powder. Place this in an iron vessel, cover it up tightly, and put it in 
 an oven, or other situation, where a heat, not equal to boiling water, 
 say 195° or 200°, can be continuously maintained for forty-eight hours, 
 or until the whole becomes of a light-brown color, like roasted coffee, 
 and is readily pulverizable, then, when cool, pulverize it, and keep it in 
 well-stopped bottles. During the application of the heat, which should 
 be gradual, the powder should be constantly agitated, on which account, 
 a vessel similar to a coffee-roaster would be a very suitable one in which 
 to burn it. The powder, thus prepared, is of a light chocolate, or yel- 
 lowish-brown color, of a peculiar,, slightly aromatic, animal charcoal 
 odor, and a very faintly-astringent taste. Horns which have fallen 
 from the deer will not answer. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — A powerful styptic. Especially an American 
 remedy, of much value in uterine hemorrhage and monorrhagia. Has 
 also been found beneficial in dysentery, hemoptysis and other hemor- 
 rhages. Dose of the powder one drachm every half hour until the hem- 
 orrhage ceases permanently, which is usually from the first to the third 
 or fourth dose; or one drachm of the powder may be placed in a gill of 
 hot water, and a tablespoonful of the infusion be given every five or 
 ten minutes. This has been tested in numerous cases, and as yet no 
 failure has been heard of It is often given combined with the com- 
 pound powder of ipecacuanha and opium, or with other agents, as cap- 
 sicum and opium, etc. 
 
 COENUS ClECINATA. (Eundblattriger Hartriegel.) 
 
 Eound-leaved Dogwood. 
 
 Nat. Ord.— Cornace^. Sex. Syst.—Tetrandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE BARK. 
 
 Description. — This plant, likewise called Broad-leaved Dogwood, Alder- 
 leaved Dogwood, Bound-leaved Cornel, etc., is a shrub growing from six 
 to ten feet high, with straight, slender, greenish and verrucose branches. 
 Leaves large, about as broad as long, orbicular, or very broadly oval, 
 obposite, acuminate, waved on their edges, somewhat rough above, 
 downy beneath. Flowers white, in small, spreading, depressed cymes, 
 without an involucrum. Fruit or berries a bright blue, becoming lighter 
 colored as they ripen, small, soft, hollowed at base, crowned with the 
 
 persistent style. — W. — G. ,-, . .^ xi. 
 
 History.— Thm plant is found in North America from Canada to the 
 
298 Materia Medica. 
 
 Carolinas, and west to Missouri, growing on river banks, copses, and 
 elevated ridges, and flowering from May to August. The dried bark is 
 usually in grayish-white, cylindrical, or semi-cylindrical pieces, hav- 
 ing a slight odor, and a somewhat aromatic, astringent, and bitterish 
 taste. It imparts its virtues to water, and in chemical character, has 
 thus far been found similar to the Cornus Plotida. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — An astringent tonic, which may be employed 
 in all cases where such agents are indicated. An infusion of it may be 
 made by infusing an ounce of the coarsely -powdered bark in a pint of 
 boiling water, and may be given in doses of one or two fluidounces, 
 several times a day ; it is useful in diarrhea and dysentery, and also as 
 a gargle in sore-throat. One ounce of the bark affords 150 grains of an 
 astringent, intensely bitter extract, which may be used with benefit. 
 The medical virtues of this plant are similar to those of the Cornus Flor- 
 ida, as well as its doses. 
 
 COENUS FLOEIDA. (Bliihender Hartriegel.) 
 
 Dogwood. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Cornacese. Sex. Syst. — Tetrandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE BARE. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also known as Boxwood, Flowering Cornel, etc., 
 is a small, indigenous tree, from twelve to thirty feet high, with a very 
 hard and compact wood, covered with a rough, brownish bark, much 
 broken. It is a tree of tardy growth. Branches opposite, spreading, 
 smooth, covered with a reddish bark, marked with rings at the place 
 of the former leaves, ieaj^es opposite, but partially expanded at the 
 flowering time, ovate, acute, entire, petiolate, nearly smooth, dark- 
 green and grooved above, paler beneath and marked with strong par- 
 allel veins. Flowers very small, of a greenish-yellow color, in heads or 
 sessile umbels, upon peduncles an inch or more in length, surrounded 
 by a large- involucre, constituting the chief beauty of the tree when in 
 flower. Involucre composed of four white, nerved, obovate leaves, hav- 
 ing their point turned abruptly down or up, so as to give them an ob- 
 eordate appearance. Calyx superior, campanulate, with four obtuse, 
 spreading teeth. Corolla composed of four oblong, obtuse, reflexed 
 petals. Stamens four, erect ; anthers oblong, with the filaments inserted 
 in their middle. Style shorter than the stamens, erect, bearing an 
 obtuse stigma. Fruit an oval drupe of a glossy scarlet color, contain- 
 ing a nut or nucleus with two cells and two seeds. — L. — W. 
 
 History. — Cornus Florida grows in various parts of the United States, 
 but more abundantly in the Middle States ; it flowers in April and May, 
 sometimes earlier and sometimes later than this, depending upon the 
 climate; the fruit matures jn autumn. The wood is very compact and 
 hard, and capable of receiving a high polish, and may be employed for 
 many purposes. The bark of the stem, branches, and root, is the offici- 
 nal part; that from the root is the best. It is found in the shops in 
 broken fragments, somewhat quilled, one-fourth or one-sixth of an inch 
 in thickness, ash-colored with a reddish tinge, very friable, and very 
 readily reduced to a powder of a similar color ; its odor is scarcely per- 
 ceptible ; and its taste is amarous, with some astringency and feeble 
 aroma. Its properties are taken up by water or alcohol. Walker found 
 it to contain tannic and gallic acids, resin, gum, and extractive. More 
 recently Mr, Cockburn has found in it, besides the above, fatty sub- 
 
CoRNUs Sekicea. 299 
 
 stance, oil, wax, red coloring matter, a crystalline substance, lignin, 
 potassa, lime, magnesia, and iron. — Am. Jour, of Pharm., VII., 114. A 
 dried aqueous extract is extensively prepared and sold under the name 
 of Cornine, but which is less efficacious as a remedy than the powdered 
 bark. The same may be said of the so-called Cornine obtained by pre- 
 cipitations from the tincture of the bark. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Dogwood bark is tonic, astringent, and slightly 
 stimulant; it forms an excellent substitute for Peruvian -bark, having 
 frequently proved efficacious in periodic attacks when the foreign drug 
 failed. It may be used in all cases where quinia is indicated and can 
 not be administered, owing to idiosyncrasy, etc., or where it can not be 
 obtained pure. It may be used with advantage in all cases where tonics 
 are required, in periodical fevers, typhoid fevers, etc. Its internal em- 
 ployment increases the strength and frequency of the pulse, and ele- 
 vates the temperature of the body. It should be used in the dried state, 
 as the recent bark is apt to derange the stomach, and caiise more or less 
 pain in the abdomen, but which may be removed by ten or fifteen drops 
 of laudanum. The so-called Cornine has been used as a substitute for 
 quinia, by many, and is frequently preferred by them to the alkaloidal 
 salt, though, as it is devoid of any antiperiodic properties, I am at a 
 loss to understand why it i§ thus substituted. An extract of the bark 
 prepared by boiling it in water, and evaporating to the proper consist- 
 ence, will be found the best form in which to administer it. Dose of 
 the powdered' bark, from twenty to sixty grains, as often as required ; 
 of the extract from five to ten grains. The ripe berries formed into a 
 tincture with brandy or whisky, are a popular bitters among some 
 country families ; the flowers are occasionally used in the place of 
 chamomile. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Cornus Floridse ; Bxtractum Cornus Floridse ; 
 Bxtractum Cornus Floridsa Fluidum ; Pilulse Quinise Compositaa. 
 
 COENUS SBEIGBA. (Seidenhaariger Hartriegel.) 
 
 Swamp Dogwood. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Cornacese. Sex. 8yst. — Tetrandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE BAEK. 
 
 Description. — The Cornus Sericea, known likewise by the names of 
 Bose-willow, Bed-osier, Silky Cornel, Bed-willow, etc., is a shrub from six 
 to ten feet high. Stems several, erect, with a dark-red or purplish bark, 
 and opposite, spreading branches, with downy twigs. Leaves opposite, 
 from two to four inches long, half as wide, ovate, acuminate, varying 
 from ovate and oval to lanceolate, nearly smooth above, with rather 
 prominent veins, with a brown silky down underneath, on petioles from 
 half an inch to an inch long. Flowers yellowish-white, small, disposed 
 in large, terminal, depressed and woolly cymes or corymbs. Berries 
 globose, bright-blue; s^one compressed. — L. — W. 
 
 History. — Swamp JDogwood is found in moist woods, and on the mar- 
 
 fins of rivers, from Canada to Carolina, flowering in June and July, 
 'he bark is the officinal part, that of the root being preferred; it pos- 
 sesses similar properties with the Cornus Florida. 
 
 Properties and CTses.— Similar to the C. Florida, being however more 
 astringent and less bitter. It has been found useful in dyspepsia and 
 diarrhea, and may be employed as a substitute for the C. Florida m the 
 same doses, and administered in a similar manner. An infusion is very 
 
300 Materia Medica. 
 
 valuable in checking vomiting', especially that common to pregnancy 
 and disease of the uterus. It has also been highly recommended in 
 dropsy, ulcers, malignant fevers, and as an antiseptic. 
 
 COEYDALIS POEMOSA. (Dicentra Canadensis.— TF. cfc (?.) (Shone 
 Corydalis.) 
 
 Turkey Corn. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Fumariacese. Sex.. Syst. — Diadelphia Pentandria. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, likewise known as Wild Turkey ^pea; Stagger- 
 weed, Squirrel Gorri, is an indigenous perennial plant, rising, from six 
 to ten inches in height, and having a tuberous root. Leaves radical, 
 rising from ten to fifteen inches high, somewhat triternate, with incisely 
 pinnatifid segments, but quite variable. Scape naked, rises from eight 
 to twelve inches in height, with from four to eight cymes, each with 
 from six to ten reddish-purple, nodding flowers. Bacemes compound ; 
 branches cymose ; corolla from eight to ten lines long, broad at base ; 
 nectaries or spurs very short, obtuse, incurved; bracts purplish, at base 
 of pedicles; style extended; stigma two-horned at apex; sepals two, 
 deciduous ; capsule pod-shaped, many-seeded. — W. 
 
 History. — This beautiful little plant is now considerably employed in 
 the profession. It flowers very early in the spring, in this section of 
 the country as early as March; and the root or tuber, which is a small, 
 round ball, should be collected only while the plant is in flower. It 
 grows in rich soil, on hills, and mountains, among rocks, and old, de- 
 cayed timber, and is found westward, and south of New York to North 
 Carolina. 
 
 It must be distinguished from the Corydalis (Dicentra) Cucullaria, 
 which flowers at the same time, and very much resembles it. The root 
 or bulb of the C. Formosa, when fresh, is of a darkish-yellow color 
 throughout, while the C. Cucullaria has a black cortex or rind, and is 
 white internally. "When dried, the external covering of the root is of 
 a light grayish-yellow color, about the fourth of a line thick, inclosing 
 an internal, light-yellow substance; frequently it is of a dark color 
 externally, and when examined under a microscope, full of pores, and 
 internally, yellow or brownish-yellow. It has a faint peculiar odor, 
 and a taste at first slightly bitter, succeeded' by one somewhat pene- 
 trating, peculiar and persistent, gently influencing the fauces, and in- 
 creasing the flow of saliva. The cause of the difference of appearance 
 in d^ing is not known; unless it be owing to the difference in the age 
 of the root. Microscopic examination of the lighter variety gives a 
 porous, spongy, resinous, glistening fracture ; and of the darker, a frac- 
 ture very much resembling honeycomb. Water or alcohol extract* 
 its virtues. It has not been analyzed, though it contains an alkaloid 
 principle named Gorydalia. I called the attention of physicians to this 
 principle in a former work, as Gory.dalin, not having submitted it td 
 any chemical tests, since which, Mr. "W. S. Merrell has manufactured it 
 for the profession, and ascertained its alkaline character. When in 
 powder, Corydalia is of a greenish-brown color, insoluble in water, 
 partially soluble in ether, and completely so in alcohol. Diluted mu- 
 riatic and sulphuric acids dissolve it. Nitric acid reddens it, and it forms 
 crystallizable salts with acetic and sulphuric acids. It is of a peculiar, 
 slightly aloetic odor, of a weak bitter, subacrid, and nauseous taste, and 
 rather tenacious. Four pounds of the Corydalis root yield little more 
 
CoRTDALis Formosa. 301 
 
 than an ounae of this alkaloid. It is obtained by adding water to th« 
 tincture of the root, a portion of the alkaloid is precipitated ; filter the 
 Bupernatant liquid, and add to it ammonia, which causes another pre- 
 cipitate of the alkaloid ; again filter ^the supernatant liquid, and add to 
 it muriatic acid, when the balance of the alkaloid remaining in the so- 
 lution is precipitated. 
 
 The above is the process as given to me by Mr. Merrell, but I can noi 
 understand how it can be an alkaloid, and precipitated by an acid 
 Lowig says that Corydalia is obtained from the hot saturated alcoholic 
 solution in prismatic crystals. The following is M. Wackenroder's 
 process: "Macerate the coarsely powdered root in water some days 
 which gives a deep red infusion which reddens litmus ; filter, and mix 
 it with as much alkali as will render it slightly alkaline. A gray-col- 
 ored precipitate falls, which is to be collected on a filter. The root is 
 to be remacerated in water, acidulated with sulphuric acid which dis- 
 solves a new quantity of Corydalia, which is to be thrown down by an 
 alkali, but not mixed with the first precipitate, because it is more diffi- 
 cult to purify. Let the precipitate be dried, and boiled in alcohol till 
 every thing soluble has been taken up. Distill off the greatest part of 
 the alcohol from this solution. Sometimes, on cooling, the residual 
 liquid deposits a little Corydalia in crystals. Evaporate the liquid to 
 dryness, and pour on the residual matter, very dilute sulphuric acid, 
 which dissolves the Corydalia, and leaves the green resinous matter. 
 Precipitate the solution by an alkali, taking care to separate the dark- 
 colored matter which falls first, because it is impure matter. This being 
 removed, the alkali precipitates the Corydalia white, but it assumes a 
 grayish tinge while washing. When dry it is a grayish-white inco- 
 herent mass, which stains the fingers." Thus obtained, Corydalia is 
 inodorous and nearly tasteless, soluble in alcohol, but very little so in 
 water ; also soluble in ether, caustic alkaline solutions, and dilute sul- 
 phuric acid. Its alcoholic solution is greenish-yellow, as well as its 
 alkaline ; and on account of its solubility in alkalies care must be 
 taken not to add too much alkali to it when precipitating it from an 
 acid solution. It fuses at 212°, becoming translucent in thin coats, and 
 giving a crystalline fracture ; a still greater heat drives out water and 
 ammonia, and the substance assumes the form of a brown translucent 
 mass. The muriate and acetate of Corydalia are soluble in water, but 
 not the sulphate. Kitric acid decomposes it, as well as an excess of 
 sulphuric. Infusion of galls will precipitate Corydalia. — Mr. Wm. T- 
 Wenzell found the root to contain Corydalia, fumaric acid, yellow bit- 
 ter extractive, acrid resin soluble in alcohol or ether, containing vola- 
 tile oil, tasteless resin soluble in alcohol, and insoluble in ether, brown 
 coloring matter, starch, albumen, bassorin, cellulose and cortical sub- 
 stance, salts of potassa, lime, and magnesia, carbonate of lime, alumina, 
 sesquioxide of iron, hydrated silicic acid, silicious sand, and a trace of 
 protoxide of m.angane8e. He obtained the Corydalia by " evaporating 
 a hydro-alcoholic tincture of the root to the expulsion of the alcohol, 
 and separating the resin by filtration. To the filtrate, ammonia was 
 added in slight excess, and the yellow precipitate collected on a filter. 
 This washed was subjected to the action of boiling alcohol, which dis- 
 solved the alkaloid ; the alcoholic solution was filtered, evaporated to 
 dryness, and the residue treated with dilute hydrochloric acid, when 
 the alkaloid was taken up, and an additional amount of resin left. 
 The muriated solution was precipitated by ammonia, the precipitate 
 dissolved in boiling alcohol and concentrated, when, on cooling, crys- 
 
302 Materia Medica. 
 
 tals were deposited. Two or three crystallizations from concentrated 
 alcoholic solutions, and by slow evaporation, gave the pure Corydalia~ 
 in minnte, transparent crystals." As Corydalia has no taste, and no 
 apparent medical properties, it is probable that the virtues of this 
 plant reside in its acrid resin and volatile oil, which may be obtained 
 as follows : Exhaust the powdered root by ether, in a percolator ; on 
 spontaneous evaporation of the yellowish-brown ethereal solution, a 
 soft brown-black substance is obtained, which is to be dissolved in al- 
 cohol ; a solution of acetate of lead, as well as water, added to this 
 alcoholic solution causes a precipitate ; and by evaporating it, the acrid 
 resin, with an aromatic odor is left. (See. Am. Jour. Pharm., Vol. XXVIL, 
 p. 207.) Tannic acid and all vegetable astringents are incompatible 
 with preparations containing Turkey corn, or with its alkaloid, Cory- 
 dalia. 
 
 Properties and Vies. — This agent4s peculiar to American practitioners, 
 being much employed by them. It is tonic, diuretic, and alterative. 
 In all syphilitic aifections, it is an excellent tonic and alterative ; and 
 will likewise be found valuable in scrofula, and in all cases where tonics 
 are indicated. As a tonic, it possesses properties similar to the Gen- 
 tian, Colombo, or other pure bitters; its alterative properties, however, 
 render it of much value. In syphilis, especially in the constitutional 
 form, when occurring in debilitated or broken down constitutions, its 
 efficacy is not equaled by any other agent as an alterative tonic ; but, 
 from considerable experience with it, I am by no means satisfied that 
 it exerts any real influence as an antisyphilitic, properly so-called, as 
 has been heretofore believed. The Corydalia, formerly prepared by W. 
 S. Merrell, possesses all the alterative properties of the bulb in an emi- 
 nent degree, and will be found useful in all scrofulous and syphilitic af- 
 fections, as well as in many cutaneous diseases; the Corydalia gener- 
 ally sold by druggists is not a chemically pure article ; indeed much of 
 it is only a dried aqueous extract. 
 
 Dose of the infusion, from one to four fluidounces, three or four times a 
 day ; of the saturated tincture, from half a fluidrachm to two fluidrachms ; 
 of Corydalia, from one-half of a grain to one grain, three or four times 
 a day. The infusion to be made by adding four drachms of the pow- 
 dered bulb to one pint of boiling water. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Corydalia ; Decoctum Corydalis ; Extractum Corydalis 
 Alcoholicum; Syrupus Stillingiae Compositus; Syrupus Corydalis Com- 
 positus ; Tinctura Corydalis Compositus ; Tinctura Corydalis. 
 
 CEEASOTUM. (Kreosot.) 
 Creasote. 
 
 AN OXT-HTDRO-CARBURET OBTAINED PROM TAR. 
 
 Preparation. — Creasote was discovered by M. Eeichenbach in 1830, 
 and exists in impure pyroligneous acid, and in the tar obtained by the 
 distillation of wood, the latter yielding it in the greatest quantity. 
 The process is briefly as follows (condensed from Thompson's Organic 
 Chemistry) : Subject Wood Tar to distillation until 56 per cent, are 
 gone over, or till what remains has the consistence of pitch. The dis- 
 tillate consists of three layers, of which the lower one contains Creasote, 
 the next, an acidulous water, and upon that a layer of lighter eupion 
 oils. The lower layer is heated, after its separation from the liquor 
 above, and Carbonate of Potassa is added to it until no further efi'er- 
 
Creasotum. 303 
 
 vescence takes place; after standing for a. time, a deposit of Acetate of 
 Potassa takes place, from which the liquid is carefully decanted, and 
 again distilled in a glass retort. The first products which swim upon 
 the water are thrown away, and that only is retained which sinks un- 
 der the water. This is treated with a solution of Caustic Potassa of sp. 
 gr. 1.12, which occasions much heat, and which dissolves the Creasot!e; 
 the eupione, and other oils which float upon the surface, must be re- 
 moved. The alkaline solution is boiled, and allowed to cool slowly in 
 the air ; oxygen is absorbed, and the solution assumes a brown color ; 
 dilute sulphuric acid is added to it, which precipitates the Creasote. 
 The Creasote is treated with a solution of caustic potassa, and precipi- 
 tated with dilute sulphuric acid so long as it retains the brown color on 
 exposure to the air. After the second distillation, phosphoric acid is 
 usually added to remove a small portion of ammonia which is present. 
 ' Pure Creasote is a colorless transparent liquid, of an oily consistence, 
 and refracting light very powerfully. It has a penetrating, smoked- 
 meat odor, and a hot, very caustic taste. Its specific gravity at 68° is 
 1.037, at 55°, 1.057, it boils at 397° P., and is fluid at— 16J° P. The 
 Creasote of the shops is often tinged brown, and much of it is simply 
 carbolic acid. Pure Creasote should not become brown when kept. It 
 is not readily combustible, emitting a great amount of smoke, and is a 
 non-conductor of electricity. When concentrated, it destroys the epi- 
 dermis, dissolves iodine, phosphorus, sulphur, and black oxide of cop- 
 per, reduces oxide of mercury at a boiling temperature, coagulates albu- 
 men, but not fibrin, forms a reddish-yellow solution with cochineal, a 
 deep-red solution with dragon's blood, a pale yellow with red saunders, 
 a purple with archil, a yellow with madder, and a golden yellow with 
 safi'ron. It dissolves the coloring matter of indigo, which is precipi- 
 tated on the addition of alcohol and water. It also dissolves camphor, 
 the fatty and volatile oils, and many of the resins. An aqueous solu- 
 tion i^reserves meat, which has been dipped into it, from putrefaction. 
 Pure Creasote is neutral. Alcohol, ether, bisulphuret of carbon, eupion, 
 benzole, and acetic acid, mix in all proportions with Creasote. "Water 
 dissolves 1.25 parts of Creasote ; while on the other hand 100 parts of 
 Creasote absorbs 10 parts of water. "Without the assistance of heat, 
 Creasote forms two different combinations with potassa; the one is an 
 ' anhydrous liquid, having an oily consistence ; the other a hydrous solid, 
 crystallized in scales, having a white color, and a pearly luster. Soda 
 acts precisely in the same way as potassa. Creasote unites with am- 
 monia, from which it is separated with diflaculty. — T. Concentrated 
 nitric and sulphuric acids decompose it. Muller gives its formula as 
 Oi6 Hio Oi ; G-orup Besanez as G^ Hie Of 
 
 It has been for years a debated question whether the Creasote of 
 Eeichenbach is not in reality a hydrate of phenyle, and, according to 
 Prof. Williamson, experiments have shown that a body homologous to 
 hydrate of phenyle may be obtained from the crude Creasote, and which 
 he names hydrate of cresyle, and which is contained in some qualities of 
 commercial Creasote in greater quantity than in others. {See Am. Jour. 
 Pharm., Vol. XXYIL, p. 54.) G-orup Besanez, however, obtained a 
 Creasote, in which, by all the usual tests, he failed to discover phenylic, 
 or carbolic acid. This he terms true Creasote and that which contains 
 phenylic acid he terms /afee Creasote, and supposes that these are two 
 distinct bodies. He determines them by chloride of iron and acetic 
 acid. In the presence of carbolic acid, which closely resembles Crea- 
 sote, chloride of iron always causes a blue-violet color, and afterward 
 
304 Materia Medica. 
 
 a whitish turbidity ; and acetic acid completely dissolves carbolic acid, 
 in a gentle heat. Creasote, prepared from beech-wood tar, is not 
 changed by chloride of iron, and is only partly dissolved by ordinary 
 acetic acid in the heat. According to Eust, Hager, and others, Creasote 
 from coal-tar is not identical with that from beech-wood. Thus, baryta 
 water forms ai limpid solution with the first, which hardly gives a 
 Blight deposit on standing, while with the latter the solution is imper- 
 fect, being turbid on standing. Ammonia dissolves the first by heat, 
 but not in the cold, giving a clear liquid, but the last is insoluble with 
 heat or cold. Caustic potassa gives a clear solution with the first, a 
 turbid one with the la^. Collodion forms a kind of jelly with the first, 
 but not with the last. Weak chloride of iron and Yevy slightly am- 
 moniacal forms a blue color with the fi'rst, and a green with the last, 
 ■which finally becomes brown. The boiling point of carbolic acid is 
 between 369" and 370° F.,— thait of Creasote 397° to 398° Carbolic 
 acid, when decomposed by a mixture of chloi-ate of potassa smd hydro- 
 chloric acid, yields perchloroquinone or chloranile, C^ CI4 O,. Creasote 
 similarly treated, furnishes a resinous mass, which after digestion with 
 cold alcohol, leaves a compound resembling chloranile in appearance and 
 properties (Cje H^ Clj O4), and homologous with it, and which crystallizes 
 in brilliant, golden-yellow plates, freely soluble in ether, and subliming 
 at about 360° P. Milller's researches seem to show that Creasote may 
 be methyloxykresylic acid, with the formula 'C,6 Hi„ 0,,. — W. A. Miller. 
 
 Creasote is frequently rendered impure by the presence of some of 
 the other principles formed by the destructive distillation of wood. 
 Pure Creasote is completely soluble in concentrated acetic acid and so- 
 lution of caustic potassa, but the above adulterations are not, but swim 
 on the top of the solution. If Creasote leaves a stain on paper not re- 
 movable by heat, it contains a fixed oil. Brown coloring matter, and 
 other impurities, causes Creasote to become brown on exposure to the 
 air, or sunshine. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Irritant, styptic, antiseptic, narcotic, escharotic, 
 and probably diuretic. Used in diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, hysteria, 
 neuralgia, chronic catarrh, hemoptysis^ hematemesis, chronic gonor- 
 rhea and gleet, and to arrest nausea or vomiting occasioned by hysteria 
 or pregnancy, but further and more accurate investigations are required 
 before we can positively determine its value in these affections when' 
 internally administered. Externally, in which it is more coMimoniy 
 used, it has been found efficacious in scaly cutaneous affections, burns, 
 external wounds, capillary hemorrhage, indolent and gangrenous ulcers, 
 also scrofulous, syphilitic and fistulous ulcers and scrofulous ophthal- 
 mia ; as a gargle, in putrid sore throat, as an injection, diluted with 
 oil of almonds, in chronic suppuration of the external meatus of the 
 ear, and in toothache, depending on exposure of the nerve. A satu- 
 rated solution of camphor in Creasote, applied by means of camel's haii 
 pencil slightly moistened with it, has been efficacious in gangrene of 
 the mouth. Ten parts of Collodion mixed with fifteen parts of Creasote 
 forms a jelly-like solid, which stimulates, and isolates from the air, and 
 may be used in caries of the teeth, and where stimulation without at- 
 mospheric action is desired. Creasote should most usually be sufficient- 
 ly diluted, and used in the form of mixture, solution or ointment. Dose, 
 from one to three drops, diluted with two or three fluidou^oes of weak 
 mucilage, three or four times a day. However, it is seldom used inter- 
 nally at the present day, the pyroligneous acid answerimg a much bet- 
 ter purpose for internal administration. A poisonous dose of Creasote 
 
Creta PrvEPAkata. 305 
 
 oecasiions dimness of vision, fixation of the eyes, vertigo, diminution of 
 the action of the heart, coma, and often convulsions. The treatment 
 must be ammonia and stimulants to counteract the depression of the 
 vital powers, with white of egg, oleaginous and mucilaginous drinks. 
 
 Anatomical specimens may he kept in an aqueous solution of Crea- 
 sote, equally as well as in alcohol. Moldiness in ink may be prevented 
 by the addition of a few drops of Creasote to it ; it is also added to pre-' 
 servative fluids for microscopical preparations for the same purpose. 
 Creasote protects wood against most of the attacking insects, as the 
 marine teredo, and the land white ant ; also from moisture, fungi, and 
 animal and vegetable life, — also prevents dry rot and other species of 
 decay. Probably carbolic acid would answer a better purpose in these 
 several instances. Commercial creasote (holding carbolic acid) forms 
 a gelatinous compound with two-thirds its weight of collodion ; this 
 is not the case with pure beech-tar creasote. A Creasote Water, Aqua 
 Greasoti, has been used as a local application in various ways to stimu- 
 late indolent ulcers and abscesses, to neutralize bad odors, and to stimu- 
 late mucous tissues, as of the mouth and throat ; it is prepared by agi- 
 tating together Creasote fifteen minims, and Distilled Water four fluid- 
 ounces. Internally from half a fluidrachm to three or four fluidrachms, 
 may be given for a dose. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Unguentum Creasoti. 
 
 CEBTA PE^PAEATA. (Praparirte Kreide.) 
 Prepared Chalk. 
 
 Preparation. — Eub Chalk (Carbonate of Lime) very fine, with a little 
 water; stir this into a large quantity of water, and when the coarse 
 particles have subsided, pour off the supernatant turbid liquor, into 
 another vessel, and let it settle. Pour off the water, and dry the 
 powder. 
 
 The U. S., and Eritish Pharmacopoeias give formulse for the prepara- 
 tion of Precipitated Carbonate of Lime, Galds Carbonas Prcecipitata. 
 Por general use it is too expensive an article, and does not possess any 
 marked advantages over Prepared Chalk, though some dentists prefer 
 it to the chalk as a dentrifice. Its dose is the same as Prep. Chalk. It 
 may be made by dissolving four ounces of Chloride of Calcium, and 
 eleven ounces of Carbonate of Soda, each, in two pints of Boiling Distilled 
 Water, mixing the two solutions, and when the.precipitate has subsided, 
 collecting it on a calico filter, washing it with boiling Distilled Water, 
 until the washings cease to give a precipitate with nitrate of silver, and 
 then drying the product at a temperature of 212° P., or on bibulous 
 paper. It forms a very pure article. 
 
 History. — Chalk has not been found in the United States, but is ob- 
 tained in abundance in the south of England, and the adjacent coast of 
 Prance. It occurs in the newest secondary strata, and constitutes with 
 its subordinate rocks a distinct and peculiar formation. It is scarcely 
 ever a perfectly pure carbonate of lime, always containing silica, alu- 
 mina, iron, and fossil remains of land and marine animals, which may 
 be detected by the microscope. It is a carbonate of lime, and is identi- 
 cal with marble (which see} in its relations to water, air, alcohol, heat 
 
 It is termed by some writers, Native Friable Carbonate of Lime. There 
 are two kinds of it, Hard and Soft Chalk; the latter is commonly pre- 
 20 
 
806 Materia Medica. 
 
 ferred for medical purposes, though the former may be employed as 
 well. It has an earthy appearance, pure white when genuine, gray- 
 ish-white when impure, inodorous, tasteless, opaque, insoluble, giving 
 a sensation of roughness when touched, very friable, with an earthy 
 fracture, leaving a white mark when drawn over a resisting surface, 
 and having the specific gravity 2.3 to 2.7. Chalk is completely dis- 
 solved by muriatic acid, with the exception of silica when present; if 
 this solution contains alumina, the addition of ammonia will cause a 
 white precipitate ; if it contains oxide of iron the precipitate will be in 
 yellow flakes. Chalk should not be employed as a medicine until it haB 
 been divested of its gritty particles by levigation and elutriation, as 
 above described. In this process, the coarser gritty particles become 
 deposited, leaving the soft Chalk floating in the liquor, which being 
 poured off, the impalpable powder is collected as it slowly descends; 
 after again pouring off the liquor, as soon as all the powder has sub- 
 sided, the substance left behind is placed in quantities of ten or twenty 
 grains or more upon some flat, porous body, and forms, when dried, 
 conoid or pyramidal figures, which are known in commerce by the 
 name of Prepared Ohalk. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^Antacid, astringent, and absorbent. Used in 
 acidity of the stomach and diarrhea, combined with aromatics and 
 opium : externally, to ulcers and burns, to absorb the ichorous discharge, 
 and to prevent excoriation from pressure of friction. i»ose, from ten 
 grains to one drachm. 
 
 Prepared oyster-shell. Testa Prceparata, has the same properties, but 
 js now out of use; it is prepared by freeing the shells from extraneous 
 matter washing with boiling water, then powdering and proceeding as 
 above, 
 
 CEOCTJS SATIVTJS. 
 
 Saffron — Safran. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Iridacese. Sex. /Sz/st— -Triandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE STIGMAS. 
 
 Description. — Saffron is a perennial herb, with a roundish cormus; the 
 integuments consisting of parallel fibers, distinct at the upper end. 
 ieaues radical, very narrow, linear, long, flaccid, revolute at the margin, 
 with a longitudinal, white furrow above, surrounded at the base with 
 long membranous sheaths. Flowers large, axillary, nearly or quite 
 sessile on the bulb, with a two-valved membranous, thin, transparent, 
 radical spathe, appearing with the leaves, striate, with a long white 
 tube and purple, elliptical segments. Style filiform, with three stigmas 
 deeply divided, linear-wedge shaped, deep orange color, hanging down 
 on one side of the flower, fragrant, notched at the points. Capsule three- 
 celled, many-seeded ;' seeds roundish. — L. — W. 
 
 History. — Saffron is indigenous to Asia Minor, and is much cultivated 
 in some parts of Europe. It is also cultivated in the United States. 
 Its growth is frequently interfered with, by the bulb becoming changed 
 into a dark powder, the result of some disease; also by the adherence 
 of a fungous plant to the cormus. Saffron flowers in autumn ; the 
 flowers are in abundance, and mantle the fields with a flax-gray cover- 
 ing. Bach flower has one style, on the summit of which are the smooth, 
 shining, dark, orange-red stigmas. Their odor is pleasant and aromatic, 
 but narcotic; their taste a fine, aromatic bitter, and they immediately 
 
Crocus Sativus. 307 
 
 give a deep yellow color to the saliva when chewed. The flowers are 
 gathered early in the morning, just before they open; the stigmas are 
 picked out, very carefully dried by the heat of a stove, and sometimes 
 compressed into firm cakes. Five pounds of fresh Saffron are required 
 to yield one pound of dry. — Md. There are two kinds of Saffron in com- 
 merce, viz. : the Hay Saffron, which is the best kind, and consists simply 
 of the stigmata entangled together, and retaining their original deep 
 orange color ; and the Cake Saffro7i, which is in flexible cakes, about 
 half a line in thickness, and of a dirty, brownish, orange tint, made by 
 beating the stigmata together before they are quite dry. 
 
 Safflroii has a powerful, aromatic, somewhat stupifying odor, and a 
 bitterish, balsamic, rather acrid taste. It imparts its properties to water, 
 vinegar, or spirit. The best saffron is that which is recent, being very 
 slightly damp, not readily reduced to powder, of a strong, acrid, diffus- 
 ive odor, but free from any disagreeable smell when burned; it has a 
 soapy -like feel between the fingers, coloring them orange; the cake 
 saffron should also be tough and firm in tearing. On account of the 
 great volatility of the aromatic part of the saffron, it should be wrapped 
 up in bladder, and preserved in a box, or tin-case. — JEd. M. Monthus 
 considers the flowers to possess the same properties as the stigmas. 
 
 Saffron has been analyzed by Yogel and Bouillon -Lagrange (1811), 
 and by Aschoff (1818) ; it contains volatile oil, wax, polychroite, gum, 
 soluble albumen, woody fiber, moisture, and balsamic matter, soluble in 
 ether or alcohol. The polychroite w&s so named on account of the num- 
 erous colors which it is capable of assuming. It is procured by making 
 an aqueous infusion of Saffron, evaporating it to the consistency of 
 honey ; this residue is then to be digested in alcohol of 0.800, and then 
 evaporating the alcoholic solution to dryness. When pure it is intense- 
 ly yellow, or scarlet-red, odorless, bitter, soluble in alcohol, fixed and 
 volatile oils, sparingly soluble in ether and cold water, absorbs moisture 
 and changes to a viscid liquid, and becomes colorless under exposure 
 to the sun's rays. Sulphuric acid changes it to a deep indigo-blue 
 color; nitric acid to a green, but the color is very fugitive. The vola- 
 tile oil of Saffron is yellow, heavier than water, and has a burning, 
 bitterish taste with some acridity ; it is obtained by distilling Saffron 
 with water.— P.— T. 
 
 Saffron is liable to several adulterations ; sand, or grains of lead are 
 added to increase its weight, and may be detected by scattering the 
 Saffron loosely over a sheet of white paper,. when these foreign admix- 
 tures will fall out. Water or oil may be detected by pressing a small 
 portion of the Saffron between folds of white blotting-paper, which will 
 become either" moistened or greased, according to the kind of adultera- 
 tion. Petals of other plants may be known by their appearance, and 
 by their expansion when placed in hot water, when if any doubt re- 
 mains, a magnifying glass will enable one to detect the foreign petals. 
 According to Mr. Bentley, the florets of Garthamus tinctorius and those 
 of Calendula officinalis are frequently employed for its adulteration, also 
 petals of Saponaria officinalis, flowers of Arnica montana, etc. The sta- 
 ijiens of the crocus flowers have also been Added, and which may be 
 detected by stirring some of the suspected article in water; this becomes 
 colored, and on discontinuing the stirring the whole mass rises to the 
 surface,' when the pale yellow colored twisted stamens may be readily 
 aistinguished from the orange-yellow colored Saffron. Muscular ff.bers 
 may be known by the odor of burning horn, emitted on burning the 
 suspected article. When rubbed between the finger and thumb, with- 
 
,308 Materia Medica. 
 
 out staining the skin yellow, the Saffron has been exhausted by water 
 or spirit.^P. — C. According to J. Miiller, genuine SaflPfon immedi- 
 ately assumes an indigo-blue color, when acted upon by chemically pure 
 sulphuric acid, while the adulterations remain unchanged. — Chew. G-a~., 
 May, 1M5, p. 197, 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Bmmenagogue and diaphoretic. Has been re- 
 puted of benefit in amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, chlorosis, hysteria, and 
 in suppression of the lochial discharge. As a diaphoretic, used in feb- 
 rile and exanthematous diseases, especially of children. Many con- 
 sider this valuable agent as inert. Dose of the powder, from twelve to 
 forty grains; of the tincture or syrup, from one to two fluidrachms; 
 of the infusion, from one to three fluidounces. Saffron is recommended 
 for coloring tinctures, etc., but it is too costly an article for this pur- 
 pose. 
 
 Off. Frep. — Tinct. Aloes et Myrrhse; Tinctura Serpen tarise Com- 
 posita. 
 
 CEOTON ELBUTEEIA. ("Wohlj-iechender Croton.) 
 
 Cascarilla. — Gascarille. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Buphorbiacese. Sex. Syst. — Moncecia Monadelphia. 
 
 THE BARK. 
 
 Description. — Croton Bleuteria is a small tree, said to rise to the height 
 of twenty feet, and branching thickly at the top. Branches and twigs 
 angular, rather compressed, striated, downy, ferruginous. I/eaves pet- 
 iolated, alternate, ovate, with a short but obtuse point, entire, slightly 
 nerved, bright-green above, with a few scattered leprous dots, silvery, 
 very downy beneath ; petioles short, scurfy. Racemes axillary, and ter- 
 minal, branched or compound; branches short, divaricating, covered 
 with numerous, closely -parted, subsessile, whitish, moncBcious flowers. 
 Sterile flowers above and smallest: /ertiZe ones below, few, on short stalks. 
 Stamens Mn to twelve. Capsule vowaAi&h, minutely warted, scurfy, not 
 much larger than a pea, with three furrows, three cells, six valves. — L. 
 
 History. — The tree from which Cascarilla is obtained is a native of 
 the "West Indies, and is found plentifully in the island of Bleutheria, 
 from which it derives its name. It was, for a time, supposed to have 
 been derived from the Croton Cascarilla, a small tree growing in the 
 Bahamas, Hayti, Peru, and Paraguay, but this is now ascertained by bot- 
 anists to have been an error. Cascarilla bark is imported from the Ba- 
 hama islands, Jamaica, etc., in the form of thin fragments, or quills, of 
 various sizes, seldom exceeding four or five inches in length, of a gray- 
 ish color externally, internally dull-brown and generally shining, hard, 
 compact, brittle, of a short, resinous fracture, easily pulverized, of a 
 feeble but agreeable odor, and a strong, aromatic, bitterish, acrid taste. 
 On account of its agreeable odor when burned, resembling that of 
 musk, vanilla, or amber when heated, it is often added in small por- 
 tions to tobacco, by smokers, to render the fumes more fragrant; but^t 
 produces unpleasant symptoms if used thus too freely. Water, or spirit 
 readily extracts its active principles, but diluted alcohol is the prefer- 
 able menstruum. Trommsdorff found the bark to contain volatile oil, 
 bitter resin, gum, and bitter matter with trace of chloride of potassium, 
 and woody fiber. Messner found the oxide of copper in its ashes. 
 Brandes has detected a peculiar alkaline substance, cascarillina. Duval 
 
CUCUMIS COLOCYNTHIS. ' 309 
 
 has found in it a neutral principle which he calls cascarillin, a disagree- 
 able, fatty substance, an acid very much resembling the tannic, etc. 
 Cascarillin may be procured by treating an aqueous infusion of the 
 bark with acetate of lead, and then passing sulphuretted hydrogen into 
 the liquid to precipitate the lead; filter the fluid, add animal charcoal 
 to it, and evaporate. Filter the second time, and evaporate at a re- 
 duced temperature, until the liquid is of the consistence of molasses. 
 On cooling it becomes solidified, being an impure cascarillin. To ob- 
 tain it pure, digest it in alcohol at 50°, and subsequently treat it with 
 animal charcoal and alcohol at 212° P., repeating this process two or 
 three times. Set the tincture aside to evaporate and crystallize; the 
 cascarillin is deposited in colorless, odorless, bitter, non-nitrogenous 
 crystals, which are neutral, dissolved by ether or alcohol, but only par- 
 tially by water. It resembles salicin in many respects. — Journ. de 
 Pharm., Vol. VIII., p. 96, 3d series. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tonic, and stimulant. Used in dyspepsia, 
 flatulency, chronic diarrhea, in debility attending chronic diseases, 
 convalescence from acute diseases, and to arrest vomiting. "When cin- 
 chona produces nausea, the addition of Cascarilla will prevent it. 
 Dose of the powder, from one to two scruples ; of the tincture, from 
 one to four fluidrachms ; of the infusion, from one to four fluidounces. 
 On account of its musky odor, it is a common ingredient of fumigating 
 pastiles. * 
 
 CUCUMIS COLOCYNTHIS. (Koloquinten-Gurke.) 
 
 Colocynth. — Koloquinten. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Cucurbitacese. Sex. Syst. — Monoecia Monadelphia. 
 
 THE FEUIT DIVESTED OP ITS RIND. 
 
 Description. — Colocynth, or Bitter Cucumber, is an annual plant, with a 
 whitish root, and prostrate, angular, hispid stems. Leaves are alternate, 
 cordate, ovate, many-lobed, white with hairs beneath ; lobes obtuse ; 
 petioles as long as the lamina. Tendrils short. Flowers axillary, yel- 
 low, solitary, stalked; females, with the tube of the calyx globose, 
 somewhat hispid, the limb campanulate, with narrow segments. Pet;als 
 small. Fruit globose, smooth, size of an orange, yellow when ripe, 
 with a thin solid rind, and a very bitter flesh. 
 
 History. — The Bitter Apple, or Cucumber, is a native of Iforthern 
 Africa, the Cape of Good Hope, Western Asia, etc., and is cultivated 
 in Italy and Spain. The fruit assumes a yellow or orange color exter- 
 nally during the autumn, at which time it is collected, peeled, and 
 dried quickly, either in a stove or in the sun. — Ed. The Colocynth, 
 with which the United States is supplied, is chiefly derived from the 
 Mediterranean ports. That which is deprived of its rind, is very white, 
 light, spongy, and without seeds, is considered the best article ; that 
 which contains the seeds is inferior ; and the grayish or brownish pith 
 of the larger fruits is of the poorest quality. The pulp only of the 
 fruit is the officinal portion ; the fruit, as usually met with in the shops, 
 is about the size of a small orange. The pulp is tough, pulverized 
 with difficulty, nearly inodorous, but intensely and disagreeably bitter. 
 Water, ether, or alcohol acquires its active properties ; water forms a 
 mucilaginous solution, from which the extract of Colocynth is obtained 
 by evaporation ; it is pale-brown, translucent, elastic, and intensely 
 bitter. Meissner has detected in Colocynth a bitter principle called 
 
310 MATERIA Medioa. 
 
 Colocynthin^ extractive, fixed oil, resin insoluble in ether, gum, bassoric . 
 phosphates of lime and magnesia, lignin, water, etc.— P. It is incom- 
 patible with the fixed alkalies, sulphate of iron, nitrate of silver, acetate 
 of lead, and vegetable astringents, containing tannin or gallic acid. 
 
 Golocynthin may be obtained by exhausting the pulp previously freed 
 fr6m the seeds, with successive portions of cold distilled water, until it 
 is deprived of its bitterness ; then filtering the solution, heating it to 
 boiling point, and adding, while hot, diacetate of lead, as long as any 
 precipitation continues. When cold, filter the supernatant liquid, and 
 gradually add to it diluted sulphuric acid, until it no longer throws 
 down a precipitate; again boil to remove the free acetjc acid, and filter 
 to separate the sulphate of lead. By this means all the organic matter 
 except the colocynthin is removed. Evaporate the filtered liquor cau- 
 tiously and nearly to dryness, and dissolve the colocynthin out of the 
 residuum by means of strong alcohol, which leaves the salts uridis- 
 solved as sulphates. By evaporating the alcoholic solution the colo- 
 cynthin is obtained pure. — Am. Jour, of Phartn., XXIII., 166. 
 
 M. Mouchon prepares colocynthin by intimately mixing one hundred 
 and twenty-five parts of very finely powdered Colocynth with thirty 
 parts of purified animal charcoal, introducing the mixture into a conical 
 percolator containing thirty additional parts of animal charcoal, and 
 proceed by displacement with two hundred and fifty parts of alcohol 
 of 95 per (?ent., and afterward by alcohol of 56 per cent., until two 
 hundred and fifty parts of concentrated alcoholic tincture is obtained. 
 Evaporate this spontaneously in flat dishes to perfect dryness. The 
 product is friable and pulverizable, garnet-colored, insuppprtably bit- 
 ter, soluble in water and alcohol, insoluble in ether, and purges strong- 
 ly in the dose of one and a half grains. This substance may be puri- 
 fied by dissolving it in strong alcohol, and treating it with a little 
 animal charcoal. — Am. Jour, of Fharm., XXYIII., 166. 
 
 Colocynthin is a non-crystalline, yellowish or brownish, semi-trans- 
 parent, brittle body, fusing at 200° F., burns with a flame like resin, 
 soluble in alcohol or ether, less so in water, but imparting to it an 
 almost insupportable bitterness. It is neutral ; a white precipitate 
 occurs when infusion of galls is added to its solution in water. — T. 
 
 Broperiies and C/ses.— Colocynth is an irritant and cathartic ; it acts 
 very powerfully, producing copious ^atery evacuations. Even in 
 moderate doses, it has excited inflammation of the mucous membrane 
 of the intestines, vomiting, severe tormina, and bloody stools. It is 
 never used alone, because its violence is greatly mitigated, while its 
 efficacy and certainty are not impaired, by uniting it with other ca- 
 thartics, as aloes, scammony, etc. — C. The addition of extract of hyos- 
 cyamus will likewise deprive it of its harsh and griping effects. Its 
 principal employment is in passive dropsy, in cerebral derangements, 
 and in pills with other cathartics for the purpose of overcoming torpid 
 conditions of the biliary and digestive systems. Its irritant effect upon 
 the rectum may influence the uterus by sympathy of contiguity, and 
 thus provoke menstruation, and on the same principle, dissolved in 
 whisky, it has cured gonorrhea. It may be used in moderate doses, in 
 all diseases where catharsis is indicated. The powder applied to an 
 ulcer, or raw surface, affects the lower bowels in the same^manner as 
 when taken internally. It is said that Hippocrates used the Colocynth 
 as a pessary for the purpose of exciting menstruation. The oil of Colo- 
 cynth has been recommended as an external remedy for neuralgia. 
 Dose of Colocynth is from four to ten grains, either in powder, or 
 
CUCURBITA ClTRULLUS. — ClICURBlTA PePO. 311 
 
 aqueous extract; of the alcoholic extract, from one to four grains. 
 When to be given alone, it should be triturated with some inert or in- 
 soluble powders, as gum or farinaceous matter, in order to diminish its 
 severity of action. 
 
 Off. iVep.— Extractum Oolocynthidis ; Bxtractum ColocynthidiSiCom- 
 positum. 
 
 OUCUEBITA CITEULLUS. 
 Watermelon. — Wassermelone. 
 
 OUCUEBITA PEPO. 
 
 Pumpkin . — Kurhis. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Cucurbitacese. Sex. Syst. — Monoeeia Monodelphia. 
 
 THE SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — The Oucurbita CitruUus of Linnaeus, and Oucumis Cit- 
 ruUus of Seringe, is an annual plant with a prostrate, slender, hairy 
 stem, with branching tendrils. Leaves palmately five-lobed, very glau- 
 cous beneath, lobes mostly sinuate-pinnatifid, all the segments obtuse. 
 Flowers yellow, solitary, on hairy peduncles, bracted at the base. Calyx 
 tubular-campanulate, five-toothed ; corolla deeply five-parted ; filaments 
 of the male flower, three ; pistils of the female, three-cleft ; style short ; 
 stigmas three, thick, two-lobed; pepo or fruit, oval, or elliptical, smooth, 
 discolored, indehiscent, subligneous, light or dark-green externally, 
 beneath which is a White juicy substance, in the center a red or yellow 
 edible pulp, sweet, juicy or watery, and delicious ; it is from three to 
 five-celled, and contains many oboviate, smooth, compressed seeds, 
 thickened at the margin, and of a black or yellowish-white color. — W. 
 
 Oucurbita Pepo is also an annual plant, hispid and scabrous, with a 
 procumbent stem and branching tendrils. Leaves large, cordate, pal- 
 mately five-lobed, or angled, denticulate ; flowers yellow, large, axillary, 
 the males long-pedunculate. Corolla campanulate; petals united and 
 coherent with the calyx. Gaiyx of male flowers, five-toothed; of fe- 
 males the same, upper part deciduous after flowering; stigmas three, 
 thick, two lobed; pepo or fruit subligneous, very large, roundish, or 
 oblong, smooth, yellow when ripe, furrowed and torulose, containing 
 yellowish seeds, somewhat resembling those of the watermelon in 
 form. — W. 
 
 History. — The Watermelon is a native of Africa and Southern Asia, 
 and is cultivated in this country for its large and delicious fruit, which 
 is usually ripened in August, the flowers appearing in June and July. 
 The Pumpkin flowers in July, and matures its fruit in September and 
 October; it is a native of the Levant, and is extensively cultivated as a* 
 kitchen vegetable, and for cattle. The seeds of these plants are used 
 ;d medicine; their virtues reside in the external covering, which con- 
 tains a large proportion of mucilage, which is freely imparted to water ; 
 hence in preparing an infusion the seeds should never be bruised. An 
 oil may be obtained from the pumpkin seeds, and probably from those 
 af the watermelon also, by expression. The West India pumpkin seeds 
 are more active as an anthelmintic than our own. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Mucilaginous and diuretic, and of service in 
 strangury and urinary affections, also in gastritis, enteritis, and febrile 
 diseases. The infusion may be drank freely. The red, fleshy, juicy 
 
312 Materia Medioa. 
 
 pulp of the watermelon is diuretic, and forms a grateful article of diet 
 for febrile patients, when not contra-indicated. The expressed oil of 
 the pumpkin seeds, in doses of from six to twelve drops several times a 
 day, is said to be a most certain and efScient diuretic, giving quick re- 
 lief in scalding of urine, spasmodic aifections of the urinary passages, 
 and has> cured gonorrhea. Half a fluidounce of oil of j^umpkin seeds 
 taken upon a fasting stomach, repeated in two hours, and in another 
 two hours followed by a dose of castor-oil containing half a fluidounue 
 of the pumpkin-seed oil, has been effectual in removing tape-worm. 
 The following mixture has been found efficacious in the removal of 
 tapeworm: Take of the ethereal oil of pumpkin seeds one fluidounce, 
 ethereal extract of male fern one fluidrachm, sugar two drachms, 
 water four fluidounces; rub the oil with the sugar, then the extract, 
 and finally add, gradually, the water. One-fourth of this is a dose, to 
 be repeated every hour. An infusion of the seeds has also been found 
 effectual in removing tape-worm. The seeds of the Cucurbita IJagenaria, 
 or gourd, the Oucumis Melo, or muskmelon, and the Gucumis Sativus, or 
 cucumber, possess similar properties, but in a milder degree. 
 Off. Prep. — ^Infusum Cucurbitse. 
 
 CUMrNTTM CTMnnJM. (Feinblattriger Kreuzkummel.) 
 
 Cumin Seed. — Gumimsamen. 
 
 Wat. Ord. — ^Apiaceae. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 THE FRUIT. 
 
 Description.— ThiB is an annual herb, with an erect, round, slender 
 branched stem, about a foot high. Leaves multifid, with long filiform 
 segments. Flowers small, white or pink, overtopped by the bracts, 
 which, after flowering, are reflexed. Umbels, both partial and general, 
 of about five rays, with the involucres consisting of two or three fili- 
 form, one-sided bracts. Fruit about two lines long, much longer than 
 the pedicels, nearly taper, but little contracted at the sides, fusiform, 
 crowned by the short teeth of the calyx, densely covered with short 
 rough hair upon the channels, less densely upon the ridges, which are 
 paler, filiform and a little raised ; seeds or half -fruits, two, oblong, plano- 
 convex, with the plane surfaces together. — L. 
 
 History. — This plant is cultivated in many parts of Europe, though 
 originally from Egypt. The fruit or seeds are ovate or fusiform, of 
 a light brown or grayish color, with two adhering concavo-convex 
 fruits. 
 
 The fruit resembles caraway, but is larger. Each seed or fruit pre- 
 sents seven ridges, which are furnished with small prickles. Their odor 
 'and taste is similar to that of caraway, but warmer, and not so agreea- 
 ble. They contain a volatile oil, which may be separated by distillation 
 with water, of a yellowish color, thin, sp. gr. 0.945, with the taste and 
 odor of the plant. This oil is a compound, consisting of two oils hav- 
 ing different chemical composition. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Highly stimulant, and carminative; possessing 
 medical properties similar to the other aromatic fruits of umbelliferous 
 plants, but more stimulating. They are seldom used in the United 
 States Dose is from fifteen to sixty grains. 
 
(;)tTPRi Stjbacetas. 313 
 
 CUNILA MAEIANA. (Cunile.) 
 
 Dittany. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Lamiaceae. Sex. Syst. — Didynamia Gymnospermia. 
 
 THE WHOLE HERB. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also called Stonemint, Mountain Dittany, etc., 
 is an indigenous, perennial plant, with a fibrous root, and smooth, slender, 
 four-angled, mostly purplish, corymbosely branched stems, growing oae 
 or two feet high. Leaves opposite, small, nearly smooth, ovate, serrate, 
 subsessile, roundish or subcordate at the base, tapering to a point, punc- 
 tate with pellucid dots. Flowers white or pale-red, pedunculated, with 
 subulate bracts at the base of the three-forked pedicels, in corymbose, 
 axillary and terminal cymes. Corolla, nearly twice as long as the calyx, 
 pubescent, middle lobe longer than the others, upper lip erect, flat, 
 emarginate, lower lip spreading. Calyx green, ten-ribbed, equally five- 
 toothed, hairy in the throat, punctate. Stamens two, erect, exserted, 
 distant. Anthers small, didymous; stigma bifid, exserted; seeds four, 
 small, obovate. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — This plant is found growing in dry hills and woods, anid on 
 rocks, in nearly all parts of the United States, flowering from June to 
 October. The herb is very fragrant, with a warm, spicy taste ; its taste 
 and odor are due to a volatile oil which may be procured by distillation. 
 Mr. P. Milleman found the herb to contain a warm, pungent, delicately 
 fragrant volatile oil, tannic acid, a trace of glucose, gummy matter, 
 considerable extractive matter, a part of which was bitter and acid, and 
 dark green resin; the ashes gave salts of potassa, lime, magnesia, and 
 iron. — Am. Jour. Pharm., XXXVTII, p. 495. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Stimulant, carminative, antispasmodic, and 
 diaphoretic. Used freely in warm infusion to promote perspiration, to 
 relieve flatulency, and as an emmenagogue. Popularly employed for 
 cold, headaches, and fevers, also to relieve nervous headache, and hys- 
 terical disorders, colic, indigestion, and all nervous affections. The 
 volatile oil possesses all the medicinal properties of the herb, and may 
 be given in doses of from five to ten drops. 
 
 CTJPEI SUBACBTAS. (Basischessigsaures Kupferoxyd.) 
 Subacetate of Copper. — Grunspan. 
 
 Preparation.— Subacetate of Copper, or Verdigris, is prepared in the 
 southern parts of Prance, chiefly. It is formed by exposing sheet' cop- 
 per to the action of the acetous fumes, which are' evolved in the pro- 
 cess of wine-making. The refuse of the grapes placed in heaps runs 
 into the acetous fermentation, whereby the copper sheets are oxidized, 
 and the oxide so formed unites with the acid. About the end of four 
 or six weeks this is removed. by scraping, and the plates are again ex- 
 posed to the further action of the grape refuse. The paste-like sub- 
 stance which is thus from time to time removed from the p ates, is 
 pounded with mallets of wood, and put up in bags of white leather, 
 each weighing from twenty-five to thirty pounds. It may also be made 
 by sprinkling vinegar over the copper. 
 
 Sfs^orw.— Yerdigris is obtained in loosely aggregated lumps or m 
 powder: it has a pale-green, or blue color, according to the^ process 
 employed in obtaining it, a disagreeable, acetous odor when the powder 
 is conveyed to the nostrils, and a nauseous, styptic, coppery taste. Alco- 
 
314 Materia Medioa. 
 
 hoi does aot dissolve it; and water partially dissolves it, at the same 
 time decomposing it, precipitating a deep-green insoluble trisacetate 
 (3CuO, A, 2 HO), which ultimately becomes black, while the neutral 
 acetate remains in the solution. Verdigris is Speedily blackened by 
 sulphuretted hydrogen ; diluted sulphuric acid, with the aid of heat, al- 
 most wholly dissolves it, from which solution no precipitate is caused 
 by ammonia ; muriatic acid dissolves it, with the exception of abou* 
 five per cent, of impurity; concentrated sulphuric acid decomposes it, 
 evolving acetous fumes ; ammonia dissolves all but its impurities, form- 
 ing an intense violet-blue solution. 
 
 Verdigris is a compositign of several of the acetates of copper ; 
 blue Verdigris is chiefly the hydrated diacetate of copper, 2 Cu 0, 
 a, 6 HO ; green Verdigris consists of the subsesquiacetate and the tris- 
 acetate of Copper, or 3 Cu 0, 2 a, 6HO+3 Cu O, a, 2 HO. The so- 
 called " Verdigris," observed on copper vessels when exposed to moist- 
 ure, or not cleansed, is not an acetate of copper, but a carbonate. Ver- 
 digris is poisonous, and when swallowed, is decomposed by zinc and cop- 
 per filings, in the dose of from half a drachm to two drachms, followed 
 by the free use of warm water, and afterward subduing the inflamma- 
 tory symptoms by the usual means ; or, wheat flour, milk, and white 
 of egg, may be freely administered in water, or sugar and water, and 
 vomiting be produced as speedily as possible. 
 
 The Neutral Acetate of Copper, or crystallized aerugo, also called 
 Crystals of Venus, Cu O, a HO, is not used in medicine ; it forms dark 
 green rhombic prisms, of a feeble acetous odor, a nauseous metallic 
 taste, efflorescent, soluljle in five parts of boiling water, partially solu- 
 ble in alcohol, inflammable, burning in the open air with a beautiful 
 green flame. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Detergent and eseharotic. Never used in- 
 ternally, but occasionally employed externally by some practitioners 
 to remove syphilitic verrucae, fungous growths, and callous edges, and 
 as an application to obstinate ulcers, ringworm, ringworm of the scalp, 
 ophthalmia tarsi, etc. The powder may be sprinkled on the surface, 
 or it may be used in the form of ointment. It is best employed as an 
 eseharotic when deprived of its water of crystallization by heat, which 
 ' leaves an efflorescent mass. 
 
 CUPEI SULPHAS. (Schwefelsaures Kupferoxyd.) 
 
 Sulphate of Copper. — Blauer Vitriol. 
 
 Preparation. — Sulphate of Copper, or Blue Vitriol, is made in various 
 ways; by dissolving icopper in dilute sulphuric acid, with the addition 
 of nitric acid, evaporating and crystallizing; or, by roasting the sul- 
 phuretted ores of copper, allowing them to oxidate and befcome con- 
 verted into sulphate, lixiviating the product, and crystallizing the solu- 
 tion ; as sulphate of sesqnioxide of iron is apt to be present, this may 
 be thrown down from the solution of the crystals by treating it with a 
 superabundance of protoxide of copper. Wittstein gives the following 
 method : "Two parts of metallic copper, in small pieces, three and one- 
 third parts of concentrated sulphuric acid, twelve parts of water, and 
 four parts of nitric acid, specific gravity 1.20, are put into a glass flask, 
 and the latter placed in a sand-bath, heated, at first gently, and after- 
 ward boiling, as long as there is any perceptible action on the copper ; 
 it is then filtered, and placed in a cool spot. The salt, which separates 
 after some days, is collected, the mother-liquor evaporated so long as 
 
CupRi Sulphas. 315 
 
 crystals will form; these are spread on a piece of filtering paper to i dry 
 in the air. The produce will be seven parts of Blue Vitriol for two of 
 copper. In this case, instead of metallic copper, the copper scales will 
 be more economical to use ; the relative proportions, in this case, sub- 
 stituting two parts of nitric acid for four, will be the same." " 
 
 Metallic copper is scarcely acted on by dilute sulphuric acid, even 
 when warmed ; the addition of sufficient nitric acid to oxidize causes 
 it to readily dissolve. The nitric oxide from the reduced nitric acid is 
 evolved, and forms the brown vapors of hyponitric acid. 1,188 parts 
 of copper require 1,839 parts of hydrated sulphuric acid, and 2,500 parts 
 of nitric acid, specific gravity 1.20 (27 per cent, anhydrous acid) ; the 
 remainder of the process requires no explanation. By using copper 
 (forge) scales, less nitric acid is requisite, as they consist principally of 
 suboxide of copper, Cu2 which already contains the half of the neces- 
 sary oxygen. 
 
 History. — rSulphate of Copper forms beautiful, azure-blue, translucent, 
 oblique rhombic crystals, which dissolve in three and a half parts of 
 cold, and an equal weight of hot water, and are not dissolved by alco- 
 hol. Its solution has an acid reaction. The salt is odorless, possesses 
 an astringent, nauseous, coppery taste, gradually gives off water when 
 exposed to the air, and acquires a white coating. Heated it fuses, los- 
 ing its water of crystallization, and forming a white anhydrous powder, 
 formerly known as pulvis sympatheticus ; and which, at a red heat gives 
 off its acid, yielding the brown protoxide of copper. 
 
 The solution of Sulphate of Copper is of a fine blue color ; sulphur- 
 etted hydrogen causes a brownish -black precipitate, when added to it ; 
 caustic potassa, a bluish-green precipitate, but if added in slight excess, 
 azure-blue ; ammonia, azure-blue, which is redissolved if an excess of 
 the alkali be added; solution of arsenious acid with the addition of an 
 alkali, a grass-green or apple-green. Aqua sapphirina is the deep-blue 
 solution made by ammonia redissolving the bluish-white precipitate of 
 hydrated oxide of copper, produced by potassa, soda, or ammonia, 
 added to the solution of Blue Vitriol. Sulphate of Copper is likewise 
 incompatible with chloride of calcium, borate of soda, corrosive subli- 
 mate, acetates of lead, and of iron, alkalies, earths, phosphates, all in- 
 fusions containing tannic acid, etc. When it is contaminated by ses- 
 quioxide of iron, an excess of ammonia will precipitate the iron, but 
 not the copper. Sulphate of Copper is composed 'of one equivalent each, 
 of protoxide of copper and sulphuric acid, and five equivalents of water, 
 Cu 0+S03+5.HO=125. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — It should never be used internally. Externally 
 it is occasionally employed as an escharotic or stimulant ; and is applied 
 by some practitioners to indolent ulcers, warts, callous edges, fangous 
 growths, chancres, etc., and as a styptic to capillary hemorrhages, and 
 as a wash in some cases of chronic ophthalmia. From two to ten grains 
 of the salt dissolved in a fluidounce of water, according to the circum- 
 stances under which it is to be employed, will form a stimulating lotion. 
 For the eye, as a collyrium, two or three grains to the fluidounce of 
 water, will be sufficient in ordinary cases. In granulations of the lid 
 and other affections of the eye, it is often desirable to use sulphate of 
 copper in pencil form ; this may be effected in two ways, viz. : 1. Mix 
 and briskly triturate together four parts of the pulverized sulphate 
 and one part of pulverized borax ; the water of crystallization given 
 out, unites them into a plastic mass, readily molded into pencils. 2. 
 Mix togethei iDulverized sulphate of copper two parts, pulverized ordi- 
 
316 Materia Medica. 
 
 nary potass-alum one part ; gradually melt them together in a porcelain 
 vessel, and pour the fused mass into cylindrical molds of bronze or 
 copper, to prevent the precipitation of metallic copper; the molds 
 should have a diameter of about one-fourth of an inch. 
 
 In cases of poisoning by Sulphate of Copper, empty the stomach, 
 and give white of egg freely in sugared water. Treat subsequent in- 
 flammation on general principles. 
 
 CUECUMA LONGA. (Lange Gilbwurz.) 
 
 Turmeric. — Kurkumewurzel. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Zingiberacese. Sex. Syst. — Monandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE RHIZOMA. 
 
 Description. — This is a perennial plant, with the roots or tubers oblong, 
 palmate, and deep orange inside. Root-leaves about two feet long, lan- 
 ceolate, long petioled, tapering at each end, smooth, of a uniform green; 
 petioles sheathing. Spike erect, central, oblong, green. Flowers duU 
 yellow, three or five together, surrounded by braceteolse. — I/. 
 
 Sistory. — Turmeric is indigenous to several parts of Eastern Asia, 
 and is extensively cultivated in China, Hindostan, etc., where it is pro- 
 pagated from cuttings of the root. The Chinese Turmeric is generally 
 preferred. The root, when 'dry, is in slightly curved cylindrical or ob- 
 Idng tubers, about two or three inches in length, and an inch in diameter, 
 often pointed or tapering at one end, yellowish externally, with trans- 
 verse parallel rings, internally deep yellow or reddish-brown, marked 
 with shining points, dense, solid, having a short, granular fracture, and 
 forming a lemon-yellow powder. It has a peculiar, somewhat fragrant 
 odor, and a bitterish, slightly acrid taste, like that of ginger, exciting 
 a moderate degree of warmth in the mouth, and communicates a yel- 
 low color to the saliva. It yields its properties to water or alcohol. 
 MM. Vogel and Pelletier found it composed of an acrid volatile oil, 
 brOwn coloring matter, gum, starch, chloride of calcium, woody fiber, 
 and a yellowish coloring matter, named curcumin. Cureumin is obtained 
 by digesting Turmeric in boiling alcohol, filtering, and evaporating the 
 solution to dryness. Digest this residue in ether, filter and evaporate. 
 The curcumin thus procured is mixed with some volatile oil and chlo- 
 ride of calcium, from which it may be freed by oxide of lead. It is 
 solid, heavier than water, reddish-brown when in lumps, but yellow 
 when in powder, is very little soluble in water, but readily so in alco- 
 hol, ether, fixed and volatile oils. It deliquesces slightly in a moist at- 
 mosphere, fuses at 104°, and then swims on water. Alkalies change it 
 to a reddish-brown. — T. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Turmeric is a mild aromatic stimulant, but is 
 seldom used in this country, except to color ointments and pharmaceu- 
 tic mixtures. Turmeric paper is much employed as a test for alkalies, 
 which render it reddish or brownish ; white bibulous paper or paper 
 not sized, is brushed over with the tincture or decoction, or dipped into 
 one of them, and dried in a neutral atmosphere. Four drachms of 
 Turmeric to three fluidounces of proof-spirit, or to five or six fluid- 
 ounces of water, forms the the tincture and the decoction. — P. The 
 concentrated mineral acids, boracic acid, and numerous salts, are said 
 also to turn Turmeric paper red, or reddish-brown — if this be so, its 
 indications can not be relied on with certainty. 
 
Oynara Scoltmus. 317 
 
 CTDONIA VULGAEIS. (Gemeine Quittenbaum.) 
 
 Quince. 
 
 Nat. Ord.—PomaGeiB. Sex. Syst.—Icosandria, Pentagynia. 
 
 THE SEEDS. 
 
 Description.— This is a well-known shrub or tree, from eight to twenty 
 feet high: Leaves oblong-ovate, obtuse at base,, acute at apex, entire 
 smooth above, tomentose beneath. Flowers solitary, white with a pur- 
 ple tinge, large, terminal. Pome or fruit tomentose, obovoid, yellow 
 when ripe, having a peculiar fragrance, an austere, acidulous, astringent 
 taste ; cells five; seeds many, in a thick, soluble mucus. — W. — L. 
 
 History.— The Quince-tree is a native of Candia, but is cultivated 
 extensively in this country and Europe, and its fruit is much employed 
 in making jellies, preserves, etc. The parts used in medicine are the 
 seeds; they are ovate- acute, flat on one side, convex on the other, 
 brown externally with a reddish tinge, internally white, odorless, and 
 of a bland, mucilaginous taste. The most external coat of the seeds, 
 is composed of very fine cells, in which is lodged a large quantity of' 
 mucilage, which is taken up by water at 212° P.; eight fluidounces of 
 water may be thus made very mucilaginous by sixty grains of the seeds. 
 The decoction, evaporated to dryness and powdered, will form a proper 
 mucilage with water, in the proportions of three grains to the fluid - 
 ounce. One part of it gives a semi-syrupy consistence to a thousand 
 parts of water. Pereira proposes to call this mucilage Oydonin; he 
 considers it a peculiar variety of gum, which, like Arabin, is soluble 
 in cold or boiling water, and gelatinizes with sesqui chloride of iron ; 
 but, unlike that principle, it is not affected by silicate of potassa. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Decoction of Quince seeds forms a demulcent 
 mucilage, very useful in gonorrhea, dysentery, aphthous affections, and 
 excoriations of the mouth and fauces, also as a collyrium in conjunctival 
 ophthalmia. A syrup prepared from the fruit, or the jelly, forms an 
 agreeable article, either alone or added to drinks, for patients laboring 
 under febrile diseases, diarrhea, dysentery, and nausea. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Deeoctum Cydonii. 
 
 CTNAEA SCOLYMUS. (Gebauste' Artischoeke.) 
 
 Garden Artichoke. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia iEqualis. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — This plant is perennial, with subspinose, pinnate and 
 undivided leaves; heads discoid, homogamous; involucre dilated, imbri- 
 cate ; scales ovate, with fleshy bases, emarginate, pointed ; receptacle 
 setaceous; pappus plumose, sessile; acJienia not beaked. — W. 
 
 History. — This well-known plant is a native of Southern Europe, 
 and is cultivated in this country from suckers, as a kitchen plant, they 
 being placed in rows about three feet apart., The flowers, or heads as 
 they are commonly called, appear in August and September, and are 
 the parts used ; the succulent receptacle and part of the calyx-leaflets 
 are the edible portions. In their young state, the heads, prepared with 
 vinegar, salt, etc.. are much valued by some. The corollas are used for 
 coagulating milk, The juice of the leaves is amarous. 
 
318 Materia Medica. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Diuretic and alterative. Reputed very bene- 
 ficial in dropsies, and has been efficacious in rheumatism, gout, jaun- 
 dice, tic-douloureux, etc. The recent leaves only should be used, in the 
 form of extract, or alcoholic solution. Dose of the tincture, thirty to 
 sixty drops, repeated three times a day ; of the extract, three to six 
 grains.^iJr. Badely, in London Lancet, 1843, p. 556. 
 
 This plant must not be confounded with the Helianthus Tuberosus, or 
 Jerusalem Artichoke, a species of sunflower, and the tuberous roots of 
 which are sometimes used as a substitute for potatoes. 
 
 CYNOGLOSSUM OPFICINALB. (Grosse Hundszunge.) 
 
 Hound's Tongue. 
 
 Wat. Ord. — Boraginacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE leaves and ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This is a biennial plant, with an erect, silky-pubescent 
 stem, growing from one to two feet in height. Leaves hoary, with soft 
 down on both sides, lanceolate, acute, entire, — radical ones alternate at 
 the base, petiolate, — cauline ones sessile, clasping, with rounded, or slightly 
 heart-shaped bases. Flowers in terminal, panicled clusters, recurved at 
 the end ; calyx downy, five-parted ; corolla reddish -purple, short, funnel- 
 form, vaulted; throat or orifice closed by five converging, convex scales. 
 Stamens shorter than the corolla. Achenia depressed, fixed laterally to 
 the style; seeds rough, with hooked prickles.— TF. — G-. 
 
 History. — This plant is met with in Europe and this country, growing 
 in waste grounds and road-sides ; its name is derived from the peculiar 
 form of the leaf, it bears purple flowers in June and July. The root is 
 preferred to the leaves; it has a heavy, mouse-like, unpleasant odor, 
 which is removed by desiccation, and a mawkish, amarous taste. The 
 fresh plant is much more active than the dried. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Anodyne, demulcent and astringent, and has 
 been used in coughs, catarrhs, hemoptysis, diarrhea, and dysentery. 
 Externally, in the form of a poultice, it has been found highly beneficial 
 in scrofulous tumors, burns, goitre, and may be applied to recent contu- 
 sions or inflammations, with much advantage, also to remove the pain 
 and soreness attending irritated, bruised, or chafed parts, giving com- 
 plete and immediate relief, especially in excoriation of the feet from 
 much traveling. The tincture, or the application of bruised fresh 
 leaves will remove the swelling and ecchymosis consequent upon severe 
 blows or bruises. The G. Amplexicaule, or Wild Comfrey, affords a root 
 which may be substituted for the officinal Comfrey. 
 
 Otnoglossitm Morrisoni, called Virginia Mouse-ear, Beggar' s-lice, and 
 Dysentery weed, has been variously classed by botanists, as Bochelia 
 Virginiana, Myosotis Virginica, and EcMnospermum Virginicum. It is an 
 annual plant, with an erect, hairy, furrowed, very broadly branched and 
 leafy stem, from two to four feet in height. Leaves from three to four 
 inches long, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, entire, remote, tapering at 
 the base, thin, minutely downy underneath, scabrous above, lower ones 
 petioled. Branches slender and remote, each terminating in a centrifugal, 
 divaricate, dichotomous, hairy, paniculate raceme, leafy-bracted at the 
 base. Flowers very small, white or pale-blue ; pedicels nodding in fruit. 
 Fruit convex, densely covered with prickles having barbed points. This 
 plantis common throughout the United States, growing in rocky grounds 
 and among rubbish, flowering in July. — W. The whole plant has an un- 
 
Cypripedium Pubescens. 319 
 
 pleasant odor. The root is the part used, and imparts its virtues to 
 water. It is mucilaginous, tonic, and astringent, and has been found 
 very efficacious in diarrhea and dysentery. Prom its excellent effects 
 in these diseases, it has acquired the popular name of Dysentery Moot. 
 It has also been used with marked advantage in cholera infantum, gas- 
 tro-intestinal irritation of continued fever, and as a mild tonic during 
 convalescence from acute disease. As a diuretic, it has been useful in 
 cystitis, nephritis, and other diseases of the urinary organs. The root 
 may be chewed, or given in powder or infusion, ad libitum. It will, 
 probably, be found useful in other diseases, where such a combination 
 of properties is indicated. 
 
 CYPEIPEDIUM PUBESCBNS. (Weichaariger Venusschuh.) 
 
 Yellow Ladies-slipper. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Orchidacese. Sex. Syst. — Gynandria Diandria. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Cypripedium Pubescens is an indigenous plant, known 
 by various names, as American Valerian, Umbel, Nerve-root, Yellow-Moc- 
 casin Flower, Noah's Ark, etc. ; roots perennial, fibrous, fleshy, undulated 
 or crooked, long, about a line in diameter, from which arise one or sev- 
 eral round leafy sterna, growing from twelve to eighteen inches high. 
 Leaves from three to six inches long, by two or three broad, sheathing, 
 oblong-lanceolate, entire, veined, cauline, acuminate, pubescent, alter- 
 nate, generally the same number on each side. Flowers large, very 
 showy, terminal, solitary. Segments four. Dobe of the style triangular- 
 oblong, obtuse; sepafe ovate, oblong, acuminate; petals long, linear, con- 
 torted; lip shorter than the other petals, compressed laterally, very 
 convex and gibbous above, pale-yellow, from one and a half to two 
 inches long. — JB. — R. — W. 
 
 Cypripedium Parviflorumhasheen considered a distinct species by some 
 botanists, and as a mere variety by others. It differs from the above, 
 in having the lobe of the style acute, the leaves are broader, the flowers 
 somewhat larger, and the perianth more brownish -purple in color. — W. 
 
 History. ^-Thia plant is found in most parts of the United States, in 
 rich woods and meadows, flowering in May and June; its flowers are 
 scentless. There are several varieties of it, all of which possess similar 
 virtues, and the roots of which are undoubtedly collected, sold, and used 
 with the officinal article indiscriminately. They are as follows: 
 
 1. G. Spectabile, or Showy Ladies-slipper, having crowded, ovate- 
 lanceolate leaves, embracing each other ; lobe of the style elliptic-cordate, 
 obtuse ; sepals broad-ovate, obtuse ; lip longer than the petals, cleft before, 
 white striped with purple, two inches long, one and a half broad; ;?ow- 
 ers very large, two or three on each plant, appearing in June and July. 
 The whole plant pubescent. — W. 
 
 2. C. Acaule, Low or Stemless Ladies-slipper, having a bulbous root 
 with numerous fleshy fibers ; scape leafless, one-flowered ; leaves radical, 
 in pairs, oblong, obtuse; lobe of the sfj/Ze round-rhomboid, acuminate, 
 deflexed; lip longer than the lanceolate petals, cleft before, purple or 
 white, nearly two inches long, veiny; flowers solitary, terminal, with a 
 single, lanceolate bract at the base, and appearing in May and June 
 — W.—B.—B. 
 
 3. a Gandidum, Small White, or White-flowered Ladies-slipper, hav- 
 ing a leafy stem, oblong-lanceolate leaves; lobe of the style lanceolate. 
 
320 Mateeia Medioa. 
 
 somewhat obtuse; lip rather shorter than the larice-linear petals, white, 
 about three-quarters of an inch long ; flowers terminal, solitary. The 
 plant is slightly pubescent, seldom growing above a foot in height, the 
 flowers appear in May and June, — W. 
 
 4. C. Arietinum, or Eam's Head, having a leafy stem; elliptical, striate- 
 veined, sessile, amplexicaul leaves; lobe of the style orbicular, somewhat 
 obtuse; lip as long as the petals, saccate, obconic before, red, and white- 
 veined, hairy at the orifice, about half an inch long; perianth greenish- 
 brown. The flowers are mostly solitary with a leafy bract at base, and 
 appear in May and June. — W. — B. — B. 
 
 The C. Spectabile and G. Acaule are said to possess more narcotic 
 properties than the others, especially when inhabiting dark swamps. 
 
 The fibrous roots of these plants are the parts used in medicine; they 
 should be gathered in autumn, cleansed from dirt, and carefully dried 
 in the shade. They have a peculiar, slightly bitter, and rather nause- 
 ous taste, and a somewhat unpleasant odor. As met with in the shops, 
 they are composed of many long, fleshy, cylindrical fibers, of a pale- 
 yellow color, matted together. Alcohol, or boiling water, takes up their 
 virtues, which, however, are impaired by boiling. Mr. H. 0. Blair 
 found the root of G. Puhescens to contain a volatile oil, a volatile acid, 
 tannin, gallic acid, two resins, gum, glucose, starch, and ligneous mat- 
 ter ; the ashes gave salts of lime, potassa, and magnesia. — Am. Jour. 
 Pharm. XXXVIII, p. 494. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tonic, stimulant, diaphoretic, and antis^jas- 
 modic. This root is valuable in all cases of nervous excitability or irri- 
 tability unconnected with organic lesions, allaying the irritability, 
 lessening any accompanying pain, producing a more calm and cheerful 
 condition of body and mind, and consequently favoring mental 
 tranquillity, or sleep. Hence it has been of service in hysteria, chorea, 
 nervous headache, wakefulness and prostration in low fevers, epilepsy 
 from reflex irritation, and indeed in all cases of morbid irritability of 
 the nervous system, from functional derangement, or reflex irrita- 
 tion. It will be found very efficacious in the nervousness, hypochondria, 
 or mental depression accompanying certain forms of derangement of 
 the digestive organs, and which is more generally met with among 
 females. Its action is greatly increased when combined with certain 
 other agents, though this is not always necessary or advisable; thus, 
 combined with Eupatorium Aromatica and Scutellaria Lateriflora, it has 
 proved beneficial in neuralgia, delirium, and hypochondria. The alco- 
 holic extract is the best form of administration. Dose, from ten to 
 twenty grains ; tincture, from one to three fluidrachms ; infusion, from 
 one to four fluidounces; of the powder, one drachm in warm water,, re- 
 peated as ofted as required. The following preparation has been used 
 in sick or nervous headache, not dependent on acid stomach, in several 
 hundred cases, by various practitioners: Take of nepeta cataria, Scu- 
 tellaria lateriflora, and Cypripedium Puhescens in powder, of each, 
 half an ounce — pour on a pint of boiling water, and infuse for fifteen 
 or twenty minutes ; dose, one fluidounce of the warm infusion ; after 
 which, half a fluidounce, every half hour, for three or four hours, or 
 until the headache ceases. Used thus, during three or four attacks of 
 headache, it has, so far as I am informed, invariably effected perma- 
 nent cures of this distressing complaint. An infusion is said to be ben- 
 eficial in the pains of the joints following scarlet fever. Although con- 
 sidered by many practitioners superior to the foreign valerian, yet it 
 will be found inefficient in many instances where the European article 
 
Cttisus Sooparius. 321 
 
 will prove beneficial. The ethereal oil, made by exhausting the pow- 
 dered root with ether, and allowing it to evaporate so as to expel the 
 filtered ethereal tincture, will be found to contain the therapeutic value 
 of the plant in a highly concentrated form. 
 
 An impure active principle, an oleo-resin, and incorrectly named 
 Cypripedi7i, has been procured from the root by a process similar to 
 that named for oleo-resins of iris, xanthoxylum, etc. It possesses the 
 properties of the root in a marked degree, and may be given in doses 
 of from half a grain to two or even three grains. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Extractum Cypripedii Alcoholicum ; Extractum Cypripedii 
 Pluidum; Infusum Cypripedii; Tinctura SerpentarisB Composita. 
 
 CTTISUS SCOPAEIUS. (Besen Bohnenbaum.) 
 
 Common Broom. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Fabacese. Sex. Syst. — Diadelphia Decandria. 
 
 THE FRESH TOPS AND SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — This is a large, bushy shrub, growing from four to nine 
 feet high, with numerous, long, straight, pentangular, dark-green, 
 smooth, tough, very pliant branches. I/eaves deciduous, scattered, 
 stalked, ternate; th& upper ones generally simple; leaflets uniform, 
 obovate, obtuse, entire, silky when young. Flowers axillary, solitary, 
 or in pairs, on simple stales, longer than the leaves, papilionaceous, 
 large and handsome, of a deep golden-yellow color. Legume brown, 
 flat, above an inch long, nearly smooth at the sides, fringed with hairs 
 at each margin, containing about fifteen or sixteen seeds. The swell- 
 ing ovary soon splits the tube of the filaments. — L. 
 
 History. — This plant is common to Jlurope and this country, and is 
 frequently cultivated in gardens ; it grows on dry and sandy soils, and 
 flowers in May and June. The tops and the seeds are the officinal 
 parts; the latter may be preserved for a longer time than the former; 
 all parts of the plant have a peculiar, nauseously amarous taste, and 
 when rubbed have a singular odor. They contain oils, mucilage, albu- 
 men, etc., and yield their virtues to water or alcohol. The young 
 blossoms when pickled, are said to be equal to capers. ^ ^ „ 
 
 Two principles have been procured from this plant by Dr. Sten- 
 house • one in neutral, yellow, stellate crystals, and tasteless, called 
 Scoparin, C,„ H^ 0,„ the supposed diuretic principle ; the other a vola- 
 tile; colorless liquid, of a bitter taste, considerably heavier than water, 
 and boiling at 550°, called Spartitine or Spartem, C30 H^^ N„ the sup- 
 posed narcotic principle. . U.I. ^- ■ 11 
 
 Properties and Uses.— In large doses, emetic and cathartic ; in small 
 ones, diuretic. Used in dropsy; said never to fail m increasing the 
 flow of the urine; especially beneficial in dropsy of the thorax com- 
 bined with disease of the lungs. Dose, of a strong decoction, four 
 fluidounces every hour until it produces some effect ; of the pulverized 
 seed, from ten to fifteen grains, aided by the free use of diluents. 
 Seldom used in this country. 
 
 Off. Prep.— Deooctum Scoparii. 
 21 
 
322 Materia Medica. 
 
 DAPHNE MEZBEBUM. (Seidelbast.) 
 
 Mezereon. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Thymelacese. Sex. Syst. — Octandria Monogyaia. 
 
 THE BARK. 
 
 Description. — Mezereon, or Spurge Olive, is a weatherproof shrub, 
 with a large root and bushy stem four or five feet high, with upright, 
 alternate, smooth, tough, and pliant branches, leafy when young, and a 
 smooth dark-gray bark, which is not strongly attached to the wood. 
 LeavesJ,6Tmma\ on the branches, scattered, stalked, lanceolate, smooth, 
 deciduous, two inches long, appearing after the flowers, soon accom- 
 panied .by flower -buds for the next season. Flowers highly fragrant, 
 of a pale-rose color, little clusters on |;he naked branches, with several 
 brown, smooth, ovate bracteas underneath. Calyx tubular, hairy ex- 
 ternally, like a corolla in texture, crimson all over;' limb in 'four deep, 
 ovate, spreading, colored segments. Stamens eight ; filaments short, in 
 two rows, from about the middle of the tube; anthers roandish-oblong, 
 two-celled, simple, inclosed within the tube. Ovary superior, ovate; 
 Style short, terminal ; stigma capitate, depressed, entire. Berry scarlet, 
 pulpy, oval, one-celled, one-sided; seed suspended, oval, large, with a 
 thin brittle skin. — Zi. 
 
 Daphne Grnidium is a small bush, with the leaves linear-lanceolate, 
 clustered, acuminate, cuspidate, quite smooth. Flowers niimerous, 
 small, white, downy, fragrant, in terminal panicled racemes. Fruit 
 globular, dry, at first green, but ultimately black. — L. 
 
 Daphne Laureola or Spurge-laurel, is a smooth plant, with a stem two 
 or three feet high, round, pale, brown, upright, tough and pliant 
 branches, crowned with tufts of evergreen leaves, elegantly drooping in 
 all directions, about two or three inches long, lanceolate, glabrous, 
 acute, entire, subsessile. Flowers deep-green, with orange anthers, four 
 of which are just visible in the throat of the calyx, five together in 
 each axillary raceme. An oval, concave bract accompanies each short 
 partial stalk, at the base. Berry oval, black. — L. 
 
 Sistory. — All the species of Daphne possess active properties, but the 
 bark met with in commerce is usually obtained from, the three above 
 described, that from the latter being less active than the others. The 
 D. Mezereum is a native of the northern parts of Europe, where it is 
 cultivated both as a medicine and an ornament ; it flowers very early 
 in the spring, often before the snow has disappeared. The D. Qnidium 
 is found in the south of France on hills and barren plains, and its bark 
 is employed equally with that from the other kinds. The bark of the 
 root is the ofl3.cinal part, but much that is obtained in the shops is de- 
 rived from the stem. The D. Mezereum is the most active plant of the 
 genus; its bark is generally collected in the spring. It is met with in 
 flat or quilled pieces, a few feet in length, and from eight to twelve 
 lines in breadth, and put up in packages which are often globular. 
 , Externally it is olive-colored or brownish, and corrugated ; internally 
 whitish, cottony and cohesive ; its odor when dry is very feeble, and its 
 taste sweetish, followed by an acrid burning sensation in the mouth 
 and fauces. , Alcohol takes up its virtues ; also water by boiling. Oils 
 or fats boiled with it, likewise take up its active principles and form 
 ointments. It contains daphnin, wax, an acrid resin, a trace of vola- 
 tile-oil, yellow coloring principle, uncrystallizable but fermentable 
 sugar, nitrogenous gummy matter, reddish -brown extractive, woody 
 
Datura Stkamonium. ' 323 
 
 fiber, free malic acid, and malates of potassa, lime, and magnesia.— 
 P. — Gmelin and Bar. 
 
 Daphnin is not the principle to' which Mezereon owes its active prop- 
 erties, it fbrms in colorless crystals, but little soluble in cold, and 
 readily so in boiling water, is soluble in alcohol and ether, odorless, 
 and of a bitter slightly astringent taste. It may be obtained by mix- 
 ing the alcoholic solution of the bark with water, distilling off the 
 alcohol, and precipitating the residual liquid with acetate of lead. 
 Wash the precipitate with cold water, precipitate the lead by sulphu- 
 retted hydrogen, filter, evaporate to dryness, digest the residual mat- 
 ter in cold absolute alcohol, and leave this alcoholic solution to evapo- 
 rate spontaneously. — T. The active principle of the bark is very 
 probably a volatile oil which becomes oxidized forming an acrid resin, 
 and wbich maty be obtained by boiling the bark in alcohol, and when 
 the liquid is cool, filter, evaporate, and wash the residual extract with 
 water. The resin which is deposited is dark-green, brittle, very acrid, 
 and soluble in alcohol or ether. It is probably composed of a resin, 
 and an acrid oil. — P. — Squire. Mr. Squire states that Mezereon con- 
 tains a volatile acrid substance which is carried off by the vapor of 
 water, but not by that of alcohol. When boiled with water some of 
 the acrid principle of Mezereon bark passes off, which is not the case 
 when boiled with alcohol. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In large doses, Mezereon is an irritant poison, 
 causing redness and vesication of the skin when left in contact with it, 
 and causing, when swallowed, dryness and burning of the throat, 
 vomiting, hypercatharsis, and frequently renal irritation. The berries 
 hav]8 proved fatal to children who have eaten them; yet in some coun- 
 tries they are used as a purgative, in doses of eight to twelve. In 
 small doses it acts as a stimulant, alterative, diuretic, diaphoretic in 
 warm decoction, and cathartic. It acts favorably in syphilis, mer- 
 curio-syphilis, scrofdla, chronic rheumatism, and some forms of obsti- 
 aate disease of the skin. Dose of the decoction, from one to three 
 fluidounces; of the powder 10 grains. 
 
 Externally, it is used occasionally; sometimes employed by practi- 
 tioners to produce rubefaction and vesication, and in the form of oint- 
 ment as an application to blistered surfaces, indolent ulcers, and issues, 
 in order to excite suppuration. WTien vesication is desired, the bark 
 is soaked in hot vinegar and water to soften it, and then applied to 
 the part by a compress and bandage. The application is to be renewed 
 night and morning, until vesication is produced. — P. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Decoctum Sarsaparillae Compositum; Unguentum Mezerei. 
 
 DATUEA STEAMOmUM. (Stechapfel.) 
 
 Stramonium. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Solanace®. Sex. Syst.—Pentandrin Monogynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES AND SEEDS. 
 
 Pescription. — This plant, also called Thorn Apple, Jamestown Weed, 
 Stinkweed, Apple-peru, etc., is a bushy, smooth, fetid, annual plant, two 
 or three feet in height, and in rich soil even more. Boot rather large, 
 of a whitish color, giving off many fibers. Stem much branched, forked, 
 spreading, leafy, of a yellowish-green color. Leaves from the forks of 
 the stem, large, ovate, smooth, unequal at the base, variously and 
 
324 Materia Medioa. 
 
 acutely sinuated and toothed, veiny, dark -green above, paler beneath 
 Flowers large, axillary, erect, white, about three inches long. Corolla 
 funnel-shaped, regular, angular, plaited, with five mucronate lobes. 
 Calyx oblong, five-angled, five-toothed, dropping off from its base by a 
 circftilar horizontal incision, which remains permanently at the base of 
 the ovary. Stamens five ; anthers erect, oblong ; style filiform ; stigma 
 thick, obtuse, bilobed. Ovary free, oval, hairy, four-celled. Fruit a 
 large, dry, prickly capsule, ovate, half four- celled, with four valves, and 
 numerous black, reniform seeds, attached to a longitudinal receptacle 
 which occupies the center of each cell. — L. 
 
 Datura Tatula, or purple Stramonium, differs from the above, in hav- 
 ing its stem purplish, or dark -red, and with minute green punctations, 
 and its flowers of a dull deep purple at the angles, and purple stripes 
 inside. 
 
 History. — Stramonium is a well-known poisonous weed, growing in 
 all parts of the United .States, along road-sides, waste grounds, etc., 
 and flowering from July to September. Its native country is unknown. 
 It is found growing in Asia, Europe, Canada, Mexico, and Peru. The 
 whole plant has an unpleasant, fetid, narcotic odor, which diminishes 
 upon drying. Almost every part of the plant is possessed of medicinal 
 properties, but the officinal parts are the leaves and seeds. The leaves 
 should be gathered when the flowers are full blown, and carefully dried 
 in the shade. They have a rank odor when fresh, especially if bruised, 
 which is lost on drying, and a mawkish, amarous, nauseous taste. They 
 impart their properties to water, alcohol, and the fixed oils. Water 
 distilled from them slightly possesses their odor, but does not contain 
 their active properties. They consist, according to Promnitz (1815), 
 of resin, extractive (containing daturia), gummy extractive, green 
 fecula, albumen, phosphatic and vegetable salts of lime and magnesia, 
 water, and woody fiber. The seeds are small, reniform, compressed, 
 roughish, dark -brown or black when ripe, grayish-brown when unripe, 
 odorless, similar in taste with the leaves, with some acridity. "When 
 bruised they emit the peculiar heavy odor of the herb ; they should be 
 gathered when ripe. According to Brandes (1820), they contain ma- 
 late of daturia with some uncrystallizable sugar, fixed oil with some 
 chlorophylle, wax, resin, insoluble in ether, extractive, gummy extract- 
 ive, gum and bassorin with some salts, albumen and phytocolla, glute- 
 noin, malates of daturia, potassa, and lime, and acetate of potassa, 
 woody fiber, and water. Spirit, water, and fixed oils take up their 
 active properties. 
 
 Daturia may be obtained by exhausting tte bruised seeds with boil- 
 ing rectified alcohol, and then proceeding as for the active principle of 
 hyoscyamus. It is in glossy, colorless, tufliform crystals, without odor, 
 of a bitter, tobacco-like taste, an alkaline reaction, fusible at 212°, 
 and sublimes at a higher heat without change. It is soluble in 280 
 parts of cold water, in 72 of boiling, in 21 of ether, and in three parts 
 of alcohol, and can be obtained in colorless, prismatic crystals, by add- 
 ing water to its alcoholic solution. It forms crystalline salts with acids, 
 is highly poisonous, and is obtained in very minute quantity from the 
 seeds, only one-fiftieth of one per cent, being the maxium amount. — 
 Bastick. 
 
 Dr. A. Von Planta declares that daturia is identical with atropia, the 
 formula of each being — atropia. Cm Hjs NOe) daturia, C34 H23 NOg. — 
 (Am. Jour. Pharm., XXIII., 38.) 
 
 An empyreumatic oil of a poisonous character has been obtained from 
 
Datura Stramonium. 325 
 
 ■Stramonium plant by submitting it to destructive distillation. — (Mor 
 Ties, Ed. Med. and Surg. Jour., XXXIX.. 379. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In large doses, an energetic, narcotic poison, 
 producing dryness of the throat, thirst, nausea, giddiness, nervous agi- 
 tation, dilatation of the pupil, obscurity of vision, headache, disturb- 
 ance of the cerebral ftinctions, perspiration, occasional relaxation of the 
 bowels, and in some cases diuresis. — P. Wben about to prove fatal, 
 maniacal delirium, loss of voice, dryness of throat, etc., are usually 
 present. In medicinal doses it acts as an anodyne-antispasmodic, 
 without causing constipation, and will prove serviceable in cases where 
 opium can not be given. It has proved serviceable in mania, epilepsy, 
 gastritis, and enteritis, and may likewise be used to allay rheumatic, 
 syphilitic, and neuralgic pains. In combination with quinia, it forms 
 an invaluable preparation which has been found exceedingly beneficial 
 in intermittent fever, all periodic pains, headache, dysmenorrhea, de- 
 lirium tremens, etc. The leaves dried and smoked, are said to be useful 
 in relieving the paroxysms of spasmodic asthma. It is said that the 
 seeds exert an influence, to prevent abortion, superior to any thing else ; 
 seven seeds to be given at first, after which, one every hour, as may be 
 required. 
 
 In plethoric habits, and in patients with determination to the head, 
 Stramonium must be administered with caution, keeping the excretory 
 organs, as the skin, kidneys, and bowels, in an active condition during 
 its employment. Externally, a poultice of the fresh leaves, bruised, or 
 the dried leaves in hot water, will be found an excellent application 
 over the bowels, in severe forms of gastritis, enteritis, peritonitis, etc. 
 I have in many instances applied them to the perineum, in cases of 
 retention of urine from enlarged prostate, where it was impossible to 
 introduce a catheter, and, after having allowed them to remain for 
 about half an hour, have been enabled to pass the catheter with ease 
 and facility, and thus afford relief to the patient. I have met with 
 similar good results in urethral stricture. It will also be found bene- 
 ficial as a local medication to all species of painful ulcers, acute ophthal- 
 mia, swelled breasts, inflammatory rheumatism, and hemorrhoidal tu- 
 mors. An ointment of it is very valuable in many of the above dis- 
 eases. In cases where the leaves can not be obtained, a plaster of 
 the alcoholic extract or inspissated juice may be applied over the 
 affected parts; or the extract may be rendered thin by heating it in 
 diluted alcohol, and then formed into a poultice with meal or moistened 
 bread and applied. In the absence of belladonna, the extract of Stramo- 
 nium may be mixed with lard, and rubbed over the eyelid, or a solution 
 of it dropped into the eye, in order to produce dilatation of the pupil, 
 previous to the operation for cataract ; it is equally efficacious with 
 this agent. Dose of the powdered leaves or seeds, from one to five 
 grains; of the extract, which is the best form of administration, from 
 one-eighth of a grain to two grains; of the tincture, for which the 
 seeds, bruised, are preferable, from five to thirty drops. It is very re- 
 markable that a plant So closely allied to belladonna in its therapeutical 
 influences, and so readily obtained in this country, should not have had 
 greater attention bestowed upon its peculiar actions upon the system ; 
 it is supposed to be identical in medicinal virtue with that foreign 
 plant, but this supposition is based upon no positive investigations, but 
 only upon an apparent identity of action. Like belladonna, it possesses 
 antae;onistic power to the poisonous effect of opium ; and, as far as 
 known, it may be substituted for the former agent in almost all cases 
 
526 Materia Medica. 
 
 Daturia is seldom employed in medicine; it is a verj energetic poison, 
 one-eighth of a grain having killed a sparrow in three hours, and nearly 
 proved fatal to a cat, when applied to the eye. Yery minute quantities 
 applied to the eye occasion protracted and excessive dilatation of tho 
 pupil. In cases of poisoning by stramonium, the best mode of obtain- 
 ing relief -is to evacuate the stomach by emetics or the stomach-pumjj, 
 after which vinegar and water may be used, with mucilaginous drinks, 
 at a later period, and strong coffee, tea and other stimulating drinks, 
 if there is much prostration. Magneto-electricity may also be useful, 
 According to Garrod, caustic alkalies, but not their carbonates, destroy 
 the active principle of Stramonium. 
 
 Off. Prep.— Cataplasma Stramonii ; Extractum Stramonii Alooholicum ; 
 Tinctura Stramonii ; Tinctura Yiburnii Composita ; Unguentum Stra- 
 monii ; Unguentum Stramonii Oompositum. 
 
 DATJ0I7S CAEOTA. (Mohre.) 
 
 Wild Carrot. — Wilde Mohrrube. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Apiacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 THE EOOT AND SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — Wild Carrot is a biennial herb, with a slender, yellow- 
 ish, aromatic, spindle-shaped and sweetish root. Stems two or three 
 feet high, round, branched, erect, furrowed, leafy, hairy, or bristly. 
 Leaves alternate, on broad, concave, ribbed footstalks, bipinnate, cut; 
 narrow, acute, distantly hairy ; leaflets linear, acute. Flowers small, 
 white or cream-colored, except the one central, neutral flower, which is 
 blood-red. Umbels terminating the long, leafless branches, solitary, 
 large, dense, concave, many-rayed. General involucre pinnatifid, slen- 
 der, large, not so long as the umbel ; partial involucre undivided, or 
 partly three-cleft, membranous at the edges ; petals five, obovate, emar- 
 ginate, with an inflected point. Fruit small, oval, somewhat compressed, 
 pale dull-brown; half -fruits or mericarps with the five primary ridges 
 filiform and bristly, the three middle ones at the back, the lateral on 
 the plane of the commissure ; the four secondary equal, more prominent, 
 winged, split into a single row of spines. Vittce solitary in the chan- 
 nels below the secondary ridges. — I/. — W. — G. 
 
 Sistory. — Wild Carrot is indigenous to Europe, and is extensivelj' 
 naturalized in this country, growing in old fields and by road-sides, 
 flowering from June to September. By cultivation it becomes some- 
 what changed, as in the Garden Carrot. The root of the wild variety, 
 and the seeds of both kinds are oflScinal. The seeds or mericarps are 
 oval, with plano-convex surfaces, slightly ciliated, and marked with 
 five ridges, from a line to a line and a half long, of an agreeable, aro- 
 matic smell, and a moderately pungent, bitter taste. — Ed. Their medi- 
 cinal properties are owing to a volatile oil, which is colorless, or slightly 
 tinged with yellow, and which may be procured by distilling them with 
 water. They yield their virtues by infusion, to water, at 212° F. ; boil- 
 ing dissipates them. No particular analysis has been made of them. 
 
 The root is fusiform, slender, yellowish-white, occasionally branched, 
 rather woody, possessing a peculiar aromatic odor, and an unpleasant, 
 bitterish taste, with some acrimony. The root of the Garden Carrot is 
 fusiform, from nine to twelve inches in length, white, orange, yellow, 
 or reddish-colored, transversely wrinkled, with sdattered radicles, hav- 
 ing a reticulated bark or fleshy jjarenchyma. and a round or angularly 
 
Delfhinium Consolida. — Delphinium Staphisaguia. 327 
 
 radiated medulla; they are quite thick, have an agreeable, peculiar odor 
 and a rather pleasant, saccharo-mucilaginous taste. According to Wack- 
 enroder, the expressed juice of Carrot root contains fixed oil, with some 
 volatile oil, carotin, uncrystallizable sugar, with some starch and malic 
 acid, albumen, ashes composed of alumina, lime and iron. It also contains 
 pectose, a substance insoluble in water, alcohol, or ether, which gives the 
 hardness to green fruits, and which may be converted into pectin. The 
 volatile oil is of sp. gr. 0.8863 at 54° P., is very soluble in alcohol or 
 ether, less so in water, is colorless, and has the odor and strong taste 
 of Carrots. Carotin is a ruby-red crystalline, tasteless, odorless, neutral 
 substance, fusible, combustible, soluble in fixed and volatile oils, slightly 
 80 in alcohol, not in ether, and its solutions are not decolorized by solar 
 light.— P. 
 
 Pectin, or vegetable jelly, C^^ H^q O^, 4 Hj Oj, is found ainiversally 
 s'cattered over the vegetable kingdom, being in considerable quantity 
 in many fruits, roots, etc. It may be obtained from the juice of all 
 fruits by, 1, the cautious addition of oxalic acid to throw down their 
 lime ; 2, then adding a concentrated solution of tannin so long as a pre- 
 cipitate occurs, of coagulated albumen ; 3, separating the albumen by 
 filtration, and then adding alcohol to the clear liquid, and leaving the 
 solution for a couple of days to spontaneous evaporation, when the 
 pectin is deposited in a gelatinous coagulum; to obtain it in purity, 
 subject it to gradual pressure, and wash it with weak alcohol. It is 
 translucent like isinglass, swells up in 100 parts of cold water, forming 
 a mass like starch, but not colored blue by iodine; boiling water has 
 less action upon it than cold. It is insoluble in alcohol or ether, and 
 has no action on polarized light. The least trace of a fixed alkali in- 
 stantly converts it into pectic acid, forming a pectate of the alkali; the 
 addition of another acid decomposes it, and sets the pectic acid free. 
 Pectic acid, B.^ C32 H20 O30, has the form of a transparent and colorless 
 jelly, with a perceptible acid taste, reddens litmus, and forms salts with 
 alkalies. — T. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Both the root and seeds are mildly stimulant 
 and diuretic. Used in infusion with much success, in dropsy, chronic 
 nephritic affections, and gravel. Also as a carminative, and to relieve 
 strangury from cantharides. Externally, scraped or grated, it forms an 
 excellent application as a poultice to phagedenic, cancerous, malignant 
 and indolent ulcers— relieving the pain,, correcting the fetor, lessening 
 the discharge, and altering the morbid condition of the parts. Dose 
 of the inflision, from two to four fluidounces, three or four times daily. 
 
 Off. iVep.— Cataplasma Dauci ; Bxtractum Dauci Fluidum ; Infusum 
 Dauci. 
 
 DBLPHIPriUM COKSOLIDA. (Peld Eittersporn.) 
 
 Larkspur. 
 
 DELPHmiUM STAPHISAGEIA. (Lausekraut Eittersporn.) 
 
 Stavesacre. 
 Nat. Ori.— Eanunculacese. Sex. ^S^st— Polyandria Trigynia. 
 
 THE ROOT AND SEEDS. 
 
 Descn»^ion.— Delphinium Consolida is an annual herb, with a simple, 
 Blender root, and a suberect, leafy stem, from a foot and a half to two 
 feet high, with alternate spreading branches. Leaves sessile, m many 
 
328 Materia Medica. 
 
 deep divisions, which are three-cleft, subdivided into narrow lineai 
 acute segments. Flowers bright blue or purple, in terminal, lax, few- 
 flowered racemes; bracts simple or divided, longer than the pedicels. 
 Corolla monopetalous ; two spurs combined in one. Carpels solitary, 
 smooth, follicular; seeds numerous, dark-brown or black, angular, very 
 rough. — I/. 
 
 Delphinium Staphisagria is an elegant, stout, upright herb, and about 
 the same height as the preceding; sterna and petioles hispid, with long, 
 soft hairs. Leaves broad, palmated, petioled, five to nine cleft. Flowers 
 bluish gray, in terminal, lax racemes, with hairy pedicels at least an 
 inch long, bracts inserted at their base. Petals five, dirty-white, the 
 two lower spathulate. Spur hardly two lines long. Capsules three, 
 large, villous, containing many globose, three-cornered, thick, black 
 seeds. — li. < 
 
 History. — The Delphinium Gonsolida is a native of Europe, which has 
 become naturalized in the United States, growing in woods and fields, 
 and flowering in June and July.. The flowers of the wild plant are 
 blue ; of the cultivated blue, red, or white. The whole plant contains 
 an acrid principle, more abundant in the seeds. The seeds furnish 
 considerable oil ; and a blue pigment is obtained from the flowers, 
 which is rendered permanent by alum. Diluted alcohol is its best 
 solvent. 
 
 The D. Staphisagria is a native of the south of Europe, growing in 
 waste places ; the seeds are the ofllcinal part. They are alDout the size 
 of ryorgrains, somewhat triangular, sometimes quadrangular, slightly 
 arched, blackish-brown and wrinkled externally, and containing a 
 white, oily nucleus ; their odor is faint, but unpleasant, and their taste 
 acrid, bitter, pungent, and disagreeable. They yield their properties 
 to water or alcohol. — P. — T. 
 
 The seeds of the D. Gonsolida contain delphinia, volatile oil, fixed oil, 
 
 fum resin, ehlorophylle, gallic acid, and salts of potassa, lime and iron, 
 'hose of the D. Staphisagria contain a brown and a yellow bitter prin- 
 ciple, brown bitter matter, yellow bitter matter, fatty oil, volatile oil, 
 gum, uncrystallizable sugar, albumen, mineral salts, malate of delphi- 
 nia, etc. Wicke obtained itaconic acid (Hj Cm H^ Og-j-CO^") from D. 
 Gonsolida by the following process : " The expressed juice of the plant 
 was boiled for about half an hour to separate the albumen and ehloro- 
 phylle, strained oxalic acid added to separate lime, the filtrate treated 
 with acetate of lead ; the lead salt decomposed by sulphuretted hydro- 
 gen, and these two operations repeated until a tolerably colorless liquid 
 was obtained, it being very difdcult to separate the coloring substances. 
 This liquid, evaporated to dryness, was treated with ether* when the 
 itaconic acid was obtained on evaporation in the form of warty masses 
 of crystals, which were readily soluble in alcohol and water. When 
 heated in a tube these distilled ofl" drops of a liquid which crystallized 
 (itaconic acid) and a voluminous c6al remained." 
 
 The alkaloid, Delphinia, may be obtained by digesting the seeds Id 
 water acidulated with sulphuric acid, and precipitating the acid liquid 
 by an alkali or magnesia. Wash and dry the precipitate, and digest it 
 in boiling alcohol, which will dissolve the delphinia. Treat the solu- 
 tion with ivory black, filter, and precipitate the delphinia by ammonia ; 
 dissolve this in alcohol, and the alkaloid is obtained in the form of 
 powder. , 
 
 It is odorless, has a slight amber-color, an acrid, persistent taste, fuses 
 at 248°, soluble in alcohol or ether, slightly so in water, and forms 
 
jJiSLPHINIUM CONSOLIDA. — DELPHINIUM StaPHISAGRIA. ' 329 
 
 talts, with the acids. As usually procured, it contains a resinous mat- 
 ter, and an acrid resin, which M. Couerbe calls staphysain. — T. 
 
 Properties and C/ses— -The D. Staphisagria possesses the same prop- 
 erties as the D. Consolida, but in a higher degree. In large doses they 
 are irritant poisons ; in medicinal doses the former is emetic, cathartic, 
 and narcotic, but its action is too violent and uncertain for these indi- 
 cations. An infusion of the seeds of Stavesacre may, however be ad- 
 vantageously used both by the mouth and in injection, as a vermifuge. 
 The powdered seeds mixed with lard have been found useful in some 
 forms of cutaneous disease, and to destroy lice in the hair ; a tincture, 
 or infusion of the bruised seeds in vinegar may be employed for the 
 same object. The seeds have likewise been used in some countries to 
 intoxicate fish. 
 
 Prof. J. M. Scudder considers the D. Staphisagria almost, if not quite, 
 a specific in controlling irritation of the urino-genital apparatus, as in 
 the prostatorrhea resulting from masturbation ; in chronic irritation 
 of the neck of the bladder, especially when the result of gonorrhea or 
 cold, and associated with temporary enlargement or irritation of 
 the prostate, in chordee ; and in gonorrheal prostatitis. He has also 
 found it useful in uterine affections attended with deep-seated soreness, 
 dragging, bearing-down pain, painful or scalding micturition, and leu- 
 corrhea ; in gonorrhea ; in amenorrhea ; in the mental irritability and 
 restlessness attending painful or exhausting diseases ; in hysteria and 
 hypochondria ; and in prolapsus uteri where there are evidences of 
 feeble circulation in the reproductive organs. He gives a teaspoonful 
 three or four times a day, of a mixture of two fluidrachms of the, con- 
 centrated tincture in four fluidounces of water. Staphisagria in ther- 
 apeutical doses appears to be a permanent stimulant, somewhat re- 
 sembling nux vomica, increasing innervation, stimulating free circula- 
 tion, improving the appetite and digestion, giving tone to the sexual 
 organs, and removing morbid- mental depression. ' I have found it de- 
 cidedly useful in chronic irritable states of the bladder. Its use is con- 
 tra-indicated in active inflammatory conditions. 
 
 Theflowers of the D. Consolida are considered diuretic, emmenagogue, 
 and vermifuge; they were formerly used ae a local application to wounds, 
 and the decoction was recommended as efficacious in some ophthalmic 
 affections. The seeds possess similar properties with those of the D. 
 Staphisagria, but less energetic. A tincture of them has been recom- 
 mended in calculus as a vermifuge, and to destroy lice in the hair ; it 
 has also been found useful in spasmodic asthma and dropsy. It is 
 made by adding two ounces of the seed to a quart of diluted alcohol, 
 of which ten drops may be given three times a daj-, gradually increas- 
 ing the quantity until the system is influenced by it. The root pos- 
 sesses similar virtues, but is seldom employed. A drachm or two of 
 the flowers of D. Consolida, placed in a pint of hot water, and slowly 
 simmered down to half a pint, then strained and sweetened, is said to 
 be an excellent remedy for cholera morbus ; to be administered in tea- 
 cupful doses, at short intervals, until relief is obtained. As an anti- 
 emetic in the vomiting of autumnal fevers and other diseases, this plant 
 is highly extolled, calming the stomach speedily, and giving a delight- 
 ful relief • it is used in infusion, made similar to the above, by adding 
 half an ounce of the leaves and flowers to half a pint of boiling water. 
 The dose is a wineglassful, to be repeated every half hour or oftener, 
 if necessary. This plant undoubtedly deserves further investigation. 
 The seeds of the D. Consolida in tincture, have been found to possess 
 
330* Materia Medioa. 
 
 similar properties to the D. Staphisagria, but in a lesser degree. An 
 infusion of the flowers has been found useful in dysentery. 
 
 I/elphinia possesses the peculiar properties of the seed in an eminent 
 degree. It is very poisonous, expending its force more especially upon 
 the brain and nerves; six grains of it dissolved in vinegar killed a dog 
 in forty minutes, — the symptoms are vomiting, giddiness; and convul- 
 sions. Dr. Turnbull states that pure delphinia may be given in doses 
 of half a grain, to the extent of three or four grains a day, without any 
 unpleasant results; it sometimes purges, mostly promotes diuresis, and , 
 occasions feelings of heat and tingling in various parts of the body. If, 
 used at all, it should be with excessive caution /Externally, it' has 
 been successfully used in neuralgia, rheumatism, '^nd paralysis : it is 
 applied by friction over the part in the form of ointment or alcoholic 
 solution, in proportions varying from ten to thirty grains of delphinia 
 to one ounce of the vehicle ; and the friction should be continued till 
 some redness and burning are produced. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Tinctura StaphisagriaB. 
 
 DIEEVILLA CANADEJSrSIS. (Canadische Dierville.) 
 
 Bush Honeysuckle. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Caprifoliacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 KOOT, LEAVES AND TWIGS. 
 
 Description. — This plant, the Diervilla Triflda pf Msenchousen, and 
 sometimes called Gravelweed, is a low shrub, with a branching, pithy 
 stem, about two or three feet high. Leaves from two to four inches 
 long by one to one and a half broad, ovate, acuminate, finely serrate, 
 opposite, deciduous, on short petioles. Peduncles axillary and termi- 
 nal, dichotomous, and from one to three-flowered ; flowers greenish-yel- 
 low. Calyx tube oblong, limb five-cleft, with two bracts ; corolla twice 
 as long as the calyx, greenish -yellow, five-cleft, funnel-shaped; border 
 five-cleft, spreading. , Stamens five, which with the style are much ex- 
 serted. Stigma capitate. Capsule oblong, attenuate above, two-celled, 
 naked with many seeds. — W. 
 
 History. — This is a woody shrub, growing in the United States from 
 Canada to Carolina, in hedges and thickets, and by the sides of fences 
 and rocks, flowering in June. The leaves, twigs, and roots are the 
 parts used, and yield their properties to alcohol, and boiling water in 
 infusion. / 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Diuretic, astringent, and alterative. A cold 
 infusion of the bruised leaves and twigs, used freely, has been very 
 beneficial in inflammation of the bladder with gravelly deposit in the 
 urine, in nephritic and calculous affections, and in gonorrhea. The 
 root is said to be a superior article, in decoction or syrup, for the cure 
 of syphilis. Externally applied to erysipelas, or erysipelatous inflam- 
 mations, and over the inflamed surface occasioned by the rhus, ivy or 
 poison vine, it soon relieves the itching, burning, inflammation and 
 swelling. A very valuable remedy. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Inftisum DiervillsB. 
 
Digitalis Purpurea. 331 
 
 DIGITALIS PUEPUEBA. (Purpurrother Fingerhut.) 
 
 Foxglove. 
 
 Nat Ord. — Scrophulariacese. Sex. Syst. — ^Didynamia Angiospermia. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — Foxglove is a handsome biennial plant, with a whitish 
 root of numerous, long and slender fibers. Stem straight, wand-like, 
 leafy, mostly simple, roundish, with several slight angles, downy, three 
 or four feet high. Leaves alternate, ovate or elliptic oblong, crenate, 
 downy, rugged and veiny, of a dull green, tapering at the base into 
 winged footstalks ; radical ones largest. Flowers numerous, large, pen- 
 dulous, scentless, crimson, elegantly marked with eye-like spots and 
 hairy within, in terminal, one-sided, erect, simple racemes. Corolla 
 monopetalous, campanulate,'Ventricose, contracted at the base, with an 
 oblique limb ; mper lip emarginate ; lower, trifid, with the middle lobe 
 the largest. Clalyx of five acute sepals, permanent, much shorter than 
 the corolla; the uppermost narrowest. Stamens didynamous, inserted 
 into the base of the corolla; anthers large, acute, naked; style simple; 
 stigma bilamellate. Capsule ovate, sharp-pointed, with a septicidal 
 dehiscence; seeds many, small, grayish-brown, pitted, oblong. — i. 
 
 Sistory. — Foxglove is indigenous to Europe, and has been introduced 
 into the United States, where it flowers in June and July. The ofllci- 
 nal part is the leaves, though the seeds will be found much more effi- 
 cient. The leaves should be collected while the plant is in bloom, — 
 Duncan says "before the inflorescence," — selecting only those which are 
 fully developed, and separating from them the inert petioles and mid- 
 veins; they should then be dried by exposure to a current of dry air, by 
 being placed in a drying stove, or by being inclosed in a hot-air press. 
 Much care is necessary in preserving them for medical purposes, or 
 else they will prove inefficient. "When well prepared, the powder has 
 a fine green color, and retains the intense bitterness of the fresh leaves. 
 The leaves, when dried or in powder, should be placed in opaque, well- 
 slosed vessels, to protect them from the deleterious influence of damp- 
 ness and solar light ; and the drug should be renewed annually, as it 
 loses its virtues by age. The mode of compressing the leaves into a 
 dense cake, as pursued by the Shakers, is by no means to be recom^ 
 mended, as the internal portions of these cakes are very apt to become 
 moldy. Fresh Foxglove leaves have a slight virose odor, which by 
 desiccation becomes feebly narcotic, with an acrid, bitter, disagreeable 
 taste and a dark-green color. Their properties are yielded to alcohol, 
 ether, water, or diluted acids. A solution of sesquichloride of iron added 
 to infusion of Digitalis renders it dark greenish-black ; tincture of galls 
 causes a gray precipitate ; when triturated with lime, the leaves give 
 out ammonia. 
 
 Natlvelle found in the leaves of Digitalis, digitalin (a glucoside) com- 
 bined with tannic acid, a crystallizable substance, aromatic principle, 
 crystallizable resinous matter, fixed oil, sugar, red coloring matter 
 soluble in water, chlorophylle, extractive, albumen, and salts contain- 
 ing vegetable and inorganic acids. Morin found volatile antirrhinic 
 acid, and digitalic acid.— P. The leaves submitted to destructive dis- 
 tillation yield an empyreumatic oil, semi-solid at 60° F., and soluble 
 in boiling alcohol and &i\i&v.—Ed.Med. And Surg. Jbwr.., XXXIX., 377. 
 
 W Bnglehardt has procured from the leaves a volatile oily alkaloid, 
 naving a penetrating odor, and soluble in alcohol and absolute ether, 
 
332 Materia Medioa. 
 
 slightly soluble in chloroform, and much less so in water ; he called it 
 digitalium fluidum. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 1864, p. 126. — Homolle and 
 Quevenne found in the plant, three neutral principles, four organic 
 acids, organic substances, inorganic salts, etc. 
 
 Wittstein gives the following formula for preparing Digitalin: 
 
 "A quantity of the coarsely powdered leaves of Foxglove are di- 
 gested with eight times their weight of alcohol of 80 per cerit. at the 
 ordinary temperature for some days, the residue pressed, washed with 
 a little alcohol, filtered, and most of the alcohol distilled from it, the 
 contents of the retort evaporated to the consistence of an ordinary ex- 
 tract, and treated with a mixture of one part of concentrated acetic 
 acid and thirty parts of water, in a water-bath. The acetic acid solu- 
 tion is agitated with animal charcoal that has been purified by diges- 
 tion with hydrochloric acid ; then filtered, neutralized with ammonia, 
 and precipitated with an aqueous solution of tannic acid, the precipi- 
 tate collected on a filter, exhausted with water, rubbed with about one- 
 sixth its weight of finely powdered oxide of lead, and dried in a water- 
 bath. The dried mass is finely powdered, exhausted with alcohol 90 
 per cent., and filtered; the filtrate treated with animal charcoal, and 
 slowly evaporated in a water-bath. "When all the alcohol is removed, 
 and the residue becomes nearly dry, it is rinsed a few times with pure 
 water, thoroughly dried, shaken with ether, the ether poured oflF, and 
 the residue dissolved in warm alcohol of 90 per cent., then slowly 
 evaporated. The yield is about -^ or -^-^ the weight of the dried leaves 
 used. 
 
 " To obtain a good yield and pure digitalin, it is necessary to em- 
 ploy as small an amount of heat as possible. Alcohol readily dissolves 
 digitalin at the ordinary temperature, but at the same time takes up 
 extractive matter, etc., which gives the tincture a dark color. Acetic 
 acid dissolves from the alcoholic extract all th,e digitalin, and but a 
 part of the coloring-matter, which last is almost entirely removed by 
 animal charcoal. After the acetic acid has been neuti-alized by am- 
 monia, tannic acid precipitates the digitalin, and in order to free it 
 from the precipitant, the latter is combined with oxide of lead, with 
 which it forms an insoluble compound. Prom the residual extract of 
 the alcoholic solution, water takes up only a trace of extractive matter; 
 ether, some other impurities, with only a trace of digitalin. After 
 dissolving in alcohol, and allowing this to evaporate very slowly, the 
 digitalin is obtained quite pure." 
 
 Digitalin forms white, odorless, warty masses, of a persistent bitter 
 taste, which is but slowly perceptible from its insolubility. Its dust 
 excites violent sneezing. When heated gradually, it first melts, evolves 
 acid vapors, ignites, and flnallj^ is consumed without residue. It is 
 neutral and contains no nitrogen, and is soluble in 2,000 parts of water 
 at 60° P. ; in 1,000 parts at 212° P.; in 288 parts of ether sp. gr. 0.750, 
 and 1,250 parts of ether sp. gr. 0.726 ; it is readily soluble in alcohol, 
 'the more so the stronger and warmer the latter is. "With ^potassa it 
 gradually loses its bitter taste. It prevents fermentation in an aque- 
 ous solution of sugar, and is probably a poison to beer yeast. Concen- 
 trated hydrochloric acid rapidly dissolves it to a yellow liquid, which 
 becomes emerald-green, and gradually of a deep green, while, finally, 
 green flakes are deposited. Concentrated sulphuric acid gives ai black- 
 ish-brown solution, which after several days becomes brownish-red. 
 amethyst gray, finally cochineal red, and on diluting with water ac- 
 quires a green appearance. Boiled with this acid, it is converted into 
 
Digitalis Purpurea. 333 
 
 grape-sugar and a feebly acid and bitter substance. In the French 
 Codex, the process of MM. Homolle and Quevenne for preparing Digi- 
 taline is given as follows : Place powdered dry leaves of purple Digi- 
 talis 2,000 parts in a displacement apparatus, and moisten it with 
 3,000 parts of distilled water. Then add gradu^illy, and by small por- 
 tions at a time, a sufficient quantity of distilled water until 6,000 parts 
 of fluid of sp. gr. 1.050, at least, have been obtained. To this perco- 
 lated infusion add fluid subacetate of lead 500 parts ; separate the pre- 
 cipitate on a filter. Add successively to the filtered liquid carbonate 
 of soda 80 parts, in solution, and ammoniacal phosphate of soda 4(/ 
 parts, in solution. Again filter, and precipitate the liquor by tannin 
 80 parts, in solution. Collect this precipitate on a filter, and mix it 
 with litharge 50 parts, animal charcoal 100 parts. Dry this mixture, 
 exhaust it by alcohol of 90 per cent., evaporate the solution to dryness 
 in a water-bath. Exhaust the residue by distilled water, recover it by 
 alcohol of 90 per cent. ; again evaporate to drive off the alcohol, and 
 exhaust the residue by chloroform. By evaporation of the chloroform, 
 the digitaline is obtained in the form of a friable resinous mass, having 
 a peculiar aromatic odor, an extremely bitter taste, giving a neutral 
 reaction, and soluble in all proportions in alcohol or chloroform. It 
 softens at 194° F., fuses at 212° F., is not precipitated from its solution 
 by lead salts, forms an insoluble compound with tannic acid, and be- 
 comes colored emerald-green in contact with hydrochloric acid, a 
 property which characterizes it. It is twice as active as when not 
 purified by solution in chloroform. This is made into granules by the 
 following process, each granule containing one milligramme (minus 
 -g-'i^-th troy grain) of the digitaline, in a porcelain mortar; triturate 
 digitaline ten parts with sugar of milk 400 parts, which must be added 
 gradually in small portions at a time ; mix with this powdered gum 
 Arabic 90 parts, then, with a sufficient quantity of syrup of honey,* 
 make a very homogeneous pilular mass, which is to be divided into 
 100 pills, and these must be silvered over. The digitaline, however, 
 made by the preceding process is by no means a chemically pure arti- 
 cle, as it contains other substances ; yet it has much greater certainty 
 of action than the powdered leaves or their tincture, as it possesses a 
 constant equality of action. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In single large doses. Digitalis is an irritant- 
 narcotic poison, producing gastro-intestinal irritation, nausea, vomit- 
 ing, and very abundant, alvine evacuations. Its action is afterward 
 spent upon the nervous system, causing vertigo, dimness of sight, de- 
 lirium, convulsions, or a general debility, and finally death. — U. & V. 
 A slow, feeble, irregular pulse and suppression of urine are generally 
 present. When given in medicinal doses, too long continued, or in 
 quantities to exert an immediate action on the system, it causes an 
 increased discharge of urine, reduces the pulse from seventy beats in 
 a minute to thirty, with languor, nausea, occasionally anxiety and sali- 
 vation, a sense of weight, or constriction, obtuse pain in the head, giddi- 
 ness, disordered vision, mental disturbance, and rarely spectral illu- 
 sions ; not unfrequently a huskiness of the voice is present, the result 
 of irritation of the fauces, trachea, etc. And if the use of the remedy 
 be persisted in, these eflfects will continue to increase until the poison- 
 ous symptoms, first referred to, become developed. Dr. Fuller states 
 
 <■ Syrup of honey is made by dissolving with heat four parts of clear ^hite honey in 
 one part of water, skim it, concentrate to 30° B. while it is boiling hot, and then strain 
 through flannel. 
 
334 Materia Medica. 
 
 that digitalis stimulates the muscular fibers of the hear'', and augments 
 the contractility of the capillaries ; when it kills it does so not by pro- 
 ducing paralysis of the heart, but by giving rise to tonic contraction 
 and spasm of that organ. 
 
 In, medicinal doses,. Foxglove is sedative and diuretic, and may be 
 employed with advantage in febrile diseases, acute inflammations, in- 
 sanity, neuralgia attended with irritative fever, asthma, hemoptysis, 
 hooping-cough, palpitation of the heart, epilepsy, and as a diuretic in 
 dropsy, connected with diseased heart or kidneys. It should always 
 be used with care, on account of its cumulative effect, which may other- 
 wise occasion an unexpected fatality. When its constitutional effects 
 become obvious, the exhibition of the remedy should be omitted from 
 time to time, in order to guard against the results of this alarming ac- 
 cumulation. When its sedative effect is too great, it is best counter- 
 acted by the use of wine and opium conjointly. Digitalis primarily 
 excites the vaso-motor nerves only, those which are limited to the ven- 
 tricular portion of the heart, contracting the blood-vessels ; tempo- 
 rarily quickens the heart's action ; and secondarily, through paralysis 
 of those nerves, dilatation of the blood-vessels ensues with consequent 
 spasm of the muscular tissue. Hence in cardiac hypertrophy it should 
 be given in small doses; in cardiac dilatation, in doses to produce its 
 physiological action. It therefore acts as a sedative to an over-excited 
 heart, and as a tonic to a weak and enfeebled heart. But its principle' 
 employment should be in dilated enfeebled heart with feeble and ir- 
 regular pulse. According to some writers it is contra-indicated in 
 ramoUissement and fatty degeneration of the heart, and in aortic re- 
 gurgitation, while it is especially beneficial in aortic obstructive disease. 
 M. Legroux states that when given to persons in feeble health it in- 
 creases the contractile power of the capillaries, causing increased arte- 
 rial tension, lowering the temperature of the body, diminishing the 
 frequency of the heart beats, and relieving local congestiono. It has, 
 hence, been of service in pneumonia, uterine and pulmon&,ry hemor- 
 rhage, and in hemorrhoids. In cases where the circulation is gener- 
 ally active, aconite is preferable to digitalis, in doses of from one-fourth 
 of a minim to a minim. " Digitalis is indicated where there is a dimi- 
 nution of vascular tension; if the cardiac palpitations are purely nerv- 
 ous without any modification of arterial tension, digitalis is of no value. 
 Another indication for the use of digitalis is oedema, which shows an 
 abnormal disposition of the cellules to admit the fluid material of the 
 blood into them. It should not be employed in heart diseases of aged 
 persons, among those heart diseases that have already attained to a 
 period of complete and continued asystole, nor in excessive dilatation 
 of the heart, various cardiac degenerations, and other persistent condi 
 tions of a manifest hyposthenia." — Ferrand. Its diuretic effect is the 
 result of its secondary action. Dr. Bouchardat prefers the granules of 
 digitaline of Homolle and Quevenne to the powdered leaves, tincture, 
 or infusion, because, as he truly says, the proportions of digitaline con- 
 tained in the leaves are very variable and uncertain, owing to the 
 different phases of the life of the plant and its period of collection. 
 More frequently he prescribes three of these granules, but never more 
 than six in the course of twenty -four hours ; after administering them 
 for six days, he orders an omission of their use for at least eight days, 
 then resumes them for six days, and so on alternately, and in this 
 manner obtains its therapeutical influences without any fear of danger 
 from its employment. The dose of Digitalis in powder is from half a 
 
DiOSCOREA \*ILLOSA. 335 
 
 grain to a grain and a half, repeated every four or six hours ; of the 
 tincture from three to twenty minims. TJie leaves, bruised and mixed 
 with warm water, an(i applied upon the abdomen as a cataplasm, or 
 the tincture mixed with warm flaxseed poultice, has been successful 
 in urinary suppression. 
 
 The poisonous effects of Digitalis are best counteracted by first evacu- 
 ating the stomach by the free use of warm liquids, if any of it is sup- 
 posed to remain in the stomach, and then administering brandy, wine, 
 ammonia, or other stimulants, with sinapisms to the wrists and ankles. 
 A solution of tannic acid might be of service, by forming an insoluble 
 tannate of digitalin. Digitalin produces similar effects on the system 
 with Digitalis, but its internal administration is hazardous, and de- 
 mands much care and prudence. From one-fiftieth to one-sixtieth of 
 a grain in syrup, or in a pill mass, may be given for a dose, if it be found 
 desirable to use it — cautiously increasing to an amount not to exceed 
 the sixteenth of a grain. 
 
 Off. Frep. — Tinctura Digitalis. 
 
 DIOSCOEEA VILLOSA. 
 
 Wild Yam. — Wilde Yamwurzel. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Dioscoreacese. Sex. Syst. — Dioecia Hexandria. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, sometimes called Colic-root, is a delicate, 
 twining vine, with a perennial root, and a smooth, woolly, reddish- 
 brown stem, one or two lines in diameter, and from five to fifteen feet 
 long. Leaves two to four inches long, about three-fourths as wide, 
 mostly alternate, occasionally nearly opposite or verticillate in fours, 
 broad-ovate, distinctly cordate and acuminate, nine to eleven-veined, 
 margin entire or wavy, villose with short, soft hairs on the lower sur- 
 face, glabrous on the upper. Petioles elongated, lowest somewhat vertic- 
 illate in fours, the next subopposite, middle and upper alternate, and 
 from two to four. Flowers dioecious, very small, of a pale-greenish yel- 
 low color, in axillary panicles or racemes. Sterile flowers has six sta- 
 mens inserted on the base of the divisions of the six-parted perianth ; 
 anthers introrse, with the spikes paniculate ; fertile flowers have the 
 ovary adherent, with three styles, and simple spikes. Peduncles axil- 
 lary. Ovaries at first elliptic, but finally almost as broad as long, about 
 chree-fourths of an inch in length, three-celled, loculicidally three-valved 
 by splitting through the winged angles. Seeds one or two in each cell, 
 flat, with a membranaceous margin. — W. — G. 
 
 History. —This is a slender vine, twining over bushes and fences, in 
 thickets and hedges, and flowering in June and July. It is a native of 
 the United States and Canada, being, however, more common south - 
 ward and rare in the 'New England States. The root is the ofBcinal 
 part, it is long, branched, crooked, woody, of a white color internally, 
 light-brown externally and wrinkled longitudinally, with many fine, 
 long, tough, elastic, scattering fibers, having a short, granular fracture, 
 the fractured surface appearing under the microscope white, pithy, and 
 dotted with numerous light yellow resinous-like spots. It is inodorous, 
 except when bruised, then it emits a faint, peculiar smell ; its taste is 
 pleasantly bitterish, sweetish, sub-mucilaginous, and slightly pungent. 
 Ab met with in the shops the root is in pieces of various lengths, and 
 
336 Materia Medica. 
 
 from three to nine lines in diameter; it is not easily pulverized, flatten- 
 ing out when this is attempted. The root loses it therapeutical virtue 
 after the first year, and, hence, should he freshly gathered every year, 
 and carefully dried. Water or alcohol are its solvents. No analysis 
 has been made of this root, further than to extract its active principle, 
 dioscorein. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In former editions I have termed this agent 
 an antispasmodic, and solely for the reason that it cures bilious colic. 
 And I can truly say that nearly all remedies have thus been classified, 
 not from any positive knowledge of their action, but ft-om the results 
 following their administration. A change of classification based upon 
 the known action of remedies is certainly desirable, and I am glad to 
 observe that the attention of medical men has already been attracted in 
 this direction. In the absence of any positive knowledge concerning 
 the action of Dioscorea, perhaps it would be better to say that it is a 
 specific in bilious colic, having proved almost invariably successful in 
 doses of half a pint of the decoction, repeated every half hour, or hour. 
 No other medicine is required, as it gives prompt and permanent relief 
 in the most severe cases. It has also proved valuable in painful cholera 
 morbus attended with cramps, in neuralgic affections, in irritable con- 
 ditions of the nervous system, especially when attended with pain or 
 spasms, in spasmodic hiccough, obstinate and painftil vomiting, and in 
 one case of spasmodic asthma I effected a cure with it after several other 
 means had failed. It will likewise allay nausea, also spasms of the 
 bowels, and, combined with equal parts of the bark of Gornus Sericea in 
 decoction, is eminently beneficial in the nausea and vomiting of preg- 
 nant women. This root appears to exert an action especially upon en- 
 feebled and irritable mucous tissues that become painful from spas- 
 modic contractions of their musciflar fibers ; hence its value in bilious 
 colic, in painful dysenteric tenesmus, in dysmenorrhea the result of 
 spasmodic irritation of the mucous membrane of the cervix uteri, and 
 in spasmodic irritations of the gastric mucous membrane attended with 
 pain, nausea, and vomiting. In ordinary cases the decoction of the 
 root may be given in doses of from two to four fluidounces, and re- 
 peated every half-hour until relief is obtained. By many the infusion 
 or decoction is considered preferable to the tincture. The tincture is 
 said to be a valuable expectorant and diaphoretic, and in large doses 
 produces emesis. Dose of the tincture from twenty to sixty drops. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Dioscorese; Bxtractum Dioscoreae. 
 
 DIOSPYEOS YIEG-INIANA. (Yirginischer Lotusbaum.) 
 
 Persimmon. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Ebenacese. Sex. Sysi. — Dioecia Octandria. 
 
 THE BARK AND UNRIPE FRUIT. 
 
 Description. — This is an indigenous tree growing from fifteen to fifty 
 feet or more in height, its dimensions being larger at the South; hark 
 rough and dark-colored ; branches alternate, spreading. Leaves alter- 
 nate, elliptic or ovate oblong, abruptly acuminate, from three to five 
 inches long, entire, smooth, shining, glaucous beneath; petiole, veins, 
 and margin puberulent. Flowers obscure, pale greenish-yellow, the fer- 
 tile ones in axillary racemes, one to three-flowered, jpetiicete shorter than 
 the flowers ; sterile smaller and often clustered. Stamens sixteen in the 
 sterile flowers, eight in the fertile, in the latter imperfect ; anthers of the 
 
DiRCA Palustris. 337 
 
 sterile flowers, bilobed. Style two to four cleft, short ; stigma obtiise, 
 spreading. Fruit a round, golden, yellow berry, about an inch in diame- 
 ter, containing a sweet and edible pulp, and from six to eight hard, com- 
 pressed seeds^ — W. — G. 
 
 History. — This is a well known indigenous tree, growing in woods 
 and fields from Ehode Island to the Western States and southward, 
 flowering from April to July, ripening its fruit in September and Oc- 
 tober, and which is edible after an exposure to frost. The unripe fruit 
 is very astringent, as well as the bark, and are the officinal portions of 
 ths tree. 
 
 B. E. Smith found the unripe fruit to contain, lignin, tannic acid, 
 sugar, a little malic acid and coloring matter ; also, that when ripe the 
 tannic acid almost disappears, while the sugar and malic acid becomes 
 more abundant — Am. Jour. Pharm., XVIII., 167. The bark probably 
 contains tannic and gallic acids. Water, spirit, pr alcohol, extracts 
 the virtues of the bark and unripe fruit. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^Tonic and astringent. The bark has been used 
 in intermittents, and both it and the unripe fruit have been beneficial 
 in various forms of disease of the bowels, chronic dysentery, and uter- 
 ine hemorrhage ; used in infusion, syrup, or vinous tincture, in the pro- 
 portion of one ounce of the' bruised fruit to two fluidounces of the ve- 
 hicle, and half a fluidounce or more given to adults, and a fluidrachm 
 or more to infants. The infusion may be used as a gargle in ulcerated 
 sore-throat. When ripe the fruit is very palatable, and as it matures 
 at a time when fruits are generally departihg for the season, the culti- 
 vation of the tree would undoubtedly be a valuable accession to our 
 autumnal fruits. A pleasant beer is made with the ripe fruit, hops, 
 water, and yeast ; and a species of brandy is obtained by distillation 
 of the fermented infusion. 
 
 DIECA PALUSTEIS. (Sumpf Dirca.) 
 
 Leatherwood. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Thymelacese. Sex. /St/st— Octandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE BARK. 
 
 Description. — This is an indigenous shrub, known by the various 
 names of Moosewood, American Mezereon, and Wicopy, and attains the 
 height of five or six feet, having crooked, jointed, and spreading branches. 
 Leaves alternate, simple, entire, on very short petioles, oblong-ovate, or 
 obovate, downy when young, smooth and membranous when fully grown, 
 pale underneath. Flowers axillary, yellow, appear long before the leaves ; 
 when young they are inclosed within a small hairy bud-like involucre, 
 occupying a sheath or cavity in the end of each flowering branch, usu- 
 ally in bunches of three together, with their peduncles cohering. Cor- 
 olla none. Galyx funnel-shaped, half an inch long, with a contraction 
 near the base and another in the middle. Stamens eight, much longer 
 than the calyx, alternately a long and a short one, w:ith rounded anthers. 
 Ovary ovate, placed obliquely, the style appearing to issue from one 
 side • style filiform, curved, longer than the stamens, terminated by an 
 acute stigma. Fruit, a small, oval, red or orange-colored berry, con- 
 taining one seed. — B. — W. , ,.r ,, j -ni .. 
 
 History —This shrub is more common to the Northern and Jfiastern 
 States, being occasionally met with in the West ; it inhabits marshy 
 places, low swampy woods, etc., flowering in April and May. ihe bark 
 22 
 
338 Materia Medica. 
 
 is the part used ; it is very tenacious and fibrous, and hard to pulverize, 
 It has a disagreeable odor, and a pungent taste, with considerable acri- 
 mony, producing ptyalism, and which property it imparts to alcohol, 
 and slightly to boiling water. It has been used for making ropes, 
 thongs and baskets, and might be advantageously employed in the arts, 
 for making paper, etc. The wood is white, soft, and very brittle, It has 
 not been satisfactorily analyzed, though mucilage, an acrid resin, and 
 bitter extractive have been found in it. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The bark is acrid, rubefacient, and vesicant 
 when fresh. From five to seven grains of it cause great gastric heat 
 and uneasiness,, with emesis and catharsis. In contact with the skin it 
 produces rubefaction, followed by blisters, and the sores it occasions 
 are frequently difficult to heal, forming very indolent and obstinate 
 ulcers. If chewed it causes salivation, with burning pain in the tongue, 
 gums, etc., and has thus proved useful as an irritant in paralysis of the 
 tongue, toothache, facial neuralgia, etc. Bigelow says, that a decoction 
 of the bark may be used as a sudorific and expectorant, in the place of 
 senega. The berries produce vomiting, and are said to be a narcotic 
 poison. The bark or berries are rarely used in practice. 
 
 DOESTENIA CONTEATEEVA. (Contrayerven Dorstenie.) 
 
 Contrayerva. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — TJrticacese. Sex. Syst. — Tetrandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE EOOT. 
 
 Description. — This is a perennial caulescent plant, with a spindle- 
 shaped root, from which arises a stem covered with spreading, green, 
 scaly stipules. Leaves palmate ; lohes lanceolate, acuminate, coarsely 
 serrated and gashed, occasionally almost pinnatifld. Beceptacle on a 
 very long stalk, quadrangular, wavy or plaited. Achenia lenticular, 
 imbedded in the fleshy receptable, from which they are projected with 
 elasticity when ripe. — L. 
 
 History. — This plant inhabits the tropical parts of South America. 
 The root, which is the part used, is knotty and ovoid, woody, an inch 
 or two long, of a reddish-brown color externally, and pale within ; its 
 diameter is about half an inch, and long, rough, slender fibers shoot 
 out from all sides of it, especially its lower portion, and are generally 
 loaded with small, brown knots. It has a peculiar aromatic odor, and 
 a somewhat astringent, warm, bitterish taste, with some acridity when 
 long chewed. As the fibers have but little odor or flavor, they should 
 be removed from the rhizome. It yields its virtues to alcohol, or water 
 at 212° F. ; the root abounds in mucilage; its tincture has an acid re- 
 action on litmus. According to Geiger, the root contains volatile oil, 
 starch, and bitter extractive, to which may be added resin, free acid, 
 and woody fiber. — P. The root of the shops is probably derived from 
 several other species, which possess similar virtues, as the D. Brazilien- 
 sis, of Brazil, and which has been supposed to furnish the true root. — 
 D. Houstoni, etc. Monardes states that the word contrayerva is the 
 Indo-Spanish term for alexipharmic or counterpoison. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Contrayerva is a gentle stimulant, and a dia- 
 phoretic, and is sometimes given in exanthematous diseases, typhus and 
 dysentery. Its dose, in powder, is thirty grains ; the best form of ad- 
 ministration is the infusion. The Virginia snake-root is preferred to it 
 <n this country. 
 
Drymis Winteri. 339 
 
 DEOSEEA EOTUNDIFOLIA. 
 
 Sundew. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Droseracse. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Hexagynia. 
 
 I>escription.— This a low, small, perennial, herbaceous, aquatic plant, 
 also called Bound-leaved Sundew, with a fibrous root, from which arises 
 the leaves, which are radical, small, nearly round, depressed, lying flat 
 u^on the ground, abruptly narrowed into the spreading hairy petioles. 
 Scapes erect, five to eight inches high, at first coiled inward, bearing a 
 simple raceme. Flowers arranged on one side, very small, white ; sepals 
 five, united at base, persistent ; petals five, convolute. Stamens five ; 
 anthers adnate ; styles three or five, each deeply two-parted. Ovary 
 single. Capsule three or five valved, many seeded. Seeds spindle- 
 shaped, the coat loose and chaff-like. — W.—Gf. 
 
 Sistory. — Sundew {Ros Solis) is a peculiar little plant growing in 
 Europe and this country, in bogs, and muddy shores of ponds and 
 rivers, and flowering in July and August. It may be at once distin- 
 guished by the reddish glandular hairs with which the leaves are beset, 
 and which are usually tipped with a small drop of a clammy fluid, ap- 
 pearing like a dew drop, glistening in the sun, and which secretion is 
 most abundant when the sun is at its highest, and from this circum- 
 stance it derives its name. The long, shining red hairs ,of this plant 
 form beautiful objects for the microscope, under which they are seen to 
 consist of an immense number of minute cells, regularly arranged, and 
 exhibiting a most gorgeous variety of brilliant colors. They are very 
 irritable, slowly curve inward, and entrap insects within their reach ; 
 the fluid secreted from their points also retains insects which settle upon 
 it. The flowers only open in sunshine. The juice of the plant is bitter, 
 acrid, and 'caustic; no analysis has been made of it. The officinal part 
 is the tincture of the recent plant. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This agent appears to exert a peculiar action 
 upon the respiratory apparatus, and has been found essentially usefiil 
 in pertussis, asthma, incipient phthisis, chronic bronchitis with dry 
 spasmodic cough, nervous or sympathetic cough, whether from pulmo- 
 nary, cardiac, or gastric disease. Two fluidrachms of the saturated 
 tincture may be added to four fluidounces of water (or wine, if indi- 
 cated), of which a teaspoonful may be administered every three or four 
 hours. In former times it was considered a powerful aphrodisiac, and 
 as a remedy to cure intermittents, insanity, and to promote delivery. 
 The juice of the plant has been used as a local application for the cure 
 of corns and warts. 
 
 DEYMIS WINTBEl. (Wintera Aromatica.) (Winter's Eindenbaum.) 
 
 Winter's Bark. — Wahre Winter's Binde. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Magnoliaceae. Sex. ^Syst— Polyandria Tetragynia. 
 
 TH£ BABK. 
 
 Description.— Th\B is a very large, evergreen, aromatic tree, varying 
 in size from six to fifty feet high. Bark of the trunk gray and wrinkled, 
 that of the branches smooth and green. Branches rather erect, scarred 
 by the traces of fallen leaves. Leaves alternate, oblong, obtuse, with a 
 midrib, but otherwise veinless, glabrous, finely dotted beneath. Flowers 
 small, on axillary or somewhat terminal peduncles, which are approxi 
 
340 Materia Medica. 
 
 mated, usually one-flowered, simple ; oeeasionally divided a little abovft 
 the base into long pedicels. Sepals two or three; petals six, oblong. 
 Fruits four or six, obovate, baccate, many -seeded. — X. 
 
 BYsiory.— This tree inhabits the southern parts of South America, 
 Chili, Peru, Terra del Fuego, etc., and takes its name from its discov- 
 erer, Capt. Winter. The bark of the tree is the part en^ployed; it is 
 in quills or rolled pieces a foot and more in length, from, one to tw(t 
 inches in diameter, several lines in thickness, pale grayish-red ex- 
 ternally, reddish-brown internally, with a few oval (iarker spots, free 
 from transverse or longitudinal cracks, of an aromatic odor, and a 
 warm, pungent taste. M. Henry found in it a reddish-brown, inodor- 
 ous, acrid resin, a pale yellow volatile oil, tannic acid, oxide of iron, 
 coloring matter, and various salts. 
 
 Properties ani Uses. — Stimulant, aromatic, and tonic, and may be sub- 
 stituted in all cases for the Canella and Cinnamon barks. It was 
 highly recommended by its discoverer as an antiscorbutic. Thirty 
 grains is the dose of the powdered bark. It is seldom used in thia 
 country. Another tree inhabiting Chili, Drymis Gkilensis, has a hark 
 possessing analogous virtues. 
 
 EPIG.^A EBPEJifS. (Krieohende Epigaa.) 
 
 Trailing Arb^itus. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Ericacese. Sex. Syst. — Decandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — This plant has several names, as Winter-pink, (fravel- 
 weed, Mountain-pink, Ground Laurel, May-flower, etc. It is a small 
 trailing plant, indigenous, with woody stems from six to twenty inches 
 long, and covered with a hairy pubescence in all its parts. Leaves 
 ever-green, alternate, cordate-ovate, entire, two or two and a half inches 
 long, by one and a half wide, roundish at the end, abruptly tipped with 
 a very short point, on slender petioles. Flowers very fragrant, white 
 or tinged with various shades of red, disposed in small axillary clusters 
 on short stalks. Corolla hypocrateriform, tube cylindrical, longer than 
 the calyx, hairy within, limb five-parted, spreading. Calyx green, 
 five-parted, with three large bracts at base ; stamens ten, with filiform 
 filaments ; authers oblong, awnless, dehiscent by two longitudinal open- 
 ings. Capsule or pod depressed globular, five-lobed, five-celled,, many- 
 seeded. — W. — Gr. According to Mr. Thos. Meehan, this is a dioecious 
 plant. 
 
 History. — This shrubby little plant grows in sandy woods, sometimes 
 in rocky soil in the sh^de of pines, and is found from Newfoundland to 
 Pennsylvania and Kentucky. Its flowers exhale a rich, spicy fragrance, 
 and appear in April and May. Cattle who chew this herb, are said to 
 be seriously affected by it. The leaves are the oflBlcinal parts, and yield 
 their properties to water or spirits. No analysis has been made of the 
 plant. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Diuretic and astringent. This is a very valua- 
 ble American remedy, and is highly beneficial in lithic acid gravel, and 
 all diseases of the urinary organs ; it is superior to the uva ursi, or for- 
 eign buchu, and where these have failed in producing benefit, this has 
 succeeded. It may be used as a substitute for the uva ursi. The fluid 
 extract is an elegant preparation for all urinary diflSculties. It enters 
 into a very useful preparation, termed Diuretic compound, which see un- 
 
Epilobium Angustifolium ' 341 
 
 der the head of Infusions. It has been occasionally used with advantage 
 in diarrhea, and bowel complaints of children. The infusion of the 
 leaves may be drank freely. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Extractum Bpigese Fluidum ; Infusum Epigese. 
 
 EPILOBIUM ANGUSTIFOLIUM. (Schmalblattriges Weiden- 
 
 roschen.) 
 
 Willow Herb. 
 Nat. Ord. — Onagracese. Sex. Syst. — Octandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES AND ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, sometimes known as Rose-hay, is the Epilo- 
 bium Spicatum of Lamark ; it is a perennial, indigenous plant, with a 
 simple, erect stem from four to six feet in height. Leaves scattered, 
 lanceplate, sessile, smooth, subentire, with a marginal pellucid vein, 
 from two to five inches in length, one-fourth as wide. Flowers large, 
 numerous, very showy, pink-purple, in a long, terminal spike or ra- 
 ceme. Corolla has four deep lilac-purple petals, clawed, widely spread- 
 ing. Calyx-tube not prolonged beyond the ovary ; limb four-cleftj four- 
 parted, deciduous. Stamens eight, and as well as the style, turned to 
 one side. Stigma with four linear, long, revolute lobes. Ovary and 
 capsule long, linear, four-cornered, four-celled, four-valved ; seeds nu- 
 merous, with a tuft of long hairs. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — "Willow Herb is found growing in the United States in 
 newly cleared lands, and low waste grounds in the Northern States, flow- 
 ering in July and August. The leaves and roots are the parts used) 
 and yield their virtues to water or spirits. 
 
 Properties and Uses.' — Tonic, astringent, demulcent, and emollient 
 An infusion of the leaves will be found beneficial in chronic diarrhea, 
 dysentery, leucorrhea, menorrhagia, and uterine hemorrhage ; and 
 forms an excellent local application for ophthalmia, ulcerations of the 
 mouth and throat, and leucorrhea. The leaves in poultice are a valua- 
 ble remedy for foul and indolent ulcers. Dose of the infusion, from 
 two to four fluidounces, three or four times a day. 
 
 The Epilobium Palustre, Marsh Epilobium, Wickop, or Swamp Willow 
 herb, is said to be a very valuable article in colic and in irritable condi- 
 tions of the intestines ; in severe dysentery, camp diarrhea, formerly 
 known as " Mexican diarrhea," and cranip of the stomach. The plant 
 has a terete, branching, somewhat hirsute stem, growing from one to 
 two feet in height; sessile, lanceolate or linear, entire or subdenticu- 
 late, smooth leaves, attenuate at base, rather acute, alternate, lower ones 
 opposite, from one to three inches long, and one-third as wide ; flowers 
 small, numerous, axillary, rose-colored "or purplish, narrow-leaved va- 
 riety, white ; petals small, obcordate, twice longer than the calyx ; style 
 included ; stigma clavate ; capsules an inch or two long, not over the 
 eighth of an inch in diameter, on short pedicels, pubescent. It grows 
 in swamps and marshes from Pennsylvania to Arctic America, west to 
 Oregon. The tops are to be steeped in boiling water, strained, sweet- 
 ened, and given in doses varying from a fluidrachm to a fluidounce, 
 and repeated as often as the urgency of the case requires, every ten, 
 fifteen, thirty, or sixty minutes. It has proved quite successful in some 
 verj' severe cases of colic, and dysentery, even after the failure of other 
 agents. Prof .7. M. Scudder extolls this plant very highly in the above 
 
342 Materia Medioa. 
 
 diseases, and also io ulceration of the bowels attending typhoid fever, 
 as it quiets irritation, gradually checks diarrhea, and relieves tender- 
 ness and the tj^mpanitis. He prescribes a tablespoonful every hour of 
 an infusion made by infusing an ounce of the herb in half a pint of 
 boiling water. 
 
 BQUISETUM HYEMALB. (Winter Schachtelhalm.) 
 
 Scouring Eush. , 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Bquisetacese. Sex.^ Syst. — Cryptogamia Filices. 
 
 THE PLANT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also known by the names of Horse Tail 
 Shave Grass, etc., is a perennial plant, with simple, stout, erect, jointed, 
 and hollow stems, fourteen to twenty-six longitudinal furrows, the 
 ridges rough with two rows of minute tubercles, growing from two 1,0 
 three feet in height, each stem bearing, a terminal, ovoid spike ; fre- 
 quently two or more stems united at the base from the same root. 
 Sheaths from two to three lines long, from an inch to an inch and a ^ 
 half apart, ashy-white,-black at the base and summit, short, with sub- 
 ulate, black, awned, deciduous teeth, which leave a bluntly crenate 
 margin. Fertile plants mostly leafless. Fruit placed under peltate 
 polygons, being pileus-like bodies, arranged in whorls, forming a spike- 
 like raceme ; from four to seven spiral filaments surround the spores, 
 which resemble green globules, and which roll up closely around them 
 when moist, and uncoil when dry. — &. — W. 
 
 History. — This plant is common to the northern and western parts 
 of the United States, growing in wet grounds, on river banks, and 
 borders of woods, and maturing in June and July. They, together 
 with other Cryptogamia, abound in the fossil remains of coal measures, 
 indicating that they were onceiof gigantic dimensions, and formed a 
 large part of the original flora of our globe. The E. Lcevigatum and 
 is. Mobustum, of the southern and western borders of our country, may 
 be substituted for the above. Silex enters largely into the composi- 
 tion of these plants, on which account they have been used to scour, 
 rough polish, etc. The whole plant is medicinal, and imparts its proper- 
 ties to water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Diuretic and astringent. An infusion drank 
 freely has been found beneficial in dropsy, suppression of urine, hem- 
 aturia, gravel, and nephritic, afl'ections; and has also been used with 
 advantage in gonorrhea and gleet. The ashes of the plant are very 
 valuable in dyspepsia connected with obstinate acidity of stomach, and 
 may be given alone, or combined with powdered resin, or muriate of 
 berberin, etc. . Dose of the pulverized ashes from three to ten grains, 
 to be repeated three or four times daily. 
 
 BEECHTHITBS HIBEACIFOLIUS. (Habichtskrautblattrige Erech- 
 
 thites.) 
 
 Pireweed. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteraceae. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia Superflua. 
 
 THE EOOT AND HEEB. 
 
 Description. — This plant is the Senecio Hieraeifolius of Linnaeus ; it 
 has an annual herbaceous, grooved, thick, fieshy, branching, virgate 
 
Brigeeon Canadense. 343 
 
 paricled, and roughish stem, from one to five or even eight feet high. 
 Leaves simple, alternate, large, lanceolate or oblong, acute, unequally 
 and deeply toothed with acute indentures, sessile, light-green ; u;pper 
 ones often with an auricled clasping hase. Flowers whitish, terminal, 
 crowded, destitute of rays. Involucre smooth, large, tumid, bristly at 
 the base. Achenia oblong, hairy. — W. — (?. 
 
 .Sisiory.— This is an indigenous, rank weed, growing in fields through- 
 out the United States, in moist woods, and in recent clearings, especially 
 and abundantly in such as have been burned over. It flowers froih 
 July to October, and somewhat resembles in appearance the Sowthistle, 
 Sonchus Oleraceus; the flowers somewhat resemble those of lettuce. 
 The whole plant is officinal, and yields its virtues to water or alcohol. 
 It has a peculiar, aromatic and somewhat fetid odor, very unpleasant 
 to many persons, and a peculiar, slightly pungent, bitterish, rather dis- 
 agreeable taste, with some astringency. These properties appear to 
 depend upon a volatile oil, which may be obtained from the plant by 
 distillation with water, and which possesses in an eminent degree the 
 taste and odor, of the plant, and which is very persistent; it is of a 
 light-yellowish color. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Fireweed is reputed to be emetic, cathartic, 
 tonic, astringent and alterative, of which the most valuable are the lat- 
 ter three. Eeputed an unrivaled medicine in diseases of the mucous 
 tissues of the lungs, stomach, and bowels. A spirituous extract of the 
 plant has been highly recommended by Dr. A. E. Wyeth, of Pennsyl- 
 vania, in the treatment of cholera and dysentery, in the latter disease 
 promptly arresting the muco-sanguineous discharges, relieving pain, 
 and effecting a speedy cure. In the summer-complaint of children, he 
 has found it to prove almost invariably successful, even in cases where . 
 other means had failed. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Erechthites ; Oleum Brechthites. 
 
 BEIGEEOJSr CANADENSE. (Canadisches Bernfungskraut.) 
 
 Canada Pleabane. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteraeeae, or Compositse Asteroidese. (Be Gandolle.) 
 Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia Superflua. 
 
 THE WHOLE PLANT. 
 
 Description. — This plant is known by the various names of Golt's-tail, 
 Pride-weed, Scabious, also improperly called by some persons, Sorse-weed, 
 Butter-weed, etc. It is an indigenous annual herb, with a high, branch- 
 ing, furrowed, and bristly -hairy stem, from six inches to nine feet in 
 height. Leaves linear-lanceolate, ciliate ; lower ones subserrate. Flowers 
 \eivj small, numerous, white, irregularly racemose upon the branches, 
 constituting a large, terminal, oblong panicle. Involucre cylindric ; rays^ 
 minute, numerous, crowded, short; pappus simple. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — This plant is common to the northern and central portion 
 of the United States, growing in fields and meadows, by road-sides, and 
 in waste places, flowering from June to September. The very small, 
 inconspicuous ray-flowers, which are multitudinous, the elongated in- 
 volucre, and the simple pappus, will serve to distinguish it from other 
 plants of the same family. The whole herb is officinal, and should be 
 gathered when in bloom, and carefully dried. It has a feeble but 
 pleasant odor, and a subastringent and amarous taste, with some acri- 
 mony, and yields its properties to alcohol, or water by infusion. Its 
 
344 Materia Mbdioa. 
 
 acridity is lessened by boiling, owing to the dissipation of its essential 
 oil. Dr. Dnpuy, who made an examination of the plant, found it to 
 contain essential oil, tannic and gallic acids, bitter extractive, etc. The 
 oil is not astringent to the taste, but has a styptic influence upon the 
 system. It is of a colorless, or pale-yellow color, gradually becoming 
 darker colored, and may be procured from the plant by distillation 
 with water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This plant is slightly tonic, with more active 
 diuretic and astringent properties. The inftision has been found effi' 
 cient in diarrhea, gravel, diabetes, dropsical affections, dysury of chil- 
 dren, painful micturition, and in many nephritic affections. It may be 
 given in the form of powder in doses of half a drachm, or a drachra ; 
 or the infusion, which is the best form of administration, maybe given 
 in doses of from two to four fluidounces, three or four times a day ; the 
 aqueous extract. is worthless, but the fluid extract maybe given in tea- 
 spoonfiil doses. 
 
 The volatile oil of E. Oanadense acts as an astringent, and may be 
 used as a local application to hemorrhoids, bleeding from small wounds, 
 etc., likewise in rheumatism, boils, tumors, and sore-throat, in which it 
 should be combined with goose-oil or some similar substance, being too 
 acrid to use alone. Internally, it will be found useful in diarrhea, dys- 
 entery, hemoptysis, hematemesis, and hematuria; from four to six drops 
 of it on sugar, or dissolved in alcohol, and given in a little water, will 
 be found a powerful remedy, in uterine hemorrhage and menorrhagia, 
 acting promptly and efB.caciouBly ; it may be repeated every five or ten 
 minutes if required. 
 
 Off. Prejp. — Infusum Erigeroni ; Oleum Erigeroni. 
 
 BRI&ERON HETBEOPHYLLUM. (Andersblattriges Bernftings- 
 
 kraut.) 
 
 Various-leaved Pleabane. 
 
 EEIGBEON PHILADELPHICUM. (Philadelphisches Bernftings- 
 
 kraut.) 
 
 Philadelphia Pleabane. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese, or Compositse-AsteroidesB. (De Gandolle.') 
 Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia Superflua. 
 
 THE WHOLE PLANT. 
 
 Description. — The Erigeron Heterophyllum is the E. Annuum of Per- 
 soon, and many other celebrated botanists, and which name will prob- 
 ably be hereafter generally adopted. It is a biennial herb, with a 
 branching root. Stems from two to four feet high, thick, branching, 
 hispid with scattered hairs, terminating in a large, diffuse, corymbose 
 panicle of large heads. Leaves hirsute,, coarsely serrate; lowest ones 
 ovate, contracted at base into a winged petiole ; stem leaves ovate-lance- 
 olate, sessile, acute, entire at both ends, highest ones lanceolate. Flowers 
 numerous; disk-florets j^Wow; ray -florets capillary, white or purplish. 
 Pappus plainlj' double, the outer a crown of minute chaffy-bristle- form 
 scales ; the inner of scanty capillary bristles which are deciduous, or 
 entirely wanting in the ray. This plant is common to the United 
 States and Europe, being a very common weed in fields and waste grounds 
 from Canada to Pennsylvania a'^d Kentucky, and flowering from June 
 to August. — W. — G 
 
Ertngium Aqtjaticum. 345 
 
 The Erigeron FhiladdpMcum is the JE. Strigosum ol Wildenow, and the 
 E. Purpureum of Aiton. It is a perennial herb, with a slender, pubes- 
 cent or hirsute, leafy stem, one to three feet high, loosely corymbed at 
 the summit, bearing a few small heads on long, slender peduncles; root 
 yellowish and branching. I/eaves from two to four inches by from six 
 to nine, thin, with a broad midrib, oblong; lower ones spathulate, cre- 
 nate-dentate ; upper ones oblong-lanceolate, clasping by a heart-shaped 
 base, subserrate. J^iloioers numerous ; disk-florets jeWow; ray-florets in- 
 numerable, very narrow, rose-purple or flesh-color, twice as long as the 
 hemispherical involucre. Pappus simple. The whole herb is pubescent. 
 This plant is found growing in common with the preceding variety, 
 flowering at the same period. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — The medicinal virtues of these plants are analogous, and they 
 may be safely substituted the one for the other ; they are, however, less 
 astringent and more diuretic than the B. Canadense. The plant should 
 be gathered during the months of July, August, and September, or dur- 
 ing their flowering season. They are slightly fragrant, have a subas- 
 tringent, somewhat bitter taste, and yield their virtues to alcohol, or to 
 water by infusion. Mr. F. L. John obtained from seventeen pounds of 
 the dried herb but a drachm of greenish -yellow, powerful, aromatic oil, 
 with a disagreeable, bitter, pungent taste, and sp. gr. 0.946. — Am. Jour. 
 Pharm., XXVII.,' 105. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Diuretic, astringent, and tonic. The infusion is 
 very efficacious in affections of the bladder and kidneys, dysury, especi- 
 ally of children, jjainful micturition, various forms of dropsy, gravel, 
 and in hydrothorax connected with gout. It has also been recommended 
 as a diaphoretic in rheumatism, fevers, colds, etc., and as an emmena- 
 gogue in suppressed menstruation; and has been used with advantage 
 in gout, some forms of cutaneous eruptions, and diabetes. Dose of the 
 infusion, from two to four fluidounces, three or four times a day. 
 
 EETNGIITM AQTJATICUM. (Wasser Mannstreu.) 
 
 Water Eryngo. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Apiacese, or Umbelliferse. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also called Button Snakeroot, Battlesnake's 
 Master, etc., is an indigenous perennial herb, with a single stem, from 
 one to five feet in height; root tuberous; leaves one or two feet long, by 
 half an inch to an inch and a half wide, broadly-linear, parallel veined, , 
 taper-pointed, grass-like, ciliate, with femote soft spines. Bracts tipped 
 with spines, those of the involucels entire, shorter than the heads. 
 Flowers white or pale, inconspicuous, disposed in ovate-globose heads, 
 which are pedunculate, from half an inch to an inch in diameter. Calyx 
 five-parted, permanent; styles slender; petals connivent, oblong, emar- 
 ginate, with a long inflexed point. Fruit scaly, top-shaped, bipartite. 
 — W.—G. 
 
 History. — This plant is a riative of the United States, growing m 
 swamps and low wet lands, from Virginia to Texas, and especially on 
 the prairie lands. It flowers in August. The root is the officinal part. 
 It has a dark -brown, very knotty rhizoma, wrinkled horizontally, with 
 ' many fibers of the same color, growing downward, furrowed or wrinkled 
 longitudinally, and from a line to a line and a half in thickness. In- 
 
346 Materia Medica. 
 
 ternally it is yellowish-white, of a peculiar smell, somewhat resem- 
 bling that of Iris Versicolor, and a faintly -sweetish, mucilaginous, aro- 
 matic taste, succeeded by bitterness, some degree of pungency affecting 
 the fauces, and a very slight astringency. It is easily pulverizable. 
 Water or spirit extracts its properties. It has not been analyzed, but is 
 worthy attention. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Diuretic, stimulant, diaphoretic, expectorant, 
 and, in large doses, emetic. Very useful in dropsy, nephritic and cal- 
 culous affections, also in scrofula and syphilis; as a diaphoretic and ex- 
 pectorant in pulmonary diseases and of value in chronic laryngitis and 
 bronchitis. It exerts an influence upon the reproductive organs, lessen- 
 ' jng erectile power, and proving effectual in cases of seminal losses with 
 urethral irritation, pain in the testes, and irritation of the bladder. 
 Recommended as a substitute for Senega. The pulverized root in doses 
 of two or three grains has proved very effectual in hemorrhoids and 
 prolapsus ani. Two ounces of the pulverized root, added to one pint 
 of good Holland gin, has effected cures in obstinate cases of gonorrhea 
 and gleet ; to be administered in doses of one or two fluidrachms three 
 or four times a day ; by some practitioners this root is employed as a 
 specific in gonorrhea, gleet, mucous diarrhea, and leucorrhea ; used in- 
 ternally in syrup, decoction or tincture, and the decoction applied 
 locally by injection. Used externally and internally, it is said to cure 
 the bites of snakes and insects. Dose of the powder, from twenty to 
 forty grains; of the decoction, which is principally used, from two to 
 four fluidounces, several times daily. 
 Off Prep. — Decoctum Eryngii. 
 
 EEYTHEONIUM AMBRIOANUM. (Amerikanischer Hundszahni.) 
 
 Adder's Tongue. 
 Nat. Ord. — Liliacese. 8ex. Syst. — Hexandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES AND ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also known by the name of Bog's Tooth 
 Violet, Yellow Snowdrop, Rattlesnake Violet, Yellow Erythronium, etc., is 
 an indigenous, perennial herb, with a cormus or bulb at some distance 
 below the surface, which is white internally, and fawn-colored exter- 
 nally. Scape naked, slender, three or four inches high. Leaves two, 
 Bubradical, lanceolate and involute at the point, pale-green with pur- 
 plish or brownish spots, about five inches long, and one of them nearly 
 twice as wide as the other. Flower single, drooping, yellow, liliaceous, 
 spotted near the base, expanded and revolute in the sunshine, closing 
 somewhat at night and on cloudy days. Segments of the perianth oblong- 
 lanceolate, obtuse, inner ones bidentate near the base. Stamens six, 
 filaments flat; anthers oblong-linear. Ovary obovate ; style club-shaped, 
 longer than the stamens, three-lobed at top, terminating in three undi- 
 vided stigmas. Capsule oblong-obovate, stipitate, three'-valved ; seeds 
 rdther numerous, ovoid, with a loose membranaceous tip. — W. — G. 
 
 mstory. — This is a beautiful little plant, among the earliest of our 
 vernal flowers, found in rich open grounds, .or in thin woods through- 
 out the United States ; it flowers in April or May. The bulb and leaves 
 are the parts used, and impart their Virtues to water. The leaves are 
 said to be more active than the root. 
 
Brythkoxylon Coca. 347 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Emetic, emollient, and antiscroflilous when fresh- 
 nutritive when dried. The fresh roots and leaves, simmered in milk! 
 or the fresh leaves, bruised and applied as a poultice to scrofulous ul- 
 cers or tumors, together with a free internal use of an infusion of them, 
 is highly recommended as a remedy for scrofula. The expressed juice 
 of the plant, infused in cider, is reputed useful in dropsy, and for re- 
 lieving hiccough, vomiting and hematemesis. Twenty-five grains of 
 the fresh root, or forty of the recently dried root, will operate as an 
 emetic, though this result is sometimes uncertain. 
 
 EEYTHEOXTLOISr COCA. 
 
 Coca. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Erythroxylese. — ^Linacese. Sex. Syst. — Decandria Trigynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — This is a shrub growing about four feet high, with the 
 leaves' OYSite, alternate, thin, membranous, flat, opaque, acute at both 
 ends, the apex almost mucronate, quite entire, tri-nerved in the middle 
 with fine connecting veins, on either side of the midrib, a slightly 
 curved line extending from one end of the leaf to the other (the cross- 
 ing of the larger veins rendering the leaves somewhat areolated); dark- 
 green above, paler beneath, one and a half to two inches long, an inch or 
 more in their greatest width, and on short, delicate foot-stalks. Petioles 
 two to four lines long, with a pair of intrapetiolary ovate-lanceolate, 
 brown, acute stipules, upon the back of the outside of which the petiole 
 is articulated, and from which the leaf readily falls away, leaving the 
 branchlots scaly with the persistent stipules. Flowers white, numerous, 
 in fascicles from the branches where the leaves have fallen away, bract- 
 eated. Peduncles about as long as the flower, sharply angled. Oalyx 
 five-cleft, five-angled at base ; segments acute. Petals five, alternate 
 with the calyx segments, oblong, concave, wavy, with a lacerated and 
 much plaited membrane arising from within and above the base. 
 Stamens ten, monadelphous ; filaments longer than the pistil, com- 
 bined below into a rather short cylindrical tube. Ovary oval, three- 
 celled, three-seeded ; styles three, about as long as the ovary, distinct 
 from the very base, not consolidated ; stigmas thickened. Fruit (by 
 abortion) an oblong or ovoid drupe, one-seeded, red, obscurely fur- 
 rowed when dry ; nut oblong and furrowed. — L. 
 
 History. — Coca grows in moist and woody regions on the eastern 
 slopes of the Andes, from 2,000 to 10,000 feet above the level of the 
 sea, and is highly valued and cultivated by the natives of Peru, Chili, 
 and Bolivia, who make great use of it as a medicine, and as an article 
 of diet. It answers as a substitute for the tea, coffee, tobacco, hashish, 
 opium, etc., of other nations. In some sections the plant produces 
 three crops annually. The natives masticate the dried leaves with 
 finely powdered chalk, or with a highly alkaline substance prepared 
 from roasted potatoes and the ashes of various plants, and which they 
 call llipta. Its use is not confined to the rich; the poor laboring classes 
 make great use of it as a stimulant and imaginary nutrient, as it en- 
 ables them to endure fatigue and exertion for many hours, and even 
 for several days, with but little nourishment of any other kind ; and 
 while under its influence they are said to perform prodigies of labor 
 The leaves after being gathered must be dried as quickly as possible 
 and be kept perfectly free from moisture and dampness ; they then 
 
348 Materia Medica. 
 
 have a rather pleasant odor, recalling that of tea, and a bitter, aro- 
 matic;, and slightly astringent taste. According to various analyses 
 that have been made of the leaves, they appear to contain resin, eoca- 
 tannic acid, wax, an aromatic principle, a bitter principle, chlorophyll, 
 a substance resembling thein, salts of lime, a peculiar alkaloid named 
 cocaina, which is converted into benzoic acid and ecgonin when acted 
 upon by heated hydrochloric acid. (See remarks by Mr. Maisch in 
 Am. Jour. Pharm., 1861, p. 500.) 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In large doses, it is said to cause delirium, 
 hallucination, and finally cerebral congestion. In medium doses it 
 acts as a stimulant, increasing the temperature of the body, as well as 
 the respiration and frequency of the pulse ; in a moderate dose it ex- 
 cites the nervous system in such a manner as to render the perform- 
 ance of muscular exertion much easier, and producing a sensation of 
 calmness. According to Dr. Mantegazza, its use has produced an ery- 
 thematous eruption resembling pityriasis, with a sense of prickling and 
 itching ; the intoxication produced by it, differs from that resulting 
 from the use of alcoholic drinks, the symptoms being feverishne'ss, in- 
 creased heat of the surface, palpitation, photopsy, headache, vertigo, 
 increased frequency of pulse, a peculiar roaring tinnitus, strong desire 
 for active locomotion, with increased sense of strength and agility, 
 exaltation of the intellectual sphere, sense of isolation, followed by a 
 feeling of intense calm and comfort, complete apathy, sleep, odd and 
 rapidly changing dreams, and from which the patiowt awakes without 
 debility or indisposition of any kind. The leaves of Coca, chewed or 
 taken in a weak infusion, stimulate the gastric nerves and greatly 
 facilitate digestion; and are also useful in relieving the sense of fatigue 
 from excessive mental or physical exercise. A drachm of the leaves 
 chewed produces a feeling of comfort in the stomach, and upon repeat- 
 ing the dose a few times, a slight burning sensation is experienced in 
 the mouth and pharynx, with increased thirst, rapid digestion, and a 
 substitution of the coca odor in the stools for that ordinarily present. 
 Coca has been successfully used in dyspepsia, flatulency, colic, gastral- 
 gia, enteralgia, hysteria, hypochondria, spinal irritation, idiopathic 
 convulsions, nervous erethism, and in the debility following severe 
 acute affections, anemia, scurvy, etc. In large doses it has been pro- 
 posed in tetanus and hydrophobia. Three or four drachms of the 
 leaves is a medium dose, whether chewed, or used in infusion ; of the 
 hydro-alcoholic extract, ten to fifteen grains in pill form. 
 
 More recently, M. Moreno, who has made some new and interesting 
 experiments upon the effects of coca and cocaine, remarks, that coca 
 gives much less arterial tension than coffee, as he has convinced him- 
 self with the aid of the sphygmograph. Eelatively to its action, M. 
 Weddell has observed: "One of two things, either coca incloses some 
 nutritive principles which directly sustain the forces, or else it simply 
 deceives the hunger, by acting upon the economy as an excitant." 
 M. Moreno has submitted animals to an insufficient alimentation or to 
 absolute inanition, and in these conditians he has observed that those 
 to whom he administered coca lost more of their weight and died more 
 speedily. He concludes that if coca sustains the forces, that is to say, 
 permits man to forget hunger, it is not, however, as an aliment, and 
 does not succeed in satisfying it. He has carefully studied the special 
 action exerted by this substance upon the nervous system. According 
 to him it determines, 1st, phenomena which place it with strychnia 
 (tetanic and spontaneous convulsions, and upon the least excitation 
 
EuoNYMUs Atropurpuueus. 349 
 
 of the animals, death) ; 2d, in a small dose, it provokes a remarkable 
 excitation of sensibility, dilatation of the pupil, irregularity of the 
 movements ; the animals seem to have lost the coordinating power of 
 their movements. Lastly, in large doses, it causes a diminution, fol- 
 lowed by exhaustion, of sensation, without motility being completely 
 abolished, and in all the cases, the pupils remained dilated. 
 
 EUONYMUS ATEOPUEPUEBUS. (Dunkelrother Spihdelbaum.) 
 
 Wahoo. 
 Nat. Ord. — Celastracese. Sex. 8ysi. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 BARK OF THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This is a small shrub or bush, known by several other 
 names, as Indian Arrow-wood, Burning-bush, Spindle-tree, etc., w^th 
 smooth branches, and rising from five to ten feet in height. Leaves from 
 two to five inches in length, about half as wide, opposite, on petioles 
 from one-third of an inch to an.inch in length, elliptic-lanceolate, mostly 
 acute at base, finely serrate, pubescent beneath ; peduncles opposite, 
 slender, compressed, from an inch to two and a half inches in length, 
 each with a cyme of from three to six flowers. Flowers dark-purple, 
 usually pentamerous; corolla about two and a half lines in diameter, 
 flat, inserted on the outer margin of a glandular disc ; calyx flat, of four, 
 five, or six united sepals; stamens five, with short filaments ; capsule or 
 pod smooth, crimson, five-angled, five-celled, five-valved; seeds one or 
 two in each cell, inclosed in a red aril. — W.^-G. 
 
 Euonymus Americanus is of a smaller size than the preceding variety, 
 with smooth, four-angled branches ; leaves oval and elliptic-lanceolate, 
 sessile, subentire at the margin, acute or obtuse at apex, smooth, coria- 
 ceous, from one-third of an inch to two inches in length, about one- 
 third as wide. Peduncles round, longer than the leaves, with two, three, 
 or four flowers. Flowers somewhat larger than those of the preceding 
 variety, yellow and pink; capsule dark -red, rough-warty, depressed,' 
 not so copious as in the former plant. — W.—G. 
 
 History. — There are two varieties of this plant used in medicine — the 
 Spindle-tree, F. Atropurpureus, and the Burning-bush, or F. Americanus, 
 to both of which the term Wahoo is indiscriminately applied. They 
 grow in many sections of the United States, in woods and thickets, and 
 in river bottoms, and flower in June. The bark of the root is the offici- 
 nal part. It has a bitter, and somewhat unpleasant taste. "Water or 
 alcohol extract its virtues. The decoction, concentrated by evapora- 
 tion, yields acicular crystals, the exact nature of which are not yet 
 ascertained ; probably an alkaloid. They are soluble in boiling water, 
 but are deposited on cooling ; soluble in oils, partly soluble in nitric 
 acid, but insoluble in cold water, sulphuric acid and alcohol. If these 
 should prove to be the alkaloid principle of the plant, they will be 
 termed Fhbonymia. A Pharmaceutical Institute of New York advertise 
 a preparation which they call Enonymine, and state to be the active 
 principle of F. Americanus. It is held to be an alterative, tonic, laxa- 
 tive, and expectorant, Unfortunately, we have not been made ac- 
 quainted with the article, nor its method of preparation, and conse- 
 quently have never used nor recommended it. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These plants have been in use among physi- 
 cians for a 'ouL' time. The bark is tonic, laxative, alterative, diuretic, 
 
350 Materia Medica. 
 
 and expectorant; in infusion, syrup, or extract, it has been success 
 fully used in intermittents, dyspepsia, torpid liver, constipation, dropsy, 
 and pulmonary affections. Dose of the saturated tincture, from one to 
 four flui drachms; of the syrup, from one to two fluidounces; of the 
 hydro-alcoholic extract from five to fifteen grains ; of the powder; from 
 twenty to thirty grains, The seeds are cathartic and emetic. 
 
 BTJPATOEIUM AEOMATICUM. (Aromatischer Wasserdost.) 
 
 White Snakeroot. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia Squalls. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This is a perennial plant, with a rough, slightly pubes- 
 cent stem, about two feet in height, corymbose at the summit. Leaves 
 from two to four inches long, about one-half as wide, on petioles not 
 quite an inch long, opposite, subcordate, lance-ovate, acute, three-veined, 
 obtusely serrate, smoothish, or very slightly pubescent. Involucre sim- 
 ple, pubescent ; scales of the involucre nearly equal, in one row ; flowers 
 white, aromatic, in small corymbs; heads large, ten. to fifteen flow- 
 ered. — W. 
 
 History. — This is an indigenous plant, growing from IMassachusetts 
 to Louisiana, but especially throughout the Middle States, and flower- 
 ing in August and September. The root is the of&cinal part, and should 
 be collected in September and October. It has a pleasant aromatic 
 odor, and. a bitterish taste. Its virtues are extracted by boiling 
 water. 
 
 Properties and ZZses.-r-Diaphoretic, antispasmodic, expectorant and 
 aromatic. Used in the form of infusion or decoction in fevers of a 
 typhoid character, connected with wakefulness-; also in pleurisy and 
 peripneumony, as a diaphoretic and expectorant. In hysteria, hypo- 
 chondria, nervous irritability and flatulence, it is very beneficial, also 
 reputed to have effected cures in aphthae, nursing sore mouth, chronic 
 bronchitis, and chronic irritation of the bladder. Dose of the infusion 
 or decoction, from half a fluidounce to four fluidounces. It is some- 
 times connected with sanguinaria and asclepias, in pulmonary diseases. 
 Said to be valuable in gravel. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Bupatorise Aromaticae. 
 
 BUPATOEIUM PEEFOLIATUM. (Durchwachsener Wasserdost.) 
 
 Boneset. 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese. 8ex. Syst. — Syngenesia Squalls. 
 
 THE TOPS AND LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — Boneset, or Thoroughwort, as it is also called, is an indig- 
 enous perennial herb, with a horizontal, crooked root. Stems roiind, 
 stout, rough, hairy, from one to five feet high. Leaves opposite, con- 
 nate-perfoliate, each pair resembling a single leaf centrally perforated 
 by the stem, and placed at right angles to it; they are rough, rugose, 
 serrate, tapering to a long point, very veiny, downy beneath, both 
 combined are from eight to fourteen inches in length. Mowers numer- 
 ous, white, in dense, fastigiate, terminal corymbs; heads about twelve- 
 
EtrPATORiUM Ptjrpuredm. . 351 
 
 flowered ; scales of the cylindrical, imbricated involucre linear-lanceo- 
 late; florets tubular, with five-spreading segments, and a rough down- 
 like pappus; anthers blue or black, included. Style filiform, divided into 
 two filiform, acuminate branches, which project beyond the corolla; 
 fruit or seeds oblong, black, prismatic, acute at base, on a naked recep- 
 tacle— W.—G.—L. 
 
 History. — This is a well-known plant, growing in low grounds and 
 on the borders of swamps, streams, etc., throughout the United States, 
 flowering in August and September. The tops and leaves are the parts 
 used. It has a ffeeble peculiar odor, and a herbaceous, very bitter taste. 
 Alcohol or boiling water extracts its medicinal properties. According 
 to Mr. W. Peterson, it contains a resin soluble in alkalies, a peculiar 
 bitter substance analogous to resin but slightly soluble in water, a crys- 
 talline matter, ehlorophylle, gum, tannic-acid, yellow coloring matter, 
 extractive salts of potassa, and lignin. — Am. Jour. Phar., XXIIL, 210. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a very va-luable medicinal agent. The 
 cold infusion, or extract, is tonic and aperient ; the warm infusion, dia- 
 phoretic and emetic. As a tonic, it is useful in remittent, intermittent 
 and typhoid fevers, dyspepsia and general debility ; and combined 
 with bitartrate of potassa and camphor, the powdered leaves have been 
 serviceable in some forms of cutaneous disease. In intermittent fever 
 a strong infusion, as hot as can be comfortably swallowed, is adminis- 
 tered, for the purpose of vomiting freely. This is also attended with 
 profuse diaphoresis, and sooner or later by an evacuation of the bow- 
 els. During the intermission, the cold infusion, or extract is given 
 every hour as a tonic and antiperiodic. In epidemic influenza the 
 warm infusion is valuable as an emetic and diaphoretic, likewise in feb- 
 rile diseases, catarrh, colds, and wherever such effects are indicated. 
 The warm infusion is also administered to promote the operation of other 
 emetics. Externally, used alone or in combination with hops or tansy, 
 etc., a fomentation of the leaves applied to the bowels have been useful 
 in inflammation, spasms, and painful affections. Dose of the powder from 
 ten to twenty grains ; of the extract, from two to four grains ; of the in- 
 fusion, from two to four fluidounces. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Extractum Bupatorii ; Infasum Bupatorii ; Pilulse Aloes 
 OompositsB. 
 
 EUPATOEIUM PUEPUEEXJM. (Purpurfarbener Wasserdost.) 
 
 Queen of the Meadow. 
 
 Wat. Ord. — Asteracese. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia ^qualis. 
 
 THE ROOT. ' 
 
 Description. — This plant, likewise known by the names of Gravel-root, 
 Joe-pie, Trumpet-weed, is herbaceous, with a perennial, horizontal woody 
 caudex, with many long, dark-brown fibers, which send up one or more 
 solid, glabrous, green, sometimes purplish stems, five or six feet in 
 height, with a purple band at the joints, about an inch broad. Leaves 
 from three to six in a whorl about six inches apart, oblong-ova,te, or 
 lanceolate, pointed, rugosely or feather veined, coarsely serrate, slightly 
 scabrous, with a soft pubescence beneath along the midvein and vein - 
 lets, thin, soft, on petioles an inch long, from eight to twelve inches 
 long, by three or four inches wide. Flowers all tubular, purple, vary- 
 ing to whitish, and consist of numerous florets included in an eight- 
 
352 . Materia Medioa. 
 
 leaved calyx. Seads in lax, very dense and compound corymbs, cylin- 
 drical, from five to ten flowered.— TF. — <?. 
 
 History. — Queen of the Meadow grows in low places, dry woods or 
 meadows, in the Northern, Western, and Middle States, flowering in 
 August and September. The root is the ofiicinal part ; as found in the 
 shops, it consists of a blackish woody caudex, from which proceednumer- 
 ous long flbers, from one to three lines in diameter ; externally they are 
 covered with a dark -brown, longitudinally-furrowed cortex, beneath 
 which the internal portion is white, or whitish-yellow, according to ita 
 age, the last color being the oldest. It has a smell somewhat resem- 
 bling old hay, and a slightly bitter, aromatic, and faintly astringent, but 
 not unpleasant taste, and yields its properties to water by decoction, 
 or spirits. It has not been analyzed ; a principle has Been obtained 
 from it, by Mr. J. B. Eobinson, formerly of Cincinnati, to which he has 
 erroneously given the name of Mupatorine. It is obtained by making 
 a saturated tincture of the root,' and adding to it an equal bulk of water 
 slightly acidulated with muriatic acid ; on distilling off the alcohol the 
 resin is precipitated. It is a dark -brown resin, forming a yellowish- 
 brown powder, with a peculiar, slightly aromatic, not unpleasant odor, 
 and a peculiar, slightly bitterish taste. Its therapeutical virtues are 
 no.t known. 
 
 Properties andUses. — A valuable diuretic, stimulant, somewhat astrin- 
 gent, and tonic. Used with excellent effect in dropsical affections, 
 strangury, gravel, and all chronic urinary disorders, hematuria, gout 
 and rheumatism; indeed, it appears to exert a specific influence upon 
 chronic affections of the kidneys and bladder, especially when there is 
 an excess of uric acid present ; and will also prove useful in chronic 
 mucous disease of the stomach and intestines. Many other effects have 
 been attributed to this agent, in certain other maladies, but they require 
 confirmation. Dose of the decoction of Queen of Meadow, from two 
 to four fluidounces, three or four times a day. 
 
 Mr. "William S. Merrell has prepared an oleo-resin from this plant, to 
 which he has given the rather incorrect name of Eupurpurin; it may 
 be obtained by adding the alcoholic tincture of the root, to twice its 
 volume of water, and distilling off the alcohol, similar to the process 
 for obtaining resin of podophyllum, oleo-resin of blue flag, etc. It is of 
 a thick, pilular consistence and a dark greenish-brown color, having a 
 faint peculiar smell, and a slightly nauseous taste. It is soluble in alcohol 
 or ether, and more speedily when these are hot ; slowly soluble in oil of 
 turpentine, from which ether precipitates the resin, holding the oily por- 
 tion in solution, and on the addition of alcohol the resin is re-dissolved. 
 It is almost completely soluble in dilute alkalies, but completely so on 
 the addition of a small quantity of ether. Eupurpurin or the oleo-resin 
 of Queen of the Meadow, as thus prepared by Mr. Merrell, is a valuable 
 ■ agent in many renal and genito-urinary affections ; in doses of three 
 grains, repeated every three or four hours, it is a most powerful diuretic, 
 occasioning in some instances a most enormous flow of urine. It may 
 be given in pill form, either alone or combined with an equal quantity 
 of Castile soap. An excellent pill for many renal affections may be 
 made, composed of Eupurpurin thirty grains, extract of geranium 
 twenty grains, and extract of nux vomica one grain. Divide into ten 
 pills. One of these pills may be given every four hours daily. 
 
 Off. Prep.^Decoctum Bupatorii Purpurei; Infusum Bpigese Compo- 
 sitnm. 
 
EUPHOEBIA OOROLLATA. 353 
 
 BUPATOEIUM TEUCEIFOLIUM. {E. Verbencefolium.) 
 
 "Wild BiOrehound.-^Yerbenenbldttriger Wasserdost. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese. Sex. Syst — Syngenesia ^qualis. 
 
 THE HERB. 
 
 Description. — This is an indigenoas, perennial plant, with a herbace- 
 ous, paniculate, pubescent stem, growing from two to three feet high, 
 with fastigiate, corymbose branches above. Leaves opposite, sessile, 
 d/3tinct, ovate-oblong, ovate-lanceolate, rough, veiny, lower ones coarsely 
 serrate toward the base, upper ones alternatej subserrate, often entire. 
 Branches of the corymb, few, unequal. Flowers small, white, consist of 
 five florets within each calyx; scales of the muoZucre oblong-lanceolate, 
 rather obtuse, at length shorter than the flowers. — W. — &. 
 
 History. — This plant grows in moist places from Canada to Florida, 
 flowering in September and October ; the whole plant is medicinal, 
 I)osses8ing properties analogous to boneset, but not so unpleasantly 
 bitter. Its active properties are taken up by spirits, or water by infu- 
 sion. It has not been analyzed. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tonic, diaphoretic, diuretic, and laxative. Ee- 
 commended by Dr. Jones, of Georgia, in intermittent and remittent 
 fevers. Usually administered in infusion ; one ounce of the dried 
 leaves infused in a quart of water, of which half a teacupful may be' 
 given every hour or two, as warm as can be comfortably drank ; it will 
 prove diaphoretic or diuretic, according to the temperature in which 
 the patient is kept, and likewise laxative. The cold infusion, or tinct- 
 ure, is tonic. 
 
 The Eupatorium Hyssopifolium, and Eupatorium Jjeucolepsis, both called 
 "Justice's "Weed," have been used with success for curing the bites of 
 snakes and other poisonous animals ; they were employed for this pur- 
 pose by John Justice, of South Carolina, in 1800, -Who received a pre- 
 mium for disclosing his remedy. 
 
 EUPHOEBIA COEOLLATA. (Gekronte "Wolfsmilch.) 
 
 Large Flowering Spurge. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Buphorbiacese. Sex. Syst. — ^Dodecandria Trigynia, Inn- 
 ruBus; Monoecia Monadelphia, iIfjcAaM.a;. 
 
 THE BABK OF THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant has many common names, as Blooming 
 Spurge, Milk-weed, etc., and in some sections improperly called Bow- 
 man's Root. It is a perennial plant, with a round, slender, erect stem, 
 one or two feet high, generally simple and smooth ; root yellowish, 
 large branching. Leaves scattered, sessile, oblong-ovate, or linear, 
 entire, flat or revolute at the margin, smooth in some plants, very hairy 
 in others, verticillate and opposite in the umbel, from one to two inches 
 in length. Flowers in large, terminal umbels; corolla-like involucre 
 large, white, showy. Umbels flve-rayed, supported by as many brac- 
 teal leaves ;. not unfrequently a small axillary branch or two arise from 
 the sides of the stem below the umbel. Bays of the umbel repeatedly 
 trifid or dichotomoais, each fork being attended by two leaflets and a 
 flower. Involucre large, rotate, white, with five obtuse petal-like seg- 
 ments ; at the base of these divisions are five interior, very small, ob- 
 tuse segments. Stamens twelve; a great portion of th« plants are 
 23 
 
354 , Materia Medica. 
 
 wholly staminiferous. Fruit a smooth three-lobed, three-celled capsule ; 
 cells one-seeded; seeds smooth. — L. — W. 
 
 History. — This is an indigenous plant, found growing in Canada and 
 the United States, in dry fields and woods, and flowering from June to 
 September. Upon breaking any part of the plant, a milky juice exudes, 
 which is very irritating, causing pustulation, and even vesication when 
 held in contact with the skin for some minutes. The root is from one- 
 third of an inch to one or two inches in diameter, a foot or two in 
 length, odorless, and nearly tasteless, producing a pungency in the 
 mouth and fauces after having been chewed for some time ; it should 
 be gathered in the fall. The bark of the root is theofficinal part, it is 
 from a quarter of an inch to an inch and a half in thickness, constitut- 
 ing the major part of the root, and imparts its properties to alcohol, 
 or water. It forms a light brownish-yellow powder, speckled through- 
 jut with innumerable fine dark spots, somewhat resembling a mixture 
 of fine pepper and salt, with the exception of color. Dr. Zollicko^er 
 found it to contain resin, mucilage, and caoutchouc. Kino and Catechu 
 are incompatible with this plant ; when united with either, the medicinal 
 powers of the Euphorbia are destroyed, while the astringency of the 
 Kino or Catechu becomes entirely altered. Probably all vegetable 
 astringents are incompatible with the agent under consideration. Opium 
 interferes with its emetic operation, and should not, therefore, be given 
 in combination with it, when emesis is desired. Acetic acid also inter- 
 rupts its emetic influencCj causing it to pass off by the bowels. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Emetic, diaphoretic, expectorant and epispastic. 
 Fifteen or twenty grains of the powdered bark of the root will excite 
 emesis, rarely occasioning pain or spasms, and giving rise to very little 
 previous nausea or giddiness ; when it does not prove emetic, it passes 
 oif by the bowels. Pour grains of the powdered root-bark, given every 
 three hours, will act as a diaphoretic ; or the compound powder of ipe- 
 cacuanha and opium may be employed for the same purpose, substitut- 
 ing the E. corollata for the ipecacuanha. In doses of three grains, ex- 
 hibited occasionally in a little honey, syrup or molasses, it operates as 
 a useful expectorant, and may be administered in all cases where such 
 action is desired. When given in large doses, it is apt to induce inflam- ■ 
 mation of the mucous coat of the stomach and bowels, with hyperca- 
 thafsis. Occasionally, when given as an emetic or cathartic, it causes dis- 
 tressing nausea, with considerable prostration. Prom four to ten or 
 twelve grains generally act as a cathartic. In dropsical diseases, 
 especially bydrothorax and ascites, it will evacuate the water when all 
 other agents prove useless ; for which purpose it may be given in doses 
 of fifteen or thirty grains, and repeated twice or three times weekly. 
 One fluidrachm of the concentrated tincture agitated with a mixture 
 of equal parts of water and glycerin, four fiuidounces, and taken in tea- 
 spoonful doses every three or four hours, has, in my hands, proved 
 effectual in obstinate bilious dysentery, in chronic bronchitis and laryn- 
 gitis with profuse mucous discharges, and in chronic vesical catarrh. 
 In partial deafness with tinnitus, from chronic catarrhal inflammation 
 of the mucous membrane of the, nares, fauces, etc., probably extending 
 along the Eustachisin tube, I have effected cures with it in sixteen or 
 seventeen cases. Probably it will be found serviceable in other diseases 
 of mucous tissues attended with debility and discharge. 
 
BuPHOKBiA Htpericifolia. 355 
 
 EUPHOEBIA HYPEEICII'OLIA. (Johanniskrautblattrige 
 Wolfsmilch.) 
 
 Large Spotted Spurge. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Buphorbiacese. Sex. Syst. — Dodecandria Trigynia, Lin 
 neeus; Monoecia Monadelphia, JlficAaMa;. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also known by the names of Black-pursely, 
 Milk-pursely, Eye-bright, etc., is an annual plant, with a smooth, some- 
 what procumbent, branching stem., from one to two feet high ; branches 
 dichbtomous, divaricate-spreading. Leaves from half an inch to an 
 inch in length, about one-fourth as wide, opposite, oblong, somewhat 
 falciform, serrated, oblique or heart-shaped at base, often curved, three 
 to five ribbed underneath, on very short petioles, often marked with 
 purple oblong dots and blotches. Flowers small, white, numerous, 
 disposed in terminal and axillary corymbs. Fruit mostly rather hairy ; 
 seeds four-angled, obscurely wrinkled transversely. — W. — G. 
 
 Hiktory. — E. JEypericifolia is an indigenous ^lant, growing in rich 
 soil in waste and cultivated places, and floweri , from. July to Septem- 
 ber. The leaves are the parts used, and yield their properties to water 
 or alcqhol; they have a sweetish -taste, succeeded by a sensation of 
 harshness and roughness. They contain caoutchouc, resin, tannin, 
 gallic acid, etc. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Astringent, tonic, and slightly narcotic. As an 
 astringent it has been found efficacious in dysentery, after having pre- 
 ' viously removed the inflammatory symptoms, often curing the disease 
 in forty -eight hours ; also in diarrhea, after the exhibition of some pur- 
 gative; in menorrhagia from debility; also in leucorrhea, and other 
 affections where this class of agents is indicated. Half an ounce of the 
 dried leaves may be infused in a pint of boiling water for half an hour. 
 In dysentery and diarrhea, a tablespoonful may be given every hour 
 until the discharges become less frequent, and other morbid symptoms 
 begin to yield ; then to be used less frequently. In the other diseases 
 a wineglassful may be given three times a day. 
 
 The Euphorbia Maculata, or Spotted Spurge, is possessed of similar 
 properties, and has been used with advantage in the same forms of 
 disease, as cholera-morbus, diarrhea, dysentery, etc. It is an annual 
 plant, generally found growing with the E. Sypericifolia, and possesses 
 sensible properties analogous to those of this variety. It has a pro- 
 cumbent stem, spreading flat on the ground, much branched and hairy ; 
 leaves opposite, oval or oblong, minutely serrulate toward the end, un- 
 equal at the base, slightly three ribbed, smooth above, hairy and pale 
 beneath, oblique at the base, on short petioles, often spotted w.ith dark 
 purple, from three to six lines long, one-half as wide. Flowers white, 
 solitary, axillary, much shorter than the leaves, appearing from July to 
 October ; /emaZe jf?owers naked. Filaments articulated; receptacle sc^ua- 
 mose ; capsule three-grained, smooth, pubescent, or warty; seeds four- 
 angled, obscurely wrinkled transversely, about one-third smaller than 
 the E. Hypericifolia.— TF.— (y. 
 
 The Euphorbia Prostata, Swallowwort (Pentaildria Monogynia), a 
 plant growing in the south-western portions of the United States and 
 Mexico, is said to be a specific against the bite of the rattlesnake, and 
 other poisonous reptiles, spiders, etc. The fresh juice of the plant is 
 promired by bruisios ii in a mortar, and then adding .water to it; the 
 
356 Materia- Medica. 
 
 dose is three or four fluidonnces, repeated every one, two or three hours, 
 or oftener, according to the urgency of the case ; the bruised plant 
 being at the same time applied to the wound. The plant grows in dry, 
 hard, sandy soils, has long, thread-like, reddish stems, resembling some- 
 what the Coptis trifolia, and which become entangled with each" other : 
 leaves opposite, dark-green, obcordate, petaloid, from one-third to one- 
 half of an inch long ; flowers appear from April till N'ovember, are 
 small, white, axillary, dark -purple at the orifice of the corolla tube; 
 sepals four ; petals four ; root large, deep brown. The whole plant con- 
 tains an abundance of an odorless, insipid, milky juice. 
 
 EUPHOEBIA IPECACUANHA. (Brechwurzel Wolfsmilch.) 
 
 American Ipecacuanha. 
 
 Ifat. Ord.— ^Euphorbiacese. Sex. Syst- — Dodeeandria Trigynia, Lin- 
 lUBUs ; Monoecia Monadelphia, Michaux. 
 
 THE BAEK OF THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also known by the name of Wild Ipecac, 
 Ipecac Spurge, Spurge, is a perennial plant, with a yellowish, irregular 
 fleshy root, very large in proportion to the plant it bears, running deep 
 into the sand, sometimes extending to the depth of six feet. Stems from 
 one root are numerous, suberect or procumbent, smooth, thick, succulent, 
 regular dichotomous, jointed at the forks, forming large branches on the 
 surface of the ground ; from three to eight inches long. Leaves inserted 
 at the joints, opposite, one or two inches long, by a fourth or half an 
 inch wide, sessile, smooth, varying from oblong and circular to linear, 
 from green to purplish. Flowers solitary, on long peduncles from the 
 forks of the stem, small. Calyx spreading, with five exterior obtuse 
 segments, with five small, gibbous, inner segments or nectaries. Sta- 
 mens numerous, in five parcels, appearing at different times two or three 
 together, with double anthers. Fertile flowers have a large, roundish, 
 drooping, pediceled germ, crowned with six revolute stigmas. The 
 capsule is three-celled, containing three white, areolate-pitted seeds. — 
 L.— W.—G. 
 
 History. — This is an indigenous plant, found growing in dry, sandy 
 soils, on Long Island, in New Jersey, and the Middle and Southern 
 States, and flowering from May to August. As with the E. CoroUata, 
 it yields a milky juice, which causes a pustular eruption when applied 
 to the skin. The root is the part used in medicine. The fresh root is 
 from three to seven feet long, tuberculated, and of a yellowish color; 
 from half an inch to an inch in 'diameter, and of a very acrid taste. 
 The dry root is light and brittle, without odor, and has a sweetish, not 
 very disagreeable taste. — F. & V. The powdered root is of a light- 
 brown, or light snuff-color, speckled similar to the E. Corollata. Water 
 or alcohol takes up its active properties. It has not been accurately 
 analyzed, but is supposed to contain caoutchouc, resin, gum, and per- 
 haps starch. Its incotnpatibles are probably the same as those of the 
 B. Corollata. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — It very much resembles the E. Corollata in its 
 actions upon the system, but is less energetic. It is emetic, diaphoretic, 
 expectorant, and epispastic ; and may be used in the same doses and 
 for the same purposes as the Corollata; in dropsical affections it is 
 preferred by some practitioners. When given in cathartic dopes, say 
 from three to ten grains, it is said to promote the menstrual discharge. 
 
EUPHORBIUM. 357 
 
 As an emetic and cathartic it has been found valuable in bilious colic 
 but is superseded in this disease by the Dioscorea Villosa, which acta 
 promptly and efficiently without any unpleasant symptoms. In dys- 
 pepsia, one or two grains, repeated three times daily, will be found use- 
 ful. The dose of the powdered root is from ten to fifteep grains as a 
 hydragogue ; one to three grains as an expectorant and diaphoretic. 
 It is occasionally used in jaundice and obstinate torpidity of the liver. 
 It is principally used by physicians as a hydragogue in dropsical af- 
 
 fections. 
 
 BTJPHOEBIUM. (Eupherbium). 
 
 Euphorbium. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Euphorbiacese. Sex. Syst. — Dodecandria Trigynia, Lin- 
 nceus; Moncecia Monadelphia, Michaux. 
 
 THE CONCRETE RESINOUS JUICE OF AN UNDETERMINED SPECIES OF EUPHORBIA. 
 
 History. — It is not positively known from what plant this gum resin 
 is obtained, though Pereira believes it to be the Euphorbia Canariensis, 
 of ihe Canary Isles. In commerce it is found in irregular, yellowish, 
 slightly friable tears, often perforated with one or two holes, united at 
 the base, and usually mixed with the prickles of the plant and other 
 impurities. They have hardly any odor, and a feeble taste, succeeded 
 by considerable heat and acrimony. Euphorbium is partially dis- 
 solved by water, forming a milk-like fluid when rubbed up with it ; 
 its best solvents are alcohol, ether, and oil of turpentine. It contains 
 an intensely acrid, reddish-brown resin 43.77 ; wax 14.93 ; caoutchouc 
 4.84; malate of lime 18.82; malateof potassa 4.90; sulphates of potassa 
 and lime, and phosphate of lime 0.70 ; water and loss 6.44 ; woody 
 fiber 5.60. — P. According to Pliiekiger, pure Euphorbium is composed 
 of 38 resin, 22 euphorbon, 18 gum, 12 salts of malic 'acid, and 10 inor- 
 ganic matter. When boiled it emits a peculiar odor, somewhat resem- 
 bling that of Lactuca virosa. Water dissolves 32 per cent, of it, form- 
 ing a light yellow solution of an acid reaction, and containing the 
 malates, gum, and euphorbon. Euphorbon is obtained by concentrating 
 the aqueous solution of euphorbium, precipitating with tannin, wash- 
 ing the precipitate, and triturating it, while moisf, with carbonate of 
 lead, then drying it and boiling in alcohol. This solution is concen- 
 trated, precipitated by water, taken up again by alcohol, and filtered 
 through animal charcoal, which yields the euphorbon in warty masses. 
 It is soluble in ether, chloroform, amylic alcohol, aceton and acetic 
 acid ; insoluble in water, and crystallizable. Alkalies do not affect it, 
 but nitric, and sulphuric acids give interesting color reactions with it. 
 The powder of Euphorbia is yellowish, and requires to be made with 
 great caution, as it excites violent sneezing, and even inflammation 
 of the eyes. — Ed. Thrown on the fire Euphorbium melts, swells, and 
 burns with a pale flame, evolving an odor like that of benzoic acid. 
 
 Properties and. Uses. — Emetic, cathartic, and errhine. Seldom, how- 
 ever, used for these properties, on account of its severity of action. 
 Its principal use is externally as a rubefacient or vesicant. The fol- 
 lowing preparation forms an excellent counter-irritant: Take of pow- 
 dered Euphorbium half a drachm, coarsely powdered cantharides, and 
 mezereon bark, of each, two drachms, rectified spirits of wine two and 
 a half fluidounces. Mix together, digest for eight days, then press and 
 filter, and to the filtered tincture add, white colophony one ounce, 
 
358 Materia Medioa. 
 
 white turpentine six drachms. With this preparation, paper or silk may 
 be coated three several times, by means of a soft sponge, and which 
 when dry, forms an excellent irritating plaster in rheumatic, gouty and 
 neuralgic pains. Powdered Euphorbium is frequently added to the com- 
 pound Tar Plaster to render it more active. 
 
 EUPHEASIA OFFICINALIS. (Officineller Augentrost). 
 
 Eyebright. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Scrophulariacese. Sex. Syst. — Didynamia Angiospermia. 
 
 THE leaves. 
 
 Description.— This is an elegant, little, annual plant, with a square, 
 downy; leafy stem, simple Or branched, and from one to five inches in , 
 height. Leaves almost entirely opposite, ovate or cordate, downy, 
 strongly ribbed and furrowed, lowest crenate, floral with sharp, tooth- 
 like serratures. Flowers axillary, solitary, very abundant, inodorous, 
 with a brilliant variety of colors. Corolla varies much in size as well 
 as in color, being commonly white, with deep purple streaks, and a 
 yellowish palate. Upper lip of the corolla galeate, emarginate, two broad, 
 spreading lobes; lower lip larger, spreading, three-cleft, the lobes obtuse 
 or notched. Calyx campanulate, four-cleft. Stamens four, fertile, under 
 the upper lip; anthers violet, lower cells of the upper ones with a long 
 spur. Pod oblong, flattened ; seeds numerous, oblong, grooved lengthy 
 wise. — L. — G. 
 
 History. — This is a small plant, indigenous to Europe and this country, 
 bearing white or red flowers in July. The recent leaves are commonly 
 employed ; they are inodorous, but of a bitter, astringent taste. Water 
 extracts their virtues: 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Slightly tonic and astringent. Used with much 
 benefit in the form of infusion or poultice, in catarrhal ophthalmia ; 
 also of service in all mucous diseases attended with increased discharges; 
 and in cough, hoarseness, earache, and headache, which have supervened 
 in catarrhal affections. Four fluidounces of the infusion taken every 
 morning upon an empty stomach, and also every night at bed-time has 
 been found successful in curing epilepsy. 
 
 FEL BOVINUM. (Ochsengalle.) 
 
 ox, OR BEEr'S GALL. 
 
 Preparation. — As prepared for medicinal purposes, it is dried by spon- 
 taneous evaporation, or aided by a very moderate heat, when it be- 
 comes of a more or less solid and hard consistence, brown color, and 
 possessing its natural and peculiar odor. The method recommended 
 for its preparation is to pour two or three gallons of the gall into a deep 
 vessel, and let it stand for twenty-four hours. Then pour off the super- 
 natant fluid into a shallow earthen dish. Simmer it away slowly, stir- 
 ring it all the time until it is dry. Then preserve in glass bottles well 
 stopped. Thus prepared it is of a bright-green color, friable, pulveru- 
 lent, slightly aromatic, of a bitter, peculiar taste, and attracting moist- 
 ure from the air; it is neutral, and contains azote. 
 
 A refined gall is obtained by boiling one pint of it and skimming ; 
 then add alum one ounce, and keep it on the fire for some time; to an- 
 other pint of gall add one ounce of common salt, in the same manner ; 
 
Fel Bovinum. 359 
 
 keep them bottled, separately, for three months, then decant off the 
 clear liquid; mix them in equal proportions; a thick, yellow coagulum 
 is immediately formed, leaving the refined gall clear and colorless.— 
 Gray. ■ 
 
 Sistory. — The bile of the ox is of variable consistence, being some 
 times limped, but more commonly viscid and ropy ; it is a greenish- 
 yellow fluid, of a characteristic sickening odor, and of a taste at first 
 amarous, and then sweet, but exceedingly nauseous. It is denser than 
 water, having the sp. gr. of about 1.026, but mixes with this fluid in 
 every proportion. Chemists have not satisfactorily ascertained its com- 
 ponent parts. Berzelius found it to consist of water 90.44, biliary and 
 fatty bodies 8.00, mucus 0.30, watery extract, chlorides, phosphates, 
 and lactates 0.85, soda 0.41, besides a small per centage of nitrogen, and ■ 
 some sulphur. Independent of its fats, and salts, Strecker foijnd ox 
 bile to contain 1. Cholic acid (glycocholic acid), HC52 Hjj 'SO^i which forms 
 white, voluminous, silky acicular crystals, which shrink in drying, are 
 freely soluble in hot-water, depositing bitterish -sweet crystals on cool- 
 ing'; soluble in alcohol, which leaves a resinous mass on evaporation ; 
 sparingly soluble in cold water and ether, when boiled with excess of 
 an alkaline liquid, the nitrogen separates into glycocine, which remains 
 in the solution, while a new resinoid acid, cholalic acid, HOis H39 Ojo, 
 H.^ Oj, 2^ Hj O2, is found in combination with the base employed. Boiled 
 with acids, cholic acid is converted into, first, cholonie acid, C52 H^i NOi, 
 and then into glycocine and choloidic acid, Ogs H,8 Oi,,, and ultimately 
 into dyslysin C^s H,2 0^. 2. Oholalic acid {Gholic acid) fases at 383°, and 
 is freely soluble in alcohol. 3. Gholeic acid (Taurochloric acid) HOj^ H„ 
 NO14 Sj. 4. Taurin, C, H*, NOe S2 which forms in six-sided prisms, 
 terminated by four and six-sided pyramids, have a cooling taste, 
 soluble in about 16 parts of cold water, but not in alcohol or dther, dis- 
 solves without decomposition in mineral acids, and contains about 25 
 per cent, of sulphur in an oxidized condition ; it is isomeric with sul- 
 phite of aldehydammonia. 5. Oholesterin G^.^ H44 O, Hj Oj, a crystalliz- 
 able fatty body, which forms the principal ingredient in biliary calculi, 
 and exists as a normal constituent of the blood ; is present in consider- 
 able quantity in the brain, and is also found in the yolk of egg, pus, 
 etc. Oholesterin is insoluble in water, soluble in ether, fuses at 293° F., 
 and becomes crystalline on cooling. The coloring matter of bile appears 
 to exist in three modifications, viz. : 1, green pigment or biliverdin, Cj, 
 H20 N2 0,0, soluble in alcohol or ether, but not in water. 2. Bilifmoin, 
 C32 Hjo 1^2 Oa, brown pigment, soluble in absolute alcohol, insoluble in 
 ether and chloroform, and nearly so in water. 3. Bilirubin,. C32 Hjs N/ 
 Oe, an acid, red coloring matter, soluble in chloroform, sparingly so in 
 ether or alcohol, and not at all in water, — Cholepyrrhin, or biliphcein is 
 an amide of biliverdin. Those who desire further information are re- 
 ferred to Lehman's Physiological Ohemistry sind Zehrtian's Chemical Phys- 
 iology. Ox G-all is dissolved by alcohol or water, but not by ether. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Hepatic, aperient, and tonic. Used in inter- 
 mittents, dyspepsia, torpor of the liver, colic, constipation, diarrhea, 
 dysentery, etc. Five or eight grains of inspissated. gall neutralize 
 the constipating an.d narcotic effects of one grain of opium, without 
 injuring its sedative influence. Dose from one to ten grains. 
 
 A mixture of inspissated ox-bile 3, extract of con ium 1, soda-soap 2, 
 olive-oil 8, has been highly extolled as a local application to effect the 
 resolution' of hypertrophied organs. Bonorden found applications of 
 bile to the eye by instillation, or by means of a hair pencil, 5 or 6timei 
 
360 Matebia Medica. 
 
 & day, very beneficial in kindred conditions of the eye, as pannus, 
 corneal opacityj and staptyloma. — Med. Times and Gaz., 1858, p. 353 
 
 TEEEUM. (Hisen.) 
 Iron. 
 
 Sistory. — There ie no metal of more utility to mankind, whether civ- 
 ilized or not, or more abundantly dispersed throughout the globe than 
 Iron. Independently of its existence in the form of ores, it is found to a 
 greater or less extent as a constituent of earths, minerals, and organ- 
 ized substances. It is found in meteoric stones, frequently in its pure 
 state ; and forms an essential constituent of the blood, in^ man, and 
 many animals ; and is one of those metals which, under certain circum- 
 stances, may be employed medicinally, with safety and advantage to 
 the human constitution. 
 
 Iron occurs in its native state, and in combination with other sub- 
 stances forming what are called iron-ores. Its most common ores are 
 the sulphuret of iron, magnetic, red and brown hematite, micaceous, 
 and clay iron ores ; and the carbonate, phosphate, sulphate, arseniate, 
 etc., of iron. A superior iron is obtained from those ores known as 
 magnetic, red hematite, or micaceous; these are found in abundance in 
 Sweden. Spain, France, and Germany likewise furnish the carbonate 
 or clay iron ore, brown hematite, etc. In this country iron is procured 
 in large quantity, principally from the magnetic, micaceous, and clay 
 iron ores, and some of the ores, especially those of the Atlantic -States, 
 are equal if not superior to the best ore from Sweden. 
 
 As the character of the ores differs, the in6des of procuring the iron 
 from them will vary according to the kind of ore. As a general rule 
 the ore broken into small pieces is mixed in small coal and laid to a 
 height of six or seven feet on large pieces of coal, forming a narrow 
 heap, but as long as the ground will permit. The combustion is begun 
 at one end, and allowed to proceed till it reaches the furthest extrem- 
 ity. The result of this is roasted Iron-ore. The ore thus prepared is 
 mixed with fluid and fuel, and exposed to a strong heat in a blast fur- 
 nace. The flux is generally limestone, which separates the alumina, 
 and silica ; the fuel is charcoal, coke, or anthracite. The impurities 
 which fuse with the flux are termed the slag, which floats above the 
 melted Iron,. and flows in a constant but slow stream over the dam, on 
 the opposite side from that where the metal is to flow. As soon as the 
 process is perfected, the orifice through which the slag flowed is closed, 
 the blast stopped, and the melted Iron is run into molds, forming what 
 is known as "pig iron." As these "pigs" are impure, they undergo 
 another process' to refine them. They are again melted and exposed 
 to the action of the air, being constantly agitated by a rod, by which 
 means the carbon is almost wholly removed, as well as the other foreign 
 substances, as phosphorus, sulphur, etc. When this process isperfectedj 
 the metal is run out over a broad surface, forming a layer two or three 
 ■jiches thick, on which a quantity of cinder collects, and which is cooled 
 by throwing on water. The white hard metal thus formed passes 
 through another process called "puddling." The Iron is arranged 
 around the edges of a reverberatory furnace, heat *8 applied to it, the 
 metal softens ; it is stirred and gradually falls to pieces. The fire is 
 then lowered, and the stirring continued till the metal is reduced to 
 the consistence of sand ; much carbonic oxide is evolved, and when this 
 ceases, the heat is raised, and the stirring continued. The particles 
 
Ferrum. 3gl 
 
 gradually cohere together, the Iron is collected into balls, and the heat 
 raised to a welding temperature. It is now removed from the furnace, 
 and either hammered or made into long flat or round pieces, forming 
 the ordinary soft or malleable Iron. 
 
 Iron has a grayish color, and when pure it is whitish-gray, or almost 
 silver white ; its fracture is granular, or irregularly foliaceous, with a 
 metallic luster; when polished it has a great deal of brilliancy, which 
 is rapidly lost under exposure to both moisture and air combined. Its 
 taste is peculiar and somewhat astringent, and it emits a peculiar smell 
 when rubbed. It has great tenacity and ductility, and considerable 
 malleability, but not so much as gold, silver, copper, etc. Its specific 
 gravity is 7.788, but increases by rolling or drawing. It fuses only at 
 a very intense heat, 3.300 P. It is attracted by the magnet, and is itself 
 the substance which constitutes the loadstone. When Iron wire, hav- 
 ing a little cotton tied to its extremity, is plunged into oxygen gas 
 while the cotton is in flames, it takes fire and burns with a great bril- 
 liancy. A damp atmosphere soon tarnishes its surface, and gradually 
 changes it into a brown or red powder, well known under the name 
 of rust, and which is a hydrated sesquioxide. As far as is known at 
 present, Iron combines with only two proportions of oxygen, and 
 forms two oxides, the protoxide (Fe 0)=36 or 450, and the peroxide or 
 sequioxide (Fcj Osj^^SO or 1000 ; these united in various proportions from 
 the hlack oxide FeO+FejOs^Fcs O^. A Ferric acid, or teroxide of 
 iron Fe O3, has likewise been described ; it is hardly known in a separate 
 state, and is very easily decomposed. Iron unites readily with sulphur, 
 with iodine if moisture be present, with most of the metals, and with 
 all the non-metallic elements, except hydrogen. It forms salts with the 
 acids, which are generally soluble and crystallizable. — T. — P. 
 
 The protoxide of Iron, Fe 0, has a deep blackish-blue color, and its 
 tendency to absorb oxygen from the atmosphere is so great that it can 
 not be preserved ; it is almost unknown in a dry or separate state. It 
 combines with acids, forming salts which have generally a greenish 
 color, as sulphate of iron. It burns with great splendor when in 
 contact with the air, and is changed into the peroxide, or sesquioxide. 
 Its salts, for the most part, pass into sesquioxide salts, from their ab- 
 sorption of oxygen. Hence, they act in some cases as deoxidizing 
 agents ; gold is completely reduced from its solutions by protosulphate 
 of iron. Protoxide of iron is influenced by the magnet. 
 
 The sesquioxide, or peroxide of Iron Fcj O3, occurs native as red hema- 
 tite and specular iron ore. It may be prepared artificially by calcin- 
 ing pure, dried green vitriol ; when the protoxide is oxidized at the ex- 
 pense of the sulphuric acid, and water along with sulphuric and sul- 
 phurous acids is expelled. It is of a red, or brownish-red color, and is 
 used for polishing plate, being known as jeweler's rouge, or colcothar 
 of vitriol. After strong ignition it becomes almost black. The salts 
 formed by it have a reddish or brownish-red color. It is not influenced 
 by the magnet. Hydrated sesquioxide of Iron is fov-med by exposing the 
 metal to a moist air; it is of a russet-color, and when dry forms a 
 brown powder, erroneously named carbonate of Iron. It may also be 
 obtained by another process. {See Sydrated Sesquioocide of Iron.) 
 
 The native magnetic oxid^ of Iron, or black oxide, is a heavy black 
 m.ineral, strongly attracting iron filings or steel. Its formula is Fcj O^. 
 It is a compound of the protoxide and sesquioxide, and is formed when 
 iron is heated red hot and hammered, as with the black scales in smith 
 shops. 
 
362 Materia Medica. 
 
 The smallest traces of iron may be detected in any of its 'solutions, 
 by the following reagents; Tincture of galls will give a black precipitate 
 of tannate of iron ; and if the salt in solution is a protosalt, ferridcyanita 
 of potassium will give with it a deep blue precipitate ; if it be a perox- 
 ide, a solution of iferrocyanide of potassium will give a deep blue pre- 
 cipitate, Prussian blue. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Iron in its metallic form has no action on the 
 system ; when swallowed in this state it becomes oxidated, apparently 
 at the expense of the water in the stomach, for eructations take place, 
 having a disagreeable chalybeate taste, and an odor of hydrogen. It is 
 usually given in the form of iron filings, in doses of from five to ten 
 grains. The proper method of obtaining iron filings for medical pur- 
 poses, is to take a piece of soft, malleable, pure iron, and file it down ; 
 those obtained from the blacksmith's work shop, whether cleansed by the 
 magnet or not, are impure and not fit for internal administration. Iron 
 wire is generally sufficiently pure for the preparation of filings. 
 
 The various ferruginous preparations are termed chalybeate tonics ; 
 most of them also possess astringent properties. When taken for some 
 time in small doses, they have the property of strengthening "and some- 
 times accelerating the pulse, improving digestion, exciting the functions 
 of the various organs, and augmenting the number of the red or color- 
 ing particles of the blood. When administered internally, Iron, prob- 
 ably, enters the blood, as, after its exhibition, it has been detected in 
 the urine, milk, and blood. Whether it increases the Iron of the blood, 
 is still an unsettled question, although it renders that fluid more florid. 
 When Iron has been taken to too great an extent, it produces more or 
 less thirst, pain in the head or a sense of fullness, increased heat of the 
 body, dizziness, laborious respiration, distension of the limbs, and other 
 manifestations of vascular excitement. The indications for the use of 
 the preparations of iron, are, " debility, feebleness and inertia of the 
 different organs of the body, atony (marked by a soft, lax, or flabby 
 condition of the solids), and defect of the red corpuscles of the blood — 
 as where there is a general deficiency of this fluid (ancemia; oligcemia) 
 or a watery condition of it (hydrosmia; serous crasis ; leucophlegmatie 
 temperament).'' — P. They have been efficaciously employed in chorea, 
 hypertrophy of the spleen, neuralgia, uterine debility, scrofula, leucor- 
 rhea, rachitis, anemic and chlorotic conditions, chronic discharges from 
 enfeebled and relaxed mucous tissues, chronic paralysis, atonic dyspep- 
 sia, etc. The therapeutical influences of the several medicinal salts of 
 Iron are nearly the same, but where they become improved or qualified 
 by union with other agents, reference will be made thereto under their 
 respective captions. When Iron is in the form of protoxide it is gener- 
 ally more active than where it is present as a sesquioxide. The prepara- 
 tions of iron are contra-indicated in fever, acute inflammation, conges- 
 tion of important organs, intestinal irritation, in persons subject to 
 determinations of blood to the head, or affected with habitual constipa- 
 tion. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Perri Acetas ; Perri Carbonas Saccharatum ; Perri Citras ; 
 Perri et Quinise Citras ; Perri et Morphise Tartras ; Perri et QuinisB 
 Tartras ; Perri et Salicinise Tartras ; Perri Perrocyanuretum ; Perri 
 lodidum ; Perri Lactas ; Perri Mtras ; Perri Oxidum Hydratum ; Perri 
 Oxidum Eubrum ; Perri Perchloridum ; Perri Phosphas ; Perri Pulvis j 
 Perri Pyrophosphas ; Perri Subcarbonas ; Perri Sulphas ; Perri Sulphas 
 Exsiccatum; Perri Tannas; Perri Yalerianas. 
 
Ficus Carioa. 363 
 
 FICUS CAEICA. (Feigenbaum.) 
 
 Fig. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Urticacese; Moracese, Lindley. Sex. Syst. — Polygamia 
 1 loecia. 
 
 THE DEIED FRUIT. 
 
 Description. — The Fig-tree is usually about ten or twelve feet in height, 
 but in warm latitudes exceeds this by eight or twelve feet additional. 
 Tntnk crooked, usually about half a foot in diameter, with a grayish 
 or grayish-brown bark, round, green, or russet branches, covered with 
 a coarse short down. I/eaves alternate, large, rough on the upper side, 
 coarsely downy beneath, cordate, three or five lobed, or almost entire, 
 coarsely serrated, petioled. Flowers green, placed upon the inside of a 
 turbinate, fleshy, closed receptacle, in the axils of the top leaves; male 
 flowers, near the umbilicus, three stamens, calyx three-lobed; female 
 flowers, calyx five-lobed, ovary one. Receptacle or fruit solitary, axillary, 
 more or less pear-shaped or almost round, succulent, sweet and pleas- 
 ant to the taste. Seeds small, numerous. — Ij.^Wo. 
 
 Sistory. — The Fig-tree is believed to be a native of Persia and Asia 
 Minor, but at present raised in all mild latitudes. The structure of its 
 fruit is peculiar ; at first it is nothing more than a fleshy receptacle ; 
 but, as it advances to maturity, minute flowers form in a cavity which 
 occupies the center of the mass and communicates outwardly by a small 
 round aperture at the summit, and these flowersare succeeded by many 
 small roundish seeds. While young, the Fig abounds, like the trunk 
 and branches, with a milky, aromatic, acrid juice, destitute of sweet- 
 ness ; but as it matures, sugar and mucilage are formed, and the acrid- 
 ity disappears. Its shape is generally turbinate or pear-shaped, of the 
 size of an apricot, of various colors, some being whitish, others reddish 
 or yellow, with a small pit or depression at the larger end, and of an 
 agreeable, sweet, mucilaginous taste, and when ripe, is sweet, high- 
 flavored and wholesome ; but if eaten to excess, occasions flatus, intes- 
 tinal pains, and looseness of the bowels. When ripe, Figs are generally 
 dried in the sun, sometimes in ovens, and are packed in baskets or 
 drums. The Smyrna Figs are the ones commonly met with in this 
 country ; they are more or less flattened by pressure, and are covered 
 with saccharine granules, which in summer contain numerous minute 
 insects, are of a yellowish or brownish color, and rather translucent. 
 They contain sugar of Figs 62.5, fatty matter 0.9, extractive with chlo- 
 ride of calcium 0.4, gum with phosphoric acid 5.2, woody fiber, seeds, 
 and water 16.0. — P. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Figs are nutritive, emollient, demulcent, and 
 aperient, and are used in costive habits, and to flavor gruels, decoctions, 
 etc. Boasted or boiled, they may be applied as a suppurative poultice 
 to gum-boils, buboes, carbuncles, etc. 
 
 FIEnSTG. (Brennen.) 
 
 Obtain a thick iron -wire shank, about two inches long, and inserted 
 into a small wooden handle ; on its extremity, which must be slightly 
 curved, have a disk or button of iron, exactly one-quarter of an inch 
 thick, and half an inch in diameter. The whole instrument to be only 
 six inches in length. The face of the disk for application must be flat. 
 
 Mode of Application. —liight a small spirit-lamp and hold the button 
 over the flame, keeping the forefinger of the hand holding the instru- 
 
364 ■ Materia Medica. 
 
 ment, at the distance of about half an inch from the bottom. As soon 
 as the finger feels uncomfortably hot, the instrument is ready for use, 
 and the time required for heating it to this degree, will be about half a 
 minute. It is to be applied as quickly as possible to the parts, the skin 
 being tipped successively, at intervals of half an inch, over the affected 
 part, as lightly and rapidly as possible, always taking care to bring the 
 flat surface of the disk fairly in contact with the skin. In this way the 
 process of firing a whole limb, or the loins, making about one hundred 
 applications, does not occupy a minute, and the one heating by the 
 lamp suffices. To ascertain whether the heat be sufficient, look side- 
 wise at the spots as you touch them, and each spot will be observed to 
 become of a glistening white, much whiter than the surrounding skin. 
 In from five to thirty minutes the skin becomes bright red, and a glo'W 
 of heat is felt over the part. The iron must never be made red hot — 
 it is very little hotter than boiling water — should never make an eschar, 
 and rarely raise a blister. On the next day after its application a 
 number of circular red marks will be seen on the skin, the cuticle not 
 even being raised, and the surface ready, if necessary, for a fresh ap- 
 plication. There is no discharge whatever, and in most cases the pa- 
 tient is unconscious of what has been done. It is vastly superior to a 
 blister in many cases ; even the most delicate female will not object to 
 its frequent repetition when required. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — A powerful counter-irritant. Eecommended 
 by Dr. Corrigan in paralysis, local muscular rheumatism, sciatica, lum- 
 bago, neuralgic pains, etc., and wherever a counter-irritant is required. 
 Also applied each side of the spinal column, in intermittents, epilepsy, 
 mania and other diseases. 
 
 PCENICULUM VULGAEB. (Gemeiner Fenchel.) 
 
 Fennel. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ApiacesB, or Umbelliferse. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 THE SEED. 
 
 Description. — Fceniculum Vulgare, or Common Fennel, is a biennial or 
 perennial plant, with a whitish, tap-shaped root, the whole herb being 
 smooth, and of a deep glaucous green. Stem three or four feet high, 
 erect, solid, round, striated, smooth, leafy, copiously branched. Leaves 
 alternate, triply pinnate ; leaflets acute ; thread-like, long, more or less 
 drooping; petioles with a broad, firm, sheathing base. Flowers in large, 
 terminal, very broad, flat umbels, with very numerous, smooth, angular, 
 rather stout rays; partial rays much more slender, short, very unequal. 
 Bracts or involucres wanting. Calyx none. Styles very short, with large, 
 ovate, pale-yellow base. Fruit ovate, not quite two lines long, about a 
 line inbreadth, pale, bright brown, smooth ; ridges sharp, with but little 
 space between each ; lateral ones rather the broadest ; terminated by a 
 permanent conical disk. Fennel is a native of Europe, growing wild 
 upon sandy and chalky ground, and flowering in July. — L. 
 
 FcENicrLTJM Officinale, or Large Fennel, is very much like the pre- 
 ceding, and the two are sometimes confounded ; but its leaves are 
 smaller, leaflets shorter, fruit paler, twice as heavy, much longer, some- 
 what curved, of a sweeter and more agreeable taste.—- i. It inhabits 
 the southern parts of Europe, and is naturalized in tnis country. 
 
 FcENicuLUM DtTLCE, Or Sweet Fennel, and sometimes confounded with 
 the F. officinale, has somewhat the appearance of 1^. vulgare, only it 
 
Pragaria Vesoa. 365 
 
 is not 80 large, seldom exceeding twelve inches in height, and the rays 
 of its umbels being less in number by at least one-half; the fruit like- 
 wise varies considerably, being narrow, oblong, three lines long, pale, 
 dnll-brown, smooth; nSg'es sharpish, with a space between each for a 
 convex line indicating the vittce, the lateral ones rather the broadest. 
 It inhabits the same countries as the preceding variety, and is culti- 
 vated for culinary purposes. 
 
 At one time these plants were placed in the genus Anethum, Linn., 
 but De Candolle and Gsertner removed them to the present genus on 
 account of the dissimilarity of the seed. Authors have not settled 
 the question as to the oflScinal species, the botanical history of which is 
 still a matter of indeflniteness. 
 
 History. — The seeds or mericarps of these plants possess nearly the 
 same peculiar, agreeable, spicy odor and flavor. There are three kinds 
 in commerce: 1st. Those of the F. vulgare, which are somewhat egg- 
 shaped, smooth, striated, two lines being more conspicuous^ and of a 
 dull color. 2d. Those of the F. officinale, which are longer than the 
 preceding, slightly arched, paler color, with the stalks frequently at-, 
 tached to them, and of a more agreeable flavor. 3d. Those of the F. 
 dulce, which are more conspicuously striated, of greater diameter, and, 
 instead of being green as the two preceding, of a dull-brown color. 
 Water, at 212°, takes, up their properties by infusion, but not so thor- 
 oughly as alcohol. The aromatic properties of these seeds are due to 
 a volatile oil. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Carminative and stimulant. Used in flatulent 
 colic, and as a corrigent of unpleasant medicines. Dose of powdered 
 seeds, from ten to thirty grains. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Aqua Fceniculi. 
 
 FEAG-AEIA VESOA. (Gemeine Erdbeere.) 
 
 Strawberry. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eosacese. Sex. Syst. — Icosandroia Polygynia. 
 
 THE FRUIT. 
 
 Description. — Strawberry is a perennial plant, with a creeping, knotty 
 root. Stems trailing, with stolons often creeping several feet. Leaves 
 pubescent, trifoliate ; radical ones on long footstalks ; leaflets obovate- 
 wedge form, coarsely serrate, subsessile; stipules lanceolate, oblong, 
 cohering with the base of the petiole. Flowers on scapes white, one or 
 several ; peduncles erect or nodding. Calyx concave, deeply five-cleft, 
 with an equal number of alternate exterior segments or bracteoles; 
 petals five, obcordate. Stamens numerous, small ; styles deeply lateral ; 
 stigmas sessile, small ; ovaries numerous. Receptacle in fruit much en- 
 larged and conical, becoming pulpy and scarlet, bearing the minute 
 dry achenia scattered over its surface. In this species the achenia are 
 superficial on the conical or hemispherical fruiting receptacle, not sunk 
 in pits ; in the F. Virginiana the achenia are imbedded iu the deep pits 
 of the receptacle. — W. — &■ 
 
 History. — This is a European species, presenting exhaustless varieties, 
 which are extensively cultivated, flowering from April to May, and 
 ripening its fruit in May and June. The F. Virginiana, or Wild Straw- 
 berry F. Canadensis, or Mountain Strawberry, F. Grandiflora, or Pine- 
 apple Strawberry, and the other varieties possess similar properties. 
 ITtie fruit of all the varieties is highly fragrant and delicious when 
 
366 Matesia Medica. 
 
 ripened in the sun ; and the cultivated varieties frequently become 
 very large, weighing an ounce or more. Strawberry consists of equal 
 parts of citric and malic acids, sugar, mucilage, pectin, water, peculiar 
 volatile aroma, woody fiber, and pericarps. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The fruit has been highly spoken of in calcu- 
 lous disorders, used very freely, likewise in gout, and the juice will 
 dissolve the hard concretions called "tartar," which form on the teeth, 
 and without injuring them. With some, Strawberries disagree, caus- 
 ing disordered digestion, and frequently a rash-like eruption on the 
 surface. The grains or seed-like pericarps are indigestible, and some- 
 times cause irritation of the bowels. Stawberry -juice, or the syrup, 
 added to water, forms a refreshing and useful drink for febrile patients j 
 care being taken that the grains are removed by filtering or express- 
 ing the juice or syrup through a piece of muslin. Strawberries eaten 
 with cream are injurious to dyspeptics. The leaves are slightly a.8trin- 
 gent, and have been used, in infusion, in diarrhea, dysentery, and in^ 
 testinal debility; the roots are diuretic, and have been beneficially 
 .used, in infusion, in dysuria, gonorrhea, etc. The leaves of the Wild 
 Strawberry, gathered after the ripening of the fruit, and dried in the 
 sun, or in healjed pans, afford a greenish and slightly astringent infusion, 
 like that Of the Chinese tea, with similar diaphoretic, diuretic, and ex- 
 citant properties. 
 
 FEASBEA WALTBRI. {Frasera Garolinensis.) 
 
 American Columbo. — Americanische Columbowurzel. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Gentianacese. Sex..Syst. — Tetrandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE EOOT. 
 
 , .Description. — American Columbo is an indigenous plant, with a trien- 
 nial, long, fusiform, horizontal, rugose, and yellow root, and a smooth, 
 erect, solid, cylindrical, or subquadrangular, succulent, dark-purple 
 stem, from four to nine feet in height, one or two inches in diameter at 
 the base. Leaves smooth, oblong-lanceolate, acutish, sessile, feather- 
 veined, entire or wavy, subcarnose, from three to twelve inches by one 
 to three, in whorls of four to six, rarely opposite, decreasing in size as 
 they approach the summit. Flowers tetramerous, an inch and a quar- 
 ter in diameter, yellowish -white or greenish -yellow, with brown-purple 
 dots, a large purple pit or gland near the base bordered, by a strong 
 and even fringe ; in terminal, compound, pyramidal, leafy, or brac- 
 teated, verticillate panicles. Oalyx deeply four-parted, segments acute, 
 shorter than the oblong, obtusish petals ; corolla wheel^shaped. Sta- 
 mens four, shorter than the corolla, alternating with its segments ; fila- 
 ments subulate ; anthers large, oblong, versatile, yellow; ovary oblong, 
 attenuated into a short style ; stigma bifid, distinct ; capsule cr fruit 
 oval, compressed, acuminated with the persistent style,- yellowish ; seeds 
 few, large, imbricated, elliptical, wing- margined. — L. — G. — W. 
 
 Sistory. — This plant grows west of the Alleghanies, on the borders 
 of lakes and in rich soils in the Middle and Southern States, bearing 
 'flowers in June and July, which, however, together with the steins, are 
 not developed until the third year, the root-leaves only, in the ;3aean 
 time, being visible. The part used is the root, which should be gath- 
 e'red in October and November of the second year of the plant, or in 
 March and April of its third year ; it is hard, fusiform, and wrinkled ; 
 as met with in the shops thev are in dried, tra-nsversp slices, witli a 
 
Fraxinus Sajmbucifolia. — Fraxinus Acuminata. 367 
 
 brown epidermis slightly. tingod with reJ, yellow sortex, and a spongy, 
 straw-colored center. Its taste is amarous and slightly saccharine; and 
 its properties' are taken up by wine, water, or alcohol of sp. gr. 0.935. 
 Its alcoholic solution gives a precipitate with water, but remains unaf- 
 fected when tincture of galls is added. Mr. Douglass found dt to contain 
 gum, tannic acid, resin, gallic acid, a fatty substance, bitter extractive, 
 saccharine matter, etc. — Am. Jour. Pharm., YI., 177. Mr. W. E. Hig- 
 ginbothom found it to contain a peculiar acid, pectin associated with 
 glucose, bitter extractive, gummy matter, yellow coloring matter, wax, 
 fatty matter, resin, lime, etc. — Ibid, 1862, p. 23. Mr. P. W. Thomas, 
 found it to contain pectic acid, a fixed oil, resin, yellow coloring matter, 
 waxy matter insoluble in alcohol, an odorous substance, bitter ex- 
 tract, yellow acicular crystals, a resinous, acrid, bitter substance, sac- 
 charine matter, potassa, lime, magnesia, oxide of iron, but no albu- 
 men, starch, nor berberin. — Ibid, 1868, p. 309. 
 
 The root of this plant has been mistaken for that of Colombo, but it 
 may be determined from the latter, which, on account of the starch it 
 contains, strikes a blue color with tincture of iodine, while the Ameri- 
 can plant undergoes no change of color. Sulphate of iron produces a 
 blackish-green' color with an aqueous solution of the American root, 
 but does not affect the foreign root. Tincture of galls gives a dirty- 
 gray precipitate when added to the Tincture of Colombo. A transverse 
 section of Colombo shows a series of concentric circles, with diverging 
 lines, which are absent in the American root. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The recent root of American Columbo is said 
 to cause purging and vomiting; but when dried it is a simple tonic, 
 which may be used wherever mild tonics are indicated. Dose of the 
 powder, from twenty to sixty grains; of the infusion, from one to four 
 fluidbunces, three or four times a day. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Fraserse. , 
 
 PEAXINXJS SAMBUCIFOLTA. (Fiederblattrige Bsche.) 
 
 Black Ash. 
 
 PEAXTNUS ACUMINATA. (Spitzblattrige Esche.) 
 
 White Ash. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Oleacese. Sex. Syst. — Diced a-Diandria. 
 
 THE BAEK. 
 
 Description. — Fraxinus Sambueifolia is a tree which attains the height 
 of from forty to seventy feet ; trunk covered with a bark of a darker 
 hue than that of the' White Ash, less deeply furrowed, and from one 
 to two feet in diameter. Wood purplish, very tough and elastic, less 
 durable than the White Ash. Leaves from nine to sixteen inches in 
 length, composed of about Seven leaflets, which are sessile, ovate-lan- 
 ceolate, serrate, rugose, shining, round obli-que at the base, smooth 
 above, red-downy on the veins beneath. Calyx and corolla both want- 
 ing ; buds of a deep-blue color. Samara elliptical-oblong, very obtuse 
 at both ends. This species grows in swamps and moist woods in the 
 Nothern States and Canada, blossoming in ilay. The young saplings 
 are much employed in making hoops, and the mature trunks for bas; 
 kets. The leaves when bruised exhale the odor of elder.— TF. — G. 
 
 Peaxinus Acuminata of Lamark, or the Fraxinus Americana of Lin- 
 naeus, is a large forest tree, which grows from fifty to eighty feet high; 
 it often rises more than forty feet without a branch, and then expands 
 
368 Materia Medica. 
 
 into a regular summit of an equal additional height. Trunk covered 
 with a gray, farrowed and cracked bark, branchlets a smooth greenish - 
 gray. Leaves a foot or more in length, opposite, pinnate, consisting of 
 about seven leaflets, which are petiolate, oblong, shining, acuminate, 
 entire or slightly toothed, glaucous beneath. Flowers whitish-green, 
 disposed in loose panicles, fertile ones with a calyx, barren ones without. 
 Corolla wanting. Calyx small, four-cleft ; buds of a rust color. Samara 
 spatulate-linear, obtuse, with a long narrowed base. The White Ash 
 is chiefly confined to the Northern States and Canada, growing in 
 rich woods, and blooming in April and May. Its wood is light, elas- 
 tic and durable, furnishing a most excellent timber for carriage-frames, 
 bars, handspikes, agricultural implements, etc. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — There are several species of this tree, all of which possess 
 medicinal virtues, probably, of a similar character. The' bark is the 
 part used, the properties of which are extracted by water. No analy- 
 sis has been made of it. 
 
 Properties and ZJses.— Tonic and astringent. ' An extract of the 
 Black Ash used as a plaster is very valuable in salt-rheum, and other 
 cutaneous diseases. The infusion may be used internally as a tonic, 
 and for all purposes where a combination of astringency with tonic in- 
 fluence is indicated. 
 
 The White Ash is also cathartic, and has been found beneficial in 
 some cases of constipation, and also in dropsical afi'ections. It may be 
 used in the form of infusion, or in bitters. The bark in white wine, 
 is said to be eflB.cient in curing ■ ague-cake, or enlarged spleen. The 
 seeds are said to prevent obesity. 
 
 The leaves of the common ash, Fraxinus Polgyamie, have been highly 
 recommended in the treatment of gout and rheumatism. No nausea, 
 sickness, general discomfort, nor depression attends their employment, 
 and generally, after having used them for four or five days, and some- 
 times sooner, the pain, redness, and swelling sensibly diminish in in- 
 tensity, or entirely disappear. About two and. a half ounces of the 
 powdered leaves are to be infused for three hours in a sufficient quan- 
 tity of boiling water, then strained through a linen cloth and sweet- 
 ened ; this is to be taken during the day, at several draughts, and is 
 to be repeated daily ; it should be continued for eight days after the 
 symptoms have disappeared. In chronic gout it may be repeated for 
 eight or ten days every month, for several consecutive months. Prob- 
 ably the leaves of the above species, or of the Fraxinus Quadrangulata, 
 or Blue Ash, will be found equally efficacious. 
 
 FUCUS HELMINTHOCOETON. (Wurmmoos.) 
 
 Corsican Moss. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^AlgacesB, or Ceramiacese (Idndley). Sex. Syst. — Orypto- 
 gamia AlgSB. 
 
 THE WHOLE PLANT. 
 
 Description. — This is the Grigartina Selminthocorton of Greville; it 
 has a cartilaginous, terete, tufted, entangled frond, with setaceous 
 branches, somewhat dichotomous, marked indistinctly with transverse 
 streaks. Lower part dirty -yellow ; branches more or less purple. — L. 
 
 Sistory. — This is a marine plant, growing on the Mediterranean coast, 
 and especially on the Island of Corsica. The plant is of a rartilagin- 
 
FaLiGO Ljgni.. 369 
 
 0U8 consistence, of a dull and reddish-brown color, has a bitter, salt 
 and nauseous taste, and its odor is rather pleasant. It is found in the 
 form of thick tufts, composed of numerous filaments, united at the 
 base, in bundles intermingled together, and fastened id each other by 
 small hooks, with which the stems are furnished. It is seldom em- 
 ployed in this country. Water dissolves it* active principles. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Anthelmintic. The influence exercised by this 
 substance upon the economy, is hardly appreciable; perhaps, occasion- 
 ally, a slight irritation of the digestive canal — but it acts very power- 
 fullj on the intestinal worms, especially the lumbricoid. Dr. Johnson 
 affirms that when thrown into the rectum, " it destroys any worms 
 domiciliating there as eifectually as choke-damps would destroy the 
 life of a miner." The dose is from ten to sixty grains, mixed with 
 molasses, jelly, or syrup, or in infusion. 
 
 FucTJS Vesiculosis is a perennial sea-weed. Boot a hard flattish disk. 
 Frond from a few inches to four feet in. length, and from two lines id 
 an inch in width, flat, fui-nished with a midrib throughout its length-, 
 occasionally twisted in a spiral manner, repeatedly dichotomous, the 
 angles of the dichotomy acute, except when a solitary vesicle happens 
 to be placed there ; sterile branches obtuse, often notched at the ex- 
 tremity. Air-vessels from the size of a pea to a hazelnut, in pairs, 
 situated at irregular intervals in difi'erent parts of the frond; sometimes 
 two or three pairs are arranged next to each other ; they are rarely 
 altogether wanting. Eeceptacles terminal, compressed, mostly ovate 
 or elliptical, about half an inch long, but varying from nearly spherical 
 to linear-lanceolate, and from one-fourth of an inch to nearly two 
 inches long; they are mostly in pairs, but are sometimes solitary, and 
 occasionally forked. They are filled with' a clear, tasteless mucus. The 
 whole frond is proliferous in a remarkable degree in cases of injury, 
 throwing out numerous new shoots from the injured part. — Zi. 
 
 The PuctTS Vesiculosis, Sea-Wrack, or Bladder Fucus, is a very com- 
 mon marine plant, growing upon the sea shores of Europe and America. 
 Its substance is rather thick, but flexible and tough, with a dark, oliva- 
 ceous, glossy green color, paler at the extremities, and becoming black 
 by drying. Its odor is strong, and its taste quite disagreeable, and it 
 contains cellulose, mucilage, mannite, odorous oil, coloring and bitter 
 matters, soda, iodine, potassium, etc. On account of the iodine con- 
 tained in its charcoal, it has been found beneficial in scrofiilous enlarge*- 
 ments of the glands ; the plant being incinerated in a covered crucible, 
 and the charcoal given in doses of from ten grains to two drachms. 
 When burned in the open air, it yields kelp ; it is used as a manure in 
 some places, and is also fed to cattle during the winter. Probably 
 other species of Fucus ha-^e analogous virtues. — P. M. Duchesne Du- 
 parc recommends an infusion of this plant, or the extract in pill form, 
 for the purpose of lessening obesity. It requires to be used three or 
 four weeks before this effect will be observed, and which is preceded 
 with an augmented secretion of urine, presenting a black pellicle upon 
 its surface upon standing for a short time. Others have confirmed his 
 statement regarding it. 
 
 FTJLIGO LIGNI. (Fuligo Splendens.) (G-lans Euss.) 
 
 WOOD-SOOT. 
 
 Description. — The best soot for medicinal purposes is that which is 
 gathered within an air-tight wood stove and its pipe; that which is 
 24 
 
370 . Materia Medica! 
 
 collected from a clean chimney or ordinary stove-pipe, where hard 
 wood alone is burned, will ordinarily answer, if it be free from ashes 
 and lime. Soot has a peculiar odor, somewhat resembling that of orea- 
 sote, and a nauseously empyreumatic, more or less bitter and acrid, 
 saline taste. Its infusion in water is of a dark -brown color, with the 
 characteristic odor and taste of soot. It is a mixture of distilled pro- 
 ducts from the imperfectly burnt wood, ashes, or other fixed matters, 
 carried up the chimney by the current of air. It consists of an empy- 
 reumatic resin, pyretin, combined with acetic acid, which also saturates 
 the bases, lime, potassa, and magnesia of the ashes carried up the chim- 
 ney. Acetate of ammonia, chloride of calcium, sulphate of lime, ex- 
 tractive matter, creasote, carbon, silica, sesquioxide of iron, have all 
 been found in Soot. The solution of Soot, evaporated, furnishes a dark- 
 colored extract, which on being revdissolved in water forms a dark- 
 brown solution, and from which acid pyretin is precipitated when any 
 free acid, except the acetic, is added to it. About 0.44 of Soot is in- 
 soluble. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Internally, Soot will be found valuable in all 
 forms of disease attended with acidity of the stomach. A powder com- 
 posed of one part each of powdered rhubarb and Soot, and half a part 
 of bicarbonate of potassa, will be found invaluable in all such cases, 
 removing acidity and a tendency to constipation ; it may be given in 
 doses varying from three to twelve grains, three times a day, or in 
 sufficient quantity to cause one or two evacuations from the bowels 
 daily. An infusion of Soot, made so as not to be unpalatable, is very 
 beneficial in inflammation of mucous membranes, and in hysteria. A 
 strong decoction of Soot used as an injection into the rectum, has 
 caused the expulsion of ascarides ; its use should be continued for sev- 
 eral days in succession; injected into the bladder it has been of service 
 in chronic inflammation of the bladder ; it should be injected twice a 
 day for some days. It possesses no antispasmodic virtues further than 
 the neutralizing acidity of the stomach, to which the spasmodic action 
 is owing. Combined with extract of geranium, in the proportion of 
 two parts to one of the astringent, it will prove valuable in diarrhea 
 and cholera-morbus of children ; in summer-complaint, one part of 
 dried extract of leptandra, and a fourth part of camphor or ginger 
 may be added to the above. The infusion or decoction may be made 
 by adding one or two ounces of Soot to a pint of water, macerate or 
 boil for half an hour, and filter ; dose, one or two fluidounces, two or 
 three times a day. 
 
 Externally, I have used the Unguentum Fuliginis, in cases ofrecent 
 and extensive burns, with almost immediate relief; it must be spread 
 on raw cotton and applied oveir the part. The ointment is also effica- 
 cious in various cutaneous disorders, especially those of an erysipelat- 
 ous character, tinea, fistula, cancerous and syphilitic ulcers, pruritus 
 of the vulva, specks on the cornea, scrofulous ophthalmia, severe burns 
 and scalds, etc. In some of these diseases the decoction will answer. 
 In many ophthalmic diseases, a strong decoction of equal parts of Soot 
 and golden-seal, will be found valuable ; it may also be employed in- 
 ternally by mouth, or injection into the bladder or vagina, for chronic 
 mucous inflammation. 
 
 A preparation called FuKgokali, has been recommended in scrofula, 
 chronic rheumatism, rheumatic tumors, and certain herpetic affections. 
 It is made thus : To two or three parts of water add fifty ^arts of^ood, 
 shining powdered Soot, and ten parts of caustic potassa ; boil the mix 
 
Galbanum. 371 
 
 ture for an hdiir, tJien dilute it when cold, and filter. The filtrate, 
 when evaporated to dryness, yields a black powder, having a slightly 
 alkaline taste, a burnt-like odor, and a ready solubility in water. It 
 may be given four or five times a day, in doses of two or three grains. 
 This substance should be kept in well closed bottles. — Deschamps. A 
 stimulating discutient external application is made by triturating half 
 an ounce of prepared lard with eight or sixteen grains of fuligokali. — 
 G-ibert. 
 Off. Prep. — Unguentum Fuliginis. 
 
 PUMAEIA OFFICINALIS. (Brdrauch.) 
 
 Fumitory. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Fumariacese. Sex. Syst. — Diadelphia Hexagynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — This is an annual glaucous plant, with a sub-erect, m*uch- 
 branched, spreading, leafy, angular stem, growing from ten to fif- 
 teen inches high. Leaves mostly alternate, bipinnate, or tripinnate ; 
 lefiflets wedge-shaped, cut into flat, lanceolate segments. Flowers small, 
 flesh-colored, tipped with crimson, nodding, the pedicels becoming erect 
 in fruit. Racemes opposite to the leaves, stalked, erect, many-flowered, 
 rather lax. Bracts lanceolate, acute, not half the length of the pedicels, 
 especially when in fruit. Petals four, unequal, one of them with a 
 short, rounded spur at the base. Calyx colored, toothed, deciduous. 
 Fruit or nut ovoid or globose, indehiscent, emarginate, one-seeded, valve- 
 less; seeds crestless. — W. — G. 
 
 Sistory. — This plant is found growing in cultivated soils in Europe 
 and this country, bearing red flowers in June and July. The leaves 
 which are used have no odor, but a bitterish taste, and when fresh, fur- 
 nish a large quantity of an aqueous, bitter, and inodorous juice, which 
 possesses their therapeutical properties, and which is soluble in water, 
 wine, or alcohol. It contains malate of lime, and some bitter extract- 
 ive principles. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — It is a weak tonic, very much used in cutaneous 
 diseases, injaundice, obstructions of the abdominal viscera, scurvy, and 
 in cases of debility of the digestive organs. — -E. & V. It is also slight- 
 ly diaphoretic and aperient. Dose of the infusion, a wineglassful every 
 two or three hours ; of the expressed juice, half a wineglassful, two 
 or three times a day. Two ounces of the flowers and tops infused in 
 three pints of Madeira wine, and taken twice a day in doses of from 
 two to four fluidounces, will strengthen the stomach and improve the 
 appetite. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Infusum Fumarise Vinum. 
 
 GALBANUM. (Mutterharz.) 
 Galbanum. 
 
 THE GUM-RESIN OF AN UNKNOWN PLANT. 
 
 History. The plant from which the gum-resin Qalbanum is obtained, 
 
 is unknown ; various plants have at different times been supposed to 
 afford it, but as there is no certainty in relation to the subject, it is 
 scarcely 'necessary to refer to them. Galbanum is imported from the 
 Levant, and from India in cases and chests. It is generally met with in 
 lumps, consisting of large, irregular masses of a brownish or dark- 
 
372 Materia Medica. 
 
 brownish color, and composed of agglutinated tears ; some few of which, 
 when broken, are somewhat translucent; thej have a waxy density, 
 but become soft and sticky at a temperature of 95° to 100° P., are not 
 pulverizable unless in very cold weather, have a strong, unpleasant 
 odor, and a hot, amarous taste, with some acrimony. Occasionallj', 
 Galbanum is met with in the form of oval, globular, or irregular tears. 
 On account of the impurities it contains, it should be melted and 
 strained previous to employing it. Thompson says that when the color 
 of Galbanam is dark-brown or blackish, it must be rejected as bad. 
 Inferior Galbanum, according to Christison, is softer, darker in color, 
 opaque, less powerful in odor, and more bitter and less acrid in taste 
 than the best varieties, and usually presents but few or no tears, with 
 an admixture of sand, straw, chips of wood, etc. The specific gravity 
 of Galbanum is 1.212.— T. 
 
 Galbanum is partially dissolved in water, vinegar, or wine, forming 
 a solution which is milky. Alcohol dissolves about three-fifths of it, 
 the pesidue being gum. Diluted alcohol is its best solvent. Ether dis- 
 solves the resin and volatile oil. "When distilled, Galbanum yields about 
 half of its weight of volatile oil, which has at first a blue color, becomes 
 colorless and limpid, having an odor resembling that of Galbanum and 
 camphor, a taste at first hot, but subsequently cooling and bitter, of 
 specific gravity 0.92, and readily soluble in alcohol, ether and the fixed 
 oils. Meissner found Galbanum to contain resin 65:8, gum 22.6, cerasin 
 Qr bassorin 1,8, malic acid, with bitter matter, 0.2, volatile oil 8.4, vege- 
 table debris 2.8, loss 3.4.— T. 
 
 Properties and. Uses. — The effects of Galbanum are similar to those 
 of assafoetida and ammoniac, being weaker than the former, butstronger 
 than the latter. It has been used in hysteria, chronic rheumatism, sup- 
 pressed menstruation, and chronic mucous affections of the air; pas- 
 sages; and may be given in doses of from ten grains to half a ^rachm, 
 in pill form, or in emulsion. Externally, a plaster is sometimes em- 
 ployed, as a mild stimulant and resolvent to indolent tumors ; and the 
 tincture has been efficacious in scrofulous ophthalmia, or irritability or 
 weakness of the eyes. 
 
 GALIPEA OPFICIlSrALIS. (Wahrer Angusturabaum.) 
 
 Angustura. 
 Nat. Ord. — Eutacese. Sex. Syst. — Diandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE BABK. 
 
 Description. — This tree seldom exceeds twenty feet in height, with a 
 stem whose diameter is frOm two to six inches, having irregular branches, 
 and a smooth bark. Leaves alternate, trifoliate, petiolate ; leaflets oval, 
 acute at the base, acuminate at the apex, smooth, glossy, bright-green, 
 having a tobacco-like smell when fresh and bruised, six to ten inches 
 long, two to four broad, some of them marked with small whitish round 
 spots. Petiole about the length of the leaflets, slightly channeled. 
 Mowers white, with a narcotic odor, in cylindrical, contracted, stalked 
 panicles, longer than the leaves, branches about three-flowered. Calyx 
 inferior, campanulate, five-toothed, hairy ; corolla somewhat curved be- 
 fore expansion, nearly an inch long, downy on both sides ; of the five 
 petals two larger than the others. Sterile stamens five, subulate, tipped 
 /ith a pellucid, watery gland; fertile stamens two ; style erect; stigma 
 
Galipka Officinalis. 373 
 
 simple. Fruit or carpels five, or fewer by abortion, becoming villous as 
 they mature, two-seeded, with a strong, elastic separable two-valved 
 endocarp. — L. ' 
 
 History. — There has been heretofore some uncertainty relative to tha 
 tree from which the officinal Angustura Bark is obtained, but the q^ues- 
 tion has been definitely settled by Dr. Hancock, who has ascertained 
 that it is chiefly the product of a tree to which he has given the above 
 name. It is found growing in great abundance in the missions of 
 Carony, Tumeremo, etc., and other parts of Columbian Gruiana. 
 
 The bark, as imported from the West Indian ports, is in flat pieces or 
 incomplete quills, from two to eight inches long, an inch or two in 
 breadth, and one or two lines in thickness. Its outer surface is dirty- 
 grayish-yellow in color, often speckled in the smaller pieces with lighter 
 gray spots and elevations ; the inner surface is dull brown ; and the 
 substance of the bark is yellowish brown. It breaks easily, the trans- 
 verse fracture being smooth and somewhat resinous to appearance; its 
 powder has a grayish-yellow color, somewhat like that of rhubarb. — C. 
 When soaked in water, it is soon- softened sufficiently to be easily 
 divided by means of shears. It has a characteristic, unpleasant odor, 
 and an intensely bitter, somewhat aromatic and acrid taste. Water, 
 alcohol, or proof-spirits takes up its virtues. Fischer found in it a vol- 
 atile oil 0.3, peculiar bitter principle 3.7, bitter hard resin 1.7, balsamic 
 soft resin 1.9, elastic resin 0.2, gum 5.7, lignin 89.1. By submitting 
 the bark to distillation with water, a yellowish-white, odorous, acrid 
 volatile oil is obtained, which is not so heavy as water. The bark also 
 contains nearly 1.5 per cent, of a jjeculiar neutral, crystalline princi- 
 ple, named Cusparin by Saladin, and termed the Peculiar Bitter Princi- 
 ple by Fischer. Cusparin or Angosturin (Pereira),' is obtained by sub- 
 mitting the alcoholic tincture of the bark (prepared without heat) to 
 slow atmospheric ' evaporation ; the crystals thus obtained are to be 
 purified by repeated crystallization from alcohol, and agitation with 
 ether and hydrated oxide of lead. It forms tetrahedral crystals, is 
 fusible at 112° F., and loses 23.09 per cent, of its weight; cold water 
 dissolveshalf aper cent., and boiling water one per cent, of it; it is freely 
 soluble in alcohol, but not in ether or volatile oils, readily dissolves in 
 the concentrated acids, and more sparingly in the alkalies, and its acid 
 solution yields a whitish precipitate with the tincture of galls. (^Sala- 
 din. Jour, de Ghim. Med., IX., 388. — T.) Some years since a poison- 
 ous bark was introduced as the true bark, and the administration 
 of which was attended with fatal results. This spurious bark was at 
 first supposed to be the product of the Brucea Ferruginea, but is now 
 recognized as the bark of Strychnos Nux-vomica. It is known as the 
 False Angustura Bark, and may be detected by the 'following marks : 
 The genuine bark has a strong and disagreeable odor, a bitter, durable, 
 pungent taste, softens in water, and imbibes it quickly, is very light, 
 tissue not compact, has a resinous shining fracture, and when touched 
 with nitric acid becomes colored a dull red; the false bark has no 
 odor, an insupportably bitter, very durable taste, does not soften sensi- 
 bly in water, is very heavy and compact, has a dull and blackish frac- 
 ture, and nitric acid turns its fractured surface bright red, and its rusty 
 epidermis an intense green. The false bark is rarely met with in this 
 country.- — Duncan. 
 
 Properties and Uses.— In large doses, of from twenty to sixty grains, it 
 
 :- tmetic nnd cathartic; in doses of from five to fifteen grains, tonic 
 
 and iebrifa"-e Recommended in bilious diarrheas and dysenteries, in- 
 
374 Materia Medica. 
 
 termittents, dropsies, etc. It is seldom used, on account of its liability 
 to adulteration with the poisonous bark of the Strychnos Nux-vomica, 
 known as the False Angustura Bark. 
 
 GALIUM APAEINB. (Haftendes Labkraut.) 
 
 Cleavers. — Klebkraut. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eubiacese. Sex. Syst. — Tetrandria Monogynia. 
 
 / THE HERB. 
 
 Description. — This plant has many common names, as Goose-grass, 
 Catch-weed, Bedstraw, etc. ; it is an annual, succulent plant, with a weak, 
 procumbent, quadrangular, retrorsely -prickled stem, which grows from 
 two to six feet long, and is hairy at the joints. I/eaves one or two 
 inches in length, two or three lines in width, verticillate in sixes, sev- 
 ens, or eights, linear-oblanceolate, nearly sessile, mucronate, tapering 
 to the base, rough on the margins and midvein ; peduncles axillary, 
 one or two-flowered ; flowers white, small, numerous, scattered. Calyx 
 four-toothed ; corolla rotate, four-parted; stamens faur, short; styles two. 
 Fruit large, bristly, with hooked prickles. — W. — G-. 
 
 Sistory. — This plant is common to Europe and the United States, 
 growing in cultivated grounds, moist thickets, and along banks of 
 rivers, and flowering from June to September. Its root consists of a 
 few hair -like fibers, of a reddish color. There are several varieties of 
 this plant, all of which possess similar medicinal virtues, as Galium 
 Asprellum, or Pointed Cleavers, which differs from the above in having 
 its leaves in whorls of four or six, and smaller, its fruit smooth, its 
 stem less in length, and is perennial; Galium Verum, or Yellow Bed- 
 straw, with an erect stem, leaves in whorls of eight, root long, peren- 
 nial, fibrous, flowers densely paniculate, yellow, and terminal; G-alium. 
 Triftdum or Small Cleavers, with a perennial root, decumbent stem, 
 herb smaller than the others, leaves in fours or fives, and white flowers. 
 
 In the green state these plants have an unpleasant odor, but are 
 inodorous when dried, with an acidulous, astringent, and bitter taste. 
 Cold or warm water extracts the virtues of the plants ; boiling destroys, 
 them. They have not been analyzed. The roots dye a permanent red, 
 and the bones of animals who eat the plant are said to be colored, simi- 
 \a,v^ to that caused by madder. The flowers are said to curdle milk, but 
 this is not a constant effect. Analysis has detected in this plant rubi- 
 chloric acid, gallitannic acid, citric acid, starch, chlorophylle, etc. G. 
 Aparine coiitains more citric acid than G. Verum, while the latter holds 
 the Biost gallitannic acid. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — A most valuable refrigerant and diuretic, and 
 will be found very beneficial in many diseases of the urinary organs, 
 as suppression of urine, calculous affections, inflammation of the kid- 
 neys and bladder, and in the scalding of urine in gonorrhea. It iS' 
 contra-indicated in diseases of a passive character, on account of its re- 
 frigerant and sedative effects on the system, but may be used freely in 
 fevers and all acute diseases. It has been recommended in scorbutic 
 and nervous affections, but can not be depended upon. An infusion 
 may be made by macerating an ounce and a half of the herb in a pint 
 of warm water for two hours, of which from two to four fluidounces 
 may be given three or 'four times a day, when cold. It may be sweet- 
 ened with sugar or honey. Equal parts of Cleavers, maiden-hair, and 
 elder -blows, macerated in warm water for two or three hours, and 
 
Gambogia. ^75 
 
 drank freely when cold, form an excellent drink in acute erysipelas, 
 scarlatina, and other exanthematous diseases, in their inflammatory 
 stages. 
 
 The inflision made with cold water is also considered very beneficial 
 in removing freckles from the face, likewise lepra, and several other 
 cutaneous eruptions; the diseased parts must be washed with it several 
 times a day, and continued for two or three months in cases of freckles. 
 It has also been found useful in many cutaneous diseases, as psoriasis, 
 eczema, lichen, cancer, and scrofula, and is more particularly useful in 
 these diseases when they are combined with a strumous diathesis. The 
 best form of administration is that of the inspissated juice, which may 
 be given in one or two drachm doses three times a day. 
 
 The Galium Tinctorium, a variety of the G-. Trifidum, having a stouter 
 and a nearly smooth stem ; leaves of the branches in fours, of the stem, in 
 sixes ; peduncles two to three flowered ; parts of the flowers usually in 
 fours ; is said to be nervine, antispasmodic, expectorant, and diapho- 
 retic. It has been used successfully in asthma, cough, and chronic 
 bronchitis, and appears to exert an influence principally upon the re- 
 spiratory organs. The plant has a pungent, aromatic, pleasant, per- 
 sistent taste. A strong decoction of the herb may be given in doses of 
 from one to four fluidounces, and repeated two or three times a day, 
 according to circumstances. The root of this plant is said to dye a 
 permanent red. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infiisum Galii. 
 
 GAMBOGIA. (Gummigutt.) 
 Gamboge. 
 
 THE GUM-RESIN OF AN UNKNOWN PLANT. 
 
 History. — In relation to the plant from which this gum-resin is de- 
 rived we have no correct information. By some it is laid down as 
 coming from the Stalagmitis Cambogiodes, upon the authority of Mur- 
 ray, but Dr. Graham has satisfactorily determined that there is no 
 such plant in existence. It is now suppose.d to be derived from trees 
 of Ceylon, which produce gum-resins agreeing closely or entirely with 
 the officinal Gamboge — these are the Garciriia Oambogia and the Heb- 
 radendron Gamhogioides, which last is supposed to be the tree' from 
 which it is principally had — though on merely presumptive evidence. 
 The Seb. Gamhogioides belongs probably to the class and order of the 
 sexual system Moncecia Monadelphia, and to the natural order Clusia- 
 oece or Guttiferce. It is a moderate sized tree, with opposite, petiolate, 
 obovate-elliptical, coriaceous, smooth, entire, abruptly-acuminate, shin- 
 ing leaves, dark-green above, paler beneath. Flowers unisexual, sessile 
 dnd axillary ; calyx membranous, persistent, consisting of four sepals ; 
 corolla four-petaled ; fruit a pleasant, saccharine, quadrilocular berry, 
 about the size of a cherry, crowned with a sessile stigma, containing 
 one seed in each division. — Zi. Incisions are made into the tree, or a 
 large slice is pared from the bafk, from which the juice flows, thick, 
 viscid, and bright-yellow, which is scraped oS and dried in the sun. 
 If left on the tree, it speedily concretes into dry tears or irregular 
 masses. It is collected in Siam and Cochin-China, and sent to Canton 
 and Calcutta, from which places it is imported into this country. 
 
 The best kinds are the Pipe Gamboge, and Ceylon Gamboge, -which 
 last is seldom had in tbii country. The Pipe Gamboge consists of 
 
376 ' Materia Medioa. 
 
 cylindrical pieces, varying from three-fourths of an inch to two inches 
 in diameter, frequently hollow, striated externally, and often cohering 
 together, forming irregular masses, weighing several pounds. They 
 are, brittle, odorless, of a slight taste at first, succeeded by acridity, an 
 orange color, with sometimes an external greenish-yellow dust. Pipe 
 Gamboge has a conohoidal fracture, presenting a smooth, glistening, 
 reddish -yellow surface. Its powder is of a bright-yellow color. ^ P. — 
 C. It forms a yellow, smooth, rather persistent emulsion with water, 
 and is soluble in the alkalies, and the essential oils; alcohol dissolves 
 all the resin, leaving the gum; water forms only an emulsion with it. 
 Sulphuric ether dissolves most of the resin, and ammoniated alcohol 
 forms a solution with it which is not changed by water. The resin is 
 the active principle. Its specific gravity is 1.221. It is like other 
 resins, dissolved and saponified by caustic potassa. According to 
 Christison, it consists of resin 74.2, or 71.6 ; arabin or soluble gum 21.8 
 or 24.0 ; moisture 4.8, and traces of feeula and woody fiber. The above 
 is the composition of two specimens. The resin or Gamhagic Acid of 
 Johnston is procured by forming an ethereal tincture of the pure gum- 
 resin, and evaporating to dryness. It is brittle, in thin layers, of a 
 deep orange color, in thickei: masses of a cherry-red tint. It is insolu- 
 ble in water but soluble in alcohol, and still more so in ether. Its 
 formula is C40 H23 Og. — P. Pereira gives the following as the tests for 
 distinguishing Gamboge : " Gamboge emulsion becomes transparent 
 and deep-red on the addition of potassa, forming gambogiate of potassa. 
 Digested in alcohol or ether, Gamboge yields orange-red tinctures (so- 
 lutions of Gamhogic Acid). The ethereal tincture dropped on water 
 yields, on the evaporation of the ether, a thin, bright-yellow, opaque 
 film or scum (Gamhogic Acid), soluble ,in caustic potassa. The alco- 
 holic tincture dropped into water, yields a bright, opaque, yellow 
 emulsion, which becomes clear, deep red, and transparent, on the ad- 
 dition of caustic potassa. The gambogiate of potassa (obtained by any 
 of the above processes) gives, if the alkali be not in excess, with acids, 
 a yellow precipitate (Gamhogic Acid); with acetate of lead, a .yellow 
 precipitate (gamhogiate of lead) ; with sulphate of copper, brown (gam- 
 bogiate of copper) ; and with the salts of iron, dark brown (gambogiaie 
 of iron)." Gamhogic Acid imparts a perceptible yellow hue to ten 
 thousand times its weight of spirit or water. — C. 
 
 Lump or Cake Gamboge occurs in masses of several pounds weight; it 
 differs from the best Pipe Gamboge in containing starch, and fragmente 
 of wood, twigs, and air-cells. Other varieties are occasionally seen, but 
 they are of inferior quality, and may be known by the foreign matters 
 contained in them, the coarseness of their fracture, the dark blemishes 
 which they frequently present, and by the tincture of iodine producing 
 a green color when added to the cooled decoction, indicating the pres- 
 ence of starch. Ether and water when used . alternately, dissolve the 
 whole of pure Gamboge. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In large doses, Gamboge is a powerful irritant, 
 causing gastro-enteritis, and death ; it is said to produce difiiise inflam- 
 mation of the cellular tissue, when applied beneath the skin. On ac- 
 count of its severity of action, and its liability to cause serious symp- 
 toms, it is seldom employed singly, as a purgative ; yet when combined 
 with other cathartics it forms a safe and excellent physic. It may, 
 however, be safely administered alone in moderate doses, by reducing 
 it to a state of fine division with other comparatively inert powders, as 
 sulphate, or bitartrate of potassa. It thus operates effectually as a hy- 
 
G-AULTHEEIA PrOCUMBENS. 377 
 
 dragogue, without occasioning much tormina or constitutional exliaus- 
 tion. In medicinal doses, it is a drastic, hydragogue cathartic, causing 
 nausea, griping, and copious watery stools, on which account it is often 
 used in .dropsy, in combination with squills, cream of tartar, etc. It has 
 also been used for the expulsion of tapeworm, in torpor of the bowels, 
 dysmenorrhea, etc. Two grains of sulphate of quinia combined with 
 one grain and one-fourth of G-amboge, and administered three times a 
 day, have been highly recommended in cases of long-continued consti- 
 tutional debility, with constipation. United with an alkali, it acts upon 
 the kidneys, and proves diuretic. 
 
 Its use is contra-indicated in gastritis, enteritis, during pregnancy, 
 menorrhagia, hemorrhoids, in excited, irritable, or diseased uterus, and 
 where there is irritation or disease of the urinary organs. When taken 
 in large doses, or when it acts with severity, the best remedy to coun- 
 teract its dangerous effects is a solution of some alkali, as pearl-ash 
 water, to be followed by general treatment if inflammatory symptoms 
 be present. Dose, in pill, powder, or alkaline solution, from one to fif- 
 teen grains; the larger doses given in small quantities, and repeated at 
 short intervals until it operates. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Pilulse Aloes Compositse ; Pilulse Gambogise Compositse ; 
 Pilulffi Podophyllini Compositse. 
 
 G-AULTHBEIA PEOCTJMBElSrS. (Canadischer Thee.) 
 
 Wintergreen. 
 
 . Nat. Ord. — ^Ericaceae. Sex. Syst. — Decandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — This plant is known in various sections of country 
 under different names, as Mountain Tea, Deerberry, Teaberry, Boxherry, 
 etc., and in some places by the improper names of Partridgeberry,,and 
 Checkerberry. It is a native, suffruticose plant, with a woody, horizon- 
 tal root or rhizoma, often one-fourth of an inch in thickness. Stems 
 several, ascending about three inches from the rhizoma, round, downy. 
 Leases alternate, evergreen, scattered, near the extremities of the 
 branches, coriaceous, shining, oval or obovato, acute at both ends, revo- 
 lute at the edge, furnished with a few small serratures, each terminat- 
 ing in a bristle. Flowers few, drooping, axillary, white, on round downy 
 stalks. Bracts two, concave, cordate. Calyx white, cleft into five 
 roundish acute segments. Corolla urceolate, five-angled, contracted at 
 the mouth ; limb divided into five short, reflexed segments. Stamens 
 ten, Toae-coloTQA; filaments white, hairy, bent toward the corolla; anthers 
 oblong, orange-colored, ending in two double horns, bursting outwardly 
 for their whole length above the filaments ; ^oZZew white. Ovary mundish., 
 depressed, five-angled, resting on a reddish, ten-toothed, glandular disk ; 
 style erect, straight ; stigma simple. Fruit a small, five-celled, many 
 seeded capsule, invested with the calyx, which becomes large, round, 
 fleshy, having the appearance of a bright scarlet berry.— i. 
 
 jffisior]/.— This plant is a native of the United States, growing from 
 Maine to Florida, and westward to Pennsylvania and Kentucky, m cool 
 damp woods, sandy soils, and on mountains, flowering from June to 
 October It does not grow in alluvial soil, nor in limestone countries. 
 The leaves are oflcinal, yet the whole plant may be used; the leaves 
 have a peculiar fragrance and an agreeable, characteristic flavor, with 
 a slight astringerlcy : the berries possess a similar flavor with sweet- 
 
378 Materia Medioa. 
 
 ness, and are eaten by many individuals; some wild animals, as deer, 
 partridges, etc., use it for food. The leaves contain tannic acid ; and an 
 odorous volatile oil, which may lie obtained in the same manner as oil 
 of peppermint. The specific gravity of the oil is 1.173 at 50°, F., it is 
 colorless at first, but subsequently becomes more or less of a pinkish 
 color, has a hot and aromatic taste, possesses acid properties, and is 
 soluble in alcohol or ether. Water by infusion, and alcohol, extract the 
 virtues of the plant. 
 
 Properties and ZZses.— Wintergreen possesses stimulant, aromatic, and 
 astringent properties. It is used in inflision as an astringent in chronic 
 mucous discharges, as a diuretic in dysury, as an emmenagogue, as a 
 stimulant in cases of debility, and is said to augment the flow from the 
 lactiferous vessels of nursing women, but this is doubtful. The volatile 
 oil, or its tincture is used to render syrups and other preparations more 
 agreeable. The oil allays the pain of carious teeth, and large doses of 
 2t administered internally have caused death by producing inflamma- 
 tion of the stomach ; the essence of Wintergreen is a carminative, and 
 is sometimes used in the flatulent colic of infants. An infusion of the 
 leaves or whole plant, may be drank freely. 
 
 The Gaultheria Sispidula, or Cancer Wintergreen, is supposed to be 
 eflicacious in removing the carcinomatous taint from the system ; used 
 also in scrofula, prolapsus uteri. (See Oleum Gaultherice.) 
 
 GELSBMESrUM SBMPEEVIEBNS. (Immergrilne Bignonic.) 
 
 Yellow Jessamine. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ApocynaceaB. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant is likewise known by the names of Wild Jessa- 
 mine, and Woodbine; it is the Bignonia Sempervirens of Linnaeus, and 
 the Qelseminum Nitidum of Michaux and Pursh. It has a twining, 
 smooth, glabrous stem, with opposite, perennial, lanceolate, entire leaves, 
 which are dark-green above, pale beneath, on short petioles. Flowers 
 yellow, having an agreeable, but rather narcotic odor, on axillary pe- 
 duncles. Calyx very small, with five sepals ; corolla funnel-form, with 
 a spreading border, and five lobes nearly equal. Stamens five ; pistils 
 two. Capsule two-celled, compressed, flat, two-partible. Seeds flat, and 
 attached to the margins of the valves. 
 
 History. — This plant was brought into notice, as far as we can learn, 
 in the following manner : A planter of Mississippi, whose name we have 
 forgotten, while laboring under a severe attack of bilious fever, which 
 resisted all the usual remedies, sent a servant into his garden to procure 
 a certain medicinal root, and prepare an infusion of it for him to drink. 
 The servant, by mistake, collected another root, and gave an infusion 
 of it to his master, who, shortly after swallowing some of it, was 
 seized with a complete loss of muscular power, unable to move a limb, 
 or even raise his eyelids, although he could hear, and was cognizant of 
 circumstances transpiring around him. His friends, greatly alarriied, 
 collected around him, watching the result with much anxiety; and ex- 
 pecting every minute to see him breath his last. After some hours, he 
 gradually recovered himself, and was astonished to find that his fever 
 had left him. Ascertaining from his servant what plant it was the root 
 of which acted in this manner, he collected some of it, and employed 
 it successfully on his own plantation, as well as among his neighbors 
 
Gelseminum Semper virens. 379 
 
 The success of this article finally reached the ears of some physician 
 who prepared from it a nostrum called the " Electrical Febrifuge," 
 ■which was disguised with the essence of wintergreen. This plant was 
 the Yellow Jessamine, and a knowledge of its remarkable effects was 
 not communicated to the profession until recently. 
 
 The Yellow Jessamine abounds throughout the Southern States, grow- 
 ing luxuriantly, and climbing from tree to tree, forming an agreeable 
 shade. On account of its fine yellow flowers, and the rich perfume, 
 which they impart to the surrounding atmosphere, as well as the shade 
 it affords, it is extensively cultivated in the gardens of the South as an 
 ornam:ental vine. The flowers appear from March to May. The root 
 is the officinal part, and yields its virtues to water or alcohol. It is 
 several feet in length, with scattered fibers, and is from two to iiivee 
 lines in diameter to nearly two inches. The internal part of the 
 root is woody, and of ,a light yellowish color ; the external part, or bark, 
 in which the medicinal virtues are said principally to reside, is of a 
 light snuff-color, and fl-om half a line to three lines in thickness. The 
 root of this plant has been said to contain a resin which is poisonous 
 in very small doses, and a tincture, made by digesting it in undiluted 
 alcohol, ig stated to have proved fatal. This statement is denied, and 
 upon good grounds, for were it true, death would jiecessarily follow the 
 use of the tincture made with undiluted alcohol, in consequence of the 
 presence of this resin, which would still be taken up by the alcohol in a 
 proportion corresponding to the alcoholic strength of the solvent. 
 Again, it has been asserted, that the deaths which have occurred where 
 this article was used, were owing, not to the G-elseminum, but to the 
 presence of another very poisonous root somewhat resembling it, which 
 was carelessly or ignorantly collected and mixed with it. Others again, 
 state that they have given large doses without any serious consecjuences, 
 and in one case, six fluidrachms of the tincture were swallowed by a lad 
 of twenty years of age, without any permanent injury. Notwithstand- 
 ing these statements, death has followed the employment of what was 
 supposed to be the tincture of Gelseminum, in a few instances, and 
 further investigations are required to determine its probable cause, and 
 whether this agent will produce any fatal results in large medicinal doses. 
 Yellow Jessamine may be administered in decoction, infusion or tincture. 
 It is reputed incompatible with no known substance, but this remains 
 to be satisfactorily determined. 
 
 Dr. Hiram H. Hill, formerly of the late firm of ¥. "D. Hill & Co., of 
 Cincinnati, has collected many hundred pounds of the G-elseminum root 
 in the South. I am indebted to him for the following statement of it : 
 " The length of the G-elseminum root, in clay soil, is from three to ten 
 feet, and on the Magnolia ridges, and along small streams, I have traced 
 some roots to the extent of thirty feet, although the average length is 
 about fifteen. Like the roots of many other vines, it is branching, with 
 scattered fibers, and runs horizontally near the surface of the ground, 
 sometimes merely under the leaves, for several feet.. When first pulled 
 ap it is very yellow, and has a peculiar odor like that of the tincture, 
 with a bitter, rather pleasant taste to most persons, at least people 
 were constantly tasting or chewing it, while I was collecting it. The 
 vine is of a green color, and always runs to the top of the tree or bush 
 on which it fastens, then branches out, covering the topmost branches 
 with its thick foliage. I have seen it on trees that were fifty feet in 
 height, and the size of the vine was the same near the top as at the 
 ground ; its general length is from twenty to thirty feet. The bark of 
 
380 Materia Mediga. 
 
 the vine is full of a silk-like fiber, which is not found in other vinos 
 that I have seen. On old vines, the leaves are about one and a half 
 inches in length, of a dark -green color, lance-shaped, and on short foot- 
 stalks ; on young vines or shoots they are longer and are four or five 
 inches apart, while on the old ones they are very close and always op- 
 posite. The flowers are funnel-shaped and yellow. The vine, the root 
 of which is sometimes gathered by mistake for the Grelseminum, resem- 
 bles it very much in appearance, though it is of a lighter coloiv and the 
 outer bark is covered with white specks or marks somewhat similar to 
 ' those on young cherry or peach limbs, and the lower parts of the old 
 vines become rough and have small tendrils that fasten upon the bark 
 of trees, and which are never seen on the Gelseminum. The bark of 
 the vine is also iftore brittle, and the leaves are always on long foot- 
 stalks which are opposite, at the end of which are two opposite leaves, 
 almost exactly resembling the leaf of the Aristolochia Serpentaria. 
 The root is almost white, very tough, brittle when dry, not so fibrous 
 as the true root, straight, about the same length of the medicinal root, 
 and has a slightly bitter, disagreeable, nauseating taste. I never saw 
 any of the flowers, though they are said to resemble the others in shape, ' 
 but are pale dirty-white, with a slight unpleasant odor, by no means 
 like that peculiar to Gelseminum. The vine is called White Poison 
 Vine, and White Jessamine." 
 
 Mr. Henry Kollock found the root of Gelseminum to contain a con- 
 siderable quantity of albumen, gallic acid, starch, gum, pectic aufd, a 
 bitter, dark -green, fatty resin, insoluble in water, slightly so in alcohol ; 
 fixed oil, dry, acrid resin, yellow coloring matter, a heavy volatile oil, 
 extractive matter, a bitter crystalline substance, probably an alkaloid, 
 gelsemima, salts of potassa, lime, magnesia, iron, and silica. Neither the 
 acrid resin, the gelseminia, nor the volatile oil were tested as to their 
 medicinal powers. — Am. Jour. Pharm., Vol. ILXYll.,}). 127. More recently 
 Mr. C. L. Bberle has procured the alkaloid principle of (/eteemmw, from 
 the root of the Gelseminum. (See Am. Jour. Pharm., 1869, p. 35.) 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Gelseminum is, undoubtedly, an unrivaled febri- 
 fuge, and which property appears to be dependent upon its relaxing and 
 antispasmodic properties. Prof J. M. Seudder considers its therapeu- 
 tical value to principally consist in its power of controlling irritation of 
 the cerebro-spinal centers, and thereby preventing determinution of 
 blood to the head and spinal cord, and checking spasmodic action. 
 Thus, he has found it valuable in cases of fever, where there ifl uneasi- 
 ness, restlessness, irritability, flushed face, bright, contracted eyes, and 
 hot head. Whether it is a narcotic is not yet satisfactorily established. 
 It has been emiployed in the form of tincture by many respectable phy- 
 sicians, who speak highly of it in all fevers except the congestive form, 
 in which its use is considered injurious. It has also proved efficacious 
 in nervous and bilious headache, colds, pneumonia, hemorrhages, leu- 
 oorrhea, chorea, ague-cake, and several other diseases, though it is in 
 fevers especially in .which its efficacy has been mostly observed. It is 
 said by some to be the only agent ever yet discovered capable of sub- 
 duing, in from two to twenty hours, and without the least possible in- 
 jury to the patient, the most formidable and most complicated as well 
 as the most simple fevers incident to our country and climate, quieting 
 all nervbus irritability and excitement, equalizing the circulation, pro- 
 moting perspiration, and rectifying the various secretions, without caus- 
 ing nausea, vomiting or purging, and is also adapted to any stage of the 
 disease. It may follow any preceding treatment with safety. Its ef- 
 
G-EL8EMINUM SemPEKVIRENS. 381 
 
 fects are clouded vision, double-sightedness, or even complete prostra- 
 tion, and inability to open the eyes, and which effects gradually pass 
 off in a few hours, leaving the patient refreshed, and completely re- 
 stored ; and as soon as the heaviness or partial closing of the eyes is 
 induced, no more of the remedy is necessary, although these effects 
 should even follow the first dose. If carried to such an extent that the 
 patient can not open his eyes, the relaxation may be too great for the 
 system to recover from, hence its use should cease as soon as the symp- 
 toms above-named have been produced. 
 
 The tincture is the form in which it is employed ; the dose is from ten 
 to fifty drops, in a wineglass half-full of water, to be repeated every two- 
 hours; the second dose, in a majority of the cases, usually effecting the 
 cure. From two to ten grains of quinia, according to the severity and 
 character of the disease, should accompany each dose, or it is said the 
 system will again relapse into the febrile state in a few hours for want 
 of tonicity following the relaxation produced by the remedy. The ori- 
 ginal discoverers of the use of the article say, however, that the quinia 
 is not actually necessary, but that its addition renders the cure more 
 prompt, and, by its combination, its usually unpleasant effects, as de- 
 termination to the head, etc., are completely obviated. When the fever 
 does not yield in six hours, a mild purgative may be administered, or 
 resin of podophyllum in small doses may be added to the medicine : if 
 diarrhea be present, add an opiate to it. 
 
 In the treatment of typhus and typhoid fevers it -should be given in 
 smaller doses, say from three to eight drops of the tincture, with from 
 two to four grains of sulphate of quinia, and repeated every two or 
 three hours until the more active febrile symptoms subside ; then give 
 one or two grains of the quinia, every two hours, and eight or ten drops 
 of the Tincture of G-elseminum, every six or eight hours. A writer 
 observes that his experience in the treatment of fevers, with this agent, 
 inclines him to believe that when given in doses sufficiently large to 
 produce its full and complete constitutional effects, it impairs the toni- 
 city of the muscular fibers of the heart (which are always weakened 
 in those fevers), and thus retards or prolongs convalescence. 
 
 G-elseminum possesses a most perfect control over the nervous system, 
 lemoving nervous irritability more completely than any other known 
 agent. It may be used in all forms of neuralgia, nervous headache, 
 toothache, and lockjaw or tetanus. It is recommended in this last 
 difficulty as an agent that may be relied upon with definite certainty. 
 In gout and rheumatism it may be advantageously added to the tinctures 
 of guaiacum or colchium. Combined with mild diuretic and secernent 
 agents, nephritic and cystic irritability and leucorrhea, have readily 
 yielded. It has likewise proved efficacious in the painful spasmodic 
 action of the ureters, the result of renal calculi passing through them, 
 in spasm of the glottis, dysentery, and has been highly recommended 
 in nocturnal emissions and gonorrhea. .1 have never been able, how- 
 ever, to procure any very desirable influence from it in the emissions. 
 
 Upon the uterus it appears to exert an opposite influence, for while 
 it produces complete and powerful relaxation of every other tissue, it 
 tends to promote contraction of the uterus, causing an influence inter- 
 ti,ediate between ergot and cimicifuga, it being less energetic than the 
 former, and more so than the latter. This property, when continued, 
 as it is, with its relaxing effects upon every other tissue, promises to 
 render it an important aid in parturition. 
 
 I have recently derived considerable advantage from Gelseminum in 
 
382 Materia JMedica. 
 
 conjunctivitis, muscular asthenopia, iritis, and in tinnitus aurium, ad- 
 ministered in doses of from three to five drops of the tincture every 
 three or four hours; being extremely careful not to carry the influence 
 of the agent to depression or relaxation. Dr. J. Parrish, of Philadel- 
 phia, has derived the greatest benefit from the administration of this 
 drug, in cases of habitual drunkards and opium eaters. 
 
 Externally, the tincture will be found of service in neuralgic and 
 rheumatic pains. Its internal administration is contra-indicated in 
 congestive fever, in cases where there is great muscular or nervous 
 prostration with relaxation, and when there exists a determination to 
 the brain or other important viscus. An article called "G-elsemin" is 
 in the market, but how it is obtained, and whether it is an impure al- 
 kaloid, resin, or neutral principle, or merely a dried alcoholic extract, 
 has not yet been made known. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Tinctura Gelsemini. 
 
 GBNTIANA LUTEA. (Gelber Bnzian.) 
 
 G-entian. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Gentianacese. Sex Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant has a long, thick, cylindrical, wrinkled, 
 ringed, forked, perennial root, brown externally, and yellow within. 
 Stem three or four feet high, hollow, stout, erect. JRadical leaves ovate- 
 oblong, five-nerved, two or three inches broad; those on the stem ses- 
 sile, ovate, acute; those neod the flowers cordate, amplexicaul, concave; 
 all a pale, bright-green. Flowers large, bright-yellow, in many-flow- 
 ered whorls, peduneled; calyx monophyllous, of a papery texture, semi- 
 transparent, three or four-cleft, with short, lanceolate, unequal seg- 
 ments; corolla rotate, with a very short tube, five or six green glands 
 at the base, five or six parted, with oblong, acute, narrow, veiny lobes, 
 stamens five or six, not so long as the corolla; anthers subulate, some- 
 what united, becoming distinct ; o^^ar!/ conical; s%mas sessile, revolute; 
 capsule stalked, oblong, two-valved, one-celled ; seeds many, flattened, 
 with thin, brownish edges. — L. 
 
 Sistory. — This plant is common to the central and southern parts of 
 Europe, especially the Pyrenees, Alps, etc., being found from 3,000 to 
 5,000 feet above the level of the sea. Its root aff'ords the medicinal 
 portion, and is brought to this market from Havre, Marseilles, etc. It 
 is met with in pieces of various sizes, seldom above an inch in thick- 
 ness, split lengthwise if large, marked with annular wrinkles and long- 
 itudinal furrows ; sometimes it is met with in transversely cut pieces. 
 It consists of an external reddish-yellow layer, separated by a dark 
 reddish-brown line, and a grayish-yellow, or reddish-spongy center. It 
 has a feeble, aromatic odor, and a taste at first faintly-sweetish, and 
 then purely, intensely, and permanently bitter. It imparj^s its virtues 
 readily to cold or hot water, alcohol, wiiie, spirit, or sulphuric ether. 
 A small portion of a butyraceous oil may be procured by distilling 
 Gentian with water. A liquor in some parts of Switzerland is much 
 prized as a stomachic; it is made by macerating the root in cold water, 
 adding yeast, and distilling after vinous fermentation has occurred. 11, 
 contains, according to Henry and Caventou, a volatile, odorous mat- 
 ter, gentianin, volatile oil, yellow coloring matter, green fixed oil, gum, 
 
Gentiana Ldtea. 383 
 
 uncrystallizable sugar, matter identical with bird-lime or free organic 
 iicid, and woody fiber. — P. 
 
 The gentianin-oi'E.&a.vj and Caventou has since been ascertained to 
 possess no taste or medicinal virtues, and has been named gentisin, or 
 gentisic acid. The substance resembling bird-lime has also been shown 
 by Leconte to be a compound of caoutchouc, wax, and oil. The impure 
 bitter principle of the root, has likewise been named gentianin: it may 
 be obtained by exhausting the coarsely powdered root with alcohol, dis- 
 tilling off the alcohol, and dissolving the residuum in water. Filter this 
 solution, ferment it to remove the sugar, and add neutral acetate of 
 lead ; separate the liquid from the precipitate by filtration, and then 
 add to it basic acetate of lead, and a very small quantity of ammonia, 
 to throw down the oxide of lead and veigetable matter together; if too 
 much ammonia be employed, it will separate the metallic oxide from the 
 organic matter. The yellow precipitate thus had, must be washed in 
 . small quantities of water, as in a large quantity the metallic and Vege- 
 table combination will be decomposed. This accomplished, the precipi- 
 tate is to be dissolved in a large quantity of water, the. lead precipi- 
 tated by sulphuretted hydrogen, the solution filtered and evaporated to 
 dryness at a moderate temperature. The substance which remains is 
 dissolved in alcoliol sp. gr. 0.820, filtered and again evaporated. The 
 Gentianin thus procured is an amorphous, brownish-yellow, bitter sub- 
 stance, soluble in water, less so in alcohol, sp. gr. 0.835, and not at all 
 in anhydrous alcohol. It contains no azote, has an acid reaction on 
 litmus, and when heated melts, swells up, and burns without any resi- 
 due. — Dulk. J. P., in Jour, de Pharm. A erystallizable substance, prob- 
 ably the correct bitter principle of Gentian, has been obtained by Lud- 
 wig and Kromayer, which they called gentiojpicrin. It is quite bitter, 
 neutral, soluble in water or alcohol, but not in ether. Acids transform 
 it into an amorphous body and glucose. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — A powerful tonic, improves the appetite, 
 strengthens digestion, gives more force to the circulation, and slightly 
 elevates the heat of the body. Used in cases of debility and exhaus- 
 tion, and in all cases where a tonic is required, as dyspepsia, gout, 
 amenorrhea, hysteria, scrofula, intermittents, diarrhea, worms, etc. 
 Dose of the powder, from ten to thirty grains ; of the extract, from one 
 to ten grains; of infusion, one or two fluidounces; of tincture, one or 
 two flu,idrachms. When taken in large doses, it is apt to oppress the 
 stomach, irritate" the bowels, and even produce nausea, and vomiting. 
 Its administration is contra-indicated where gastric irritability is 
 present. '' 
 
 Dr. Kuchenmeister believes that impure and uncrystallized Genti- 
 anin is the most valuable substitute for quinia, acting as rapidly and 
 as efficaciously on the spleen, in doses of from fifteen to thirty grains 
 twice a day. 
 
 Gentiani Catesbei, Blue, or American Gentian, has a perennial, 
 branching, somewhat fleshy root, with a simple, erect, rough stem, eiglu 
 or ten inches in heighi. Leaves opposite, ovate or lanceolate, slightly 
 three-veined, acute, rough on the margin. Flowers large, blue, crowded, 
 Bubsessile, axillary, and terminal. Calyx divided into four or five lin- 
 ear-lanceolate segments longer than the tube. Corolla large, blue, ven- 
 tricose, plaited; its border d.ivided into ten segments, the outer five 
 roundish and more or less acute, the inner five bifid and imbricate. 
 Stamens five, with dilated filaments and sagittate anthers. Ovary oblong- 
 lanceolate, compressed, supported by 'a sort of a pedicel. Style none; 
 
384 Materia Medica. 
 
 stigmas two, oblong, reflexed. Capsule oblong, acuminate, one-celled, 
 two-valved. — Jj. — B. It grows in the grassy swamps and meadows of 
 North and South Carolina, flowering from September to December. 
 The root is little inferior to the foreign Gentian, and may be used as a 
 substitute for it in all eases, in the same doses and preparations. Al- 
 cohol and boiling water extract its virtues. Probably the Grentiana 
 Saponaria, or Soapwort Gentian, the G-entiana Pneumonanthe, or Marsh 
 Gentian, and the Gentiana Crinita, or Blue Fringed Gentian, possess 
 analogous medicinal virtues. 
 
 Gentiana QuinQtjeplora, Five-flowered Gentian, sometimes called 
 Gall -weed, on account of its intense bitterness, has been found of much 
 service in headache, liver affections, jaundice, etc., and is greatly supe- 
 rior in its action to the oficinal root. It has a branching, smooth, four- 
 angled stem, half clasping, ovate-lanceolate, acute, three to five veined, 
 smooth leaves, small terminal and axillary .powers, about in fives, on 
 pedicels half an inch long. Corolla tubular, eampanulate, in five lan- 
 ceolate, setaceously acuminate segments, pale-blue, four times as long 
 as the subulate sepals. — JJ. The plant grows in woods and pastures, 
 flowering in September and October, is found from Vermont to Penn- 
 sylvania, and a variety of it is common through the Western States. 
 This is certainly a valuable tonic and cholagogue, and deserves further 
 investigation. ' 
 
 Off. Prep. — Extractum Gentianse ; Extractum Gentianse Pluidum ; 
 Vinum Symphyti Compositum. 
 
 GENTIANA OCHEOLEUCA. (Gelbweisser Enzian.) 
 
 Ochroleucous Gentian. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Gentianaceae. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 THE ROOT AND TOPS. 
 
 Description. — This plant is likewise known by the names of Marsh 
 Gentian, Yellowish-white Gentian, Straw-colored Gentian, Sampson Snake- 
 root, etc. ; it has a stout, ascending stem, mostly smooth, from one to two 
 inches in height. Leaves two to four inches long, three-quarters of an 
 inch to an inch and a half wide, obovate-oblong, sessile or amplexi- 
 caul, margin slightly scabrous, narrowed at the base, lowest broadly 
 ovate and obtuse, uppermost somewhat lanceolate. Flowers straw-colored, 
 two inches long, three-quarters of an inch thick, disposed in a dense, 
 terminal cyme, often also in axillary cymes. Calyx five-cleft, the lohes 
 unequal, linear, longer than the tube, shorter than the corolla. Corolla 
 clavate, connivent or slightly expanding at top, ochroleucous or 
 straw-color, with green veins and lilac purple stripes internally ; lobes 
 ovate, obtuse ; folds entire,' acute, short. Anthers separate. Capsule or 
 pod included in the persistent corolla. Seeds entirely wingless. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — This plant is found growing in dry grounds, especially 
 through the middle and low country of the Southern States, flowering 
 in September and October. Said likewise to inhabit Canada, and the 
 Western States, but this must be rare. The root is the officinal part, 
 and the tops are also often employed. They are bitter to the taste, 
 and probably possess the medicinal properties, in a greater or less de- 
 gree, of the preceding plants of the same family. Alcohol or boiling 
 water extracts their virtues. None of the American Gentiana have 
 been satisfactorily analyzed. 
 
G-ERANiUM Mactjlatum. 385 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Bitter tonic, anthelmintic, and astringent. 
 Used in dtspepsia, intermittents, dysentery, and all diseases of peri- 
 odicity, io two ounces of the tops and roots, pour on one and a half 
 pints of boiling water, and when nearly cold, add half a pint of brandy. 
 Dose, from half a fiuidounce to four fluidounces, every half hour, grad- 
 ually increased as the stomach can bear it, at the same time lengthen- 
 ing the intervals between the doses. Also used for bites of snakes, and 
 in typhus fevers, pneumonia, etc. This is a valuable , agent, and de- 
 serves greater attention from the profession than it has received. It 
 will be found very useful as a tonic to all enfeebled mucous tissues, 
 and especially when there is more or less mufous discharge, as in chronic 
 catarrhal affections, mucous diarrhea, etc. 
 
 GEEANIUM MACTJLATUM. (Gefleckter Kranichschnabel.) 
 
 Geranium. 
 Nat. Ord. — Geraniacese. Sex. /Syst— Monadelphia Decandria. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant is also known by the names of Granesbill, 
 Spotted- Geranium, Wild-cranesbill, Crowfoot, Alum-root, etc. It has a 
 perennial, horizontal, thick, rough and knobby root, with many small 
 fibers. Stems grayish-green, erect, round, clothed with reflexed hairs, 
 angular, dichotomous, a foot or two high. Leaves spreading, hairy, 
 palmate, with three, five, or seven deeply cleft lobes, two leaves at each 
 fork ; lohes cuneiform, entire at the base, incisely serrate above. Radi- 
 cal-leaves on long petioles, erect and terete ; leaves at the top opposite, 
 subsessile, those at the middle of the stem opposite, petiolate, generally 
 reflexed. Stipules linear or lanceolate. Flowers large, generally pur- 
 ple, mostly in pairs, on unequal pedicels, sometimes umbelled at the ends 
 of the peduncles. Peduncles long, round, hairy, tumid at base, at the 
 forks of the stem two-flowered. Calyx five obovate, ribbed, mucronate 
 sepals ; outermost hairy. Petals five, obovate, entire, light purple, marked 
 with green at the base. Stamens ten, erect or curving outward, alter- 
 nately longer, furnished at the base with glands, terminated by oblong, 
 convex, deciduous, purple anthers. Ovary ovate ; style straight, as long 
 as the stamens ; stigmas five, at first erect, afterward recurved. Capsules 
 five, together, each one-seeded. — L. — W. 
 
 History. — Geranium is a native of this coustry, growing in nearly 
 all parts of it in low grounds, open woods, etc., flowering from April 
 to June. There are several varieties of this species which are probably 
 equivalent in medicinal virtues to the G. Maculatum. The root is the 
 officinal part, and should be gathered in the month of October and No- 
 vember. The dried root is in fragments varying from one to four 
 inches in length, and from three to six lines in diameter, slightly com- 
 pressed, rough, knotty, rugose, with small fibers attached ; externally 
 its color is dark-brown, internally dingy -white, and frequently with a 
 reddish tint; its fracture is short. It has a feeble odor, an astringent; 
 slightly bitterish taste, and affords a gray powder. Its virtues are 
 yielded to water or alcohol. It was analyzed by Dr. Staples, who found 
 it to contain a large quantity of gallic acid, tannic aid, mucilage, amidin, 
 red coloring matter, principally in the external covering of the root, a 
 small amount of resin, and a crystallizable vegetable substance. — Jour. 
 Phil. Col. Pharm., Vol. I., p 171. The Messrs. Tilden have also made 
 25 
 
386 Materia Medica. 
 
 an analysis of the root, ' and found it to contain a resin soluble in alco- 
 hol, a resin soluble in ether, an oleo-resin soluble only in ether, tannin, 
 gallic acid, gum, pectin, starch, sugar, albumen, lignin, chlorophyll, 
 etc. — Pharm. Jour., 1863, p, 22. The tannin does not redden vegetable 
 blues, nor distill over. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Geranium is .a powerful astringent. Used in the 
 second stage of dysentery, diarrhea, and cholera infantum in infusion 
 with milk. Both internally and externally it may be used wherever 
 astringents are indicated, in hemorrhages, indolent ulcers, aphthous 
 sore mouth, ophthalmia, leucorrhea, gleet, hematuria, menorrhagia, dia- 
 betes, ^nd all excessive chronic mucous discharges; also, to cure mer- 
 curial salivation. Relaxation of the uvula may be benefited by garg- 
 ling with a decoction of the root, as well as aphthous ulceration of the 
 mouth and throat. Prom its freedom from any nauseous or unpleasant 
 qualities, it is well adapted to infknts and persons with fastidious stom- 
 achs. In cases of bleeding piles, a strong decoction of the root may be 
 injected into the rectum, and which should be retained as long as pos- 
 sible. Piles are said to be cured by adding of the root in fine powder, 
 two ounces,'to tobacco ointment seven ounces, and apply to the parts, 
 three or four times a day. Troublesome epistaxis, bleeding from wounds 
 or small vessels, and from the extraction of teeth, may be checked effect- 
 ually by applying the powder to the bleeding orifice, and if possible, 
 covering with a compress of cotton. "With aletris farinosa in decoction, 
 and taken internally, it has proved of superior eflBcacy in diabetes and 
 in Bright's disease of the kidney. A mixture or solution of two parts 
 of hydrochlorate of berberin and one part of extract of Geranium, will be 
 found of unrivaled efScacy in all chronic mucous diseases, as in gleet, 
 leucorrhea, ophthalmia, gastric affections, catarrh, and ulceration of the 
 bladder, etc., etc. A decoction of two parts of Geranium and one of 
 sanguinaria forms an excellent injection for gleet and leucorrhea. Dose 
 of the powder from twenty to thirty grains ; of the decoction, from 
 one to two fluidounces. 
 
 The Geranium Bobertianum, or Herb Eobert, grows wild both in Eu- 
 rope and the United States, but is rare in this country ; and Pursh 
 states that the American plant is destitute of the heavy smell by which 
 the European is so well known, though the two agree in all other re- 
 •spects. It has a tapering root, with several round, leafy, branched, red- 
 dish, brittle, succulent, and diffuse stems, hairy, chiefly on one side. 
 Leaves opposite, shining, petiolate, more or less hairy, three to five cleft 
 to the base ; segments pinnatifid ; pinnce incisely -toothed. Flowers small, 
 in pairs, -pale-purple, occasionally white, situated on lateral and ter- 
 minal peduncles. Calyx brownish, hairy, with ten angles when closed. 
 Petals obovate, entire. Sepals mucronate-awned, half as long as the 
 entire petals. Stamens awl-shaped, smooth. Capsules small, obo- 
 vate, downy, carinate, curiously-marked at the outer edge with ele- 
 vated interbranching wrinkles. Seeds smooth and even. — X. — W. The 
 plant flowers from May to September, and has a strong unpleasant 
 smell.' The herb has a disagreeable, bitterish, astringent taste, and 
 •imparts its virtues to boiling water. It has been used internally in 
 intermittent fever, consumption, hemorrhages, nephritic complaints, 
 jaundice, etc. ; and has been employed as a gargle in affections of the 
 throat, and applied externally as a resolvent to swollen breasts and 
 other tumors. 
 
 Off. Prep.^Extractum Geranii. 
 
Geum Eivale — Geum Virginianum. 387 
 
 GEEAEDIA PEDICULAEIA. (Lause Gerardie.) 
 
 Bushy Gerardia. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Scrophulariaceae. Sex. Syst — Didynamia Angiospermia. 
 
 THE HERB. 
 
 Description. — This is the Dasystoma Fedicularia of Bentham ; it is a 
 perennial plant, known also by the names of Feverweed, Lousewort, 
 American Foxglove, etc. Stem tall and bushy, with a scattered woolly 
 pubescence, two or three feet in height, brachiate-panicled. Leaves 
 nutaerous, opposite, ovate-lanceolate or oblong, pinnatifid, segments 
 doubly cut-dentate. Flowers large, yellow, axillary, trumpet-shaped, 
 opposite, pediceled ; pedicels longer than the calyx. Calyx five-cleft, 
 cut-dentate, segments as long as the hairy tube. Corolla yellow, an 
 inch or more in length, subcampanulate, unequally five-lobed, segments 
 mostly rounded, spreading, leaf-like, woolly inside. Capsule two-celled, 
 dehiscent at the top. — L. — W. 
 
 History. — This is a most elegant plant, found growing in dry copses, 
 pine ridges, and barren woods and mountains from Canada to Georgia 
 and Kentucky, and flowering in August and September. The whole 
 plant is used. "Water or spirit extracts its virtues. It has not been 
 analyzed. There are several varieties of the species, which probably 
 possess analogous virtues. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Diaphoretic, antiseptic, and sedative. Used 
 principally in febrile and inflammatory diseases ; a warm infusion pro- 
 duces a free and copious perspiration in a short time. Dose of the in- 
 fusion, from one to three fluidounces. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Gerardise. 
 
 GBUE: EIVALE. (Bach Nelkenwurz. 
 
 Water Avens. 
 
 GEUM VIEGINIANUM. (Virginische JSTelkenwurz.) 
 
 White Avens. 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Eosacese. Sex. Syst. — Icosandria Polygynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Geum Eivale, likewise known as Purple Avens, is a per- 
 ennial, hairy, deep-green herb, with a creeping, blackish, somewhat 
 woody root, running deep into the ground, with numerous fibers. Stems 
 a foot or two high, nearly simple, erect, slightly paniculate at top. 
 Badical leaves nearly lyrate, uninterruptedly pinnate, with large ter- 
 minal leaflets on long hairy petioles, rounded, lobed and crenate-den- 
 tate, from four to six inches long. Cauline leaves few, subsessile, from 
 one to three inches long, divided into three serrate, pointed lobes ; stip- 
 ules ovate, acute, cut, purplish. Flowers few, subglobose, nodding, yel- 
 lowish-purple, on axillary and terminal peduncles. Calyx inferior, erect, 
 purplish-brown, with ten lanceolate pointed segments, five alternately 
 smaller than the others. Petals five, as long as the erect calyx segments, 
 broad-obcordate, clawed, purplish-yellow, veined. Seeds oval, bearded, 
 hooked at the end.—L.— W.— G. This species is common to Europe 
 and this country, and is found growing in woods, wet meadows, and 
 along streams, especially in the Northern and Middle States, and flower- 
 ing in June and July. The American species differs from the European 
 
^8 Materia Mkdica. 
 
 in having its petals more orbicular on their free margin, the flowers of 
 less size, and its leaves with deeper incisions. The fresh root is aro- 
 matic. 
 
 GrEiTM ViRGiNiANUM, also known as Throat-root, Chocolate-root, etc., 
 is also perennial, with a small, brownish, horizontal, crooked root. Stem 
 simple or branched, smoothish above, pubescent below, two or three 
 feet high. Radical leaves pinnate, lyrate or simple and rounded, with 
 appendaged petioles from six to eight inches long; cauline leaves three 
 or five lobed, softly pubescent; all unequally and incisely dentate. 
 Flowers rather small, white, erect, on long diverging peduncles ; caiyx 
 five-cleft, with five smaller and exterior, alternate braeteoles ; petals five, 
 about the length of the calyx; stamens numerous; ^Zamewis slender; 
 anthers yellowish, round. Styles many, persistent, mostly jointed, geni- 
 culate, bearded, hooked after the upper joint falls away. Fruit, achenia, 
 aggregated on a dry receptacle, caudate with the style. — W. — G. This 
 plant is found in hedges and thickets, and in moist places, in most parts 
 of the United States, flowering from June to August. 
 
 History. — ^These plants, with some other varieties, have long beer 
 used in domestic practice. The whole herb contains medicinal proper- 
 ties, but the officinal and most efficient portion is the root. The dried 
 root of the G. Eivale is scaly, jointed, tapering, hard, brittle, easily pul- 
 verized, of a reddish or purplish color, and inodorous ; that of the Gr. 
 Virginianum is brown, crooked, tuberculated, and brittle ; both are 
 white internally, and of a bitterish, astringent taste. Boiling water or 
 alcohol extracts their virtues, the solution becoming reddish. They 
 have not been analyzed, but probably contain tannic acid, bitter-ex- 
 tractive, gum, resin, etc. A weak decoction of the root of G. Eivale is 
 sometimes used by invalids as a substitute for tea and coffee. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tonic and astringent. Useful in all cases where 
 there is an enfeebled state of mucous tissues, or morbid secretions there- 
 from. Used in numerous diseases, as passive and chronic hemorrhages, 
 chronic diarrhea and dysentery, leucorrhea, dyspepsia, phthisis, con- 
 gestions of the abdominal viscera, intermittents, aphthous ulcerations, 
 etc. Dose of the powder, from twenty to thirty grains ; of the decoc- 
 tion, from one to two fluidounces, three or four times a day. 
 
 The Geum, Urbanum, or European Avens, possesses similar properties. 
 
 GILLBNIA TEIPOLIATA. (Dreiblsettrige Gillenie.) 
 
 Indian Physic. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Eosacese. Sex. Syst. — Icosaudria Pentagynia. 
 
 THE BABK OP THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Indian Physic is an indigenous perennial herb, with an 
 irregular, brownish, somewhat tuberous caudex, from which radiates 
 many long, knotted, delicate fibers. Stems several from the same root, 
 about two or three feet in height, erect, slender, flexuose, smooth, 
 branched above, of a reddish or brownish color. I/eaves alternate, tri- 
 foliate, subsessile, furnished with small linear-lanceolate, slightly-toothed 
 stipules at the base ; leaflets lanceolate, acuminate, sharply and unequally 
 toothed, upper ones often single, lower broader at the end, but acumin- 
 ately terminated. Flowers white, with a reddish tinge, in terminal, 
 loose panicles, few in number, scattered, on long peduncles, occasionally 
 ftirnisned with minute lanceolate bracts. Calyx subcampanulate or 
 tubular, terminating in five sharp reflexed teeth. Petals five, the two 
 
GiLLENiA Trifoliata. 389 
 
 upper ones separated from the three lower, white With a reddish tinge 
 on the edge, lanceolate, unguiculate, contracted and approximated' at 
 base, three times as long as the calyx. Stamens ahout twenty, in a 
 double series within the calyx, with short filaments, and small, yellow 
 anthers. Styles five, with obtuse stigmas. Capsules five, connate at base, 
 oblong, acuminate, diverging, gibbous without, sharp-edged within, 
 two-valved, one-celled, one or two-seeded ; seeds oblong, brown, bitter. 
 — L.^B. 
 
 History. — This plant, sometimes called Bowman's root, is found grow- 
 ing from Canada to Florida, in rich woods, light gravelly soils, and in 
 moist and shady situations ; it is more common in the Atlantic States 
 th^n the "Western. It blossoms from May to August. The root is the 
 oflBcinal part, and must be collected in autumn. As met with in the 
 shops it is a dry, tuberculated root, three or four lines in diameter, 
 corrugated lengthwise, and of a reddish -brown color externally ; it is 
 composed of a light colored, ligneous internal substance, and an easily 
 removed, dense, friable, brownish bark, which is readily reduced to a 
 powder having a similar color. It is nearly odorless, and has a nause- 
 ous, amarous taste, and yields its properties to alcohol or water at 212° 
 F. The bark is the active portion, the internal woody substance being 
 nearly inert. According to Mr. Shreeve, it contains starch, gum-resin, 
 wax, a fatty matter, a red coloring substance, a volatile coloring mat- 
 ter, and a peculiar principle soluble in alcohol and dilute acids, but 
 insoluble in water or ether. — Am. Jour. Pharm:, Vol. I., p. 28. Mr. W. 
 B. Stanhope procured Gillenin as follows : Bight ounces of the coarsely 
 powdered bark of the root of G. Trifoliata was exhausted by percola- 
 tion with absolute alcohol. The red tincture thus obtained was evapo- 
 rated to the consistence of an extract; this was dissolved in cold water, 
 the solution filtered, evaporated to a syrupy consistence, spread on 
 glass and dried. Impure Gillenin was thus obtained of a reddish- 
 brown color. This was purified by dissolving it in water acidulated 
 with sulphuric acid, allowing it to macerate for ten days ; then filtered, 
 saturated with magnesia, evaporated and dried. The Gillenin was 
 now taken up by alcohol, the solution filtered, and set aside to evapo- 
 rate spontaneoijsly. The Gillenin thus obtained was whitish, perma- 
 nent in the air, slightly odorous, of a very bitter taste, soluble in water, 
 alcohol, ether, and dilute acids, neutral, giving a fine^ green color with 
 chromic acid, and a blood-red with Strong nitric acid. Tannic acid 
 produced no effect, but caustic potassa, subacetate of lead, and tartar 
 emetic, threw down white precipitates. In doses of half a grain it pro- 
 duced emesis, with considerable vertigo. 
 
 The Oillenia Stipulaceai, or Bowman's root, which is found on the 
 western side of the AUeghanjr Mountains, growing through Ohid, Indi- 
 ana, Illinois, Missouri, and southward, flowering at the same time as 
 the above, possesses similar properties, but is more eflacacious in the 
 same doses. It may be distinguished by its drab-colored and branch- 
 ing stems, its greater size, its large, clasping, ovate-cordate, leafy, 
 gashed, and serrated stipules, its lower leaves being of a reddish-brown 
 color at the tips; the stipules are leafy, ovate, doubly incised and clasp- 
 ing; and the flowers are fewer, smaller, on slender peduncles, hanging 
 in loose panicles. It is seldom met with in limestone or alluvial soils. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The root-bark of these plants is emetic, cathar- 
 tic, sudorific, expectorant, and tonic. In their action, they resemble 
 ipecacuanha. They have been recommended in amenorrhea, rheuma- 
 tism, dropsy, habitual costiveness, dyspepsia, worms, and in intermit- 
 
390 Materia Medica. 
 
 tents. As an emetic and cathartic, from twenty to thirty -five grains 
 is a dose, which when vomiting is required, may be repeated at inter- 
 vals of twenty minutes. It may be used in all diseases where emetics 
 are indicated, as a safe and efficacious agent. In dyspepsia, accom- 
 panied with a torpid condition of the stomach, from two to four grains 
 form an excellent tonic. As a sudorific, six grains may be given in 
 some cold water, and repeated at intervals of two or three hours, or it 
 may be given in combination with a small portion of opium. Large 
 and oft-repeated doses of the infusion cause severe vomiting and purg- 
 ing. 
 
 GLUE. (Leim.) 
 
 GELATIN NOT PERFECTLY PURE. 
 
 History. — Gelatin is found in abundance in various animal substances, 
 especially in the skin, cartilages, tendons, membranes, and bones ; it 
 may be obtained by boiling these solid animal parts in water, strain- 
 ing, the decoction, and evaporating it, until it has a resemblance to 
 jelly on cooling. This is divided into thin slices of various sizes, which 
 are allowed to dry in the open air. The gelatinous matter of 'the cel- 
 lular tissue and membranes, is insoluble in cold water and acids, and 
 combines with corrosive sublimate, persulphate of iron, alum, and 
 other salts, forming insoluble compounds which do not putrefy ; gela- 
 tin itself readily putrefies. The gelatin obtained from the skin when 
 moist, combines with tannic acid, if steeped into a solution of the acid, 
 and is converted into leather. The gelatin of the eartilagfes is termed 
 Chondrin. That from the air-bladder of fishes forms isinglass, which is 
 the purest variety of gelatin. (See Isinglass.) The common gelatin 
 of commerce, called Glue, is. prepared from cuttings of parchments, or 
 the skins, ears, bones, and hoofs of animals. When pure gelatin, one 
 part, is dissolved in one hundred parts of hot water, a jelly is formed 
 when it cools. (For a method of preparing glue from leather, by John 
 Stenhouse, see Am. Jour. Pharm., Vol. XXX., p, 352.) 
 
 Glue of good quality is firm and friable, not easily pulverized, of a 
 lighit brown color, and translucent. On the addition of water, it be- 
 comes soft and swells up, but does not dissolve except the water be 
 hot or boiling. When dissolved in hot water, it is much in use for 
 uniting wood, and' various other substances together, but is too impure 
 for internal employment or for a chemical test. By the addition of 
 nitric acid to a solution of, glue, a cement or liquid glue is obtained, 
 which does not require the aid of heat to render it fit for use. (See 
 Nitric Acid.) A strong, liquid glue, very convenient for a number of 
 objects, <and even for porcelain, glass, and pearl, and which is preferable 
 to that made with vinegar or nitric acid, is prepared as follows : To 
 three parts of strong glue well bruised add eight parts of water, and 
 allow them to remain in contact for several hours ; then add half a 
 part of hydrochloric acid, and three-fourths of a part of sulphate of 
 zinc. Expose the whole for ten or twelve hours to a temperature of 
 176° to 194° F. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Glue has been introduced here, in consequence 
 of its application in pharmacy for the purpose of promoting certain 
 useful indications. Several remedial agents of a valuable cliaracter, 
 are unfortunately so repulsive to the palate as to produce nausea and 
 vomiting whenever swallowed, and as in many instances it is almost 
 impossible to dispense with them, an important object is to prepare 
 
Glyceeina. 391 
 
 them so that they may reach the stomach without offending the organs 
 of taste. This has been effected by inclosing the medicine in a case or 
 cover of glue, forming what are called gelatin capsules, invented in 
 France by M. Mothe. There are several methods at the present day 
 for making these capsules ; thus the end of an iron rod is made bulbous 
 or egg-shaped, and is highly polished ; being slightly oiled it is dipped 
 into a hot, concentrated solution of three parts of pure gelatin, half a 
 part of sugar, and six parts of water. A number of rods are gener- 
 ally used ; the rods are then rotated to spread the solution evenly over 
 the mold or bulb, and placed, bulb upward, on a board perforated for 
 the purpose ; when cool and dry they may be removed by giving to the 
 capsule or bulb a pulling and gently twisting motion. These are then 
 filled with the medicine, and the orifice closed over with more of the 
 gelatine solution. Sometimes animal membrane or fine skin, distended 
 with mercury, is used instead of the iron bulb. (For a detailed method 
 of preparing gelatin capsules, see Mohr, Medwood, and Proctor' s Pharm., 
 and Am. Jour. Pharm., IX., p. 20.) In this way capsules may be made 
 to contain from ten to twenty grains of liquid. When received into 
 the stomach, the gelatin is dissolved, allowing the medicine to accomp- 
 lish its therapeutical influences. 
 
 A good paste is made by dissolving Cooper's best white Glue, three 
 ounces (avoir.), refined sugar one and a half ounces, water ten fluid- 
 ounces, or a sufScient quantity, together by the aid of a water-bath, 
 and while warm, apply it by means of a suitable brush to the reverse 
 side of the labels while uncut or in sheets. After being dried and 
 moderately pressed they are ready for cutting. Thick paper and not 
 sized will require less water than when thin and well sized, and in all 
 oases it should be quickly and evenly applied. It can only be used 
 while warm. It does not penetrate the paper and disfigure the labels, is 
 very adhesive, never loosens from glass, and leaves no disagreeable 
 impression in the mouth after being moistened with the saliva. 
 
 GLYCEEINA. (Glycerin.) 
 Glycerin. 
 
 THE SWEET PRINCIPLE OF OILS. 
 
 Preparation. — " Digest an oil with an alkaline ley till it is converted 
 into soap. The soap being separated, the alkaline liquid remaining is 
 saturated with sulphuric acid, and any excess of acid is removed by 
 Carbonate of baryta. Filter and evaporate to the consistence of a syrup. 
 Dissolve the syrup in alcohol, and filter in order to separate the alka- 
 line sulphate. When the alcoholic solution is evaporated, the Glycerin 
 is obtained in a state of purity."— T. Or it may be prepared by digest- 
 ing equal parts of ground litharge (protoxide of lead) and olive-oil 
 with a little boiling water, stirring and adding water as it evaporates. 
 When it is of the consistence of soft plaster, it is to be well washed 
 with hot water. Decant and filter, then pass sulphuretted hydrogen 
 through the fluid, in order to throw down the lead ; after which, filter, 
 and evaporate to a syrup in a water-bath. The syrupy product is 
 Glycerin, and looks a little like mucilage of gum Arabic. 
 
 In view of the increasing demand for Glycerin in the arts and sciences, 
 Campbell Morfltt, M. D., has offered a new process for its manufacture, 
 which he says " combines the great and desirable advantage of economy 
 of time, labor and' money." " One hundred pounds of oil, tallow, or 
 
302 Mateeia Medica. 
 
 pressed lard, are to be melted in a clean iron-bound barrel, by the 
 direct application of a current of steam, and to the hot fluid add, fifteen 
 pounds of lime, previously slaked and made into a milk, with two and 
 a half gallons of water, the vessel is now to be covered and the steam- 
 ing coiltinued for several hours, or until saponification is perfected, and 
 which may be known by its breaking with a cracking noise, and giving 
 a smooth, lustrous surface when scraped with the finger-nail This 
 process decomposes the fat, the lime uniting with its acids, to form ir-- 
 soluble lime soap, while the Glycerin, which is freed remains in solution 
 in the water, along with the excess of lime. Having sufBciently boiled 
 it, allow it to cool and settle, and then strain through a crash cloth. 
 (The soap may be used for candles, etc.) Carefully concentrate the 
 strained liquid by steam heat, pass a current of carbonic acid gas 
 through it, which unites ihe lime to form a carbonate ; boil again to 
 convert any soluble bicarbonate of lime, that may have been formed, 
 into insoluble neutral carbonate, and allow the liquid to rest. When 
 there is no more deposit, decant or strain off the supernatant fluid, 
 evfiporate, as before, to drive off any excess of water, and pure Glycerin 
 remains." — Silliman's Journal, 2d ser., XV., 429. Glycerin is at present 
 made on a large scale, without any previous alkaline saponification of 
 the fats, but by saponification of them with water alone, according to 
 the process of Tilghman in this country ; and in England, by the method 
 of Price & Co., as described, hereafter, by Mr. G. P. Wilson. Prepared 
 by either of these methods, the article is pure and better, containing 
 no foreign substances, alkaline, or acid, incident to its manufacture by 
 the old processes! 
 
 History. — Glycerin was discovered by Scheele, who called it the sweet 
 principle of oils and fats. At present only two forms of Glycerin are 
 known; normal glycerin Or trityl -glycerin Cj Hg Og, and amyl -glycerin 
 Cio Hi2 Og. Glycerin is a triatomic alcohol, and forms three classes of 
 ethers, which are severally represented by monostearin, distearin and 
 tristearin. If glycerin be digested for some weeks with poor cheese in 
 contact with chalk, it furnishes about one-tenth its weight of alcohol, 
 ' equal volumes of hydrogen and carbonic anhydride being disengaged, 
 and the greater part of the glycerin remaining unaltered. Glycerin is 
 present in all animal fats, and exists in the yolk of egg, and in the 
 human brain in the form of phospho-glyceric 'acid. According to Pas- 
 teur it is also found in small quantity during the process of alcoholic 
 fermentation. It also exists in cod-liver oil as a teracetate of glycerin 
 or triacetin. Pistilled alone, it becomes decomposed with disengage- 
 ment of intensely pungent vapors of acrolein C^ H^ Oj, which are very 
 irritating to the eyes and air-passages. If a dilute solution of Glycerin 
 be mixed with well-washed yeast, and be allowed to stand for some 
 weeks at a temperature from 68° 'to 86° F., water being added as it 
 evaporates, it becomes slowly converted into propionic acid with but 
 little evolution, of gas ; but the liquid becomes moldy and acid. When 
 perfectly pure and anhydrous, normal Glycerin is colorless, or yellow- 
 ish, having a sweet taste and syrupy consistence, and is inodorous. It 
 combines readily with water, alcohol or oils; dissolves many gums, and 
 resinous substances; does not crystallize, nor ferment like sugar; will 
 not evaporate beyond a certain point, and is destroyed by boiling; its 
 boiling point being 527° P. It does not dissolve sugar or gum, but 
 readily mixes with syrups and mucilages. It is insoluble in fatty mat- 
 ter, and can only be incorporated with it mechanically, to effect which, 
 it is necessary that the fat should have a soft consistence, which may 
 
Glyceeina. 393 
 
 be imparted to it by combining it with oil of sweet almonds, or some 
 other fixed oil. It is sparingly dissolved by ether, not at all by chloro- 
 form, and has the specific gravity 1.252, or 1.280 when anhydrous. It 
 attracts moisture from the atmosphere, but is not volatile ; distillation 
 decomposes it. In the open air. Glycerin burns with a luminous blue ' 
 flame. Nitric acid slowly converts it into oxalic acid ; sulphuric acid 
 into sulpho-glyceric acid, having the formula HO (Ce H, O5 SO,) SO3, 
 and which forme salts soluble in water; with phosphoric acid it forms 
 a paired acid 2 HO, C^ H, O5, PO5 ; nitric and sulphuric acids united 
 give with it a violently exploding and highly poisonous fluid, to which 
 the name "nitto-glycerin" has been applied. When free from iron or 
 lead, an aqueous solution of Glycerin gives no precipitate with ferro- 
 cyanuret of potassum, or hydrosulphate of ammonia. Glycerin mixes 
 with acetic acid; moistens bodies without rendering them greasy, does 
 not become rancid, and is easily charged with the aroma of volatile oils. 
 Permanganate of potassa decomposes glycerin. 
 
 Glyceriji dissolves the vegetable acids, aloes, some resinous sub- 
 stances, the deliquescent salts, the sulphates of potassa, soda, and cop- 
 per, the nitrates of potassa and silver, the alkaline chlorides, potassa, 
 soda, baryta, strontia, bromine, iodine, and even oxide of lead, and 
 one-eighth part of arsenious acid. It dissolves the salts of morphia, 
 one-tenth of sulphate of quinia, and when triturated with these, or 
 with the salts of strychnia, veratria, brucia, and other vegetable alka- 
 loids, forms a cerate or medicinal oil very useful for frictions and em- 
 brocations. It also dissolves sulphurets of potassium, of lime, and of 
 iodine, iodides of sulphur, of potassium, and of mercury, and of some 
 chlorides. It promotes the solution of borax in tincture of myrrh, no 
 water being required ; added to tincture of kino it prevents gelatiniza- 
 tion. The vegetable extracts are soluble in it, some of the solutions, 
 as, of extract of belladonna, forming useful external applications. Be-' 
 ing possessed of strong antiseptic properties, it preserves animal and 
 vegetable substances ; meat has been immersed in Glycerin for several 
 months and preserved its freshness. It dissolves the carbonate of iron 
 immediately on its formation, giving a deep green solution. Like su- 
 gar it arrests the conversion of the protosalts of iron into persalts, and 
 has kept iodide of iron for years without change. . It may be used in 
 the preparation of spirits (^essences) of cloves, cinnamon, etc., for syrups 
 of phosphate of iron, bromide of iron, and iodide of quinia, for preserv- 
 ing fresh lemon juice, and for preserving the soft consistence of pill 
 masses and confections. Indeed the solvent powers of glycerin, both 
 diluted and undiluted, are very extensive and important. Mr. W. M. 
 Gordon, of this city, has suggested the propriety of substituting Gly- 
 cerin for cane sugar syrup, in the preparation of certain officinal syrups 
 which are very liable to fermentation. Glycerin being a much better 
 solvent than sugar, agreeing with the stomach, seldom deranging the 
 digestive functions, and possessing a freedom from liability to fermen- 
 tation. If necessary, these Glycerin syrups may be sweetened by the 
 addition of honey, or molasses, etc. Glycerin forms a valuable preserv- 
 ative liquid in which small and delicate tissues may be mounted for 
 anatomical and microscopical purposes. 
 
 By distillation Glycerin is obtained pure -and free from lead. Mr. G. 
 F "Wilson states as his process for purifying Glycerin : "Steam, at a 
 temperature of from 550° to 600° F., is introduced in a distillatory appa- 
 ratus, containing a quantity of palm (or any oil). The fatty acids take 
 up their equivalents of water, and the Glycerin takes up its equivalent 
 
.194 Materia Medica. 
 
 they then distill over together. In tne receiver, the condensed Crly 
 cerin, from its higher specific gravity, sinks below the fat acids. Snf 
 ficient steam must be supplied, and the temperature regulated, other- 
 wise the elements of the Glycerin do not take up their equivalent of 
 water, and acroleine is evolved- — a body of a very different character, 
 an acrid eye-inflammatory vapor, appreciated only by those who have 
 had the misfortune of an experimental acquaintance with it. In an 
 ordinary'' apparatus the Glycerin distilled from the neutral fat is not in 
 a sufficiently concentrated state for most purposes ; it should therefore 
 be concentrated, and, if discolored, be redistilled. It is then obtained, 
 of sp. gr. 1.240, containing 94 per cent, of anhydrous Glycerin. It can 
 be concentrated to sp. gr. 1.260, or to contain 98 per cent. The formula 
 of Glycerin is Cg Hg Og." 
 
 According to Crookes, crystallized German glycerin has been had in 
 London, requiring the knife and hammer to break it. It resembled 
 rock-candy (sugar) being in white, octahedral crystals, with consider- 
 able refracting power, and, when melted, the liquid glycerin presented 
 all its usual properties, but could not be again reduced to the crystal- 
 line condition. 
 
 Pyroglycerin, nitrate or oxide of Glycyl, Nitro-glycerine, or Grlonoine, a 
 very dangerous article to prepare, is made from Glycerin. It is an 
 oleaginous liquid of a clear yellow color, having a specific gravity from 
 1.595 to 1.600. Heated to 320° F., it is decomposed, evolving red va- 
 pors ; at a higher temperature it either explodes or inflames without 
 any detonation. By placing a drop on an anvil and striking it with a 
 hammer, it instantly detonates. When properly prepared and free 
 from acid, it may be kept for any length of time. Sulphuric acid added 
 to its ethereal solution, decomposes it, precipitating a large amount of 
 sulphur. According to M. J. B. Yrij, it may be made as follows : "Free 
 1,543.3 grains of Glycerin as much as possible from water, and having 
 a sp. gr. 1.262, add it cautiously and in small quantities at a time to 
 18 ounces of monobydrated nitric acid, sp. gr. 1.52, previously im- 
 mersed in a freezing mixture. The temperature rises upon each addi- 
 tion. It is therefore necessary to allow the mixture to cool down again 
 to 14° F. before any fresh addition is made, as it is very necessary that 
 the temperature should never rise above 32° F. When the Glycerin 
 and nitric acid have formed a homogeneous fluid, which may be facili- 
 tated by stirring the mixture with a glass rod, 18 ounces of concen- 
 trated sulphuric acid, sp. gr., 1.8^5, are cautiously and slowly added. 
 This operation is accompanied with the greatest danger, if the temper- 
 ature is not continually watched. Experience, however, shows me 
 that there is no reason for fear provided the temperature be always 
 kept below 32° F. When these precautions have been taken, the nitro- 
 glycerin separates after the addition of the sulphuric acid, in the form 
 of an oily liquid floating on the surface, and may be collected by means 
 of a separating funnel. To purify it from any trace of acid, dissolve \t 
 in a small quantity of ether, and shake the solution repeatedly with 
 water, then heat it over a water -bath till nothing more is volatilized." 
 
 When exposed to light or a warm temperature, Glonoine undergoes 
 decomposition. This article has been used as a medicine for some 
 time by homeopathists. It is said to exert a peculiar action upon the 
 nervous system : two to four drops of a solution of one drop of Glo- 
 noine in ninety -nine drops of alcohol, are said to cause fullness in the 
 head, slight headache, acceleration of the pulse, perspiration, nausea 
 etc. 
 
Glycerina. 395 
 
 For medical purposes, glycerin only should be used that has been 
 purified by distillation ; an impure glycerin when applied to wounds 
 or ulcers is very apt to cause a bui'ning sensation, and a papular erup- 
 tion on the skin; when pure it is unirritating. Its adulterations are 
 numerous, owing to imperfect modes in its manufactui-ing, or to care- 
 lessness. It may contain volatile and odorous fatty acids, chlorine in 
 the form of chlorides, lime, sulphuric acid, sulphates, water, glucose, 
 oxalic acid, ftrmic acid, and sometimes traces of ammonia. There are 
 several methods made known for testing its purity, as, 1, its specific 
 gravity ; 2, its entire freedom from odor ; 3, its remaining perfectly 
 clear and unchanged when a strong solution of nitrate of silver is agi- 
 tated with it. Mr. H. Bower considers the nitrate of silver test th(. 
 most reliable, as it indicates not only the presence of chlorine or chlo- 
 rides, but other acids that may exist in the glycerin. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 
 1868, p. 265. According to Hager, " when equal volumes of glycerin 
 apd rectified sulphuric acid, are agitated together in a test tube, if the 
 former be impure, the mixture gives off carbonic acid gas, which ceases 
 by rest, but is reproduced by again agitating it; if it be pure, the 
 fluid becomes colored slightly brown, and presents only a few air -bub- 
 bles on agitation." If chlorine or chlorides be present, a solution of 
 nitrate of silver will give a white precipitate of chloride of silver. If 
 free chlorine be present, it will cause the disappearance of the blue color 
 of a solution of sulphate of indigo very slightly acidulated with sul- 
 phuric acid. If lime be present, a solution of oxalate of ammonia will 
 give a precipitate of insoluble oxalate of lime. If sulphuric acid be 
 present, free or combined, a solution of chloride of bariutn will form a 
 precipitate of the sulphate. If oxalic acid be present, by boiling the 
 glycerin with a solution of ammoniacal chloride of calcium, a deposit 
 of oxalate of lime will result. Formic acid will give a black precipi- 
 tate of reduced silver, upon the addition of a solution of nitrate of sil- 
 ver. Glucose gives a yellowish-red precipitate of the hydrated sub- 
 oxide of copper, upon adding liquor potassa to the glycerin, afterward 
 a solution of sulphate of copper, and then boiling. If butyric acid be 
 present, a mixture of strong alcohol and rectified sulphuric acid, gives 
 at once the formation of butyric ether, known by its pine-apple odor. 
 Pure glycerin is neutral to litmus paper, and does not polarize trans- 
 mitted light. To determine whether glycerin is falsified with sugar, A. 
 Vogel gives the following process : to five drops of the suspected liquid 
 add 100 to 120 drops of water, about three-fifths of a grain of molyb- 
 date of ammonia, and one drop of nitric acid. Boil for about two 
 minutes, and, if but a trace of sugar be present, the liquid will become 
 colored blue ; if pure it remains colorless. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Stimulant, antiseptic, and demulcent. Used in 
 prurigo, psoriasis, impetigo, lichen, lepra, ptyriasis, herpes exedens, and 
 some syphilitic and strumous affections. M. P9nssagrives considers its 
 usefulness in parasitical cutaneous affections to be due to its antiseptic, 
 antiputrid, and antiparasitical properties. Grlycerin has been used in 
 the place of cod liver oil, to improve nutrition in convalescence from 
 exhausting diseases, and in asthenic conditions generally. It is also 
 used as a solvent of many alkaloids, extracts, salts, acids, etc., especially 
 for local application to inflamed, ulcerated, or suppurating parts, also, 
 as stated above, to several cutaneous maladies. Pure Glycerin has been 
 recommended for diabetic patients by Drs. Pavy, and Abbot Smith, as 
 a substitute for cane sugar, honey, molasses, etc., sweetening tea, coffee 
 various drinks, cakes, etc., with it. From one-third to one-twelfth of 
 
396 Materia Medic a. 
 
 Grlycerin may be added to washes or cataplasms, to render them sooth, 
 ing, and to keep the latter moist for some time. It acts as an emollient 
 and soothing application, absorbing moisture from the air, and prevent- 
 ing the parts to which it is applied from becoming too dry. One-six- 
 teenth of a grain, added to a few grains of borax and rose-water, fur- 
 nishes one of the most elegant and efficacious washes for chapped hands, 
 face, lips, or nipples. A small quantity of Grlycerin added to pills or 
 extracts, will preserve them from becoming hard and moldy. It has 
 been highly recommended for deafness, in which there is a partial or 
 total absence of ceruminous secretion, by protecting the tympanum, 
 and gradually restoring the parts,to their natural condition ; it is like- 
 wise said to cause hearing in cases where the tympanum is thickened 
 and indurated, or where it is in a sound state or destroyed by ulcera- 
 tion ; but in this last case it is not permanent; and when there is a 
 hardness of the cerumen, and induration of the tympanum, it has 
 proved successful. The plan is to moisten wool with the Grlycerin, pure 
 or diluted with water, and pass it into the ear. The bland and unirri- 
 tating character of pure Glycerin, its permanence when exposed to the 
 atmosphere, and the completeness with which it shields the parts cov- 
 ered by it, render it susceptible of many important applications. Mr. 
 J. H. Bcky has given a formula for the preparation of a Glycerin oint- 
 ment, especially aseful for chapped hands, lips, excoriations of the skin, 
 etc. It will also serve as a medium for applying powders, etc., to 
 ulcers, cutaneous affections, or other difficulties, by combining them 
 with it, in the desired proportions. The formula is as follows : Melt 
 together spermaceti half an ounce, and white wax one drachm, with oil 
 ' of almonds two fluidounoes, at a moderate heat; put these into a Wedge- 
 wood mortar, add Glycerin, one fluidounce, and rub together until 
 well mixed and cold. Mr. Wilson recommends Glycerin as an injection 
 into the bladder to dissolve calculous deposits, especially urea, and 
 phosphate of lime; also to be used as a substitute for syrups in pre- 
 serving fruits ; mixed with alcohol or pyroxylic spirit as an economical 
 fuel for spirit-lamps ; and as a remedy in disease of the mucous mem- 
 brane of the stomach. Dr. Wm. Bayes advises a solution of tannic acid 
 in ■pure Glycerin as a local application to local hemorrhages, by a sponge- 
 or brush, also to the vaginal, uterine, urethral, rectal, or nasal mem- 
 branes, where a strong and non-irritant astringent lotion is desired. 
 Glycerin dissolves nearly its own weight of tannic acid ; the solution 
 should be recently prepared, and be kept in the dark, else it will de- 
 compose. (See Glyceroles). 
 
 Dr. Goddard has given a formula for a very adhesive Glycerin paste, 
 suitable for fixing paper labels to glass and other surfaces, and which 
 keeps well ; it is to dissolve an ounce of gum Arabic in two fluidounces 
 of boiling water, add two fluidrachms of Glycerin, and strain if neces- 
 sary. This forms a valuable paste for druggists, chemists, and others, 
 A Glycerin jelly is prepared by intimately mixing half a drachm of soft 
 soap with two fluidrachms of pure honey, then gradually adding five 
 ounces of clear olive-oil, stirring without intermission until all the oil 
 is taken up. Care must be "taken not to add the oil too fast. Or it may 
 be prepared by rubbing and mixing well together half an ounce of 
 powdered gum Arabic, and four ounces of simple syrup, then add the 
 yolks of three eggs, and when well mixed, add gradually four ounces 
 of olive-oil, and two ounces of GlycCirin previously mixed together. 
 
 A Glycerin Balsam for chapped lips and hands is made by melting 
 together one ounce, each, of white wax and spermaceti, then stirring 
 
(jrLTCTRRHIZA GLABRA. 397 
 
 in half a pound of sweet almond-oil and two ounces of Glycerin and 
 when nearly cold, half a drachm of otto of roses. ' 
 
 GLYCYEEHIZA GLABEA. (Gemeines Sussholz.) 
 
 Liquorice. 
 
 Nat. 0<f.— Pabaceae, or Leguminosse. Sex. ^SVst— Diadelphia De- 
 oandria. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Bescription.—T^xe Liquorice-plant has a perennial, cylindrical root 
 running to a considerable length and depth, grayish-brown externally' 
 yellow internally, succulent, tough, flexible, rapid in growth, and pro- 
 vided with scattered fibers. Stems erect, herbaceous, smooth, striated, 
 with few branches, of a dull, glaucous-gray color, growing two or three 
 feet in height. Leaves alternate, unequally pinnate ; leaflets generally 
 about thirteen, oval, entire, obtuse, slightly ema^ginate, viscid, one termi- 
 nal ; stipules inconspicuous. Flowers small, bluish or purplish, in axil- 
 lary, erect spikes, shorter than the leaves, on long peduncles. Calyx 
 persistent, tubular, bilabiate, five-cleft. Corolla a straight, ovate-lanoe- 
 olate vexillum ; keel biparted, acute, straight. Stamens diadelphous ; 
 anthers simple, rounded ; style filiform ; stigma blunt. Legumes oblong, 
 compressed, one-celled, one to four seeded; seeds small, reniform.— 
 L. — Wi. 
 
 History. — This plant inhabits Southern Europe, and some parts of 
 Asia, and is cultivated in England. The root is imported from Spain- 
 and Sicily ; it is the ofiicinal part, and is met with in dry, cylindrical 
 pieces of various lengths, generally about as thick as the little finger, 
 though it may be much smaller or nearly twice as large, wrinkled longi- 
 tudinally, grayish-brown externally, internally tough, fibrous, and yel- 
 low, so dense as to sink in the water, of a faint odor, and a sweet pe- 
 culiar taste, slightly acrid. Its powder is brownish-yellow, or pale- 
 yellow, if made of decorticated root. It must be kept in a dry place 
 or it will spoil. Its active part is soluble both in water and in alcohol. 
 A concentrated watery solution is acidulous. Those roots are to be 
 preferred which are not worm-eaten or decayed, and whose fractured 
 8urfa,ces are bright yellow. Eobiquet found in tlie root glycyrrhizin, 
 starch, asparagin, resinous oil, albumen, woody fiber, and salts. — P. 
 Glycyrrhizin may be obtained from a concentrated infusion of the root 
 by precipitating it with sulphuric acid, washing the precipitate, first 
 with water acidulated with the same acid, and then with a very little 
 pure water, dissolving what remains in alcohol, neutralizing the alco- 
 holic solution with carbonate of potassa, and then gently evaporating 
 the filtered fluid to dryness. — (Berzelius). Thus obtained it is a yellow- 
 ish, transparent, brittle, uncrystallizable substance of a most intense 
 sweet taste ; is soluble in water and alcohol, and is precipitated from its 
 aqueous solution by acids. It is not susceptible of vinous fermentation, 
 does not yield oxalic acid when treated with nitric acid, and differs in 
 other respects from ordinary sugar. It precipitates many metallic so- 
 lutions, and combines with bases, retaining its sweetness. Carbon, hy- 
 drogen, and oxygen are its elementary constituents. 
 
 The black cylindrical sticks met with in the .shops, are an extract of 
 Liquorice-root (JSxtractum Glycyrrhizce), which are prepared in some of 
 the Southern European countries ; they are in the form of hard, black 
 cylinders, which are prepared by inspissating the decoction in copper 
 
398 Materia Medica. 
 
 kettles, till the mass is thick enough to become firm on cooling. The 
 finest kind comes from Italy, and is stamped with the maker's name, 
 " Solazzi." "Water slowly dissolves from three-fifths to eleven -twelfths 
 of it, alcohol only about one-eighth, and acquires an acrid taste, while 
 the residuum is purely sweet, and entirely soluble in water. 
 
 The impure extract is in slightly compressed and cylindrical sticks, 
 about six inches long, and from nine to twelve lines in diameter, being 
 enveloped in sweet bay leaves. The best kind is dark brownish-black, 
 smooth, shining, brittle when cold, tough and flexible when warm, very 
 sweet and soluble inr water. It should be freed from its impurities foi 
 internal use. A very excellent extract is made in New York; also by 
 the Messrs. Tilden & Co. 
 
 To purify Liquorice, the crude extract is dissolved in water without 
 boiling, the solution strained, and evaporated to the proper consistence. 
 Sometimes gum, glue, or starch, is added during the process. Before 
 the extract becomes perfectly dried it is rolled into long, round pieces 
 about the thickness of a quill, and is called Refined Liquorice. If the 
 water be boiled during the purification, much of the impurity may be 
 taken up, as well as the acrid oleo-resinous principle of the Liquorice, 
 which is not desirable. According to Geisler, refined Liquorice is ren- 
 dered more permanently hard and brittle by the addition of powdered 
 Liquorice-root, and its liability to absorb moisture is lessened by the 
 addition of sugar of milk. 
 
 The Qiycyrrhiza Lepidota, which grows in Missouri, possesses the taste 
 of Liquorice to a considerable degree. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Liquorice-root is an emollient, demulcent, and 
 nutritive. It acts upon mucous surfaces, lessening irritation, and is con- 
 sequently useful in coughs, catarrhs, irritation of the urinary organs, 
 and pain of the intestines in diarrhea. It is commonly administered 
 in decoction, sometimes alone, at other times with the addition of other 
 agents, and which is the preferable mode of using it. As a general 
 rule, the acrid bark should be removed previous to forming a decoction. 
 When boiled for some time the water becomes impregnated with its 
 acrid resin ; hence, in preparing a decoction for the purpose of sweet- 
 ening diet drinks, or covering the taste of nauseous drugs, it should not 
 be boiled over five minutes. The efBeacy of the root in old bronchial 
 aiFections may be due to this acrid resin. The powdered root is also 
 employed to give the proper solidity to pills, and to prevent their ad- 
 hesion ; the extract, for imparting the proper viscidity to them. The 
 extract, in the form of lozenge, held in the mouth until it has dissolved 
 away, is a very popular and efficient remedy in coughs and pectoral 
 affections. An excellent troche or lozenge, very useful in ordinary 
 cough, may be made by combining together, six parts of refined Liquor- 
 ice, two parts of benzoic acid, four parts of pulverized alum, and half 
 a part of pulverized opiunj. Dissolve the Liquorice in water, and 
 evaporate to the proper consistence, then add the powders with a few. 
 drops of oil of anise, and divide it into three or six grain lozenges. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Confectio Sennse; Decoctum Glyeyrrhizse ; Bxtraotuih 
 GlycyrrhizsB ; Tincture Aloes ; Trochis Glycyrr. Comp. ; Trochis. Gly- 
 eyrr. et Opii. 
 
GOODYEEA PUBESCENS. 399 
 
 GNAPHALIUM POLYCEPHALUM. (Vielkopfige Immerblume.) 
 
 White Balsam. 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia Superflua. 
 
 THE HERB. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also known by the various names of Indian 
 Posy, Sweet-scented Life Everlasting, Old Field Balsam, etc., is indigenous, 
 herbaceous, and annual, with an erect, whitish, wooly, and much- 
 branched stem, from one to two feet in height. Leaves alternate, sessile, 
 linear-lanceolate, acute, entire, scabrous above, whitish tomehtoso 
 beneath. The flowers are tubular, yellow; in heads clustered at the 
 summit of the panicled-corymbose branches, ovate-conical before expan- 
 sion, then obovate. Involucre imbricate, with whitish, ovate and ob- 
 long, rather obtuse scales. Florets of the ray, subulate — of the disk, entire. 
 Receptacle flat, naked ; pappus pilose, scabrous capillary. — W. — Q. 
 
 History. — White Balsam is found in Canada, and variolis parts of the 
 United States, growing in old fields, and on dry, barren lands, and 
 bearing whitish-yellow flowers in July and August. The leaves have 
 a pleasant, aromatic smell, and an aromatic, slightly bitter and astrin- 
 gent, but rather agreeable taste. They yield their properties to water. 
 No analysis has been made of them. Tlh^ ' Antennaria Margaritacea, 
 formerly Gnaphalium Margaritacea, or Pearl-flowered Life Everlasting, 
 a perenniarplant, possesses similar properties to the above. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Astringent. The leaves and blossoms chewed, 
 and the juice swallowed, has proved beneficial in ulcerations of the 
 mouth and throat. A warm infusion may be used in fevers to produce 
 diaphoresis, and is of service in quinsy, pulmonary complaints, leucor- 
 rhea, etc.; it may be used internally and as a local application. Like- 
 wise used in infusion, in diseases of the bowels, and hemorrhages, and 
 applied in fomentations to bruises, indolent tumors, and other local af- 
 fections. The fresh juice is reputed anti-aphrodisiac. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Gnaphalii. 
 
 GOODYEEA PUBESCENS. (Eauhhaarige Netzblattorchis.) ' 
 
 Net-leaf Plantain. 
 Nat. Ord. — OrchidaceEe. Sex. Syst. — Gynandria Monandria. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Descriptioni — This plant, likewise known by the names of Scrofula- 
 weed, Adder's Violet, Battlesnake-leaf, etc., has a perennial roof, from which 
 arises an erect, sheathed and pubescent scape, from eight to twelve in- 
 ches in height. Leaves radical, ovate, dark -green, conspicuously reticu- 
 lated, blotched above with white, about two inches in length, contracted 
 at base into winged petioles scarcely half as long. .Flowers white, 
 numerous, pubescent, in a crowded, terminal, oblong, cylindinc spike. 
 Lif ovate, acuminate, saccate, inflated. Petals ovate. The Goodyera 
 Jtepens is a reduced variety of the above, the scape being from six to 
 eight feet in height ; leaves less conspicuously reticulated ; flowers being 
 on a somewhat unilateral spike, more or less spiral ; in other respects 
 about the same as the preceding. — W. — G. 
 
 Sistory. — This herb grows in various parts of] the United States, in 
 rich woods, and under evergreens, and is common southward, while the 
 G. Eepens is more common noi'thward and on mountains. It bears 
 
400 Materia Medica. 
 
 white, or yellowish -white flowers in July and Aug\ st. The leaves are 
 the parts employed, and yield their virtues to boiling water. No anal- 
 ysis has been made of them. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^Net-leaf Plantain is anti-scrofulous, and is re- 
 puted to have cured severe cases of scrofula. The fresh leaves arc 
 steeped in milk and applied to. scrofulous ulcers as a poultice, or the 
 bruised leaves may be laid on them, and in either case, they must be 
 renewed every three hours ; at the same time a warm infusion must be 
 taken as freely as the stomach will allow. Used as an injection into 
 the vagina, and at the same time exhibited internally, the infusion has 
 proved beneficial in leucorrhea, recent prolapsus uteri, and as a wash in 
 scrofulous ophthalmia. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infiisum Groodyerse. 
 
 GOSSYPIUM HBEBACEUM. (Krautartige Baumwolle.) 
 
 Cotton. 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Malvacae. Sex. Syst. — Monadelphia Polyandria. 
 
 THE FILAMENTOUS MATTER SURROUNDING THE SEEDS, AND INNER BARK OF 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Gr. Herbaoeum is a biennial or triennial herb, with a 
 fusiform root, giving off small radicles, and a round, pubescent, branch- 
 ing stem, about five feet high. Leaves hoary, palmate, with five sub- 
 lanceolate, rather acute lobes, three large, two small, lateral, a single 
 gland on the midvein below, half an inch from the base. Stipules fal- 
 cate-lanceolate. Flowers yellow; calyx cup-shaped, obtusely five- 
 toothed, surrounded by an involueel of three united and cordate 
 leaves, deeply and incisely toothed ; petals five, deciduous, with a 
 purple spot near the base., Style simple, marked with three or five 
 furrows toward the apex. Stigmas three or five. Capsules three or five 
 celled, three or five valved, loculicidal ; seeds three or five, involved in 
 cotton, somewhat plano-convex and reniform. — W. — M. — W. I. Gos- 
 STPiUM Barbadense, Or Sea Island Cotton Plant, is a larger plant than 
 the preceding ; leaves five lobed, with three glands beneath, upper ones 
 three lobed ; Cotton white, and seeds black. It is likewise biennial or 
 triennial. — W. 
 
 Mistory. — Cotton is an Asiatic plant, but is extensively cultivated in 
 India, Syria, Asia Minor, the Mediterranean, and America. Cultivation 
 has considerably changed the plant so as to render it difficult for bo- 
 tanists to correctly describe the originals. Several species have been 
 named by authors, which Swartz and Macfadyen believe to be mere 
 varieties of one species; while Wight, and Arnold, and Hamilton, be- 
 lieve that there are but two distinct species, the G. Album, whose seeds 
 are white, and the G. Nigrum, whose seeds are black. The various 
 Cotton plants differ considerably in the form of the leaf and its gland, 
 the height of the plant, the hue of the petals, and the elongation and 
 delicacy of the Cotton. The plant can not be profitably cultivated 
 north of the Ohio Eiver, or above that latitude. The leaves are very 
 mucilaginous, and have been used in cases where mucilage is required. 
 A fixed oil is contained in the seeds, which may be procured by pressure ; 
 it is a drying oil. The part used in medicine is the inner bark of the 
 root, and the white, downy substance contained in the matured capsule, 
 and known as "Cotton." When examined microscopically, the fila- 
 ments constituting Cotton are seen to consist of distinct, flat, narrow 
 ribbons or tubular hairs, with occasional appearances of joints, indi- 
 
Gtjaiacum Officinale. .101 
 
 uated by lines at right angles to the side of the tube. Cotton is taste-' 
 less, odorless, highly combustible, and, according to Thompson, is not 
 soluble in alcohol, water, ether, oils, or vegetable acids ; weak alkaline 
 liquids have no perceptible action on it, but when very strong, they 
 dissolve it by the aid of heat. Tannic acid forms a brown or yellow 
 compound with it ; nitric acid decomposes it when assisted with heat, 
 oxalic acid being formed ; sulphuric acid chars it. The strong mineral 
 a dds generally decompose it. Gun-cotton is prepared from it (see Col- 
 lodiori). Cotton root contains gum, albumen, sugar, starch, tannic acid, 
 gallic acid, chlorophylle, iodine, caoutchouc, black resin, red extractive 
 matter, and black and white oleaginous-like matter. The carded Cotton 
 is usually preferred in medicine. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The bark of the recent root of the Cotton plant 
 is emmenagogue, parturient, and abortive. It is said to promote ute- 
 rine contraction with as much efficiency and more safety than ergot ; 
 and was used by the slaves of the South for inducing abortion, which 
 it effected without any apparent detriment to the general system. 
 Four ounces, of the inner bark of the root boiled in a quart of water 
 down to a pint, the dose of which is one or two fluidotinces every 
 twenty or thirty minutes. T^e hydro-alcoholic extract forms an ex- 
 cellent emmenagogue, and may be used in chlorosis, amenorrhea, dys- 
 menorrhea, etc. It is very doubtful whether this will ever take the 
 place of other more certain parturients. In my own practice, it failed 
 in producing any influence upon the uterus during parturition in about 
 one-half the cases in which it has been used, owing, probably, to its 
 not being fresh enough. It operated exceedingly well in the first cases 
 in which it was exhibited. 
 
 The seeds are reputed to possess superior antiperiodic properties. A 
 pint of Cotton seed placed in a quart of water and boiled down to one 
 pint, and one gill of the warm tea given an hour or two before the 
 expected chill, is said to cure intermittent fever with the first dose. 
 The flowers and leaves are reputed diuretic, and useful in urinary 
 affections ; the leaves steeped in vinegar are said to relieve hemicrania 
 when locally applied, and a decoction is considered beneficial in the 
 bites of venomous reptiles in Brazil. Externally, Cotton is used as a 
 local application in erysipelas, erythema, fresh burns, wounds, severe 
 bruises or contusions, in rheumatic pains, and has been successfully, 
 employed in dressing blisters. In burns and blisters, care must be 
 taken that the Cotton does not harden and adhere firmly to the part 
 over which it is applied, as it will then cause irritation the same as 
 any other foreign body ; this may usually be avoided by first applying 
 some simple oleaginous substance over the surface which is to come in 
 contact with the burn or ulcer. Cotton is supposed to prove efficacious 
 by excluding the air from the parts over which it is applied, and also 
 by imbibing the secretions. 
 
 Off. Prep.- — Decoetum Gossypii Eadicis ; Decoctum Gossypii Seminis ; 
 Bxtractum Gossypii. 
 
 GTJAIACUM OFFICINALE. (Guajak.) 
 
 Guai acum . — Franzosenholz. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Zygophyllacese. Sex. /Sjrs*.— Decandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE WOOD AND RESIN. 
 
 Description.— '^hxB tree grows very slowly, varying in height from 
 fifteen to fifty feet; trunk usually crooked, with crowded, knobby, 
 26 
 
402 Materia Medica. 
 
 short-jointed, flexuose, spreading branches, about four feet in diameter, 
 hark furrowed, spotted, grayish. Leaves opposite, bijugate or trijugate; 
 leaflets sessile, more or less obovate, rounded at the apex, nerved, gla- 
 brous ; common petiole terete, channeled above. Flowers light-blue, on 
 axillary peduncles, which are an inch long, one-flowered, filiform, mi- 
 nutely downy, several together. Calyx of sepals, two exterior, some- 
 what broader than the others; all obtuse, hoary with down. Petals 
 five, thrice the length of the sepals, oblong, bluntish, unguiculate, 
 internally downy. Stamens ten, without scales ; filaments twice the 
 length of the sepals, grooved on the back ; anthers bifid at the base, 
 curved. Ovary two-celled, with numerous suspended ovules, com- 
 pressed ; styles short, acute, subulate ; stigma simple ; capsule obcordate, 
 succulent, glabrous, yellow, two to five celled ; on short stalks, some- 
 what fleshy, angular ; seeds solitary, compressed, roundish, smooth, 
 pendulous. — L. 
 
 History. — This tree inhabits the West Indian Islands, especially 
 Jamaica, St. Thomas, and St. Domingo. The wood, and resin or solidi- 
 fied juice are the parts used in medicine, though the wljole tree pos- 
 sesses medical virtues. The bark is said to be the most active part of 
 it, but it is seldom met with in commerce. The wood of this tree has 
 been used as a medicine by the natives previous to the discovery of 
 the country, and who made it known to the Europeans ; by these it 
 was introduced into Europe in the . sixteenth century, and employed 
 with much advantage in syphilitic affections. Guaiacum wood, also 
 known as Lignum-vitce, a name given to it from a belief that its medic- 
 inal virtues were of a superior kind, is largely imported. into this coun- 
 try from the West Indies for making block-sheaves, wooden-peStles, 
 and many other objects, for which it is peculiarly fitted by its extra- 
 ordinary hardness and toughness. It is imported in billets, about a 
 foot in diameter, and generally without the bark. The bark is hard, 
 flat, a few lines thick, of a greenish-black color, with yellowish and 
 grayish spots, inodorous, but very acrid. The wood, as used in medi- 
 cine, consists of turnings, from the workshop of the turner, and is a 
 uniform mixture of the alburnum and duramen. 
 
 The alburnum or sap-wood is of a yellow color, that of the duramen 
 or heart-wood, greenish-brown, and which are mixed in about equal 
 proportions in the shavings. Guaiacum wood is only odorous when 
 burned or rasped, the odor being aromatic; its taste is acrid, aromatic, 
 and amarous, succeeded by a pricking in the throat, more especially 
 from chewing the alburnum. It is very dense, hard, and tough, and 
 of sp. gr. 1.333, sinking in water. When a very fine powder of Guaia- 
 cum-wood is acted upon by the atmosphere, its color is converted into 
 green. Nitric acid turns it bluish-green, as does also a solution of bi- 
 chloride of mercury, when applied to the coarse raspings, and moder- 
 ately warmed. These tests may be employed to determine the authen- 
 ticity of the, wood. Boiling water and alcohol take up its active parts 
 —the alcohol dissolving 21 per cent., the water 14. Trommsdorf found 
 the wood to consist of resin, bitter piquant extractive, mucous extract- 
 ive with a vegetable salt of lihae, coloring-matter, and woody fiber. 
 Jahn found a trace of benzoic acid. Several other trees of this family 
 are said to furnish the Guaiacum wood, as the G. Sanctum, which has 
 a translucent, paler-yellbw, and less heavy and hard wood, and also 
 the Q. Arboreum. When Guaiacum wood is adulterated with the shav- 
 ings of other wood, it may be detected by treating with a solution of 
 chloride of lime, which effects no change in the other woods, but causes 
 
trUAIACI EeSINA. 403 
 
 the Gnaiacum to assume a green color in a few se,CQnds. Ghiaiacic acid, 
 or Gruaiacin, is obtained from the resin. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Taken internally, Guaiacum, both the wood and 
 resin, commonly excites a sense of warmth in the stomach, a dryness of 
 the mouth, with thirst. They act upon the economy like stimjilants, 
 increasing the heat of the body, and accelerating the circulation. If 
 the body be kept warm while using the decoction, which is the form 
 generally preferred, it will prove diaphoretic ; if cool, diuretic. As a 
 diaphoretic and alterative, it has been administered (but usually ip. 
 compound decoction or syrup), in chronic rheumatism, chronic cuta- 
 neous "diseases, scrofula, and- syphilitic disease. As water can not take 
 up much of the active principle in the wQod, it is probable that its 
 reputed efficacy was owing principally to the active agents associated 
 with the syrup or decoction. . The resin .of.Gufl,iacum is the active prin- 
 ciple, which see. The decoction of Guaiacum shavings may be made by 
 boiling two ounces of the shavings in three pints of water down to 
 two pints ; the dose of which is from two to four fluidounces eyery 
 three or four hours. 
 . Off. Prep. — Decoctum Guaiaci ; Syrupus Sarsaparillse Gompositus. 
 
 GUAIAGI EBSmA. (Guajakharz.) 
 Guaiac. 
 
 THE BESINOID SUBSTANCE OP GTIAIAOTJM OFFICINALE. 
 
 History. — The resin of Guaiacum^ or gum guaiacum as it is errone- 
 ously called by some, is procured from the wood of the tree, by natural 
 exudation ; by jagging or wounding the tree in several places ; by heat 
 applied to the wood sawed into large billets ; and by boiling the chips 
 of the wood in water and salt, and skimming off the resin as it floats 
 on the surface. — Ed. — P. The last two modes are the most common. 
 Guaiacum is ordinarily met with in large, amorphous, hard masses of 
 varying sizes, in which are found pieces of wood, dirt and other foreign 
 matters. Its color is reddish-brown or hyacynthinewhen recent, but fro^ 
 the action of the air, the surface is generally of a dark pistachio green, 
 which enters into the cracks and fissures. It is friable, presenting a 
 splintery, vitreous fracture, and thin lamina of it are translucent. It 
 has a light, peculiar aromatic odor, and a sweetish, faintly bitter taste, 
 succeeded by a durable acrimony, especially in the fauces. It does not 
 soften by the heat of the hand, becomes tough when chewed, and is 
 fusible at a moderate heat. Its specific gravity is 1.20 to 1.23. It is 
 readily reduced to a grayish-white powder, becoming somewhat tena- 
 cious, and quickly aggregating, by the action of the air, and gradually 
 acquiring a green color. — Ed. — Bunc. Alcohol dissolves it readily, 
 for.ming a dark reddish-brown fluid, from which the Guaiac is precipi- 
 tated by water, by sulphuric or muriatic acid. Ammoniated alcohol, 
 or solutions of the fixed alkalies dissolve it. Ether does* not readily 
 dissolve it; fixed and volatile oils scarcely at all. Water dissolves about 
 nine parts in one hundred of the resin, becoming colored greenish- 
 brown and having a sweet taste ; and upon evaporating the water from 
 the infusion a brown substance is obtained which is soluble in hot 
 water or alcohol, but hardly at all in ether. Sulpharic acid forms with 
 Guaiac a deep-red solution ; nitric acid ; dissolves it without the aid of 
 heat, and with strong effervescence, and when the solution is eya])p- 
 rated, it yields oxalic acid and an extractive substance, but no artificial 
 tannic acid. — T. Jahn found the resin to contain three resins, one sol-. 
 
404 Materia Medica. 
 
 able in ether or ammonia ; another soluble in ether but not in ammo- 
 nia; and another soluble in ammonia but not in ether ; the remainder 
 consisting of bark, wood, impurities, and a trace of benzoic acid. — 0. 
 
 Guaiac is subject to adulteration with pine resin, and other substances ;. 
 this may be detected by observing, that the genuine article when freshly 
 fractured is green, not red ; that the tincture of the spurious article 
 will not render the recently-cut surface of a potato, carrot, or other 
 plants, containing gluten or milk, mucilage of' gum Arabic, etc., blue — 
 which change will be effected by the tincture of the genuine Guaiac; 
 that when heated, Guaiac does not exhale a turpentine odor ; that oil 
 of turpentine dissolves resin, but not Guaiac; and that paper which has 
 been moistened by the tincture of Guaiac, speedily becomes blue on ex- 
 posure to the vapors of nitric acid. The substances which are incom- 
 patible with Guaiac, are mineral acids. — E. & Y. 
 
 Guaiacin or Guaiacic add, HC,2 H, O^, may be obtained by forming 
 a solution of the resin in ether, evaporating the solution, and submitting 
 the substance left to sublimation. The minute acicular crystals which 
 are thus formed are not dissolved by water, but are soluble in alcohol, 
 from which they are precipitated by water, clilorine, nitric and sul- 
 phuric acids. Ether dissolves them more gradually than alcohol. They 
 form guaiacates or guaiacum soaps with the alkalies, from which they 
 are precipitated by the mineral acids and by various salts. — P. 
 
 Dr. L. E, Jonas states that the fourteen -thousandth part of a grain 
 of resin of guaiacum may be detected, when added to other resins 
 (scammony, jalap, etc.), as an adulteration, by making an alcoholic 
 solution of the suspected resin, and moistening very clean strips of filter- 
 ing paper with it, and then while still moist, introducing the paper into 
 the mouth of a glass vessel half filled with chlorine liquor; or the bot- 
 tom of which is covered with free iodine, without, however, bringing 
 the paper in contact with either of these two substances, in which case 
 no reaction would take place. If Guaiac resin be present there is a 
 blue and green change of color. He also states that under certain cir 
 cumstances, strips of blottin'g-paper, impregnated with the alcoholic so- 
 lution of resin of Guaiacum,are reagents for detecting the presence of dry 
 vapors of the so-called halogen,- and of nitrous" acid in a very sensible 
 manner ; for this paper test is quite indifferent to gaseous hydrochloric 
 acid, sulphuric acid, acetic acid, and formic acid, very probably also to 
 all other oxygen acids that are not ozonized that yield no oxygen. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Guaiac is stimulant. Taken internally it pro • 
 duces the same effects as named for the wood, but in a more active de 
 gree. Large doses act as a cathartic. It is used in the same affections 
 as the Guaiaci Lignum or guaiacum wood. Several practitioners have 
 found it beneficial in amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, and other uterine 
 diseases ; likewise in acute dysentery, in which its employment is said 
 to be followed by speedy beneficial results. It is much used in chronic 
 rheumatism' and in the abating stages of the acute form, and has proved 
 a most valuable agent in these diseases. It is said to be an antidote 
 to the effects of the tincture of Rhus Toxicodendron. If the prepara- 
 tions of Guaiacum produce sickness, defective appetite, and irregularity 
 of the bowels, their use must be discontinued. Dose of the powdered 
 resin, from five to twenty grains ; of the tincture, from one to four 
 fluidrachms, either of which may be repeated three or four times a day. 
 A mixture of ten grains each of Guaiac and compound powder of ipe- 
 cacuanha and opium, has been found of advantage in rheumatism and 
 -dysentery. 
 
GuTTA Percha. 403 
 
 Off. Prep. — Tinctura (Juaiaci ; Tinetura Guaiaci Aromatica ; Tino. 
 tura Guaiaci Ammoniata. 
 
 GUNPOWDER. (Schiesspulver.) 
 (Pulvis Pyrius. Pulvis Nitratus.) 
 
 History. — Gunpowder is prepared by combiDing together, five or six 
 parts of nitre, with one part of each, of charcoal and sulphur , how- 
 ever, these proportions vary with the different manufacturers of the 
 article, so that there is no regular or ofScinal method for its prepara- 
 tion. The uses of gunpowder, aside from medicine, are too well known 
 to require any description. 
 
 Properties and, Uses. — Eecommended as a detergent and alterative in 
 chlorosis, and dyspepsia, also as a corrective of morbid secretions of the 
 gastro-mucous membrane, dependent on, or accompanied with subacute 
 inflammation. Dose, ten grains, three or four times a day, gradually 
 increased, occasionally using a mild laxative. Externally, applied in 
 powder or ointment to indolent ulcers, and several forms of cutaneous 
 diseases. Gunpowder dissolved in water, and the solution taken in 
 teaspoonful doses three or four times in twenty-four hours, and con- 
 tinued daily, has cured gonorrhea. Dr. Bone and Dr. Henry, two cele- 
 brated botanic practitioners of some thirty or forty years since, made 
 considerable use of this article in the treatment of some forms of cu- 
 taneous disease, indolent ulcers, and even cancers; the following is the 
 formula they employed: Simmer one pound of the inspissated juice of 
 poke for a short time, on hot ashes, until the aqueous portion has evapo- 
 rated ; then place it in an iron dish, add to it a pound of fresh butter, 
 and half a pint of finely pulverized gunpowder, and place it over a fire, 
 where it must be kept until it is so far dried that the mixture will flash 
 once or twice ; or if it should take fire instead, it must be immediately 
 smothered. Remove it into a glazed pipkin, and let it remain on hot 
 ashes until it is well incorporated, when it may be transferred into pots, 
 and covered with alcohol to prevent it from molding. This ointment 
 applied twice a day, is reputed to destroy cancer to its extreme fiber? 
 ■or roots. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Lotio Hydrastii Composita. ( | 
 
 GUTTAPERCHA. (Gutta Percha.) 
 Gutta Percha. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Sapotacese. Sex. Syst. — Decandria Monogynia. 
 
 CONCEETE JUICE OP ISONANDRA GUTTA. 
 
 Description. -rT^h^s is the concrete milky juice of a tall tree, a native 
 ■of the Malaya Archipelago, especially of Singapore. It has a straight 
 and lofty trunk, about three feet in diameter at the base, with numer- 
 ous ascending branches; terminal buds white from exuding gutta. 
 Wood hard ; leaves crowded at the extremity of the branches, alternate, 
 petiolate, oblong, with a small point at the apex, base tapering, four or 
 five inches long, two inches broad, upper surface bright-green, feather- 
 nerved, under surface brownish -red, from dense pubescence; midrib and 
 petiole the same; petiole an inch long, channeled, not articulated with 
 the stem. Stipules none. Flowers axillary, seraile, four together, dis- 
 posed in a quadrangular manner, small, white. Brads none. Calyx 
 
406 Materia JVLedica. 
 
 perBiatent, six sepals, bi-ownish-red, in a double series, the outer largest, 
 (estivation valvate. Corolla monopetalous, six-cleft, lobes one-fourth of 
 an inch long, tubes half an inch, deciduous; xstivdtioH twisted. Sta- 
 mens twelve, in a single series, equal, similar, inserted in the mouth of 
 the tube. Filaments equal in length to the lobes of the corolla ; anthers 
 sagittate, extrose, aflSxed by their base to the filaments ; pollen scanty. 
 Ovary superior, conical, sessile, seate,d on a disk, six-celled, each cell 
 containing a single ovule suspended from a central axis ; -funiculus con- 
 spicuous. Style longer than the stamens, persistent ; stigmas undivided. 
 —E. White. 
 
 History. — This substance was introduced in 1842 to the profession, by 
 Br. William Montgomerie, a surgeon in the British army in the Indies. 
 The natives cut down the tree, remove its bark, and collect the milky 
 juice in troughs, which speedily concretes on exposure to the air. Bach 
 tree yields fi"om twenty to thirty pounds. As imported, it contains 
 various foreign matters from which it should be freed before using it. 
 It is a white or dirty pinkish opaque solid, having a faint odor, no taste, 
 and hard at 60° F. Water, alcohol, alkaline solutions, muriatic and 
 acetic acids, have no action On it. Oil of turpentine is its best solvent; 
 it is likewise soluble in coal naphtha, benzole, chloroform, and bisul- 
 phuret of carbon. Hot water softens it, and a heat of 160° renders it ad- 
 hesive and j)liable ; when soft it may be easily cut. It resembles caout- 
 chouc, and like this substance is vulcanized for use in the arts. Its 
 specific gravity is 0.979. The commercial article consists of pure Gutta 
 Pereha, a vegetable acid, casein, a resin soluble in ether or oil of turpen- 
 tinej and a resin soluble in alcohol. It is a carbo-hydrogen, analogous 
 to caoutchouc. — Pharm. Jour., VI., 377. — P. Grutta Pereha, when in 
 contact with air for some time, oxidizes and undergoes a peculiar 
 change, becoming brittle and ultimately losing all coherence; the oxi- 
 dised substance is soluble in cold alcohol. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Gutta Pereha serves several useful ends in 
 medicine, surgery, and pharmacy, and is likewise used for ornamental 
 and various other purposes. Splints, etc., have been made of it, and 
 enaployed in cases of fractures, diseased joints, and other cases where it 
 is desired to keep the parts in a permanent position, and it is also 
 formed into bougies, injection pipes, catheters, pessaries, forceps, 
 handles, etc. The solution in bisulphuret of carbon has been employed 
 by M. Vogel in wounds effected by cutting instruments — the fluid 
 evaporates with great rapidity, and leaves a thin layer which protects 
 the wound from atmospheric action, at the same time keeping its edges 
 in close contact. The following compound is recommended for the 
 hemorrhage supervening the extraction of teeth. Take of Gutta Pereha 
 an ounce; best tar an ojmce and a half; creosote a drachm; shell-lac 
 an ounce. Boil these in a crucible, stirring or beating them well, until 
 thejy are blended into a stiff, hom,ogeneous mass. The compound is 
 readily softened between the fingers, and is easily introduced into the 
 bleeding socket. It must be pressed in, and the hemorrhage will be 
 speedily checked. Mr. Acton recommends the following preparation, 
 applied to the skin in the same manner as collodion, as a protection 
 against poisonous or deleterious vapors or fluids; add thirty grains of 
 Gutta Pereha to half an ounce of benzole, and expose to a' moderate 
 heat ; when the Gutta Pereha is dissolved, add to it a solution of five 
 grains of caoutchouc dissolved in half an ounce of benzole. A clear so- 
 lution of Gutta Pereha may be made by adding to the solution a mixture 
 of two-thirds of a part of finely-powdered carbonate of lead in two parta 
 
Gymnocladus Canadensis. 407 
 
 of chloroform ; agitating the whole two or three times, and then allow- 
 ing the mixture to stand ten or twelve days. The carbonate of lead, in 
 becoming deposited, carries with it coloring and insoluble matters ; the 
 clear solution should then be decanted and placed in half fluidounce 
 vials, with closely fitting glass stoppers. This will be found very valu- 
 able as a local application to irritated and abraded surfaces, chaps, small 
 wounds, etc., as it forms a kind of cuticle over the parts. An improved 
 cement for uniting the parts of boots and shoes, and in the manufacture 
 of articles of dress in which cement is required, is made of 64 parts by 
 weight of Gutta Percha, 16 parts of caoutchoijc, 8 parts of pitch, 4 parts 
 of shell-lac, and 8 parts of oil; the ingredients are melted together, the 
 caoutchouc having been previqusly dissolved. A cement for uniting 
 sheet Gutta Percha to silk or other fabrics, is composed of Gutta Percha 
 40 lbs., caoutchouc 3 lbs., shell-lac 3 lbs., Canada balsam 14 lbs., liq.uid 
 styrax 35 lbs., gum mastic 4 lbs., and oxide of lead 1 lb. Another for 
 uniting it to leather, as soles of shoes, etc., consists of: Gutta Percha 
 50 lbs., Venice turpentine 40 lbs., shell-lac 4 lbs., caoutchouc 1 lb., and 
 liquid styrax 5 lbs. A cement for repairing or patching shoes and boots 
 has recently been in vogue among shoemakers; it is made by dissolving 
 one ounce of raw Gutta Percha in one pound of bisulphuret of carbon, 
 and then adding a piece of resin, about as large as a hen egg. The 
 leather must be well buffed to make the cement adhere. 
 
 Dr. Maunoury recommends mixing two parts of chloride of zinc with 
 one part of powdered Gutta Percha, in a tube or porcelain dish, and 
 gently heating the mixture over a lamp. The Gutta Percha softens, the 
 particles cohere in a spongy mass, which retains the chloride of zinc, 
 and may be made into any convenient shape, which it retains on cooling. 
 This he recommends as a more manageable caustic, retaining its con- 
 sistence and flexibility, can be easily inserted into the urethra, nostrils, 
 fistulous or other passages, and, by its porosity, permits the exudation 
 of the caustic, and thus opens a free passage for the result of the action 
 of the caustic on the tissues. Other caustics or agents may be applied 
 in the same way. 
 
 J. M. Maisch proposes the following solution as preferable to collo- 
 dion in having no gloss or contractile power, and in its close resem- 
 blance to the skin : Take one part of the best commercial Gutta Percha, 
 cut it into small pieces, and by agitation dissolve it in twelve parts of 
 chloroform ; on standing for a day all the coloring matter rises like 
 scum to the surface, leaving the solution clear ; this may then be easily 
 drawn off to the last drop. A wide glass tube, narrower on the bottom, 
 and so arranged that both ends may be closed by corks is the only in- 
 strument necessary;. after the separation is complete, the upper cork 
 must be removed and the lower one loosened so as to allow the liquid 
 to run out slowly. 
 
 Gutta Percha is. acted, upon by the strong mineral acids, but not by 
 sea-water, alkalies, vegetable acids, or weak mineral acids ; hence Gutta 
 Percha vessels are highly valuable. 
 
 GYMNOCLADUS CAlfADBNSIS. 
 
 American Coffee-bean. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Leguminosse. Sex. Syst. — Dioecia Decandria. 
 
 THE SEEDS, AND PTTLP OF THE PODS. 
 
 Description. — This is a slender and unarmed tree, attaining the height 
 of fifty to sixty feet, with a trunk from twelve to fift^een inches in di- 
 
408 Materia Medica. 
 
 amoter. For about twenty -five feet from the ground the trunk is straight 
 and simple, and covered with a rough, scaly bark. Leaves compound, 
 unequally bipinnate, two or three feet long, fifteen or twenty inches 
 wide ; leaflets seven to thirteen, ovate, acuminate, dull green, single 
 leaflets often occupying the place of some of the pinnse. Flowers large, 
 regular,dioecious, whitish, in axillary racemes, succeeded by pods. Petals 
 five, oblong, equal, inserted on the summit of the calyx tube. Galyx 
 tubular, five cleft, equal. Stamens ten, short, distinct, inserted with the 
 petals. Style one. Legume eight to ten inches long, two to two and a 
 half inches wide, oblong, flattened, curving, pulpy within, several seeded. 
 Seeds two to four, quite hard, somewhat egg-shaped, of a dark olive 
 color externally, slightly compressed, about three-fourths of an inch in 
 length by half an inch wide. — W. — Gr. 
 
 History. — This tree is indigenous to the United States, and is found 
 growing inrich woods and along rivers and lakes in Western New York, 
 Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, etc. It is known by several names, as Coffee- 
 tree, Kentucky Coffee-tree. The seeds are said to have been used by the 
 early settlers instead of coffee ; but this is doubtful. The trunk is 
 naked for some distance above the ground, above which is a rather 
 small but regular head, formed by a few, quite long branches. The 
 wood is quite hard and strong, is reddish or light yellowish, rather fine 
 grained, and susceptible of taking a very fine polish and presenting a 
 most beautiful grained appearance ; on this account it is highly prized 
 in architecture and cabinet work. In our Eastern cities I have been 
 informed that it is represented as a wood from Japan, and brings most 
 fabulous prices. The pulp and the seeds of the pods are the parts to be 
 used ; the former has some reputation as a fly poison. It is greenish 
 and viscid. The active principle of these is taken up by alcohol, which 
 gives a yellowish-brown tincture, or, if the bulb alone be used, a beau- 
 tiful green, and upon standing, crystals are deposited. The tincture 
 has an unpleasant, bitterish taste, followed by a persistent pungent 
 acrimony in the fauces. Eafinesque states that the leaves are purgative, 
 and contain a principle, Cysticine, of a nauseous bitter taste. The seeds 
 are said to produce emesis. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The tincture of the pulp and pods, and in some in- 
 stances of the bark also, has been used with benefit, in intermittent fever. 
 More recently, it has been tried in cases of abnormal states of the nerv- 
 ous centers, as indicated, among -other symptoms, by impaired sense of 
 touch and vision; numbness, dull headache, apathy, and formication, 
 and with advantage. In one case of ataxic locomotor it proved decid- 
 edly beneficial, and is valuable in some of the more serious symptoms 
 resulting from excessive masturbation. It has likewise been recom- 
 mended in laryngeal cough with chronic irritation of the mucous lining 
 membrane of the air passages ; in erysipelas, in all fevers presenting 
 a typhoid condition, in puerperal peritonitis, and in the exanthematous 
 affections. It is certainly deserving the attention of our practitioners. 
 The tincture is best made by taking two ounces of the coarsely bruised 
 seed, and one ounce of the pulp, and adding to them eight fluidounces 
 each of water and alcohol ; let' it macerate twelve or fourteen days with 
 frequent agitation, and then filter. One flnidrachm of this is to be 
 added to three fluidounces of water, of which the dose is a teaspoonful, 
 to be repeated every three or four hours, , 
 
H^MATOXYLON Campechianum. 409 
 
 H^MATOXYLON CAMPBCHIANUM. (Campechebaum.) 
 
 Logwood. — Blauholz. 
 Nat. Ord. — Fabacese. Sex. Syst. — Decandria MonogyTiia. 
 
 THE WOOD. 
 
 Description. — This is a tree of from twenty to tweDty-five feet m 
 beigbt, and occasionally reaebing forty or fifty feet. Trunk or stem 
 generally crooked and deformed, seldom exceeding eigbteen inches in 
 diameter, covered witb a rougb, asb-colored bark. Branches somewhat 
 flexTions, terete, covered witb wbitisb spots ; in mountains and mois'ij 
 situations, unarmed, but in localities wbere tbe tree is stunted in growth; 
 furnished with sharp spines below the leaves. Leaves alternate, two to 
 four from the same irregular, rougb, tubercular prominence, pinnate, 
 sometimes dividing, in a bipinnate manner, at the lowest pair of 
 •leaflets; leaflets four-paired, shortly stalked, obovate, or obcordate. 
 Flowers yellow, slightly fragrant, on pedicels half an inch in length, in 
 axillary and subterminal racemes. Calyx deeply five-parted, brownish- 
 purple, with thin, membranous, deciduous, unequal lobes, and a short, 
 green, campanulate'tube. Petals nearly equal, obovate, wedge-shaped 
 at base, scarcely longer than tbe sepals, of a lemon-yellowish color. 
 Stamens ten, alternately short, inserted on tbe inside of the margin of 
 the persistent tube of the calyx ;. filaments hairy at base ; anthers ovate, 
 without glands. Ovary lanceolate, compressed, three-seeded, bearing a 
 capillary style, which projects beyond the stamens and petals ; stigma 
 capitate, expanded. Pod or legume flat, compressed, lanceolate, acumi- 
 nate at both ends, one-celled, two-seeded, not opening at the sutures, 
 but bursting in the middle longitudinally.— i. 
 
 History. — This tree grows in Jamaica, on the eastern shore of the 
 bay of Campeachy, and in many of the West India Islands. The wood 
 consists of a yellowish alburnum, and a dingy cherry-red inner wood, 
 which last is the part used in medicine and the arts; it forms a useful 
 commercial commodity, and is extensively used as a dye-stuff'. It is 
 imported in heavy, hard, close-grained billets, which are cut into chips 
 or rasped into a coarse powder, for general use. It becomes darker- 
 colored by exposure, has a sweetish, somewhat astringent, and peculiar 
 taste, and a slight, rather pleasant odor. Water or alcohol extraetsits 
 coloring matter, forming deep-purple solutions. Its aqueous solution 
 yields a fine blue precipitate with lime-water, alum, acetate of lead, a 
 deep violet blue with the salts of sesquioxide of iron, arid curdy flakes 
 with solution of gelatin; sulphuric, nitric, muriatic, and acetic acids, 
 and sulphate of copper also produce precipitates. Water is the men- 
 struum usually employed to extract its virtues. A pound of the wood 
 yields about two ounces of extract. It has been analyzed several times, 
 and is found to contain volatile oil, hsematin, fatty or resinous matter 
 a brown substance containing tannic acid, acetic acid, glutinous matter, 
 various salts, woody fiber, etc. Hcematin or Hcematoxylin, C„ H^ 0^, H, 
 0„ 3 Hj Oj, may be obtained by digesting the raspings of logwood in wa- 
 ■ ter of a temperature between 122° and 131° P., till every thing soluble is 
 taken up. Evaporate the aqueous solution to dryness, by a gentle heat, 
 and treat the residue with alcohol of tbe specific gravity 0.843, which 
 will leave undissolved a brown residue still containing hsematin in com- 
 bination. Filter the alcoholic solution, and distill it till what remains 
 liecomes of the consistence of a syrup. This syrup being mixed with 
 
410 Materia Medica. 
 
 some water, crystals begin immediately to be deposited. Leave it for 
 twenty -four hours to evaporate spontaneously, then decant the liquid 
 portion from off the crystals and wash them with a little alcohol. The 
 decanted liquid being left to spontaneous evaporation will yield more 
 crystals, and finally there remains a thick uncrystallizable liquid. If 
 we evaporate this liquid to dryness, macerate the dry residue in cold 
 water and evaporate afresh, more crystals are obtained, which may be 
 purified like the others by washing them in alcohol. They are of a 
 scarlet color, and have considerable luster. When pure they are of a 
 straw-yellow color, but become red under the combined influence of 
 alkalis and oxygen. Under the microscope they assume the appear- 
 ance of needles arranged in sphericles. A glass coated with hsematin 
 appears orange by transmitted, and white by reflected, light. At first, 
 hffimatin is tasteless, but is succeeded by a slight bitterness, acridity, and 
 astringency; Miller states that it has a sweet taste, free from astrin- 
 gency ; but the hsematoxylia is prepared by another procesSjChevreuil's, 
 in which ether is employed instead of alcohol, and which gives the- 
 straw -yellow, long, brilliant, four-sdded needles ; it is slightly soluble in 
 water, soluble in alcohol or ether. Acids render its solution red or 
 yellowish; alkalies purple or violet; gelatin causes a flocculent purple 
 precipitate. — T. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Logwood is a tonic and unirritating astringebt, 
 and is useful in hemorrhages from the uterus, lungs, and bowels, in old 
 diarrheas and dysenteries, in summer complaint of children, and in 
 night-sweats. A favorite preparation with many practitioners in chol- 
 era infantum, after a proper employment of the syrup of rhubarb and 
 potassa, is the following : Dissolve two drachms of extract of logwood 
 in four fluidounces of boiling water, to this solution add two flui- 
 drachms of ammoniated tincture of opium, three fluidrachms of tinc- 
 ture of catechu, one fluidrachm of compound spirits of lavender, and 
 four fluidounces of simple syrup, or syrup of ginger. The dose is a 
 teaspoonful every three or four hours. An infusion of logwood taken 
 internally, and also used locally, in form of spray or injection, has 
 effectually cured several cases of obstinate and offensive ozcena. In 
 constitutions broken down by disease, dissipation, or the excessive use 
 of mercury, the decoction of logwood, used freely in connection with the 
 other treatment, will be found highly beneficial. Dose of the decoc- 
 tion, from' two to four fluidounces ; of the extract, five to thirty grains. 
 The use of logwood imparts a blood-red color to the stools and the 
 urine. It should never be combined with chalk or lime-water, as they 
 are incompatibles. 
 
 A good red ink may be made as follows : Take of Pernambuco wood, 
 a Brazilian wood said to be derived from Goesalpina EcMnata, four 
 ounces ; dilute acetic acid, distilled water, of each sixteen ounces ; boil 
 together, until twenty-four ounces remain. Then add an ounce of 
 alum, evaporate the liquid to sixteen ounces, dissolve an ounce of gum 
 Arabic in it, strain, and to the cold liquid add a drachm of protochlor- 
 ide of tin. This ink is preferable to the cochineal ink, being free from 
 its bluish tint, and more permanent. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Decoctum Hsematoxyli ; Extractum Hsematoxyli ; Vinum 
 Haematoxyli Compositum. 
 
Hamamelis Virqinica. 411 
 
 HiBMOSPASIS. (Hamospasie.) 
 HsBmospasti'c Medication. Dry Cupping. 
 
 This is a powerful revulsive treatment. Any thing which draws the 
 blood to a part may be said to act hsemospastically. Dry cupping 
 does so ; it not only draws the blood from the internal parts to the sur- 
 face, but likewise attracts morbid action, and thus affords relief Com- 
 mon half-pint tumblers will answer for adults very well, in place of 
 ordinary cupping-glasses. A piece of paper or cotton, rolled up and 
 fired, and dropped into the tumbler, and allowed to burn a minute or 
 two, fits the tumbler for application to the spot. One, two, or more 
 may be applied, and repeated so often as may be desirable; they should 
 remain until ready to fall off. Intermittent fever has been invariably 
 cured by M. Condret, by applying eight or ten middle-sized cupping- 
 glasses, on each side of the spinal column, from the neck downward, 
 and allowing them to remain for about thirty or forty minutes. To be 
 applied at the commencement of the cold stage. One to four applica- 
 tions effects the cure. Also useful in cases of difficult respiration from 
 congestion of the lungs or mucous membrane of the bronehii, etc. 
 
 H^mastasis is a term applied to the retention of venous blood in 
 the extremities by ligature. Tie a handkerchief, or any suitable cord, 
 around the upper part of the arms, and the thighs, and then, by means 
 of a piece of wood, twist or turn the cord sufficiently tight to check 
 the circulation of the venous blood, but not the arterial, which may be 
 known by the action of the pulse. In a short time the legs and arms 
 will be much distended, and an amount of blood removed from the 
 trunk and retained in the limbs, which the most heroic practitioner 
 dare not remove by the lancet. If the subject faint, promptly loosen 
 or remove the ligatures ; if he be plethoric and of firm, vigorous con- 
 stitution, he must be reduced by cathartics, diuretics, sudorifics, and be 
 under the influence of gentle nauseants, at the time of the operation. 
 This is found very useful in uterine hemorrhage, hemoptysis, and other 
 hemorrhages, inflammations of the brain, lungs, bowels, etc., conges- 
 tions, puerperal convulsions, and wherever it is deemed advisable to 
 lessen the amount of blood in the head and trunk, without injuring 
 the system. 
 
 HAMAMELIS VIEGINICA. (Virginischer Zauberstrauch.) 
 
 Witch-hazel. 
 Nat. Ord. — Hamamelacese. Sex. Syst. — Tetrandria Digynia. 
 
 THE bark and leaves. 
 
 Description.— This is an indigenous shrub, sometimes called Winter- 
 bloom, Snapping-hazelnut, Spotted Alder, etc.; it consists of several 
 crooked, branching trunks from the same root, from four to six inches 
 in diameter, ten or twelve feet in height, and covered with a smooth 
 gray bark. Leaves on short petioles, alternate, oval or obovate, acu- 
 minate, obliquely subcordate at^base, margin crenate-dentate, scabrous 
 with minute elevated spots beneath, from three to five inches long, two- 
 thirds as wide. Flowers yellow, on short pedicels three or four together 
 in an involucrate, axillary, subsessile glomerule. Calyx small, divided 
 into four thick, oval, downy segments, with an involucel of two or three 
 bracts at base. Petals four, yellow, three-quarters of an inch long, 
 Unear, curled or twisted. Sterile stamens four, scale^ike, opposite the 
 
412 Materia Medioa. 
 
 petals, alternating -with the four fertile ones. Ovary ovate ; styles two 
 short; stigmas obtuse. Capsule ot pod nut-like, two-celled, two-beaked 
 opening loculicidally from the top ; the outer coat separating from the 
 inner, which incloses the oblong, black seeds, but soon bursts elastic- 
 ally into two pieces. — W. — G. — R. 
 
 Sistory. — This plant grows in nearly all parts of the United States, 
 especially in damp woods, flowering from September to November, 
 when the leaves are falling, and maturing its seeds the next summer. 
 The ,bark and leaves are the parts used in medicine ; they possess a 
 degree of fl-agrance, and when chewed are at -first somewhat bitter, 
 very sensibly astringent, and then leave a pungent sweetish taste, 
 which remains for a considerable time. Water extracts their virtues. 
 TSo analysis has been m£ide of them. The shoots are used as divining- 
 rods to discover water and metals under ground, by certain adepts in 
 the occult arts. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Witch-hazel is tonic, astringent, and sedative., ? 
 The decoction of the bark is very useful in hemoptysis, hematemesis, 
 and, other hemorrhages, as well as in diarrhea, dysentery, and excess- 
 ive mucous discharges. It has been employed with advantage in in- 
 cipient phthisis, in which it is supposed to unite anodyne influences 
 with its others. Eeputed to have been used by the Indians in swell- 
 ings and tumors of a painful character, as well as in external inflam- 
 mations, in the form of poultice. The decoction may be advantageously 
 used as a wash or injection for sore-mouth, painful tumors, external 
 inflammations, bowel complaints, prolapsus ani and uteri, leucorrhea, 
 gleet, and ophthalmia. An ointment made with lard and a decoction 
 of white oak bark, apple-tree bark, and Witch-hazel, has been found a 
 valuable application to piles. The following forms a useful prepara- 
 tion : Take equal parts of Witch-hazel bark, golden-seal, and lobelia 
 leaves, the first two made into a strong decoction, after which add the 
 lobelia to the hot liquid, and cover ; when cold, strain. With this de- 
 coction as a collyrium, I have succeeded in curing the most obstinate 
 and long-standing cases of conjunctivitis, with vascularity of thfe pal- 
 pebral, and ocular conjunctiva, as have many other practitioners to 
 whom I have named it. Dose of decoction, from two to four fluid- 
 ounces, three or four times a day. 
 
 Prof. J. M. Scudder, and others, have found Witch-hazel a valuable 
 remedy in passive hemorrhage and congestion, especially in epistaxis, 
 hemorrhoids, phlegmasia dolens, and varicose veins ; he uses the con- 
 centrated tincture or fluid extract of the recent bark, four fluidrachms 
 to syrup three or four fluidounces, and administered in teaspoonfiil 
 doses three or four times a day. It seems to act as a specific in all 
 cases of debility of the venous system. He has also found it valuable 
 in diarrhea, in chronic pharyngitis, and in chronic uterine congestion, 
 where the cervix is enlarged without abnormal hardness, the os uteri 
 being soft, open, and patulous, and perhaps leucorrhea and some pro- 
 lapsus present. It also forms an excellent local application to chronic 
 vascular conditions of mucous tissues, and to old, flabby, fetid ulcers. 
 Prof A. J. Howe states that "in seven pr eight cases of uterine hemor- 
 rhage, all occurring within two years, I have administered Witch-hazel 
 with success. In some instances, the cause of the flow, and the condi- 
 tions on which it depended, were unknown or rested on conjecture, 
 yet the exhibition of the medicine was always followed by satisfactory 
 results. Any form of the remedy will probably exert the restraining 
 influence upon utA"ine hemorrhage, though the concentrated or essen- 
 
Hedeoma Pulegioides. 413 
 
 tial tincture is the preparation I have employed. Half-te.aspoonful 
 doses, mixed with water, and repeated every few minutes while the 
 flow lasted, and afterward every few hours to prevent a return of the 
 hemorrhage, have been the forms under which the medicine was pre- 
 scribed. In menorfhagia and those wasting states so common after 
 abortion, in the early months of pregnancy, I have used no remedy 
 that exerts such beneficial effects as witch-hazel. In uterine hemor- 
 rhage following delivery at full term, the remedy is probably not equal 
 to ergot, but in_ the kind of eases referred to, it is vastly superior to 
 that agent. In' chronic diarrhea and eholera-infantum it is a valuable 
 medicine. The modus operandi of its action is not well understood, 
 but its tonic and astringent properties are undoubtedly those which 
 cause it to arrest hemorrhages, diarrheas, etc. 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Hamamelis. 
 
 HEDEOMA PULEGIOIDES. (Amerikanischer Isop.) 
 
 Pennyroyal. 
 Nai. Ord.-r-Lamiacese. Sex. Syst. — Diandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE HERB. 
 
 Description. — This is an indigenous annual plant, sometimes called 
 Tick-weed, Squaw-mint, etc. It has a fibrous, yellowish root, an erect, 
 branching, pubescent, rather angular stem, from six to twelve inches 
 high. Leaves half an inch or more long, opposite, oblong, one or two 
 teeth on each side, smooth above, rough below, narrowed at the base, 
 on short petioles ; floral leaves similar. Flowers quite small, light-blue, 
 in six-flowered axillary whorls. Calyx ovoid or tubular ; gibbous on 
 the lower side near the base, with thirteen strise; upper lip three- 
 toothed; lower two-cleft; throat hairy. CoroHa with the tube as long 
 as the calyx, downy, two-lipped ; upper lip erect, flat, notched at the 
 apex ; the lower spreading, three-cleft, the lobes nearly equal. Stamens 
 two, ascending, filiform; cells of the anthers diverging. Seeds four, 
 oblong.— TF.—G'.—i. 
 
 History. — This herb was placed by Linnseus in the genus Melissa, 
 and afterward Cunila, from which it was removed by Persoon, and 
 placed in the genus Hedeoma. It must not be confounded with the 
 Mentha Pulegium, or European Pennyroyal. It is a well-known plant, 
 growing in barren woods and dry fields, and particularly in limestone 
 countries, flowering from June to September and October, rendering 
 the air fragrant for some distance around it. It is common to nearly 
 all parts of the United States. It has a peculiar aromatic odor, which, 
 however, is very offensive to some persons, and a hot, pungent, .aro- 
 matic taste. It imparts its virtues to boiling water by infusion ; boil- 
 ing destroys its activity by evaporating the volatile oil, on which its 
 properties depend. The oil may be obtained by distillation with water, 
 and is often employed, or its tincture, instead of the herb itself; it is 
 of a light-yellow color, and specific gravity 0.948. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Pennyroyal is a stimulant, diaphoretic, em- 
 menagogue, and carminative. The warm infusion, used freely, will 
 promote perspiration, restore suppressed, lochia, and excite the men- 
 strual discharge when recently checked; it is often used by females for 
 this last purpose, a large draught being taken at bed-time, the feet 
 having been previously bathed i\i warm water. A gill of brewer's 
 
414 Materia Medica. 
 
 yeast added to the draught is reputed a safe and certain abortive. The 
 warm infusion may likewise be employed with advantage in the flatu- 
 lent colic of children. The oil, or its tincture, is also administered as 
 a carminative and anti-emetic, and has been of benefit in hysteria, 
 hooping-cough, spasms, etc. It is likewise used "as a rubefacient in 
 rheumatism, and united with linseed-oil, as an application to burns. 
 Dose of the oil, from two to ten drops. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Hedeoma; ; Oleum Hedeomse. 
 
 HEDBEA HELIX. (Gemeiner Epheu.) 
 
 Ivy. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Araliacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES AND BERRIES. 
 
 Description. — This is an evergreen creeper, with long and flexible stems 
 and branches, which attach themselves to the earth, or trees or walls, by 
 numerous root-like fibers. Leaves coriaceous, smooth, shining, dark- 
 green, with veins, petiolate, the lower ones five-angled or five-lobed, 
 the upper or old ones ovate, acute. Flowers greenish-white, disposed in 
 numerous, simple and downy umbels, forming a corymb. The berries 
 black, with a mealy pulp. — W. — L. 
 
 History. — This plant is common all over Europe, and is cultivated in 
 many parts of the United States ; it fiowers in September. The leaves 
 and, berries are the parts used. The former possess a peculiar, rather 
 fragrant odor, and a nauseously-bitter and astringent taste. The taste 
 of the latter is somewhat acid, piquant, and terebenthine. Vandamme 
 and Chevalier discovered a bitter principle in the seeds, somewhat anal- 
 ogous to quinia in its antiperiodic powers, and which they named hed- 
 eria or hederin. It is alkaline, and may be procured by the action of 
 hydrate of lime upon the seeds, which precipitates the alkali ; this is to 
 be dissolved in boiling alcohol, filtered while hot, and evaporated. — 
 Am. Jour. Pharm., XIII., p. 172. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The leaves are stimulating, and have been em- 
 ployed as an application to issues ; and have likewise been efficacious 
 in diseases of the skin, indolent ulcers, salt-rheum, itch, etc., in the 
 form of decoction, and applied locally ; this will also destroy vermin in 
 the hair, which it is stated, is stained black by the application. They 
 are reputed beneficial as a cataplasm in glandular enlargements. Ma- 
 rasmus of children, rachitis, and pulmonary affections have been bene- 
 fited by the dried leaves in powder, in doses of twenty grains or more. 
 The berries act as an emetic and cathartic, and were formerly esteemed 
 in febrile affections ; having been supposed to possess sudorific virtues. 
 Associated with vinegar, they were considerably used during the Lon- 
 don plague. 
 
 HELENIUM AUTUMISTALB. (Herbst Helenium.) 
 
 Sneezewort. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteraceas. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia Superflua. 
 
 THE HERB. 
 
 Description. — This plant, likewise called Swamp, or False Sunflower, 
 is an indigenous, perennial herb, having a fibrous root, and several 
 
Helianthkaium Canadense. 41 5 
 
 erecty branching, angular stems, two to three feet high, and strongly 
 winged by the decurrent leaves. Leaves alternate, smooth, or slightly 
 pubescent, elliptic-lanceolate, more or less deeply serrate, often sprinkled 
 with bitter and aromatic resinous globules. Flowers large, numerous 
 bright-yellow, terminal in loose,. showy corymbs, with flat, drooping^ 
 wedge-shaped rays, each ending in three obtuse teeth, longer than tho 
 large, globose disk. Involucre small, reflexed, the scales linear or sub- 
 ulate. Receptacle globose or oblong, naked in the disk, chafFy in the 
 ray only. Achenia top-shaped, ribbed. Pappus of five thin and one 
 nerved chaffy scales, the nerve extending into a bristle or point. — G. — W. 
 
 History. — Sneezewort is a plant common to the United States, grow- 
 ing in low, damp fields and meadows, and on alluvial river banks, 
 flowering from August to October. It is nearly inodorous, with a 
 rather acrimonious, amarous taste. It has not been analyzed. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tonic, diaphoretic, and errhine. Valuable in 
 chills and fever and other febrile diseases. The whole plant possesses 
 errhine properties ; but the flowers, particularly the florets of the disk, 
 are the most active, and may be used, in powder, as a snuff in head- 
 ache, catarrh, deafness, and other affections where erfhines are desired. 
 
 HBLIANTHBMUM CAISTADElSrSB. (^Cistus Canadensis.) (Oana- 
 disches Oistenroslein.) 
 
 Frostweed. 
 
 Nat. Ord.—CiBtacessi. Sex. Syst. — Polyandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE HERB. 
 
 Description. — This plant is also known by the names of Bock-rose, 
 Frost-plant, etc. It is a perennial herb, with a simple, ascending 
 downy stem, about a foot high, at length shrubby at base. I/eaves 
 alternate, from eight to twelve lines long, about one-fourth as wide, 
 oblong, acute, lanceolate, erect, entire, subsessile, tomentose beneath, 
 without stipules. Flowers, large and bright-yellow, few, in terminal 
 corymbs ; apetalous ones smaller, lateral, solitary or racemose, clustered 
 in the axils of the leaves, nearly sessile. Corolla of the petaliferous 
 flowers an inch wide, with five petals, crumpled in the bud, fugacious. 
 Calyx of the large flowers hairy-pubescent, five ; of the small, hoary. 
 Stamens of the large flowers numerous, declinate ; of the small flowers, 
 few. Style short or none. Stigmas three-lobed, scarcely distinct ; cap- 
 sule smooth, shining, triangular, three-valved, one-celled, opening at 
 top, about three lines long ; of the apetalous flowers not larger than a 
 pin's head; seeds angular, few, brown. The yellow flowers open in 
 sunshine, and cast their petals by the next day. — G. — W. 
 
 History. — This plant grows throughout the United States in dry, 
 sandy soils, and flowering from May to July. The whole plant is 
 officinal. The leaves and stems of the plant are covered with a white 
 down, and Prof. Baton, in his work on botany, says : "€n N"ovember 
 and December of 1816, I saw hundreds of these plants sending out 
 broad, thin, curved, ice crystals, about an inch in breadth, from near 
 the roots. These were melted away by day, and renewed e^erj morn- 
 ing for more than twenty-flve days in succession." The plant has a 
 bitterish, astringent, slightly aromatic taste, and yields its properties to 
 hot water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This plant has long been used in practice as a 
 valuable remedy for scroflila, in which disease it has effected some 
 
416 Materia Medioa. 
 
 astonishing cures. It is used in the form of decoction, syrup, or fluid 
 extract; if taken in too large doses it will sometimes vomit. It is tonic 
 and astringent, as well as antiscrofulous. In secondary syphilis, either 
 alone, or in comhination with Oorydalis Formosa, and Stillingia, it 
 forms a most valuable remedy. In the form of infusion, it has also 
 been found very serviceble in chronic diarrhea and dysentery, especial- 
 ly when occurring among persons disposed to scrofula, also as a remedy 
 in several forms of cutaneous disease; also as a gargle in scarlatina 
 and aphthous ulcerations, and as a wash in scrofulous ophthalmia, pru- 
 rigo and other cutaneous diseases. Externally, a poultice of the leaves 
 is applied to scrofulous tumors and pleers. The fluid extract is the 
 best form for internal use; dose, one or two fluidrachms three or four 
 times a day. A physicjan inthe West writes to me that he procures an 
 oil from this plant, which he finds valuable in cancerous affections ; 
 how he prepares it is not stated. The S. Corymbosum or Prostweed, 
 with an erect, branching, eanescent stem; lance-oblong, alternate leaves, 
 canescently tomentose beneatn; flowers in crowded, fastigiate cymes; 
 primary ones on elongated, filiform pedicels, and with petals twice 
 longer than the calyx ; sepals villous-canescent, outer ones linear, obtuse ; 
 inner ones ovate, acute ; is found growing in pine-barrens and sterile 
 sands, in the Southern and Middle States. It possesses properties anal- 
 ogous to the preceding, and may be indiscriminately employed with it. 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Helianthemi. 
 
 HELIANTHUS ANNUUS. (lahrige Sonnenblume.) 
 Sunflower. ' 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Asteraceas. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia Frustranea. 
 
 THE SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — This is an annual plant, with an erect, rough stem, usu- 
 ally about seven feet high, but which, under favorable circumstances, 
 attains the height of fifteen and even twenty feet. Leaves large, cor- 
 date, three-nerved, the upper alternate, the lower opposite. Peduiicles 
 thickening upward. Flowers large, nodding ; rays yellow ; disk dark- 
 purple. Seeds numerous, dark -purple when ripe. A splendid variety 
 occurs with the flowers all radiate. — TF. 
 
 History. — This well-known plant is a native of South America, and 
 is extensively cultivated in the gardens of this country, on account of 
 its beautiful, brilliant, yellow flowers, which appear in July and Au- 
 gust. The ripe seeds are the parts used, they are of a purplish color 
 externally, about four or five lines long, between two and three' wide, 
 two-angled, margins parallel, apex somewhat pointed, the base truncate, 
 compressed, with longitudinal convex surfaces, so as nearly to present 
 four angles ; internally the testa is whitish, and the kernel is whitish, 
 oily, rather sweetish, and edible. They contain a fixed oil which may 
 be obtained by expression. The leaves are large, and when carefully 
 dried, may be made into cigars, very much resembling in flavor that of 
 mild Spanish ones. The virtue of the seeds chiefly depends upon the 
 fixed oil they contain. 
 
 • Properties and Uses. — Sunflower seeds and leaves, are diuretic and ex- 
 pectorant, and have been used in pulmonary affections with consider- 
 able benefit. The following preparation has been of much efficacy in 
 bronchial and laryngeal affections, and even in the cough of phthisis ; 
 
Helleborus Niger. 417 
 
 it acts as a inild expectorant and diuretic: Take of Sunflower seeds, 
 bruised, two pounds, water five gallons ; boil the two together until 
 but three gallons of liquid remain, then strain, add twelve pounds of 
 sugar, and one and a half gallons of good Holland gin. The dose of 
 this is from two fl^uidrachms to two fluidounces, three or four times a 
 day, or whenever tickling or irritation of the throat, or cough is exces- 
 sive, or when expectoration is difl&cult. Various agents may be added 
 to this preparation, according to indications, as tincture of stillingia, 
 tincture of balsam of Tolii, tincture of iodine, etc. An infusion of the 
 pith of Sunflower stem is diuretic, and may be used where this class of 
 agents is indicated, also in many febrile and inflammatory forms of dis- 
 ease ; it likewise makes a good local application in some forms of acute 
 ophthalmia. The pith contains nitre, and has been recommended for 
 the making of moxa ; the quantity of nitre, however, varies, depending 
 entirely upon the locality and character of soil in which the plant grows. 
 The oil obtained from the seeds by expression, has been employed with 
 benefit in cough, in dysentery, in inflammation of the mucous coat of 
 the bladder, and in disease of the kidneys. To be given in doses of 
 from ten to fifteen drops, two or three times a day. A teaspoonful of 
 the oil taken at one dose, has produced active diuresis for four consecu- 
 tive days, accompanied toward the termination with pain and debility 
 in the lumbar region. The leaves are astringent. 
 
 HBLLBBOEUS NIGBE. (Schwarze Niesswurzel.) 
 
 Black Hellebore. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eanuneulaeese. Sex. Syst. — Polyandria Polygynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Black Hellebore has a black, perennial, tuberculated, 
 horizontal, scaly root or rhizoma, whitish internally, and sending off 
 numerous, long, fleshy, brownish-yellow flbers, which become darker 
 upon drying. Leaves large, radical, on cylindrical stalks from four to 
 eight inches long, pedate, of a deep-green color above, paler and strongly 
 reticulated beneath ; leaflets five or more, one terminal, cuneate-obo- 
 vate, entire and unequal at the base, coarsely serrated near the point. 
 Scape shorter than the petiole, one or two flowered, with ovate lacer- 
 ated bracts immediately beneath the calyx, five or ten inches high. 
 Flowers large, rose-like ; calyx consists of five large, ovate or roundish, 
 spreading sepals, at first white, then rose-red, eventually becoming 
 green. Petals yellowish -green, tubular, shorter than the stamens, nar- 
 rowed to the base ; stamens numerous ; anthers yellow ; capsules leath- 
 ery ; seeds many, arranged in two rows, elliptical, umbilicated, black, 
 glossy. — L. 
 
 Sistory. — Black Hellebore inhabits the subalpine woodland regions in 
 the middle and southern parts of Burope, flowering between December 
 and Februairy ; it is also called Christmas Bose. It is not the Melampo- 
 dium of the ancients, so celebrated in mental diseases, which is now 
 shown to be a distinct species, the Helleborus Orientalis, and which pro- 
 bably possesses similar medicinal virtues, as well as the roots of some 
 other species of the same genus. 
 
 The officinal parts are the radicles or root fibers, which are generally 
 met with the rhizome attached. It is a many-headed root with a 
 caudex or body seldom over half an inch in thickness, and several 
 27 
 
418 JMLiTEEiA Medica. 
 
 inches long, horizontal, Bometimes contorted, uneven, knotty, with 
 transverse ridges, slightly stiriated longitudinally, its upper surface 
 having the remains of the leaf and flower-stalks, and thickly beset 
 upon the sides and under-surface with fibers, which, when uninjured, 
 are from three inches to a foot in length, two or three lines in diameter, 
 dark brownish-black externally, whitish within, spongy, not woody, 
 brittle, with a feeble odor, and a faint, bitter taste. — G. When fresh 
 they are said to be very acrid and nauseous, oc(3asioning, when chewed 
 for a short time, a pungent, numb sensation, resembling that which 
 accompanies the eating or drinking of any thing hot. Desiccation as 
 well as age, gradually lessens this acridity. Its properties are taken 
 up by water or alcohol ;, long continned heat diminishes its activity. 
 According to tho analysis of Feneulle and Capron, Black Hellebore 
 root contains volatile oil, fatty oil, volatile acid, resinous matter, wax, 
 bitter principle, ulmin, gallate of potassa, and ammoniacal salts.— P. 
 Its acridity is supposed tO' depend on the volatile acid, while its purga- 
 tive qualities are attributed to the resinous substance, from the fact 
 that alcohol extracts the medicinal virtues of the fibers most completely. 
 Mr. "William Bastick obtained a substance for which he has proposed 
 the name of helleborine ; it forms in white translucent crystals, is slightly 
 soluble in water, more so in ether, and readily soluble in alcohol ; it has 
 a bitter, tingling taste, is decomposed by sulphuric acid, dissolved by 
 nitric acid,-and is neutral. He obtained 'it by diluting a strong tincture 
 of the root, filtered, with water, and heating it for some time to expel 
 the alcohol. The aqueous solution was then filtered to remove the sepa- 
 rated resin, and afterward further evaporated, when some helleborine 
 crystallized out of the solution ; to purify them, he treated the solution 
 with excess of carbonate of potassa, agitated it with three or four times 
 its volume of ether, which extracted the helleborine almost in a state 
 of purity. — Pharm. Journ. and Trans., XII., 274. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In large doses a powerful poison, causing gastro- 
 intestinal inflammation, dizziness, painful spasms, severe emesis, cathar- 
 BiS', convulsions, and even death. The recent root produces rubefaetion, 
 aaid sometimes blisters, when held in contact with the skin. In medi- 
 cinal doses, a drastic cathartic, diuretic, anthelminic and emmenagogue. 
 Formerly used in palsy, insanity, apoplexy, dropsy, epilepsy, etc., bat 
 seldom used at present ; occasionally it is found useful in chlorosis, 
 amenorrhea, etc. Dose of the powder, from five to ten grains ; of the 
 tincture, from one to two fluidraehms ; of the extract, from two to five 
 grains. 
 
 The Helleborus Foetidus, or Bear's foot, possesses similar qualities, but 
 is scarcely known in this country. It has been used in asthma, hys- 
 teria, and for the removal of tape-worm, in powder or decoction. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Viniun Hsematoxyli Compositum. 
 
 HELONIAS DlOlGK.—CKammtiriumlMeum.— Wi. (GelbeZwerglilie.j 
 
 Helonias. 
 Nat. Ord. — Melanthaeese. Sex. (S?/s^.— Hexandria Trigynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also known by the name of False Unicom 
 root, Drooping Starwort, Devil's Bit, etc., is the Vetratrum Luteum of liin- 
 nseus, and the Melanthium Dioicum of Walter. It is a herbaceous peren- 
 nial, with a large, somewhat bulbous, premorse root, from which arise* 
 
Helonias Dioica. 41C 
 
 a simple, very smooth, eomewhat angular, stem or scape, one or two feet 
 in height. Cauline leaves lanceolate, acute, small, at some distance from 
 each other, without petioles; radical leaves broader, being from four to 
 eight inches in length, by half an inch to an inch in width, narrow at 
 base, formed into a sort of whorl at the base of the scape. Flowers 
 small, very numerous, greenish -white, disposed in long, terminal, spi- 
 cate, nodding, dioecious racemes, resembling a plume, which are more 
 slender and weak on the barren plants. Male flowers, with white liiiear- 
 spathulate, obtuse, one-nerved petals ; stamens rather longer than the 
 petals ; filaments subulate ; anthers terminal, two-lobed ; ovaries wanting. 
 Female flowers, the raceme is generally feW-flowefed, becoming erect; 
 petals linear ; stamens very short, abortive ; ovary ovate, subtriangular, 
 with the side deeply furrowed ; stigmas three, spreading or reflexed. 
 Capsule ovate oblong, tapering to the base, three-furrowed, opening at 
 the summit. Seeds many in ea;eh cell, acute, compressed. — T. — Z. — Wi. 
 
 History. — This plant is indigenous to the United States, and is abun- 
 dant in some of the Western States, growing in woodlands, meadows 
 and moist situations, and flowering in June and July. It is also found 
 in low grounds from Canada to Georgia and Louisiana. The pla-nt is 
 sometimes mistaken for the Aletris Farinosa, but may be identified by 
 the leaves of the Aletris being sharply pointed, with a straight slender 
 spike of scattered flowers, while the Selonias is not so sharply lance- 
 shaped in its leaves, and has a thick plumose dioieal spike. 
 
 The root is the officinal part; it is tapering, about an inch and a 
 quarter in length, and from two to sixth-eighths of an inch in diameter, 
 very hard, transversely wrinkled, and abrupt or premorse at the end, 
 appearing as though it had been cut or bitten off. There has been, and 
 still exists much diffleulty among druggists and herb-gatherers in deter- 
 mining the difi^erence between the roots of Aletris Farinosa and Helonias 
 Dioica, as they greatly resemble each other, the Aletris, however, being 
 smaller, and not so permanently marked with annular rings; it has 
 often been the case that these roots have been indiscririiinateTy bought 
 and sold. The specimens of Helonias which I have before me are from 
 half an inch to two inches in length, and from four to six or eight linbs 
 in diameter, mostly premorse, but occasionally somewhat pointed, with 
 many sMall, yellowish-white, thread-like fibers, from half an inch to. 
 two or three inches in length; externally, they are dark-brown, trans- 
 versely wrinkled, rough and uneven, with annular prominences which 
 often have the appearance as if a small root had been driven into the 
 end of a larger one and grew there; there are' also many small openings, 
 cups, pores, or raised cells, through which pass the fibers, and which 
 will afwaysbe seen at the base of each fiber upon carefully removing 
 it from the root ; attached to the upper part of the root, will frequently 
 be seen the remains of the scape and radical leaves. Internally, on 
 cutting them transversely, a whitish, rough, circular center is presented; 
 which is surrounded with a smooth substance of a similar or darker 
 color, and near the margin of which may be observed, at short dis- 
 tances from each other, dark spots or openings, which appear to be con- 
 tinuations of the fibers, or of the canals through which they pass ; a 
 longitudinal section exhibits a rough, whitish center, one or two lines 
 in diameter, passing through the root, on each side of which is the 
 smooth substance above referred to, with few or none of the dark spots. 
 The roots have a faint, peculiar, unpleasant odor when bruised, and a 
 peculiar bitter, somewhat aloetio taste, not so powerful in the dried 
 ones as in the fresh. 
 
420 Materia Medioa. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Helonias is tonic, diuretic, and vermifuge ; ic 
 large doses, emetic, and when fresh, sialagogue. In doses often or fif- 
 teen grains of the powdered root, repeated three or four times a day, 
 it has been found very beneficial in dyspepsia, loss of appetite, and for 
 the removal of worms. It is reputed beneficial in colic, and in atony 
 of the generative organs. I have found this plant to possess decidedly 
 beneficial influences in cases of nocturnal emissions, the result of excesses, 
 especially in those instances where there are symptoms of gastric de- 
 rangement with impaired memory, mental apathy or indifference, and 
 an enfeebled condition of the general system, with weakness or dull 
 pain in the renal, or lumbo-sacral region. In diseases of the reproduc- 
 tive organs of females, and especially of the uterus, it is one of our most 
 valuable agents, .acting as a uterine tonic, and gradually removing ab- 
 normal conditions, while at the same time it imparts tone and vigor to 
 the reproductive organs. Hence, it is much used in leucorrhea, amenor- 
 rhea, dysmenorrhea, and to remove the tendency to repeated and suc- 
 cessive miscarriages. The plant is said to kill cattle feeding on it ; and 
 the decoction to kill insects, bugs, and lice. Dose of the powder, from 
 twenty to forty grains; of the decoction, from two to four fluidounces; 
 of the concentrated tincture from ten to thirty minims ; of the hydro- 
 alcoholic extract from two tO; four or five'grains. The Selonias Bullata, 
 with purple flowers, and probably some of the other species, possess 
 similar medicinal virtues. 
 
 HEMIDESMUS ESTDICUS. (Indische Schlinge.) 
 
 Indian Sarsaparilla. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — AsclepidacesB. Sex. Syst. — ^Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This is a climbing plant with a long and slender root, 
 with few ramifications, covered with rust-colored bark, and with twin- 
 ing, diffuse or climbing, woody, slender stems, from the thickness of a 
 crow's quill to that of goose's, and nearly smooth. Leaves opposite, on 
 short petioles, entire, smooth, shining, of firm texture ; they vary much 
 in shape and size, those on the young shoots that issue from old roots, 
 being linear, acute, striated down the middle with white; while the 
 others are generally broad-lanceolate, sometimes ovate or oval. Stip- 
 ules four-fold, small, on each side of each petiole, caducous. Flowers 
 small, externally green, internally a deep purple, in axillary, sessile 
 racemes, which are imbricated with flowers, and then with scales like 
 bracts. Calyx five-cleft, with acute divisions ; corolla flat, rotate, with 
 oblong, pointed divisions, rugose inside. Follicles long, slender, and 
 spreading. — L. — Mo. 
 
 History. — This plant is the Periploca Indica of Willdenow, and the 
 Aselepias Pseudosarsa of Eoxburg ; it is common all over the peninsula 
 of India. It has long been used as a medicine in India, but was not 
 known to the medical profession of this country and Europe, until its 
 introduction by Dr. Ashburner in 1831 (Lond. Med. and Phys. Journal, 
 LXV. 1089). Its root is long, tortuous, cylindrical, rugous, furrowed 
 longitudinally, and has its cortex divided by transverse fissures into 
 moniliform rings. It is brownish externally, and has a peculiar aro- 
 matic odor, somewhat like that of sassafras, but which has been com- 
 pared to that of new hay, and a feeble, bitter taste. The cortical por- 
 tion has a corky consistence, and surrounds a ligneous medituUium,. 
 
Hepatica Americana. — Hepatica Aoutiloba. 421 
 
 Mr. G-arden obtained from it a volatile, crystallizable acid, on which the 
 taste, smell, and probably the medicinal properties depend. Prom an 
 erroneous notion of the origin of the root, he called the acid the smilas- 
 peric acid, but it may with more propriety be termed hemidesmic acid or 
 hemidesmin. — P. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Indian Sarsaparilla has been successfully em- 
 ployed in venereal diseases, especially in cases where the South Ameri- 
 can Sarsaparilla has proved inefficacious. Dr. Ashburner says that it 
 increases the appetite, acts as a diuretic, and improves the general 
 health; "plumpness, clearness, and strength, succeeding to emaciation, 
 muddiness, and debility. Likewise said to be useful in affections of the 
 kidneys, scrofula, cutaneous diseases, and thrush. Notwithstanding 
 these statements it is by no means so efficacious and certain as many 
 of our indigenous remedies. It is used in the form of infusion, as boil- 
 ing dissipates its active volatile principle ; two ounces of the root may 
 be infused in a pint of boiling water for an hour ; the whole of which 
 may be taken in the course of twenty-four hours." 
 
 HEPATICA AMBEICAISTA. (Amerikanisches Leberkraut.) 
 Kidney Liverleaf. 
 
 HEPATICA ACUTILOBA. (Scharflappiges Leberkraut.) 
 
 Heart Liverleaf. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eanunculacese. Sex. Syst. — Polj^andria Polygynia. 
 
 THE PLANT. 
 
 Description — Hepatica Americana of De Candolle, is the Hepatica 
 Triloba of Willdenow. This is a perennial plant, the rootof which con- 
 sists of numerous strong fibers. Leaves all radical, on long, hairy pet- 
 ioles, with three ovate obtuse or rounded, entire lobes, smooth, ever- 
 green, coriaceous, cordate at base, the new ones appearing later than 
 the flowers. Flowers appear almost as soon as the snow leaves the 
 ground in the spring; are single, generally blue, sometimes white and 
 flesh-color, nodding at first, then erect, on hairy scapes, three or four 
 inches long; by cultivation they become double. Involucre simple, com- 
 posed of three entire, ovate, obtuse bracts, resembling a calyx, situated 
 a little below the flower. Calyx of two or three rows of petaloid sepals ; 
 stamens awl-shaped; anthers eWi'ptic ; achenia ovate, acute, awnless'. — W. 
 — G. Hepatica Aoutiloba differs in having the leaves with three ovate 
 and pointed lobes, or sometimes five-lobed ; leaves of the involucre acute 
 or acutish. — G. 
 
 History. — This has been viewed as the only species of this genus, the 
 differences observed as to color, form, etc., being looked upon as fortui- 
 tous. De Candolle, however, divides it into two species, as above de- 
 scribed. These plants are common to the United States, growing in 
 woods and upon elevated situations; the S. Americana, which is the most 
 common, being found, as Baton states, on the side of hills exposed to 
 the north, and the other on that facing the south. They both bear 
 white, blue, or purplish flowers, which appear late in March or early in 
 April. The entire plant is employed ; it is odorless, and has a subas- 
 tringent and viscid taste, and. yields its virtues to water. The name 
 Liverwort sometimes erroneously applied to it, belongs to the cryptogam 
 Marchantia Polymorpha, and others of the same family. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — A mild mucilaginous astringent. It has been 
 
422 Materia Medioa. 
 
 iised in infusion, taken freely in fevers, hepatic complaints, bleeding 
 from the lungs, coughs, etc., but in severe cases it is unavailable. The 
 infusion may be taken ad libitum. 
 
 HEEAOLBUM LAISTATUM. (WoUige Barenklau.) 
 
 Masterwort. 
 
 Mat. Ord. — Apiaceae. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description.-^ThiB plant, sometimes called Gow-parsnip, has a large 
 spindle-shaped, perennial root, with a strong disagreeable smell, from 
 which arises a hollow, thick, furrowed, branching and pubescent stem, 
 from three to five feet high, and often an inch or more in width at the 
 I base. Leaves very large, on downy, channeled petioles, ternately com- 
 pound; the leaflets roundish-cordate, uneq[ually lobed ; the lobes acu- 
 minate, almost glabrous above, woolly underneath. Flowers white, in 
 huge umbels, often a foot broad, with deciduous involucres. Involucels 
 long-pointed, lanceolate, many leaved. Galyx limb of five, small, acute 
 teeth. Petals obcordate, with the point inflexed, the outer larger and 
 radiant, appearing deeply two-cleft. Fruit compressed, oval, with a 
 broad, flat margin, three obtuse dorsal ribs to each carpel; intervals 
 with single vittce; seeds flat. — G. — W. — M. ' i 
 
 History. — Found growing in moist meadows and cultivated grounds 
 frotQ Labrador to Pennsylvania, and west to Oregon, flowering in Juno. 
 The root is the part used; is somewhat analogous to parsley in appear- 
 ance, has a strong, peculiar, unpleasant odor, and an ill-flavored acri- 
 monious taste. The recent root and leaves' when placed in contact with 
 the skin irritate and inflame it; and that which inhabits very damp lo- 
 calities is considered poisonous. — B. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Stimulant, antispasmodic, and carminative 
 Used in flatulency and dyspepsia, in decoction ; and two or three 
 drachms of the powdered root, taken dailj'^ in epilepsy, and continued 
 for some time, with a strong infusion of tlie leaves and tops at night, 
 has been found successful. Eecommended, also, in asthma, colic, amen- 
 orrhea, dysmenorrhea, palsy, apoplexy, intermittents, etc., in doses of 
 one drachm. 
 
 HBUCHBEA AMEEICANA. (Amerikanische Heuchera.) 
 
 Alum Epot. 
 Nat. Ord. — Saxifragaceae. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, sometimes called jlmen'caw Sanicle, isberba- 
 eeous and indigenous, with a perennial, knotty, yellowish root. Leaves 
 all radical, on very long downy petioles from two to eight inches in 
 length, roundish-cordate, hispidly pilose, about seven-lobed from two 
 to three and a half inches in diameter ; lobes short, roundish, crenate- 
 dentate, with dilated mucror.ate teeth: Many scapes or flower sterns 
 arise from the same root, from two to four feet high, erect, naked, vis- 
 cid-pubescent in their upper part, terminating in loose, pyramidal, 
 forked panicles, which are nearly one-third the length of the scape. 
 Calyx permanent, five-cleft, campanulate, small, obovate, striated with 
 very obtuse segments, more conspicuous than the petals. Petals pur- 
 
HiERACiPM Yenosum. 423 
 
 plish--white, or rose-colored, minute, spathulate, inserted into tbe margin 
 of the calyx, between its segments. Filaments twice as long as the 
 petals, yellowish, inserted opposite the segments of the calyx, persistent, 
 surmounted by small, red, globose anthers. Capsule ovate. Seeds mi- 
 nute, oblong, black, very hispid. — I/, — W. — B. 
 
 History. — This plant is a native of North America, and is found in 
 shady, rocky woodlands, from Connecticut to Illinois and southward, 
 flowering from May to August. The root is the part used ; it is peren- 
 nial, yellowish, .horizontal, somewhat flattened, rough and unequal, 
 with an intensely astringent taste. It yields its medicinal virtues to 
 water. No analysis has been made of this plant. There are several 
 species of this plant, the Heuchera Gaulescens, S. Pubescens, and others 
 which possess similar properties, and are often collected and sold with 
 the roots of H. Americana. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Alum Eoot, as its name would indicate, is a 
 powerful astringent, so intensely so, as seldom to be administered in- 
 ternally ; yet it would undoubtedly prove useful in small doses, in all 
 cases where astringents are indicated. An aqueous extract will be 
 found very beneficial in diarrhea and dysentery in the second stages, 
 in hemorrhages, and other similar diseases. Externally, the powdered 
 root may be applied to hemorrhages, epistaxis, wounds, foul and indo- 
 lent ulcers, etc. The decoction is useml in aphthous sore-mouth and 
 soreness of the throat and fauces ; it may be used as a wash or gargle. 
 Taken internally, in doses of a wineglass half-full three or four times 
 a day, it has been efficacious in diabetes, and in bleeding piles, employ- 
 ing it, in this last complaint, by injection also. Equal parts of Aluin 
 Eoot and black-cohosh root in decoction, form an excellent local appli- 
 cation in leucorrhea and excoriation of the cervix uteri. Some practi- 
 tioners employ this root indiscriminately with that of the Geranium 
 Maculatum; it is, however, more powerfully astringent, and probably 
 a preparation, equal at least to extract of geranium in medical virtue 
 might be obtained from it. I am informed tha* such an article, has 
 been recently obtained, and is found to be very useful, but I have not 
 met with it. 
 
 HIERACITJM VENOSUM. (Habichtskraut.) 
 
 Hawkweed. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia Squalls. 
 
 THE EOOT AND LEAVES. 
 
 Description.—This plant, also known as Veinyleaved Hawkweed, Battle- 
 snakeweed, Striped Bloodwort, etc., has a perennial root, with a stem or 
 scape from one to two feet in height, dark-brown, slender, sometimes 
 naked, sometimes with one or more glabrous eauline leaves, forking 
 above several times into a spreading loose corymb, with an awl-shaped 
 bract at each division. Badical leaves obovate or oblong, somewhat 
 acute, nearly entire, subsessile, thin and pale, purplish and glaucous 
 underneath, a little hairy above, often hairy along the midrib, marked 
 with purple veins, the first that uafold are close to the ground. Heads 
 verj small, in a loose panicle on slender diverging peduncles, twelve to 
 twenty flowered ; involucre glabrous, hispid at base ; flowers bright-yel- 
 low ; achenia short, linear, not tapering at the summit. — G. — W. 
 
 History. — Hawkweed grows in many parts of the United States, but 
 more commonly in the Bast and North, upon dry hills and in pine 
 
424 Materia Medioa. 
 
 woods. It bears yellow flowers from May to July. The leaves and 
 roots are employed ; they are inodorous, with a viscid, amarous taste ; 
 they have not been analyzed. Water extracts their virtues. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This plant is tonic, astringent, and expectorant ; 
 it has been used in scrofula, menorrhagia, hemoptysis, and other hem- 
 orrhages, in decoction. The powdered leaves and root have been used 
 as a snuff in polypus of the nose, combined with bloodroot. Said to be 
 efficient against the bites of poisonous snakes. The juice of the fresh 
 leaves is recommended as a cure for warts. Dose of the infusion or 
 syrup, from two to four fluidounces. 
 
 HIEUDO MEBICINALIS. (Blut-Bgel.) 
 The Leech. 
 
 Description. — The Leech belongs to the class of Vermes in the Zoological 
 arrangement, and order Annulata. The class is charactized by a more or 
 less elongated body; soft skin, segmented and annulated ; articulated mem- 
 bers and wings absent, and bloodred. The general zoological characters 
 of the order, are : ''Jaws with two rows of pointed, numerous teeth, 
 which are mutually inclined at an acute angle." — Brandt. 
 
 "Body elongated. Back convex. Belly flat. JSxtremities somewhat 
 narrowed, furnished with disks or suckers ; anterior extremity some- 
 what narrower than the posterior 6ne. Bings from ninety to a hundred. 
 Eyes represented by ten blackish points. Mouth triradiate. Jaws car- 
 tilaginous, armed with numerous cutting teeth. Anus small, placed on 
 the dorsum of the last ring." — P. 
 
 Two species of Leeches are recognized in commerce, the Hirudo offi- 
 cinalis, and the H. medicinalis, though 'some excellent zoologists consider 
 them to be only varieties of the same species. " Both have a soft ex- 
 tensile body composed of about ninety-eight rings. They vary in length 
 from an inch and a half to six inches when in repose, but can contract 
 themselves to a third of their length, and stretch themselves out to 
 nearly the double of it. They present along the back and flanks six 
 continuous or interrupted stripes of a rusty or greenish -yellow color, 
 by which they are easily distinguished from all other species that re- 
 semble them. They can attach themselves by both ends to adjacent 
 objects by means of a particular apparatus. The H. medicinalis is dis- 
 tinguished by a dark -brown or greenish-brown back, with rusty stripes 
 generally spotted with black, and a grayish or yellowish belly, also more 
 or less speckled with black spots. The JI. officinalis has a paler green- 
 ish-black back, less bright and unspotted stripes, often interrupted and 
 intercommunicating, and a paler, more yellowish, or greenish unspotted 
 belly. The former, commonly called the English Leech, is a native of 
 Britain, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Northern Prance, and European 
 Eussia. The latter, usually known as the Hungary Leech, is a native 
 of that country, and likewise of the south of France. Both species 
 have three converging mandibles, furnished at their edge with minute 
 sharp teeth, from 69 to 71 in number in each jaw in the Hungary Leech, 
 and from 79 to 90 in the other. By means of these teeth, when the skin 
 is sucked into the mouth, it is pierced with a sawing motion, so as to 
 present three incisions meeting in a common center. These incisions 
 often penetrate through the whole thickness of the integuments into 
 the cellular tissue. The animal becomes filled with blood in the course 
 of fifteen minutes, if it be vigorous, and draws about a drachm and a 
 
HiRUDO Medioinalis. 425 
 
 half." — Christison. The American Leech, Hirudo decora, is frequently 
 used in this country, though it does not draw as much blood, by one- 
 third, as the foreign Leech. It has a back of a dark -green color, and 
 having three rows of quadrangular dots running lengthwise ; the 
 central row being pale brownish-yellow, and the others quite black. 
 The abdomen is also pale brownish-yellow, and interspersed with 
 dark spots. It is ordinarily about three inches long, and occasionally 
 longer. 
 
 History. — There is- considerable difficulty in preserving Leeches, espe- 
 cially on a large scale, as they often die suddenly and in great numbers. 
 Various means have been adopted to keep them healthy. The most 
 common cause of their sickness and death is the formation of a slimy 
 matter on their skin, and which they are in the habit of removing by 
 drawing themselves through moss and small stones. Dr. Johnson 
 names certain diseases as a cause of their death, and Brostat describes 
 three epidemic disorders. Leeches are more liable to disease and mor- 
 tality, when kept together in large quantities, than when preserved in 
 small numbers. They should be kept in glass or earthen-ware jars, in 
 clean rain or soft water, which should be changed every day or two, 
 and at the bottom of which is placed some loose moss, pebbles, etc., for 
 them to move among. "It is stated that the presence of metallic iron 
 in water prevents it from becoming putrid. This influence is said to 
 be very marked in water in which Leeches are preserved, and renders 
 the changing of the water unnecessary for very long periods. The 
 slimy excretions of the animals appears to combine with the oxide of 
 iron which is constantly being formed." The jar in which the animals 
 are kept should be covered with a thin cloth, and placed in a locality 
 where the temperature is equable. A dead Leech should be at once 
 removed, and fresh water be immediately supplied to the remaining 
 ones. M. Allchin has prepared a Leech conservatory, in which the 
 Leeches were kept in a healthy state, and the water clear and sweet, 
 without changing the water for ten or twelve months. It consists of 
 a glass tank with a movable glass cover, and arrangement for admitting 
 air through a perforated metallic plate. Some coarse gravel is placed 
 at the bottom of the tank, which is about half filled with water, and 
 into it are put one plant of valisneria, ten water snails, Planorbis cor- 
 neus, and about one hundred Leeches. A permanent balance of animal 
 and vegetable life is thus obtained, and no necessity occurs for chang- 
 ing the water. 
 
 It has been tried to propagate Leeches in confinement, but, in all 
 these cases, after a few years, there remained only those which were 
 placed in the water, and those just hatched. This depopulation of the 
 artificial ponds in which they were kept has been attributed, by Dr. 
 Berard, to the " enemies of the Leech," or those animals which devour 
 them, among which he names the pig, the otter, the mole, the hedge- 
 hog, the rat, water-shrew mice, teal, ducks, heron, fowls, serpents, 
 toads, fresh-water shrimp, and other crustacese. The goose, aquatic 
 toad, water lizard, and frog, he does not consider enemies of the Leech. 
 If these statements are found to be correct, they will aid materially in 
 determining the best plan by which to preserve and propagate Leeches 
 artificially. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Leeches are occasionally used as a substitute for 
 general blood-letting among children and delicate adults, or when it is 
 required to abstract blood from some part whose locality or sensitive-" 
 ness contra-indicates the lancet or cupping. They are also very bene 
 
426 Materia Medioa. 
 
 ficial wlien applied with care to hemorrhoidal tumors, prolapsed rectum, 
 inflamed vulva, etc., watching that they do not creep out of reach within 
 any of the internal cavities of the body, as serious results might ensue. 
 Salt is a speedy poison to the Leech, and whenever one gets within the 
 stomach, or other cavity beyond reach, the introduction of a strong so- 
 lution of salt will destroy it. They are more commonly used in local 
 inflammations, bruises, etc. In applying them, any hair growing on 
 tine part must be removed by shaving, and the part must be thoroughly 
 cleansed by soap and water, followed by clear water. Should the Leech 
 not fasten quickly, various means have been advised to overcome this 
 difficulty, as moistening the part with warm milk and water, or with a 
 drop of blood, or by immersing the Leech for a moment in porter. It 
 has also been recommended to hold the Leech in a dry cloth, direct 
 its head to the selected part, and slowly withdraw it along the skin, 
 thus forcing it to take hold in order to find a firm attachment. But it 
 must be recollected that there are certain states of the body, in which 
 the Leech will not attach itself, or speedily perish if it does. In poison- 
 ing by nux vomica, strychnia, oxalic acid, etc., and where sulphur has 
 been used, the Leech dies if it abstracts blood. In order to hold Leeches 
 to any particular part of the body, they are placed in a narrow tube 
 called a Leech-glass, which confines them to one spot. 
 
 "When it is desired to remove Leeches from the skin, this may be ac- 
 complished readily by dropping a little salt upon them, which sickens 
 them. The usual mode is to draw the Leech gently through the thumb 
 and index finger, in a direction from its tail to its head, thus forcing out 
 the blood, and then place the animal in clean water, to remain there for 
 several days before employing it again, frequently renewing the water. 
 Souberain and Bouchardat recommend as thebestplan, first, to sicken the 
 Leech by placing i\ in a solution of eight parts of salt to fifty of water, 
 then, holding it by the tail, to dip it into hot water, but which can be 
 borne by the hand, and then to strip it by gently passing it between 
 the fingers ; the Leech is then to be placed in fresh water, which should 
 be changed every day. A little white sugar dissolved in the water, 
 will, it is said, speedily restore them to their original activity. When 
 the hemorrhage from Leech-bites is troublesome, or too long continued, 
 it may be checked by applying tannic acid or other astringents, collo- 
 dion, eau de Pagliari, or by a, very superficial stitch with a fine sewing- 
 needle. 
 
 HOEDBUM DISTICHON. (Gerste.) 
 
 Barley. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Grraminacese. Sex. Syst. — Triandria Digynia. 
 
 THE DBCORTiOATED SEEDS. , 
 
 Description. — There are several kinds of Barley, the more general 
 ones being the following : HoRDEtrM VtrLClARE has an erect, smooth, 
 fistular culm or stem, from two to four feet in height, with alt^nate, 
 carinate, lanceolate, linear and roughish leaves ; sheaths auriculate at 
 the throat. Flowers all hermaphrodite, awned ; spikes thick, about three 
 inches long ; spikelets three, all fertile, one-flowered, with an awn-like 
 rudiment at the base of the upper palese. Glumes two, subulate, nearly 
 equal, awned. Palece two, herbaceous ; the lower one lance-ovate, con- 
 cave, long awned ; the upper obtusely acuminate, bicarinate. Stament 
 
HORDEUM DiSTICHON. ' 427 
 
 three ; ovary hairy at the apex. Stigmas two, sessile, somewhat ter- 
 minal, feathery. Scales two, ciliated. Caryopsis adhering to the palese. 
 Fruit or seeds in four rows. — L. — W. 
 
 ffordeum IHstichon diflfers from the preceding by having a compressed 
 spike or ear, with the lateral spikelets abortive and awnless ; the spikelcts 
 on the edge only being fertile, and the fruit is disposed in two rows. 
 
 History. — ^Barley is thought to be a native of Central Asia, but the 
 subject is involved in much uncertainty. The seeds are officinal ; they 
 are oblong-ovoid, with a furrow on one side running lengthwise, yellow 
 outside, white internally, of a feeble odor, and a moderately saccharine 
 taste. When the seeds are stripped of their husks, and made round 
 by a particular process, it constitutes Pearl Barley (Sordeum Perlatimi), 
 which is the best form for use; when this is ground into a coarse flour 
 -it forms Barley meal. Barley meal contains no hordein, but, according 
 to Einhof, starch 67.18, fibrous matter 7.29, gum 4.52, sugar 5.21, gluten 
 3.52, albumen 1.15, phosphate of lime, moisture, etc., 11.03. — Ed. 
 
 When the entire grain is moistened and exposed in mass to a sum- 
 mer temperature until it begins to germinate, and is then devitalized 
 by a stronger heat, it is called malt, which is extensively employed in 
 making ale, beer, and porter. During the process of making malt, much 
 carbonic acid is given off, oxygen being, no doubt, absorbed ; the azot- 
 ized matter in the seeds has undergone a change, and has acquired the 
 properties of diastase ; and the starch has in part disappeared, its place 
 being supplied by grape-sugar and dextrine. 
 
 Barley seeds consist of 65,43 starch, 13.96 azotized substances, 10. 
 dextrine, 2.76 fatty matters, 4.75 cellulose, and 3.10 of silica, and sev- 
 eral salts. — Payen. 
 
 Hordein is a principle found in Barley by Proust ; it may be procui'ed 
 by boiling the starchy matter which is obtained by kneading Barley 
 meal in a cloth with water; the undissolved residuum, when well washed 
 with boiling water, is hordein. It is a yellowish, granular powder, like 
 sawdust, yielding oxalic acid when treated with nitric acid, and con- 
 sisting, according to Marcet, of 12 equivalents of carbon, 11 of hydro- 
 gen, and 10 of oxygen. M. Guibort and Dr. Thomson consider it to be 
 the amylin or tegumentary membrane of the starch globules, which are 
 Stronger and more solid in Barley starch than in other kinds. Barley 
 is insoluble in alcohol, ether, or the fixed and volatile oils ; but alcohol or 
 ether removes from it a little resin. Boiling water dissolves a large 
 proportion of it. A peculiar principle has been found in Barley seeds 
 subsequent to the germinating process, by MM. Payen and Persoz, 
 which they -have named diastase, on account of its. effect in detaching 
 the principles of the starch -globules from one another. During the 
 process of germination, the rupture of the starch-globules, and the sep- 
 aration of their tegumentary amylin from the contained amidin, is the 
 first change effected, and which is succeeded by conversion of the ami- 
 din into sugar and dextrine, which changes are owing to this principle, 
 which is developed at the time in the seed. The same substance has 
 likewise been found in the seeds of oats and wheat, and in the potato, 
 but only after these have undergone germination. — C 
 
 Diastase may be applied to various useful economical purposes. Ac- 
 cording to Thomson, it may be obtained by " macerating ground malt 
 for some time in about half its weight of cold water. The whole is then 
 subjected to pressure, and the liquid which flows out is to be filtered and 
 then heated to the temperature of 158° F. This temperature is suffi- 
 cient to Coagulate and cause to separate the greatest part of an azotized 
 
428 Materia Medioa. 
 
 matter, which exists in. the liquid. The liquid being filtered again, ia 
 to be mixed with a sufScient quantity of alcohol to throw down the 
 diastase, while the' sugar, coloring matter, and the residue of the azot- 
 ized substances, remain in solution. To obtain the diastase pure, it 
 should be again dissolved in water, and thrown down hj alcohol, and this 
 ought to be repeated two several times. Diastase thus .obtained is solid, 
 white, amorphous, insoluble in alcohol, but soluble in water and dilute 
 alcohol. Its aqueous solution possesses neither acid nor alkaline qualities, 
 and has little taste." Diastase, after purification, is best obtained in 
 tlie dry state by exposing it in thin layers to a current of air at about 
 110° F. Its aqueous solution is not precipitated, like that of starch, 
 by lime, baryta, or diacetate of lead ; on keeping it becomes acid. Its 
 most remarkable property is that of converting starch and water, at a 
 temperature of about 160°, into sugar and dextrine. It has no action 
 upon either gum or sugar, and yet one part of it added to two thousand 
 parts of starch suspended in water, causes the starch-globules speedily 
 to burst, the teguments separating from the contained amidin, which, 
 by the prolonged action of the above heat, effects this extraordinary 
 conversion without any perceptible difference in the weight of the sub- 
 stance employed. 
 
 The different kinds of beer, ale, and porter, are made from malt, with 
 the addition of. hops and other articles. Malt has a sweetish, mucilag- 
 inous rather agreeable taste, an infusion of it at 160° complete the 
 conversion of the starch into sugar and gum ; yeast being then added 
 at a temperature between 60° and 80°, vinous fermentation takes place, 
 carbonic acid is disengaged and alcohol formed. The sugar is the source 
 of the alcohol existing in malt liquors, while the gum or dextrine is the 
 cause of their viscidity, and the permanence of their effervescence and 
 frothy top. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Pearl Barley in decoction is a nutritive and de- 
 mulcent, and on account of its mild and unirritating qualities is much 
 used as an article of diet for the sick and convalescent, aicting at the 
 same time, if the Barley itself be swallowed, as a gentle aperient. The 
 decoction is employed for suspending powdered drugs insoluble in 
 water, and also as a drink in febrile diseases, catarrh, dysentery, inflam- 
 mation of the bladder, gonorrhea, and chronic mucous inflammations. 
 Combined with hops, or in the form of beer, ale, or porter, it forms a 
 valuable tonic in many chronic exhausting diseases, and in convales- 
 cence. From two to four ounces of malt boiled in a quart of water, 
 afford a more demulcent and nutritious liquor than Barley, and is con- 
 sequently better adapted to cases requiring a sustaining course of treat- 
 ment. In making the decoction of Barley, two ounces must first be 
 washed with cold water, and all extraneous matters removed ; then 
 place the Barley in half a pint of water, boil for a short time, strain off 
 the water, and throw it away, as this is only employed to remove mus- 
 tiness, or any disagreeable flavor which the Barley may have acquired. 
 To the Barley thus prepared, add four pints of boiling water, boil down 
 to two pints, and strain. The decoction may have other articles added 
 in the course of its preparation, varied to suit the taste of the patient, 
 as sugar, sliced figs, raisins, liquorice root, etc. It may be drank 
 freely. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Hordei. 
 
HUMULTJS LUPULUS. 429 
 
 HUMULUS LUPIJLUS. (Hopfen.) 
 
 Hops. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — XJrticacea. Sex. Syst. — Dioecia Pentandria. 
 
 THE STROBILES OR CONES. 
 
 Description. — This plant has a perennial root, with many annual, an- 
 gular stems, rough backward, -v^ith minute, reflexed hairs, twining 
 around surrounding objects in a volute direction with the sun, and 
 climbing to a great height. Leaves opposite, on long winding rough 
 petioles ; smaller ones cordate, larger from three to five-lobed ; all are 
 deep green, serrated, veiny, very rough. Flowering branches axillary, 
 angular, rough. Stipules two or four, between the petioles, smooth, 
 ovate, reflexed. Flowers numerous, axillary, of a greenish color. Male 
 flowers very numerous, panicled, yellowish -white ; sepals five, oblong, 
 obtuse, spreading, concave; stamens short; anthers oblong, opening by 
 two terminal pores. Female flowers pale-green, grow on a separate 
 plant, in the form of an ament, having each pair of flowers supported 
 by a bract, which is ovate, acute, tubular at base ; sepals solitary, ob- 
 tuse, smaller than the bracts, enfolding the ovary ; ovary roundish, 
 compressed ; stigmas two, long, subulate, downy. Bracts enlarge into 
 a persistent catkin or strobile, each bract inclosing a nut enveloped in 
 its permanent bractlet, and some yellow resinous grains. — L. — B. 
 
 History. — This plant is common in hedges and thickets in many parts 
 of Europe, and grows spontaneously in various sections of the United, 
 States; said also to inhabit China anci the Canary Islands. It is largely 
 cultivated for its cones or strobiles which are used medicinally, and in 
 the manufacture of beer, ale, porter, etc. A few layers of the barren 
 vines planted among the fertile ones, are said to be profitable by in- 
 creasing the weight of the produce. The strobiles or cone^ are the 
 parts employed; these are collected when thoroughly matured, prop- 
 erly desiccated, and then placed in large bags or pockets, and sold as 
 Hops. They consist of ovate, membranous, semitransparent, light- 
 green scales, tinged more or less of a yellow color, which are glandular 
 at their base, near which they develop two minute, globular, hard nuts 
 or achenia of a bay -brown color, and which are covered with aromatic, 
 superficial, globose, golden-yellow glands or grains called lupulin. The 
 odor of Hops is peculiar and somewhat agreeable, and their taste 
 slightly as^tringent and exceedingly bitter. They yield their virtues 
 to boiling water, which, however, are impaired by a long-continued 
 heat. The decoction turns litmus paper red, becomes deep-green with 
 the salts of iron, and turbid with the solution of isinglass. A better 
 solvent than water is diluted alcohol. The distilled water of Hops con- 
 tains valerianic acid. 
 
 The active properties of Hops are owing to the lupulin above re- 
 ferred to, although the scales possess them in an inferior degree. Lu- 
 pulin (Lupulind) is procured by beating or rubbing the strobiles, and 
 then sifting out the grains, which form about one-seventh part of the 
 Hops. Lupulin is in globose, kidney-shaped grains, of a cellular text- 
 ure, golden-yellow, and somewhat transparent. The common center 
 around which the cells are arranged, has been called the hiluni. Each 
 grain consists of two vesicles, one inclosing the other. The inner one 
 contains globules, an aromatic oil, and gas, in the bubbles of which 
 numerous crystals are said to be formed. Lupulin has the odor and 
 taste common to the Hop; a gentle heat renders it tenacious; exposed 
 
430 Materia IMedica. 
 
 to flame it burns. Unless carefully dried it soon loses its properties, 
 which, indeed, under all circumstances are impaired by keeping. It 
 is always preferable to the Hop for officinal purposes. According to 
 Payen, Chevalier, and Pelletian's analysis, lupulin consists of volatile 
 oil 2.00, lupulite 10.30, resin 50 to 55.00 ; lignin 32.00 ; besides traces 
 of various fatty, astringent, gummy, acidulous, and saline matters. 
 Dr. Ives found it to contain tannic acid 4.16, bitter principle 9.16, ex- 
 tractive 8.33, wax 10.00, resin 30.00, lignin 38.33. Its virtues undoubt- 
 edly depend upon its volatile oil and bitter extract, which are taken 
 up by alcohol. The volatile oil is procured by placing the lupulin in 
 water, and distilling. It is yellowish, acrid, soluble in water, alcohol, 
 or ether, and has the specific gravity 0.91G. By triturating lupulin 
 with ether, and then allowing the ether to evaporate, a useful, some- 
 what narcotic, and in large doses, exhilarating ethereal oil is obtained. 
 
 Lupulite is the name given to the bitter principle of Hops; it is 
 obtained by making an aqueous s'olution of lupulin; saturating this 
 with lime to remove the tannic and malic acid present, filtering, evapo- 
 rating the liquid to dryness, and digesting the residuum in ether, 
 which dissolves a little r6sin. The undissolved portion is now treated 
 with alcohol which dissolves the lupulite, and which may be obtained 
 by filtration and evaporation. It is sometimes nearly white, and some- 
 times of an orange-yellow color, being opaque in the former instance 
 and transparent in the latter. It is without odor, except when heated, 
 in which case the Hop odor is developed ; it is bitter, uncrystallizable, 
 soluble in alcohol, in twenty parts of boiling water, nearly insoluble in 
 ether, neutral,' contains no nitrogen, and is said to impair the appetite 
 and digestive powers. The dilute acids and alkalies have no Action on 
 it, nor is it altered by solutions of the metallic salts. — T. — P. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Hops are tonic, hypnotic, febrifuge, antilithic, 
 and anthelmintic. Their tonic and anthelmintic properties are small, 
 and probably depend upon their bitterness; they possess no anti- 
 periodic virtues. Sometimes they cause diuresis, and are said to cor- 
 rect lithic acid deposits. They are principally used for their sedative 
 or hypnotic action — producing sleep, removing restlessness, and aba- 
 ting pain, but which they often fail to accomplish. A pillow stuffed 
 with Hops has long been a popular remedy for procuring sleep. The 
 lupulin or its tincture is used in delirium tremens, and watchfulness in 
 connection with nervous irritation, anxiety, or exhaustion ; it does not 
 disorder the stomach nor cause constipation, as with opium. Also use- 
 ful in after-pains, to suppress venereal desires, and allay the pain at- 
 tendant on gonorrheal disease. Lupulin has been found especially 
 useful in cases of genito-urinary irritations, irritation of the bladder, 
 as well as in those irritable conditions of the brain and genital organs, 
 so often accompanying nocturnal emissions ; it allays the irritation, 
 promotes sleep, and checks the emissions, in quite a number of cases; 
 it has also been advised as an efficacious remedy in chordee. In these 
 instances it requires to be given in quite large doses, double or triple 
 the ordinary ones. Externally, in the form of a fomentation alone, or 
 combined with boneset, or other bitter herbs, Hopb have proved bene- 
 ficial in pneumonia, pleurisy, gastritis, enteritis, also as an application 
 to painftil swellings or tumors. An ointment made by boiling, two 
 parts of stramonium leaves and one of Hops, in lard, has proved an 
 effectual application in salt-rheum, ulcers, and painful tumors. The 
 dose of lupulin is from six to ten grains, and which may be given in 
 powder, or in pill made by merely rubbing it in a warm mortar till it 
 
Hydrangea Aeborescens. 431 
 
 acquires a pilular consistence. Tlie tincture of lupuliL may be given 
 in doses of from one to four fluidrachms. The decoction of Hops is 
 seldom employed. Ale, porter, and beer are frequently administered 
 in cases of debility in the absence of inflammatory symptoms, as tonic 
 stimulant, and nutritive agents. The ethereal tincture of lupulin forms 
 what is termed the ethereal oil op lupulin, by allowing the ether to 
 spontaneously evaporate. It produces at first a stimulant influence, 
 succeeded by a very agreeable, calming sensation, and has been used' 
 with advantage in some cases of nervous irritability where opium and 
 other narcotics failed. It does not, however, appear to possess any 
 narcotic properties. A mixture of oil of chamomile one fluidrachm, 
 and ethereal oil of lupulin one fluidrachm and a half, dissolved in sul- 
 phuric ether half a fluidounce, has been found beneficial in dysmenor- 
 rhea, and other painful uterine diseases, in doses of from thirty to sixty • 
 drops, every three or four hours. Mr. Duckworth advises as a very 
 remarkable hypnotic, a preparation composed of lupulin one ounce, 
 aromatic spirit of ammonia half a pint ; mix, let them macerate for 
 seven days, with agitation from time to time, filter, and add more 
 fluid to procure half a pint. The dose is from fifteen minims to one 
 fluidrachm. 
 
 Off. Frep. — Bxtractum Lupulinse; Infusum Humuli; Tinctura Lupu- 
 linsB ; Unguentum Humuli. 
 
 HYDEAKGEA. AEBOEESCENS. (Baumartige Hydrangee.) 
 
 Hydrangea. 
 Nat. Ord. — Saxifragaceffi. Sex. Syst. — Decandria Digynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, sometimes called Seven-barks, Wild Hydran- 
 gea, etc., is the Hydrangea Vulgaris of Michaux and Pursh. It is an in- 
 digenous shrub, smooth, or nearly so, attaining the height of five or six 
 feet, with opposite, petiolate leaves, which are ovate, obtuse at base, 
 rarely cordate, acuminate, serrate-dentate, nearly smooth, green on both 
 sides. Flowers often all fertile, numerous, small, white, becoming roseate, 
 in fastigiate cymes. Calyx tube hemispherical, eight or ten ribbed, co- 
 herent with the ovary; limb four or five toothed, persistent; petals ovate, 
 sessile ; stamens eight or ten, slender ; capsule crowned with the two 
 divergent styles, two-celled below, opening by a foramen between the 
 styles; see«?s numerous. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — This elegant shrub grows abundantly in the Southern, 
 Middle, and Western States, in mountaind and hills, and on rocks and 
 near streams. The bark is rough, pealing off — each layer being of a 
 different color, and which has probably given origin to the name "Seven- 
 barks." It is quite common in the Susquehanna and Schuylkill valleys, 
 and its flowers are often met with in bouquets in the markets of Phila- 
 delphia. The root is the part that has been employed ; it is formed of 
 numerous radicles, sometimes not larger than a goose quill, and again 
 half an inch or more in diameter, and of considerable length. These pro- 
 ceed from a caudex which sends upward numerous divergent branches. 
 "When fresh, the root and stalks are very succulent, containing much 
 water, and can easily be cut ; and the root likewise contains a great 
 deal of mucilage, with albumen and starch. When dry they are very 
 tough and resistant, and exceedingly difiicult to bruise or cut, hence 
 
432 Materia Medica. 
 
 they should be bruised while fresh, or which is better, cut into short 
 transverse sections, which facilitates the drying. The bark of the 
 dried root has a rather pungent, aromatic, not disagreeable taste, some- 
 what similar to that of cascarilla bark. The stalks contain a pith 
 which is easily removed, and they are used in some parts of the country 
 for pipe-stems. Mr. Joseph Laidley, of Eichmond, Va., found the root 
 to contain gum, albumen, starch, resin, soda, lime potassa, magnesia, 
 sulphuric and phosphoric acids, and a protosalt of iron; 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This plant was introduced to the profession 
 by Dr. S. W. Butler, of Burlington, N. J., as a remedy f®r the removal 
 of calculous or gravelly deposits in the bladder, and for relieving the, 
 excruciating pain attendant on the passage of a calculus through the 
 ureter; and from reports made, it certainly deserves a full and thor- 
 ough investigation. The power of curing stone in the bladder is not 
 claimed for it ; it is only while the deposits are small, when in that 
 form of the disease known ^s gravel, that it is an efficient remedy; then by 
 removing the nucleus, which, if allowed to remain in the organ, would 
 increase in size and form stone, the disease is averted, and when em- 
 ployed at this stage, it is said to have proved beneficial in every in- 
 stance, and as many as 120 calculi have been known to come from one 
 person under the use of this remedy. The effect of the plant. Dr. 
 Butler states, is to remove, by its own specific action on the bladder, 
 such deposits as may be contained in that viscus, provided they are 
 small enough to pass through the urethra. The mode of using it is to 
 prepare a concentrated syrup of it with sugar or honey, and give a 
 teaspoonful three times a day; or a simple decoction of the root may 
 be taken freely. If taken in over-doses it will produce some unpleas- 
 ant symptoms, as dizziness of the head, oppression of the chest, etc. 
 The leaves of Hydrangea, are said by Dr. Boff to be tonic, sialagogue, 
 cathartic, and diuretic. The fluid extract of Hydrangea is principally 
 used in the earthy deposits, as phosphates of lime, ammonia and mag- 
 nesia; in alkaline urine; and in chronic gleet, and mucous irritations 
 of the bladder in aged persons. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Extractum Hydrangeae Pluidum. 
 
 HYDEASTIS CANADENSIS. (G-elbwurzel.) 
 
 Golden-seal. 
 
 Ifat. Ord. — Eanunculacese. Sex. Syst. — Polyandria Polygynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This is an indigenous plant, which is also known by 
 the various names of Yellow Puccoon, Ground Raspberry, Turmeric Boot, 
 etc. ; it has a perennial root or rhizoma, which is tortuous, knotty, creep- 
 ing, internally of a bright-yellow color, with numerous long fibers. 
 Stem erect, simple, herbaceous, rounded, 'pubescent upward, from six to 
 twelve inches in height, becoming purplish, bearing two unequal ter- 
 minal leaves. Leaves two only, alternate, palmate, with from three to 
 five lobes, hairy, dark-green, cordate at base, veiny, the lower leaf 
 petiolate, the other sessile, from four to nine inches wide when full- 
 oTOwn, the segments serrated. Flower solitary, terminal, small, white 
 or- rose-colored, on a peduncle about two inches in length. Calyx con- 
 sists of three petaloid, deciduous, broadly-ovate, pale greenish white, 
 concave, slightly downy sepals, which fall away when the flower opens. 
 Stamens many, longer than the pistils. Filaments flat, lineai--lanceolate, 
 
Hydrastis Canadensis. 433 
 
 having the cells of an anther on their edge at the apex. Pistils several; 
 ovary oval, glabrous, attenuated upward into a short style. Stigma ob- 
 tuse, scarcely lobed. Fruit resembles a raspberry, red, consists of 
 many little two-seeded drupes collected into a globose head, each 
 crowned with the persistent style; seeds nearly black, obovsite, polished, 
 having a minute embryo at the base of a fleshy and oily aibumen. — 
 L.— W.— G. 
 
 History. — This plant is found growing in shady woods, in rich soil 
 iuid damp meadows, in different parts of the United States and Canada, 
 but is more abundant west of the Alleghanies. It flowers in May and 
 June. The root is the officinal part; it consists of a crooked, knotty, 
 wrinkled rootstock, one or two inches long, giving off a number of 
 yellow fibers ; the root is of a beautiful yellow color, and when fresh is 
 juicy, and used by the Indians to color their clothing, etc. It loses 
 about two-thirds of its weight by drying. The recent root has a pe- 
 culiar heavy odor, which diminishes hy drying, and its taste is very 
 amarous. Its virtues are imparted to water or alcohol. According to 
 'Mr. A. B. Durand, of Philadelphia, it consists of resin, starch, albumen, 
 sugar, fatty matter, yellow coloring matter, several salts, and a crystal- 
 lizable body, which he named hydrastia. — Am. Jour. Pharm., XXIIl., 13. 
 (Mr. F. Mahla, of Chicago, 111., has described it, Am. Jour. Pharm., Vol. 
 XXXV., 1863, p. 433, as forming in brilliant white crystals belonging 
 to the right prismatic system, having no taste, except in the form of 
 salts, which are acid and bitter, fusing at 275° F., and decomposing at 
 a higher temperature, giving off yellowish fumes of a carbolic acid 
 odor; it dissolves in alcohol or ether, but not in water. He gives its 
 formula as C44 H24 NOi.^.) . It is procured by adding ammonia in slight 
 excess to the liquid from which the berberina has been previously sepa- 
 rated by an addition of hydrochloric acid, collecting the precipitate 
 formed on a calico filter, freed from water by expression, and purified 
 by dissolving it several times in hot alcohol, each time allowing the al- 
 cohol to cool after the solution has been effected. Berberina also exists 
 in the root in large quantity, and is the article forming the salt formerly 
 termed hydrastin. The root of Hydrastis furnishes a beautiful yellow 
 color, which would, undoubtedly, form a valuable dye for silk, linen, 
 etc. ; a fine green is made by combining it with indigo. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This root is a powerful tonic, at the same time 
 exerting an especial influence upon mucous surfaces and tissues with 
 which it comes in contact. Internally, it is successfully administered 
 in. dyspepsia, chronic affections of the mucous coats of the stomach, 
 and other organs, catarrhal affections, erysipelas, remittent, intermit- 
 tent, and typhoid fevers, torpor of the liver, and wherever tonics are 
 required. In conjunction with extract of geranium it forms a very 
 efScient remedy in chronic diarrhea and dysentery. In some instances 
 it proves laxative, but without any astringency ; and seems to rank in 
 therapeutical action between rhubarb and bloodroot. Externally, and 
 as a topical application, the decoction or tincture proves a superior rem- 
 edy in all chronic mucous inflammations. In some cases of opacity of 
 ihe cornea, as well as in other forms of ophthalmic disease, I have 
 found the following preparation more efficacious than the usual caustic 
 solutions: Mix together two parts of decoction of Hydrastis, and one 
 of the saturated tincture of aralia spinosa, and apply to the eye with a 
 camel's hair pencil, two or three times a day. The decoction of Hy- 
 drastis to be made by evaporating a strong decoction of the root to the 
 consistence of mucilage. or syrup. It has been used in ophthalmic dis- 
 28 
 
434 , Materia Medica. 
 
 eases, with much success in the following form : Tincture capsicum 
 two fluidrachms, tincture Hydrastis three fluidrachms, olive-oil two 
 fluidounces ; shake well together each time before using, and apply 
 with camel's hair pencil. A strong decoction of two parts of Hydras- 
 tis, and one jf geranium maculatum, is very valuable in gleet, chronic 
 gonorrhea, and leucorrhea, used in injection ; it is likewise of much 
 benefit in incipient stricture, spermatorrhea, and inflammation and ulcera- 
 tion of the internal coat of the bladder. Ulceration of the internal coat 
 of the bladder has been cured by the decoction of Hydrastis alone.' It 
 must be injected into the bladder, and held there as long as the patient 
 can conveniently retain it — to be repeated three or four times a day, 
 immediately after emptying the bladder. Combined with Caulophyl- 
 lum, in strong decoction, and sweetened with honey, it is a superior 
 remedy in all ulcerations of the mouth and fauces, both as a gargle or 
 wash, and taken internally. The peculiar action of this agent on mu- 
 cous tissues, I noticed some twenty years ago, since which I have suc- 
 cessfully continued its use in inflammation and ulceration of the blad- 
 der, diseases of the eye, dyspepsia, etc. Several persons to whom I 
 made known its value in these diseases, have also used it with a success 
 similar to my own. When taken in very large doses, I have known the 
 decoction of Golden-seal to produce excessive secretion from the mucous 
 surfaces of the niouth and nose, so much so that the secretions were re- 
 moved by the patients in long, tenacious shreds or pieces. Golden-seal 
 has been recommended by some writers as a remedy for cancer, and it 
 is also stated that it was used for the same purpose by certain Indians ; 
 such an effect is very doubtful. In former years I tested it in various ' 
 ways in cancer, and derived no benefit whateyer from it. If used by In- 
 dians at all in this disease, it is very likely that it was employed as a col- 
 oring medium to disguise the other articles, the same as has also been done 
 with bloodroot. I am disposed to believe that the influence this plant 
 exerts upon mucous tissues is due to the hydrastia contained in it, for 
 certainly I have not found the beneflcial effects from the muriate of ber- 
 berina (hydrastin) obtained from it, to produce the same decided action 
 upon these tissues as follow the use of the root in powder, or decoction. 
 I have, however, derived great advantage from a preparation sold as 
 " soluble hydrastin," and which is only a dried aqueous extract of the 
 root ; its hygroscopic character is an objection to it. In some respects 
 Hydrochlorate of Hydrastia has, in my own practice, produced results 
 very similar to those following the use of hydrochlorate of ammonia. 
 Dose of the powder from ten to thirty grains ; of the tincture from one 
 to two fluidrachms ; of the hydro-alcoholic extract, from two to five 
 grains. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Berberinse Hydrochloras ; Decoctum Hydrastis ; Extrac- 
 tum Hydrastis Hydro-alcoholicum ; Lotio Hydrastis Composite, ; Tinc- 
 tura Hydrastis ; Tinctura' Hj-drastis Composita ; Vinum Hydrastis 
 Compositum 
 
 HYOSCYAMUS NIGBE. (Bilsen kraut.) 
 Henbane. " 
 Nat. Ord. — Solanacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES AND SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — Henbane is a biennial plant, with a long, spindle- 
 Bhaped,~thick and corrugated root, of an internal, whitish color, and ex- 
 
Hyosctamus Niger. 435 
 
 ternally .brown. Stem from six inches to two feet high, erect, taper, 
 scarcely branched, covered closely with long weak hairs, tipped with a 
 minute black gland. Leaves large, oblong, acute, alternate, coarsely 
 and unequally sinuated, occasionally somewhat decurrent, stem-clasp- 
 ing at the base, pale dull-green, slightly pubescent, with long glandular 
 liairs upon the midrib. Mowers numerous, axillary, subsolitary, nearly 
 sessile, embosomed in the uppermost leaves, than which they are much 
 shorter. Corolla of a dull, dirty-yellow, strongly netted with purple 
 veins, deep-purple at the orifice, funnel-shaped, with a somewhat erect, 
 five-lobed limb ; lobes rounded, spreading, two anterior a little smaller 
 than the others, separated at base by a deep slit in the tube. Calyx vil- 
 lous, funnel-shaped, five-lobed, regular, wider than the corolla, to whose 
 tube it is equal in length and persistent; each lobe ovate, acute, with an 
 open aestivation. Stamens five, declinate, straight, shorter than the co- 
 rolla, the three lower longer than the others ; filaments pubescent, in- 
 serted about the middle of the tube of the corolla, inclined ; anthers 
 cordate, purple. Ovary nearly round, shining, pale-green, two-celled, 
 with numerous ovules, adhering to the dissepiment; style filiform,, de- 
 clinate, purple at the apex ; stigma blunt, round, capitate. Fruit an 
 ovate, two-celled capsule, opening transversely by a convex lid ; seeds 
 many, small, obovate, brownish. — L. — B. The whole plant has a disa- 
 greeable, fetid odor, and a repulsive appearance. 
 
 History. — Henbane is an European herb, naturalized in this country, 
 growing in waste grounds and commons, and floweripg from June to 
 September. Botanists are divided as to whether it is an annual or bien- 
 nial plant, as it is sometimes found to be the former. The biennial is 
 the ofllcinal plant, though we are not aware of any difference between 
 the two as regards medical properties. All parts of the plant are 
 medicinal, but the leaves and seeds are the parts usually employed ; the 
 former should be collected at the time of its flowering, and the latter 
 when perfectly matured. The leaves of the second year's growth of 
 the plant are reputed more active than those of the first year ; when 
 fresh they abound in a viscid juice, and when bruised have a nauseously- 
 rank narcotic smell and an acrid, oleaginous, disagreeable taste. Upon 
 drying, the smell and taste are almost destroyed. 
 
 The leaves impart their projperlies to diluted alcohol ; water, alco- 
 hol, ether, fixed or volatile oils also take up a portion of their virtues. 
 The aqueous infusion is tasteless, light-yellow, and having the taste 
 and odor of the plant. According to Morries, an empyreumatie oil may 
 be obtained by the destructive distillation of Henbane ; it is highly 
 poisonous. — Ed. Med. and Surg. Jour., XXXIX., p. 379. The seeds are 
 small, numerous, oval, obtuse, compressed, finely-dotted, of a yellowish- 
 gray color, and having the same taste and odor as the leaves, but with 
 oiliness. They contain fixed oil, fatty matter, gum, bassorin, starch, 
 albumen, vegetable fiber, saline matters, with hyoscyamia, etc. Mr. P. 
 Mahla procured nearly two per cent, of nitrate of potassa from the 
 leaves. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 1859. 
 
 Syoscyamia is the active principle of Henbane. Mr. Bastick pre- 
 pares hyoscyamia as follows :* Macerate two pounds of bruised hyoscy- 
 amus seeds in one gallon of alcohol (to which has been previously 
 added three ounces of sulphuric acid), for forty-eight hours; drain the 
 alcoholic solution from the seeds, and filter, and to the filtered liquid 
 add powdered caustic lime, with continued agitation, until the fluid has 
 
 * For another process by Reunard, see N. Bep. Ph., XVI., 01, also, proceedings of Am. 
 Pharm. Assoc, 1868, p. 2fi2. 
 
436 Materia Medica. 
 
 an alkaline reaction. Again filter, and saturate the filtrate with sul- 
 phuric acid in excess. Filter this acid solution, evaporate with gentle 
 heat until it is reduced to about one-fourth. To the residue add a lit- 
 tle water, and again evaporate until all traces of alcohol have disap- 
 peared. Filter to remove the resin which has been precipitated by the 
 water. Then carefully saturate the filtrate with a concentrated solu- 
 tion of carbonate of potassa, and if a precipitate ensues, the liquid must 
 again be filtered. Mix the filtrate with a considerable excess of car- 
 bonate of potassa; treat the liquid with successive portions of ether by 
 , constant agitation until it no longer dissolves any thing thereout. By 
 spontaneous evaporation of the ethereal solution, crystals of hyoscy- 
 amia are obtained; if coloring matter be present, these may be redis- 
 solved and acted on by animal charcoal. In the same manner may be 
 prepared, aconitia, arnicina, daturia, and lobelina. A small quantity 
 only is obtained of hyoscyamia ; it crystallizes in tufts of transparent, 
 silky needles, rather sparingly soluble in water, freely soluble in alco- 
 hol or ether, of an alkaline action upon vegetable colors, forms neutral 
 and crystallizable salts with acids, volatile with little decomposition, if 
 strongly heated alone, but .readily decomposed with evolution of am- 
 monia if boiled in contact with alkalies, precipitated from its solution 
 by tincture of galls, and concentrated alkalies, and possessing a nause- 
 ous, acrid, tobacco-like taste. Thie phosphomolybdate of soda gives 
 with it a yellowish-white precipitate, changing to green when heated 
 with ammonia; the iodobismuthate of potassa gives an orange precipi- 
 tate ; the iodohydrargyrate of potassa a white ; tannin a yellowish ; and 
 chloride of gold a yellowish magma, as well as a brown resinous mass. 
 In a concentrated solution, hyoscyamia gives, when hydrochloric acid 
 or bichloride of platinum is added to it, a precipitate of yellow imper- 
 fect crystals, apparently belonging to the cubic system. 
 
 Hyoscyamia is an active poison, as are its salts; a minute quantity 
 of it placed within the eye, causes a persistent dilatation of the pu.pil. 
 In its natural state of combination, this principle is very prone to de- 
 composition under the influence of heat, and its destruction is always 
 indicated bythe escape of ammonia. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Henbane is a powerful narcotic, and danger- 
 ously poisonous; it causes deranged vision, dilated pupils, giddiness, 
 headache, loss of speech, coma, or furious delirium, sometimes convul- 
 sions, paralysis, nausea, vomiting, intestinal pain and purging, which 
 frequently terminate fatally. Gastro-intestinal inflammation is found on 
 dissection. Emetics and the stomach-pump, stimulants, galvanism and 
 acids are the chief remedies in such cases. In medicinal doses it is an- 
 odyne, hypnotic, calmative, and antispasmodic ; allaying pain, soothing 
 excitability, inducing sleep, and arresting spasm. It does not produce 
 constipation like opium, but has a tendency to act as a laxative. Ac- 
 cording to' Dr. Harley, Hyoscyamus produces the same effect upon the 
 mouth and pupils, as belladonna; its stimulant effect upon the sympa- 
 • thetic nervous systems requires larger doses to produce, and is more 
 transient and less powerful, than belladonna ; its most prominent effects 
 are excessive giddiness and somnolency, which is caused by belladonna 
 in only a very secondary degree. Hyoscyamia in combination with 
 opium produces a most powerful hypnotic action; each increases the 
 effect of the other. Quantities of morphia and hyoscyamia, which of 
 themselves are insufficient to produce sleep, will when combined speed- 
 ily induce that condition. Hyoscyamia acts upon the cerebrum, while 
 atropia acts upon the sympathetic nervous system, and like this alka- 
 
HYPERiniTM Perforatum. 437 
 
 loid, it is eliminated by the kidneys. Hyoscyamus is usually given in 
 cases wkere opium disagrees, or where constipation must be avoided ; 
 in neuralgic and all spasmodic affections, asthma, gout, rheumatipm| 
 chronic cough, irritations of the urinary organs, and inflammatory cases 
 attended with nervous excitability and not with high fever. It may be 
 combined with active cathartics, as scammony, colocynth, aloes, resin 
 of podophyllum, etc., for preventing tormina without impairing their 
 energy. Its principal employment is to cause sleep, or remove irregu- 
 lar nervous action. Harley considers Hyoscyamus and its alkaloid use- 
 ful in irritable .conditions of the brain Mid heart, in certain cases of 
 epilepsy and enuresis, and to increase the hypnotic action of opium. 
 Brown-Sequard says that Hyoscyamus should be used instead of bella- 
 donna or opium, in cases of paraplegia, with symptoms of irritation of 
 the spinal cord, where sleeplessness is present. Where the fresh leaves 
 can be obtained, they are employed in fomentation, or bruised as an 
 external application to allay the inflammatory and painful condition of 
 ulcers and tumors, as well as to relieve nervous headache, and the pain 
 in gouty, neuralgic, rheumatic, and similar afl'ections. The leaves in in- 
 fusion, or the extract dissolved in water, is used as a local application 
 to the eye, before operating for cataract, in order to dilate the pupil, 
 which it usually effects in three or four hours, without any subsequent 
 injury to the eye. A liniment for glandular swellings may be made by 
 mixing together, extract of Henbane one drachm, white soap four 
 drachms, and linseed-oil twelve fluidounces; to be applied two or three 
 times a day with considerable friction. One part of the Hyoscyamia 
 to twenty -four of water, forms a solution for a similar purpose, and of 
 which one drop is'to be placed on the eye. When ySj-th of a grain of sul- 
 phate of hyoscyamia has been subcutaneously injected, hyoscyamia has 
 been detected in the urine twenty -"two minutes afterward. If enough be 
 injected to cause complete dryness of the tongue and hard and soft 
 palates, the pulse will increase temporarily in frequency, volume, and 
 power; if this effect upon the tongue is not produced, the pulse will be 
 lessened in frequency without diminution of its volume and force, and 
 giddiness, somnolency, and dilatation of the pupils will accompany, the 
 patient frequently acting as if intoxicated. — Harley. Dose of the pow- 
 dered leaves from two to ten grains ; of the tincture from thirty drops' 
 to two fluidrachms ; and of the alcoholic extract, which is the only ex- 
 tract that should be used, from one half of a grain to two grains, which 
 may be increased cautiously to a scruple. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Extractum Hyoscyami Alcoholicum ; Extractum Hyoscy- 
 ami Fluidum; Tinetura Hyoscyami. 
 
 HYPEEICUM PBEFOEATUM. (Johannis Kraut.) 
 
 St. John's Wort. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Hypericacese. Sex. Syst. — Polyandria Pentagynia. 
 
 THE TOPS AND FLOWERS. 
 
 Description.— This plant has a perennial, woody, tufted, fusiform, 
 tortuous, somewhat creeping root. Stem two-edged, branchiate, erect 
 above, curved below, branched, from one to two feet high. Leaves very 
 numerous, elliptical or ovate, obtuse, opposite, entire, marked with 
 pellucid dots, of a pale-green color, from six to ten lines long, one-third 
 as wide, the ramial leaves being much smaller. Flowers numerous, of a 
 bright-vellow, in dense, forked, terminal panicles. Oalyx persistent; 
 
438 Materia Medica. 
 
 sepals fivej acute, lanceolate, connected at base, with five dark-colored 
 glands. Petals five, twice as long as the sepals,, ovate, obtuse, yellow, 
 dotted and streaked with Mack or dark purple. Stamens numerous, 
 united at base, divided into three sets, with small anthers. Styles three, 
 short, erect; stigmas small. Capsule roundish, three-celled, three- 
 valved; seeds numerous, small, roundish. The whole herb is dark- 
 green, with a powerful scent when rubbed, staining the fingers dark- 
 purple, from the great abundance of colored essential oil.— i. — W. 
 
 Sistory. — -'St. John's Wort is an herb abundantly growing in this 
 country and Europe, and proving exceedingly annoying to farmers. 
 The flowers appear from Juile to August. It has a peculiar, terebin- 
 thine odor, and a balsamic, bitterish, rather astringent taste. It con- 
 tains a volatile oil, a resin, tannic acid and coloring matter. — Blair, 
 Am. Jour. Pharm., II., 23. It imparts its properties to water, alcohol, 
 ether, oils, or alkaline solutions. 
 
 Properties and Uses.- — Astringent, sedative, and diuretic. Used in 
 suppression of the urine, chronic urinary affections, in diarrhea, dys- 
 entery, worms, jaundice, meriorrhagia, hysteria, nervous affections with 
 depression, hemoptysis, and other hemorrhages. Externally in fomen- 
 tation, or used as an ointment for dispelling hard tumors, caked breasts, 
 bruises, ecchymosis, swellings, ulcers, etc. The blossoms, infused in 
 sweet oil or bear's oil, by means of exposure to the sun, make a fine red 
 balsamic ointment for wounds, ulcers, swellings, tumors, etc. A very 
 excellent ointment for tumors, ecchymosed conditions, etc., may be 
 made by adding to one pound of lard, half a pound of the recent tops 
 and flowers of St. John's Wort, and half a pound of fresh stramonium 
 leaves ; bruise all together, expose to a gentle heat for an hour, and 
 strain. Dose of the powder, from half a drachm to two drachms; of 
 the infusion, from one to two fluidounces. The saturated tincture is 
 nearly as valuable as that of arnica for bruises, etc., and may be subr 
 stituted for it in many instances. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Hyperici. 
 
 HTSSOPUS OFFICINALIS. (Gebrauchliche Isop.) 
 
 Hyssop. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Labiacese. Sex. Syst.- — Didj'namia Gymnospermia. 
 
 THE TOPS AND LEAVES. 
 
 Description.— Kj^BOT^ is a perennial herb ; stems quadrangular, woody 
 at base, spreading, very much branched, a foot or two in height ; branches 
 rod-like. Leaves opposite, sessile, usually oblong-linear, or lanceolate, 
 sometimes elliptical, sometimes narrower, acute, entire, punctate, green 
 on each side, rather thick, one-ribbed underneath. Mowers bluish-pur- 
 ple, seldom white, in racemose, second whorls; consisting of from six 
 to fifteen flowers. Floral leaves li.ke those of the stem but smaller. 
 Outer bracts lanceolate-linear, acute, scarcely shorter than the calyx. 
 Upper lip of the corolla erect, flat, emarginate ; lower lip trifid, spread- 
 ing, with the middle lobe larger. Stamens four, protruding, diverging ; 
 aniAers with linear divaricating cells. — i. — W. 
 
 History. — Hyssop inhabits Europe and this country, being raised 
 principally in gardens ; it flowers in July. The tops and leaves are the 
 officinal parts ; their odor is pleasantly fragrant, and their taste hot, 
 spicy and somewhat bitter, which properties are due to a volatile aro- 
 matic oil, which rises in distillation both with water and with alcohol. 
 
lOHTHTOOOLLA. 439 
 
 Water, by infusion or alcohol, extracts its active virtues. Said to con 
 tain, besides its yellow oil, some bitter principle and sulphur. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Stimulant, aromatic, carminative and tonic, 
 Principally used in quinsy and other sore-throats, as a gargle, com- 
 bined with sage and alum, in infusion sweetened with honey. Also 
 recommended in asthma, coughs, and other affections of the chest, as an 
 expectorant. The leaves, applied to bruises, speedily relieve the pain, 
 and disperse ev'ery spot or mark from the parts affected. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Hyssopi. 
 
 IBEEIS AMAEA. (Bitterer Bauersenf.) 
 
 Bitter Candytuft. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Brassicacese. Sex. Syst. — Tetradynamia Siliculosa. 
 
 THE SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — This plant has a herbaceous stem about a foot in height, 
 with lanceolate, acute, somewhat toothed leaves, and white flowers, cor- 
 ymbed, but becoming racemed. Silicles obcOrdate, narrowly eSmargi- 
 nate ; cells one-seeded. — W. 
 
 History. — This is a small annual, common to Europe, where it is ad- 
 mired as an ornamental plant ; its beautiful white flowers appearing in 
 June and July. The whole plant is reputed medicinal, the seeds more 
 especially. 
 
 Properties and Uses.— La. overdoses it occasions vertigo, vomiting, and 
 purging, without accomplishing any valuable result. Medicinally, it 
 appears to control nervous and vascular excitement, and has been 
 found efl3.cacious in enlargement of the heart, and some affections of the 
 air-tubes. It is also said to have been beneficially administered in rheu- 
 matic, gouty, and dropsical affections. The dose is from one to five 
 grains of the powdered seeds. 
 
 ICHTHYOCOLLA. (Hausenblase.) 
 Isinglass. 
 
 THE SOUNDS OR SWIMMING-BLADDER OF SEVERAL SPECIES OF ACIPENSER, ETC, 
 
 History. — Isinglass is an almost pure gelatin, being usually procured 
 from the air-hags, sounds, ov swimming-bladders of various fishes. These 
 are membranous sacs placed under the spine, in the middle of the back, 
 and above the center of gravity, and communicate in most fish with 
 the stomach or oesophagus by the pneumatic duct ; these sacs are filled 
 with air, containing about eighty per cent, of oxygen, and are composed 
 of a firm, silvery external coat, and two thin and delicate internal coats. 
 The fresh sounds are removed from the fish, cut open, carefully washed, 
 and' then exposed to the air to dry; then, after being dampened to soften 
 them, they are made into rolls about half an inch in diameter, and 
 folded, between three pegs, into the shape of a horse-shoe, heart, or lyre 
 Qong and short staple), or folded in the manner bookbinders fold printed 
 sheets of paper {sheet isinglass). When the sound is rolled out, it is 
 termed ribbon Isinglass. The internal membrane of the sounds is thin 
 and insoluble. Sometimes Isinglass is reduced to small shreds, when it 
 will be scarcely possible for the eye to distinguish the inferior from the 
 finer kinds ; the latter may be known by their whiteness, freedom from 
 unpleasant fishy odor, solubility in water, and translucency of the jelly, 
 obtained on cooling from its hot solution. The above are the best forms, 
 
440 Materia Medioa. 
 
 the sheet-Isinglass is superior to any; an ounce of water will dissolve 
 ten grains of it, giving hardly any insoluble matter, and furnishing an 
 excellent jelly. 
 
 There are other kinds of an inferior character,, as the Cake Isinglass, 
 which is in cakes or round pieces, having an unpleasant smell, and a 
 tawny color, and which is principally used by artists. The Samoi ey Isin- 
 glass is prepared in Eussia, from the Silurus Glanis, but it is not so pure' 
 as those named above. Isinglass is also made in the Eastern States, in 
 this, country, from the sounds of the hake (Gadus Merluccius), and cod 
 (Morrhua Americana), and other fishes ; it is in long, flat pieces, known 
 as rihhon Isinglass, is very pure, being almost wholly soluble in water, 
 but its piscatory flavor is an objection to its use for domestic or phar- 
 maceutical purposes. A very inferior Isinglass is prepared in Brazil, 
 and in the East Indies. — P. — Am. Jour, Pharm., XVIII., 54. A variety 
 of fish glue, apparently procured from the natatory bladder of the yel- 
 low sturgeon, but unfit for pharmaceutical purposes, has been met with 
 in commerce in France, and may find its way to this country. It swells 
 up in water and is only partially dissolved. 
 
 When American Isinglass in solution is thinly spread on cotton cloth, 
 previously oiled and dried, it forms a very pure article, in clear, deli- 
 cate, laminae, but having a piscatory smell, and h known as "trans- 
 parent or refined Isinglass." Pure glue made from bone, is supposed to 
 form "Cooper's Isinglass." 
 
 Isinglass is chiefly a very pure gelatin, the best kinds are white, trans- 
 lucent, glistening, odorless and tasteless; the poorer varieties are 
 colored, opaque, and have either a fishy taste or smell. It is soluble 
 in weak acidulous and alkaline liquids, and in water at 212° P., form- 
 ing with the latter, when strained and cool, a pure animal jelly. It is 
 not dissolved by alcohol, ether, norby waterat 60° F.,but with this latter 
 it expands and becomes soft. Tannic acid added to its solution occa- 
 sions a tough, gelatinous precipitate, tannate of gelatin. "When boiled 
 with potassa. or with concentrated mineral acids, it is decomposed, 
 ^forming sugar of gelatin or glycocoU, Cj Hj NO^, which is in large trans- 
 parent crystals, very sweet, soluble in water, and forming beautifully 
 crystallized salts with acids. It is veiy useful for scrofulous and con- 
 sumptive patients. John found in the purest Isinglass 70 parts of gela- 
 tin, 16 osmazome, 2J membrane insoluble in boiling water, 2^ free acid, 
 4 of salts of potassa and soda, and some of phosphate of lime, and 7 of 
 water. Mr. Solly found in Bengal Isinglass from 86 to 92 parts of gela- 
 tin, and from 7 to 13 of albumen, with a small portion of osmazome, 
 saline and earthy substances, and a trace of odorous oil.— P. 
 
 An excellent cement, called Armenian or Diamond Cement, is made 
 with Isinglass, which is valuable to the chemist and pharmaceutist for 
 mending glass, china and porcelain vessels, which are not exposed to 
 heat and moisture. It is made by sprinkling water upon two drachms 
 of Isinglass, allowing it to stand until softened, then adding as much 
 proof-spirit as will rather more than cover it, and dissolving it with a 
 moderate heat. Have previously prepared, a solution made by dissolv- 
 ing one drachm of gum mastic, in two or three fluidrachms of alcohol. 
 Mix the two solutions, and stir in one drachm of gum ammoniacum, 
 previously reduced to a fine powder, and rubbed down with a little 
 water. Evaporate, if necessary, in a water-bath to a proper consistence. 
 Keep the cementthus prepared in a vial. When required for use plunge 
 the bottle in warm water, and keep it there until the cement becomes 
 fluid; then apply it with a stick or small hard brush to the edges of the 
 
Ignatius Amara. 441 
 
 broken vessel, previously warmed. Compress the pieces firmly together 
 until cold, taking care to make the contact perfect, and using a very 
 thin layer of cement ; when properly applied, the cement is almost, if 
 not quite, as strong as the glass or china itself. 
 
 A cement for stone-ware may be made by allowing gelatin to swell 
 in cold water, the jelly warmed, and so much recently slaked lime 
 added as is requisite to render the mass sufficiently thick for the pur- 
 pose. ,A thin coating of this cement is spread while warm over the 
 gently heated surfaces of fracture of the articles, and let dry under a 
 strong pressure. "What oozes out is removed directly with a moist 
 rag. 
 
 Isinglass is sometimes kept in thin, very fine cuttings, in which 
 form it is more readily dissolved by boiling water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Isinglass is seldom used in medicine except as 
 a nutritive. It is used as a diet, in the form of jelly, or added to other 
 jellies, to give them a tremulous appearance. I have used the follow- 
 ing preparation in incontinence of urine, both in children and adults, 
 in many instances, an(i have found it a useful as well as agreeable 
 remedy, proving serviceable when other means had failed: Take of 
 Isinglass (long staple) one roll ; boil it in one pint of water till it is 
 dissolved, then strain, add one pint of sweet milk, put it again over 
 the fire, and remove it just as ebullition commences ; then sweeten with 
 loaf-sugar, and grate nutmeg upon it. When made, it very much re- 
 sembles custard. Of this, a tumblerful may be taken three or four 
 times a day by an adult. Isinglass is employed in the arts for various 
 purposes, for clarifying or fining wines, beer, coffee, syrups, etc., and 
 is a constituent of court-plaster. Three drachms form a proper jelly 
 with a pint of water. 
 
 IGNATIUS AMAEA. (Zinn.) (Bittere Ignatiusbaum.) 
 
 Bean of St. Ignatius. — Ignatiusbohne. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Apocynacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — Ignatius Amara, the Stryehnos Ignatii of Bergius, is a 
 branching tree, with long, taper, smooth, scrambling branches. Leaves 
 ovate, acute, petiolate, veiny, smooth, a span long. Hooks none. Pani- 
 cles small, axillary, three to five flowered, with short, round, rigid 
 pedicels. Flowers very long, nodding, white, smelling like Jasmine. 
 Fruit smooth, pear-shaped, the size of an ordinary apple or a Bonch- 
 retien pear ; seeds about twenty, somewhat angular, about twelve lines 
 long, imbedded in a pulp. — L. 
 
 Sistory. — This is a tree indigenous to the Phillipine Islands, whose 
 seeds are the St. Ignatius Bean of the shops. They are about the size 
 of olives, rounded and convex on one side, and somewhat angular on 
 the other, pale brownish externally, with a bluish-gray tint, greenish- 
 brown internally. Their substance is hard, compact, and horn-like ; 
 they are inodorous and of an exceedingly bitter taste. Pelletier and 
 Oaventou, on analysis, found them to contain the same constituent prin- 
 ciples as the nux-vomica, but in different proportions. They contain 
 about jU-„ of strychnia, and very little brucia. The strychnia may be 
 obtained from them by rasping them, and completely removing the 
 fatty matter with ether; then boil the rasped seeds deprived of fat, 
 with alcohol, distill off ''ho alcohol and boil the residue with water and 
 
442 Matbeia Medica. 
 
 magnesia. Wash the precipitate, dry it, treat it then with anhydrous 
 alcohol which dissolves the strychnia, which may be obtained pure by 
 successive crystallizations. Nux-vomica yields about one-third less 
 strychnia than St. Ignatius Bean, but on account of their scarcity they 
 are seldom used either in medicine, or for the manufacture of st:fych- 
 nia. The St. Ignatius Bean yields its properties to watei, but alcohol 
 is its best solvent. Mr. Jas. M. Caldwell found the beans to contain 
 strychnia, brucia, in combination with igasuric acid, a volatile j)rinci- 
 ple (supposed to be an oil), a large amount of extractive and gummy 
 matter, a small amount of resinous, coloring, and fatty matter, a trace 
 of bassorin, but no starch or albumen. — Am. Jour. Pharm., XXIX., 294. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Yery similar to those of nux-vomica seeds, but 
 more energetic. Said to have heen used in nervous debility, amenor- 
 rhea, chlorosis, epilepsy, worms, etc., with much benefit. T. C. Miller, 
 M. D., uses it in chlorosis, as follows: Take of iodide of iron, extract 
 of gentian, each, one drachm; powdered savin leaves, and Ignatius 
 Bean, each two scruples ; mix, and divide' into sixty pills. Two pills 
 to be taken for a dose and repeated three timqp a day, with frictions to 
 the spine and extremities, of tincture of camphor. It has been found 
 so useful in nervous debility, as to induce certain non-professional 
 gentlemen to advertise and prescribe the following : Take of Alcoholic 
 Extract of St. Ignatius Bean thirty grains, powdered gum Arabic ten 
 grains; mix, and divide into forty pills, of which one is" to be taken 
 every night and morning. This might be useful in smaller doses, say, 
 make the mass into eighty or one hundred' pills, but as above it would 
 prove dangerous with many persons. It appears to possess an influence 
 over the nervous system of a tonic and stimulating character, not be- 
 longing to nux-vomica or strychnia. Dose of the powdered seed, one 
 or two grains ; of the alcoholic extract, from one-eighth of a grain to 
 one-quarter. 
 
 Off Ptep. — Extractum Ignatise Amarae Alcoholicum ; Tlnctura Igna- 
 tise Am arse. 
 
 ILEX OPACA. (Matte Hulsen.) 
 
 American Holly. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Aquifoliacese. Sex. Syst. — Tetrandria Tetragynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — This tree rises from twenty to forty feet in height, hav- 
 ing leaves which are alternate, coriaceous, evergreen, smooth, and shin- 
 ing, flat, oval, acute at the end, and the wavy margins armed with 
 strong, scattered, spiny teeth. Flowers small, greenish-whit^e, arranged 
 in scattered clusters along the base of the young branches, and from 
 the axils of the leaves. Calyx persistent ; calyx-teeth acute. Corolla 
 rotate, monopetalous, four-cleft; stamens erect, alternate with the divi- 
 sions. Ovary globular, four-celled. Stigmas four, subsessile, obtuse. 
 Fruit a red globular berry of four cells; nutlets four, striate — G. — W. 
 —L. 
 
 Sistory. — ^The Holly is found growing throughout the United States 
 from Maine to Louisiana, in moist woodlands, and flowering in June. 
 It is quite common to the Atlantic States, especially New Jersey. The 
 leaves are the medicinal parts ; they have a bitter, somewhat harsh 
 taste, but no odor, and yield their virtues to water or alcohol. They 
 are said to contain ilicin, wax, gum, several salts, etc. Ilicin is the 
 
Ilex Opaca. 443 
 
 bitter principle upon which the febrifuge properties of the loaves de- 
 
 Eend ; it may be obtained by diluting a strong alcoholic extract of the 
 oily leaves with water, to which add sugar of lead, then sulphuric 
 acid, and finally carbonate of lime. The ilicin being thus separated, 
 dissolve it in alcohol ; then evaporate to the consistence of honey.— ^ 
 Rousseau. Or to a decoction of the leaves, previously filtered, add 
 animal charcoal, then boil for some time, and when the charcoal has all 
 settled, wash it, add alcohol to it, filter, and evaporate to the consist- 
 ence of molasses. The bitter liquid thus obtained, yields a non-crys- 
 talline, gelatinous-looking substance, which is ilicin. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 
 XXI., 89. It is soluble in alcohol, partially so in water, insoluble in 
 ether, neutral, amorphous, and remaining unchanged when acted on 
 by alkalies or acids. One ounce of it may be procured from a pound 
 of the dried leaves. 
 
 The viscid substance of the inner bark furnishes the adhesive mate- 
 rial known as birdlime. The berries are about as large as a whortle- 
 berry, of a red color, and an acrid, bitterish taste, fir. D. Pancoast 
 found in the fruit of Holly' tannic acid, pectin, albumen, an odorless, 
 tasteless, and inert crystallizable principle, and another odorless, but 
 intensely bitter principle, salts of potassa, lime, and magnesia, and pro- 
 toxide of iron ; in the leaves he found tannic acid, chlorophylle, a 
 resinous extractive matter, and salts of potassa and lime. — Am. Jour. 
 Pharm., XXYIII., 312. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Holly leaves are tonic and febrifuge ; said to 
 be very efficacious in the treatment of intermittent fever, in doses of 
 sixty grains of their powder administered an hour or two previous to 
 the chill. The infusion has also proved beneficial in icterus, pleuritis, 
 catarrh, variola, arthritis, etc. The berries are said to be emeto- 
 cathartic, and cholagogue ; from eight to fifteen of them will act as a 
 hydragogue. 
 
 According to Dr. Eousseau, Ilicin acts decidedly upon the spleen and 
 liver, as well as the pancreas, producing a sedative efi'ect, and is a 
 cheap substitute for quinia. Its dose is ten grains in pill form, gradu- 
 ally increasing it to thirty. 
 
 The European Holly, Ilex Aquifolium, together with severail other 
 species in this country, possesses similar properties. Dr. P. Molden- 
 hauer has found in the leaves a yellow crystalline substance, which is 
 soluble in alcohol, or hot water, but insoluble in ether, or cold water, 
 loses its color at 365°, ¥., fuses at 388° F., decomposes at 417° P., and 
 which he named ilexanthin, C^ H22 O22 ; he also procured an acid ilicic 
 acid. ' The Ilex Vomitoria, or South Sea tea, an evergreen shrub, grow- 
 ing in our Southern States, is the Cassina of the Indians. A liquid 
 called black drink is prepared by boiling the toasted leaves in water ; in 
 the performance of their religious rites, and on great occasions when 
 in council, the men only are permitted to drink this, for the purpose of 
 cleansing their systems. The leaves have a rough, aromatic taste, no 
 odor, and in large doses their decoction causes active emesis, catharsis, 
 and diuresis; in small quantity it greatly increases the urinary dis- 
 charge. A few leaves of this plant lessens the injurious influence of 
 saline water, and is used for this purpose by persons along the sea shore 
 in North Carolina, These plants are deserving a careful investigation. 
 
444 Mateeia Medica. 
 
 IMPATIENS PALLIDA. (Gemeines Springkjfaut.) 
 
 Jewelweed. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Balsaminacae. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogj'nia. 
 
 THE HERB. 
 
 Description. — Impatiens Pallida, likewise known by the names of 
 Pale Touch-me-not, Balsam-weed, etc., is an indigenous annual plant 
 having a smooth, succulent, tender, subpellucid, branching stem, with 
 tumid joints, growing from two to four feet in height. Leaves i^blong. 
 ovate, coarsely and obtusely serrate, teeth mucronate, from two to five 
 inches long, petiolate, about two-thirds as wide. Flowers large, pale- 
 yellow, sparingly maculate, mostly in pairs; peduncles two to four flow- 
 ered, elongated. Sepals apparently but four, the two upper united, the 
 lowest gibbous, dilated-conical, broader than long, with a very short, 
 recurved spur. Petals apparently two, unequal-sided and two-lobed, 
 each consisting of a pair united. Stamens five, short; anthers opening 
 on the inner face, connivent over the stigma. Ovary five-celled ; stigma 
 sessile. Capsules oblong-eylindric, an inch long, five-valved, bursting 
 at the slightest touch when ripe and scattering the anatropous seeds. 
 — W.—G. 
 
 Impatiens Fulva, or Speckled Jewels, is the niost common variety ; 
 its leaves are rhombic-ovate, obtusish, coarsely and obtusely serrate, 
 teeth mucronate. Flowers smaller than in the previous one, deep 
 orange, maculate with many brown spots; lower gibbous sepals acutely 
 conical, longer than broad, with an elongated, recurved spur. 
 
 Impatiens Balsamina, the Garden Balsam, or Ladies' Slippers, is 
 spontaneous about gardens ; its leaves are lanceolate, serrate, upper 
 ones alternate; peduncles clustered, one-flowered; s^wr shorter than the 
 flowers. Flowers red, white, purple, pink, flesh-color, and scarlet ; some- 
 times they are double. This is an exotic plant, a native of the East 
 Indies, and cultivated as a beautiful garden annual. Its height is from 
 one to five feet. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — These plants grow throughout the United States, in moist 
 shady places, and along rills, in rich soil, flowering from July to Sep- 
 tember. The I. Pallida is most common northward and westward, and 
 the I. Fulva southward. They all possess similar properties. The 
 whole plants are used, and impart their virtues to water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — They are aperient and diuretic ; a decoction is 
 recommended in jaundice, hepatitis, and dropsy. The juice is said to 
 remove warts, cure ringworms, salt-rheum, etc., and to cleanse foul 
 ulcers ; or it may be applied for these purposes in the form of a poultice 
 boiled in milk. The recent plant boiled in lard, forms an excellent oint- 
 ment for piles. 
 
 LNTJLA HBLBJSriUM. ("Wahrer Alant.) 
 
 Elecampane. — {Alantwurzel.) 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia Superflua. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Elecampane has a thick, tap-shaped, branching, aroma- 
 tic and perennial root, with a thick, leafy, round, furrowed, solid, stem, 
 from four to six feet high, branched and downy above. Leaves large, 
 
Inula Helenium. 445 
 
 Dvate, serrate, veiny, smooth, of a dark-green color above, downy and 
 hoary beneath, with fleshy midrib ] radical ones petiolated, from one to 
 three feet in length, by six or twelve inches wide; cauline ones sessile, 
 amplexicaul. Flower-heads large, radiated, solitary at the downy summits 
 of the branches, two inches broad, and of a bright-yellow color. Invol- 
 ucre hemispherical; miter scales broad, recurved, leafy, finely downy on 
 both sides ; inner ones linear. Florets of the ray numerous, pistillate, 
 long and narrow, in one row, terminate in three unequal teeth ; disk- 
 Aorets numerous, perfect, tubular, five-toothed; anthers with two bristles 
 at base. Ouar?/ oblong. JicAema quadrangular ; smooth ; ^ap^MS simple, 
 roughish. Receptacle reticulated, not quite smooth or naked. — L. — W. 
 G.—T. 
 
 History. — Elecampane is common to Europe, and cultivated in this 
 country, growing in pastures, along roadsides, etc., flowering from July 
 to September. The root, which is the part used, should be gathered in 
 the second year of its development, and during the fall months. When 
 recent it is quite thick, spindle-shaped, dividing, with many delicate 
 fibers ; its color is yellowish -gray externally, and dirty-white within. 
 For medical use it is sliced lengthwise or transversely, has an agreeable 
 aromatic smell, and a mucilaginous taste at first, succeeded by an aro- 
 matic bitterness, and then acrid and pungent. — Bd. Iodine colors the 
 I'oot brown ; and the infusion is changed to a green color by the addition 
 of sesquichloride of iron. — P. It yields its properties to water or alco- 
 hol, but more especially to the former. John found the root to contain 
 a trace of volatile oil, Elecampane-camphor, wax, acrid soft resin, bitter 
 extractive, gum, inulin, woody fiber, oxidized extractive with coagu- 
 lated albumen, besides salts of lime, potassa, and magnesia. — P. — T. 
 
 It yields its properties to alcohol or water, but more especially to the 
 former. Analysis has found in it, a volatile oil, a peculiar camphor, wax, 
 aci-id resin, gum, bitter extractive, inulin, etc. 
 
 Inulin is a fine white starchy powder, tasteless and inodorous ; its 
 specific gravity is 1.356. Iodine gives it a yellow color, which distin- 
 guishes it from starch, and also renders it insoluble in water. It is solu- 
 ble in boiling water, from which it is deposited as the solution cools. 
 It is insoluble in cold alcohol. The dilute acids dissolve it, and trans- 
 form it into sugar. Its solution in boiling water produces left-handed 
 rotation upon a ray of polarized light. It melts above 212° P., gives 
 off water, and leaves a scaly, sweetish, gummy mass, readily soluble in 
 water. Iodine turns Inulin yellow. Concentrated nitric acid, heated 
 with it, converts it into oxalic acid. It may be obtained by rasping the 
 roots, boiling them in water, filtering the hot solution, and evaporating 
 till a pellicle appears on the surface, when, on cooling, the Inulin is de- 
 posited, which being collected on a filter is washed and dried. Its con- 
 stitution is identical with that of starch, its formula being 0,2 Hu Ojo. 
 — T. When pure, Inulin forms in gray, clear fragments, of a horny 
 appearance ; when strongly heated it is first converted into a kind of 
 gum, becomes brown, then blackens, with the evolution of pungent 
 vapors, and in the open air is entirely consumed. It may also be pro- 
 cured in abundance from dandelion roots, and those of the dahlia when 
 dug up in the autumn. 
 
 In addition to this principle, Elecampane contains another, called 
 Helenin, which forms in colorless prismatic crystals, which are heavier 
 than water, slightly soluble in hot or cold water, very soluble in hot 
 alcohol, but deposited as the liquor cools, very soluble in ether and oil 
 of turpentine, and having the taste and odor of Elecampane. At 1 08° it 
 
446 Materia Medioa. 
 
 melts into an oil ; at a higher heat it sublimes without alteration. Nitric 
 acid converts it into a resin. — T. 
 
 Selenin may be obtained by cutting the fresh root of Elecampane 
 in slices, and exhausting with boiling alcohol of sp. gr. 0.833 ; the hot 
 solution is to be filtered, and mixed M^ith three or four times its bulk of 
 cold water, when a slight turbidness results, and after standing twenty- 
 four hours, long, dazzling white needles of pure Helenin will be fouud 
 in the liquid, leaving very little in solution. The dried root gives a 
 Smaller quantity of this principle than the fresh. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Elecampane is an aromatic stimulant and tonic, 
 and is said to be expectorant, emmenagogue, diuretic, and diaphoretic. 
 It is much used in chronic pulmonary affections, weakness of the di- 
 gestive organs, hepatic torpor, dyspepsia, and internally and externally 
 in tetter, itch, and other cutaneous diseases. When added to the com- 
 pound syrup of spikenard, it should be exhausted by boiling alcohol, 
 and the tincture added to the syrup, instead of boiling it with the other 
 articles, as is usually done. The alcoholic extract, combined with pow- 
 dered extract of liquorice, benzoic acid, sanguinaria, and morphia forms 
 a lozenge or pill very valuable in chronic catarrhal, bronchial, and all 
 pulmonary irritations ; one drop of the oil of stillingia may be added to 
 each lozenge for bronchial and laryngeal affections. Dose of the powder, 
 from one scruple to one drachm ; of the infusion, from one to two fluid- 
 ounces. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Helenii ; Extractum Helenii Alcoholicum ; Sjt- 
 upus AralisB Compositus. 
 
 lODINIUM. (Ipd.) 
 
 Iodine. 
 
 Iodine is contained in the largest quantity in the marine plints. The 
 following is the per centage which several of these plants haA e yielded 
 when dried : 
 
 Zostera marina 0.0005 Eucus saccatus 0.124 
 
 Pucus vesiculosis 0.001 Pucus digitatus 0.135 
 
 Ulva laetuca 0.055 Pucus siliquosus 0.142 
 
 Ulva umbilicalis ' 0.059 Pucus saccharinus 0.230 
 
 Pucus filium 0.0894 
 
 It has also been found in small quantity in Pucus nodosus, P. lorcus, 
 P. eartilagineus, P. membranaceus, P. rubeus, and P. palmatus; in 
 Sphserococcus helminthocorton and S. crispus ; in Ulva linza, and U. 
 pavonia; in Lichen confinis, Statice armeria, Grimmia maratima, Jun- 
 germania albitans, J. pinguis, Armeria maritima, Nasturtium officinale, 
 -Muscus corallinus, Asplenium trichomones, Aspidium capillus veneris, 
 iind in Confervse and Oscillariae, especially O. grateloupi. It has 
 also been detected in sarsaparilla root, in potassa, in the best of Wag- 
 hausel, in the turf of Hofwyl, and in the ash of several Eanunculaceas, 
 as E. flammula, and Picaria ranunculoides. Sponge contains it, also 
 the following marine animals : Spongia oculata, Gorgonia flabellum, 
 Plustra foliacea, Asterias rubeus, Crognon vulgare, Ostrea edulis, My- 
 tilus edulis, Pleuronectes flexuo, and varieties of Sertularia, Tubularia, 
 Ehizostoma, Cyana,, Doris, and Venus. Many varieties of Gadus con- 
 tain it in their livers, and the liver of Eaja clavata, and E. batis, are 
 said to contain even more than the cod liver. Traces^ of Iodine have 
 
lODINIUM. 447 
 
 been found in echini, the liquids of Julus foetidissimus, crabs, starfish 
 salt herrings, etc. ' 
 
 Its presence in minerals and natural waters is frequent ; it has been 
 found combined with mercury and silver, in the cerussite of Catoree, 
 Mexico ; in very small quantity in Silesian ^inc ore ; in the salt of Hallj 
 Tyrol; in native nitrate of soda; in Silesian coal; in the distillation 
 products of coal ; in the Jura limestones near Lyons and Montpelier ; 
 in clay, vegetable mold, sulphur, cinnabar, iron and manganese miner-' 
 als, gypsum, white chalk, etc. It has likewise been detected in rain 
 and fresh water, and in various mineral waters, in different parts of 
 the world, so that it is a more common substance than has been 
 hitherto supposed. 
 
 Preparation. — Iodine is more commonly prepared from Kelp, lihe 
 mother-water of which, after the carbonate of soda, and chloride of 
 potassium have been crystallized, contain it in larger quantity than 
 any other substance. The kelp is lixiviated in water, the solution is 
 concentrated by evaporation, and the various salts of soda and potas- 
 sium are deposited, leaving a dense, dark-colored, mother liquor, called 
 iodine lye. Sulphuric acid is added to this to acidulate it, and which 
 liberates carbonic acid, sulphurous acid, and sulphuretted hydrogen 
 gases, while sulphur is deposited. As the sulphuretted hydrogen escapes 
 it is set fire to, in order to obviate its bad effects. The acidulated lye is 
 now introduced into a leaden still, and heated to 140° F., when binox- 
 ide of manganese is added: a leaden head is then adapted, heat is ap- 
 plied, Iodine is evolved, and is collected into a series of glass receivers, 
 on the inner surface of which it condenses. In this process, two equiva- 
 lents of sulphuric acid react on one equivalent of binoxide of manga- 
 nese, and on one equivalent of sodium ; and yield one equivalent of 
 Iodine, one of sulphate of soda, and one of the sulphate of the protox- 
 ide of manganese. — P. 
 
 Souberain states that a much larger quantity of Iodine may be ob- 
 tained by the following process ; Add sulphate of copper to the mother- 
 water so long as a white precipitate of iodide of copper is thrown down. 
 Then treat the supernatant liquid with more of the sulphate, together 
 with iron-filings. The iron, taking the place of the copper in the solu- 
 tion, sets that metal free ; and the metal, in the act of evolution, unites 
 with what remains of the Iodine in the fluid, so that more iodide of 
 copper is formed. When this iodide is mingled, with oxide of manga- 
 nese and sulphuric acid, a moderate heat decomposes it, and Iodine is 
 sublimed. 
 
 History. — Iodine is a simple non-metallic substance, exceedingly anal- 
 ogous to chlorine. — Turner. It was discovered in 1811 by M. Courtois, 
 a saltpeter manufacturer at Paris; and in 1820, its medicinal virtues 
 were first made known by Dr. Coindet, sen., of Geneva. It is prejjared 
 from the ashes of sea weeds, which ashes are of a dark color, and 
 known by the name of Kelp. 
 
 Iodine is commonly sold in small scales, occasionally in solid masses ; 
 it has a grayish-black or bluish-black color, a shining appearance, a 
 peculiar and unpleasant odor, which iritates the nostrils, and an acrid 
 taste. It is brittle and easily pulverized, fuses at 225° F., and is vola- 
 tilized at 347°, though its vapor rises with that of boiling water. At 
 common temperatures it slowly evaporates. Its specific gravity is 4.95. 
 It stains the skin brownish-yellow, and it the contact be prolonged, 
 will destroy the soft textures of the body. It is soluble in water con- 
 taining syrup of orange ; and six ounces of water, to which two 
 
448 Materia Medica. 
 
 grains of' tannic acid are added, will dissolve ten grains Qf lodina 
 Water dissolves only a 7,000th of its own weight of Iodine, and 
 acquires a brownish-yellow color ; in saline solutions it is much 
 more soluble, and freely so in solutions of chloride of sodium, nitrate of 
 ammonia, or iodide of potassium. It dissolves in twelve parts of rec- 
 tified spirit at 60°, is very soluble in ether, glycerin, or the volatile oils, 
 but with some of them, especially those from coniferous tribe of plants, 
 considerably heat is evolved, brisk effervescence ensues, and much of 
 , the iodine is discharged in vapor. Iodized oil of Juniper (Iodine half a 
 drachm to oil of Juniper one ounce, the Iodine to be added gradually 
 antil the whole is added) possesses all the properties of the Tincture of 
 Iodine, and its use is not attended with discoloration of the cuticle. 
 Iodine unites with oxygen or hydrogen to form acids ; also with sul- 
 phur, phosphorus, carbon, chlorine, etc. ; starch globules, if converted 
 by boiling with water into soluble starch or amidin, form a blue precip- 
 itate with it, of such intensity that Iodine may be detected in 450,000 
 parts of water. To effect this the Iodine must be free, which may be 
 obtained by adding a little nitric acid to the suspected solutions, and 
 the solutions must be cold. Iodine is easily mixed with fatty sub- 
 tances; it is apt to escape from the surface of ointments, unless united 
 with iodide of potassium, which much impedes this result. The com- 
 bination of Iodine with hydrogen forms a gaseous acid, called Hydri- 
 odic Acid; and that with oxygen forms three acids, the lodous, Iodic, 
 and Syperiodic Acids. Starch is a delicate test to determine the pres- 
 ence of Iodine in urine, solutions, etc. Eabourdin names the following 
 , as a test: Dissolve iodide of potassium, half a grain, in distilled water 
 fifty thousand grains. Of this solution take three hundred grains, and 
 add to it nitric acid four drops, sulphuric acid thirty or forty. drops. 
 To the mixture thus prepared, add chloroform thirty grains, and agi- 
 tate briskly ; the Iodine present will impart a decided violet hue to the 
 chloroform. Chloroform has also been employed by Eabourdin as a 
 test for Iodine in cod-liver oil,— the distinctness of color occasioned 
 depending upon the quantity of Iodine present, — ^thus, one hundred 
 grains of the oil is mixed with a solution of ten grains of the purest 
 caustic potassa in distilled water thirty grains ; place the mixture in a 
 small iron vessel, and, by heat, carefully reduce it to ashes. Lixiviate 
 the ash with as little water as possible, filter, add nitric and sulphuric 
 acids as in the preceding test, and add eight grains of chloroform. As 
 the chloroform separates, it will be found of a violet hue, more or less 
 decided, depending upon- the quantity of Iodine contained in the oil. 
 Dr. A. Overbeck gives the following very delicate test for Iodine : Some 
 starch or sugar is poured into a test-tube with concentrated nitric acid, 
 and heated over a spirit-lamp very gently until a violent evolutioil of 
 gas ensues. The spirit-lamp is then removed, and the gas, which now 
 evolves without a continuation of the application of heat, is conducted 
 into the fluid to be tested, to which a solution of starch has been ad- 
 ded. If the fluid contains only a millionth of iodide of potassium, a 
 blue coloration directly results. By a further introduction of the gas, 
 the iodide of starch precipitates out in flocks, and deposits itself, when 
 at rest, as a compact, massy precipitate. In this way he found Iodine 
 in many plants, particularly in the ashes of several ranunculuses. Mr. 
 D. S. Price has given a method by which Iodine maybe detected when 
 combined as ah iodide, even to the millionth part. The suspected 
 liquid is mixed with starch, then acidulated with hydrochloric acid, 
 and lastly, a solution of nitrite of potassa is added. As the Iodine is 
 
lODINIUM. 449 
 
 set free, a blue color is produced. When much Iodine is present, a 
 dark blue color is produced immediately ; when it amounts to only two 
 or three millionths the color does not appear until after the lapse of 
 some seconds. M. de Luca gives the following as a very sensitive test 
 for ascertaining the presence of Iodine : introduce the suspected liquid 
 into a tube closed at one end; add to it a few drops of sulphuret of 
 carbon or chloroform, and then a very dilute aqueous solution of bro- 
 mine. The bromine decomposes only the iodides ; neither the chlorides 
 tior bromides. By Shaking the mixture the free Iodine is dissolved in 
 the sulphuret of carbon or chloroform, to which it gives a more or less 
 intense violet tint, or a rose color, when the quantity is Yepy minute. 
 An excess of bromine must be avoided, as it would interfere with the 
 result. M. Carey Lea proposes a very dilute solution of bichromate 
 of potash to detect Iodine in the form of hydriodic acid, or the Iodide 
 of a base; add to the solution suspected to hold Iodine some starch, 
 then add a single drop of the solution of the bichromate, or enough to 
 give a pale yellow, and finally add a feW drops of hydrochloric acid, 
 which gives a blue precipitate. If the Iodine is present in very mi- < 
 nute quantity, say a half-millionth, merely a tawny shade will be given 
 to the solution. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 1866, p. 444. Buchner arrived at 
 the same result with sesquichloride of iron free from chlorine and ni- 
 trous vapors. M. Laronde suggests petroleum oil to detect Iodine in 
 liquids ; place ten parts of the liquid and one part of the oil in a test 
 tube, and shake it ; drop in a few drops of nitric acid, and then two 
 drops of liquid chloride of lime, and again shake.' The oil soon rises 
 to the surface with all the Iodine in solution, with a more or less rose- 
 water. The simultaneous presence of Iodine and bromine in a mineral 
 water, or any other dilute solution, may be determined, according to 
 Phipson, by the following actions : In contact with sulphuret of carbon 
 and free chlorine, the Iodides are decomposed at first, then follow the 
 bromides ; and, moreover, when the chlorine in excess acts upon the 
 Iodine dissolved in the sulphuret of carbon to form the quintichloride 
 of Iodine, the sulphuret of carbon is decolorized. It is not thus when 
 the liquor contains a bromide, then, the sulphuret of cp,rbDii preserves 
 an orange color in presence of the chlorine. Under certain circum- 
 stances, we can test the presence of the two in a few minutes. — Comptes 
 Bendus, 1867. 
 
 " Yarious substances, such as coal, plumbago, binoxide of manganese, 
 sand and charcoal, are said to have been employed for the purpose of 
 adulterating Iodine ; but in no samples of Iodine which I have exam- 
 ined, have I ever found any of these substances. Pure Iodine is complete- 
 ly soluble in alcohol, and evaporates when heated, without leaving any 
 residuum. Any matter insoluble in alcohol, or not vaporizable by heat, 
 is an adulteration." — P. The most frequent adulteration, however, is 
 water, which may be known by the presence of visible moisture in the 
 vial containing it,, or by compressing the Iodine between folds of blot- 
 ting paper. The Edinburgh College gives the following useful tests for 
 detecting impurities in Iodine: "Thirty-nine grains of the Iodine sus- 
 pected, with nine grains of quicklime, and three ounces of water, when 
 heated short of ebullition , slowly form a perfect solution, which is yel- 
 lowish or brownish if the Iodine be pure, but colorless if there be above 
 two per cent, of water or other impurity." Iodine should be wholly 
 soluble in ether ; should sublime without residue,- not giving any color- 
 less prisms having a pungent odor; and 12.7 grains dissolved in a fluid-' 
 ounce of distilled water with fifteen grains of Iodide of potassium 
 29 
 
450 Materia, Medica. 
 
 should be rendered, wholly colorless , by 100 measures of the volumetric 
 solution of hyposulphite of soda. — Br. Pharm. 
 
 There are so many substances incompatible with Iodine, that its prepa- • 
 rations are best given in simple water sweetened, and diluted to the 
 patient's taste. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In large doses Iodine is an irritant and corrosive 
 poison, stimulating the mucous membranes, liver, and absorbent glands, 
 exciting the sexual organs, and producing debility of the digestive func- 
 tions, muscular weakness, and emaciation. This influence upon the 
 system, in which its poisonous eifects are developed, is termed lodism. 
 Its symptoms are fever, violent vomiting and purging, great thirst, pal- 
 pitation, extreme restlessness, rapid emaciation, acute, epigastric pain, 
 cramps, small and frequent pulse, violent priapism, trembling, occasional 
 syncope, etc. These symptoms vary in different persons, and have even 
 terminated fatally. From four to six grains have produced these symp- 
 toms, hence it should never be administered in large doses, and when 
 these effects appear, the medicine should at once be stopped. 
 
 In small or medicinal doses, it is a stimulant, tonic, alterative, diuretic, 
 emmeriagogue, and diaphoretic. It affects especially the absorbent and 
 glandular system, and its results vary according to the dose, combina- 
 tion, etc. ; it has been detected in the urine soon after being swallowed, 
 also in the saliva, perspiration, milk, and blood, and always in the form 
 of hydri'odic acid, or an iodide. It is supposed to undergo conversion 
 in the stomach into hydriodic acid, andthus'absorbed. There is a dif- 
 ference of action irr preparations of iodine; those which act especially 
 by iodine in a free state or in which it is readily set free, are not elimi- 
 nated from the economy, as tincture of iodine, iodides of iron, and iodide 
 of lime, and should be administered in small doses. On the other hand, 
 those which are eliminated, as iodide of potassium, or of sodium, may 
 be given in large doses ; these not only convey into the excretions me- 
 tallic substances that may have been in the system for a long time, but, 
 as iwith*iodide of potassium, they produce the influences peculiar to the 
 base; with the iodide. of potassium we observe the diuretic and siala- 
 gogue influence of the alkali. — Bouchardaf s Ann. de Therap., 1S69, p. 
 184. Iodine and some of its preparations will occasionally produce 
 salivation, soreness of the mouth, coryza, and often pustular eruptions. 
 Under its influence, enlarged glands are brought to their normal size, 
 and strumous ulcers gradually healed. Occasionally it has caused a 
 rapid and, permanent wasting away of the mammse or testicles; and 
 again, after a lapse of time, these organs have recovered their original 
 development. 
 
 It is employed medicinally in various forms of disease, in some of 
 which it produces astonishingly beneficial results. The diseases in which 
 it appears to be more generally efiicacious, are bronchocele, glandular 
 ■obstructions, scrofula, syphilis, mercuric syphilis, strvimous ophthalmia, 
 ozoena, ulcers of the integuments, enlargement of the external absorbent 
 glands, chronic enlargement of the liver and spleen, mammae, testes, 
 and uterus, ovarian tumors, leucorrhea, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, 
 caries, paralysis, chorea, rheumatism, and, in fact, all diseases of a 
 hypertrophical, strumous, or cachectic character. In bronchocele, it ;» 
 most serviceable in the early congestive stage, or in the middle stage 
 of gelatiniform eflfusion ; in the indurated stage of the thyroid gland it 
 is of little benefit. In this affection its use should be continued unin- 
 terruptedly for at least five weeks, and if no good effects appear, it may 
 be laid aside. It should always be combined with some narcotic, to 
 
lODINIUM. 451 
 
 lessen or prevent its irritant results. The tincture, diluted with three 
 times its volume of water, has been recommended as an injection in 
 hydrocele, after removal of the effused fluid, to stimulate the tunica 
 vaginalis to adhesive inflammation. These injections have also heen 
 advised in ovarian cysts, dropsy of the joints, hernia, etc. Dr. J. War- 
 ing Curran, in the treatment of diphtheria, takes a fluidrachm, of a 
 compound composed of iodine, iodide of potassium, each, four grains, 
 alcohol, four fluidrachms, water four fluidrachms, — which lie adds to a 
 pint of vinegar in which a handful of sage has heen boiled; this is 
 placed in a teapot or an inhaler, and kept hot over a spirit-lamp, and 
 the vapor is inhaled ten or twelve times a day, for ten or twelve minutes 
 each time. The dose of the iodine solution must be steadily increased, 
 until it reaches half a fluidounce for each inhalation. In erysipelatous 
 inflammations it has been advised to paint the inflamed surface with a 
 strong tincture ; likewise in chilblains and cutaneous scrofula. Dr. R. 
 Druitt, and B. W. Eichardson recommend the vapor from iodine as a 
 deodorizer and disinfectant. Powdered iodine, or a strong tincture of 
 iodine is placed in open vessels in various parts of a room, so that the 
 air therein becomes impregnated with the vapor. This is recommended 
 in cases of small-pox, typhoid and other fevers, or wherever the atmos- 
 phere of a room requires purification, as, where there are sinks, sick- 
 chairs, closets, etc. The air thus purified becomes fresh and agreeable 
 to the sense of smell. Inhalations of vapor from iodine have been 
 highly spoken of in the treatment of phthisis, chronic laryngitis and 
 bronchitis, and in aphonia; the atmosphere of the patient's room to be 
 impregnated with the vapor, so that it can be constantly inhaled day 
 and night. 
 
 Iodine is not a cumulative medicine, like lead, digitalis, etc., hence, 
 whenever its effects approach iodism, a suspension of its use will gradu- 
 ally remove them ; however, at the present time, these effects are not 
 so often observed as among its early investigators. Yet, as some 
 persons are very susceptible to its influence, the approach of iodism 
 • should be carefully watched, and its symptoms checked. In chronic 
 diarrhea and dysentery, cholera-infantum, colliquative diarrhea of 
 phthisis and scrofulous diseases, I have found the following a superior 
 remedy : Take of iodine one and a half grains, sulphate of morphia 
 one-eighth of a grain; extract of geranium twenty grains; triturate 
 thoroughly together in a mortar, form into a pill mass with feimple 
 syrup, or extract of liquorice, and divide into ten pills; of these, one 
 pill may be given every hour or two to an adult. In hepatic and 
 splenitic affections, dried extract of leptandra may be substituted for 
 the extract of geranium. In the Mexican diarrhea I succeeded in 
 curing every case in which the following preparation was employed : 
 Take of iodine one and a half grains, tannic acid ten grains, distilled 
 water flve fluidrachms ; mix together. For an adult, give one flu idrachm , 
 every two hours, in syrup of ginger, or cinnamon -water ; to be continued 
 daily. Externally, iodine is used in the form of ointment for strumous 
 ulcers, ophthalmia, and some cutaneous diseases. Subcutaneous injec- 
 tions of iodine around the wound, have been found successful in the 
 bites of snakes and other poisonous wounds. Dr. Brainard speaks very 
 highly of them. A caustic iodine is recommended as an application to 
 stimulate or destroy soft and fungous granulations, and as a remedy 
 for noli-me-tangere ; it is made by adding an ounce each of iodine and 
 iodide of potassium, to two ounces of distilled water. Iodine is contra- 
 indicated in cerebral congestion and tendency to apoplexy, in menor- 
 
452 Materia Medica. 
 
 rhagia, in disordered stomach or bowels, or wherever local diseases be- 
 come attended with symptomatic fever, or with incidental febrile affec- 
 tions. 
 
 Iodine may be kept in a state of solution when added to mixtures in 
 the form of tincture, by the addition of syrup of orange peel, or a few 
 grains of tannic acid. When given internally to females it is apt to in- 
 crease the quantity of the menstrual discharge and sometimes to multiply 
 the periods of its appearance ; if the symptoms are not very severe or 
 alarming, but little interference will be required, as they will cease after a 
 short time ; where this is demanded, a cessation of the use of the remedy 
 will most generally suffice. In the employment of iodine, if the urine 
 is passed in quantity, and on examination is found to contain iodine, 
 and the strength and appetite of the patient gradually return, it may 
 be considered indicative of a beneficial therapeutical influence, and its 
 use should be continued. Dose of iodine, in substance, half a grain, 
 two or three times a day, in pill form ; of the tincture, from five to fif- 
 teen drops, twice a day. The best forms for internal use are the com- 
 pound tincture and compound solution. When given in powder, it 
 should be united with opium, and formed into a pill with extract of 
 liquorice. In poisoning by iodine, first evacuate the stomach, by giv- 
 ing an emetic in starch water, and afterward administer freely starch 
 water, or flour, or arrow-root in water. 
 
 A preparation called Iodoform, or Teriodide of Formyle, is represented 
 by M.. Eighini as possessing remarkable antiseptic and antispasmodic 
 properties. He states that the inhalation of its ethereal solution is of 
 great service in retarding the progress of phthisis. Iodoform is a yel- 
 low crystalline substance, insoluble in water, soluble in ether or alcohol, 
 having an odor like that of saffron, and a sweet taste. It is formed by 
 heating an alcoholic, solution of iodide of potassium to 104° P., then 
 adding and stirring in successive quantities of chlorinated lime, until 
 the dark -red color of the liquid is removed. On standing, crystals of 
 iodoform and iodate of lime are precipitated. Dissolve these in boiling 
 alcohol of ninety per cent., the iodoform only is dissolved, and is de- 
 posited in crystals as the solution cools ; its formula is C2 HI3. Inter- 
 nally, in the dose of one to three grains three times a day, in pill form,, 
 it -has proved useful in goitre, scrofula, rachitis, glandular tumors, 
 menstrual derangements, affections of the bladder, etc. An ointment 
 of 30 to 60 grains to an ounce of lard, has been successfully applied to 
 tumors and in certain skin diseases. In suppository form with cacao 
 butter, it has proved beneficial in cancer of the uterus. 
 
 Another preparation, the Iodide of Ethyle, Ae I, is made by cautiously 
 adding phosphorus to a mixture of alcohol and Iodine, and then dis- 
 tilling at a gentle heat ; the product is received into water, and then 
 agitated with more water, from which the heavy oily ether separates 
 on standing. This is redistilled with oxide of lead and chloride of cal- 
 cium until the product is free from phosphorus and water. Iodine of 
 ethyle is a powerful anaesthetic when iinhaled, but it must be entirely 
 free from phosphorus. It is a most valuable remedial agent, patients- 
 being able to bear a much larger quantity of iodine in this form than 
 they possibly could bear in any other manner. It has been used in- 
 ternally with success in scrofulous diseases, by inhalation in diseases of 
 the lungs and heart, and as a local application to painful and irritable 
 ulcers, and, scrofulous ulcers. (See Sydriodio Ether.) 
 
 An adhesive Iodine paint is used at the Moorfields Ophthalmic hos- 
 pital, as an application to chronic inflammations of the eyelids ; th* 
 
Ipoji^a Jalapa. , 453 
 
 mastic prevents the puint from spreading on the more delicate structures 
 in the neighborhood : talje of alcohol two fluidrachme, spirit of nitric 
 ether four fluidraehms, mastic half a drachm, Iodine to saturation; 
 mix. According to Mr. E. H. Brett iodic acid added to the vegetable 
 alkaloids, with a few drops of water, gives rise to a series of distinct 
 explosions, accompanied by an evolution of gas, and may be used to 
 determine whether an unknown body is an alkaloid ; it appears to have 
 the same action with their salts. 
 
 Dr. Percy Boulton has introduced to the profesb.jn a colorless solu- 
 tion of Iodine and Carbolic acid (Carbolate of Iodine) as possessing 
 stimulant and antiseptic properties in a marked degree. It has been 
 found useful as a local application (by injection, gargle, lotion, or spray 
 inhalation), in sore throat, diphtheritis, ozcena, otorrhea, purulent oph- 
 ^thalmia, foul and indolent ulcers, leucorrhea, ulceration of cervix uteri, 
 internal hemorrhoids, laryngeal and bronchial affections, etc. In some 
 instances it will require to be diluted with water, and when the spray 
 is to be inhaled, the glycerin may be omitted, and the mixture be diluted 
 to the required extent with water. Its formula is as follows : Take of 
 compound tincture of Iodine 45 minims, crystals of carbolic acid 6 
 minims, glycerin 8 fluidraehms, distilled water 5 fluidounces ; mix. The 
 color disappears in from eight hours to ten days, depending upon the 
 temperature ; the mixture should be kept in a dark place. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Emplastrum Belladonnse Compositum ; Ferri lodidum ; 
 Liquor Ferri lodidi ; Liquor lodini Compositus : Potassii lodidum ; 
 Tinctura lodini ; Tinctura lodini Composita ; Unguentum lodidi Com- 
 positum. 
 
 IPOM^A JALAPA. — Exogonium Purga. (lalappenwihde.) 
 
 Jalap. 
 Nat. Ord. — Convolvulacese. Sex. Syst. — Pehtandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Jalap has a fleshy, tuberous, pyriform root, with numer- 
 ous roundish tubercles. Stems several, smooth, brownish, very slightly 
 rough, with a tendency to twist, twining about surrounding bodies. 
 Leaves long petioled, the first hastate, the succeeding ones cordate, acu- 
 minate, mucronate, smooth, deeply incised at base, conspicuously veined 
 beneath. Peduncles axillary, two-flowered, rarely three, twisted, as long 
 as the petioles. Oalyx has no bracts, composed of five smooth, obtuse, 
 mucronate sepals. Corolla funnel-shaped, purple, with a long, some- 
 what clavate tube, an undulated limb, with five plaits. Stamens five; 
 filaments smooth, unequal, longer than the corolla tube ; anthers white, 
 oblong-linear, projecting. Ovary slender, two-celled ; stigma simple, 
 capitate, deeply furrowed. Capsule two-celled ; cells two-seeded ; seeds 
 unknown. — jO. — N. 
 
 History. — It is only within a few years that any certainty has existed 
 in relation to the plant from which the Jalap root was obtained. It 
 was first spoken of in 1609, as Bryonia Mechoacana Nigricans, then it 
 was regarded by Bay as Convolvulus Americanus jalapium dietus, after 
 which Tournefort, being deceived by persons who asserted that they 
 had seen the plant growing, referred it to a species of MiraUlis. Bal- 
 four placed it as the Exogonium Purga, and Linnseus named li Convol- 
 vulus Jalapa, and thus much difference of opinion existed, until in 1827, 
 when Dr. J. E. Coxe, of Philadelphia, succeeded in obtaining perfect 
 flowers from roots of the true plant furnished to him from their native 
 
454 Materia Medica. 
 
 soils, and tbus first made its true character known to the scientifie 
 world. The name of Ipomosa Purga was bestowed upon the plant by 
 Wenderoth, and Hayne, but as the authorities of this country have, 
 undoubtedly, the first claim, it may be viewed as fixed that I. Jalapa, 
 th« name originally given to it by Nuttall, is the oflScinal plant. 
 
 The Jalap plant is found in a deep rich vegetable soil, at an elevation 
 of nearly six thousand feet above the level of the sea, growing in 
 Mexico, near Chicanquiaco and Xalapa, from which last named place it 
 is generally exported, and from which it has also obtained its name. 
 It is generally imported in bags, containing one or two hundred pounds. 
 The root is the officinal part, and is gathered at all seasons, but prin- 
 cipally in March and April, when the young shoots are appearing. The 
 plant may be cultivated in the southern parts of the United States. In 
 July, 1866, Dr. D. Hanbury planted a root or tuber of jalap in a garden 
 having a southern exposure, at Clapham, near London ; this grew, and' 
 bloomed some in the following autumn, and again blossomed in Novem- 
 ber, 1867. During the winter, it was protected from cold and moisture 
 by being covered with straw. Already twenty tubers have been pro- 
 cnred from this original one, weighing about two pounds. The cultiva- 
 tion of the plant in the north is now placed beyond a doubt, but will 
 the cultivated plant possess medical virtues in an equal degree with the 
 native Mexican plant ? 
 
 Two kinds of Jalap are now met with in commerce, the Vera Cruz, 
 and the Tampieo, the former being sold at a much higher price than 
 the latter. They both contain resin, that from the Tampieo beingsome- 
 what darker than the other, possessing a distinctive peculiarity of smeL 
 somewhat resembling peat fuel, and being almost wholly dissolved by 
 ether. Tampieo Jalap was described by the late M. Guibourt, as "jalap 
 digite majeur," and who advised it not to be used in the preparation of 
 medicines in which jalap is a constituent; its resin alone should be used 
 in medicine, which is purgative. It may be determined from the Vera 
 Cruz jalap or resin, by this being only partially soluble in ether. A 
 false jalap, very much resembling the true tubers has been described 
 by Prof W. Procter, in Am. Jour. Pharm., 1868, p. 389. It probably 
 comes from a convolvulaceous plant, related to the true jalap, but differs 
 from it in the total absence of resinous zones and cells, under micro- 
 scopic examination.- — J. M. Maisch. 
 
 When fresh, the root is black externally, white and milky within, 
 and varies in size according to its age, from that of a walnut to that of 
 a moderate sized turnip. It is dried in net bags over the fire, sometimes 
 entire, and sometimes in sections. It is imported in irregularly round 
 or pear-shaped masses, seldom as large as the fist, and is either entire, 
 or sliced into longitudinal or transverse pieces. It is ponderous, hard, 
 dark -brown externally, rough and wrinkled, internally grayish-brown 
 and formed of irregular concentric layers presenting brilliant lines and 
 points, of a faint, disagreeable odor, increased by rubbing or powdering 
 it, and of a nauseous and sweetish taste, succeeded by some acridity. 
 It is often preyed upon by insects, which, however, leave its active part 
 untouched, rendering it consequently more energetic ; Jalap thus preyed 
 upon is used for procuring the resin, but should not be given internally, 
 except in much smaller doses than for the ordinary root. Jalap is rather 
 difficult to pulverize, but if triturated with cream of tartar, sugar of 
 milk, or other hard salt, the process of pulverization is facilitated, and 
 the powder rendered much finer. "When in powder, the color is a pale 
 grayish -brown, and when in contact with the mucous membrane of the 
 
Ipom^a Jalapa. 455 
 
 air-tubes causes coughing, and sternutation, with an increased discharge 
 of saliva. Its solvents are water, alcohol, or spirits. Water takes up 
 but a small portion of its cathartic principle, but considerable of an 
 amylaceous and mucilaginous extractive matter. Alcohol dissolves its 
 resin"; on which its cathartic virtues depend. Ether only partially 
 dissolves it. Proof-spirits or diluted alcohol completely extract its 
 active properties. Analysis of the commercial Jalap has detected in it, 
 resin soluble in alcohol, a soft resin soluble in ether, also, colored gummy 
 extract, starch. Geiber found Jalap to contain hard resin 7.8, soft resin 
 3.2, acrid extractive 17.9, gummy extractive 14.4, coloring matter 8.2, 
 liquid sugar 1.9, gum with salts 15.6, bassorin 3.2, vegetable albumen 
 3.9, starch 6.0, lignin 8.2,-malic acid and malates of potassa and lime 
 2.4, chlorides of calcium and potassium 1.4, phosphates of magnesia 
 I and lime 1.7, carbonate of lime 3.0. Gruibourt found in it resin 17.65, 
 liquid sugar by alcohol 19.00, brown saccharine extract 9.05, gum 10.12, 
 starch 18.78, woody fiber 21.60. The resin of jalap may be obtained 
 by repeatedly treating the coarsely chopped roots with boiling water, 
 pressing them between each operation, and when the expressed liquid 
 is no longer colored, extracting the resin from the roots by means of 
 boiling alcohol, sp.gr. 0.880. This resin consists of two distinct resins ; 
 one of these, pararhodeoretin or rhodeoretinic acid, C^ H34 L\s, has the odor 
 and acrid taste of jalap, is soluble in ether, is powerfully acid, and forms 
 needle-shaped crystals when its alcoholic or ethereal solution is mixed 
 with water. The other resin is insoluble in ether, chloroform, or ben- 
 zole, and is sucseptible of decomposition into- glucose and a resinous 
 acid. It is called rhodeoretin, Cea Hj,, O32, and is the jalapin of Buchner 
 and Herberger. It is white, odorless, tasteless, soluble in alcohol, acetic 
 acid, and alkaline solutions, especially when boiled with these solutions, 
 is slowly dissolved by sulphuric acid, assuming a beautiful red color, 
 gradually becoming brown, is fusible at 300° P.,, and from its active 
 purgative effects is supposed to be the cathaj-tio principle of jalap. 
 Spirgatis considers it identical with the active principle of scammony, 
 and Mayer terms it convolvulin. "When its solution in sulphuric acid is 
 diluted, an oily looking acid body, HC32 Hjg Oe, is precipitated, and 
 glucose remains in solution.-^ TT. A. Miller. 
 
 Jalap root is seldom adulterated ; the best quality may be known by 
 being compact, ponderous, dry, dark, with many shining lines land 
 points ; if light, whitish internally, spongy,, friable, and of a dull frac- 
 ture, it should be rejected. Several adulterations are spoken of by 
 authors, but they can usually be detected without diflSculty. The resin 
 of Jalap, met with in commerce, is rarely pure, being adulterated with 
 guaiac, and other resins, and various inert substances, many of which 
 may be readily detected by their odor alone. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Jalap is an irritant and cathartic, operating 
 energetically, occasioning profuse liquid stools with griping, and some- 
 times sickness at stomach, or even vomiting. IJarge doses produce 
 violent hypercatharsis, sometimes terminating fatally. When applied 
 to a wound it is said to induce purgation. ITotwith standing its activity, 
 it is a safe and convenient purgative, much in use among the profes- 
 sion, and is useful in all cases where it is desirable to produce an ener- 
 getic influence on the bowels, or to obtain large evacuations. In intes- 
 tinal inflammations it should not be used. United with the bitartrate 
 of potassa, its hydragog.ue properties are much increased, and thus 
 proves beneflcial in dropsies, as well as in some forms of scrofulr. It is 
 stated that the aqueous extract of Jalap, the root having been pre- 
 
i56 Materia Medica. 
 
 vionsly exTiausted of its resin by alcohol, will exert no cathartic in- 
 fluence, but will operate as a powerful diuretic, but I have not been 
 able to procure this effect, though having inade a trial in several cases. 
 Three grains of Jalap, taken an hour before each meal, act as a slight 
 nauseant, destroying a desire for food among persons who are apt to 
 eat too freely. If Jalap is digested in ether, its nauseous taste and 
 smell will be wholly removed, without lessening its cathartic power. 
 A biscuit is sometimes made for those to whom it is extremely nause- 
 ous and disagreeable ; five drachms of Jalap, thirty of sugar, and four 
 ounces of flour, are made into fifteen biscuits after the usual mode ; 
 one biscuit is a dose. The tendency of Jalap to gripe and nauseate, 
 may be obviated by adding to the dose a grain or two of camphor, or 
 three grains of cloves. The dose of powdered Jalap is from ten to 
 thirty grains (the aqueous extract ought not to be used, except as a 
 diuretic) ; of the tincture, from one to four fluidrachms; the resin, or 
 alcoholic extract is given in from two to eight grain doses, being usu- 
 ally rubbed up with sugar, or in emulsion, for the purpose of lessening 
 its disposition to produce painful irritation of the intestinal mucous 
 membrane, f As a hydragogue, two drachms of the bitartrate of potassk 
 are added to ten or thirty grains of pulverized Jalap. The Jalap resin 
 -nsoluble in ether is stated by "W. Mayer to be tasteless, odorless, color- 
 less, softening at 266°,'and melting at 302° F. He calls it rhodeoretine, 
 G!j2 Hjo Oar, which is converted into rhodeoretine acid, 0,2 Hs^ O^o, by 
 the action of bases. It purges violently in three or four grain doses, 
 and appears to be the active principle of Jalap. 
 
 Q^. Prep. — Confectio Sennae Composita ; Extractum sive Eesina 
 Jalap , Pulvis Jalapae Compositus ; Tinctura Jalapse Composita. 
 
 lEIS VEESICOLOE. (Bunte Iris.) 
 
 Blue Flag. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Iridacese. Sex. Syst. — Triandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE EHIZOMA. 
 
 Description. — Iris Versicolor is an indigenous plant, with a fleshy, 
 horizontal, fibrous root or rhizoma. Stem two or three feet in height, 
 terete, flexuous, round on one side, acute on the oflher, frequently 
 branched. Leaves about a foot long, half an inch to an inch wide, 
 ensiform, striated, erect, sheathing at base. Bracts scarious. Flowers 
 from two to six in number, generally blue or purple ; ovary obtusely 
 three-cornered. Peduncles of different lengths, flattened on the inside. 
 Sepals spatulate, beardless, the border purple, the claw variegated with 
 green, yellow, and white, veined with purple. Petals erect, varying in 
 shape from spatulate to lanceolate, usually paler than the outer, entire 
 or emarginate. Stign\ is three, petaloid, purple or violet, bifid, crenate, 
 more or less reflexed at the point. Stamens three, concealed under the 
 stigmas, with oblong-linear anthers. Capsule three-celled, three-valved, 
 when ripe oblong, turgid, three-sided, with roundish angles. Seeds 
 numerous, &at.—I/.—B. — W. 
 
 History. — ^Blue Flag is common throughout the United States, grow- 
 ing ill moist places, and presenting blue or purple flowers from May to 
 July. The root is the officinal part; in appearance it very much re- 
 sembles that of the Acorus Calamus ; it has a peculiar odor, augmented 
 by rubbing or pulverizing, and a disagreeable taste with considerable 
 
Iris Versicolor. 457 
 
 icridity. Its active properties are taken up by boiling water in infu- 
 sion, and by alcohol or ether ; and its acridity, as well as its medicinal 
 virtues, are diminished by age. The fresh root, sliced transversely, 
 dried in an atmosphere not exceeding 103° F., pulverized, and then 
 placed in darkened and well-closed vessels to protect it from the action 
 of light and air, will have its medicinal virtues preserved for a great 
 length of time. It contains mucilage, oil, and resin, from the former 
 of which it derives diuretic properties, by decoction. The resin is of a 
 light brown color, of a faint odor, and of a taste resembling that of tlie 
 root; when perfectly freed from oil it is whitish yellow. Its tliera- 
 peutical influences are not positively known. The oil possesses in a 
 high degree the taste and smell of the root, and is the principle to 
 which it owes its medicinal activity. The oleo-resin is obtained for 
 medical purpos_e8, under the name of Iridin. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is one among our most valuable medicinal 
 plants, and is capable of fulfilling quite a number of indications. The 
 powdered root of Blue Flag is cathartic, alterative, sialagogue, vermi- 
 fuge, and diuretic. In dropsy, it may be used alone in doses of ten 
 grains of the powdered root every two hours, as a hydragogue, or it 
 may be combined with corn snakeroot, Eryngium Tuccefolium. In 
 anasarca and hydrothorax, the saturated tincture of the root, taken in 
 teaspoonful doses, every two or three hours, until its hydragogue in- 
 fluence is obtained, will be found serviceable; in some instances it may 
 be combined with an equal quantity of the saturated tincture of Mi- 
 phorbia Ipecacuanha. In scrofula, and syphilis, whether primary or 
 secondary, it acts as a powerful and eflScaeious agent, and maybe used 
 alone, or combined with mandrake, poke, black-cohosh, and other 
 alteratives. In chronic hepatic, renal, and splenitic affections, five or 
 ten grains of the powdered root, will be found very valuable. Equal 
 parts of Blue Flag root, mandrake root, and prickly-ash bark, com- 
 bined, and given in doses of ten grains every two or three hours, to 
 fall short of catharsis, will act as a powerful alterative, frequently 
 causing a copious salivation without injury to the teeth or gums. In 
 this combination, or alone, I have found Blue Flag a valuable reifiedy 
 in the early period of goitre. In chronic rheumatism, mercurio-syphi- 
 lis, dyspepsia, tapeworm, gonorrhea, leucorrhea, dysmenorrhea, and 
 constipation, it has been used with positive advantage, either alone, or 
 in combination with other' agents. Tincture of Blue Flag, in doses of 
 from one to five drops, every four or five hours, in a fluidounce of 
 water, will be found very useful in those prostatic discharges and noc- 
 turnal emissions, the result of masturbation, and which are accom- 
 panied with considerable debility, mental uneasiness, and more or less 
 irritation of the nervous centers. A writer says, " The root of the 
 Blue Flag extends its influence through every part of the system in 
 small doses and repeated at short intervals ; it seems to act more par- 
 ticularly on the glandular system, exciting them to a discharge of their 
 respective oflSces; in large doses it evacuates and exhausts the system, 
 acting on the liver, and the alimentary canal throughout." 
 
 In general practice salivation is not, as a common rule, desired for 
 the cure of disease, yet we have many articles which produce it, and 
 often without the practitioners being aware of the fact, and hence, 
 ■when it does occur, the cry is at once raised that mercury is used. 
 Salivation caused by vegetable agents may be known from that by 
 mercury, by the absence of mercurial fetor, and no sponginess of the 
 gums or loosening of the teeth. The dose of pulverized Blue Flag is 
 
158 Materia Medioa. 
 
 from five to twenty grains ; of the saturated tincture from ten to sixty 
 drops. In some persons, and wlien exhibited in large doses, it is apt 
 to ocuasion much distressing nausea, With considerable prostration, 
 these effects may be obviated or mitigated, by combining it with a few 
 grains of capsicum or ginger, a grain of camphor, or four or five grains 
 of resin of blue cohosh. 
 
 There are several species of Iris, as I. Virginica, I. LacvMris, etc., 
 which probably possess similar properties, and which are often col- 
 lected and mixed with the oflScinal article. The Iris Florentina, or 
 Florentine Orris, is said to be -emetic, cathartic, and diuretic, but it is 
 seldom employed except in the composition of tooth-powders, and to 
 conceal an offensive breath. 
 
 Off. Frep. — ^Extractum Iridis Alcoholicum; Bxtractum Iridis Fluid- 
 um ; Oleoresina Iridis ; Tinctura Iridis ; Syrupus Stillingiae Compositus. 
 
 JAlflPHA MAXIHOTT (Ntitzliche Manihot.) 
 
 Tapioca. 
 
 Nat. Ord — Buphorbiacese. Sex. Syst. — ^Monoecia Monadelphia. 
 
 THE PEOULA 0¥ THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant is a native of Brazil, and is cultivated in va- 
 rious parts of South America. It has a large, fleshy, oblong, tuberous 
 root, often weighing thirty pounds, and full of a wheyish, venomous 
 juice. Stems white, crooked, brittle, jointed, pithy_ usually six or sev- 
 en feet high, with a smooth, white bark ; branches crooked, and have, 
 on every side, near their tops, leaves irregularly placed on long, terete 
 petioles, broadly cordate in their outline, divided nearly to their base 
 into five spreading, lanceolate, entire lobes, attenuated at both extrem- 
 ities, dark green above, pale glaucous beneath ; midrib strong, promi- 
 nent, and yellowish-red below with several oblique veins, connected by 
 lesser transverse ones, branching from it. Stipules small, lanceolate, 
 acuminate, caducous. Flowers in axillary and terminal racemes. Pedi- 
 cels with small, subulate bracts at their base. Male flowers smaller than 
 the female. Calyx campanulate, divided into five spreading segments, 
 purplish externally, fulvous-brown within. Disk orange-colored, fleshy, 
 annular, ten-rayed; stamens ten, alternating with the lobe of the disk. 
 Filaments shorter than the calyx, white, filiform, free. Anthers yellow, 
 Hnear-oblong. Female flowers same color as the male, deeply five- 
 parted, segments lanceolate-ovate, spreading. Disk an annular, orange- 
 colored, ring, in which the purple ovate, furrowed ovary is imbedded,; 
 style short. Stigmas three, refiexed, furrowed and plaited, white. Cap- 
 sule ovate, three-cornered, tricoccous; seeds elliptical, black, shining, 
 with a thick, fieshy funiculus. — D. — Wi. 
 
 JTistory. — This plant, formerly designated by botanists as the Jatro- 
 pha Manihot, until its removal by Kunth, furnishes a large amount of 
 fQod to the inhabitants of Southern America, under the name of Man- 
 dioca. Tapioca, or Cassava Starch. According to Pohl, there are two 
 distinct species of the plant, though other botanists consider them to be 
 mere varieties. The root of one is fusiform, brown externally, not ex- 
 ceeding six ounces in weight, with a sweet, amylaceous taste, and may 
 be eaten with impunity; it is termed Sweet Cassava. The, root of the. 
 other and more common variety is much larger, knotty, black exter- 
 nally, and contains a bitter and poisonous milky juice ; this is called 
 Bitter Cassava, which, according to Henry and Boutron-Chalard, con- 
 
Jepi'eesonia Diphtlla. • 459 
 
 bains free hydrocyanic acid, starch, an organic salt of magnesia, sac- 
 charine matter, a bitter principle, a crystallizable fatty matter, vege- 
 table osmazome, phosphate of lime, and lignin. Bach of these plants 
 furnishes a considerable quantity of starch. Tapioca is prepared from 
 the Bitter Cassava. The large, fleshy and tuberous root is reduced to 
 a pulp, this is washed with cold water in funnel-shaped mat-filters, the 
 starch is allowed to subside in the milky fluid which passes through, 
 and is then elutriated in the usual manner, and finally converted into 
 the granular form by drying it on hot plates. Should any of the vol- 
 atile poisonous principle remain in the meal previous to drying it, the 
 heat employed for this purpose entirely removes it. Tapioca is a very 
 pure starch, in the form of irregular warty grains, seldom larger than 
 a pea, white, tasteless and inodorous. Boiling water dissolves it almost 
 entirely, or, if in small proportion to the Tapioca, it forms with it a 
 translucent, tasteless jelly, and firmer than is made with most varieties 
 of starch. Cold water partially dissolves it, forming a liquid which 
 yields a blue precipitate with iodine. Under the microscope it is found 
 to consist of aggregated starch globules, about the two-thousandth of an 
 inch in diameter, partly broken, partly entire, the broken ones only 
 being soluble in cold water, naore uniform than the granules of most 
 other varieties of feeula, with a distinct hilum, which is completely 
 surrounded by rings, and bursts in a stellate manner. The rupture ob- 
 served in some of the granules is owing to the heat employed in dry- 
 ing.— C— P. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Nutritive and demulcent. Used as a light and 
 agreeable nourishment for the sick. It makes an excellent nourish- 
 ment for infants about the time of weaning, and is less apt to turn sour 
 upon their stomach than any other kind of farinaceous food. For the 
 sick and convalescent, its flavor may be improved by raisins, sugar, 
 prunes, lemon-juice, wine, spices, etc., as may be required. 
 
 JEPFBESONIA DIPHYLLA. '(Zweiblattrige Jeffersonie.) 
 
 Twiiileaf 
 Nat. Ord. — Berberidacese. Sex. S]/st. — Octandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description.— This is an indigenous, perennial plant, sometimes known 
 as Ground-squirrel Pea, and Bheumatism root. Mhizoma horizontal, with 
 matted fibrous radicles ; scape or stem simple, naked, one-flowered, from 
 eight to fourteen inches in height. Leaves in pairs, binate, placed base 
 to base, oval, broader than long, ending in an obtuse point, smooth, 
 glaucous beneath, on petioles as long as the scape, which arise from the 
 rhizoma. Flowers large, regular, white. Calyx four colored, deciduous 
 sepals. Corolla eight flat, dblong, spreading, incurved petals. Stamens 
 eight, with oblong-linear anthers, on slender filaments. Ovary ovoid, 
 soon gibbous, pointed; stigma two-lobed. Capsule obovate, or some- 
 what pear-shaped, stipitate, one-celled, opening half-way round hori- 
 zontally, making a persistent lid. Seeds many on the lateral placenta, 
 with a fleshy lacei-ate aril on one side, oblong. — W. — G. 
 
 History.— This plant is found from New York to Maryland and Vir- 
 ginia, and in many parts of the Western States, growing in limestone 
 soil, in woods, and near streams and rivers, flowering in April and 
 May. The root, which is the part used, is a thick, knotty rhizoma, 
 from ^ hich long fibrous roots proceed, and is of a brownish-yellow color. 
 
460 ' Materia Medica. 
 
 The epidermis is somewhat corrugated, and in some specimens 
 transversely cracked. The bark is resinous, and contains the active 
 principle of the roots. The central portion is ligneous, of a light straw- 
 color, and is easily separated by bruising the root. The root has an 
 odor similar to that of Podophyllum, and a bitter, mucilaginous taste at 
 first, followed by a pungent, nauseous, and acrid taste. Water or alco- 
 hol extracts its virtues. An analysis by Prof E. S. Wayne, of Cincin- 
 nati, Ohio, showed this plant to contain tannic acid, gum, starch, con- 
 siderable pectin, fatty resin, a saccharine and slightly bitter substance, 
 a bitter matter, an acrid and nauseous matter somewhat similar to poly- 
 galic acid, which occasioned vomiting with persistent nausea, carbon- 
 ate, and sulphate of potassa, lime, iron, magnesia, silica, etc. (See. Am. 
 Jour. Pharm., Vol. XXYII., p. 1.) Prof F. P. Mayer states that the 
 pectin of Prof Wayne, in the above analysis, is saponin, also that the 
 root contains a large proportion of a white alkaloid, and a small quan- 
 tity of berberina. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 1863,^. 99. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Diuretic, alterative, antispasmodic, and a stim- 
 ulating diaphoretic. Successfully used in chronic rheumatism, as a 
 tonic in secondary or mercurio-syphilis, also used with advantage in 
 dropsy, in many nervous affections, spasms, cramps, nervous excitabil- 
 ity, and even during pregnancy. In syphilitic diseases it has been 
 combined with corydalis, but I have been unable to determine any other 
 than a tonic influence, with evident improvement in nutrition, whether 
 it be administered alone in this malady, or combined as just stated. 
 As a gargle it has been beneficial in diseases of the throat, ulcers about 
 the fauces, scarlatina, ophtfialmia, and indolent ulcers. It is administered 
 in decoction and saturated tincture. Dose of the decoction, from two 
 to four fluidounees, three times a day ; of the tincture, from one to three 
 fluidrachms, three times a day. Some practitioners substitute this plant 
 for senega, as an exp.ectorant and emetic. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Decoctum Jeffersonise. 
 
 JTJGLANS OINEEBA. (Grauer Walnussbaum.) 
 
 Butternut. — Walnuss. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — JuglandacesB. Sex. Syst. — Monoeeia Polyandria. 
 
 THE INNER BARK OF THE ROOT AND LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — This tree, also known as White Walnut, Oil Nut, etc., is 
 indigenous, and grows to a height of from thirty to fifty feet, with a 
 trunk about four feet in diameter, at some four or six feet from the 
 ground, and which, at eight or ten feet from its base, divides into nu- 
 merous, nearly horizontal, wide-spreading branches, with a smooth, gray 
 bark, and forming a large tufted head, giving to the tree a peculiar ap- 
 pearance. JJeaves alternate, from twelve to twenty inches long, consist 
 of seven or eight pairs of leaflets, which are two or three inches in length, 
 oblong-lanceolate, rounded at the base, acuminate, finely serrate and 
 downy, the petioles and branchlets downy with clammy hairs. Male 
 and female flowers distinct upon the same tree. The former in large 
 aments, four or fi^ve inches long, hanging from the sides of the last 
 year's shoots, near their extremities. The scales which compose them, 
 oblong and deeply cleft on each side into about three teeth or segments. 
 Anthers about eight or ten in number, oblong, nearly sessile. Fertile 
 flowers grow in a short spike at the end of the new shoot; are sessile, 
 universally pubescent, viscid; when fully grown, they seem to consist 
 
JUGLANS CiNEBEA. .161 
 
 of a large oblong ovary, and a forked feathery style. The top of the 
 ovary, however, presents an obscurely four-toothed calyx. "Within this 
 is a corolla of four narrow lanceolate petals growing to the sides of the 
 bX-v\q; style divides into two large, diverging, feathery, rose-colored 
 stigmas, nearly as long as the ovary. Fruit sometimes single, suspended 
 by a thin pliable peduncle; sometimes several are together on the sides 
 and extremity of the same peduncle, of a green color, brown when ripe, 
 oblong-oval, obtusely -pointed, hairy, extremely viscid. Nut or nucleus 
 dark color, hard, oblong, pointed, carinated on both sides, its whole 
 surface roughened by deep indentures and sharp prominences. Kernel 
 oilj', pleasant-flavored, edible. — L. — W. — B. 
 
 JuGLANS Nigra, or Black Walnut, grows from sixty to ninety feet 
 high, with a diameter of from three to six feet, with a brown bark. 
 Leaflets numerous, seven to ten or eleven pairs, ovate-lanceolate, serrate, 
 subcordate at base, taper-pointed at the apex, smooth above, the lower 
 surface and the petioles minutely downy. Fruit globose, with scabrous 
 punctures ; nut corrugated, kernel sweet, more pleaeant-tasted and less 
 oily tlian the butternut, but greatly inferior to the European Walnut, 
 Juglans Begia. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — These trees are common to North America. The J. Cinerea 
 IS found throughout the New England, Middle, and Western States, 
 and Canada, growing in rich woods, on elevated river banks, and on 
 cold, uneven, rocky soils, flowering in April and May, and maturing its 
 fruit during the middle of autumn. A saccharine juice, which furnishes 
 a good sugar, is had by tapj)ing the trees early in the spring. Butter- 
 nut wood is light, of a reddish hue, not apt to become worm-eaten, and 
 is frequently used in panneling and ornamental work. The fruit col- 
 lected some time previous to its ripening is used by many persons in the 
 form of pickles; the bark and staells of the nuts furnish a dye of a 
 chocolate color, for woolen goods, but as a dye the bark of the black 
 walnut is preferable. In the recent state. Butternut bark is acrid, and 
 rubbed upon the surface of the body, occasions a redness, and some- 
 times blisters. The officinal parts are its leaves and the inner bark of 
 the root, the latter of which is best when gathered from Aprilto July. 
 Its original whiteness soon begins to change upon exposure to the air 
 from a yellow to a dark-brown color. Its odor is faint, its taste ama- 
 rous, with some acrimony, and its fracture fibrous. Water at 212° F. 
 takes up all its active properties. Mr. S. Wetherell found the bark to 
 contain resin, fixed oil, saccharine matter, lime, potassa, a peculiar 
 principle, and tannic acid. — P. Dr. Bigelow could not procure either 
 resin or tannic acid from the bark. 
 
 The J. Nigra is rarely found in the Northern States, but is more 
 common to the Middle and Western. It flowers and ripens its fruit at 
 the same time with the Butternut. The duramen of its wood is com- 
 pact and heavy, of a deep violet-color, surrounded with a white al- 
 burnum. It is extensively used in building, and for cabinet-work. — 
 G.— W. 
 
 Properties and CTses.— Butternut is a gentle and agreeable cathartic, 
 causing no griping, nor subsequent weakness of the intestines. It re- 
 sembles rhubarb in its effect, but without inducing constipation after 
 its action. It is very valuable in cases of habitual constipation, colo- 
 rectitis, and several other intestinal diseases. It is generally used in 
 the form of an extract, in doses of ten to thirty grains. A strong de- 
 coction of it is much employed in some sections of the country, as a 
 domestic remedy in rheumatism affecting the muscles of the back, and 
 
462 Materia Medica. 
 
 in intermittent and remittent fevers, as well as in other diseases at- 
 tended with congestion of the abdominal viscera ; it is also reputed eflS- 
 cacious in murrain of cattle, and yellow water in horses. It was used 
 with great advantage in the treatment of dysentery and diarrhea oc- 
 curring among our soldiers in the last war. The juice of the rind of 
 the Black Walnut (Juglans Nigra) is said to cure herpes, eczema, por- 
 rigo, etc., and a decoction has been used to remove worms. The bark 
 is very astringent and acrimonious, and is more commonly employed 
 in dyeing. ' The European Walnut (Juglans Megia) has recently been 
 fovind by Prof. Negrier, of Angers, to be very efficacious in scrofula. 
 To children laboring under this disease he administered a strong infu- 
 sion of the leaves in teacupful doses, or, the aqueous extract in dos.es of 
 six grains, or a proportionate dose of a syrup prepared with eight grains 
 of the extract to ten drachms of syrup, repeating the dose from two to 
 five times a day. All the ulcers and sore eyes were washed with a strong 
 decoction of the leaves, and the ulcers covered with linen compresses 
 steeped in this decoction, or poultices made with flour and the decoc- 
 tion. No injury followed its long-continued administration. The above 
 American species would probably answer as good a purpose. Juglandin 
 is the name improperly given to an agent prepared from the J. Oinerea. 
 by Mr. W. S. Merrell. It is of a jet-black coloj-, brittle like starch, 
 with the peculiar odor of the bark, and a bitter, somewhat pungent and 
 aromatic taste, with a stimulant eifect on the fauces. It is insoluble in 
 water, but becomes soluble on the addition of ammonia or liquor po- 
 tassa; and the addition of acids to the solution precipitates the juglan- 
 din. Sulphate of iron added to water containing juglandin, darkens it. 
 It is nearly soluble in alcohol, more so on the addition of ammonia : 
 partially soluble in ether. Muriatic acid turns a thin layer of it green: 
 sulphuric acid, reddish-black ; and with nitric acid it effervesces, and 
 becomes yellowish-red. So far as employed, this article has answered 
 an admirable purpose as a laxative and cathartic, in doses of from one 
 to five grains ; and will, probably, prove an invaluable agent. It is 
 said to be prepared by adding a saturated tincture of the bark of But- 
 ternut to twice its volume of water, and distilling off the alcohol; the 
 juglandin is precipitated in the water, from which it must be removed 
 and dried; acts best combined with Castile-soap. 
 Off. Prep. — ^Bxtractum Juglandis. 
 
 JUNIPBEUS COMMUNIS. (Gemeine Wachholder.) 
 
 Juniper. 
 Nat. Ord. — Pinacese. Sex. Syst. — Dioecia Monadelphia. 
 
 THE PRTIIT OR BERRIES. 
 
 -Description.— ^This is a small evergreen shrub, never attaining the 
 height of a tree, with many very close branches, the extremities of 
 which are smooth and angular. Leaves attached to the stem or branches 
 in threes, in a verticillate manner, linear-acerose, sharply mucronate, 
 entire, shining-green on their lower surface, channeled and glaucous 
 along the center of their upper surface ; they are always resupinate, 
 and turn their upper surface toward the ground. Flowers dioecious, the 
 males in small axillary aments, with roundish, acute, stipitate scales, 
 inclosing several anthers. Female flowers on a separate shrub, having 
 a small, three-parted involucre growing to the scales, which are three in 
 number. Fruit fleshy, roundish-oblong, berried, of a dark-purplish 
 
JuNiPERUs Sabina. 463 
 
 color, formed of the confluent succulent scales, marked with three 
 prominences, or vesicles at top, ripening the second year from the 
 flower, containing three bony, angular seeds. — L. 
 
 History.— Jum-per is common to Europe and this country, growing in 
 dry woods and hills, and flowering in May. The fruit or berries are 
 the ofiBcinal parts ; those which are imported from the southern parts 
 of Europe are the best. The American bferries possess less virtue, and 
 are seldom employed. Juniper berries are about the size of currants, 
 of a purplish-black color, shrunken, marked at the top with a tri- 
 radiate groove, and at the base with the bracteal scales ; they coutuiu 
 three seeds. Their odor is peculiar, terebinthine, and aromatic, and 
 their taste terebinthine and sweetish, succeeded by some bitterness; 
 th^se qualities are due to an essential oil, which may be obtained by dis- 
 tillation with water. They yield their properties to hot water, or alcohol. 
 Trommsdorf found them to contain volatile oil, wax, resin, saccharine 
 matter, acetate and malate of lime, gum, lignin, water, and several 
 salts. — P. F. Steer considers the saccharine matter of Trommsdorf to 
 be glucose, and he also obtained pectin, malic acid, and a black tasteless 
 neutral substance, soluble in alcohol, but not in ether or water, which 
 he called juniperin. An empyreumatic oil, called oil of cade, huile de 
 cade (oleum cadinum), is obtained in France by dry distillation of the 
 wood of Juniperus oxycedrus; it is dark-brownish or black, thick, in- 
 flammable, has a strong tarry odor, and an acrid caustic taste. It has 
 been much used in France as a remedy in many cutaneous affections, 
 and for the removal of worms. Probably, our common tar will, as a 
 substitute, prove fully as effectual. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Both the berries and oil are stimulating, carmin- 
 ative, and diuretic. The oil is said to act like copaiba in arresting 
 mucous discharges, especially from the urethra. It is contained in the 
 spirituous liquor called Hollands, one of its best forms as a diuretic. Five 
 minims of the oil, with one fluidrachm of nitrous ether, given three 
 times a day in any common vehicle, produces diuresis in dropsy when 
 other means fail. Combined with an equal part of watermelon seeds, 
 and made into an infusion, I have cured several cases of ascites occur- 
 ring in children, having them to make a free use of it. The berries are 
 employed principally as an adjunct to other diuretics ; and have been 
 found eflScacious in gonorrhea, gleet, leucorrhea, eystirrhea, affections 
 of the skin, scorbutic diseases, etc. Dose of the berries, from one to 
 two drachms ; of the oil, from four to twenty minims. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Oleum Juniperi ; Pilulse Saponi Compositse ; Tinctura 
 Pinus Pendulse Composita. 
 
 JCNIPBEUS SABINA. (Sade "Wachholder.) 
 
 Savin. — Sadebaum. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Piiiaceee. Sex. 8yst. — Dicecia Monadelphia. 
 
 THE TOPS AND LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — Juniperus SaUna is an evergreen, very compact shrub, 
 growing from four to sixteen feet in height, with a disposition to spread 
 horizontally rather than to form a stem. Branches slender, round, 
 tough, the bark of the young branches pale green, of the trunk rough 
 Leaves very small, ovate, convex, dark -green, densely imbricated, erect, 
 deeurrent, opposite ; the oppositions pyxidate. Flowers dioecious. Fruit 
 
464 Materia Medica. 
 
 deep purple, almost black, ovoid berry, about the size of a whortleberry, 
 smaller than that of J. Communis. — L. — TF. 
 
 History. — This plant is indigenous to middle and southern Europe, 
 and in the northern United States. The parts used are the tops and 
 leaves ; they have a powerful, peculiar, rather disagreeable odor, a 
 bitter, acrid, biting taste, and yield their properties to alcohol, or hot 
 water in infiision. Desiccation renders them of a lighter color. G-ardea 
 found them to contain volatile oil, resin, gallic acid, chlorophylle, ex- 
 tractive, lignin, and calcareous salts. In addition to these, Mr. C. H, 
 Xeedles found fixed oil, gum, and salts of potassa. — Am. Jour. Pharm. 
 XIII., 15. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Savin is emmenagogue, diuretic, diaphoretic, 
 and anthelmintic. In large doses it will produce gastro-enteritis. Ca,re 
 must be taken in its administration, as it may produce fatal results 
 It should never be given when there is any general or local inflamma 
 tion present, and it should never be used during pregnancy, on account 
 of its tendency to cause abortion ; and yet, notwithstanding this effect, 
 it is reputed efficacious in checking the tendency to abort, and to be 
 beneficial in menorrhagia when carefully exhibited in small doses. 
 The oil (oleum sabince), given two or three times a day, in doses of from 
 ten to fifteen drops on sugar, will, in most cases, cause abortion, but it 
 is apt to violently affect the stomach and bowels at the same time, bring- 
 ing life into extreme danger. It is sometimes combined with oils of tansy, 
 pennyroyal, or hemlock, as an emmenagogue and abortivant, and given 
 in doses of from two to five drops. Sometimes the leaves of Savin are 
 combined with pink and senna, and given to remove worms ; Savin 
 oil will also frequently remove them, but we have more efficacious, and 
 much safer remedies for this purpose. Externally, the leaves made into 
 a cerate have been used as a stimulant to indolent ulcers, and to pro- 
 mote a discharge from blistered parts ; mixed with an equal weight of 
 verdigris, the powdered leaves have been used for destroying venereal 
 warts. Dose of the powdered leaves, from five to twenty grains, 
 three times a day ; of the infusion, from half a fluid ounce to two 
 , fluidounces. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Ceratum Sabinse ; Decoctum Sabinse ; Oleum Sabin* ; 
 Tinotura Oaulophylli Composita ; TJnguentum Sabinae. 
 
 JUNIPEEUS VIEGESriANA. (Virginische Wachholder.) 
 
 Eed Cedar. — Bathe Geder. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Pinacese. Sex- Syst. — ^Dioecia Monadelphia. 
 
 THE LEAVES AND EXCEESCENCBS. 
 
 Description. — Juniperus Virginiana is a tree which attains the height 
 of thirty-five feet or even more ; its trunk varies from ten to fourteen 
 inches in diameter, is straight and decreasing rapidly from the ground, 
 giving off many horizontal branches ; its surface generally unequal, 
 and disfigured by knots, and the crevices and protuberances they oc- 
 casion. Small twigs covered with minute, densely imbricated leaves, 
 which are fleshy, ovate, concave, rigidly acute, with a small depressed 
 gland on the middle of their outer side, growing in pairs which are 
 united at the base to each other, and to the pairs above and below 
 them. (A singular variety sometimes appears in the young shoots, 
 especially those which issue from the base of the trees ; this consists 
 
Kalmia Latifolia. 465 
 
 in an elongation of the leaves to five or six times their usual length, 
 while they become spreading, acerose, remote from each other, and 
 irregular in their insertion, being either opposite or ternate ; such shoots 
 are so dissimilar to the parerit tree, that they have repeatedly been 
 mistaken for individuals of a diiferent species.) Barren flowers in small 
 oblong aments, formed by peltate scales with the anthers concealed 
 within them. Fertile Flowers form a small roundish galhus, with two 
 or three seeds, covered on its outer surface with a bright blue powder. 
 ~L.—B. 
 
 History. — The Eed Cedar is a tree which inhabits almost all parts of 
 the United States, especially the southern, preferring dry, rocky situa- 
 tions and barren soils. It is evergreen, growing very slowly, and 
 flowering in April and May. The internal wood is of a dull reddish 
 hue, fine-grained, and compact, very light and durable, and is much 
 used for tubs, pails, lead-pencils, fences, etc. The parts used are the 
 leaves and twigs ; they have a characteristic, rather agreeable odor, 
 and a peculiar, somewhat acrid and amarous taste. Their virtues are 
 taken up by alcohol or ether, and partly by hot water, and are due to 
 an essential oil. The leaves are often confounded with those of the 
 Juniperus Sabina, which have an entirely different smell. According 
 to Jenks, the leaves yield gum, albumen, volatile oil, tannic acid, resin, 
 bitter extractive, chlorophylle, fatty matter, woody fiber, etc. — Am. 
 Jour. Pharm., XIV., 235. Excrescences are frequently formed on the 
 branches, known as Cedar apples, and occasioned, like galls, by the 
 pricking of an insect; they have a somewhat agreeable odor, and an 
 austere taste. These are sometimes powdered, and administered suc- 
 cessfully as a vermifuge, the dose being from half a scruple to half a 
 drachm, in some convenient vehicle, and repeated every four hours 
 through the day. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Same as the Juniperus Sabina; less energetic, 
 but used in the same diseases ; also in scalding of urine, and derange- 
 ment of the kidneys and bladder, with spearmint and marsh-mallows. 
 The oil makes a valuable external stimulating application for rheu- 
 matic pains, bruises, etc. Dose of the leaves, from one to two drachms; 
 of the oil, from ten to fifteen drops. The excrescences or cedar apples, 
 as they are called, which are sometimes found on the tree, are decided 
 anthelmintics. The following makes a pleasant and excellent vermi- 
 fuge and tonic, for pale, sickly children ; I have used it with much 
 success in hundreds of cases : Take of cedar apples one pound ; of black 
 alder berries (Prinos Verticillatus') , one pint by measure; digest these 
 for fourteen days, in one quart of alcohol and one pint of molasses. 
 The more recent the articles, the better. Dose, one fluidrachm, three 
 times a day, for a child, one or two-years old ; it is laxative, tonic, and 
 vermifuge. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Linimentum Olei ; Oleum Juniperi Virginianse. 
 
 TCATj MTA latifolia. (Breitblattrige Kalmie.) 
 
 Sheep Laurel. 
 
 Nat. Ori.— Bricacese. Sex. %st— Deoandria Monogyni». 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — This plant is known by various names in different sec- 
 tions of the country, as Laurel, Lambkill, Ivy, Big-leaved Ivy, Spoonwood, 
 30 
 
466 Materia Medica. 
 
 Calico-bush, Mountain Laurel, etc. It is a beautiful shrub, from four to 
 eight feet high, sometimes attaining the height of a small tree, with 
 crooked stems and a rough bark. I/eaves irregularly alternate and ternate, 
 evergreen, coriaceous, very smooth, with the under side somewhat paler, 
 ovate-lanceolate, acute at each end, entire, on long petioles at the ends 
 of the branches, from two to three inches long. Flowers numerous, 
 white or variously tinged with red, very showy, clammy, in splendid 
 terminal, viscid-pubescent, simple or compound corymbs, with opposite 
 branches. Pedicels glutinous, pubescent, with ovate, acuminate bracts, 
 Calyx small, five-parted, persistent, with oval acute segments. Corolla 
 large, monopetalous, with a conical tube, a cyathiform limb, and an erect, 
 shallowy five-lobed margin; at the circumference of the limb, on the 
 inside, are ten niches or pits, accompanied with corresponding promi- 
 nences on the outside ; in these depressions the anthers are found 
 lodged at the time when the flower expands. Stamens ten, hypogyn- 
 ous, bent outwardly so as to lodge their anthers in the niches of the 
 corolla, but liberating them during the period of flowering and strik- 
 ing against the sides of the stigma ; anthers two -celled, with two terminal 
 pores. Ovary roundish, supporting a slender, declinate style longer than 
 the corolla; stigma obtuse. Fruit a dry capsule, which is roundish, 
 depressed, flve-celled, flve-valved, the valves alternating with the divi- 
 sions of the calyx. Seeds numerous and minute. — L. — W. — B. — It. 
 
 History. — Sheep Laurel inhabits most parts of, the United States, on 
 rocky hills and elevated grounds, and in damp soil, sometimes form- 
 ing a dense thicket, with a profusion of beautiful rose-colored flowers 
 which appear in June and July, forming a contrast with its dark, glossy 
 green leaves. The leaves are reputed to be poisonous to sheep and 
 sevetal other animals, killing them; while others, again, as deer, goats, 
 and partridges, feed upon them without any unpleasant consequences. 
 "When partridges which have eaten the laurel leaves, have themselves 
 been cooked and eaten, they are said to -have occasioned sickness at 
 stomach, headache, impaired vision, difficult breathing, coldness of the 
 surface and extremities, and other symptoms similar to those caused 
 when putrid meats are eaten. An emetic of mustard with warm water 
 has relieved some of the above symptoms, by removing the poison from 
 the stomach. It is very doubtful, however, whether these symptoms 
 were caused by the poisoned flesh of the birds, as numerous persons eat 
 partridges that have fed on these leaves, without the least inconveni- 
 ence. The presumption is that the poisonous character of the flesh was 
 caused by its putrid or decomposed condition. The Indians are said to 
 have used the expressed juice of the leaves, or a strong decoction, for 
 the purpose of committing suicide. The leaves are the officinal parts, 
 and yield their virtues to alcohol or water. They contain, according to 
 Mr. C. Bullock, fatty matter, resin, tannic acid, gum, a body somewhat 
 like mannite, chlorophylle, wax, albumen, an acrid substance, extractive, 
 yellow coloring matter, and various salts. — Am. Jour. Pharm.,XX., p. 264. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In immoderate doses. Sheep Laurel is a poison- 
 ous narcotic, producing the symptoms above named, with diminished 
 circulation. In medicinal doses, it is antisyphilitic, sedative to the 
 heart, and somewhat astringent. Internally, either in powder, decoc- 
 tion, or tincture, it is an efficacious remedy in primary or secondary 
 Byphilis, and will likewise be found invaluable in febrile and inflam- 
 matory diseases, and hypertrophy of the heart, allaying all febrile and 
 inflammatory action, and lessoning the action of the heart. In' active 
 hemorrhages, diarrhea, and flux, it has been employed with excellent 
 
Kino. 467 
 
 dlfect, and will be found useful in overcoming obstinate chronic irrita- 
 tion of mucous surfaces. I have extensively used this agent, and re- 
 gard it as one of our most eflBcient agents i-n syphilis ; and have like- 
 wise found it very valuable in inflammatory fevers, jaundice, and oph- 
 thalmic neuralgia and inflammation. The remedy must always be used 
 with prudence; and should any of the above mentioned symptoms 
 appear, the dose must be diminished, or its use suspended for a few 
 days. In cases of poisoning by this article, stimulants, as brandy, 
 whisky, etc., must be given, with counter-irritation to the spine and 
 extremities. Sheep poisoned by eating the leaves, have been saved by 
 administering a gill or two of whisky to them. Externally, the fresh 
 leaves stewed in lard, or the dried leaves in powder mixed with lard to 
 form an ointment, are said to be beneficial in tinea-capitis, psora, and 
 other cutaneous affections. Some time since I treated a case of syphilis 
 of five weeks' standing, which had not received any kind of treatment 
 during that period. The patient, at the time I first saw him, had several 
 chancres, the surface of the body and head was covered with small red 
 pimples, elevated above a jaundiced skin, and he was in a very debili- 
 tated condition. I administered a saturated tiiicture of the leaves of 
 Kalmia, and touched the chancres with a tincture of muriate of iron, 
 and effected a cure in four weeks, removing the jaundice at the same 
 time. The saturated tincture of the leaves is the best form of adminis- 
 tration ; it may be given in doses of from ten to twenty drops, eyery 
 two or three hours ; the decoction may be given in doses of from half 
 a fluidounce to a fluidounce ; and of the powdered leaves from ten to 
 thirty grains. A salve made of the juice of the plant, forms an eflScient 
 local application for rheumatism. There are other species of Kalmia, 
 as K. Grlauca, or Swamp Laurel, and K. AngustifoUa, or E'arrow -leaved 
 Laurel, which possess similar properties. The K. AngustifoUa is sup- 
 posed by some to be the best of the species for medicinal use. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Decoctum Kalmiae; Syrupus Phytolaccse Compositus ; 
 Tinctura Kalmise. 
 
 KINO. (Kino.) 
 Kino. 
 
 THE OONOEETE JOTOE OP PTEROCAEPUS MARSUPIUM, AND OTHEK SPECIES. 
 
 Description. — For a long time the origin of Kino was unknown, but 
 it has recently been ascertained to be the product of a lofty tree, grow- 
 ing upon the mountains of the Malabar coast of Hindostan, named 
 I^erooarpus Marsupium, belonging to the Natural Order Fabacese. It bas 
 an erect, very hi^h trunk^ rarely straight. Outer layer of bark brown, 
 spongy, falling off in flakes; inner red, fibrous, astringent. Branches 
 spreading, horizontal, numerous, extending far. Leaves sub-bifarious, 
 alternate, pinnate with an odd one, eight or nine inches long; leaflets 
 five, six, or seven, alternate, elliptic, emarginate, firm, deep-green and 
 shining above, less so below, from three to five inches long, two or three 
 broad. Petioles round, smooth, waved from leafiet to leaflet, five or six 
 inches long; s^ipMfesnone. PamcZes terminal, very large ; ramifications 
 bifarious, like the leaves. Peduncles and pedicels^ round, a little downy. 
 Bracts small, caducous, solitary below each division and subdivision of 
 the panicle. Flowers very numerous, white, with a small tinge of yel- 
 low. Vexillum with a long slender claw, very broad; sides reflexed, 
 waved, curled, veined ; keel two-petaled, adhering slightly for a little 
 
468 Materia Medica. 
 
 way near the middle, Waved, etc., same as the' vexilluui. Stamens ten, 
 united near the base, but soon dividing into two parcels of five each ; 
 anthers globose, two-lobed. Ovary oblong, pediceled, hairy, generally 
 two-celled ; cells transverse, one-seeded. Style ascending. Legume on 
 a long petiole, three-fourths orbicular, the upper remainder, which ex- 
 tends from the pedicel to the remainder of the style, is straight, the 
 whole surrounded with a waved, veiny^ downy, membranous wing, 
 swelled, rugose, woody in the center, where the seed is lodged, not 
 opening; generally one but sometimes two-celled. Seeds single, reni- 
 form. — -i. 
 
 Sistory. — Kino is the juice of the tree obtained by making longitu- 
 dinal incisioris in the bark ; it flows abundantly, and of a red color, and 
 by drying it in the sun it cracks into irregular angulg,r masses, which 
 are placed into wooden boxes for exportation. It usually reaches this 
 country by way of England, being originally imported from Bombay or 
 Tellicherry. Bast India Kino is in small pieces, pulverulent, of an 
 irregular angular form, shining, of a deep ruby-color, ultimately acquir- 
 ing a brownish shade by atmospheric exposure, inodorous, and of a 
 rough a^ringent taste, followed by a certain degree of aromatic sweet- 
 ness. It burns without fusion or softening, and with but littl-e flame 
 and frothing, leaving 'a scanty gray ash. Boiling water dissolves a 
 large proportion of it, forming, when cold, a permanent intense blood- 
 red, solution ; and which yields, with sesquichloride of iron, a dark- 
 green, coarsely flocculent precipitate, which is so abundant as to render 
 the whole liquid pulpy. Acetate of lead affords a gray precipitate, and 
 tartar-emetic a gradually formed lake-red muddy jelly. Cold Water 
 forms with it a clear cherry -red solution, leaving a crumbly, grayish 
 residuum. Alcohol dissolves about two-thirds of it, and forms a deep, 
 brownish-red tincture, which is not disturbed by water. By long stand- 
 ing the tincture gelatinizes, and becomes less astringent. Proof-spirit 
 is a less complete solvent; but the tincture is less apt to gelatinize. Its 
 solubility in water is facilitated by alkalies, but its astringency is there- 
 by lost, and its general characters changed. Chewing Kino softens it, 
 rendering it slightly adhesive, and coloring the saliva red. Vauquelin 
 found 75 per cent, of tannic acid in Kino, with red gum and an insolu- 
 ble substance. Henning found, in East India Kino, Kinoic acid, tannic 
 acid, and a trace of gallic acid, pectin, ulmic acid, and inorganic salts, 
 with an excess of earthy bases. — Archit. der Fharm., Feb., 18^3. The 
 mineral acids, and solations of gelatine, emetic tartar, acetate of lead, 
 sesquichloride of iron, and nitrate of silver, produce precipitates, with 
 the watery :^ifusion of Kino. — F. The Kino-tannic or mimo-tannic acid 
 of Kino is filferly, if not quite identical with that obtained from catechu. 
 
 There are many other exudations known in commerce as Kino, some 
 of which are used principally for the purpose of adulterating the finer 
 sorts : among the most important are the African Kino, Dhak-tree 
 Kino, Botany Bay Kiuo, Jamaica Kino, and South American Kino. 
 
 The African Kino, is at present very rarely seen in commerce ; from 
 specimens received from Mungo Park, when on his last journey, jt was 
 decided an exudation from the JPterocarpus Erinaceus, a tree growing in 
 many districts of the Senegal, Nunez, and along the banks of the Gam- 
 bia and other streams of West Africa. 
 
 The Dhak-tree Kino is the product of the Butea Frondosa, a magnifi- 
 cent leguminous tree of the East Indies. The juice naturally exudes 
 from fissures in the branches of the tree, and concretes into red tears 
 which become black under the action of the sun. They are irregularly 
 
Kino. 469 
 
 angular, seldom so large us a grain of barley, apparently black and 
 opaque, but really of an intense garnet-red color, transparent in thin 
 pieces, and frequently have fibers of bark adhering to one of their faces. 
 Their taste is very astringent, brittle when chewed, without adhering 
 to the teeth, and tinge the saliva lake-red. Their chemical reactions 
 and solubilities are similar to those of the East India variety. They 
 contain from 73 to 90 per cent, of tannic acid, and might be safely sub- 
 stituted for ordinary Kino. It rarely reaches England, and has not 
 been imported to America. It is termed gum Butea. 
 
 The Botany Bay Kino, first described by White in 1790, is the astrin- 
 gent inspissated juice of the Brown Gum-tree of New Holland (Euca- 
 lyptus Eesinifera), a fine tall tree, belonging to the iVat Ord. Myrtacese. 
 and Sex. Syst. Icosandria Monogynia. It yields a red juice from in- 
 cisions so profusely that sixty gallons may be collected from one tree. 
 The juice concretes into a resinous-like substance, on the branches and 
 trunk, which is at first reddish and translucent, but ultimately choco- 
 late-colored and opaque. It is in irregular masses, free from impurity, 
 generally covered with a reddish powder from attrition, compact, very 
 brittle, deep brownish-black, resinous in luster, and opaque even in 
 thin fragments. It is more bitter and less astringent than ordinary 
 Kino, and tinges the saliva a dirty lake-red. It is easily powdered, the 
 powder being of an umber color; softens and swells up by heat, and 
 burns with a dense flame or white smoke before it becomes perfectly 
 charred. Cold water does not readily act upon it, slowly acquiring a 
 pale-yellowish tint after an hour or two, with but little change in the' 
 appearance of the Kino ; boiling water dissolves considerable of it, 
 forming a deep, cherry-red solution, which, on cooling, precipitates a 
 ■copious brick-colored deposit, if the solution be made with one part of 
 the Kino to twenty-five of water. The remaining solution is yellowish- 
 I)rown, and yields a deep-green turbid fluid with sesquichlbride of iron, 
 and a grayish-yellow precipitate with acetate of lead. Alcohol dissolves 
 at in large proportion, forming a deep yellowish-brown tincture. It is 
 not so common in Europe as it was some years since, and is seldom 
 seen in this country. 
 
 Jamaica or "West Indian Kino, is presumed to be obtained from the 
 Sea-Side Grape (Coccoloba uvifera), a tree belonging to the Natural Or- 
 der, Polygonacese. — C. The tree inhabits the sea-coast of the West 
 India islands and the adjoining coast of America. A decoction is pre- 
 pared from the leaves, wood, and bark, which are excessively astringent, 
 then evaporated, and the thick fluid poured into vessels, in which it 
 eolidifies upon cooling. Upon extracting it from the vessels containing 
 it, it is readily reduced to pieces varying in size, generally about as 
 large as a small cherry, and with a disposition to the orthogonal form. 
 They are lighter colored, and less shining than the ordinary Kino, are 
 impervious to light in bulk, but garnet-red and semi-transparent in thin 
 fragments ; are brittle and pulverable, forming a paler-colored powder 
 than the commercial drug. They are inodorous, amarous and exces- 
 sively astringent, impart a red hue to the saliva when masticated, and 
 contain about 41 per cent, of tannic acid. Cold water, and alcohol, dis- 
 solves nearly the whole of West Indian Kino, about from 6 to 11 per 
 cent, remaining undissolved. 
 
 The South American, Columbia, or Cakaccas Kino, is probably fur- 
 nished by the same tree as the West India. It is rarely met with in 
 ibis country, likewise probably derived from the coccoloba uvifera. It 
 is imported in heavy masses, and closely resembles the Jamaica Kino 
 
470 Mateuia Medica. 
 
 in its several properties, excepting that it is nearly equally soluole in 
 cold water and alcohol, is more free from any tenacious substance 
 interfering with the filtration of its watery solution, and contains no 
 resinous body. 
 
 - , An artificial Kino is made by boiling together logwood 48 pounds, 
 tormentil root 16 pounds, madder root 12 pounds, water a sufficient 
 quantity. To the decoction add IS pounds catechu, and when dis- 
 solved, strain and evaporate to dryness. About 24 pounds of factitious 
 Kino will be obtained, which is of no account. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Kino, is a pure and energetic astringent, and 
 may be used to fulfill all the indications for which catechu is employed. 
 It is not considered so efficacious in chronic dysentery as catechu, but 
 is preferred icternally in raenori-hagia, and as a topical application in 
 leucorrhoa, related sore-throat, and aphthae of the mouth or fauces. 
 An infusion thrown into the nostril has suppressed hemorrhage from 
 the Schneiderian membrane ; and the powder on lint has suppressed a 
 hemorrhage from a wound in the palate, which had resisted various 
 means. Dose of the powder, from ten to thirty grains,; of the tincture, ■ 
 from half a fluidrachm to two fluidrachms. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Pilulse Oamphoraj Composita ; Tinctura Kino. 
 
 KEAMBEIA TEIANDEIA. (Dreimannige Kramerie.) 
 
 Ehatany. — RatanJiiawurzel. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Polygalacese, i)e OandoUe.; Krameriaoese, i/mdfe!/. Sex. 
 Syst. — Tetrandria fionogynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. -^^hatany is a sufPruticose plant, with a horizontal, very 
 long and branched root, with a thick barb, reddish-brown externally, 
 red internally. Stem round, procumbent, much branched, taper ; 
 branches two or three feet long, when young white and silky ; when 
 old dark, naked. Leaves alternate, sessile, oblong, and obovate, acu- 
 minate, entire, hoary on each side. Flowers red, solitary, axillary, on 
 short stalks. Galyx of four sepals, the inferior largest, silky externally, 
 smooth and shining inside, of the color of lac. Corolla of four petals, 
 the two upper separate, spathulate, the two lateral roundish and con- 
 cave. Stamens three, hypogynous ; anthers small, urceolate, with two 
 openings at top ; ovary ov-ate ; style red, terminal ; stigma simple. Fruit 
 a dry, hairy drupe, burred with dullred hooks ; seeds one or two. — L. 
 
 History. — This plant grows upon the dry, gravelly, and sandy hills in 
 Peru, flowering all the year round. The natives had used it as a strong 
 astringent long before its discovery by Euiz, in 1780. The root i's the 
 officinal part ; it is dug up after the rains in large quantities, and after 
 being well dried is exported, principally to Portugal, where it is em- 
 ployed to adulterate red wines. Sometimes an extract is prepared from 
 it, which is exported and used in a similar manner. As imported, it 
 consists of a short root-stock from half an inch to two inches in diam- 
 eter ; anA several roots proper, which are simple or branched, one or 
 two feet long, and between the thickness of a goosequill and that of a 
 man's thumb. Its bark is dark brownish-red, wrinkled, and warty on 
 the root-stock, brittle, inodorous, and of a strongly astringent and 
 slightly bitterish taste. The woody interior is yellowish-red, dense, 
 tough, and of the same taste, but much weaker. Cold water, rectified, 
 or proof-spirit, readily extracts its active constituents. In powder it is 
 
Krameria Triandria. 471 
 
 of a leddish color. The bark contains more of the ijiedicinal virtues 
 than the ligneous or woody part. If the root be macerated in water at 
 212° F., its medicinal properties will be extracted, but as a little starch 
 and some colored extractive or apotheme will also be dissolved, the 
 infusion, when cool,' will become muddy, and after a time the above 
 inert substance' will be deposited. Boiling will extract still more of 
 tliis matter, and the tannic acid of the root being oxygenated by the 
 action of the air, loses all its therapeutical influences. A cold infusion, 
 or an extract from the cold infusion, are the best forms for use. By 
 placing the powdered root in a displacer, and passing water through, 
 a brick-red aqueous solution is obtained, possessing all the medicinal 
 qualities of the root, and from which an excellent extract may be pro- 
 cured by a quick, but cautiously conducted evaporation. The tincture 
 of Ehatany contains, in addition to the astringent prihciples of the 
 root, a considerable amount of its colored extractive. Peschier found 
 the root to contain tannic acid 42.6, gallic acid 0.3, gum, extractive, 
 and coloring matter 56.7, krameric acid 0.4. Its incompatibilities are 
 similar to those of tannic acid. — P. — C. There are several varieties of 
 Krameria in commerce, as the K. triandria, which contains a tannin 
 different from that of the other varieties, giving a gray precipitate with 
 salts of iron; K. latifolia, synonymous with K. rusifolia; K. grandifolia; 
 K. ixina ; and K. tomentosa from New Granada. They contain a sac- 
 charine principle, which is transformed into glucose under the influence 
 of acids. 
 
 A false Ehatany has been met with, the source of which is unknown ; 
 compared with the true Ehatany, its twigs are smoother and slightly 
 shining, having also deeper furrows and transverse depressions of an 
 annular form. It is not so tough, breaks more easily and with a short 
 fracture ; its bark is thicker and adheres firmly to the wood, is lighter 
 colored on its inner surface, and has a' glistening aspect when cut with 
 a sharp knife. The center, when cut through, is of a dull, pale-red 
 color, and without thfe dark points met with in the true root: It is 
 inodorous, more strongly astringent in taste than the genuine Eha-. 
 tany, and gives more abundant precipitate with chemical reagents. — 
 Pharm. Jour, and Trans. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Ehatany is a powerful astringent, with some 
 jlight tonic virtues. It may be employed internally with advantage, 
 in menorrhagia, hematemesis, passive hemorrhages, chronic diarrhea, 
 leucorrhea, chronic mucous discharges, colliquative perspiration, and 
 incontinence of urine. Also as an energetic styptic in epistaxis, hem- 
 orrhage from the cavity of an extracted tooth, or the surface of a 
 wound, and as a local application to prolapsus ani, fissure of the anus 
 and leucorrhea. As an application to spongy and bleeding gums, to 
 redden and consolidate them, as well as to preserve the teeth, the fol- 
 lowing paste will be found unsurpassed : Take of prepared chalk, and 
 powdered cinchona, of each, equal parts ; combine them with a suffi- 
 cient quantity of equal parts of the tinctures of Ehatany and myrrh, to 
 form a paste. Use daily with a brush. Dose of pow-dered Ehatany 
 from ten grains to thirty ; of the tincture from one to four fluidrachms ; 
 of the infusion from one to four fluidounces ; of the extract from ten 
 to twenty grains. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Bxtractum Kramerise; Infusum Kramerise; Tinctura 
 
 Kramerise. 
 
472 Materia Medica. 
 
 LACHNA]!TTHBS TINCTOEIA. 
 
 Lachnanthes. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Hsemodoraceae. Sex. Syst. — Triaadria. Monogynia. 
 
 THE HERB. 
 
 Description. — This is a perennial plant, introduced into practice b/ 
 the Homeopaths, and is known also by the names of Bed-root, and 
 Spirit-weed. It has a red fibrous root, and an erect stem, strict, eighteen 
 to twenty -four inches high, clothed with white wool above. Leaves 
 mostly radical, ^eshy, equitant, sword-shaped, three or four inches 
 wide, and nearly as high as the stem ; cauline leaves remote and bract- 
 like. Gorymh terminal, close, fifteen to thirty flowered ; flowers densely 
 clothed with white wool outside, glabrous and yellow within. Peri- 
 anth woolly outside, six-parted down to the adherent ovary. Calyx 
 lobes exterior, of three linear sepals, as long as the three lance-oblong 
 petals. Stamens three, opposite the sepals ; filaments long, exserted ; 
 anthers linear, bright-yellow. Style thread-like, exserted, declined ; 
 stigma minutely, two-lobed. Capsule globular, truncated, three-celled, 
 many'seeded ; seeds few on each fleshy placenta, flat and rounded, fixed 
 hy the m\A.di\e.— W.—&. 
 
 Sistory. — This plant is a native of the United States, growing in 
 sandy swamps and along borders of pond«, near the Atlantic coast, 
 from Ehode Island to Florida, flowering in July. The root has been 
 used for dyeing purposes, and according to Dr. Byron has been used 
 among the Florida Indians to produce a brilliancy of the eye, a flushed 
 and swollen face, a bold appearance, and eloquent speaking; after these 
 peculiar stimulating effects pass ofl*, the person becomes stupid and 
 very irritable. The whole plant, made into a saturated tincture, is the 
 method of employing it. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — It is more particularly recommended in pneu- 
 monia, nervous and typhus fevers, some diseases of the brain, in the 
 delirium of fever, in morbid conditions of the brain and nervous sys- 
 tem, especially when in these several maladies redness of the cheeks 
 and brilliancy of the eyes are accompanying symptoms. It has also 
 been efficacious in rheumatic wry neck, hoarseness, laryngeal cough, 
 tinnitus aurium, and in nervous headache. A fluidrachm of the tinct- 
 ure added to four fluidounces, and administered in fluidrachm doses 
 every three or four hours, is the proper method of administering it. 
 In large doses it produces dilatation of the pupils, impaired vision, 
 dizziness, and other unpleasant symptoms, somewhat similar to those 
 produced by Belladonna. 
 
 LACTUOA SATIVA. (Gartensalat.) 
 
 Lettuce. — Gartenlattioh. 
 
 LACTUCA VIEOSA. (Giftlattich.) 
 
 Strong-scented Lettuce. — Stinksalat. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese ; Chicoracese, Lindley. Compositae Chicoraceffl, 
 De Candolle. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia .^quails. 
 
 THE HERB, AND INSPISSATED JUICE — -LAOTUOAEIUM. 
 
 Description. — ^Lactuca Sativa has an annual, tap-shaped root, with a 
 corymbose stem two or three feet in height, and suborbicular leaves, 
 
Lactuca Sativa — Lactuca Virosa. 473 
 
 eaulino ones cordate. Heads numerous, small, with yellowish corollas. — 
 W. It is not so rank in odor as the L. Virosa, has not blood-red spots 
 on its stems, and no prickles on the keel of its leaves. Previous to the 
 appearance of the flowering stems, the garden Lettuce contains a pleas- 
 ant, sweet, watery juice, and in this condition the plant is employed as 
 a salad ; but in both species, no sooner does the flowering stem rise 
 above the early leaves than the juice grows milky, very bitter, and of 
 a strong, peculiar, rank odor, not unlike that of opium. 
 
 Lactuca Virosa has a tap-shaped root, with a solitary stem, two or 
 three feet high, erect, round, smooth, sparingly leafy, scarcely branched, 
 panicled at the top ; a little prickly below. Leaves horizontal, nearly 
 smooth, finely toothed; radical ones numerous, obovate, undivided, 
 depressed; those of the stem smaller, often lobed ; arrow-shaped, clasp- 
 ing at their base ; the midrib of all more or less beset underneath with 
 prominent prickles ; such as often occur on the margin also. Flower 
 Aeads numerous, panicled, wich abundance of small heart-shaped pointed 
 bracteas. Involucral scales downy at the tip, destitute of any keels or 
 ribs. OoroMa small, light-yellow. Pa«p us rough. — L. There are many 
 varieties of Lettuce ; they all have large leaves, often corrugated, and 
 containing more or less of a whitish juice, tiie lactucarium. Their stems 
 are round, corymbose at the summit ; the leaves suborbicular and run- 
 cinate, cauline ones cordate or obovate ; flowers yellow. 
 
 History. — Lactuca Sativa is supposed to be a native of the East Indies; 
 it is extensively cultivated in Europe and this country. According to 
 Mr. J. M. Maisch, the Jj. Elongata of our countrj' possesses narcotic 
 principles sirnilar with the others. Lactucarium, or Lettuce-opium, is 
 obtained from the officinal plants " by cutting the stem of the Lettuce 
 at the time of flowering, imbibing the milky juice that flows out by a 
 sponge or by cotton, and squeezing it out into a vessel containing a 
 little water. It is then left in a dry place till it concretes into a solid 
 mass." — Thompson's Org. Chem. By making another cut at a short dis- 
 tance below the first, and so proceeding several times daily, the whole 
 of the juice contained in the plant may be collected. There are several 
 other modes recommended for procuring the lactucarium, but no one of 
 them obtains an article equal to that collected by the above plan. After 
 the middle period of inflorescence, the juicebecomes thicker but deterio- 
 rated in its medicinal principles. A single plant of L. Sativa is said to 
 yield seventeen grains of lactucarium, while a plant of L. Virosa gives 
 fifty-six grains. As found in the shops, lactucarium is in roundish, 
 compact, rather hard masses, weighing several ounces, of a reddish- 
 brown color externally, of a bitter, narcotic and somewhat acid taste, 
 and an odor approximating that of opium. It is asserted that two 
 other varieties, L. Scariola, and L. Altissima, furnish a superior article 
 of Lettuce-opium. 
 
 Lactucarium does not absorb moisture from the atmosphere ; is soft- 
 ened by heat, and at a high temperature burns with a large white flame. 
 Cold water takes up about a sixth of it,,forming a deep-brown infusion ; 
 boiling water a third, and proof-spirit, alcohol, and ether a much larger 
 proportion. The addition of acetic acid to water or alcohol improves 
 their solvent powers upon this article. It contains neither morphia nor 
 riarcotine, but is found to consist of lactucin, volatile oil, a yellowish red 
 tasteless resin, a greenish-yellow acrid resin, crystallizable and uncrys- 
 tallizable sugar, gum, pectic acid, albumen, a brown basic substance, 
 a principle like humus-extractive, a concrete oil or wax, one part of 
 which is soluble in ether and fusible only at 212=, and the other insol- 
 
474 Materia Medica. 
 
 uble in ether and fusible at 167°, and numerous salts, particularly oxa- 
 lates. Buehner has given the following estimate, founded on an analy- 
 sis by Ludwig : Lactucin, odorous matter, asparamide, two vegetable 
 acids, oxalic acid, mannite, albumen, insoluble vegetable substances, 
 lactucerin, waxy matter and soft resin, gummy matter, protein, and 
 water. — F. 
 
 Lactucin is obtained by treating finely-powdered lactucarium witii 
 alcohol acidulated with one-fifteenth of acetic acid, adding an equal 
 volume of water, and precipitating the mixture with- a slight excess of 
 subacetate of lead; filter the solution and free it from the lead by sul- 
 phuretted-hydrogen gas, filter, evaporate by a gentle heat not exceeding 
 144° — ^treat the extract with absolute alcohol, then distill it ofi', and 
 again exhaust with ether, which by distillation or spontaneous evapo- 
 ration, forms crystals of an obscure acicular character. When pure 
 they are colorless, inodorous, intensely bitter, easily fusible, soluble in 
 sixty or eighty parts of cold water, more soluble in ether, still more so 
 in alcohol, and easily soluble in acids, especially acetic acid, but with- 
 out neutralizing them. In regard to this being the active principle of 
 lactucarium, there is yet much dispute ; several analysts have diifered in 
 their results and conclusions. The most recent analysis is by Ludwig, 
 who in connection with several other principles, obtained lactucic acid, 
 and lactucin. He rubbed together for half an hour, eighty parts of finely 
 powdered lactucarium with eighty parts of pure cold diluted sulphuric 
 acid, and then added to the mixture four hundred parts of alcohol, sp. gr. 
 0.851 ; the resulting liquid was filtered, slaked lime added to it to precipi- 
 tate the sulphuric acid, animal charcoal added to decolorize it, and finally 
 evaporated. The brown viscid alcoholic extract thus procured was di- 
 gested in boiling water, filtered, the filtrate treated by animal char- 
 coal, again filtered, and evaporated. The residue was dissolved in boil- 
 ing water, which deposited white crystals of lactucin on cooling ; a sub- 
 sequent evaporation, after all the lactucin had been deposited, yielded 
 lactucic acid. Lactucin, the bitter principle of lactucarium, is a col- 
 orless, odorless, crystallizable, fusible, neutral substance. It dissolves 
 in from 60 to 80 parts of water, is slightly soluble in ether, readily so 
 in alcohol ; its aqueous solution is not affected by acetate of lead, chlo- 
 ride of iron, solution of iodine, or nitrate of silver ; mixed with sul- 
 phate of copper and soda, and heated to 212° it reduces the oxide of 
 cppper to the state of protoxide. Lactucic acid is light yellow, very 
 bitter, soluble in water and alcohol, and does not readily form into crys- 
 tals. Thridace, is the inspissated expressed juice obtained by collecting 
 the stalks near the fiowering period, depriving them of their leaves, 
 and then subjecting them to pressure. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Lactucarium has never been thoroughly and 
 satisfactorily investigated in relation to its therapeutical influences : 
 indeed, various experimenters differ in their views on this point, some 
 asserting it to be a stimulant and others a sedative. It is, when em- 
 ployed at all, usually given as a calmative and hypnotic, and as a substi- 
 tute for opium, to which it is to be preferred in many instances, on ac- 
 count of its freedom from unpleasant after-effects, as constipation, excite- 
 ment of the brain, etc. However, it is not considered equal in power 
 to opium. The most energetic lactucarium is said to be obtained from 
 L,. Virosa, and L. Altissima. Moderate doses of it act as a narcotic 
 poison on the lower animals, and ten or twenty grains swallowed by a 
 dog will cause sleep, or the watery solution injected into a vein occa- 
 sions sleep, coma, and death. Dose of lactucarium in pill or powder, 
 
Laubus Sassafras. 475 
 
 which is the most efficient mode of administration, from five to twenty 
 grains ; of the tincture, thirty to sixty drops ; of the alcoholic extract, 
 one to five grains. 
 
 LAEIX AMEEICANA. (Amerikanischer Lerchenbaum.) 
 
 Tamarac. 
 Nat. Ord. — Pinacese or Coniferaj. Sex. Syst. — Monoecia Monadelphia. 
 
 THE BARK. 
 
 Description. — This is the Pinus Pendula, Pinns Microcarpa, and Abies 
 Americana of various botanists, and is known by the several names of 
 Black Larch, AmericCm Larch, Hackmetack, etc. The tree has a straight 
 and slender trunk, with slend* horizontal branches, and attains the 
 height of eighty or a hundred feet. Leaves short, one or two inches 
 long, very slender, almost thread -form, soft, deciduous, without sheaths, 
 in fascicles of from twenty to forty, being developed early in the spring 
 from lateral, scaly and globular buds, which produce (the same or the 
 second year) growing shoots oil which the leaves are scattered. Cones 
 oblong, of few rounded scales, inclining upward, from half an inch to 
 an inch in length, of a deep purple color. Scales thin, inflexed on the 
 margin. Bracts elliptical, often hollowed at the sides, abruptly acu- 
 minate with a slender point, and together with the scales, persistent. 
 — W.—G. 
 
 History. — This is a beautiful tree, more common throughout 'New 
 England ; it is found in swamps and moist places, and flowers in April 
 and May. It may be distinguished from the pines, by the branches 
 being without leaves for nearly half the year. Its wood is very heavy, 
 strong and durable, and is the most valuable of all the pines or spru<;es. 
 The bark is the part used as medicine. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — A decoction of the bark of this tree is said to be 
 laxative, tonic, diuretic, and alterative, and is recommended ii sbstruc- 
 tiong of the liver, rheumatism, jaundice, and some cutaneous diseases; 
 a decoction of the leaves has been employed in piles, hemoptysis, men- 
 orrhagia, diarrhea, and dysentery, and externally in cutaneous diseases, 
 ulcers, burns, etc. In dropsy, combined with spearmint, juniper ber- 
 ries, and horse-radish, it has proved valuable. Dose of the decoction, 
 from two to four flnidonnces, two to four times a day. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Tinctura Pinus Pendulse Composita. 
 
 LATJKTJS SASSAFEAS. (Sassafras Lorbeer.) 
 
 Sassafras. 
 
 Nat. Ord.— Lauraceffi. Sex. ^ysf.— Enneandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE BARK OP THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This is a small, indigenous tree, varying in height from 
 ten to forty feet, with a trunk about twelve inches in diameter ; bark 
 rough, grayish, that of the twigs smooth, green. Leaves alternate, 
 petiolate, membranous, bright green, smooth above, finely downy be- 
 neath, very variable in form, some being obovato, others deeply three- 
 lobed, some lobed only on one side, all, however, tapering in a wedge-like 
 manner into the petiole. Flowers appear before the leaves, small, gre.en- 
 
476 Materia Medica. 
 
 ish-yellow, in terminal and axillary, corymbose racemes, with liiiear 
 bracts. Calyx six-parted, membranous, permanent at base. Male-flow- 
 ers nine stamens ; females six ; style simple. Fruit an oval, succulent 
 drupe, ratber larger than a pea, bright-blue, upon red, clavate pedun- 
 cles. — L. 
 
 History. — rSassafras is a well known tree common to the woods oi 
 North America, from Canada to Florida, and flowering in the latter 
 part of April or early in May. The odor of the flowers is slightly fra- 
 grant, and they, together with the leaves and young branches, are used 
 in decoction, in many parts of the country as a spring medicine to 
 cleanse the blood. The root, bark and the pith are the officinal parts. 
 The root is cofhposed of a light, porous, gi-ayish-yellow wood, having 
 an external rough bark, which is spongy and separable into layers, 
 grayish-brown externally, and rusty.-brown, or reddish-cinnamon 
 brown on its inner surfaccr; both the wood and the bark are officinal in 
 Europe. The bark of the root is the part generally employed in this 
 country, it is by far the most active part of the whole tree. In com- 
 merce it is met with in pieces of various sizes, color as above, friable, 
 of an agreeable aromatic odor, which, however, diminishes by age, and 
 a strong, peculiar, warm, aromatic, sweetish taste. Its virtues are due 
 to a yellow essential oil, which may be separated by distilling from 
 water. Hot water, in infusion, or alcohol, takes up the active princi- 
 ples of the bark, but boiling dissipates them. Dr. Eeinsch states that 
 the bark contains water, heavy essential oil, light essential oil, tallowy 
 matter, balsamic resin, a camphorous substance, wax, sassafrid (a prin- 
 ciple somewhat like tannic acid), gum, starch, tannic acid, albumen, 
 red coloring matter, salts, etc. — Am. Jour. Pharm., XVIII., 159. The 
 pith of the extremities of the branches is a light, porous, mucilaginous 
 substance, with a slight taste of the bark. Added to water, it forms an 
 adhesive mucilage, which is not soluble in alcohol. M. Faltin found 
 that during the action of chlorine gas upon oil of sassafras, the latter 
 becomes converted into a tough, thick mass, and a large amount of hy- 
 drochloric acid is formed. After neutralization with milk of lime, this 
 mass furnishes, on distillation, a small quantity of camphor, perfectly 
 identical in all respects with common camphor. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Sassafras is a warm, aromatic stimulant, alter- 
 ative, diaphoretic, and diuretic. It is generally used in combination with 
 other alteratives whose flavor it improves, in syphilitic affections, chron- 
 ic rheumatism, scrofula, and many cutaneous eruptions. The mucilage 
 of the pith, (two drachms to a pint of water), is used as a local applica- 
 tion in acute ophthalmia, and is a demulcent drink in disorders of the 
 chest, bowels, kidneys, and bladder. The oil is used to afford relief in 
 the distressing pain attending menstrual obstructions,- and that follow- 
 ing parturition, in doses of from five to ten drops, on sugar; also used 
 in diseases of the kidneys and bladder. I have also derived some ben- 
 efit from its internal use in gcnorrhea and obstinate gleet; five to ten 
 drops on sugar, three times a day. Externally, as a rubefacient, in 
 painful swellings, sprains, bruises, rheumatism, etc., and is said to check 
 the progress of gangrene. 
 
 Off. Pr^. — Infusum Sassafras Medullas; Lotio Sassafras,; Pilulse Sa- 
 poni Compositae ; Syrupus Sarsaparillse Compositus. 
 
Ledum Latifolium. 477 
 
 LAVANDULA VEEA, AND LAYAJSTDULA SPICA. (Gemeiner 
 
 Lavendel.) 
 
 Lavender. 
 
 N'at. Ord. — Lamiacese. Sex. Sysi. — Didynamia Gymnospermia. 
 
 THE FLOWERS. 
 
 Description. — Lavandula Vera, of De Candolle, is a small shrub gen- 
 erally one or two feet high, but sometimes growing to even six feet. 
 Leaves oblong-linear or lanceolate, entire, opposite, s<jssile, wheo young 
 hoary and revolute at the edges. Flowers of a lilac color, small, in ter- 
 minal, cylindrical spikes, formed of interrupted whorls of from six to 
 ten flowers, each whorl with two minute bracts. Corolla tubular, two 
 lipped, upper lip large and two-lobed, lower three-lobed. Floral leaves 
 rhomboid-ovate, acuminate, membranous, all fertile, uppermost shorter 
 than the calyx. Stamens four, declinate; anthers reniform, one-celled; 
 style slender ; stigma bilobate. — L. 
 
 Lavandula Spica of De Candolle is m^or.e dwarfish and more hoary 
 than the last. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, somewhat spathulate, entire, 
 much narrowed at the base, hoary on both sides. Spikes somewhat 
 interrupted. Bracts linear-subulate, shorter than the calyx. This plant 
 is not used in medicine, but yields what is called Oil of Spike, much 
 used in the preparation of artistical varnishes and by porcelain paint- 
 ers. — L. 
 
 History. — Lavandula Vera inhabits southern Europe, growing in dry, 
 sterile soils ; it is largely cultivated in the. United States, flowering in 
 July and August. It is subject to a disease, which can only be avoided 
 by not allowing the plants to grow too closely together. The whole 
 plant is aromatic. The' flowers are the parts used; they are gathered 
 shortly after their appearance, and carefully dried. They have a rich 
 peculiar fragrance, which is retained long after drying, and a strong, 
 oitter,' aromatic, somewhat camphoraceous taste. Their properties are 
 yielded to alcohol or ether. They contain volatile oil, resinous matter, 
 tannic acid, a bitter principle, and woody fiber. A pound of the recent 
 flowers yields from half a drachm to two drachms of the volatile oil. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Lavender is a tonic, stimulant, and carmina- 
 tive; it is seldom given in its crude state, but in its officinal prepara- 
 tions, which see. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Oleum Lavendulse ; Tinctura Lavendulse Composita. 
 
 LEDUM LATIFOLIUM. (Breitblattriger Porst.) 
 
 Labrador Tea. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Bricacese. Sex. Syst. — ^Decandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE leaves. 
 
 Description. — Ledum Latifolium is an evergreen shrub, with an irregu- 
 larly branched stem from two to five feet in height; branches woolly. 
 Leaves alternate, subsessile, entire, one or two inches in length, nearly 
 one-third as wide, obtuse, elliptical or oblong, smooth above, clothed 
 with a dense, rusty wool beneath, with revolute or replicate margins. 
 Flowers large, white, in dense terminal corymbs of about a dozen flowers ; 
 pedicels nearly as long as the leaves, filiform, pubescent. Calyx very 
 minute. Corolla white, consists of five spreading, obovate, obtuse petals 
 
478 Materia Medica. 
 
 Stamens five or ten, as long as the petals; filaments slender, smooth; 
 anthers small, opening by two simple terminal pores. Oyarz/ roundish; 
 style straight, about as long as the stamens ; stigma small, obtuse. Cap- 
 sule ovate-oblong, subpubescent, five-celled, five-valved ; valves splitting 
 from the base upward, with the margins inflexed and connivent ; recep- 
 tacles linear, extending into the cells of the capsule. Seeds minute, 
 terminating in a membrane at each extremity. — L.^Torrey. 
 
 History. — This plant is a native of North America, and is found in 
 the northern parts of the United States and in Canada, growing in cold 
 bogs, and damp mountain woods, flowering in June and July. It is 
 also found further south growing on the mountains. The leaves are 
 the parts used, they have a pleasant flavor, and yield their virtues to 
 hot water in infusion, or to alcohol. They were much employed instead 
 of tea-leaves, during the Eevolutionary war. Ledum Palustre, or Marsh 
 Tea, inhabits sphagnous swamps dn the cold regions of the two conti- 
 nents, and may be distinguished by its linear leaves, having uniformly 
 ten stamens, and especially by its oval pods. The leaves have a pleas- 
 ant, resinous odor, and a npt unpleasant, amarous, and somewhat spicy 
 taste, with slight astringeney. Tkey have not been satisfactorily ana- 
 lyzed, but appear to contain tannic acid and some essential oil. Water 
 by infusion, or alcohol, extracts its properties. 
 
 ^Properties and Uses, — Ledum Latifolium is pectoral and tonic; and is 
 useful in coughs, irritations of the pulmonary membranes, and in dys- 
 pepsia. Eeputed also to possess similar but less energetic properties 
 than the Ledum Palustre, which is supposed to possess narcotic powers. 
 An infusion of the leaves have been successfully employed in decoction 
 in pertussis, dysentery, and to allay irritation in exanthematous diseases. 
 In leprosy, itch, and several diseases of the skin, the decoction inter- 
 nally and externally has been beneficially used-. Clothes, among which 
 it is strewed, are said to be preserved from the ravages of moths. A 
 strong decoction used externally, will kill lice and other insects. Dose 
 of the infusion of either of the above plants, from two to four fluidounces 
 three or four times a day. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Ledi. 
 
 LBONUEUS CAEDIACA. (Gemeiner Herzgespann.) 
 
 Motherwort. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Lamiaceae. Sex. Syst. — Didynamia Gymnospermia. 
 
 THE TOPS AND LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — Leonurus Cardiaca is a perennial plant, with stems from 
 twO'to five feet in height, wand-like, minutely downy, acutely quadran- 
 gular, with intermediate channels, purplish, beset with numerous pairs 
 of opposite, long-stalked, rough, dark -green, somewhat downy leaves, in 
 four vertical rows. Lower stem-leaves palmate-lobed, and broadest; 
 upper ones acutely three-lobed ; those about the summit lanceolate, undi 
 vided ; all toothed, cuneiform at base. Flowers purplish or whitish-red, 
 in numerous, axillary whorls. Calyx rigid and bristly. Corolla purplish, 
 upper lip clothed with dense, white, shaggy, upright hairs; lower deeply 
 colored, variegated, smooth, in three neaHy equal entire lobes; middle 
 lobe obcordate. Stamens didynamous ; anthers approximated in pairs, 
 with parallel transverse cells and naked valves, sprinkled with shining 
 dots. Achenia oblong, ribbed, roughened on the ribs, apex prolonged 
 
LeI'ta.ndka Virginica. 479 
 
 into a very slender thread-like beak, bearing the pappus of copious soft 
 and -white capillary bristles. — L. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — Motherwort is an exotic plant, but extensively introduced 
 into this country, growing in fields and pastures, and flowering from 
 May to September. It is supposed to be a native of Tartary, and may 
 probably be indigenous to the northern sections of this country. After 
 blossoming, the inner involucre closes for a time, the slender beak 
 elongates and raises up the pappus while the fruit is forming; the 
 whole involucre is then reflexed, exposing to the wind the naked fruits 
 with the pappus displayed in an open globular head. The root sends 
 forth a number of small long fibers of a dark yellowish color. The whole 
 plant is officinal. It has a peculiar, aromatic, not disagreeable odor, 
 and a slightly aromatic, bitter taste, and 3'ields its properties to water 
 cr alcohol. The plant has not been analyzed. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Motherwort is ommenagogue, nervine, antispas- 
 modic and laxative. It is usually given in warm infusion in amenor- 
 rhea from colds; and in suppressed lochia, we have found it superior to 
 any other remedy. Likewise useful in hysteria. The extract is recom- 
 mended in nervous complaints, pains peculiar to females, in irritable 
 habits, delirium tremens, typhoid stages, with morbid nervous excita- 
 bility, all chronic diseases attended with restlessness, wakefulness, dis- 
 turbed sleep, spinal irritation, and neuralgic pains in the stomach and 
 head, and in liver affections. Combined with ictodes and resin of black 
 cohosh it forms a superior antispasmodic, nervine, and eramenagogue. 
 Externally, it may be used as a fomentation to the bowels, in suppressed 
 and painful menstruation, etc. Dose of decoetiou, from two to four fluid- 
 ounces, every one, two or three hours ; of the extract, from three to six 
 grains, every two or four hours. The root in infusion is diuretic, and is 
 stated to be efficacious in obstinate intermittents. The seeds have been 
 given in half teaspoonful doses in water, in bilious colic, and, it is said, 
 will pass through the bowels when quicksilver will not ; they must not 
 be pulverized. This, however, requires more satisfactory evidence. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Decoctum Leonuri ; Bxtractum Leonuri Hydro-alcoholi- 
 cum ; PilulsB Leonm-i Compositas. 
 
 LEPTANDEA VIEGrlNICA. (Virginischer Ehrenpreis.) 
 
 Leptandra. 
 
 Nat. Or<Z.— Scrophulariaceae. Sex. (Si/s^.— Diandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This is the Veronica Virginica of Linnseus, and is known 
 also by the names of Culver's Physic, Tall Speedwell, Blackroot, etc. It 
 is an indigenous, perennial plant, with a simple, straight, smooth, herb- 
 aceous stem, from two to five feet in height. Leaves whorled in fours 
 to sevens, short-petioled, lanceolate, acuminate, finely serrate, glaucous 
 beneath. Flowers white, numerous, nearly sessile, in long, terminal, 
 and verticillate, sub-terminal spikes. Spikes panicled, crowded ; bracts 
 very small. Oalyx four-parted. Corolla small, nearly white, with a 
 deeply four-cleft spreading border, the lateral or lower segments nar- 
 rower than the others, tubular, pubescent inside ; tube of the corolla 
 longer than its limb, much longer than the calyx. Stamens two, very 
 much exserted. Capsule oblong-ovate, not notched, opening by four 
 teeth at the apex, many-seeded. — G. — W. 
 
480 Materia Medica. 
 
 History. — This plant grows throughout the United States, in limestone 
 countries, and in rich, moist places, woods, thickets, and barrens, and 
 flowers in July and August. The root is perennial, horizontal, irregu- 
 lar, woody, about as thick as the finger, from six to twelve inches long, 
 blackish externally, brownish internally, with many long, slender, 
 dark fibers, issuing horizontally, in every direction. It is the officinal 
 part, and should be gathered in the fall of its second year. When fresh 
 it has a faint almond-like odor, and a bitter, nauseous taste, which is 
 somewhat lessened by drying, and yields its properties to water at 212° 
 P., or still better to alcohol. Age impairs its virtues. ^ It has not been 
 satisfactorily analyzed, but is said to contain ah essential oil, bitter ex- 
 tractive, tannin, gum, resin, and woody fiber. Prof E. S. Wayne has 
 carefully examined this plant, and considers that the active principle 
 of the root is due to its bitter principle ; and from the minute quantity 
 of the resinous matter found in it, there can be no doubt but that he is 
 correct. More recently he has detected a saccharine substance, which 
 he considers to be mannite, and which was procured from the residuary 
 solution left after the precipitation of the resin of the Leptandra, from 
 the alcoholic tincture of the root.; — Am. Jour. Pharm., 1859, p. 557. In 
 the same Journal for 1863, p. 297, Prof F. F. Mayer states that he has 
 obtained a glucoside or saponaceous principle from the root, closely 
 resembling senegin. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The fresh root is too drastic and uncertain for 
 medicinal use, producing vomiting, bloody stools, dizziness, vertigo, 
 and in pregnant females abortion, unless used with much care. A de- 
 coction or extract of the fresh root is highly recommended in intermit- 
 tent fever; Prof. Powell, who has tested it, states that it removes the 
 disease, and leaves the system in a condition to repel a fresh attack or 
 relapse; but it must be used with caution, as it is apt to produce un- 
 pleasant symptoms. The dried root is laxative, cholagogue, and tonic, 
 and is employed with much success in all hepatic aifections, as it causes 
 the liver to act with great energy, and without active catharsis. In all 
 febrile diseases it is an excellent laxative, and may be given daily in 
 tablespoonful doses of the infusion, repeated every hour, until one or 
 two moderate evacuations are procured ; it is peculiarly applicable to 
 bilious and typhoid fevers, causing discharges of a black, tarry and 
 morbid character, without debilitating the tone of the bowels or of the 
 general system. It has been successfully employed in leprosy and 
 cachetic diseases, and its effects in these instances may, probably, be 
 owing to its influence on the biliary apparatus. As a laxative and 
 tonic in small doses, it is very valuable in dyspepsia, especially when 
 connected with an inactive condition of the liver, and torpid and de- 
 bilitated bowels, likewise in all functional diseases of the liver, as above 
 remarked. It exerts a powerful influence upon the absorbent system, 
 and in combination with cream of tartar, has been successfully used in 
 obstinate cases of dropsj'. In diarrhea and dysentery, it has proved 
 very beneficial as a cathartic, one active dose frequently eifecting a 
 cure. 
 
 The following powder is highly esteemed in some sections of country 
 as a remedy in dysentery and diarrhea : Take of Leptandra root, in 
 powder, one drachm, opium, capsicum, each, half a drachm; mix. The 
 dose is three or four grains every two, three, or four hours, until the 
 disease yields. In some cases, the quantity of opium may be lessened 
 one-half. By some, the root is said to possess narcotic properties, and 
 that, during its operation, it will frequently be necessary to rouse the 
 
LlATRIS Spicata. 481 
 
 patient lest he fall into a deep sleep. I have never witnessed this effect. 
 Dose of the powdered root as a cathartic, fropi twenty to sixty grains, 
 which may be gi%'en in sweetened water ; of the infusion, in typhoid 
 stages, half a fluidounce every hour until it operates, and to be repeated 
 daily. Dose of the hydro-alcoholic extract, which is its best form of 
 administration, from one to five grains in form of pills. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Bxtraetum Leptandrse; Extractum Leptandrse Hydro- 
 alcoholieum ; Extractum Leptandrse Pluidum ; Tinctura Leptandrse. 
 
 LBUCANTHEMUM YULGAEE. (Weisse Wucherblume.) 
 
 White "Weed. 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese. 8ex. Syst. — Syngenesia Superflua. 
 
 THE LEAVES AND FLOWERS. 
 
 Descripiion. — Leucanthemum Vulgare, the Chrysanthemum Leucanthe- 
 mum of Linnaeus, sometimes known as Ox-eye Daisy, ab a perennial herb, 
 with an erect, branching, furrowed stem, growing from one to two feet 
 high ; leaves comparatively few, small, alternate, amplexicaul, lanceo- 
 late, serrate, cut-pinnatifid at base ; lower ones petiolate, with deep irreg- 
 ular teeth ; upper ones small, subulate, those of the middle sessile, deeply 
 cut at base, with remote teeth above. Heads large, terminal, solitary. 
 Bisk yellow. Rays numerous and white. — W. 
 
 History. — This plant was introduced into this country from Europe, 
 and is a very troublesome weed to farmers, in nearly every section. It 
 generally grows from one to two feet high, and bears white flowers in 
 June and July. The leaves are odorous and somewhat acid ; the flowers 
 are bitterish; they impart their virtues to water. 
 
 Properties and CTses.— Tonic, diuretic, and antispasmodic. Large doses 
 emetic. Used as a tonic instead of chamomile flowers, and has been 
 found serviceable in hooping-cough, asthma, and nervous excitability, 
 ^ery beneficial externally and internally in leueorrhea ; and its internal 
 "96 has been highly recommended in colliquative perspiration. Bx- 
 *ernally, it has been used as a local application to wounds, ulcers, scald- 
 'vead, and some other cutaneous diseases. Dose of the decoction, from 
 wo to four ounces, two or three times a day. Said to destroy, or drive 
 .way fleas. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Decoctum Chrysanthemi. 
 
 LIATEIS SPICATA. (Aehrenformige Liatris.) 
 
 Button Snakeroot. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracae. Sex. >%«<.— Syngenesia ^qualis. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also known by the names of Gay-feather, 
 Devil's-bit, etc., has a perennial, tuberous root, an erect, annual stem, two 
 to five feet in height, mostly stout, very leafy. Leaves linear, glabrous, 
 alternate, punctate, ciliate at base, lower ones three to five-nerved, nar- 
 rowed at base. Flowers sessile, of a bright purple color ; heads many, 
 densely crowded in a long, terminal spike, eight to twelve-flowered. 
 Scales of the cylindrical, bell-shaped involucre oblong or oval, appressed, 
 with slight scarious margins. Achenia pubes-cent,opconic. Pappus per- 
 manent, colored, barbellate, not evidently plumose to the naked eye. 
 31 
 
482 Materia Medica. 
 
 Meceptacle naked. Thr-s plant is found in moist places in the Middle and 
 Southern States, and in abundance in the prairies. — G. — W. 
 
 LiATRis Squarrosa, or Blazing Star, has a perennial tuberous root, 
 with a stem two to three feet high, thickly beset with long-linear, nerved 
 leaves ; lower ones attenuated at the base. Seads few, sessile or nearly so, 
 with brilliant purple flowers ; racemes flexuous, leafy ; involucre ovate- 
 cylindric ; scales 0/ the involucre large, numerous, squarrose-spreading, 
 outer ones larger, leafy, inner ones mucronate-acuminate, scarcely col- 
 ored. P«^2'^s plumose. This plant is found in the Middle and Southern 
 States, in dry soil, and is known in the South by the name of Rattle- 
 snake's Master. — &. — W. 
 
 LiATRis ScARiosA, or Gay-fcother, has a perennial, tuberous root, with 
 a stoat, scabrous-pubescent Stem, four to five feet in height, whitish 
 above. Leaves numerous, lanceolate, tapering at both ends, glabrous, 
 with rough margins, entire, lower ones on long petioles, three to nine 
 inches long, upper ones one to three inches in length, by one to three 
 lines in width. Heads five to twenty, an inch in diameter, in a long 
 raceme, with tweftty to forty purple flowers. Involucre globose-hemi- 
 spherical; scales of the involucre obovate or spathulate, very obtuse, 
 with dry and scarious margins, often colored. Fappus scabrous. This 
 plant is found in dry woods and sandy fields from New England to "Wis- 
 consin, and extending southward. — G. — W- 
 
 History.^All the above plants are splendid natives, and flowering 
 through August and September. There are several other species of 
 this genus which appear to possess medical properties analogous to each 
 other, and which deserve further investigation, as the L. OdoratissimU, 
 L. Gylindracea, L. Graminifolia, etc. The roots are the officinal parts ; 
 they are all tuberous, with fibers, and have a hot, somewhat bitter taste, 
 with considerable acrimony, and an agreeable, turpentine odor. They 
 appear to contain a resinous substance, and a bitter principle, but no 
 ianalysis nas been made ; the virtues are extracted by alcohol, and par- 
 tially by hot water in infusion. The resin obtained from them might, 
 probably, prove a valuable agent. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These plants are diuretic, with tonic, stimulant, 
 and eminenagogue propeirties. A decoction of them is very eflicacious 
 iti gonorrhea, gleet, and nephritic diseases, in doses of from tWo to four 
 fluidouices, thtee or four times a day ; it is also reputed beneficial In 
 scrofula, dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, after-pains, etc. It is likewise of 
 advantage in sore-throat, used as a gargle, and in injection has proved 
 useful in leucorrhea. Said to be beneficial in Bright's disease, in con- 
 nection with Lycopus Virginicus and Aletris Farinosa ; equal parts of 
 each in decoction. These plants are celebrated for their alexipharmic 
 powers in bites of venomous snakes ; Pursh states, that when bitten, 
 the inhabitants of the Southern States bruise the bulbous roots, and 
 apply them to the wound, at the same time drinking freely of a decoc- 
 tion of them in milk. This requires corroboration. 
 
 Off. JVep.^-Decoctum Liatris. 
 
 LIGUSTEUM VULGAEE. (Gemeine Liguster.) 
 
 Privet. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Oleacese. Sex. Syst. — Diandria Monogynia. 
 
 TBE LEAVES. 
 
 Description^ — This plant, also called Privy, Prim, etc., is a smooth 
 shrub, growing five or six feet high, with wand-like branches. Leaves 
 
LiLiuM Candidt:- m. 483 
 
 dark-green, one or two inches in length, about half as wide, opposite, 
 entire, smooth, lanceolate and ohovate, obtuse or aciite, on gkort petioles. 
 Flowers small, numerous, white, in tetramerous, thyrsoid, terminal 
 panicles. Galyx minutely four -toothed, deciduous, shortrtubular ; corolla 
 funnol-form, tube short, limb with four spreading, ovate, obtuse lobes. 
 Stamens two, on the tube of the corolla ; anthers large, exserted- Btyle 
 veiy short ; stigma two-cleft. Berries spherical, black, in conical bunches, 
 two-celled, from two to four-seeded ; seeds convex on one side, angular 
 on the other. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — Privet is found growing wild in woods and thickets, and 
 along the roadsides from J^ew JSngland to Virginia, and west to Mis- 
 souri, flowering in May and June. It is used in England for hedges, 
 from which place it is supposed to be introduced ; but it is indigenous 
 in Missouri. It is often cultivated in gardens. The leaves are the offi- 
 cinal parts ; they have but little odor, and an agreeable bitterish and 
 astringent taste; they yield their virtues to water or alcohol. The 
 flowers have been employed for similar purposes with the leaves. The 
 berries have a sweetish bitter taste, are reputed cathartic, and to render 
 the urine brown ; they have been used for dyeing. Probably the bark 
 will be found equal, if not superior in efficacy,' to the leaves. M. G. 
 Potex found the bark to contain sugar, mannite, starch, muco-saccha- 
 rine matter, bitter resin, bitter extractive, albumen, -^alts, chlorophyiie, 
 and a peculiar substance which he called ligustrin. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 
 XII., 347. It is deserving further attention. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Privet leaves are astringent; a decoction of them 
 is very valuable in chronic bowel complaints, ulceration of stomach and 
 bowels, as a gargle for ulcers of mouth and throat, and as an injection 
 for ulcerated ears with offensive discharges, leucorrhea, gleet, and ulcer- 
 ation of the bladder, likewise in diabetes. They may be employed 
 either in decoction or powder. Dose of the powdered leaves, from 
 thirty to sixty grains, three times a day ; of the decoction, from two to 
 four fluidounces. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum ^jigustri. 
 
 LILIUM CANDIDUM. (Weisse Ijilie.) 
 
 Meadow Lily. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Liliacese. 8ex. Syst. — Hexandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant has a perennial root or bulb, composed of 
 imbricated fleshy scales, from which arises a thick stem three to four 
 feet in height. Leaves scattered, lanceolate, narrowed at the base. 
 Flowers large, snow-white, campanulate, smooth inside, in a terminal 
 raceme. — W. 
 
 History. — This is an exotic, a native of Syria and Asia Minor, and 
 is much cultivated in this country on account of its beautiful white 
 flowers, which have long been regarded as the emblems of purity, and 
 which appear in June and July. The bulb is the part used ; it is in- 
 odorous, but has a mucilaginous, amarous, rather unpleasant taste. 
 Mucilage enters largely into its constitution, together with a small 
 quantity of an acrid substance, which disappears by heat. Water ex- 
 tracts its virtues. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Meadow Lily, or White Lily, as it is sometimes 
 called, is mucilaginous, demulcent, tonic, and astringent. Useful in leu- 
 
484 Materia Medica. , 
 
 corrhea and prolapsus uteri, the decoction taken interpally, and em- 
 ployed in ihjection ; it is more decided in its eflfects, when combined 
 with liferoot (^Senecio Gracilis). Boiled in milk, it forms an excellent 
 poultice for ulcers, external inflammations, tumors, etc. The recent root 
 is stated to have been useful in dropsy. The flowers are very fragrant, 
 which property they communicate to oily or fatty bodies, forming lini- 
 ments or ointments useful to relieve the heat and pain attending local 
 inflammations ; the oil obtained from the petals is reputed eflScacious in 
 pains of the womb, and in otitis. 
 
 LINTJM USITATISSIMUM. (Gemeiner Lein.) 
 
 Flaxseed. — Flachssamen. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Linaceae. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Pentagynia. 
 
 THE SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — Flax is an annual plant, very smooth, with a slender 
 fibrous root, and one or more straight, round, leafy corymbose steins, a 
 foot or two in height. Leaves small, alternate, sessile, acute, three- 
 veined, rather glaucous; the lowermost short, blunt. Flowers several, 
 large, blue, erect, in a terminal corymbose panicle on long footstalks. 
 Calyx persistent, consists of five ovate, acute sepals, which are three- 
 veined at base, membranaceous on the margin. Corolla five thin, deli- 
 cate, roundish, wedge-shaped, crenate petals, which are glossy, have nu- 
 merous veins, and readily drop oif. Stamens five, straight, awl-shaped. 
 Anthers two-celled, arrow-shaped. Ovary ovate, superior ; styles five ; 
 stigmas obtuse. Fruit a round capsule, five-celled, cells nearly divided by 
 a fajse dissepiment; seeds two in each cell, ovate, compressed, brown, 
 smooth, glossy. — I/. — W. — Torrey and Gray. 
 
 History. — The native country of flax is unknown, though supposed 
 to be derived from Egypt, or from Central Asia. It has been known 
 from remote antiquity, see Gen. xli : 42, and Exod. ix : 31. It is now 
 naturalized in nearly all civilized countries. ^It blossoms from May to 
 August, and matures its seeds early in autumn. The seeds, and their 
 expressed oil are used in medicine ; they are about the tenth of an 
 inch long, egg-shaped, somewhat pointed at one end and blunted at the 
 other, compressed, brownish, very smooth, shining, with a sharp mar- 
 gin, are odorless, internally yellowish-white, and have a taste like a 
 mixture of oil and mucilage. — P. — Fd. They consist of a mucilagin- 
 ous tegument and oleaginous cotyledons. When the teguments or husks 
 are steeped in hot water, a mucilaginous, odorless, and almost tasteless 
 substance is obtained, which, when alcohol is added, dej)08it8 white 
 mucilaginous flocks. Diacetate of lead also forms a precipitate with it. 
 This mucilage reddens litmus owing to its free acetic acid, is not colored 
 blue by iodine, and is not affected by infusion of nut-galls, nor chlorine. 
 It consists of a soluble part 52.70, an insoluble part 29.89, ashes con- 
 taining silica, various saline matters, etc., 7.11, and water I'O.SO. The 
 soluble part (arabin) when treated with nitric acid, yields 14.25 per 
 cent, of mucic acid, and some oxalic acid. The insoluble part is a 
 nitrogenized substance, not yielding mucic acid when treated with nitric 
 acid. In preparing an infusion the seeds should not be bruised, as the 
 mucilage resides only in their external coat. L. Meyer found linseed to 
 contain fat oil (in the nucleus) 11.265 ; wax (in the husk principally) 
 2.488 ; resinous coloring matter 0.550 ; yellow extractive with tannic 
 acid and salts 1.917 ; sweet extractive with malic acid and some salts 
 
LiNU.M UsiTAtlSSlMUM. 485 
 
 10.884; gum (in the nucleus) 6.154; nitrogenous mucilage, with acetic 
 acid and salts (in the husk principally) 15.120 ; starch with salts (in 
 the husk) 1.480 ; albumen (in the nucleus) 2.782 ; gluten (in the nu- 
 cleus) 2.932 ; husk and emulsion (?) 44.382. The ashes contained oxide 
 of copper. — P. 
 
 The internal portion of the seed, or nucleus, contains a peculiar oil, 
 •called Linseed Oil, and which is obtained from the seeds by expression 
 without the aid of heat, about one-fifth their weight being obtained. 
 It is rather thick, of a pale amber color, inclining to green, of a feeble, 
 peculiar, disagreeable odor, and a nauseous taste. Its density varies 
 from 0.927 to 0.934. It resists a cold of 4° P., without concreting ; on 
 exposure to the action of the air, it slowly becomes thicker, and gradu- 
 ally hardens into a firm elastic varnish — on which account it is very 
 much used among painters, in making printers' ink, and for other im- 
 portant applications. It boils at 600° F., is soluble in forty parts of cold 
 alcohol, five of boiling, aad in one part and a half of ether ; becomes 
 acid with facility ; and is saponified by the alkalies. The olein of lin- 
 seed oil, linolein, and the oleic acid, linoleic acid, furnished by the saponi- 
 fication of the oil, differs from the olein and oleic acid of olive and 
 castor oils. Prepared on the large scale, the gummy substance in the 
 tegument of the seeds is removed by steaming them previous to expres- 
 sion, and after expression, the oil in the expressed fluid separates and 
 floats above the mucilaginous water. Oil-cake is the compressed refuse 
 portion, remaining after the oil has been pressed out ; it contains the 
 mucilage of the husk, and is used to feed cattle. The seeds finely 
 ground, furnish a dark ash-colored fowder, flaxseed meal, which forms 
 with hot water a tenacious substance, used for luting in chemical oper- 
 ations. For poultices, the officinal Farina Lini or Linseed meal is the 
 best, as the oil having been, px'eviously removed by expression, the prep- 
 aration is not so apt to become rancid and irritate the skin. 
 
 Prof. W. Procter refers to a new variety of flax, shown to him by 
 Prof. B. S. Wayne, which is now extensively cultivated in Ohio, having 
 white flowers and greenish-yellow seeds, and somewhat resembling 
 canary seed; the only difference that he could detect, was the absence " 
 of the brown coloring matter of the seeds. It is very productive, and 
 the oil is probably less colored. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Flaxseed is used as a demulcent and emollient. 
 An infusion of the entire seeds, an ounce to a quart of water at 212° 
 F., forms a mucilaginous draught which is much employed in ardor 
 urinte and urinary diseases, nephritic pains, cough, colds, colo-rectitis, 
 pulmonary, gastro-enteric, and urinary inflammations: When not con- 
 tra-indicated, the addition of lemon juice improves the flavor, or, it 
 may be sweetened with loaf-sugar or honey. An infusion of flaxseed, 
 or of flaxseed meal, foi-msan excellent laxative injection; and the meal 
 added to boiling water, and made of the proper consistence, makes an 
 excellent cataplasm. Dose of the infusion, one or two pints daily. 
 Linseed oil in doses of two fluidounces twice a day, is said to have 
 <;ured severe cases of piles within two or three weeks ; while using it, 
 liquors and stimulating diet are to be avoided. It is likewise reputed 
 beneficial wheii internally administered in dysentery, colic, and lum- 
 bricus. Used as an enema it is advantageous in dysentery, hemorrhoids, 
 and ascarides ; and combined with lime-water, it forms the Carron Oil, 
 an excellent application to burns. One pint of linseed oil, combined 
 wilh half an ounce, each, of oils of origanum and wintergreen, forms 
 a pleasant cathartic ; to be given in the same doses as castor oil. The 
 
486 Materia Medica, 
 
 oil contains a considerable amount of oleic acid, together with margaric 
 acid and glycerin. 
 ' Off. Prep. — Cataplasma Lini ; Linimentura Calcis. 
 
 LIQUIDAMBAfi ORIBNTALE. 
 
 Storax. — Flussiger Amber. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Balsamacese, L. — Amentacese, Jussiew. Sex. Syst. — ^Monoecia 
 Polyandria. 
 
 THE PRBPAKED BALSAM-. 
 
 J>escription. — This is a native of Asia Minor, in the extreme south- 
 west of which country it is gregarious, forming forests of trees of from 
 20 to 60 feet high. Leaves bright-gr^en, perfectly smooth even at the 
 axils of the veins on the under side, shining above, pale beneath, pal- 
 mate, with serrated, obscurely trilobed divisions. Aments or catkins of 
 distinct sexes, moncecious, having a common four-leav«d deciduous in- 
 volucre; males coniaaX; anthers numerous, subsessile ; females globose, 
 composed of small scales which surround the ovary, grow together, and 
 gradually enlarge ; calyx urceolate, one-leafed, two flowered ; styles two, 
 subulate ; capsules two, oblong, one-celled, many-seeded. — L. — Juss. 
 
 Sttrax Officinale, (Amberbaum,) Nat. Ord. — Styracese, Se.X: Syst.— 
 Decandria Monogynia, is a small tree, growing from twelve to twenty feet 
 or more in height, with the branches alternate and round, having its bark 
 smooth, and the young shootsdowny. Leaves alternate, ovate or ellipti- 
 cal, entire, usually rounded at the apex, green, smooth above, whitish and 
 tomentose beneath, with short downy stalks. Flowers white,ln terminal, 
 downy racemes, with angular pedicels. Galyx hoary, almost hemispheri- 
 cal, rather angular at the base, with five or seven very short marginal teeth ; 
 corolla white, externally downy, somewhat'funnel-shaped, divided into 
 five deeply cleft segments. Stamens ten, exserted ; filaments awl-shaped, 
 united to the tube of the corolla, adhering at the base into a ring; 
 anthers linear, yellow, two-celled, opening by internal longtitudinal 
 slits. Ofary ovate; Sift/ ?e simple ; sft'^ma obtuse. .J't'MzY a globose drupe, 
 with one or two angular -stones, and somewhat concavo-convex.— i. 
 — Wo. This plant inhabits the Levant, Palestine, Syria, and is com- 
 mon all over Greece; it is cultivated in several parts of Europe, but 
 produces no balsam. 
 
 History. — From, the fact that the- cultivated Styrax oflicinale in 
 Europe, gave no balsam, many .botanists have doubted whether it is 
 the tree from which the officinal Storax is obtained. Prom some investi- 
 gations made, Mr. Danl. Hanbury of London concludes that the original 
 Storax was procured from S. officinale, but that it has now entirely dis- 
 appeared from commerce, and, that the liquid Storax of the shops is 
 collected in the southwest of Asia Minor, from the Liquidambar orientale. 
 (For interesting papers on this subject, see Am. Jour. Pharm. 1857, p. 
 249, and 1863, p. 436.) And this view of Mr. Hanbury is now generally 
 received by botanists and pharmaceutists. Yet there is a probability 
 that the ;Si. officinale is capable of yielding Storax, and indeed that it 
 formed the drug of ancient times, though it has disappeared from 
 modern commerce. ^ 
 
 There are several kinds of Storax in commerce ; the best is Storax 
 in the tear, or in grains, which is in pale yellow or reddish tears, nearly 
 
LiQUIDAMBAR OrIENTALE. 487 
 
 as large as currants. White Storax is formed of agglutinated tears, and 
 is in masses resembling pale galbanum. Amygdaloid Storax occurs in 
 compact masses, with a fragrant vanilla-like odor, and a yellowish, or 
 reddish-brown color, interspersed with white tears^ giving an amygda- 
 loid appearance to the mass. These varieties are vei?y scarce, apd are 
 ral*ely, if at all, met with in the shops of this country; and it is unde- 
 termined which of the two trees described above, furnish them. 
 
 Common Storax or styrax calamita, is imported in laj-ge round cakes, 
 of a brown or reddish-brown color, and fragrant odor. It is brittle, 
 soft, unctuous, yet easily rubbed into a coarse powder. Exposed to the 
 air it becomes covered with a whitish efflorescence of cinnamic acid. It 
 appears to be composed of liquid resin mixed with bran or fine sawdust, 
 for the purpose, probably, of giving solidity to the drug. The cakes or 
 masses may be easily crushed to a coarse powder, in which state it is 
 usually sold in the shops. In consequence of its impurities, it should 
 be purified by solution in alcohol, strained, and then the alcohol dis- 
 tilled off by moderate heat, until the Storax acquires the proper con- 
 sistence. There is an uncertainty as to the tree from which this is 
 derived, though Mr. Hanbury states that at Trieste it is prepared by 
 mixing the residual Liquidambar bark called Cortex Thymiamatis, re- 
 duced to coarse powder, with liquid storax. The Storax of commerce 
 consists of a trace of volatile oil, a little gum, some extractive matter, 
 much woody fiber, with from 33 to 54 per cent, of resin, and from 1 to 
 2.6 per cent, of benzoic acid. 
 
 Liquid Storax is another variety, and which is the most commonly 
 employed. There are two kinds of it : one, imported in casks or barrels 
 from Trieste, is opaque, of a gray color, having the consistence of bird- 
 lime, and the odor of Storax, but frequently intermixed with a feeble ^ 
 odor of benzole. It appears to contain many impurities, and is made 
 into strained Storax by heating it until the water with which it is usually 
 mixed is evaporated, and then straining it. The other is a pellucid liquid- 
 Storax, somewhat of the consistence of Venice turpentine, has a brown- 
 ish-yellow color, a sweetish, vanilla-like odor, entirely unlike that of 
 sweet gum, and by keeping it yields a white and acid sublimate on the 
 sides of the bottle which contains it. It is an excellent article, and is 
 imported in jars holding fourteen pounds each. Liquid storax, accord- 
 ing to the investigations of Mr. Hanbury, is undoubtedly the product 
 of the Liquidambar orientale. 
 
 Storax has a peculiar, vanilla-like odor, and a pleasant, benzoinic 
 taste. Alcohol or ether takes up its active properties, and water 
 acquires its odor with a cream-like color. A moderate heat fuses it, 
 and a higher temperature inflames it. Liquid Storax has been found by 
 Simon to consist of a volatile oil, called styrole, Cie Hg, cinnamic acid, 
 styracine, a soft resin, and a hard resin. — P. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Storax is a stimulant, acting more especially 
 upon mucous tissues, as do nearly all balsams. It has been found bene- 
 ficial as an expectorant in cough, chronic catarrh^ asthma, bronchitis, 
 and other pulmonary affections ; also in gonorrhea, fluor-albus, and gleet, 
 in which it is as efficient, and more pleasant than copaiba. Combined 
 with tallow or lard, it forms a valuable application in many forms of 
 cutaneous disease, especially those common to children, as ringworm, 
 tinea, ringworm of the scalp, etc. It is much used, on account of its fra- 
 grance, for compounding ointments and pills, and is an excellent addi- 
 tion to opium in the form of pill, when it is necessary to conceal the 
 taste and smell of this narcotic ; three or four grains of Storax may b« 
 
488 Mateeia Medica. 
 
 combined with one grain of opium for this purpose. The dose of Stora>i 
 is from ten to twenty grains, gradually increased.* 
 
 LIQUIDAMBAE STYEACIFLUA. (Virginischer Amberbaum.) 
 
 Sweet Grum. 
 Nat'. Ord. — Altingiacese, Lindley. Balsamacese. Sex. Syst. — Monoe- 
 cia Polyandria. 
 
 THE CONOKETE JUICE. 
 
 Description. — The Sweet Gum tree attains the height of fifty to sixty 
 feet, with a diameter of three to five feet. It is covered with a gray, 
 deeply furrowed bark, with corky ridges on the branchlets. Leaves 
 palmate, deeply five to seven-lobed, rounded, smooth, shining, of a rich 
 green color ; the lobes finely glandular, serrate, acuminate ; the veiw 
 villous at their bases. When bruised the leaves are fragrant, turn 
 crimson or deep-red in autumn. Sterile flowers in a conical cluster of 
 several globular heads, naked oi* achlamydeous ; aments monoecious, 
 roundish, surrounded with a four-leaved involucre ; stamens numerous, 
 intermixed with minute scales ; filaments short ; anthers numerous, 
 oblong, subsessile. Fertile flowers consist of two-celled ovaries, sub- 
 tended by minute scales, all more or less cohering and hardening in 
 fruit, forming a spherical catkin or head ; catkins racemed, nodding, 
 inclosed in the bud by a four-leaved deciduous involucre. Styles two, 
 long. Fruit a kind of strobile, composed of the indurated scales and 
 capsules. Capsules or pods two-beaked, two-celled, opening between 
 the two awl-shaped, or prickly diverging styles. Seed,s small, several, 
 amphitropous, with sparing albumen, a straight embryo ; cotyledons 
 foliaceous. — Q. — W. 
 
 History. — This is a large and beautiful tree, with fine-grained wood, 
 growing throughout the United States in moist woods from Connecti- 
 cut and IfeW jersey, southward; but found in greater abundance in 
 the Southern and Middle States. In warm climates, a whitish-yellow, 
 somewhat limpid juice exudes from the incisions made into the tree, 
 especially during the warm seasons ; it has the density of thick syrup, 
 but by standing it forms a soft, resinous-like, adhesive mass, somewhat 
 like white turpentine, but opaque and almost black. It is known as 
 Sweet Ghim, or Liquidamhar (Liquidum Liquidambar Styracifluse) ; it 
 has a pleasant, benzoinic odor, and. a bezoinic, somewhat bitter and 
 pungent taste. It is soluble in alcohol, ether, oil, lard or fats, softens 
 in warm weather, and becomes harder in cold. Its tincture slightly 
 reddens litmus paper. Bonastre found it to contain volatile oil 7.00, 
 semiconcrete matter 11.1, benzoic acid 1.0 ; crystalline matter soluble in 
 water and alcohol 5.3, yellow coloring matter 2.05, oleo-resin 49.0, 
 styracin 24.0. The volatile oil may be obtained by distilling the balsam 
 with water; it is liquid and transparent, and colorless like water, is 
 
 * A preparation known as Mackenzie's 8yrup, and which has obtained considerable celeb- 
 rity in some sections of the country, as aremedy In consumption, coughs, laryngitis, etc., 
 Is made as follows: Take of Colombo root, and horehound, each, two ounces; boneset one 
 ounce; plenrisy-root four ounces; water two gallons. Boil until one-half of the water 
 has evaporated ; subject the articles to another Doiling in fresh water, add the two decoc- 
 tions together, strain and evaporate to six quarts. To this add sugar five pounds ; Canada 
 balsam one pound, liquid storax half a pound ; wheat bran two pints; subject to a gentle 
 heat for two hours, add beeswax one pound, and let it stand for twenty- four hours to cool ; 
 strain, add one pint of yeast, let the mixture stand for six days, and put it Intci well corked 
 bottles. The dose Is one or two tablespoonfuls, three times a day. The sugar and the bal 
 nuns are undoubtedly the active agents of this heterogeneous compound. 
 
LiRIODENDRON TULIPIFERA. 489 
 
 lighter than water, heavier than alcohol, has a strong. Sweet Grum odor, 
 and an acrid and burning taste, leaving a very disagreeable impression 
 in the mouth. It is composed of a transparent oil, having a strong- 
 aromatic odor and taste, and a whitish solid matter, inodorous, apd of 
 the consistence of wax. The volatile oil congeals at 32° P., and accord- 
 ing to Henry, consists of Cjo H,. The benzoic acid is increased in 
 quantity by age. Styracin consists of quadrangular pyramidal crystals 
 insoluble in water, soluble, in boiling alcohol, but deposited on cooling, 
 tasteless, and of a vanilla-like odor. Their formula is Cu H^ O2. Mr. 
 D. Hanbury states that this balsam does not contain benzoic but cin- 
 namic acid, and he is undoubtedly correct. He gives as a method of 
 detecting these acids the following: Heat the acid in a test tube or 
 small flask, with solution of chloride of lime ; cinnamic acid will evolve 
 'an odor similar to the essential oil of bitter almonds, while benzoic 
 does not. — Am. Jour. Pharm., Sept., 1857, third series, XXIX., 478. Mr. 
 >W. P. Creecy states that a minute proportion of benzoic acid is associ- 
 ated with its cinnamic acid. 
 
 Properties and Uses.- — ^It probably possesses virtues similar to the 
 concrete juice of Styrax officinale, which see. It makes an elegant and 
 agreeable ointment when melted with equal parts of lard or tallow, 
 which I have found decidedly useful in hemorrhoids, psora, ringworm 
 of the scalp, porrigo scutulata, and many other cutaneous affections; also 
 in that indolent species of ulcer, known as "fever sores on the legs." 
 In anal fistula, it maintains an increased discharge, softens the callosity 
 of the walls of the sinus, and produces a normal result, and effects this 
 without pain to the patient. If necessary, in fistula, a little creasote, 
 or other stimulant may be added to it. This employment of Sweet 
 Gum is not generally known, and physicians would do well to avail 
 themselves of its use in the above, diseases. It is also used in chronic 
 catarrh, coughs, and pulmonary affections. The dose internally is 
 from ten to twenty grains. 
 
 LIEIODENDEON TULIPIPBEA. (G-emeiner Tulperbaum.) 
 
 Tulip Tree. 
 Nat. Ord. — Magnoliacese. Sex. Syst. — Polyandria Polygynia. 
 
 THE BARK. 
 
 Description. — This tree is also known by the name of Poplar, White 
 Poplar, Yellow Poplar, and White-wood. It is ordinarily about eighty 
 feet high, with a diameter of two or three feet, but in favorable situa- 
 tions it frequently attains a height of one hundred and forty feet, with 
 a diameter of eight or nine feet. Trunk perfectly straight, cylindric, 
 covered with a bark of a brown or grayish-brown color, smooth when 
 young, rough and furrowed when old. At the top it divides rather 
 abruptly into coarse, crooked branches, in somewhat regular order, 
 giving a symmetrical aspect to the tree ; bark of the young branches 
 bluish or of a reddish tinge. Leaves large, bright green, alternate, on 
 long petioles, smooth, shining, three-lobed, lateral lobes ovate, middle 
 one truncated, appearing as if cut off by a broad, shallow notch. Lat- 
 eral lobes of the large leaves furnished with a tooth or additional lobe 
 on their outside. There is a variety with the lobes of the leaves not 
 pointed, but very obtuse. Flowers large, solitary, terminal, tulip-shaped, 
 yellowish, four to six inches in diameter. Bracts two, triangular, fall- 
 
490 Materia Medica. 
 
 ing-off as the lower expands. Calyx double, the inner and proper se 
 pals being three, large, oval, concave, veined, of a pale-green color, 
 spreading at first, afterward reflexed. Corolla consists of six, seven, or 
 more petals, which are obtuse, concave, veined, of a pale yellowish- 
 green color, marked with a.n irregular indented crescent of a bright 
 orange on both sides toward the base. Stamens numerous, with short 
 filaments, and long, linear, adnate anthers. Fistil a large, conical, acute 
 body, wpjper Aay' covered with minute, blackish, recurved stigmas; lower 
 furrowed, being a mass of coalescing styles and ovaries. Fruit a cone 
 of imbricated seed-vessels, which are woody, solid, their upper por- 
 tion formed by the long lanceolate style ; seeds two, blackish, ovate, 
 one or both often abortive. — L. — B. — W. 
 
 History. — This is one of the most magnificent and remarkable trees 
 of the American forests, on account of its size, its elegant appearance ' 
 when in flower, its therapeutical virtues, and its serviceable wood. It 
 is found in rich soils from Maine to the G-ulf of Mexico, and reaches its 
 greatest size in the Middle and South -Western States; its flowers ap- 
 pear in May and June. The wood is compact and light, and is exten- 
 sively used as a substitute for pine. It is but slightly affected by 
 dampness in the air, and is seldom injured by worms. The part used 
 in medicine is the bark both of the trunk and root. It is whitish, with 
 a yellow tinge when its epidermis is removed, light, fibrous, easily 
 broken, of an unpleasant, somewhat aromatic odor, and an aromatic, 
 pungent, slightly camphorous and amarous taste. The root-bark is 
 colored the darkest. The virtues of this bark are impaired by time. 
 Water or alcohol take up its active properties, which are dissipated by 
 a continued heat at 212° F. The bark should be collected during the 
 winter. Prof J. P. Bmmett discovered in the bark a peculiar princi- 
 ple which he named liriodendrin, and which he considered as interme- 
 diate between camphor and the resins. The easiest mode of obtaining 
 it is to digest the fresh bark for five or six hours in alcohol, heated to 
 100°, in an opaque vessel, as light exerts an influence upon it. A bit- 
 ter solution is obtained, which must be filtered, reduced by distillation 
 to one-fifth its bulk, and on cooling impure liriodendrin is deposited. 
 Toward the end of the process, the bitter principle separates in drops 
 of an amber color, which become solid on cooling. The liquid is then 
 evaporated to the consistence of honey, and a few drops of ammonia 
 being added, the liriodendrin is precipitated. It must now be washed 
 in a solution of caustic potassa, till water ceases to be colored by it. 
 In this state it contains water, and is softened by the heat of the hand. 
 To obtain it in crystals dissolve it in alcohol, heat the solution to 100°, 
 add slowly water of the same temperature, till the liquid becomes of a 
 milk white color, then filter and set it aside for the crystals to be de- 
 posited. They are in colorless scales or in needles, insoluble in cold 
 water, soluble in alcohol, ether, or nitric acid, neutral, fusible at 180°, 
 sublime at a higher heat and partially decompose, and have an aro- 
 matic, bitter, somewhat acrid taste. Chlorine converts them into a 
 bitter resin ; iodine colors the most minute quantity of them yellow ; 
 and when triturated with mucilage of gum Arabic, the bitter taste dis- 
 appears, and when the solution is left at rest, crystals are deposited 
 different from those of liriodendrin. — T. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tulip-tree bark is an aromatic, stimulant tonic 
 and has proved beneficial in intermittents, chronic rheumatism, chronic 
 gastric and intestinal diseases, worms, and hysteria. In hysteria, com- 
 bined with a small quantity of laudanum, it is said to be speedy, cer 
 
Lobelia Inflata, 49] 
 
 tain, and effectual, and also to abate the hectic fever, night-sweats, and 
 colliquative diarrhea of phthisis. The warm infusion is diaphoretic, 
 and under certain states of the system has proved diuretic. Dose of 
 the powdered hark, from a scruple to two drachms ; of the saturated 
 tincture, which is the best form of administration, one fluidrachm; of 
 the infusion, from one to two fluidounces; of liriodendrin, from five to 
 ten grains. 
 
 C^. Prep. — Decoctum Liriodendroni ; Vinum Hydrastii Compositum. 
 
 LOBELIA INPLATA. (Aufgeblasene Lobelie.) 
 
 Lobelia. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Lobeliacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES AND SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — This plant, generally known as Wild, or Indian Tobacco, 
 is an annual or biennial indigenous plant, more commonly the latter, 
 with a fibrous, yellowish-white root, and an erect, angular, very hairy 
 stem, in the full-sized plant much branched, and from six inches to three 
 feet in height. Leaves alternate, scattered, sessile, ovate-lanceolate, ser- 
 rate, veiny, hairy. Flowers small, numerous, pale-blue, on short pe- 
 duncles, each originating from the axil of a small leaf. Calyx consists 
 of five, subulate segments. Corolla tubular, small, slit on the upper 
 side, ventricose at the base; the limb bilabiate; tube prismatic; seg- 
 ments spreading, acute ; two upper ones lanceolate, three lower ones 
 oval. Anthers united into an oblong, carved body, purple ; filaments 
 white. Style filiform ; stigma curved, two-lobed, inclosed by the 
 anthers. Capsule two-celled, ovoid, inflated, striated, ten-angled, 
 crowned with the persistent calyx. Seeds numerous, small, oblong, 
 brown. — L. — B. — W. 
 
 History. — This plant grows in nearly all parts of the United States, 
 in fields, meadows, woods, etc., flowering from July to November. The 
 whole plant is active, but the leaves and seeds are more usually em- 
 ployed. The root is supposed to be more energetic, medicinally, than 
 any other part of the plant. The proper time for gathering the plant 
 is from the last of July to the middle of October, during which period 
 the seed-vessels are in great abundance. The plaat should be dried in 
 the shade, and then be preserved in packages, or covered vessels, more 
 especially if it be reduced to powder. When dried, it has a faint, nau- 
 seous, rather disagreeable odor, and a strong, acrid, nauseous taste 
 developed 'by chewing, somewhat similar to that of tobacco, which 
 powerfully affects the throat and fauces, occasioning ptyalism and sick- 
 ness at stomach. The leaves form a greenisji powder ; the seeds a 
 brownish. Hot water, vinegar, ether, or alcohol take up its medicinal 
 principles ; but boiling dissipates them. Lobelia seed viewed under the 
 microscope are about -^ of an inch in length, -^^ of an inch in breadth, 
 of a dark-brown color, oblong, oval, or almond-shaped, reticulated with 
 irregular, oblong-square, or rectangular ridges and furrows, somewhat 
 resembling basket-work ; the only seed which resemble them are those ^ 
 of the L. Cardinalis, but which are not so dark-colored, have reticula- 
 tions not so well defined, and are of larger size. — P. — F. Curtis. 
 
 Pereira found the plant to contain a volatile principle, Lobelina, Lo- 
 belie acid, resin, chlorophylle, gum, extractive,eaoutchouc(?), and woody 
 fiber. Prof. W. Procter, jr., found in it Lobelina, resin, chlorophylle, 
 
492 Materia Medica. 
 
 gum, Lobelic acid, fixed oil, salts of lime and potassa, oxide of iron, 
 and woody fiber. 
 
 The fixed oil of Lobelia may be obtained by bruising the seed between 
 heated rollers, and pressing while hot in a strong linen cloth, between 
 proper , iron plates. Its consistence is nearly like that of linseed oil, 
 and possesses the drying qualities common to the fixed oils. It pos- 
 sesses all the medicinal properties of the seed. 
 
 Lohelina was first obtained by Prof W. Procter; the seeds contain 
 double the amount found in any other part of the plant. Prof. Procter 
 procured it by the following process : Twelve pounds uf finely powd- 
 ered Lobelia seed were macerated in twenty-four fluidounces of alcohol, 
 sp. gr. 880, acidulated with half a fluidounce of acetic acid; on the 
 fourth day this solution was subjected to displacement. This process 
 was continued with diluted alcohol until the seeds were exhausted of 
 their acrimony. The tincture obtained, equal to five pints, was then 
 evaporated to the consistence of an extract which weighed an ounce 
 and a half, or one-eighth of the seeds employed. This extract was trit- 
 urated with an excess of magnesia, and then twelve fluidounces of 
 water gradually added. After frequent agitation for several hours, 
 the liquid was filtered, and the filter washed with water. This solution 
 was then agitated with six fluidounces of ether, until all its acrimony 
 was removed. The ethereal solution was then decanted and allowed to 
 
 .evaporate spontaneously in a porcelain capsule, which left 18.5 grains 
 of a reddish-brown lobelina, having a honey-like consistence. To re- 
 move the color, the impure lobelina was dissolved in water, then slightly 
 acidulated with diluted sulphuric acid, mixed with purified animal char- 
 coal, boiled, saturated with magnesia, and filtered. This solution was 
 agitated with ether until the lobelina was removed; the ethereal solu- 
 tion was then separated and allowed to evaporate. Thus obtained, 
 lobelina has a light-yellow color, a somewhat aromatic odor, is lighter 
 than water, soluble in water, but more so in alcohol or ether. It is pre- 
 cipitated as a white bitannate by tannic acid ; nitrate of silver occasions 
 a white precipitate, becoming dark-brown upon standing ; acetate of 
 lead gives a white precipitate, and persulphate of iron causes a gradual 
 brown precipitate. Gallic acid and corrosive sublimate do not afi'ect 
 it; ' Concentrated nitric or hydrochloric acids merely dissolve it with- 
 out producing any change ; sulphuric acid blackens it, then dissolves 
 it, and removes its acrid taste. It forms salts with acids more solutile 
 in water than the alkaloid itself, soluble in alcohol, but less so in ether. 
 One-fourth of a grain given to a cat produced violent emesis, and much 
 prostration, to recover from which it required three hoiirs. — Am. Jour. 
 Pharm., 1842, XIII., 1. Unless united with acids, it is decomposed by 
 boiling. It possesses the active properties of the plant in a concentrated 
 form. As an emetic, three to ten drops, sufiiciently diluted with water, 
 will generally operate. With vinegar, or citric acid and honey, it forms 
 an oxymel which is very beneficial in bronchitis and cynanche trache- 
 alis. The caustic alkalies decompose lobelina. This principle may 
 also be obtained by the method named for procuring Hyoscyamia, 
 Which see. 
 
 '' Lobelia was known to the Penobscot Indians, and was also extensively 
 used by the people of New England in domestic practice, long before the 
 time of Samuel Thomson, its assumed discoverer. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Lobelia is emetic, nauseant, expectorant, relax- 
 ant, sedative, antispasmodic, and secondarily cathartic, diaphoretic, and 
 astringent. There is much discordance of opinion among medical men 
 
Lobelia Inflata. 493 
 
 as regards its narcotic properties, many denying that it holds any such 
 influences whatever. When chewed, Lobelia produces a disagreeable 
 sense of burning and distension, which extends into the oesophagus, 
 terminating in nausea and vomiting, with oppressive prostration, re- 
 laxation of the muscular system, and a languid pulse. In doses often 
 or twent}' grains of the leaves or seeds, it is a prompt and efficient 
 emetic, and may be given in all cases where emesis is indicated ; its 
 action is somewhat modified by a combination with ipecacuanha, and 
 other vegetable emetics, and rendered safer and more effectual. In very 
 small doses it excites diaphoresis, increases expectoration, diminishes 
 cough, and counteracts spasmodic action. In all diseases of the respir- 
 atory organs, as croup, pneumonia, pertussis, catarrh, asthma, and 
 those fits of dyspnoea resembling asthma, it will be found useful either 
 as an emetic or expectorant. As with ipecacuanha, so with Lobelia, it 
 will be found very useful in all febrile diseases, especially during their 
 earlier stages, as it relaxes the system, modifies arterial excitement, 
 and produces diaphoresis, thus tending to equilibriate the circulation,, 
 and assisting the vital powers to eliminate morbid humors. As an ex- 
 pectorant it may be used in tincture combined with tincture of blood- 
 root, syrup of senega, oxymel of squill, wine of ipecacuanha, etc. In 
 all cases where relaxation of the system is desired, either to subdue 
 spasm, or otherwise, Lobelia will be found a very valuable article — 
 probably no remedy is moi-e effectual. Spasmodic movement is incom- 
 patible with nervous and muscular i-elaxation, hence we find pi-ompt 
 relief in epilepsy, hysteria, cramps, tetanus, chorea, convulsions, etc., 
 by the exhibition of Lobelia in doses sufficient to excite nausea a,nd 
 relaxation. Eigidity of the os uteri is almost invariably overcome by 
 the employment of this drug internally, or as an enema. In strangu- 
 lated hernia, and other intestinal obstructions, it has been found an 
 excellent relaxant when used in injection : and on this account it is 
 highly beneficial in fractures, dislocations, and tedious labors. It may 
 be given internally, and applied in fomentation externally ; the oil 
 may bo used externally likewise for the purpose of causing relaxation. 
 The relaxation caused by lobelia maybe counteracted by the stimulat- 
 ing and tonic influence of capsicum. 
 
 Externally, the infusion has been found useful' in ophthalmic affec- 
 tions ; and the tincture is a valuable local application to sprains, bruises, 
 rheumatic pains, erysipelas, and erysipelatous inflammations, tetter, and 
 other forms of cutaneous diseases, as well as a remedy for the poison 
 from ivy or dogwood. A poultice of powdered Lobelia and slippery- 
 elm bark, with a weak lye-water, will be found valuable in erysipelatous 
 diseases, bites and stings of poisonous insects, spasmodic affections of 
 the limbs, pains, and to produce muscular relaxation. 
 
 The oil of Lobelia is valuable in tetanus and some other extreme 
 cases, as it is easy to introduce enough upon the tongue to relax the 
 whole system immediately. On account of its tendency to produce in- 
 flammation of the stomach, it should not be employed alone as a com- 
 mon emetic, but a few drops of it should be triturated with sugar, and 
 difl'used in chamomile, boneset, or other emetic infusion. One drop of 
 the oil triturated with one scruple of sugar, and divided into trom six 
 to twelve doses, will be found highly useful as an expectorant, nau- 
 seant, sedative, and diaphoretic, when given every one or two hours, as 
 may be required. As a local application, much benefit may be derived 
 from it, where a particular nerve is to be quieted, or a muscle to be 
 relaxed. An excellent liniment may be made of a mixture of half an 
 
494 JVIateria Medica. 
 
 ounce, each, of oils of amber and sassafras, a drachm of oil of Lobelia, 
 and half a drachm of ethereal oil of capsicum. To be used in painful 
 neuralgic and rheumatic affections. As a^n emetic, dose of the powder, 
 from twenty to sixty grains; of the tincture, from two to four flui- 
 drachms. As a nauseant and expectorant, from five to twenty grains. 
 When Lobelia does not act as an emetic, it is very apt to purge. 
 
 There are two other species of Lobelia, the Blue Lobelia, Lobelia 
 Syphilitica, and the Red Lobelia, L. Cafdinalis. The first is diaphoretic, 
 emetic, and cathartic ; also diuretic and antisyphilitic, and a strong in- 
 fusion of it has cured gonorrhea. It has likewise been used in dropsy, 
 diarrhea, and dysentery. The root is the part used ; dose, from twenty 
 to sixty grains of the powder. The L. Cardinalis is said to be anthel- 
 mintic, nervine, and antispasmodic. These two varieties are seldom, if 
 ever, used in medicine. Lobelia Kalmii is the plant shown to Mr. Kalfn 
 by Col. Johnson, as the one used by the Indians of some parts of North 
 America to cure syphilis ; and he was likewise informed that syphilis 
 was known among them previous to their acquaintance^with the Euro- 
 peans, and that they cured it very readily, even when " the patient is 
 half rotten and insupportable to be approached. "-^G^enera^ Practice of 
 . Physic, by E. Brookes, M. D., 7th edition, 1777, Vol. II., pages 67 to 71. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Acetum Lobelise ; Cataplasma Lobelise et Ulmus ; Enema 
 Lobeliae Composita ; Bxtractum Lobeliae Pluidum ; Extractum Lobelias 
 Fluidum Compositum ; Linimentum Stillingiae Compositum ; Lotio Lo- 
 belise Composita; Oleum Lobelise; Pilulse Aloes Composite; Pulvis 
 Lobelise Compositus; Tinctura Hydrastis Compositse; Tinctura Lobe- 
 lise ; Tinctura Lobelise Composita ; Tinctura Lobelise et Capsiei ; Tinc- 
 tura Sanguinarise Acetata ; Tinctura Sanguinarise Composita; Tinctura 
 Viburni Composita. 
 
 LYOOPUS YIEGINICUS.. (Virginischer Wolfsfusz.) 
 
 Bugleweed. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Lamiacese. Sex. Syst. — Diandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE HERB. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also known as Paul's Betony, and Water 
 Soarhound, is an indigenous, perennial herb, with a fibrous root, and a 
 smooth, straight, obtusely four-angled stem, with the sides concave, pro- 
 ducing slender runners from the base, and ten to twenty inches in height. 
 Leaves opposite, oblong, or ovate-lanceolate, toothed, entire toward the 
 base, with glandular dots underneath. Flowers very small, purplish, 
 in dense, axillary whorls; at the base of each flower are two small, 
 subulate bracts. Corolla campanulate, four-cleft, the tube as long as 
 the calyx, upper segment broadest, emarginate. Oalyx tubular, four- 
 cleft, longer than the achenia! Stamens two, distant, diverging, simple ; 
 anthers erect, bilobed ; ovary superior, four-angled ; style straight, slen- 
 der ; stigma bilobate ; achenia four, smooth, obovate, obliquely truncate 
 at apex, compressed, margins thickened. — &. — W. — B. 
 
 History. — Bugleweed is found growing in almost all parts of the 
 United States, in moist and shady situations, flowering in July and Au- 
 gust. It has a peculia,r, balsamic terebinthinate odor, and a disagreea- 
 ble, slightly bitter taste. It imparts its properties to boiling water in 
 infusion. The whole herb is officinal. It has not been thoroughly 
 analyzed, but, probably, its virtues depend upon a volatile oil and tan- 
 
Lythrum Salicaria. 195 
 
 nic acid. The Messrs. Tilden found it to contain tannic acid, organic 
 and inorganic matters, bitter principle, and a peculiar principle. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The exact medicinal virtues of this plant are 
 not well determined. It possesses sedative, tonic, astringent, and nar- 
 cotic properties, and has been successfully used in incipient phthisis, 
 hemoptysis, and other hemorrhages ; it soothes ii-ritation, reduces the 
 frequency of the pulse, and lessens cough. It acts somewhat like digi- 
 talis, in reducing the velocity of the pulse, but is devoid of the danger- 
 ous effects resulting from the use of that drug, and hence has proved 
 useful in some cardiac affections. It is decidedly beneficial in the treat- 
 ment of diabetes, having cured when all other means were useless ; and 
 has been of service in chronic diarrhea and dysentery, inflammatory 
 diseases of drunkards, diseases of the heart, and intermittents. Dose 
 of the powder from one to two drachms; of the infusion, from two to 
 four fluidounces ; of the concentrated tincture of the recent plant, from 
 five to sixty minims. 
 
 The I/ycopus Europceus, a European plant introduced into this country, 
 is said to possess febrifuge properties, curing severe intermittents in 
 doses of one or two drachms of the powdered plant, every two or four 
 hours. It has been confounded with the L. Virginicus, but may be dis- 
 criminated by its stem being more acutely four-angled, its leaves not so 
 broad, the lower being somewhat feather-cleft, its flowers more closely 
 grouped, and the calyx divisions presenting short spines. 
 
 Off. Frep. — Infusum Lycopus. 
 
 LYTHEUM SALIC AEIA. (Gemeiner Weiderich.) 
 
 Loosestrife. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Lythracese. Sex. 8yst. — Dodecandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE HERB. 
 
 Description — This plant, also known by the name of Purple-willow- 
 herb, is a handsome perennial with a woody root branching at the 
 crown, from which arises several erect, acutely quadrangular, either 
 smooth or downy, leafy, generally simple, reddish stems two to five feet 
 high. Leaves nearly sessile, lanceolate, acute, entire, three to six inches 
 long, about one-fourth as wide, the upper ones diminished to sessile 
 bracteas, all mostly opposite, sometimes in whorls of three or four, in 
 which cases the number of angles on the stem is likewise increased. 
 Flowers large, numerous, showy, nearly sessile, in numerous axillary 
 whorls, six in each, of a variable crimson or purple, composing long, 
 leafy spikes. Calyx inferior, cylindrical, striated, limb with six broad 
 teeth, the same number of alternate, smaller, subulate, diverging ones ; 
 six of the teeth long, reddish. Corolla of six, equal petals. Stamens 
 twelve ; anthers conspicuous, red, with green or yellow pollen. Capsule 
 small, elliptical, two-celled, many seeded. — JJ. — W. 
 
 Sistory. — This plant grows in several parts of the globe, and is found 
 in wet meadows, ditches, etc., in this country, especially in the North- 
 ern and Eastern' States, bearing purple flowers in July and August. It 
 has no odor, but an herb-like, astringent taste, and by chewing becomes 
 very mucilaginous. The ferruginous salts darken its infusion, and boil- 
 ing water takes from it a large amount of mucilage, becoming q-uite 
 viscid. It yields its properties to water. It has not been analyzed, but 
 probably contains tannin and much mucilage. 
 
 Properties and C/ses.— Loosestrife possesses considerable mucilage, ren- 
 dering it a demulcent, while at the same time its tannic acid gives to it 
 
496 Materia Medica. 
 
 astringent' properties. A decoction of it used freely has been servicea- 
 ble in various affections of the bowels where this class of remedies was 
 indicated, as in colo-rectitis, summer-complaint of children, diarrhea, 
 etc. Externally, it is very beneficial as a local application in chronic 
 ophthalmia, ulcers, and some forms of cutaneous disease ; also in leu- 
 corrhea, gleet, chronic gonorrhea, etc., being used either as a wash, or 
 in form of poultice. Dose of the decoction, one, two, or three fluid- 
 ounces ; of the powder, thirty to sixty grains, repeated every three or 
 four hours. The Decodon, or L. Verticillatum, or Stvamp Willow-herb, 
 bearing purple flowers, possesses similar properties to the above ; it is said 
 to cause abortion in mares and cows browsing it in winter, and 'may, per- 
 haps, exert a medicinal influence on the female uterus. It grows m 
 swamps throughout the United States and Canada, has a stem woody at 
 the base, often prostrate, and rooting at the summit, three to eight feet 
 long, or when erect two to three feet in height, and four to six angled. 
 The leaves are opposite, or in whorls of tliree, lanceolate, on short peti-- 
 oles, acute at base, three to five inches long, gradually acuminate and 
 acute at apex. The flowers are large, purple, in axillary subsessile um- 
 bels of three or more, apparently whorled, constituting a long, leafy, 
 terminal and showy panicle. Calyx short, broadly campanulate, with 
 five erect teeth, and five elongated, spreading, horn-like processes. 
 Petals five or six. Stamens ten, alternate ones very long; style filiform ; 
 capsule globose, included, three-celled, many seeded. — W. — G. 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Lythri. 
 
 MAGNESIA. (^Magnesia Usta.) (Gebrannte Magnesia.) 
 Magnesia. 
 
 Preparation. — Magnesia, or Calcined Magnesia, as it is more usually 
 termed, is obtained by placing a convenient quantity of commercial 
 carbonate of Magnesia, in small lumps (not finely powdered), in an 
 earthen crucible, which may be nearly filled, and the latter, covered, is 
 placed in a good wind furnace. So soon as the crucible is red hot, its 
 contents are from time to time carefully stirred with a clean iron spa- 
 tula ; and when the interior portion has also acquired this temperature, 
 a small quantity is withdrawn, and when cool, shaken with sulphuric 
 or hydrochloric acid. If this causes an evolution of gas, the heat must 
 be continued until a small portion, dropped into a glass of dilute acid, 
 quietly sinks to the bottom, and after a few minutes dissolves without 
 the slightest evolution of gas. The contents of the crucible are now 
 emptied on a clean iron or copper plate, and before they are quite cool 
 placed in a well-stoppered bottle; the crucible, in the meantime, is 
 filled with a fresh portion, and the heating proceeded with. Nine parts 
 of carbonate of Magnesia yield about four parts of calcined. 
 
 History. — The commercial carbonate of Magnesia is a basic salt, 'con- 
 sisting of four equivalents of Magnesia, three equivalents of carbonic 
 acid, and four of water, which may be considered a combination of 
 three equivalents of neutral hydrated carbonate of magnesia, and one 
 equivalent of hydrate of magnesia. When heated to redness, the car- 
 bonic acid' and water are given off, and the pure Magnesia remains ; 
 2,307 parts carbonate of magnesia yield 1,032 parts of calcined. The 
 water and carbonic acid are given oif most readily when the prepara- 
 tion is in moderate size lumps. In testing for carbonic acid, the dilute 
 acid must not be added until the Magnesia is nearly cool, otherwise a 
 hissing is caused, which may readily be mistaken for an effervescence. 
 
Magnesia. 497 
 
 The Magnesia should also be added to the aeid, the latter in consider- 
 able excess, and not vice versa, as in the last case the carbonic acid is 
 likely to enter into combination with a portion of the magnesia as a 
 bicarbonate, and thus escapes the eye of the manipulator. If tbe mag- 
 nesia is heated after the carbonic acid and water are evolved, it soon 
 loses its ligbtness, and acquires a compact, lumpy form. By carefully 
 observing these apparently trifling rules, a beautiful preparation will 
 be obtained. — Witt. 
 
 Magnesia is a snow-white, impalpable, and odorless powder, of vari • 
 ous degrees of density, of a somewhat earthy and obscurely alkaline 
 taste, and undergoing no change at the ordinary red heat. Exposed to 
 the air it absorbs from twelve to twenty per cent, of moisture, and a 
 small proportion of carbonic acid, becoming partially converted into 
 basic carbonate of magnesia. It exerts a slight alkaline action on veg- 
 etable colors when these are moistened. It crackles slightly when 
 thrown into water. Unlike lime, it evolves scarcely any heat wten 
 water is added to it, although when in small quantity this fluid is ab- 
 sorbed by it. Water, in large quantity, dissolves traces of it; on heat- 
 ing the aqueous solution it becomes turbid, but clears again on cooling. 
 Dr. Fyffe states, that it requires 5.142 parts of cold, and 36. ©§0 parts of 
 hot waterto dissolve it. Its specific gravity is variously given as 2.3, 
 3.07, and 3.2. "When subjected to continued trituration, its density is 
 much augmented, so that a bottle which would only contain one ounce 
 of it when not triturated, will, by this process, readily hold four ounces. 
 It is dissolved by the dilute acids without effervescence; if gas-bubbles 
 are given off, carbonic acid is present. If dilute sulphuric acid leaves a 
 residue insoluble in water, but dissolving when heated with a solution of 
 caustic potassa, the magnesia contains silica ; if soluble in a large quan- 
 tity of water it is sulphate of lime, and the magnesia contained time. 
 If silica and lime are present, the latter is most readily detached by the 
 addition of oxalate of ammonia to the neutral solution of ttie sulphate. 
 Bicarbonate of potassa also gives a precipitate of carbonate of lim«, 
 when lime is present. If the magnesia be dissolved in sulphuric or 
 muriatic acid, and the addition of ammonia causes a precipitate not 
 dissolved by sal-ammoniac, alumina is present; the magnesia will be 
 partially precipitated, but is again taken up by sal-ammoniac (am- 
 monia is evolved, and a readily soluble double salt results). If iron be 
 present, the addition" of tannic acid will occasion a violet, or bluish- 
 black turbidness in the neutral solution in sulphuric acid. If pure 
 water, agitated with the preparation, subsequently gives a turbidness 
 with nitrate of baryta, or silver, sulphuric or hydrochloric acid is .present, 
 arising from the sulphates and chlorides not having been well washed 
 from the carbonate of magnesia. — Witt. 
 
 Magnesia is an oxide of magnesium 12, consisting of magnesium 12, 
 oxygen 8,^20 ; its formula being Mg O:=20.2 or 252.5. The best, mag- 
 nesia is Henry's; the next Husband's; and the third Ellis's. 
 
 In the form of light magnesia, or still better, the gelatinous hydrate, 
 separated from the solution of sulphate of ma,gnesia by caustic potassa, 
 and dried, magnesia has been recommended as an antidote to arsenic 
 by Bussy ; and my experiments, like his, show that arsenic is as thor- 
 oughly removed from a solution as by hydrated sesqmoxide of iron. 
 For solidifying copaiba it answers best when perfectly anhydrous. 
 {Mialhe.)—C. 
 
 As some, ignorant and unprincipled, self-styled chemists, and medi- 
 cal teachers, have attempted gross impositions upon the profession by 
 32 
 
498 \ Materia Medioa. 
 
 presenting them with sugar of milk, magnesia, etc., colored and fla- 
 vored to represent the concentrated preparations, I will explain the 
 mode of detecting these under their proper heads — and would enjoin 
 upon all high-minded and honorable physicians the necessity for close- 
 ly watching all this class of agents when derived from suspicious 
 sources, as it will probably be the case that as fast as one imposition 
 is detected, another will be perpetrated. Place a small quantity of the 
 suspected article on a piece of platinum foil, or on a platinum spatula, 
 and direct the flame of an alcohol lamp upon it, continuing this until 
 the article is consumed, or until an incombustible white substance is 
 left. Place a small quantity of this substance on a glass slide, and add 
 a drop of hydrochloric acid to it ; then add a drop or two of a solution 
 of phosphate of soda, and of aqua ammonia, and place a thin glass over 
 the mixture. Upon immediately examining this under the microscope, 
 if the residue first obtaineid by calcination be magnesia, arborescent 
 crystals of the double phosphate of ammonia and magnesia, formed by 
 the double decomposition which has occurred among the substances, 
 will be seen. (/See Sugar of Milk, and Soda, for other modes.') 
 
 Properties and Cses.— Magnesia is antacid, antilithie, and laxative. 
 It is useful in dyspepsia with acidity, and is preferable to the carbonate 
 a,s it does not give rise to flatus, and the dose is less ; its laxative quali- 
 ties likewise give it some advantage over alkaline remedies. In all 
 cases attended with acidity and constipation it will be found useful. It 
 acts as an antilithie, first by correcting gastric acidity, and secondly by 
 forming with free lithic acid, or lithate of ammonia, the more soluble 
 lithate of magnesia. It is on this account beneficial in gout, and rheu- 
 matic gout, ftequently giving material relief. When no acid is present 
 in the stomach or intestines, magnesia is liable to lodge in some part 
 of them, hence, in such instances, its administration should be followed 
 by a draught or two of lemonade. From five to ten grains of rhubarb 
 mixed with twenty or forty grains of magnesia, and a few grains of 
 ginger, form an excellent laxative and antacid. 
 
 The following is recommended in cases of poisoning, in which the 
 nature of the poison is unknown : After freely evacuating the stom- 
 ach by emetics, give the following mixture in a sufficient quantity of 
 water — Calcined Magnesia, pulverized charcoal, and sesquioxide of 
 iron, of each, equal parts, mixed together. It is perfectly innocuous, 
 and as its ingredients are antidotes to the most active and commonest 
 poisons, it is very likely to be efficacious. Dose, as a laxative, from 
 half a drachm to a drachm ; as an antacid, or antilithie, from ten to 
 thirty grains twice a day. 
 
 MAG-NBSIiE CAEBOlSrAS.* (Kohlensaure Magnesia.) 
 
 Carbonate of Magnesia, 
 
 Preparation. — Carbonate of Magnesia, though occasionally found in 
 nature, is usually prepared artificially, on an extensive scale, by. the 
 double decomposition occurring when the solutions of sulphate of soda 
 
 * NaMve Ca/rbonate of Magnesia.— TSative Carbonate of Magnesia, or Maeneslte, has been 
 found at Hrubschitz, district of Qromau, in Moravia ; at Baudissero and Castellamonte, 
 villages in the vicinity of Turin, Piedmont: in the East Indies, and in the district of 
 Klronlle, in the Eubsea. Specimens of the Pledmontese Maeneslte were exhibited under 
 the name of Giobertlte, In the Sardinian section of the Exhibition of 1851. It takes its 
 name of Giobertlte from Giobert, who established its true nature, it having passed for a 
 long time for pure alumina. The Magnesite from Baudissero contains 68 per cent, of Mag- 
 nesia, and that of Castellamonte 26.3 per cent. The native Carbonate from Moravia con- 
 
MagnesijE Carbonas. 499 
 
 and carbonate of soda are mixed together. Dissolve four pounds nine 
 ounces of carbonate of soda, and four pounds of sulphate of Magnesia, 
 separately, in two gallons (Imperial measure) of distilled water ; mix 
 the solutions, then boil for two hours, constantly stirring it with a 
 spatula, and add a little distilled water now and then, so as to keep 
 the measure the same ; then pour off the liquor, collect the precipitate, 
 wash it well with boiring distilled water, and dry it. — Zond. 
 
 According to Durand, lump Carbonate of Magnesia is thus prepared: 
 A solution of one hundred parts of sulphate' of Magnesia is put into a 
 vat heated by steam, and a solution of one hundred and twenty-five 
 parts of crystallized carbonate of soda is slowly added, being quickly 
 and constantly stirred ; the temperature of the mixture is raised to 
 176° to expel carbonic acid, which holds some of the Magnesia in so- 
 lution ; the liquor is then decanted off the precipitate, and this is 
 
 tains about 46 per cent, of Magnesia. The analysis by Dr. Henry of a sample of native 
 Carbonate from a cargo imported by Mr. Babington from India, gave 46 per cent, of Mag- 
 nesia. It constitutes a range of low hills in Hindostau. In the Bubsea there are entire 
 hillS/Of it. The mines or quarries are situated in the villages of Limni, Kotslkia, and 
 Matondl; the produce of the last-named village is the best in quality. It Is stated that 
 upward of 2,000 tons ar'e annually exported to Smyrna and England. The Eubeean Mag- 
 nesLte contains 44 per cent, of Magnesia. It is used for the manufacture of pure Magnesia, 
 and, as mentioned in our last number, Epsom salt. It is a very useful ingredient in the 
 composition of bricks for refractory furnaces, on account of its property of resisting the 
 heat of Are. Specimens of native Carbonate of Magnesia from Madras, and of Epsom salt 
 manufactured therefrom, were shown in the Exhibition of 1851 ; also specimens of Mag- 
 neslte from Eubeea. 
 
 In England, Carbonate of Magnesia is found in combination with carbonate of lime, 
 forming what is called Magnesiau limestone or dolomite. The Magnesian limestone ex- 
 tends from Newcastle to Nottingham. Annexed are the analysis of five specimens ;— 
 
 12 3 4 5 
 
 Carb. Lime S7.50 55.70 54.19 51.10 54.05 
 
 " Magnesia 39.40 41.60 41.37 40.20 88.58 
 
 Silica ; 0.80 — 2.53 3.60 1.80 ' 
 
 Oxide of Iron 0.70 0.40 0.30 1.80 1.36 
 
 " Manganese ; — — — trace 1.50 
 
 Water and loss 1.60 2.30 1.61 3.30 2.71 
 
 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
 
 The preparation of Carbonate of Magnesia, the Magnesia Alba of P. L., 1787, was for seve- 
 ral years a considerable secret in the possession of some particular persons. It formerly 
 bore the name at Rome of Count Palma's powder. Many, however, are of opinion that 
 the mode of preparation was carried from Germany to Italy. Lancisi, In 1717 (and it is 
 said, ValentinI, in 1707), and afterward Hofman, in 1722, made public the process of manu- 
 facture. At that time it was extracted from the mother-liquor which remains after the 
 crystallization of rough niter (chloride of Magnesium) by precipitation with a solution 
 of carbonate of potash or soda. The name Miraouium CItemUsmn, was given to it from the 
 circumstances of a precipitate being formed by the admixture of two pellucid solutions. 
 
 Mamufactwre of Carbonate of Magnesia from Bpaom Salt.—TTas manufacture of Carbonate 
 of Magnesia, from Sulphate of Magnesia, was first made known by Henry, of Manchester. 
 The process communicated by him was as follows: "Dissolve any quantity of sal cathar- 
 ticus amarus in its own weight of water ; filter, and add to it by degrees a filtered solution 
 of pearl or potashes, in an equal quantity of water, stirring them gently, until the mixed 
 liquids have acquired the appearance of a complete coagulum. Then desist from adding 
 any more of the alkaline lixivium, and Immediately throw the mixture into a large vessel 
 of boiling water; keep it boiling a quarter of an hour, then take it out and put it into 
 glazed earthen vessels. As soon as the powder hath subsided, and before the water is quite 
 cold, pour it off, and add a fresh quantity of boiling water ; repeat these ablutions with hot 
 water several times until the liquor has entirely lost Its saline taste ; then let it be so agi- 
 tated as to suspend the finer parts of the powder, in which state decant it into other ves- 
 sels, and having separated the water from the Magnesia, by inclination, put it on large 
 chalk-stones, until a considerable part of the humidity is absorbed. Then wrap it up m 
 sheets of white paper, and dry it before the fire. Pour hot water upon the remaining pow- 
 der, stir and decant it in Its turbid state, and separate the Magnesia as before; thus tne 
 whole, or most of it, will be reduced to an equal degree of fineness. The larger the quan- 
 tity of water into which the precipitated powder is cast, the more speedily and peileouy 
 will the vitriolated tartar, which is formed by the union of the alkali with the acid of the 
 sal catharticus, be washed off. The neutral salt should be washed oflT as quickly as possi- 
 ble ; otherwise, by allowing the mixture to stand for some time, the powder concretes 
 with minute grains, which when viewed with a microscope, appear to be assemblages or 
 needles diverging from a point. These concretions can not be redissolved by any wasning, 
 however long continued. Dr. Black orders four times the quantity of water to that or tne 
 solution for throwing the coagulum into; but Mr. Henry observes that the quantity is 
 much too little. The water should be pure, and distilled water is the best. Hard or im- 
 pure water makes magnesia coarse and disagreeable." „*.> „f onrto In rt. 
 
 In the Pharmacopoeias of the London anS Edinburgh Colleges, carbonate of soda is ^^^^ 
 reeled to be employed in the manufacture of Carbonate of Magnesia from sulphate oi 
 
5O0 Materia Medica. 
 
 washed three timee, by subsidence and decantatJon, with lukewarm 
 water free from salts of lime. It is then transferred to linen strainers, 
 where it is allowed to drip from twenty -four to forty -eight hours, and 
 IS transferred in a wet state to cubical boxes without bottoms, placed 
 upon a table of plaster or porous stone, so as quickly to absorb the 
 water ; after a time the boxes are turned upside dowii, so as to present 
 the upper side of the Magnesia to the absorptive surface, and the dry- 
 ing is ultimately completpd in warm rooms. — P. 
 
 History. — Carbonate of Magnesia is made, in this country, from the 
 mother-water remaining after extracting common salt from sea or salt 
 water by evaporation, and which is principally composed of Magnesian 
 chloride and sulphate. Two kinds of Carbonate of Magnesia aic 
 
 Magnesia. Tlie two boiling Tiot solutions are run together into large wooden vessels, while 
 a workman keeps the whole in continued agitation for some time. The mixture is after 
 ward allowed to remain at rest for an hour or so to permit the precipitated Carbonate ol 
 Ma^mesia to«ubside. Wben this deposit has taken place, the fine precipitate is repeatedlj 
 washed with pure water to remove all traces of tlje sulphate of soda formed "by the douliie 
 decomposition of the two salts, l^e Carbona/te of Magnesia is then allowed to drain until 
 it "acquires sufficient consistency to be formed Into small pieces of the shape of parallelo- 
 pipedons, and then dried on wooden shelves in a stove at a low temperature. 
 
 Ob account of the great tendency off carbonic acid to form soluMe bi^salts, it is necessary 
 that the solutions of sulphate of Magnesia and carbonate of soda should be mixed ftaffln// 
 in the manufacture of Carbonate of Magnesia. The Magnesia Alba, or Carbonate of Mag- 
 nesia of commerce, is a svibcarbOTiaie, -oonsisting of a com'bination of neutral Carbonate of 
 Magnesia and hydrate of Magnesia, The neutral Carbonate is a crystallizable salt, whicji 
 may be frequently observed depositing in the bottles containing solutions of the blcarbou- 
 ate in Murray's fluid Magnesia. This neutral carbonate is decomposed when put ijato 
 water. If the water be cold it is decomposed Into Ma;gnesia Alba and t>ioart)anate; Jf thp 
 water be boiling it is resolved wtoUy into .Magnesia Altia or the subcarbonate, the excess 
 of carbonic acid being expelled. 
 
 Heavy Carbonate of Magnesia— Pereiva, gives the following as the method which he has 
 seen followed in a large and esteemed manufactory. Add one volume «tf. a icold saturated 
 solntiaBof carbonate of soda to a boiling mixture ofone volume of a saturated solution of 
 sulphate of magnesia and three volumes of watex-. Boil until effervescence has ceased, 
 constaintly stirrjng with a spatula. Then dilute with boiling water, set,^de, pour off the 
 supernatant liquor, and wash the precipitate with hot water on a linen cloth. Afterward 
 dry it by heat in an iron pat. 
 
 Manufactwre of Varbona^e of Magnesia .from Bittern, — In the manufacture of Carbonate of 
 Magnesia iCrom bittern (chloride of MagnesiuiW), or the mother-liquor remaining after the- 
 extraction of common salt from sea-water, the crude Carbonate of ammonia obtained in 
 the distillation of bones or the ammoniacal liquor of ^as-woi<ks, is used ajs the decom- 
 posing agent. In this case Carbonate of Magnesia ds precipitated and muTl«ute of amimonia 
 obtained in sotatiou. Theajfter treatment ds the same as that described above. DdGmite 
 Is also employed for the decomposition of bittern im the same way as tli^at of artificial 
 Ohloride of Magnesium. In Uais process the canhonate of liixie of the (dolomite becomes 
 converted into chloride of calcium, leaving the Carbonate of Magnesia "bebind as an in- 
 soluble powder. 
 
 Mamufaetureiof Owrbonaie tif Magnesia from, Bolomite.—la his patent of January 23, 1852, 
 Dr. Richardson cilaims the manufacturing of Magmesia and Carbonate of Magnesia from 
 Magnesian limestone by the emptoynment of musrlaitic acid. The quantity of acid used 
 should be slightly in excess of the exact quantity required to dissolve out the lime in the 
 limestone operated upon. This may be either burnt to expel the carbonic acid, and then 
 slaked in pits previous to adding the muriatic acid, or it may be employed in the natural 
 state, reduced to an impalpable powder, the product In the former case being Magnesia, 
 and in the latter an impure carbonate, whloh may either be employed as such, or be de- 
 prived of its carbonic acid by the applicatioia of heat. The add preferred for this purpose 
 Is the weak muriatic acid, which is at present allowed to run to waste in alkali -works, 
 and the proportion of it nsed is a quantity containing about tiiirty-seven parts of pure 
 hydirocliiioric add to eveiy twenty-eight parts of lime in the calcined Magnesian lime- 
 stone, and the same for every fifty parts of cartoonate of lime in the uncaVcined stone. 
 
 !Ehe Magnesia, or Carbonate of Magnesdia thus obtained. Dr. EJdaards&n employs In tSie 
 nianusfacture of Magnesian salts, .as noticed im the article on "Epsom Salt" in the last 
 number of the Pharmaceutical Jourmiail. He also mannfactures CajTbonate of Magnesia 
 by causing a sta'eana of carbonic acid to toe forced through vessels containing Magnesia Ob- 
 tained as before mentioned, diffused through water. A bicarbonate is tlins produced, 
 which enters imto solution with the water, a/nd this is subsequently converted Into car- 
 bonate, whieh isebtained as a precipitate 'by the application of » gentle heat to the vessel 
 containing tihe solution of bicarbonate. 
 
 The best process for the manufacture of -Caii^bouate of Magnesia ds undoubtedly that 
 patented by Mr. H. L. Pattinsor., Sept. 24, 1841. The process Is as follows: Magnesian lime- 
 stone, as rich as possible in Magnesia, is reduced to powder and sifted through a sieve of 
 forty or fifty meshes to the linear inch. It is then heated red hot In an iron retort or re- 
 verberatory furnace for two or three hours, when the carbonic acid heing ejcpelled from the 
 Carbonate of Magnesia, and not from the eaiVionate of lime, the whole is w^tbdravn from 
 t^e retort or furnace, and allowed to cool. The Magnesia oontained in the limestone is 
 now soluble In water impregnated wlt*i caTbemlvs aoid gas, and to effect this solution, Mr. 
 ritttdnson proceeds as foltows : An Iron cylinder ll>ned with lead, of an.y convenient size, 
 ■•V fouT re«t long by two feet and a half in diameter. Is -provided, furnished with a safety- 
 vaive and agitator, which latter may be an axis in the center of the cylinder, with armf 
 
Magnesive Carbonas. 50J 
 
 known and kept in the shops— the light, and the heavy. The first is 
 manufactured in the northern part of Grreat Britain, and is termed 
 Scotch MagneUa; it is largely imported into this country, in cases 
 nearly treble the size of the American article. According to Mr. 
 Richard Phillips, jr., the following directions will yield a heavy Car- 
 bonate: Mix a solution of one hundred and twenty-three parts of crys- 
 tallized sulphate of Magnesia with a solution of one hundred and forty- 
 four parts of crystallized carbonate of soda, and boil to dryness. Then 
 treat the residue with water until all the soluble matter (sijlphate of 
 soda) is removed, and dry the residual powder. Carbonate of soda is 
 saii to impart to it its softness and fineness, and the stronger the soju- 
 tica from which it is precipitated, the greater will be its density. 
 
 reaching nearly to the circumference— all made of Iron and covered with lead This cyl- 
 inder IS placed horJzontally, and one extremity of this axis is supported within it by a 
 proper carriage, the other extremity being prolonged, and passing through a stufflna box 
 at the other end of the cylinder, so that the agitator may be turned round by applrlne 
 manual or other power to its projecting end. A pipe leading to a force-pump is oonnecCea 
 with the under side of the cylinder, through which carbonic acid gas may be forced from 
 a gasometer in communication with the pump, atid a mercurial gauge is attached to show 
 at all times the amount of pressure within the cylinder, independently of the safety-valve 
 Into this cylinder, so fitted up as described, from l(ib to 120 lbs. of the calcined limestone is 
 Introduced with a quantity of pure water nearly filling the cylinder; carbonic acid ffas 
 is next pumped in, the agitator constantly turned the while, and moreand more gas forced 
 in until absorption ceases under a pressure of Ave atmospheres. The whole is allowed to 
 remain in- this condition for three or four hours, and the contents of the cylinder are then 
 run off into a cistern and allowed to settle. The clear liquor is now a solution of Car- 
 bonate of Magnesia in water, impregnated with carbonic acid gas, or a solution of bicar- 
 bonate of Magnesia having a sp. grav. of about 1028, and containing about 1600 grains of 
 Carbonate of Magnesia to the Imperial gallon. 
 
 ' Mr. Pattinson considers the Best mode of obtaining a solution of bicarbonate of Magflesia 
 from Magnesian limestone, is to operate upon the limestone after being calcined at a red 
 heat in the way described, but the process may be varied by using in the cylinder the 
 mixed hydrates. of lime and Magnesia, obtained by completely burning Magnesian lime- 
 stone in a kiln, as commonly practiced, and slaking it with water in the usual manner, 
 or, to lessen the expenditure of carbonic acid gas, the mixed hydrates may be exposed to 
 the ^ir for a few weeks, until the lime has become less caustic by the absorption of car- 
 bonic acid from the atmosphere, or the mixed hydrates may be treated with water, as 
 practiced by some manufacturers of Epsom salt, until the lime is wholly or prlncipajlly 
 removed , after which the residual rough hydrate of Magnesia may be prepared lor solution 
 in the cylinder by dissolving Magnesian limestone in hydrochloric acid, and treating the 
 solution, or a solution of chloride of Magnesium, obtained from sea- water by salt-makers, 
 in the form of bittern, with its equivalent quantity of hydrate of lime, or of the mixed 
 hydrates of lime and magnesia obtained by completely buiTjing Magnesian IJmei^one and 
 flaking it as above. Mr Pattinson states that, when he uses this solution of bicartionate 
 of Magnesia for the purpose of preparing Carbonate of Magnesia, he evaporates the solu- 
 tion to dryness, by which he at once obtains a pure Carbonate of Magnesia, \i^i<hout the 
 necessity of using a carbonated alkali as in the old process; and from this he prepares 
 pure calcined Magnesia by calcination in the usual manner, or, instead of boiling the 
 solution to dryness, he merely heats it for some time to the boiling point, by which excess 
 of carbonic acid is partly driven off and pure Carbonate of Magnesia precipitated, which 
 is collected and dried in the usual way. 
 
 Maniitfaxiure of Carbonate of Magnesia from Magneaite. — Dr. Richardson's more recent im- 
 provements in the manufacture of Carbonate of Magnesia are contained in the specifloa- 
 tion of his patent, dated June 14, 1863. He takes any impure hydrate, or Carbonate of 
 Magnesia, free from lime or nearly so, such, for instance, as magnesite (the impure hydrate 
 ■of Magnesia, which is a waste product in Ward's process of carbttrating soda ash, being 
 ^ preferred), and diffuses it through water, so as to form a cream or milk-like fluidv which 
 he runs into a large soda-water machine, wherein he pumps carbonic acid, in the same 
 manner as when making soda-watei*. Or, he partially fills a wooden box, divided into 
 ■cells by partitions running from the top and bottom alternately, with this milk-like fluid, 
 and by means of a steam-Jet, or air-pump worked by suitable machinery, he draws a 
 stream of carbonic acid through the whole series of compartments from a furnace filled 
 with coke or charcoal. When the liquid becomes saturated with bicarbonate of mag- 
 nesia, or stands a,i 5° to 11° on Twaddell's hy'dfrometer (sp. grav. 1.025 to 1.055), it is drawn 
 off, and after standing about an hour a small quantity of a cream of Magnesite is gradu- 
 ally added, which he finds carries down all the oxide of iron and other impurities, leav- 
 ing a clear pure solution of bicarbonate of Magnesia. This solution is heated to expel the 
 excess of carbonic acid, when the carbonate precipitates, and is collected and treated in 
 the usual way, or a quantity of pure Magnesia, in suspension in water, is added until the 
 whole is precipitated as Carbonate of Magnesia. The furnace employed for producing 
 carbonic acid, is filled with coke or charcoal, and- is supplied with air through an opening 
 at the bottom, a id another higher up on a level with the top of the fuel. The air may be 
 drawn through by means of a Jet of steam, or otherwise, or forced forward by a blowing 
 ■cylinder or fan-blast, so regulated by valves or dampers that the supply of air entering at 
 the upper opening shall be a little more than snflicient to convert all the carbonic oxide 
 into carbonic acid, so as to economize the fuel and render the action of the gas more ener- 
 getic on the milk of Magnesia. Carbonic acid obtained from any other source equally 
 answers the purpose.— PAm-m. Jour, and Trans., XIV., 221. 
 
502 Materia JVLedica. 
 
 Officinal . Carbonate of Magnesia is a pure white powder, loose, and 
 granular if dense, but somewhat coherent, like starch, if light, — odor- 
 less, almost tasteless, j)ermanent in the air, and feebly alkaline in its 
 action on vegetable colors. It is slightly soluble in water, and more 
 readily in cold than hot water ; if the water be charged With carbonic 
 acid, it is rendered much more soluble, requiring only forty-eight parts 
 of this fluid for its solution. It is soluble in diluted nitric, muriatic, 
 sulphuric, or carbonic acids, and effervescence takes place. 
 
 " The infom/patible substances with this salt are, acids and acidulous 
 salts, alkalies and neutral salts, alum, cream of tartar, nitrate of mer- 
 cury, acetate of mercury, bichloride of mercury, diacetate of lead, sul- 
 phates of zinc, iron, and copper." — Coxe. Exposed to a red heat, it is 
 reduced to Magnesia, the carbonic acid being driven off; alkalies, 
 baryta, strontia, etc., remove its acid, forming carbonates, and leaving 
 a deposit of Magnesia. " Berzelius, whose doctrine is most current, 
 supposes it to be a cornpound Of three equivalents of the hydrated 
 neutral carbonate, with one equivalent of hydrated Magnesia." — G. 
 Mr. Phillips considers it to be probably a compound of one atom of bi- 
 hydra,ted Magnesia, and four atoms of hydrated Carbonate of Magne- 
 sia.^P. . According to Pereira its formula is 5 Mg 4 CO^ 6 HO ; or 
 4 (Mg O HO CO.,) + Mg O 2 HO— and its equivalent weight 242. 
 Graham states that there are three hydrates of this salt, having the 
 following formulae, viz.: 1.— Mg O 00, HO; 2.— Mg O CO, HO+2 
 HO ; and, 3.— Mg CO, HO-f 4 HO. 
 
 Under the microscope, light Carbonate of Magnesia is an amorphous 
 powder, with slender, eroded, or eflSorescent jJrisms intermixed; the 
 heavy carbonate is granular, without the prismatic crystals, and the 
 larger granules are globular, highly refracting, and exhibit concentric 
 layers of a radiated structure. — P. 
 
 The impurities of Carbonate of Magnesia are similar to those of Mag- 
 nesia, and usually occur from carelessness in the process of manufactur- 
 ing. If water, in which Carbonate of Magnesia is boiled, changes turmeric 
 paper, it contains an, alkaline carbonate. If chloride of barium causes 
 a precipitate in the water, it indicates the jjresence of a sulphate or 
 carbonate,, or both. If nitrate of silver produces a precipitate, a chlo- 
 ride is present, probably of sodium. Alumina is separated from the 
 muriatic acid solution by an excess of ammonia — ^the solution to be 
 made in an excess of the acid. And after the alumina has been thrown 
 down, if lime be present, the addition of oxalate of ammonia will cause 
 a precipitate of oxalate of lime. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Carbonate of Magnesia is antacid, antilithic, 
 and purgative when it meets with an acid in the alimentai*y canal, but 
 not without. Hence, it is always useful to give it in combination with 
 lemonade or lemon juice. It has proved useful in cases of acid stom- 
 ach, gout, and where the urine contains an excess of uric acid; but 
 from its liability to occs.sion flatus, owing to the escape of its carbonic 
 acid gas, when in the intestines, it is inferior to calcined magnesia. 
 Dose, as an antacid and antilithic, one or two scruples; as a cathartic, 
 one or two drachms in water or milk. In preparing camphor, and 
 other medicated waters. Carbonate of Magnesia by trituration, aids 
 materially in diffusing the essential oils, etc., through the water. 
 
 Off Prep — ^Liquor Magnesise ^itratis. 
 
MAQNESiiE Sulphas. 503' 
 
 MAGNjESI^ SULPHAS. (Schwefelsaure Magnesia.) 
 Sulphate of Magnesia. (JEpsom-salts.) — Bitter salz. 
 
 Preparation. — Sulphate of Magnesia, commonly known as Epsom* 
 salts, exists abundantly, in sea water, and in some mineral springs. 
 For its artificial manufacture, several processes are followed, the most 
 important of which are as f&Uows : when prepared from Bittern Water, 
 or the residual brine after crystallizing salt from sea water, it is accom- 
 plished by simple evaporation and crystallization. A little sulphuric 
 acid is added to the bittern in order to convert the chloride of magne- 
 sium, which forms part of its saline ingredients, into the sulphate. It 
 is then carefiilly evaporated, and the Sulphate of Magnesia crystallizes, 
 leaving behind the chlorides of magnesium and calcium. It is then 
 collected, and any impurities it may contain removed by washing the 
 crystals in water, or by chemically precipitating the impurities, filter- 
 ing, and evaporating. However, the Sulphate of Magnesia obtained 
 by this process is very apt to deliquesce from the presence of foreign 
 bodies. 
 
 It is also prepared from Dolomite, a magnesian limestone, composed 
 of carbonate of lime and carbonate of magnesia ; the carbonates may 
 be converted into sulphates and the latter separated by means of the 
 inferior solubility of the sulphate of lime. Or the dolomite may be 
 calcined, thereby driving off the carbonic acid, and converting the 
 remaining earths into hydrates ; then muriatic acid is added in such 
 quantity as to unite with the caustic lime only, and the chloride of 
 calcium being removed by solution in water, the magnesia is converted 
 into the sulphd.te by means of sulphuric acid. It is likewise prepared 
 from magnesite, a siliceous hydrate of magnesia, a mineral which is 
 common among some of the rocks of southern Pennsylvania and north- 
 ern Maryland. It is finely pulverized, treated to saturation with sul- 
 phuric acid, dried, and then calcined to peroxidize any iron which may 
 exist in it. An aqueous solution is now formed, from which any remain- 
 ing iron is removed by the addition of sulphuret of lime ; the solution 
 is then evaporated to crystallization, and the salt purified by redissolving 
 and crystallizing. The Sulphate of Magnesia thus prepared is usually 
 free from impurities. This salt is frequently mei with as a native pro- 
 duction in large masses of eight or twelve pounds, and as an efflores- 
 cence on some grounds, and is also found in several of the large caves 
 of the Western States. 
 
 History. — Sulphate of Magnesia was discovered in 1694 by Grew, who 
 prepared it from the saline waters of Epsom, in England, from whence 
 it has derived its familiar name, Epsom-salts; at present it is usually 
 met with in small acicular crysta;ls, transparent and colorless, inodorous, 
 of a cooling, saline, bitter, disagreeable taste, and slightly efflorescent 
 in dry air. When slowly crystallized it forms large rhombic or quad- 
 rangular prisms, often truncated on the obtuse edges, and terminated 
 by two or four converging planes, somewhat like the crystals of sulphate 
 of zinc, and sulphate of soda. A moderate heat causes it to fuse in its 
 water of crystallization ; a higher temperature renders it anhydrous; 
 and at a full red heat the anhydrous salt melts into an enamel. It is 
 insoluble in alcohol, soluble in its own weight of water at 60°, and in 
 three-fourths of its weight at 212°. "It is decomposed by baryta, 
 strontia, the alkalies, and all the salts formed by these salifiable bases, ex- 
 cepting the alkaline muriates ; and by the nitrate, muriate, and carbon- 
 ate of lime."— Coa;e. Alkalies and lime throw down magnesia from the: 
 
604 Materia Medica. 
 
 aqueous solution ; the alkaline carbonates. precipitate carbonate of mag- 
 nesia. The fixed alkaline hicarbonates decompose it only when heat itf 
 applied. Sulphate of Magnesia consists of an equivafent, each, of base 
 and of acid, an.d seven, equivalents of water, its equivalent weight being 
 123, and its formula Mg 0+SO,s+7. B:O,,==60.2.+63,,or 752.5-|-787.5> The 
 anhydrous salt has the formula Mg; O-fSQjp^GO^ 
 
 This salt is liable to various impurities, but as now prepared is gener- 
 ally quite free from them ; the most comfmon are' iron, and chloride of 
 magnesium. When iron is< present,, the solution gives a, violet or bluish- 
 black precipitate, with tannic acid', and a blue or bJ'uish.-white precipitate 
 with ferrocyanuret of potassium. If cMoridie of magnesium be present,, 
 the salt will be more or less deliquescent, according, to the amount of 
 chloride contained in it ; a« solution of nitrate' of silver adjdedto a dilute 
 solution of sulphate of magniesia. in which the' chloride, exists, will cause 
 a. precipitate. If chloride, of calcium be present, oxalate of ammonia will 
 catuse a precipitate. Gopper will give a chocolate-colored pEe.cipitate with 
 ferrocyaniuiret of potassium, and a blue one with ammonia. If tartaric, 
 acid when added to a concentrated solution causes, on agitation, a crys- 
 talline precipitate,.^otossa is present. The presenice of cMorddss may be 
 known by the evolution of hydroGhlorie a«id ga,8,when the sulphate is 
 acted on by sulphuric acid. 
 
 To/ detect the presence of sulphate of soda, teni grains, of! the salt are 
 to he dissolved, in a fluid<)unce of water; and treated withi a solution of 
 Besquicairbonate of ammonia ; 2.80 minims of a solution of one part of 
 phosphate of soda in twenty parts of water are' then added, which, pre- 
 cipitates 97 per cent, of the nxagnesia in a puce sulphate, leaving a 
 little magnesia in the solution. F-ilto the solution, 'and add to it more: 
 of the phosphate of soda solution, if no more magnesia is thrown 
 down, the salt must contain something else than Sulphate of Magnes-ia. 
 -^Ed. 
 
 Properties amd Uses. — Eefrig-erant,, cathartic; and diuretic. Chiefly used. 
 in febrile and infl-ammaitory affections, or in; cases where a refrigerant,. 
 mUdj laxative effect is desired. It may be dissolved in eight tiimes its; 
 qpiantity of water. The addition, of four or five drops- of suljghuric acid 
 to the dose covers the bitter taste of the salt, causes it to sit easier on 
 the stomach, counteracts its refrigerant effects, does not impair its en- 
 engy, completely removes its tendency to gripe or irritate the rectum, 
 and' prevents it from interfering' with the appetite or digestion. M. 
 Combes states that the bitterness of this salt may be removed, by the 
 following means : Take of Sulphate of Magnesia one oun.ce, powder of 
 roasted' coffee two and a half drachms,, water about sixteen oan.cesi. 
 Place in a vessel (nob a tin one), and, boil, for twO' minutesj remove from 
 the fire, and let the mixture in&se for some minutes, so as to allow time 
 for the development of the aroma;, then strain and sweeten toithe tastei 
 BjT this process the salt is not decomposed; Should it he required to in- 
 crease the amount of the sulphate without augmenting the proportion, 
 of coffee, two or three grains of tannic aoid should be added to the" boil- 
 ing decoction. Dose of the powder, from two drachms to two ounaes. 
 Less used than formerly. 
 
 MAGISTESLE SWLPHIS. 
 
 Sulphite of Magnesia. 
 
 PT^aration. — Take of Jenning's .calcined Magnesia eight ouoces; 
 avoird'., and make it into a paste with Distilled Water one pint, and 
 
MAGNBSIiE SULPHIS. , 505 
 
 then add Aqueous Sulphurous Acid, TJ. S. P., spf. gr. 1.035, ttirring all 
 tke time until the liquid gives a slight acid reaction ;. allow the crystals 
 that foj?in to subside, and then decant the clear liquid. Drain the 
 Sulphite of Magnesia on sC muslin strainer, and wash with distilled 
 water until free from impurities, then drain again an,d dry on. bibu- 
 lous paper. The yield should be one pound and eight ounces of dry 
 crystals. Other formulas aa-e as follows: "Pass sulphiii-ous acid gas 
 through water holding carbonate of magnesia in suspension ; but the 
 salt so obtained, is not quite white. A better way is to disolve 13G 
 parts of freshly prepared crystallized sulphite of soda, &ee from car- 
 bonate and sulphate, in the smallest quiantity of hot water ; filter into 
 this hot liquid a GOtteentrated solution of 123 parts of Epsom-salts, and 
 stir the mixture till cold. Drain the mass of fine crystals on a strainer, 
 press, and dry them at a moderate heat. The product should, weigh 69 
 parts."— W«. Viert. 1867, j). 49. 
 
 The first process above given, is by Mr. Joseph P. Eemington,. of 
 Brooklyn, JST. Y., and published in Am. Jour. Pharm., 1868, p. 97, and 
 is the best of the three. He says that the washing can be most efifectu- 
 ally accomplished,, and with the use of the least water, by allowing the 
 crystal's to collect in a stratum on the bottom of the strainer, and then 
 adding just enough distilled water to cover the surface ; any sulphate 
 of magnesia is dissolved, and this together with the yellow mother water 
 is dflsplaced by the descending clean water, and the salt is left perfectly 
 white. It would not, be profitable to evaporate and recrystallize the 
 mother water. By this process Sulphite of Magnesia is procured as 
 pure and whit© as by double decomposition, and with more economy 
 in time and labor. The yellow color is owing to some impurity in the ■ 
 sulphurous acid, probably iron ; it only appears when the acid is in 
 excess, and is therefore a good indication that the magnesia is all con- 
 verted into sulphite. When made from Henry's magnesia, no yellow 
 color appears. 
 
 History.. — Sulphite of Magnesia prepared by the above process is: 
 obtained in small, white crystals, having the peculiar taste of the sul- 
 phites,, mild and earthy at first, but afterward sulphurous. They have 
 the form of depressed tetrahedrons, are soluble in twenty parts of water 
 at 60° P., and the solution on exposure to. air gradually absorbs, oxygen 
 and is converted into the sulphate ; by exposure to heat they soften, 
 become dnictile like gum, and lose 0.45 parts in weight ; strong heat sets 
 the acid free leaving pure magnesia behind. The sp. gr. of sulphite of 
 magnesia, is 1.3802: Chloride of barium produces a precipitate with it 
 setting free the acid, and the resulting sulphite of baryta is soluble in 
 hydrochloric acid.. Sulphite of magnesia destroys the color of a solu- 
 tion of permanganate of potassa, reduces the persalts of iron to proto^ 
 salts, forms a white precipitate of sulphite of silver with the nitrate, 
 and reduces the chloride of gold from its acid, solution. It does not so 
 readily become converted into a sulphate, on exposure to the air, as the 
 sulphite of soda, or of lime, has the least taste of either, and contains 
 a larger proportional quantity of acid than the soda salt, and hence is 
 more useful and valuable as an internal remedy. Material in the dis- 
 secting room can be preserved for many weeks in a solution of one of 
 these sulphites, without any change being induced in it, and without 
 acting upon the instruments employed, in dissecting it. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The sulphites of magnesia aud soda have been 
 recently introduced to the profession as active azymotic agents, by Prof 
 Giovanni Polli, of Milan ; and his statements of their eflScacy have been 
 
506 Materia Medica. 
 
 confirmed by numerous physicians in this country and Europe. Theii 
 efBcacy is due not to the base, but to their sulphurous acid, which is set 
 free in the stomach, and permeates the whole system, and that without 
 any injury or destruction to the vital principles; though, owing to their 
 deoxidizing qualities their long continued use is apt to induce oedema 
 and diseases of debility. They are supposed to act by destroying vege- 
 table organisms when present, and by preventing the peculiar fermen- 
 tation that develops zymotic phenomena ; and which prevention may 
 be due either to destruction of the fermentable material; or to a modi- 
 fication effected in its composition. After having taken them they 
 appear in the urine in twenty minutes, but are gradually changed in 
 the system into sulphates. Under ordinary circumstances they are not 
 decomposed in the stomach, but when they are there, there is a mani- 
 fest production of sulphurous acid gas; when this is the case, the acids 
 of the stomach must be neutralized by a little magnesia. The hypo- 
 sulphites are less eflScacious than the sulphites, are less active azymot- 
 ics, are more rapidly oxidized in their passage through the system, and 
 hence appear in the urine as sulphates, and often occasion a trouble- 
 some diarrhea, which is not the case with the sulphites. The earlier 
 these are administered in the diseases for which they are used before 
 the blood corpuscles lose the greater part of their vitality, the more 
 prompt will be their salutary influences. The diseases in which they 
 have' been, found specifics are, hospital fever, puerperal peritonitis, 
 pyemia, septicemia and all fevers with putridity and purulent absorp- 
 tion; measles, scarlatina; small pox, erysipelas, endemic or miasmatic 
 fevers, typhus fevers, irritative fever from absorption of pus, infection 
 from wounds in the dissecting room, pertussis, dysentery, diarrhea, 
 cholera, influenza, diphtheria, plague, malignant sore throat, and ex- 
 ternally in the dressing of foul ulcers or wounds, ichorous, gangrenous, 
 phagedenic ulcers or sinuses, indolent ulcers, and parasitical and other 
 cutaneous diseases. In fevers they do not cut them short, but gradually 
 diminish the intensity of the symptoms. They are likewise used as 
 prophylactics against zymotic action. These remedies are borne well 
 by the stomach, and to obtain their curative effects rapidly and promptly; 
 the system must be saturated with them, as speedily as possible, giving 
 from four to sixteen drachms daily, so that the fluids of the body, urine, 
 saliva, and sweat, will contain some of the sulphite. As they are de- 
 composed by all vegetable acids and many deoxidizing agents, however 
 weak these may be, their use is contra-indicated when the sulphites 
 are being taken ; such as citric, malic, tartaric, oxalic, 'nitric, and hydro- 
 chloric acids, or food or drinks containing them, as fruits, oranges, 
 lemons or lemonade, imperial, apple water, acid jellies, and the like. 
 For internal use the Sulphite of Magnesia is preferred ; it may be given 
 in powder, in doses of from fifteen to thirty grains, and repeated accord- 
 ing to the urgency of the case, every one, two, three or four hours ; it 
 may be taken in water, syrup, or other vehicle not contra-indicated. 
 If diarrhea or vomiting be present, these must be relieved, otherwise 
 the system will not be saturated ; or else injections of the solution 
 must be employed. The sulphite may be combined with opium for 
 diarrhea, pain, etc.; with quinia in cases of obstinate periodicity; with 
 iron when anemia is present; and so on. If the remedy is likely to be 
 eflS:caciou8, a change for the better will occur in from one to five days. 
 See Sulphite of Soda. 
 
Magnolia G-LAUCA. 507 
 
 MAttNOLIA GLAUCA. (Glatte Magnolia.) 
 
 Magnolia. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Magnoliacese. Sex. Syst. — i*olyandria Polygynia. 
 
 THE BAKK. 
 
 Description. — This tree is known by several names, as White bay, 
 Beaver-tree, Sweet Magnolia, Swamp Sassafras, etc.; it varies in height 
 from six feet to thirty or more, being taller in the south and shorter in 
 the north ; its average height is about twenty-five feet. Bark of the 
 trunk smooth, ash-colored, that of the young twigs a bright, smooth 
 green, scarred with rings at the inserticm of the leaves by the fall of 
 the deciduous stipules. Branches crooked, spreading. Leaves alternate, 
 petioled, regularly elliptical, entire, smooth, thick; their under side, 
 except the midrib, of a pale, glaucous color ; when young covered with 
 a silken pubescence. Flowers large, solitary, terminal, cream-colored, 
 of a grateful odor, on a short incrassated peduncle. Calyx composed 
 of three, spathulate, obtuse, concave sepals; corolla of eight to fourteen, 
 obovate, obtuse and concave petals, contracted at their base. Stamens 
 very numerous, inserted in common with the petals on the sides of a 
 •onical receptacle; filaments very short; anthers linear, mucronated, 
 two-celled, opening inwardly. Ovaries collected into a cone, each 
 divided by a furrow, tipped, with a brownish, linear, recurved style. 
 Fruit a cone, consisting of imbricated cells, which open longitudinally 
 at the back for the escape of the seed. Seeds obovate, scarlet, con- 
 nected to the cone by a funiculus, which suspends them sometime after 
 they have fallen out. — L. — B. It is found in swamps and morasses 
 from Massachusetts to the Gulf of Mexico, and always in mai-itime .dis- 
 tricts; flowering from May to August, according to the climate in which 
 it is located. At the south it is known as White-bay; or Sweet-bay. 
 Although the flowers yield a delicate, agreeable odor, yet it sometimes 
 occasions unpleasant symptoms, as difBcult breathing, tendency to 
 faint, etc. 
 
 Magnolia Acuminata, or Cucumber Tree, is a tree reaching from sixty 
 to eighty feet in height, and four or five feet in diameter, with a per- 
 fectly straight trunk. Leaves oval, acuminate, green, a little pubescent 
 beneath, scattered, about six inches long, half as broad. Flowers five 
 to six inches in diameter, bluish, sometimes yellowish -white, numerous, 
 faintly fragrant ; petals six to nine, obovate, obtusish. Cones about three 
 inches long, cylindric, bearing some resemblance to a small cucumber. 
 This tree grows near the Falls of Niagara, and in the mountainous re- 
 gions in the interior of the country from New York to Georgia ; it is 
 more abundant in the Southern States. Its flowers appear in May and 
 June.— TF:— G'.— -B. 
 
 Magnolia Tkipetala, or Umbrella Tree, the M. Umbrella of Lamark, 
 is a small tree not exceeding thirty feet in height, generally having a 
 sloping trunk. Leaves sixteen to twenty inches long, by six or eight in 
 width, obovate, lanceolate, pointed at both ends, silky when young, soon 
 smooth, often appearing whorled at the ends of the branches in the form 
 of an umbrella, displaying a surface thirty inches or more in diameter. 
 Flowers terminal, white, seven or eight inches in diameter, with five to 
 twelve, narrow lanceolate, acute petals, the three outer curved. Fruit 
 conical, rose-colol-ed, four to five inches in length. This tree is found 
 growing in shady situations, in strong, deep, fertile soil, in the same 
 range of country as the M. Acuminata, being, however, more generally 
 
5G8 Materia Mebica. 
 
 confined to the lower grounds.. It also: flowers in May and June. — W. — 
 G.—B. 
 
 History. — All the species of these trees possess similar therapeutical 
 virtues, which are found especially in the bark aad fruit. The hiark is 
 the officinal part, either of the trunk or root ; its odor is aromatic, and 
 its taste warm, bitterish, and pungent, though these properties, with 
 the exception of the bitterness, are lost by age. The bark is taken off 
 during the spring and summer ; it is ash«n, smooth, and' silvery exter- 
 nally, white and fibrous internally. It has not been analyzed, but pro- 
 bably contains volatile oil, resin, and magnolin. Wart;er or alcohol ex- 
 ti-act* its virtues. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Magnolia bark is an aromatic tonic bitter of 
 much efficacy, and appears likewise to possess antiperiodic properties. 
 Intermittemit fevers have been cured by it after cinchona had failed. It 
 is not so apt to disagree with' the stomach and bowels, nor to induce 
 fullness of the head: as the Peruvian bark, and can be continued a longer 
 time with more safety in all respects. Its curative agency is said to be 
 favored by the diaphoretic action which generally follows its adminis- 
 tration. In dyspepsia, with loss of tone in the stomach, it is very useful 
 as a tonic, and has also proved of much service in the treatment of re- 
 mittents witih typhoid symptoms. A warm infusion acts as a gentle 
 laxative and sudoioific ; a cold one as a tonic and antiperiodic, as does 
 also the tincture and powder. The powder is considered the prefera- 
 ble form of administration. The bark of the M. Tripetala, chewed as 
 a substitute for tobacco, has cured an inveterate tobacco chewer of the 
 filthy habit, and deserves a further trial among those who wish to break 
 up the pernicious practice. The bark in powd'er maj'' be administered 
 in half-drachm or drachm doses, to be repeated five or six times a day; 
 the infusion may be taken in wineglassful doses, repeated five or six 
 times a day. It is used in the above forms of disease, as well as in 
 chronic rheum^atism. The tincture, made by adding an ounce of the 
 powder to a pint of brandy, and allowing it to macerate for ten ortwelve 
 days, may be given in table-spoon doses three times a day, for the same 
 purposes. A tincture made by adding two ounces of the cones to a pint 
 of brandy, has long been used as a domestic remedy for dyspepsia and 
 chronic rkeumatism ; it is given three or four times a day in doses of 
 from one to four flTiidrachms. Magnolia is contra-indicated whenever 
 inflammatory symptoms are present. 
 
 MALLOTUS PHILLIPPINEl«rSIS. 
 Kameela. 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Euphorbiacese. Sex. Syst. — 
 
 THE GLANDS THAT COVER THE CAPSULES. 
 
 History. — This is a small tree or arborescent shrub found in the hilly 
 parts of India, along the base of the Himalaya mountains from Assam 
 to near Perhawur, in Mysore, and near Bombay, etc., and growing from 
 15 to- 30 feet high. It was formerly known as Rottlera tinetoria. The 
 fruit of this: plant is about the size of a hazel-nut, tricoccouS', with its 
 external covering trifurrowed, and thickly covered with glands of a 
 pulverulent appearance, and a reddish color. These glands are the 
 parts used, and are obtained by simply brushing them off from the i-iije 
 capsules, which is usually between the last of January and the first of 
 
Mallottjs Phillippinensis. 509 
 
 April. In Hindostan, this powder, under the name of wurrus, has been 
 extensively employed as a dyeing agent. 
 
 As met with in commerce, Kameela is a powder of a dark, brick-red 
 color, having, when recent, a peculiar, heavy odor, increased on being 
 rubbed between the fingers, but which diminishes with age. In the 
 mouth it is gritty and has a somewhat acrid taste. When exposed to a 
 temperature of 200° to 212° F., it undergoes no apparemt alteration ; 
 when a small portion is dropped into a flame, it flashes up instantane- 
 ously. Its best solvents are alcohol, ether, and solutions of alkalies, 
 from which it is precipitated by water or acid, in the form of a resinous 
 substance. It has been analyzed by several chemists, and found to con- 
 sist of albumen, cellulose, volatile oil, volatile coloring matter, ashes, 
 and water, but chiefly, of a resinous coloring substance, which consti- 
 tutes over three-fourths of it. It almost always contains from 6 to 10 
 per cent, of sand, and 1 or 2 per cent, of sesquioxide of iron ; more than 
 these amounts of foreign matters depreciates its value. Dr. F. A. 
 Fliickiger states that " all the glands are of an irregular spheroidal sharpe, 
 but depressed and somewhat flattened on that side where they are! fixed 
 upon the capsule or leaves, while the opposite side is more regula-rly 
 domed. If they are caused to roll under water or glyceri», the glands 
 all ultimately show to the observer (under the microscope) their flat 
 side. In its center we find a very short stalk cell, from which a certain 
 number of small ciavate cells radiate in different directions, thus con- 
 stituting the somewhat globular form of the gland, which is covered by 
 a weak integument. The thicker ends of the small ciavate cells wjthin 
 appear at the outside as soft protuberances, upon which partly depends 
 the irregularity of the nearly globular form of the glands. The radiate 
 cells in question are arranged around the center of the flat side to the 
 number of from 9 to 30. If only the basal side is examined, they will 
 be seen to be filled with a dark-brown or brownish-red resin, the inter- 
 imediate spaces and the outer membrane being of a light-yellow color. 
 The outline of that side, which is always turned to the observer, forms 
 thus an undulated circle or ellipsis, the diameter of which varies from 
 70 to 120 micromillimetres (thousandth parts of a millimetre), the height 
 of the whole gland being always considerably less. The Kamala glands 
 are always accompanied by a tolerable amount of characteristic, stellate, 
 colorless, or brownish hairs, belonging equally to the fruits of Mallotus, 
 and some fragments of the latter, and inorganic purities. — Lond. Pharm. 
 Jour., Dec. 1867.* 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This article has been known as a remedy for 
 tape-worm, among European and American physicians, for only a few 
 years, though long known and employed for this purpose in India. Dr. 
 C. Mackinnon, a surgeon in the English army in India, first made its 
 properties known to the profession; he having been almost invariably 
 successful with it. Since which other practitioners have employed it 
 with equal success. In doses of from two to four drachms it purges, 
 often with griping, or nausea aiid vomiting, and producing from 4 to 10 
 or 15 stools. The worm is usually expelled entire, but often without 
 
 •m the paper from which the above quotation is extracted, ^r. Flucltiger lefers to a 
 new kind o¥ gameela, which he thinks must belon? to another ?!?■«'• "'f^^fSf'""' 
 ored, more free from earthy impurities and its graira a:^^ larger the sma lest be^^^ 
 large as the largest of (he old or true Kameela, and instead ofJ'ei°g|/obu'ar ™^^ are 
 cylindrical or nlarly conical ; its cells are not ciavate h"* simply subeylindrical.a^^ 
 radiate, and the hairs with which it is mixed are nearly colorless, and not stellate or tuttea 
 flTm the true Kameela, but gulte simple. When ?fPofed to a temperature «f 2m to 
 ?L2» F., the new Kameela becomes Intensely black. Its alcoholic tmctore, slowiy evapo 
 rated, leaves microscopic crystals, probably the Boltlcnn of Dr. Anderson. 
 
510 Materia Medica. 
 
 the head, in the third or fourth stool, after three drachms of the powder 
 have heen administered. A strong alcoholic tincture acts more mildly 
 and with more uniform effects. The dose of the powder ifor an adult 
 is from 2J to 3 drachms, given in mucilage, syrup, or other vehicle ; of 
 the tincture, made in the proportion of three ounces to half a pint of 
 alcohol, half a fluidounce. The dose to be repeated, if necessary. Ex- 
 ternally, its employment is stated to be efficacious in certain cutaneous 
 affections. 
 
 MALVA SYLVESTEIS. (Wilde Halve.) 
 
 Common Mallow. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Malvaceae. Sex. Syst. — Monadelphia Polyandria. 
 
 THE HERB. 
 
 Description. — This is a perennial hairy herb, sometimes called High- 
 mallow ; has a tapering, branching, whitish rooi, and an erect round stem 
 two or three feet high. Leaves alternate, deep green, soft, downy, ser- 
 rated, plaited, with seven acute lobes, on hairy petioles ; uppermost with 
 fewer, but deeper, and more acute lobes, than the lower ones. Flowers 
 large, numerous, of a shining purple, veiny, on simple, aggregate, hairy 
 axillary stalks. Calyx five-cleft. Petals five, inversely cordate, thrice 
 the length of the calyx. Stamens, indefinite, monadelphous. Pollen 
 large, whitish. Bipe carpels reticulated at the back. — I/.- — G. 
 
 Malva Rotundieolia, or Low-mallow, called by children who are 
 fond of eating the fruit, cheeses, has a fusiform root and prostrate stem ; 
 leaves of a fine, delicate texture, roundish, cordate, or somewhat uni- 
 form, crenate, obtusely five or seven lobed, on long hairy petioles. 
 Flowers pale-pink, deeply-notched petals, on aggregate, axillajry pe- 
 duncles. Fruit depressed-globose, composed of the numerous carpels 
 arranged circularly. — W. 
 
 History. — The M. Sylvestris is a native of Europe, and is naturalized 
 in this country, growing abundantly in fields, roadsides, and waste 
 places, and flowering from May to October. The whole plant, espe- 
 cially the root, abounds in mucilage. The M. Rotundifolia, a very 
 common, troublesome plant, growing around dwellings and in culti- 
 vated grounds, together with other species of this genus, possesses 
 similar properties, and may be substituted for each other. The herb 
 and flowers are inodorous, with a weak, herbaceous, mucilaginous 
 taste. Water extracts their mucilage, and acetate of lead precipitates 
 the solution. The root and seeds may be also used, as they contain 
 much mucilage. The blue infusion, or tincture of the flowers, is turned 
 green by alkalies, and red by acids, and forms an exceedingly delicate 
 test of these agents. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Mallows possesses the properties common to 
 mucilaginous herbs. An infusion forms an excellent demulcent in 
 coughs, irritations of the air-passages, flux, affections of the kidneys 
 and bladder, etc. It may also be used in injection. The herb, bruised, 
 forms a good emollient cataplasm to boils, and inflammatory conditions 
 of external parts. 
 
 MANGANBSII BUSTOXIDUM. (Braunstein.) 
 Binoxide of Manganese. 
 History. — Manganese has long been known and used in the manu- 
 facture of glass, and was commonly considered an iron ore, until in 
 
Manganesii Binoxidum. 5ll 
 
 1770, when Kalm succeeded in extracting a peculiar metal from it 
 manganese, manganesium, or manganum, having the formula Mn, and 
 equivalent weight 27.67, or 345.9. It may be procured by placing the 
 pure oxide or carbonate of Manganese into a covered crucible lined 
 with charcoal, and exposing it to a very violent heat for four hours, it 
 will be reduced to the metallic state and fused into a solid mass. Thus 
 obtained it has a gray color, somewhat whiter than cast iron, finely 
 granular in texture, hard, and so brittle that it can be reduced to pow- 
 der in a mortar. Its specific gravity is 8.013. It has a strong tifiinity 
 for oxygen, gradually absorbing it from the atmosphere. It decom- 
 poses water rapidly at a red heat, hydrogen being disengaged. There 
 are two acids and four oxides of this metal, produced by the action of 
 oxygen upon it. Thus manganic acid, Mn 03=51.67, or 645.9, but 
 which is known only in combination with potassa, forming a manga- 
 nate of potassa. Permanganic acid, Mnj 0,^111.34, or 1391.8, which is 
 also known in combination with potassa, the permapganate of potassa 
 being formed when chameleon mineral is dissplved in hot water ; cha- 
 meleon mineral is made by igniting peroxide of Manganese strongly 
 with niter, or, still better, by heating a mixture of peroxide, chlorate 
 of potassa, and caustic potassa. Binoxide (also called deutoxide, per- 
 oxide, or black oxide) of Manganese, Mn 02^43.67, or 545.9, occurs in 
 considerable abundance, and constitutes the mineral which Haidinger 
 termed pyrolucite, from whence all the oxide of Manganese used in the 
 arts is obtained. It exists in various parts of Europe, and some in this 
 country, the purest varieties being found in Great Britain and Ger- 
 many. More commonly it is more or less impure from the presence 
 of lime, alumina, baryta, and oxide of iron. Protoxide of Manganese, 
 Mn 0^35.67, or 445.9, is a pale grass-green powder, obtained by pass- 
 ing a current of dry hydrogen gas over Binoxide of Manganese, heated 
 in a glass tube, but not to redness. It very speedily becomes yellow, 
 and then brown, by absorbing oxygen from the atmosphere, which it 
 does very quickly. Sesquioxide of Manganese, Mn.^ 03=79.34, or 991.8, 
 is left behind when the peroxide is ignited in preparing oxygen gas ; it 
 is of a dark -brownish color, yields no oxygen when ignited, and occurs 
 native in considerable quantity both anhydrous and in the state of 
 hydrate. Haidinger called the hard, grayish black anhydrous sesqui- 
 oxide, hraunite ; the hydrate is the mineral Manganite. Bed Oxide of 
 Manganese, Mug 04=115.152, occurs in nature, and may be obtained 
 when any other oxide of Manganese is strongly ignited in an open 
 crucible ; it is supposed to be a compound of one equivalent each of the 
 sesquioxide, and protoxide. Varvicite, MUi 0,:=166.8, is another oxide 
 found in "Warwickshire, and is supposed to be a compound of two other 
 oxides Mnj O3+2 Mn O^. It resembles binoxide, but is of foliated 
 texture, and has a stronger luster. Graham gives its formula, Mn^ 0, 
 Mn, O4+HO. 
 
 The Binoxide of Manganese is the one used in medicine ; it occuis 
 massive, columnar, crystallized, and pulverulent— the crystals iirv 
 right rhombic prisms, or in accreted needles. Its color is iron-black 
 or brownish, tasteless, odorless, permanent in the air, insoluble, and 
 soils the fingers in handling it. Its powder is dark -grayish black. lis 
 specific gravity is stated to vary from 4.7 to 4.9. When heated to red- 
 ness, it loses one-fourth of its oxygen, leaving sesquioxide ; at a white 
 heat it loses about half its oxygen, leaving protoxide. Heated with 
 common salt and sulphuric acid it yields chlorine. Heated with sul- 
 phuric acid, it loses half its oxygen, and forms a soluble sulphate of 
 
512 Materia Medica. 
 
 the protoxide of Manganese. It is infusible before the blow-pipe, dis- 
 solves in fused borax with effervescence, and gives to the globule an 
 amethystine color. If it be digested in hydrochloric acid until chlorine 
 ceases to be evolved, the addition of ferrocyanuret of potassium wiill 
 color it green or blue if iron be present. Iron is almost always in this 
 oxide, the crystals being the most free from it ; if to the hydrochloric 
 solution, we add a slight excess of ammonia, the sesquioxide of iron is 
 precipitated. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The actions of this oxide upon the system are 
 but imperfectly understood. Dr. Coupar, of Glasgow, considers it to 
 act as a cumulative poison, producing paralysis of the motor nerves, 
 but without causing colic, constipation, or tremors. It has been used 
 internally in many cutaneous diseases, as herpes, scabies, and in the 
 scorbutic diathesis. It has likewise been found efficacious in scrofula, 
 chlorosis, syphilis, and in anemia. From three grains to a scruple may 
 be given, in pill form, every three or four hours. Externally, a drachm 
 mixed with half an ounce of lard, has been found advantageous as an 
 application to itch, porrigo, and old ulcers. One part of Binoxide of 
 Manganese, added to five or ten parts of chlorate of potassa, and sub- 
 jected to a moderate heat in a glass or iron retort, gives out a rapid 
 flow of oxygen gas, which may be collected for various purposes. 
 
 Dr. J. Kovascy recommends the following formulae : Take of Binox- 
 ide of Manganese four grains, extract of savin, extract of aloes, each, 
 ten grains ; mix, and divide into six pills, of which one pill may be 
 given three times a day.' 2. Take ot Binoxide of Manganese three 
 grains, powdered leaves of digitalis one grain, sugar of milk eight 
 grains ; mix, and divide into six powders, of which three are to be 
 taken daily. These are said to be useful in chlorosis and amenorrhea. 
 
 The following salts of Manganese have been recently recommended to 
 the profession : 
 
 PROTOCHLoaiDE OF MANGANESE, Manganesu Ghloridnm, or Muriate of 
 Manganese. — Formed by dissolving pure Binoxide of Manganese in 
 hydrochloric acid, evaporating the solution to dryness, and exposing 
 the white salt that remains to a red heat in a glass tube with a very 
 narrow orifice. It consists of thin, broad, delicate, light-pink plates, 
 which fuse in close vessels without alteration, at a red heat, and when 
 exposed to the air, deliquesce. They are very soluble in water and alco- 
 hol, and have the specific gravity 1.56. They are inodorous, and have 
 a saline astringent taste'. Their formula is Mn 01^63.15. This has 
 been recommended in chronic diseases of the skin, in scorbutic affec- 
 tions, and syphilitic diseases, in doses of from three to ten grains in 
 watery or alcoholic solution. A drachm or two dissolved in a' pint of 
 water has been used as a gargle in syphilitic ulceration of the mouth 
 and throat. The alcoholic solution has been. used internally to check 
 epistaxis, giving ton or twenty drops every four hours, until a feeling 
 of giddiness is perceived. 
 
 Sulphate of Manganese. Manganesii Sulphas, Mn O, SOa-fT HO. 
 This salt is easily formed by dissolving carbonate of Manganese in 
 diluted sulphuric acid, filtering and spontaneously evaporating the 
 solution so as to crystallize. The crystals are very oblique rhombic 
 prisms, transparent, with a slight shade of pink; they are slightly 
 efflorescent in the air, haVe a bitter strongly saline taste, and of specific 
 gravity 2.877, are soluble in water, and insoluble in alcohol. When the 
 water of crystallization is driven off by heat, they form a white, friable 
 mass, and its formula is Mn 0, 803=76. Sulphate of Manganese ap- 
 
MaNGANESII BlNOXIDUM. 513 
 
 pears to be a stimulant to the lymphatic system of vessels and glands, 
 and has been found valuable in anemic conditions of the system, accom- 
 panied with a deficiency of the white corpuscles of the blood. It acts 
 as a powerful cholagogue, causing a profuse secretion of bile, and has 
 been used with efficacy in scrofula, chlorosis, jaundice torpid liver, 
 diseases pf the spleen, and cachexia. The dose is from ive to twenty 
 grains, three times a day. A drachm or two dissolved ii a half-pint or 
 pint of water, will act as a prompt purgative, with scarcely any depres- 
 sion of the system. Large doses, or its long continued use in small 
 doses, injures the tone of the stomach. One drachm of the sulphate 
 mixed with one ounce of lard, has been used externally, as an oint- 
 ment, in buboes, chancres, indolent ulcers, and some diseases of the 
 skin . . 
 
 Syrtjp or Iodide of Iron and Manganese has been recommended 
 in anemia, scrofula, cancer, and glandular enlargements. Prof W. 
 Procter, jr., gives the following formula for its preparation : Ta,ke of 
 iodide of potassium 1,000 grains, proto-sulphate of iron 630 grains, proto- 
 sulphate of Manganese 210 grains, iron -filings (free from rust) 100 grains, 
 coarsely powdered white sugar 4,800 grains, distilled water a sufficient 
 quantity. Triturate the sulphates and the iodide separately to powder, 
 mix them with the iron, filings, add half a fluidounce of distilled water, 
 triturate, and allow it to rest fifteen minutes. A third addition of water 
 should new be made and mixed. The sugar should then be introduced 
 into a bottle capable of holding a little more than twelve fluidounces, and 
 a small funnel, prepared with a moistened filter, inserted into its mouth. 
 Eemove the magma of salts from the mortar to the filter, and when tha 
 dense solution has drained through, add carefully and in small portions. ' 
 some distilled water, until the solution of the iodides is displaced ana 
 washed from the magma of crystals of sulphate of potassa. Finally, 
 finish the measure of twelve ounces, by adding sufficient distilled water, 
 and agitate the bottle until the sugar is dissolved. The solution of the 
 sugar maj'^ be facilitated, when desirable, by standing the bottle in warm 
 water for a time, and then agitating. Each fluidounce of this syrup 
 contains fifty grains of th'e mixed anhydrous iodides in the proportion 
 of the three parts of iodide of irou to one part of iodide of Manganese, 
 and the dose is from ten to thirty drops. — Am. Jour. Fharm., CIV., 199. 
 
 Syrup or Iodide of Manganese has also been successfully used in 
 the same class of diseases as the preceding. Prof. Procter directs it to 
 be made as follows: Take of sulphate of Manganese sixteen drachms, 
 iodide of potassium nineteen drachms; dissolve these salts separately, 
 each, in three fluidounces of water, to which two fluidrachms of syrup 
 have been previously added. Mix these two solutions in a glass stop- 
 pered bottle, and when tHe resultant crystals of sulphate of potassa are 
 all precipitated, filter the supernatant liquor, through a fine muslin 
 strainer, into a vessel containing twelve ounces of pulverized sugar. 
 Add to this sufficient water to make the whole measure sixteen fluid- 
 ounces. A fluidounce of this syrup contains about sixty grains of iodide 
 of Manganese ; its dose is from ten drops to half a fluidrachm, repeated 
 three or four times a day. Combined with cinchona, it is very effica- 
 cious in ague-cake, or diseased spleen following intermittent fevers. 
 
 Various other preparations of Manganese have been used and recom- 
 mended by various physicians for nearly similar purposes, as the 
 malate, carbonate, tartrate, phosphate, lactate, etc.; but their actions 
 appear to be very nearly alike. Dr. T. S. Speer, of England, gives the 
 following formula for a Saccharine Carbonate of Iron and Manganese, 
 , 33 
 
514 Materia Medica. 
 
 which has piroved verj useful in anemia : Take of finely powdered sul- 
 phate of iron twenty-five drachms, carbonate of soda five, ounces, sul- 
 phate of Manganese twenty -five scruples, dissolve these, each, in a pint 
 and a half of water (Imperial measure), then add the solutions together, 
 and mix them well. Collect the precipitate on a filter of clotla, and 
 immediately wash it with cold water ; squeeze oiit as much o:^ the water 
 as possible, and without delay, triturate the pulp with the sugar, pre- 
 viously reduced to a fine powder. Dry it at a temperature of about 
 120° F. It forms a reddish-brown powder, having only a saccharine 
 taste, and may be given in doses of five grains, three times a day, grad- 
 ually increased to one scruple. It should be given immediately after 
 each meal.^— ^m. Jour. Fharm., CIX., 128. The compounds of iron and 
 Manganese cure cases of anemia in which iton alone fails. 
 
 MAEANTA AEUNDINACEA. (Eohrartige Pfeilwurzel.) 
 
 Arrow-root Plant.-^jlrroral 
 Nat. Ord. — Marantacese. Sex. Syst. — Monandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE FECTTLA OF THE RHIZOME, ARROW-ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant has a pierennial rhizoma, which is fibrous, 
 producing, numerous fusiform, fieshy, scaly, pendulous tubers from its 
 crown. Stems two or three feet high, much branched, slender, finely 
 hairy, tumid at the joints. Leaves alternate, with long, leafy, hairy, 
 sheaths, ovate, lanceolate, slightly hairy underneath, pale-green on 
 both sides.. Flowers white, disposed in a long, lax, spreading, terminal 
 , panicle, with long, linear, sheathing bracts, at the ramifications. Ca- 
 lyx gv&&a.,smooik ; corolla white, small, unequal, one of the inner seg- 
 ments in the form of a lip. Ovary three-celled, hairy. Fruit nearly glob- 
 ular, with three obsolete angles, the size of a small currant. — L. 
 
 History. — This plant, originally from the West Indies, has been intro- 
 duced into several parts of the world, in warm latitudes, where it is exten- 
 sively cultivated. It has also been raised in South Carolina and Georgia. 
 The plant is developed by planting portion's of the root-stock, which 
 gradually increases in size, and throws out leaves, which wither when 
 the plant is mature. Arrow-root is prepared from various portions of 
 the root when they are nearly a j'^ear old. They are washed, beaten in 
 large deep mortars to a pulp, which is well Stirred in clean water, the 
 fibrous parts being separated by hand and thrown away. The milky 
 liquor, which holds the starch in suspension, is passed through a fine 
 sieve, the starch allowed to- subside, the supernatant clear fiuid is 
 poured off, the starch is again washed in clean water and drained, and 
 is then dried on sheets in the sun. This constitutes West India Arrow- 
 root, of which the finest comes from the Bermudas. Arrow-root is 
 likewise obtained from other plants, as the M. NoMlis, M. AllQuya, M. 
 Indica — (i.), and Curcuma AngustifoUa, which last furnishes the East 
 India Arrow-root. West Indian Arrow-root is a very poor variety of 
 starch ; it is in the form of a light, opaque, white powder, consisting of 
 irregular, friable grains, varying in size from that of a millet-seed to a 
 pea. It is inodorous, nearly tasteless, and; crackles when rubbed be- 
 tween the fingers. Musty Arrow-root should never be purchased ; 
 though according to Prof Procter, it may be rendered sweet and serv- 
 iceable by thoroughly washing it with two portions of cold water, in suc- 
 cession, and placing it in a warm apartment to dry, upon muslin frames. 
 {Am. Jour. Miarm., XIII., 188.) Examined by the microscope, Arrow- 
 
Maranta Arundinacba. 615 
 
 root is found to consist of minute, pearly globules, or granules, which are 
 rarely spherical or ovate, generally elliptical, sometimes of the form of 
 a levigating muller, and of various sizes. A few attain the 750th of 
 an inch, and many are only the 2,000th of an inch in their longest 
 diameter; their breadth is generally two-thirds of their length. — C. 
 The rings are very distinct, though fine ; and the hilum is usually dis- 
 tinct and circular, but frequently, cracked in a linear, or Stellate liian- 
 ner. Under the polarizer, very distinct crosses are seen, the junction 
 of the arm of the cross indicating the position of the hilum. When 
 ylaced in water for a short time, small, mamillary points project from 
 the surface.-^P. Arrow-root presents all the chemical relations of 
 whoat and potato starch, though it makes a firmer jelly with the same 
 quantity of boiling watei*, nine parts in this respect being equivalent 
 to fourteen of common starch. According to Prout, anhydrous Arrow- 
 root is composed of 44.0 per cent, of carbon, 6.22 of hydrogen, and 
 49.78 of oxygen, or C12 H^ Oio, corresponding with the elementary com- 
 position of amylin, one of the principles of wheat starch. 
 
 West Indian Arrow-root is sometimes adulterated with wheat or 
 potato starch, or with the East Indian variety of Arrow-root. Hy- 
 drochloric acid will determine the adulteration as well as a microscopic 
 examination. Wbfen potato or wheat starch is rubbed with one and a 
 half times, or twice its weight of concentrated hydrochloric acid, a. dense, 
 transparent paste is produced, while Arrow-root thus triturated forms 
 an opaque paste. The readiest mode of detecting these frauds is, by 
 means of a good achromatic microscope, observing the form of their 
 granules. The true Arrow-root granules have already b«en described 
 above. The Bast Indian Arrow-root is a fine, white powder, lacking the 
 firmness of the preceding, and producing no crackling sound on being 
 rubbed between the fingers ; its granules are flattened, ovate, or oblong- 
 ovate, generally with a short neck or projection like a nipple. The 
 hilum is at the small end, and is circular, small, and not very distinct ; 
 the rings are closely set and delicate. (See Janipha Manihot for a de- 
 scription of the microscopic appearance of Tapioca.) The Tacca, or 
 Tahiti fecula, is a fine, white powder, frequently with a slight musty 
 odor, and consists of circular, muller-shaped, or polyhedral particles, 
 the muller-shaped grains being often narrowed at the base, and con- 
 cave. The hilum is small and circular, and cracks in a linear, or stel- 
 late manner ; the rings are few and indistinct. Potato starch granules 
 are of various shapes and sizes, from the 250th to the 7,500th of an inch 
 in length, the smaller grains being circular or globular, and the larger 
 ones elliptical, oblong, ovate, or obtusely triangular. The hilum is cir- 
 cular, very distinct, and often double, and their surface is marked by 
 a system of concentric rings. When they crack, this usually commences 
 at the hilum. — P. (See Canna.) 
 
 Bast Indian Arrow-root is chiefly prepared from a plant growing 
 throughout India, and particularly on the Malabar coast, the Curcuma 
 Angustifolia ; it is prepared by a process similar to that followed in 
 the West Indies. It is commonly white, sometimes pale-yellow, less 
 crepitating between the fingers than the best West Indian kind, more 
 frequently damaged by impurities, and composed of rather larger 
 globules, unequal in size, egg-shaped, compressed, faintly rugous at 
 their larger end, and with little processes attached to their sides. It is 
 lighter than Maranta Arrow-root, does not so quickly make a jelly, 
 and is of low value, being in demand only among starch-makers. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Arrow-root is nutritive, and is used as an 
 
516 Materia Medica. 
 
 agreeable, non-irritating diet, in certain chronic diseases, during conva- 
 .escence from fevers, in irritations of the alimentary canal, pulmonary 
 organs, or of the urinary apparatus, and is well suited for infants to 
 supply the place of breast-milk, or for a short time after having weaned 
 them. It may be given in the form of jelly, variously seasoned with 
 sugar, lemon-juice, fruit jellies, essences, or aromatics. Potato starch is 
 sometimes substituted for it, but it is more apt to cause acidity. Arrow- 
 root is superior to every other kind 'of farinaceous food, except tapioca 
 and tous-les-mois. Its jelly has no peculiar taste, and is less liable to 
 become acid in the stomach, and is generally preferred by young in- 
 fants to all others, except tapioca. Tous-les-mois makes a stiifer jelly. 
 Two or three drachms of Arrow-root may be boiled in a pint of water 
 or milk, and seasoned as n;iay be desired, if allowable. 
 
 MARMOE ALBUM. (Weiseer Marmor.) 
 White Marble. 
 
 WHITE CRYSTALLINE CARBONATE OF LIME. 
 
 History. — White Marble is known from most other minerals by its 
 pure white color, its crystalline structure, and the effervescence it pre- 
 sents when touched with nitric or hydrochloric a<ftds. It is tasteless, 
 inodorous, friable, easily powdered, and is not dissolved by water or 
 alcohol ; but water saturated with carbonic acid gas, dissolves ^ g'^ j th 
 part of it ; from this solution, it gradually precipitates, as the acid 
 leaves it, in the form of a white powder. Its specific gravity is 2.717. 
 Heat causes it to decrepitate, and as the heat is increased, the carbonic 
 acid is driven off, leaving lime remaining. It dissolves less rapidly in 
 acetic acid than in nitric or muriatic ; it also dissolves with effervescence 
 in sulphuric acid, and forms an insoluble salt. When pure, it consists 
 of one equivalent of acid, or 22.12 parts, and one of lime, or 28.5 parts 
 . (CaO+COj),=50, or 625. 
 
 It is sometimes rendered impure by the presence of magnesia. To 
 detect this, the Marble must be dissolved in diluted hydrochloric acid, 
 taking care that the Marble neutralizes the acid, or else the magnesia 
 will not be thrown down on account of the formation of muriate of 
 ammonia. To this neutral hydrochloric solution add ammonia, and if 
 magnesia be present, it will be precipitated. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Marble is used for several purposes in phar- 
 macy, the principal one of which is to furnish carbonic acid gas. For 
 pharmaceutical purposes, the purest Marble is required ; but for pro- 
 curing the acid gas, ordinary Marble will answer. The I)olomitic Mar- 
 hie contains more or less magnesia, and is therefore unfit for pharma- 
 ceutic use. The finest and best variety of Marble is the Carrara or 
 Statuary Marble. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Aqua Acidi Carbonici ; Potassse Bicarbonas ; Sodse Bi- 
 carbonas. 
 
 MAEEUBIUM TULGAEB. (Weisser Andorn.) 
 
 Hoarhound. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Lamiacese. Sex. Syst. — ^Didynamia Gymnospermia. 
 
 ' ' THE HERB. 
 
 . Description. — Hoarhound has a perennial fibrous root, and numeroua, 
 annual, bushy stems, which are erect, quadrangular, leafy, clothed with 
 
iVlARCTA COTULA. 517 
 
 fine woolly pubescence, branching from the bottom, from one to two feet 
 in height. Leaves roundish -ovate, erenate dentate, rough and veiny- 
 above, woolly on the under surface, one or two inches in diameter 
 supported in pairs upon long petioles ; upper ones nearly sessile. Flowers 
 small, white, in sessile, axillary, hairy, dense whorls. Calyx tubular, 
 five to ten-nerved, nearly equal, with five or ten recurved, acute, spinv 
 teeth, alternate ones shorter ; orifice of the tube hairy. Corolla tubular, 
 upper lip erect, flattish, notched : lower spreading, trifid ; middle lobe 
 broadest. Stamens four, didynamous, included beneath the upper lip 
 of the corolla: anthers with divaricating, somewhat confluent lobes, all 
 nearly of the same form. Sti/le with short, obtuse lobes. Achenia ob- 
 tuse. Seeds four, in the base of the calyx. — L. — W. — G. 
 
 Mstory. — Hoarhound is indigenous to Europe, but is naturalized in 
 this country, where it is ^«ry common. It grows on dry, sandy fields, 
 waste grounds, roadsides, etc., flowering from June to September. The 
 entire plant has a white, hoary appearance. The whole herb is officinal, 
 and should be gathered before its inflorescence. It has a peculifir, rather 
 agreeable, vinous, bplsamic odor, anda very bitter, aromatic, somewhat 
 acrid and persistent taste. Its virtues are imparted to alcohol or water. 
 According to Mr. McMaken, it contains a peculiar, crystallizable prin- 
 ciple, insoluble in water, soluble in hot alcohol and in ether, less so in 
 cold alcohol; nentral, and melting when sufficiently heated, resin, tan-' 
 nic acid, volatile oil, and woody fiber. — Am. Jour. PKarm., XI., 1. 
 
 Properties avd Uses. — Hoarhound is a stimulant tonic, expectorant, 
 and diuretic. It is used in the form of syrup, in coughs, colds, chronic 
 catarrh, asthnaa, and all pulmonary affections. The warm infusion will 
 produce diaphoresis, and sometimes diuresis, and has been used with 
 benefit in jaundice, asthma, hoarseness, amenorrhea, and hysteria; the 
 cold infusion is an excellent tonic in some forms of dyspepsia, acts as a 
 vermjfup;e, and will be found efficacious in checking merciirial ptyalism. 
 ^n lar^e doses it purges. It enters into the composition of several 
 ■^vrups and candies. Dose of the powder, one drachm ; of .the infusion, 
 '>'• syrup, from two to four fluidounces. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Marrubii ; Syrupus Aralise Compositus. 
 
 MAETJTA COTULA. (Anthemis Cotula.) (Hunde Anthemis.) 
 
 Mayweed. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese (lAndley), or Compositse, Sub-tribe, Anthemi- 
 lete. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia Superflua. 
 
 FLOWERS. 
 
 Description. — Maruta Cotula has an annual, twisted, tapering, fibrous 
 root, with one or more stems, erect, branched, bushy, leafy, angular, fur- 
 rowed, nearly smooth, solid, from one to two feet high. Branches corym- 
 bose. Leaves alternate, sessile, bright-green, smooth, or slightly hairy, 
 bipinnatifid, cut; segments narrow, flat, a little succulent, spreading, 
 rather distant, not crowded or parallel, somewhat bristle-pointed. 
 Flower-heads solitary, on terminal, striated, slightly downy peduncles. 
 Involucre more or less hairy, its scales almost equal, obtuse, slightly 
 bordered. Disk convex, lemon-colored, the slender, bristle-shaped, or 
 subulate, greenish scales not quite so tall as the opening florets. Bays 
 vrhite, elliptical, three-toothed, deflexed, close to the stalk, at night. 
 Raceptarle higlilj' conical, almost cylindrical, beset with slend'fer, perma- 
 
518 Materia Medioa. 
 
 nent scales. Seeds brown, obovate, furrowed, sometimes rough, with 
 minute tubercles. — i. ' 
 
 History. — Mayweed is indigenous to Europe, and is very common in 
 this country, where it is known by several other names, as Wild Cha- 
 momile, Dog-fennel, etc. It may be found growing in all waste places, in 
 hard, dry soils, especially along roadsides. Its flowers are white, and 
 appear from June until September. Every part of the plant is acrid 
 and fetid, and, according to Linnaeus, is grateful to toads, drives away 
 fleas, and is annoying to flies. The whole plant is offtcinal. Its taste 
 is bitter and pungent ; water or alcohol extracts its properties. Mr. "W. 
 H. Warner found it to contain oxalic, valerianic, and tannic acid; color- 
 ing matter, albumen, acrid oleo-resin, insoluble bitter extractive, vola- 
 tile oil, and various salts.— .4m. Jour. Pharm., XXX., 390. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tonic, emetic, antispasmodic, emmenagogue and 
 epispastic. The cold infusion or extract may be substituted, as a tonic 
 and antispasmodic, in all cases, for the foreign article. The extract 
 may be used in sick headache, and in convalescence from fevers. A 
 warm infusion may be used as an emetic or diaphoretic. It has been 
 efBcient in amenorrhea. The fresh plant bruised and applied to the 
 skin, will cause vesication, and the sores heal readily. A powerful epi- 
 spastic is made by bruising the fresh leaves of M. Gotula and Polygonum 
 Punctatum, equal parts, and moistening them with a small quantity of 
 spirits of turpentine. Dose of the infusion, from one to four fluidounces 
 as often as required. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Anthemidis Cotulae. 
 
 MEL. (Honig.) 
 Honey. 
 
 A SACCHARINE JUICE DEPOSITED BY APIS MELLIFICA. 
 
 Sistory. — The Apis Melliflca or Honey-bee, belongs to the order Hy- 
 menoptera of tlie class of insects. In the wild state it dwells in the 
 hollows of trees in large communities, consisting of males, females, and 
 neuters. Honey is a saccharine matter secreted by the nectariferous 
 glands of flowers, which is collected by the working bees, and deposited 
 in their crop or Honey-bag, from which it is ejected when the insect 
 reaches its hive. The taste and odor of Honey varies according to the 
 age of the bees, and the character of the flowers from which it is gath- 
 ered. There is no doubt but the secretions of the crop of the insect, 
 somewhat alter the properties of the Honey received into it from the 
 nectaries. Virgin Honey is the best kind, and is procured by dripping 
 Honey-comb from a hive of young bees before they have swarmed. 
 Honey of a superior quality is obtained by allowing it to ooze from the 
 Honey-comb. After the first Honey is thus procured, by subjecting the 
 Honey-comb to compression, a poorer variety may be expressed; or it 
 may be obtained by fusion in the vapor-bath. Although a large amount 
 of Honey is supplied in our own country, yet the greater part of that 
 used in our maritime towns and cities is imported from some of the 
 "West Indian islands. 
 
 At first Honey is fluid, thick, viscid, colorless, or of the palest straw 
 tint, of a peculiar, fragrant odor, and of a corresponding, very sweet 
 taste; when long kept it becomes concrete, from the formation of nu- 
 merous granular crystals. Its flavor and quality vary, according to the 
 character of the flowers to which the bees have access. Its density, ac- 
 
Mel. 519 
 
 cordiiig to Duncan, is 1.33. In a great measure it is soluble in water, 
 and not so readily soluble in alcohol ; alcohol at 212° F. dissolves it, but 
 on cooling deposits crystals of grape sugar. M. Souberain states that 
 there are three different kinds of sugar in Honey, one, a granular' sugar, 
 or glucose, the second, a sugar possessing the power of rotation to the 
 right, and which is capable of having this power changed by acids, and 
 the third, a sugar which rotates to the left, but with nearly double the 
 energy of that which has been changed by acids. The first of those 
 two latter sugars abound in the liquid Honey of the comb, so much so 
 that a solution which rotates-|-0.96° to the right, acquires by the action 
 of acids, the power of rotating in an opposite direction to the left, to the 
 
 . extent of 13.78° ; after Honey has been kept for some time this sugar 
 disappears. The second of the two latter sugars is a liquid sugar, 
 and is nearly identical with cane sugar, which has been acted upon 
 by acids, it is non-crystallizable, very easily decomposed by alkalies, 
 and may be converted into a transparent, solid, and easily fusible 
 state, like barley sugar. But it can not be converted into granular 
 sugar, and has nearly double the rotating power of ordinary uncrystal-i 
 
 'lizable sngnr.— Chemical Times. The uncrystallizable sugar of Honey- 
 is called inverted sugar, d-i Hjj 0^, it is soluble in alcohol of 86 per cent, 
 and exerts a left-handed rotation upon a beam of polarized ligbt, its 
 rotatory power being, at 57° F., when dissolved in an equal bulk of 
 water, 28°. 
 
 In addition to these sugars. Honey has been found to contain odor- 
 ous, coloring, gummy, and. waxy matters. According to Turnerj when 
 Honey is diluted with water, it is susceptible of the vinous fermenta- 
 tion, without the addition of yeast; if yeast be added it forms the 
 alcoholic liquor called mead; if nitric acid be allowed to act on Honey, 
 oxalic acid is the result. The poorer sorts of Honey contain an acid, and 
 considerable sugar which is not crystallizable. Honey is occasionally 
 adulterated with flour or starch, especially the inferior kinds, in order 
 to give them a white appearance ; these adulterations may be distin- 
 guished by their insolubility in cold water, and by the blue color pro- 
 duced when iodine is added to them. If the Honey be thin and slow 
 to crystallize, it has been adulterated with Water. Unless it be quite 
 pure. Honey is apt to undergo fermentation in warm seasons, becoming 
 more acrid and darker colored. 
 
 Mel Despumatum or clarified Honey is generally obtained from the 
 inferior qualities ; the process of clarification is entirely unnecessary 
 With fine Honey. It may be ptirifled by melting the Honey by means 
 of a water-bath, removing the substances which float upon the surface 
 by means of a skimmer, and decanting the Honey from the deposit 
 formed at the bottom of the vessel containing it. The French are said 
 to clarify Honey as follows : They mix together 500 parts of Honey, 
 125 parts of water, and 16 parts of pulverized carbonate of lime, well 
 washed; this mixture, being stirred all the time, is boiled for three or 
 four minutes, after which 16 parts of washed animal charcoal (which 
 has been subjected to a red heat and then pulverized) are added, and 
 the mixture again boiled for three or four minutes. Then about 83 parts 
 of a mixture of the white of one egg well beaten, with 250 parts^ of 
 water, are added, and the whole brought to the temperature of 212° _F.^ 
 When nearly cool, the liquid is passed repeatedly through flannel strain- 
 ers until it is transparent; then, if it be too thin, it isxeduced to the pi'oper 
 consistence, by rapid boiling. A. Hoffman recommends the following 
 process for purifying Honey, the gelatine being added, because it ia 
 
B20 Materia Medica. 
 
 Bometiraes deficient io Honey, and then the tannic acid can not purify 
 it : Dissolve twenty -eight pounds of Honey in twice its weight of water, 
 .and heat to the boiling point, then add a solution of three drachms of 
 gelatine dissolved in three times its weight of water, and lastly add a 
 solution of one drachm of tannic acid in water. The mixture must bo 
 well stirred, and kept hot for about an hour. About seven -eighths of 
 the Honey may be drawn off clear, the remainder is filtered through 
 flannel, and the clear solution evaporated. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Honey is nutritious, antiseptic, diuretic, aud 
 demulcent. Used in urinary affections, and as an addition to gargles, 
 lotions, injections, etc. It is said that the Indians make an infusion 
 of the Honey bete, and give a gill of it every half hour, in strangury, 
 suppression of ui;ine, etc.; and it is further added, that this infusion 
 has the power of destroying the sexual. propensity. A very excellent 
 preparation for coughs, especially during febrile or inflammatory at 
 tacks, is composed of Honey, olive oil, lemon-juice, and sweet spirits 
 of nitre, each, one fluidounce, to be taken several times a day, in half 
 fluidrachm or fluidrachm doses. A tincture of Honey bees is made by 
 collecting a quantity of the living insects in a vial, agitating them • 
 roughly so as to irritate them, and, while in that condition they are to 
 be covered with alcohol ; in a few days it will be ready for use. In 
 doses of five, ten, or fifteen drops, three or four times a day, this is 
 highly recommended in many diseases of the bladder and kidneys, as 
 well as in some uterine affections. Some practitioners assert that it 
 will produce abortion in the pregnant female, if its use be too long 
 continued, or when employed too freely. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Pilulse Perri Carbonatis ; Tinctura Opii Camphorata ; 
 Unguentum Plumbi Compositum. 
 
 MBLIA AZBDAEACH. (Azedarach JVEelie.) 
 
 Pride of China. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Meliaceae. Sex. Syst. — Decandria Monogynia.. 
 
 THE BARK OF THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This is an elegant tree, also known by the names Bead- 
 tree, Pride of India, etc. ; it attains the height of thirty or forty feet, 
 with a trunk about a foot and a half in diameter, and divaricate branches. 
 Bark rough. Leaves alternate, unequally bipinnate ; leaflets opposite, 
 ovate, acute, serrated, sometimes incised, in pairs with an odd one. 
 Flowers in terminal panicles, lilac-colored, on axillary peduncles. Corolla 
 of five petals, patent, pale pink inside, deep lilac outside ; calyx five- 
 parted. Stamens with tube ten-cleft at top, deep violet; anthers yel- 
 low. OuOT!/ five-celled ; s%ma five-lobed ; sfyZe columnar. i^iYadrupe 
 the size of a small olive, with one five-celled bonj' nut; cells one- 
 seeded. — L. 
 
 History .—T\i\b tree, although a native of several Asiatic countries, is 
 cultivated in the warm climates of Europe and America ; it does not 
 grow to any extent north of Virginia, and flowers early during the 
 spring. Its name of Bead-tree was derived from the use to which its 
 hard nuts are put in Eoman Catholic countries, viz., for making rosa- 
 ries. The recent bark of the root is the most active part for medi- 
 cinal purposes, it has a disagreeably bitter taste, and a very unpleasant 
 odor, and imparts its properties to water at 212° P. A fluid extract 
 might possibly be prepared from it for general use. 
 
Melissa Officinalis, 521 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The bark is anthelmintic, and in large doses, 
 narcotic and emetic. KoUock states that if gathered in the spring of 
 the year, during the ascent of the sap, it will cause narcotic symptoms 
 resembling those occasioned sometimes by spigelia. It is useful in 
 worm fevers, and in infantile remittents, in which, although worms are 
 absent, yet the symptoms are similar to those accompanying the pres- 
 ence of worms. Dose of the powdered bark, twenty grains ; of the de- 
 coction (which is the best form for administration — two ounces of the 
 bark to a pint of water, and boiled down to half a pint) a tablespoon- 
 ful every one, two, or three hours, till the desired effect obtains; a 
 purgative should follow its employment. The fruit is somewhat saccha- 
 rine, and is said to be an active anthelmintic ; its pulp has been used in 
 an ointment for destroying lice and other ectozoa, as well as in the treat- 
 ment of scald-head, and other diseases of the skin. By expressing the 
 nuts an bil may be obtained which is said to possess anthelmintic prop- 
 erties, and to be useful as a local application to rheumatic affections, 
 cramps, obstinate ulcers, etc. 
 
 MELISSA OFFICINALIS. (Melisse.) 
 
 Balm. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Lamiacese. Sex: Syst. — Didynamia Gymnospermia. 
 
 THE HERB. 
 
 Description. — Balm is a perennial herb, with upright, branching, four- 
 sided stems, ten to twenty inches hiigh. Leaves opposite,' broadly ovate, 
 acute, coarsely crenate-serrate, rugose, petioled, more or less hairy. 
 Flowers pale yellow, in axillary dimidiate verticils, subsessile ; bracts 
 few, ovate-lanceolate, petiolate. Calyx slightly gibbous at base, thir- 
 teen ribbed, flattish above, upper lip three-toothed, lower one bifid. 
 CoroWa with a recurved-ascending tube; upper lip erect,' flattish, lower 
 lip spreading, .three-lobed, middle lobe mostly broadest. Stamens as- 
 cending. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — Balm is a native of Southern France, but is naturalized in 
 various parts of Europe and the United States. It grows in fields, 
 along roadsides, and is well known as a garden plant, flowering from 
 May to August. The whole plant is officinal, and should be collected 
 previous fo its flowering. In the recent state, it has a lemon-like odor, 
 which is nearly lost by drying ; its taste is aromatic, and faintly as- 
 tringent, with a degree of persistent bitterness. Boiling water extracts 
 its virtues. Balm contains a bitter extractive substance, a little tannin, 
 gum, and a peculiar volatile oil. A pound of the plant yields about 
 fbur grains of the oil, which is yellowish, or reddish-yellow, very liquid, 
 975 in density, and possessing the fragrance of the plant in a very 
 high degree. The infusion of balm is incompatible with nitrate of sil- 
 ver, acetate of lead, and sulphate of iron. The Nepeta Gitriodora, n, 
 powerful emmenagogue, is sometimes cultivated and employed hj mis- 
 take for balm, fi has the same odor, but may be distinguished by 
 having both surfaces of its leaves hairy. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Balm is moderately stimulant, diaphoretic, and 
 antispasmodic. A warm infusion, drank freely, has been serviceable as 
 a diaphoretic in febrile diseases, and painful menstruation, and to assist 
 the operation of other diaphoretic medicines; in combination with 
 ipecacuanha and niter, a valuable diaphoretic is formed. It is also 
 
522 Materia Medica. 
 
 occasionally used to assist menstruation. When given in fevers, it 
 may be rendered more agreeable by the addition of lemon-juice. The 
 infusion may be taken ad libitum. 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Melissse. 
 
 MENISPBEMUM CANADENSB. (Canadisoher Mondsame.) 
 
 Yellow Parilla. 
 Nat. Ord. — Menispermacese. Sex. Syst. — ^DicEcia Polyandria. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plg,nt is also known by the names of Sarsaparilla, 
 Moonseed, Vine-maple, etc. ; it has a perennial, horizontal, woody, very 
 long root, of a beautiflil yellow color externally, and a round, striate, 
 climbing stem, greenish -yellow when young, eight to twelve feet in 
 length. Leaves roundish, cordate, peltate, three to seven-angled or 
 lobed, smooth, the petiole inserted near the base, three to five inches 
 long, white lines radiating from the petiole on the upper surface to 
 each angle, glaucous green above, paler below, entire, four or five 
 inches in diameter. Flowers small, yellow, in axillary clusters; sepals 
 four to eight, in a double row ; petals four to seven, minute, retuse, 
 shorter than the sepals. Stamens twelve to twenty in the sterile flow- 
 ers; anthers four-celled. Pistils two to four in the fertile flowers, raised 
 on a short stalk, one or two ripening into round drupes. Imperfect 
 stamens are sometimes found in the fertile flowers. Drupes about four 
 lines in diameter, black with a bloom resembling frost-grapes, one- 
 seeded. Seeds crescent, compressed. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — This is a valuable American remedy, not yet in extensive 
 use among physicians. It grows in woods and hedges near streams, 
 from Canada to Carolina, and west to the Mississippi, flowering in 
 July. The root is the officinal part ; it has a bitter, persistent, but not 
 unpleasant acrid taste, and yields its virtues to water or alcohol. The 
 root of this plant has been ofifered in our markets as a Texas Sarsa- 
 parilla. {See Am. Jour. Pharm., Vol. XXVII., 7.) Mr. J. M. Maisch 
 found in it a small amount of berberina and a large quantity of a white 
 alkaloid, which is soluble in ether, alcohol, and in much water ; it re- 
 stores the blue color of litmus, and its solutions are precipitated by 
 tannin, phospho-molybdic acid, and iodohydrargyrate of potassium. — 
 Am. Jour. Pharm., 1863, p. 303. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Yellow Pjarilla is tonic, laxative, alterative, 
 and diuretic. In small doses, no obvious effects are produced on the 
 general system ; but in larger doses, a slight increase of the volume of 
 the pulse may be perceived, as well as an increase of the appetite, and 
 the action of the bowels. In excessive doses, purging and vomiting 
 will follow, but no other unpleasant effect. It is a superior laxative 
 bitter. It is much esteemed as a remedy in scrofulous, cutaneous, 
 arthritic, rheumatic, syphilitic, and mercurial diseases. Said to be 
 superior t6 the imported Sarsaparilla. Likewise employed in dyspep- 
 sia, general debility, and chronic inflammation of the viscera. Exter- 
 nally; the decoction has been used with good effect as an embrocation 
 in gouty and cutaneous affections. Dose of the decoction, from one to 
 four fluidounces three times a day ; of the extract, from two to six 
 grains three or four times a day ; of the saturated tincture, from half 
 a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm. 
 
Mentha PipjiRiTA. 523 
 
 A preparation said to have been obtained from the root of this plant, 
 and called Menisperine, is stated to be a powder of a whitish-brown 
 color, -s^ith a not unpleasant, bitter taste, and is recommended as an 
 alterative, tonic, nervine, and laxative. Advised by its taanufacturers 
 in the treatment of scrofulous, cutaneous, syphilitic, and mercurial dis- 
 eases, as superior to sarsaparilla. Dose from one to three grains, three 
 or four times a day. I have not been made acquainted with the pro- 
 cess of manufacture, nor do I even know whether it is a secret prepa- 
 ration ; but I have no doubt, from the l^nown virtues of Yellow Parilla 
 root as an alterative, that if its active principle can be obtained, it 
 will prove a decidedly valuable medicine. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Menispermi ; Syrupus Eumecis Compositus. 
 
 MENTHA PIPBEITA. (Pfeffermunze.; 
 
 Peppermint. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Lamiaceae. Sex. Syst. — Didynamia Gymnospermia. 
 
 THi; HERB. 
 
 Description. — This herb is a perennial, With procumbent, ascending, 
 branched, reddish stems, quite smooth, or ft'inged, with a few spreading 
 hairs, furrowed and quadrangular, and two or three feet in height. 
 Leaves ovate-oblong, or somewliat lanceolate, rounded at the base, deep 
 green, smooth or hairy on the under side, serrate, on ciliated petioles. 
 Flowers in whorls, small, purplish ; upper floral leaves small, lanceolate- 
 subulate, shorter than the flowers. Whorls few, lax, uppermost in a 
 short, oblong, obtuse, reddish spike ; lowermost remote, with the cymes 
 bhortly stalked. Bracts subulate, outer ones as long as the calyx. 
 Pedicels quite smooth. Ca^ya; five-toothed, teeth hispid, subulate, erect. 
 Corolla four-cleft, tubular, broadest segment emarginate. Stamens four, 
 awl-shaped, straight, distant ; anthers with two parallel cells. Achenia 
 smooth.— -&.— W.—G. 
 
 JUstory. — Peppermint is indigenous to England, and has been exten- 
 sively cultivated in various parts of Europe, and throughout the United 
 States. It grows wild in damp places, and flowers from July to Sep- 
 tember. In order to preserve the fragrance of this plant, the roots re- 
 quire to be reset triennially. The entire herb is officinal ; it should be 
 collected as soon as the flowers begin to develop themselves, and be 
 carefully dried in the shade. The whole plant has a peculiar, aro- 
 matic, diffusive odor, and an agreeable, warm, burning, bitter taste, 
 followed by a feeling of coolness during inspiration. These properties 
 are more marked in che fresh than in the dried plant. Both the odor 
 and taste are retained when the plant is dried, and may be preserved 
 for a long time. Its virtues are owing to a volatile oil, which is con- 
 tained in little vesicles existing throughout the plant; and visible in 
 the leaves; and which may be obtained by distillation with water. It 
 also contains a portion of tannic acid, as its infusion becomes dark- 
 green with the salts of sesquioxide of iron. Its virtues are taken up 
 in infusion by water, and still better by alcohol. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Peppermint is a powerful, diffusive stimulant, 
 antispasmodic, carminative, and stomachic. Used in the treatment of 
 gastrodynia, flatulent colic, hysteria, spasms or cramps of the stomach, 
 tc allay the griping of cathartics, to check nausea and vomiting, and 
 to disguise the unpleasant taste of other medicines. The fresh herb 
 
524 ' Mateeia Medica. 
 
 bruised, and applied over the bowels, will often allay sick stomach, 
 and is eflScacious in cholera infantum. The infusion may be drank 
 freely; but the most usual form of administration is the essence, made 
 by dissolving one fluidrachm of the oil in one fluidounce of alcohol. 
 Dose, from ten to sixty drops in sweetened water. 
 
 Off. Prep.— Aqua Menthsfe Piperita ; Extractura Ehei Fluidum ; Infu- 
 sum Menthse Piperitse; Mistura Camphorse Composita; Mistura Caju- 
 puti Composita; Oleum Menthse Piperitse; Pulvis Ehei Compositus; 
 Tinctura Olei Menthae Piperitse. 
 
 MENTHA VIEIDIS. (Griine Miinze.) 
 
 Spearmint. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Lamiaces. Sex. Syst. — Didynamia Gymnospermia. 
 
 THE HERB. 
 
 Description. — Spearmint is a creeping-rooted herbaceous plant, with 
 erect, branching, quadrangular, smooth stems, one or two feet high. 
 I/eaves subsessile, ovate-lanceolate, unequally serrated, smooth ; those 
 under the flowers all bract-like, rather longer than the whorls; these 
 last and the calyces hairy or smooth. Flowers pale purple. ^i'Aes cyl- 
 indrical, loose. Whorls approximated, or the lowest or all of them 
 distant; peduncles smooth, round, shining. Calyx bell-shaped, five- 
 toothed. Corolla funnel-shaped. — Jj. — W. 
 
 History. — Spearmint is a European herb, but like the preceding 
 species of mint, is extensively cultivated in various moist places in this 
 country on account of its oil, and for domestic use. It flowers in July 
 and August ; the whole herb is officinal, and should be gathered for 
 medical use, during dry weather, and previous to the full development 
 of the flowers. If gathered to procure its oil, it should be done after 
 the flowers have become developed, and before the ripening of the seeds. 
 It has a strong,. peculiar aromatic odor, and an aromatic, faintly bitter 
 taste, followed by coolness in the mouth during inspiration. When 
 the plant is carefully dried, these properties are preserved for a long 
 time. Its virtues are owing to a volatile oil, which may be obtained 
 by distillation with water. Alcohol extracts its virtues, also water by 
 infusion. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The carminative, antispasmodic, and stimulant 
 properties of Spearmint are somewhat inferior to those of peppermint; 
 its principal employrnent is for its diuretic and febrifuge virtues. As a 
 febrifuge, it is superior to peppermint, and may be used freely in warm 
 infusion. The cold infusion is beneficial in nigh color, or scalding of 
 urine, difficult micturition, etc. ; it may be used alone, or in com- 
 bination with marsh-mallow root. . A saturated tincture of the fresh 
 herb with gin has been found serviceable in gonorrhea, strangury, sup- 
 pressed urine, gravel, and as a local application to painful hemorrhoids. 
 The oil is diuretic, stimulant, antispasmodic, and rubefacient, anl is 
 used externally in rheumatic and other pains. Dose, same as pepper- 
 mint. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Aquse Menthse Viridis ; Infusum Mentha Viridis ; Mis- 
 tura CamphorsB Composita; PilulaB Taraxaci Compositse; PiluisB Saponi 
 OompositsB ; Tinctura Menthse Viridis; Tinctura Olei Menthsp. Viridis 
 
Menyanthes TrifoliaTa. 525 
 
 MENYANTHES TEIPOLIATA. (Dreiblattrige Zaserblum.) 
 
 Buckbean. 
 Nat. Ord. — Gentianaceae. Sex. Syst. — Pentaii4ria Monogynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES AND ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant is also known by the names of Bog-bean^ 
 Marsh-trefoil, Water-shamfock, etc. ; it is perennial, has a blackish 
 rhizonaa, about five or six lines in diameter, penetrating horizontally 
 in the earth to a great distance, regularly intersected with joints at the 
 distance of about half an inch from each other; these joints are formed 
 by the breaking off of the old petioles and their sheaths. Leaves pro- 
 ceed from the end of the rhizoma on long stalks furnished with' broad 
 sheathing stipules at base ; are trifoliate, nearly oval, glabrous, somewhat 
 fleshy, slightly repand, or furnished with many irregularities at the 
 edge, which hardly prevent them from being entire. Scape round, 
 ascending, smooth, about a foot high, bearing a conical raceme of 
 flowers. Peduncles straight, supported by ovate, concave bracts. Calyx 
 erect, somewhat campaiiulate, five-parted, persistent. Corolla white ; 
 its tube short, border five-cleft, spreading, at length revolute, clothed 
 on the upper part with a coating of dense, fleshy, obtuse hairs. Sta- 
 mens five, sliortcr than the corolla, alternate with its segments ; anthers 
 oblong, arrow-shaped. Ovary ovate; stigma bifid, compressed. Cap- 
 side ovate, two-Valved, one-celled; seeds numerous, minute. — L. Its 
 flowers are flesh color or pale lilac. 
 
 History. — Buckbean is indigenous to this country and Europe, grow- 
 ing in spongy, boggy soils, swamps, ditches, etc., flowering from April 
 to August. The whole plant possesses medicinal properties, but the 
 root and loaves are the parts more generally employed. The whole 
 plant is nearly odorless, but has a very bitter, somewhat aromatic taste. 
 Water, or alcohol, takes up its active properties. It contains albumen, 
 chlorophylle, a peculiar substance precipitable by tannin but soluble in 
 water, fecula, malic acid, bitter extractive, etc. It contains a principle, 
 probably the one on which its properties depend; called menyanthin. 
 It may be procured by making an alcoholic extract of the leaves and 
 root, adding hydrated oxide of lead to this, passing sulphuretted hydro- 
 gen to precipitate the lead, filtering the liquor, evaporating to dryness, 
 dissolving the residue in alcohol, again filtering, and evaporating with 
 a moderate heat. Thus obtained it is not perfectly pure, but may be 
 employed in medicine; it is neutral, bitter, insoluble in ether, but solu- 
 ble in water or alcohol. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Buckbean, when recent and given in large 
 doses, usually causes emesis. It is, when dried, tonic and astringent, 
 or purgative, according to the dose. It has been given in dj'spepsia, 
 intermittent and remittent fevers with advantage; and has been highly 
 recommended in chronic rheumatism, hepatalgia, dropsy, worms, and 
 ?ome cutaneous diseases, and as a tonic in scrofula, and various cachec- 
 flc affections. As a tonic, the powdered root or herb may be given in 
 ifoses of from ten to twenty -five grains ; of the aqueous extract, five or 
 „en grains ; of the infusion (made by infusing two drachms of the herb 
 ur root in four fluidounces of water at 212° F.), a fluidounce or two ; 
 repeating the dose of either every three or four hours. Sixty grains 
 of the powder, or four fluidounces of the infusion, produce catharsis, 
 and sometimes emesis. 
 
626 Materia Medica. 
 
 MITCHELLA EBPENS. (Kriechende Mitchella.) 
 
 Partridgeberry. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eubiaceae. Sex. Syst. — Tetrandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE VINE. 
 
 Description. — This is an indigenous evergreen herb, with a perennial 
 root, from which arises a smooth and creeping stem, furnished with 
 roundish ovate, or slightly heart-shaped, petiolate, opposite, flat, cori- 
 aceous, dark -green, and shining leaves, usually variegated with whitish 
 lines. Flowers white, often tinged with red, very fragrant, in pairs, 
 with their ovaries united. Calyx four parted. Corolla funnel-form, 
 two on each double ovary, limb four-parted, spreading, densely hairy 
 within. Stamens four, short, inserted on the corolla. Style slender; stig- 
 7nas four. Fruit a dry, berry-like, double drupe,^ crowned with the calyx- 
 teeth of the two flowers, each containing four small and seed-like bony 
 nutlets. Some plants bear flowers with exserted.stamens and included 
 styles ; others, conversely, those with included stamens and exserted 
 styles. — W. — G. — T. According to Mr. Thos. Meehan, this is a dioecious 
 plant, having imperfect rudimentary pistils in the male plant, with the 
 calyx teeth coarser than in the female, the anthers on filaments pro- 
 jecting considerably beyond the corolla throat: in the female plant, 
 the anthers are sessile, rudimentary, concealed in the coarse down of 
 the corolla tube, and the pistil, with its well developed stigma, projects 
 beyond the throat of the corolla. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 1868, p. 554. 
 
 History. — This plant is indigenous to the United States, growing in 
 dry woods, among hemlock-timber, and in swampy places, flowering 
 in June and July. The leaves bear some resemblance to clover, and 
 remain green through the winter. The fruit or berry is bright scarlet, 
 edible, but nearly tasteless, dry and full of stony seeds, and also remains 
 through the winter. The plant is sometimes called Checkerberry, Part- 
 ridgeberry, Winter clover, Beerherry, Squaw-vine, One-berry, etc. The whole 
 plant is officinal, and imparts is virtues to boiling water or alcohol. It 
 has not been analyzed. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Partridgeberry is parturient, diuretic, and astrin- 
 gent. Used in dropsy, suppression of urine, and diarrhea, in decoction. 
 It seems to have an especial affinity for the uterus, exerting a powerful 
 tonic and alterative influence upon this organ, and has hencfe been found 
 highly beneficial in many uterine derangements, as, in amenorrhea, 
 some forms of dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia, chronic congestion of the 
 uterus, enfeebled uterine nervous system, etc. It is said that the squaws 
 drink a decoction of this plant for several weeks previous to their con- 
 finement, for the purpose of rendering parturition safe and easy. The 
 remedy is peculiarly American, not being noticed or used by foreign 
 practitioners. Dose of a strong decoction, from two to four fluidounces, 
 two or three times a day. The berries are a popular remedy for diar- 
 rhea, and dysury. Used as follows, partridgeberry is highly recom- 
 mended as a cure for sore nipples ; Take two ounces of the herb, fresh 
 if possible, and make a strong decoction with a pint of water, then 
 strain, and add as much good cream as there is liquid of the decoction. 
 Boil the whole down to the consistence of a soft salve, and when cool, 
 anoint the nipple with it every time the child is removed from the 
 breast. < 
 
 Off. Prep. — Bxtractum Mitchellse ; Syrupus Mitchellae Compositus. 
 
MoMOBDiCA Elaterium. 527 
 
 MOMOEDICA ELATE-EIUM. (Eselsgurke.^ 
 
 "Wild Cucumber. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Cucurbitacese. Sex. Syst. — Moncecia Monadelphia. 
 
 THE FECULENCE OP THE JUICE OF THE FRUIT. ELATERIUM. 
 
 Description. — The Wild, or Squirting Cucumber, sometimes called Wild 
 Balsam-apple, is a hispid, scabrous, and glaucous plant. Stems several 
 from the same root, cylindrical, prostrate, withoat tendrils. Leaves 
 cordate, somewhat lobed, crenate-toothed, very rugose, on long stalks. 
 i^fewers monoecious, yellow. Male flowers : coroZZa five-parted ; calyx &V{i- 
 cleft, with a short tube; stamens triadelphous, with yellow, connate 
 anthers. Female flowers : filaments three, sterile ; style trifid ; oaary 
 three-celled. Fruit oblong, obtuse at each end, hispid, disarticulating 
 from its stalk with violence, expelling its seeds and mucus with con- 
 siderable force, in consequence of the sudden contraction of the sides. 
 Seeds black, compressed, reticulated.— i. 
 
 Sistory. — The Wild Cucumber is the Echalium Elaterium of some bot- 
 anists ; it is Indigenous to the South of Europe, growing on poor soils, 
 in waste places, and flowering in July. It has been extensively culti- 
 vated in England for medicinal purposes, where, however, it dies in the 
 winter. It could be cultivated in this country, as it thrives well, re- 
 quiring but little attention. The ofScinal part of the plant is the juice 
 around the seeds, and which, when properly prepared, forms the Ela- 
 terium of commerce. It must be collected a little before the period of 
 ripening. Dr. Clutterbuck's process is as follows: "The cucumbers 
 should be gathered when nearly as ripe as possible, and without violence 
 that might endanger their bursting. They should then be wetted by 
 the affusion of cold water, that less of the juice when they are cut may 
 adhere to the external surface. In this state, they should be cut through 
 longitudinally, and the juice allowed to strain through a fine sieve 
 placed in a large earthenware vessel. The seeds and surrounding pulp 
 should be scooped out upon the sieve, and washed with repeated afl?u- 
 sions of cold water, by which they will be freed from all adhering juice. 
 Something will be saved also by afterward rinsing the split cucumbers 
 themselves in cold water, from which a portion of Elaterium may be 
 collected. After standing a few hours, a sediment is formed, from which 
 theplear liquid is to be poured off; it is then to be thinly spread on fine 
 linen, and exposed to the air to dry ; a gentle warmth may be employed 
 without injury, but the access of sunshine destroys the fine green color 
 which the substance otherwise acquires." One-eighth of a grain of this 
 Elaterium purges violently ; but only a small quantity of it is procured, 
 Olutterbuck obtaining only six grains from forty cucumbers. The Ela- 
 terium of commerce, probably from its manner of preparation, is much 
 less energetic; it is obtained by powerfully compressing the fruit, and. 
 perhaps, evaporating the juice to an extract. French Elaterium is like- 
 wise feeble in its properties. The London College directs as follows : 
 "Slice ripe wild cucumbers, express the juice very gently, and pass it 
 through a very fine hair sieve ; then set it aside for some hours until 
 the thicker part has subsided. Eeject the thinner, supernatant part, 
 and dry the thicker part with a gentle heat." At Apothecaries Hall the 
 pepos are cut longitudinally, in halves, and submitted to pressure. A 
 greenish, turbid liquor runs out upon the hair sieve, through which it 
 passes into a glass jar. At the end of two hours a greenish deposit has 
 taken place; the supernatant liquor is carefully decanted, and the 
 
528 Materia Medica. 
 
 thicker fluid at the bottom is placed on a paper filter supported by ont 
 of cloth. The residue on the filter when carefully dried by a stove, 
 constitutes the finest Blaterium. The mother or original liquor, is 
 placed in shallow pans, and deposits a paler Elaterium. — P. The Lon. 
 don College has erroneously termed this "Extractum Materia " The 
 Pharmacopoeias of Dublin, and of the United States more properly 
 designate it as Elaterium. The English Elaterium is principally used 
 in this country ; and perhaps some of that which is prepared in Malta. 
 When in the juice of the plant, Elaterium is in a soluble condition, but 
 after its extraction therefrom it is insoluble in water. This is due, ac- 
 cording to Dr. A. T. Thomson, to oxidation of the juice from absorption 
 of atmospheric oxygen ; the same as many resinous principles, which 
 become less and less perfectly soluble in alcohol, the longer they arc 
 exposed to atmospheric action. The ordinary Elaterium of commerte 
 consists of elaterin, resin, starch, chlorophylle, vegetable matter, saline 
 matter, etc. Good Blaterium is in light, brittle, flat flakes, about half 
 a line or a line in thickness, of a pale-gray color, with a slight greenish 
 or yellowish tinge, having a feeble animal odor, and an intensely bitter 
 taste with acrimony. It frequently has the marks upon it of the mus- 
 lin or paper containing it during its desiccation. It floats upon water, 
 forms a green tincture with alcohol, and does not efi'ervesce in diluted 
 hydrochloric acid. Alcohol is its best solvent. Dr. Paris found it to 
 contain 2.8 of starch, 2.6 of extractive, 2.5 woody substance, 0.5 gluten, 
 1.2 elaterin, and 0.4 water. Mr. Hennell obtained 44 parts of elaterin, 
 17 parts green resin, 6 starch, 7 saline matters, and 26 woody fiber. — P. 
 Blaterium of inferior quality is more or less curled, much darker colored, 
 less brittle, and having a glistening fracture. It yields about six per 
 cent, of elaterin, while the best Elaterium yields from 15 to 25 per cent. 
 The Maltese Elaterium is in larger flakes than the best English, is paler 
 with hardly a trace of green, is soft and friable, or chalky to the touch, 
 and frequently contains starch, chalk, and other impurities. It is in- 
 odorous, heavier than water, and effervesces with diluted hydrochloric 
 acid.— jP. 
 
 Elaterin, C^, H^g Oio, is the principle on which the active properties of 
 the drug depend. Morries obtained it by exhausting Elaterium tho- 
 roughly vvith boiling- rectified spirit, concentrating the tincture so long 
 as no separation takes place, and then pouring it while hot into a weak 
 boiling solution of potassa. The potassa retains the chlorophylle, and 
 the elaterin crystallizes on cooling in capillary colorless crystals. — C. 
 Hennell procured it by separating the green resin (chlorophylle) from 
 the crystalline matter of the alcoholic extract of Blaterium by ether, 
 wl.ich took up the resin and left the elaterin; the latter was then puri- 
 fied by solution in hot alcohol and subsequent crystallization. When 
 pure, elaterin is in very delicate, colorless crystals, Tyhich are striated 
 satiny prisms, with a rhombic base. They are permanent in the air, 
 inodorous, of a very bitter and somewhat acrid taste, neutral, insoluble 
 in water, and weak alkaline liquids, readily soluble in rectified spirit, 
 ether, and fixed oils, and slightly soluble in weak acids. They are fusi- 
 ble at 350° P. (Hennell), or at 392° P. (Phillips), and at a stronger heat 
 are decomposed, with the evolution of white, acrid, inflammable vapors, 
 having an odor of ammonia. Their formula is given as Cjo H„ 65.^- 
 .(O.-F.) 
 
 Elaterium is seldom adulterated ; its variableness of strength is owing 
 more to 1 _9 manner in which it is'prepared, or the time of its collection. 
 It should oe light, pale grayish-green, and friable, not brown or com- 
 
MoNARDA Punctata. 529 
 
 pact, should not effervesce with diluted hydrochloric acid, and should 
 yield from 15 to 25 per ce'nt. of elaterin on analysis. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Blaterium is an energetic hydragogue cathartic, 
 operating with great violence in doses of a few grains, causing diffuse 
 inflammation of the stomach and bowels, characterised by vomiting, 
 griping pain, and profuse diarrhea. In ordinary medicinal doses it pro- 
 duces copious watery evacuations, attended with considerable depres- 
 sion of the circulation and nervous system, and most generally nausea 
 and vomiting. Hence, it is often used in dropsy, to aid in removing 
 the effused fluid, as a revulsive in cerebral affections, and wherever a 
 hydragogue or revellent effect is indicated. It also augments the urin- 
 ary discharge. The dose of the common commercial article is from a 
 quarter to half a grain, administered every hour or two until it ope- 
 rates ; of Clutterbuck's Elaterium, which is the best, and is so named 
 because it is prepared after the process recommended by Clutterbuck, 
 from one-eight of a grain to one-tenth, every three or four hours ; of 
 elaterin, from one-sixteenth of a grain to one-eighth, and is best given 
 in tincture. A few grains of capsicum added to each dose of Elaterium 
 will prevent its nauseating effects. Morris recommends a tincture of 
 elaterin made by dissolving one grain in a fluidounce of alcohol to 
 which four drops of nitric acid have been added; the dose is from 
 twenty to forty drops diluted with cinnamon water. For the first time 
 I now introduce this article to the profession ae a specific in chronic in- 
 flammation of the neck of the bladder, in which disease I have success- 
 fully used it for the last twenty years. I am not aware of its ever hav- 
 ing been named heretofore for this purpose. It is more especially useful 
 in Cases in which there is a constant more or less painful sensation in 
 the region of the neck of the bladder, where the urine passes in a torrent 
 as if poured through the urethra, and where, after micturition, there is 
 a violent cramp-like aching in the parts, often extending over the whole 
 lower pelvic region and thighs. The saturated tincture is employed 
 in doses varying from five to thirty minims ; I usually mix it with 
 simple sarsaparilla or other syrup, so that a teaspoonful of the mix- 
 ture may be taken at a dose, and be repeated three or four times a 
 day. It must be used carefully so that it does not purge, although, oc- 
 casionally cases will be met with in which, if its purgative effect is pro- 
 duced by the first doses, its subsequent influence will be more decided. 
 The dose should be small at first, and be gradually increased, as it can 
 be borne. I have also found some good effects from it in chronic gastri- 
 tis, and chronic inflammation of other mucous membranes. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Pilulffi Gambogise Compositse. 
 
 MONAEDA PU]S[CTATA. (Gefleckte Monarde.) 
 
 Horsemint, 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Lamiacese. Sex. Syst. — Diandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE HERB. 
 
 Description. — Horsemint is an indigenous perennial or biennial herb, 
 with a fibrous root. Stems obtusely angled, hoary pubescent, branched, 
 two or three feet high. Leaves oblong-lanceolate to oblong, remotely 
 and obscurely serrate, narro-wed at base, punctate, petioled. Flowers 
 yellow, with brown or purple spots, in numerous, dense, axillary whorls. 
 Bracts large, yellow and red, lanceolate, obtuse at the base, sessile, 
 34 
 
630 Materia Medica. 
 
 longer than the whorls. Corolla nearly smooth, ri agent, tuhular, upper 
 lips spotted with purple, lower lip reflexed, 'three lobed. Calyx elong- 
 ated, cylindric, fifteen nerved, subequally five-toothed, hairy in the 
 throat; teeth short, rigid awnless. Stamens two, elongated, ascending, 
 inserted in the throat of the corolla ; anthers linear, cells divaricate 
 at base, connate at apex. — G-. — W. 
 
 JSistory. -^Thia plant is found growing in sandy fields and barrens 
 from ITew England to the Gulf of Mexico, and westward beyond the 
 Mississippi, flowering during the summer. The entire plant has a 
 rather fragrant odor, and a pleasant, pungent, slightly bitter taste. It 
 contains an abundance of essential oil, on which its active virtues de- 
 pend. The oil may be obtained by distillation of the recent herb with 
 water. The plant yields its virtues to alcohol, or boiling water by 
 infusion. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Horsemint is stimulant, carminative, sudorific, 
 diuretic, and anti-emetic. The infusion or essence used in flatulence, 
 nausea, vomiting, and as a diuretic in suppression of the urine, and 
 other urinary disorders. The warm infusion is a stimulating diapho- 
 retic, and has acquired some celebrity as an emmenagogue ; it may be 
 drank freely. The M. Didyma and j[f. Squarrosa may be used as sub- 
 stitutes for the above. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Monardse ; Oleum Monardse. 
 
 MOlfOTROPA UNIFLOEA. (Einbliithige Monotropa.) 
 Iceplant. 
 N^at. Ord. — ^Ericacese ; Sub-order, Montropese. Sex. Syst. — Decandria 
 Monogynia. 
 
 THE BOOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also known by the names of Ova-ova, Bird's 
 Nest, Indian-pipe, Fit-plant, etc., has a dark-colored, fibrous, perennial 
 root, matted in masses about as large as a chestnut-bur, from which 
 arise one or more short, ivory-white stems, four tO' eight inches high, 
 furnished withsessile, lanceolate, white, semi-transparent, approximate 
 leaves or bracts, and bearing a large, white, terminal, solitary flower, 
 which is at first nodding, but becomes upright in ft-uit. Calyx repre- 
 sented by two to four scale-like deciduous bracts, the lower rather dis- 
 tant from the corolla. Corolla permanent, of five distinct, erect, fleshy 
 Eetals, which are narrowed below with a small nectariferous pit at the 
 ase. Stamens ten, sometimes eight ; anthers short on the thickened 
 apex of the hairy filament, two-celled, opening by transverse chinks. 
 Stigma five-crenate, depressed, beardless. Pod or capsule five-celled, 
 five-valved ; seeds numerous, invested with an arillus-like membrane. 
 — W.—G.— Eaton. 
 
 History. — This is a singular plant, found in various parts of the 
 Union from Maine to Carolina, and westward to Missouri, growing in 
 shady, solitary woods, in rich moist soil, or soil composed of decayed 
 woodi and leaves, and near the base of trees, on whose roots it is said 
 to. be parasitic. The whole plant is ivory-white in all its parts, resem- 
 bling frozen jelly, and is very succulent and tender, so much so that 
 when handled it dissolves and melts away in the hands like ice. The 
 flowers are inodorous, and appear from June Until September ; their re- 
 semblance to a pipe has given rise to the names Indian Pipe or Pipe-plant. 
 The root is the part used ; it should be gathered in September and 
 October, carefully dried, pulverized, and kept in well-stopped bottles, 
 
MoRTJS ErsKA. 531 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^Iceplant root is a tonic, sedative, nervine, and 
 antispasmodic. It has also been employed in febrile diseases, as a sed- 
 ative and diaphoretic. The powder has been employed in instances 
 x)f restlessness, pains, nervous irritability, etc., as a substitute for 
 opium, without any deleterious influences. It is reputed to have cured 
 remittent and intermittent fevers, and to be an excellent antiperibdic. 
 In convulsions of children, epilepsy, chorea, and other spasmodic atfec- 
 tions, its administration has been followed with prompt success ; hence 
 its common name. Fit or Convulsion root. The juice or the plant, aloae 
 or combined with rose-water, has been found an excellent application 
 to obstinate ophthalmic inflammation, to ulcers, and as an injection 
 in gonorrhea, inflammation and ulceration of the bladder. Dose of 
 the powdered root, from half a drachm to a drachm, two or three 
 times a day. Dr. Stewart used it as a substitute for opium. 
 
 This plant is undoubtedly one of great value, and deserving of more 
 confidence and attention than is at present bestowed upon it. It is not 
 the Mesembryanthemum CrystaUinum, or Iceplant of Europe, which has 
 a creeping stem a foot or more in length, with large, ovate, wavy, 
 frosted leaves, and white flowers ; and the whole plant is covered over 
 with frost-like, warty protuberances, which give a Very singular aspect 
 to it. 
 
 MOETJS EUBEA. (Eother Maulbeerbaum.) 
 
 Eed Mulberry. — Bothe Maulbeere. 
 
 Nat. Ord.-T-UrticacesB ; Sub-order, Morese. Sex. Syst. — Monoecia Te- 
 trandria. 
 
 THE FKtriT. 
 
 Description. — Morns Eubra, or the Bed Mulberry, is but a shrub in the 
 Northern and New England States, fifteen to twenty feet high, but in 
 the Middle and "Western States it attains an elevation of fifty to sixty 
 feet, with a diameter of two feet, and covered with a grayish, furrowed, ■ 
 much broken bark. Leaves alternate, rounded or subcordate at base, 
 acuminate, equally serrate, either ovate or three-lobed, rough above, 
 pubescent beneath, thick, dark-green, four to six inches long, about 
 two-thirds as wide. Flowers^ small, monoecious, rarely dicBoious ; sterile 
 ones in loose spikes ; calyx four-parted ; fertile ones in dense spikes ; 
 styles two, filiform, stigmatic down the inside. Ovary two-celled, one 
 of the cells smaller and disappearing. Achenium ovate, compressed, 
 inclosed within the succulent, berry-like calyx. Fertile spikes cylindric, 
 constituting a dark -red, thickened, oblong and juicy, compound berry 
 or fruit. Sterile spikes rather slender. — W. — Q. 
 
 History. — The Eed Mulberry is indigenous to the United States, 
 growing in rich woods, flowering in May, and ripening its fruit in July. 
 The wood of the tree is fine-grained, strong, and durable. The fruit is 
 oblong-oval, of a dark-red color, and is compounded of a great number 
 of small berries, which are very juicy, inodorous, and of an agreeable 
 sweetish and acidulous taste; in appearance it very much resembles 
 the fruit of the blackberry. They are said to consist of bitartrate of po- 
 tassa, pectin, sugar, lignin, coloring matter and water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Mulberries possess very slightly nutritive quali- 
 ties ; they are refrigerant and laxative, and their juice forms a pleas- 
 ant and grateful drink for patients suffering under febrile diseases, ae 
 it checks thirst, relieves febrile heat, ar-^ ^>.en taken freely, gently 
 
532 Materia Medica. 
 
 relaxes the bowels. The juice, formed into a syrup and added to water, 
 answers the same purpose, and forms a pleasant adjunct to gargles in 
 quinsy. ' If the herries are eaten to excess they are apt to induce diar- 
 rhea. The bark of the tree is reputed purgative and vermifuge, hav- 
 ing^ expelled tapeworm. The Morus Nigra of Europe possesses similar 
 p:^operties. The Morus Alba, a native of China, with white fruit which 
 is more saccharine and less pleasant than the preceding species, is the 
 tree upon the foliage of which the silkworm feeds. 
 
 MOSCHUS. (Moschus.) 
 Musk. — Bisam. 
 
 History. — This article is obtained from the Moschus Moschiferus, 
 a wild ruminating animal, rather larger than the domestic goat, and 
 approaching the deer in its characters, and which is an inhabitant of 
 Central Asia. At the posterior part of its abdomen, there is a small 
 sack situated immediately under the skin, which opens a little in front 
 of the preputial orifice, and which is filled with a thick fluid, abound- 
 ing particttlarly in the rutting season. This fluid, in the dried state, 
 is musk. It is removed from the animal in its containing bag, and 
 dried in this state, for exportation. The musk-bag, or pod, is usiiaUy 
 plano-convex; and in general the plane surface is a bare membrane, 
 while the convex surface is covei'ed with stiff hairs ; but sometimes the 
 hairy and membranous parts are reversed. It weighs, along with its 
 contents, between five and nearly ten drachms, and contains on an 
 average two drachms and two thirds of musk. Musk is in the form 
 of irregular, reddish-black, rather unctuous grains, possessing an over- 
 powering, most penetrating, diff'usive odor, and a bitterish correspond- 
 ing taste. Rectified spirit is the best solvent. Musk is now seareeiy 
 ever prescribed, both on account of its high price, and the extreme 
 difficulty of obtaining a pure article, as nearly all the musk of the 
 shops, at the present day, is an artificial or factitious article. Cam,phor, 
 cinnamon, bitter-almond syrup, wax, etc., when mixed with musk, de- 
 stroy its odor. (A naturalist found in Central Africa numerous flocks 
 of a small ruminant of the gazelle family, the excrement from which 
 exhaled so decided an odor of musk that he thought it might be ad- 
 vantageously used. M. Stanislas Martin formed a tincture with some 
 of it, using alcohol of 80 per cent. It had a greenish color. This ex- 
 crement, powdered and macerated with glycerin, lard, or fixed oils, 
 forms a powerful musky odor, answering all the purposes of musk as 
 a perfume, and being decidedly cheaper. — Bulletin de Therapeutique, 
 1868.) 
 
 Musk is very inflammable, and burns with a white flame, leaving a 
 residue of a spongy and white charcoal. — H. & V. "With some per- 
 sons, the odor of musk produces several unpleasant effects, as cephala- 
 gia, fainting, etc. In commerce we should always require that it be 
 "ontained in its membranous bag to insure its genuineness. Boiling 
 water, or alcohol, dissolves it in part, and ether almost completely.* 
 Its composition has been examined by several chemists. Geiger and 
 Eeinmann found it to contain a peculiar volatile substance, ammonia, 
 a peculiar, fixed, uncrystallizable acid, stearin and olein, cholesterin. 
 
 * Prof. W. Bernatzik, in an article describing the actions of various articles upon musliL, 
 states that it is hardly dissolved by ether or chloroform.— ^m. Jcrm: Phclim., 1861, p. 429. 
 
MoscH us. 533 
 
 jvith some olein and resin, peculiar bitter resin, osmazome and salts, 
 «and, a moldy -like substance in part combined with ammonia and salts, 
 volatile odorous matter, water, etc. Musk is incompatible with bichlo- 
 ride o£ mercury, sulphate of iron, nitrate of silver, and an infusion of 
 cinchona. 
 
 From its high pr'ce, musk is very liable to adulterations; indeed it 
 is very rare that th .i pure article can be had at the shops in this coun- 
 try. These adulteiations are very difficult to detect. Musk which is 
 not readily inflammable, whose odor is weak, of a black or pale color, 
 which is very damp, or gritty to the touch, should be rejected as con- 
 taining impurities. By incineration, genuine musk leaves behind a 
 grayish-white ash, whereas blood yields a reddish one. False pods 
 may be- distinguished from the genuine ones, by their ammoniacal 
 odor, by the absence of any aperture in the middle of the hairy coat, 
 by the hair not being arranged in a circular manner, and by the ab- 
 sence of the remains, of the penis, which accompanies every genuine 
 musk-sac. 
 
 - Properties and Uses. — Musk is a stimulant to the nervous and vascu- 
 lar system, and an irricjint to the stomach, deranging its functions; also 
 said to possess narcotic properties secondarily. From its influence on 
 the nervous system it is termed a powerful antispasmodic; and has 
 been used with, advantage in typhus and low forms of fever, obstinate 
 hiccough, pertussis,, epilepsy, chorea, hysteria, asthma, palpitation of 
 the heart, colic, convulsions of infants, all spasmodic affections, etc. 
 United with ammonia it has been used with success in stopping the 
 progress of gangrene. Fifteen grains of Musk, combined with extract 
 of valerian, and alcoholic extract of cimicifuga, of each, fifteen grains, 
 and divided into fifteen pills, will be found beneficial in pneumonia ac- 
 companied by delirium, and in the involuntary ijiovements observed in 
 low typhoid fevers. One pill may be given every hour or two, until 
 there is a marked improvement in the symptoms. In small doses Musk 
 is hypnotic. If its use is long-continued it imparts its peculiar odor to 
 the secretions. It should always be given in substance, either in the 
 form of pill or emulsion. Dose from five to twenty grains, every two 
 or three hours. Niter, cochineal, of each, two grains. Musk one grain, 
 mix, and form a powder. Thjs powder, given and repeated every two 
 or three hours, is said to be very useful in some low forms of fever, itnd 
 in febrile or inflammatory aifeetions with spasmodic action or delirium. 
 An artificial Musk is prepared, by carefully adding, drop by drop, three 
 parts of fuming nitric acid to one of unrectified oil of amber. The acid 
 is decomposed, and the oil converted into an acid resin, which must be 
 kneaded under pure water, until all excess of acid is removed. The 
 substance which remains is of a yellowish-brown color, viscid, and an 
 odor similar to Musk, for which it may be used as a substitute, in doses 
 of from fifteen to thirty grains. A tincture of Musk is made by macer- 
 ating one part of Musk in four parts of alcohol (or ether). The dose 
 is from twenty to forty minims. M. Hannoa, on account of the high 
 price of Musk, and its liability to adulteration, has sought for a vegeta- 
 ble' substitute, which he thinks he has found in a Columbian plant, cul- 
 tivated in Belgium, the Mimulus Moschatus, which plant yields an 
 essential oil by distillation. In doses of two or throe drops, this oil exerts 
 an e.norgetic excitant action on the intestinal canal, and on the brain. 
 In a state of health it caused vertigo, cephalalgia, dryness in the fauces, 
 epigastric weigh t. and eructations. He believes it may replace the animal 
 Musk, and may be given in hysteria and analogous complaints, in doses 
 
534 Materia Medica. 
 
 of from two to four drops in the twenty-four hours. He calls it Vege 
 table Musk. 
 
 MUCUNA PEUEIBJSrS. (Juckende Mucuna.) 
 
 Cowhage. 
 
 Wat. Ord. — Pabacese. Sex. Syst. — Diadelphia Decandria. 
 
 THE HAIES FROM THE PODS. 
 
 ' Description.^-Thia is a perennial plant, with a fibrous root, and a twin-. 
 ing, h.erbaceous, much-branched stem, of considerable length. Leaves 
 alternate, pinnately trifoliate, distant, on long petioles ; leaflets entire, 
 ovate, acute, smooth above, hairy beneath ; lateral ones oblique at the 
 base, middle one slightly rhomboidal. Flowers rather large, have a 
 disagreeable alliaceous odor, disposed in axillary, lax, many-flowered, 
 interrupted racemes, a foot to a foot and a half long. Corolla papilion- 
 aceous ; vexilluni cordate, incumbent on the wings, much shorter than 
 them and the keel, without callosities, flesh -colored ; wings oblong- 
 linear, connivent, purple or violet ; keel or carina straight below, 
 slightly falcate in the upper part, terminated by a smooth, polished, 
 acute beak, greenish -white. Stamens diadelphous (9 and 1) alternately 
 longer ; anthers alternately longer, ovate. Calyx campanulate, bila- 
 biate, with two very caducous bracteoles as long as the tube, hairy, 
 pink, bilabiate with narrow lanceolate segments-; upper lip broad, 
 entire, or emarginate ; lower, trifid, middle segment the largest. ^ Style 
 long, slender, hairy below ; stigma small. Legume about three inches 
 long, as thick as the finger, closely covered with strong," brown, sting- 
 ing hairs. Seeds oblong, variegated, with a white hil.um. — L. 
 
 History. — This plant inhabits the West Indies, and other tropical 
 parts of South America-; it is found in woods, along river courses, upon 
 fences, and in waste, neglected places. The Bast Indian species, Mu- 
 cuna Prurita, is entirely distinct from the one under consideration. 
 The oflS.cinal part of the plant is the hair of the pods, which are gener- 
 ally imported into this country attached to the pod, and from which 
 they are carefully removed, so that they do not fasten to the operator's 
 hands. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Cowhage is a mechanical anthelmintic, acting 
 by Irritating the body of the worms ; its decoction, or tincture, has uo 
 anthelmintic properties. It is used in the treatment of intestinal 
 worms, which are expelled alive. It has no effect on tenia, but ap- 
 pears more serviceable in removing the lumbrici and ascarides. Dose, 
 from one drachm to half an ounce in syrup or molasses, and followed, 
 a few hours afterward, by a purgative. The application of oil is the 
 best to allay the heat and itching it produces when rubbed on the skin. 
 Cowhage has been recommended in the form of an ointment, as a cuta- 
 neous irritant, in the place of croton-oil, and tartar-emetic, also as a 
 good medium for the endermic application of various substances, as 
 muriate of morphia. The proportions are, seven grains and a half of 
 the hairs of Cowhage to an ounce of lard. This must be rubbed in 
 from ten to twenty minutes ; seven or eight grains are usually suflS- 
 cient. 'The immediate effect is the production of a sensation resem- 
 bling stinging with nettles ; but the burning sensation, and the itching 
 diminish during the friction, and entirely pass off in less than half an 
 hour. The skin generally becomes covered with white, flat papulae, 
 which soon disappear, leaving a sensation of heat. It produces no in- 
 convenience, and children bear it easily. 
 
Myrica Cerifera. 53E 
 
 MYEICA CEEIFEEA. (Wachsgagel.) 
 
 Bayberry. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Myricacese. Sex. Syst. — ^Dioecia Tetrandi-ia. 
 
 THE BARK AND WAX. BAYBERRY WAX. 
 
 Description.— Thi^ plant, known also by the names of Wax Myrtle, 
 Waxberry, etc., is a branching, half-evergreen shrub, one to twelve feet 
 In height, coverbd with a grayish bark. Leaves glabrous, cuneate- 
 lanceolate, rather acute or obtuse, distinctly petiolate, margin entire, 
 but more frequently remotely dentate, particularly toward the end, 
 paler, with distinct veinlets beneath, generally twisted or revolute in 
 their mode of growth, shining, resinous, dotted on both sides, an inch 
 and a half to two and a half inches in length, half an inch to three- 
 quarters wide. Flowers appear in May, before the leaves are fully ex- 
 panded. Males grow in aments, are sessile, erect, six to nine lines in 
 length ; originating from the sides of the last year's twigs. Every 
 flower is formed by a concave rhomboidal scale, containing three or 
 four pairs of roundish anthers on a branched foot-stalk. Females on a 
 different shrub, less than half the size of the males, consist of narrower 
 scales, with each an ovate ovary, two filiform styles. To these aments 
 succeed clusters or aggregations of small globular fruits, resembling 
 berries, which are at first green, but finally become nearly white, and 
 consist of a hard stone inclosing a dicotyledonous kernel, studded on its 
 outside with small, black grains, resembling fine gunpowder, over 
 which is a crust of dry, greenish-white wax, fitted to the grains, giving 
 the surface of the fruit a granulated appearance. Fruit persistent for 
 two or three years. — JJ. — P. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — This plant is found in dry woods, or in open fields, from 
 Canada to Florida. The bark of the root is the officinal part ; boiling 
 water extracts its astringent principles, and alcohol its stimulating. 
 According to George M. Hambright it contains albumen, tannic acid, 
 gallic acid, starch, gum, red coloring matter, extractive matter, volatile 
 oil (traces), an acrid resin soluble in alcohol or ether, an astringent 
 resin soluble in alcohol, insoluble in ether ; myricinic acid (a peculiar 
 principle possessing properties analogous to saponin), ligneous fiber ; 
 salts of potassa, salts of lime, protoxide of iron, magnesia, silicic acid. 
 (Am. Jour. Pharm., May, 1863, p. 193.) As met with in the shops, the 
 bark is in curved or quilled pieces from one to six or seven inches long, 
 covered with a thin, grayish mottled epidermis, with slight transverse 
 fissures, beneath which the true bark is of a dull reddish-brown color, 
 rugged, darker internally, breaking rapidly with a short fracture, and 
 giving, when pulverized, a light brown powder, of a pungent, peculiar 
 spicy odor, a bitter taste succeeded 'by astringency, acridity, and a sting- 
 ing sensation which gradually extends to the fauces, where it leaves an 
 unpleasant feeling and a sense of constriction ; it is powerfully sternu- 
 tatory, excites cough, and forms a dense froth when briskly agitated 
 with water. Water takes up its active properties ; diluted alcohol is 
 its best menstruum. The root should be collected late in the fall, 
 cleansed from dirt andibreign substances, and then, while fresh, pound- 
 ed with a hammer or club to separate the bark, which should be thor- 
 oughly dried without exposure to a wet or moist atmosphere, then pul- 
 verized, and kept in darkened and well-closed vessels. 
 
 The wax is removed from the berries by boiling them in water, upon 
 the top of which it floats, and from which it is removed when it has 
 
536 Materia M.edica. 
 
 become cold and hardened ; it is a concrete oil or fatty substance, of a 
 pale-green color, with a tendency to dirty gray, of moderate hardness 
 and consistence, having the tenacity of beeswax, but more brittle and 
 hot so unctuous to the touch, of a faintly balsamic and pleasant odor 
 which is increased by burning it, and of an astringent, bitterish taste. 
 It fuses at a temperature of 109° P., burns with a clear, white flame, 
 producing little smoke, and has the specific gravity 1.0150. Water 
 does not act upon it; boiling alcohol dissolves one-twentieth of its 
 weight, but deposits it again upon cooling ; hot ether dissolves about 
 one-fourth of its weight, and on cooling, deposits it in crystalline plates 
 like spermaceti ; the ether becomes green, leaving the wax nearly 
 white; oil of turpentine, aided by heat, dissolves it sparingly; alkalies 
 and acids act upon it nearly as upon beeswax. Sulphuric acid, assisted 
 by heat, dissolves about one-twelfth of its weight, and converts it into 
 a thick, dark-brown mass. A bushel of Bayberries will yield about 
 four pounds of the wax, which by saponification yields stearic, mar- 
 garic, and oleic acids, and glycerin ; its formula is Cje Oje Hj. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Bayberry Bark is astringent and stimulant, 
 and as such is valuable in debilitated conditions of mucous membranes; 
 in drachm doses, it is apt to occasion emesis. The bark has been suc- 
 cessfully employed in scrofula, jaundice, diarrhea, dysentery, and other 
 diseases where astringent stimulants were indicated. The powdered 
 bark, combined with bloodroot, forms an excellent application to indo-^ 
 lent ulcers, and has likewise been employed as a snuff for the cure of 
 some forms of nasal polypus. In the form of poultice, with elm, or 
 alone, it is a valuable application to scrofulous tumors or ulcers. The 
 decoction is beneficial as a gargle in sore mouth and throat, and is of 
 service in injection, in leucorrhea and fistula, and also as a wash foi 
 ulcers, tinea-capitis, etc. It also forms an excellent gum wash, for 
 tender, spongy, and bleeding gums. The leaves are reputed astrin- 
 gent, and useful in scurvy and spasmodic affections. Probably the M. 
 Pennsylvanica, M. Oarolinensis, and M. Gale, possess similar properties. 
 Bayberry or Myrtle wax, has been used by Dr. Pahnestock in epidemic 
 dysentery with typhoid symptoms, with considerable success ; it pos- 
 sesses mild astringent properties with some narcotic. It is also used 
 in the form of plaster, as an application to scrofulous and other ulcers. 
 Dose of the powdered bark, from twenty to thirty grains ; of the wax, 
 one drachm ; of the decoction of the leaves or bark, from two to four 
 fluidounces. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Cataplasma MyricsB ; Decoctum Myricse ; Extractum Myr- 
 icas; Emplastrum Myricse ; Lotio Lobelise Composita; Pulvis Asclepise 
 Compositus ; Pulvis Myricse Gompositus ; Unguentum Myricse. 
 
 MTEISTICA FEAGEANS. (Aechter Mushatnuszbaum.) 
 
 Nutmeg. — Muskatennuss. 
 Nat. Ord. — Myristicacese. Sex. Syst. — Dicecia Monadelphia. 
 
 THE KERNEL OF THE FRUIT. 
 
 Description. — This is a tree from twenty to tweinty-five feet high, 
 having a grayish -brown, somewhat smooth bark, abounding in a yellow 
 juice ; branches spreading, in whorls. Leaves alternate on petioles from 
 half to three-fourths of an inch long, plane above, or oblong, approach- 
 ing to elliptical, subbifarious, glabrous, rather obtuse at the base, acu 
 
Myeistica Fragrans. 537 
 
 niinate, quite entire, aromatic, dark-green and somewhat glossy above, 
 paler beneath, three to six inches long. i?7o!cers dioecious, small, in 
 axillary, subumbellate racemes, sometimes forked, or compound. 
 Peduncles and pedicels glabrous, the lattet having a quickly deciduous, 
 ovate bract at its summit, often pressed close to the flower. Male 
 flowers, three to five or more on a peduncle. Calyx urceolate, thick, 
 fleshy, clothed with a very indistinct reddish pubescence, dingy pale- 
 yellow, cut into three erect, or ereeto-pStent teeth. Filaments incor- 
 ported into a thickened, whitish cylinder, about as long as the calyx, 
 the upper half covered by about ten linear-oblong, two-celled anthers, 
 free at their base, opening longitudinally. Female flowers scarcely dif- 
 ferent from the male, except that the pedicel is very frequently soli- 
 tary. Pistils solitary, shorter than the calyx, broadly-ovate, a little 
 tapering upward into a short style, bearing a two-lobed persistent 
 stigma. Fruit a fleshy pericarp, nearly spherical, of the size, and some- 
 what of the shape of a small pear; flesh astringent, yellowish, almost 
 white within, four or five lines thick, opening into two, nearly equal, 
 longitudinal valves. Arillus (mace) thick, between horny and fleshy, 
 much laciniated, folded and anastomosing toward the extremity, almost 
 enveloping the nut, and so tightly as to form inequalities on its surface ; 
 when fresh, brilliant scarlet ; when dry, much more horny, of a yel- 
 lowish-brown color, very brittle. Nut oval or broadly-ovate, with 
 a hard-rugged, dark-brown, glossy shell, pale, smooth within, about 
 half a line thick. Seed or nutmeg oval, pale-brown, quite smooth when 
 fresh, but soon becomes shriveled, with irregular, vertical lines or fur- 
 rows on its surface. Its substance or albumen is firm, fleshy, whitish, 
 being traversed by veins of a red-brown color, abounding in oil. ^ear 
 the base of the albumen, imbedded in a cavity in its substance, is the 
 embryo, which is small, fleshy, yellowish-white, rounded below, and 
 where is found the hemispherical radicle; cotyledons of two, large, 
 somewhat foliaceous, plicate lobes, in the center of which is seen the 
 plumule. — L. 
 
 History. — This tree has received several botanical names, as M. Offi- 
 cinalis, Linn., M. Moschata, Thunberg, M. Aromatica, Lamarck, and M. 
 Fragrans, Houttuyn ; and as this last is the one now more generally re- 
 ceived by botanists, I have adopted it in the present edition. The Nut- 
 meg-tree is indigenous to the Molucca Isles, and is raised in Sumatra, 
 French Gruiana, the Mauritius, and various West Indian islands. The 
 Nutmeg-tree is propagated by planting the uninjured seed ; when it 
 has attained the age of about nine years, it commences to blossom, and 
 continues to yield fruit for about three-quarters of a century, requiring 
 hardly any attention from its cultivators. In the Banda Isles there are 
 three harvests annually, the principal one in July or August, in 
 November, and in March or April. The ripe fruit is gathered by 
 means of a barb attached to a long stick ; the mace or arillus separated 
 from the nut, and both separately cured. — P. The kernel of the fruit, 
 or nutmeg, and the arillus of the nut, or mace, are the ofiBcinal parts ; 
 they are imported from the Bast Indies, from Europe, and a small por- 
 tion from the West Indies. 
 
 The Nutmegs, previous to exportation, undergo a process of curing , 
 to preserve them, and protect them from the attacks of insects; the 
 nuts are exposed to the sun for four or six days, and afterward smoke- 
 dried for several weeks at about 140° F.; when thoroughly dried the 
 kernel rattles in the shell, which is then cracked with a wooden mallet, 
 and the perfect nuts selected ; these are then covered with dry lime, or 
 
638 Materia Medica. 
 
 steeped for a time in a thick mixture of lime and water ; the former is 
 considered the preferable plan. ^Nutmegs are of a somewhat globular 
 or elliptical shape. The finer kinds are small, short, nearly round, firm, 
 heavy, externally marked with reticulated furrows, and lightish brown 
 or white, from having been dipped for preseryation in milk of lime ; 
 internally grayish-red, and beautifully marbled with darker brownish-red 
 veins, from which oil may be easily expressed with the point of a warm 
 knife. They have a strong, peculiar, delightfully fragrant odor, and a 
 powerful, bitter, warm aromatic taste. The virtues are extracted by 
 alcohol or ether. Acc'ording to Bonastre, they contain 54 per cent, of 
 lignin, 24 of stearin, 7.6 of olein, 6.0 of volatile oil, 2.4 of starch, 1 
 of gum, and 0.8 of an acid substance. By submitting Nutmegs and 
 water to distillation, the volatile oil may be obtained. The small, round, 
 heavy Nutmeg is esteemed superior to those which are larger, longer, 
 lighter, less marbled, and not so oleaginous. It makes a grayish-brown, 
 somewhat fatty powder. All inferior Nutmegs may be recognized by 
 the above description. 
 
 The powder of Nutmegs beaten to a pulp with a little water, and 
 pressed between heated plates, yields from ten to thirty per cent, of a 
 fragrant, orange-colored, concrete oil, commonly, but incorrectly called 
 Oil of Mace. It may also be obtained by distillation of the nutmegs 
 bruised, either with water, or with bisulphuret of carbon. It is the 
 Myristicce Adeps of the Edinburgh and present British Pharmacopoeias, 
 and the Myristiece Oleum of the former London. The best quality of 
 this oil is imported from the Bast Indies in stone jars ; it is in rectangu- 
 lar cakes, enveloped in the leaves of some plant. It has the consistence 
 of suet, and possesses the odor and taste of the Nutmeg! It is soluble 
 in four parts of boiling alcohol, which deposits the solid part of the oil, 
 myristicin, in silky crystals. The crude fat likewise contains a soft, 
 yellowish or brownish oily substance, soluble in cold alcohol or ether, 
 and a volatile oil. Myristicin is insoluble in cold alcohol or ether, molts 
 at 88°, and is a compound of Myristicic acid and glycerin. An inferior 
 ' concrete oil is prepared in Holland from spoiled Nutmegs. An artificial 
 preparation is made by mixing together various proportions of tallow, 
 ' spermaceti, etc., flavoring it with the essential oil of Nutmeg, and color- 
 ing it with saffron. 
 
 After the fruit of the Nutmeg-tree is gathered, the outside fleshy 
 pericarp is either thrown away, or made into a preserve, while the 
 arillus, being cautiously removed from the nut, is compressed, exposed 
 to the sun, and when dried, moistened with salt water, in order to aid 
 in its conservation, and is then packed into sacks, forming the mace of 
 Commerce. Mace is in single or double blades, compressed, irregularly 
 divided, smooth, somewhat flexible, of a cinnamon-yellow color, of an 
 odor analogous to that of the Nutmeg, and a warm, sharp, aromatic, 
 and fatty taste. — P. 
 
 The best mace is flaky and spread, and of a dingy yellow color. It 
 is seldom used in medicine. By distillation a volatile oil is obtained 
 which sinks in water; by pressure a fixed oil is procured, less concrete 
 than that of Nutmegs. Henry's analysis of mace found it to contain a 
 small amount of essential oil ; a fragrant red fat oil, which was dissolved 
 by ether and alcohol ; a fragrant yellow fat oil, insoluble in alcohol, but 
 dissolved by ether; alcohol extractive; amidin, and ligneous fiber with 
 lime. Indifferent mace may be knowr by its pale, whitish, or reddish 
 color, its' friability, and its feeble odor and taste. 
 
 Properties and. Uses. — Both Nutmeg and mace possess aromatic stimu 
 
MyROSPEEMUM PERTTIfBRUM. 539 
 
 lating properties, and are occasionally used, to remove flatulency, cor- 
 rect the nausea arising frOjn other drugs, and to allay nausea and 
 vomiting. The Nutmeg forms a very agreeable addition to various 
 drinks for convalescents, as well as to some articles of diet ; it is gen- 
 erally grated over them, or mixed with them. Applied locally, grated 
 Nutmeg mixed with lard has been found an excellent application in 
 piles — and the Nutmeg roasted is used in some parts of the country 
 internally, as a domestic remedy for leucorrhea. I have known the 
 following preparation to cure several eases of intermittent fever, and 
 have been assured of its almost universal success in this disease. It is 
 also recommended for the cure of other forms of fever. Char a Nut- 
 meg by holding it to the flame, and permitting it to burn by itself 
 without disturbance; when charred, pulverize it, combine it with an 
 equal quantity of burnt alum, and divide the mixture into three pow- 
 ders, ■ On the commencement of the chill give a powder — if this does, 
 not break it, give the second powder on the approach of the next chill, 
 and if not cured, the third powder must be given as the succeeding 
 chill comes on. Usually the first powder efl'ects a cure, and it is seldom 
 that the three powders are required. The bowels should always be 
 acted upon by a purgative previous to their administration. It is cer- 
 tainly deserving attention, though I do not pretend to account for its 
 action. Dose of Nutmeg or mace, from five to twenty grains. Larger 
 doses possess narcotic qualities, and in doses of two or three drachms, 
 dangerous symptoms have been produced. 
 Off. Prep. — Tinetura Lavandulae Composita. 
 
 MYEOSPEEMUM, PEEUIFEEUM. fPerubalsambaum.) 
 Balsam of Peru. — Peruanischer Balsam. 
 Nat. 0<i.^LeguminosaB (J)e Candolle) ; Amyridacese (Lindley'). Sex. 
 Syst. — Decandria Monogynia. ' 
 
 THE BALSAMIC EXUDATION OF MTROfiPERMUM PERUIFERUM. 
 
 Description. — This is the Myroxylofi Peruiferum of Linnaeus ; it is a 
 large tree, with a thick, straight, smooth trunk; a coarse, griy, com- 
 pact, heavy, granulated bark, of a pale straw color, filled with resin 
 which, according to its quantity, changes the color to citron, yellow, 
 •■ed, or dark-chestnut; smell and taste grateful, balsamic, aromatic. 
 Leaves pinnated ; leaflets alternate, of two, three, four, or even five pairs, 
 ovate-lanceolate, acate, coriaceous, somewhat emarginate at the apex, 
 shining above, hairy on the underside, marked with transparent spots, 
 terminal one the same size as the others. Flowers in axillary racemes 
 ionger than the leaves. Calyx campanulate, nearly equally five-toothed, 
 with the odd tooth remote from the others. Petals five, white ; upper 
 reflexed, broad, roundish, emarginate; the other four distinct, linear- 
 lanceolate, reflexed, spreading. Stamens ten, distiijct, spreading, shorter 
 than the petals ; anthers mucronate. Samaras pendulous, straw-colored. 
 pedicellate, linear-oblong, about two inches in length, compressed, mem 
 branous, except at the apex which is obliquely rounded, clavate, one- 
 celled, one-seeded. Seed reniform, lying in yellow liquid balsam, which 
 hardens into resin.— i. Young plants have been raised from the seeds 
 of the Balsam of Peru tree, in the hot houses of England.— ioni. Pharm. 
 
 Jour., 1865. _, u ^v f 
 
 History.— Ahhon^h the above is generally considered to be the tree 
 
540 Materia Medica. 
 
 which yields Balsam of Peru, yet there has been some doubt as to the 
 characteristic species, and even at the present day the question is not 
 thoroughly determined. The balsam met -with in our markets, is not 
 constant in quality or appearance, owing very probably to its being 
 procured from several species of Myrospermum. The M. Peruiferum is 
 common to the forests of Peru, in low, warm, sunny situations near the 
 river Maranon, and in other portions of South America, flowering from 
 July to October. Quinquina is the name bestowed upon it by the na- 
 tives. The tree contains a large amount of balsamic juice, which is 
 copiously discharged when the bark is incised ; this is collected upon 
 rags, which when saturated, are placed in water. Upon boiling, the 
 balsam rises to the surface, from which it is removed, and jDut into ves- 
 sels for purification and exportation. It generally reaches this country 
 in tin cans, or pear-shaped earthenware pots. 
 
 Balsam of Peru has a dark reddish-brown color in thin layers, black 
 in bulk, of the consistence of molasses, and having an agreeable bal- 
 samic odor, a hot, acrid, somewhat bitter taste, and the specific gravity 
 1.15. On exposure to the air it does not dry up ; and is inflammable, 
 burning with a fuliginous flame, and giving out an aromatic odor. It 
 is soluble in a large proportion of alcohol, but only partially in ether; 
 it is miscible with water by means of mucilage. Boiling water removes 
 from it a crystalline acid, supposed by Stolze to be benzoic acid, and by 
 Fremy, cinnamic. Various analyses have been made, but none of theffl 
 are satisfactory. Supposed to contain an oily substance, called Cinna- 
 meine, resinous matter, benzoic acid, extractive, moisture, etc. 
 
 G. L. Ulex, Jour. Pharm. & Trans. Vol. XII., p. 549, from Archiv. der 
 Pharmacie, Jan. 1853, gives the following mode of detecting the purity 
 of Balsam Peru :' " Ten drops of Peru balsam are mixed in a watch- 
 glass with twenty drops of concentrated sulphuric acid, and then diluted 
 with water. If the balsam is pure, a brittle resin is thus obtained, but 
 when adulterated with castor oil and similar substances, this residue is 
 proportionately soft. Sulphurous acid is likewise disengaged, which is 
 not the case when the adulterating substance is copaiba balsam." "To 
 detect copaiba balsam, the substance is to be heated in a small tube 
 retort, until a few drops of a yellow, oily liquid have passed over, which 
 takes place at a temperature of 374° P. This distillate is acid and soon 
 deposits crystals of cinnamic acid. If the balsam was pure it solidifies 
 completely, but when adulterated with copaiba, the crystals float in 
 copaiba oil. The distillate is then to be saturated with caustic potash, 
 and the solution of cinnamate removed by means of blotting paper. 
 The drops of oil which are then left mix quietly with iodine if the bal ' 
 sam was pure, but cause an immediate explosion if copaiba waspresent 
 in it." Mr. W. J. Jenks gives the following simple method for detect- 
 ing the true Balsam of Peru from the false or adulterated : Place a drop 
 or two of the article on the tongue, if it be true balsam it produces a 
 liquid diffused impression ; if the false (a solution of resin), the resin is 
 deposited on the tongue and on the back of the teeth. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 
 1867, p. 7. 
 
 There is likewise a variety of Peruvian balsam, of a pale-yellowish 
 color, syrupy, highly fragrant, and of a bitterish, acrid, somewhat aro- 
 matic taste. It is called White Peruvian Balsam, and is obtained by 
 expressing the fruit. When dried, it constitutes the Dry Peruvian Bal- 
 sam, or Indian Opobalsamum, and is of a reddish, pulverizp,ble, resinoid 
 character. The fruit infused in rum, is used for several medicinal pur 
 poses by the natives, under the name of balsamito. 
 
Mykospermum ToujifertjIm. 541 
 
 I Properties and Uses. — Balsam of Peru possesses expectorant and stimu- 
 lating properties, acting more especially on mucous tissues, lessening 
 their secretions when profuse. It is useful in all chronic affections of 
 mucous tissues, as in catarrh, gonorrhea, mucous inflammation of the 
 stomach and bowels, chronic diarrhea and dysentery, leucorrhea, etc. 
 Externally, it forms an excellent application to obstinate ulcers, wounds, 
 ringworm of the scalp, and other cutaneous affections. It may' be ap- 
 plied alone, or in ointment made by melting it with an equal part by 
 weight of tallow. The dose is froin ten to thirty drops, and is best given 
 diffused in water by means of sugar and the yolk of egg, or gum Arabic. 
 Used in ointment with beet's marrow one ounce, sulphate of quinia ten 
 grains, balsam Peru one drachm, it forms an excellent tonic and stimu- 
 lant preparation for alopecia. 
 
 MYEOSPBEMUM TOLUIFBEUM. (Tolubalsambaum.) 
 
 Balsam of Tolu. — Tolutanischer Balsam. 
 
 Nat. Ora. — LeguminosEe. Sex. Syst. — Decandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE BALSAMIC EXUDATION OF MYROSPERMUM TOLUIFERUM. 
 
 Description^ — A full description of this tree has not been given: It is 
 supposed to be very like the preceding, differing as follows: Leaflets 
 thiii, membranous, obovate, taper-pointed ; terminal one larger than 
 the others. — I/. 
 
 History. — As with the preceding article, so with the present, it is in- 
 volved in considerable obscurity; it being-uncertain whether the same 
 trees which yield balsam of Peru, furnish likewise that of Tolu. Some 
 consider that the two balsams are derived from the same species, and 
 that the method of gathering, etc., causes their dissimilarity. 
 
 The M. Toluiferum, which is undoubtedly one species from which 
 Tolu is obtained, is found in many parts of South America, especially 
 on the elevated plains and mountains near Carthagena, Tolu, and in 
 the Magdalena province of Colombia. The Balsam is said to be ob- 
 tained by incisions made into the tree, from which it flows into wax 
 vessels placed for the purpose, and in which it solidifies. For the mode 
 of procuring Balsam of Tolu, see a paper by Mr. John Weir, in Lond. 
 Pharm. Jour., 1864, and Am. Jour. Pharm., 1864, p. 449. It is imported 
 from Carthagena in tin, earthen, and other vessels. When first received 
 in' this country it is soft and adhesive, but becomes solid and brittle by 
 time and exposure to the air, somewhat resembling resin, and with a 
 crystalline appearance. It has a pale, yellowish -red, or brown color, 
 an agreeable, vanilla-like, or benzoinic odor, and a sweetish, aromatic, 
 resinous taste. It softens when chewed, melts when heated, and when 
 burned evolves a fragrant odor. It is soluble in acohol, ether, and the 
 essential oils; and water at 212 P., takes up its cinnamic acid. It 
 yields very little volatile oil when distilled with water, and if the dis- 
 tillation be continued, its acid sublimes. Mr. Hatchett found, that 
 when he dissolved it in the smallest possible quantity of liquor-potassa, 
 it completely lost its own odor, and assumed a most fragrant smell, 
 somewhat resembling that'of the clove-pink. — T. Its chemical compo- 
 sition has not been satisfactorily ascertained. According to Premy it 
 consists of cinnameine, cinnamic acid, and resin, and the balsam resini- 
 fies with greater facility than the balsam of Peru, About eight parts 
 of volatile oil are obtained from four thousand parts of Tolu ; this oi) 
 
542 Matekia Medica. 
 
 contains a radical oil, Tolene, Cio Hj. Guibort states that as the balsam 
 solidifies, its odor becomes more feeble, but its quantity of cinnamic 
 acid is augmented, and which is probably owing to the action of th-e 
 atmosphere upon its oil effecting a chemical change. According to E. 
 Kopp, the solid resinous portion of the balsam consists of two resins 
 which have the composition of hydrated oxides of styracin ; styracin 
 being C^ Hie O4 — the a resin is, Hj O, C36 Hie ©6 ; and the b resin, 2 H, 
 0.^, C.,e His Og. Upon distillation Balsam of Tola yields benzoic ether, 
 and a hydrocarbon, Cu Hj, termed toluol. — W- A. Miller. 
 
 Gr. L. Ulex, Fharm. Jour, and Trans., p. 550, Vol. XII., from Archiv. 
 der Fharmaeie, Jan., 1853, gives the following mode of detecting the 
 purity of Balsam Tolu : " Pure Tolu Balsam, heated in sulphuric acid, 
 dissolves without any engagement of sulphurous acid, yielding a cher- 
 ry-red liquid, when, however, colophony, with which it is frequently 
 adulterated, is present, the substance blackens, swells up, and disen- 
 gages much sulphurous acid." 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Balsam of Tolu, like that of Peru, is a stimu- 
 lant, tonic, and expectorant, and may be used as a substitute for it, in 
 chronic catarrhs, and other pulmonary affections, not inflammatory in 
 their character. It is usually preferred on account of its more agree- 
 able flavor, and for which it is often added to cough-mixtures. The 
 balsam, dissolved in ether, and the vapor therefrom inhaled, is reputed 
 beneficial in coughs and bronchial affections of long standing. Two 
 parts of Tolu, three of almond-oil, four of gum Arabic, and sixteen oi 
 rose-water, make an excellent liniment for excoriated nipples. 1 ne 
 dose is from ten to thirty grains, frequently repeated, and given in 
 tincture, syrup, or similar to Balsam of Peru. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Diistura Sanguinarise Composita ; Syrupus Tolutar is ; 
 Tinctura Tolutani ; Tinctura Benzoini Composita. 
 
 MYETUS PIMENTA. (Nelkenpfefferbaum.) 
 
 Pimento. — Nelkenpfeffer. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Myrtacese. Sex. Syst. — Icosandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE UNRIPE BERRIES. 
 
 Description. — This tree, the Eugenia Pimenta of De Candolle, is an 
 evergreen, reaching to the height of twenty-five feet, or more ; trunk 
 erect, with many round branches toward the summit; twigs compressed, 
 the younger and the pedicles downy. Leaves opposite, entire, oblong 
 or oval, with pellucid dcfts, somewhat opaque, smqpth. Flowers small, 
 in axillary and terminal, trichotomous panicles; some flowers are four- 
 fid and subsessile in the forks of the panicle. Oalyx-tube nearly glo- 
 bose ; limb divided down to the ovary into four roundish segments. 
 Petals four, greenish-white. Stamens numerous, distinct; ovary two- 
 celled. Berry globose, one-seeded, black, the size of a pea. Embryo 
 roundish, with the cotyledons consolidated. — I/. 
 
 History. — The Allspice, or Pimento tree, is a native of South America, 
 and the West India Islands, especially Jamaica. The tree completes 
 its growth in about seven years, though fririt may be had from it in its 
 third year ; it fiourishes best in a limestone soil. The unripe berries 
 are the officinal part, and are more generally known by the name of 
 Allspice. Other names, as Jamaica Pepper, Bayberry, etc., have been 
 given to them. They are gathered just before maturity, thoroughlj 
 
Nabalus Albus. 543 
 
 dried, and then packed for foreign markets. Wiien these trees are in 
 blossom they emit a most delicious fragrance. 
 
 Pimento, or Allspice, when dried, becomes brownish-black, round, 
 wrinkled, and umbilicate at the apex. It consists of a hard, brittle ' 
 outer covering, which is yellowish internally, and envelopes two dark- 
 brown seeds. Its odor is strongly aromatic, and its taste, strong, hot, 
 aromatic, combining that of cinnamon, nutmegs, and cloves, whence is 
 derived its name, allspice. Boiling water takes up the aroma, and alco- 
 hol all the active properties. The infusion is brown, and has an acid 
 reaction on litmus paper. The berries are found to contain a volatile- 
 oil, which may be obtained by distillation, a green fixed oil, of a burn- 
 ing aromatic taste, a concrete, yellowish, flaky, oleaginous substance, 
 extract -containing tannic acid, gum, brown coloring-matter extracted 
 by potassa, resinous matter, extract containing sugar, malic and gallic 
 acids, lignin, salts, and moisture. The seeds contain only half the pro- 
 portion of volatile-oil, and three times as much astringent extract. 
 Braconnot's analysis differed from the above by Bonastre ; he found 
 volatile-oil, amylum, reddish wax, gum, azotized matter, citrate of 
 potassa, phosphate of potassa, and lignin. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Pimento is a hot, aromatic, stimulant, and car- 
 minative, and may be used where such agents are indicated. It is sel- 
 dom employed in medicine, but is used largely as a hot aromatic in 
 cookery ; and sometimes it is added to other medicines to render them 
 more agreeable. A tincture has been advised as a local remedy in 
 chilblains. Dose of the powder, from ten to thirty grains ; of the 
 tincture, from one to two fluidrachms ; of the oil, from two to five 
 drops. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Aqua Pimentse ; Tinctura G-uaiaci Ammoniata. 
 
 NABALUS ALBUS. (Weisser Hasenlattich.) 
 
 Lion's Foot. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Compositse ; Tribe, Cichoracese. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia 
 iSlqualis. 
 
 THE PLANT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also known as White-Lettuce, and Battle- 
 snake Boot, is the Prenanthes Albus of Linnseus, and is an indigenous 
 perennial herb, with a smooth, somewhat glaucous stem, corymbose- 
 paniculate at the summit, stout, purplish, often deeply so in spots, two 
 to four feet in height. Badical leaves angular-hastate, often more or 
 less deeply three to five-lobed ; uppermost cauline ones lanceolate ; be- 
 tween these the intermediate forms hastate and ovate, petiolate, all 
 irregularly dentate. Meads pendulous, glabrous ; involucre of eight 
 -inear scales, nine to twelve flowered ; scales purplish ; corollas whitish . 
 Pappus brown. — W. — &■ 
 
 There is a variety of the above plant, Nabalus Serpentaria, or Pre^ 
 nanthes Serpentaria, with rough dentate leaves, of which the radical aiu 
 palmate, the cauline with long foot-stalks, sinuate-pinnatifid, disposed 
 to be three-lobed, with the middle lobe three-parted, the upper lanceo- 
 late. Bacemes terminal, somewhat pahicled, short, nodding, with an 
 eight-cleft calyx, and twelve florets; it is about two feet high, with 
 purple flowers. — W. — G. 
 
 Mistory. — This plant is found in moist woods and shades, in rich 
 Boile, from New England to Iowa, and from Canada to Carolina, flow 
 
'544 Materia Medica. 
 
 ering in August. The variety W. Serpentaria is common to the moun- 
 tainous districts of Virginia, North Carolina, and other sections of the 
 United States, and is considered more active than the N. Alhus. The' 
 root, leaves, ^nd juice of the plant are employed. It has not been 
 analyzed. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Said to be an antidote to th^ bite of the rattle- 
 snake, and other poisonous serpents. The milky juice of the plant ie 
 taken internally, while the leaves steeped in water are to be applied to 
 the wound, and frequently changed. A decoction of the root, which is 
 bitter, has been successfully used in the bite of the rattlesnake, also ir. 
 dysentery. This plant is deserving further and more accurate investi- 
 gation. 
 
 NECTANDEA EODI^I. (Eodie Nectandra.) 
 
 Bebeeru. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — LauraceaB. Sex. Syst. — Dodecandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE ALKALOID CONTAINED IN THE BARK. 
 
 Description. — This is a magnificent forest tree, growing from sixty to 
 eighty feet in height, branching near the summit, and covered with a 
 smooth ash-gray bark. Leaves nearly opposite, smooth, shining, cori- 
 aceous, five or six inches long, two or three broad. Mowers obscure, 
 whitish -yellow, cordate, disposed in axillarj' panicles. Frjiit a globular 
 berry, about six inches in circumference, having a woody, grayish- 
 brown, speckled pericarp, and a seed with two large plano-convex 
 cotyledons, which is yellow when freshly cut, and possesses an acid 
 reaction and an intensely bitter taste. The fruit abounds in bitter 
 si&vch.—Schomhurgk. 
 
 History. — This tree is a native of British Guiana, and its bark has 
 been recently introduced by Dr. Eodie, as an energetic tonic and febri- 
 fiige. It is in flat pieces of one or two feet in length, from two to six 
 inches broad, and about four lines in thickness, hard, heavy,- brittle, 
 with a rough fibrous fracture, dark cinnamon-brown and rather smooth 
 internally, and covered externally with a brittle grayish -brown epider- 
 mis. It has little or no odor, but a strong persistent bitter taste, with 
 cousiderable astringency. The fruit is about the size of a small peach, 
 somewhat heart-shaped, or inversely ovate, slightly flattened, the out- 
 side coat being frangible, and the kernel pulpy ; it is exceedingly bit- 
 ter. The sulphate of Bebeerina is obtained from the bark and seeds. 
 The process for obtaining it is essentially the same as that for sulphate 
 of quinia. The bark is at first freed of tannin and coloring-matter by 
 boiling it with carbonate of soda; it is then exhausted by boiling in 
 water acidulated with sulphuric acid, and the alkaline matter is thrown 
 down from the concentrated acid liquor by means of carbonate of soda. 
 The impure bases thus separated are washed, dissolved, and neutral- 
 ized with weak sulphuric acid, and the solution is treated with animal 
 charcoal, concentrated, filtered again, and finally evaporated in thin 
 layers in flat vessels. Any excess of acid must be carefully avoided, 
 otherwise the salt will be charred on evapprating it to dryness. 
 
 The sulphate of Bebeerina of the shops, contains both Bebeerina 
 and sipeerina, another alkaline principle also discovered by Dr. Eodie. 
 It occurs in thin, somewhat glittering scales of a brownish-yellow 
 color (sometimes with a greenish tinge), and forming a yellow powder. 
 It is inodc.ous, and has an intensely bitter, persistent, and somewhat 
 
Nectandra ftoui/Ei. 545 
 
 astringent taste. Like tlie sulphate of quinia, it requires an excess of 
 acid for its perfect solution ; hence the*addition of a few drops of di- 
 luted sulphuric acid renders its solution more complete. It is also 
 soluble in spirit. When well prepared, the scale-like particles should 
 be glittering and translucent, and ought, when incinerated to leave no 
 ash, or a mere trace only. In this way sulphate of lime, the only im- 
 portant impurity which has been found in: it, may be easily detected. 
 When carefully dried it contains 90.83 per cent, of base, and 9.17 of 
 sulphuric acid. 
 
 Pure Bebcerina may be obtained as follows : Decompose the com- 
 mercial sulphate by ammonia, and carefully wash the alkaliae precipi- 
 tate with cold water, and while still moist, triturate it with an equal 
 weight of freshly precipitated and moist hydrated oxide of lead. The 
 magma thus formed is then dried over the water bath, and the alkali 
 is taken up by absolute alcohol. On distilling off the spirit, the organic 
 base is left in the form of a transparent orange-yellow resinous mass, 
 containing sipeerina. This is dried, pulverized, and treated with suc- 
 cessive portions of pure ether, which dissolves the Bebeorina, leaving 
 the sipeerina behind. The ether is difitilled and evaporated, and pure 
 Bebeerina is obtained in the form of a translucent, amorphous, but ho- 
 mogenous resinous-looking substance, of a pale-yellow color, and pos- 
 sessed of all the properties of an organic alkali. Bebeerina does not 
 crystallize; it is very soluble in alcohol, less so in ether, and very sparingly 
 in water. When heated it fuses ; and the heat being continued, it swells 
 ap, giving off vapors of a strong peculiar odor, and burns without resi- 
 due. It forms non-crystailizable salts with acids. With bichromate 
 of potassa and sulphuric acid it gives a black resin, and a yellow with 
 nitric acid. 
 
 M. A. De Planta has still further purified Bebeerina, and obtained it 
 in a colorless powder, inodorous, unalterable in the air, highly electric, 
 very soluble in water, but dissolving more easily in ether, and in all 
 proportions in alcohol. He takes the Bebeerina obtained by the above 
 process of Maclagan and Tilley, and treats it with acetic acid, which 
 imperfectly dissolves it ; to the filtered liquor he adds an excess of 
 acetate of lead, and then potassa, until a precipitate is formed. The 
 combination of Bebeerina and oxide of lead, which is thus obtained, 
 is dried in a water-bath, and exhausted with ether. On distilling 
 away the ether, after filtering, the Bebeerina is left in the form of a 
 syrupy mass, having a slightly yellow color. It is dissolved in abso- 
 lute alcohol, and the solution in a concentrated state, added drop toy 
 drop, to cold water kept constantly agitated. It forms a thick precipi- 
 tate, which may be collected on a filter, washed and dried without 
 agglutinating. 
 
 Drs. Maclagan and Gamgee have procured a new alkaloid from the 
 wood of the tree, which they have named Nectandra, C^ H23 O4 N ; it 
 is in the form of a non-crystalline powder, intensely bitter, fusing in 
 boiling water, very soluble in chloroform, and less soluble in ether than 
 Bebeerina. They have also detect two other bases but have not yet 
 positively determined their characters. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Bebeerina and its sulphate is a tonic and anti- 
 periodic, and is applicable to the same forms of disease as those in 
 which quinia is employed. It increases the appetite, raises the pulse 
 a little, and improves the tone of the constitution generally, with but 
 litiie tendency to produce ringing in the ears, headache, vertigo, or 
 other nervous symptoms, as is the case with quinia. except when given 
 35 
 
646 MA'fBKiA Medica. 
 
 iD large or frequently repeated doses. It has been used with success 
 in intermittent and remittent fevers, but is inferior to quinia, although 
 a valuable substitute for it. It has been found of decided benefit in 
 periodic headache and other periodic neuralgias, as well as in atonic 
 dyspepsia, and general debility. It seems to be specially applicable 
 to persons of a strumous or phthisical habit, and in the latter stages 
 of phthisis has strengthened the systein, improved the appetite, and 
 checked night-sweats. In menorrhagia, strumous ophthalmia, and in 
 pregnancy requiring tonic treatment, it has been highly prized by many 
 practitioners. The dose of Sulphate of Bebeerina is from one to three 
 grains as a tonic, and from five to twenty as a febrifuge. It may be 
 given in pill with conserve of roses, or in solution. Half a drachm of 
 the sulphate, twenty-five minims of elixir vitriol, a fluidounce each, of 
 syrup, and tincture of orange peel, and four fluid ounces of water, 
 mixed together, form an excellent solution for general tonic purposes; 
 of this a tablespoonful may be given three times a day, each dose con- 
 'taining about two and a half grains of the salt. Dose of the salt from 
 two to five grains. 
 
 Off. JPrep. — Bebeerinse Sulphas. 
 
 NBPBTA CATAEIA. (Gemeine Katzenminze.) 
 
 Catnip. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Lamiacese. Sex. Syst. — Didynamia Gymnospermia. 
 
 ' THE TOPS AND LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — Catnip or Catmint is a perennial herb, with an erect, 
 square, hoary-tomentose, branching stem, two or three feet in height. 
 I/eaves opposite, cordate, oblong, petiolate, coarsely crenate-serrate, 
 covered with a soft hoary down, paler beneath. Flowers many, white, 
 or purplish, in whorled spikes, which are slightly pedunculated, lower 
 lip dotted with crimson. Calyx dry, striate, tubular, obliquely five- 
 toothed. Corolla naked and dilated in the throat, two-lipped, twice the 
 length of the calyx ; upper lip rather concave, erect, notched, or two- 
 cleft ; lower spreading, three-cleft, middle lobe largest, crenate. Stamens 
 four, ascending under the upper lip ; anthers approximate in pairs, the 
 cells divergent.— (t. — W. 
 
 History. — Catnip is a very common, naturalized plant, growing about 
 old buildings and fences, and on waste and cultivated lands, flowering 
 from June to September. It is a native of "Europe. The tops and 
 leaves are officinal ; they have a strong, characteristic odor, not very 
 grateful to many persons, and a peculiar, bitterish taste. Their vir- 
 tues are imparted to boiling water by infusion. It appears to be very 
 much liked by cats, preventing, it is said, attacks of fits to which they 
 are subject, and also producing an aphrodisiac influence upon them. 
 Its active constituents are essential oil, and that variety of tannic acid 
 which strikes a green color with the ferruginous salts. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Catnip is diaphoretic and carminative in warm 
 infusion ; tonic, when cold. It is also antispasmodic, emmenagogue, 
 and diuretic. In warm infusion it is used in febrile diseases as a dia- 
 phoretic, and to promote the action of other diaphoretics, as well as to 
 allay spasmodic action and produce sleep : it is also given as a carmin- 
 ative and antispasmodic in the flatulent colic of children ; and as an 
 emmenagogue or uterine tonic, it has proved decidedly beneficial in 
 
Nepeta Glechoma. 547 
 
 amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea, and has like;yvise bpeji successfullj' em- 
 ployed in nervous headache, hysteria, and nervous irritability. The 
 leaves are reputed beneficial in toothache, when masticated and applied 
 to the decayed tooth. A warm infusion of safiron and Catnip is a very 
 popular and beneficial remedy in colds, febrile and exanthematous dis- 
 eases to which infants and young children are subject. A fluid-extract 
 of Catnip, valerian, and scullcap forms an excellent agent for the cure 
 of nervous headache, restlessness, and many other nervous symptoms. 
 The expressed juice of the herb, given in doses of a tablespoonful two 
 or three times a day, is decidedly a superior remedy in amenorrhea, 
 often restoring the menstrual secretion after other means have failed. 
 The leaves are fre4uently used in fomentation as a local application to 
 painful and inflammatory affections. Of the dried leaves in powder, 
 two drachms may be given for a dose in some liquid, as cold or warm 
 water ; the infusion, made by adding an ounce of the dried herb to a 
 pint of boiling water, covering it, and allowing it to stand for a few 
 minutes, may be drank as freely as the stomach will permit. 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Nepetse. 
 
 NEPETA GLECHOMA. (Bpheublattriger Gundermann.) 
 
 Ground Ivy. 
 
 Nat Ord. — ^Lamiacese. Sex. Syst. — Didynamia Gymnospermia. 
 
 the leaves. 
 
 Description. — This plant, the Glechoma Hederacea of Linnseus, is a 
 perennial, gray, hairy herb, with a prostrate, creeping stem, radicating 
 at base, square, and from a few inches to one or two feet long. Leaves 
 petiolate, opposite, roundish, cordate-reniform, cirenate, hairy, and 
 glaucous on both sides ; floral leaves of the same form. Flowers bluish- 
 purple, about three together in axillary whorls. Corolla about three 
 times as long as the calyx, with a variegated throat. Calyx long, 
 curved, villous, the limb oblique, the teeth lanceolate-subulate, the up- 
 per being the largest. Bracts scarcely as long as the pedicel. The 
 two anthers of each pair of stamens meet with their two divaricate cells, 
 forming the appearance of a cross. — L. — W. — Cr. 
 
 History. — This plant is common to Europe and the United States, 
 where it is found growing in shady places, waste grounds, dry ditches, 
 fences and hedges, and on the sides of moist meadows, flowering in 
 May and August. The leaves are the parts used, and yield their vir- 
 tues, by infusion to boiling water. They have an unpleasant odor, and 
 a harsh, bitterish, slightly aromatic taste. It is also called Gill-over- 
 the-ground. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Ground Ivy is stimulant, tonic, and pectoral, 
 and has been recommended in diseases of the lungs, and kidneys, 
 asthnia, jaundice, hypochondria, and monomania. An infusion of the 
 leaves is highly recommended in lead colic, and it is stated that painters 
 who make use of it often are never troubled with tl^at affection. The 
 fresh juice snuffed up the nose, is said to cure the most inveterate head- 
 ache. Dose of the powdered leaves, from half a drachm to a drachm , 
 of the infiision one or two fluidounces. 
 
548 Materia Medioa. 
 
 NICOTIANA TABACUM. (Taback.) 
 Tobacco. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Solanacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 I 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — This is an annual herb, with a long, fibrous root, and aa 
 erect, round, hairy, viscid stem, branched toward the top, and four to 
 six feet in height. Alternate leaves sessile, ovate or lanceolate, acumi- 
 nate, deeurrent, viscid, pale-green, one or two feet long, six or eight 
 inches broad. Mowers rose-colored, in panicles at the ends of the stem 
 and branches. Bracts linear, acute. Galyx urceolate, hairy, glutinous, 
 half as long as the corolla, ending in five acute segments. Corolla fun- 
 nel-shaped, swelling toward the top, the border dull-red, expandi ng, with 
 five acute, criinped lobes. Stamens five; filaments inclined to one side, 
 with oblong anthers. Ovary ovate ; style long and slender ; stigma 
 capitate, cloveia. Capsule ovate, invested with the caiyx, two-celled, 
 two-valved, but opening crosswise at top, loculicidal; seeds very nu- 
 merous, small, somewhat reniform, attached to a fleshy receptacle. — L. 
 —W.~Ii. 
 
 History. — Tobacco is a native of the hotter parts of America, and 
 was first exported to Europe in 15'8t), by Sir "Walter Ealeigh. At pres- 
 ent it is raised in many paf't's of the world, and especially in the Mid- 
 dle States Of this country'. The strongest and more commonly-used 
 Tobacco is raised in Virginia, but the Cuban or Havana leaf is prefer- 
 red by smokel-s. The plant flowers in July, In cultivating Tobacco 
 the seeds are thickly sown in beds of prepared soil ; th« young plants 
 from which are reset in the last month of spring, into fields, where 
 they are placed ib rows at distances of two, three or four feet apart ; 
 and in order to obviate the flowering and consequent fdrtaatioB ' of 
 seed, the tops are removed frbln time to time. Close vigilance is re- 
 i3[<air'ed uiitil the plant is ready for harvest, which is genefally in the 
 llaSt summer month, when the matured plants are cut off just above 
 their roots, hung up in bundles under sheds to dry, aftet whicb the 
 'leaves are retnoved from the stalks and packed up fol* the market. 
 There are several varieties of this plant, all of which appear to possess 
 analogous virtues. Soil and the peculiar method adopted in raising 
 the plant, are said to influence its quality. Commercial Tobacco is 
 Usually of a dark-brown, or orange-broVn color, though its shades dif- 
 ffeir, of a powerful, heavV, disagreeable odor, and a peculiar, bitter, 
 BfJ6keriing ta&te, followed by a very disagreeable Sense of acridity in the 
 ^ i&iiities. The dark leaves are much strobger and more ^b^erful in theif 
 action than the light-colored. Water or alcohol extracts its virtues ; 
 boiling materially impaits its activity, especially if continued for a 
 letigth of titae. Many chemists have analyzed it, and Vith various 
 results; Posselt and dReinmann found the fresh leaves to contain nico- 
 tina 0.06 ; nicOtianin 0.01 ; bitter extractive 2.87 ; gutn with malate of 
 lime 1.74; cMorophyll 0.267; gluten and albumen 1.308; malic acid 
 0.'51 ; Itgnin, and a trace of starch 4.969 ; sulphate, malalte, and nitrate 
 of jJOtaSsa, chloride of potassiUIn, phosphate and malate of lime, and 
 malate of ammonia 0.734 ; silica 0.088 ; watet 88.280. ConWeU's analy- 
 sis gave gum, mucilage, tannic acid, gallic acid, chlorophyll, green pul- 
 verulent matter soluble in boiling water, yellow acrid oil, pale yellow 
 resin, nicotina,niootianin, an orange-red coloring matter, and a substance 
 analogous to morphia. — P. M. E. G-oupet has detected citric acid in To- 
 
NicoxiAXA Tabacum. 549 
 
 bacco. — Chem. Gaz., 1846, p. 319. Sulphuretted hydrogen, and hydro- 
 cyanic acid exist in Tobacco smoke. The latter acid may be readily 
 detected by passing the smoke, by means of an aspirator, through a 
 solution of caustic soda, contained in a Liebig's bulb tube ; on adding 
 a few drops of a solution of picric acid to the solution and heating, 
 the characteristic red color of isopu'5'puric acid is produced. Sulphu- 
 retted hydrogen maybe detected bypassing the smoke through a solu- 
 tion of nitro-23ru8side of soda, containing a littlQ ammonia. Spectral 
 analysis also detects litMum in it. 
 
 Nicotylia, Mcotia, or Nieotina, G^ H^ N^, is not volatile in Tobacco, 
 on account of its existing in the form of a salt. Combined with malic 
 and citric acids, it has been obtained by Vauquelin, Hermbstadt, and 
 Posselt and Eeinmann, but not in a state of purity. To obtain it ])ure, 
 the process of Henry and Boutron Charlard must be adopted, as. fol- 
 lows : A pound avoirdupois of Tobacco, together with 332 cubic inches 
 of water, and 6-j^ ounces avoirdupois of caustic soda were put into a 
 cucurbite. A moderate heat was first applied, and then the liquid was 
 made to boil. What distilled over was received into a glass vessel, con- 
 taining rather more than an ounce of sulphuric acid, diluted with three 
 times its weight of water. When about 150 cubic inches have passed 
 over, the process is stopped. The product, which must be kept slightly 
 acid, is evaporated down to about 1,500 grains, and then allowed to 
 cool. In order to separate it from the deposit formed, it is to be filtered, 
 mixed with an excess of caustic soda, and distilled in a small retort. 
 A colorless, acrid, and volatile liquid is obtained, which is concen- 
 trated in vacuo to the consistence of a syrup. This has an amber 
 color, and in a few days deposits minute crystalline plates of nico- 
 tia, which soon absorb moisture, and form a transparent, almost color- 
 less fluid.— T. 
 
 Another method, the best, by Schloesing is to digest an aqueous ex- 
 tract of the leaves in alcohol, which extracts the salts of nieotina ; de- 
 cant the solution, concentrate it, mix it with a solution of potassa, and 
 briskly shake it with ether, which dissolves the nieotina set free by the 
 potassa. To purify it, add gradually powdered oxalic acid to its solu- 
 tion, which forms an oxalate of nieotina, insohible in ether, and which 
 is deposited at the bottom of the vessel, resembling a layer of syrup. 
 This is to be repeatedly shaken with pure ether, the nieotina separated 
 by. potassa and ether, as before. The ethereal solution is distilled in a 
 water-bath, then transferred to a retort, through which a current of dry 
 hydrogen circulates ; then exposed to a temperature 284° F. in an oil 
 bath to remove the moisture, ether, and ammonia ; and finally the heat 
 is raised to 356°, when the nieotina distills over drop by drop. 
 
 As commonly procured, niaotia is in the form of an oleaginous, trans- 
 parent, colorless, tolerably fluid, anhydrous liquid, of the density of 
 1.048, becoming slightly yellow with keeping, and tending to become 
 brown and thick from contact with the air, from which it absorbs oxy- 
 gen; it remains liquid at 22° F., and volatilizes at '77°, leaving a car- 
 bonaceous residue. When cold it has but little odor ; its taste is per- 
 Ristentlj' acrid and caustic, even when diluted. The vapor which rises 
 from its volatilization, presents such a powerful smell of Tobacco, and 
 is so irritating, that it is difiicult to breathe in a room in which one drop 
 of it has been spilt ; if this vapor be approached with a lighted taper, 
 it burns with a white smoky flame, and leaves a carbonaceous residue. 
 It strongly blues reddened litmus paper; and is sqluble in water, alco- 
 hol, oil of turpentine and fat oils, also in ether, which easily separates 
 
550 Materia Medica. 
 
 it from' an aqueous solution. It exerts left-handed rotation on a pcilar- 
 ized ray. It combines directly with acids, disengaging heat, and form- 
 ing difficultly crystallizable salts, of a deliquescent character, having ah 
 acrid, burning taste, and losing a portion of their base by heat ; the 
 double salts which it yields with the diiferent metallic oxides crystallize 
 better. Heated with stearic acid it dissolves and forms a soap, which 
 congeals on cooling, and is slightly soluble in water, and very soluble in 
 heated ether. The Eimount of nitrogen contained in it is unusually 
 large, its composition being C.^o H^ N,, and its equivalent weight 162. 
 It is the active constituent of Tobacco, and is a most virulent poison. 
 A dog has been destroyed by a single drop of it, and small animals are 
 killed by its odor. It exists in various proportions in different Tobac- 
 cos, varying from 3.8 to 11.28 parts in 1,000. Smokers in respiring the 
 smoke of Tobacco introduce into their bodies a certain quantity of the 
 vapor of nicotia ; and the empyreumatic oil of Tobacco, formed in the 
 pipe of the smoker, is an active poison, and consists of nicotia attached 
 to a true volatile oil. Tannic acid forms a slightlj' soluble compound 
 with nicotia, and may be exhibited as an antidote to it. , 
 
 Nicotianin, discovered by Hermbstadt, may be obtained by ^osselt 
 and Eeinmann's process, thus: Distill a mixture of six pounds of fresh 
 Tobacco leaves, and twelve pounds of water, till one-half the liquid has 
 passed over. Add to the liquor six pounds of water, and distill a sec- 
 ond time. Eepeat this a third time. On the surface of the liquid which 
 has distilled over, about eleven grains of nicotianin swims. — T. It is a 
 white, fatty, crystalline substance, with the odor of Tobacco, and its 
 bitterish, warm taste, without its acridity. Heat volatilizes it. It is 
 insoluble in water, but dissolves readilj' in alcohol or ether. It is in- 
 soluble in the dilute acids, but soluble in caustic potassa. — T. Placed 
 to the nose, it causes sternutation, and a single grain of it has, when 
 swallowed, produced vertigo and a disposition to vomit. 
 
 The empyreumatic oil obtained from Tobacco is an active poison ; it has 
 a very deep brown color, a disagreeable, characteristic odor, and a pun- 
 gent caustic taste ; it may be obtained by distillation of the leaf in , 
 water, or a small quantity may be procured from the pipe of the smoker. 
 One drop destroyed a cat, and two drops a dog, in five or six minutes ; 
 in each instance the oil was introduced within the rectum. — Sir B. 
 Brodie. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tobacco is a potent acro-narcotic poison. The 
 infusion is, more apt to affect the heart, and its smoke to act on the 
 brain^the former being followed by great feebleness of the pulse, 
 fluttering of the heart, faintness, alarm, etc., while the latter occasions 
 nausea and vomiting, followed iby drowsiness. Medicinally it is a se- 
 dative, emetic, diuretic, expectorant, discutient, antispasmodic, errhine, 
 and sialagogue. Seldom used internally, except in cases where from 
 extreme insensibility of the stomach, ordinary emetics will not operate. 
 The smoke injected into the rectum, or the leaf itself in the shape of a 
 suppository, and introduced into the rectum, has been beneficial in 
 strangulated hernia, obstinate constipation from spasm of the bowels, 
 in retention of urine from spasmodic urethral stricture, hysteric con- 
 vulsions, /vforms, and in spasms caused by lead; likewise in croup,. 
 jisthniii, and in inflammation of peritoneum to produce evacuations of 
 the bowels, moderating reaction, and dispelling tympanitis. To use 
 the infusion, of smoke, blow the smoke into milk or water and inject. 
 
 In croup and spasm of the rima glottidis, a plaster made of Scotch 
 snuff and lard, and applied to the throat and breast, has proved very 
 
Nymph^a Odorata. 551 
 
 effectual; or a cataplasm of the leaves may be employed. An ointment 
 of Tobacco has been found valuable in several forms of cutaneous dis- 
 ease. The leaves in combination with belladonna or stramonium leaves, 
 will be found an excellent application to old, obstinate ulcers, painful 
 tumors, and for spasmodic affections. Almost a certain cure for piles, 
 is the application of a wet leaf to the parts, and maintained there for 
 three or four hours. The inspissated juice has cured facial neuralgia, 
 being rubbed along the track of the affected nerve. In using Tobacco 
 at all, great caution should always be observed, and if it produce great 
 depression, or too lasting a sedative effect, stimulants, as ammonia or 
 brandy, should be administered. The quantity for an injection ought 
 not to exceed a scruple at first ; if this fails, cautiously increase it, for 
 even half a drachm has often proved fatal; if the injection do not come 
 away in five minutes, it should be assisted by throwing up a large 
 quantity of warm water. Tobacco ought never be used internally, as 
 we have other agents, much safer and fully as effectual, to meet every 
 indication desired. It has recently been stated by several medical men 
 that Tobacco smoking will sometimes produce amaurosis and other af- 
 fections of the eyes, deafness, heart disease, etc. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Tabaci ; Oleum Taljaci ; TJnguentum Tabaci. 
 
 NTMPHiEA ODOEATA. (Wohlriechende JSTymphae.) 
 
 White Pond-lily. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Nymphseaceae. Sex. Syst. — Polyandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — White Pond-lily has a blackish, large, fleshy, perennial 
 root, or rhizoina, growing in mud where the water is from three to ten 
 feet in depth, which is often as thick as a man's arm, sending up leaves 
 and flowers to the surface. Petioles long, somewhat semicircular, per- 
 forated throughout by long tubes or air-vessels which serve to float 
 them. I/eaves floating, orbicular, sometimes almost kidney-shaped, 
 peltate, cordate-cleft at the base quite to the insertion of the petiole, 
 lobes on each side prolonged into an acute point, entire, reddish, with 
 prominent veins beneath, dark shining-green above, five or six inches 
 in diameter, flowers large, white or rose-colored, fragrant. Sepals 
 four, lanceolate, green without, white within. Petals numerous, lance- 
 olate, an inch to two and a half inches long, of the most delicate tex- 
 ture, white, sometimes tinged with purple on the outside. Stamens 
 numerous, yellow, in several rows ; filaments dilated gradually from 
 the inner to the outer series so as to pass insensibly into petals. An- 
 thers in two longitudinal cells growing to the filaments, and opening 
 inwardly. Stigma with twelve to twenty -four rays, very much resem- 
 bling abortive anthers, at first incurved, afterward spreading. The peri- 
 carp is berry -like, many-celled, many-seeded. — L. — W. — G- 
 
 History. — This plant grows in ponds, marshes, and sluggish streams 
 in most parts of the United States, flowering from June to September ; 
 the flowers shut at night and open about sunrise, and the seeds ripen 
 under water. The root is the ofiicinal part, and becomes light, spongy, 
 and friable on drying. It has an astringent and bitter taste, and read- 
 ily imparts its virtues to water. It is said to contain considerable 
 tannic and gallic acid, with starch, mucilage, resin, sugar, ammonia, 
 almine, tartaric acid, fecula, etc. The root should be collected in the 
 fall, freed from dirt, cut into slices and carefully dried. , 
 
&52 Materia Medioa. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The root is astringent, demulcent, anodynOj 
 and anti-scrofulous. Used in dysentery, diarrhea, gonorrhea, leucor- 
 rhea, and scrofula, and combined with wild cherry in bronchial affeo- 
 tions. Externally, the leaves and roots have been used in form of 
 poultice to boils, tumors, scrofulous ulcers, and inflamed skin. In in- 
 fusion, used as a gargle in ulcers of mouth and throat, and as an in- 
 jection in leucorrhea. I recollect a lady, who, several years since, was 
 pronounced by several physicians to have uterine cancer, and; which 
 resisted all their treatment; she was permanently cured by a squaw 
 who gave her to drink freely of the decoction orf a root, as well as to 
 inject it in the vagina, which proved to be that of the White Pond-lily. 
 The dose of the powdered root is half a drachm in 'milk or sweetened 
 water ; but its best form of administration is the infusion made by 
 macerating for thirty minutes, one ounce of the coarsely powdered 
 root in a pint of boiling water, of which from two to four fluidonnces 
 may be given three or four times a day. 
 
 The Yellow Pond-lily, Nuphar Advena, called also Spatterdock, Frog- 
 lily, etc., possesses similar properties, and may be used as a substitute. 
 It has a large and extensively creeping rhizoma, with large erect leaves, 
 or floating on half cylindrical petioles, oval, rounded at apex, with 
 rounded, diverging lobes at base, dark shining-green above, and when 
 floating, pale and slimy beneath. Flowers rather large, globular, erect, 
 yellow, on a thick rigid stalk. Sepals six, the three outer yellow in- 
 side, the three inner entirely yellow. Petals numerous, small, yellow, 
 furrowed externally, inserted with the stamens on the torus. Stamens 
 numerous, truncated, linear. Stigma seSsile, discoid, with prominent 
 rays. Fruit an ovoid, naked pericarp, many-celled, many-seeded. It 
 is a very common plant in ponds, ditches, muddy lakes, and mostly in 
 shallow water. — W. — G- 
 
 Off. Prep. — Cataplasma Nymphse ; Infusum Ifymphae. 
 
 dlNANTHB V'H:EJjLAN'DmXJ'ML.— PhellandriumAquaticum. (Wasser- 
 
 fenchel.) 
 
 Water Fennel. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Apiacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria E%ynia. 
 
 THE SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also known by the names of Water Dropwort, 
 Pine-leaved Water-Hemlock, is a biennial or perennial, umbelliferous 
 berb, having a thick, spindle-shaped root, with many whorled fibers. 
 Stem hollow, furrowed, half immersed in the water, very bushy, with 
 numerous spreading, leafy branches, two to four feet in height. Leaves 
 petioled, spreading, repeatedly pinnate, cut, with innumerable fine, 
 expanded, dark-green, shining, acute segments. Umbels opposite to 
 the leaves, on shortish stalks, about five-rayed, without any general 
 bracts. Partial umbels are very dense, of numerous short rays, accom- 
 panied by many narrow, taper -pointed bracts. Flowers white, numer- 
 ous, all fertile, outer ones largest and most irregular ; innermost more 
 certainly prolific. Styles long, filiform, spreading, capitate. Fruit 
 ovate, rather compressed, purplish, smooth, oblong, crowned with the 
 minute spreading calyx, and rather short, permanent, slightly spread- 
 ing styles ; the dorsal ridges distinct, but little elevated, the lateral 
 
(Enanthe Phellandrium. 553 
 
 ones much broader and thicker ; all confluent below the calyx. Pedi- 
 cels shorter than the fruit. — L. 
 
 History. — This plant is common to Europe, growing in ditches and 
 wet places, and its leaves are reputed harmful to cattle, causing a 
 species of palsy after eating it. It is poisonous but not so dangerously 
 as the (Enanthe Grocata, Dead-tongue, or Hemlock-dropwort, which is 
 considered the most energetic poison of the narcotieo-acrid Apiacese. 
 By desiccation, they lose much of their poisonous properties. The (E. 
 Phellandrium is occasionally found in this country. The seeds are the 
 parts used, they are about the twelfth of an inch long, of a yellowish- 
 green color, elliptical, slightly curved, flat on one side and gibbous on 
 the other, striated with ten filiform ribs, and terminate in small five- 
 toothed heads, the remains of the calyx and styles. They have a pecu- 
 liar, strong odor, somewhat resembling angelica, and an acrid, spicy 
 taste, owing to a volatile oil, which they contain in abundance. The 
 poisonous principle of this plant' has been discovered by M. Hulet, an 
 apothecary at Lyons. He names it Phellandrine, and procures it from 
 the seeds, which contain an average of two or three per cent, of it. 
 Seven and a half grains of it, injected into the veins of a dog, produced, 
 in a few moments, a difiicnlty of respiration, nervous tremblings, and 
 anxiety, lasting some hours ; he recovered, however. Two birds into 
 whose beaks the same dose was introduced, died in fifteen or twenty 
 minutes. Prepared by the process for Cicutin. Mr. C. Pronefield, jr., 
 detected in the seed, gum, albumen, a fatty resin, volatile oil, an alka- 
 loid which he esteems to be conia, and in the ashes he detected alumina, 
 lime, iron, and magnesia. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 1860, p. 211. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Water Fennel is a mild narcotic stimulant, 
 expectorant, alterative, and diuretic. In large doses it produces dizzi- 
 ness, inebriation, and dull pains in the head. The seeds have been 
 most successfully used in chronic affections of the air- passages, as 
 laryngitis, asthma, hemoptysis, catarrh, etc., also in periodical febrile 
 diseases, dyspeptic affections, and in indolent ulcerations. They are 
 given in powder, commencing with four or five grains, every one or 
 two hours throughout the day, cautiously increasing the dose to eight 
 or ten grains. Two parts each of powdered gum Arabic and sugar of 
 milk may be mixed with one parfrof the powdered seeds, and divided 
 into doses of twenty -five grains each, which may be repeated every 
 two or three hours. Dr. Turnbull, of Liverpool, uses the following 
 tincture and extract : Take of well bruised seeds of Phellandrium, six- 
 teen ounces ; alcohol, a sufficient quantity to displace by percolation 
 thirty-two fluidounces. The dose is from half a fluidrachm to a flui- 
 drachm. For the alcoholic extract, take of the seeds of Phellandrium, 
 bruised, sixteen ounces, alcohol three parts ; displace by percolation, 
 distill off two and a half pints of alcohol, and evaporate the remainder 
 to the consistence of an extract. The dose is from three to five grains, 
 in the form of pill. He recommends it highly in consumption and 
 bronchitis, to relieve troublesome cough, render expectoration smaller 
 and easier, and produce sleep at night. He thinks the above prepara- 
 tions contain the whole of the beneficial properties of the seeds, and 
 act with more certainty and power. 
 
554 Materia Medica. i 
 
 (ENOTHBEA BIENNIS. (Zweijahrige Nachtkerze.) 
 
 Tree Primrose. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Onagraceae. Sex. Syst. — Octandria Monogynia.' 
 
 THE BARK AND TWIGS. 
 
 Description. — This is an indigenous, biennial plant, with an erect, 
 rongh, hirsute, and branching stem, two to five feet high. Leaves 
 ovate-lanceolate, alternate, acute, obscurely toothed, roughly pubescent, 
 three to six inches long, half an inch to an inch and a half broad, those 
 on the stem sessile, the radicals tapering into a petiole. Flowers numer- 
 ous, pale-yellow, sessile, odorous, in a terminal, somewhat leafy spike ; 
 they are nocturnal, open but once by night, and continue only ia single . 
 day. Calyx-tube two or three times longer than the ovary, deciduous, 
 four lobes, reflexed. Petals four, equal, obcordate, or obovate, inserted 
 into the top of the tube. Stamens eight, a little shorter than the petals. 
 Anthers mostly linear. Capsule oblong, somewhat tapering above, four- 
 celled, four-valved. Seeds numerous, naked, in two rows in each 
 cell.— (?.— TF. 
 
 Sistory. — Tree Primrose grows throughout the country in fields and 
 waste places, flowering in July and August. There are several varie- 
 ties of it, as CE. Muricata, (E. Grandifiora, CE. Parviflora, (E. Crudata, 
 etc. When growing in retired isolated places, a white substance ap- 
 pears on the leaves, rendering them apparently very downy. By culti- 
 vating the plant, its flowers improve, growing much larger, and acquir- 
 ing a darker hue. Bach flower opens at the dusk of evening, and does 
 not close till about nine or ten o'clock of the next morning, after 
 which they do not open again. Pnrsh remarks that he ha? "frequent- 
 ly observed a singularity in this plant, and it might be interesting to 
 make further inquiry into its cause ; it is that in a dark night, when 
 no objects can be distinguished at an inconsiderable distance, this 
 plant, when in full flower, can be seen at a great distance, having a 
 bright white appearance, which probably may arise from some phos- 
 phoric properties of the flowers." The bark, leaves, and twigs are the 
 parts used ; their taste is very viscid, with a subsequent slight acri- 
 mony, which last is diminished by desiccation. Water takes up the 
 properties of the plant. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — An ointment made by boiling the twigs, leaves, 
 and bark, in lard or tallow — or a strong decoction of these — has been 
 found very efficacious in curing tetter, milk-scall, and other cutaneous 
 affections of infants. These should be collected when the plant is in 
 flower. In fomentation, or when recent, bruised,-the leaves form an 
 excellent application to ulcers. 
 
 OLEA. (Oele.) 
 Oils. 
 
 The term Oil is applied to a number of unctuous liquid or solid 
 bodies, which, when placed upon paper, render it translucent, or im- 
 part to it what is called a greasy stain. In their chemical relations 
 they present a close analogy with the compound ethers, and are indeed 
 now regarded as the compound ethers of a tribasic alcohol, glycerin, 
 formed by the action of this alcohol upon certain monobasic acids. 
 The predominating elements in their composition are carbon and hy 
 
Olea. 555 
 
 drogen, and as a general rule, the greater the proportion of carbon and 
 the less that of oxygen which they contain^ the higher is their melting 
 point. The fatty bodies obtained from warm blooded animals are 
 generally solid at ordinary temperatures ; whilst those from fish, and 
 cold blooded animals are liquid. In all cases, both in the animal and 
 in the plant, a certain quantity of some albuminoid substance occurs 
 associated with the oily body, and this substance exerts an important 
 chemical influence upon the fat or oil when kept. Chemists have di- 
 vided oils into two classes, namely, fixed oils, and volatile or essential 
 oils. 
 
 The fixed oils (Olea Fixa), also called fatty oils, and animal oils, are 
 obtained pai'tly from animals and partly from vegetables, by simple ex- 
 pression, and are distinguished by the following characters, viz., they 
 have an unctuous feel ; are liquid, or readily become so when exposed 
 to a gentle heat; are very combustible; have a mild taste; are insoluble 
 in water, and nearly so in alcohol; leave a greasy stain upon paper ; and 
 their boiling point is not under 600° F. Among vegetables fixed oils 
 are found in the greatest abundance in the seeds of dicotyledonous 
 plants. They are usually obtained by subjecting the seeds or other 
 bodies containing them to powerful pressure, after having bruised and 
 gently heated them, that the oil may flow more freely. Sometimes, the 
 articles are boiled in water, and the oil removed as it comes to the sur- 
 face. Fixed oils have a certain degree of viscidity, causing them to 
 adhere to the sides of the vessels, containing them; they are never 
 perfectly transparent, being generally colored, and mostly yellowish or 
 greenish, but which may be removed by means of animal charcoal. 
 When fresh they have little or no taste or odor. They have different 
 degrees of solidity and likewise differ greatly in specific gravity, which 
 varies from 0.8795 to 0.968, but are lighter than water. They do not 
 commence evaporation till heated above 212°, and do not boil until the 
 temperature be raised to nearly 600°, at which they distill over, altered 
 in their character, and in this state were formerly termed philosophical 
 oils. A heavy inflammable gas is obtained during their destructive dis- 
 tillation, consisting of defiant gas, marsh gas, and several carbohydro- 
 gens. At the boiling point the vapor given off consists of sebacic, mar- 
 garic, .oleic, and other acids, and an empyreumatic oil, which may be 
 procured by condensation of the vapor. "When exposed to the influ- 
 ence of cold, fixed oils solidify; but the point of solidification varies in 
 different oils. When in the state of vapor they take fire on the ap- 
 proach of an ignited body, and burn wit£ a yellowish-white flame, the 
 only new products resulting being water and carbonic acid. It is upon 
 this principle that lamps and candles burn. When exposed to the air, 
 fixed oils absorb its oxygen, become more and more viscid, and finally 
 become solid; but when kept confined in well closed vessels, they pre- 
 serve their properties for a long time. "When the fixed oils have be- 
 come solidified by exposure to the air, or to oxygen gas, they present 
 characters differing from each other, and which has given rise to their 
 division into drying oils, and fat oils. The drying oils become transpa- 
 rent, deeper colored, with a degree of toughness and ductility, and lose 
 nearly, if not quite all of their unctuous quality. They contain much 
 oloin. Of this kind are the oils obtained from linseed, walnut, hemp, 
 poppy, cotton seed, croton tiglium, grape-seed, nightshade, tobacco, 
 henbane, sunflower, and cress, and various other plants ; and these dry- 
 ing oils, either in their original state or boiled, are much used by paint- 
 ers for varnishes, printers' ink, etc. The fat oils become opaque, with 
 
656 Materia Medica. 
 
 the appearance qf wax or tallow, and are gradually converted from a 
 neutral fat to a fatty acid, and become more solid in consequence of the 
 change. By keeping, fixed oils are liable to become thick, dark- 
 colored, with a disagreeable odor, and an acrid taste, which changes, 
 are characterized by the name of rancidity ; this change is more apt to 
 occur with those oils containing mucilage or similar foreign matters. 
 Agitation with water will partially diminish this tendency, also agita- 
 tion with alkaline solutions or quicklime, likewise boiling the oil with 
 water and hydrate of magnesia. The fixed oils are not dissolved by 
 water, rendering that fluid milky when agitated with it, but the oil 
 finally rises upon the surface; if a mucilaginous substance be added, 
 the oil is prevented from rising, and a permanent milky mixture ia 
 formed called an emulsion. Most of the fixed oils are nearly insoluble 
 in alcohol; olive or almond oil is hardly acted on at all, while linseed 
 oil is more soluble, and castor oil is dissolved in any quantity. They 
 are generally more soluble in ether, oil of turpentine, and benzole. Thejv 
 readily unite with each other, with volatile oils, and likewise with bitu- 
 minous and resinous substances. They form compounds with the alka- 
 lies, called soaps, and with the earths insoluble soaps. When hot, fixed 
 oils are good solvents of iodine, chlorine, phosphorous, and sulphur; 
 the first two, however, immediately become converted into hydriodic 
 and hydrochloric acids respectively, and reacting on the oils impart to 
 them the solidity of wax. Concentrated sulphuric acid added to fixed 
 oils combines first with the glycerin of the fats forming sulphoglyceric 
 acid; then the fatty acids liberated by its action, combine with the ex- 
 cess of sulphuric acid added, and form respectively, sulpholeic, sul- 
 piiomargaric, or sulphostearic acid, according as olein, margarin, or 
 stearin exists in the fats. Nitrous acid converts their olein into elaidin; 
 the drying oils, are, however, exempt from this chang^, not being 
 affected by nitrous acid. ^Nitric acid changes the non-drying oils into 
 suberic and numerous volatile acids. In small quantity sulphuric or 
 hydrochloric acid forms a thick, viscid matter with fixed oils which are 
 soluble in water, forming a lather with it. Nitric acid poured sudden- 
 ly on the drying oils, sets them on fire. The principal fat oils are olive 
 oil, almond, rape, mustard, plum, beech, hazel, eggs, whale oil, sperm 
 oil ; the solid fat oils are, chiefly cacao butter, palm oil, Muscat balsam, 
 laurel oil, cocoa oil, butter ofgalam, hogs' lard, common butter, and 
 tallow. They are mostly composed of two different substances, the one 
 a fluid called olein, and the other a sojid, either margarin, stearin, pal' 
 matin, or phocenin, etc. Fixed oils, with a few exceptions, are sparing- 
 ly soluble in boiling alcohol, and as the fluid cools margarin, etc., is 
 deposited; by evaporating the alcohol from the supernatant fluid, the 
 olein is procured ; or the olein may be procured from tallow or fats by 
 subjecting these to pressure between folds of blotting paper. The pa- 
 per imbibes the olein, leaving the solid principle untouched ; by soak- 
 ing the paper in water, and subjecting it to pressure, the olein is forced 
 out. Olein (in addition to what has Ijeen said under Adeps), is trans- 
 pai-ent, of a sweetish taste, neutral to test paper, and when highly heated 
 yields Acrolein, oleic, and other acids. Margarin is more soluble in boil- 
 ing than cold alcohol, and dissolves readily in spirits of turpentine and 
 cold ether. (For the mode of obtaining stearin, margarin, and olein, see 
 Adeps. ; also see Sapo.) When olein or olive oil is acted upon by nitrous 
 acid, a dark -yellow buttery substance is the result, and when this is 
 dissolved in hot alcohol, a small quantity of reddish oil is taken up. and 
 a white substance is left, termed elaidin, or the elaidinate of glycyl. This 
 
Olea. 557 
 
 melts at 97°, is dissolved by ether in every proportion, requires 2,000 
 times its weight of boiling alcohol, sp. gr. 0.8975, to dissolve it, which 
 solution becomes turbid on cooling; it is composed of glycerin and 
 elaidic acid, which may be separated by the addition of an alkali, 
 which forms a soap with the acid, leaving the glycerin behind. The 
 constituents of fixed oils, as olein, margarin, stearin, etc., are supposed 
 to be mixtures of glycerin with the respective acids corresponding to 
 the above names, as oleic, margaric, etc., acids, which may be obtained 
 separately in the same way as named above to separate the constitu- 
 ents of elaidin. Fixed oils have the same ultimate composition, viz: 
 carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, the hydrogen being in greater quantity 
 than is required for the formation of water with the oxygen. They all 
 appear to absorb oxygen. According to Berzelius, the oils which con- 
 tain a large proportion of carbon, and but little oxygen, do not melt 
 so readily as others; and M. de Saussure states that the more oxygen 
 they contain, the more readily are they dissolved in alcohol. It is said 
 that some fixed oils hold a very small amount of nitrogen, but this is 
 probably an error in analysis, the nitrogen depending upon a minute 
 quantity of albuminous matter in the oil, or, perhaps, the absorption of 
 a minute quantity of azote from the atmosphere. — T. — G-. — Tur. 
 
 Volatile, Essential, or Distilled Oils \Olea Volatilia),a,re obtained 
 from leaves, flowers, roots, barks, and indeed all parts of plants, but 
 seldom from every part of the same plant. They are seldom found in 
 the cotyledons of seeds. In a certain class of plants, as the odorifer- 
 ous laminacece,Yo]at\\e oil can be procured from almost every part of 
 them. At times, it happens that the same plant furnishes several dis- 
 tinct oils ; thus in the orange-tree, the rind of the fruit furnishes one 
 kind of essential oil, the leaves a second, and the flowers a third, each 
 of these oils being diiferent from the others. Again, some volatile oils 
 do not exist already formed in the plant, but are produced during dis- 
 tillation, by chemical reactions and influences. The greater part of 
 plants contain their oil in minute, isolated little cells or vesicles, which 
 is so well enveloped by its covering, that even after the plant has been 
 dried, it may be obtained by expression or distillation. With many 
 plants, and especially among their flowers, the oil is formed upon their 
 surfaces, and evaporates as soon as it is developed. Most volatile oils 
 are procured by distilling the odoriferous part of the plant with water ; 
 some are obtained by expression ; and others, which are not confined in 
 little cells, as those of the jasmine, violet, etc., are obtained by macer- 
 ating the flowers for a time, in an odorless fixed oil, well known to per- 
 fumers by the name of " oil of ben." In a few cases, such as those of 
 the oil of bitter almonds and of mustard, they are produced by a spe- 
 cies of fermentation operating on a principle contained in the cells of 
 the seed ; this change does not commence until the seed has been 
 crushed and mixed with water. A peculiar azotized body present in 
 the seed is thus brought into contact, under favorable circumstances, 
 with the compound which yields the oil, and the peculiar aroma of the 
 essence is speedily developed. 
 
 Volatile oils are characterized by, 1, their liquid condition being often 
 almost as liquid as water ;— occasionally viscid or solid; 2, their great 
 combustibility, burning with a brilliant flame, and much smoke ; 3, their 
 hot, pungent and acrid taste, and strong penetrating odor, partaking of 
 that of the plants furnishing them, but more powerful ; 4, their volatil- 
 ity with boiling water, although their own boiling point varies from 
 312° to 325° F. ; 5, their slight solubility in water and ready solubility 
 
558 Materia Medica. 
 
 in ether, alcohol, or fixed oils ; and 6, by their evaporating when placed 
 on paper without leaving any stain, and which is an easy test to de- 
 tect their adulteration with fixed oils. 
 
 When properly rectified, volatile oils are mostly colorless, but as met 
 with in commerce, some are brown, some yellow, some blue, some green, 
 and others which are at first colorless, acquire a brown or yellow color 
 by age. The greater number of them are very fluid, many ind'icd are 
 as limpid as water, presenting no oily appearance:, unless age and ex- 
 posure has aiTected a change in them ; others present an oily viscidity; 
 and several acquire a degree of solidity, as the oils of fennel, anise, 
 balm, etc., most of them congeal at different temperatures. With a 
 few exceptions, 'they are lighter than water, their specific gravities 
 ranging between 0.750 and. 1.098. When heated in the open air, they 
 readily evaporate without decomposition, diffusing their peculiar fra- 
 grance all around ; and, with some, this is produced even at the com- 
 mon temperatures. They are not very susceptible of assuming the 
 gaseous form, unless water, or some other substance be present ; and 
 when distilled alone, they lose their odor, become darker in color, and 
 are partially decomposed. In contact with air, or oxygen, which they 
 absorb, they gradually become deeper- colored, acquire more and more 
 viscidity, gradually lose their odor, and are eventually oxidized and 
 changed into acids, camphors, or resins. Carbonic acid gas is evolved 
 during the absorption of oxygen, but no water is produced. The dif- 
 ferent oils vary as regards their degree of absorption of oxygen, which 
 action is much augmented by the influence of light. Dr. J. L. Plum- 
 mer has found many of the essential oils to possess bleaching or decol- 
 orizing properties; whether this is actually the case is not yet satis- 
 factorily ascertained, as it is probable that the bleaching power was 
 due to some principles produced by the influence of light and air. 
 Faraday has stated that " essential oils are thickened by long exposure 
 to light and air; they become ozonized, and their properties changed." 
 Volatile oils when shaken with water give to it a milky appearance ; 
 but on allowing the mixture to rest, they disengage and float upon the 
 surface of water, if lighter than this fluid, having communicated to it 
 their peculiar aroma. They dissolve more readily in water by tritura- 
 tion with sugar, carbonate of magnesia, or calcin-ed magnesia. The 
 water from which they are distilled is always more or less flavored with 
 their properties. Eesins, fixed oils, camphor, some of the vegetable 
 alkaloids, and various other organic matters, are soluble in the volatile 
 oils. By the aid of heat they dissolve sulphur ; a portion of which 
 crystallizes on cooling ; when digested with sulphur at the temperature 
 at which the sulphur melts, they dissolve a portion of it, acquire a 
 brown color, and a disagreeable taste and odor, and form what are called 
 balsams of sulphur. When these balsams are strongly heated, gas is 
 evolved rapidly, and violent explosions are apt to ensue. In a digest- 
 ing heat, volatile oils dissolve phosphorus ; but most of them deposit it 
 as the solution cools ; the solution may, however, be rendered perma- 
 nent, by previously triturating one part of the phosphorus with ten 
 parts of camphor. Chlorine, bromine, iodine, cyanogen, and fluorine, 
 are absorbed, and change these oils into resins, by removing their 
 hydrogen ; the first three, very rarely, form combinations with the oils. 
 Many vegetable acids combine with volatile oils, while the concentrated 
 mineral acids decompose them. Kitric acid oxidizes most of the essen- 
 tial oils with great violence. Alkalies and earths act but feebly upon 
 the volatile oils, and do not saponify them, so that the only service 
 
Olea. 559 
 
 they render in making soap is to give a perfume to it ; these oils ap- 
 pear to combine with alkalies and earths, only when united to oxygen, 
 so as to form resins. Yarious salts and oxides of metals which part 
 readily with their oxygen, form resins with volatile oils. 
 
 Most of the volatile oils are compounds consisting of oils of different 
 boiling points and densities ; others again, consist of compound ethers, 
 as the oil of wintergreen ; some upon standing will deposit crystalline 
 substances without any apparent change in the oil, as, the oil of horse- 
 mint, which deposits monardin ; the oil of bitter almonds by exposure 
 to the atmosphere has its composition changed, with a gradual deposit 
 of crystalline matter, called benzoic acid, etc., etc., it being almost im- 
 possible to name the changes which occur in the composition of this 
 class of oils, by time and oxidation, in a single chapter. Some of them 
 deposit a sedimentary matter, commonly called Stearoptene, which may 
 be generally observed in the oils of bergamot, lemon, and orange. 
 
 The fluid oils are generally carbo-hydrogens, and the solid oxygen- 
 ated, with, perhaps, the exception of oils of camphor, and lavender. 
 One great difference between fixed and volatile oils is, that the former 
 contain more oxygen and but little carbon, while the latter are rich in 
 carbon, containing little if any oxygen, and a few of them, as oils of 
 horse-radish, mustard, etc., have a small proportion of sulphur as one 
 of their constituent principles. The quantity of hydrogen will also be 
 found to vary, the volatile oils, more commonly, containing it in greater 
 abundance than the fixed. Carbon and nitrogen exist in the atmos- 
 phere, hydrogen in water, and sulphur in sulphates and sulphuric acid; 
 these elenlents are abstracted from their original sources by the plants 
 around which they exist, and by a process of assimilation are con- 
 verted into the volatile oil of the plants. Stearoptene varies in its 
 formation, being composed of carbon and hydrogen only, or, with the 
 addition of oxygen ; it is very readily reduced to a fluid state, and as a 
 general rule rarely continues as a solid body above a temperature of 
 66° to 70° P. 
 
 Volatile oils are divided into three classes, viz. : 1, pure hydrocar- 
 bons, or those whose ultimate constituents are only carbon and hydro- 
 gen ; 2, oxidized essences, or those consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and 
 oxygen, — a small portion of nitrogen has been found in some of these, 
 but, more than likely, this is an impurity; and 3, sulphuretted essences, 
 or those in which sulphur enters as a constituent. The pure hydro- 
 carbons are generally lighter than water, and present many interesting 
 features. Sixteen or twenty of them are isomeric, and are subdivided 
 into two metameric classes ; one, the terebenes, in which the molecule is 
 represented by G^ Hje, to which class oil of turpentine belongs ; in the 
 other the molecule of the oil, like that of oil of cubebs, is represented 
 by C30 Hm- The terebenes or camphogenes, are the more numerous ; 
 many of them can not be distinguished from each other, except bj- 
 their action upon polarized light, which may be a left-handed rotation. 
 a right-handed, or no action at all. Their boiling point, in most in- 
 stances, is very near 320° F., and their sp, gravity closely approaches 
 0.860; they rapidly absorb dry hydrochloric acid gas, and yield arti- 
 ficial camphors ; they absgrb oxygen on exposure to the air, and be- 
 come brown and viscid, and are finally converted into resins. Among 
 this class may be named oil of turpentine and its modifications, oils of 
 bergamot, lemons, neroli, common birch, chamomile (anthemis, and 
 matricaria), juniper, achillea, caraway, cloves, ginger, cubebs, copaiba, 
 •hops, vakrian, thyme, cedar, peppermint, elemi, parsely, pepper, savin, 
 
560 Materia Medica. 
 
 tolu, and roses ; 2, Among the oxidized essential oils, several varieties 
 are known, viz., a, solid crystallized oils which have the composition 
 of hydrates of a hydrocarbon, these constitute the camphors ; b, indif- 
 ferent oils, as spearmint; c, aldehyde of aromatic acids, as, oils of bit- 
 ter almonds, and cinnamon ; and d, compound ethers, as oil of winter- 
 green. Among the camphors, may be named oils of lavender, rose- 
 mary, marjoram, pennyroyal, spearmint, etc., which contain camphor 
 in solution. Amber, and the oils of valerian, tansy, and sage, also 
 yield it when treated with nitric acid. Matricaria oil also contains 
 camphor. {See Camphor.) Among the indifferent oils, many of them 
 are associated with the hydrocarbons already referred to ; oils of 
 lavender, wormwood, cajuput, marjoram, sage, sassafras^ etc. Among 
 the aromatic aldehyds are oils of bitter almonds, spirese, cinnamon, 
 cumin, etc., which have been regarded as hydrides of peculiar oxidized 
 radicles ; 3, the sulphuretted oils have for their basis, as far as ascer- 
 tained, the hydrocarbon termed allyl, 0^ H5. The volatile oil of gar- 
 lic is a mixture of allyl oxide .with allyl sulphide, as are also the oils 
 of onions, asafetida, and many of the cruciferae and asphodeleas. Es- 
 sential oils of mustard, horse-radish, and scurvy-grass, consist chiefly 
 of allyl sulphocyanide. {See the various oils throughout the work.) 
 
 Yolatile oils are frequently adulterated. As previously remarked, a 
 pure volatile oil dropped upon a clean piece of writing-paper, leaves 
 no greasy stain after its evaporation; if a stain is left behind, the oil is 
 not pure, but contains fixed oil. Volatile oils are completely soluble in 
 alcohol, but if they contain resin or fixed oil, the solution will be incom- 
 plete. If the oil be placed in water and distilled, all the volatile oil 
 passes over, but the above impurities remain in the retort. Alcohol is 
 sometimes added as an adulteration, to detect which various methods 
 have been recommended. M. Beral drops in a thoroughly dried shal- 
 low glass vessel ten or fifteen drops of the volatile oil to be examined, 
 and then a very small piece of potassium is added (about half the size 
 of a colchicum-seed) ; if no change occurs in the potassium after a 
 quarter of an hour has passed, the oil is not adulterated with alcohol, 
 or if it be, it does not exceed three or four per cent. If there be more 
 "than this amount of alcohol present, the potassium will pass away in a 
 degree of time proportioned to the per cent, of alcohol present. Bor- 
 sarelli proposes chloride of calcium as a test for the presence of alcohol. 
 Pieces of perfectly dry chloride of calcium are placed in a long test- 
 tube, which is filled with the suspected oil to nearly three-fourths its 
 length, and then with agitation every now and then, the tube is heated 
 to the boiling-point of water. In pure oils the chloride of calcium re- 
 mains unaltered ; when but little alcohol has been mixed with them, 
 the pieces change, at least with regard to their form, and form a white, 
 adhesive deposit; if a large amount of alcohol be present, it dissolves 
 the pieces, and the solution forms a liquid stratum at the bottom of 
 the vessel. — Archiv. der Pharm., XXIY. Puscher detects the adultera- 
 tion with fachsin which is soluble in alcohol, but not in the essential 
 oils. 
 
 J. J. Bernoulli adds dry acetate of potassa to the oil ; if alcohol be 
 present the salt is dissolved, forming a solution from which the volatile 
 oil separates. If the oil be free from alcohol, the salt remains dry 
 therein. Wittstein, who speaks highly of this test, has suggested the 
 following mode of applying it as the best : In a dry test-tube, about 
 half an inch in diameter, and five or six inches long, put not more than 
 eight grains of powdered dry acetate of potassa ; then fill the tube two- 
 
Olea. * 561 
 
 thirds fttll with the volatile oil to be examined. The contents of the tube 
 must be wcU-stirred with a glass rod, taking care not to allow the salt' 
 to rise above the oil ; afterward set aside for a short time. If the salt 
 be found at the bottom of the tube dry, it is evident that th,e oil con- 
 tains no spirit. Oftentimes, instead of the dry salt, beneath the oil is 
 found a clear syrupy fluid, which is a solution of the salt in the alcohol, 
 with which the oil was mixed. When the oil contains only a little alco- 
 hol, a small portion of the solid salt will be found under the syrupy 
 solution. Many oils frequently contain a trace of water, which does not 
 materially interfere with this test, because, although the acetate of po- 
 tassa becomes moist thereby, it still retains its pulverulent form. A. 
 Oberdoffer places from two to four drachms of the suspected oil in a 
 flat glass-plate, in the middle of which is placed a small glass stand 
 (the inverted neck of a six-ounce bottle is very suitable for this pur- 
 pose) on which a watch-glass, with five to ten grains of platinum-black, 
 is supported, and the whole covered with a glass bell open at the top. 
 After a strip of moistened litmus paper has been laid over the vessel 
 containing the platinum-black, the operator observes the reaction. In 
 the course of a few minutes, oil containing alcohol, begins to redden the lit- 
 mus paper, which, in the space of a quarter or half an hour, is completely 
 accomplished ; upon which, the eliminated vapor of acetic acid is de- 
 posited On the interior of the glass bell if the alcohol was present in 
 sufficient quantity, and can be recognized distinctly by its odor. To 
 remove all doubt, he washes the platinum-black, after an hour has 
 elapsed, with a little water, filters, saturates the filtrate carefully with 
 potassa, and adds neutral chloride of iron, by which the characteristic 
 color of acetate of iron is obtained; and, after boiling, the fluid becomes 
 decolorized, and the hydrated oxide of iron is precipitated. I'rom a 
 series of experiments, he concludes that it is possible, in this way, to de- 
 tect the presence of one to two per cent, of alcohol, and that with five 
 per cent, the odor is sufficient, with most oils, to prove the admixture 
 of alcohol. How far this method may be interfered with by some oils 
 which have their acid reactions, or particularly pungent odors, experi- 
 ence must teach ; but with a great number of oils, it has been found 
 available, even with oil of bitter almonds. 
 
 It frequently occurs that the higher -priced oils are adulterated with 
 the cheaper kinds ; the taste, odor, and specific gravity, will generally 
 determine the adulteration. Oil of turpentine is a common adultera- 
 tion, and may be known by its partial solubility when alcohol of sp. gr. 
 0.84 is agitated with one-fourth its volume of the suspected oil. One 
 hundred parts of alcohol sp. gr. 0.84 dissolve 1.35 parts of oil of turpeii- 
 tine at 62° F. With the exception of rosemary, most volatile oils, when 
 not adulterated with oil of turpentine, become milky-white, when 
 shaken with an equal volume of poppy oil, which is not the case when 
 they contain oil of turpentine. — Jmiir. de Pharm., 3d ser., VII. For de- 
 tection of Castor Oil in volatile oils, see Mr. H. N. Draper's 'process, under 
 the head of Oleum Eicini. Eectified coal oil has also been used as an 
 ad^ulteration, but may be detected by its insolubility in alcohol, and by 
 its specific gravity. 
 
 When a fixed or volatile oil is adulterated by a cruciferous oil, M. 
 Mailhe has recommended the following as a sure test: "Two or three 
 drachms of the suspected oils are boiled in a porcelain basin, with a so- 
 lution ot thirty grains of pure caustic potassa in five drachms of dis- 
 tilled water. After boiling for a few minutes the whole is filtered, and 
 the filtrate when tested with nitrate of silver, or acetate of lead paper 
 36 
 
562' 
 
 Materia Medica. 
 
 will speedily indicate the presence of sulphur. If, instead of a porcelain 
 capsule, the oil is saponified in a silver vessel, the blackening of the 
 latter speedily becomes visible. This test is very prompt and delicate, 
 indicating the presence of the one-hundredth part of a cruciferous oil 
 in any other oil." 
 
 Gr. S. Heppe has suggested the nitro-prusside of copper as a test for 
 detecting oil of turpentine and volatile oils free from oxygen in oils 
 which contain oxygen. A fragment of the nitro-prusside, of the size 
 of a pin's head, is brought in contact with a small quantity of the oil 
 to be tested in a test-tube ; it is heated until the oil begins to boil, kept 
 boiling for only a few seconds, and then allowed to sottlci If the oil 
 be an oxygenated oil free from turpentine, the nitro-prusside becomes 
 black, brown, or gray, and the supernatant oil changes its color and 
 usually appears darker. If the oil contains turpentine, the deposit is 
 of a fine green, or bluish green, and the supernatant oil colorless or 
 slightly yellow-— ^w. Jour. Pharm., XXIX., ,325. (For Volatile Oils, 
 see Part II.) 
 
 Mr. Maisch has given some very useful information relative to the 
 detection of adulterations in these oils, which may be found in the Pro- 
 ceedings of the American Pharmaceutical Association, for 1858 and 1859. 
 
 TABLE OF SPECIFIC GRAVITIES OF FIXED AND VOLATILE OILS. 
 
 OILS. 
 
 TEMPEB., 
 
 8PE0ITI0 QBAVITT 
 
 oils. 
 
 TEMPER. 
 
 6PE0XFI0 GRAVITY, 
 
 
 68° F. 
 71° F. 
 
 .917 to .920 
 
 1.043 to 1.084 
 
 .881 
 
 .976 to .990 
 
 .908 
 
 .885 
 
 .914 to .927 
 
 .931 to .946 
 
 1.034 to 1.061 
 
 .908 
 
 1.035 
 
 .910 
 
 .929 
 
 .99? 
 
 1.173 
 
 .948 
 
 .911 
 
 .898 
 
 .877 
 
 .920 
 .851 
 .847 
 .932 
 
 Menthse Piperltse. 
 Menthse Viridis 
 
 72° Fi 
 
 63° F. 
 
 90° F. . 
 
 75° F. 
 72° F. 
 
 Kane, 
 Lewis, 
 Brande, 
 
 
 do Amarra... 
 Anethl 
 
 .914 to .975 
 
 Anlsi 
 
 Morrhuffi, pure 
 
 .917 
 .923 
 
 Bercamil 
 
 do lignt-brown 
 do dark-brown 
 
 924 
 
 
 .929 
 .920 to .948 
 
 Cart 
 
 CaryophylU 
 
 
 .915 
 
 
 
 > S67 
 
 >■ ... . 940 
 
 
 
 
 j . 909 
 
 Cubebse 
 
 1 021 
 
 
 Pulegil 
 
 .925 to .978 
 
 Qaultherise 
 
 Ricinl . 
 
 964 
 
 ISedeomsB 
 
 
 .S3? 
 911 
 
 "Juniperi 
 
 Bosmarini, com 
 
 do_ rectified 
 
 Layaudulse, c'm .... 
 
 .888 
 .837 
 
 dc from the 
 
 Sabinse 
 
 .915 
 
 whole herb. 
 
 Sassafras ; 
 
 1 094 
 
 Limonis, com 
 
 do rectified, 
 lilni 
 
 Succini, rectified.... 
 
 Tereblnthinse 
 
 Valerianse 
 
 .768 
 .86 
 .934 
 
 The above specific gravities are those usually given, yet they prob- 
 ably vary, according to circumstances ; and unless otherwise named, 
 the temperature of each is about 60° P.* 
 
 OLEUM BUBULUM. (Klauenfett.) 
 Neat's-foot Oil. 
 
 THE OIL OBTAINED FROM THE FEET OF THE BOS DOMESTIOUS. 
 
 Preparation. — Having removed the skin and hoof from ox feet, sub- 
 ject them to the long-continued action of water at 212° F. ; the fatty 
 
 *For these remarks on oils I am almost entirely indebted to Bell's Pharmaceutical Journal 
 and Transactions, W. A., Miller's Organic Chemistry, Thomson's Inorganic Chemistry, the 
 Chemical Gazette, Archives de Pharm., Am. Jour. Pharm., Duncan's Edinburgh Dispensar 
 tory, Turner's Chemistry, and Prof. E. S. Wayne.— M. Curienx purifies old resinified essential 
 oils, by first forming a thin magma with solution of borax and animal charcoal; tothi» 
 the oil is added and agitated for a quarter of an hour. At the end of this time the magma 
 is found adhering to the sides of the bottle, while the essential oil flows limpid. 
 
Oleum Morrhu^e. 56£ 
 
 matters which rise and float upon the surface must be skimmed off from 
 time to time, placed into another portion of clear water, and the whole 
 be heated to about 195° or 200° F. The oil again floats upon the sur- 
 face, and must be taken therefrom. The oil may be still further puri- 
 •fied, if necessary, by placing it in clean water, and subjecting it, for 
 twenty or twenty-flve hours to a temperature which will be just suflS- 
 cient to isolate the oil from its fat; upon the cooling of the water, and 
 after the solidification of the fat, the thin oil which remains should be 
 passed through a coarse charcoal filter. 
 
 History. — Good Neat's-foot Oil has no smell, a mild taste, an oily feel, 
 and is of a pale-yellowish color ; as more commonly prepared, however, 
 it retains both a disagreeable odor and taste. It does not readily solid- 
 ify, remaining fluid at very low temperatures, and is used in machin- 
 'ery to lessen friction, likewise by saddlers and shoemakers, to soften 
 and preserve leather and preyent its cracking. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This oil is emollient and relaxant, and may be 
 applied with advantage to the breast and throat, in croup or cough, 
 rubbing it on with brisk friction. It likewise enters into various ex- 
 temporaneous liniments and poultices. Dr. C. E. Hall states in the 
 London Journal of Medicine that he has used this oil in the place of 
 cod-liver, in tuberculous diseases, and with much efiicacy ; the dose is 
 the same as that of the cod-liver oil, and occasionally proves laxative. 
 He found it especially useful among those patients with whom the fish 
 oil occasioned nausea. The oil used was merely freed from foreign 
 particles; it was of a yellowish-brown color, and thick and opaque with 
 stearine, like honey not over clear. 
 
 OLEUM MOEEHU^. (Leberthran.) 
 Cod-liver Oil. 
 
 A FIXED OIL OBTAINED PROM THE LIVERS OF CERTAIN FISH. 
 
 Description. — The common Cod-fish, Gadus Morrhua of Linnseus, and 
 Morrhua Vulgaris of some other naturalists, belongs to the dlasi 
 Pisces, Order Malacopterygii Subbrachiata, and the Family of Gadoides. 
 It is a fish two or three feet in length, having a gray back with yel- 
 lowish spots, and a white abdomen. The body is somewhat fiattened, 
 and symmetrical ; the ventral fins are pointed and placed under the 
 throat. They have three dorsal, and two anal fins, and a cirrus or beard 
 at the end of the snout. The teeth ate pointed and unequal, and are 
 dispersed in several rows. The large gills are seven rayed. On the 
 external surface of the body are scales, rather soft, and not of large 
 size. It is an inhabitant of cold or temperate seas, and is found in 
 abundance on the coast of Norway, in the neighborhood of Iceland, 
 and in the waters of Newfoundland. According to Howden the true 
 source of the pure, unadulterated ofScinal oil, is the Loffoden Isles, situ- 
 ated near the extreme north of Norway. But most of that sold in this 
 country is from New England and Newfoundland, that from the latter 
 place being the more reliable article. 
 
 History. — Cod-liver Oil, as it is generally called in commerce, is ob- 
 tained from several of the species of the genus Gadus — as the cod, coal- 
 fish, and turbot, and sometimes from the pollock, hake, and haddock. 
 The oil is obtained by several processes ; one of which is to heat the 
 livers with water, until they are formed into a semifluid substance, and 
 then strain this into some vessel ; the oil floats on the top of the fil- 
 
564 Materia Medica. 
 
 tered fluid, from which it is removed, strained, and put up for sale. A 
 second plan is to place the livers in a vessel, heat them by passing 
 steam around the exterior of the vessel, and then strain the semifluid 
 mass as in the preceding process. In some places it is expressed from 
 the livers. Again, it is obtained by the decay of the livers, after the;^ 
 have been placed in vessels ; the oil ascends and floats upon the top, as 
 it separates from the decomposing textures. {See Am. Jour. Pharm., 
 XXIII., 97, and XXVI., 1.) Howden states that in the Loffoden Isles 
 the codfish come in innumerable quantities in the month of January to 
 deposit their spawn, all other fishes disappearing as if by enchant- 
 ment. The cod-fishing commences about the latter part of January 
 and terminates about the middle of April ; there being no less than 
 25,000 persons engaged in the business,-and the quantity offish is pro- 
 digious, incalculable. Bach fish is sold as soon as caught, their head? 
 are cut off, and the livers are removed and placed in process for ex- 
 tracting oil of different shades ; the best livers being had from fish re- 
 cently arrived from the deep seas. The extraction of the oil lasts to 
 the end of May. The oil is purchased by the merchants of Bergen, 
 examined and classified by an inspector of the government, and if 
 there is any adulteration it does not occur until after the oil has 
 passed into the merchants' hands. The annual production in the Lof- 
 foden Archipelago alone is estimated at 650,000 gallons. The livers 
 are treated upon the shore ; they are closely selected, washed with 
 several waters, expressed with care, then cut into fine pieces, and then 
 put into a boiler heated externally by steam not exceeding 104° F. 
 They are stirred and bea;ten by large wooden spatulas. The oil is de- 
 canted and left to rest, when a kind of stearoptene separates from it, 
 and which is removed by straining. This gives the first quality, a color- 
 less, inodorous, tasteless, at once ready for the pharmaceutist. Three 
 barrels of liver yield one barrel of first quality oil, and half a barrel of 
 brown oil obtained by heat and expression. 
 
 There are three kinds of Cod-liver Oil in commerce : First, the white 
 or pale-yellow, which is obtained from recent livers, not tainted in the 
 least, and varies in color from a pale-yellow to golden-yellow. Its 
 odor is not disagreeable, nor is its taste bitter, though it leaves in the 
 throat a fishy, somewhat acrid sensation ; it has a very feeble acid re- 
 action, a specific gravity 0.923 at 63°5 F. ; is readily soluble in ether, 
 while cold alcohol takes up from 2.5 to 2.7 per cent, of the oil, and hot 
 alcohol from 3.5 to 4.5 per cent. ; it is apt to deposit a little stearine 
 after a certain time, especially if it has not been sufficiently filtered. 
 2d., the pale-brown or brownish-yellow, is obtained from livers running 
 gradually to putrefaction ; it has a color somewhat resembling that of 
 Malaga wine, an odor and taste similar to the above, though more in- 
 tense, a feebly acid reaction, more so, however, than the first, and is 
 readily dissolved in ether, while cold alcohol dissolves from 2.8 to 3.2 
 per cent, of it, and hot alcohol from 6.5 to 6.8 per cent. Its sp. gr. at 
 63°5 F. is 0.924. 3d, the dark-brown oil is prepared from livers in a 
 state of decomposition ; it is of a dark-brown color, somewhat like 
 that of tar, transparent in thin layers, and greenish by transmit- 
 ted light ; its odor is empyreumatic and disagreeable, its taste bitter 
 and empyreumatic, leaving an acrid sensation in the fauces, its reaction 
 quite acid, and its sp. gr. at 63°6 F. 0.929. Cold alcohol takes up from 
 5.9 to 6.5 per cent, of it ; hot alcohol from 6.5 to 6.9 per cent. ; and 
 ether dissolves it readily. — P. These oils are generally of the consist- 
 ence of sperm oil, having a taste and smell unlike those of any other 
 
Oleum Morrhu^. 665 
 
 oils, -and which properties, in a great measure, are the best tests for the 
 purity and authenticity of the oils. The taste as well as the odor very 
 much resemble those of American shoe-leather, and when a distinct 
 piscatory odor is present like that of common fish-oil, we may doubt its 
 purity. Howden states that the true officinal oil is made in the Loffoden 
 Isles ; that the light and amber colored oils are more natural and pure 
 than the brown ; and that the relative absence of color, odor, and taste 
 are the guarantee of a careful extraction at low temperatures. The oil 
 may be adulterated with that from other kinds of cod, as well as from 
 other fishes, on its way to, or in, Bergen. 
 
 According to an analysis made by Dr. De Jongh, the following prin- 
 ciples were found in Cod-liver Oil, viz. : Gaduin, oleic acid, margaric 
 acid, glycerin, butyric acid, acetic acid, felinic acid, cholic acid, bilifel- 
 linic acid, bilifulvin, iodine, chlorine, bromine, phosphoric acid, sulphu- 
 ric acid, phosphorus, lime, magnesia, and soda. In relation to this 
 analysis. Dr. F. L. Winckler observes : " Hence, therefore, its composi- 
 tion would be quite analogous to that of the other fatty oils ; but with 
 the addition of small quantities of some of the constituent parts of the 
 bile, and also of iodine, bromine, and gaduin. But ray own investiga- 
 tions have led me to regard Cod-liver Oil as an organic whole, of a pe- 
 culiar chemical composition, differing from that of all other fatty oils 
 hitherto employed as medicipes. I prove this assertion by the follow- 
 ing facts : — " 
 
 He here gives bis series of experiments, as may be seen in Yol. 11. 
 of Bell's Pharmaceutical Journal, page 36, or. Am. Jour. Pharm., Vol. 
 XXIV., p. 343, from which he draws the following conclusions : — 
 " Cod-liver Oil, when saponified with potassa, yields oleic and margaric 
 acids, and oxide of propyle ; with oxide of lead it forms oleic and mar- 
 garic acids and a pure highly oxidized matter from propyle, namely 
 propylic acid. In neither case of saponification is the hydrated oxide of 
 glyceryls obtained ; the glyoeryle Cj H, is replaced in Cod-liver Oil by 
 ■propyle G^ Hj. On heating the soaps of this oil with hydrate of lime and 
 chloride of ammonium, a concentrated solution of propylamine^C^ Hg 
 N" distills over. The generation of propylamine, on the addition of 
 ammonia, takes place only in Cod-liver Oil, and in no other officinal fat- 
 ty oil, and its place in the Materia Medica can not, therefore be supplied 
 by any other oil." He then continues, " It is not ray intention to draw, 
 from these investigations, any conclusion as to the medicinal efficacy 
 of Cod-liver Oil. I am not a physician ; but when we reflect that the 
 fat assimilated by the animal organism serves chiefly as a material for 
 the process of respiration, the possibility of Cod-liver Oil undergoing, 
 during this process, a deoomposion similar to that which it undergoes 
 by the influence of alkalies, is very plausible ; and when we further 
 consider that in such a decomposition, by the presence of the conditions 
 requisite for the formation of ammonia, which, indeed, are never want- 
 ing in the animal organism, the formation of propylamine is highly 
 probable, it is not surprising why Cod-liver Oil alone should prove 
 BO advantageous in many diseases, even exclusive of the slight propor- 
 tion of iodine; and I think rayself justified in concluding that the effi- 
 cacy of this oil depends chiefly upon the peculiar chemical composition 
 which T have discovered; as propylamine, according to my experiment, 
 is to be found also in the normal urine and sweat." 
 
 Cod-liver Oil is said to contain iodine, but in very minute propor- 
 t m, hardly i part in 500 parts of the oil, so that its medicinal virtues 
 can not he at all owing to the presence of either iodine or bromine 
 
&66 Materia Medica. 
 
 which are not present in the metallic state, and which can not be do 
 tected in it, until the oil has firpt been saponified, and then carbonized 
 In addition to the usual components of the fish oils, it appears to con- 
 tain a compound of acetic acid with glycerin (acetin). As it become^ 
 changed by exposure to the air. Cod-liver Oil should always be kept in 
 pint or half-pint bottles, and be well secured with uorks. Cod-liver 
 Oil is liable to adulteration with several fixed oils, for the detection of 
 which there are no tests on which implicit reliance can be placed. The 
 shoe-leather flavor and odor, afford excellent criterions for judging of 
 its purity, while on the other hand, a lainp-oil smell renders its purity 
 of a doubtful nature. Concentrated nitric acid, when mixed and shaken 
 with Cod-liver Oil, at once imparts a delicate rose tint to it, which soon 
 changes to a fuscous color. Dr. Jongh states that a few drops of con- 
 centrated sulphuric acid, change olive oil to a dirty gray color ; oil of 
 poppies to a deep-yellow inclining to brown ; and ordinary fish-oil to a 
 deep-brown color ; but when added, drop by drop, to Cod-liver Oil, a 
 peculiar centrifugal movement is produced from the spot at which the 
 drops fall, and at the same time a beautiful violet tint, which is instantly 
 changed into purple by agitating the oil. This change of color is nol 
 owing to the presence of iodine, for other fish-oils which contain iodine 
 do not manifest a similar change, but, as he believes, to the presence of 
 a biliary principle called Cholinic Acid. This method, however, although 
 it will distinguish the Cod-liver from every other oil, will not answer to 
 distinguish its various adulterations with some olher fish or vegetable 
 oils. The pureCod-liverOil contains in 100 parts from 0.020 to 0.030 pans 
 of iodine, and oils containing a less, or greater, proportion of this sub- 
 stance, are to be considered as adulterations or mixtures with non- 
 remedial oils. Other oils, when mixed with iodine or various iodurets, 
 may be readily detected by their yielding these articles to water or 
 alcohol when agitated with them, while genuine Cod-liver Oil never 
 gives up its iodine to these fluids. The genuine oil, when carbonized, 
 without being first saponified, and the carbon then separated by means 
 of alcohol, does not betray the least trace of iodine, while other oils 
 treated in the same manner are invariably detected by manifesting the 
 presence of iodine or any of the medicinal iodurets. Again, the gen- 
 uine oil, when saj)onified, never communicates to the mother-water the 
 slighiest trace of iodine, while the contrary is the case when other 
 oils combined with iodine either in a free state, or in any of its combi- 
 nations, are subjected to saponification. The color of the oil is of hut 
 little value as a test, though the pale or light brown variety is general- 
 ly esteemed the most ; it has not the nauseous and disgusting odor and 
 flavor of the brown oil ; and, probably, even could the brown oil be 
 used with freedom and without nausea, it would like other rancid and 
 empyreumatie fats derange the digestive functions, and be otherwise 
 hurtful. 
 
 In a paper read by Mr. Mercer, before the Liverpool Chemists' Asso-. 
 ciation, and published in Bell's Pharmaceutical Journal, Vol. XIV.. p. 
 413, he makes the following remarks : " Though the historical notices 
 of Cod-liver Oil are pretty numerous, and extend at irregular intervals 
 over the last sixty years, most of our information is derived from the 
 labors of De Jongh, who, a few years ago, paid considerable attention 
 to the subject ; and his analysis being quoted as the most correct which 
 have yet been published, Mr. Mercer took them as the basis of his re- 
 marl^s. The first question that arises is, what constitutes the distinc- 
 tion between the three varieties of oil referred to ? Be Jongh quotes sev 
 
Oleum Morrhu^. 567 
 
 eral authorities on this point, and the conclusion he arrives at from their 
 testimony, is, that ' the clear pale oil is obtained from the spontaneous 
 flow from the putrescent livers, the brown by boiling or roasting of 
 livers, and the light-brown is a clear pale oil, which has stood long on 
 the livers, or has got' old in the warehouse/ The analysis of these 
 three varieties show but little difference between them. They all eon- 
 tain about 96 per cent, oleic and margaric acids, and glycerin, constitu- 
 ents of all oils and fats. The remaining 4 per cent, is made up by small 
 portions of butyric and acetic acids, the elements of the bile, iodine, 
 bromine, etc. And the conclusion De Jongh draws from these analyses 
 is that " the light brown and pale oil agree in every respect much more 
 than the brown ; by which it is established that the light brown is only 
 a pale oil which has become old." Proceeding in his investigations he 
 tries their comparative medicinal value, and for this purpose selects 
 three sets of six patients each, and much to Mr. Mercer's astonishment, 
 he found that the palm of superiority was carried off, not by the light 
 brown, which De Jongh now proclaims preferable to all others, but by 
 the brown, obtained, as he tells us, by boiling or roasting the putrescent 
 livers of the fish. This De Jongh accounts for by observing that ac- 
 cording to his analyses, the brown oil contains a little more biliary 
 matter and butyric acid than either of the others ; it is, therefore, he 
 says, " fair to assume that the brown oil owes its greater power to the 
 biliary matter and butyric acid, which exists in it in much larger pro- 
 portion than in the lighter colored oils." Yet, strange to say, by refer- 
 ring to his analyses, it will be seen that the pale brown oil he "ow 
 recommends does not contain even a trace of butyric acid. 
 
 Altogether, De Jongh shows such a slight difference to exist between 
 the chemical composition and medical effects of the three oils, that the 
 question arises, Is it not possible that he may have failed in discovering 
 their active principles? This Mr. Mercer believed to be the case; for 
 while, according to his analyses. Cod-liver Oil has apparently a consti- 
 tution similar to all other fats and oils, with the addition of biliary 
 matter and small quantities of inorganic salts, Winckler, a German 
 chemist, has shown that so far from this being the case, it possesses a 
 chemical composition differing from all other fatty oils hitherto em- 
 ployed in medicine; a most important fact; for, previous to these inves- 
 tigations of "Winckler, it was considered that all oils consisted of fatty 
 acids in combination with glycerin, the oxide of glyceryle ; but in Ocd- 
 liver Oil he finds that glycerin is replaced by the oxide of propyle. 
 The generation of propylamine, which is met with in the normal urine 
 and sweat, takes place only in Cod-liver Oil on the addition of am- 
 monia, and in no other oflScinal fatty oil ; and its place in the Materia 
 Medica can not therefore be supplied by any other oil. This discovery 
 of "Winckler's has not been questioned, and when we see that De Jongh 
 failed to detect the presence of such an important substance as propyle, 
 a characteristic which distinguished Cod-liver Oil from all other oils, 
 we ean not place much confidence in the other results of his analysis." Mr. 
 Mercer considered as the best medicinal oil that which was obtained 
 from the liver in a state most nearly approaching that in which it 
 exists in the fish when alive, being devoid of color, taste, and smell, the 
 most valuable tests of its puritj'^ we are acquainted with. Mr. Lawson 
 'stated that some Cod-liver Oil which he had exposed to the light for 
 some time, lost its power of giving the usual liver-oil reaction with sul- 
 phuric acid. M. Berthe states as the result of numerous researches, 
 that a drop of coricentrated sulphuric acid let fall upon some drops of 
 
B68 Materia Medica. 
 
 pure Cod-liver Oil contained in a glass-plate, placed on a; white sheei 
 of paper, forms an areola of a most beautiful violet color, which soon 
 passes into a crimson. After a few minutes, the mixture becomes 
 brown, or brownish-red. Pereira states that in some samples the red 
 color is produced at once, without the preliminary violet tint. It is 
 staited that the brown oil may be decolorized by beating two pints of 
 it with four fluidounces of distilled water and forty -five grains of per- 
 manganate of potassa. Then allow it to rest for 24 hours in a warm 
 place, and filter. If not entirely colorless the oil will be only of a pale 
 straw color. — Mepert de Pharm., 1867. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Cod-liver Oil is nutritive and alterative. It has 
 been long used as a domestic remedy in chronic rheumatic and stru- 
 mous diseases, especially in the northern parts of Europe, and has been 
 in general medicinal use, only since the treatise upon it by Professor 
 Eennett of Edinburgh, in 1841, although employed occasionally in the 
 profession as early as 1766. The diseases in which it is said to be most 
 eflicient are chronic rheumatism, strumous diseases, enlargement of the 
 glands, strumous ophthalmia, pseudo-syphilis, in scrofulous constitutions, 
 phthisis, and various chronic cutaneous diseases, as in eczema, impetigo, 
 prurigo, lichen, squamous affections, pityriasis, ichthyosis, etc. GrQut, 
 caries, rachitis, and tabes mesenterica have, it is said, yielded to its 
 influence. It is also asserted to have been found useful in diseases of the 
 joints and spine, lupus, obstinate constipation, worms, and incontinence 
 of urine; and may be advantageously employed in all chronic cases, in 
 which the disease appears to consist mainlj- in impaired digestion, as- 
 similation, and nutrition. E^fternally used in opacities of the cornea, a 
 drop or two placed on the cornea with, a camel's-hair pencil, also in 
 various chronic cutaneous diseases, rhagades, chaps, eczema, excoria- 
 tions, and fissures. Dose, half a fluidounce, twice a day, or more ; but 
 it is best to begin with small doses at first, say one drachm only, in 
 order to lessen the risk of nausea and vomiting. Patients soon accus- 
 tom themselves to its use, without repugnance. It is best given alone, 
 followed by some claret, or a little sugar and cinnamon powder, or pre- 
 pared with aromatic oils, the same as castor-oil, which see. Its use is 
 contra-indicated in plethora, or where there is a strong .tendency to it. 
 "When long used, it is said to frequently occasion an eruption on the 
 surface of an eczematous character. Dr. Alex. Wallace, recommends a 
 mixture of equal parts of lime-water and cod-liver oil, well shaken to- 
 gether, as a tonic, sedative, antacid, and nutrient.; it forms a thick, 
 milky emulsion, palatable, especially when taken with a little sherry 
 wine, and may be used in all the forms of disease in which Cod-liver 
 oil is recommended. But little advantage will be apparent from the 
 administration of Cod-liver Oil, until its use has been persevered in for 
 five or six weeks, though it often commences earlier. Whether it de- 
 serves all the encomiums passed upon it, or is as efficient an agent as 
 stated, in the various forms of disease in which it has been recom- 
 mended, is yet a matter of some uncertainty ; time is required to fully 
 and correctly ascertain its merits. Dr. Jongh prefers the darker, col- 
 ored oils. Mr. Wm. Bastick prepares a solution of quinia in Cod-liver 
 Oil by adding anhydrous quinia, in fine powder, to the oil contained in 
 a suitable vessel, and applying the heat of a water-bath until a clear 
 solution is formed. The oil becomes darker as, the quinia dissolves ;~ 
 any amount of this latter may be used; the proposed proportions are 
 two grains to the ounce of salt. Messrs. S. J. Lyman & Co., state that 
 an unpleasant flavor is communicated to the oil by the continued appli- 
 
Oleum Oliv^. 569 
 
 cation of heat, and advise the previous solution of the quinia in alco- 
 hol of sp. gr. 0.796, which will requil-e much less heat for its solution 
 in the oil as the alcohol evaporates. The anhydrous quinia may he 
 obtained by dissolving sulphate of quinia one ounce in boiling distilled 
 water two pints, then add liquor ammonias in slight excess, and collect 
 and careftiUy wash the precipitated quinia. Then dry it on filtering 
 paper, and fuse it in a porcelain dish, in a sand-bath; it has a resinous 
 appearance, translucent, dark -brown in color, and is soluble in fixed 
 oils to almost any extent. As the quinia is slightly soluble in exces.s 
 of liq. ammon. a solution of caustic soda might be advantageously used 
 as a substitute for the former precipitant. 
 
 Baumann's conclusions with regard to Cod-liver Oil are, that it pen- 
 etrates dry or moist animal membranes much more readily than any 
 other fatty oil, especially the brown oil; and that when its biliary prin- 
 ciples are removed, it loses almost entirely its facility of penetration 
 and acts like other oils, but that when bile be added to it, it recovers 
 its power of passing through animal membranes. Other oils pass more 
 readily through animal membranes than before, when bile is added to 
 them. In Germany a ferruginous Cod-liver Oil is much employed; it 
 is prepared by first making a soda soap from which its glycerin is re- 
 moved by a concentrated solution of sea salt, giving as the result an 
 iron soap by double decomposition, — this last soap is disolved in six- 
 teen times its weight of Cod-liver Oil. The oil thus prepared is brown 
 and holds in solution -g^ of iron, the taste of which is hardly discern- 
 able. I 
 
 OLEUM OLlViE. (Oliven Oel.) 
 
 Olive Oil. Baum Oel. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Oleacese. Sex. Syst. — Diandria Monogynia. 
 
 OIL PROM THE PERICARP OF OLEA EUROPEA. 
 
 Description. — The Olive-tree is an evergreen, from twelve to twenty 
 feet high, with hoary, rigid branches, and a grayish bark. Leaves op- 
 posite, lanceolate, or ovate-lanceolate, mucronate, short-petioled, green 
 above, hoary on the underside. Flowers small, in short, axillary, erect 
 racemes, very much shorter than the leaves. Corolla short, white, with 
 four broad, ovate segments ; calyx short, four-toothed. Stamens two, 
 rather projecting ; style very short ; stigma bifid, with emarginate seg- 
 ments. Fruit a drupe about the size of a damson, smooth, purple, 
 two-celled, with a nauseous, bitter flesh, inclosing a sharp-pointed 
 stone. — L. 
 
 Sistory. — -The native country of the Olive-tree is unknown, though 
 it is supposed to have been originally from Asia ; at present it is exten- 
 sively cultivated in the south of Europe, especially in Spain, France-, 
 Sicily, Italy, Calabria, and Apulia. The tree commences yielding fruit 
 in its third year ; in its sixth year it is very productive, and remains 
 BO for an indefinite length of time. More than one variety of the tree 
 is recognized by botanists, which differ in magnitude, hue, taste of the 
 fruit, and character of the foliage. The bark of the tree was formerly 
 used in medicine, as well as the leaves ; they have a bitter taste, with 
 acrimony. In the warmer provinces of Europe a substance exudes from 
 the bark, which has been called Gomme cf Olivier, and which, according 
 to PeUetier, consists of a peculiar resin, a small quantity of benzoic 
 
570 Materia Medioa. 
 
 acid, and a peculiar crystalline principle, which he called Olivin or Oil-' 
 vile. This was at one tiine used as a remedial agent. The fruit, gath- 
 ered when not quite ripe, is very solid, bitter, and acrimonious ; but 
 when steeped for several days in a lye of wood ashes, and then pickled 
 in brine, it constitutes the olive of commerce, much valued by some as 
 a dessert. 
 
 The only product of the tree which is officinal is the oil, obtained by 
 expression from the fleshy pericarp of the fruit. The fruit is carefully 
 collected immediately previous to its ripening, or when it assumes a 
 reddish hue, one day usually completing the gathering ; if the olives be 
 collected when fully ripe, the tree will bear only every other year. 
 Without delay, the drupes are passed through a mill, having its stones 
 so arranged as not to break the olive nuts ; the pulpy mass thus ob- 
 tained undergoes expression, from which the finest oil is procured, termed 
 Virgin Oil. The mass which has been solidified by the pressure, is re- 
 duced to fragments, dampened with boiling water, and again exposed 
 to pressure, thus yielding a second-rate oil, which may be used as a 
 salad oil and for preparing fine soaps ; it is the ordinary Olive Oil of 
 commerce. Upon again breaking up the cake formed by the pressure, 
 steeping it in water, allowing it to remain for ten or twelve days, until 
 it begins to ferment, and then expressing it, an inferior oil is obtained, 
 which is used in lamps, also for making plasters, inferior soaps, etc. 
 Other varieties are introduced into the process in different countries. 
 The finest oil comes from Provence and Elorence, and sometimes from 
 Genoa and Lucca ; the commoner sort, termed Gallipoli Oil, comes from 
 Naples. The best quality comes in clear glass bottles, or, in Florence 
 flasks-^-glass vessels, inclosed in a kind of wicker-work formed from 
 the leaves of some plant. Fine Olive Oil is a greasy liquid of a pale 
 yellow color, and frequently having a greenish tint ; it is nearly odor- 
 less, and has a mild, faintly-sweet oleaginous taste. It will keep for a 
 long time without becoming rancid, especially when protected from the 
 influence of light and air. Its specific gravity varies from 0.911 to 
 0.9192. At about 500° F., it gives off acrid and offensive vapors, and a 
 little above 600° F., it becomes rapidly decomposed. At the tempera- 
 ture of 38° F., a considerable part of it solidifies in white crystalline 
 grains, which are fatty bodies, composed of margarin principally, with 
 a small proportion of olein ; the supernatant fluid is olein. Olive Oil is 
 not completely dissolved by alcohol, and requires one and a half times 
 its weight of ether for solution. According to Braconnot it contains 
 72 parts of olein and 28 of margarin; its ultimate constituents are car- 
 bon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. (^See Adeps and Sapo.) 
 
 Margarin may be obtained by squeezing the crystals which form at a 
 temperature of about 20° in bibulous paper ; the paper absorbs the olein, 
 and leaves the concrete margarin. Few vegetable oils contain so large 
 a proportion of this solid principle. According to Heintz, margarin is 
 not a simple fat ; for when saponified, the acid which it yields,- and 
 which is commonly described as margaric acid, admits of separation 
 into palmitic and stearic acids ; hence what is called margaric acid ap- 
 pears to be a mere mixture of these acids. Olive Oil is not a dryifig 
 oil ; it undergoes saponification when heated with alkaline solutions, 
 freeing glycerin, and forming soluble salts, in which the alkali is com- 
 bined with several fatty acids. Nitrous acid, or nitrate of mercury, con- 
 verts it into a fatty principle called elaidin,, which concretes at temper-: 
 atures below 97°, and is converted by saponification into glycerin and 
 elaidic acid. 
 
Oleum Oliv^. 571 
 
 The aotion of the atmosphere greatly deteriorates the character of 
 Olive Oil, as to consistency, color, odor, and taste, producing rancidity, 
 gummy viscidity, and a darker hue. It is very liable to adulteration 
 with oils, which adulteration may be recognized by the fluidity of the 
 oil at the freezing point. " M. Poutet shakes together three ounces of 
 suspected oil with two drachms of protonitrate of mercury for two 
 minutes. If the Olive Oil be pure, it thickens immediately, and next 
 day is a concrete mass ; but if it be adulterated with poppy oil, there is 
 only a precipitate, and the quantity of supernatant fluid shows the de- 
 gree of adulteration." According to Eosseau, Olive Oil conducts elec- 
 tricity 675 times more slowly than other oils, to ascertain which he used 
 the diagometer, an instrument consisting of one of Zamboni's dry piles 
 and a feebly magnetized needle, moving freely on a pivot ; the electri- 
 city developed by the pile produces a deviation in the direction of the 
 needle; but when any substance is interposed between the needle and 
 the pile, the deviation is less in proportion to the bad conducting power 
 of the interposed substance. Since the manufacture of lard oil, it has 
 been extensively used to adulterate Olive Oil, and large quantities of it 
 are taken to Europe every year for this purpose. M. Hauchecorne, of 
 Yvetot, France, gives the following easy method of detecting adultera- 
 tions in Olive Oil : — Into a graduated tube pour three volumes of the 
 OUve Oil to be tested, to which add one volume of oxygenized oil, and 
 shake the whole well together. If the Olive Oil is pure, the mixture 
 will assume a green color almost immediately; a light green, if the oil 
 was procured from good olives of various qualities ; an apple green, if 
 the olives furnishing the oil were too ripe. ISTo other oil will be acted 
 upon in'this manner. Poppy oil becomes of a rose color with the oxy- 
 genized oil; oil of arachis, yellowish -gray ; oil of beechnut, ochre color; 
 and oil of sesamum, bright red. The test named, oxygenized oil, is a 
 colorless liquid, which any chemist can furnish. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Olive or Sweet Oil, as it is often called, is emol- 
 lient, nutritive, and aperient. A fluidounce or two purges, but is uncer- 
 tain and often ineffective ; yet is very useful in teaspoonful doses for 
 newly-born infants, where the mother's milk does not prove sufllciently 
 laxative. As a demulcent it is very useful in irritation of the mucous 
 surfaces of the air-passages, and of the alimentary tube ; it may be 
 given as a gentle aperient in cases where other agents would cause too 
 much intestinal irritation ; and is of service as an antidote to the strong 
 alkalies, in which it acts by combining with them to form soap. It has 
 been used in cases of poisoning by cantharides, but owing to its readily 
 dissolving their active principle, it increases the peril of the patient. As 
 an article of diet it is exceedingly improper for dyspeptics. Eubbed 
 over the whole surface of the body, it has been considered beneficial in 
 the treatment of plague, scarlatina, and some other exanthematous af- 
 fections. According to Mr. Sidney H. Maltass, a strong decoction of 
 the leaves of the olive-tree, given in doses of a wineglassful every three 
 hours, has cured the most obstinate and severe forms of intermittent 
 fevSr. He considers it more effectual than quinia. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Bmplastrum Plumbi ; Bmplastruih Plumbi Compositum , 
 Emplastrum Eesinse Compositum; Linimentum Ammonise ; Linimen- 
 tum Nigrum; Unguentum Acidi Nitrici; Unguentum Cetacei ; Ungu- 
 entum Ipecacuanhse; Unguentum Myricse ; Unguentum Plumbi Com> 
 positnm 
 
572 Materia Medica. 
 
 OLEUM EICINI. (Eicinus Oel.) ,_, 
 Castor Oil. 
 Nat. Ord.— ^EuphorbiaceaB. Sex. Syst. — Moncecia Monadelphia. 
 OIL obtained from the seeds op ricinus communis. 
 
 Description. — Eicinus Communis, the Gastor Oil hush, in the United - 
 States, is a herbaceous annual, with a white, frosted or glaucous, hollow, 
 smooth stem, of a purplish-red color upward. Root long, thick, and 
 fibrous. Leaves large, alternate, deeply divided into seven or nine lan- 
 ceolate segments, peltate, palmate, serrate, four to twelve lines in diame- 
 ter, and on longj tapering, purplish petioles. Flowers in long, green, 
 and glaucous spikes, springing from the divisions of the branches; males 
 from the lower part of the spike, females from the upper. Capsule 
 prickly, three-celled, three-seeded ; seeds ovate, shining, black dotted 
 with gray. — L. — W. 
 
 History. — Eicinus Comtaunis, or Falma Christi, is an Bast Indian 
 plant, in which country it attains the size of a tree. In the United 
 States, where it has become naturalized, it seldom grows higher than 
 eight or ten feet, flowers in July and August, and matures its, seeds in 
 August and September. The plant is much grown in California, for its 
 oil, also in Italy. The fixed oil of the seeds is the Castor Oil of tfte 
 shops. The seeds are about four lines in length, three lines in width, 
 and about a line and a half in thickness, and consist of a smooth ex- 
 ternal coat, covering a thick, hard, and dark-brown shell, composed of 
 two layers which inclose the white nucleus or oleaginous kernel, which 
 has within it a large, dicotyledonous, leafy embryo. From its resem- 
 blance to the " dogtick," the name Eicinus was probably derived. Ac- 
 cording to Geiger, the seeds are composed as follows : The seed-coats 
 contain tasteless resin and extractive 1.91, brown gum 1.91, ligneous 
 fiber 20.00. The nucleus of the seeds contain fatty oil 46.19, gum 2.40, 
 casein (albumen) 0.50, ligneous fiber, with starch, 20.00, loss or mois- 
 ture 7.09. — P. They must also contain a peculiar and acrid principle, 
 which has not yet been obtained, for they are powerfully active after 
 the oil has been expressed. The seeds soon acquire rancidity with 
 irritating properties, and in this state should not be used for procur- 
 ing the oil. 
 
 There are three niodes by which Castor Oil is obtained, viz. : Ist, The 
 seeds are deprived of their husks, steeped for a night in cold water, 
 and then boiled for two hours in a fresh portion of water, dried in the 
 sun and bruised, and lastly, boiled in fresh water, and constantly stirred, 
 till all the oil separates and rises to the surface; this is removed by 
 skimming, and boiled with a little water to remove the volatile acrid 
 constituent. This plan is said to be pursued in both the East and 
 West Indies ; it is apt to furnish an irritating, acrimonious product, 
 and a dark-colored oil ; 2d, The oij is sometimes obtained by the 
 agency of alcohol, but the process is an expensive one, and the pro- 
 duct is inferior, soon becoming foul ; 3d, The seeds, having been com- 
 pletiely freed from all impurities, are introduced into an iron vessel of 
 but little depth, and then exposed to a moderate degree of heat, sufficient 
 to warm them through without roasting, and thus liquefy the oil that 
 it may flow readily ; then, by expression, the oil is obtained. This is 
 subsequently boiled with a large proportion of water, to dissolve out 
 the soluble impurities, and coagulate albumen, removing all foreign 
 bodies as they float upon the liquid. The oil is separ^tod from the water, 
 
Oleum Eicini. 573 
 
 boiled agam in a small quantity of water, which purifies the oil by 
 driving off its acrid constituent. About twenty-five per cent, of oil may 
 thus be procured. 
 
 Castor Oil has a pale straw-yellow color, considerable unctuous vis- 
 cidity, a faint sweetish taste, with some acridity, followed hy nausea, 
 and a repulsive odor. It is said that its acrid taste may he removed 
 by agitating it with magnesia. When pure it is colorless and almost 
 inodoi'ous. Prom want of care in its preparation, it sometimes becomes 
 turbid on standing, or gives a precipitate of margarin, etc,, so that it 
 must be filtered through coarse filtering paper to render it fit for use. 
 The most esteemed Castor Oil is the cold drawn, which is made by ex- 
 pression without heat. It is one of the heaviest of the fixed oils, hav- 
 ing a density of .964 at 60° When exposed to cold a little below 32°, 
 it slowly becomes thick and turbid, and at length deposits a very few 
 crystalline grains of margarin, though it is stated that no margarin 
 separates, if the oil has been previously heated to 212°, either with or 
 without water. At a temperature above 212° the oil itself becomes 
 altered and acquires acrid properties. When in an open vessel, the 
 action of the air renders it thick and rancid, without impairing its 
 transparency. Castor Oil, unlike most other fixed oils, produces right 
 handed rotation upon a beam of polarized light, provided it has not 
 been raised to a temperature of 518° P. It is insoluble in water,-so]u- 
 ble in all proportions in alcohol or ether, and even rectified alcohol of 
 sp. gr., 0.840 takes up about a third of its volume — a property not pos- 
 sessed by any other common fixed oil except the concrete palm oil. As 
 long exposure to the air hardens it, it forms a connecting link be- 
 tween the drying and non drying-oils. It readily combines with other 
 fixed as well as volatile oils ; the alkaline solutions dissolve and sapon- ' 
 ify it, producing acids termed the ricinic,rieinoleic, ricino-stearic. Eicin- 
 oleic acid, H G^ H33 Og, is the principle acid, and this reipains fluid at a 
 temperati-re considerably below 32° P. ; it is a modification of oleic 
 acid. Ammonia forms with Castor Oil a solid crystalline amide, called 
 ricinolamide, Cjo H35 NO4. Hyponitrous acid will convert twenty times 
 its weight of Castor Oil in seven hours, into a firm, yellow solid substance, 
 called Palmin, which is saponifiable by alkalies, yielding Palmic acid 
 and glycerin. Castor Oil, when added to other fixed oils, renders them 
 more soluble in alcohol. It may be distilled at a temperature of about 
 510°, when it undergoes important alterations, yielding three acids, 
 apparently identical with those above named. The proximate consti- 
 tution of Castor Oil is imperfectly understood by chemists. M. Bouis 
 who has recently experimented upon Castor Oil, has procured from it 
 a new alcohol, called caprylic alcohol, C^ Hi, 0, HO, which is readily 
 converted into caprylic acid by oxidizing agents. Nitric acid oxidizes 
 Castor Oil, yielding an acid termed the oenanthylic ; etc., etc. Prof 
 Tuson has obtained crystals of an alkaloid from the seeds, which he 
 has called ricinia or ricinine; they do not appear to be purgative. 
 
 It is stated that rancid acrid Castor Oil may be deprived of its dis- 
 agreeable odor and taste, as well as of acrimony, by boiling it for fif- 
 teen minutes with water and a little calcined magnesia. If it be tur- 
 bid, it should be clarified by filtration through coarse paper. Castor 
 Oil is much employed in the preparation of an article which is exten- 
 sively sold throughout the country for bear's oil; it is composed of four 
 fluidounces of Castor Oil, mixed with two fluidrachms of an aqueous 
 solution of salts of tartar (carbonate of potassa), and scented with bet- 
 gamot, lavender, or other aromatic oil. 
 
674 Materia Medica. 
 
 Castor Oil is sometimes used to adulterate volatile oils, and according 
 to Mr. H. K. Draper, maybe detected by a test based on the production 
 of oenanthylic acid, which is a product of the oxidation of Castor Oil, 
 His process, which will detect the presence of five per cent, of Castor 
 Oil, is as follows : Place twenty drops of the suspected oil in a capsule, 
 and heat on a sand-bath until the odor of the volatile 'oil is no longer 
 perceived; if there be any residue left, add five or six drops of nitric 
 acid to it, when a violent action will ensue, during which much nitrous 
 acid will be disengaged. As soon as the action has subsided, dilute 
 with solution of carbonate of soda; if Castor Oil be present, the odor 
 will be at once perceived, and once smelled is not liable to be mistaken 
 for any other. A soft unctuous mass will be observed floating in th^ 
 acid liquid, when water is added to the residue after the violent action 
 and nitrous fumes have ceased. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The Castor Oil seed or bean is a powerful 'dras 
 tic cathartic and irritant, and has proved fatal to man when taken to 
 the extent of .twenty seeds at once. Yet the oil expressed from it is 
 only a mild cathartic, operating promptly, producing thin, feculent, 
 but not watery stools, causing but little griping or nausea. From its 
 mildness of action, it is especially adapted to young children, pregnant 
 or puerperal females, likewise in hemorrhoidal affections, colic, diarrhea, 
 dysentery, enteritis, after the reduction of hernia, obstinate constipa- 
 tion, collections of indurated feces, accumulation of acrid secretions, 
 and in worms. One part of oil of turpentine mixed with three or four 
 parts of Castor Oil increases its purgative and anthelmintic effect. The 
 greatest objections to this cathartic are its nauseous taste and its ten- 
 dency to cause sickness or unconquerable disgust. This may be over- 
 come by adding to one pint of the oil half a fluidounce each of oils of 
 origanum and winter-green, or one ounce of sassafras oil ; the dose of 
 this may be given in sweetened water. Any other aromatic oils will 
 answer equally as well. When not contra-indicated it may be takeii 
 in wine, spirituous liquors, or the froth of porter, likewise in cinnamon 
 or peppermint water. I find it a very pleasant mode of administration 
 to boil the dose of oil with about a gill of good sweet milk for a few 
 minutes, sweeten with loaf-sugar, and flavor with essence of cinnamon 
 dv other favorite aromatic ; it somewhat resembles custard in its taste 
 and appearance, and is readily taken by even the most delicate stom- 
 ach. Stuncke states that Castor Oil saponifies readily with alkalies, 
 and gives with soda a white solid soap, which, in the form of pills, is a 
 certain and agreeable purgative. M. Parola proposes an ethero-alco- 
 holic extract and the ethereal and alcoholic tinctures of the seeds as a 
 substitute for the oil ; he states that the above tinctures have a pui'ga- 
 tive action four times as strong as the oil, are less irritating, and re- 
 main unalterable in all climates. As an enema, Castor Oil may be used 
 in the quantity of two or three fluidounces, mixed with some mucilagin- 
 ,ous liquid. Externally, it has been recommended in itch, ringworm, 
 and other cutaneous diseases. Dose, for an adult, a fluidounce or a 
 fluidounce and a half; for an infant, one, two, or three fluidrachms, ac- 
 cording to its age. Equal parts of Castor Oil and copal varnish, form 
 an excellent local application for hemorrhoidal affections. A hairwasb 
 for keeping the hair from falling, and cleansing it of dandruff, is sold 
 by the perfumers, and is made as follows : Take Castor Oil half a 
 pound, strongest alcohol half a pint, powdered cantharides fortj'^-eight 
 grains, oil of bergamot half an ounce, otto of roses four drops ; mix. let 
 
Uleum TerebinthinjE. ' 575 
 
 *hem stand for seven days, frequently shaking, and then filter, and keep 
 1 well closed bottles. 
 
 According to Dr. J. O. Mc William, the natives of the Cape de Verd 
 Islands use the leaves of the Castor Oil plant, which they term " Bofa- 
 reir^y '' for accelerating and increasing the flow of milk, in cases where 
 it if cardy in appearing or deficient in quantity, and also, in cases of 
 emergency, where the females are not childbearing or have not suckled 
 a child for many years. The white plant, known by the light green 
 color of the leaf-stem is used, instead of the red, having a purplish-red 
 leaf-stem. The breasts are frequently fomented, and the boiled leaves 
 placed upon the breasts in form of a poultice. This operation is fre- 
 quently repeated ; and in obstinate cases the thighs and generative or- 
 gans are exposed to the vapor from the decoction. One, two, or three 
 days are required before the child can procure a supply of milk from the 
 breasts of persons thus treated, — according to cir.cumstances. 
 
 Women with well-developed breasts are most easily affected by it, 
 while those with small and shriveled breasts have the uterine system 
 acted upon, bringing on the menses, if their period be distant, or causing 
 their immoderate flow if their advent be near. Exposure to cold is 
 earefuUy avoided by women brought under its influence ; they scrupu- 
 lously abstain from wetting the hands or feet with cold water. It is 
 said to affect virgins of adult age, similar to child-bearing women. It 
 sometimes produces swelling and pain in the breasts and axillary 
 glands, pain in the back, and an increase of a leucorrheal discharge. 
 
 This remedy, and the red bofareira, as an emmenagogue,both of which' 
 are common to this country, have been already tried by physicians. 
 and the results have been sufficiently favorable to render further inves- 
 tigation very desirable. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Mistura Chenopodii Composita ; Mistura Olei Composita. 
 
 OLEUM TBEEBmTHIN^. (Terpenthinoel.) 
 Oil or Spirit of Turpentine. 
 Nat. Ord. — Pinaceae. Sex. Syst. — Moncecia Monadelphia. 
 Sistory. — Turpentine is the name usually given to those vegetable 
 exudations, into which resin and a volatile oil, known by the name of 
 " Oil of Turpentine," enter as prominent constituents. Turpentine- is 
 generally obtained from the juice of the yellow or pitch pine, Pinus 
 palustris, as well as other pines, and the Abies balsamea, etc. Beside 
 the turpentines from these trees, there are others, as the ordinary Eu- 
 ropean Turpentine, Terebinthina Vulgaris, from the Pinus sylvestns ; 
 the larch or Yenice Turpentine, Terebinthina Veneta, from the Lanx 
 Europea and Abies larix; the chian or Cyprus Turpentine, Terebinthina 
 chia or cypria, from the Pistacia terebinth os ; the Bordeaux Turpentine 
 from the Pinus maritima, and many others. All the Turpentines arc 
 generally thick, of a molasses-like consistence, and a light-yellow or 
 brownish color ; some are translucent or transparent, others turbid or 
 opaque, and they have a strong smell, sui generis, and a bitter, more or 
 less disagreeable, terebinthine taste, with a degree of acrimony. Ven- 
 ice Turpentine is rather fluid, tenacious, of a greenish hue, a rather 
 pleasant smell, and a hot, bitter, pungent taste. The Turpentines are 
 readily soluble in ether or alcohol, and combine with the tatty oils. 
 All the terebinthinate resins, etc., owe their medical properties to their 
 
t>76 Materia Medica. 
 
 volatile oil ; they are seldom used at present, except in salves, plas- 
 ters, etc. 
 
 Oil of Turpentine belongs to the class of pure hydrocarbons, and 
 is procured by distilling Turpentine in the dry way, or with water ; 
 the former is apt to give an ernpyreumatie result, while by the latter 
 process a very fine article is obtained. The residue in the still, after 
 the distillation of the oil, is rosin. To purify the oil it should be mixed 
 with caustic potassa in solution, and be again subjected to distillation. 
 — P. — C. The North Carolinians prepare this Oil on an extensive scale. 
 Commercial Oil of Turpentine frequently consists of a mixture of sev- 
 eral isomeric hydrocarbons, which act differently on polarized light. 
 Most of the Oil of Turpentine in this country produces a right-handed 
 rotatibn=18°6. The Oil, or Spirit of Turpentine, as it is often termed, 
 is, when pure, a clear, transparent, very liquid fluid, resembling water, 
 of a powerful, penetrating, balsamic, and; to most persons, disagreeable 
 odor, and an unpleasant, peculiar, bitter, and sometimes acrid taste ; it 
 floats on water, being of the specific gravity 0.86 at about 70° F., is 
 very volatile, boils at about 314° F., but as the boiling goes on the boil- 
 ing point rises at least as high as 350° F., and the specific gravity of its 
 vapor at 313° is 4.83.« A cold of — -17° F., causes it to deposit, white 
 crystals, which are a hydrate of the pure oil. It is very inflammable, 
 burning with a fierce, dense, red flame, and much black smoke. In the 
 open air it slowly attracts oxygen, becomes brown, somewhat denser 
 and more tenacious, and its properties are considerably impaired ; the 
 oxygen converts it into resin, from which the oil may be separated by 
 distillation. It is scarcely dissolved by water, partially so by alcohol, 
 and wholly so by ether. It dissolves resins, fixed oils, fats, sulphur, 
 phosphorus, many alkaloids and neutral crystalline principles from the 
 vegetable kingdom, and caoutchouc. When immersed in chlorine gas it 
 inflames ; and iodine dropped into it is partly dissolved, and partly dis- 
 persed with an explosion. Under the influence of heat and of acids 
 Oil of Turpentine has a remarkable facility of assuming different 
 isomeric states. It has a strong affinity for hydrochloric acid gas, form- 
 ing with it, when surrounded by ice, a crystalline body, which, from its 
 similitude to camphor, has been named by Kind artificial camphor, and' 
 which consists of one equivalent, each, of hydrochloric acid, and the 
 radical Oil of Turpentine i(camphene), and is consequently a hydro- 
 chlorate of camphene. A red fluid compound is also obtained at the same 
 time, called terebene, or terebylene, which has an odor resembling that of 
 oil of thyme. Hydrochlorate of camphene, C20 Hm+HCl, is white, 
 lighter than water, has a camphoraceous taste and odor, is neutral to 
 test paper, fuses above 212° P., is insoluble in water, soluble in three 
 parts of alcohol, burns with a greenish, sooty flame, and when distilled 
 with lime, yields a volatile oil called camphilen, or dadyl, Cio Hj, which 
 is isomeric with Oil of Turpentine, but possesses no rotating power in 
 relation to polarized light, — and chloride of calcium is also obtained. 
 
 Oil of Turpentine, when acted upon by nitric acid, cautiously added 
 to it, is changed into a yellow nitrogenous resin, or, if the mixtftre be 
 boiled for a long time, into terebinic or terebic acid, HCh H,, Og, besides 
 four other acids. M. Chautard states that a substance coincident with 
 chloroform is obtained by distilling Oil of Turpentine with water and 
 chloride of calcium. Oil of Turpentine has the power of rotating the 
 ray of plaiierpolarized light, but the degree of this power is' not uni- 
 form. The direction of rotation differs, being left-handed in the 
 French oil, and right-handed in the American and English. If the oil 
 
Uleum Terebinthin^. 577 
 
 be distilled over an open fire, its power of rotation increases; but if the 
 distillation occurs over pulverized slate-stone, that pow^r is lessened, 
 and the turpentine acquires the power of dissolving caoutchouc in 
 greater quantity than before. Gamphene, whea kept for some time, 
 always contains a little absorbed oxygen ; combined with one equiva- 
 lent of oxygen, it forms camphor ; and with two equivalents it forms 
 camphoric acid. — P. — G. — T. When Oil of Turpentine is contami- 
 nated with copper it may be readily detected by shaking the oil with 
 a little concentrated solution of prussiate of potassa and allow it to 
 stand for a f^w days, when the oil may be drawn off pure. The study 
 of the turpentines, and other pure hydrocarbons, is very interesting. 
 
 Properties and tfses. — The actions of Oil of Turpentine are complex. 
 It is irritant, stimulant, cathartic, diuretic, vermifuge, and, in relation 
 to chronic mucous discharges, astringent. Given in large doses it oc- 
 casions fullness of the head, or giddiness, with a feeling similar to that 
 of intoxication, or a state resembling trance ; sometimes it gives rise 
 to pain in the stomach, nausea, and vomiting, and more frequently it 
 gives rise to violent strangury, bloody urine, and other symptoms of 
 renal or vesical irritation. In small doses long continued, or when 
 absorbed from its external application, or its vapor inhaled, it renders 
 the urine of a violet odor, and sometimes produces strangury. Its 
 most constant effect is purgation, and when this occurs, the other 
 effects seldom present themselves. In medicinal doses it warms the 
 stomach, elevates the temperature of the surface, quickens the pulse, 
 and when given at short intervals, in slight doses, it acts, upon the 
 kidneys, causing an increased urinary discharge. In the typhoid stage 
 of febrile diseases, especially when intestinal ulceration is diagnosed 
 from the symptoms, the tongue becoming dry and dark-colored, the 
 skin dry and husky, and tympanitis is present, with occasionally men- 
 tal derangemeiit, small doses given at short intervals and continued 
 for some time, will act as a stimulant, remove all these symptoms, and' 
 gradually restore the patient to. health. It is supposed, in these in- 
 stances, to normally influence the ulcerated tissues. It is likewise re- 
 commended in neuralgia, chronic rheumatism, dropsy, suppression of 
 urine, worms, especially tenia — tympanitic distention in typhoid fever, 
 peritonitis, or other diseases — chorea, hysteria, croup, colic, jaundice, 
 and in cases where gravel is habitually carried off by copious discharge 
 of lithic acid, and lithate of ammonia. It has a tendency to diminish 
 excessive mucous discharges, and has been employed with advantage 
 in chronic catarrh, chronic dysentery, chronic diarrhea, chronic in- 
 flammation of the bladder, gleet, chronic gonorrhea, and leucorrhea. 
 The dose in ordinary cases is from six drops to half a fluidrachm, and 
 even to one drachm, at intervals of an hour or two in acute diseases, 
 and every three or four hours in chronic. In the course of its action 
 it is absorbed, and imparts its odor to the breath and perspiration. 
 In doses varying from twenty minims to a fluidrachm, according to 
 the urgency of Ihe symptoms, and repeated every three or four hours, 
 it is a most efficacious astringent, and may be used in epistaxis, hema- 
 temesis, hemoptysis, and other sanguineous discharges. It may be 
 administered in water, flavored with some agreeable aromatic syrup, 
 or in infusion of matico, in hemoptysis ; in the decoctions of uva ursi, 
 epigea, or eupatorium, etc., in hematuria ; or in the decoction or infuj 
 sion of Peruvian bark in purpura hemorrhagica. "Where much arterial 
 blood has been lost, muriated tincture of iron will form a valuable 
 adjunct. Combined with castor-oil, it is an excellent vermifuge.^ Ex- 
 37 
 
678 Materia Medica. 
 
 ternally. it is a rubefaoient, and is used as a counter-ii'ritant in the 
 form of liniment in rheumatism, paralysis, neuralgia, inflammation of 
 internal organs, in the neighborhood of indolent tumors, to chilblains, 
 indolent anii erysipelatous ulcers, caries, sloughing, especially from 
 pressure in exhausting diseases, chronic inflammation of the edge of 
 the eyelids, and in recent burns or scalds combined with linseed-oil. 
 
 Where deafness is occasioned by a scanty or abnormal secretion of 
 cerumen, the Oil of Turpentine rubbed up with some bland oil, maybe 
 jDassed into the ear, on cotton. In amenorrhea arising from torpor of 
 the uterine vessels, in obstinate constipation, in tympanitis, or when 
 the bowels are distended with flatus, and in ascarides, OU of Turpen- 
 tine used as an injection will ' frequently be found a superior remedy. 
 Prom four to eight fluidrachms may be rubbed up with half a pint of 
 water and the yolk of a few eggs, or with some mucilage, and. injected 
 into the rectum, where it should be retained for some time. 
 
 "When given internally, it may be administered in simple or aroma- 
 tized syrup, or rubbed up with sugar, or taken in gin, when not cpntrd- 
 indicateii, etc. ; or it may be triturated with the yolk of egg, gradually 
 < adding syrup, and essence of cinnamon, with a portion of water. One 
 yolk is sufficient for trituration with every two fluidrachms of the oil. 
 In tapeworm it has been combined with gin, and given in doses of one 
 or two fluidounces. As an ordinary vermifuge, three or four parts of 
 castor-oil may be added to one part of the Oil of Turpentine. 
 
 iDr. James Warren has used a preparation for nearly thirty years in 
 the treatment of hemorrhages, with uniform success. It acts both by 
 its sedative power, in diminishing the force of the circulation, and by 
 its astringent qualities, in contact with the bleeding vessels. He is 
 satisfied that no remedy now known exerts a more specific power and 
 more speedy relief, especially in hemoptysis, hematemesis, epistaxis, 
 and monorrhagia. In the treatment of hemorrhage, neither blood- 
 letting, confinement to the room, suppression of the voice, relaxation 
 from business, nor other precautions are necessary; nor is any aux- 
 iliary treatment required, except, perhaps, a purgative dose where 
 there is evidence that blood has been swallowed. Exercise in the open 
 air is decidedly preferable to inaction ; and wherever there are pre- 
 monitory symptoms of a return of hemorrhage, it has always exerted 
 a prophylactic power when promptly used ; and by this early resort to 
 it, many radical cures have been effected. He terms it " Styptic Bal- 
 sam." It is made as fellows': Place sulphuric acid, five drachms by 
 weight, in a Wedgewood mortar, and slowly add to it Oil of Turpentine 
 two fluidrachms, stirring it constantly with the pestle; then add in the 
 same manner Alcohol two fluidrachms, and continue stirring until no 
 more fumes arise, when it may be bottled, and should be stopped with 
 aground stopper. It should be prepared from the purest materials ; 
 and when made should exhibit a dark but clear red color, like dark 
 blood ; but if it be a pale, dirty red, it will be unfit for use. The dose 
 is forty drops, to be used as follows: into a common-sized teacup put a 
 teaspoonful of brown sugar, thoroughly incorporate the forty drops by 
 rubbing together, and then slowly stir in water until the cup is nearly 
 full, when it should be immediately swallowed. The dose may be re- 
 peated every hour, for three or four hours, and its use should be dis- 
 continiled as soon as fresh blood ceases to flow. After standing a few 
 days, a pellicle forms upon the surface of the balsam, which should be 
 broken, and the liquid below it used. If in well-stopped bottles, age 
 does not deteriorate it. — N. Y. Jour. Med. 
 
Oleum Thbobeom^. 579 
 
 Off. Prep. — Bmplastrum Myricse; Emplastrum Picis Compositum; 
 Enema Terebinthinse Composita ; Linimentum Terebinthinse ; Lini- 
 mentum Nigrum' ; Mistura Copaibse Composita ; Mistura Olei Com- 
 posita ; Pilulse Perri Compositse ; Tinctura Camphorse Composita ; 
 Unguentum Myricse ; Unguentum Plumbi Compositum ; Vinum Phy- 
 tolacca Compositum. 
 
 OLEUM THEOBEOM^. 
 . Butter of Cacao. Cocoa Butter. Oil of Theobroma. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Sterculiaceae. Sex. Syst. — Polyadelphia Decandria. 
 
 CONCRETE OIL PROM THE CACAO SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — The genuine Cacao tree is a small and handsome ever- 
 green tree, growing in South America and the West Indies, from twelve 
 to twenty-five feet high, and branching at the top; when cultivated it 
 is not allowed to grow so high. Stem erect, straight, four to six feet 
 high; woo^Z light, white ; 6art thin somewhat smooth, brownish. Leaves 
 alternate, petiolate, lanceolate-oblong, ribbed, veined, entire, smooth on 
 both sides, dark -green, eight to ten inches long, the younger ones rose 
 colored ; petioles terete, thinner in the middle, with two small, linear, 
 awl-shaped stipules at base. Flowers very small, clustered, axillary, 
 reddish, scentless. Pedicels uniflorus, filiform. Calyo: five sepals, decidu- 
 ous ; the divisions ovally lanceolate, angustate, pointed. Petals, five, 
 vaulted at the base, ligulate above. Stamens linear, awl-shaj)ed, urce- 
 olate, the five sterile ones much longer than the five fruitful opes, alter- 
 nate with the petals ; the five fruitful ones opposite the petals, and bear 
 ing two anthers. Style five cleft at the apex; stigmas simple. Ovary 
 free, sessile, oval, elongated, ten -grooved, downy, with eight ovules in 
 two rows in each of the compartments. Fruit indehiscent, ovate-oblong, 
 five-celled, covered with a ligneous, leather-like bark. Seeds numerous, 
 compressed, half an inch long, reddish-brown externallj-. dark-brown 
 internally, imbedded in a whitish, sweetish, buttery pulp. 
 
 Sistory. — This tree was extensively cultivated in Mexico, Central and 
 South America for many years, indeed long before the discovery of 
 America, and at one time formed the currency of the natives, who made 
 an immense consumption of it in various ways. At present it is chiefly 
 cultivated in Brazil, Costa Eica, Guayaquil, etc. ; the best cacao in the 
 world is produced in Soconusco. The cocoa or chocolate nuts of com- 
 merce are the seed taken from the fruit and deprived of a slimy cover- 
 ing. There are many varieties of this seed brought into market, named, 
 according to the place from which they have been imported, but we 
 must judge of them, not by their names, but by their appearances. 
 The best cocoa seeds are large, full and heavy, smooth, of a beautiful, 
 light chestnut-brown color, free of foreign matter, well sieved, dry, not 
 musty, without disagreeable or rancid odor, but of an agreeable odor, 
 and a mild somewhat bitter and fatty taste, but little astringency. 
 When the kernels are separated from the shell and broken, they should 
 be shining and violet-brown, not traversed by white streaks. Under 
 the most favorable circumstances cacao can not be preserved good for 
 more than three years ; worm holes alone are no reasons for rejecting 
 the seed, if they are good in other respects. Chocolate is prepared by 
 first roasting the seed, then removing their husk as soon as the requi- 
 site degree of aroma and of friability is obtained, then allowed to cool, 
 and cracked or ground between heated stones, which causes them tc 
 
880 Materia Medica. 
 
 assume the consistence of paste, which is molded into rectangular 
 cakes. The cracked cocoa or cocoa nibs is met with in commerce. Those 
 who manufacture chocolate, have various methods of preparing, adul- 
 terating, sweetening, and aromatising it. A. Mitscherlich found in 100 
 parts of Gruayaquil cacao, 45 to 49 per cent, of fixed oil, cacao butter; 
 14 to 18 of starch ; 0.34 glucose ; 0.26 cane sugar ; 5.8 cellulose • 3^ to 5 
 coloring matter; 13 to 18 albuminoid matter; 1-^ to 1^ theobromine; 
 3|- ashes ; 5|- to 6.3 of water. The proportion of starch is very con- 
 siderable, a fact not to be overlooked by experts who find chocolate 
 mixed with feculent substances. The coloring matter appears to be an 
 altered product, because the fresh seeds are white. The shells of the 
 cacao, likewise contained one per cent, of their weight of theobromine. 
 —Am. Jour. Pharm., 1862, p. 509. 
 
 Theobromine, OjiHg N^ O4, may be obtained by exhausting the kernels 
 with water in a water bath, straining the liquid through linen, treating 
 with acetate of lead, and filtering; after removing the lead from the 
 filtered fluid by means of sulphuretted hydrogen, this fluid is again 
 filtered, evaporated, boiling alcohol added to the brown residue, and, 
 while hot, the tincture is filtered. On cooling the theobromine is de- 
 posited in reddish-white crystals, which may be decolorized by repeating 
 tiie crystallizations. — N. Wosresensky. Theobromine is a white, bitter 
 powder, sparingly soluble in boiling water, less so in alcohol or ether, 
 and is remarkable for the large quantity of nitrogen it contains. It is 
 strikingly analogous to thein, and caffein, into the latter of which it has 
 been converted by Strecker. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 1861, p. 406. And ac- 
 cording to his process and the result, caffeine, instead of being a true 
 homologue of theobromine, is a methyl-compound of it. 
 
 Butter of Cacao, must not be confounded with cocoa-nut oil from 
 Goeos nucifera ; with palm oil from Elais Guineensis ; nor with coca, 
 the dried leaves of Erythroxylon coca ; it is obtained by two or three 
 processes,* one of which is to roast and grind the nuts, put them in 
 canvas bags, expose them to steam, and press between hot iron plates. 
 The butter thus expressed may be purified by melting it in hot water, 
 by passing it through hot animal charcoal, or by the use of acids, and 
 then running it into molds. It is a solid fatty substance, whitish or 
 straw-colored, resembling tallow in consistency, becoming quite soft at 
 the temperature of the body, having an agreeable, pleasant taste, and 
 a chocolate odor, and not liable to become rancid. It consists of olein, 
 palmitin, and a large amount of stearin. — Ghem. Gaz., 1854, p. 306. 
 
 Buttet of cacao may be adulterated with tallow, beef suet, stearine, 
 wax, spermaceti, bayberry wax, ox marrow, and paraflS^ne, some of 
 which are dificult to detect; Globules of cacao butter dropped on warm 
 water, are small, firm, shot-like, and globular, very slightly flattened 
 on the top; but if they are large, flat, disc-like, it is some other oil or 
 fat, which will become rancid upon keeping it for some time. Waxy 
 articles when present prevent the butter from breaking into slivers 
 when scraped with the nail. Unadulterated butter of cacao has the 
 sp. gravity 0.90, and melts at about 85° (122°, Thomson) ; a piece 
 placed on the tongue melts quickly, leaving no harsh or unpleasant 
 taste ; dropped on a warm iron it gives out its peculiar odor, or, if 
 adulterated, the odor of the article with which it is adulterated may be 
 perceived ; it is brittle, free from rancidity, and breaks off in fine 
 slivers when scraped with the nail. A cultivated taste can always de- 
 tect the pure article. — H. W. Lincoln. — Proceed. Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1867. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Chocolate, when scraped into a coarse powder, 
 
Olkum TiGLii. 581 
 
 and boiled in milk, or milk and water, is much used as an occasional 
 substitute for coffee, and for a drink at meals. It is a very useful nu- 
 tritive article of diet for invalids, persons convalescing from acute 
 diseases, and others with whom its oily constituent does not disagree, 
 as is apt to be the case with dyspeptics. — Butter of cacao is a bland 
 article, rather agreeable to the taste, and highly nutritious, it has been 
 used as a substitute for, or an alternate with, cod-liver oil, and as an 
 article of diet during the last days of pregnancy. It has also been 
 •employed in the formation of suppositories and pessaries, for rectal, 
 vaginal, and other difficulties. (See Suppositories.) It likewise enters 
 into preparations for rough or chafed skin, chapped lips, sore nipples, 
 various cosmetics, pomatums, and fancy soaps ; and has also been used 
 for coating pills. 
 
 OLEUM TIGLII. (Croton-Oel.) 
 
 Croton Oil. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Buphorbiaeeae. Sex. Syst. — Monoecia Monadelphia. 
 
 THE EXPRESSED OIL OF THE SEEDS OF OROTON TIGLIUM. 
 
 Description. — Croton Tiglium is a middle sized tree, the young branches 
 of which are terete, smooth, 'shining, and somewhat furrowed toward 
 the extremities. Leaves alternate, petiolate, oval, oblong, acute, three 
 to five nerved at the base, acuminate at the apex, with shallow glandu- 
 lar serratures ; thin, membranous, with two glands at their base, cov- 
 ered when young with very minute scattered hairs, dark-green above, 
 and paler below. Petioles about one-third the length of the leaf, chan- 
 neled, having stellate hairs when quite young, but soon losing them. 
 Flowers downy, in erect, terminal racemes ; male flowers at the apex ; 
 female below. Male flowers have a five-cleft calyx, five lanceolate, 
 woolly, straw-colored petals, and fifteen distinct stamens ; female have 
 a five-cleft, permanent calyx, with long and bifid styles. Fruit a, smooth, 
 oblong, obtusely triangular capsule, about the size of a hazel-nut, closely 
 covered with minute, stellate hairs, three cells, each of which is com- 
 pletely filled with a solitary seed. Skin of the seeds of a pale dull- 
 brown color, and overlays a harder dark integument. — L. — Wi. 
 
 History. — This tree is a native of the East Indies, and has been intro- 
 duced into the West Indies. Like the various plants of this natural 
 order, it is imbued with a sharp, energetic, drastic cathartic element. 
 The oil obtained from the seeds is the officinal portion. The seeds are 
 of an ovoid form, about the size of a pea, reddish-brown when recent, 
 grayish-brown when old, sometimes brownish-black. They consist of 
 a thin, brittle, ligneous shell ; a delicate, white, membranous integu- 
 ment ; and an oleaginous kernel composed of a pale yellowish-white 
 albumen, and a beautiful embryo, with large, leafy cotyledons. The oil 
 is obtained by removing the shells from the seeds, bruising these to a 
 pulp, and subjecting the pulp, to a strong pressure. About fifty per 
 cent, of the oil is thus obtained, and ten per cent, more may be removed 
 by digesting the residue with sulphuric ether, filtering, and expelling 
 the ether by a gentle heat. It may likewise be obtained by forming an 
 ethereal tincture of the seeds, and evaporating the ether ; by forming a 
 solution of the bruised seeds in bisulphuret of carbon, and distilling oflf 
 the bisulphuret ; in either of these cases the oil is left behind ; or by de- 
 coction of the pulp in water. Guibourt obtained by exjiression 41.6 per 
 
582 Materia Medica. 
 
 cent, of oil from the kernels of the seeds, and subsequently 10.4 per cent 
 by the action of alcohol ; making together 52 per cent., or nearly 35 per 
 ' cent, for the entire seeds. — P. Upon analysis, Croton seeds are found 
 to contain seed-coats and woody fiber of the nucleus, traces of volatile 
 oil, fixed oil, crotonic acid, an alkaloid crotonin, stearin and wjtx, brown- 
 ish-yellow resin insoluble in ether, coloring matter, crotonates, extruc- 
 tive, sugar, malates of potassa and lime, starchy matter, phosphate of 
 liineand magnesia, gum, albumen, gluten, and water. — Brandes. — Wep- 
 pin. Eecent investigators have likewise discovered several fatty acids 
 in the oil besides the crotonic, as stearic, palmitic, myristic, etc., all of 
 which exist as compound ethers of glycerin or glycerides ; also, an al- 
 kaloid, and an acrid principle, called crotonol. 
 
 Crotonic acid, was formerly supposed to be the active constituent of 
 Croton Oil ; it passes out with the oil either by expression, by ether, or 
 by alcohol. It exists in the free state in the seed, but an additional 
 quantity of it is obtained when the oil is saponified. According to Thorn- 
 eon, the best method is to convert the oil into soap, by combining it with 
 the requisite portion of potassa ; the soap is then decomposed by tartaric 
 acid, the whole filtered, and the liquid remaining is distilled in a well 
 luted apparatus. An acid liquid comes over, having an acrid and disa- 
 greeable odor. Saturate with baryta water, evaporate to dryness, and 
 decompose the baryta salt by concentrated phosphoric acid. The acid 
 is distilled off, taking care to keep the receiver cool, and to have the 
 joints of the apparatus well luted. In this way is obtained an aqueous 
 solution of a solid, very volatile, fatty acid, which congeals at 23° F., 
 and when heated a few degrees above 32° F. is converted into vapor, 
 having a strong, nauseous odor, and which irritates the eyes and nose, 
 and has an acrid taste. It unites with alkalies, forming crotonates, an 
 inodorous class of salts. Mr. Eedwood states that crotonic acid and its 
 salts are inert, or nearly so. — P. 
 
 The Croton Oil of commerce is partly importedfrom India, and partly 
 expressed in England from the imported seeds. It varies in color from 
 very pale yellow to that of deep-colored sherry, has an unctuous con- 
 sistence, like castor-oil, which is increased by age, possesses a feeble 
 odor, a peculiar, acrid taste, which is very persistent, and is felt most 
 strongly in the back of the palate and throat. It is soluble in sulphuric 
 ether, also in the volatile as well as fixed oils. English Croton Oil is 
 of a reddish-brown color, and forms a uniform, transparent mixture 
 with equal parts of alcohol, specific gravity 0.796, without the aid of 
 heat. The Bast Indian Croton Oil is pale yellow, like Canada Balsam, 
 and mixed with equal parts of alcohol, specific gravity 0.796, forms an 
 opaque milky solution, which is rendered transparent and uniform upon 
 the application of heat. By standing, however, for twenty-four hours 
 it separatee into two layers, the lower one consisting of the oil which has 
 taken up a small quantity of alcohol, and the upper one consisting of 
 the alcohol, minus that absorbed in the lower stratum. Croton Oil is 
 sometimes adulterated with castor-oil, which is difficult to detect in the 
 English variety, but may be distinguished in the India oil, by shaking 
 the suspected article with absolute alcohol, which will dissolve the castor 
 oil, and have but slight influence on the Croton. It is stated that an 
 oil not quite as active as the pure Croton is obtained from the Barba- 
 does' nuts, or the seeds of Jatropha Ourcas ; it is an active purgative 
 in a dose of three to five drops. The seeds of the Groton Pavana are 
 likewise supposed to furnish some of the Croton Oil met with in th« 
 shops. 
 
Olibanum. 583 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Croton Oil is a powerful' irritant and cathartic. 
 In large doses it is a dangerous poison, occasioning emesis, painful grip- 
 ings, hypercatharsis, and other serious symptpms. Its action is prompt, 
 frequently causing catharsis within an hour ; and, from the smallness 
 of its dose, it is especially adapted to cases where medicines requiring, 
 large. doses can not be given, as in trismus, coma, insanity, etc. In most 
 cases, catharsis may be produced by placing a drop or two on the back 
 part of the tongue. It is principally used as a purgative when the bowels 
 arc very torpid ; in comatose conditions as a revellent ; and in dropsy 
 as a hydragogue. It is likewise asserted that, irrespective of its cathar- 
 tic property, it possesses efBcacious influences in spasmodic and painful 
 nervous affections. It may be used in all cases where prompt and active 
 purgation is indicated. It is distinguished from other powerful cathar- 
 tics by occasioning much borborygmus or rumbling of wind, by its ac- 
 tion commencing speedily and ending soon, aiid by the purgative effect, 
 however exhausting at the time, being followed by little debility. Iij 
 certain forms of diarrhea and other enteritic affections I have deriveil 
 great benefit by dissolving Croton Oil, half a fluidraehm in alcohol, two 
 fluidounces, and administering, it in doses of from five to fifteen drops, 
 according to circumstances. Externally it produces erythematic red- 
 ness, intense burning, and an eruptfon of minute vesicles. A Croton 
 Oil liniment is made by mixing one part of Croton Oil with four or five. 
 parts of olive oil, or six parts of turpentine ; it is rubbed on tne skin 
 several times a day to cause redness and a pustular eruption : it is very 
 beneficial in follicular disease of the throat, affections of the larynXj ' 
 bronchial vessels and lungs, indolent tumors, and all painful attacks. 
 The dose of Croton Oil is from one to six drops, which is best given on 
 sugar, or made into a pill with crumb of bread, in order to avoid the 
 disagreeable acrid sensation -it occasions in the throat, with a constant 
 tendency to hawk, as well as to prevent nausea or vomiting. Four 
 drops of the oil, thoroughly rubbed around the navel, will, it is said, 
 produce catharsis. Souberain recommends the following lozenges : 
 Take of vanilla chocolate half an ounce, sugar two drachms, starch 
 two scruples, Croton Oil ten drops ; mix thoroughly together, and form 
 into sixty lozenges. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Ceratum Crotonis ; Pilulse Cambogiae Composite. , 
 
 OLIBAlSrUM. (Weihrauch.) 
 The Frankincense of the Ancients. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Amyridaceae, Burseracese. (Lindley) ; Terebinthacese. (De 
 Candolle.') Sex. Syst. — ^Decandria Monogynia. 
 
 GUM-RESIN or BOSWELIilA SEERATA. 
 
 Description. — This is the Boswellia Thurifera of some botanists ; a leafy 
 forest tree of the Coromandel coasts and other parts of India. Leaves 
 deciduoQS, alternate toward the tops of the branches, unequally pin- 
 nated ; leaflets in about ten pairs with an odd one opposite, oblong, ob- 
 tuse, serrated, pubescent, sometimes they are alternate ; petioles short. 
 JHowers white, or pale-rose color, on short pedicels, in single, axillary 
 racemes, shorter than the leaves. Galyx small, five-toothed, persistent; 
 :oroUa with five obovate-oblong, very patent petals, acute at the base, 
 nserted under the margin of the disk ; aestivation slightly imbricative. 
 Stamens ten, inserted under the disk, alternately shorter ; flJaments sub- 
 
584 Materia Medica. 
 
 nlate, persistent. Anthers cacjucous, oblong. Torus a cup-shaped disk, 
 fleshy, liarger than the calyx, crenulated on the margin. Ovary oblong 
 sessile ; style one, caducous, the length of the stamens ; stigma capitate; 
 three-lobed. Fruit capsular, three-angled, three-celled, three-valved. 
 septicidal ; valves hard. Seeds solitarj' in each cell, surrounded by a 
 broad membranaceous wing. Cotyledons intricately folded, multifid.— i. 
 
 History. — Besides th,e gum-resin obtained from the above-described 
 tree, there is another variety obtained from a tree inhabiting the neigh- 
 borhood of the Eed Sea ; which tree, it is stated, grows upon the bare 
 rocks, without any other support than the very round, thick substance, 
 of a nature between bark and wood, which is thrown out from the 
 base of the trunk, and which adheres very firmly to the rocks, etc. 
 Olibanum is a translucent, brittle, whitish-yellow substance, in round- 
 ish tears, and usually coyered by a whitish, farinaceous substance, pro- 
 duced by the pieces rubbing against each other. It has an acrid, aro- 
 matic taste, and a pleasant resinous odor ; and when burned, it pro- 
 duces a brilliant flame, and diflfusesan agreeable aroma. It melts with 
 difficulty, becomes soft and adhesive by chewing, forms an incomplete, 
 white emulsion when rubbed up* with water, and is dissolved by alco- 
 hol to the amount of nearly 75 per cent. Braconnot found it to con- 
 tain 56 parts of resin, 30 of gum, S of volatile oil, 5.2 of a gummy mat- 
 ter, insoluble in water or alcohol, and 0.8 loss. The oil was of a lemon 
 color and odor. The resin was reddish-yellow, brittle, tasteless, soft- 
 ened by boiling water, and when burned emitted an agreeable odor. 
 The gum was precipitated from its aqueous solution by infusion of galls, 
 and was partly converted into saclactic acid by nitric acid. 
 
 Properties and ?7ses.— Olibanum is a stimulant, possessing results simi- 
 lar to those from the to'lu and Peru balsams ; it is principally used as 
 a fumigating article, and occasionally forms an ingredient of plasters. 
 
 ONOSMODIUM VIEG-INIANUM. (Virginischer Steinsame.) 
 
 False Gromwell. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Boraginaeese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE BOOT AND SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — This plant is the Onosmodium Hispidum, of Michaux, 
 and the lAthospermumYirginianum of Linnaeus ; it is also known by the 
 common names of Gravel-weed; and Wild Job's-tears. It is a perennial 
 herb, clothed all over with harsh and rigid appressed bristles ; stems 
 rather slender, one or two feet in height. Leaves oblong, or oblong- 
 lanceolate, often oval, and even ovate-lanceolate, sessile; minutely stri- 
 gose, three to five- veined; lower ones narrow at base, an inch to two and 
 a half inches long, half an inch or three-quarters of an inch broad. 
 Mowers yellowish-white, in terminal, leafy racemes, which are recurved 
 at first, but finally become erect and elongated. Calyx five-cleft, lobes 
 lanceolate; pilose on both sides, half as long as the corolla. Corolla ob- 
 long-tubular, with a ventricose, half five-cleft limb, with lance-subulate 
 segments, clothed externally with long, hispid hairs. Stamens five, with 
 very short, flattened filaments supporting included, sagittate apiculate 
 anthers. Style much exserted, smooth. Achenia ovoid, smooth, and 
 shining, fixed by a fiat base. — G. — W. 
 
 History. — This plant is found growing from New York to Florida, in 
 dry, hilly grounds, flowering from June to September. The root and 
 Beeds are the parts employed, and yield their virtues to water. There 
 
Origanum Vulgare. ' 58£ 
 
 are two other species of this genus which possess similar properties. 
 These are the Onosmodium CaroUnianum, growing in rocky hills, and 
 along river ba^ksfrom New York to Carolina and Tennessee; it grows 
 from one to four feet high, has a stout, upright, soft, white, pubescent 
 stem, with stouter and larger leaves than the preceding variety; lobes 
 of the corolla deltoid- ovate, obtusish, more or less hairy on the back; 
 anthers oblong, longer than the narrow filaments, and silky-pubescent. 
 
 The other is the Onosmodium Strigosum, growing in the Western 
 States, and found abundantly in Tennessee and Illinois in wet prairies 
 and woods, on hill-sides, and growing principally in rich limestone 
 grounds. Stem erect, simple, pilose-hispid, very leafy; leaves sessile, 
 lance-liuear, three inches long, and one inch wide, three-veined, with 
 appressed hairs, nearly smooth beneath the veins ; bracts lance-liuear, 
 silky ; calyx lobes linear, acute, silky, with appressed hairs on both sides, 
 very long ; corolla cylindrical, larger than in the last, a third longer 
 than the calyx, silky, pubescent outside; anthers linear, much longer 
 than the vertically-dilated filaments. — G. — W. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Diuretic and tonic. Said to dissolve calculi. 
 A strong infusion of the root and seeds, taken in doses of four fluid- 
 ounces, every two hours for about a day, or until it purges, is highly 
 extolled as a cure for calculous affections. It occasions excessive urina- 
 tion, hence care must be taken that it be not employed too long, for 
 fear of producing too great a flow of urine. It is worthy of a full in- 
 vestigation. 
 
 OEIGANUM VULGAEB. (Felddosten.) 
 
 Origanum. — Dosten. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Lamiaceae. Sex. Syst. — Didynamia Gymnospermia. 
 
 THE HERB. 
 
 Description. — Origanum Vulgare, or Wild Marjoram,isei perennial herb, 
 with erect, leafy, hairy, purple, quadrangular, corymbose stems, from six 
 inches to two feet in height. Leaves opposite, petiolate, broad-ovate, 
 obtuse, subserrate, hirsute, rounded at the base, green on both sides, 
 sprinkled with resinous dots, and paler beneath; petioles hairy, one- 
 fourth as long as the leaves. , Flowers numerous, purplish-white, in 
 smooth, erect, roundish, panicled, and fasciculate spikes, accompanied 
 with ovate, purplish bracts longer than the calyx. Calyx ovate-tubular, 
 striated, with nearly five equal Iteeth, and hairy in the throat. Corolla 
 funnel-shaped, about the length of the calyx, slightly two-lipped; 
 upper lip' suberect, flat, emarginate, lower trifid, lobes nearly equal. 
 Stamens, four, exserted, somewhat didynamous, with double anthers; 
 stigma bifid, and reflexed. Achenia dry, somewhat smooth. — G. — W. 
 
 — ■^• 
 History. — Wild Marjoram is common to Europe and America. It is 
 
 found in limestone regions, on dry banks, and in dry fields and woods, 
 flowering from May to October. The whole herb is oflacinal, but it is 
 seldom collected, except for the purpose of procuring its volatile oil, 
 on which its virtues depend and which may be separated by distilla- 
 tion with water. The plant has a strong, peculiar, rather agreeable 
 balsamic odor, and a warm, bitterish, aromatic taste, which properties 
 are imparted to alcohol, or boiling water by infusion. The Origanum 
 Majorana, or Sweet Marjoram, possesses properties similar to the above 
 
686 Materia Medica. 
 
 species. It -is a native of Portugal, but cultivated in our gardens, 
 and much used in cookery as a seasoning. Its leaves are oval or obo- 
 vate, obtuse, entire, petiolate, hairy pubescent, flowers pink-colored, 
 in compact, roundish, pedunculate, terminal spikes, with roundish 
 bracts. It flowers a month earlier than the preceding species; its 
 odor is stronger, and more agreeable, and its taste more camphora- 
 ceous. — W. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Origanum is' gently stimulant, tonic, and em- 
 menagogue. A warm infusion produces diaphoresis, and tends to pro- 
 mote menstruation, when recently suppressed from cold. It is some- 
 times employed externally in fomentation. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum , Origani ; Linimentum Capsici Compositum ; 
 Linimentum Olei Compositum ; Linimentum Saponis Camphoratum ; 
 Oleum Origani ; Tinctura Camphors Composita. 
 
 OEKUS BUEOPiEA. (Manna Bsche.) 
 
 Manna-tree. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Oleaceae. Sex. Syst.^-Diandria, Monogynia. 
 
 THE CONCRETE JUICE. MANNA. 
 
 Description. — The Manna-tree, or Flowering Ash, is a small tree, usu- 
 ally twenty or thirty feet high, with a close round head ; the bark is 
 smooth and grayish. Leaves opposite, unequally pinnated in three or 
 four pairs ; petioles furrowed ; leaflets petiolate, oblong, acute, serrated, 
 very hairy, at the base of the midrib on the under side. Flowers white, 
 in dense, terminal, nodding panicles, appear with the leaves. Calyx very 
 small, four-cleft. Oorolla divided to the base into linear, drooping seg- 
 ments. Stamens two ; anthers j'^ellow, incumbent. Pericarp a winged 
 key, not dehiscing. — i. 
 
 History. — The Manna-tree is a native of most parts of Southern Eu- 
 rope. The officinal part is the juice of the tree, known in commerce as 
 "Manna." Manna issues from the tree in part spontaneously from fis- 
 sures, partly from punctures produced by an insect, but more generally 
 from incisions made in the tree during the warm summer months, from 
 which the viscous and nearly colorless juice flows out, and speedily |iard- 
 ens. These incisions are repeated annually, and alternately upon op- 
 posite sides of the tree, each season, so 'long as it yields Manna. There 
 are several varieties of Manna, which chiefly differ from one another in 
 quality according to the season and mode of gathering. The Sicily 
 Manna is the most esteemed. 
 
 Flake Manna (Manna cannulata) is the finest kind met with ; it is 
 the Manna Gerace of the Sicilians. It is procured from the incisions 
 on the upper part of the tree, during the height of the season, when 
 the juice flows vigorously; and is collected on straws or twigs, etc., 
 upon which it concretes in stalactitic masses. It is in light, porous and 
 friable pieces, from one to six inches in length, and about an inch broad, 
 and of a white, or pale yellow color. — P. Long keeping deepens its 
 color. It has a honey -like odor, and a sweet taste followed by slight 
 acridity; its fracture is somewhat crystalline. The next quality is 
 common Manna, or Manna in sorts; this is gathered late in the season 
 when the temperature is diminishing, so that the juice imperfectly con- 
 cretes, and has to be exposed to the action of the sun to complete its 
 drying. It is in pieces of a similar color to, but of less size than the 
 
Ornus Bukop^a. 587 
 
 fluke Manna, and contains a soft, adhesive substance of a dark yellowisli- 
 brown color; its taste is rather unpleasant. A third variety termed Fat 
 Manna, is gathered in the latter part of autumn, when the season' is wet 
 and cool, and in cgnsequence of which, it does not readily concrete. A 
 fatty Manna is also said to be procured from the incision made in the 
 lower part of the tree, during the warmer months. Fat Manna is less 
 solid than the preceding varieties, adhesive, not brittle, of a yellowish- 
 red or yellowish-brown color, of a strong, honey odor, a mawkish sweet, 
 unpleasant taste, and mixed with sand, pieces of bark, aud other for- 
 eign substances. 
 
 Various other trees of the family Ornus and Fraxinus furnish Manna, 
 as the 0. BotundifoUa, 0. Farvifolia, 0. Subrufescens, 0. LentiscifoUa, 
 F. Excelsior, etc. The Ahies or Pinus Larix, yields a sweet exudation 
 called Briangon Manna, but which contains no mannite ; the Hedysarum 
 Alhagi, of Syria, yields the Manna Mereniabin, an inferior Manna ; the 
 Larix Cedrus produces the Manna of Lebanon ; the Tamarix Gallica, 
 the Manna of Mount Sinai; and the Eucalyptus Mannifera, a kind of 
 Manna called New Holland Manna, containing a saccharine principle, 
 but no mannite. 
 
 The odor of Manna is feeble, but somewhat like that of honey, and 
 its taste is sweet, but afterward rather acrid ; in the inferior kinds the 
 taste is disagreeable. Duncan states that " the best Manna is in oblong, 
 light, friable pieces or flakes, of a whitish or pale-yellow color, and 
 somewhat transparent, having often a fibrous crystallization internally. 
 It melts easily on the tongue, and has a sweet, somewhat sharp taste, 
 not nauseous or unpleasant, and a very weak, not nauseous odor. The 
 inferior kinds are moist, unctuous, and dark-colored." When long kept, 
 Manna loses its white color, and gradually changes to a yellowish-red 
 or brown. It softens with the heat of the hand, melts at a temperature 
 somewhat higher, and is inflammable, burning with a blue flame, throw- 
 ing out yellow sparks. Pure Manna is almost entirely dissolved in three 
 parts of water at 60° F., and one part at 212° F., from the latter of 
 which it is deposited on cooling, in crystalline forms. It is soluble in 
 eight parts of alcohol, and if a saturated alcoholic solution be made by 
 heat, on cooling, the pure Manna will concrete into a perfectly dry, 
 white, spongy, crystallized mass. In consequence of its sugar, it is ca- 
 pable of undergoing fermentation, during which the sugar is lost. 
 Leuehtweiss analyzed Manna in 1845, and found it|to contain mannite, 
 sugar, mucilage with some mannite, resinous and acrid matter, and a 
 small quantity of a nitrogenous substance, insoluble matter, water, etc. 
 — P. — Ed. According to the recent analyses of M. Buignet, Manna in 
 flakes, in its natural state possesses a very energetic dextrogyrate rota- 
 tory power;=28° 40', due to dextrine, which forms one of the principle 
 elements of its composition, and which may be readily obtained from 
 it. Besides dextrine, Manna also contains two saccharine substances 
 combined in such proportions that they nearly or quite neutralize each 
 other's optical action, — cane sugar, and inverted sugar. The absolute 
 quantity of these principles vary in the different species of manna, but 
 their relative proportion remains constant and invariable — two equiva- 
 lents of dextrine with one of the sugars. These are probably produced 
 in the plant from its starchy material by a transformation analogous to 
 that which this undergoes by artificial means under the combined 
 action of diastase and a proper heat. 
 
 Mannite, C,2 H.j O,,, is procurod most readily by Euspini's process: 
 Common Manna is first prepared by melting it over the fire in rain or 
 
B88 Materia Medica. 
 
 distilled water, in which the white of egg has been previously beaten ; 
 boil and strain the solution through a linen cloth ; the strained liquor 
 solidifies on cooling. Submit the prepared Manna to strong pressure, 
 then mix it with its own weight of cold water, and again press it. Dis- 
 solve the pressed cake in boiling water, add animal charcoal, and then 
 filter and evaporate the solution, which is then to be set aside to crys- 
 tallize. It may likewise be obtained by digesting it in hot alcohol ; on 
 cooling the mannite forms in tufts of silky quadrangular prisms. It is 
 in white, acicular, four-sided prisms, in radiated tufts, and is sweet, 
 odorless, requiring five parts of water to dissolve it, is readily dissolved 
 in boiling alcohol, much less so in cold, deliquesces in the air, does not 
 dissolve in ether, nor does its solution possess the property of rotatory 
 polarization. Mannite combines with bases, dissolves lime, reduces 
 terchloride of gold from its solution, does not reduce an alkaline solu- 
 tion of oxide of copper, forms oxalic and saccharic acids when heated 
 with nitric acid, does not ferment when its solution is mixed with yeast, 
 though it is partially fermentable with certain azotised matters, does 
 not, like cane sugar, char under the action of sulphuric acid, and does 
 not become, like grape sugar, brown when heated with alkaline solutions; 
 it fuses at about 320°, without losing weight, and on cooling the color- 
 less solution forms a mass of radiated crystals. Mannite also exists in 
 laminaria saccharina, onions, asparagus-tops, celery, certain fungi, etc., 
 it has also been procured from beet root, inverted cane sugar, and the 
 juice exuding from apple and pear trees. One or two ounces will, it is 
 stated, act as a gentle laxative. Good Manna is seldom counterfeited, 
 though the inferior sorts are, occasionally. A spurious article is said to 
 be made of sugar and honey combined with some mild laxative. The 
 inferior Manna is likewise purified so as to resemble the flake variety ; 
 but all these frauds are easily detected. 
 
 M. M. Palangie and Genevoix have prepared an artificial flake Manna, 
 which is highly spoken of in Prance, but they have not revealed their 
 process. M. Parisel has prepared it by purifying common manna by 
 the following process; melt one part of manna with twenty of animal 
 charcoal and a very little water, then filter in a hand stove heated to 
 248° F. ' The pointed end of the filters must pass out through the lower 
 wall or floor of the stove, and the purified manna be allowed to filter 
 more or less quickly upon tin molds. ■ 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Manna is nutritive in small doses, and mildly 
 laxatiye in large ones. It operates without causing any local excitement 
 or uneasiness, and is useful as a laxative for young infants, children, 
 females during pregnancy and immediately after, inflammation of the 
 abdominal viscera, disorders of childhood, hemorrhoids, costiveness, etc. 
 It is commonly added to other purgatives to improve their flavor, as 
 well as to increase its purgative effect. An ounce or two may be 
 taken by an adult ; one, two, or three drachms, by a child, according to 
 its age. Two or three parts of Manna to one of senna, may be made 
 into a laxative infusion, for children. Sometimes Manna causes flatu- 
 lency and griping, which may be obviated by combining it with any 
 grateful warm aromatic. 
 
UROBANCHE VlKOINIANA. 589 
 
 p 
 
 OEOBANCHE VIEGINIANA. (Yirginische Sommerwurz.) 
 
 Beech Drops. 
 Nat. Ord. — Orobancheacese. Sex. Syst. — Polyandria Digynia. 
 
 THE PLANT. 
 
 Description. — This plant is the Spiphegus Americanus of Nuttall, the 
 E. Yirginiana of Barton, and is also known by the name of Cancer-root, 
 It is a parasitic growth, with a smooth, fleshy, leafless stem, about afoot, 
 or a foot and a half in height, with slender and irregular branches given 
 off the whole length of it. Boot scaly, tuberous, covered with stiff, 
 short, and brittl-e radicles. Instead of leaves it has only a few, scattered, 
 inconspicuous, ovate scales, one at the base of each branch, of a yellow- 
 ish or purplish color. Flowers alternate, scattered on each branch, sub- 
 sessile, the lower perfect and fertile, the upper usually imperfect and 
 abortive. Oalyx short, five-toothed. CoroZZa of the perfect flowers, two- 
 lipped; upper lip emarginate, ZoMJer three-toothed; of the imperfect, 
 slender, four-toothed, deciduous, six to eight lines long, curved, whitish 
 and purple ; upper tooth or lip broadest, notched at the apex, arched 
 not longer than the others. Stamens as long as the corolla ; filament 
 smooth ; anthers two-lobed, acute at the base, valveless, dehiscent in the 
 middle. /S^i'^ma capitate, somewhat emargin ate. CopSMZe gibbous, trun- 
 cate, oblique, one-celled, compressed, half two-valved at the apexj with 
 two approximate placentae on each. Seeds very numerous, straw-col- 
 ored, shining. — L. — W. — G-. 
 
 Histoi'y. —Th'\6 plant is found throughout l^orth America, parasitic 
 upon the roots of Beech trees, and flowering in August and September. 
 The wholeplanthasadull-red color, yithout any verdure. It has a dis- 
 agreeable, astringent, and amarous taste, much lessened by desiccation. 
 It yields its virtues to water. There are several other species of this 
 genus, which are parasitic, and which possess analogous properties, as 
 the Orobanche Uniflora, or one-flowered broomrape, and the Orobanche 
 Americana, or American broomrape. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — An astringent. Used with benefit in hemor- 
 rhages of the bowels and uterus, and in diarrhea. Said to cure cancer, 
 but it possesses no property of the kind. In erysipelas a decoction drank 
 freely, and the parts bathed with it, has effected many cures. As a local 
 application, the decoction or poultice will arrest the tendency of wounds 
 or ulcers to gangrene ; a poultice of equal parts of poke, white oak, and 
 Beech Drops is very useful in herpetic affections. Also useful as a top- 
 ical application to obstinate ulcers, aphthous ulcerations, leucorrhea, 
 gleet, etc. Dose of the powder, from ten to fifteen grains. This plant 
 seems to exert an influence upon the capillary system, somewhat similar 
 to that produced by the tincture of muriate of iron. 
 
 OEYZA SATIVA. (Gemeiner Eeis.) 
 
 Eice. — Beis. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Graminacese. Sex. Syst. — Hexandria Digynia. 
 
 THE SEEDS DEPRIVED OF THEIR HUSKS. 
 
 Description. — Eice is an annual plant with several jointed culms or 
 stems, from two to ten feet in height. Leaves long, slender, clasping. 
 Panicle terminal, diffuse, bowing when the seed is weighty. Spikelet 
 
b90 ' Materia Medica. 
 
 hermaphrodite, one flowered. Glumes two, small. Falece two, ad- 
 hering to the ovary. Scales two, smooth ; stamens six ; ovaries sessile , 
 styles two ; stigma feathery. Caryopsis compressed, inclosed by the 
 palea3.— TF.— (?.— P. 
 
 History. — Eice is supposed to have been originally a native of the 
 East Indies, but is at present cultivated in nearly all parts of the world 
 where the soil and climate are favorable. The husked seeds of the 
 plant constitute the ordinary commercial Eice. Carolina Eice, on 
 analysis, has been found to consist of 85.07 per cent, of starch, 3.60 of 
 gluten, 0.71 of gum, 0.29 of unerystallizable sugar, 0.13 of a tallowy 
 oil, 4.80 of woody fiber, 5.00 of water, and 0.40 of saline matters. 
 (Braconnot.) M. Payen found Eice to contain starch 89.15 parts ; 
 gluten and other azotized matters 7.05; dextrine, glucose, or congener- 
 ous substances 1 ; fatty matters 0.80 ; cellulose 3 ; silica, phosphates 
 of lime, magnesia, and soluble salts of potassa and soda 0.90. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Eice is nutritious, and boiled in water till per- 
 fectly soft, is very useful in cases of debilitated stomach or bowels, and 
 diarrhea ; it is likewise reputed a valuable article of food to overcome 
 the diarrhea so common to those who for the first time use the river 
 waters of the Western States. It is by some considered injurious to 
 the eyes when used in any quantity, but this is an erroneous opinion, 
 as many nations employ it almost exclusively as a diet, without any 
 such effects. A decoction of rioe (rice-water) is an excellent soothing 
 and nutritive drink in febrile diseases, and likewise in inflammations 
 of the internal organs. 
 
 OSMOEEHIZA LONGISTYLIS. (Langstangelige Osmorrhiza.) 
 
 Sweet Cicely. 
 Nat. Ord. — Apiacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This is the Vraspermum Claytoni of Nuttall ; it has a 
 perennial, thick, fleshy, branching root, of an agreeable, aromatic flavor, 
 and an erect, nearly smooth stem, branching above, and from two to 
 three feet high. Leaves large, decompound, the ultimate divisions 
 often pinnate; radical leaves on long, slender petioles, cauline sessile. 
 Leaflets irregularly divided by clefts and sinuses into lobes and teeth ; 
 lobes broadly ovate, slightly pubescent. Flowers white, in axillary and 
 terminal umbels, about five-rayed ; central ones barren, outer ones fer- 
 tile. Calyx-margin obsolete ; petals oblong, nearly entire, with a short 
 irifiexed point. Involucres of linear bracts longer than the rays. Style 
 as long as the villose germ, filiform, erect, deflexed. Fruit linear- 
 oblong, about an inch in length, angled, tapering downward into a 
 stalk-like base, contracted at the sides, blackish, and crowned with 
 the persistent styles. Carpels with five equal, acute, upwardly bristly 
 ribs ; commissure with a deep, bristly channel ; intervals without 
 vittsB.— W.—G. 
 
 History. — This plant grows in various parts of the United States, in 
 rich moist woods, on the sides of low meadows, on the banks of run- 
 ning streams, and on the borders of low woodlands. It flowers in May 
 and June. The root is ^le part employed ; it has a sweet smell and 
 taste, resembling aniseed, and yields its sensible properties to water or 
 diluted alcohol. 
 
• OsMONDA Regalis. 591 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Sweet Cicely is aromatic, stomachic, carmina- 
 tive, and ijxpectorant. Useful in coughs, flatulence, and as a gentle 
 stimulant tonic to debilitated stomachs ; the fresh root may be eaten 
 freely, or it may be used in infusion with brandy or water. 
 
 OSMUNDA REG-ALIS. (Konigs Osmunde.) 
 
 Buckhorn Brake. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — filiees (Lindley) ; Polypodiacese (Brown). Sex. Syst.— 
 Oryptogamia Pilices. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 DtJcription. — This is the Osmunda Spectabilis of "Willdeiiow, often 
 termel Royal Flowering Fern. It has a hard, scaly, tuberous rhizoira, 
 beset with numerous fibers, and having a whitish core in the center. 
 Fronds several, erect, three or four feet high, doubly-pinnate, smooth, 
 bright green; primary divisions or pinnce from six to ten, nearly op- 
 posite, remote, hardly a span long. Leaflets more numerous, often 
 alternate, sessile or nearly so, oblong, bluntish, entire or ob'scurely- 
 crenate with one rib, and numerous transverse veins ; base dilated, 
 heart-shaped, or somewhat lobed. Some of the upper leaflets are cut, 
 and as it were, partially transmuted into dense clusters or spikes of 
 innumerable, soiall, light-brown, veiny, globular, two-valved thecce 
 entirely covering the segments ; several of the upper divisions of the 
 leaf consisting eixiirely of such thecse, composing a compound panicle. 
 Spores green. — L. — W. — G. 
 
 History.- — This beautiful fern is found in meadows and low, moist 
 grounds, throughout the United States, flowering in June. The main 
 root or caudex is the officinal part ; it is about two inches long, arid 
 has the shape of a buck's horn. It is composed of a number of layers 
 or scales, which are elongated, imbricated, with satiny, translucent 
 margins, and throws out a mass of entangled, delicate radicles. It 
 contains an abundance of mucilage, which is extracted' by boiling- 
 water. The roots should be collected in August, or about the latter 
 part of May, and dried with gretit care, as they are apt to beconie 
 moldy. 
 
 The Osmunda Cinnamomea, or Cinnanion-colored Fern, is inferior to 
 the preceding, but is frequently used for the same purposes. Its root 
 is .similar, but much larger, and when its stems are young, during the 
 spring months, they present a white or cinnamon-colored pubescent 
 appearance, with the leaves circinate and downy. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Mucilaginous, tonic, and styptic. Used in 
 coughs, diarrhea, and dj'^sentery ; also used as a tonic during convales- 
 cence from exhausting diseases. One root, infused in a pint of hot 
 water for half an hour, will convert the whole into a thick jelly. Very 
 valuable in leucorrhea, and other female weaknesses, and said to be an 
 almost certain cure for rickets, in doses of three drachms of the root. 
 three times a day. The mucilage mixed with brandy is a popular 
 remedy as an external application for subluxations and debility of the 
 muscles of the back. For internal use, the roots may be infused in hot 
 water, sweetened, and ginger, cinnamon, brandy, etc., added, if not 
 contra-indicated. 
 
592 Matekia Medica. 
 
 OSTEYA VIEGINICA. (Virginische Hopfenhainbuche.) 
 
 Iron-wood. 
 Nat. Ord. — Cupuliferse. Sex. Syst. — Monoecia Polj^andria. 
 
 THE INNER WOOD. 
 
 Description. — This is a small tree from twenty-five to thirty feet in 
 height, remarkable for its fine, narrow, longitudinally divided, and 
 brownish bark. Wood white, hard, and strong. Leaves oblong, ovate, 
 subcordate, acuminate, unequally serrate, somewhat downy; buds acute. 
 Sterile flowers in cylindrical aments; scales orbicular-ovate acuminate, 
 ciliate, one-flowered; filaments somewhat united irregularly; anthers 
 bearded at the summit. Fertile flowers in pairs, numerous, in a short, 
 oblong, pendulous, loosely imbricated, linear, terminal ament, with 
 small deciduous bracts ; scales none, but each flower is inclosed in a 
 membranous sac-like involucre, bristly hairy at the base, and which 
 enlarges, forming a bladdery closed bag in fruit, these being imbricated 
 to form a sort of strobile appearing like that of the hop. Ovary two- 
 celled, two-ovuled, crowned with entire and bearded border of the 
 perianth, forming a small and seed-like smooth nut. Styles two, united 
 at the base ; nut lance-oblong, somewhat compressed, included in the 
 enlarged, imbricated, bladder-like sac. — &. — W. 
 
 Sistory. — This plant, sometimes called Mop-hornbeam, Lever-wood, etc., 
 is a tree common to the United States, growing in rich woods, and 
 flowering in April and May., The flowers are green, and appear with 
 the leaves, and the large and handsome oval-oblong strobiles are ma- 
 tured in August. The inner wood and bark are the parts used ; they 
 are bitter, and yield their virtues to water. There is another tree 
 known as Iron-wood, closely resembling the above, the Carpinus Ameri- 
 cana ; it grows from ten to twenty feet high, has a smooth gray bark, 
 with an irregularly ridged trunk, and very fine-grained, compact, 
 white wood. The scales of the fertile aments are three-parted, the 
 middle segment being much' the largest, oblique, with a lateral tooth, 
 persistent, and becoming foliaceous. The nut small, ovoid, bony, 
 ribbed, with a simple, one-sided, enlarged, and open leaf-like involucre. 
 This tree is not bitter, and must not be confounded with the Ostrya. 
 
 — G.-r-W. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Iron-wood is antiperiodic, tonic, and alterative. 
 It has been used with efficacy in interiiittent fevers, neuralgic affec- 
 tions, dyspepsia, scrofula, and all diseases where an antiperiodic tonic 
 is indicated. Dose of the decoction, one or two fluidounces, three or 
 four times a day ; of the fluid extract, one fluidrachm. 
 
 OVUM. (Bi.) 
 Egg. 
 
 THE EGG or PHASANIirs GALLXTS. 
 
 History. — The Gammon Hen, or dunghill-fowl, Phasanius Gallus, sup- 
 posed to have been originally the Jungle-fowl of India, is now domes- 
 ticated almost every-where. Its Egg is the part used in medicine, and 
 comprises the egg-shell (testa ovi or putamen ovi), composed of carbon- 
 ate of lime 97, phosphate of lime and magnesia 1, animal matter, with 
 traces of sulphur and iron 2. — Prout. The carbonate of lime renders 
 the shell absorbent and antacid. By calcination of the shell, nearly 
 
Ovum. 593 
 
 pure lime may be procured. The 'pellicula ovi, or membrana piiiaminis, is 
 the albuminous membrane which lines the inner surface of the shell, 
 and is soluble in alkalies, from which it is .precipitated by acids. At 
 the larger end of the -Egg it forms the follicula mris, the air of which 
 Bischoff asserts to contain 23.475 per cent, of oxygen. 
 
 The white or glaire, albumen ovi or ovalbumin ie colorless, transparent, 
 fluid, odorless, tasteless, and according to Gmelin consists of albumer. 
 12.0, mucus 2.7, salts, (soda, sulphur, etc.) 0.3, and water 85.0. The white 
 of Egg consists of two or three lamjnse, which are not homogeneous, ;is 
 two parts at least are discernible, viz., a solid, probably organized al- 
 liumen, having the appearance of a very fine delicate membrane, form- 
 ing a series of cells, in which is contained the liquid albumen. Water 
 dissolves it, and alcohol, the concentrated acids, and a temperature con- 
 siderably below boiling, coagulate it. The reactions of ovalbumin dif- 
 fer from those afforded by seralbumen, or the albumen contained in 
 the serum of the blood, and this again from soluble albumen freed as 
 far as possible from saline mixtures; and all of these forms of albumen 
 slightly differ from the albumen in the urine accompanying Bright's 
 disease. White of Egg is precipitated from its solutions by the follow- 
 ing substances, forming insoluble compounds with them: tannic acid, 
 bichloride of mercury, creasote, salts of copper, chlorides of gold, and 
 tin, fei-rocyanuret of potassium, etc. 
 
 Placed in thin layers on glass, and dried in the air, it becomes solid 
 without losing its transparency or property of dissolving in water, and 
 may be preserved in this manner for a long time ; these dried frag- 
 ments will be found to answer as a substitute for the original white, 
 when formed into a solution with water. They are insoluble in ether 
 or alcohol. White of Egg kept in its original condition speedily de- 
 composes. It may be determined from the serum of the blood by its 
 coagulating with ether; and from caseine, by its non-coagulability with 
 acetic acid. 
 
 Albumen in urine becomes coagulated when heat is applied; and to 
 prove that the deposit is albumen and not earthy carbonates; add nitric 
 acid, which will dissolve the latter, but not the former. These tests 
 should be used together, and never trusted separately. If the urine be 
 alkaline, albumen will not be precipitated, until it is neutralized or 
 rendered acid. 
 
 Soluble albumen exerts a left-handed rotary action upon a ray of po- 
 larized light, is readily coagulated by heat above 140° P., and becomes 
 insoluble ; is also coagulated by the addition of various salts and acids ; 
 when pure it gives a slightly acid reaction with litmus. The coagu- 
 lum of seralbumen is less solid than that of ovalbumen. Albumen de- 
 composes on standing. Goagulated albumen (by heat), is a hard, hoi;ny, 
 transparent, yellowish substance, insoluble in water, but becoming 
 opaque and elastic in this fluid from absorption of it; long boiled in 
 water it decomposes. — Albumen in organic acids, or in alkaline solu- 
 tions, does not coagulate when heated, but a pellicle is gradually formed 
 over the surface during evaporation. Albumen forms compounds with 
 the alkalies and metallic oxides, and is precipitated from its solutions by 
 solutions of alum, of salts of copper, lead, mercury, silver, gold, and 
 tin, by gallotannic acid, metaphosphoric acid, creasote, the concentrated 
 mineral acids, the dilute mineral acids by boiling, ferrocyanuret of po- 
 tausum, and by strong alcohol. Precipitated albumen is not necessary 
 in the coagulated form, as the precipitates from unboiled solutions are 
 generally soluble in pure water. If a concentrated solution of albumen 
 38 
 
594 Materia Medica. 
 
 be mixed withi one of potash, a gelatinous albuminate is formed; free 
 this from excess of alkali by repeated washings with water, then add a 
 little acetic acid to its aqueous solution, wash well the white coagulum 
 produced, and the result will be a nearly pure albumen. Graham ob- 
 tains albumen free from saline impurities by acidulating -white of egg 
 with acetic acid, and then submitting it to the process of dialysis. 
 
 The yolk (vitellus om')- consists of minute cells holding albuminous 
 matter with yellow oil, and which becomes solid by coagulation. Tri- 
 turated with water, yolk of Egg produces a thick, opaque solution, 
 'much used in pharmacy for suspending oily and resinous substances 
 in the former fluid. Heat solidifies it, and its oil may then be had by 
 expression. According to Prout it consists of yellow oil with crystal- 
 lizable fat 28.75, phosphoretted albumen 17.47, and water 53.8. The oil 
 may also be obtained by boiling the yolk hard, then digesting it in 
 ether or alcohol, filtering and distilling off the solvent, when the oil 
 remains; it is composed of eleven parts of olein and one of stearin. 
 Gobley found the yolk, when treated with water, to yield a liquid con- 
 taining all the principles met with in gastric juice; vitellin, oleic and 
 margaric acids, cholesterin, traces of lactic acid, iron, etc. Vitellin, or 
 the albuminoid constituent of the yolk, may be obtained by dissolving 
 its yellow oil in ether, which at the same time coagulates the vitellin; 
 it may be distinguished from albumen by its coagulation in ether, and 
 by its aqueous solution not being precipitated by salts of lead or of 
 cppper. It contains more hydrogen and oxygen than albumen. 
 
 ' Properties and Uses. — Eggs are much employed in medical prac- 
 tice ; the shells, when reduced to a very fine powder, may be used in 
 acid conditions of the digestive tube, in the same doses as prepared 
 chalk. The albumen or white is useful as a demulcent in diseases of the 
 intestinal mucous membrane, and is a valuable agent in treatment of 
 poisoning by bichloride of tin, the soluble salts of copper, and bichlo- 
 ride of mercury; its eiiicacy in these cases is owing to its combining 
 with the oxide or chloride of the metal, forming harmless compounds. 
 In cases of redness or excoriation from pl-essure, it forms a good local 
 application, when used in the form of a liniment, made by agitating it 
 briskly with its own volume of alcohol. It is also employed as a clar- 
 ifying agent for wines, and some other liquids. Its efficacy depends 
 on its coagulation, by which it entangles in its meshes the impurities 
 with which it either rises to the surface or precipitates. When the 
 liquid to be clarified does not spontaneously coagulate the albumen, it 
 is necessary to apply heat. — P. The white is also used for diffusing 
 throughout water, substances which are not dissolved by it. Mixed 
 with a small quantity of alum, a coagulum is formed which has been 
 found efficacious as a local application in some inflammations of the eye, 
 after the more severe symptoms have been subdued. The yolk is a mild 
 nutrient, and generally does not offend the stomach ; added to an infu- 
 sion of ginger, and thoroughly beaten up with it, it has been found serv- 
 iceable in dyspeptic cases. It answers a much better purpose than the 
 white in the preparation of mixtures, emulsions, etc. Its powers as an- 
 tidote to poison are the same as tho^e of the white. The oil obtained 
 from the hard-boiled yolk has been, found serviceable in cracked nip- 
 ples. A non-collegiate practitioner in this county, has acquired some 
 celebrity in the treatment of dyspepsia, loss of appetite, constipation, 
 hemorrhoids, etc. ; the agent he employs is a powder composed of equal 
 parts of the inner skin of chickens' gizzards (ingluvies pulli), dried and 
 
Ox." us ACETOSELLA. 595 
 
 pulverized, sulphur, and resin, of which from five to ten grains are to 
 be taken three or four times a day. 
 
 An artificial serum has been used to moisten the hands with during 
 the manipulation of the abdominal contents while operating for removal 
 of the ovaries, etc., and for other purposes ; it is composed of common 
 salt one drachm ; white of egg (albumen) one drachm and a half; pure 
 water one pint; mix. During an operation in which this fluid is em- 
 ployed it should be constantly maintained at a blood warm tempera- 
 ture. White of egg forms a good cement for mounting certain speci- 
 msns, fot microscopic investigation. 
 
 Off. jPrep. — Linimentum Terebinthinse. 
 
 OXALIS ACETOSELLA. (Gemeiner Sauerklec.) 
 
 Wood-sorrel. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Oxalidaeese. Sex. Syst. — Decandria Pentagynia;. 
 
 THE WHOLE HERB. 
 
 Description. — ^Wood-sorrel is a small, perennial, acaulescent herb, with 
 a creeping and scaly-toothed root-stock. Leaves numerous, radical, 
 palmately three-foliate, on long, weak, hairy stalks ; leaflets broadly 
 obcordate, with rounded lobes, entire, pubescent, of a yellowish-green 
 color, but frequently purplish beneath ; they close and droop at night- 
 fall. Scape longer than the petioles, one-flowered, with two scaly 
 bracts near the middle. Flowers white, yellowish at the base, deli- 
 cately veined with purple, scentless. Stamens ten, monadelphous at 
 the base, alternately shorter ; sepals five, persistent ; petals five ; style as 
 long as the inner stamens. Capsule five-lobed, five-celled, oblong; 
 seeds several, with an elastic testa. — G. — W. 
 
 History. — Wood-sorrel is indigenous to Europe and this country, 
 growing in woody and shady places, and flowering from April to June, 
 It is inodorous and has a pleasantly acid taste, which is somewhat im- 
 paired by drying. The acidity is due to the presence of oxalic acid in 
 combination with potassa, forming a binoxalate of this alkali. In some 
 parts of Europe this salt was formerly separated from the plant, and 
 sold for the purpose of removing ink spots and iron marks from linen, 
 having the term Salts of Sorrel applied to it. The essential salt of lemons, 
 which is used for the same purposes, is a quadroxalate of potassa ; each 
 of these salts is poisonous when taken internally. Since the discovery 
 of the conversion of sugar into oxalic acid by the action of nitric acid, 
 these plants are seldom used in the preparation of the binoxalate of 
 potassa. 
 
 There are other varieties of this plant, possessing analogous proper- 
 ties, as the Oxalis Strictd and 0. Violacea. They all have ternate leaves 
 with obcordate leaflets, and, with the exception of 0. Violacea, bear 
 yellow flowers. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The several varieties of Sorrel are cooling and 
 diuretic. Useful in febrile diseases, hemorrhages, gonorrhea, chronic 
 catarrh, urinary affections, and in scurvy ; it may be used in infusion 
 with water, or it may be infused in milk to form whey, or the herb may 
 be eaten, but in neither case to excess, on account of the oxalic acid 
 they contain. Externally, the bruised leaves or inspissated juice have 
 been fo:ind useful as an application to scrofulous, malignant, and indolent 
 ulcers. The Rumex Acetosa, or Garden Sorrel, B. Acetosella, or Sheep 
 Sorrel, and B. Vesicarius possess similar properties, which see. 
 
596 Materia Medica. 
 
 PJSONIA OFFICINALIS. (Gichtrose.). 
 
 Peony. — Pfingstrose. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eanunculaceae. Sex. Syst. — Polyandria Digynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Peony has many, thick, long-spreading, peren aial roots, 
 running deep into the ground, with an erect, herbaceous, large, green 
 and branching stem, two or three feet high. Leaves large ; lower ones 
 bipinnately divided ; leaflets ovate-lanceolate, smooth, variously iilcised. 
 Flowers large, red, terminal, solitary; sepals five, unequal. Petals red, 
 cordiform ; stamens numerous, mostly changed to petals by cultivation. 
 Carpels three ; stigmas double, persistent ; follicles fleshy, many-seeded ; 
 seeds black, numerous, dry, round. — W. — B. 
 
 History. — This is indigenous to southern Europe, and is cultivated in 
 gardens in the United States and elsewhere, on account of the elegance 
 of its large flowers, which appear from May to August. The root is the 
 officinal part ; it consists of a rootstalk, from half an inch to an inch in 
 diameter, from which proceed fusiform tubers gradually terminating in 
 delicate fibers. These, together with the seeds, have, when recent, a 
 strong, rather unpleasant odor, and a sweetish, mawkish taste, succeeded 
 by a sub-acrid bitterishness and slight astringency ; drying nearly re- 
 moves these properties. The recent flowers have a similar but feebler 
 odor, and a more herbaceous taste. They all yield their virtues to di- 
 luted spirits. No analysis has been made of this plant. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Peony is antispasmodic and tonic. It has been 
 successfully employed in chorea; epilepsy, spasms, and various nervous 
 affections. In combination with white snakeroot, or black cohosh, it 
 has proved valuable in pertussis. An infusion may be made by adding 
 an ounce of the root in coarse powder to a pint of a boiling liquid, com- 
 posed of one part of good gin, and two parts of water, which may be 
 sweetened ; dose, two or three fluidounces three or four times a day. 
 Dose of the expressed juice of the recent root, one or two drachms ; of 
 the powdered root, a drachm three or four times day ; of the powdered 
 seeds from thirty to forty grains. The seeds, taken night and morn- 
 ing, have been successfully used in removing the nightmare attendant 
 upon dropsical persons; they are also reputed emetic, cathartic, and 
 antispasmodic. 
 
 PANAX QUINQUBFOLIUM. (Ginseng.) 
 Ginseng. 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Araliacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. , 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Ginseng has a perennial, fusiform, whitish, thick and 
 fleshy root, transversely wrinkled, and terminating in fibers ; its upper 
 portion slender and marked with the scars of former shoots. Stem 
 round, smooth, green, often with a tinge of red, about a foot high, 
 regularly divided at top into three petioles, with a flower-stalk in their 
 center. Petioles round, smooth, swelling at base. Leaves three, ternate, 
 quinate or septentate. Leaflets pedicellate, obovate, sharply serrate, 
 acuminate, smooth on both sides, with scattered bristles on the veins 
 above. Flowers small, greenish, in a simple umbel, supported by a 
 
PAI^AVEh SO.MNIPERUM. 597 
 
 round, slender peduncle, which rises from the top of the stem in the 
 center of the petioles. Involucre of a multitude of short, subulate bracts, 
 interspersed among the 'flower-stalks, which are so short as to give the 
 appearance of a head rather than an umbel. Calyx with five small 
 acute teeth. Petals five, oval, reflexed and deciduous. Stamens five, 
 with oblong anthers. Styles two, reflexed, persistent. Ovary large, 
 inferior, ovate-cordate, c'ompressed. Berries kidney-shaped, retuse at 
 both ends, compressed, of a bright scarlet color, crowned with a calyx 
 and styles, and. containing two and sometimes three semicircular seeds. 
 Outermost florets ripen first, and their berries often obtain their full 
 size before the central ones are expanded ; central florets frequently 
 abortive. — I/. — W. 
 
 Sistory. — Ginseng is a native of most of the Middle and iNorthern 
 States, and extends on the mountains far south, growing in rich soil 
 and in shaded situations, and flowering in July. The root is somewhat 
 fusiform, two or three inches in length, and about half an inch in 
 diameter, and sends off a few delicate fibers. When dried, it consists 
 of a soft, yellowish-white, corrugated bark, inclosing a central, woody 
 substance ; it has a faint smell, and its taste is sweetish, somewhat 
 bitter, mucilaginous, and feebly aromatic; water or alcohol takes up 
 its properties. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — A mild tonic and stimulant. Useful in loss of 
 appetite, slight nervous debility, and weak stomach. By some, it is 
 considered useful in asthma, gravel, convulsions, paralysis, to invigorate 
 the virile powers, etc. Dose of the powder, from ten to sixty grains ; 
 of the infusion, from two to four fluidounces. 
 
 PAPAVEE SOMNIPEEUM. (Mohn.j 
 
 Poppy. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Papaveracese. Sex. Syst.. — Polyandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE CONCRETE JUICE OP THE UNRIPE CAPSULES. OPIUM. 
 
 Description. — The Poppy is an annual plant, with a tapering and 
 •vhite root. Stem round, erect, smooth, occasionally a few hairs on its 
 upper part, glaucous, branched, leafy, two to four or five feet in height. 
 Leaves alternate, four to eight inches in length, two or three broad, am- 
 plexicaul, slashed, repand, with rather blunt teeth, sessile, ovate-oblong, 
 glaucous beneath. Floivers large, brilliantly white, or silvery gray, 
 double by cultivation, on long, terminal,Jeafless peduncles, with bristly 
 hairs. Calyx consists of two smooth, convex, deciduous sepalsi Corolla 
 composed of four petals, very large, sometimes with a deep purple spot 
 at base. Stamens numerous ; anthers oblong, compressed ; style one ; 
 stigmas four to twenty, radiating, sessile upon the crown of the nearly 
 globular ovary. Capsules obovate or globose, smooth, about the size of 
 a middling apple, rather hard and brittle, one-celled, opening by poi:e8 
 beneath the lobes of the stigma, with numerous parietal placentae. 
 Placentce many-seeded. Seeds reniform, oily, white or gray, sweet, and 
 edible.— i.— Fl". 
 
 History. — There are two well-marked varieties of this species, which 
 some botanists consider to be distinct ; they are the white, Papaver 
 Officinale, with ovate-globose capsules, foramina under the stigma either 
 none or obliterated ; peduncles solitary, seeds and petals white ; and 
 the black, P. Somniferum, with globose capsules, opening by foramina 
 under the ,stigina ; peduncles many; flowers usually violet or red, of 
 
698 Materia Medica. 
 
 different tints, tliough sometimes white; seeds black. But. although 
 these may naturally differ from each other, cultivation render^^ it very 
 difficult, if not impossible to distinguish them. The white Poppy is 
 considered to be the officinal one; it is supposed to be a native of Per- 
 sia, though extensively cultivated in many of the warmer parts of the 
 world. Beside the Opium which it yields, the seeds contain an oil, 
 which is almost analogous with olive oil, and may be substituted for it ; 
 and there is no reason to doubt that its cultivation in this country 
 would be very profitable. In Asia the flowering season is in February ; 
 in this country and Europe it is during the months of June, Julj', and 
 August. The officinal parts of the plant are the capsules, and Opium, 
 or the concrete juice from the capsules ; the seeds are employed for ob- 
 taining their oil. 
 
 The capsules of the Poppy, or poppy-heads, should always be 
 gathered before they have ripened; at this time they abound in 
 the juice from which Opium is formed, and which becomes greatly 
 diminished when the capsule has fully matured. When dried, the un- 
 ripe capsules possess the peculiar bitterness and narcotic qualities of 
 Opium, which is hardly observable in those that are allowed to ripen. 
 The dried capsules are of various sizes, from that of a small egg to that 
 of a large orange, they are of an ovate or globular form, flattened un- 
 derneath, and surmounted by the persistent stigma. The capsules of 
 the white Poppy are larger than those of the black. They owe their 
 virtues entirely to the Opium contained in them. Poppy seeds are very 
 numerous, a single capsule containing many thousands. They are 
 oleaginous and emulsive, and yield by expression a large quantity of a 
 yellowish fixed oil, which, on being exposed for some time to the air, 
 dries up into a varnish. The oil obtained frequently amounts to one- 
 half the weight of the seeds. It, together with the seeds, is without 
 odor, has a pleasant, mucilaginous taste, and is destitute of narcotic 
 properties. The oil is pale-yellow, transparent, burns well, but with 
 considerable smoke and an unpleasant smell, and is principally em- 
 ployed by painters, and for the purpose of adulterating other higher 
 priced oils ; a good soap may be made with it. 
 
 Opium is procured from the unripe capsules. The whole plant is said 
 to contain a whitish juice possessing narcotic properties, but in less 
 quantity than the capsules. The mode of procuring it is as follows : A 
 few days after the petals have fallen, the natives repair to the fields, 
 and in the lower part of each poppy-head make a transverse or hori- 
 zontal incision, carrying it round untij. it arrives nearly at the part 
 where it commenced ; sometimes it is continued spirally to half-way be- 
 yond its starting point. The greatest nicety is required to avoid cut- 
 ting too deep, and penetrating the interior coating of the seed-vessel, as 
 this would cause the juice to flow into the inside. A white substance 
 immediately flows out, and collects in drops on the edges of the cuts. 
 The following morning the capsules are scraped with a large dull knife, 
 and the inspissated juice placed on a leaf. Each capsule is cut but 
 once, and yields only a few grains of Opium. After the Opium is col- 
 lected, the capsules are gathered, and the seeds shaken out, and subse- 
 quently pressed in wooden lever presses to extract their oil. The 
 'Opium obtained as above has the form of a viscid, granular, gelatinous 
 substance, and is generally beaten up with saliva, enveloped in dry 
 leaves, and sold. It appears from the statements of various travelers, 
 that the mode of collecting and preparing Opium for the market varies, 
 the essential steps, however, being nearly similar. (See Dr.' W. C. B. Cat- 
 
Papaver Somniferum. 599 
 
 well's account of the cultivation and preparation of Opium in the Benares 
 Opium agency, published in the eleventh and twelfth volumes of Bell's 
 Pharmaceutical Journal and Transactions, in 1852, and also the account 
 of the production of Opium in Asia Minor by Sydney H. Mal'tass, Esq., 
 published in the same Journal, Vol. XIV., 1855, p. 395.) Indeed, an ex- 
 amination of the several kind's of Opium would indicate a difference in 
 method of elimination, as well as of the handwork, which they have 
 undergone. Sometimes it consists of small tears or drops, which have 
 apparently been merely subjected to agglutination after collection ; 
 again, it is found composed of thin layers, partially inspissated on Pop- 
 py leaves, and afterward united along with the leaves into roundish 
 masses ; and that of Egypt, Hindostan, and Europe, is quite homoge- 
 neous ; while the most common of the Indian varieties undergoes a 
 species of fermentation, and is made up for commerce before it is thor- 
 ovighly inspissated. . 
 
 A. Bnchner, sen., from a series of experiments instituted by him, 
 came to the following conclusions : 1. " The unripe does not surpass 
 the ripe poppy-head in medicinal activity. 2. The unripe poppy-heads 
 lose the greater part of their bitter milky juices by excision from the 
 stalks, so that after drying they possess only a sweetish, mucilaginous, 
 very slightly bitter taste, and, by maceration in water yield an extract 
 containing much mucilaginous and pectinaceous matters. 3. If in 
 gathering the heads a very small quantity of the milky juices is lost, 
 the unripe poppy-heads contain only a small quantity of meconate of 
 morphia. I. The ripe poppy-heads contain smaller quantities thap the 
 unripe of substances soluble in water or alcohol ; their infusion is less 
 mucilaginous or sweetish saline ; it furnishes a thinner fluid, and has a 
 much stronger flavor of Opium ; it appears to contain meconate of 
 morphia, and other salts of the alkaloid, which impart to it a soothing, 
 sedative or narcotic influence, bat in much less degree than is possessed 
 by Opium. 5. The proportions of the alkaloid in the unripe and ripe 
 heads are relatively 100 to 258. 6. The ripe poppy-heads are superior to 
 the unripe ; and Winckler's proposal, that an extract thereof should be 
 substituted for Opium, has been proved by Dr. Bngerer and other physi- 
 cians, to be deserving a careful chemical investigation. This extract 
 should be prepared from the ripe poppy-head, freed from seeds and 
 bruised to a coarse powder, then macerated in water, evaporated to a 
 homogeneous consistence, washed in alcohol, and after the alcohol has 
 been the greater part removed, evaporated in a vapor-bath to the con- 
 sistence of crude Opium." — Jour. Pharm. and Trans. Vol. II., p. 515, 
 from Buehner's Eepertorium. 
 
 The Opium met with in commerce is principally that obtained from 
 Turkey, Egypt, Hindostan, Persia, and Europe. That from Turkey is 
 the most esteemed, and is the kind chiefly used in the United States. 
 It is imported direct from Smyrna, or immediately through several 
 ports of Europe. It is prepared in Anatolia, and is usually imported 
 in roundish, somewhat compressed cakes, weighing from four to eight 
 ounces, and generally inclosed in a Poppy leaf, or presenting fragments of 
 leaves, etc., externally. There are two varieties of Turkey Opium known 
 in commerce, viz. : the Smyrna Opium, and the Constantinople Opium. 
 The Smyrna. Opium occurs in irregular, rounded or flattened masses of 
 various sizes and shapes, owing probably to mutual pressure in the 
 soft state, and weighing fhom half a pound to two pounds, seldom three 
 pounds. Internally, they are of a pale-brown or light reddish-brown 
 color, and when first imported are soft, but gradually become harder 
 
600 Materia Medica. 
 
 I 
 and darker. Externally, they are hard, blackish, and enve'oped in 
 leaves, and covered with the capsules of JR. Orientalis or iJ. Patientia, etc. 
 
 The lumps seem to consist of minute agglutinated scales or tears, 
 probably bf the concrete tears formed on the edges of the cuts made in 
 the capsules, and when cut they present a waxy luster. The skin of 
 the capsules, which is frequently detached during the process of sepa- 
 rating the Opium from them, is generally found mixed up in the masses 
 in small pieces. This is the best Opium, and the most common variety 
 met with in the shops; it is more productive in morphia than any other 
 variety, yielding from 9 to 13 per cent, of this alkaloid. There is an 
 inferior article, or Common Smyrna Opium, of the form and size of the 
 previous kind : it is commonly covered with Poppy leaves, and often 
 with Tumex capsules ; it is harder because older ; it has a darker color, 
 sometimes brownish -black internally, at times a musty smell, with more 
 or less moldiness. It is sometimes homogeneous, apd again appears to 
 be composed of thin layers with interposed Poppy leaves.' This varie- 
 ty is less productive of morphia than the preceding, and is likewise 
 more liable to adulteration. 
 
 Constantinople Opium is met with in flat, roundish masses, varying 
 from half a pound to nearly three pounds in weight, and somewhat re- 
 sembles, externally, the superior Smyrna variety. Upon an examina- 
 tion, however, of its internal characters, it will be found most usually 
 dry, hard, pale-brown, and homogeneous in texture, not containing any 
 tears as met with in the preceding kind. In point of purity it is about 
 equal to the Smyrna drug. It is occasionally met with in commerce. 
 Guibourt has described another variety of Constantinople Opium, which 
 is met with in " small, flattened lenticular cakes, about two, or two and a 
 half inches in diameter, and covered with a Poppy leaf, the median 
 nerves of which divide the disk into two parts." — P. It is, however, 
 an inferior kind. 
 
 The other varieties which are occasionally met with, are the Egyp- 
 tian, Indian, and Persian. pDr. C. Pinkh has described a large variety 
 of oriental Opiums in Buch. Eep. XVI., 749, some of which are no- 
 ticed in Proceedings of Am. Pharm. Assoc, 1868, p. 174.] 'The JEgyp- 
 tian variety has been largely imported, but of late is gradually disap- 
 pearing from our markets. It is in round, flattened cakes, varying from 
 three to five inches in diameter, weighing from four to eight ounces, 
 and sometimes a pound, each being enveloped within a Poppy leaf, or 
 exhibiting externally the fragments of some leaf. This Opium is dry, 
 hard, and brittle, has a pale-brown c6lor, with a reddish hue, a waxy 
 luster, and a feebler odor than the Smyrna Opium. It contains none 
 of the rumex seeds or capsules, and though inferior to the Turkey Opi- 
 um, yet occasionally parcels are met with as rich in morphia ; but the 
 quality is by no means uniform. It is probably adulterated in its prep- 
 aration, and should not be used for making tinctures, nor for filling 
 physicians' prescriptions. The India or East India Opium very seldom 
 reaches this country. A greater abundance of it is made than of any 
 other kind of Opium, and in the East it commands very high prices, 
 though inferior to Turkey Opium, ^he principal varieties of it are the 
 Bengal and the Malwah Opium. The Bengal Opium is chiefly made 
 Dear Patna and Benares. It is in hard, roundish masses, of about three 
 and a half pounds each, somewhat of the size of a child's head, and is 
 usually packed in chests containing forty balls each. The balls are 
 covered with tobacco leaves and Poppy petals, firmly agglutinated 
 around them by a paste called lewah, forming a case about half an inch 
 
Papaver Somniferum. ■ 601 
 
 thick. The Opium is soft, of a blackish-brown color, possesses the odor 
 and taste of ordinary Opium, and when exposed to the air soon becomes 
 cohered with mold. This is an inferior Opium, yielding from two to 
 four per cent, of morphia, and is not only subject to adulteration, but 
 is injured, in consequence of the juice being kept until fermentation 
 takes place before it is made up. Another variety of Bengal Opium 
 is the Garden Patna Opium, which is prepared from Poppy juice before 
 it has fermented, according to Dr. Christison. It is in cakes about 
 four inches square and half an inch thick, weighing about a quarter 
 of a pound each, and neatly packed with partitions of mica in cases of 
 beeswax, in wooden boxes, or in tin canisters. It is superior to 
 the preceding Bengal Opium, and contains nearly as much morphia 
 as the Turkey Opium ; it has not been imported as an article 
 of trade. — G. Malwah Opium, according to Christison, "is in flat, 
 roundish cakes, five or six inches in diameter, and weighing from four 
 to eight ounces. They often present cracks near their circumference. 
 They are commonly quite hard, dry, brittle, and almost pulverizable 
 by the time they reach this country ; they have a light-brown color, a 
 shining fracture, and a compact, homogeneous texture ; and they are 
 free of mechanical imj)urities. This sort is superior to the common 
 Bengal Opium, and, probablj' little, if at all, inferior to the Garden 
 Patna variety." It is not met with in this country as an article of 
 commerce. Persian Opium has seldom been met with in our mar- 
 kets. It is in the form of cylindrical sticks about as thick as the little 
 ■finger, five or six inches in length, and each of which is enveloped in a 
 smooth shiny paper and tied with cotton. It is soft and flexible, and 
 does not harden when kept for years, is of a paler-brown color than 
 any other kind, and its texture, under the microscope, is distinctly 
 granular, as if it were composed of agglutinated tears. It is a very in- 
 ferior kind. 
 
 Attempts have been made to cultivate the Poppy in this country with 
 a view to procuring its Opium, but in most instances without success. 
 Thus in Mississippi, Louisiana, Virginia, Tennessee, and even as far 
 north as Vermont, the Poppy has been cultivated by various persons, 
 and although the product has not been so excellent as could be desired, 
 yet it has been sufficiently demonstrated that under proper regulations 
 the culture of Opium in this country might be made profitable. What 
 is required is good seed, proper cultivation, and a careful gathering of the 
 juice from incisions made with great precision across the poppy head, half 
 round horizontally, being particular to not carry the cut too deep, as 
 the opium would run into the capsule and be lost ; if the incision be 
 not deep enough, all the juice will not flow out. In the Paris exhibi- 
 tion in which were many specimens of poppy heads, from the scars of 
 former incisions, it was observed that in every case, these passed around 
 the capsule horizontally, and in no instance could they be detected run- 
 ning longitudinally. The poppy is also cultivated in various parts of Eu- 
 rope, as Prance, Germany, Belgium, Bavaria, etc., for the oil which is ob- 
 tained by expressing its seeds; more recently attention has been called 
 to the collection of the opium, which, it seems, can be effected without 
 impairing the yield of oil from the seed, and it is very probable that in 
 a few years more good, clean, unadulterated opium will be furnished 
 by some of the European, cultivators. M. Lailler states that at the 
 proper time, by tearing up the poppy plants by their roots and placing 
 them in vessels full of water ancl sheltered from the changes in the 
 weather, and then making the incisions, an equal quantity of opium 
 
602 ■ Materia Medica. 
 
 can be had as by the usual method, and of equal if not superior qual- 
 ity. The seeds continue to ripen, and give as much oil as by the old 
 process of allowing the plants to remain in the ground. In past years 
 opium has been made upon a moderate scale in several parts of Europe, 
 which was in no way inferior to the best imported di'ug, and could be 
 furnished at a materially reduced price. 
 
 Opium, when of good quality, has a strong, very peculiar, viroso 
 odor, with a most intense and persistent bitter taste, somewhat aromatic, 
 and accompanied by a sensation of acridity. It has a reddish-brown 
 or fawn-color, a compact and uniform texture, and its specific gravity is 
 1.336. — Qoxe. The only change that good opium undergoes by keep- 
 ing, is that of becoming gradually hard ; the inferior varieties are very 
 apt to become moldy after a time. Persons not habituated to the use 
 of Opium, will frequently have a heat- and redness, and even vesication 
 on the lips and mouth upon masticating it. The central portion of a ball 
 of Opium is usually soft and cohesive, but becomes hardened and pul- 
 verable after a time, when acted upon by the air, yielding a dark -yel- 
 lowish, cohesive powder. At a gentle heat Opium softens and becomes 
 tenacious, and at a higher temperature it burns, evolving peculiar 
 odorous fumes. Five parts by weight of alcohol dissolve nearly four 
 parts of Opium, and the whole of its active parts. Water, cold or 
 warm, dissolves about two-thirds of it, including a great part of its 
 active ingredients, and forms a deep reddish-brown infusion ; the resi- 
 duum consists chiefly of a substance analogous to caoutchouc, with a 
 considerable portion of narcotin. Sulphuric ether chiefly dissolves nar- 
 cotin, which may be obtained in fine crystals on evaporation. The con- 
 centrated mineral acids disorganize Opium ; but the diluted acids, both 
 mineral and vegetable, are powerful solvents, and exhaust it entirely 
 of its active principles. 
 
 Probably, no drug has undergone more chemical examinations than 
 this, and yet but very little was known concerning it, until in 1803, 
 when Derosne published his discovery of a crystalline matter, which 
 has latterly been termed "narcotin." In 1804, a new crystalline subr 
 stance was detected by Seguin, but he did not acquaint himself with its 
 'true character. Sertuerner, a Hanoverian chemist, discovered meconie 
 acid and morphia in Opium, in 1804, and in 1812 made the first decidedly 
 successful analysis of this drug; since which, several chemists have 
 ascertained its composite character. It contains as its most important 
 constituents, morphia, codeia, narcotin, narceia, meconin, paramorphia, 
 thebolactic acid, and meconie acid; beside which, there have been 
 found in it sulphuric acid, a brown acid extractive, resin, fat oil, gummy 
 matter, bassorin, caoutchouc, albumen, a volatile odorous principle, 
 lignin, sulphates of lime and potassa, acetic acid, iron, alumina, phos- 
 phoric acid, pseudo-morphia discovered by Pelletier, papaverina by 
 Dr. G. Merck, opiana by Dr. Hinterberger, glucose byM. Lahens, and 
 Cryptopiaby Messrs. T. & H. Smith. Altogether some twenty-eight or 
 thirty principles, of which nine or ten have markedly distinguishing 
 characters. 
 
 Inferior Opium has a very dark color, a soft consistence, somewhat 
 adhesive, a dusky, not glossy fracture, a diversified structure, with more 
 or less impurities, a feeble odor, or like that of burnt oil, and a mawk- 
 ish, disagreeable, bitter taste. It colors the saliva dark-brown, leaves 
 marks of a pale-brown color upon paper over which it is rubbed, and 
 forms an aqueous mucilaginous solution. 
 
 There are many agents which cause precipitates when added to solu- 
 
Papaver Somniperum. 603 
 
 tions of Opium, without impairing their efficacy ; but those which are 
 undoubtedly incompatible are the vegetable astringent acids, and alka- 
 lies or their solutions. 
 
 Opium is very subject to adulterations, which are practiced before it 
 18 imported into this country. Sand, dust, stones, oil, extract of Poppy, 
 starch, clay, wax, cherry gum, resin gum, and various other substances 
 are employed for the purpose. Some of these impurities can be de- 
 tected by ocular inspection, but others are more difficult to distinguish. 
 Many purchasers rely almost entirely on external characters, as color, 
 odor, taste, texture, moisture, and freedom from mechanical admix- 
 tures ; but these constitute fallacious criterions. If morphia be found 
 in any suspected mass, or meconic acid, it will be an evidence of the 
 existence of Opium, although its quality will not be thereby deter- 
 mined. The tincture of chloride of iron will impart a red color to a 
 watery solution of a portion of the mass, if meconic acid be contained 
 in it. The matter may be rendered more certain by the following pro- 
 cess : Filter the aqueous infusion of the supposed Opium, and treat it 
 with a considerable excess of a solution of acetate of lead, and set aside 
 in a tall vessel for the precipitate of meconate of lead to subside, the 
 clear liquor holding in solution acetate of morphia. Pour off the su- 
 pernatant fluid, and collect the precipitate on a filter. Now proceed to 
 test the precipitate for meconic acid, and the clear liquor for morphia, 
 as follows : 1st, suspend the precipitate in water contained in a conical 
 glass, and pass a current of sulphuretted hj^drogen through it, which 
 precipitates the sulphuret of lead, and which should be removed by fil- 
 tration. Gently heat the clear filtered liquid, to expel the excess of 
 sulphuretted hydrogen, and, if necessary, concentrate by evaporation. 
 [Or add a few drops of diluted sulphuric acid to the meconate of lead, 
 by which an insoluble sulphate of lead is formed, and meconic acid 
 held in solution.] Boiling decomposes the meconic acid. The tests for 
 meconic acid are then to be applied, thus — the tincture of chloride of iron, 
 or the neutral sesquisalts of iron, will cause a red color with this acid ; 
 nitrate of silver, chloride of barium, or acetate of lead will produce white 
 precipitates, meconates, which are dissolved by nitric acid ; chloride of 
 gold does not redden it ; and the ammoniacal sulphate of copper, in weak 
 solutidn, gives a green precipitate of meconate of copper. 2nd, To 
 ascertain if morphia is contained in the suspected drug, take the 
 clear liquor first named above and place it in a conical glass, and pass 
 through it a current of sulphuretted hydrogen, to precipitate the lead, 
 and then filter. Boil the filtered liquor to remove any remaining sul- 
 phuretted hydrogen, and if necessary, concentrate by evaporation. 
 Then test for morphia as follows : Evaporate the liquid to dryness 
 on a water-bath, then to a small portion of the substance left, add a 
 few drops of strong nitric acid ; if morphia be present, it will be- 
 come red, and the color will be darkened by excess of ammonia, be- 
 coming yellow after a short tinie (brucia, strychnia, oil of cloves, oil 
 of pimento, etc., are also reddened by nitric acid). Tannic acid causes 
 an insoluble precipitate of tannate of morphia, soluble, however, in 
 acetic acid ; solution of ammonia, not in excess, produces a precipitate 
 of morphia, which is soluble in alkalies and in an excess of ammo- 
 nia: iodic acid produces a reddish-brown color, and if starch be 
 added, a blue compound is formed, the iodide of starch, — several hours 
 may be necessary for the success of this test (sulphuretted hydrogen, 
 sulphurous acid, phosphorous acid, sulphosinapisin, and other agents, 
 have a similar effect on iodic acid) ; the alkaline carbonates cause a white 
 
604 Materia Medica. 
 
 precipitate ; chloride of gold causes a yellow precipitate, which when 
 shaken up, and treated with a drop or two of liquor potassa, assumes 
 various hues, as green, blue, violet, and purple. — P. Having now as- 
 certained that Opium is present in the mass under examination, the 
 next thing is to ascertain its quality, and this can only be done by ex- 
 tracting its morphia ; the amount of morphia obtained is the best indi- 
 cation of its purity. At least ten per cent, of morphia should be 
 extracted from a good article of Opium. The Edinburgh College gives 
 the following test: "Macerate 100 grains of fine Opium for twenty 
 four hours in two fluidounces of distilled water; filter, and strongly 
 express in a cloth, and treat the filtrate with a cold solution of half an 
 ounce of carbonate of soda in two waters ; a precipitate will be pro- 
 duced, which will weigh, when dry, at least ten grains, and which is 
 wholly soluble in a solution of oxalic acid." 
 
 The following is Dr. Eiegel's test, which is an improvement upon 
 Guillermond's : "Cut up the drug to be examined into small pieces, and 
 bruise half an ounce of it in a mortar with alcohol at 71° ; the fluid is 
 then expressed through linen, and the refuse washed with from ten to 
 iWelve drachms of the same alcohol; the alcoholic solution is then to 
 be filtered into a glass containing one drachm of spirits of ammonia. 
 In about twelve hours, all the morphia, with some narcotin and meconate 
 of ammonia, will have become deposited. The separation of the gritty 
 crystals of morphia, which adhere to the sides of the vessel, from the 
 light, pointed crystals of narcotin, which, for the most part, float in the 
 fluid, is to be effected by decantation, according to Guillerraond, but this 
 plan does not leave the morphia free from narcotin. In order eifectually 
 to separate the narcotin, the adhering meconate of ammonia must be 
 removed by washing in water, and then shaking the crystals in pure 
 ether, or better still in chloroform, by which the narcotin is readily dis- 
 solved, while the morphia remains entirely insoluble. After this treat- 
 ment, the morphia is left behind in rather large, gritty crystals, slightly 
 discolored. This process may be varied by employing boiling alcohol 
 and powdered Opium, and adding the solution, still hot, to the solution 
 of ammonia." He states that by this process 13.50 per cent, of morphia 
 has been procured from good Opium. For the detection of small quan- 
 tities of Opium he recommends the following process : " To the suspected 
 substance, some potassa is to be added, and then shaken with ether. A 
 strip of white blotting paper is to be moistened with the solution, several 
 times repeated. When dry, the paper- is then to be moistened with 
 muriatic acid, and exposed to the steam of water ; if Opium be present, 
 the paper will be more or less colored red." — Pharm. Jour. & Trans. Vol. 
 XI., p. 418, from Jarbuch, etc. 
 
 M. Guillermond, jun., gives the following as an improvement upon the 
 process advised by his father ; it gives a sufSciently and practically use- 
 ful mode of testing the amount of morphia present in any specimen of 
 opium : Take 15 grammes of opium, taken from the several masses to 
 examine; triturate it in a' mortar with 110 grammes of alcohol at 70°, 
 which will require a half hour; into a small flask with a large mouth 
 filter 0.80 grammes, which will represent two-thirds of the opium em- 
 ployed, 10 grains. By means of a long narrow tube introduce carefully 
 to the bottom of the flask, 2 grammes of ammonia, without agitation. 
 Close the flask. After 36 hours, the morphia separates in gravelly 
 crystals, more or less red. If narcotine accompanies the morphia, its 
 white, needle-like crystals are easily separated by levigation with water. 
 
f APAVER SOMNIPERUM. 605 
 
 The precipitate, having been washed with boiling water, will represent 
 the decimal relation of the morphia to the opium. 
 
 M. Floury has given a process which will economize both time and 
 the substance to be analyzed, and which will likewise give an exactness 
 ' even to the limit of a single milligramme of possible variation in the 
 d.etermi nation of the morphia : Take two grammes of the opium to be 
 tested, cut it into slices, and place them into a small balloon with eight 
 cubic centimeters of distilled water, and fifteen drops of oxalate of nm^ 
 raonia. This addition is to separate the meconate of lime, which would 
 be in the way. Close the vessel and let it macerate 'for four hours, 
 frequently-agitating. Then throw the product into a mortar for a more 
 perfect division of the opium, after which place it upon a small filter 
 of j)aper. Wash the deposit with two centimeters of water, repeating 
 this three times in succession, and finally with one cubic centimeter. 
 Put the liquors in a balloon ; we know their volume as we have used 
 the water from a graduated burette ; add an equal volume of alcohol at 
 85°, and enough ammonia that its odor is wafted after agitation. Close 
 the vessel and agitate often during twenty-four hours. Filter, wash 
 the balloon with ten cubic centimeters of alcohol of 40 p. ct. Almost 
 colorless crystals of morphia are obtained with very little narcotine 
 because of its solubility in the aforesaid liquid. The filter is dried on the 
 funnel. He then treats the morphia with oxalic acid, which he finally 
 precipitates with caustic soda, and the process is finished. These last 
 two agents are composed of titrated liquors, with the standing point of 
 10 for 100 of morphia as the typical titration. The titrated liquors are 
 made upon the following basis ; to saturate 0.1 gramme of anhydrous 
 morphia 0.0221 of crystallized oxalic acid are necessary, 10 centigrammes 
 of a solution made with 4.042 grammes of this acid to a litre, will ex- 
 actly saturate 0.2 grammes of morphia. 
 
 Morphia &n& some of its salts are treated upon hereafter. (See Part 
 II., Morphia.) Narcotin, or Narcotina, is thought to be alkaline by 
 some, who bestow upon it the name of narcotina, and others who view 
 it as a neutral principle, name it narcotin. It can hardly be said to 
 possess alkaline properties. It was discovered by Derosne in 1803. 
 It may be obtained by treating the residual Opium which has been ex- 
 hausted by water, with water acidulated with acetic or hydrochloric 
 ' acid, and precipitating the filtered liquid with ammonia. The precipi- 
 tate dissolved in boiling alcohol deposits the narcotina as it cools. Or, 
 it may be procured directly from Opium by digesting it in ether, which 
 dissolves the narcotina and leaves the morphia; on evaporation the 
 narcotina is deposited. Narcotina crystallizes from alcohol in thin, 
 white, unequally beveled pearly tables, and from ether in regular 
 rhombic prisms ; it is without taste, odorless, soluble in ether, chloro- 
 form, boiling alcohol, oils, and diluted acids, insoluble in water, and 
 sohitions of alkalies, fuses at 388° with a loss of 0.04 of its weight, but 
 solidifies again at 266° into a crystalline, resinous-like substance, and 
 at a higher heat it is decomposed ; when pure it is incapable of form- 
 ing a yellow solution with nitric acid, or a blue one with sesquichloride 
 of iron. It forms bitter salts with acids which crystallize with difficulty, 
 give an acid reaction, and are soluble in alcohol or ether, but readily 
 decomposed by water, tannic acid, or ammonia. It consists of hydro- 
 gen, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, and its formula is C44 H23 NOh Hj 
 02=413+18. Its solutions exert a powerful left-handed rotation upon 
 polarized light; when the solution is aisidulated, this rotatory power la 
 veversed, and becomes right-handed. Its effects upon the system are 
 
606 Materia Medica. 
 
 but imperfectly known. Magendie states that a grain of it dissolved it 
 olive oil and administered to a dog, was followed by death in about 
 twenty-four hours, while twenty-four grains dissolved in acetic acid 
 diluted produced no effect. It is very probable that pure narcotina 
 does not possess any very active narcotic powers, and that the first 
 experiments were made with an impure article. Three grains of nar- 
 cotina dissolved in diluted hydrochloi-ic acid, and repeated three times 
 daily, have been strongly recommended as a powerful antiperiodic, act- 
 ing without occasioning constipation, uneasiness, and cephalalgia, but 
 frequently causing copious diaphoresis. — Brit. & For. Med. Rev., VIII., 
 263. Narcotina varies in quantity in different specimens of opium, from 
 6 to 8 per cent., sometimes more, and frequently less ; by oxidation it 
 is converted into meconine ; Mathiesen and Forster believe they have 
 proved the existence of four homologous modifications of it, as, simple 
 normal narcotina, methylic narcotina, dimethylio narcotina, and trime- 
 thylic narcotina. ^Narcotina is not hypnotic. Under the influence of 
 slow oxidation produced by diluted nitric acid, narcotina yields opianyle 
 identical with meconin ; according to Berthelot, it is a diatomic alcohol. 
 Narcotina may be distinguished from morphia by the following charac- 
 teristics : Narcotina is tasteless, dissolved by ether, insoluble in pure 
 alkalies, and does not color the salts of peroxide of iron blue. A few 
 drops of nitric acid added to a solution of narcotina in sulphuric acid, 
 gives to it a blood red color, while morphia, by the same process is 
 colored slightly green. Narcotina mixed with alcohol is j)recipitated 
 by bicarbonate of potassa, but the salts of morphia are not. 
 
 By dissolving narcotina in an excess of sulphuric acid, adding finely 
 powdered peroxide of manganese, and then applying heat, a decompo- 
 sition ensues, carbonic acid is set free, and opianic acid and cotarnin 
 are produced. If the oxidation be more energetic the cotarnin is decom- 
 posed and yields ethylia and apophyllic acid. Opianic acid forms deli- 
 cate, colorless, minute, prismatic crystals which are non-nitrogenous, 
 having the formula CjoHg Og+HO. They are bitter, have a feebly acid 
 reaction, readily soluble in boiling water, ether or alcohol, hardly solu- 
 ble in cold water, non-volatile, fuse at 284° F., but without parting 
 with their water of crystallization, and subsequently become converted 
 into a white mass, unaltered in composition, but not capable of being 
 dissolved by alcohol, ether, dilute alkalies, or water. Opianic acid forms 
 Crystalline, soluble salts, with bases, and may he converted into meconin, 
 hemipinic acid, opian-sulphurous acid, sulpho-pianic acid, and opiammon, 
 by various chemical actions. 
 
 " Gotarnin, O24H13NO5, is an organic base formed simultaneously with 
 opianic acid. It contains all the nitrogen of the narcotin, and like the 
 modification of the narcotin from which it is formed, it furnishes homo- 
 logous varieties, as, normal, methylic, dimethylic, and trimethylic 
 cotarnin. After the opianic acid, resulting from the decomposition, as 
 above-stated, of narcotin, has subsided, a reddish -yellow fluid is left. 
 If to this fluid a solution of chloride of platinum be added, cotarnin is 
 precipitated as a double, reddish-yellow, crystalline salt. By the addi- 
 tion of sulphuretted hydrogen to this precipitate suspended in water, an 
 insoluble sulphuret of-platinum is deposited, while the hydrochlorate 
 of cotarnin remains in the solution. Filter, add solution of baryta, 
 evaporate, and to the residue add alcohol to remove the cotarnin. It 
 forms groups of dark-yellow, star-like crystals, which are readily dis- 
 solved by alcohol, ether, water, and solution of potassa, or of ammonia, 
 and are fusible at 212° F., parting at the same time with about seven 
 
Papaver SoMNirEUUJd. 607 
 
 and a half partR of water of crystallization ; their solution in nitric acid 
 is dark -red ; tteir aqueous solution is feebly alkaline, and gives precipi- 
 tates with the salts of peroxide of copper, and of iron. Propylamin or 
 tritylia, NHj Cj H„ may be procured by adding an excess of hydrated 
 potassa to narcotin, and exposing the mixture to a heat of 428° F. It 
 has an ammoniacal oder ; is readily dissolved by water, has a poweriiil 
 alkaline reaction, and when dissolved in hydrochloric acid it gives a 
 light-yellow precipitate on the addition of chloride of platinum. 
 Humopinic acid, Cig H^s 0^^, is a deep-brown, non-crystalline body. 
 formed by decomposing narcotin at 428° F. It forms a dark yel- 
 lowish-red solution with alcohol, yellow with alkalies, and is not 
 dissolved by dilute acids, or water. Apophyllic acid is sometimes 
 found in the residue l«ft after cotarnin has been dissolved by alco- 
 hol from the baryta mixture formed by evaporation, as above de- 
 scribed. Narcogenin, JSTa 0,2 H;,^ Oj,,, is found only in combination with 
 chloride of platinum, forming elongated acieular crystals of a pale- 
 yellow or orange color; it is decomposed by ammonia and heat, and if 
 an attempt be niade to remove it from its combination with the salt of 
 platinum, it is converted at once into cotarnin and narcotin," — Chem. 
 Gaz. II., 49. 
 
 Opianine (opiania), Cbs Hjs Nj 02,=:628. A newly discovered alkaloid 
 in Opium by Dr. Hinterberger. Bngler, a pharmaceutist of Vienna, 
 who for the purpose of procuring morphia, precipitated an infusion of 
 Egyptian Opium by the addition of ammonia; the precipitate was 
 washed, first, in cold water, then in cold alcohol, after which hot alco- 
 hol was added to dissolve it, and animal charcoal to remove the color. 
 The mass of morphia thus procured was mixed with a large quantity 
 of crystals, presenting the appearance of narcotina ;. upon dissolving it 
 in hot alcohol, the crystals separated on cooling, and the morphia re- 
 mained in the mother-liquor. Dr. Hinterberger examined the crystals 
 and found them to be a new alkaloid, for which he proposes the name 
 opianine. It crystallizes in long, colorless, transparent and brilliant 
 needles ; is precipitated by ammonia from its solutions, as a white, im- 
 palpable powder; is insoluble in water; very sparingly soluble in boil- 
 ing alcohol, from which it separates entirely upon cooling ; is inodorous, 
 and its alcoholic solution possesses a strong and persistent bitter taste, 
 and a marked alkaline reaction. Solutions of its salts give a white, 
 flocculent precipitate of opianine on the addition of an alkali. The 
 hydrochloride of opianine forms double salts with chlorides of platinum 
 and mercury. Opianine is unaltered by concentrated sulphuric acid ; 
 nitric acid dissolves it with a yellow color. Sulphuric acid containing 
 nitric acid communicates a blood-red color, which after some time be- 
 comes bright yellow. It is a narcotic closely resembling morphia in 
 its action. — Jour. Pharm. & Trans., Vol. XII., p. 498. 
 
 Codeia, C^ B.,, ISTOg, H^ 0^=299+18, is a white, crystalline solid, first 
 discovered in Opium, in 1832, by M. Eobiquet. When the purified com- 
 mercial hydrochlorate of' morphia is precipitated by ammonia, the 
 mother-liquor on evaporation yields a salt exactly like the hydrochlo- 
 rate of morphia, but.which is a double salt composed of the hydrochlo- 
 rates of morphia and codeia. This is to be digested with aqua potassa 
 which dissolves the morphia and leaves the codeia as an oily viscid 
 mass, which, on cooling, consolidates into crystals. It may be further 
 purified by ether in which it dissolves ; and by the addition of a little 
 water, and spontaneous evaporation, it crystallizes in a state of purity. 
 Codeia is dissolved by water, ether, or alcohol , 1000 parts of water ^t 
 
608 Materia Medica. 
 
 59° F., dissolves 12.6, parts of it ; at 110° F., 37 parts ; . and at 212° P. 
 58.8 parts. Its aqueous solution, when slowly evaporated, deposits very 
 large rhombic octohedrons; these when heated, melt and lose their water 
 of crystallization. It has a bitter taste, and is decidedly alkaline ; at 
 300° P., it fuses without decomposition, and at a high temperature burns 
 with flame without residue. It i8>not colored red by nitric acid, horblue 
 by perchloride of iron. Pereira, however, states that all the codeia he 
 has met with becomes orange-yellow on the addition of nitric acid. Its 
 solutions exert left-handed rotation on a ray of polarized light. Alka- 
 lies do not dissolve codeia ; acids are neutralized by it, and form crj-s- 
 tallizable salts, as the nitrate, sulphate, and hydrochlorate. Tannic 
 acid precipitates codeia from its solutions, forming tannate of' codeia. 
 It seems to possess anodyne properties, and its salts often cause general 
 and violent itching of the surface; perhaps, codeia is the cause of the 
 itching which often follows the use of Opium, and of the common hydro- 
 chlorate of morphia, which latter salt contains l-30th of codeia, though 
 Dr. Garrod, of London doubts this eifect, as he has given codeia without 
 the resulting itching^ but which has followed the administration of mor- 
 phia. 'The pure hydrochlorate of morphia does not produce this effect. 
 — -Gregory. Its therapeutical influence upon the system is imperfectly 
 known. 
 
 Thebaina, or Paramorphia, Cgs Hjj NOg, was discovered in 1832, by M. 
 Thiboumery, the superintendent of Pelletier's chemical establishment. 
 M. Pelletier announced it under the name of paramorphia ; but on a 
 subsequent analysis of it by M. Couerbe in 1835, he called it " thebaina." 
 When an infusion of Opium is acted on by excess of lime, the moi-phia 
 is dissolved and the residue yields, when dissolved in diluted acid and 
 precipitated by ammonia, a powder which, when dissolved in alcohol or 
 ether, leaves thebaina on evaporation. It forms in colorless crystals, 
 has a sharp, metallic taste, and an alkaline reaction. It dissolves in al- 
 cohol and' ether, is nearly insoluble in water, insoluble in alkalies, ^nd 
 unites with acids forming amorphous salts. At 257° F. it fuses, but de- 
 composes at a higher heat. It is not colored by the persalts of iron, nor 
 does nitric acid color it, but dissolves it after having first converted it 
 into a soft resinous-like substance. Its action on the sj'stem is not 
 known, though considered a poison, analogous to strychnia, occasioning 
 in a small dose tetanic symptoms resembling those produced by that 
 alkaloid. 
 
 Pseudomorphia, or phormia, is a substance occasionally met with in 
 Opium, and discovered by Pelletier. It is solid, white, sparingly solu- 
 ble in water, insoluble in alcohol or ether, soluble in alkalies, acetic, and 
 hydrochloric acids. Like morphia, it is colored blue by the persalts of 
 iron, and red by nitric acid ; but it forms no salts with acids, has no de- 
 composing influence upon iodic acid, and exerts no poisonous action 
 upon the system. It crystallizes in shining scales. Its formula is given 
 as Cj, His E"0i4. Its effects on the system are not fully known. Pel- 
 letier believes it to be a combination of morphia with a substance neu- 
 tralizing its poisonous properties. Metamorphia is the name given by 
 Wittstein to a new alkaloid obtained in preparing morphia according to 
 Mohr's process. It crystallizes in hard, white, silky, acicular prisms, 
 which require for their solution, 6000 parts of cold and 70 parts of hot 
 water, 330 parts of cold alcohol, 90 per cent., and 9 parts of boiling al- 
 cohol. They are readily soluble in potassa, less readily in ammonia, 
 and not at all in ether. Their influence upon the system is similar to 
 
Pai'aver Somniferum. 609 
 
 that caused by morphia. It is not positively settled whether this is a 
 new alkaloid, or a mere chemical modiflcatioii of morphia. 
 
 Apomorphia is the name given- to a new hase recently derived from 
 morphia by Dr. Matthiessen and Mr. Wright ; it is white, but soon turns 
 green when exposed to the air, is partly soluble in water, soluble in al- 
 cohol, ether, and chloroform, jMelding different colored solutions with 
 each menstruum, and in very small doses is a powerful non-irritant 
 emetic and contra-stimulant. 
 
 Warcein, Cjs H29 NOi,,, was first procured in 1832 by Pelletier; it may 
 be obtained by exhausting Opium with cold water, evaporating to an 
 extract, dissolving this in boiling water, whicK leaves narcotin as a bril- 
 liant crystalline deposit. Strain off the liquid, heat to 212° ¥., and add 
 ammonia in slight excess. Boil for a time to drive off the excess, and 
 on cooling morphia is deposited, and a crust of which also floats on the 
 surface. Remove the morphia, evaporate the fluid to one-half, and on 
 cooling more morphia is deposited. To the liquid thus freed from mor- 
 phia add solution of .baryta, which occasions a precipitate of meconate 
 of baryta; filter, and to the liquid add solution of carbonate of ammo- 
 nia, to throw down any excess of baryta which may be present. Again 
 filter, heat the liquid to expel any excess of carbonate of ammonia, and 
 evaporate to the consistence of thick syrup, and leave, it for some days 
 in a cool place. The pulpy mass formed is placed upon paper to dry, 
 and then strongly pressed between folds of cloth to free it from a black 
 viscid matter. Then treat it with boiling alcohol, which partly dissolves 
 it. Concentrate the alcoholic tincture by distillation, and on cooling 
 crystals of narcein are deposited, which may be easily purified, by re- 
 peated solutions in water and crystallizations. — T. Ifarcein forms in 
 white, delicate four-sided prisms, of a silky lustei-, and having the ap- 
 pearance of needles. It has no odor, and a slightly bitter taste, some- 
 what like that caused when the tongue is placed between a plate of 
 zinc and one of silver, held in contact with each other. It dissolves in 
 230 times its weight of boiling water, or in 375 times its weight of water 
 at 57°. It is very soluble in alcohol, but is not dissolved by ether, 
 which may be added to it in order to remove any meconin which may 
 be contained in it. It dissolves in diluted acids without neutralizing 
 them, and the solutions on evaporation deposit unaltered narcein. At 
 198° P., it melts, and on cooling concretes into a white translucent mass, 
 marked with crystalline vegetations. The strong acids, when not de- 
 composing it, as well as substances which have a strong attraction for 
 water as the cjiloride of calcium, color it azure-blue ; but the salts of 
 iron do not produce this effect. Concentrated sulphuric acid forms an 
 intensely red solution with it, which becomes green when heated.. Io- 
 dine forms with it a compound of a bliie color, which disappears when 
 an alkali is added. Its therapeutical properties are not known; sup- 
 posed, however, to influence the inferior part of the spinal marrow, 
 diminishing sensation and mobility in the inferior extremities. 
 
 Meconin, G^ Hjo Os, was discovered by M. Dublanc, jr., in 1826, and 
 again in 1830 by M. Couerbe, who was unacquainted with Dublanc's 
 previous examination of it. It may be procured by exhausting Opium 
 with cold water, filtering and concentrating to the specific gravity of 
 1.05. Then add ammonia, dijuted with five or six times its weight 
 of water, as long as a precipitate continues to fall, and which con- 
 sists chiefly of morphia. After a few days, decant the supernatant 
 fluid, and wash the precipitate with water as long as it comes away col- 
 ored. Mix the several waters, and evaporate to a syrupy consistence, 
 39 
 
610 Materia Medica. 
 
 and place them ir. a cool place for 14 or 15 days. Decant the liquid 
 from the granular crystals deposited, press them between folds of blot- 
 ting-paper, and then still further dry thein by a gentle heat. To this 
 brown crystalline mass, add boiling alcohol, sp. gr., 0.837, and when 
 every thing soluble is taken up, filter and evaporate the aleohplic solu- 
 tion to one-third its original bulk. On cooling, crystals of meconin are 
 obtained. Dry theae by expression, dissolve them in boiling water, 
 digest the solution with animal charcoal, and filter. On cooling, ^meco- 
 nin is deposited, which must be freed from narcein by ether, which dis- 
 solves only the meconin. By spontaneous evaporation, meconin is de- 
 posited in a state of purity. — T. It forms fine, white, s5x-sided prisms, 
 terminating by dihedral summits, and which are inodorous, at first 
 tasteless, but afterward acrid. It is soluble in alcohol, ether, the essen- 
 tial oils, and in 266 parts of cold water, and 18J of boiling. At 194° 
 F., it melts and assumes the form of a colorless limpid fluid, and may 
 be sublimed unchanged. When heated with water, it first melts into 
 an oily fluid, and gradually dissolves. Sulphuric acid diluted with half 
 its weight of water dissolves meconin, forming a colorless solution ; if 
 heat be applied, the liquid becomes dark-green. Water throws down 
 from the green solution brown flocks, which dissolve in alcohol with a 
 rose-red or purple color. From this alcoholic solution, the salts of 
 alumina, lead, and tin throw down fine red lakes. By the action of 
 chlorine gas on fused meconin, the latter becomes blood-red, and then 
 deep-yellow, mechloic acid is formed, and a yellow, resinous-like sub- 
 stance, containing much chlorine. Nitric acid, aided by a gentle heat, 
 converts meconin into hyponitrameconic add. Meconin is neutral, des- 
 titute of nitrogen ; its action upon the system is not determined. 
 
 Meconic acid, H3 On HO^, 3 Ha O2, is prepared by digesting Opium 
 in four times its weight of distilled water for twenty-four hours, at a 
 gentle heat, expressing, and then treating twice with the same quantity 
 of water. The expressed liquids are then allowed to subside, strained, 
 and caustic ammonia added so long as precipitate is formed. This is 
 collected on a filter, the yellowish filtrate carefully evaporated in a 
 porcelain dish to a syrupy consistence, mixed with a concentrated 
 solution of chloride of calcium, equalling in quantity Jg of the Opium 
 employed, boiled with it, and set aside to cool. After standing some 
 d-ays, the partially solidified mass is washed with cold water, the re- 
 sidual meconate of lime, pressed, dried, and weighed. One part 
 of this is rubbed with ten parts of water, previously heated to 
 140° F., but not higher, and hydrochloric acid, sp. gr. 1.130, added 
 until the meconate of lime has dissolved Ca little sulphate may have 
 form_ed and render the solution turbid) ; then filter. On cooling, acid 
 pieconate of lime crystallizes; this is collected, dissolved in warm 
 water, and decomposed with half as much hydrochloric acid as the 
 meconate of lime weighed. After standing for half an hour, at a tem- 
 perature of 140° F., it is allowed to cool, and the meconic acid crystal- 
 lizes out. When, on gently evaporating the mother-liquor, etc., all 
 the acid is obtained, it is again dissolved in warm water, which sepa- 
 rates still more sulphate,, filtered, and set aside to crystallize; about 
 3V of the weight of Opium employed is thus obtained in crystals of 
 meconic acid. — Witt. Meconic acid forms colorless, glistening, trans- 
 parent scales, which are odorless, have a sour, cooling taste, afterward 
 bitter, loses its water when warmed, then fuses, and, if further heated. 
 evaporates, fornxing carbonic acid, water, and pyromeconic acid. It is 
 Boluble in four times its weight of hot water, and in alcohol. Nitric 
 
Papaver Somnifbrum. 611 
 
 acid quickly converts meconic acid into oxalic and carbonic acid. 
 Cold sulphuric or muriatic acid does not alter it. The salts of peroxide 
 of iron are reddened by it, which color is destroyed by alkalies, nitric 
 acid, and protochloride of tin. The ammoniated sulphate of copper in 
 a dilute solution gives with it a green precipitate of meconate of cop- 
 per. It forms white meconates, which are dissolved by nitric acid, 
 with nitrate of silver, chloride of barium, and acetate of lead. Chlo- 
 ride of gold does not redden it. It is supposed to be an inert sub- 
 stance. — P. When meconic acid is heated to 248° F., or when its solu- 
 tion in dilute muriatic acid is boiled, a new acid, dibasic, comenic acid 
 is obtained in colorless, hard, warty crystals, which are sparingly solu- 
 ble in water, insoluble in absolute alcohol, and which is decomposed 
 by nitric acid into oxalic, carbonic, and hydrocyanic acids. By dry 
 distillation a new monobasic acid is sublimed, pyromeconic acid. It is 
 important in a medico-legal point of view to determine the presence of 
 meconic acid in cases of suspected poisoning by opiurh. The following 
 process may be adopted : Mix a solution of the suspected matter with 
 acetate of lead, which gives a meconate of lead if meconic acid be 
 present; wash this precipitate, decompose it by sulphuretted hydro- 
 gen, and concentrate the meconic acid thus set free by evaporating at 
 a temperature not exceeding 158° ¥. If meconic acid be present, the 
 addition of a very dilute solution of chloride of iron will give a blood- 
 red color to the concentrated liquor, which color will not be aifected 
 by the addition of a few drops of sulphuric acid with a fragment of 
 zinc, nor by a solution of corrosive sublimate. 
 
 Papaverina, NCw ^21 Osi is an alkaloid procured by adding soda to a 
 watery infusion of Opium, treating the precipitated morphia with alco- 
 hol, evaporating the brown extract, digesting the residue with dilute 
 hydrochloric acid, and precipitating the filtrate with ammonia. This 
 precipitate is added to hydrochloric acid, and the solution, mixed with 
 acetate of potassa, to which, after washing with water, boiling ether is 
 added ; the ether dissolves the papaverina, and deposits it on cooling. 
 Pure Papaverin crystallizes from alcohol in confused, aggregated, aci- 
 cular, white crystals ; from ether they are larger. They are not solu- 
 ble in cold water, nearly insoluble in cold alcohol or ether, but more 
 readily soluble when these liquids are hot, but precipitated in crystal- 
 line form on cooling. When treated with concentrated sulphuric acid, 
 the crystals become blue. They form salts with acids, difficultly solu- 
 ble in water. They dissolve in hydrochloric acid, and on the addition 
 of more acid, a white precipitate is formed at first, which collects into 
 drops, and forms at the bottom of the vessel an insoluble oily layer 
 If left standing, crystals are formed, partly in the oil, partly in the 
 supernatant liquid, which for some time augment, until the whole of 
 the oily liquid is converted into a mass of well-shaped crystals of sev- 
 eral lines in length. A gentle heat promotes the crystallization. Both 
 sulphuric and nitric acid behave toward it like hydrochloric, but the 
 crystals are not so large. Papaverin resembles narcotin, but is dis- 
 tinguished chiefly by its salts, and their unequal, dissimilar, oleagin- 
 ous, and crystalline nature. — ^Dr. George Merck, Pharm. Jour, and 
 Trans., VIII., 293. 
 
 Porphyroxin is a principle obtained from Bengal Opium, but which 
 requires further investigation. It crystallizes in brilliant needles, is 
 insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol,, ether, and dilute acids, is neutral, 
 and is converted into a beautiful purplish-red solution with hydro- 
 chloric acid. Owing to this action of porphyroxin and hydrochloric 
 
612 Materia Medica. 
 
 acid, Merck has given the following test to detect the presence of opium in 
 any doubtful preparation. Form a concentrated solution by evapora- 
 tion of the suspected compound in solution, treat this with a small 
 amount of liquor potassa, and then shake the mixture with ether. 
 Filter ; moisten a strip of unsized paper with the ethereal solutii i and 
 let it dry; again moisten the paper and allow it to dry, and s con- 
 tinue for six or seven times ; finally moisten the paper thus prepared 
 with dilute hydrochloric acid, and expose it to the steam arising from 
 water at 212° F. ; if opium be present, its porphyroxin will cause the 
 paper thus treated to present a red color. 
 
 Cryptopia is contained in the weak spirituous washings of crude pre- 
 cipitated morphia. To obtain it, see Am. Jour. JPharm., 1867, p. 421, in 
 which the process of the Messrs. Smith are given in detail. It forms 
 very minute, silky, white, hexagonal prisms or plates, inodorous, 
 slightly bitter, but soon followed by a peculiar sense of coolness as if 
 oil of peppermint were present. Heated it is volatile without residue; 
 it fuses at 400° F. It is decidedly alkaline, perfectly neutralizing the 
 strongest acids, and forming salts, of which the sulphate, acetate, hy- 
 drochlorate, nitrate, and thebolactate have been obtained in beautiful 
 and distinct crystals; however, they all have a tendency to form a 
 jelly. It is slightly soluble in water, and according to the amount of 
 water in which it is dissolved, it crystallizes, or forms a jelly not quite 
 80 transparent as gelatine ; it is more soluble in alcohol, or chloroform ; 
 insoluble in benzine, ether, oil of turpentine, ammonia, and caustic 
 iriineral alkalies; but readily soluble in diluted acetic, nitric, sulphuric, 
 or hydrochloric acids. Sulphuric acid gives a blue color with it ; but 
 the slightest tinge of purple indicates the presence of thebain. A small 
 particle of niter added to the blue acid solution produces a decided 
 green color. It exists in very small quantity in opium, only five 
 ounces, in the form of muriate, having been procured from some 4 or 
 5 tons of the drug. Its formula is C^s H.^5 NO5. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Opium is a narcotic and stimulant, acting 
 under various circumstances as a sedative, antispasmodic, febrifuge, 
 diaphoretic, and an inspissant of the mucous secretions. Topically, it 
 is a direct stimulant and indirect sedative of the nervous, muscular, 
 and vascular systems. A medium dose, taken while in health, aug- 
 ments the volume and velocity of the pulse, increases the heat of the 
 surface, gives energy to the muscles, renders the mind more acute, and 
 produces a general excitement of the whole system ; the brain is espe- 
 cially acted upon, the faculties becoming more clear, the ideas, bril- 
 liant, precise, and under control, the power of application more in- 
 tense, the conversational energies augmented, and frequently a state of 
 frenzy or hallucination is induced. After a titoie this stimulation 
 abates, leaving a calm, careless, indifferent, pleasurable sensation, with 
 11 series of obscure, fleeting ideas, which is succeeded, after a longer or 
 shorter period, by sleep, which may continue for several hours, and is 
 followed by giddiness, languid pulse, sickness at stomach, cephalalgia, 
 tremblings, want of appetite, and other indications of derangement of 
 the nervous system. Other effects likewise occur during the period of 
 its influence upon the system, thus — the mucous secretions become sus- 
 pended, constipation is induced, the cutaneous secretion is increased, 
 the urinary and biliary secretions may be unaffected, or merely inspis- 
 sated, in consequence of their discharges being impeded. The reten- 
 tion of urine, and constipation, sometimes exist for several days. Gen 
 erally, no serious results occur from this action of Opium, except from 
 
PaPAVER .SOJINIFERUM. 613 
 
 a repetition of the dose, so often us to impair the vital powers by con- 
 tinuous over-stimulation. The unpleasant symptoms follovsring the 
 sleep caused by Opium may be removed by lemon-juice, strong coffee, 
 or a cathartic. 
 
 The effects of Opium vary in different persons, and not unfrequently 
 in the same individual under dissimilar circumstances. In some per- 
 sons the smallest dose will cause nausea, emesis, and gastro-intestinal 
 spasm ; in others it will occasion feverishness, headache, watchfulness, 
 restlessness, startling, disagreeable visions, delirium, anxiety, and after- 
 ward, an aggravated degree of the more familiar subsequent effects of 
 this drug ; these phenomena constitute what is called the idiosyncratic 
 action of Opium. Though commonly the result of idiosyncrasy, yet these 
 symptoms are often induced in persons with whom Opium in general 
 agrees. Lemon-juice or vinegar renders the action of Opium more favor- 
 able, and less liable to produce the above disagreeable consequences. 
 An unpleasant prickling sensation on the surface of the body, or a 
 troublesome itching, occasional^ accompanied with a slight eruption, 
 is sometimes produced by Opium, or its salts of morphia. The narcotic 
 power of Opium is lessened by certain states of disease, as in the ad- 
 vanced stage of pneumonia, or peritonitis, by profuse hetnorrhage, 
 especially uterine, by severe dysentery, delirium tremens, some varie- 
 ties of mania, tetanus, and severe pain or spasm of any kind. It is also 
 modified by the conjunction of other remedies ; camphor is thought to 
 diriiinish the chance of its subsequent or idiosyncratic effects; and 
 given with ipecacuanha, three or four times the ordinary hypnotic dose 
 may be administered without inducing sleep, but with the effect of bring- 
 ing on sweating with much greater certainty. Belladonna is believed 
 to be antagonistic in its effects to those of Opium, and has been used in 
 cases of poisoning by the latter agent, as an antidote ; but when used 
 for this purpose the means hereafter named must not be omitted. 
 Through whatever channel Opium is introduced into the body— the 
 stomach, the rectum, a wound, vein, excoriation, blistered surface, etc. — 
 its remote action is exerted on the brain. It acts most energetically 
 when it is promptly absorbed ; yet it has not been detected in the blood. 
 When Opilim, or any of its preparations, is applied freely to a blis- 
 tered, excoriated, or inflamed surface, its effects should be attentively 
 watched, for dangerous accidents have occasionally happened in this 
 way. 
 
 In large doses, Opium is a poison, producing 'death if the proper 
 remedies are not promptly and unremittingly resorted to. The state of 
 stimulation and vivacity, if caused at all, is of short duration, being 
 speedily followed by depression of the circulation, and of the functions 
 of the brain, as manifested by diminution of the frequency of the pulse, 
 prostration of muscular power, slow, soft respiration, flaccidity of the 
 extremities, languor, drowsiness, torpor or coma, pale features, exces- 
 sively contracted pupils, coldness of the limbs, generally retention of 
 urine, and frequently profuse perspiration, together with an almost 
 entire apathy to external agencies. This state ends in death, unless 
 speedily relieved. The remedies are, emetics of mustard and lobelia 
 seed, with strong coffee' stomach-pump, external counter-irritation, 
 cold applications to the head and spine, forced exercise, galvanism, and 
 artificial respiration. A's soon as the stomach has been properly evacu- 
 ' ated by emesis, internal stimulants must be administered, the best of 
 which are brandy and carbonate of ammonia. As soon as conscious- 
 ness is once fairly restored, an active cathartic, with the continuation 
 
614 Materia Medica. 
 
 of the forced exercise, generally completes the cure. The same toxico- 
 logical treatment should be pursued in case of poisoning by any of its 
 salts of morphia. Opium is employed internally in form of pill, powder, 
 tincture, or solution. In addition to the laudanum, and paregoric elixir 
 of the pharmacy, other forms of preparation are used, which it may be 
 proper to notice here. 
 
 Sydenham' s Laudanum is a vinous tincture of Opium, made according 
 to the Parisian Codex, by macerating for two weeks in one pint of 
 Sherry Wine, two ounces of Opium, one ounce of Saffron, and one 
 drachm each, of bruised Cinnamon and Cloves ; then filter. A fluidrac h m 
 of this laudanum is equivalent to three grains of Opium. 
 
 Rousseau's Laudanum is made by exposing a vessel, in which six 
 ounces of Honey have been dissolved in one and a half pounds of Hot 
 "Water, to a temperature of about 80° P., until fermentation commences; 
 then add two ounces of good Opium previously diffused in one pound 
 of "Water, and again expose to a temperature of about 80° F. for a 
 month ; express, filter, and evaporate to five ounces, to which one ounce 
 of alcohol should be added. Six drops of this preparation are equivalent 
 to one grain of Opium. 
 
 Black, or Quaker's Drop, is variously made ; the Edinburgh formula 
 is: "Take of Opium four ounces. Distilled Vinegar sixteen iluidounces. 
 Cat the Opium into small fragments, triturate it into a pulp with a 
 little of the vinegar, add the rest of the vinegar, macerate in a closed 
 vessel for seven days, and agitate occasionally. Then strain and ex- 
 press strongly, and filter." The aromatics added in some formulae are 
 unnecessary. 
 
 These three preparations owe their virtues chiefly to the acetate of 
 morphia contained in them, and are inferior to solutions of the citrate, 
 acetate, or sulphate of morphia. 
 
 The special uses of Opium are so numerous, that it is impossible to 
 do more here than mention the most important of them. In all febrile 
 and inflammatory diseases, it is given either alone, or in combination 
 with ipecacuanha to produce diaphoresis. As an anodyne-diaphoretic 
 this combination is likewise beneflcial in rheumatic, neuralgic, and 
 gouty -diseases, in nervous irritability, morbid vigilance, restlessness, 
 diarrhea, and dysentery. As an antispasmodic in asthma, colic, cholera, 
 hysteria, tetanus, dyspepsia, spasmodic and convulsive affections, espe- 
 cially the spasms acompanying the passage of biliary calculi, or which 
 are present during an -attack of nephritis or gout. Also to allay cough, 
 soothe pain, relieve nausea, overcome tenesmus, and calm nervous irri- 
 tability. It is of much utility in checking abnormal and increased 
 discharges, as in chronic catarrh, excessive secretions from the pulmonary 
 mucous membranes, diarrhea, uterine - and other hemorrhages, etc. 
 Indeed it will be found valuable in all symptoms or fornis of disease 
 characterized by pain, wakefulness, inflammation, increased nervous 
 excitability, increased mucous secretions, or spasmodic action. Opium 
 should not be used internally in cases of excessive inflammatory action, 
 without having first allayed this action considerably, by other means : 
 or, if Opium be administered, it should be combined with ipecacuanha, 
 as in the Comp. Powder of Ipecac and Opium, for the purpose of 
 modifying its influence and promoting a determination to the surface. 
 In phrenitis, cerebral congestion, accumulation of blood in the vessels 
 of the head, inflammation of mucous tissues with diminished secretion, 
 'and in ordinary states of costiveness, its employment is not proper. 
 If the costiveness be due to spasmodic action, it may theu t>e given 
 
Papavee Somniferum. 615 
 
 *8 an antispasmodic in combination with a laxative. Opium is often 
 eaten by persons until it becomes a habit exceedingly difficult to over- 
 come ; when taken to excess in this manner it may be known by the 
 deadly pale or sallow aspect, with tokens of emaciation, and a gradual 
 loss of the energies and activity of the whole system. De Quincy, 
 in hie work entitled "Confessions of an English Opium-eater," states 
 that he has taken 8,000 drops of laudanum, or 210 grains of Opium 
 daily; and attributes his cure of this lamentable vice to the use of 
 the Ammoniated Tincture of Valerian as a substitute for his opiate 
 stimulant. Probably any other stimulant would have answered the 
 same purpose. 
 
 Externally, Opium is employed chiefly to subdue pain, and arrest local 
 inflammatory action ; it is applied in the form of lotion, liniment, orplas- 
 ter, and is of service in neuralgia, rheumatism, some forms of cutaneous 
 disease, irritable blistered surfaces, diseased mucous surfaces, and in ery- 
 sipelatous inflammations. It is likewise added to topical preparations for 
 inflammation of the eye, and to gonorrheal injections. There is much 
 variety of opinion among physicians as to the use of this drug as a 
 medicine, some contending against its use and others in its favor. That 
 it is a useful agent in many diseases, and exerts an influence not pos- 
 sessed by any other one, no person will attempt to deny ; neither does 
 it, when given in the proper medicinal doses, leave the seeds of after 
 disease in the system, as is the case with mercurial preparations, which 
 in small doses decompose the constituents of the body ; therefore, al- 
 though its present results may be disagreeable, yet, as they are not 
 permanent, there is no good reason why we should dispense with an 
 agent so well calculated to lessen the effects of disease upon the human 
 system. When we administerthe almost death-like prostrating emetic, 
 lobelia, the energetic, prostrating, and nauseating hydragogue, resin 
 of podophyllum, etc., etc., it is too much like prejudice wittiout reason 
 to oppose Opium because its effects continue for a few days, or improper 
 doses and carelessness in its use have resulted in death, and which may, 
 in a degree, be said of every active remedy in the Materia Medica. 
 
 Poppy capsules are much weaker in their action than Opium ; they 
 are occasionally used in the form of syrup or decoction among children, 
 but are in every way inferior to Opium itself prepared similarly. The 
 decoction, or the Poppy capsules, are much used as an emollient and 
 anodyne, for fomentations. 
 
 A "Syrup of Poppies may be made by depriving of their seeds, Poppy- 
 heads nine ounces ; reduce them to a coarse powder, moisten them thor- 
 oughly with diluted alcohol, and digest for forty-eight hours ; then 
 transfer the whole to a percolator, and gradually pour upon it Diluted 
 Alcohol until two pints of filtered liquor are obtained ; then evaporate 
 by means of a water -bath to eight fluidounces, filter, add sugar fifteen 
 ounces ; proceed in the manner directed for simple syrup. "When cool, 
 add best French brandy two fluidrachms, and mix. — C W. Epting. 
 
 Dose of Opium in pill or powder from one-fourth of a grain to three 
 grains, ai cording to its influence upon the patient, the character of the 
 disease, aad the object to be accomplished. Sometimes larger quanti- 
 ties are given, as in severe tetanic, or other nervous affections, and in 
 cases of severe pain. The medium dose to ease pain and pi oduce sleep, 
 is one grain. The dose of the tincture is from ten to fifty drops. When 
 it can not be taken by mouth, as in cases of persistent vomiting, and 
 in strangury, severe pain accompaning diseases of the kidneys, bowels, 
 or uterus, and painful tenesmus, it may be injected into the rectum 
 
616 Materia Medica. 
 
 with much benefit, adding to it a small quantity of water, flaxseed oi 
 elm infusion, starch water, mucilage of gum Arabic, etc. "When thus 
 given the quantity may be twice that exhibited by the mouth — yet 
 the practitioner should be cautious, as some patients are more power- 
 fully influenced by it than others. 
 
 * Codeia possesses sedative and narcotic properties, and although inferior 
 to morphia for calming pains, only on account of its requiring to be 
 given' in larger doses, it is superior to it in its eifects, never causing 
 heavy agitated sleep, perspirations, eruptions of the skin, obstinate con- 
 stipation, retching, vomiting, nor disturbance of digestion. Dr. Aran 
 has used it with most excellent success in nervous diseases of the stom- 
 ach, in the stubborn and harassing coughs of bronchitis, and consump- 
 tion, in violent rheumatic and gouty pains, and in the pains of cancer. 
 The dose of Codeia is one-third of a grain, gradually increased to one or 
 two grains, and in some eases three. It may be given in syrup. 
 
 Papaverinhaa been recommended as a sedative and soporific in men- 
 tal affections, mania, etc., by certain physicians ; while on the other hand, 
 some others state that it does not possess any therapeutical virtues ; in 
 this state of uncertainty we must await further investigations. 
 
 Off. Frep. — Enema Qpii ; Linimentum Capsici Compositum; Lini- 
 mentum Opii ; Mistura Camphorse Composita ; Pilulse Camphorse Com- 
 positse ; Pulvis Ipecacuanha et Opii ; Tinctura Opii Compositus ; Tinc- 
 tura Opii Acetata ; Tinctura Opii Camphorata ; Tinctura Serpentaria 
 Compositae. 
 
 PAETHEISriUM ESTTEGEIFOLIUM. (Ganzblattriges Jung- 
 
 fernkraut.) 
 
 Gutting Almond. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Asteraceae. 8ex. Syst. — Syngenesia Necessaria. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also known by the name of Nephritic Plant, 
 is indigenous and perennial, with an erect, striate, pubescent stem, from 
 three to six feet in height. Leaves alternate, lance-ovate, hispid-scab- 
 rous, coarsely dentate-crenate, coriaceous, lower ones petiolate, upper 
 sessile, sometimes clasping, four to twelve inches long, about half as 
 wide. Madical petioles a foot long. Heads many-flowered, tomentose, 
 corymbed ; ray-flowers five, somewhat ligulate, fertile ; disk-flowers tubu- 
 lar, sterile. Involucre hemispherical, five-leaved ; scales in two series, 
 outer ovate, dilated, inner orbicular ; receptacle minute, conical, chaffy ; 
 achenia five, obovate, compressed, cohering with two contiguous palese. 
 It is sometimes known as Prairie Dock. — TV- 
 History. — This plant grows in the Middle and Westerti States, in dry 
 soils, flowering from July to September. The root is the part used. 
 Its growth is singular; it issues from a head or caudex, at first small, 
 but gradually increases in size, and terminates very abruptly, giving 
 off other roots of a similar form, each being a distinct root, about the 
 size and shape of a radish, but growing horizontally, and sending up 
 stems from near the large ends of the principal roots, which are black- 
 ish outside, and bluish-gray within. Cold water extracts its medicinal 
 virtues. It has not been analyzed. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Diuretic. A cold infusion of the root, in wine- 
 glassful doses, three or four times a day, will be found very beneficial 
 in heat of the urine, strangury, dysury, gonorrhea, gravel, and diseases 
 of the kidneys and bladder generally. It is highly recommended by 
 
Petkoleum. 617 
 
 some jJractitioners in these diseases. Likewise said to be an aromatic 
 bitter, and stimulant. The flowering tops have been used as an anti- 
 periodic. Two fluidounces of their infusion has no unpleasant influ- 
 ence on the nervous system, and are said to be equal to twenty grains 
 of sulphate of qninia. — Houlton. 
 
 PBTEOLBUM. (Stein-Oel.) 
 Petroleum. 
 
 A BITUMINOUS FLUID ISSUING FEOM THE EARTH. 
 
 History. — Petroleum is a natural combustible liquid, which issues 
 from the earth with springs, on the surface of which it floats, or it may 
 exude direct from several formations, especially those of the rock salt. 
 It is composed of liquid and solid constituents, and according to the 
 , preponderance of these, it approaches the fluid naphtha, or the hard , 
 and brittle asphaltum. It is met with in abundance on the shores of 
 the Caspian Sea, in Persia, in Birmah, and in different parts of Europe, 
 especially in Italy and Germany. It also occurs in several of the West 
 India Islands, especially Barbadoes and Trinidad. In Iforth Amer- 
 ica it is found in the State of New York on the borders of Seneca lake, 
 in Kentucky, etc. Eecently it has been found in immense quantities 
 in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Virginia, and in Canada, and is now ex- 
 tensively used as a material for manufacturing, illuminating, and lubri- 
 cating oils, and paraffine, and is rapidty superseding lard and whale oils. 
 
 Petroleum varies much in its appearance and character, according to 
 its place of origination. The West India Petroleum, known as Bar- 
 . badoes tar, or Barbadoes Petroleum, is of a dusky greenish-brown, or 
 black color, and has a strong, peculiar, not agreeable bituminous odor 
 and taste, and is of the consistence of cream or thick syrup. Its spe- 
 cific gravity, according to Thomson, varies from 0.730 to 0.878. It is 
 insoluble in water, alkalies, acids, or alcohol ; and is soluble in fixed and 
 volatile oils, and ether, which latter becomes green when shaken with 
 it. Its liquidity is increased by heat, and at a high heat naphtha 
 passes over, leaving asphalt or pitch naphtha behind. Its ultimate 
 constituents are carbon and hydrogen, with a small proportion of oxy- 
 gen and nitrogen. Seneca, Bock, or mineral oil, the several names giv^n 
 to the Petroleum of this country, is not so thick, nor so dark colored 
 as the Barbadoes variety, neither is its taste and smell so strong. It 
 furnishes several products for the markets, as, a naphtha, or benzole, 
 used instead of oil of turpentine as a solvent for many articles ; a heav- 
 ier and less volatile oil, coal oil, or kerosene, suitable for illuminating ' 
 purposes; a lubricating oil for machinery; a. still heavier oil, used for 
 adulterating vegetable oils. These oils are furnished by the limestone 
 rocks of the Silurian and Devonian formations. According to Pclouzo 
 and Cahours, the bulk of these rock oils consists of a mixture of vari- 
 ous members of the marsh-gas series, including thirteen different com- 
 pounds. Tetry] hydride, Cg Hjo, is the lowest term of the series, and 
 palniityl hydride, C32 H34, the highest ; the most abundant of these com- 
 pounds being the hexyl hydride, Ci^ &„, and the next in amount is the 
 heptyl hydride, C^ Hie. — W. A. Miller. Coal oil will drive away crick- 
 ets, cockroaches, bedbugs, rats, mice, etc., if sprinkled around their 
 haunts. It is considerably used as a popular local remedy for piles, itch, 
 rheumatism, painful affections, sprains, etc., and has been recom- 
 mended internally in several diseases. Mecca oil, a mineral oil from a 
 
618 Materia Medica. 
 
 place named Mecca, 0., is said to be useful in bronchial, laryngeal, and 
 pulmonary affections, and is sold at most extravagant prices for such 
 purpose ; the dose varies from 5 to 30 drops, repeated two or three 
 times a day. 
 
 The Bangoon Petroleum is of a similar color with that of the Barba- 
 does, sometimes having a reddish-tint ; it has a semisolid consistence, a 
 rather agreeable odor, and at a temperature of 80° or 90° becomes 
 liquid. Its chemical actions are similar to those of the Barbadoes. By 
 distillation it yields a large amount of naphtha and paraffine. 
 
 Naphtha is a carbo-hydrogen, which is obtained by the distillation 
 of coal-tar or Petroleum, and is also found existing naturally, as in 
 Persia, Amiano, etc. It is nearly colorless, transparent, highly inflam- 
 mable, and exceedingly volatile. It burns with a yellow flame, giving 
 off considerable smoke, and boils at 185° to 194°. When pure its 
 specific gravity is 0.755, and its formula Ge H5 ; and it is employed for 
 the purpose of preserving potassium and sodium, which have no action 
 on it in the absence of water. It communicates its odor to water 
 without being dissolved in it ; alcohol dissolves about one-fifth its 
 weight of naphtha, and ether, oils, pitch, and Petroleum combine with 
 it in every proportion. By the aid of heat it dissolves wax, a portion 
 of which is deposited on cooling ; with caoutchouc it forms a gelatin- 
 ous varnish. It is decomposed by nitric or sulphuric acids, and forms 
 an oily substance with chlorine. Dr. Andreosky asserts to have used 
 it with benefit in Asiatic cholera, in doses of ten or twenty drops in 
 two or three fluidounces of wine, or mint water. 
 
 Since the discovery of the immense quantities of Petroleum in Penn- 
 sylvania and other States, there has been introduced into the market 
 an abundance of a fluid (the lighter oil of Petroleum), which has been 
 improperly called benzole, phene, or benzin. This article is more prop- 
 erly a naphtha, and, since the war and the consequent high price of oil 
 of turpentine, has very largely taken the place of the latter. article in 
 painting and varnish making. Benzole, G^ Hj, boils at 176° F., is very 
 volatile, dissolves resins, mastic, wax, camphor, fatty and volatile oils, 
 caoutchouc, gutta-percha, quinia, which it deposits on evaporation ; 
 when hot it dissolves iodine, phosphorus, and sulphur ; it sparingly 
 dissolves, but in various proportions, gamboge, shellac, strychnia, and 
 morphia. With cinchonia it forms a bulky gelatinous mass ; it does • 
 not dissolve copal or anime, but its vapor, in the act of condensation, 
 rapidly dissolves these resins. It is not soluble in water, but is freely 
 soluble in alcohol, ether, oil of turpentine, wood spirit, or acetone. 
 Benzole, formed by passing the vapor of phenol over heated powder of 
 zinc, possesses an agreeable odor, similar to that of the rose gera- 
 nium. By a similar treatment, benzoic acid and phtalic acid give the 
 essence of bitter almonds. Inhalation of the vapors of benzole pro- 
 duces insensibility to pain. When nearly pure it becomes solid at 32° 
 F. ; its sp. gr. is 0.850. Benzole is an excellent medium for preserving 
 fine crystals, as most saline compounds are insoluble in it, and the 
 benzole being volatile, they will dry rapidly when removed from it. 
 If benzole is objectionable, many crystals (as sulphate of soda, etc.), may 
 he preserved by immersion in fine olive oil for several hours, draining, 
 wiping with a soft piece of cambric, and introducing in a bottle. One 
 pint of benzole and two pints of alcohol, sp. gr. 0.840, forms an excel- 
 lent fuel for a portable gas lamp, which supplies itself with vapor by 
 the heat which it generates in combustion ; any excess of the alcohol 
 diminishes thp luminosity of the flame, while too much of the benzole 
 
, Petroleum. 619 
 
 cauBes a tendency to smoke. Benzole is a hydrocarbon compound of 
 considerable interest and importance ; it belongs to a group known as 
 the phenic series, and forms various valuable compounds. If benzole 
 be added in small portions at a time, to warm fuming" nitric acid, it is 
 dissolved, and on cooling, or on being diluted, nitro-henzole is separated 
 in the form of a yellowish oil, which may be purified by washing, first 
 with water, and then with a weak solution of carbonate of soda. 
 Nitro-benzole has a sweet taste, an odor like that of bitter almonds, 
 and forms the Essence of Mirhane of perfumers. It is freely soluble in 
 alcohol or ether. 
 
 Paraffin is a solid hydrocarbon, Cjo H^o, obtained from beech wood 
 tar, bituminous coals, and especially from cannel coal, and the various 
 kinds of Petroleum. It is white, volatile, resembling wax or sperma- 
 ceti, melts at 110° P., distills unchanged at a high temperature, h^s 
 the sp. gr. 0.870, is soluble in ether, from which solution it may be ob- 
 tained in shining scales, is not acted upon by acids and alkalies, and 
 burns around a wick with a clear, white light, free from smoke. It is 
 insoluble in water, and cold alcohol ; abundantly soluble in oil of tur- 
 pentine, ether, benzole, and hot olive oil ; and does not dissolve cam- 
 phor, naphthalin, or pitch, when fused with them, but may readily be 
 mixed with stearin, spermaceti, beeswax, and- common resin. Lard 
 and suet separate from it on cooling. Sulphuret of carbon dissolves its 
 weight of paraffine, and chloroform about one-fifth its weight. It is 
 an admirable insulator of electricity, and has very little tendency to 
 combine with other bodies. 
 
 Anilin, also called henzidaw., kyanol, phenylia, etc., C^ Hj N--=93, is 
 one of the coal tar products, and may be obtained by placing 600 grains 
 of iron filings and 500 grains of pure nitro-benzole into a quart tubu- 
 lated retort, which must be adapted to a receiver, and the receiver con- 
 nected by a bent tube with a deep, small-necked fiask, into which it 
 reaches nearly to the bottom. The neck of the retort, the receiver, 
 and the flask must be kept well refrigerated, and the flask must be left 
 loosely stopped with cotton. Now gradually pour 500 grains of con- 
 centrated acetic acid through the tubulure of the retort, which should 
 be closed and tied, being careful that the temperature does not rise too 
 high. Reaction soon commences without the application of heat and 
 becomes rapid, with quick rise of temperature and rapid ebullition, and 
 a large portion of the products will be lost should the refrigeration be 
 imperfect. The spontaneous distillate that comes over, consists of 
 anilin, acetone, and a little unchanged nitro-benzole. When the retort 
 has cooled, these are returned to it from the receiver, and a careful 
 sand-bath heat applied until the residue in the retort is dry. N'ow 
 mix the distillate with an excess of liquor potassa, when the hydrated 
 anilin is separated and rises to the surface, whence it is to be removed 
 and dried ; it is sufficiently pure for medical purposes, and in amount 
 is equal to about three-fourths of the nitro-benzole employed. — Beau- 
 champ.— W. Procter, jr.* 
 
 Anilin may also be readily procured by distilling a mixture of con- 
 centrated liquor potassa and finely powdered indigo ; the mass swells 
 up greatly, and water holding ammonia in solution passes over, accom- 
 
 • Phenic acid may, with ammonia, at once fonn anilin : It Is merely necessary to em- 
 ploy for this reaction, the acid previously dissolved in alcohol; the anlUn is produced 
 mstauijineously. This artificial anilin gives with hypochlorite of lime a magnificent 
 green, soluble in alcohol ; a fine purple-red with nitric acid, or a picric yellow with very 
 Utile acid. If a few drops of hydrochloric acid be added to the above green fluid, it pro- 
 duces a rose tint.— Jomi-. de Pharm., 1869. 
 
620 Materia Medica. 
 
 panied by anilin in the form of a brownish oil, which, when redis- 
 tilled, furnishes pure anilin, amounting to nearly one-fifth of the 
 weight of the indigo. Pure anilin is a nearly colorless, limpid liquid, 
 having an oily appearance, but when impure or partly oxidized, as 
 often met with in commerce, it varies in color from a dark to a light 
 red. It is of an agreeable vinous odor, and an aromatic, burning taste, 
 and remains fluid at — 4° P. Its specific gravity is 1.020 to 1.028, and its 
 boiling point 360° F. It is heavier than water, in which it is slightly 
 soluble; is soluble in alcohol, ether, or wood spirit, and has little or nc 
 action on test papers, though it changes dahlia blue to green. It re- 
 fracts light powerfully, is a non-conductor of electricity, rapidly ab- 
 sorbs oxygen, even under water, and -becomes converted into a brown 
 resinous mass. It is a powerful base, forming mostly colorless, soluble 
 s^lts, with a strong tendency to crystallize, and become rose colored ; 
 and decomposes the salts of iron, zinc, alumina, mercury, copper, etc. 
 In contact with chlorinated lime or other hypochlorites it forms at 
 once a deep violet blue. It is chiefly employed for the production of 
 various magnificent colors u^sed in dyeing, and which are made by dif- 
 ferent processes.* 
 
 Sulphate of Anilin may be made by mixing 125 grains of sulphuric acid 
 with two fluidounces of distilled water, then adding 250 grains of anilin, 
 as pure as possible, and agitate them together until a thick magma is 
 formed and the odor of anilin has nearly disappeared. Wash this 
 with strong alcohol until free acid and coloring matter is removed, tten 
 press the drained salt between the folds of white filtering paper, and 
 dry it in the dark. To procure the crystals, dissolve the white pulver- 
 ulent sulphate thus obtained in boiling alcohol, allow the solution to 
 cool slowly in a covered vessel, in the dark ; drain the crystals formed 
 on filtering paper, and dry in the dark. — W. Procter, Jr. Sulphate of 
 Aniline, 0,2 H, NO, SOj+HO, is colorless, odorless, and crystalline when 
 pure ; but exposed to air and light, especially if moist, it changes color 
 from the formation of fuchsine, and acquires an appreciable anilin 
 odor. Water dissolves about six per cent, of it ; alcohol but little of 
 it ; and ether none at all ; diluted alcohol is a better solvent than either. 
 Anilin is poisonous, though Wohler and Frerichs state that it is harm- 
 less to dogs. It has been observed that workmen employed in prepar- 
 ing anilin are liable to intense bronchitis, with violent, dry, spasmodic 
 cough, coinciding with ulcerations of the scrotum and inferior extremi- 
 ties ; the ulcers being round, with distinct borders, often callous, and 
 covered with thick, blackish crusts, beneath which is a dirty gray base 
 with a neighboring painful tumefaction, and which cease with the ces- 
 sation of the cause. According to M. Bergeron, those who are exposed 
 , to its vapors present a chloro-anemic appearance. In one case where 
 a' druggist was employed for two months in putting up packages of 
 anilin, he was attacked with pulmonary catarrh, followed by prostra- 
 tion, tendency to syncope, occipital pains, dilatation of the pupils, and 
 clonic convulsions of the extremities and muscles of the face ; he was 
 
 ' Anilin inks are prepared by dissolving 15 parts of dry anilin (either red, blue, green, 
 or yellow) In 160 parts of strong alcohol and 1000 parts of distilled water, in a porcelain- 
 lined vessel by the aid of a gentle heat, until the odor of alcohol Is dissipated, and adding 
 a solution of 60 parts of gum Arabic in 250 parts of water.— ^m. Jour. Pharm,, 1868, p. 332. 
 An indelible Ink may be made with anilin black as follows: 1, dissolve crystallized chlo- 
 ride of copper 17?i parts, chlorate of soda W/s parts, and muriate of ammonia 11 7-48 parts, 
 in distilled water 125 parts ; 2, dissolve ohlorohydrate of anilin 2 parts in distilled water .'i 
 parts, and add to it of a solution of X part gum Arabic to 2 parts of water, 2 parts, and gly- 
 cerin 1 part. Mix 4 parts of No. 2 with I part of No. 1, as wanted. It forms a greenish 
 liquid, which may be applied with pen, pencil, or brush. As it changes in a few days, it 
 should be mixed only as wanted.— -TSici, p. 335. 
 
fETROLEUM. 621 
 
 > 
 
 cured. According to Scliuchardt and Demeyer, anilin belongs to the 
 most violent poisons, and to that class which acts upon the nervous 
 centers and the spinal marrow. The muscular contractions produced 
 by it resembling electric shocks, the constant diminution of the sensi- 
 bilitf, the paralytic state of the extremities, the acceleration of the res- 
 piration, and the activity of the heart, indicate this. It causes pi-ickings 
 of the parts with which it comes in contact, and its elimination seems 
 to be by the respiratory organs, not by the urine. One grain of anilin 
 coagulates four grains of albumen, demonstrating its toxic influence 
 upon the animal tissues. The workmen in it present a cadaveric blue 
 appearance, the gums discolored, the lips bluish gray, a slight paroxysm 
 of cold, headache, and vertigo, which are not permanent,4iowever. 
 
 Sulphate of anilin has been used in chorea by Dr. Turnbull with 
 success, and M. Filberti cured a case in four days, administering it in 
 doses of 10 centigrammes twice a day, increasing it as much each day 
 to prevent a relapse. He also cured a case of epilepsy by giving daily 
 a solution of five centigrammes of sulphate of anilin in 100 grammes 
 of water, increasing the dose five centigrammes each day ; in ten days 
 the case was apparently cured. . Others have also recommended it in 
 these affections ; while again it has been asserted that the sulphate 
 of anilin has no influence upon the Bystem. Its administration is apt 
 to be followed by a blueness or yellowness of the skin, nails, and 
 gums. 
 
 Asphaltum., also known as mineral. pitch, pitch of Judea, occurs in great 
 abundance in different countries, especially in Trinidad, in Hanover, 
 and at the Dead Sea in Palestine. Its color is black, with a shade of 
 red, gray, or brown ; it has very much the appearance of pitch, and is 
 very friable. It is insoluble in acids, alkalies, water, and alcohol, and 
 soluble in oils, oil Of turpentine, Petroleum, and ether. It is composed 
 of a dark-brown resinous substance mixed with a volatile liquid oil, 
 petrolene, Gw,S.is , or, a brilliant black matter, asphaltene, C.jo Hie O3, 
 probably an oxide of the former. On account of its insolubility in 
 acids, etc., the asphalte varnish forms a useful microscopic cement for 
 mounting objects -to be preserved in certain fluids, and for cementing 
 thin glass to slides for micro-chemical experiments. Coal-tar, or pitch, 
 is of similar utility. 
 
 Petroleum is sometimes adulterated with oil of turpentine. M. Sala- 
 din states that l-30th of turpentine in the Petroleum may be easily 
 detected by rubbing a few grains of iodide of potassium and a littl'e 
 water with the suspected naphtha, when, if turpentine is present, the 
 water acquires a yellow or even orange-red color. Dr. Bolley places 
 the suspected Petroleum in a tall cylindrical glass vessel, and, by means 
 of a tube dipping to near the bottom, passes a slow current of muriatic 
 acid gas, which has been thoroughly dried by passing it through a 
 bottle filled with fragments of chloride of calcium. The current is to 
 be continued about an hour, and if even five per cent, of oil of turpen- 
 tine is present, crystalline artificial camphor will be seen after a lapse 
 of ten or twelve hours. Turpentine may also be thus detected in oil of 
 amber. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Petroleum appears to possess stimulating pro- 
 perties, and has been recommended as a remedy in various diseases. A 
 mixture composed of sixteen drops of Petroleum and twenty -four drops 
 of tincture of asafoetida, to be taken at one dose, and repeated three 
 times a day, has been advised in the treatment of tape-worm. Petro- 
 leum has also been recommended in various diseases of the lungs and 
 
t>22 Materia Medica. 
 
 « 
 
 air -tubes, when not accompanied with inflammatory symptom-s. Ex- 
 ternally, it has been employed as a stimulating embrocation in lepra, 
 psoriasis, and other scaly diseases of the skin, chronic rheumatism, 
 chilblains, local paralysis, etc. Its dose is from ten to thirty drops, in 
 wine, milk, syrup, etc. The naphtha or benzole has been successfully 
 used in rheumatic afl'ections, principally of an acute or subacute char- 
 acter ; it is to be applied by moistening a piece of cloth with it, placing 
 it over the affected part, covering it with oil silk or two or three thick- 
 nesses of dry cloth to prevent evaporation, and allowing it to remain as 
 long as the patient can bear the pricking and burning sensation that 
 follows its application. If relief is not obtained with the first applica- 
 tion, it may be reapplied in the course of an hour or two ; no redden- 
 ing of the skin nor inflammation follows its use. 
 
 British oil is composed of four fluidounces, each, of oil of turpentine 
 and oil of linseed ; two fluidounces, each, of oil of amber, oil of juniper; 
 one and a half fluidounces of Barbadoes Petroleum, and a half a fluid- 
 ounce of American Petroleum or Seneca oil. B*or those who can not 
 aflbrd the expensive vessels of platinum, in which to crystallize fluids 
 that attack glass or other metals, they may advantageously avail them- 
 selves of paraffine by melting it and in this state coating the inside 
 of ordinary glass or metallic vessels with it. Solutions may then be 
 placed in these vessels and allowed to evaporate spontaneously or in 
 vacuo, and crystals will be procured which will not adhere to the par- 
 affine coating. — Shigolene, one of the most volatile liquids obtained by 
 the distillation of petroleum, is a hydrocarbon of sp. gr. 0.625, which 
 boils at 70° P., is highly volatile, and, its vapor as well as the fluid itself, 
 is exceedingly inflammable; when not in use it should always be kept 
 tightly corked. As it reduces the temperature to — 19° F., Dr. H. J. Bige- 
 low prefers it to ether as a local freezing ansesthetic, as being more cer- 
 tain, and more rapid in its action, more easily controlled, comparatively 
 odorless, and less expensive. — Am. Jour. Fharm., 1866, p. 363. 
 
 PETROSELIJSrUM SATIVUM. (Garten Petersilie.) 
 
 Parsley. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Apiacese or Umbelliferae. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Petroselinum Sativum, Hoffman, or Apium Petroselinum, 
 lAnncBUSj is a biennial plant with fleshy, spindle-shaped root, and a 
 round, striated, erect, smooth, branching stem. Radical leaves biternate, 
 bright-green, on long channeled petioles; leaflets rhomboidal-ovate, 
 wedge-shaped at the base, deeply incised, the segments mucronate and 
 sometimes rounded. Upper leaves gradually become more entire and 
 narrower, till the uppermost are simply ternate with linear segments. 
 Umbels terminal and axillary, pedunculated, with five to eight rays. 
 General involucre none, or one or two subulate minute bracts; partial 
 involucre with six or eight setaceous bracts, much shorter than the pedi- 
 cels, erect, forming a perfect whorl. Flowers white or greenish ; petals 
 rounded, incurved, scarcely emarginate; calyx with the limb obsolete; 
 disk short, conical, somewhat crenulate ; styles diverging. Fruit ovate, 
 about a line long, compressed, pale greenish-brown, the back occupied 
 by throe elevated, pale primary ridges, the two others quite oil the 
 margin at the side. Stamens longer than the corolla. — L. 
 
Petkosei.inum Sativum. 623 
 
 Sistory — Parsley is a European plant, but is reared in nearly all parts 
 of the civilized world as a culinary vegetable. The plant has a grate- 
 ful aroma. The root is the officinal part, it has rather an agreeable 
 odor, and a saccharine, slightly spicy taste, and should be used while 
 fresh. Its properties are due to a volatile oil, and are extracted by hot 
 water, wine, alcohol, or ether. 
 
 MM. Joret and Homolle obtained from Parsley seeds an essential oil, 
 a fatty crystal lizable matter, pectin, chlorophyll, tannic acid, a yellow 
 coloring matter, lignin, various salts, and an active principle which 
 they have named Apiol. It is obtained by treating pulverized Parsley 
 seed with alcohol of 70 or 80 per cent., by a displacement apparatus ; 
 when it is sufficiently exhausted the tincture is deprived of color by 
 passing it through a bed of animal charcoal, and then distilled into a 
 vessel holding about three quarts of alcohol. The residue is absorbed 
 by ether or chloroform, and separated by a second* distillation. Heat 
 is applied until all traces of these menstrua are driven off, and then 
 the product is mixed by trituration with one-eighth of its weight of 
 litharge, and left to stand twenty-four hours. After which it is filtered 
 through a light bed of charcoal, and the apiol is obtained pure, pre- 
 senting the appearance of a yellow liquid, oleaginous, stainingpaper like 
 fixed fats, although heat will drive off the stain, which will brown be- 
 fore the rest of the paper, and lose its transparency. It has a peculiar, 
 tenacious odor, and an acrid, biting taste, is soluble in alcohol of from 
 50° to 90°, in ether, and in chloroform in every proportion. It yields 
 nothing to boiling water, and throws off gaseous bubbles when potas- 
 sium is thrown into it. In doses of from seven to fifteen grains it occa- 
 sions a cerebral excitement similar to that caused by coffee, a sensation 
 of vigor and composure, and warmth about the stomach; in doses of 
 from thirty to sixty grains it causes intoxication, giddiness, flashes of 
 light, vertigo and ringing in the ears, etc. It is highly recommended as 
 a substitute for quinia in intermittent fevers, and has proved very effi- 
 cacious. It has likewise been found valuable in menstrual derange- 
 ments, as, dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, etc., also in the night sweats of 
 consumptives. The dose is three or four grains twice a day, given in 
 gelatin capsules, or formed into pills with medicinal amygdalin soap, 
 and magnesia, gum, or yellow of egg. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^Diuretic. Very useful in dropsy, especially 
 that following scarlatina, and other exanthematous diseases. Also 
 used in retention of urine, strangury, and gonorrhea. Parsley seeds 
 have a powerful odor, somewhat like that of turpentine, and a spicy, 
 pungent taste, and have been used as carminatives, and for the same 
 purpose as the root— they are said to be very poisonous to the parrot. 
 The seeds as well as the leaves, sprinkled on the hair, in powder, or in 
 the form of an ointment, will effectually destroy vermin ; the leaves, 
 applied as a fomentation, will, it is asserted, cure the bites or stings of 
 insects. The leaves, bruised, are a good application to contusions, 
 swelled breasts, and enlarged glands — reputed to "dry up the milk" 
 of wet-nurses. The oil is efficacious as a diuretic, in doses of three or 
 four drops a day ; dose of the infusion, two to four fluid ounces, three 
 or four times a day. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Petroselini. 
 
624 Materia Medioa. 
 
 PHOSPHOEUS. (Phospher.) 
 , Phosphorus. 
 
 Prcparaiton.^Take Animal Bones, those of sheep are preferred, and 
 ignite or calcine them in an open fire till they become white, so as to 
 destroy their animal matter, and burn away the charcoal derived from 
 it, in which state they contain nearly four-fifths of phosphate of lime. 
 Eeduce the calcined bones to a fine powder, and to ten parts o{ this Tpowder 
 add thirty or forty parts of Water, and gradually stir in six parts of con- 
 centrated Sulphuric Acid. After twenty-four hours, flfty or sixty parts 
 of water are added to the mixture, and the whole well stirred and di- 
 gested for a day or two. The liquid is then strained and evaporated to 
 the consistence of thick syrup, and is then acid phosphate of lime. It 
 is now mixed with one-fourth its weight of powdered charcoal, placed 
 in an iron pot, and. dried by exposure to a dull red heat. This dried 
 mass is then placed in a stoneware or iron retort, the neck of which ends 
 in a wide bent tube which dips a little under water, in a bottle or re- 
 ceiver, and is gradually heated to whiteness. Half of the phosphoric 
 acid in the acid phosphate of lime is deoxidized by the charrcoal, and 
 Phosphoriis is set free, which distills over and condenses under the water. 
 Owing to the presence of water in the mass, part of the phosphorus is 
 disengaged in combination with hydrogen, forming a spontaneously 
 combustible gas. Care must, therefore, be taken to avoid explosions. 
 The action of the charcoal on the phosphoric aeid is thus represented : 
 P054-C5^5CO-(-P. Carbonic oxide gas, CO, is therefore disengaged in 
 large quantity. 
 
 The Phosphorus 'first obtained, is usually of a reddish-brown color, 
 owing to the presence of phosphuret of carbon, formed during the pro- 
 cess ; to purify it, it is melted under water, and while liquid, squeezed 
 through chamois leather (or by a second distillation), which separates 
 impurities. It is lastly melted under water, in funnels with long cylin- 
 drical necks, stopped below. Into the necks of these funnels the Phos- 
 phorus runs, and when cold may be pushed out in the form of solid 
 cylinders. — Gregory. 
 
 M. Donavan has offered a process which facilitates the preparation of 
 Phosphorus. It is as follows : Take beef or sheep bones as they are 
 found in commerce, with their natural quantity of fatty matter and 
 moisture. , Digest them for four hours in a mixture of one part of nitric 
 acid of commerce, and ten parts of water. This dissolves the calcare- 
 ous salts, leaving the soft gelatinous tissues which retain the form of the 
 bones, and which may be washed and employed in the manufacture of glue. 
 The acidulated liquid containing the phosphate and nitrate of lime, is to 
 be treated with an excess of neutral acetate of lead, and the precipitated 
 phosphate of lead washed and dried. It is then put in a covered cru- 
 cible, and heated to redness to condense its volume, which operation 
 requires great care, else the phosphate will lose its pulverulent form and 
 fuse, requiring a diflScult pulverization. The dense pulverulent phos- 
 phate of lead is then intimately mixqd with one-sixth of its weight of 
 charcoal, previously calcined, and afterward distilled in the ordinary 
 manner in lar ge earthen retorts, properly heated. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 
 XXIV., 167. Wohler obtained phosphorus by distilling two parts of 
 bone-black with one of quartz sand at a white heat. The silicic acid 
 of the sand decomposed the ph)Osphate of lime contained in the bone- 
 black, and disengaged the phosphoric acid which was deoxidized by the 
 carbon. 
 
Phosphorus. Hii5 
 
 History. — Phosphorus was accidtotally discovered in 1669, by Brandt, 
 a chemist of Hamburg, as he was attempting to extract from human 
 urine a liquid capable of converting silver into gold. In the year 1769, 
 Grahn discovered it in bones, and very soon after, Scheele invented a 
 jarocess for obtaining it from them, which is the process commonly pur- 
 sued, with a few improvements. It is a constituent of animals, being 
 found in the bones, urine, nerves, brain, etc. ; it is also found in various 
 vegetables, combined with lime, potash, or iron, etc. It is also met with 
 occasionally in the mineral kingdom. 
 
 It is usually of a light amber color, and semitransparent ; though 
 when carofully prepared it is colorless and transparent. It crystallizes 
 in regular octohedrons and rhombic dodecahedrons. Its specific gravity 
 is 1.896 : its equivalent weight 32; at 32° E. it is brittle, but at ordinary 
 temperatures is somewhat flexible. At 94° P. it is very brittle, and may 
 be easily pulverized; at 110° F. it melts and forms an oily-like liquid. 
 If air be excluded, it evaporates at 219°, and boils at 482°. It is a non- 
 conductor of electricity. It is tasteless, but has a garlicky odor, and in 
 the atmosphere its fumes are luminous in the dark, in consequence of 
 slow combustion. It should be preserved in a well-stopped vessel, filled 
 with water, and kept in the dark, for when exposed to the light it becomes 
 yellow, or even brown externally. It is not soluble in water, but is more 
 or less Soluble in alcohol, ether, oils, sulphuret of carbon, and also in 
 chloroform ; from the latter liquids it is often deposited in crystals. 
 Frightful injuries have sometimes been inflicted upon the hands by 
 bringing them in contact with it under exposure to the atmosphere. 
 Heated in oxygen. Phosphorus burns with a light so dazzliiig that the 
 eye can not endjiye it. In contact with chlorine, bromine, or iodine, 
 without the aid of heat, combustion takes place spontaneously, while 
 the Phosphorus combines with these metalloids; its union with iodine ■ 
 may yet be found a very valuable remedy in many diseases. 
 
 Phosphorus combines very readily with oxygen, giving rise to four 
 compounds, viz. : Oxide of Phosphorus, P3 02=86.28, Hypophosphorous 
 acid PO=55.14, Phosphorous acid PO3 in the anhydrous state, or PO5 1 
 H3 in the hydrated state, and anhydrous Phosphoric acid P05=71.465. 
 
 There are three different Hydrated Phosphoric Acids : Metaphospho- 
 ric, or Monobasic Phosphoric Acid, PO5 HO = 80.478. Pyrophospho- 
 ric or Bibasic Phosphoric Acid, PO5, 2HO=89.491, and Common or 
 , Tribasic Phosphoric Acid, PO5, 3HO=98.504. Diluted Tribasio Phos- 
 phoric Acid is ofiicinal, as well as the phosphates of soda, iron, and 
 lime. 
 
 Under the influence of direct solar rays or violet light. Colorless Phos- 
 phorus becomes red or amorphous Phosphorus, formerly supposed to 
 be an oxide of Phosphorus. Kept under water and exposed to dif- 
 fused daylight, Phosphorus acquires a white opaque covering, the na- 
 ture of which is not satisfactorily solved. And when Phosphorus is 
 heated to 140° or 158° F., and then suddenly cooled to 32° F., it some- 
 jiimes becomes black. 
 
 Phosphorus sometimes contains arsenic or sulphur, or both. A solu- 
 tion of pure phosphorus ii\ diluted nitric acid yields, with a solution of 
 barytic salt, a precipitate which is soluble in excess of nitric acid. But 
 if the precipitate be insoluble in this acid, the presence of sulphuric 
 acid, formed by the oxidation of sulphur, may be inferred. Arsenic 
 may be detected by converting the Phosphorus into phosphoric acid 
 by boiling in nitric acid ; diltite the solution with water, and pass sul- 
 phuretted hydrogen through it ; if arsenic be present, a yellowish pre - 
 40 
 
626 Materia Medioa. 
 
 cipitate is obtained. — Pereira. The best Phosphorus is colorless, re- 
 sembles wax, is translucent, luminous in the dark, and breaks with a 
 short crystalline fracture, and may be bent seven or icight times in dif- 
 ferent directions without breaking, for the three hundredth part of sul-' 
 phur added to it, renders it friable. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In minute doses, and properly diluted. Phos- 
 phorus becomes absorbed and acts as a stimulant to the nervous, vas- 
 cular, and secreting organs. It excites the mental faculties and the sex- 
 ual feelings, raises the temperature of the skin, increases the frequency 
 of the pulse, and promotes the secretions. In large doses it operates as 
 a poison, causing gastro-enteritis, becomes absorbed,. and produces con- 
 vulsions, insensibility and death. M. M. Tardieu and Eoussin state 
 that phosphorus is poisonous of itself, and acts only on the economy in 
 a state of isolation and purity. Patty degeneration of the liver and 
 heart are among its results. According to M. Mialhe the absorption 
 of Phosphorus (and also of sulphur) .is due, not to the chemical action 
 of the alkalies present in the iatestinal juices, but to the fatty matters 
 contained in the^alimentary substances, which, after effecting its solu- 
 tion, serve as the vehicle for their introduction into the economy. The 
 phosphorus so absorbed may remain several days, within the economy 
 without undergoing any sensible change, as its union with the fatty 
 matters enables it to almost completely escape the action of the chem- 
 ical agents with which it comes in contact, and to diffuse itself through- 
 out the system in the same manner as poisons soluble in water. Hence, 
 the reason for the phosphoresence, and the garlicky odpr observed at 
 , the autopsy of persons who have been poisoned by phosphorus. Phos- 
 phoretted hydrogen acts similarly, as when introduced into the blood, 
 it gives rise to the production of water, and to a precipitate of phos- 
 phorus in a state of minute division eminently suited for the develop- 
 ment of its deleterious action. It should never be given in the solid 
 form, as it is apt to produce serious results. The objections to its use 
 as a medicine are its repugnance to the taste, and the unpleasant odor 
 it leaves about the person. It has been used as a stimulant to the nerv- 
 ous centers in convulsive and old paralytic cases, and in low fevers ; as 
 an aphrodisiac in the impotency of old and debilitated subjects ; and as a 
 cutaneous stimulant in some exanthematous diseases in which the erup- 
 tion has receded from the skin. It has also been recommended in va- 
 rious chronic nervous affections occurring in debilitated patients, and. 
 is very serviceable in all forms of nervous headache. More recently it 
 has been highly recommended in progressive ataxic-locomotor. Phos- 
 phorus may be exhibited as follows : Takeof Phosphorus, cut in piepes, 
 four parts; sulphuric ether, two hundred parts; mix, and maeerateJn 
 a darkened bottle, or in a dark place for one month ; then add one hun- 
 dred parts of oil of cinnamon, or any other oil, and mix thoroughly to- 
 gether. Decant this into blackened ounce vials, and have them well 
 stopped ; the dose is from ten to fifteen drops, every three or four hours, 
 in some syrup, or mucilaginous fluid. Chloroform forms an excellent 
 solvent for Phosphorus ; one ounce by weight will dissolve two drachms 
 of Phosphorus ; of which from three to five drops may be given every 
 six hours in syrup, mucilage, or wine. Another mode of preparing 
 Phosphorus for internal exhibition, is to dissolve dry Phosphorus, cut 
 into small pieces, six grains, in four fluidrachms of almond oil, freshly 
 prepared. Dissolve the Phosphorus in the oil by agitating the vial con- 
 taining the mixtare, at the same time keeping it|Warm by occasionally 
 holding the vial in warm water ; about two grains of the Phosphorus 
 
Phosphorus. 627 
 
 will be dissolved. The dose is from five to ten drops, in syrup or mu- 
 cilage. 
 
 The best preparation of phosphorus, however, for internal use is 
 the following by M. C. Mehu, principal pharmaceutist of Necker Hos- 
 pital : heat a sufficient quantity of limpid oil of sweet almond in a 
 porcelain capsule for a quarter of an hour at the temperature of 302° 
 F. ; then for ten minutes longer at 392° to 482° P. This, at first dis- 
 engages vapor of water, then certain organic matters, and leaves the 
 oil almost decolorized. Allow this oil to stand, and decant it from the 
 sediment formed, or it may be filtered. Pour this oil. into a thoroughly 
 dried glass-stoppered flask, and for every 100 parts of it by weight add 
 one part of phosphorus ; place the flask in a water -bath and heat it, 
 loosening the stopper four or five times during the heating, to allow 
 the expanded air to escape, but not agitating it. As soon as the tem- 
 perature of the flask is at from 176° to 194° P., close it and do not 
 loosen the stopper again ; remove it from the bath, and briskly agitate 
 until the phosphorus is completely dissolved. This oil is clear and 
 limpid, gives no deposit, is phosphorescent in the dark, emits abun- 
 dant white vapors in the air, and contains one per cent, of phosphorus. 
 The addition of four times its bulk of oil of almonds stops its phos- 
 phorescent quality and power of emitting vapors ; so will ether, oil of 
 turpentine, and sulphuret of carbon. One hundred grains of this oil 
 contain one grain of phosphorus, the commencing dose of which should 
 be one or two drops in mucilage or syrup, gradually increased to 16 
 drops ; it may also be formed into capsules, as a more pleasant mode 
 of administration. 
 
 Phosphorus should always be given in solution, and, as already 
 stated, the best form is that of solution in almond oil. When given in 
 substance it is apt to be followed by fatal results. Its dose in solutioii, 
 is the •j'jth part of a grain, carefully and gradually increased to the ^th 
 of a grain. As it appears to accumulate in the system, its action should 
 be carefully watched, and as soon as vomiting, diarrhea, or other symp- 
 toms of derangement of the digestive organs appear, the use of the 
 remedy should be temporarily ceased, and, after two or three days, be' 
 again -commenced with the smallest dose, as before. Indeed, when no 
 symptoms whatever manifest themselves, it will be prudent to cease its 
 administration every fifteen or twenty days, recommencing its use in 
 four or five days, and so on. 
 
 Tincture of Phosphorus is made by adding fifteen grains of phospho- 
 rus to one fluidounce of absolute alcohol. Let them digest thirty days, 
 with occasional agitation ; the alcohol takes up about one-half of the 
 phosphorus. The' dose is one or two drops in mucilage, in paralysis, 
 impotence, etc. Ten or twenty minims of this tincture added to four 
 fluidounces of water, and given in teaspoonful doses, every two, three, 
 or four hours, have been found by Prof. J. M. Scudder very useful in 
 cholera infantum, where there was nervous exhaustion, the discharges 
 from the bowels being slimy and frothy, with tympanitis. One flui- 
 drachm of the tincture to four fluidounces of water, has been effica- 
 cious in paralysis, in teaspoonful doses, repeated three times a day. 
 
 Persons engaged in the manufacture of lucifer and Congreve matches 
 are occasionally liable to necrosis of the jaw bone. Dr. Von Bibra 
 thinks that the deleterious effects are due to hypophosphorus acid 
 contained in the atmosphere of the manufactory; the best preventtives 
 are good ventilation of the rooms of the manufactory, and personal 
 cleanliness 
 
628 Materia Medica. 
 
 Phosphorus is very useful for destroying rats, mice, cockroaeheS; 
 bugs, and other vermin ; the following paste is considered the best for 
 this purpose, as it does not ferment on keeping: Triturate to liquefac- 
 tion six parts of Phosphorus and one part of pure sulphur, with six 
 parts of cold water, that is, added in portions ; afterward mix in two 
 parts of mustard flower, ten parts of cold water, eight parts of sugar, 
 and twelve parts of rye flour. Stir it to the consistence of a soft paste, 
 and keep it in pots closely stopped. — Am. Jour. Pharm., XXVII., p. 473, 
 
 In poisoning by Phosphorus, the stomach should be evacuated as 
 ■speedily as possible by an emetic, after which magnesia in water may 
 be given freely and largely, in order to neutralize the Phosphorus and 
 phosphoric acids whicji may be formed. — Pereira. X. Landerer has 
 been successful in saving a child who had eaten largely of Phosphorus 
 in paste, by the free administration of calcined magnesia, in sweetened 
 water. The child was out of danger in eight hours. The following, 
 administered in copious draughts, has been recommended as an anti- 
 dote to Phosphorus : Calcined magnesia 4 grains ; chlorine water 16 
 grains ; distilled water 224 grains ; mix. Phosphorus is seldom em- 
 ployed in American practice. 
 
 More recently carbonate of copper has been found an excellent anti- 
 dote to poisoning by copper ; a black phosphate of copper is formed 
 which partially arrests the properties of diffusion of the phosphorus in 
 the stomach, and, in addition, the insoluble carbonate becomes rapidly 
 reduced, by the assistance of acetic acid, forming a red deposit of me- 
 tallic copper. The stomach must first be evacuated by a dose of sul- 
 phate of copper, and subsequently a weak solution of the salt be given 
 if the stomach will not reject it ; if emesis continues, give carbonate 
 of copper in doses of four to eight grain doses, followed by a tablespoon- 
 ful of vinegar. In the intervals between the doses, ice should be ad- 
 ministered to prevent vomiting, and to diminish as much as possible 
 the vaporization of the phosphorus. Dr. P. B. Andant states the case 
 of a man 63 years of age, who ate a box of phosphorous matches with 
 the intention of destroying himself, and, to render the poisonous action 
 more certain, he immediately afterward swallowed about half a fluid- 
 ounce of oil of turpentine in a pint of water. No morbid phenomena 
 following, in a short time, he doubled the dose of the two poisons. He 
 experienced some gastro-enteritic pains, not severe, however ; the mouth 
 became hot and dry ; but there were no scalds nor excoriations of the 
 lips, gums, or cheeks ; there was a sensation of great heat in the head, 
 headache, burning sensation in the eyes, excessive thirst, and constipa- 
 tion. Twenty-one hours after taking the poison. Dr. Andant admin- 
 istered a purgative or two to overcome the constipation. The man 
 recovered. The turpentine neutralized the poisonous action of the 
 phosphorus. M. Mialhe advises in cases of poisoning by phosphorus 
 to expel this agent as rapidly as possible from the system by means of 
 acidulated laxative drinks, with abstinence, or at all events a prohibition 
 of any kind of food containing fatty matter. He considers the solution 
 of phosphorus in ether or chloroform as more apt to act dangerously 
 than the solution in oil. 
 
 In consequence of the difficulties attending the administration of 
 phosphorus in solution, Messrs. Currie & Vigier recommend phosphuret 
 of zinc, prepared by passing the vapor of phosphorus over zinc heated 
 to ebullition, in a current of dry hydrogen. The phosphide is obtained in 
 three conditions, crystallized, puffed up, and melted. It is a perfectly 
 defined body, gray, friable, unalterable in moist air, is thoroughly pre 
 
PiivsALis ViscosA. 629 
 
 served in powder or pills, and is readily decomposed by the acids of the 
 stomach, yielding a harmless salt of zinc, and gaseous phosphuretted 
 hydrogen, which exerts the same action upon the system as phosphorus 
 dissolved in oil. The fine powder of phosphuret of zinc six grains, may 
 be mixed with starch powder 77 grains, and then be divided into 50 
 equal papers, each of which contains -gJ^th of a grain of active phos- 
 phorus. Or, twelve grains of phosphuret of zinc in fine powder may 
 be formed into 100 pills with powder of black liquorice 20 grains, and 
 syrup of gum 15 minims; each pill contains gJ^th grain of phosphorus. 
 The dose is one powder, or pill per day, gradually increased to two, 
 three, and even five ; omitting their use for a few days when they cause 
 vomiting or diarrhea. 
 
 M. Stanislas Martin has suggested the internal use of aqua phospJwrica, 
 the water of which is kept standing over phosphorus. I have derived 
 benefit froni it in cases of impotency, premature seminal emissions, and 
 in some nervous affections. It may be taken in doses of from five to 
 ten minims, repeated three times a day, in some syrup of the hypo- 
 phosphites. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Acidum Phosphoricum Dilutum. 
 
 PHYSALIS YISCOSA. (Schlutten.) 
 
 Ground Cherry. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Solanaceae. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE BEERIES. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also called Yellow-henbane, is indigenous, 
 perennial and pubescent, having a herbaceous, decumbent stem, about a 
 foot high, and which is often viscid as well as the whole plant. Branches 
 somewhat dichotomous and angular. Leaves very variable, even in the 
 same plant, solitary or in pairs, ovate, or lanceolate-ovate, cordate or 
 acute at base, often obtuse at the apex,'repand-toothed or entire, petio- 
 late, one to four inches in length, and one-half, or two-thirds as broad? 
 or even of equal breadth ; when they occur in pairs, one of them is 
 much smaller. Flowers solitary, axillary, pendulous; corolla campanu- 
 •late-rotate, twice as long as the calyx, tube very short, limb obscurely 
 five-lobed, greenish-yellow, with five brownish spots at base inside. 
 Galyx five-cleft, persistent, enlarged, inflated, angular; stamens five, 
 connivent; anthers opening lengthwise. Fruit a yellow or orange-col- 
 ored berry, inclosed in the calyx. There are many varieties of this 
 plant, some of which have been unnecessarily divided into species, as 
 P. Obscura, P. Pubescens, P. Pennsylvanica, and P. Philadelphia. — 
 W.—G. 
 
 • Sistory. — This plant is common in many parts of the country, and 
 is found growing in dry fields, hill-sides, and road-sides, flowering in 
 July and August. Its root is fusiform, white, and bitter, and will 
 probably act as a bitter tonic; the fruit or berries are slightly acid 
 and edible, with a faint bitterness. Water or proof-spirit extract their 
 properties. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tonic, laxative, and diuretic, said also to be se- 
 dative. The juice of the berries, or a strong infusion is reputed very 
 beneficial in gravel, difficult urination, and several urinary disorders. 
 Dose of the juice of the berries, one or two fluidounces. It will be 
 found very useful in febrile .and inflammatory diseases attended with 
 
630 Materia Medica. 
 
 coasiderable vascular excitement, high-colored or scanty urine, restless- 
 ness or wakefulness, and torpor of the bovrels. 
 
 The Physalis Alkekengi, or Winter Cherry, of Europe, with the stem 
 somewhat branching below, the leaves in pairs, entire, acute ; flowers 
 white ; calyx of the fruit red or reddish, with acid and somewhat bitter 
 berries, and growing about a foot high, possesses similar properties, and 
 is likewise recommended as a febrifuge. — W. 
 
 Dessaignes and Chautard have obtained the bitter principle of tLo. 
 Physalis Alkekengi, which they call Physaline, and which has been era- 
 ployed with success in intermittent fever, An alcoholic extract of the- 
 plant was prepared, which yielded a bitter dark-colored mass ; the bitter 
 principle was taken up by cold water, and was separated either by means 
 of charcoal, from which it was afterward dissolved by alcohol, or by 
 shaking the aqueous solution with chloroform. The bitter principle 
 thus obtained was pulverulent, slightly colored, and very bitter. When 
 pure, physaline is a white powder, with a faint tinge of yellow ; its taste 
 is at first faintly, afterward permanently bitter; it is non -crystalline, 
 softens at .^^56° or 374°, and then soon decomposes, burningwith a smoky 
 flame. It is sparingly soluble in cold water, to which it communicates 
 a bitter taste ; more soluble in hot water, chloroform, and alcohol ; and 
 sparingly soluble in ether and acids. It is dissolved by ammonia, and 
 remains unaltered after its volatilization ; is not precipitated by nitrate 
 of silver and ammonia from the alcoholic solution, but is precipitated 
 by an ammoniacal solution of kcetate of lead. They give its formula 
 as C28 H32 OiQ. The fruit of the Physalis contains citric acid. 
 
 PHYSOSTIGMA VBNBNOSUM. 
 
 Calabar Bean. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Leguminosae ; Sub-order, Papilionaceag ; Tribe, Phaseolese. 
 Sex. Syst.. — Diadelphia Decandria. 
 
 THE bean or seed. 
 
 Description. — This is a large, herbaceous, climbing perennial, with 
 stem woody at base, about two inches in diameter, twining, and some- 
 times fifty feet long. Leaves large, pinnately-trifoliate ; leaflets ample, 
 ovate, acuminate, with stipels. Flowers large, about an inch long, in 
 pendulous, fascicled racemes, on axillary peduncles, pale pink or pur- 
 plish, beautifully veined. Bracts generally falling early ; flower-stalk or 
 rachis covered with tuber-like knots. Corolla crescentiform, papiliona- 
 ceous ; vexillum round-ovate, recurved ; a'pex bilobed, base angustate, 
 margins auriculate ; alee oblong-obovate, free, incurved ; keel obovate, 
 produced into a twisted beak... Calyx campanulate, quadrifid, five- 
 toothed, short, broad, the two upper nearly united. Upper stamens free ; 
 anthers all alike. Ovary raised on a stipe, two or three ovuled. Style 
 thickened within the beak of the keel, and twisted with it, bearded along 
 the inn^r side, and bearing a hood-like appendage at apex covering the 
 stigma. Legume broad-linear, flattened but convex on both sides, two- 
 valved, slightly constricted between the seeds, which are oblong, with a 
 long, linear, hilum. 
 
 Jffzsforj/.^— This plant, the Ordeal Bean of Calabar, is a native of Cal- 
 abar,' in the Gulf of Guinea, on the Western coast of Africa, and ac- 
 cording to Dr. Mery, around the sources of the river Como, near Gabon ; 
 it is the only known species of the genus. It grows along the banks of 
 
Physostigma Venenosum. 631 
 
 rivers, climbing upon the adjacent trees and shrubs, and when the seeds 
 become ripe they frequentlj' fall into the rivers, are carried down the 
 stream, and collected by the natives residing on the borders. The Cal- 
 abar negroes call the seed esere, and use it as an ordeal for the purpose 
 of deciding the guilt or innocence of persons accused of crimes. It has 
 been a very difScult matter to procure these beans, as the natives were 
 averse to giving them to foreigners ; hence their high price. However, 
 a good money value for them, and the discovery of new sources of supply, 
 will have a tendency to render them more common and at a more 
 reasonable price. Calabar bean is a violent poison, but did not attract 
 attention on the part of the medical profession, until its power of con- 
 tracting the pupil of the eye was discovered. The first important notice 
 on the subject was made by Dr. Christison before the Eoyal Society of 
 Edinburg, Feb. 5, 1855, and which is published in their proceedings. 
 Dr. Thos. E. Eraser was the first to discover its peculiar property of con- 
 tracting the pupil, and subsequently Dr. Argyll Eobinson made a more 
 complete analysis of its ophthalmic properties. The present botanical 
 name of the plant was given to it by Dr. Balfour, of Edinburgh. 
 
 The bean or seed is the part used; it is from one inch to one and three- 
 eighths inches long, by about three-fourths of an inch in breadth, of a 
 deep chocolate-brown color, somewhat lighter on the raised edges of the 
 furrow, its external integument being somewhat rough with a dull pol- 
 ish, hard, and brittle ; its shape is oblong or somewhat reniform, the 
 convex margin is longer than the concave, the two sides are flat, and 
 the convex margin is marked longitudinally by a long sulcate hilum, 
 extending as a deep furrow from one extremity of the seed to beyoi^d 
 the other, and terminating near one of the extremities in an aperture. 
 The average weight of the seed is 67 grains. Upon removing the outer 
 integument,' the kernel is exposed, which is hard, white, easily reduced 
 to powder, and has an average weight of 46 grains ; it consists of two 
 cotyledons, which have a taste resembling that of the niore common 
 edible leguminous seeds, possessing neither acridity, atromatic savor, nor 
 bitterness. Alcohol takes up its virtues entirely, and water but par- 
 tially. The cotyledons or kernel constitute the most poisonous part of 
 the seed, the episperm being nearly inert; but it is exceedingly diiflcult 
 to completely separate the two. Indeed, it is not necessarj', as, notwith- 
 standing the large quantity of coloring matter it contains, its presence 
 is no impediment in the preparation of the alkaloid. 
 
 Jobst and Hesse, chemists of Stuttgardt, found the active principle 
 to reside in the cotyledons only, from which they procured its alkaloid, 
 giving it the name Physostigmine. It was obtained by, bruising the 
 seeds, treating them with alcohol, and then acting upon the residue left 
 after evaporation of the alcoholic solution, by ether. The ethereal so- 
 lution on evaporation leaves the physostigmine. It forms a brownish- 
 yellow mass, amorphous, and in the first instance separated in the form 
 of oily droj)s. It is very soluble in ammonia, caustic and carbonated soda, 
 ether, benzole, and alcohol; much less so in water. Animal charcoal 
 precipitates it from its ethereal solution. Its. aqueous solution has a 
 faintly burning taste and gives a decided alkaline reaction ; the binio- 
 dide of potassum gives a copious kermes-colored precipitate; chloride 
 of iron gives a precipitate of hydrated oxide. Acids readily dissolve it 
 and form saline solutions, generally of a dark-red color, sometimes of a 
 dark-bltie. The hydrochlorate of physostigmine yields a reddish-white 
 precipitate with tannic acid ; pale-yellow with chloride of platinum ; 
 bluish with chloride of gold, and reddish-white with bichloride of mer- 
 
632 Materia Medica 
 
 eury. Twenty -one beans yielded pnly a little of the alkaloid, which, 
 taken internally, is as poisonous as hydrocyanic acid. It contracts the 
 iris even for a time after death.- The alkaloid procured from a single 
 bean was sufficient to kill a rabbit in thirty minutes. 
 
 Messrs. Yee and Leven obtained a principle to which they gave the 
 name Userine, but which is identical with the physostigmine of Jobst 
 and Hesse, extracted by a different process, as follows: The .finely 
 powdered beans are exhausted by cold alcohol ; the alcohol is carefully 
 distilled from the tincture obtained, and the remaining extract is 
 treated with a strong solution of tartaric acid. After some time the' 
 mixture is diluted with water, filtered, and then supersaturated with 
 bicarbonate of potash. The whole is now shaken with ether and the 
 ethereal solution separated, gives on evaporation the commercial alka- 
 loid contaminated with foreign matters. The extract is dried over sul- 
 phuric acid, and then redissolved in pure anhydrous ether, from which 
 solution the alkaloid is obtained almost pure. Repeated solution in 
 alcohol or ether removes ail the impurities but a little red coloring 
 matter which obstinately adheres. Physostigmine, eserine, or calaba- 
 rine, as it has been severally named, thus obtained, crystallizes in 
 thin plates, of rhombic form, perfectly regular or changed by modifi- 
 cations on the obtuse angles, and are colored by polarized light. They 
 have a faintly bitter taste' which is only gradually developed, are free- 
 ly soluble in ether, alcohol, chloroform, and acids, the acid solutions 
 giving all the ordinary general tests for alkaloids. They are but slight- 
 ly soluble in water, to which they communicate a decided alkaline re- 
 action. When pure, they are colorless, but it is very difficult to ob- 
 tain them without a rose tint, on account of their great alterability in 
 contact with the air, absorbing its oxygen, and with an alkaline mother- 
 water. This red color is not pei'manent; under influences yet unde- 
 termined, it passes to yellow, green, or blue. Heated on platinum to 
 156° F., they fuse, give off copious white vapors and burn without resi- 
 ■ due. At a temperature about 302° F.; they become decomposed. Their 
 solution acts powerfully upon the pupil. Water takes up but little of this 
 alkaloid, though it manifests an alkaline reaction, and the solution red- 
 dens on exposure to the air. The aqueous solution of physostigmine, or 
 of its salts, is colored red by a little soda, potash, or lime, and yellow 
 by ammonia ; agitated with chloroform these solutions yield the great- 
 est part of their coloring matter to it ; agitated with ether they leave it 
 colorless. This alkaloid is too poisonous for general use, it may cause 
 death when absorbed by the conjunctiva; the sixty-fifth of a grain in- 
 jected hypodermically, or one sixteenth of a grain introduced into the 
 stomach, will, with the adult, cause symptoms of intolerance, a larger 
 dose will produce grave symptoms. It is not a counter poison to 
 strychnia, it merely changes the symptoms of the poisoning and the 
 results of the autopsy without retarding the death. 
 
 The powder, and the extract of Calabar bean are employed for inter- 
 nal use. The extract may be made by digesting the beans, in very fine 
 powder, three ounces with three fluidounces of alcohol at 80°, in the 
 water-bath of an alembic, keeping up a moderate heat for about two 
 hours. Then introduce the mixture into a displacement apparatus, and 
 when the liquor resulting from the digestion ceases to flow, throw on 
 the powder another three fluidounces of boiling alcohol at 80°, and so 
 continue until the liquor passes colorless. Mix all the liquors tbgether, 
 recover the alcohol by distillation, and finish the evaporation in a water- 
 tath until it is of the proper "onsistence, being careful, toward the 
 
Physostigma Venenostim. J 633 
 
 close of the operation, to stir it constantly, to render the product homo- 
 genous. 1000 parts of Calabar bean furnish 25 or 30 parts of an extract 
 of pilular consistence. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Calabar bean when administered in poisonous 
 doses to animals appears to produce a depressing influence, as mani- 
 fested by a slight tremor, followed by paralysis of the limbs, slow and 
 irregular respiration, with stertor, muscular twitchings, more or less 
 complete loss of sensation, contraction of the pupils, frothy mucus 
 escapes from the mouth, and finally there is only a gasping inspiration, 
 previous to death. Consciousness is preserved during the whole time, 
 until the power of expression is lost. Eeflex action can not be pro- 
 duced by either pricking or pinching the skin. Immediately >after 
 death the pupils dilate, with forty -five children who were accidentally 
 poispned by the Calabar bean and taken to the Southern Hospital of 
 Liverpool, the more prominent symptoms were loss of mobility, ex- 
 treme prostration, slowness and feebleness of pulse, profuse sweats, cold- 
 ness of the extremities, vomitings, and, with some, severe diarrhea. One 
 of the children died, with whom there was neither nausea nor vomit- 
 ing. These symptoms, with most of the children, disappeared in the 
 c6urse of six or seven hours. Some look upon Calabar as a respiratory 
 poison causing asphyxia ; others, as interfering with contractions of 
 the heart and producing syncope. Calabar bean appears to be a spinal 
 paralyzer, lessening excitability of the peripheral extremities of the 
 motor nerves, destroying excitability of the muscles, and directly di- 
 tiiinishing reflex action. Its action on blood-vessels is firstly to con- 
 tract them ; secondly to dilate them. It diminishes the pulsations of 
 the heart. — Fraser. 
 
 Calabar bean was introduced into medical practice as a valuable local 
 agent in certain conditions of the eyes, since which it has been success- 
 fully employed internally in certain nervous maladies. The alcoholic 
 extract of the bean is the preparation used in ophthalmic practice as a 
 local application to the eye ; when brought into contact with the con- 
 junctiva, it causes lachrymation, and in about five minutes later con- 
 traction of the pupil, followed by contraction of the ciliary musc'es ; 
 this contraction reaches its height in half an hour, and continues for 
 about twelve hours, without however producing complete immobility 
 of the pupil. It counteracts the eifect of atropia, and also acts if there 
 is paralysis of the pupil. The contraction of the pupil and ciliary mus- 
 cle thus produced, generally causes pain, which may be very severe 
 and continue for hours. If the eye be used, or efforts at accommodation 
 be made, the pain increases. It appears to act by depressing the func- 
 tions of the spinal chord, and thus preventing the transmission of nerv- 
 ous impulses through the cord to and from the iris. It has been suc- 
 cessfully employed as a local application in mydriasis, in iritis and in- 
 flammations of neighboring structures, paralysis of the ciliary muscle, 
 retinitis with photobia, photobia with strumous ophthalmia, granular 
 and irritable lids,, ulceration of the margin of the cornea, prolapsus of 
 the iris, and in all cases where pupillary contraction is indicated, or 
 where it is desired to improve the accommodative power of the eye for 
 distant vision. The alcoholic extract of the bean may be dissolved in 
 glycerin, say two grains to two fluidrachms ; though the solution may 
 be made of various strength, and of which a drop may be placed upon 
 the conjunctiva. More recently Calabar gelatine has been preferred ; 
 this is a mixture of the extract with pure gelatine, which is formed 
 into thin leaves each one being divided into small squares ; one of these 
 
634 Materia Medioa. 
 
 squares contains about ^-J^^th of a grain of the extract, and readily dis- 
 solves when placed upon the conjunctiva of the lower lids. Its local 
 effect ceases in from twelve to twenty -four hours. 
 
 The internal administration of the extract has also been found useful 
 in chorea, centric or eccentric tetanus, epilepsy, reflex neuralgia, reflex 
 paralysis, etc. Its use has also been advised in cases of fevers, erysipe- 
 las, delirum tremens, acute bronchitis, and rheumatic fever; Vhere the 
 pulse is strong, rapid and hard. However, its therapeutical effects in 
 those diseases, are not fully decided. It has also been proposed to em- 
 ploy it as an antagonist to poisoning by belladona or atropia. I have 
 found its internal use decidedly successful iu several cases of impotence 
 the result of masturbation, also in twelve cases of imperfect erection 
 with premature seminal discharge on attempting coition ; in which af- 
 fections I am not aware its use has been heretofore tested. The dose of 
 the powder is usually about four or five grains during the twenty-four 
 hours in water, emulsion, or pill form. In one case of traumatic teta- 
 nus, Watson gave two grains every hour. Fraser does not think the 
 powder advisable in tetanus, the functions of the stomach being consid- 
 erably impaired in this disease. The tincture is an uncertain prepara- 
 tion, and should not be used. The alcoholic extract must be adminis- 
 tered with great care, its commencing dose should not exceed three- 
 fifths of a grain in twenty -four hours, and at no time should its dose 
 exceed two grains in twenty -four hours. It may be given in pill form, 
 or dissolved in diluted alcohol, spirit, wine, or glycerin. Watson advises 
 a preparation made by dissolving eight grains of the alcoholic extract 
 in half a fluidounce of boiling water, then gra,dually adding a fiuid- 
 ounce and a half of alcohol, and filtering ; ten minims of this contains 
 one-twelfth of a grain of the extract, which is a good dose to begin 
 with in an adult. When used in subcutaneous injection the extract 
 may be rubbed up in water, and a little chloride of sodium or a few 
 drops of liquor potassa be added. In a severe case of traumatic teta 
 nus Ashdown made use of a subcutaneous injection of one-third of a 
 grain of the extract in eighteen minims of water ; repeating the in- 
 jection every two hours. But great care is required in determining 
 the amount of extract necessary in any given case ; when Physostigmine 
 is employed for this purpose, a solution of one part to a thousand is 
 amply sufficient, of which a few drops only should be injected, repeat- 
 ing the operation according to the effects produced. 
 
 There is no known antidote to poisoning by Calabar bean ; one indis- 
 pensable condition is an evacuation of the poison ; for, when used as an 
 ordeal among the Calabar negroes, those who vomit do not die; so it 
 was' with the children above referred to. As to other measures, they 
 must be upon general principles according to the symptoms presenting. 
 
 PHYTOLACCA DECANDEA. (Gemeine Eermesbeer.) 
 
 Poke. 
 Nat. Ord. — Phytolaccacese. Sex. Syst. — Decandria Decagynia 
 
 THE KOOT, leaves, AND BERRIES. 
 
 Deseription. — This plant is known by various other names, as Pigeon 
 berry, Garget, Seoke, Goakum, etc. It is indigenous, with a perennial 
 root of large size, frequently exceeding a man's leg in diameter, usually 
 branched, fleshy, fibrous, whitish within, easily cut or broken, and cov- 
 ered with a very thin brownish bark or cuticle. Stems annual, about 
 
Phytolacca Decandra. 635 
 
 an inch in diameter, five to nine feet in height, round, smooth, very 
 much branched ; when young green ; fine deep purple when matured. 
 Leaves scattered, petiolate, ovate-oblong, smooth on both sides, ribbed 
 underneath, entire, acute, five inches long by two or three in breadth. 
 Mowers numerous, small, greenish-white, on long pedunculated racemes 
 opposite to the leaves, sometimes erect and sometimes drooping. Pe- 
 duncles nearly smooth, angular, ascending ; pedicels divaricate, some- 
 times-branched, green, white, or purple, having a small linear bract at 
 base, and two others in the middle. Calyx whitish, of five round-ovate, 
 concave, incurved sepals. Stamens ten, somewhat shorter than the 
 sepals, with white, roundish, two-lobed anthers. Ovary green, round, 
 depressed, ten-furrowed. Styles ten, short, recjirved. Berries in long 
 clusters, dark purple, almost black, round, depressed or flattened, 
 marked with ten furrows on the sides. Cells ten; seeds ten, solitary; 
 embryo curved in a ring around the albumen. — L. — W. — B. — G. 
 
 History. — Poke is a native of the United States, growing in nearly all 
 parts, along hedges, in neglected fields, and meadows, along road-sides, 
 moist grounds, etc., and flowering from July to September.. It is like- 
 wise found growing in the northern parts of Africa and in southern 
 Europe. The early sprouts are often used for greens, but become 
 cathartic as they advance to maturity. . Over forty per cent, of caustic 
 potassa can be obtained from the ashes of this plant, which alkali ex- 
 ists in the plant as a neutral salt, being combined with some vegetable 
 acid; the ashes are said to have been successfully employed as a local 
 application to cancer. The officinal parts of this j)lant are the root, 
 leaves and berries. The root., which is more commonly employed, 
 should be gathered in the latter weeks of autumn, cleansed from dirt 
 and impurities, sliced transversely, and carefully dried. As met with 
 in the shops it is in thin slices, of a pale-brown color, rather darker 
 externally, hard, corrugated, and distintly marked internally with con-, 
 centric rings of considerable thickness. It is inodorous, with a mfid, 
 rather dulcet taste, succeeded by considerable acridity. Water at 212° 
 F., or alcohol, extracts its medicinal properties. Mr. B. Donelly found 
 it to consist of gum, resin, starch, sugar, tannic acid, a small portion of 
 flj.ed oil, woody fiber, etc. — Arri. Jour. Pharm., XV., 169. The leaves 
 should be gathered just previous to the ripening of the berries. The 
 berries must be gathered when they are fully matured ; they have a dis- 
 agreeable, mawkish taste with a faint degree of acrimony, and are 
 nearly inodorous. They contain an abundance of a beautiful dark- 
 purple juice, which is the most delicate test of acids hitherto observed ; 
 an alkali turns it yellow, while an acid reinstates, its purple color, but 
 it is of a very fugitive nature, changing in a few hours, and losing its 
 delicacy as a reagent. ISTo mordant has yet been discovered to fix it. 
 It appears to contain sugar, will ferment, and yield a fluid from which 
 alcohol may be obtained by subjecting it to distillation. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Poke is emetic, carthartic, alterative antiher- 
 petic, and slightly narcotic. In doses of from ten to thirty grains it acts 
 both as an emetic and cathartic; but it is seldom used for these pur- 
 poses, on account of its tardy action, which, when established, contin- 
 ues for some time. It rarely causes cramps or pain, but occasionally 
 induces giddiness, double vision, and other narcotic symptoms. Large 
 doses produce powerful emetocatharsis, with loss of muscular power — 
 occasionally spasmodic action takes place, and frequently a tingling or 
 prickling sensation over the whole surface. In doses of from one tc 
 six grains it acts as an alterative. The root excites the whole glandu- 
 
636 Materia Medica. 
 
 lar system, and has been highly extolled in syphilitic, scrofulous, rheu- 
 matic, and cutaneous diseases.' The extract of the root is an excellent 
 remedy for the removal of those severe pains attending mercurio- 
 syphilitic affections (osteocopus) in which it is more beneficial than 
 opium. In granular conjunctivitis I have derived much advantage by 
 bathing the eyes daily with a decoction of the root, applying it to the 
 aiFected conjunctiva by means of a camel's hair pencil, at the same time 
 administering the tincture of the recent root internally. Poke root is 
 also useful in acute and chronic mucous affections, as, in tracheitis, 
 hu-yngitis, influenza, catarrh, tonsilitis, and especially in those affec- 
 tions where there is a tendency to the formation of false membrane, as 
 diphtheria. Headache, whether rheumatic, nervous, syphilitic, or sym- 
 pathetic (as, sick-headache from gastric acidity and debility), is much 
 benefited by it. It is also one of our most useful remedies in asthenic 
 hyperemia of the uterus, spleen, liver, and other organs, and may be 
 beneficially employed in those forms of dysmenorrhea that are- accom- 
 panied with a discharge of membranous shreds (caducous), also in 
 uterine and vaginal leucorrhea, being used, in the latter form, inter- 
 nally in tincture, and locally in decoction. Good results have followed 
 its internal administration in albuminaria, and in those dropsies attend- 
 ed with albumen in the urine. In affections of the mammary glands 
 its internal and local use is of considerable eificacy. The root roasted 
 in hot ashes until soft, and then mashed and applied as a poultice, is un- 
 rivaled in felons and tumors of various kinds. It discusses them rap- 
 idly, or, if too far advanced, hastens their suppuration. This is like- 
 wise efficacious in mammary abscess. Care must be had in powdering 
 the root, as it sometimes occasions headache, purging, pro.stration of 
 strength, and all the symptoms of a severe coryza. The root or 
 leaves finely powdered, and added to lard to form an ointment, in the 
 prqportion of sixty grains to an ounce of lard, is very efficacious in 
 scald-head, itch, and many other obstinate skin diseases, occasionally 
 causing a slight degree of irritation when applied. 
 
 An infusion of the leaves taken internally is slightly cathartic; when 
 bruised and applied locally, they are'beneflcial in indolent ulcers. A 
 strong decoction of the leaves is of much benefit in hemorrhoids ; in- 
 jected into the rectum two or three times a day, and- a fomentation of 
 the leaves applied to the part, will almost always give relief, and even- 
 tually effect a cure. A fluidrachm or two may be taken internally at 
 the same time, and repeated two or three times a day ; should any nar- 
 cotic effects be produced, its use may be omitted for a day or two, and 
 then commenced in smaller doses. The inspissated juice of the leaves 
 has been recommended in indolent ulcers, and as a remedy in cancer ; 
 in this last. disease. Dr. Bone combined it with gunpowder. 
 
 A saturated tincture of the berries has been successfully employed in 
 chronic rheumatism. It is also recommended in the same diseases as 
 the root. Dose of the powdered root, as an alterative, from one to six 
 grains ; of the tincture, from five drops to one fluidrachm, three or four 
 times a day ; as an emetic, twenty to thirty grains of the powder, 
 
 An Institute of the city of New York advertises the active principle 
 of Poke-root under the name of Phytolaccin; said to be a light-brown 
 powder, with a pleasant, mucilaginous taste, soluble in water, and in- 
 soluble in alcohol or ether. I am not advised of its mode of prepara- 
 tion. Said likewise to be a most powerful alterative, aperient, and 
 slightly narcotic. Dose from one-fourth of a grain to a grain, three 
 times a day. The statement comes from a doubtful source. 
 
PicrjENa Exoelsa. 637 
 
 Off. Prep. — Cataplasma Phytolaccse ; Decoctum Phytolaccse ; Extrac- 
 tum Phytolaccse ; PilulsB Phytolacca Composite ; Syrupus Phytolaccaa 
 Compositus ; Tinctura Phytolaccse ; Tinctura CimicifugBB Composita ; 
 [Jnguentum Phytolaccse ; Yinum Phytolaccse Compositnm. 
 
 PICE^NA EXOELSA. (Hohe Simaruba.; 
 
 Quassia. — Quassienholz. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Simarubacese. Sex. Syst. — Decaadria Monogynia. 
 
 THE WOOD. 
 
 Description. — -This is the Quassia Excelsa of Linnaeus, and the Sima- 
 ruba Excelsa of De CandoUe, and is known by the various names of 
 Lofty Quassia, Bitter-wood, Bitter-ash, etc. This is a tree growing from 
 fifty to a hundred feet high, with an erect stem, threfe feet or more in 
 diameter at base, gradually becoming smaller as it ascends; the hark is 
 grayish and smooth. Leaves alternate, unequally pinnate ; Leaflets oppo- 
 site, short-petioled, oblong, acuminate, unequal at the base, blunt at the 
 apex, veiny-glabrous. Flowers small, pale or yellowish-green, polyga- 
 mous ; racemes toward the end of the branchlets, axillary, very com- 
 pound, panicled, sub-corymbose, dichotomously branched, spreading, 
 many-flowered. Peduncles compressed, downy, rufescent. Sepals five, 
 minute. Petals five, longer than the sepals. Filaments of the male 
 flowers much longer than the petals; in the fertile of the same length. 
 In the male, merely the rudiments of the pistil; in the fertile, ovaries 
 three ; style longer than the stamens, triquetrous, trifid. Anthers round- 
 ish. Stigmas simple, spreading. Fruit, three drupes, one only being 
 perfected, size of a pea, black, shining, fixed on a hemispherical re- 
 ceptacle ; nut solitary, globose, with the shell fragile. — L. 
 
 Quassia Amara, or Bitter Quassia, is a shrub, or moderately sized 
 branching tree, having a grayish bark. Leaves alternate, unequally 
 pinnate ; leaflets in two pairs, opposite, entire, smooth, elliptical, acute at 
 each end ; petiole winged, joined, with the joints obovate. Flowers large, 
 scarlet, distant, hermaphrodite, in long, one-sided, simple, terminal, 
 rarely branched racemes. Pedicels bracteate at the base, jointed below 
 the apex, and there having two little bracts. Calyx short, five-parted. 
 Corolla of five petals, longer than the sepals, arranged in a tubular 
 manner. Stamens ten, longer than the petals. Ovaries five, placed on 
 a receptacle broader than themselves; styles five, distinct at the base, 
 there united into a very long one, terminating in a nearly equal, five- 
 furrowed stigma. Fruit drupaceous. — L. 
 
 History. — Quassia Amara inhabits Surinam, Guiana, Colombia, Pan- 
 ama and the "West India Islands, flowering in November and December. 
 A negro residing in Surinam, named Quassi, had obtained a very great 
 reputation in the cure of endemic malignant fevers of that place. His 
 remedj'^ was kept secret, until 1756, when he was induced to make it 
 known to Mr. C. D. Dahlbergh. The bark, wood,androot areintensely 
 bitter, and have proved very efficacious in malignant fevers. The medi- 
 cinal parts of this tree seldom reach this country at present, and the 
 following article is now substituted for it : 
 
 Picrcena Excelsa is common on the plains and lower mountains of 
 Jamaica and 6ther neighboring islands ; it flowers in October and No- 
 vember and in the two succeeding months matures its fruit. The wood 
 of this tree furnishes the Quassia of commerce, being substituted for the 
 true Surinam Quassia. 
 
638 , Materia Medica. 
 
 It is imported in large logs, varying from two inches to over a foot in 
 diameter, and from one to six or eight feet in length, occasionally largei 
 than a man's body, and split into quarters, and frequently retaining a 
 friable and feebly-attached cortex, which has similar medicinal powers 
 with the wood. These are undoubtedly obtained from portions of the 
 tree itself, instead of from its root. The wood is very tough, of com- 
 pact texture, white, but changing to yellow under the action of the air, 
 odorless, excessively bitter, and yields its medicinal virtues to -water or 
 alcohol. The bark is thin, dark-brown, or thick, grayish-brown, 
 wrinkled, and traversed by reticulating lines. 
 
 Quassin was obtained by Wiggers, as follows : The sliced wood was 
 boiled in water, and the filtered decoction was evaporated to one-fourth 
 of its bulk. After cooling, it was mixed with a quantity of lime-water, 
 and the mixture was frequently agitated for twenty-four hours ; the 
 lime separated the pectin and some other substances. The solution was 
 filtered and evaporated to dryness, and the residue treated with alcohol 
 sp. gr. 0.831, which dissolved the Quassin, together with some common 
 salt, saltpeter, and a brown coloring matter. The alcohol was distilled 
 off, and the residue evaporated to dryness, when a light-yellow crystal- 
 line matter remained, which was dissolved in as small a quantity of 
 alcohol as possible, and mixed with a little ether. This solution"^was 
 filtered and evaporated, and which solutions and evaporations were re- 
 peated till the Quassin was obtained pure. Quassin thus obtained is 
 crystallized in very small, white prisms ; but for the formation of these 
 prisms, the presence of water is necessary. Its taste is intensely bitter; 
 it has no smell, and is not altered by exposure to the atmosphere. One 
 hundred parts of cold water dissolve only 0.45 of quassin ; but the 
 solubility is increased by several salts and vegetable principles. This 
 solution is precipitated white by tannic acid, but not by iodine, chlorine, 
 corrosive sublimate, salts of iron, acetate or subacetate of lead. It is 
 very little soluble in ether. The best menstruum is alcohol, which acts 
 more powerfully the stronger and hotter it is. Hence a saturated solu- 
 tion of Quassin in absolute alcohol becomes muddy when a little water 
 is added, and the Quassin may be re-dissolved by adding to the alcohol 
 a sufficient quantity of water. The alcoholic solution is not thrown 
 down by acetate or subacetate of lead ; but it is by corrosive sublimate. 
 All its solutions are colorless. It is a neutral body. Sulphuric and 
 nitric acids dissolve it, but do not lose their acid qualities ; and the nitric 
 acid of sp. gr. 1.230 may be driven off by heat, leaving the Quassin 
 unaltered. When heated, it melts like a resin, and its point of fusion is 
 only a little higher than that of common resin. On cooling, it forms a 
 translucent, yellowish mass, which is very brittle. When heated at 212° 
 P. in a dry atmosphere, it loses about 1.3 per cent, of its weight; and 
 when fused, the loss amounts to 1.76 per cent. When more strongly 
 heated, it becomes brown and is charred. It is composed of carbon 
 66.912, hydrogen 6.827, and oxygen 26.261, or C,, H^ 0,.— T. 
 
 Analysis has found in Quassia, volatile oil in minute trace, quassin, 
 gummy extractive, pectin, woody fiber, and various salts, as oxalate, tar- 
 trate, and sulphate of lime, chlorides of calcium and sodium, an ammo- 
 niacal salt, nitrate of potassa, or, according to Mr. Geo. Whipple, sulphate 
 of soda, which he separated in crystals. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Quassia is tonic, febrifuge, and anthelmintic. H 
 is used sometimes in remittent and intermittent fevers ; likewise in dys- 
 pepsia, debility during convalescence from exhausting diseases, and foi 
 worms. It preserves animal matters from decay, which is a property 
 
Pnn'i*iELLA Anisum. 039 
 
 ])osse8se(l mote or lessbyall simple bitters. The decoction administered 
 by way of injection will remove asearides. An infusion may be made 
 by. macerating for twelve hours three drachms of the rasped or ground 
 Quassia in a pint of cold water; the cold water does not dissolve the 
 extractive matter. Of this a wino-gtass half full may be taken three 
 times a day, either alone, or with some ginger tea, and will be found 
 useful for feeble emaciated persons, with impaired digestive organs. Or 
 an extract made by evaporating the decoction to' a pilular consistence, 
 may be given in doses of one grain, three or four times a day, and which 
 will be found less offensive to the stomach than the infusion or decoc- 
 tion Quassia, in connection with sulphuric acid, enters largely into 
 the composition of an An ti -bacchanalian Elixir, for the cure of drunken- 
 ness, and which does certainly destroy all appetite for alcoholic drinks.* 
 On flies and other insects. Quassia acts as a powerful narcotic poison, and 
 the alcoholic extract kills small animals when introdniced into the cellu- 
 lar tissue. Mr. Bramde, in his work on chemistry, recommends a strong 
 decoction of Quassia, well sweetened with brown sugar or molasses, as 
 an effectual poison for flies, and far preferable to the poisonous articles 
 generally used to destroy them. It is certainly worth a trial. Dose of 
 the powder, thirty grains ; of the infusion, from one to three fluidounces ; 
 of the tincture one or two fluidrachms ; and of the extract, from two to 
 ten grains. A very excellent injection for ascarides (thread-worms), is 
 a strong infusion of three parts of Quassia, and one of mandrake root, 
 to every ounce of which a fluidrachm of tincture of asafcetida may be 
 added. For a child two years old, two fluidounces may be injefcted into ' 
 the rectum twice a day. Diluted carbolic acid may be substituted for 
 the asafoetida, if desired. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Quassias. 
 
 PIMPINELLA ANISUM. (Anis-Bibernell.) 
 
 Anise. — Anis. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Apiacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 THE FRUIT. ANISEED. 
 
 Description. — Anise has a perennial, spindle-shaped, ligneous root, and 
 a smooth, erect, branched stem, ten or twelve inches in height. Leaves 
 petioled ; radical ones roundish, heart-shaped, lobed, cutserrated ; cauline 
 owes biternate, with linear-lanceolate, rather cuneate-acuminate segments. 
 Flowers small, white, in umbels on long stalks, nine or ten rayed, naked ; 
 partial ones with a few subulate, reflexed bracts. Calyx wanting or 
 minute ; corolla of five, obovate, emarginate petals, with an inflexed lobe. 
 Stamens five, longer than the petals. Anthers roundish. Styles subu- 
 late, spreading, long, capitate. Fruit ovate, a line and a half long, dull- 
 brown, slightly downy, not at all shining ; half-fruits or mericarps with 
 five filiform, equidistant, elevated ridges, sometimes rather wavy, paler 
 than the channels. Commissure broad and flat. — L. 
 
 * Dr. W. Ferguson has kindly given me the following formula for the preparation of 
 this elixir, which he has used with much advantage; take of tincture of Colombo, com- 
 pound tinctire of gentian, tincture of oasoarilla, each, one fluidoance, i nfusion of quassia 
 one pint, eli sir of vitriol, two fluidrachms and forty minims ; mix. The dose is a tabl e- 
 spoonful evory hour or two ; or It may be taken every four or six hours, in doses of two 
 and a half fl- lidounces. Frequent bathing of the head lu cold water is a valuable auxiliary. 
 It acts as a t inic ; in some oases its first action Is that of emesis. Its use must be persisted 
 In for some Ime, that the stomach may retain tone and vigor. 
 
640 Materia MbIdica. 
 
 Sistory. — Anise originally came from Egypt, and is at present culti- 
 vated in many of the warm countries of Europe ; the fruit of the Span- 
 ish plant is that which is more generally selected for medical purposes. 
 The fruit, popularly called Aniseed, is the ofScinal portion. Aniseed ia 
 of an ovate form, slightly flattened at the sides, and' composed of, twc 
 mericarps or half-fruits of a grayish-green, or grayish-brown color, with 
 five paler, primary ridges. Tn each channel are three vittse. Care 
 must be taken not to confound any of the seed of the poisonous umbel- 
 liferous plants, as of the Conium Maculatum, with those of the anise ; a 
 little attention will detect any accidental admixture of this kind, as 
 the differences in the seed are well marked. The odor of Anise is 
 penetrating and fragrant, and the taste aromatic and sweetish. — P. 
 Water partially takes up its properties, alcohol wholly so ; these are 
 due to a volatile oil which may be procured by flistillation of the fruit 
 with water. This, oil is contained in the external coat of the seeds, 
 while a green-colored fat oil of a butyraceous consistency is obtained 
 by expression of their inclosed substance. Brandes obtained from the 
 fruit of Anise, concrete fixed oil, green fat oil, resin, azotized matter, 
 sugar, gum, bimalate and binacetate of lime, bimalate of potassa, vola- 
 tile oil, lignin, silicate of iron, water, gumresin, ulmin of anise, phos- 
 phate of lime, extractive, with various salts, etc. 
 
 The Star- Anise of cordial manufacturers, possesses a taste and o(ior 
 similar to the Anise, but is procured from the Illicium Anisatum, a plant 
 growing in Eastern Asia. A volatile oil is Qbtained by distillation, 
 from its fruit, which is often fraudulently substituted for the oil of 
 Anise; it is called oleum badiani or oil of Star-Anise. Oil of common 
 Anise' is sometimes adulterated with spermaceti or camphor, to promote 
 its solidification, the former may be known by its insolubility in cold 
 alcohol, the latter by its odor. — P. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — A stimulant and carminative ; used in cases of 
 flatulency, flatulent colic of infants, and to remove nausea. Sometimes 
 added to other medicines to improve their flavor, correct griping and 
 other disagreeable effects. The dose of Aniseed, crushed or powdered, 
 is from twenty to forty grains. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Oleum Anisi. 
 
 PINTJS PALUSTEIS. (Sumpf Kiefer.) 
 
 Long-leaved Pine. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Pinacese. Sex. Syst. — Moncecia Monadelphia. 
 
 THE CONCRETE JUICE. (See OH of Turpentine.) 
 
 Description. — This tree is also known by the names of Broom Pine, 
 Telloio Pitch-pine, etc., and is the Pinus Australis of Michaux. Its trunk 
 is from sixty to eighty feet high, of which distance about forty or fifty 
 feet below the branches has a diameter varying from twelve to twenty 
 inches; the bark of the tree is slightly furrowed. I/eaves in threes, of 
 a bright-green color, about a foot long, and conglomerate at the ends 
 of the branches; sheaths or stipules pinnatifid, scaly, persistent; buds 
 very loing, whitish. Sterile aments violet colored, two inches long. Stro- 
 biles or cones sub-cylindrical, muricate, with small recurved spines, and 
 from eight to ten inches long. Seeds with a thin, white testa. — W. 
 
 History. — This is a native tree, found in the Middle, Southern, and 
 Western States, in sandy plains and woods. Its timber is strong, com- 
 pact and durable, and is much used by carpenters and workers in wood. 
 
PiNTJS Palttstris. 641 
 
 From this tree i« obtained the principal supply of resin, tar, etc., used 
 in this country. The concrete juice is the white turpentine of commerce ; 
 it is obtained by cutting a hollow in the tree, a few inches above the 
 earth, and the bark removed for the space of about eighteen inches 
 above it. The turpentine runs into these concavities from March to 
 October, more rapidly, of course during the warmer months. It is then 
 removed into casks. — P. By age it slowly concretes,,forming a whitish, 
 nearly hard, resinous-like mass, composed of resin and oil of turpen- 
 Udo. It usually has a yellowish tint, a rather agreeable odor, and a 
 bitter terebinthine taste. "When fresh, from fifteen to eighteen per cent, 
 of essential oil may be obtained from it by distillation. It is readily 
 dissolved in alcohol or ether, and combines with the fixed oils. To free 
 it from the impurities which it contains, it may be melted and theto 
 strained. 
 
 Venice Turpentine is furnished by the Larix Buropsea, or Abies Larix; 
 it is limpid or turbid, with a yellow color, sometimes having a green 
 tint, tenacious, and thick like molasses. Its odor is sweet, citron-like, 
 and its taste hot, pungent, and somewhat bitter. It requires an expos- 
 ure to the air for many years before it becomes hard and brittle. It 
 contains from 18 to 25 per cent, of oil of turpentine, dissolves slowly 
 in alcohol, and is dissolved by the caustic alkalies. A brown A.rtificial 
 Venice turpentine is frequently met with, which, according to Pereira, 
 is prepared by melting oil of turpentine and black rosin together. (See 
 Abies Larix.') 
 
 Ghian turpentine is obtained from the Pistachia Terebinthus or P. Len- 
 tiscics. It is yellowish, greenish, or bluish-green, translucent, viscid, 
 and thick like molasses. Its odor is rather pleasant, and its taste less 
 acrid than most of the turpentines. ^ It gradually hardens by age, and 
 is often adulterated with the cheaper turpentines. 
 
 Bordeaux turpentine is obtained principally from the Pinus Sylvefitris, 
 and Pinus Pinaster. It is thick, viscid, turbid, grayish-yellow^ has "a 
 disagreeable odor, and an acrid, bitter, nauseous taste. On standing, it 
 separates into two layers; one thinner, yellow, and almost transparent; 
 another thicker, whitish, and having a granular, thick, honey-like con- 
 sistence. Bordeaux turpentine solidifies with magnesia, hardens by 
 exposure to the air, and possesses the property of left-handed circular 
 polarization, which is in common with the preceding turpentines. — P. 
 
 There are several other turpentines named in foreign Materia Medicas, 
 but not being met with in this country it is unnecessary to describe them. 
 Turpentines are oleo-resins ; they all possess a certain general peculi- 
 arity of taste and smell, yet differing sufficiently to characterize each 
 kind. The most of them concrete by age and exposure, becoming dry 
 and hard, are softened or liquefied by heat, and burn with a dense red- 
 dish flame and considerable black smoke. They are more or less soluble 
 in alcohol or ether, combine with fats and fixed oils, and several of them 
 are solidified when mixed with from one thirty-second to one-twelfth 
 part of magnesia. 
 
 An adhesive and strengthening plaster may be made as follows ; 
 Take of caoutchouc, reduced to fine shreds, five pounds, steep it in hot 
 water to soften ; then remove from the water, dry as quickly as possible, 
 place in a vessel, and cover with oil of turpentine, which must be in- 
 creased in quantity as the caoutchouc ' absorbs it. . When the gum is 
 sufficiently dissolved, press it through a fine sieve, and add to it the 
 following mixtures: 1st, white turpentine, melted and dissolved in a 
 sufficient quantity of oil of turpentine to make it thin enough to strain; 
 
 41 
 
642 Materia Medica. 
 
 2d, capsicum, four ounces, heated in a quart of oil of turpentine, which 
 must be filtered and gradually, added and ground with a pound of lith- 
 arge, and to which balsam of Peru six ounces is to be added. This 
 plaster may be spread on paper, linen, or leather. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The turpentines act as local irritants, occasion- 
 ing heat, redness, and even inflammation of the skin. Taken inter- 
 nally they act more especially on the mucous tissues, lessening excess- 
 ive morbid discharges. They have a diuretic influence on the urinary 
 apparatus, imparting to the urine an odor like that of violets. They 
 also act as stimulants on the general system, quickening the pulse, in- 
 creasing the temperature of the surface, and causing a sensation of 
 warmth at the stomach. They likewise act as anthelmintics. In large 
 doses they act upon the bowels, or, if this effect is not produced, they 
 are apt to cause loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, griping, strangury, 
 or bloody urine. They may be used in gonorrhea, gleet, chronic affec- 
 tions of the bladder and kidneys, fluor-albus, charonic affections, of the 
 mucous membrane of the air-passages, chronic rheumatism, hemor- 
 rhoids, intestinal ulcerations, tympanitis, amenorrhea, chronic mucous 
 diarrhea, etc. Externally, they are detergents and digestives, and have 
 sometimes been applied to indolent and ill-conditioned ulcers (P.) ; also 
 as rubefacients and stimulants. Their peculiar influence upon the 
 ^body is chiefly owing to their essential oil. They also enter into vari- 
 ous plasters and ointments, especially the white turpentine. The dose 
 is from ten to sixty grains, in the form of pill, emulsion, or electuary. 
 They may be made into pills when too soft by the addition of powdered 
 'liquorice root, magnesia, etc.; an emulsion may be made by rubbing 
 them with yolk of egg, or mucilage of gum Arabic, sugar, and some 
 aromatic water ; sugar and honey mixed with them forms an electuary. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Bmplastrum Myricse ; Pilulse Ferri Oompositse; Ungu- 
 entum Myricse ; TJnguentum Plumbi Compositum ; Vinum Phytolaccaj 
 Gompositum. 
 
 PIPBE ANGUSTIPOLIUM. (Schmalblattriger Pfeffer.) 
 
 Matico. — Matico. 
 Nat. Ord. — Piperacese. 8ex. Syst. — Diandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — This plant is the Artanthe Mongata of Miquel, and the 
 Stephensia Mongata of Kunth ; it is described as a tall shrub, presenting 
 a singular appearance from the segmentary character of its stems and 
 branches. IJeaues harsh, short-stalked, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, 
 pubescent beneath, tesselated or rough on the upper side on account 
 of the sunken veins. Spikes solitary, cylindrical, and opposite the 
 leaves ; bracts lanceolate ; flowers hermaphrodite. — P. 
 
 Sistory. — This is a Peruvian plant, which was brought into notice 
 among the profession of this country- by Dr. Euschenberger, a member 
 of the XJ. S. Xavy. The dried leaves are the parts used ; thej'^ have a 
 strong, rather fragrant odor, not unlike that of cubebs, and a warm, 
 aromatic, somewhat feebly astringent taste. They are easily reduced 
 to- a powder of a color similar to that of senna leaves. Water takes i;p 
 their aroma and a slight pungency, but no astringency. Infusion of 
 galls produces a gr^y precipitate with infusion of Matico ; the sesqui- 
 chloride of iron causes a deep green one; tartar-emetic, corrosive sub- 
 limate, and gelatine scarcely affect it. Dr. JEodges found in the leaves 
 
Piper Cubeba. 643 
 
 a soft dark-green resin, chlorophyll, brown coloring-matter, yellow 
 coloring-matter, gum, nitrate of potassa, a bitter principle called Mati- 
 cine, an aromatic volatile oil, salts, and lignin. "WeigEtnd states that 
 Maticin is nothing more than a salt of potassa. Dr. John J. Stell does 
 not believe that Matico contains any principle similar to pjperine, or 
 oubebine, and that its medicinal virtues depend on the volatile oil and 
 the soft resin. — Am. Jour. Pharm., XXX., 392. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Matico is an aromatic bitter stimulant, whose 
 virtues reside in its resin, volatile oil, and bitter principle. It has been . 
 highly recommended in bleeding from the lungs, stomach, or kidneys, 
 and in dysentery, but its use is doubtful in these cases. It has, how 
 ever, been found advantageous in fluor-albus, gonorrhea, piles, and 
 chronic mucous discharges, also in dyspepsia, owing to chronic mucous 
 affection of the stomach. Externally, the leaves are used for arresting 
 hemorrhage from wounds, leech-bites, etc.; the downy part of the leaf 
 is said to be the most active part. Also applied to ulcers. A tincture 
 is also used, made with two ounces and a half of the leaves to a pint of, 
 diluted alcohol, of which the dose is from one to three fluidrachms. 
 The infusion is made by macerating half an ounce of the leaves in half 
 a pint of boiling water, for one hour ; dose, from one to two fluid- 
 ounces, three or four times a day. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Matico. 
 
 PIPBE CUBEBA. (Cubeben Pfeffer.) 
 
 Cubebs. — Cubeben. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Piperacese. Sex. Syst. — Diandria Trigynia. 
 
 THE BERRIES. v 
 
 Description. — This is a perennial plant, with a climbing stem; branches 
 found, the thickness of a goosequill, ash-colored, smooth, rooting at the 
 joints ; when very young minutely downy, as well as the petioles. 
 Leaves four to six and a half inches long by one and a half or two 
 inches broad, petioled, oblong, or ovate-oblong, acuminate, rounded, 
 or obliquely-cordate at base, strongly veined, netted, coriaceous, very 
 smooth. Flowers dioecious, and arranged in spikes at the end of the 
 branches, opposite the leaves, on peduncles the length of the petioles. 
 Fruit rather longer than black pepper, globose, on pedicels from one- 
 third to half an inch long. — i. 
 
 Sistory. — Piper Cubeba inhabits Java and Prince of Wales Island, 
 and other isles in the Indian ocean, growing without cultivation in the 
 forests. The fruit is-gathered before it is fully ripe, and when dried is 
 the part used in medicine. The fruit or berries are nearly globular, 
 rough, grayish, somewhat lighter colored than black pepper, of a rather 
 pleasant, aromatic odor, and a hot, bitter; somewhat camphoraceous 
 taste. The cortical portion appears to have been thinner and less suc- 
 culent than in black pepper, and contains within it a hard, spherical 
 seed, which is whitish and oily. The latest analysis of Cubebs is by 
 Monheim in 1835, who obtained from it green volatile oil 2.5, yellow 
 volatile oil 1.0, Cubebin 4.5, balsamic resin 1.5, wax 3.0, chloride of 
 sodium 1.0. extractive 6.0, lignin 65, loss 15.5=100.— P. The volatile 
 oil IS much used in medicine. The powder of Cubebs becomes inert 
 after a time, in consequence of the loss of its volatile oil ; hence, it is 
 better to powder them only as required for use. 
 
644 Materia Medica. 
 
 A cubebs has been had from French Africa, which has been supjiosed 
 to be more closely allied to black pepper than to cnbebs ; it almost 
 always has a long stalk attached, and its size is about one-half less 
 than that of the commercial drug. Stanislas Martin has found its 
 chemical composition to be nearly the same as the Sumatra or Malabar 
 Cubebs, and believes it to possess the same properties as these, pro- 
 vided it be perfectly cleansed of its stalks. 
 
 Guhebin was first obtained by Casola ; it is a neutral substance, hav- 
 ing a green color and the consistence of turpentine ; its taste is sweet- 
 ish and acrid, soluble in anhydrous alcohol, and ether, insoluble in 
 boiling water, though it gives its taste to that liquid ; fuses at 68°, 
 boils at 87°, and congeals at 5°. It may be procured by boiling one 
 part of Cubebs with four parts of alcohol, filter, press out the liquid 
 and distill ofi' the alcohol. Mix the liquid remaining in the retort, 
 while boiling hot, with acetate of lead ; wash and dry the precipitate, 
 and treat it with alcohol. "When the alcoholic liquid is evaporated, 
 the cubebin is deposited. — T. It may be procured pure and colorless 
 by forming an alcoholic tincture from Cubebs, which have been ex- 
 hausted of their oil by distillation, evaporating this to an extract, or 
 one-fourth its bulk, adding liquor potassa, washing the residuum with 
 distilled water, and further purifying by solution in boiling concen- 
 trated alcohol and subsequent crystallization, repeating this as often 
 as may be required ; in which state it is tasteless and odorless. Some 
 chemists consider cubebin to be identical with piperin ; the former, 
 when acted on by sulphuric acid, has a fine crimson color imparted, 
 which remains unchanged for many hours. Englehardt examined a 
 crystalline deposit from an ethereal infusion of Cubebs, which had been 
 kept for some months in a well-closed vessel, and found it to consist 
 of cubebin. However, as cubebin is almost insoluble in ether at the 
 ordinary temperature, it was very probably dissolved by the oils ex- 
 tracted by the ether. In the preparation of this substance according 
 to the general method, there would consequently be a considerable loss 
 resulting from the extraction with ether previous to dissolving the 
 cubebin in alcohol. 
 
 F. V. Heydenreich has instituted a series of experiments to determine 
 whether the active principle of CubebS' resided in its oil, its oleo-resin, 
 or in the cubebin. For this purpose, he treated 80 ounces of finely 
 powdered cubeb berries with ether, and obtained 19 ounces or nearly 
 24 per cent, of the oleo-resin. In order to separate the volatile oil 
 from it, he subjected the oleo-resin to distillation with water, and after- 
 ward heated on a water-bath to drive off all the remaining volatile 
 oil. Ten ounces and seven drachms, or a little over 13 per cent, of oil 
 was thus removed ; the residue amounted to eight ounces and one 
 drachm, a part of which he reserved for future experiments. To the 
 rest of the residue he added some ether and set it aside to facilitate the 
 deposition of cubebin and wax, and leave the soft resin. The result 
 of his trials was that the diuretic properties of Cubebs resides in its 
 soft resin ; that cubebin is comparatively inert ; and that the volatile 
 oil is carminative and stimulant, producing in large doses the irritation 
 common to analogous oils. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Cubebs are mildly stimulant, expectorant, 
 stomachic, and carminative. They act more particularly upon mu- 
 cous tissues, arresting excessive discharges, especially from the urethra. 
 In large doses they produce increased frequency and fullness of pulse, 
 and augmented heat ; occasionally they cause nausea, vomiting, burn- 
 
Piper Longum. — Piper Nigrum. 645 
 
 iDg pain, griping, or even purging. Sometimes they cause a rash-like 
 eruption on the skin. They exercise an influence over the urinary 
 apparatus, frequently producing diuresis, rendering the urine of a 
 deeper color, with a peculiar aromatic odor. They have been success- 
 fully employed in gonorrhea, gleet, leucorrhea, catarrh of the urinary 
 bladder, chronic inflammation of the bladder, abscess of the prostate, 
 chronic laryngitis and bronchitis, dyspepsia due to an atonic condition 
 of the stomach, etc. Generally, it is better to use them after the high 
 inflammatory symptoms have subsided. If they do not afford benefit 
 very soon, they should be used no longer.' Christison states that he 
 has known the use of Cubebs to be frequently attended, like copaiba, 
 with an ephemeral synocha, followed by a prompt cessation of the 
 gonorrheal discharge ; in which disease they may be given in powder 
 along with water or milk, or made into a paste with copaiba. M. Tri- 
 deau has found a syrup of cubebs, in connection with one of copaiba, 
 to be almost a specific in croup. M. Berjeron has also met with great 
 success in the same disease, but he prefers to administer the oleo-resin 
 of cubebs either in capsules or in emulsion, ha,ving the children take 
 according to their ages from 15 to 60 grains per day. The following 
 preparations have been successfully used in gonorrhea and gleet : — 1. 
 Take of ethereal extract of Cubebs, solidified balsam of copaiba, and 
 ' carbonate of iron, of each, two. drachms, resin of podophyllum half a 
 scruple. Mix, and divide into pills of four grains each, of which one 
 or two may be given three times a day. 2. Take of pulverized Cubebs, 
 podophyllum, white pond lily, of each, half an ounce, Holland gin 
 one pint. Macerate for several days, and give sufficient doses three 
 times a day to act slightly on the bowels. 3. Take of solidified copaiba 
 two ounces, ethereal extract of Cubebs one ounce, oil of juniper, a suf- 
 ficient quantity. Mix, and divide into pills of four grains each, of 
 which one or two may be taken three times a day. Dose of Cubebs in 
 powder, from half a drachm to a drachm, three timels a day ; of the 
 tincture two fluidrachms ; of the oil from ten to thirty drops. 
 Off. Prep. — Extraetum Cubebse Fluidum ; Oleum Cubebae. 
 
 PIPEE LOISTG-UM. (Langer Pfeffer.) 
 Long Pepper. 
 
 DRIED SPIKES. 
 
 PIPEE NIGEUM. (Schwarzer Pfeffer.) 
 
 Black Pepper. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Piperacese. Sex. Syst. — Diandria Trigynia. 
 
 DRIED UNRIPE BERRIES. 
 
 Description. — Piper Longum has a woody, perennial root, with many- 
 creeping, jointed, round stems, downy when young. Branchlets bearing 
 the fruit erect, with the leaves sessile, or nearly so. Leaves on the 
 creeping branches largest, stalked, broad-cordate, seven-nerved ; on the 
 erect fruit-bearing branchlets amplexicaul, oblong-cordate, five-nerved; 
 all smooth, somewhat wrinkled, pale-green below. Stipules of the 
 petidled leaves two, adhering to the petiole, and lanceolate ; of the ses- 
 sile leaves intrapetiolar, single, spathiform. Fertile flowers or catkins 
 in sessile spikes, opposite a leaf, stalked, erect, cylindrical, imbricated 
 with five or more spiral rows of small, orbicular scales. Ovaries sessile 
 
646 Materia Medioa. 
 
 Buborbicular. Stigma three or four lobed. Spike of ripe fruit, sub- 
 cylindrical, composed of firmly united one-seeded drupes. — L. 
 
 Piper NiGRrM is a perennial vine with a trailing or climbing stem, 
 rourid, smooth, shrubby, flexuose, dichotomously branched, jointed, 
 swelling at the joints, and often throwing 'out radicles there which ad- 
 , here to bodies like the roots of ivy, or become roots striking into the 
 ground. Leaves four to six inches long, alternate, distichous, broad- 
 ovate, acuminate, of a dark -green color, glossy above, paler beneath, 
 five to seven nerved, the nerves connected by lesser transverse ones 
 or veins, and prominent breath ; petioles round, from half an inch to 
 an inch long. Flowers whitish, small, not stalked, in spikes opposite 
 the leaves, chiefly near the upper ends of the branches, pedunculate, 
 three to six inches long, slender, drooping, apparently some male, others 
 female, while sometimes the flowers are furnished with both stamens 
 and pistils ; stamens three. Fruit vi^enmg irregularly all the year round, 
 sessile, the size of a pea, at first green, then red, and afterward black, 
 covered by pulp. — L. 
 
 History. — Piper Longum is a native of India, growing wild among 
 bushes on the banks of water-courses up toward the Circar mountains ; 
 it is much cultivated in Bengal, and throughout Hindostan. The fe- 
 male spikes, dried in the sun, form the Long Pepper of the shops. 
 Miquel has removed this plant from the genus Piper 'And placed it in 
 a new one, Chavica ; he states that the Long Pepper is obtained from 
 three species viz. : Chavica Pepuloides, Chavica Boxburghii, both of 
 which furnish the Long Pepper of India ; and the Chavica Officinarum, 
 which produces the Java Long Pepper. 
 
 The India Long Pepper consists of long, somewhat cylindrical bodies, 
 from an inch to an inch and a half in length, and about two lines in 
 thickness, grayish-brown in color, and covered with little eminences in 
 spiral rows, containing each a seed of the size of a small pin's head. 
 These cylinders are composed of numerous little berries closely united 
 to one another. — C. They have a mild, aromatic odor, and an intense, 
 pungent taste. The Java Long Pepper is somewhat analogous in taste 
 and odor. M. Dulong analyzed Long Pepper in 1825, and found it to 
 contain piperin, an acrid fatty matter, volatile oil, extractive, gum, 
 starch, bassorin in abundance, a malate and some other salts. The vol- 
 atile oil is colorless, and has an acrid taste and an unpleasant odor. 
 It possesses analogous medicinal properties with the Black Pepper, but 
 is rarely used in the United States. 
 
 Piper Nigrum is a native of the Bast Indian continent, as well as of 
 many islands in the Indian Ocean, where it is extensively cultivated, 
 as well as in the West Indies. The berries are collected while red, be- 
 fore they have fully matured, and when dried, form the Black Pepper 
 of commerce ; when allowed to ripen, and then divested of their husks 
 by being soaked in water, dried, rubbed and winnowed, they constitute 
 White Pepper, which is less pungent and aromatic than the black. 
 Sumatra and Java furnish the principal portion of the Black Pepper 
 met with in this country and Europe. The berries are roundish, about 
 the size of a currant, corrugated and dark brownish-black externally, 
 with a smooth, hard, whitish seed internally, and of a peculiar aromatic 
 odor, and a fiery, bitterish taste. Alcohol or ether extracts their vir- 
 tues completely ; water only partially. In 1821, Pelletier found in 
 Black Pepper, piperin, a solid, very acrid oil, a balsamic volatile oil, a 
 gummy colored matter, extractive, malic and tartaric acids, starch, 
 bassorin, lignin, and earthj^ and alkaline salts in small quantities 
 
Piper Longxjm. — Piper Nigrum. 647 
 
 Luca found in White Pepper an acrid resin, volatile oil, extractive, 
 starch, albumen, lignin, etc. ; Poutet detected piperin. The actiyity 
 of Black Pepper, as shown by Thomson, is due partly to its volatile 
 oil, which is coloi'less when pure, has the taste and odor of pepper, a 
 specific gravity of 0.9932, and absorbs hydrochloric acid abundantly. 
 Its composition is Ci„ Hg. The resin of Pepper, undoubtedly contrib- 
 utes to its activity ; this is very acrid, soluble in ether or alcohol, but 
 not in volatile oils. M. Cahours has discovered a new alkaloid in 
 piperin, to which he has given the name of piperidine. It was obtained 
 by distilling one part of pure piperin with from two and a half to three 
 parts of caustic potassa. The products of this distillation, collected in 
 a cooled receiver, was found to be composed of water, two distinct vol'- 
 atile bases, and a trace of a neutral substance possessing an agreeable 
 aromatic odor. On treating the crude product with fragments of caus- 
 tic potassa, a light oily matter, soluble in all proportions of water, was 
 separated, and which, submitted to distillation, was almost entirely 
 disengaged between 221° and 213° P. Toward the end of the opera-, 
 tion, the thermometer rose rapidly to 410° P., and remained stationary 
 at that point. The most volatile portions^ forming more than nine-, 
 tenths of the crude material, being submitted to a second rectification, 
 distilled at a temperature of 223° P. It is a colorless liquid, forming 
 crystals with several acids, has a strong odor of ammonia, as well as 
 of pepper, restores the blue color of reddened litmus paper, has a very 
 caustic taste, dissolves in water, which it renders alkaline, and has the 
 formula Ck, Hu N. — Am. Jour. Pharm., XXY., p. 118. 
 
 Piperin was first announced in 1819, by M. (Brstedt, of Copenhagen. 
 It may be obtained by Poutet's method, viz. : Concentrate the tincture 
 of Pepper, treat it with a solution of caustic potassa of 20° B., which 
 forms a soap with the oily constituents, then dilute with water, arid 
 filter. The piperin, which is left upon the filter, may be purified by 
 dissolving it in alcohol, and crystallizing it. Christison recommends, 
 to exhaust ground White Pepper with cold rectified spirit, by percola- 
 tion, distilling off most of the spirit, and purifying the crystals which 
 slowly form in the residuum by repeatedly crystallizing them from 
 rectified spirit or pyroligneous acid. Piperin exists in Blpick,' White, 
 and Long Pepper. It crystallizes in oblique four-sided prisms, is in- 
 odorous, tasteless, of a straw color, and fusible at 212° P. ; when pure, 
 it is white. Christison states that the whitest crystals he could obtain 
 were as acrid as the brown ones, and emitted an intensely irritating 
 vapor when thrown on a heated iron plate. Piperin is only slightly 
 soluble in water or ether, but dissolves readily in alcohol or acetic acid. 
 It is isomeric with morphia, and is possessed of feebly basic properties. 
 Dilute sulphuric, nitric, and muriatic acids do not act sensibly on it. 
 But when these acids are concentrated they alter its nature. Sulphuric 
 acid gives it a blood-red color; muriatic acid produces at first an intense 
 yellow, then a red color, and forms its most stable salt. Nitric acid 
 renders it first greenish -yellow, then orange, and at last red, developing 
 an odor of bitter almonds. Its formula, according to Eegnault, is Caj 
 His ^Oe ; according to Liebig, C^ B.^ 1^0,. It is mostly neutral, but 
 forms a compound with hydrochloric acid, which unites with bichloride 
 of platinum. Piperidine is a volatile, oily base, having a pungent odor 
 recalling both that of ammonia and that of pepper ; it forms many 
 compounds. It is obtained by distilling piperine with three times its 
 weight of caustic potash, at a temperature not exceeding 320° F. ; the 
 piperidine, C^ H„ N, passes over, and a yellow, resinoid acid, piperic 
 
648 Materia Mbdica. 
 
 afcicJ, HC24 Hg Os, remains in eombinati&n with potassium. Piperidine 
 has, , when in vapor, the specific gravity 2.982; it boils at about 223° F. 
 (See remarks on Piperinic Acid, by Fittig andMielck, Am. Jour. Pharni. 
 1869, p. 427.) 
 
 ■Properties and Uses. — Black Pepper is a gastro-intestinal stimulant, 
 and is much used as a condiment to improve the flavor of food, and to 
 favor its digestion by stimulating the stomach. It has been advantage- 
 ously used as a carminative to remove flatulency, and to correct the nause- 
 ating or griping quality of other drugs, and is sometimes added to quinia 
 in cases where the stomach, from torpidity or other cause, is not acted 
 upon by the quinia alone. It has beeii. recommended as a remedy in 
 intermittents, but very often fails. The unbroken seeds of white pepper 
 taken in teaspoonful doses two or three times a day, have been recom- 
 mended to overcome the obstinate constipation of dyspeptics; they are, 
 however, rarely used at present. Piperin is occasionally employed in 
 intermittent fever, but will be found less efficient than the alcoholic ex- 
 tract of Black Pepper. Its use has also been advised in colic, diarrhea, 
 cholera, scarlatina, chronic gonorrhea, and in solution as a wash for tinea 
 capitis. Piperin should not. be administered with astringents, as it is 
 thereby rendered nearly inert. Bose of Black Pepper from five to fifteen 
 grains; of Piperin, firom one to eight grains. 
 Off. Prep. — Unguentum Piperis Nigri. 
 
 PISTACIA LENTISOUS. (Mastix Pistazie.) 
 
 Lentisk. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Anacardiacese. Sex. Syst. — Dicecia Pentandria. 
 
 THE CONCRETE RESINOUS EXUDATION. MASTICH. 
 
 Description. — The Lentisk, or Mastich-tree, is a mere bush, rarely at- 
 taining a greater height than twelve feet, and six to ten inches in diam- 
 eter. Leaves evergreen, equally pinnate; leaflets eight to twelve, usually 
 alternate, ■^ith the exception of the two upper, which are opposite, oval, 
 lanceolate, obtuse, often mucronate, entire, and perfectly smooth ; flowers 
 very small, in axillary panicles, dioecious ; raceme of the males amen- 
 taceous with one-flowered bracts ; calyx five cleft; stamens five; anthers 
 subaessile, four-cornered; females raceme more lax; ca?!/a; three-cleft; 
 ovary one to three-celled ; stigmas three, rather thick, ^uit a very 
 small, pea-shaped drupe, reddishwhen ripe, with a smooth, someivhat 
 bony nut. — Jj. 
 
 Sistory. — This plant inhabits the south of Europe, north of Africa, 
 and the Levant, and abounds particularly on the island of Chios. When 
 transverse incisions are made into its bark in the month of August, a 
 fluid exudes, which soon concretes into yellowish (translucent, brittle 
 grains. There are two kinds of it in commerce, the Picked Mastich, 
 and Mastich in Sorts. The former is the finest variety ; it is in tears of 
 various sizes, oval, roundish, or elongated, frequently flattened, smooth, 
 pale-yellow, translucent, usually covered with a whitish dust from attri- 
 tion, brittle and easily pulverized, and of a glassy fracture. The Mas- 
 tich in Sorts is a coarser kind, and is composed of many tears aggluti- 
 uatedtogether, varying in color, from pale-yellow to grayish-brown, and 
 black, together with pieces of wood, bark and sand. 
 , Mastich has a faint, agreeable, balsamic odor, which is increased by 
 heat or friction its taste is mild, rather pleasant, and terebin thine; it 
 
Pix Liquid A. 64S 
 
 softens when chewed, becoming ductile, gray, opaque, and faintly acrid. 
 At a moderate heat it melts, and at a higher temperature it burns with 
 a clear flame and balsamic fumes. It has a sp. gr. of 1.074, is insoluble 
 in water, but entirely and easily soluble iii ether, oil of turpentine, 
 boiling alcohol, or chloroform. Boiling alcohol dissolves from it a re-, 
 sinous'acid, to the amount of nine-tenths of its weight, and leaves a 
 white, ductile substance, possessing properties similar to caoutchouc, 
 and which is soluble in ether, or boiling absolute alcohol. Mastich is 
 composed of a small portion of volatile oil and resin ; this resin consists 
 of about 90 per cent, of a resin soluble in alcohol, called mastichic acid, 
 having the formula C40 H31 O4; and 10 per cent, of a white, elastic, 
 tough resin, insoluble in alcohol, but soluble in an alcoholic solution of 
 mastichic acid, also in ether, and oil of turpentine, called masticin, whose 
 formula is O40 H31 O2. Mastich is sometimes adulterated with various, 
 gum resins, etc. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Mastich is seldom employed in medicine. The 
 Turks use it as a masticatory to sweeten the breath and strengthen the 
 gums. It is sometimes employed by dentists to fill the cavities of de- 
 cayed teeth. The following preparation is recommended for this pur- 
 pose: Take of pulverized Mastich nine parts, sulphuric ether four 
 parts, mix, and digest for several days, strain it through a cloth, and 
 add native alum, in fine powder, a sufficient quantity to form a plastic 
 mass, with whicb vials holding about two drachms are to be filled, 
 having first poiired into each about thirty grains of camphorated alco- 
 hol, and fifteen of essence of cloves. This stopping introduced into the 
 cavity of a carious tooth, first well cleansed and dried, is extremely 
 useful on account of the great degree of hardness it acquires. A solu- 
 tion of Mastich in alcohol, or oil of turpentine, forms an elegant var- 
 nish. An ounce of Mastich, and half a drachm of caoutchouc dissolved 
 in four fiuidounces of chloroform, and then filtered under cover to pre- 
 vent the evaporation of the chloroform, forms an elegant microscopic 
 cement. 
 
 PIX LIQUIDA. (Theer.) 
 Tar. 
 
 History. — Tar is the dark viscid liquid obtained in the destructive 
 distillation of the waste of fir timber; it is usually prepared by making 
 a conical cavity in the earth, communicating at the bottom with a re- 
 servoir. Logs or billets of wood are then placed, so as not only to fill 
 the cavity, but to form a conical pile over it, which is covered with 
 turf or earth, and kindled at the top. The admission of air is so regu- 
 lated, that the wood burns from above downward, with a slow and 
 smothered combustion. The wood itself is reduced to charcoal, and the 
 Blnoke and vapors formed are obliged to descend into the excavation in 
 the ground, where they are condensed, and pass along with the matters 
 liquefied into the receivers. This mixture is termed Tar, Pix Liquida. 
 By long boiling. Tar is deprived pf its volatile ingredients, and con- 
 verted into pitch, Hasina nigra, or Fix- nigra. 
 
 Tar is a dark-brown, viscid, semi-fluid substance, soluble in alcohol, 
 ether, and the fixed or volatile oils. It dries up slowly when exposed 
 to the air. Water agitated with Tar acquires its odor, and a wine- 
 yellow color, and is impregnated with its oil, and acid, and a trace of 
 creasote. Heat expels from it pyroligneous acid, water, and an impure 
 volatile oil, called Oil of Tar ; tlie i-esidae in the still is pitch. Wood 
 
650 Materia Medica. 
 
 Tar is a very complex substance, nor is its composition yet thoroughly 
 understood ; a pyrogenous resin called pyretine, a pyrogenous oil-, pyro- 
 liene, acetic acid, and water, are obtained from it. Eeichenbach found 
 the oil of Tar to contain creasote, picamar, capnomor, eupion, cedriret, 
 pittacal and pyroxanthine ; pyren and chysen have likewise been found 
 in it. Paraffine is a constituent of Tar distilled from cannel coal, at a 
 low heat ; see Petroleum. 
 
 Pitch, is a black, firm substance, having a brilliant fracture, soften- 
 ing at 99° P., melting in boiling water. It is soluble in alcohol, and in 
 alkaline solutions, and consists of pyrogenous resin and colophony. 
 
 Tar is made in several northern countries of Europe, and in the 
 United States, especially in North Carolina and Virginia. For Bur- 
 gundy pitch. Fix Burgundica, see Ahies Excelsa; and for Canada pitch, 
 ■ or gum hemlock, Pix Canadensis, see Abies Canadensis. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tar is a stimulant, diuretic, and diaphoretic. 
 It has been advantageously used in chronic coughs, chronic bronchial 
 and laryngeal affections; the inhalation of its vapor acts as a stimulant 
 and irritant to the bronchial mucous membrane, promoting its secre- 
 tion, but is seldom used. It is chiefly used externally as a local appli- 
 cation to some cutaneous affections, as porrigo, tinea capitis, lepra, and 
 psoriasis, and also to obstinate ulcers. Internally, the dose of Tar is 
 from thirty to sixty grains, three or four times a day, or even oftener, 
 but it is commonly used in the form of Tar-water. A Tar-water has been 
 recommended in cough and bronchial affections and to prevent the 
 reproduction of boils, prepared as follows : To half a gallon 0/ boiling 
 water, add one pint of Tar and one pint of honey; stir the mixture, and 
 when cold strain off the liquid. It is stimulant and diuretic, and may 
 be taken three or four times a day, in doses of a wineglassful. It will 
 also be found beneficial as a wash in some forms of cutaneous disease. 
 
 B. J. Crew recommends the following: Eub two drachms of oil of 
 Tar with two scruples of carbonate of magnesia, add a portion of four- 
 teen ounces of water, mix well, and then add the balance, filter, and 
 add simple syrup two ounces. The dose is a small wineglassful, three 
 times a day. — Am. Jour. Pharm., XXVII., 13. M. Adrian gives the fol- 
 lowing formula for a glycerinated tar, which has the consistence of an 
 ointment, and the advantage of being soluble in water and of not adher- 
 ing to the skin ; take of tar 15 parts, glycerin 15 parts, water 30 parts; 
 mix. The French employ emulsions, syrups, wine, and concentrated 
 alkaline solutions of tar, which, however, have not been introduced 
 into the medical practice of this country. 
 
 Pix Nigra has been used internally in ichthyosis, and certain obstinate 
 diseases of the skin ; its dose is from ten to sixty grains, and may be 
 made into pills with flour or other farinaceous substance. Pereira 
 says it may be taken to a great extent, not only without injury, but 
 - with advantage to the general health. In piles it has been used with 
 great advantage in the form of the following ointment : Take of pitch, 
 wax, resin, each, ten ounces, olive oil one pint. Melt them together, 
 and express through linen, and when nearly cool, stir in four ounces of 
 Scotch Snuff. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Emplastrum Picis Compositse ; Unguentum PiperisNigri 
 
Plantago Major. 651 
 
 PLANTAGO COEDATA. (Herzformiger Wegetritt.) 
 
 Water Plantain. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Plantaginacese. Sex. Syst. — Tetrandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This is an indigenous perennial plant, known likewise 
 as the Heart-leaved Plantain. It is an aeaulescent herb, with stout, 
 naked scapes, one to two feet in height. Leaves radical, cordate-ovate, 
 broad, smooth, somewhat toothed, thickish, about six itiches long, six 
 or eight ribbed below with a thick midrib, on long stout petioles. 
 Flowers small, whitish, somewhat imbricate, the lower one scattered, 
 and on elongated spikes which are from six to eight inches long ; bracts 
 ovate, obtuse. Calyx and corolla lobes, very obtuse. Pyxis a third 
 longer than the calyx, two-celled, with two seeds in each cell. — G. — W. 
 
 History. — This plant grows in moist places, and along the banks of 
 rivers, from New York and New Jersey to Tennessee ; also from Ohio 
 to Wisconsin, and flowers from April to August. The root is the part 
 used, and yields its properties to water; it has not been analyzed. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The root of Plantago Cordata is astringent, 
 anodyne, antispasmodic, and anti-emetic. The decoction and extract 
 have been successfully used in Asiatic cholera, checking the disease in 
 a short time; they have likewise proved beneficial in dysentery. The 
 plant is certainly deserving more extended investigation. A poultice 
 of the roots is recommended as an application to old, indolent ulcers, 
 bruises, wounds, etc. ; it allays inflammation, and. reduces swelling. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Extractum Plantaginis Cordatae Hydro-alcoholicum. 
 
 PLANTAGO MAJOE. (Grosser Wegetritt.) 
 
 Plantain. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Plantaginacese. Sex. Syst. — Tetrandria Monogynia. 
 
 ROOT and tops. 
 
 Description. — This is a perennial aeaulescent plant with a round scape 
 one to three feet in height, arising from a fibrous root. Leaves ovate, 
 smoothish, somewhat toothed, five to seven nerved, each of which con- 
 tains a strong fiber which may be pulled out, and abruptly narrowed 
 into a long, channeled petiole. Flowers white, very small, imbricated, 
 numerous, on a cylindrical spike five to twenty inches long. Small 
 plants are frequently found with the spikes only half an inch to two 
 inches long, and the leaves and stalks proportionally small. Stamens 
 and styles long; seeds numerous.— G'. — W. 
 
 History. — Plantain is a well known herb, growing in rich moist places, 
 in fields, by the road-sides, and in grass -plats, and common in Europe 
 and America. It flowers from May to October. The root has a spme- 
 what sweetish, salty taste ; the leaves are bitterish and unsavory. The 
 plant loses its medicinal activity by drying; all its preparations should 
 be made from the freshly gathered root and tops. Water or alcohol 
 extracts the virtues of the plant; it has not been analyzed. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Plantain is alterative, diuretic, and antiseptic, 
 once considered vulnerary. The tops and roots in strong decoction, 
 have been highly recommended in syphilitic, mercurial, and scrofulous 
 diseases, in the dose of from two to four fluidounces, three or four times 
 a day. It is likewise reputed beneficial in menorrhagia, leucorrhea, 
 
652 Materia Medica. 
 
 hematuria, diarrhea, dysentery, and hemorrhoids. The juice taken 
 internally, in doses of one fluidounce every hour, and also applied to 
 the wound, is in high repute as an antidote to the bites of venomous 
 serpents, spiders, and insects. Externally, the bruised leaves, or an 
 oi;itment made with them., is useful in wounds, ulcers, ophthalmia, salt- 
 rheum, erysipelas, and some other cutaneous affections. The best form 
 of administration is the juice dissolved in diluted alcohol, and evapo- 
 rated by gentle heat to the consistence of an extract. 
 
 PLTJMBI ACBTAS. (Essigsaures Bleixoyd.) 
 Acetate of Lead. — Bleizucker. 
 
 Preparation. — Acetate of Lead is likewise known by the several names 
 of Sugar of Lead, Superacetate of Lead, Saccharum Saturni. It is pre- 
 pared by placing thin lead plates into earthen vessels along with acetic 
 acid. The portion of the lead near the surface, and which is exposed 
 to the action of the air, as soon as it is covered with a coat of oxide, ia 
 removed to the bottom of the vessel, and new plates, or new surfaces 
 of the same plates, are brought to the surface that the oxygen of the 
 atmosphere may oxidize them. These are incrusted in their turn, when 
 they are also removed to the bottom where the oxide is dissolved 
 This change of place is continued daily until the acid has dissolved a 
 sufficient quantity of lead. It is then filtered, and sufficiently concen- 
 trated by evaporation. As it cools, the Acetate of Lead crystallizes. 
 Some manufacturers dissolve the carbonate of lead, prepared by expos- 
 ing the metal to the fumes of vinegar ; or they make use of litharge in 
 its stead, and the solution is evaporated in the usual way till the salt 
 crystallizes. Christison says, it may be obtained speedily by sprink- 
 ling weak acetic acid over coarsely granulated lead, contained in covered 
 vessels, upon which oxide of lead is immediately formed with the dis- 
 engagement of heat — then dissolving out the oxide by means of more 
 diluted acid, which is saturated by passing it through several vessels 
 in succession — and repeating the sprinkling and solution alternately 
 until the lead is consumed. Whatever method be followed, it is always 
 necessary that a slight excess of acid be present, in order to obtain a 
 perfect and easy crystallization. 
 
 History. — Acetate of Lead is prepared in considerable quantities in 
 this country, England, Holland, and Prance. The manufacturers dis- 
 till their own acid in England and Holland from sour beer, and in 
 France from sour wine. The article found in the shops has usually the 
 appearance of a confused white mass of interlaced needle-like crystals, 
 having an acetous odor, and a powerful, sweet-astringent taste. It 
 crystallizes in transparent, colorless, right rhombic prisms, terminated 
 at each extremity by two converging planes placed upon the acute angled 
 edges, or truncated on two edges so as to form six-sided prisms. — C. 
 They slightly effloresce in a dry and warm atmosphere, and are liable 
 to decomposition by the carbonic acid of the air, rendering them par- 
 tially insoluble. The specific gravity of Acetate of Lead is 2.575 ; it is 
 dissolved by alcohol, 200 grains of alcohol of 0.835 will dissolve 15.7 
 grains, at 60° ; cold water dissolves from one-fourth to three-fifths its 
 weight of it ; boiling water still more. "When it is dissolved in water, 
 a small quantity of white powder usually falls ; it is carbonate of lead, 
 formed by the carbonic acid, which usually exists in water, — a small 
 quantity of weak acetic acid will redissolve this deposit, and render 
 
Plumbi Acetas, fi53 
 
 the solutiori clear. Heated with sulphuric acid, the vapor of acetic 
 acid is disengaged, and sulphate of lead is deposited. When heated, the 
 salt fuses in its water of crystallization ; at a heat of 320° its whole 
 water, with a small proportion of its acid, is speedily discharged, and 
 a heavy, white, opaque mass remains ; a higher heat fuses it again, de- 
 composes it, and disengages acetic acid, and acetone or pyro-acetic 
 acid ; and as the temperature rises further a brownish black mass is 
 formed, which, when urged with a stronger heat, yields globules of 
 metallic lead. — C. In the air-pump vacuum, and with the aid of sul- 
 phuric acid or quick -lime to absorb water as it escapes, the Acetate of 
 Lead falls into a white powder, which is completely anhydrous. The 
 constituents of Acetate of Lead are, one atom of acetic acid 51.48, one 
 atom of protoxide of lead 111.6, and three atoms of water 27. Its 
 formula is Pb 0+0^ H^ O^-f 3 HO, or A+Pb 0+3 HO. Acetate of Lead 
 is incompatible with alkalies, most of the earths and'acids, especially 
 those acids and their compounds which form with lead a salt nearly in- 
 soluble in water, as the sulphuric, phosphoric, muriatic, fluoric, oxalic, 
 malic, etc., and partially by even water containing carbonic acid. Ace- 
 tate of Lead maybe known as pure by the following tests: it is soluble 
 in distilled water, from which solution carbonate of soda throws down 
 a white carbonate of lead ; iodide of potassium throws down a yellow 
 iodide of lead ; hydrosulphuric acid throws down a black sulphuret of 
 lead. It is entirely soluble in distilled water acidulated with acetic acid; 
 48 grains thus dissolved, are not entirelj' precipitated by a solution of 
 30 grains of phosphate of soda. As 30 grains of the latter salt will just 
 decompose 47.66 grains of Acetate of Lead ; hence, if 48 grains or a 
 140th part more of the latter salt be used, the solution will be affected 
 after filtration, by a further addition of phosphate, provided the acetate 
 be tolerably pure. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Acetate of Lead in doses of from one to four 
 grains, every one, two, or four hours, is an efiicacious astringent and 
 sedative; it is usually given in pill form. In large doses it is an irri- 
 tant; and in long continued small doses it may induce the peculiar 
 constitutional action of the preparations of lead. Its best antidote is 
 sulphate of soda, sulphate of magnesia, or phosphate of soda, which 
 should be followed by emetics if necessary, and then by alternate pur- 
 gatives and opium. G-enerally an excess is followed bj'^ vomiting, which 
 prevents any serious injury, and as long as the bowels are kept regular, 
 its effects upon the constitution are seldom experienced. Large doses 
 have at times been taken, even to several drachms, without occasion- 
 ing more than severe sickness, some pain in the stomach, vomiting, etc. 
 Ko fatal case has yet been recorded. Some practitioners make exten- 
 sive use of it in active or passive hemorrhages from the lungs, bowels, 
 womb, etc., in which it is employed with the view of diminishing the 
 caliber of the bleeding vessels, thereby checking the flow ; it is gener- 
 ally given in connection with opium. It has also been .exhibited in 
 colliquative diarrhea, chronic dysentery, to check excessive secretion' 
 in bronchitis, to remove obstinate mercurial ptyalism, and in gastric 
 irritability attending certain forms of fever. In passive hemorrhages, 
 the following has been found efScient : Take of Acetate of Lead two 
 grains, opium half a grain to a grain, capsicum two grains, form into 
 a pill with conserve of roses, and give one every hour or two ; in urgent 
 cases every ten minutes. While administering this agent, the gums 
 should be frequently examined, and as soon as a blue line is observed 
 along their edge, indicative of its constitutional influence, its use should 
 
654 Materia Medica. 
 
 be stopped. Many practitioners, however, denounce its internal admin- 
 istration, and employ it occasionally, in solution, as an external appli- 
 cation, in cases of superficial inflammations, as in erythema, erysipelas, 
 spreading inflammation of the subcutaneous cellular tissue, and in many 
 cutaneous diseases. The solution may be made by dissolving a drachm 
 of the salt in five or eight fluiuounces of distilled water, to which a 
 •fluidrachmof distilled vinegar may be added to prevent the oxide from 
 being thrown down. One or two grains dissolved in a fluidounce of 
 pure water forms a common collyrium. In inflammations opium is often 
 (.enjoined with it, four grains of each being added to every fluidounce 
 of water. So much improvement has been recently made in American 
 practice, that we believe even the external use of this agent can be, 
 in a great measure, dispensed with. 
 Off. Prep.- — -Lotio Myrrhse Composita. 
 
 PLUMBI OXIDUM EUBEUM. (Eothes Bleioxyd.) 
 Eed Oxide of Lead. — Mennig. 
 
 Preparation. — Eed Oxide of Lead, also known by the name of Red- 
 lead, Minium, etc., is prepared on a large scale by the manufacturing 
 chemists. It is obtained from the protoxide of lead (yellow massicot), 
 by exposing it, under the access of air, to a temperature just short 
 of what is required to cause fusion, stirring it occasionally, for a day 
 and a half or upward, and allowing the product to cool slowly. 
 The Prench prepare it from litharge, in well-closed tin boxes, unci 
 heated to about 600°, and then cooled slowly. It absorbs oxygen, and 
 is converted into Eed-lead. The finest Eed-lead is procured by calcin- 
 ing the oxide of lead obtained from the carbonate, and known as orange- 
 mineral. 
 
 History. — Eed-lead is a tasteless powder, of an intense red color, often 
 inclining to orange, and very heavy, its specific gravity being 9.096. 
 It loses no sensible weight in a heat of 400°, but when heated to red- 
 ness, it gives out oxygen gas, and gradually runs into a dark-brown 
 glass of considerable hardness. Eed-lead is used in the manufacture 
 of flint-glass, which is a silicate of lead, and which is an exceedingly 
 brilliant and fusible glass. It is insoluble in water. Nitrous acid dis- 
 solves it entirely, forming nitrate of protoxide of lead ; because the 
 excess of oxygen in Eed-lead converts the nitrous into nitric acid. 
 Diluted nitric acid instantly renders it dark-brown, resolving it into 
 two oxides, one of them the protoxide, which is dissolved, and the other 
 the peroxide or binoxide, which remains. It is not very liable to adul- 
 teration, though occasionally impurities are found in it. Pure Eed-lead 
 is wholly soluble in highly-fuming nitrous acid ; partially soluble in 
 diluted nitric acid, a brown powder being left. When Eed-lead is acted 
 upon by nitric acid, and the solution gives a black precipitate with tinct- 
 ure of galls, red oxide of iron is present. Gelis and Fordos propose to de- 
 tect adulterations by boiling the suspected article in water, with sugar 
 and a small quantity of nitric acid ; the Eed-lead is entirely dissolved 
 if it be pure, leaving the foreign matters. According to Dumas, the 
 Eed-lead of commerce is a mixture or compound of pure Eed-lead, the 
 deutoxide of lead, and the protoxide. Eed-lead does not unite with 
 acids or alkalies ;' nitric acid converts it into the protoxide and perox- 
 ide of lead. Chemists differ as to the constitution of Eed-lead ; it ie 
 generally considered to consist of three equivalents of lead and four of 
 
Podophyllum Peltatum. ij55 
 
 oxygen, so united as to constitute it a compound of two equivalents of 
 protoxide, and one of peroxide or plumbic acid (2PbO-)-Pb02) that is, 
 223.2 parts of the former oxide, and 119.6 of the latter. — C. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The only purpose for which this article is used, 
 is in the formation of plasters, as, for instance, the Black-Plaster or 
 Black-Salve, a usefal and efficacious agent in cuts, wounds, ulcers, some 
 cutaneous affections, etc. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Bmplastrum Plumbi Compositum; Unguentum Plumbi 
 Gompositum. 
 
 PODOPHYLLUM PELTATUM. (Maiapfel.) 
 
 Mandrake. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Berberidace», Brown ; Podophylleae, Lindley. Sex. Syst. 
 — Polyandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE RHIZOMA, OR ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant is also known by the several names of May- 
 apple, Wild-lemon, Raccoon-berry, Wild Mandrake, etc. It is an indige- 
 nous, perennial herb, with a long, jointed, dark -brown rhizoma or root, 
 about half the size of the finger, spreading extensively in rich grounds 
 in which it is introduced, and giving off fibers at the joints ; irrternally, 
 it is yellowish. Stem simple, round, smooth, erect, dividing at top into 
 two round petioles from three to six inches long, each petiole supports 
 a leaf; it is about a foot high, and invested at its base by the sheaths 
 which covered it when in bud. Leaves large, peltate-palmate, oftener 
 cordate, in from five to nine wedge-shaped lobes, each lobe six' inches 
 long from the insertion of the petiole, two-lobed and dentate at the 
 apex ; smooth, yellowish -green on the upper surface, paler and slightly 
 pubescent beneath. In barren stems which support but one leaf, the 
 peltate character is the most perfect. Flower solitary in the fork of 
 the stem, on a round nodding j)edunele one or two inches long, white, 
 large, about two inches in diameter, somewhat fragrant. Calyx three 
 oval, obtuse, concave, caducous sepals, which cohere in the bud by their 
 scarious margins. Corolla six to nine white, obovate, obtuse, smooth, 
 concave ^etafe, curiously netted with slight, transpareiit veins. Stamens , 
 from nine to twenty, shorter than the petals, curving upward, with yel- 
 low, oblong anthers twice as long as the filaments, not opening by per- 
 fect uplifted valves. Ovary oval, compressed, obscurely angular. Stig- 
 ma subsessile, convex, its surface rendered irregular by numerous folds 
 and convolutions. Fruit fleshy, ovoid-oblong, one-celled, one or two 
 inches in length, of a lemon color, with brownish spots when ripe, and 
 crowned with the large, persistent stigma ; the flavor of the mucilagi- 
 nous pulp is somewhat similar to that of a strawberry, and incloses 
 twelve seeds in pulpy arils. — L. — W. — G-. 
 
 History. — Mandrake is found throughout the United States in low. 
 shady situations, rich woods and flelds, flowering in May and June. 
 and maturing its fruit in September and October. It is quite common 
 in the Middle and Western States, rare in New England. The fruit 
 has a somewhat acid taste, and is much liked by some persons, while 
 it is very disagreeable to others; it possesses slightly laxative and 
 diuretic properties. The properties of the leaves are not satisfactorily 
 determined, though deemed poisonous. The root was well known to 
 the Indians as an active cathartic ; the proper time for collecting it is 
 n the latter part of October, or early part of November, soon after the 
 
656 Materia Medica, 
 
 ripening of the fruit. As found in the shops, the dried root is gener- 
 ally broken, from one to four or more inches in length, varying in 
 thickness from one to four lines,. deep-brown or blackish externally, 
 dingy white internally, corrugated longitudinally, knotty and swollen 
 at intervals, and beset with the remains of the radicles. It is faintly 
 odorous, with a saccharine, bitter taste, succeeded by some acridity. 
 It is readily reduced to a grayish powder, having somewhat tbe odor 
 of Ipecacuanha. It breaks with a short fracture. Its active principles 
 are readily taken up by alcohol, or ether ; water takes up only a por- 
 tion of its activity. Mr, John E. Lewis found the root to contain a 
 resin soluble in alcohol or ether, a resin soluble in alcohol but not in 
 ether, gum, starch, albumen, extractive matter, gallic acid, fixed oil, 
 potassa and lime salts, lignin, traces of essential oil, etc. — Am. Jour. 
 Pharm., XIX., 165. ¥. Mayer has recently found berberin to be one of 
 the proximate principles of this root, also saponin. Both resins are 
 purgative, and probably compose our medicinal resin of podophyUum. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — If the fresh plant or root be taken, it will act as 
 an irritant and poison, causing hypercatharsis, hyperemesis, gripings, 
 and other unpleasant symptoms ; the recently dried root is a drastic 
 cathartic and emetic in doses of from thirty to sixty grains; but the 
 violence of its action is materially modified hj age, or roasting. Man- 
 drake is cathartic, emetic, alterative, anthelmintic, hydragogue, and 
 sialagogue. It is an active and certain cathartic, being equal, if not 
 superior to jalap, though operating more slowly. When given in com- 
 bination with bitartrate of potassa, it causes watery stools, on which 
 account it has been found serviceable in dropsical affections. As a 
 deobstl?uent, it is one of the most valuable in our Materia Medica, act- 
 ing through and upon all the tissues of the system — and its action con- 
 tinues for a long time. Small doses, repeated at short intervals, to fall 
 short of catharsis, will induce ptyalism with many persons. In bilious 
 and typhoid febrile diseases, it is very valuable as a cathartic, or emeto- 
 cathartic, often breaking up the disease at once. Its cathartic opera- 
 tion is apt to be slow, sometimes remaining twenty-four hours, and 
 producing considerable distress, which is, however, more than compen- 
 sated for, by the thorough and cleansing manner in which it acts. In 
 chronic hepatitis, there is not its superior in the whole range of medi- 
 cines, being vastly more useful than mercurial agents, arousing the 
 liver to a healthy action, increasing the flow of bile, and keeping up 
 these actions longer than any other agent with which we are ac- 
 quainted. In alterative doses, it has been found exceedingly valuable 
 in scrofula, syphilitic diseases, rheumatism, and many other forms of 
 chronic disease. In constipation, it acts upon the bowels, without dis- 
 posing them to subsequent costiveness. It has likewise been found very 
 beneficial in dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, incontinence of urine, worms, 
 and some affections of the bladder. Dose of the powdered root, as a 
 cathartic, from ten to thirty grains ; of the tincture from ten to sixty 
 drops ; as a sialagogue and alterative, from three to ten grains of the 
 powder, or from five to twenty drops of the tincture. Since the prepa- 
 ration of resin of podophyllum the crude drug is seldom employed. The 
 Podophyllum Montanum of Eafinesque, having a slender, deeply furrowed 
 stem, the leaves with sharp, bifid segments, palmate, not peltate, with 
 narrow sinuses, and many unequal teeth ; the petals six to seven, ob- 
 long, obtuse; stamens seven to nine, and berry yellowish, oblong, is 
 possessed of similar medicinal properties. 
 
 Off. Prey. — Decoctum Podophylli ; Emplastrum Picis Compositum ; 
 
POLYGALA NUTTALLII. 657 
 
 PilulsB Aloes Compositse; Tinctura Corydalis Comp. ; Tinctura Podo- 
 
 phylli. 
 
 POLBMONIUM EBPTAl^rS. (Kricehendes Sperrkraut.) 
 
 American Greek -Valerian. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Polemoniacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This is an indigenous perennial plant, sometimes known 
 as Blue Bells, Jacob's Ladder, etc. It has a creeping root, and a smooth, 
 erect, weak, fleshy, diffusely-branched stem, twelve to twenty inches 
 high. Leaves alternate, pinnately divided ; leaflets seven to eleven, 
 ovate-lanceolate, acute, subopposite, smooth, entire, sessile, an inch 
 long and half as wide; wpper leaflets sometimes confluent. Flowers 
 numerous, terminal, rather large, nodding, on short petioles, blue, 
 nearly bractless. Calyx campanulate, five-cleft ; segments lanceolate- 
 acute, persistent, much shorter than the tube of the corolla. Corolla 
 rotate-campanulate, limb five-lobed, erect, tube short, closed at the 
 base by five stameniferous valves. Stamens five, equally inserted at 
 the summit of the corolla-tube ; filaments slender, declined, hairy ap- 
 pendaged at the base ; anthers introrse. Capsules three-celled, three- 
 valved ; cells two to three-seeded. — W. — Q. 
 
 History. — This is a handsome plant, growing in woods, damp grounds, 
 and along shady river banks, from N"ew York to Wisconsin, bearing 
 blue flowers in May. The root is the part used, and yields its virtues 
 to water; it has not been analyzed. The Polemonium Cceruleum, or 
 Greek -Yalerian, is a native of England. It is larger and more numer- 
 ously-flowered than the above, and is often found cultivated in gardens. 
 Stems about two feet high, stout, hollow, several from the same root, 
 each dividing at top into a corymbose panicle. Leaves mostly radical, 
 on long, grooved petioles, pinnately eleven to seventeen foliate ; segments 
 sessile, ovate-lanceolate, subopposite, acuminate, oblique, odd one lance- 
 olate. Flowers blue, terminal, suberect. This plant, probably, possesses 
 medicinal virtues similar to the one above. — TF. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Alterative, diaphoretic, and astringent. A warm 
 infusion of the root will, it is said, produce copious perspiration, and 
 has been found serviceable in pleurisy, febrile and inflammatory 
 diseases. The tincture, made of whisky, in doses of from one to two 
 fluidounces, two or three times a day, has been found valuable in all 
 scrofulous diseases, and other chronic diseases where an alterative is 
 indicated. The infusion is recommended in the bites of venomous 
 snakes and insects, and in bowel complaints requiring the use of astrin- 
 gents. Eeported to have cured consumption. Useful in bronchial and 
 laryngeal affections. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Polemonii. 
 
 POLYGALA NUTTALLII. (Nuttall's Kreutzblume.) 
 
 Ground Centaury. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Polygalacese. Sex. Syst. — Diadelphia Octandria. 
 
 THE WHOLE PLANT. 
 
 Description. — This plant also called Nuttall's Polygala, the Polygala 
 Nuttallii, of Torrey and Gray, and the Polygala Fastigiata or P. San- 
 42 
 
658 Materia Medica. 
 
 guinea of Nuttall, is an annual plant, with erect, often branched-fastig- 
 iate stems from six to twelve inches in height; sometimes fifteen or 
 more stems will grow from one root, and on the root will be observed 
 something resembling a nearly developed flower. Leaves linear, scat- 
 tered, acutish, about half an inch long, and one or two lines broad. 
 Flowers rose-purple, deciduous, in rather loose, ovoid-globose spikes, 
 half an inch to nearly an inch long, and four to six lines in diameter. 
 Wings of the calyx oblong, tapering to a claw twice longer than the fruit. 
 Crest of the corolla minute. Seeds black, with an investing caruncle.- 
 W.—N.—T.—a. 
 
 History. — This plant grows in pine barrens and dry sandy soils, from 
 Massachusetts to Ifew Jersey, and southward near the coast, flowering 
 from July to October. — G. The whole plant is used ; it yields its vir- 
 tues to water or alcohol. The P. Nuttallii and the P. Fastigiata are 
 described by botanists as different species, but they closely resemble 
 each other, and possess the same properties. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tonic, alterative, diuretic, and anti-furuncular. 
 It is much used as a domestic medicine on Long Island, N". T., where 
 it has the reputation of being almost infallible as a remedy in fever and 
 ague. Two or three drachms of the plant made into a strong decoction 
 will act as a purgative. It is much used, also, as an alterative in boils, 
 cutaneous eruptions, and especially in erysipelas. A gentleman who had 
 a large boil under his arm, which was on the verge of suppuration, and 
 several smaller ones on his arms and body, macerated about two drachms 
 of the plant in half a pint of whisky, of which he took a tablespoonful 
 three times a day. On the second day after commencing its use, he dis- 
 charged nearly four times the usual amountof urine, which weakened him 
 considerably; his appetite improved very much, and his boils disap- 
 peared without suppurating. I have found this plant decidedly efficar 
 cious in erysipelas and boils, and take pleasure in recommending it to 
 the profession as a valuable remedial agent, whose powers are not yet 
 fully understood. 
 
 POLYGALA EUBELLA. (Eothliche Kreutzblume.) 
 
 Bitter Polygala. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Polygalacese. Sex. Syst. — Diadelphia Octandria. 
 
 THE KOOt'aND herb. 
 
 Description. — This is the Polygala Polygama of "Walter. It is an indi- 
 genous herb, with a perennial, branched, and somewhat fusiform root 
 Stems simple, crowded, many from the same root, angular, smooth, and 
 erect, from six to twelve feet high. Leaves linear, oblong, mucronate, 
 smooth, alternate below; linear-lanceolate, obtuse, sessile above. Flowers 
 crested, purple, in terminal or lateral racemes ; the former spike-form, 
 loose, with the flowers perfect and winged ; the latter leafless, prostrate 
 or subterraneous, wingless, and nearly apetalous. Wing' of the calyx 
 broadly obovate, and longer than the crested corolla. Anthers eight,-in 
 two equal parcels. Bracts small, subulate, caducous. Lobes of the 
 caruncle two, scale-like, shorter than the seed. — L. — G. — W. — -B. 
 
 History. — This plant inhabits fields and pastures from Canada to 
 Florida, being common to dry sandy or gravelly soils, and bearing 
 handsome, rose-purple flowers in July. The whole plant is used. It 
 is inodorous, with a persistent and powerfully bitter taste, which is 
 imparted to water or alcohol. It has not been analyzed. The Poly- 
 
PoLYGALA Senega. 6B9 
 
 gala Amara and the Polygala Paucifolia, or Fringed Polygala, possess 
 similar properties, and may be employed as substitutes; the root of the 
 latter has a pleasant, spicy flavor, very similar to that of Gaultheria. 
 P'roperties and Uses: — In doses of from three to ten grains it is an 
 excellent bitter tonic ; from ten to thirty grains it acts upon the bowels, 
 and causes slight diaphoresis. An infusion has been found beneficial 
 as a tonic in debility of the digestive organs. It may be used in al) 
 cases where a bitter tonic is indicated. — Bigelow. 
 
 POLYG-ALA SENEGA. (Senega Kreutzblume.) 
 
 Seneka. 
 
 Ifat. Ord. — Polygalacese. Sex. Syst. — Diadelphia Octandria. 
 
 THE BOOT. 
 
 Description. — Seneka is an indigenous plant, with a perennial, firm, 
 hard branching root, consisting of a moderately solid wood, and a thick 
 bark ; it sends up several annual stems, which are erect, simple, smooth, 
 eight to fourteen inches high, occasionally tinged with red. Leaves 
 alternate, nearly or quite sessile, lanceolate, with a sharpish point, 
 smooth, paler underneath, one to three inches long, about one-third as 
 wide. Flowers white, on short pedicels, in a close "terminal spike, from 
 one to three inches in length. Calyx of five sepals, the two largest or 
 wings concave, roundish-ovate, white, slightly veined, larger than the 
 petals. Corolla of three petals, two lateral and obtuse, and a short- 
 crested extremity, they are small and closed. Capsules small, obeor- 
 date, invested by the persistent calyx, compressed, two-celled, two- 
 valved. Seeds two, oblong-ovate, acute at one end, slightly hairy, 
 curved, blackish, with a longitudinal, bifid, white strophiola on the 
 concave side. The spike opens slowly, so that the lower flowers are 
 in fruit while the upper ones are in blossom. — L. — W. 
 
 History. — Seneka, or Sefneca Snake-root, as it is usually called, is 
 found in various parts of the United States in rocky woods, and on 
 hill-sides, flowering in July. It is found in the greatest abundance in 
 the Southern and Western States, and is rare in the Eastern. The dried 
 root, which is the officinal part, varies in size from two to four or five 
 lines in diameter ; it is crooked, presents a number of eminences, and 
 terminates superiorly in an irregular tuberosity, which seems to be 
 formed by the junction of several stems ; a carinate line extends the 
 whole length of the root. The cortical part is wrinkled, marked with 
 transverse fissures, thick, and of a grayish-yellow color. The meditul-*, 
 lium or central portion is woody, white, and possesses but little or no 
 medicinal properties, which reside chiefly in the thick, resinous-like 
 bark. The recent root has a disagreeable, sickening odor, which di- 
 minishes very much by drying; its taste somewhat saccharo-mucilagi- 
 nous, succeeded by heat and pungency, irritating the mouth and fauces. 
 It imparts it virtues to water or alcohol ; alcohol of sp, gr. 0.935, is its 
 best solvent. The infusion is stronger than the decoction, and should 
 be prepared by displacement, the water used having the temperature 
 of about 104° P. Too high a temperature renders the acrid principle 
 insoluble in water. Seneca Snake-root has been analyzed by PeneuUe, 
 Dulong, Folchi, and other chemists, with variable results; the latest 
 and most elaborate analysis was made by M. Quevenne in 1836; he 
 obtained, an acrid matter which he named polygalic acid, virgineic 
 
360 Materia Medica. 
 
 acid, pectic acid, tannic acid, yellow bitter coloring matter, cerin, fixed 
 oil, gum, albumen, woody fiber, salts, alumina, silica,, magnesia and 
 iron. — P. 
 
 Prof. W. Procter has given the following process for obtaining poly- 
 galic acid: Boil sixteen ounces of powdered Seneka in four pints of al- 
 cohol 35° B., for fifteen minutes ; allow it to cool, then throw the whole 
 on a displacement filter, with two ounces of animal charcoal purified, 
 and when the liquid ceases to pass add more alcohol until six pints of 
 tincture are obtained. Distill off the alcohol till of asj'rupy consistence, 
 wash this with sufficient ether until all fatty matter is removed, and 
 throw the residue into several times its bulk of concentrated alcohcL 
 After standing for twenty-four hours, the polygalic acid will be precipi- 
 tated as a light brown powder, which is collected on a filter, washed 
 with cold, strong alcohol, and dried. 
 
 Prof B. S. "Wayne has prepared it by the following method : Evapo- 
 rate, a saturated tincture of the root, adding water from time to time as 
 the alcohol escapes, filter to separate the resin, and to the filtered liquid 
 add siibacetate of lead ; wash the precipitated polygalate of lead by 
 sulphhydric acid, which forms an insoluble sulphide of lead, leaving 
 the polygalic acid in solution. Heat the solution to expel the excess of 
 sulphhydric acid (and if colored, add animal charcoal), then filter, 
 evaporate on a water bath to the conisistence of syrup, throw this in 
 alcohol, and on standing the polygalic acid will precipitate. 
 
 Polyg-alic acid, or Polygalin, or Senegin, is a white, odorless powder, 
 tasteless at firgt, but soon communicating an acrid, pungent feeling to 
 the mouth, and produces a painful constriction in the fauces. The 
 powder excites violent sneezing. It is easily soluble in boiling water 
 or alcohol, but insoluble in ether and oils; gives no definite compounds 
 with bases, and contains no azote. It is not altered by exposure to the 
 air. Its solution has an acid reaction. Its formula is C22 Hjg On, while 
 'that of Saponin, with which it is closely analogous, is Cjs Hjj Oij. 
 Chemists are not agreed as to its true character. . • 
 
 The Polygala Sanguinea, or Caducous Polygala, and thp Polygala 
 ' Chamcebuxus possess similar properties with the Seneka and may be 
 used as a substitute. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In large doses, Seneka is emetic and cathartic ; 
 in ordinary doses it stimulates most of the secretions, acting especially 
 as a sialagogue, expectorant, diuretic, diaphoretic, and emmenagogue. 
 Its expectorant properties render it very useful in chronic catarrh, and 
 protracted pneumonia, also in humoral asthma, and in the commencing 
 stages of croup. In active inflammation its use is contra-indicated. In 
 . relaxed sore-throat it is recommended as a local stimulant ; also as a 
 diaphoretico-diuretic in rheumatism, and as an emmenagogue in amen- 
 orrhea. Dose of the powdered root, from five to twenty grains ; of the 
 infusion or syrup, from half a fliiidounce to two fluidounees. The ex- 
 tract prepared from an infusion of the root, obtained by percolation, 
 and evaporated to the proper consistence by means of a water-bath, 
 may be given in doses of from one to four grains. Polygalic acid may 
 be given for the same purposes as the root, in doses of from one-fourtb 
 to oncThalf of a grain ; it is best taken in hot sweetened water. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Infusum Senegas ; Tinctnra Laricis Composita. 
 
POLYCONCiM PUNCTATUM, 661 
 
 POLYGONUM PUNCTATUM. (Gefleckter Knoterich.) 
 
 Water Pepper. 
 Nat. Ore?.— Polj'gomaceffi. Sex. Syst. — Octandria Trigynia. 
 
 THE WHOLE HEEB. 
 
 Description. — This plant, sometimes called Smart-weed, is the Polygonum 
 Hydropiper of Michanx. It is an annual plant, with a smooth stem, 
 branched, often decumbent at base, slender, jointed, swelling above the 
 joints, an4 of a reddish or greenish-brown color, sprinkled with gland- 
 ular dots, from one to two feet in height. Boot white, whorled and 
 fibrous. I/eaves alternate, lanceolate, petiolate, punctate with pellucid 
 dots, wavy and scabrous on the margin, two or three inches long, and 
 not more than one-fifth as wide; petioles sheathing, inflated, fringed. 
 Flowers small, greenish-white or purple, in slender, loose, interrupted, 
 drooping, but finally erect spikes or racemes ; bracts remotely alternate. 
 Calyx four or five cleft, covered with glandulajr dots. Stamens six to 
 eight ; styles two to three, united at the base, and half way up. JPYuit 
 either lenticular or three-sided, opaque, roughish. Seed one. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — Polygonum Punctatum, is a well known, intensely acrid 
 plant, found growing in nearly all parts of the United States, in ditches, 
 low grounds, among rubbish, and about brooks and water-courses, flower- 
 ing in August and September. There are many species of Polygonum 
 but which, although possessing similar virtues, yet difl'er materially in. 
 their medical potency. The whole plant is officinal, and has a biting, 
 pungent, acrid taste, and imparts its virtues to alcohol or water. Age 
 renders it inert, and heat impairs its medical qualities. It should be 
 collected and made into a tincture while fresh. The plant has not been 
 analyzed. 
 
 The Polygonum Persicaria, called Ladies' Thumb, or Spotted Knotweed^ 
 possesses similar but inferior medicinal properties, and may be distin- 
 guished from the above by the deeper green or purplish color of the 
 whole plant, a brownish, heart-shaped spot near the center of the leaf, 
 and its roSe-colored flowers, in short, dense, terminal spikes. It has a 
 feebly astringent saline taste, and at one time was considered antiseptic. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Water-pepper is stimulant, diuretic, emmena- 
 gogue, antiseptic, diaphoretic, and vesicant. Dr. Bberle found it very 
 eflBcacious in amenorrhea, in the dose of a teaspoonful of the saturated 
 tincture, repeated four or five times a day, or from two to five grains of 
 the aqueous extract ; probably, an alcoholic extract would be found more 
 active. He states that the use of it caused an increase of the heat of 
 the body with a kind of formication, with bearing down and sense of 
 fullness in the pelvic region. The infusion in cold water has been found 
 serviceable in gravel, colds, and coughs, and in milk -sickness and mixed 
 with wheat-bran in bowel complaints. In Asiatic cholera, the patients 
 wrapped in a sheet moistened with a hot decoction, are said to have 
 been much benefited, and recovered. In combination with sulphate of 
 iron and gum myrrh, it is said to have cured epilepsy — probably de- 
 pendent on some uterine derangement. Externally used as fomentation, 
 in gangrene, simmered in water and vinegar; the infusion, or a fomen- 
 tation of the leaves has been beneficially applied in chronic ulcers, and 
 hemorrhoidal tumors, also as a wash in chronic erysipelatous inflani 
 mations, as a fomentation in tympanitis and flatulent colic. The fresh 
 • leaves bruised with the leaves of mayweed, and moistened with oil of 
 turpentine and applied to the skin, will speedily vesicate. The ashes of 
 
662 Materia Medica. 
 
 the plant combined with the ashes of the garden thyme, Thymus Vul- 
 garis, are, it is said, iised by many empirics as a solvent for gravel and 
 stone, injected, in solution, into tbe bladder; hazardous and doubtful 
 treatment. The infusion in cold water, forms an excellent local appli- 
 cation in the sore-mouth of nursing women, and in mercurial pLyalism. 
 The decoction, or infusion in hot water is not so active as when pre- 
 pared in cold or warm water. Dose of the infusion, from two to four 
 fluidouuces; of the saturated tincture, from one to four fluidrachms, 
 three or four times a day. 
 
 The PoLYGONTiM AmroLiuM, Sickle- Grass, Halbert-leaved Tear-thurab 
 or Hastate Knot Grass has a grooved, angled, prostrate, aculeate stem, 
 with reversed prickles, and from two to four feet in length. Leaves 
 h albert-shaped, taper-pointed, long-petioled, two -to four inches long, 
 about one-half as wide; petioles from half an inch to an inch long. 
 Flowers few, distinct, reddish-white, in loose slender, terminal, race- 
 mose clusters ; peduncles glandular -bristly ; calyx often fbur-parted, 
 closed ; stamens six ; styles two, very short ; fruit lenticular, large. It 
 grows in low and wet grounds throughout .the United States, flowering 
 from June- to September. — W. — G. An infusion of this plant in cold 
 water is a powerful "diuretic, useful in uric acid and phosphatic gravel, 
 strangury, gonorrhea, and all urinary affections ; it must be drank 
 freely. Also of service in catarrh of the bladder, and in muscular^de- 
 bility of this organ. 
 
 PoLTGONTJM Fagopyrum, Or common buckwheat, may be used as fol- 
 lows to recall the flow of milk in the breasts of nurses, where it has 
 disappeared for several days : Stir in any amount of buckwheat flour, 
 a sufficient quantity of buttermilk to form a poultice ; warm it, but be 
 carefuj not to boil or make it hot. Apply it thus warm, over the 
 whole breast and renew it every four or six hours. Sometimes it re- 
 quires to be thus used for three or four days before its effect will be 
 produced ; usually, however, twenty-four hours will be sufficient. 
 
 Polygonum Brectum. — Erect Knot-grass, is a variety of Polygonum 
 Aviculare ; it has an upright, branched, smooth stem, from one to three 
 feet high. Leaves smooth, broadly-ovate, rather obtuse, one or two 
 inches long, about half as wide, and either sessile or petiolate, the peti- 
 oles rarely being over three lines in length. Flowers yellowish, small, 
 two or three together, pedic%llate in the axils of the leaves, and appear 
 from June to October. Stamens mostly five. This is a perennial herb 
 common to the Western and Middle States, and British America ; it is 
 found in abundance about country door-yards, road-sides, waste places, 
 damp soils, etc. — W. — G. This plant in infusion has been found highly 
 efficacious in the treatment of diarrhea, and especially in the summer- 
 complaint of children. 
 
 Off. P{"ep.— Infusum Polygoni ; Bxtractum Polygon! ; Extractum Poly- 
 goni Pluidum; Pilulee Polygoni Compositae ; Tinctura Caulophylli Gom- 
 posita ; Tinctura Polygoni. 
 
 POLYPODIUM VULGAEB. (Gemeiner Tupelfarrn.) 
 Com mon Polypody. — Engelsusswurzel. 
 Nat. Ord. — F\\\cea, Jussieu ; 'Filicales, Lindley ; Polypodiaceae, -Broicn. 
 Sex. Syst. — Gryptogamia Pilices. 
 
 THE ROOT AND TOPS. 
 
 Description. — This plant is also known by the name of Bock-pqlypod, * 
 Fern-root, Eoek-Brake, Brake-root, Female-Fern, etc. It has a perennial, 
 
POLTTEICHUM JUNIPERUM. 663 
 
 creepiiig, irregular, brown root, with membranous scales extending to 
 the eaudes or base of the stipe. Fronds six to twelve inches high, dis- 
 tiched, green, smooth, defeply pinnatifid, being divided into alternate 
 segments, nearly to the midvein, which are linear-oblong, obtuse, cren^ 
 alate, the upper ones gradually smaller, parallel, a little curved, about 
 a quarter of an inch wide. - Stipe naked and smooth. Fruit on the 
 lower surface of the frond, in large, distinct, golden dots, sori, or cap- 
 sules, without any indusium, round, in a double row, and becoming 
 finally brownish. — W. — Eaton. 
 
 History. — Polypody is common on shady rocks, in woods, and moun- 
 tains, throughout the United States. The root and tops are used 
 in medicine ; the root is of some length, two to four lines in diam- 
 eter, frequently crooked, with chaffy scales, which are readily removed, 
 and having many delicate, knobby rootlets ; it has a peculiar, rather 
 unpleasant odor, and a saccharo-mucilaginous, somewhat sickening 
 taste. Water extracts its properties. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This plant is pectoral, demulcent, purgative, 
 and anthelmintic. A decoction or syrup has been found very valuable 
 in pulmonary and hepatic diseases ; and a strong decoction is recom- 
 mended as a purgative, and for the expulsion of tenia, and other worms. 
 Dose of the powdered plant from one to four drachms ; of the decoc- 
 tion or syrup, from one to four fluidounces, three or four times a day. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Polypodii. 
 
 POLYTEICHUM JUNIPEEUM. (Watholder Wiederthon.) 
 
 Hair-cap Moss. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Musci, — Polytrichaceae. Sex. Syst. — Cryptogamia Musei. 
 
 THE WHOLE PLANT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, sometimes known as Bear's Bed, Ground 
 Moss, Pobin's-Bye, etc., is indigenous, and perennial, with a simple or 
 divided stem, more generally simple, slender, of a reddish color, from 
 four to seven inches in height. Leaves linear-lanceolate, awn-pointed, 
 entire, flattish, appressed, somewhat spreading, the margins inflexed. 
 Capsule oblong, four-sided, the angles acute ; calyptra densely hairy and 
 white ; lid or operculum sh oft-beaked from a convex base ; apophysis de- 
 pressed, and discoidal. Peristome single, of sixty-four teeth, adherent 
 by their summits to the membranous-dilated apex of the columella. 
 Inflorescence dioecious; s^en7e^0Ji)ers terminal,' cup-shaped. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — This is an evergreen plant, found on high, dry places, along 
 the margins of dry woods, and exposed places, mostly on a poor, sandy 
 soil, and is of a darker green color than the mosses in general. The 
 leaves are closely set on the stem about one-half its length, above which 
 the stem is naked, terminating in a capsule, covered with a white, 
 hairy hood or calyptre. The whole plant is officinal. It yields its 
 properties to boiling water by infusion. It has not been analyzed, but 
 is deserving the especial attention of medical men. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a very valuable and important remedial 
 agent, which has been in use for a number of years, and is, I believe, 
 unknown to a number of practitioners. It is a powerful diuretic in 
 strong, infusion. In doses of two fluidounces of the infusion, every 
 half-hour, it has been known to remove from a dropsical patient from 
 twenty to forty pounds of water in the space of twenty-four hours. It 
 
6t)4 Materia Medica. \ 
 
 possesses but very little smell or taste, and never produces any nausea 
 or disagreeable sensation in the stomach. It may be used in connection 
 with hydragogue carthartics, or even alone, in dropsies, with the mjst 
 decided advantage ; and is a very useful article in uric acid and phoe- 
 phatic gravel, and all urinary obstructions. Professor Jones considers 
 it worthy to be ranked among the first, if not at the head, of the class 
 of diuretics. Notwithstanding the reputation of this plant as a diu- 
 retic, I have known it frequently to ,fail in producing the slightest in ■ 
 crease of the urinary discharge. 
 Off. Prep.^Infusum Polytrichi. 
 
 POPULUS BALSAMIFEEA. (Balsamtragende Pappel.) 
 
 Balsam Poplar. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Salicacese. Sex. Syst. — Dioecia Octandria. 
 
 THE BUDS. 
 
 Description. — This tree, also called Tacamahac, or Tacamahac Poplar 
 attains the height of fifty to seventy feet, with a trunk about eighteen 
 irches in diameter. Branches smooth, round, deep-brown ; buds acu- 
 minate, smooth, covered in the spring with an abundance of fragrant, 
 viscid, balsamic juice. Leaves ovate, gradually tapering and pointed, 
 smooth on both sides, with fine glandular serratures, deep-green above, 
 whitish and reticulate-veined beneath, on long petioles ; sometimes 
 two glands at the apex of the petiole. Scales dilated, slightly hairy. 
 —L.— W. 
 
 History. — This tree is found in Canada, the noithern parts of the 
 United States, and in Sibferia. In this country it is in blossom in 
 April. The leaf-buds are the officinal part, and shoukl be collected in 
 the spring ; they are covered with a fragrant resinous matter, wbich 
 may be separated in boiling water, and upon which their virtues de- 
 pend. They have an agreeable, incense-like odor, and an unpleasant, 
 bitterish taste. The balsamic juice is collected in Canada in shells, and 
 sent to Europe, under the name of TacarnaJiaca. Alcohol or spirits is 
 the proper solvent. They have not been analyzed. 
 
 The buds of the Populus Candioans, or Balm of Gilead, possess sim- 
 ilar virtues to the above. The tree is of less stature than the P. Bal- 
 samifera, the leaves are broader, and heart-shaped, with a distinct sinus 
 at the base; the petioles are hairy and the branches terete. — G. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Poplar buds are reputed stimulant, tonic, diu- 
 retic, and antiscorbutic. A tincture of them has been beneficially em- 
 ployed in aifections of the chest, stomach, and kidneys, and in rheuma- 
 tism and scurvy. With lard or oil they form a useful external applica- 
 tion in bruises, swellings, wounds, some cutaneous diseases, rheumatic 
 pains, etc. Added to ointments they prevent in a great measure, their 
 liability to become rancid, but in this respect are not equal to paraffine, 
 which will wholly prevent rancidity in cerates and ointments prepared 
 with it, as discovered by Prof. E. S. Wayne. The bark is said to be 
 tonic and cathartic, and to have proved of service in gout and rheuma- 
 tism. Dose of a tincture of the buds, from one to four fluidrachms, 
 which is excellent for colds, and pain in the breast. An extract of the 
 bark made with diluted acid, in the dose of from five to fifteen ,grains 
 three times a day is a useful tonic in debility, intermittent fever, rheu- 
 matism, etc. 
 
PopuLos Tremtiloides. 665 
 
 POPULUS TEBMULOIDES. (Zitter-Pappel.) 
 
 , American Poplar. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Salicaceae. Sex. Syst. — Dicecia Octandria. 
 
 THE BARK. 
 
 Description. — This tree, also known by the names of White-Poplar, 
 and Aspen, attains 'the height of twenty to fifty feet, with a diameter of 
 eight to twelve inches. It is covered with a smooth, greenish-white 
 bark, except on the trunks of very old trees. Leaves orbicular-cor- 
 date, abruptly acuminate, dentate-serrate, smooth on both sides, pubes- 
 cent at the margins, dark-green, three-nerved, two to two and a half 
 inches long, and one and a fourth as wide, on long, slender, 'and later- 
 ally compressed petioles, which accounts for the continual agitation of 
 the leaves by the slightest breeze. Aments plumed with silken hairs, 
 about two inches long, pendulous, appearing in April, long before the 
 leaves. Scales cut into three or four deep linear divisions, and fringed 
 with long hairs. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — This tree is common in lower Canada and in the Northern 
 and Middle States. The bark is the officinal part, and should be 
 collected in the spring, just as the sap begins to rise. Its virtues are 
 imparted to alcohol, water, or acetic acid. There are several varieties 
 of this tree, all of which possess similar properties, as the Fopulus 
 Grandidentata. P. Candicans, etc. 
 
 These trees owe their virtues to two alkaloids, Populin and Salicm. 
 The process for obtaining Salicin is described under its appropriate 
 head. Populin, C^o H^.^ Oie, 2 H^ O2, exists in the bark in company with 
 salicin, and is precipitated from a solution of the bark after the salicin 
 has been separated from it, by neutralizing the excess of sulphuric acid 
 by a strong solution of carbonate of potassa. It may, however, be ob- 
 tained from the leaves in greater abundance, by the following process : 
 To a strong decoction of the leaves, add diacetate of lead, which occa- 
 sions a fine yellow precipitate. Filter the liquid, and evaporate it to the 
 consistence of syrup. When it cools the populin separates under the 
 form of a very bulky crystalline precipitate. Subject it to strong pres- 
 sure betweeen folds of linen cloth, then heat it with one hundred and 
 sixty times its weight of water, and a portion of animal charcoal, and 
 filter the liquid while boiling hot. On cooling populin is deposited in 
 fine silky needles. Populin may be regarded as salicin, in which one 
 atom of hydrogen has been displaced by benzoyl ; it may be made arti- 
 ficially'by dissolving salicin and benzoic acid in alcohol, and evaporat- 
 ing the solution to concentration. It is a very light substance, of a 
 snow-white color, with a sweetish-taste not unlike that of liquorice. It 
 requires about two thousand times its weight of cold water to dissolve 
 it, and about seventy times its weight of boiling. Alcohol when boil- 
 ing, dissolves it, depositing the populin on cooling in the form of a crys- 
 talline magma. It is soluble in acetic, nitric, and phosphoric acids, 
 from which it is precipitated by the alkalies. Strong phosphoric, and 
 hot diluted mineral acids, convert it into a resin. Concentrated sul- 
 phuric acid gives a purple red solution with it. When heated, it first 
 melts into a transparent and colorless liquid, and then burns with a 
 strong flame, emitting an aromatic odor. Heated with potassa it is con- 
 verted into oxalic acid. — Thomson. Diluted hydrochloric acid dissolves 
 populin, and at 212° F. decomposes it, forming benzoic acid, grape 
 sugar, and a resin which melts in boiling water, and has the charac- 
 
C66 Mateeia Medica. 
 
 ters of saliretin. Heated with a mixture of sulphuric acid and bichro- 
 mate of potassa, it evolves hydruret of salicyle, or oil of spirese in 
 abundance. Boiled with baryta water, or milk of lime, benzoic acid 
 is precipitated by means of perchloride of iron ; the excess of iron be- 
 ing then removed by lime, and the excess of lime by carbonic acid, sal- 
 icin is obtained on evaporation of the filtered liquid. The conversion 
 of populin into salicin may also be effected by heating it with an alco- 
 holic solution of ammonia to 212° F. — Amer. Jour. 'Pharm., XXVIII., 
 II. 259. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Poplar bark is tonic and febrifuge, and nas 
 been Tjsed in intermittent fever with advantage. An infusion of it is 
 reputed a valuable remedy in emaciation and debility, lumbricoid 
 worms, impaired digestion, chronic diarrhea, intermittent fevers, etc. 
 As a diuretic, it has been beneficially used in .urinary affections, gon- 
 orrhea, gleet, etc. The large aspen, P. Grandidentata, is said to be the 
 most active and bitter. Dose of the powdered bark, one drachm, two 
 or three times a day. 
 
 POTASSIUM. (Kalium.) 
 'Potassmm.^-Kalimetall. 
 
 Preparation. — A mixture of Carbonate of Potassa with finely divided 
 charcoal is first prepared by igniting Cream of Tartar in a covered 
 crucible, which leaves a mixture, well-known as the Black Flux. This, 
 while still warm, is mixed with a considerable proportion of charcoal 
 in coarse powder and small fragments recently ignited, and allowed to 
 cool in a covered crucible. The whole is now introduced into one of 
 the hammered iron bottles used for holding mercury, coated outside 
 with a mixture of sand and clay. The bottle is placed horizontally in 
 a wind furnace, and a short wide tube of iron is fitted to it, to which 
 tube is attached a copper receiver, partly filled with good naphtha, and 
 having a diaphragm of copper, and on the further side of the receiver 
 an aperture for the escape of gas, opposite the tube of the bottle ; so 
 that, if necessary, a strong steel rod may be introduced through this 
 aperture and another in the upper part of the diaphragm into the tube 
 for the purpose of cleaning it out, as it is apt to become choked. The 
 receiver with the naphtha being surrounded with ice, a steady and uni- 
 form strong red or white heat (by means of dry wood, the flame of 
 which plays all around the bottle) is applied to the bottle, and after a 
 time Potassium, which is known by the appearance of its pink flame at 
 the mouth of the tube, distills over, accompanied with carbonic oxide 
 gas, and with a gray powder, which is the cause, of the occasional chok- 
 ing of the tube. The Potassium drops into the naphtha, which protects 
 it from the action of the air ; to purify it entirely, it is re-distilled in 
 a small iron retort along with a little naphtha into a receiver contain- 
 ing that liquid. — Gregory. See an improvement on this method, in 
 Am. Jour. Pharm., XXV., p. 70. 
 
 History. — Sir Humphrey Davy discovered Potassium in 1807, by pass- 
 ing a powerful galvanic current through perfectly dry potassa. Soon 
 after, Gay-Lussac and Thenard discovered that it could be obtained in 
 greater quantities by passing potassa through iron-turnings, heated to 
 whiteness in a gun -barrel covered on the outside with clay to protect 
 it from the action of the fire. The common mode of preparing it is 
 Brunner's with Wohler's modification, as given above. 
 
Potass^ Bitartras. 667 
 
 Potassium is a solid, soft, bluish-white metal, having a high degree 
 of metallic luster, but becoming instantly tarnished and oxydized whfen 
 exposed to the air, from which it absorbs oxygen, and should therefore 
 be kept iu naphtha, a liquid which contains no oxygen. At the tem- 
 perature of 50° it is a soft and malleable solid, like wax, at 136J° it 
 becomes perfectly fluid, and at 32° it is hard and brittle, exhibiting a 
 crystalline structure ; it is lighter than water ; its sp. gr. being 0.865, 
 and is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity. Thrown upon 
 the surface of water, it decomposes that liquid with rapidity, and the 
 hydrogen gas evolved, . carrying with it small particles of the metal, 
 takes fire in the air, and communicating the combustion to the Potas- 
 sium, the whole burns with a kind of exi:>losion, emitting a red light. 
 Heated in oxygen gas it burns with a brilliant white light. Its sym- 
 bol is K, and its equivalent weight 39.15, or 487.6. Metals and metal- 
 loids whose attraction for .oxygen is too strong to be overcome by the 
 usual means, are isolated by Potassium. Thus, it decomposes the ox- 
 ides or chlorides of aluminum, glucinum, yttrium, thorium, and zirco- 
 nium, and the boracie and silicic acids. It is found chiefly in the ashes 
 of land-plants, as oxide of potassa united to carbonic acid, and is also 
 obtained as chloride in the ashes of sea-plants. Many rocks, minerals, 
 and soils contain it ; indeed, it is necessary to the growth of plants. 
 Potassium forms two compounds with oxygen, a dry, grayish-white 
 protoxide, KO=47.16, or 590 ; and an orange-yellow peroxide, K03= 
 63.17. Its protoxide unites with several acids, forming salts of potassa, 
 some of which are used in medicine. Potassium itself combines with 
 several agents, forming Potassium compounds. These medicinal agents 
 will be described hereafter under their appropriate heads. 
 
 POTASS.J1I BITAETEAS: (Doplelt Weinsteinsaures Kali.) 
 
 Bitartrate of Potassa. — Weinstein. 
 
 History. — This salt, commonly called Cream of Tartar, in its pure state 
 was unknown until the investigation of Scheele in 1769. It is obtained 
 from the crude tartar, argol, or winestone of commerce, a grayish or 
 brownish obscurely crystalline substance, which forms upon the inside 
 of casks in which new wine has been kept. The tart wines deposit it 
 in the largest quantity ; it is composed of Bitartrate of Potassa, tar- 
 trate of lime, coloring matter, and other accidental impurities. Crude 
 tartar or argol, is a constituent of many vegetable JT;iices, especially of 
 grape-juice, in which it exists, dissolved by the acid of the sugar present; 
 and when that sugar is converted into alcohol, in which the tartar is 
 insoluble, it becomes deposited upon the sides of the fermenting casks. 
 The red wines give a Eed Tartar, and the white wines a White Tartar. 
 Pereira states the following to be the mode of procuring the Tartar : 
 "Argol is boiled in water, and the solutibn allowed to cool, by which a 
 deposit of crystals is obtained; these are washed with cold water, and 
 dissolved in boiling water containing charcoal and alumira (clay), the 
 latter substances being employed to remove the coloring matter with 
 which they precipitate. The clear liquor is allowed to cool slowly, by 
 which crystals are formed. These constitute the tartarus depuratus, or 
 crystals of tartar of the older chemists. If a hot, saturated solution of 
 tartar be cooied, the surface of the liquid becomes coated by a layer of 
 very fine crystals of Bitartrate ; hence this crust was called Cream of 
 Tartar" Prof E. S Wayne states that Catawba wine deposits as 
 
668 Materia Medica. 
 
 much tartar as European "Wines, and that if it were collected and saved, 
 it would nearly supply the demand in the United States. He has given 
 a very cheap and easy mode of purifying it, by converting it into 
 Eochelle salt, purifying this by animal charcoal, and then precipitating 
 the cream of tartar by means of hydrochloric acid. — Proceedings of Am. 
 Pharm. Assoc, 1868. 
 
 Bitartrate of Potassa, when first prepared, is in the form of white 
 cakes, with obscure crystallization on one of the surfaces ; the crystals 
 being of small size, and in oblique rhombic prisms. But as more gen- 
 erally met withit is in the form of a fine, white powder. The crystals 
 are inodorous, gritty, and of an agreeable acid taste, not altered by 
 exposure to the air, easily reduced to powder, have the sp. gr. 2.4, are 
 soluble in ninety parts of temperate, and fifteen of boiling water, not 
 soluble in alcohol, and are charred and decomposed by a red heat, 
 swelling up, emitting an odor of caramel, disengaging empyreumatic 
 oil, pyrotartaric acid, and various gases, and leaving carbonate of potassa. 
 The black flux of chemists is composed of one part Bitartrate of Po- 
 tassa, and half a part of nitrate of potassa, mixed and heated together; 
 a residuum is left of carbon and carbonate of potassa. If the nitre be 
 doubled the carbonate will remain without the carbon, forming ichite 
 fluXi Crpam of Tartar is readily soluble in water to which borax or 
 borafcic acid has been added, forming a solution termed Soluble Cream 
 of Tartar, or Borotartrate of Potassa. It is incompatible with ammonia, 
 carbonate of potassa, carbonate of soda, magnesia and its salts,, lime- 
 water, acetate of lead, strontia, baryta, etc. It is composed of two atoms 
 of acid, 132.98, one of potassa, 47.15, and one of water, 9--=189.11 ; its 
 formula is KO, 2T HO or 2T+K0+Aq. 
 
 As found in commerce, Bitartrate of Potassa is always contaminated 
 with from three to ten per cent, of tartrate of lime'; frequently also 
 with copper, which gives it a green tint.' These are accidental impuri- 
 ties and may be removed, without any great loss of material, by finely 
 powdering the Cream of Tartar, and digesting it at a gentle heat, with 
 very dilute hydrochloric acid. Most of the articles used for adulter- 
 ating are either wholly, or sparingly soluble in water. To detect the 
 tartrate of lime agitate the Cream of Tartar with a solution of caustic 
 ammonia, then filter and add oxalate of ammonia which causes a white 
 precipitate if lime be present. If a large amount of tartrate of lime be 
 present, the ammonia will not dissolve all of the powder. If copper be 
 present, ferrocyanuret of potassium added to an aqueous solution will 
 give a chocolate or -reddish -brown color. Sulphocyanuret of potassium 
 gives a red color if iron be present, and tannic acid gives a bluish-black 
 precipitate when added to the solution neutralized virith ammonia. To 
 detect the presence o?racemic acid, saturate the suspected Cream of Tartar 
 with pure carbonate of potassa, then add lime-water, and afterward sal 
 ammoniac. If the sal ammoniac does not completely dissolve the precipi- 
 tate caused by the lime-water, racemate of lime is present. Sometimes, 
 however, it is fraudulently adulterated with various white mineral and 
 organic matters. Carbonate of lime will cause an effervesence with weak 
 acids; starch may be known by the blue co]()r caused upon the addition of 
 iodijie; mineral substances, by their insolubility in boiling'water; alum, 
 or bisulphate of potassa, by the white precipitate caused upon the addi- 
 tion of chloride of barium, and which is insoluble in nitric acid. It 
 has been also stated that alum, niter, stale bread, terra alba, and sago, 
 have been used in the adulteration of cream of tartar. The following 
 aro the tests of pure Bitartrate of Potassa: It is sparingly dissolved by 
 
PoTASSiB NiTRAS. 669 
 
 water ;. its solution colors litmus paper red ; at a red heat it is converted 
 into carbonate of potassa ; it is entirely soluble in forty parts of boiling 
 water ; forty grains in solution are n,eutralized by thirty grains of 
 crystallized carbonate of soda, and when then precipitated by seventy 
 grains of nitrate of lead, the liquid remains precipitable by more of 
 the test. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Bitartrate of Potassa is diuretic and laxative. 
 In large doses it occasions severe and long-continued purging of watery 
 discharges, seldom, however, griping, or producing subsequent debility; 
 on this accoiint, it forms an invaluable agent in dropsy. Excessive 
 dosos cause gripings and flatulence, with symptoms of gastro-enteritis. 
 Its continued use deranges the digestive functions, and produces ema- 
 ciation. A combination of sulphur, Bitartrate of Potassa, and confec- 
 tion of senna, is frequently used with advantage as a laxative in piles, 
 prolapsus ani, etc., and in some diseases of the skin. It is frequently 
 combined with jalap, the compound powder of jalap, resin of podo- 
 phyllum, sulphur, etc. In solution, sweetened with sugar, it forms an 
 agreeable, cooling drink, very useful in many fevers. Dose, as a ca- 
 thartic, from four to six drachms ; as an aperient, one or two drachms; 
 and in dropsy, it may be given in doses of from one to three drachms, 
 in water, four or five times a day. Equal parts of Bitartrate of Potassa, 
 powdered rhatany root, and myrrh, form a good dentrifice. Two 
 drachms of Cream of Tartar added to a pint of milk, form a Cream of 
 Tartar whey, which when diluted with water is sometimes given in 
 dropsical and febrile complaints. — Plenck. — P. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Potassse Carbonas Purus ; Potassse Tartras ; Pulvis Ipe- 
 cacuanha Compositus ; Pulvis Eesina Podophylli Compositus ; Sodse 
 et Potassse Tartras. 
 
 POTASS^ NITEAS. (Saltpetersaures Kali.) 
 
 Nitrate of Potassa. — Saltpeter. 
 
 History. — Nitrate of Potassa (Saltpeter, Niter, Sal-prunelle), is a salt 
 which was known to the ancients, though, probably, not with sufScient 
 accuracy to enable them to determine it from other salts formed on the 
 surface of the soil \)j efflorescence. It may be artificially manufac- 
 tured, although it exists naturally in some soils. It is found in various 
 parts of the globe, as in Europe, Egypt, South America, India, and in 
 several of the United States ; but by far the grestter part of the com- 
 mercial article I is obtained from India, in which country it exists in 
 great quantity.' It is also found in several plants, as tobacco, crawley 
 root, sunflower, nettle, etc. In India, one hundred parts of the soil 
 employed in manufacturing Niter, contain about two-third parts of 
 this salt. The process of obtaining it, according to Stevenson, consists 
 in lixiviating the soil in an apparatus made for the purpose, and con- 
 taining wood ashes. Any nitrate of lime contained in the soil, as it 
 passes in solution through the wood ashes, reacts on the carbonate of 
 potassa, producing Nitrate of Potassa, and carbonate of lime. The 
 liquor thus obtained is evaporated and crystallized, forming an impure 
 Niter, which may be rendered pure by repeated solution in water and 
 crystallization. An essential part of these soils is, that they shall con- 
 tain decomposing felspar, mica, or other destructible minerals which 
 consist partly of Potassa. The production of Niter from them is pro- 
 moted by the presence of animal matter, but may also go on without 
 it ; so that the Nitric Acid must be formed through the intervention 
 
670 Materia Medica. 
 
 of atmospheric air. The soluble salts of the nitrate soils consist of sul- 
 phates, muriates, and Nitrates of Potassa, lime, and soda. The nitrates- 
 are converted into Nitrate of Potassa by lixiviating the soil over a 
 filter of wood ashes, containing carbonate of potassa, and then duly 
 evaporating the filtered liquor. Niter is also prepared in many parts 
 of Europe from soils artificially impregnated with animal m,atter — 
 from the mortar of old buildings — or from artificial composts consist- 
 ing of animal substances, decaying vegetables, ashes, and chalk, marl, 
 or lime. The nitrate thus in the first place produced is the nitrate of 
 lime, which is converted into the Nitrate of Potassa by double decom- 
 position with carbonate of potassa;- and the salt is then obtained by 
 (ixiviation, and purified by repeated crystallization. — C 
 
 But little Niter is procured fr©m its original sources in this country, 
 in consequence of the cheapness of the India salt; this is chiefly im- 
 ported from Calcutta in bags, containing each, nearly two hundred 
 pounds ; the quality of which is very multiform. On reaching this 
 country it is refined -by solution and crystallization. 
 
 The salt, erroneously termed South American Saltpeter, Is a nitrate of 
 soda ; it is found a few feet below the saline soil of South Peru, in large 
 beds ; on reaching this country it is purified by solution and recrystal- 
 lization. It forms in obtuse rhombohedral' crystals, having a bitter 
 taste, slightly deliquescent in moist air; soluble in two parts of cold 
 water, and in less than its own weight at 212° It fuses by heat. The 
 shape' of its crystals, and the yellow color it communicates to flame, 
 will serve to distinguish it from Nitrate of Potassa. Its therapeutical 
 effects are similar to those of Nitrate of Potassa, without so readily 
 disturbing digestion. It is chiefly used in the manufacture of nitric 
 and sulphuric acids and by firework -makers, but is an unfit ingredient 
 for gunpowder on account of its deliquescence. Nitrate of Potassa is 
 prepared from it by decomposing it with chloride of potassium, or with 
 the red caustic potassa of this country. 
 
 Nitrate of Potassa crystallizes in the form of colorless, opaque, or 
 transparent when pure, striated, six-sided prisms, terminated by one, 
 two, or six converging planes. They belong to the right prismatic 
 system. Its taste is sharp, bitterish, and cooling, and it is very brit- 
 tle. — Thomson. One hundred parts of water at 32° dissolve 13.32 parts 
 of this salt; at 65° they dissolve 29.31 parts; at 113°, 74 parts; at 
 150°, 125 parts; and at 207°, 236 parts; cold is generated during the 
 solution in temperate or cold water. Alcohol of sp. gr. 0.878, dissolves 
 one hundredth of its weight of this salt, but it is not isoluble in pure 
 alcohol. It is permanent in dry air. Heat fuses it, and when raised 
 to redness drives off oxygen, and converts it into hyponitrite of potassa. 
 In consequence of this evolution of oxygen, it greatly enlivens com- 
 bustion when thrown on burning fuel. When allowed to cool from a 
 state of fusion, it concretes into a hard, fibrous, opaque, white mass, 
 known in commerce by the name of Sal-prunelle or Crystal mineral. 
 Niter contains no water of crystallization, but there are often cavities 
 in which some of the mother-waters become mechanically lodged. Its 
 formula is NOj+KO^lOl.SO or 1262.5. Dissolved in three hundred 
 times its weight of water. Niter promotes vegetation; but a solution 
 containing one-thirtieth part of it, is injurious to the growth of plants. 
 It communicates a violet color to flame. 
 
 Nitrate of Potassa is sometimes contaminated with alkaline or earthy 
 chlorides or sulphates ; nitrate of silver will detect the tjhlorides by 
 giving a white precipitate; and chloride of barium wilhdetect the sul- 
 
Potass^ JSTitras. 671 
 
 phate by giving a white precipitate ; and oxalate of ammonia will 
 cause a white precipitate if lime be present. The presence of chloride 
 of sodium or common salt renders i^Titer unfit as a constituent of gun- 
 powder. When Niter is fused and allowed to cool it assumes a radi- 
 ated texture; the broader these radii are the purer is the salt. If 
 mixed with one-thirtieth part of common salt, the radiated appearance 
 is completely destroyed. 
 
 If fifteen grains of pure sulphuric acid be added to twenty-five grains 
 of pure and well-dried Nitrate of Potassa, in a deep platina or porce- 
 lain crucible, covered .to prevent loss daring the desiccation of the salt, 
 and then be exposed to red heat until there is no longer any dimi- 
 nution of weight, a residue should be furnished, weighing twenty-one 
 and a half grains ; if less than this, and chlorides and sulphates are 
 absent, nitrate of soda is probably an impurity in the salt. 
 
 To form the nitrum tabulatum or sal prunella, some ounces of nitrate 
 of potassa are fused in an iron spoon, which has, in its side, about a quar- 
 ter of an inch from its edge, a small hole bored about the size of a 
 pii s head, through which the fused mass is allowed to pour on to a 
 <;leai. sheet of iron or copper, and so on with fresh quantities of salt. 
 When subsequently fusing, care must be taken that none of the fused 
 salt adheres to the outside of the spoon, as on coming in contact with 
 the coal it will deflagrate and form carbonate ; for the same reasons no 
 <5oal must be allowed to fall into the spoon. Excepting a small quanti- 
 ty of the Nitrite of Potassa which is formed during the fusion, the 
 fused Nitrate of Potassa exactly resembles, in its chemical composition, 
 the ordinary saltpeter. — Witt. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Nitrate of Potassa il irritant, cathartic, refrig- 
 erant, and diuretic. In doses of from half an ounce to two ounces in 
 solution, it occasions heat and pain in the stomach, vomiting, excessive 
 nervous depression, and sinking of the pulse ; and has proved fatal in 
 a few hours. On account of the uncertainty of its cathartic effects, it 
 is seldom used for that purpose. Its most common actions are to in- 
 crease the cutaneous and renal secretions ; to diminish the temperature 
 of the system and the frequency of the pulse ; to keep the bowels 
 gently open, and, in consequence of these influences, to lessen febrile 
 and inflammatory action. 
 
 In the Am. Jour. Med. Sci., Vol. XVIII., p. 204, an account is given 
 of experiments by five students on their own persons while in health. 
 The salt was taken in solution, with the addition of a little mucilage, 
 in quantities increasing gradually from one to five drachms daily ; the 
 proportion for each day being divided into five doses. After from eight 
 to twelve days' use of it in this manner, it was found to produce general 
 weakness, indisposition to mental or physical exertion, fatigue from the 
 least exertion, low spirits, a bruised sensation of the muscles and joints, 
 constant disposition to sleep, slow and weak pulse. The appetite contin- 
 ued good, and digestion was not disordered, occasionally pain in the 
 bowels, with purging. Blood drawn from the veins at this time had the 
 color and density of cherry-juice, the white blood-corpuscles were in- 
 creased in number and size, the blood-globules were paler, and the blood 
 coagulated very quickly. There was an increase of the water, and a 
 decrease of the solids of the blood, with a diminution of its fat and an 
 increased proportion of ash in the serum. The pulse did not assume its 
 natural strength and frequency for several days after the discontinuance 
 of the medicine. Niter is extensively employed as a diuretic, and 
 «specially in dropsical affections. It has also been found beneficial in 
 
672 Materia Mbdioa. 
 
 acute rheumatism, and in active hemorrhages; and in these cases it 
 may*be given to the amount of an ounce or two in the course of twenty- 
 four hour^, dissolved in two quarts of cold water and flavored with lemon- 
 peel, and which must be divided into several doses. In some cases of 
 acute dysentery, given in association with resin of podophyllum and 
 leptandra, it will be found very valuable in facilitating the cure. Troni 
 three to five grains of IN'iter dissolved in half a gill of water, and this 
 dose repeated three times a day, I have found very efficacious in remov- 
 ing the aching pain in the testicles complained of by onanists and per- 
 sons who commit excessive venery. I am not aware that this action is 
 named in any other medical work'. In sore-throat, Niter mixed with 
 white sugar and gradually swallowed has given' great relief; it also forms 
 a useful addition to gargles in quinsy. A mixture of Niter and gum 
 Arabic lessens the scalding of gonorrhea. The fumes produced by the 
 deflagration of Nitrate of Potassa with paper have been inhaled with 
 benefit in spasmodic asthma. To obtain them, blotting paper must be 
 moistened with a saturated solution of the salt, and then dried ; by 
 burning the paper or smoking it in a pipe, the fumes may be inhaled; 
 relief usually follows in about fifteen minutes. It is frequently substi- 
 tuted for the bitartrate of potassa in our powder of ipecacuanha and 
 opium. Sal-prunelle has been found useful as an application to cracked 
 lips. The dose of IS iter as a sedative refrigerant, is from ten to twenty 
 grains, well diluted ; and as a diuretic, from twenty to sixty grains. 
 There is no certain antidote known to the more serious influences of 
 Niter ; the treatment generally pursued is to evacuate the stomach by 
 free emesis, and combat gastric irritation by external counter-irritants, 
 mucilage and opiates internally, and stimulants to overcome any ten- 
 dency to prostration. "When used as a medicine. Niter should be largely 
 diluted with water ; large doses, or a continued use of it for some time, 
 will cause gastro-intestinal pain. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Acidum Nitricum Purum ; CoUodium ; Potassse Sulphas 
 cum.Sulphure ; Pnlvis Asclepidis Compositus ; Spiritus ^theris Nitrici ; 
 TJnguentum Sulphuris Compositum. 
 
 POTASS^ PBEMANGANAS. 
 
 termanganate op potash. 
 
 History. — Carbonate of manganese, which is readily procured as an 
 .accessory product at manufactories of chlorine or bleaching powder, in 
 precipitating the hydrochloric liquors by carbonate of soda and sepa- 
 rating the precipitates, when properly calcined yields oxide of manga- 
 nese. One hundred and thirty parts of this oxide, calcined with one 
 hundred parts of chlorate of potassa, and one hundred and eighty-four 
 parts of hydrate of potassa as slightly carbonated as possible, yields a 
 pure Permanganate of Pptash. This salt may also be procured by the 
 following proeess; 500 parts of a recently prepared solution of caijstic 
 soda, 46° B., is evaporated with 106 parts of pure chlorate of potasSa, 
 and, toward the ertd of the process, 182 parts of binoxide of manganese, 
 in fine powder, is stirred in, and heated until the mass becomes pasty. 
 Then heat the mass, in a three gallon iron kettle, until it becomes dark- 
 red and assumes a semifluid condition ; treat il; with a large quantity of 
 water ; let it rest for twelve hours ; decant the clear liquor, and evapo- 
 rate it in coppei" vessels, being careful not to allow it to boil. This pro- 
 cess gives from 98 to 100 parts from the above proportions of long aoi- 
 
Potass^ Permanganas. 673 
 
 cului- crystals of permanganate. (For Dr. Squibb's process, see Am. Jour. 
 Pharni., 1864, p. 385.) 
 
 Dr., Meran gives the following process; thoroughly mix together 
 Peroxide of Manganese 4 parts, and chlorate of Potassa 3J parts ; then 
 add of Caustic Potassa, dissolved in the minimum of water, 5 parts ^ 
 mix intimately and dry. Pulverize anew, and expose to a dull red heat 
 for one hour. Allow it to cool, pulverize, and exhaust by successive 
 washings; filter these through a tampon of flax in a funnel, and con- 
 centrate the united waters of the several washings, until crystals are 
 precipitated, employing a very moderate heat, in order to avoid decom- 
 position. The normal solution is 10 parts to 1000, diluting it more or 
 less according to the occasion for disinfection. It never irritates the 
 tissues. ' 
 
 Permanganarte of Potassa occurs in deep purple, needle-like prisms, 
 having a somewhat sweet and astringent taste, odorless, permanent in 
 air, containing no organic matter, and having the formula KO, Mn^ O,. 
 They are soluble in 16 parts of water at 60° P., and are immediately 
 decomposed by alcohol. The aqueous solution is, of a magnificent, deep 
 purple color, which becomes green by the action of alkalies. A very 
 small proportion of the permanganate dissolved in water, imparts to it 
 a fine lilac color. When the solution is evaporated to dryness, it leaves 
 the salt in the form of a powder, almost black, and presenting metallic 
 reflections. The crystals detonate when thrown upon hot coals ; but if 
 heated very gradually, they evolve vapors of permanganic acid, of a 
 violet color, and having an unpleasant metallic odor. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 
 1862, p. 409. Permanganate of Potassa is perhaps the most energetic 
 oxidizing agent known; it imparls oxygen to nearly all organic bodies, 
 and some of this gas being in the allotropic condition termed ozone. 
 Many inflammable subtanees burn upon contact with it, as paper, alco- 
 hol, etc., the latter with explosion. On account of its action with or- 
 ganic bodies, a writer in the British Med. Jour., 1862, has recommended 
 it as calculated in an eminent degree to meet every case of poisoning 
 by organic poisons, as, by aconite, strychnia, veratria, cyanide of potas- 
 sium, etc. I am not aware, however, of its use in such cases. 
 
 Permanganate of potash is readily decomposed when in contact with 
 organic bodies ; it should be kept in well-closed bottles, and secure from 
 impure air, and light. Its solution is not permanent, but should be made as 
 required. In chemical and pharmaceutical processes it should not be 
 allowed to come in contact with caoutchouc, ijpon which it acts, and is 
 at the same time decomposed by it. The British Pharmacopoeia give 
 as a test, that a solution of five grains in water be wholly decolorized 
 by not less than 44 grains of granulated sulphate of iron, acidulated 
 with two fluidrachms of dilute sulphuric acid, officinal strength. The 
 TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia require the solution of permanganate of potassa 
 to be immediately decolorized by Fowler's solution, with a deposit of a 
 brown color. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Permanganate of potassa in powder or concen- 
 trated solution is a caustic, stimulant, and disinfectant. In weak solu- 
 tions it is a stimulant and disinfectant. It has proved very useful in 
 the treatment of various offensive arid infectious diseases, as in foul, 
 indolent, and gangrenous ulcers or abscesses, leucorrhea, otoiThea, can- 
 cerous ulcers, ozoena, etc., destroying the fetid odor in these cases, 
 cheeking exuberant granulations when present, and inducing a healthy 
 appearance of ulcerated surfaces. It has likewise been found a very 
 efficacious local application in phlegmonous erysipelas, hospital gangrene, 
 43 
 
674 Materia Medica. 
 
 and carbuncle. In these affections itmay be applied locally, as a wash, by 
 injection, or by means of spray, and of different strengths, varying from 
 ten grains to two drachms or more to a pint of water, according to cir- 
 cumstances. In carbuncle, this must first be incised slightly, and then 
 the solution be applied, havifig the strength of one part of the salt to 
 two of water. One part of the salt dissolved in nine parts of distilled 
 water has been suggested as a standard solution ; of this from half a 
 part to two parts may be added to sixteen parts of water, as required ; 
 though it is better always to commence with the weaker solution. The 
 stands^rd solution of full strength may be used in indolent ulcers, gan- 
 grene, cancer, and commencing diphtheritis. As it becomes more or 
 less decomposed by contact with organic bodies, the solution is best 
 applied by means of a glass brush or syringe. In stomatitis, diphther- 
 ' itic affections, croup, and other fetid Or unhealthy conditions of the 
 mouth, it may be used as a gargle, one part of the standard solution to 
 sixteen parts of distilled water. No other water should be employed 
 in forming its solutions, on account of the organic matters they contain, 
 This fluid may also be used to correct the odor of decayed teeth, to free 
 the hands from any bad smell contracted during post mortem examina- 
 tions, and to correct any bad odor from the feet or axillae. A drachm of 
 the permanganate in half a fluidounce of water, and placed in a saucer 
 under a table, bed, or other convenient place, destroys all odor, and has 
 this great advantage over other deodorants, that it has no od6r of its 
 own. Six grains of permanganate of potash dissolved in a fluidounce of 
 water, and used as an injection three times a day, has proved very suc- 
 cessful in the treatment of gonorrhea. 
 
 Internally, it has been recommended in diabetes in doses' of about 
 three grains, given in three or four tablespoonfuls of water three times 
 a day, a little before meals ; but its results have not been very encour- 
 aging. Its internal use in diphtheria, scarlatina, and zymotic diseases 
 generally has been found serviceable. One part of the salt to ten of 
 water, has been extolled as a remedy against cholera. One or two parts 
 to 500 of water has been termed ozonized water, the dose of which is a 
 fluidrachm in two fluidounces of water, to be repeated four or five times 
 a day. Dr. 0. M. Fenn considers permanganate of potassa as an oxi- 
 dizing agent in the blood, transforming lactic acid into carbonic acid ; 
 he has administered it in half grain doses, dissolved in water and rasp- 
 berry syrup, and repeated three times a day, in acute rheumatism, with 
 much success, effecting cures in from 5 to 10 days. 
 
 POTASSII PBEEOCYANUEBTUM. (Kaliumeisenciyanur.) 
 
 Ferrocyanuret of Potassium. — Blausaures Kali. 
 
 Sistory. — This salt is obtained by placing a mixture of two parts of 
 pearlash, with five parts of animal matter, such as hoofs, horns, and 
 other nitrogenous animal matters into an iron crucible, calcining the 
 mixture at a red heat, and constantly stirring the mass until it ceases 
 to give out fetid vapors. The calcined product is then cooled, dissolved 
 in water, and concentrated by evaporation so that crystallization 
 ensues. These are purified by repeated crystallization. It may also be 
 obtained by boiling purified Prussian blue in a solution of potassa, until 
 the blue color disappears, filtering the liquor, evaporating and crystal- 
 lizing several times to render it pure. — G. Several other processes are 
 also pursued. 
 
POTENTILLA CANADENSIS. 675 
 
 Ferrocyanuret of Potassium occurs in broken or entire crystals of 
 itirge size, whose form is usually a rectangular prism, truncated on the 
 ends and edges, or a four-sided table derived from the rhombic octae- 
 dre by excessive truncation of the apices. The crystals are large, of a 
 honey-yellow color, transparent, of sp. gr. 1.832, have at first a sweet- 
 ish-bitter, but afterward saline taste, are permanent in the air, are 
 soluble in four parts of cold water, and in two of boiling, are not dis- 
 solved by alcohol, which precipitates them from their aqueous solution 
 in brilliant yellow flakes. At a gentle heat below 212°, their water of 
 crystallization is expelled, leaving a white, anhydrous salt. A low red 
 heat decomposes the salt, converting it into cyanuret of potassium, 
 carburet of iron, and other compounds. The persalts of iron are pre- 
 cipitated of a rich blue color by it ; those of protoxide of iron, white, 
 quickly passing to blue ; those of zinc and lead white, and of copper 
 chestnut-brown. The precipitates occasioned are ferrocyanurets or fer- 
 rocyanides of the metals acted upon. Ferrocyanuret of Potassium is 
 regarded by some as a compound of two equivalents of cyanide of po- 
 tassium and one equivalent of cyanide of iron, with three equivalents 
 of water of crystallization (2 K Cy+Fe Cy-)-3 Aq.), and consequently of 
 39.15part8ofpotassium, 79.17ofcyanogen, 28of iron, and 27 of water. Its 
 equivalent weight is 211.2. Miller gives its formula as K4 Fcj Oj^, 3 
 Hj 02=368-(-54.' According to Liebig and Gregory, it is composed in 
 the anhydrous state of two equivalents of potassium and one of a com- 
 pound radical called ferrocyanogen, and which consists of three equiv- 
 alents of cyanogen and one of iron (Fe, Cy3-|-2 K). — 0. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Ferrocyanuret of Potassium is not poisonous, 
 being absorbed and carried off qiiickly with the urine. Large doses are 
 said to cause giddiness, debility, occasional non-fetid salivation, and 
 ulceration of the mouth. From five to twelve grains dissolved in water, 
 and repeated two or three times a day, have been found efficacious as 
 a sedativeand calmative in febrile diseases, pertussis, tic- douloureux, etc. 
 It has also proved advantageous in chronic bronchitis, and night-sweats. 
 It is much used in the preparation of hydrocyanic acid, and as are- 
 agent for detecting iron in solution ; a mere trace of iron in solution 
 occasions a blue precipitate with it. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Acidum Hydrocyanicum Dilutum ; Ferri Perrocyanure- 
 tum; Potassii Cyanuretum. 
 
 POTENTILLA CAI^ADENSTS. (Canadische Potentille.) 
 
 Five-finger. 
 Nat. Ord. — Eosacese. Sex. Syst. — Icosandria Polygynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This is a perennial, villose-pubescent plant, frequently 
 known by the name of Cinque-foil. It has a sarmentose, procumbent 
 and ascending stem two to eighteen inches in length. I/eaves palmately, 
 five-foliate ; leaflets obovate, silky beneath, cut- dentate toward the 
 apex, entire and attenuate toward the base. Stipules ovate, hairy, 
 deeply two or three-cleft, or entire. Flowers yellow, on long, axillary, 
 solitary pedicels. Calyx-segments lanceolate or linear ; bracteoles of the 
 calyx longer than the segments, nearly as long as the petals ; petals ob- 
 cordate, longer than the calyx. There are two varieties of this plant, 
 the Potentilla Pumila, which is very small and delicate, fiowering in 
 April and May, growing in dry, sandy soils, the stem rising about three 
 
676 Materia Medica. 
 
 or four inches. The other is the Potentilla Simplex, which is less hir- 
 sute, with a simple stem, erect or ascending at base, and oval-cuneiform 
 leaflets ; it grows in richer soils to twelve and sixteen inches high, and 
 flowers from June to August. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — Five-finger is common to the United States, growing by 
 roadsides, on meadow banks and waste grounds, and flowering from 
 April to October. It is the Potentilla Sarmentosa of some botanists. 
 The root is the part used ; it has a bitterish, styptic taste, and yields its 
 virtues to water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This plant is a tonic and astringent. A decoc- 
 tion has been found useful in fevers, bowel complaints, night-sweats, 
 monorrhagia, and other hemorrhages ; also, it is an excellent local ap- 
 plication in form of gargle, for spongy, bleeding gums, and ulcerated 
 mouth and throat. The European herb, Potentilla Reptans, possesses 
 similar properties. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Decoctum Potentillse. 
 
 POTENTILLA TOEMEISTTILLA. rTormentille Potentille.) 
 
 Tormentil. — Tormentille. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eosacese. Sex. Syst. — leosandria Polygynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Tormentil or Septfoil, is the Tormentilla Erecta of Willde 
 now, and the Tormentilla Officinalis of Smith. It has a perennial, tough, 
 woody root or rhizoma, about the thickness and length of the upper 
 joint of the fore-flnger, with numerous radicles. Stems slender, weak, 
 erect, often procumbent, branching at summit, five or ten inches high. 
 Leaves almost sessile, consist of three, oblong, acute, deeply serrated, 
 somewhat hairy leaflets; stipules smaller than the leaflets, deeply cut. 
 Flowers small, bright-yellow, with the parts of the calyx and corolla in 
 fours, on slender axillary hairy stalks much longer than the leaves. 
 Carpels corrugated when ripe. — L. 
 
 History. — Tormentil or Septfoil is a 'plant common to Europe. All 
 parts of it are astringent, but the root is the part usually employed. It 
 has a very irregular external form, being sometimes cylindrical, at 
 others tuberculated. Externally, it is of a dark red-brown color; in- 
 ternally, flesh -red or brownish. Its taste is strongly astringent, and 
 its odor faintly aromatic. Water takes up its astringent principle ; the 
 infusion forms a black -greenish precipitate of tannate of iron with the 
 sesquichloride of iron, and a grayish curdy one of tannate of gelatine, 
 with a solution of gelatine. In the Peroe and Orkney islands it is used 
 to tan leather ; in Lapland it is used to dye red. It contains volatile 
 oil, tannic acid, coloring matter, resin, cerin, myricin, starch, gummy 
 extractive, woody fiber, etc. It is equally applicable in medicine with 
 catechu, kino, and other foreign astringents. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tormentil is astringent and tonic, and may be 
 used in chronic diarrhea and dysentery, passive hemorrhages, etc., in 
 decoction ; also as an astringent injection, and as a local application tf 
 flabby ulcers. Dose of the decoction, one or two fluidounces ; of the ex 
 tract, ten or fifteen grains ; of the powdered root, from thirty to sixtj 
 grains, three or four times a day. The extract may be made by boil- 
 ing one part of the coarsely bruised root with eight parts of water; 
 straining; repeating the boiling with another equal quantity of water ' 
 
PrINOS VERTIClLLATUb. 677 
 
 mixing the two strained decoctions ; and evaporating to the consistence 
 of an extract. Alum, or tannic acid may be added to this, as re- 
 quired. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Tormentillse. 
 
 PEI]S"OS YBETICILLATUS. ("Wirtel Winterbeere.) 
 
 Black Alder. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Aquifoliacese. Sex. Syst, — Hexandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE BAKK AND BERRIES. 
 
 Description. — This is an indigenous shrub of irregular growth, some- 
 times known as Winterberry, having a stem six or eight feet in height, 
 with a grayish bark, and alternate branches. Leaves alternate or scat- 
 tered, on short petioles, oval, acute at the,^ase, pointed, sharply serrate, 
 of an olive-green color, smooth above, and downy beneath, particularly 
 on the veins. Flowprs small, white, dioecious, on very shovt peduncles; 
 fertile ones somewhat clustered or solitary ; sterile ones sub-umbellate ; 
 sometimes the flowers are moncecious. Calyx small, six-cleft, persistent. 
 Corolla monopetalous, spreading, without a tube, the border divided into 
 six obtuse segments. Stamens equal in number to the segments of the 
 corolla, erect, with oblong anthers; in the fertile flowers they are 
 shorter than the corolla, in the sterile they are equal in length to it. 
 Ovary large, green, roundish, with a short style and obtuse stigma. 
 Fruit bright scarlet, globular berries about the size of a pea, supported 
 by the persistent calyx, and crowned with the stigma, six-celled, con- 
 taining six long seeds, which are convex outwardly, and sharp-edged 
 within. Berries in scattered groups on the stem, forming small, appar- 
 ently vertioillate bunches. — L. — W. 
 
 History. — Black Alder is common throughout the United States, 
 growing in moist woods, swamps, edges of streams, etc., flowering 
 from May to July, and maturing its fruit in the latter part of autumn. 
 The bark and berries are officinal. The dried bark of the shops is in 
 pieces either flat or slightly quilled, thin, white with a greenish tint 
 within, brownish-gray externally, readily pulverizable, inodorous, but 
 of a bitteris*^, subastringent taste. It yields its properties to water by 
 infusion or decoction. The berries have a saccharine, amarous taste, 
 and yield their virtues to water or alcohol ; they should not be substi- 
 tuted, in practice, for the bark. These have not been analyzed. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Black Alder is tonic, alterative, and astringent. 
 It has been used with good efi'ect in jaundice, diarrhea, gangrene, and 
 all diseases attended with great weakness ; it has also been of service 
 in dropsy. Two drachms of the powdered bark and one drachm of 
 powdered golden-seal infused in a pint of boiling water, and when cold, 
 taken in the course of the day, in doses of a wineglassful, and repeated 
 daily, has proved very valuable in dyspepsia. Externally, the decoc- 
 tion forms an excellent local application to gangrene, to indolent ulcers, 
 some affections of the skin, etc. The berries are cathartic and vermi- 
 fuge, and form, with cedar-apples, a pleasant and effectual worm medi- 
 cine for children. (See Juniperus Virginiana.) Dose of the powdered 
 bark, from half a drachm to one drachm ; of the decoction, four fluid- 
 ounces three or four times a day. Black Alder bark is an ingredient 
 of several alterative syrups. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Prinos. 
 
678 Materia Medica. 
 
 PEUNUS VIEG-miANA. (Yirginisclie Kirsche.) 
 
 Wild- cherry. — Wilde Kirsche. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Drupacese; De CandoUe; Amygdalese, Lindley. Sex. Syst.— 
 Icosandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE BARK. 
 
 Description. — The tree is the Gerasus Serotina of De Candolle, and the 
 Gerasus Virginiana of Michaux; it is a largo tree, generally from fifty 
 to eighty feet high, from two to four feet in diameter, being of uniform 
 • size and undivided to the height of twenty or thirty feet. Bark black 
 rough, separates naturally from the trunk in thick, slender laminae 
 Wood compact, fine-grained, receives a fine polish, and is extensively 
 used by cabinet manufacturers. Leaves deciduous', oval-oblong, acu- 
 minate, finely and unequally serrate, with incurved short and callous 
 teeth, thickish, smooth, no hairs on the under side, shiningabove, three 
 to five inches long, half as wide, on petioles which are furnished with 
 one or two pairs oif reddish glands. Flowers white, in long, erect, terminal 
 racemes, with a small, solitary flower now and then in the axil of the 
 le'aves next the raceme. Bracts inconspicuous. Galyx with sharp, shal- 
 low segments. Fruit a globular drupe, about as large as a pea, of a 
 purplish-black color, edible, but having a bitter taste. — L. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — The Wild-cherry tree is found in many parts of the United 
 States, but is most abundant, and attains the greatest magnitude, in the 
 south-western States. Its flowers appear in May, and the fruit ripens 
 in August and September. The officinal portion is the bark, and that 
 of the root should be preferred to that of the trunk and branches. Il 
 should be renewed annually, as its properties are much impaired by 
 age. As dried and prepared for use, it is in fragments of varying length 
 and width, from one to six or eight inches by six lines to three inches, 
 somewhait curved, having the epidermis removed, of a cinnamon color 
 with a slightly red tint, friable with a short fracture, and easily reduced 
 to a fawn-colored powder. Its odor is prussic, which is in a measure 
 lost by drying, but regained by maceration; its taste is aromatic, prus- 
 sic, and bitter. Water or alcohol takes up its virtues; boiling impairs 
 its medicinal qualities, by driving off the hydrocyanic acid. That 
 gathered in the fall of the year is the best. Dr. S. Procter found it to 
 contain a light straw-colored, pungent oil, of a prussic odor, and highly 
 poisonous, owing to the hydrocyanic acid contained in it, having a 
 specific gravity 1.046; two drops of it killed a cat in a few minutes ; he 
 also found in it tannic and gallic acids, starch, resin, salts of lime, po- 
 tassa, and ifon, fatty matter, etc. {See Jour, of Phil. Gol. of Pharm., Vol. 
 TI., p. 8.) Professor W. Procter has shown that the volatile oil consists 
 of hydrocyanic acid and hydruret of benzyle, similar to that of oil of 
 almonds, and that these do not pre-exist in the bark, but are the pro- 
 ducts of the decomposition of amygdalin, by the reaction of emulsin. — 
 Am. Jour. Pharm., Vol. X., p. 197. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Wild-cherry bark has a tonic and stimulating 
 influence on the digestive apparatus, and a simultaneous sedative ac- 
 tion on the nervous system and circulation. It is, therefore, valuable 
 in all those cases where it is desirable to give tone and strength to the 
 system, without, at -the same time, causing too great an action of the 
 heart and bloodvessels, as, during convalescence from pleurisy, pneumo- 
 nia, acRte hepatitis, and other inflammatory and febrile diseases. It is 
 also useful in hectic fever, cough, colliquative diarrhea, some forms of 
 
V. 
 
 Prunus Vikginiana. 679 
 
 dyspepsia, ■whooping-cough, .irritability of the nervous system, etc., and 
 has been found an excellent palliative in phthisis. It has likewise been 
 of service in scrofula and other diseases attended with much debility 
 and hectic fever. Externally it has been found useful in decoction as a 
 wash to ill-conditioned ulcers. Dose of the powdered bark, one or two 
 drachms ; of the infusion, one ounce of bark to one pint of cold water, 
 and allowed to stand a few hours, from one to four fluidounces, four or 
 tive times a day, and which is the best mode of using it. 
 
 Prunin is the misnomer given to an agent obtained from Wild-cherry 
 bark, but devoid of any hydrocyanic acid. It is said to be mildly tonic 
 and astringent, in the dose of from two to ten grains. As wo have sev- 
 eral superior' tonics and astringents, and at a much less cost, I do not 
 perceive any necessity for this one, which is deicidedlyinferidr to many 
 others that might be procured from crude plants. Unfortunately some 
 persons are so wrapped up in what are called " concentrated remedies," 
 and "medicines in powdered form," that they will blindly employ any- 
 thitig presented as such, without stopping to inquire or examine into 
 its claim. This is decidedly wrong. 
 
 Dr. T. L. A. Greve, one of our best pharmaceutists, states that Pru- 
 nin, or " Cerasin, has been prepared from the Choke Cherry, but is now 
 generally made from the bark of the root of Prunus Yirg., by obtain- 
 ing an alcoholic extract, drying, and powdering it. A more efficient 
 preparation, in the form of scales, may be made by the same method 
 named by him for extract of geranium," which see. 
 
 The Pkunus Domestictjs, or cultivated Prune or Plum Tree, may be re- 
 ferred to here. The dried or prepared fruit is the only officinal part, and 
 furnishes the Prunes of commerce. The best prunes come from Bordeaux ; 
 some are received from Germany, but they are of a poor kind. Prunes 
 are prepared in warm countries by placing them on hurdles and drying 
 them by solar heat ; in colder climates artificial heat is employed. 
 They have a faint, peculiar odor, and a sweetish, slightly acidulous and 
 viscid laste: The ripe fruit contains sugar, gum, albumen, malic' acid, 
 pectin, vegetable fiber, etc. In Germany, a sort of brandy is prepared 
 from this fruitj and which may be sometimes had of the imported of 
 German liquors. Dried prunes are mildly laxative, and are frequently 
 employed in decoction, or the fruit eaten stewed, in convalescence from 
 acute diseases, forming a nourishing and agreeable diet. They are 
 often added to cathartic decoctions to improve the flavor, and promote 
 the purgative effect. They enter into. the composition of the confection 
 of senna. In large quantities, and with some dyspeptics, they are apt 
 to disorder the bowels. The following preparation has been adminis- 
 tered with much success in leucorrhea, irregular menstruation, and in 
 debility from frequent abortions : Take of small' raisins, or dried cur- 
 rants, two ounces, aniseed, mace, and cinnamon, of each, half an ounce, 
 and one nutmeg in powder; to these add one quart of prune brandy, 
 and let them macerate for two weeks, freq^uently agitating. This is 
 the formula as originally given. Of the clear tincture thus made, one 
 fluidounce may be given previous to a meal, and repeated three times 
 daily. 
 
 Off. Prep. — InfusumPruni Virginianse ; Tinctura Laricis Composita; 
 ■Vinuna Cinehonffi Compositum. 
 
680 Materia Medica. 
 
 PTBLEA TEIFOLIATA. (Nordamerikanischer Kleebaum.) 
 
 Wafer-ash- 
 Ifat. Ord. — Xanthoxylacese. Sex. Syst. — Tetrandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE bark of the ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant is also known by the name of Wing.%eed 
 Shrubby Trefoil, and Swamp Dogwood. It is a shrub from six to eiglil 
 feet in height ; leaves trifoliate, marked with pellucid dots ; leaflets ses 
 sile, ovate, short acuminate, downy beneath when young, crenulate, oi 
 obscurely toothed ; lateral ones inequilateral, terminal ones cuneate at 
 base, three to four and a half inches long by one inch and a quarter to 
 one inch and three-quarters wide. Flowers polygamous, greenish- 
 white, nearly half an inch in diameter, of a disagreeable odor,, in ter- 
 minal corymbose cymes. Stamens mostly four ; style short. Fruit a 
 two celled samara, nearly an inch in diameter, winged all round, nearly 
 orbicular. — G. — W. 
 
 Sistory. — Wafer-ash, or Ptelea, is a shrub common to this country, 
 growing more abundantly west of the AUeghanies, in shady, moist 
 hedges and edges of woods, and in rocky places; it flowers in June. 
 Tha bark of the root is officinal, and yields its properties to boiling 
 water ; but alcohol is its best solvent. It is, when dried, of a lights 
 brownish-yellow color externally, in cylindrical rolls or quills, a line or 
 two in thickness, and from one to several inches in length, irregularly 
 wrinkled and /urrowed externally, with broad, transverse lines or 
 rings at short but irregular intervals, and is covered with a thin epi- 
 dermis ; internally it is yellowish -white, but becomes darker on ex- 
 posure, and is wrinkled longitudinally ; it is brittle, with an almost 
 smooth, resinous fracture; granular under the microscope, resembling 
 wax. It has a peculiar smell, somewhat similar to that of liquorice- 
 root, and a peculiar bitter, resinous, pungent, acrid, and .rather dis- 
 agreeable taste, speedily and powerfully acting upon the mouth and 
 fauces, and the pungency of which is persistent, and which is probably 
 owing to its oieo-resin. According to Justin Steer, the bark of the 
 root contains oleo-resin, yellow crystalline coloring matter, starch, al- 
 bumen, berberina, but no tannin. The tonic effect of the bark is due 
 to its berberina. The fruit is bitter and aromatic. This bark is the 
 one described by Prof I. G-. Jones in the first edition of his work on 
 Theory and Practice, under the name of Staphylea Trifolia, but which 
 he subsequently, ascertained to be incorrect. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Ptelea is tonic. ,Used- in intermittent fevers, 
 remittent fevers, and all cases of debility where tonics are indicated. 
 Said also to be anthelmintic. Equal parts of Ptelea and the Euonymus 
 Atropurpureus, have been found very useful in pulmonary affections. 
 A tincture of Ptelea, mad^ in whisky, is reputed to have cured several 
 cases of asthma, and it is said to cause, in many instances where it has 
 been used, a troublesome external erysiplatous inflammation, either gen- 
 eral or local, but which, if the use of the tincture be persisted in, finally 
 disappears, and the patient becomes at the same time permanently 
 cured of the disease for which he was treated. This would certainly 
 indicate other valuable properties in this plant, than those with which 
 ■we are acquainted, and deserves a further and thorough investigation. 
 Prof. I. Gr. Jones states that this bark is a pure, unirritating tonic, hav- 
 ing rather- a soothing influence when applied to irritated mucous mem- 
 branes. He has employed it advantageously in convalescence after 
 
Pteris Atkopurpurea. 681 
 
 fevers, and in debility connected with gastro-enteric irritation. It pro- 
 inotesthe appetite, enables the stomach to endure suitable nourishment, 
 favors the early re-establishment of digestion, and will be tolerated by 
 the stomach, when other tonics are rejected. He employs it in cold in- 
 fusion, of which half a fluidounce may be given every two, three, or 
 four hours, according to circumstances. It is also said to cure inter- 
 mittent fever, and is considered by some to be equal to quinia. It may 
 he used in powder, tincture, or extract. Dose of the powder, ten to 
 thirty grains, three or four times a day ; of the tincture, one or two 
 fluidrachms; of the extract, five to ten grains. ' 
 
 Off. Prep.— Extractum Ptelese Hydro-alcoholicura ; Infusum Ptelea3 ; 
 Ptelese Oleoresina. 
 
 PTEEIS ATEOPUEPUEBA. (Purpurrother Pliigelfarm.) 
 
 Eockbrake. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Filices; Polypodi acese, ^roww. Sex. Syst. — Oryptogamia 
 Pilices. 
 
 THE PLANT. , 
 
 Description. — Eockbrake is an indigenous perennial fern, with a. frond 
 six to ten inches in height, twice as long as wide, of a grayish hue, pinnate, 
 the two lower divisions consisting of one to three pairs of leaflets, with 
 a large terminal segment. Stipe and rachis dark-purple, shining, with 
 dense, paleaceous hairs at base. Lower leaflets ternate or pinnate, lance- 
 olate, obtuse, distinct, obliquely truncate or subcordate at base, with 
 margins conspicuously revolute. Involucre rather broad, formed of the 
 inflected margin of the frond, Opening inwardly. Sori in a broad, con- 
 tinuous line along the margin of the frond. The several varieties of 
 this species possess similar properties, as the Pteris Venosa, with tlje 
 stipe angled, and the leaflets veined beneatb ; P. Punctata, with the stipe' 
 terete, and the leaflets punctate beneath. — W. — Gr. 
 
 The Pteris Aquimna, or Common Brake, likewise possesses analogous 
 virtues. It is a fern two to five feet in height, upon 'a smooth, dark- 
 purple, erect stipe. Frond pinnate, three-parted, broad-triangular in 
 outline; branches bipinnate; Zea/?efa linear-lanceolate ; lower ones pin- 
 natifid, upper ones entire ; segments oblong, obtuse. Sori covered by the 
 folding back of the margins of the segments. — W. 
 
 History. — Eockbrake' is common to the United States, usually grow- 
 ing on limestone rocks ; the common Brake is found in great abundance, 
 in woods, pastures, waste grounds, and stony hills. The whole plant is 
 used in medicine, and imparts its virtues to water. No analysis has 
 been made of it. As found in the shops, the dried root consists of a long 
 cylindrical caudex, of a dark-brown color externally, and a light brown- 
 ish-red internally, of an astringent, leathery taste, and around which 
 are closely arranged, overlapping each other like the shingles of a roof, 
 the remains of the leafstalks or stipes, which are an inch or two in 
 length, from two to four lines thick, somewhat curved .^and directed up- 
 ward, angular, dark -brown, furrowed longitudinally, and from between 
 which, emerge numerous small radical fibers. The dried leaves are of 
 a light-grayish or greenish-yellow color, of an odor resembling that of 
 sole leather, and a leathery, as.tringent, not disagreeable taste. As 
 sold, it is usually in broken fragments. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Eockbrake is astringent and anthelmintic. A 
 decoction of it, taken moderately, has proved efiicacious in diarrhea, 
 dysentery, night-sweats and hemorrhages ; and used as a local applica- 
 
682 Materia Medica. 
 
 tion, it is beneficial in obstinate and ill-conditioned ulcers, Tilcerations 
 of the mouth and fauces, and as a vaginal injection in leucorrhea. A 
 strong decoction is in repute as a remedy for worms. A powerful 
 astringent infusion may be jmade by adding four drachms of the plant 
 to, one pint of boiling water, and which has been used in diarrhea and 
 dysentery, in half fluidounce doses, repeated every two or three hours, 
 with success. 
 
 A plant called Winter-fern or Brake is much employed in amenorrhea, 
 and in suppression of the lochia ; it is used in infusion and taken freely. 
 By some it is supposed to be the Pteris Atropurpurea ; but of this I am 
 not positive, not having been able to obtain a perfect specimen of the 
 plant for examination. Both the rcots and tops are used, and are 
 wprthy the attention of the practitioner in the above-named derange- 
 ments. 
 
 PTBEOOAEPUS SANTALINUS. (Sandel Pliigelfracht.) 
 Eed Saunders. — Bother Sandel. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Fabacese, or Leguminosse. SeX. Syst. — ^Diadelphia De- 
 candria. 
 
 THE WOOD. 
 
 Description. — This is a lofty forest tree. Leaves alternate stalked, 
 ternate, rarely pinnate ; leaflets alternate, petiolate, the uppermost 
 larger, ovate-roundish or oblong, entire, emarginate or retuse, smooth 
 above, hoary beneath ; stipules wanting. Flowers yellow, with red veins, 
 papilionaceous, in axillary, simple or branched, erect racemes. Bracts 
 none. Calyx brown, five-cleft. Stamens ten, combined into ai sheath, 
 split down to the base on the upper side, and half-way down on the 
 lower. Legume roundish, long-stalked, falcate upward, compressed, 
 smooth, keeled on the lower edge; keel membranous and undulated. 
 Seed solitary. — L. 
 
 History. — This is a large forest tree inhabiting Ceylon, and the moun- 
 tains of the opposite Coromandel coast on the Indian continent. The 
 wood is the officinal Bed Saunders or Bed Sandal wood. It is imported 
 in billets which are dense, heavy, dark-brown externally, and internally 
 dark -red, with light-red rings. It is usually kept in the shops in the 
 state of small chips, raspings, or coarse powder. It has a faint, peculiar 
 odor, and an obscurely astringent taste, and is of difficult pulverization. 
 Coloring woods generally communicate their color to water, which is 
 not the case with Eed Saunders ; this, however, gives to alkaline solu- 
 tions, ether, and alcohol, a scarlet color.! The alcoholic solution gives 
 with solutions of lead a violet colored deposit, with corrosive sublimate 
 a scarlet, and with sulphate of iron a deep violet. About seventeen per 
 cent, of a yellow resinoid coloring principle was obtained from it by 
 Pelletier, which became red from the action of the air; he named it 
 Santalin Cje H,6 Os. It may be obtained either by precipitation of the 
 tincture with water, or by preparing an infusion with an alkaline solu- 
 tion, and precipitating with an acid. It is tasteless, insoluble in water, 
 slightly soluble in oils, readily soluble in alcohol, ether, or acetic acid, 
 and readily soluble without decomposition in alkalies; the acetic solu- 
 tion is somewhat astringent to the taste, and is precipitated by solution 
 of gelatine. It is said to have an acid reaction. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tonic and astringent ; formerly used for these 
 indications, but at present emp'oyed only for coloring tinctures, etc. 
 
Pulsatilla Kigrioans. 683 
 
 PULMONAEIA OFFICmALIS. (Officinelles Lungenkraut.) 
 
 Lungwort. 
 Nat. Ord. — Boraginacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — This a rough plant, with a stem about one foot in height. 
 Radical leaves ovate, cordate, scabrous, cauline ones ovate and sessile. 
 Flowers blue,- in terminal clusters. Calyx prismatic, five-angled, five- 
 toothed, and as long as the tube of the corolla ; corolla infundibuliform, 
 with a cylindric tube, orifice hairy in five lines alternating with the 
 stamens; stigma emarginate; achenia roundish, obtuse, imperforate at 
 base. — W. 
 
 History. — This is an herbaceous perennial, growing in Europe and 
 this country, in northern latitudes. In Europe it is a rough-leaved 
 plant, but in this country the whole plant is smooth. The Mertensia 
 Virginica, or Virginian Lungwort, or Cowslip, is -frequently employed in 
 the United States ; it is the Pulmonaria Virginica of Linnaeus, and the 
 lAthospermum Pulchrum of Lehman. It is a smooth, erect and elegant 
 plant, about twentj' inches in height ; radical leaves obtuse, obovate- 
 elliptical, become from five to six inches long, and about two-thirds as 
 wide, many-veined ; cauline long-lanceolate, sessile. Flowers blue, in 
 terminal clusters. (JaZj/a; five-cleft, much shorter than the tube of the 
 corolla, limb longer than the tube; corolla .ne&v\j an inch long, funnel- 
 form, four times the length of the calyx, naked in the throat, and the 
 much-spreading border slightly five-lobed ; stamens and style included ; 
 filaments &\&qA&t. ZJz'sA bearing two glands as long as the ovaries. The 
 stem and leaves are usually pellucid-punctate. This plant is found in 
 alluvial banks, growing from Western New York to Georgia and the 
 Western States, and flowering in May. Being a showy plant it is fre- 
 quently cultivated. The leaves of these plants are the parts used ; they 
 are without odor, and have a faint, astringent, somewhat viscid taste. 
 Water extracts their properties.— TF. — Gr. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Demulcent and mucilaginous, and may be used 
 in decoction, whenever this class of agents is indicated. They have 
 been much used in bleeding from the lungs, bronchial and catarrhal 
 affections, and other disorders of the respiratory organs. 
 
 PULSATILLA OTQEIOANS. 
 Pulsatilla. i 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eanuneulaceie. Sex. Syst. — Polyandria Polygynia. 
 
 THE PLANT. 
 
 Description. — This is the Anemone Pratensis of Linnaeus, a handsome 
 species of this genus of perennial plants, with simple, erect, rounded 
 Stents, three to five inches high. Leaves radical, pinnatifid, downy ; 
 segments many-parted," with linear lobes. Flowers solitary, terminal, 
 pendulous, deep purple, having six sepals, somewhat narrow, pointed, 
 reflexed at the point, erect and converging at the base. Stalked glands, 
 or sterile stamens are found between the fertile stamens and sepals. — L. 
 
 History. — Pulsatilla or Pasque flower grows in Turkey, in Asia, in 
 Eussia, and other parts of Europe, in open fields, plains, hills, and 
 sandy pasture grounds, exposed to the sun, flowering early in the 
 spring, and, according to some writers, again in the latter part of sum- 
 
684 Materia Medioa. 
 
 mer or early in the fall. The plant has a slight odor, and an acrid, 
 pungent taste. It is stated to contain an acrid and vesicating princi- 
 ple, and to yield a corrosive oil, and a tannic acid coloring iron green, 
 and which properties are lost by drying. Alcohol appears to he its 
 best menstruum. The tincture is prepared by macerating two pounds 
 of the fresh plant in four pints of strong alcoliol, then expressing and 
 filtering. It has a brownish-green color, and an acrid, pungent taste. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This plant was considered by Storck to be use- 
 ful in amaurosis and other ocular maladies, in secondary syphilis, and 
 in some forms of cutaneous disease. Dr. J. de Eamm has found it effi- 
 cacious in pertussis. Its therapeutical actions very much resemble 
 those of the Anemone Ludoviciana, which see. It forms an important 
 remedy with the homeopaths, who make extensive use of it. Accord- 
 ing to Prof. J. M. Scudder, who has used it largely in his practice, its 
 most important use is to allay irritation of the nervous system in per- 
 sons of feeble health, thus giving sleep and rest, preventing unneces- 
 sary expenditure of nerve force, and by this means facilitating the 
 action of tonics and restoratives. In feeble women, and men who have 
 become nervous from sedentary habits or over mental exertion, as well 
 as in the nervousness and restlessness of masturbators, or persons ad- 
 dicted to the excessive use of tobacco, he has found it very certain in 
 its action. It is the remedy for nervous women, when there is debility 
 and faulty nutrition of the nerve centers; it is also useful in headache, 
 neuralgia, and other painful diseases arising from or associated with 
 debility. In amenorrhea the result of cold, or emotional excitement, it 
 may be employed with advantage; and is very efficacious in giddiness, 
 imperfect voluntary motion, impaired vision, and in a symptom de- 
 scribed as a sense of pressure over the larynx and trachea, with im- 
 perfect respiratory movement, and sense of impending danger ; the 
 symptoms just preceding are those not unfrequently associated with 
 functional heart disease, dyspepsia, uterine disease, or over-excitation 
 of the sexual system, and are generally very unpleasant and annoying. 
 The dose of the tincture is from half a drop to five drops every three 
 or four hours. The better way of administering it is to add one or two 
 fluidrachms to four fluidounces of water, of which mixture, a teaspoon- 
 ful may be given for a dose. 
 
 PUNICA GEANATUM. (Gemeiner Granatbaum.) 
 
 Pomegranate. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Myrtacese. Sex. Syst. — Icosandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE RIND OP THE FRUIT AND THE BARK OF THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Pomegranate is a small tree or shrub, with spinescent 
 branchlets. Leaves opposite, oblong, inclining to lanceolate, entire, 
 smooth, with no marginal vein, two or three inches long by five or ten 
 lines wide, obtuse, deciduous, shortly petioled,^ rarely verticillate or 
 alternate, often axillary and fascicled. Flowers large, red, two or three, 
 nearly sessile on somewhat terminal branchlets. Calyx turbinate, five- 
 cleft, thick, pale, succulent ; sestivation valvate. Corolla consists of 
 five much crumpled, membranous petals. Stamens numerous, inserted 
 on the calyx ; filaments distinct ; anthers yellow. Ovary roundish, infe- 
 rior ; style simple, filiform ; stigma globular, capitate. Fruit a lai-ge, 
 globose pericarp, the size of a small muskmelon, leathery, crowned by 
 the prominent hardened tube of the calyx, divided horizontally into 
 
PuNiCA Granatuji. 685 
 
 two parts by a very irregular, confused dissepiment; the lower division 
 three -celled, the upper five to nine-celled ; dissepiments membra- 
 naceous ; placentas in the, lower division at the bottom ; in the upper 
 stretching from the side of the fruit to the middle. Seeds numerous, 
 angular, covered with a bright red, succulent, acrid coat. Embryo ob- 
 long; radicle short, acute; cotyledons foliaceous, spirally convolute. — 
 L.— W. 
 
 History. — The Pomegranate grows on the Mediterranean shores, 
 Persia, China, and other countries of Asia, and has been naturalized 
 in the West Indies, and other civilized countries in warm latitudes. 
 It has splendid, dark-scarlet flowers, often doubled, which appear in 
 July and August. The flowers have a slightly styptic taste, without 
 odor, and their infusion gives a deep bluish-black precipitate with the 
 salts of the sesquioxide of iron ; the saliva is colored a violet-red upon 
 chewing them. Both tannic and gallic acids enter into their compo- 
 sition. In some foreign Pharmacopoeias, they, together with the seeds, 
 are recognized as of&cinal. The rose-colored, juicy, acid pulp is edible, 
 and is very grateful to febrile patients. The root-bark and the fruit- 
 rind are the only parts employed in this country. The fruit varies in 
 size and flavor, that of the West Indies becoming the most perfect. 
 
 The Rind of the fruit (Granatum, London, Punicce Granati Cortex, 
 Dublin, or Granati Fructus Cortex, United States), when dry, is brown 
 externallj', yellow within, about a line in thickness, smooth or finely 
 tuberculated, hard, dry, brittle, in irregular fragments, inodorous, and 
 of a veiy astringent, somewhat bitter taste. Its infusion gives an 
 abundant, dark -bluish precipitate with the salts of iron. It contains 
 18.8 per cent, of tannin, 17.1 of mucilage, 10.8 extractive matter, 30 
 lignin, a trace of resin, and 29.9 moisture. 
 
 The root is large, ligneous, knotty, and hard, not used in medicine. 
 The Bark of the root (Granati Radicis Cortex), as found in commerce, is 
 generally in quills, or fragments of quills, from two to six inches in 
 length, and ffom half an inch to an inch in breadth, and nearly a line 
 in thickness; it is grayish-yellow externally, with green specks, yellow 
 internally, brittle, and not stringy. It has a short fracture, a faint, 
 peculiar odor, an astringent bitter taste when fresh, the bitterness of 
 which is nearly lost by drying. When chewed, it tinges the saliva 
 yellow. Its infusion yields a deep-blue precipitate with the salts of 
 iron, a yellowish-white one with a solution of gelatin, a grayish-yellow 
 with corrosive sublimate, and potassa or ammonia colors it purple. 
 Paper which has been colored yellow by the moistened inner face of 
 the bark, changes to blue by the action of sulphate of iron, and to a 
 delicate rose-color, which is evanescent, by nitric acid. These changes 
 do not occur with the bark of barberry, or of box-root, which are some- 
 times fraudulently mixed with it ; the box bark is nearly white, bitter, 
 not astringent, and its infusion is not precipitated by salts of iron. — 
 Guibourt. The barberry bark very much resembles the Pomegranate, 
 but is very bitter and not astringent, and is not affected by the salts of 
 iron, solution of isinglass, corrosive sublimate, or potassa. The ligne- 
 ous part of Pomegranate root is inactive, and should, therefore, be 
 always separated from the bark. 
 
 Pomegranate bark has been analyzed by several chemists ; L. de 
 Trie found it to consist of granadine or mannite, resin, fatty matter, 
 gallic acid, wax, chlorophyll, and insoluble substances. — P. Bonastre 
 says the fresh root contains a little volatile oil. Eighini ascribes the 
 properties of the root to an oleo-resin, punicin, which he obtained bj 
 
686 Mateeia Medica. 
 
 preparing a dry alcoholic extract from the watery extract, heating 
 this in the vapor -bath with eight parts of water, holding in solution a 
 sixty-fourth of caustic pota:ssa, neutralizing the alkaline solution witji 
 sulphuric acid, and washing on a filter with cold water the oleo-resin 
 which it separates. — G. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The flowers and rind of the fruit are astrin- 
 gent and have been used for arresting chronic mucoup discharges, pas- 
 sive hemorrhages, aphthous disorders of the mouth, night-sweats, col- 
 liquative diarrhea, etc., but are now seldom employed. The rind has 
 also been found serviceable in intermittent fever, and tapeworm. The 
 bark of the root possesses anthelmintic properties, and is chiefly service- 
 able in tapeworm. The bark of the wild Pomegranate is considered by 
 the French to be more active tlian the cultivated plant. It may be 
 given in powder, but the decoction is more frequently used. Foy as 
 well as Brenton recommend to prepare the decoction by placing two 
 ounces of the root in a pint and a half or two pints of water, and boil- 
 ing down to one pint; this is to be strained, and from two to four fluid- 
 ounces given for a dose, every half hour, or hour, until the pint of 
 decoction has been taken. It commonly occasions several stools, an 
 increased flow of urine, or nausea and vomiting, owing, it is supposed, 
 to the agitation into which the worm is thrown from its presence. 
 Sometimes joints of the worm begin to come away in less than an hour 
 after the last dose. But often the doses must be repeated several suc- 
 cessive mornings before they take efitect, and it is right to repeat them 
 occasionally for four or five days after the joints have ceased to come 
 away. Laxatives should be administered from time to time. It is said 
 to act with the greatest certainty when the joints of the worm come 
 away naturally. The dose of the rind or flowers in powder, is from 
 one to two scruples, and in decoction from one to three fluidounces. — G. 
 
 Off. Frep. — ^Decoctum Granati Radicis. 
 
 PYONANTHEMUM: PILOSUM. (Haarlge Dichtbliith.) 
 Pycnanthemum. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — LamiacesB, or Labiate®. Sex. Syst. — Didynamia Mono- 
 gynia. 
 
 THE PLANT. 
 
 Description. — This is an indigenous perennial plant, with long and 
 soft whitish hairs, and a subsimple stent, one to two feet in height. 
 Leaves sessile, nearly entire, lanceolate, acute at both ends, pilose be- 
 neath ; floral ones not whitened. Flowers white, in large, terminal, ses- 
 sile heads. Galyx-teeth ovate-lanceolate, acute, and with the lanceolate 
 bracts caneseently villous and awnless. Gorolla pubescent ; stamens 
 exserted. — G. — W. 
 
 History. — This plant is found in low grounds, dry hills and plains, 
 from Ohio and Illinois extending southward, and flowering in July and 
 August. The whole plant is used and yields its virtues to boiling water; 
 it has the taste and odor peculiar to the Mint family. There are several 
 species of this genus which possess similar medicinal properties, as the 
 Pycnanthemum Virginicum, Narrow-leaf Virginian Thyme, or Prairie- 
 Hyssop, a pubescent plant with white flowers, sessile, lance-linear, entire, 
 and punctate leaves, terminal and corymbed heads, and acuminate 
 bracts Also the P. Aristatum, or Wild Basil, with lance-ovate, subser- 
 
PyRETHKUU PARrHENlUM. 687 
 
 rate, pubescent, acuminate, and short petiolate leaves; hirsute, terminal, 
 capitate and subterminal verticils; bracts lance-subulate, the calyx 
 terminated by awns. Likewise F. Incanum, and others. — G. — W. 
 
 Properties and fZses.— Pycnanthemum is diaphoretic, stimulant, anti- 
 spasmodic, carminative, and tonic. A warm infusion is very useful in 
 puerperal, remittent, and other forms of fever, coughs, colds, catarrhs, 
 etc., and is of much benefit in spasmodic diseases, especially colic, cramp 
 of the stomach, and spasms of infants. The cold infusion is a good 
 tonic and stimulant during convalescence from exhausting diseas 
 Dose of the infusion, either warm or cold, from one to four fluidounc 
 three or more times a day. 
 
 Off. Frep. — Infusum Pycnanthemi. 
 
 ises. 
 
 PYEETHEUM PAETHBJSTIUM. (Mutterkraut Bertramwurzel.) 
 
 Feverfew. 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Asteracese. Sex. Systt.^Syngenesia. Superflua. 
 
 THE HERB. 
 
 Description. — Feverfew is a perennial, herbaceous plant, with a taper- 
 ing root, and an erect, branched, leafy, round, furrowed stem, about two 
 feet high. ' Leaves alternate, petiolate, flat, bipinnate, or tripinnate, 
 hoary green, the segments or leaflets inclining to ovate, decurrent, 
 gashed and dentate. Flowers white and compound. Panicle corym- 
 bose, sometimes compound; peduncles long, naked, single-flowered, 
 swelling upward. Flower-heads erect, about half an inch broad, with 
 a convex yellow disk, and numerous short, broad, abrupt, two-ribbed, 
 white rays; often wanting; sometimes multiplied, and the disk being 
 obliterated, constitutes a double flower. Involucre hemispherical, im- 
 bricate, pubescent, with the scales scarious at the edge; receptacle flat 
 or convex, naked ; achenia wingless, angular, uniform, crowned by a 
 covoneted pappus, which is usually toothed, and occasionally auriculate. 
 —Z.— W. 
 
 History. — This is a European plant, and is common to the United 
 States, found occasionally in a wild state, but is generally cultivated in 
 gardens, and flowers in June and July. It is the Matricaria Farthenium 
 of Linnseus, and the Chrysanthemum Farthenium of Persoon. It imparts 
 its virtues to water, but mhch better to alcohol. J. Chautard obtained 
 a camphor from this plant which rotates the plane of polarization to 
 the left; by treating this camphor with nitric acid in the way indicated 
 for the conversion of common camphor into camphoric acid, a new acid 
 wa& obtained, which rotated the plane of polarization to the left exactly 
 to the same extent that ordinary camphoric acid rotated it to the right. 
 If the right and left camphoric acids be mixed a new acid is formed. 
 having no action on polarized light. 
 
 Properties and Uses.- — Tonic, carminative, emmenagogue, vermifuge, 
 and stimulant. The warm infusion is an excellent remedy in recent 
 colds, flatulency, worms, irregular menstruation, hysteria, suppression 
 of the urine, and in some febrile diseases. In hysteria, or flatulency, 
 one teaspoonfiil of the compound spirits of lavender forms a valuable 
 addition to the dose of the infusion, which is from two to four fluid- 
 ounces. The cold infusion or extract, makes a valuable tonic. _ The 
 leaves in poultice are an excellent local application in severe pain or 
 swelling of the bowels, etc. Bees are said to dislike this plant verj 
 
688 I Materia Medioa. 
 
 much, and a handful of the flowgr-heads carried where they are, will 
 cause them to keep at a distance. 
 
 The flowers of the Pyrethrum roseum, and F. Carneum, exert a stupe 
 fyiug and destructive influence upon insects, as gnats, mosquitos, bed 
 bugs, cockroaches, etc. In the form of a coarse greenish powder, they 
 constitute the insect powder, now so extensively used for getting rid of 
 vermin. As these plants are found at a high elevation oh the Cauca- 
 sian mountains, the preparation referred to has been called "Caucasian." 
 or "Persian Insect Powder." Equal parts of this powder and pulver- 
 ized borax forms a very useful mixture to scatter around libraries, her- 
 bariums, etc., to keep away insects. The Pyrethrum has a strong, aro- 
 matic, somewhat piperaceous odor, but when adulterated with pulver- 
 ized staphisgaria seed, the odor is disagreeable and nauseating. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Pyrethri. 
 
 PTEOLA EOTUKDIPOLIA. (Eundblattrige Pyrole.) 
 
 Eound-leaved Pyrola. 
 Nat. Ord. — Ericacese. Sex. Syst. — Decandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE HERB. 
 
 Description. — This is a perennial, low, scarcely suflruticose, evergreen 
 herb, ' known by the various names of False Wintergreen, Shin-leaf. 
 Canker-Lettuce, Pear-leaf Wintergreen, etc. Leaves radical or nearly so, 
 orbicular-ovate, nearly two inches in diameter, smooth, shining, thick, 
 entire or crenulate, usually shorter than the petiole, with conspicuous, 
 reticulate veins. Petioles margined, as long as, and usually much longer 
 than the leaf. Scape mostly racemose, three-angled, six to twelve inches 
 high, with scaly bracts at base and in the middle. Flowers many, large, 
 fragrant, white, drooping, about three-fourths of an inch broad, in an 
 oblong, terminal raceme. Calyx five-parted, persistent; lobes lanceo- 
 late, acute, with somewhat spreading tips, one-half or one-third the 
 length of the petals. Petals five, roundish-obovate, nearly spreading, 
 concave, deciduous. Stamens ten, ascending; filaments awl-shaped, 
 naked; anthers large, pendulous; stigmas exserted beyond the ring; 
 style declining and curved, longer than the petals. Capsule five-celled, 
 flve-valved, opening at the angles, many-seeded. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — This plant is common in damp and shady woods., through- 
 out various parts of the United States, bearing numerous white flowers 
 in June and July. The whole plant is used, and imparts its medical 
 properties to water. It has not been analyzed. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Eound-leaved Pyrola is tonic, astringent, diu- 
 retic, and anti-spasmodic. Used in decoction, both internally and 
 externally in various cutaneous eruptions, likewise in a carcinomatous 
 or scrofulous taint of the system, and in leucorrhea, and some uterine 
 diseases. As a local application it will be found of service in sore- 
 throat, and ulcerations of the mouth, indolent ulcers, ophthalmia, etc., 
 and forms an excellent soothing poultice for boils, carbuncles, and all 
 painful tumors or swellings. The decoction, taken internally, is said 
 to be valuable in many urinary affections, as gravel, hematuria, and 
 ulceration of the bladder, and in some nervous diseases.' The decoction 
 and extract have been used with success in convulsions, and form a 
 large portion of a popular nostrum for epilepsy. Dose of the decoction; 
 
Pyrus Malus. 689 
 
 one or two fluidounces, three or four times a day; of the extract from 
 two to five grains. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Pyrojse Eotundifolise. 
 
 PYEUS MALUS. (Apfelbaum.) 
 
 The Apple-tree,. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eosacese ; Suborder, PomesB. Sex. Syst. — Icosandria Pen- 
 tagynist. , 
 
 THE BARK. 
 
 Description.- — This is a well known tree, growing from twenty to forty 
 feet high, with rigid, crooked, spreading branches, and a rough, black- 
 ish bark. Leaves from two to three inches long, about two-thirds as 
 wide, ovate-, or oblong-ovate, serrate, acute or short-acuminate, pubes- 
 cent above, tomentose beneath, and on petioles from half an inch to an 
 Inch in length. Flowers large, fragrant, expanding with the leaves, 
 pale-rose color, in subumbellate corymbs. Calyx-tube urn-shaped, limb 
 five-cleft ; pedicels and calyx villose-tomentose. Petals five, roundish, or 
 obovate, with short claws. Stamens numerous ; styles five, united and 
 villose at base. Fruit or pome globose. — W. 
 
 History. — The Apple-tree is a native of Europe, naturalized/ in this 
 country, and flowers from April to June. There are, probably, nearly 
 one thousand varieties cultivated in the United States, and all of which 
 are said to be derived from the Wild Crab. Prom the fruit cider is man- 
 ufactured, and both the fruit and its cider are much used for domestic and 
 medicinal purposes. The bark is bitter and has been employed in med- 
 icine, it contains a principle called phloridzin ; the root-bark is the most 
 active, and yields its virtues to boiling water. Eochleder has obtained 
 a yellow coloring matter, which he named quercetin. The seeds contain 
 amygdalin. 
 
 Phloridzin or phloridzite is a name given by Dr. Koninck, a G-erman 
 phj'sician, to a bitter principle, which exists in the bark of the trunk 
 and roots of the apple, cherry, and plum trees. Its existence was first 
 noticed by Prof. G-eiger of Heidelberg, but Dr. Koninck first obtained 
 it in a separate state, and determined its characters. To prepare it, the 
 fresh bark of the root of the Apple-tree is boiled for two hours in a 
 quantity of water sufficient to cover it. This water is decanted ofi', and 
 the boiling repeated with a second portion, and this last decoction must 
 be kept separate from the first. It commonly deposits in twenty-four 
 hours, a considerable number of gianular crystals of phloridzin, 
 which, when dissolved in distilled water and treated with animal char- 
 coal, are rendered quite , pure. "We obtain an additional quantity by 
 evaporating the liquid down to one-fifth. In this state of concentra- 
 tion, it deposits the whole phloridzin which it contains, when left at 
 rest for a couple of days. About three per cent, of this principle is 
 thus obtained. About five per cent, may be procured by another pro- 
 cess, viz.: digest the fresh bark of the root in weak alcohol, about the 
 temperature of 122°, continuing the digestion for eight or ten hours. 
 The greater part of the alcohol is then to be distilled off, and the res- 
 idue set aside to crystallize. Purify then the same as in the other pro- 
 cess. 
 
 Phloridzin has a dull white color, with a shade of yellow, and is crys- 
 tallized in silky needles ; it may also be obtained in tables. It has a 
 bitter taste, followed by a sweotishness, is soluble in only the thous- 
 44 
 
690 Materia Medioa. 
 
 andth part of its weight of cold water, but from 76° to 212° dissolves 
 in all proportions. It is very soluble in absolute alcohol, but little sol- 
 uble in ether, has no action on vegetable colors, and a sp. gr. of 1.4298. 
 ,Its alcoholic solution causes left-handed rotation in a ray of polarized 
 light. At 212° it loses its water of crystallization, which is not absorbed 
 again even in a moist atmosphere; it melts at 227°, and boils at 351° 
 At 380° it begins to be decomposed, forming a benzoic acid, acetone, 
 and a brown oil heavier than water. It is dissolved by the concen- 
 trated acids without decomposition, while it retains its water. When 
 anhydrous, it forms a reddish-brown solution with sulphuric acid ; a 
 white insoluble substance with muriatic acid ; heated with nitric acid 
 it is converted into oxalic acid ; boiled for eight or ten hours with sul- 
 phuric acid it is converted into sugar. The alkalies and concentrated 
 acetic acid dissolve it without alteratiou. Chlorine, bromine, and 
 iodine, act upon it violently, evolving- much heat, and hydrochloric, 
 hydrobromic, and hydriodic acids are respectively -given out, while a 
 brown resinous substance is produced, which is soluble in alcohol, but 
 not in water. Persulphate of iron gives with a solution of phloridzin 
 a yellowish-brown precipitate ; perchloride of iron, a very dark-brown ; 
 protosulphate of iron has no action ; diacetate of lead gives a copious 
 white precipitate, which becomes yellow when dry. It is composed of 
 carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; C42 H24 Ojo, 2 Hj O2. 
 
 Properties avid Uses. — Apple-tree bark is tonic and febrifuge, and a 
 decoction of it has been used with advantage in intermittent, remit- 
 tent, and bilious fevers, and in convalescence from exhausting diseases. 
 It may be given in doses of from one to four fluidounces, three times a 
 day. A strong decoction or syrup of the Sweet Apple-tree bark has 
 been employed with success in som.e cases of gravel. The fruit or ap- 
 ple contains both malic and acetic acids, has a pleasant and refreshing 
 flavor, and is a useful and healthy article of diet. However, it should 
 not be eaten by dyspeptics, or patients afflicted with gout, rheumatism, 
 renal and cutaneous diseases. "When baked, stewed, or roasted, it be- 
 comes valuable as an agreeable and healthy diet in febrile diseases, 
 exanthema, etc., and is more easily digested than when raw ; it is also 
 slightly laxative and is beneficial in cases of habitual constipation. 
 Eaw apples should always be well masticated before being swallowed, 
 as otherwise, they may become a source of serious difficulties, especi- 
 ally with children. An Apple tea may be made for fever patients, by 
 boiling a tart Apple in half a pint of water, and sweetening with 
 Sugar. 
 
 Cider forms not only a refreshing and agreeable -drink for patients 
 with fever, but actually exerts a salutary miedicinal influence, especi- 
 ally where the tongue is coated brown or black. I have used cider, in 
 which horse-radish has been steeped, as an efiicacious remedy in drop- 
 sy, for more than twenty-three years ; and it is now used in the pre- 
 paration of a valiiable agent for this disease, the Compound Infusion of 
 Parsley. Cooked Apples form an excellent local application in ophthal- 
 mic inflammation, erysipelatous inflammations, sore and swelled throat 
 in scarlatina, ulceus, etc. 
 
 Phloridzin is tonic and antiperiodic, and has cured cases of intermit- 
 tent fever, even where quinia had proved ineffectual ; its dose is from 
 five to twenty grains. "Unlike quinia, it does not cause gastralgia. 
 
Qttercus Alba. 691 
 
 QUEECUS ALBA. (Weisse Eiche.) 
 
 White Oak. 
 
 i^at. Ord. — Corylacese, Lindley ; Amentacese, Jussieu; Cupuliferse 
 Siohard. Sex. 8yst. — Moncecia Polyandria. 
 
 THE BARK. 
 
 Description. — Quercus Alba is a forest tree, varying in size according 
 to the climate and soil, attaining the height of from sixty to ninety feet, 
 with a diameter of three to six feet. It is covered with a whitish bark, 
 oflBn with dark spots. I/eaves oblong, pinnatifid, sinuate, smooth, bright- 
 green above, pale or glaucous beneath, dilated above, and obliquely 
 divided into from three to five lobes, which are' oblong, or linear, obtuse, 
 mostly entire, and sometimes tapering at their base, i^owers monoeci- 
 ous and amentaceous. Cup hemispherical, naked, much shorter than the 
 acorn, deep, tuberculate. Acorns large, ovate, coriaceous, one-celled, 
 one-seeded, surrounded at base by the cup, and are solitary, or in pairs 
 upon long peduncles. — W. — G. 
 
 Quercus Eubra, or Eed Oak, is a lofty, wide-spreading tree, attain- 
 ing the height of about seventy feet, with a diameter of three or four 
 feet. Leaves six to ten inches in length, on long petioles, oblong, 
 smooth on both sides, pale beneath, obtusely sinuate, with short, and 
 entire or sparingly dentate, mucronate lobes, four to six on each side. 
 Fructification biennial. Acorns oblong-ovoid, about an inch long, sur- 
 rounded at base by a saucer-shaped, shallow, even cup, very much 
 shorter than the acorn, of very small and close scales, and snbsessile. — 
 G.— W. 
 
 Quercus Tinctoria, Quercitron or Black Oak, is one of the loftiest 
 trees in the forest, frequently attaining the height of eighty to one hun- 
 dred feet, with a diameter of four or five feet. Bark deeply furrowed, 
 black or deep-brown. Leaves six to eight inches long, obovate, oblong, 
 more or less rnsty-pubescent beneath, finally glabrous, slightly or some- 
 times deeply sinuate-lobed, with oblong, obtuse, mucronate, somewhat 
 toothed lobes. Acorns brown, nearly spherical or depressed -globose, 
 about one-half immersed in a deep, thick, flat, conspicuously scaly cup, 
 which is snbsessile. The leaves turn dark -red after frost. — G. — W. 
 
 History. — Quercus is a very extensive and valuable genus, consisting 
 of many species, a large proportion of which grow in the United States. 
 Their usual character is that of astringents, and the three above de- 
 scribed are those which have been more particularly employed in medi- 
 cine. The bark of the tree is the ofScinal portion. 
 
 White Oak grows throughout the Union, but is more abundant in the 
 Middle States. Its wood is strong and durable, and is extensively em- 
 ployed in ship-building, coopering, carriage-making, etc. — W. Tanners 
 occasionally make use of its bark, but that of the Q. Rubra, Q. Tinctoria, 
 Q. Ooccenia and Q. Elongata are commonly used. White-Oak bark is 
 the one chiefly used in medicine. Its epidermis contains no astringency, 
 and should therefore be removed ; the bark thus prepared is of a pale- 
 brownish color, faintly odorous, very astringent with a slight bitterness, 
 tough, breaking with a stringy or fibrous fracture, and not readily 
 powdered. Its astringency is imparted to water, or alcohol. Tannic 
 acid enters largely into its composition, together with gallic acid, ex- 
 tractive, woody fiber, etc. The best time for gathering the bark is in 
 the spring, when it contains the most tannic acid. 
 
692 Materia Medica. 
 
 Quercin, a white or yellowisli crystalline solid, obtained from the 
 European Oak bark, Quercus JRobur, by G-erber (Ghem. Qaz., I., 509), is" 
 a neutral bitter principle, dissolved by water, and alcohol, but not by 
 ether, strong alcohol, and spirits of turpentine. Its solution is precipi- 
 tated by salts of lead, silver, tin, and protoxide of mercury. It may be 
 obtained by placing the bark in one hundred parts of water to which 
 one part of sulphuric acid has been added, and heating it to 212° P. 
 To the decoction thus made, add lime suspended in lime-water, which 
 separates the sulphuric acid, forming with it a precipitate of sulphate 
 of lime. Afterward add carbonate of potassa, in solution, until a white 
 deposit is no longer furnished, then filter, concentrate the filtrate to the 
 consistence of flour paste, treat it with alcohol, and concentrate the al- 
 coholic fluid by evaporation. On cooling crystals are formed, which 
 may be purified by repeated solutions and evaporations, as before. 
 
 Black Oak is likewise a forest tree common to the United States, the 
 bark of which is much used in tanning, and for dyeing. It has a strong 
 odor, a very bitter,' styptic taste, and when masticated imparts a yellow 
 tinge to the saliva. It is seldom employed internally on account of its 
 disposition to derange the bowels, but is valuable as an external astrin- 
 gent. A yellowish-brown coloring substance is obtained from the bark 
 by macerating it in boiling water, the color of which is improved by 
 acids oi^ alkalies. The dye-stuff called quercitron is the inner bark of 
 this tree, which is much used in Europe for dyeing yellow- Chevreul 
 obtained the coloring principle which he named quercitron; it has since 
 been named quer citric acid on account of its forming salts with bases, 
 It may be obtained by slowly concentrating an infusion or decoction of 
 quercitron bark ; a crystalline matter is deposited,, which has a pearly 
 luster while suspended in the liquid. Or, exhaust the bark with alco- 
 hol, separate the tannic acid by a moistened bladder, remove the alco- 
 hol by distillation, add alcohol to dissolve the crystalline matter left, 
 and remove the coloring principle by water, filter, and evaporate. It 
 may be purified by redissolving in alcohol, and re-crystalliz,ing. It is 
 in minute crystalline plates or scales, sulphur-yellow, inodorous, slightly 
 bitter, soluble in 400 parts boiling water, in four or five parts of abso- 
 lute alcohol, and slightly soluble in ether. Quercitric acid has been 
 obtained in white needle-shaped crystals, which become yellow on ex- 
 posure to the air. Black-Oak bark contains more tannic and gallic 
 acids than the other officinal species. 
 
 Red Oak is more common in the Northern States and Canada; its 
 wood is reddish and coarse-grained, and used principally for fftel ; its 
 bark is extensively used in tanning. It contains considerable tannin, 
 and is generally employed as an external agent. An exti;act of the 
 bark, as well as the potash obtained from its ashes, are both much em- 
 ployed as a local application in the treatment of cancer, indolent 
 ulcers, etc. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Oak bark is slightly tonic, powerfully astrin- 
 gent, and antiseptic. It is useful internally in chronic diarrhea, chronic 
 mucous discharges, passive hemorrhages, and wherever an internal 
 astringent is required. In colliquative sweats, the decoction is usually 
 combined with lime-water. It is, however, more generally used in de- 
 coction, as an external agent, which forms an excellent gargle for re- 
 laxed uvula and sore-throat, a good stimulating astringent lotion for 
 ulcers with spongy granulations, and an astringent injection for leucor- 
 rhea, prolapsus ani, hemorrhoids, etc. The ground hark, made into a 
 poultice has proved useful in gangrenous or mortified conditions. In 
 
QUBIKITM J-NKECTORIA. 693 
 
 sickly, debilitated childi-en, and in severe diarrheas, especially when the 
 result of fevers, the decoction given internally, and used as a bath to the 
 body and limbs, two or three times a day, will be found very efllcacious 
 When given for diarrhea or dysentery, it should be combined with aro- 
 matics, and sometimes with castor-oil. A bath is often advantageous in 
 some cutaneous diseases. The green bark of elder and White-Oak, 
 bruised together, or in strong decoction, forms a very useful and valua- 
 ble application to abrasions. Dose of the decoction, one or two fluid- 
 ounces; of the extract, from five to twenty grains. A coffee made from 
 roasted acorns, has been highly recommended in the treatment of 
 scrofula. 
 
 Off. Frep. — Decoctum Quereus Albse. 
 
 QUEECUS INFBCTOEIA. (Farber Biche.) 
 
 Dyer's Oak, 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Oupuliferse, Richard; Corylacese, lAndley ; Amentaceae, 
 ■■■.:.sieu. Sex'. 8yst. — Monoecia Polyahdria. 
 
 MORBID EXCRESCENCES — GALLS. 
 
 Lescription. — Quereus Infectoria is a small shrub, or tree, from four to 
 six ffcot in height. Stems crooked; leaves on short petioles, an inch to 
 I an inv'.n and a half long, oblong, with a few coarse mucronate teeth on 
 each side, bluntly mucronate, rounded and rather unequal at the base, 
 smooth, bright-green, shining on the upper side. Acorns solitary, long, 
 obtuse ; cup scaly, hemispherical. — Jj. 
 
 History.— J) jer's Oak, or Gall Oak, grows from the Bosphorus to 
 Syria, and from the Archipelago to the frontiers of Persia. It fur- 
 nishes the Gall-nuts, or Galls of commerce. These are produced by the 
 puncture of the foliaceous or cortical parts of the tree by an insect, for 
 the deposition of its eggs. The insect producing the G-alls of com- 
 merce is the Gynips quercusfolii of Linnseus, or the Biplolepsis gallce 
 tinctorm of Geoffroy (tJd.). After the female insect has made a punct- 
 ure, she deposits her eggs therein ; in consequence of the irritation 
 thus caused, an excrescence is soon formed, from the concretion of the 
 morbid secretion which subsequently ensues, and which is called Galls. 
 The larva of the insect is soon developed from the egg, changing first 
 into the pupa and then into the imago. Toward the end of July, the 
 young insect, having passed through all its stages of transformation 
 into the state of fly, perforates its prison and escapes. The best Galls 
 are -those which are gathei ed about the middle of July, just before the 
 escape of the insect. These are bluish-black, heavy, not yet perforated, 
 and constitute the commercial black, blue, or green Galls. Those Galls 
 from which the insect has escaped are commonly larger, lighter colored, 
 perforated, and less astringent ; they are called white Galls. — P. — JSd-. 
 
 Galls are chiefly imported from Syria and Turkey, though they 
 have been isrought from several other places in small quantity. The 
 beet kind were formerly called Aleppo Galls, from the supposition that 
 they were obtained principally in the neighborhood of that town ; but, 
 at present, ii is difficult to distinguish the finer sorts from various 
 p.'aces, from each other Galls vary in size from four to ten or twelve 
 lines in diameter ; they are roundish, tuberculated on the surface, and 
 hollow within. The best are of middle size, of a dark grayish-green or 
 diUy piile-bluish color, of considerable weight and hardnesp, a some- 
 
694 Materia Medioa. 
 
 what shining surface, and a close, firm, resinous-like texture, but easily 
 reduced to a pale yellowish-gray powder. The hollow in the center is 
 small, and contains sometimes only dust and debris, in consequence of 
 the insect having perished, but more commonly the insect itself in the 
 state of larva, pupa, or most generally of fly, which is occasionally 
 seen to have partly perforated the parietes of the excrescence. Both 
 kinds have an intensely astringent taste, and are inodorous. — Chric- 
 tison. Water is the best solvent of G-alls, and proof-spirit the next ; 
 pure alcohol or ether acts more feebly upon them. The chemical re- 
 actions of Galls in decoction or tincture, are similar to those named 'for 
 tannic acid, as they chiefly depend upon the presence of this acid. 
 Galls consist of a large proportion of tannic acid ; according to Davy 
 100 parts gave 37 of matter soluble in water, of which 26 were tannic 
 acid, 6.2 gallic acid with a little extractive, 2.4 mucilage and insoluble 
 matter, and 2.4 carbonate of lime and saline matter. Pelouze found 
 40 parts of tannic acid, 3.5 gallic acid, 50 ellagic acid, and insoluble 
 matter, and 6.5 extractive coloring matter ; the last two named acids 
 he considers as being produced only by the action of the oxygen of the 
 air upon the tannic acid of the Galls. — F. — Jour, de Pharm., XX., 359. 
 
 I have in my possession a specimen of an excrescence found on a 
 plant, the name of which has not been ascertained, growing in Texas, 
 in the neighborhood of Red Eiver. It was presented to me by Mr. W. 
 S. Merrell ; he obtained it from a physician who h^d pursued the prac- 
 tice of his profession in that section of country, and who states that it 
 is caused by the puncture of some insect, and is found in abundance. 
 According to his account these morbid growths are hollow, globose, 
 and whitish. The dried specimens which I have are ofa light-brown 
 color mixed with fragments of a darker color, and appear to be pieces 
 of a hollow body, some of which very much resemble squill in color. 
 They are half a line and less in thickness, of various sizes, from a line 
 to three-fourths of an inch in diameter, irregular in their shape, hav- 
 ing an external convex surface which is very finely corrugated, and of 
 a shining, resinous appearance under the mici'oscoiDe, and an internal 
 concave surface which is much smoother than the external one, and in 
 which may be distinctly traced veins running in various directions. 
 They are translucent, with the exception of the darkest colored, have a 
 ehort fracture," presenting under the microscope a shining, finely granu- 
 lated, waxy or resinous surface, are inodorous, brittle, of a taste at first 
 resembling green tea, but which becomes slightly bitter and powerfully 
 astringent; the light-colored pieces are more astringent and bitter than 
 the dark ones. One piece of this article, about one-quarter of an inch 
 in diameter, was placed in an ounce of water and agitated for a few 
 minutes, and was not dissolved ; to this about five or six grains of sul- 
 phate of iron were then added, which, on agitation, immediately turned 
 the liquid black. This, used as an ink, formed pale lines scarcely dis- 
 cernible, but which, in a few minutes, became intensely black. I con- 
 sider this the most powerful astringent vegetable product ever yet 
 found in a natural state, and trust that means may be devised to intro- 
 duce it into our markets. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Galls are astringent, and may be used in all 
 cases where astringents are indicated, as in chronic dysentery, diar- 
 rhea, passive hemorrhages, and in cases of poisoning by strychnia, 
 veratria, and other vegetable alkaloids, with which it .forms a tannate 
 possessing less activity than the other salts of these bases. Boiled in 
 milk the decoction is good for the diarrhea of children. Asa local ap- 
 
EANtTNCULirS BULBOSUS. 695 
 
 plication, the infusion is employed as an injection in gleet, leiicorrhea_ 
 prolapsus ani, or for a gargle in indolent ulceration of the fauces, re- 
 laxed uvula, and the chronic stage of mercurial action on the mouth ; 
 the addition of alum is said to render it more beneficial. Dose of the 
 powder from five to twenty grains ; of the tincture half a fluidrachm to 
 a fluidrachm ; of the infusion from half a fluidounce to a fluidounce. 
 Off. Prep. — Acidum Tannicum ; Decootum Gallse. 
 
 BANUNCULUS BULBOSUS. (Knollinger Hahnenfuss.) 
 
 Crowfoot. 
 Nat. Ord. — Eanunculacese. Sex. Syst. — Polyandria Polygynia. 
 
 THE COKMtrS AND HEEB. 
 
 Description. — Eanunculus Bulbosus has a perennial, solid, fleshy, 
 roundish, depressed cormus or root, sending out radicles from its under 
 side; in autumn it gives off lateral bulbs near its top, which afford 
 plants for the following year, while the old cormus decays. The root 
 sends up annually, several erect, round, hairy, and branching stems, six 
 to eighteen inches in height, which are furrowed, hollow, and bulbous 
 at base. Radical leaves on long petioles, ternate, sometimes quinate ; 
 segments variously cut, lobed and toothed, hairy. Gauline leaves sessile 
 and ternate ; upper ones more simple. Bach stem supports several soli- 
 tary, golden-yellow flowers, upon furrowed, angular, and hear j pedunclei. 
 Sepals oblong, hairy, reflexed against the peduncle. Petals five, in- 
 versely cordaie, longer than the sepals, arranged so as to represent 
 the shape of a small cup. At the inside of the claw of each petal is a 
 small cavity, which is covered with a minute wedge-shaped emargin- 
 ate scale. Stamens numerous, yellow, with oblong, erect anthers. Ova- 
 ries numerous, with reflexed stigmas.' Beceptacles spherical. Carpels 
 acute, naked, diverging, tipped with very short recurved beaks. — L. — 
 
 a.— w. 
 
 Sistory. — This plant is common to Europe and the United States, 
 growing in fields and pastures, and flowering in May, June, and July. 
 There are several species, possessing similar properties, and designated 
 by the general name of Buttercup; among these the B. Acris, B. 
 Bepens, B. Sceleratus, and B. Flammula, may be indifferently substituted, 
 the one for the other. The leaves and unripe germens of these species 
 are acrid, occasioning, when chewed, a singular, intense cutting sensa- 
 tion in the point of the tongue, which quickly ceases when the plant 
 is spit out. This acrid principle is either very volatile, or readily un- 
 dergoes decomposition, as it is entirely lost by drying, however care- 
 fully this process be managed ; and it also disappears in the germens 
 as the seeds, which are themselves bland, ripen. It, however, passes 
 over in distillation, and may be preserved in the distilled water for a 
 considerable time. — Ohristison. When any part of these plants is chewed, 
 it occasions much pain, inflammation, and sometimes excoriation of the 
 several parts of the mouth, andmuch heat and pain in the stomach, 
 if it be taken internally. The distilled water of B. Flammula is said to 
 act as an instantaneous emetic. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These plants are too acrid to use internally, 
 especially when fresh ; but when applied externally, are powerfully 
 rubefacient and epispastic. The B. Bulbosus is the officinal plant. It 
 is employed, in its recent state, in rheumatic, neuralgic, and other dis- 
 
696 Materia Medica. 
 
 eases where vesication and counter-irritation are indicated. Its action, 
 however, is, so uncertain, and sometimes so violent, causing very obsti- 
 nate ulcers, that it is seldom used. It is sometimes used by the beg- 
 gars of Europe to produce and keep open sores, for the purpose of ox- 
 citing sympathy. I have cured two obstinate cases of nursing sore- 
 mouth, with an infusion made by adding two drachms of the recent 
 root, cut into small pieces, to one pint of hot water ; when cold, a ta- 
 blespoonful was given thrse or four times a day, and the mouth fre- 
 quently washed with a much stronger infusion. 
 
 EBSINA. (Harz.) 
 
 Eesin, or Eosin. 
 
 History. — Mesin is a term applied to a great variety of vegetable pro- 
 ducts, of allied properties. But in medicine and pharmacy it is special- 
 ly applied to the substance left by the pine turpentines, after the re- 
 moval of their volatile oil by distillation. Besina Flava, or Yellow 
 Eosin, contains some moisture, in consequence of the distillation not 
 being carried to dryness ; if this, while in a melted state, be shaken 
 with water, it forms a lighter colored resin, termed Besina Alba, or 
 White Eesin. Black Eosin, Fiddlers' Eosin, or Colophony, is a trans- 
 lucent, brownish -yellow substance, the result of a, distillation continued 
 until all water is expelled, or without the use of water. If mejted 
 Eosin be run into cold water, contained in shallow tanks, and a supply 
 of cold water be kept up until the Eosin has solidified, a pale-yellow 
 product is obtained, called FlocMon's Patent Bosin. Eosin is translu- 
 cent, yellowish, brittle, pulverizable, rather heavier than water, of a 
 feeble, terebinthine odor and taste, fusible a,t a moderate heat, inflam- 
 mable, soluble in ether and many volatile oils, insoluble in water-, par- 
 tially soluble in boiling rectified* spirit, and capable of uniting by fusion 
 with wax, fixed oils, fats, and spermaceti. The concentrated acids dis- 
 solve it, especially with the aid of heat; sulphuric or nitric acids slowly 
 convert it into artificial tannin. Solutions of potassa and soda partially 
 dissolve it, forming soluble soaps, and leaving a resinous principle 
 undissolved. Eesin is an insulator of electricity and becomes nega- 
 tively electric by friction. Prof Olmsted states that Eosin added to 
 lard, gives it a degree of fluidity not before possessed by the lard, and 
 also prevents the latter forming those acids which corrode metals. If 
 three parts of lar[d have one part of finely powdered Eosin added, 
 and the mixture be well stirred without the application of heat, it soft- 
 ens, and so nearly approaches a fluid as to run freely when taken up on 
 the stirring rod, at a temperature of 72°. On melting the mixture, and 
 setting it aside to cool, the following changes take place : At 90° 
 it remains transparent and limpid : at 87°, a pellicle begins to form 
 on the surface, and soon after it begins to grow slightly viscid, and 
 as the temperature descends, it passes through different degrees of 
 viscidity, until at 76° it Tjecomes a dense semifluid. A compound of 
 one part of Eosin to four of lard, may be used for various purposes; 
 by adding a portion of black-lead, and applying a thin coating to iron 
 stoves and grates it prevents them from rusting, forming a complete 
 protection. It may likewise be applied to various other purposes. By 
 distillation Eosin yields rosin-oil and tar ; the first is composed of four 
 carburets of hydrogen, viz.: retinaphte, or toluol, C,4 Hp ; retiuyle, or 
 cumol, Ci8 H12; retinole C.,2 H,,,, and metanapthaline C^,, 11,6. This oil 
 
Ehamnxjs Catharticub. 6a7 
 
 has been used for several purposes in the arts. 'Eosin is a compound 
 or mixture of pinic acid, chiefly, with a variable amount of colophonic 
 acid, a small quantity of sylvic acid, and traces of an indifferent resin, 
 soluble in cold alcohol, oil of petroleum, and oil of turpentine ; it forms 
 with magnesia, a compound readily soluble in water. Pinic and sylvic 
 acids are isomeric, their equivalent is expressed by the formula CioH^^ Oj 
 HO ; and their salts by the formula MO Cjo Hj^ O-i.^P.— T.— Gregory. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Rosin is seldom given internally. Its princi- 
 pal use is to form plasters and ointments, to which it is an excitant in- 
 gredient, and renders them more adhesive. Internally, pulverized 
 Eosin will be found very useful in bleeding piles, in doses of 30 to 60 
 grains in molasses, or linseed oil, three or four times a day. Applied 
 locally, on lint or cotton, it will be found a very valuable styptic. The 
 vapor from Eosin has been inhaled in chronic bronchitis, and affec- 
 tions of the lungs with benefit; and the fumes of burning Eosin, if 
 received upon the parts, will, it is said, remove the irritation attending 
 piles and prolapsus ani. Half a drachm of powdered Eosin, dissolved 
 in a sufficient quatitity of chloroform, «o as to make a thick solution, 
 will relieve neuralgia of the teeth, or toothache, by introducing a piece 
 of cotton, which has been impregnated with the solution, into the hol- 
 low teeth. 
 
 Off. Prep.— Ceratum Eesinse ; Ceratum Sabinse ; Bmplastrum Calefa- 
 ciens; Bmplastrum Plumbi OxidiEubrum ; Bmplastrum Eesinse; Bm- 
 plastrum Eesinas Compositum. / 
 
 EHAMNUS CATHAETICUS. (Purgirender Wegdorn.) 
 Buckthorn. 
 ' Nat. Ord. — Ehamnacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE BERRIES, OR FRUIT. 
 
 Description. — Buckthorn is a shrub from six to fifteen feet in height. 
 Branches alternate, or nearly opposite, spreading, straight, round, 
 smooth, hard, and rigid, each terminating in a strong spine, after the 
 first year. Leaves one to two inches long, about two-thirds as wide, 
 deciduous, bright-green, smooth, simple, ribbed; the young ones downy ; 
 the earlier ones in tufts from the flowering buds ; the rest opposite, on 
 the young branches. Petioles downy. Stipules Unesiv. Flowers jeWow- 
 ish-green, on the last year's branches, numerous ; fertile ones with nar- 
 row petals, rudiments of stamens, and a deeply-four-cleft style ; barren 
 ones with an abortive ovary and broader petals. Berries globular, blu- 
 ish-black, nauseous, with four cells, and as many elliptical, plano-con- 
 vex seeds. — L. 
 
 Sistory. ^-Bnckthovn is indigenous to Burope, and has been observed 
 in this country as an introduced plant; it flowers from April to July, 
 and matures its fruit about the middle of autumn. The parts used are 
 the berries ; they are globular, three or four lines in diameter, slightly 
 compressed at the apex, black, glossy, and inclosing a green juice in 
 which the seeds are imbedded, and which is entirely different from 
 chlorophyll. The juice, which becomes gradually red, owing to the 
 devel&pment of acetic acid in it, may be preserved long unchanged in 
 the form of a syrup. It is soluble in water. When evaporated to dry- 
 ness with alum, or lime and gum arable, it forms the color called sap- 
 grcn. Carbonate of soda and caustic potash change the solution of 
 
698 Materia Medica. 
 
 sap-green to yellow. Hence paper tinged with sap-green is a sensible 
 test of alkalies. Sulphuric, nitric, and muriatic acids make it red. 
 Carbonate of lime, added i to a reddened solution, restores the green 
 color. Hubert found in it acetic and malic acids, green coloring mat- 
 ter, brown gummy matter, sugar, and a bitter cathartic principle. Le- 
 fort has found another proximate principal in the berries, which he 
 terms rhamnegine, C12 Hg O5-I-2HO. It is soluble in water, and has the 
 properties, in other respects, of :^hamnin, though of a paler yellow 
 color. 
 
 The N. T. Jour. Pharmacy, April, 1853, gives the following from Jul. 
 Buthardt, Pharmaceut., relative to Gathartin, obtained from Buckthorn 
 berries, by F. L. Winekler. Fifteen pounds of the green berries, col- 
 lected in September, were bruised and expressed. The dark, violet- 
 colored, bitter juice, evaporated in a water-bath, formed a dark-brown 
 syrup. This was exhausted several times by boiling hot, absolute alco- 
 hol until the latter had a slightly bitter taste. The united tinctures 
 became turbid after cooling ; they were then filtered and mixed with 
 four times as much ether. A large quantity of slightly bitter, dark- 
 colored, extractive matter separated, containing no sugar. The filtered, 
 solution of cathartin in ether and alcohol was distilled in a water-bath, 
 the cathartin remaining with the coloring matter, then treated again 
 in the same way, and two and a half ounces of pure cathartin were 
 obtained. The residuum of the expressed berries was boiled with six 
 or eight times its weight of water, set aside for several days, and a 
 good quantity of impure JRhamnin was obtained, which was purified by 
 washing with water, drying, dissolving in alcohol, decolorizing by ani- 
 mal charcoal, and separating by water. The ripe berries yielded 
 cathartin, but no rhamnin. 
 
 Cathartin is a pale-yellow powder, soluble in water and spirits, insol- 
 uble in pure ether, has an aloe-bitter taste, is neutral, changes to a dark- 
 brownish green by deuto-chloride of iron, gold-yellow by subacetate of 
 lead and the alkaloids, fuses by heat, is decomposed at a high temper- 
 ature, yields picrinie acid when acted on by nitric acid, and in the dose 
 of one or two grains, purges without griping or unpleasant symptoms. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Buckthorn berries {Mhamni Baccce) are power- 
 fully cathartic ; twenty of the recent berries cause brisk watery purg- 
 ing, with nausea, dryness of the throat, thirst, and tormina. These 
 effects are partly removed by giving the juice (Bhamni Succus) in the form 
 of syrup, and which formerly enjoyed much reputation as a hydragogue 
 in gout, rheumatism, and dropsy ; at present, it is seMom employed in 
 practice, and is occasionally employed as an adjunct to other cathartic 
 and diuretic mixtures. Dose of the syrup, from half a fluidounce to a 
 fluidounce. 
 
 RHEUM PALMATUM. (Handformiger Ehabarber.) 
 
 Ehubarb. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Polygonacefe* 8ex. Syst. — Enneandria Trigynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. ^Iq relation to the Ehubarb root, the scientific world is 
 in much ignorance, not knowing the exact plant or plants from, which 
 it is produced, in Asia. That it is the root of a Eheum is generally 
 acknowledged, but the peculiar species is yet undetermined. The 
 plants from which the medicinal drug is obtained chiefly inhabit 
 
Rheum Palmatum. 099 
 
 Chinese Tartaiy, growing wild on the highlands and mountains of that 
 section of the globe. Christison says it is probable that the best quali- 
 ties of commercial Ehubarb are produced five or six hundred miles 
 north of the British Territories of Assam, in the very heart of Thibet. 
 about 95° east longitude, and 35° north latitude, near the sources of 
 the great Hoang-ho Eiver, and chiefly in the province of &ansun j a 
 district with which no express Communication has yet been held by any 
 good European authority. The Ehubarb trade is closely guarded by 
 those engaged in it, which has prevented naturalists^ from correctly 
 detei-mining its true source. Calau, an apothecary in the Ehubarb 
 factory, at Kiachta, says : 
 
 "All that we know of the Ehubarb-plant or its origin is defective 
 and wrong; every sacrifice to obts-in a true plant or the seed has been 
 in vain ; nor has the author been enabled to obtain it. A severe pro- 
 hibition from the Chinese Government prevents all possibility of elicit- 
 ing the truth." 
 
 It may be proper, however, to enumerate the several species to which 
 Ehubarb of one kind or another has been referred. Some of these are 
 cultivated in this country and Europe, and the stalks of the leaves when 
 stewed, have an agreeable acidity, on which account they are exten- 
 sively used for pies, etc. Dr. Lindley, in his Flora Medica, pp. 354-59, 
 gives the following description of the plants known to furnish a purga- 
 tive Ehubarb. 
 
 " Bheum Emodi, Wallich ; Rheum Australe, Don. — Stems six to ten feet 
 high, much branched and sulcated, very thick below, gradually atten- 
 uated upward into large panicles, and these rough, with minute warts 
 or excrescences ; the color yellow-green, streaked with red-brown. 
 Leaves very large, cordate, acute, dull-green, but little wavy, flattish, 
 very much wrinkled, distinctly' rough, with coarse short hairs on each 
 side ; sinus of the base distinctly open, not wedge-shaped, but diverg- 
 ing at an obtuse angle, with the lobes nearly turned upward. Petioles 
 very rough, rounded-angular, furrowed ; with the upper side depressed, 
 bordered by an elevated edge, and very much narrower at the upper 
 than the lower end. Panicles or rather compound racemes terminal, 
 very long, the branches erect, virgate, rough. Pedicels solitary or 
 clustered, somewhat verticillate, short, spreading in fruit, deflexed. 
 Flowers very small, of a deep blood-red color. Galyx of six-spreading, 
 ovate, deep segments, three alternate ones smaller. Stamens nine, shorter 
 than the perianth. Filaments subulate, nionadelphous at the base. 
 Ovary short, triquetrous, often abortive ; styles three, spreading. Stig- 
 mas large, warty. Fruit pendent, dark, blood -colored, shining, cordate, 
 triangular, the angles sharply-winged, covered at the base with the 
 persistent perianth, of which the three smaller segments are applied to 
 the three winged angles. Seed ovato-triquetrous. This plant inhabits 
 the mountains of Gossain Than, Kamaon. Don at one time stated that 
 this was the undoubted origin of the Eussian and Turkey Ehubarbs, 
 but Pereira found that the specimens had hardly any resemblance to 
 the Ehubarb of the shops. It is nearly equal in efficacy to the best 
 Turkey drug. 
 
 JRheum Webbianum, Eoyle. — Boot leaves large, long-stalked, cordate, 
 acute, cauline-obtuse, rather downy above, veiny beneath and margin 
 hairy; petioles rounded. Upper branches and peduncles round, smooth, 
 slightly striated. Axillary racemes clustered, terminal, panicled; pedi- 
 cels in threeSj twice as short as the ripe fruit. Sepals entire, broadly 
 ova., obtuse. A2henium somewhat cordate at base, entire or a little 
 
700 Materia Medica. 
 
 emarginate at the point. Inhabits Niti and Gossain Than, and resem- 
 bles the preceding in its properties. 
 
 Rheum Specif orme, Eoyle. — LeaDes thick, leathery, cordate, blunt, red 
 and netted beneath, and covered with stellate down on each side ; petioles 
 and peduncles smooth. Racemes arising from the very root, spicate. 
 Pedicels numerous, clustered, as long as the ripe fruit. Inhabits the 
 northern face of the Himalayas, at the Kherang pass, and several 
 places beyond. Supposed to furnish an excellent Ehubarb. 
 
 Rheum Palmatum, Linnaeus. — Leaves roundish-Cordate, half palmate ; 
 the lobes pinnatifid, acuminate, deep dull-green, not wavy, but uneven 
 and very much wrinkled on the upper side, hardly scabrous at the edge, 
 minutely downy on the under side; sinus completely closed, the lobes 
 of the leaf standing forward beyond it. Petiole pale-green, marked 
 with short purple lines, terete, obscurely channeled quite at the upper 
 end. Flowering sterna taller than those of any other species. Inhabits 
 the country about the great wall of China. About the year 1750, a 
 Tartarian dealer in Ehubarb gave what were said to be the seeds of 
 genuine Ehubarb to Kauw Boerhaave, first physician to the Emperor 
 of EuBsia ; these seeds produced both R. Palmatum and R. Undulatum. 
 M. Guibourt declares that of all the cultivated kinds R. Palmatum alone 
 resembles exactly, in its odor and smell, the Ehubarb of China; and 
 that it is the source of the true offlcing,l Ehubarb is an opinion genera,lly 
 entertained. 
 
 Rheum Undulatum, Linnseus. — Leaves oval, obtuse, extremely wavy,' 
 deep green, with veins purple at the base, often shorter than the petiole.* 
 distinctly and copiously downy on each side, looking as if frosted when 
 young, scabrous at the edge; sinus open, wedge-shaped, with the lower 
 lobes of the leaves turned upward. Petiole downy, blood-red, semi- 
 cylindrical, with elevated edges to the upper side, which is narrower 
 at the upper than the lower end. This plant is cultivated in France, 
 and forms a part of the French Ehubarb. At one time it was cultivated 
 by the Eussian government, from a supposition that it was the true 
 oflScinal plant. See the preceding species. 
 
 Rheum Gompactum, Linnseus. — Leaves heart-shaped, obtuse, very wavy, 
 deep green, of a thick texture, scabrous at the margin, quite smooth on 
 both sides, glossy and even on the upper side; sinus nearly closed by 
 the parenchyma. Petiole green, hardly tinged with red, except at the 
 base, semi-cylindrical, a little compressed at the sides, with the upper 
 side broad, flat, bordered by elevated edges, and of equal breadth at 
 each end. Inhabits Tartary and China, but yields an inferior Ehubarb. 
 The petioles are used for pies. 
 
 Rheum Rhaponticum, Linnfeus. — Leaves roundish-ovate, cordate, ob- 
 tuse, pale-green, but little wavy, very concave, even, very slightly 
 downy on the under side, especially near the edge, and on the edge 
 itself, scabrous at the margin ; sinus quite open, large, and cuneate. 
 Petiole depressed, channeled on the upper side, with the edges regu- 
 larly rounded off, pale-green, striated, scarcely scabrous. Panicles very 
 compact and short, always rounded at the ends, and never lax as in the 
 other garden species. Flowering stem about three feet high. Inhabits 
 the borders of the Euxine Sea; more abundantly north of the Caspian, 
 in the deserts between the "Volga and the Yaik ; also on the mountains 
 of Krasnojar in Siberia. This has a more disagreeable smell than 
 Ehubarb, and is not so grittj- to the taste. It is cultivated in this 
 country and Europe, for pies, etc. The prepared root has the resem- 
 blance of true Ehubarb, but hot its medicinal properties. 
 
EllEUM Palmatum. 701 
 
 Beside these, Lindley describes the JJ. Moorcfoftianum, R. Leucorhizum, 
 R. Caspicum, and R. Crassinervum, all of which yield roots more or less 
 resembling the officinal, both in appearance and virtues. 
 
 According to Pereira, "the method of curing or preparing Asiatic 
 Ehubarb for the market varies somewhat in different localities. In 
 China it is as follows: The roots are dug up, cleansed, cut in pieces, 
 and dried on stone tables, heated beneath by a fire. During the pro- 
 cess, the roots are frequently turned. They are afterward piefce'l, 
 S/rung upon cords, and further dried in the sun. In Tartary the Mo- 
 guls cut the roots in small pieces, in order that they may dry the more 
 readily, and make a hole in the taiddle of every piece, through which a 
 cord is drawn, in order to suspend them in any convenient place. They 
 hang them, for the most part, about their tents, and sometimes on the 
 horns of their sheep. Sievers, however, 'states that the roots are cut in 
 pieces, strung upon threads, and dried under sheds, so as to exclude 
 the solar rays ; he also tells us that sometimes a year elapses from the 
 time of their collection until they are ready for exportation." 
 
 History. — There are several varieties of Ehubarb met with in com- 
 merce, termed the Russian. Chinese, English, and French Ehubarb, 
 among which the Eussian is considered the best. Eussian Ehubarb 
 was formerly obtained by way of Natolia, a Turkish port, and in con- 
 sequence received the name of Turkey Rhubarb ; it has also been called 
 by the several names of Persian, Moscow, Bucharian, or Siberian Rhu- 
 barb. It is prepared in Tartary and furnished to the Eussian govern- 
 ment by a few Bucharian families, who obtain it for this purpose under 
 an express contract ; at the Siberian town of Kiachta, the Ehubarb 
 undergoes its first examination by an apothecary commissioned for that 
 purpose by the government of Eussia, who carefully examines it, re- 
 jecting and burning all Ehubarb which does not possess the properties 
 required. The selected article is forwarded to St. Petersburg, where it 
 is again sorted and shipped for other countries. It is in irregular, 
 roundish-cylindrical, or flat, plano-convex pieces, usually from one to 
 three inches in breadth, always obscurely angular, owing to the root- 
 bark, as well as a small portion of the substance immediately beneath the 
 bark, having been apparently sliced ofl' with a knife, and often perfor- 
 ated with a hole, by which they had been strung up to dry, or made, 
 perhaps, to ascertain the quality of the roots at their first examination. 
 Their external surface is yellow, and thinly covered with a yellow 
 powder, caused probably by the friction or rubbing together of the 
 pieces ; and when scratched with a knife, they give a bright yellow 
 streak. They have rather a compact texture, an uneven fracture ex- 
 posing a surface beautifully marbled with irregular, waving, grayish 
 and reddish veins. They are easily pulverizable, giving a bright yel- 
 low powder. Eussian Ehubarb has a peculiar, aromatic, bitter, faintly 
 astringent taste, and a strong, peculiar odor ; it tinges the saliva yel- 
 low, and produces a crackling, or sense of grittiness between the teeth, 
 owing to crystals of oxalate of lime, which are largely contained in it. 
 — Ghristison. By boiling very thin slices of the root in water, and 
 then submitting them to the microscope, we observe cellular tissue, 
 annular ducts, and numerous conglomerate raphides (masses of oxalate 
 of lime crystals). From 100 grains of Eussian Ehubarb, the late Mr. 
 E. Quekett procured between thirty-five and forty grains of these raph- 
 ides. They arc in the interior of the cells of the root, and are also 
 found ill English Ehubarb. — P. Since the abandonment of inspection 
 of Ehubarbby the Eussian government, this most valuable grade of 
 
T02 Materia Medica. 
 
 quality has been rapidly disappearing from our markets, so thai at the 
 present time it is very difficult, if not impossible to procure reliable 
 Eussian Ehubarb. Ehubarb bought in the state of powder is almost 
 invariably of an inferior quality. See Am. Jour. Fharm., 1867, p 212, 
 for description of Eussian Ehubarbs, by A. Ferro, formerly agent of 
 the Eussian government at Kiachta. 
 
 The Chinese or East Indian Ehubarb is brought from Canton ; the 
 finest quality of it, termed Batavian or Dutch-trimmed Bhubarb, very 
 much resembles the Eussian Ehubarb in appearance. That which is 
 brought to this country, however, as Chinese Ehubarb, consists of ir- 
 regular pieces, which are never angular like Eussian Ehubarb, but 
 smoothly rounded at the edges, as if the bark had been removed by 
 rasping or scraping. Their outer surface is of a rather duller yellow 
 color than the Eussian drug, their density is somewhat greater, and 
 their texture more compact ; but the appearance of a fresh fralcture is 
 very nearly the same. They are usually perforated, and the holes fre- 
 quently contain fragments of cord by which they were suspended dur- 
 ing desiccation. They are not of sucti uniform quality as the Eussian 
 article, being often imperfectly stripped of their bark, and more or lesa 
 attacked by insects, moldiness, or other impurity. The color, odor, 
 taste, and grittiness are very nearly, if not precisely the same as those 
 of the Eussian drug. Their powder is yellow, with a tawny tinge, but 
 in the finer kind it is hardly discernablo from the powder of Eussian 
 Ehubarb. The major portion of the Ehubarb consumed in this coun- 
 try is the Chinese variety ; it is somewhat inferior to the Eussian, bur 
 is less expensive, and when of gopd quality is sufficiently active to 
 answer all medical purposes ; yet desirable qualities are very scarce^ 
 See Am. Jour. Pharm., 1866, p. 153, for description of growth and pre- 
 paration. 
 
 European Ehubarb is that which is prepared in several parts of 
 Europe, but principally in England and Prance. The English variety 
 is prepared in various parts of England, but chiefly near Banbury, in 
 Oxfordshire, where twenty tons are produced annually from the roots of 
 Rheum Bhaponticum alone. It is gathered in October and !N'ovember, 
 from plants three years old. The roots are freed from dirt, deprived 
 of their outer coat by a sharp knife, exposed to the sun and air for a 
 few days, and dried on basket-work in drying houses heated by stove- 
 pipes or brick-flues. The curing process is accelerated by scooping a 
 hole in the largest pieces. It occurs in various sized and shaped pieces, 
 which are trimmed and frequently perforated, some are flat, and other 
 pieces, again, segments of 'cylinders. It has an external reddish hue, and 
 brownish spots of adhering bark, and internally a looser, softer, and more 
 spongy texture than the others, with occasional cavities, especially in the 
 center. It is more easily scratched with the nail, and yields a lighter yel- 
 low streak; and the surface of a fresh fracture shows the same marbled 
 red and gray lines, but generally more straightly radiated from the 
 center. In taste and odor it resembles the Eastern Ehubarbs, being 
 more mucilaginous, and less gritty, and of a weaker and more disgree- 
 able smell. The long or inferior pieces, called Stick English Rhubarb, 
 are prepared from the root-branches. These descriptions of Ehubarb 
 contain, usually, very few oxalate of lime crystals. They are princi- 
 pally used for adulterating the powder of true Eastern Ehubarb. At 
 the present day, the English have brought their modes of cultivation 
 and preparation of Ehubarb to such perfection, that the quality of their 
 drug is fully equal to that of the best Chinese Eliubarb, and can be fur- 
 
Bheum Palmatdm. 703 
 
 nished at lower rates. A very excellent quality of Ehubarb has been 
 "raised in this country, in Massachusetts, but in limited amount. 
 
 French, or Rhapontio. Ehubarb, is made in abundance at an es- 
 tablishment called Eheumpole, near the port of L'Orient, from the 
 roots of ^^ewm Bhaponticum, E. Undulatum, and especially J?. Compactum. 
 Some of it has been sold lin this country as Krimea Bhubarb. It some- 
 what resembles the Chinese drug, but has neither its pleasant odor, nor 
 aromatic taste and grittiness. Its properties are very similar to the 
 poorer English varieties, and like them, it is often used to adulterate 
 the powder of true Eastern Ehubarb. 
 
 A mere refej-ence to other varieties of Ehubarb will be sufficient here. 
 The Himalaya or Emodi Bhubarb, from the Eheum Australe, and other 
 species growing in the Himalaya mountains, is brown, fibrous, inodor- 
 ous, and inferior, yet is said to be nearly as active as the Chinese. The 
 Eussian traveler, Pallas, describes a White or Imperial Bhubarb as be- 
 ing a superior article, of white color, and sweetish taste ; but according 
 to'Dr. G. Walpers, who has made some inquiries in relation to it, it proves 
 to be one of those fabulous sayings, in which, unfortunately, some trav- 
 elers are very apt to indulge, Other varieties of Ehubarb, have also 
 been described, but they are unknown to the commerce of this coun- 
 try. 
 
 In choosing Rhubarb, those roots only should be taken tvhich are 
 sound and hard, of a bright yellow color, of a strong Ehubarb-aromatic 
 smell, of a bitterish, slightly astringent taste, without viscidity, which 
 feel gritty under the teeth, and which communicate a bright yellow 
 color to the saliva; they should present, when fractured, a marbled ap- 
 pearance of red and whitish veins, and be easily reduced to a bright 
 yellow' powder, sometimes tawny-tinged. — Ed. — T. Inferior Ehubarb 
 is frequently colored with turmeric, which maybe detected by solution 
 of bbracic acid, which turns turmeric-yellow to brawn, but does not 
 affect the yellow color of the true Ehubarb. When in powder, the 
 adulterations of Ehubarb are very difficult, if at all possible, to detect. 
 Water, either cold or boiling, extracts the active properties of Rhubarb ; 
 and if it be boiled in water till it becomes soft, and is then crushed aiid 
 agitated in the water, pale gray sandy-like deposits of crystals of ox- 
 alate of lime in groups are seen to separate and subside. Continued 
 boiling injures its virtues. The infusion prepared by percolation with 
 cold water, is preferable to that obtained with boiling water alone, as 
 t,hi8 last becomes turbid on cooling, owing to a partial separation of 
 some of the principles of the root ; this may be prevented, however, 
 by the addition of a little spirit. Proof- spirit is a more ready solvent 
 of the active ingredients of Rhubarb than water. Nitric acid added to 
 an infusion of Russian Rhubarb in twenty parts of water, causes a 
 dense muddiness, and slowly a yellow precipitate, owing to the separa- 
 tion of rhabarbarin; tincture of iodine causes a tawny muddiness, 
 probably for a similar reason ; solution of potassa combines with the 
 rhabarbarin and produces a fine blood-red color; and lime-water causes 
 at first a pale cherry-red haze, which slowly gives place to a red pre- 
 cipitate composed of rhabarbarin and lime. Sesquichloride of iron 
 produces a green precipitate, and solution of isinglass a yellow curdy 
 deposit, owing to the presence of tannin. Chinese Ehubarb is affected 
 in the same way by the above reagents. Ehubarb has been analyzed 
 by several chemists, and with different results. In 1836 Brandes rep- 
 resented the Eussian variety to contain 2 per cent, of pure rhabarbaric 
 acid, 7.5 impure rhabarbaric acid, 2.5 gallic acid with some rhabarbaric, 
 
704 Materia Medica. 
 
 , , 9.0 tannic acid, 3.5 coloring extractive, 11.0 uncrj'stallizable sugar with 
 tannic acid, 4.0 starch and pectic acid, 14.4 giimmy extractive taken up " 
 by caustic potassa, 4.0 pectic acid, 1.1 mallate and galate of lime, 11.0 
 oxalate of lime, 1.5 sulphate of potassa and chloride of potassium, 0.5 
 phosphate of lime with oxide of iron, 1.0 silica, 25.0 woody fiber, 2,0 
 water.^ — P. The principles indicated by previous investigators, under 
 the names Bhein, Bheumin, Ehabdrbarin, and CapKopicrite, appear to be 
 complex bodies, consisting of the Bhabarbaric acid of Brandos combined 
 with other principles. It may be obtained by purifying the alcoholic 
 extract of Ehubarb with cold water, drying the residue, dissolving it 
 in the smallest possible bulk of spirit, and then adding ether so long 
 as it separates any thing. The ether is then to be distilled oif, and the 
 residue again similarly treated with spirit and ether. The solution 
 yields it pure by spontaneous evaporation. It is granular, yellow, taste- 
 less and odorless, fusible, partially volatile, sparingly soluble in water, 
 more so in alcohol or ether, and acid in its reactions. Alkaline solu- 
 tions dissolve it forming intensely red solutions, from which acids 
 separate it as a yellow precipitate, and which, with the earthy salts, 
 give yellow precipitates of the principles, united with an earthy base. 
 Ultimate analysis shows that it is identical with a coloring matter 
 (chrysophanic acid) obtained by Eochleder from the yellow lichen, 
 Parmelia Parietina. 
 
 Schlossberger and Dcepping, having analyzed Moscow and Chinesfe 
 Ehubarb, in 1844, found, 
 
 1. A beautiful, clear, yellow, odorless, and tasteless substance, termed 
 chrysophanic acid ; it may be procured from the root by means of ether 
 in a displacement apparatus ; the crystals which are deposited from 
 the solution are purified by re-crystallization from alcohol. They are 
 nearly insoluble in water and alcohol, more so in ether, with a reddish 
 color. They sublime partly undecomposed. Chrysophanic acid forms 
 a red substance with warmed concentrated sulphuric or nitric acids, 
 which is soluble in ammonia giving a violet color. It forms deep red 
 solutions with alkalies. Its formula is Cjo Hg Og. 
 
 2. Three resins ; a. Aporetin, a black, shining body, slightly soluble 
 in hot spirit, ether, cold and hot water, but very soluble in ammonia or 
 potassa. b. Phcerotin, Cie Hg 0„ a yellowish -brown substance, very 
 slightly soluble in water and ether ; very soluble in spirit and alkalies, 
 becoming splendid red with the last, from which it is precipitated by 
 the mineral acids, c. Erythroretin, C19 Hg 0,^ a yellow substance soluble 
 in ether and alcohol, and forms purple combinations with potassa and 
 ammonia, which are very soluble in water. — P. By an internal employ- 
 ment of Rhubarb, these substances enter the urine, which can be at 
 once determined if the urine be rendered alkaline. 
 
 3. Bitter extractive ; 4, tannic acid ; 5, gallic acid ; 6, sugar ; 7, pec- 
 tin ; 8, oxalate of lime ; 9, ashes containing potash, soda, silica and sand, 
 iron, lime, magnesia, various acids, etc. The cathartic principle of 
 Ehubarb has not yet 'been isolated,- it is supposed to be of a volatile 
 character. 
 
 Mr. H. S. Evans states that " when powdered or rasped Ehubarb is 
 examined under the microscope by a power of from 300 to 400 diame- 
 ters, a variety of structures are observed. In the first place, empty cells 
 present themselves, frequently collapsed and in dense clusters, and chiefly 
 abounding in the central portion of the root; others, apparently empty, 
 are rounded or angular, with exceeding thin walls. Somewhat similar 
 to these, but smaller, are rounded and angular cells, filled, or partially 
 
* Eheum Palmatum. 705 
 
 so, with starchi grains, among which occasional fragments of a pale-yel- 
 low resinous matter are found. Others, again, similar in shape and size, 
 are found entirely filled with this yellow resinous matter which is read- 
 ily soluble in alcohol. Some very irregularly formed cells, with much 
 thicker walls, abound, containing a dark reddish-brown matter of much 
 less solubility than the paler resin. The starch grains contained in the 
 cells are small, about g^Vtr ^^ck in diameter, and for the most part of 
 a rounded form, with a central, cruciate hilum, and, when treated with 
 weak alcohol, concentric markings may be observed upon them. Nu- 
 merous bundles of vascular tissue are also found, composed of small 
 and uniformly reticulated ducts with irregularly pitted tissue, ocia- 
 sionallj' inclosing a spiral vessel. Besides these forms of tissue we also 
 meet with peculiar platter-shaped vessels ; they are perfectly round 
 bodies, of a more or less yellow color, not acted upon by iodine, but, when 
 treated with alcohol, disappear, leaving but a collapsed sac. . They are 
 probably, the receptacles of an oleo-resinoue matter, to which the aromr. 
 of the root is owing. The crystals of oxalate of lime are found most 
 abundantly in the central portion of the root, included in cells, and 
 consist of large stellate groups. These are the general appearances of 
 good Eussian Ehubarb ; in the other varieties they are modified accord- 
 ing to the character of the drug."^PAam. Jour. & Trans., XIII., p. 309. 
 
 Mr. John S. Cobb gives the following test for distinguishing between 
 the Eussian, English, and Indian Ehubarbs. Take two fluidrachms of 
 simple (proof) tincture, of the London Pharm. strength, and treat it 
 with one fluidrachm of equal parts of nitric acid and distilled water, in 
 a test tu'be. The following result will take place : East India Ehu- 
 barl. soon becomes cloudy, and in from five to twenty minutes is tur- 
 bid. Eussian remains unchanged for three or four hours. English 
 loses its brightness in half an hour ; on holding it before a light a pre- 
 cipitate may be see-n diffused through it. He supposes this to be owing 
 to the oxidation of the active principle of the Ehubarb. — Pharm. Jour., 
 XII., 374. 
 
 Ehubarb is incompatible with lime-water, sulphates of iron and zinc, 
 concentrated acids, tartar-emetic, corrosive sublimate, and solutions of 
 acetate of lead, nitrate of silver, gelatine, quinia, etc. 
 
 Properties and' Uses. — Ehubarb is cathartic, astringent, and tonic; as 
 a cathartic, it acts by increasing the muscular action of the intestines, 
 rather than by augmenting their secretions, and affects the whole in- 
 testinal canal, especially the duodenum. Its cathartic effect is suc- 
 ceeded by a mild astringency, which has gained for Ehubarb the repu- 
 tation of being secondarily a calmative, as well as a stimulant of the 
 digestive canal ; with its astringent influence, it likewise exerts for the 
 most part, a tonic action on the stomach, improving the appetite and 
 digestive powers. It is absorbed in the course of its operation, mak- 
 ing the serum of the blood yellow, the sweat tawny, and the urine red, 
 which may be distinguished from bloody urine by heating it. If blood 
 be present it will coagulate, and remove the red color, which will not 
 happen if the tint be owing to Ehubarb. Ehubarb is much used as a 
 laxative for infants, in many infantile diseases; its mildness and tonic 
 qualities rendering it peculiarly applicable, especially when enfeebled 
 digestion and irritation of the alimentary canal are present. In acute 
 or chronic diarrhea or dysentery, in convalescence from exhausting 
 diseases, and in some irritable habits, where the mildest of all other 
 laxatives are apt to excite hypercatharsis, Ehubarb is an appropriate 
 medicine. Its combination with soap or an alkali tends to counteract 
 45 
 
706 Materia Medica. 
 
 its astringent effe(ct8, and it thus becomes valuable in icases of consti- 
 pation. It is useful in all cases of fecal accumulations, as it produces 
 'fecal, more than watery discharges. Sometimes it produces griping, 
 which may be obviated by aromatics. The following pill I have found 
 very beneficial in dyspepsia attended with constipation, chronic diar- 
 rhea, and dysentery, habitual constipation, hepatic derangements, piles, 
 etc. — Take of extract of Ehubarb, extract of leptandra, muriate of 
 berberina, and castile soap, of each, half a drachm, mix them well 
 together, and divide into thirty pills ; of these, one, two, three, or font 
 maybe taken daily, sufficient to keep the bowels regular, without caus- 
 ing catharsis. When more than one are required daily, they should be 
 given in doses of one pill at a time at regular intervals through the 
 day. Ehubarb is generally contra-indicated in severe febrile or in- 
 flammatory affections. Toasting dissipates its purgative property con- 
 siderably,, but without diminishing its astringency, and it is, thus pre- 
 pared, recommended by some practitioners in diarrhea, dysentery, 
 cholera -morbus, and other diseases where astringents are indicated. 
 
 Dose of the powder as a purgative, from ten to thirty grains ; as a 
 laxative, from five to ten grains ; as a tonic, from one to five grains ; 
 of the tincture or syrup, one or two fluidrachms. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Bxtractum Ehei ; Extractum Ehei Pluidum ; Extractum 
 Ehei et Potassse "Flaidum ; Infusum Ehei ; Pilulas Leptandrse Com- 
 poBJtffi ; Pulvis Ehei Compositus ; Tinctura Ehei. 
 
 EHODODE]!fDEON CHEY8ANTHUM. (Gelbliishende A^penrose.) 
 
 Yellow Ehododendron. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Bricaeese. Sex. Syst. — Decandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — This is a small 'bush, with the stem from a foot to a foot 
 and a half high, spreading, very much branched, often almost hidden 
 among moss, from which the tips only of its shoots are protruded. 
 Leaves alternate, of the texture of a laurel leaf, ovate, somewhat acute, 
 tapering into the stalk, reticulated and very rough above, paler and 
 Bfiaoother underneath. Flowers large, showy, nodding, on clustered, 
 terminal, loose peduncles, emerging from among large downy scales. 
 Corolla campanulate, five-cleft, with rounded segments, of which the 
 "three upper are rather the largest, and streaked with livid dots next 
 the tube, the lower unspotted. Stamens ten,- unequal, deflexed ; anthers 
 oblong, incumbent, without appendages, opening by two terminal pores. 
 Capsule ovate, rather angular, five-celled, five-valved, septicidal ; seeds 
 numerous, minute. — I/. 
 
 History. — Ehododendron is an elegant evergreen shrub, inhabiting 
 the mountains of Siberia, with large, yellow fiowers, which appear in 
 June and July. The leaves are the parts used in medicine, and should 
 be gathered as soon as the capsules have ripened. They have a faint 
 odor when recent, which is lost by drying ; their taste is somewhat 
 bitter, slightly acrid and astringent. Water or alcohol extracts their 
 properties. Stolze procured from the dried leaves, oxidized extractive, 
 soluble extractive, a modification of tannic acid, green wax-resin, ex- 
 tractive obtained by potassa and woody fiber. Our native sj)ecie8, the 
 B. Maximum, and II. Punctatum, according to Barton, possess proper- 
 ties similar to the B. Chrysanthum, but milder ; according to Bigelow 
 they are astringent, but not narcotic. 
 
Ehtis Glabrijm. 707 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Yellow Ehododendron contains a stimulant 
 narcotic principle ; for it increases the heat of the body, excites thirst, 
 and produces diaphoresis, or an increased discharge of the other secre- 
 tions or excretions, and which are generally followed by a decrease of 
 action of the arterial system. With some persons it causes emeto- 
 catharsis, inebriation, and delirium. The Siberians use a decoction of 
 it in chronic rheumatism and gout. They put about two drachms of 
 the dried shrub in an earthen pot, with about ten ounces of boiling 
 water, keeping it near a boiling heat for a night, and this they take in 
 the morning. Beside its other effects, it is said to produce a sensation 
 of prickling or creeping in the painful parts ; but in a few hours the 
 pain and disagreeable symptoms are relieved, and two or three doses 
 generally complete the cure. The use of liquids is not allowed during 
 its operation, as this is apt to induce vomiting. — JEd. — Coxe. It is a 
 valuable remedy, used in Eussia, Germany, and sometimes in Prance 
 and England, but* not in this country. 
 
 KHUS GLABEUM. (Glatter Sumach.) 
 
 Sumach. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Anaoardiacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Trigynia. 
 
 THE BAEK AND FRUIT. 
 
 Description. — Great care is necessary in the selection of the several 
 species of Ehus, as many of them are highly poisonous. Ehus Glabrum, 
 or Smooth Sumach is a shrub six to fifteen feet high, consisting of many 
 straggling, glabrous branches, with a pale-gray bark, having occasion- 
 ally a reddish tint. Leaves alternate, odd-pinnate, of from six to fifteen 
 leaflets, about three inches long and one-fourth as wide, lanceolate, acu- 
 minate, acutely serrate, smooth, shining, and green above, whitish be- 
 neath, sessile, except sometimes the terminal odd one ; during the fall 
 they become red. Flowers greenish-red, in terminal, thyrsoid, dense 
 panicles. Calyx of three sepals united at base ; petals five ; stamens five, 
 inserted into the edge or between the lobes of a flattened disk in the 
 bottom of the calyx ; styles three ; stigmas capitate. Fruit a small red 
 drupe, hanging in clusters, and when ripe covered with a crimson down, 
 which is extremely sour to the taste, owing to the presence of malic 
 acid in combination with lime. — W. — O. 
 
 History. — Ehus Glabrum, sometimes called Upland or Pennsyloania 
 Sumach, is common to the United States and Canada, growing in thickets 
 and waste grounds, and on rocky or barren soil, flowering in June and 
 July, and maturing its fruit in September and October. The bark and 
 drupes or berries are ofScinal ; the latter should be gathered before the 
 rains have removed their external downy efflorescence, for when this 
 has been washed off, the berries are no longer acid. Sumach berries 
 have an agreeably acid, slightly styptic taste, and which is due to their 
 malic acid (Ha Cg H4 Oio=134), and tannic acid, beside which they con- 
 tain malate of lime, gallic acid, extractive, fixed and volatile oils, red 
 coloring matter, fiber, etc. "When examined under the microscope, the 
 silky down appears to be a mass of tubular hairs of a white color, en- 
 veloped in a crystalline coating of bimalate of lime, (C&^ H2, 2C8 H^ Ojo, 
 8H2 O2==306+144), impregnated with red coloring matter, resembling 
 an icicle in appearance; when still further matured this down is re- 
 placed by a moist crimson coating. — Am. Jour. Pharm., XXV., 193 
 
708 Materia Medjca. 
 
 Sumach leaves have been used in tanning, and a concentrated decoctiop 
 of the bark is used as a mordant for dyeing red colors. 
 
 Sumach-root bark is of a light gray color, with a tinge of red exter- 
 nally, yellowish -white internally, and of a very astringent and slightly 
 sweet taste. When broken on the plant, a milky fluid exudes from the 
 bark as well as from the leaves, which subsequently forms a solid, gum- 
 like body. Both the bark of the branches and root are used. The bark 
 of the root contains albumen, gum, starch, tannic and gallic acidu, ca- 
 outchouc, soft resin, coloring matter, and probably a volatile odorous 
 principle. — Ibid. 
 
 The excrescences which form upon the leaves are reddish -brown ex- 
 ternally, grayish-white internally, varying in size and appearance, be- 
 ing usually very irregular in their outline, hollow, and sometimes consist 
 of a mere shell, of a line or less in thickness. Their taste is slightly 
 bitter, and very astringent. They contain tannic acid, gallic acid, al- 
 buminous and coloring matter, and are fully equal to'galls in medicinal 
 power. Both the bark and berries of Sumach yield their active prop- 
 erties to water. 
 
 In the previous editions of this work I gave the formula for a prepa- 
 ration incorrectly termed Bhusine, taken from Ec. Jour. Med., Rochester, 
 Vol. IV., p. 232. As the article has never been met with in commerce, 
 I omit any further reference to it in this edition, and more especially 
 because the formula is a doubtful one, unfortunately, like too many 
 others with which the profession have been duped by designing parties, 
 for several years past. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Sumach bark is tonic, astringent and antiseptic; 
 the berries are refrigerant and diuretic. In decoction or syrup, the 
 bark of the root has been found valuable in gonorrhea,leueorrhea, diar- 
 rhea, dysentery, hectic fever, scrofula, and in profuse perspiration from 
 debility. Combined with the barks of slippery-elm and white pine, in 
 de~eoction, and taken freely, it is said to have proved highly beneficial 
 in syphilis. Externally, the bark of the root ih powder, applied as a 
 poultice to old ulcers, forms an excellent antiseptic; a decoction may 
 also be used in injection for prolapsus uteri and ani, and leucorrhea, and 
 as a wash in many cutaneous diseases ; simmered in lard it is valuable 
 in scald-head. A decoction of the inner bark of the root is serviceable 
 in the sore-mouth resulting from mercurial salivation, and is much used 
 internally in mercurial diseases. The berries may be used in infusion in 
 diabetes, strangury, bowel-complaints, febrile diseases, etc., as a gargle 
 in quinsy, and ulcerations of the mouth and throat ; and as a wash for 
 ringworms, tetters, offensive ulcers, etc. Excrescences are frequently 
 formed on the leaves of this plant, and which are very astringent; 
 when powdered and mixed with lard or linseed oil, they are said to 
 prove useful in hemorrhoids. In hot weather, if the bark be punctured, 
 a gummy substance flows out, which has been used with advantage in 
 gleet, and several urinary difficulties. In gonorrhea, the following has 
 been recommended : mix together one scruple, each, of this gummy 
 substance from Sumach, and Canada balsam, form into a pill mass 
 with a sufficient quantity of powdered pokeroot, and' divide into ten 
 pills, of which one or two may be taken three or four times daily. Dose 
 of the decoction of Sumaeh'bark, or infusion of the berries, from one 
 to four fluidounces. A free use of the bark will produce catharsis. 
 
 There are several varieties of this plant, as the R. Typhinum, Staghorn 
 or Velvet Sumach ; and the R. Copallinum, Mountain or Dwarf Sumach, 
 which possess similar virtues, and which must be carefully distinguished 
 
Rhus Toxicodendron. 709 
 
 from those which possess poisonous properties. The non-poisonous 
 species have their fruit clothed vpith acid crimson hairs, and their pan- 
 icles are compound, dense, and terminal ; the poisonous varieties have 
 axillary panicles, and smooth fruit. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Ehus G-labri ; Extractum Ehus Fluidum. 
 
 EHUS TOXICODENDEON. (Gift Sumach.) 
 
 Poison Oak. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Anacardiacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Trigynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — There are three species of Ehus, common to this coun- 
 try, which are poisonous, viz. : the Bhus Toxicodendron, Bhus Venenata 
 and Mhus Pumilum. They possess similar medicinal virtues, in a greater 
 or less degree, and should be known to every physician. 
 
 Ehus Toxicodendeon, or Poison Oak, is a creeping shrub from one to 
 three feet high, with long cord-like shoots, emitting stronglateral fibers ; 
 the stems are either erect or decumbent. The bark is larownish-gray. 
 Leaves ternate, on long semi-cylindrical petioles; leaflets broadly oval 
 or rhomboidal, two to six inches long, two-thirds as wide, petiolate, 
 acuminate, smooth and shining above, slightly downy beneath, especi- 
 ally on the veins; the margin is sometimes entire, and sometimes vari- 
 ously toothed a,nd lobed, in the same plant. Mowers small, greenish- 
 white dioecious, and grow in axillary, subsessile, racemose panicles on 
 the sides of the new shoots. Barren flowers have a calyx of five, erect, 
 acute segments, and a corolla of five oblong recurved petals ; stamens 
 erect with oblong anthers ; in the center is a rudiment of a style. Fer- 
 tile flowers about half the size of the preceding, with calyx and corolla 
 similar, but more erect. They have five small abortive stamens, and a 
 roundish ovary, crowned by a short, erect si?/?e bearing three-small capi- 
 tate stigmas. Fruit a roundish, smooth, dry berry, of a pale-green 
 color, approaching to white, and which contains a solitary bony seed. — 
 L.— W.— G. 
 
 Bhus Badicans or Poison Ivy, and sfimetimes called Poison Vine, is 
 considered bj botanists to be merely a variety of the above species ; it 
 has a climbing stem from three to twenty or more feet in length, and 
 climbs trees, fences, and neighboring objects, to which it becomes at- 
 tached by its myriads of radiating tendrils. The leaflets are quite en- 
 tire, smooth and shining on each side, with the exception of the veins 
 beneath. These plants grow throughout the United States and Canada 
 along fence-rows, in thickets, etc., flowering from May to August. They 
 yield an abundance of yellowish narcotic aci'id milky juice, which be- 
 comes black when exposed to the air, and forms an indelible ink when 
 applied to linen ; it is soluble in ether. This juice, and even the ex- 
 halations from the plant, are extremely poisonous to many persons, but 
 r.ot to all, producing a burning itching, redness arid swelling of the 
 parts, especially of the face, succeeded by blisters, suppuration, aggra- 
 vated swelling, heat, pain and fever ; symptoms which, though often 
 highly distressing, are rarely fatal. — L. — B. — W. 
 
 The Bhus Venenata (B. Vernix), or Poison Sumach, also known as 
 Poison-wood, Swamp Sumach, Poison-ash, and inappropriately as poison - 
 elder, and poison dog-wood, has been confounded with the Bhus Vernix 
 of LinniEus. a spei'.ies whir-h grows in Japan. It is a shrub or small 
 
710 Materia Medica. 
 
 tree, ten to twenty, and even thirty feet in height, with the trunk one 
 to five inches in diameter, branching at the top, and covered with a pale 
 grayish bark, which, is reddish on the Leafstalks and young shoots. 
 Leaves pinnate, with three to six pairs of opposite leaflets, and an odd 
 terminal one, which are oblong or oval, entire or slightly sinuated, 
 acuminate, smooth, paler underneath, and nearly sessile, except the odd 
 terminal one ; they are about three inches long, and nearly half as wide. 
 Flowers dicscious and polygamous, very small, green, and in loose, axil- 
 lary, pedunculate panicles. Panicles of the barren flowers downy, the 
 largest and most branched. Sepals five, ovate ; petals five, oblong ; 
 stamens longer than the petals, and projecting through their interstices ; 
 the rudiment of a three-cleft style in the center. In the fertile flowers 
 the panicles are much smaller, sepals and petals resemble the last, while 
 the center is occupied by an oval ovary, terminated by three circular 
 stigmas. Fruit a bunch of dry berries or drupes, about the size of peas, 
 smooth, greenish-yellow or greenish-white, sometimes marked with 
 slight purple veins, and becoming wrinkled when old; roundish, a 
 little broadest at the upper end, and compressed, containing one white, 
 hard, furrowed seed. — L. — G. — W. 
 
 Ehns Venenata grows in low meadows and swamps from Canada to 
 the Gulf of Mexico, flowering from May to August. The milky juice 
 which flows when the plant is wounded, is similar in its action to that 
 of the preceding plant, and may, according to Bigelow, be made into 
 a beautiful shining, and permanent varnish, by boiling, very analogous 
 _ to that obtained in Japan from the Bhus Vernix. It is much more pois- 
 onous than the previous species, and its volatile principle taints the 
 air for some distance around with its pernicious influence, producing in 
 many persons severe swellings of an erysipelatous nature ; sometimes 
 the body becomes greatly swollen, and the person unable to move. 
 Some persons are hardly, or not at all affected even by handling it. 
 The affection caused by it generally abates after several days, and may 
 be treated in the same manner as named for the poisonous effects of 
 the E. Toxicodendron. 
 
 Ehus PtTMiLtTM. — This is the most poisonous Ehus in this country. 
 It is an extensively procumbent,' villous-pubescent shrub, about a foot 
 high, with pinnate leaves; leaflets about eleven, oval or oblong, slightly 
 acuminate, coarsely toothed, with a velvety pubescence, the three upper 
 leaflets often confluent, the terminal one when distinct attenuate at base. 
 Panicles terminal, thyrsoid, nearly sessile; drupes covered with a red 
 silky pubescence. — T. — Gr. It is confined to the South, and is found in 
 Iforth Carolina. Dr. C. A. Canfield describes a very poisonous shrub 
 growing in California, which is very simila,r in appearance and poison- 
 ous qualities to our E. Toxicodendron. It is the Hhus diversiloba, of 
 Torrey and Gray, or JR. Lobata of Hooker. Thie remedy that he has 
 found invariably successful as an antidote to its local poisonous effects 
 is another plant of California, of the composite family, and somewhat 
 resembling a small sunflower, the Qrindelia hirsutula. A strong decoc- 
 tion of the herb may be used as a wash to the poisoned surfaces, or the 
 bruised fresh herb may be rubbed over the affected parts; one appli- 
 cation often cures, but in obstinate cases several days may be required. 
 —Am. Jour. Pharm., 1860, p. 412. 
 
 History. — The leaves of E. Toxicodendron are the only parts of the 
 plant used, although the whole plant is highly active. When dried 
 they have no odor, and an insipid taste with acridity. Water or alco- 
 
Rhus Toxicodendron. 711 
 
 hoi extracub their properties. The best preparation for medical use ie 
 a saturated tincture of the recent leaves, and whicli should be kept well 
 30rked. I have seen no analysis of this plant. Pereira states "there 
 are two substances in it worthy of investigation; viz.: a volatile acrid 
 principle, and the substance which blackens by exposure to the air." 
 Prof J. M. Maisch has very carefully examined the Ehus toxicodendron, 
 and has satisfactorily ascertained that its active principle is a volatile 
 acid, with reactions nearly identical with those of formic acid, and 
 which he proposes to call toxicodendric acid. As remedies against its 
 cutaneous poisoning, he names permanganate of potassa, or of am- 
 monia. He believes the expressed juice preserved by alcohol to be 
 the best pharmaceutical preparation. — Proceedings Am. Jour. Pharm. 
 Assoc, 1865, p. 166. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The fresh juice of the Poison Oak is powerfully 
 irritant. In some persons it produces vesication wherever it is applied, 
 accompanied sometimes by much symptomatic fever — and even the 
 emanations from the plant are alleged to have the same effect on cer- 
 tain constitutions. To remove these effects, the parts may be bathed 
 with a solution of borax or copperas, or a wash made by boiling the 
 bark of the elder in buttermilk ; accompanied with a light cooling regi- 
 men, and cooling purgatives or diuretics. The bruised leaves of the 
 Gollinsonia Canadensis, externally, and an infusion of the Verbena Urtici- 
 folia, internally, have been successfully used in internal or external 
 poisoning by these plants. Prof. McDowell recommends a solution of 
 caustic potassa, sufficiently strong to render the skin soapy, as a local 
 application in cases of poisoning byEhus toxicodendron ; he states that 
 it invariably cures. In large doses the leaves and juice are narcotico- 
 irritant, and in small doses, they are diuretic, diaphoretic, laxative, and 
 a stimulant of the nervous system. It is said they produce twitchings 
 of paralyzed muscles, and prickings of the affected limb, similar to 
 strychnia or nux vomica. They. have been highly recommended in 
 chronic paralysis, chronic rheumatism, cutaneous diseases, and some 
 diseases of the ej'e ; they are seldom used on account of their poison- 
 ous consequences and the volatility of their active principle. I have 
 derived much advantage from the following preparation in paralysis, 
 chronic rheumatism, and some obstinate cutaneous affections : Take of 
 a saturated tincture of the fresh leaves of Ehus Toxicbdendron half a 
 fluidounce, saturated tincture of aconitum, volatile tincture of guaiacum, 
 of each, two fluidrachms ; mix together. Of this give forty drops every 
 three or four hours, having previously evacuated the bowels. Ehus 
 Toxif.odendron has been employed successfully in paraplegia without 
 any actual organic lesion, likewise in paralysis of the bladder and of 
 the rectum. Dose of the leaves, in powder, half a grain three times a 
 day, gradually increased until some effect is produced; of the saturated 
 tincture from five to ten drops. It has also proved efficacious in acute 
 erysipelas. Dr. J. W. Moorman, of Hardinsburg, Ky., relates two cases 
 of poisoning from eating the plant, cured by warm water to cause 
 emesis, then large quantities of solution of carbonate of soda as a sup- 
 posed antidote, combined with treatment on general principles. — Am. 
 Jour. Pharm., 1866, p. 322, from Am. Jour. Med. Sci., 1866. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Tinctura Ehus Toxicodendri. 
 
712 Materia Medica. 
 
 RIBBS NIGEUM. (Schwarze Johannisbeere.) 
 
 Black Currant. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Grossulaceae. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE FRUIT. 
 
 Description. — The black Currant is a woody bush or shrub from three 
 to five feet in height, stems unarmed, and leaves three to five-lobed, 
 punctate beneath, dentate-serrate, longer than their petioles, flacemes 
 'ax, hairy, somewhat nodding. Calyx campanulate, with reflexed seg- 
 ments ; petals oblong, yellowish ; bracts minute, subulate or blunt, nearly 
 as long as the pedicels. Fruit large, roundish-ovoid, nearly black. — 
 -^W.—L. 
 
 Rises Rubrum, or common Bed Currant, has unarmed, straggling, or 
 reclined stems, with leaves obtusely three to five-lobed, smooth above, 
 pubescent beneath, subcordate at base, margin mucronately serrate. 
 jRacemes from lateral buds distinct from the leaves, pendulous, asd nearly 
 glabrous. Bracts blunt, shorter than the pedicels. Calyx flattened out, 
 short, spreading, with obtuse lobes; petals obcordate, green. Fruit 
 globose, smooth, red. — W. — I/. 
 
 ' Sistory. — ^^The Black Currant is a native of Europe and Siberia,, grow 
 ing-in woods, cultivated in Europe and 'this country, and flowering in 
 May. The Bed Currant grows in cold, damp woods and bogs in this 
 country and Europe, and is extensively cultivated in gardens ; it also 
 flowers in May. The fruit of these two plants is the part used, and 
 imparts its virtues to water. The juice of Bed Currants is said to con- 
 tain citric acid, malic acid, sugar, vegetable jelly, gum, and extractive; 
 that of Black Currants contains the same, with the addition of a peculiar 
 volatile principle, and a violet coloring matter. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The juice of these berries, especially of the 
 Black Currant, is said to be diuretic and diaphoretic. They may be 
 made into a jelly, a jam, paste, etc.,*and are very useful in febrile and 
 inflammatory cases, in hoai-seness and afiections of the throat. The raw 
 juice is an excellent refrigerant beverage in febrile diseases. A. decoc- 
 tion of the bark of the Black Currant has proved useful in calculous 
 affections, dropsy, and hemorrhoidal tumors. The Wild Black Currant, 
 Bibes Floridum, of this country, possesses similar properties. It is a 
 handsome shrub, growing from three to five feet high, with leaves one 
 or two inches long, and somewhat wider, subcordate, from three to five- 
 lobed; lobes acute, spreading, sprinkled on both sides with yellowish, 
 resinous dots, just visible to the naked eye. Flowers greenish -yellow, 
 subcampanulate, in pendulous, pubescent, many -flowered racemes. Calyx 
 cylindrical; bracts linear, longer than the pedicels; petioles one or two 
 inches long. Fruit obovoid, smooth, black, insipid. It flowers in May 
 and June. — W. — G. 
 
 ROBINIA PSEUDO-ACACIA. (Acacien Robinie.) 
 
 Locust-tree. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Fabacese, or Leguminosse. Sex. Syst. — Diadelpbia De- 
 candria. 
 
 THE BARK AND LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — This is a tree from fifty to eighty feet in height, and 
 from one to four feet thick ; the bark is rough and dark. Branches 
 numerous, smooth, armed with stipular prickles. Leaves unequally 
 
ROCCELLA TiNCTORIA. 713 
 
 pinnate ; leaflets in from eiglit to twelve pairs, ovate and oblong-o^ ate, 
 thin, nearly sessile, and very smooth ; stipules minute, bristle-firm, 
 partial. Flowers white, fragrant, showy, in numerous, axillary, pen- 
 dulous rccemes. Calyx five-cleft, short, campanulate, slightly two-lipped. 
 Standard large and rounded, turned back, scarcely longer than the 
 wings and keel. Stamens diadelphous; style bearded inside. Legume 
 or pod linear, compressed, two to four inches in length, and about six 
 lines wide, margined on the seed-bearing edge. Seeds several, small, 
 brown, reniform. — G.^W. When young, the tree is armed with 
 thorns which disappear in its maturity. 
 
 History. — This tree, known also by the names of Black Locust and 
 Yellow Locust, is found in several parts of the United States, principal- 
 \j west of the mountains, being seldom found north of Pennsylvania, 
 or in the Atlantic Southern States ; it blossoms in May. It is much 
 valued for the durability, hardness and lightness of its wood. The bark 
 and leaves are used, and yield their properties to water or alcohol. The 
 bark of the root is the most active. The seeds are slightly acrid, and 
 contain much oil, which may be obtained by expression. By steeping 
 in water, their acridity is removed, and a very mild, useful meal niay 
 be then prepared from them. The inner bark is tough and fibrous. 
 
 Prof. H. Hlasiwetz has obtained the finest kind of asparagine from 
 the root of this plant. It is obtained by evaporating a decoction to the 
 consistence of a thin syrup, and then allowing it to stand for a few 
 days; numerous, hard, rather large octohedral crystals are formed. 
 These, after being twice recrystallized, are perfectly colorless and 
 strongly refractive, do not eflloresce, grate between the teeth, and have 
 a slightly sweet mawkish taste. Their solution has a neutral reaction, 
 and evolves ammonia when heated with solution of potassa ; it is not 
 precipitated by acetate of silver or lead, but basic acetate of lead and 
 protonitrate of mercury furnish White precipitates. When heated, the 
 crystals fuse, the mass afterward becomes brown, swells up, and evoh-es 
 an unpleasant ammoniacal odor. They burn without residue, and dis- 
 solve in nitric and sulphuric acids without change. Thirty pounds of 
 fresh root furnished more than two an a half ounces of pure substance. 
 — Chem. Gaz., Aug. 15, 1855. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — A decoction of the bark of the root is tonic in 
 small doses, but emetic and purgative in large ones. An ounce of the 
 bark boiled in three gills of water operates as a cathartic in doses 
 of half an ounce, given morning and evening. The bark is supposed 
 to possess some acro-narcotic properties, as the juice of it has been 
 known to produce coma and slight convulsions. An- overdose has pro- 
 duced symptoms very similar to those resulting from an improper dose 
 of belladonna, and at the same time cured a case of fever and ague. 
 The flowers possess antispasmodic properties, and form an excellent 
 and agreeable syrup. The leaves operate mildly and efficiently as an 
 emetic, in doses of thirty grains every twenty minutes. 
 
 _». 
 
 BOCCELLA TINCTORIA. (Parber Eoccelle.) 
 
 Litmus. — Lackmus. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Lichenales. Sex. /Sfj/sf.— Cryptogamia Algse. 
 
 A PECULIAR COLORING MATTER. 
 
 Description.— Boecella Tinetoria, or OrcMlla-weed, is a small dry lichen, 
 with a rounded, glaucous, nearly erect thallus, forked and subdivided 
 
714 Materia Medica. 
 
 into numerous htanahj, roundish, gray, yellowish or brownish threads ; 
 apothecia scattered and elevated ; disk flat, csesius, pruinose, as broad as 
 the border. 
 
 History. — This lichen is found on the maritime rocks of the eastern 
 Atlantic Islands, as the Azores, jCanaries, etc. ; the western coast of 
 South America, south of England, Portland Islands, Scilly Islands, and 
 various other countries. It contains a brown resin soluble in alcohpl 
 and ether, and becoming brownish-red with ammonia; wax; glutinous 
 matter ; insoluble starch ; yellow extractive ; yellowish-brown gummy 
 matter; lichen -starch ; tartrate and oxalate of lime ; and chloride of 
 sodium. The colorific principles are, according to Stenhouse, Alpha- 
 orselUc acid, the rational formula for which is C32 Hie O3+IIO ; Beta- 
 orsellic acid, Osj Hi, Ou+HO ; and Erythric acid, G^ H^ O9+HO. Lit- 
 mus was formerly obtained from this plant alone, but other lichens 
 have now in a great measure supplanted it, as the Roccella Fusiformis or , 
 Angola-weed, from Angola and Madagascar, the Lecanora Tartarea or 
 Tartarean Moss, from ]S"orway and Sweden, the Yariolaria Dealbata 
 from Auvergne and the Pyrennees, and some others. The colorific 
 principles of these are, Erythric acid, Lecanoric acid G^ Hg Og ; Evernie 
 acid C34 His O13+HO, ilsnic acid G^ Hi^ O14, etc. ; these acids are them- 
 selves colorless, but are converted into colored substances when ex- 
 posed to the joint action of water, air, and ammonia — but the precise 
 chemical reactions by which the coloration is effected are unknown. 
 
 Lacmus or Litmus was formerly prepared only in Holland, but, at 
 present is manufactured from various lichens in Italy, Prance, and 
 Britain. It is made " by macerating powdered lichen for several weeks, 
 with occasional agitation, in a mixture of urine, lime, and potashes, in 
 a ■^ooden trough under shelteK. A kind of fermentation takes place, 
 and the lichen becomes first reddish, and subsequently blue. When 
 the pulp has acquired a proper blue color, it is placed in brass or steel 
 molds, and the cakes thus procured are subsequently dried. The molds 
 consist of two parts ; the lower one divided into rectangular cells, and 
 the upper one supporting a series of metallic rods bearing small metal- 
 lic disks, so arranged as to accurately fit the cells of the lower piece." 
 — P. " Litmus is imported in the form of small, rectangular, light and 
 friable cakes of an indigo-blue color. Examined by the , microscope, 
 we find sporules and portions of the epidermis, and mesothallus of 
 some species of lichen, moss, leaves, sand, etc. Its odor is that of in- 
 digo and violets. " — P. 
 
 Froperties and Uses. — Litmus is employed in urinary, chemical and 
 pharmaceutical analysis, and is a familiar test for free acids and alka- 
 lies. The former impart a red color to blue Litmus ; the latter return 
 the original blue color to the reddened Litmus. Carbonate of lime dis- 
 solved in water by a considerable excess of carbonic acid, will also re- 
 store the blue color of reddened Litmus. It is used either in infusion, 
 or in the form of Litmus paper. The infusion, sometimes erroneously 
 called tincture of Litmus, is made by adding one part of Litmus to 
 twenty-five parts of 'distilled water, to which, for the purpose of pre- 
 serving it, about one-tenth part of spirit or alcohol may be added. 
 Blue Zitmu.s-paper, charta exploratoria ccerulea, is prepared by dipping 
 strips of paper in a clear and strong infusion of Litmus, or by brushing 
 the infusion over the paper. White unsized paper is the best for this 
 purpose; and the infusion may be made by adding one part of Litmus 
 to six parts of boiling water. Good Litmus-paper should be of uniform 
 color, neither too light nor too dark, and when carefully dried, should 
 
EosA Canina. 715 
 
 be kept in well-stopped vessels in a dark place ; when it has a purplish 
 tint, it is a more delicate test for acids than when pure blue. An ex- 
 tremely delicate test-paper may be made by almost neutralizing the al- 
 kali contained in the Litmus ; thus : divide the filtered infusion of Lit- 
 mus into two parts ; stir one portion with a glass rod which has been 
 jjreviously dipped into very dilute sulphuric acid, and repeat this until 
 the liquid begins to look reddish ; then add the other portion of liquid, and 
 immerse the paper in it. — P. Vacher recommends to digest two parts 
 of Litmus with ten parts of water for some time, shaking occasionally ; 
 filter, add a slight excess of nitric acid and boil : then neutralize exiict- 
 ly with potassa, and it is done. Draw thin, white, unsized j)aper 
 through a solution of isinglass one part, boiled with water fifty parts, 
 and hang it up to dry. When dry paint one side with the Litmus so- 
 lution. Red Litmus-paper, charta exploratoria rubefacta, is best pre- 
 pared by dipping the blue paper in a very dilute sulphuric acid, merely 
 acid enough to redden it. . , 
 
 Orchil or archil is used for dyeing, coloring, and staining. There are 
 two kinds, called blue orchil and red orchil, which differ merely in the 
 degree of their red tint. They are deep-reddish purple liquids, with an 
 ammoniacal odor. It is prepared by steeping the lichens in an ammo- 
 niacal liquor, in a covered wooden vessel. 
 
 Cudbear is obtained by the same process as orchil, and when the 
 proper purplish-red color has been developed, the mixture is dried in 
 the air and reduced to powder. It is used as a dye, and sometimes as 
 a test for acids and alkalies. — P. 
 
 ROSA CANINA. (Hunde Eose.) 
 
 Dog-rose. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eosacese. Sex. Syst. — Icosandria Polygynia. 
 
 THE RECENT FRUIT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also known by the names of Sip-tree, or 
 Wild-brier, is a soft, branched, smooth bush, with long green curved 
 rootshoots, covered with equal, remote, strong, compressed, falcate ^n'cAZes ; 
 leaflets five to nine, ovate, firm, without glandular pubescence, with 
 acute, incurved and often double serratures. Flowers with leafy bracts. 
 Sepals partly pinnated, usually naked as well as the tube of the calyx. 
 Petals white or pink, obcordate, fragrant ; throat of the calyx thick and 
 quite closed up. Fruit red. succulent, ovoid, truncated, in consequence 
 of the fall of the sepals. — I/. — W. 
 
 Sistory. — This plant is indigenous to Europe, and introduced into 
 this country; it usually attains the height of six or ten feet, and flow- 
 ers in June and July. The flowers are succeeded by a scarlet fruit 
 called Hip. The fruit {Rosce Fructus) is the only officinal part, it is in- 
 odorous, but possesses a rather pleasant, sweetish, acidulous taste, 
 which is increased by the action of frost. The hip or fruit consists of 
 the developed tube of the calyx, inclosing within its cavity numerous 
 carpels or true fruits ; these must be carefully removed before it is used 
 for pharmaceutic purposes. It then, after having been dried, consists 
 of gum, citric acid, impure malic acid, a large proportion of uncrystalliz- 
 able sugar, various salts, and traces of wax, resin, and volatile oil. Its 
 properties are preserved by beating the pulp with sugar. — C. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The conserve made by beating the pulp with 
 sugar, is called Conserve of Dog-rose, or Conserve of Hips (Confectic 
 
716 Materia M.edica. 
 
 Ttosae Canince), and is tenacious, retaining its softness for a long time 
 even under exposure to the air. It is a useful material for forming 
 pill-masses, and, as it contains less tannic acid, may be used as a sub- 
 stitute for the conserve of red roses, when preparations of iron are to 
 enter into the pill-mass. 
 
 EOSA CENTIFOLIA. (Hundertblattrige Eose.) 
 
 Hundred-leaved Eose. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — EosaceaB. Sex. Syst. — Icosandria Polygynia. 
 
 THE PETALS. 
 
 Description. — This is an erect shrub, three to six feet in height, hav- 
 ing the branches closely covered with nearly straight ^ncWes, scarcely 
 dilated at base, and glandular bristles of various forms and sizes ; the 
 large ones falcate. Shoots erect. Leaves unequally pinnated; leaflets 
 five to seven, oblong or ovate, glandiilar-ciiiate on the margin, sub- 
 pilose beneath. Flowers large, usually of a pink color, but varying in 
 hue,' form, size, etc., through a hundred known varieties, several to- 
 gether, drooping, with leafy bracts ; flower-hud short, ovoid. Sepals 
 leafy, compound, viscid, spreading in flower. Petals five, usually pale- 
 , red. Fruit ovoid ; calyx and peduncles glandular -hispid, viscid, and fra- 
 grant. — L. — W. 
 
 History. — The native country of this rose-bush is unknown ; but it 
 is extensively cultivated in nearly all parts of the world, forming a 
 valuable ornament to gardens. There are many varieties, the most 
 fragrant of which are the best adapted for use. The parts employed 
 are the petals, which ought to be gathered before tliey'ai-e fully blown, 
 freed from the calyx caps and stamens, and dried in the air. To pre- 
 serve them they are frequently salted. Their odor is fragrant, and 
 which is said to be singularly exalted by iodine ; and their taste sweet- 
 ish, slightly acid and bitter, with a faint astringency. Analysis has 
 detected in them volatile oil (otto of roses), gallic acid, coloring mat- 
 ter, a saccharine matter, lignin, mineral salts, and oxide of iron. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This rose, on account of its delightful fragran- 
 cy, is principally used for the distillation of Eose-water, so much used 
 in collyria and other lotions ; taken internally, it is said to be gently 
 aperient, but is seldom, if ever, administered for this purpose. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Aqua Eosse ; Linimentum Terebinthinee; Lotio .iEtheris 
 Composita ; Lotio Sassafras ; XJnguentum Aquse Eossb. 
 
 EOSA GALLICA. (Damascener Eose.) 
 Nat. Ord. — Eosacese. Sex. Syst. — Icosandria Polygynia. 
 
 THE PETALS. 
 
 Description. — The Red, French, or Provins Rose, is a dwarfish, short- 
 branched bush, two to three feet high, with the stem smA petioles armed 
 with numerous fine, nearly equal, uniform prickles and glandular bris- 
 tles intermixed ; leaflets, mostly five, stiff, elliptical, and rugose. Flowers 
 large, erect, several together, with leafy bracts ; sepals ovate, leafy, 
 compound. Petals five or more, obcordate, large, spreading, and of a 
 rich crimson color. Fruit oblong or ovoid, glossy, very coriaceous. — 
 L.— W. 
 
 History. — This plant is indigenous to Austria and other parts of the 
 
KosMARiNus Officinalis. 717 
 
 middle and south of Europe, and is common in the gardens of that 
 country and the United States. There are not less than two hundred 
 varieties known in cultivation. With this plant as with the previous 
 ones, cultivation multiplies the petals very much, by the conversion of 
 stamina. The officinal parts are the petals. They should be collected 
 previous to the expansion of the flowers, freed from their calyces and 
 Avhite claws or heels, and speedily dried in the sun or by artificial' heat. 
 "When dried they are sifted to»remove the stamens and insects, and 
 should be kept in a dry place, as for instance, in well-covered tin can- 
 isters or bottles. "When dried they have a velvety appearance; their 
 color is purplish-red ; their odor is much improved by desiccation ; and 
 their taste is bitterish and astringent." — P. Their infusion yields a 
 black precipitate with the sesquioxide salts of iron, and is changed to 
 a scarlet color by sulphuric acid. Water takes up tKeir properties. 
 Ca,rtier found in them volatile oil, coloring matter, tannic and gallic 
 acids, fatty naatter, albumen, soluble potassa salts, calcareous insoluble 
 salts, silica, and oxide of iron. Filhol found quite a quantity of quer- 
 citrin in them, to which he attributes their astringency, also consider- 
 able noncrystallizable sugar. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Eed Eoses are tonic and mildly astringent. 
 They have been used in passive hemorrhages, and excessive mucous 
 discharges. They have also been found beneficial in bowel complaints, 
 and are more commonly used in ophthalmic diseases as a poultice, or, 
 the pith of sassafras and infusion of roses as a collj-rum in acute oph- 
 thalmia. The infusion is also used as a vehicle for various other rem- 
 edies. The confection is mostly employed as a basis for making pills. 
 If iron be added to the confection, or any of its preparations, it forms 
 a hard, black pill, which passes through the alimentary canal un- 
 changed. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Confectio Eosse. 
 
 EOSMAEINUS OFFICINALIS. (Gemeiner Eosmarin.) 
 
 Eosemary. 
 Nat. Ord. — Lamiacese. Sex. Syst. — Diaadria Monogynia. 
 
 THE TOPS. 
 
 Description. — Eosemary is an erect, perennial, evergreen shrub, two 
 to four feet high, with numerous branches of an ash-color, and densely 
 leafy. Leaves sessile, opposite, linear, over an inch in length, and 
 about two lines broad, entire, obtuse at the summit, revolute at the 
 margins, of a firm consistence, dark-green and shining above, downy 
 and sometimes whitish beneath. Flowers few, bright blue or white, 
 subsessile, in short, opposite, axillary and terminal racemes ; bracts 
 shorter than the calyx ; calyx purplish, campanulate and villose ; corol- 
 la not ringed in the inside, somewhat inflated in the throat, with two 
 equal lips, the upper of which is erect and eraarginate, the lower trifid, 
 with the middle lobe very large, concave, and hanging down. Stamens 
 two ; filaments minutely toothed near the base ; anthers linear, with two 
 divaricating confluent cells. Upper lobe of style very short. Seeds 
 four, oblong, naked at the base of the calyx. — Jj. — W. 
 
 History. —Rosemnry is a native of the countries surrounding the 
 Mediterranean, and is cultivated in nearly eveiy garden for its beauty 
 and fragrance, flowering in April and May ; the parts used in medicine 
 are the flowering tops, which have a powerful, diffusive, camphorace- 
 
 ) 
 
718 ' Materia MeDica. 
 
 ous odor, and an aromatic, bitter taste ; they yield their propeirties tc < 
 water or spirits, but more effectually to alcohol. Age and drying im- 
 pair their odor and virtues, which are owing to a volatile oil, and 
 which may be procured by distillation. On standing for some time, 
 the oil deposits crystals of stearpptin. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Eosemary is stimulant, antispasmodic, and 
 emmenagogue ; seldom used in this country, except as a perfume for 
 ointments, liniments, embrocations, ate. The oil is principally em- 
 ployed. Dose, internally, from three to six drops. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Oleum Eosmarini. 
 
 ETJBIA TINCTOEUM. (Farber Eothe.) 
 
 Madder.— Krapp. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eubiacese. Sex. Syst. — Tetrandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Dyer's Madder has a perennial, long, cylindrical roet, 
 about the thickness of a quill, branched, externally deep, reddish-brown. 
 Stems several, herbaceous, diffuse, brittle, branched, tetragonal, very 
 "•ough, with sharp hooks. Leaves four to six in a whorl, lanceolate or 
 oblong-lanceolate, mucronate, somewhat membranous, with pinnated 
 veins, two or three inches long, and nearly one-third as wide. Flowers 
 small, yellow. Corolla rotate, five-parted; lobes ovate-lanceolate, api- 
 culate. Stamens five, short; styles two, short; anthers ovate-oblong; 
 stigmas conical. Fruit didymous, globose, baccate, shining, juicy. — L. 
 — Wi. 
 
 History. — ^Madder is a native of the Mediterranean, and Southern 
 European countries, and is extensively ctiltivated for the use of the dyer 
 in various parts of that continent ; the drug is chiefly imported from 
 Holland and Prance. The root is collected in the third year of the 
 plant, when it is freed from its epidermis and dried. It consists of a 
 dark, easily separable cortex, whose epidermis is thin, and of a ligne- 
 ous meditullium, which in the fresh state is yellow, but becomes reddish 
 by drying. It has a feeble odor, and a bitter and astringent taste, which 
 properties, together with its color, are communicated to alcohol or water. 
 The microscope discovers numerous needle-shaped crystals or raphides 
 in the cells of the root-bark. — P. Madder has been analyzed by several 
 chemists, and found to contain coloring matter, resin, gum, bitter ex- 
 tractive, sugar, lignin, etc. Decaisne has shown that in the living state 
 the root contains only yellow coloring matter, which is held in solution, 
 and resides not in any peculiar vessels or secretory apparatus, but in 
 the cellular tissue and latex vessels. By exposure to air this yellow 
 liquid becomes red, cloudy, and granular. Eunge states that Madder 
 contains two colorless acids, madderic and rubiacic, and five coloring 
 matters, Madder purple, Madder red, Madder orange, Madder yellow, and 
 Madder brown. To two of these Madder is supposed to owe its value 
 as a dye-stuff, viz. : Madder red, and Madder purple. 
 
 Madder red, alizarin, or lizaric a.cid, occurs in the anhydrous and hy- 
 drated form. The anhydrous, C^ Hg Og, has a red color passing into 
 yellow ; it fuses and sublimes in orange-colored needles, which are solu- 
 ble in alcohol, ether, and boiling water, forming yellow solutions. , The 
 slightest trace of alkali colors the aqueous solution red. It is insoluble 
 tn a cold solution of alum, and forms a red solution in hydrated sul- 
 
EuBus Strigosus — KuBUS Trivi.\li8 — EuBus ViLLOsrs. 719 
 
 phuric acid. Hydrated altarifi., C.,o H,o Oi„, or G^ H,, 0^-1-4 Aq., occurH 
 in small scales, having the appearance of mosaic gold. 
 
 Madder purple, purpurin, oxylizaric acid, differs from the preceding 
 chiefly in its solubility in solution of alum, giving a fine bright red color 
 Anhydrous purpurin, Cig H^ Oe, is in the form of red acicular crystals, 
 readily soluble in warm water, also in alcohol, ether, concentrated sul- 
 phuric acid, and solution of potassa. Its aqueous, alcoholic, and potassa 
 solutions are red. Hydrated purpurin, Cis H, 0„ is in the form of orange- 
 colored crystals. The statements regarding the products obtained from 
 madder are conflicting and unsatisfactory ; several others, besides those 
 named above, have also been given, as xanthine, garancin, rubiau, etc. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Madder is supposed to promote the menstrual 
 and. urinary discharges, and has been recommended for such purposes 
 bj^ various practitioners. However, it is not in general use, as the pro- 
 fession lack confidence in its action. The dose is thirty grains, three or 
 four times a day. Animals fed upon madder have their bones colored 
 red by it. Leonhardi has obtained a patent for "Alizarine Ink," which 
 does not contain gum, is prevented from becoming moldy by its indigo 
 and acetate of iron, and in which the sulphate of indigo prevents the 
 tannate of iron from separating. It is prepared by digesting twenty- 
 four parts of Aleppo galls and three parts of Dutch Madder wjth one 
 hundred and twenty parts of water. The liquid is filtered and mixed 
 with 1.2 parts solution of indigo, 6.2 sulphate of iron, and two parts 
 crude acetate of iron solution. It is said to be a superior ink. 
 
 EUBUS STEIGOSUS. (Strieglithte Brombeere.) 
 
 Eed Easpberry. — Rothe Hirnbeere. 
 
 RUBUS TEIVIALIS. (Geschmacklose Brombeere.) 
 
 Dewberry, or Low Blackberry. 
 
 EUBUS YILLOSUS. (Zottige Brombeere.) 
 
 Blackberry. — Brombeere. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eosacese. Sex. Syst. — leosandria Polygynia. 
 
 THE BARK OP THE ROOT, AND r'aSPBERBT LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — Eubus Strigosus is a shrubby, strongly hispid plant, 
 about four feet in height. Leaves pinnately three or five foliate, leaflets 
 oblong-ovate or oval, obtuse at base, pointed, coarsely and unequally 
 serrate, green above, canescent tomentose beneath, lateral ones sessile, 
 odd one often subcordate at base, and distinctly petiolate, one and a 
 half to two and'a half inches long, and about from one-third to two- 
 thirds as wide. Flowers white, in panicled corymbs. Corolla cup-' 
 shaped, about the length of the calyx. Fruit a red berry, hemispherical, 
 coniposed of many juicy, one-seeded acini, on a dry receptacle, of a ricli 
 delicious flavor. — W. 
 
 EuBUS Trivialis, or Eubus Canadensis, sometimes called iow or Creep- 
 ing Blackberry, has a slender prickly stem, procumbent or trailing several 
 yards upon the ground. Leaves petiolate, of three (or pedately five or 
 seven) leaflets, which are elliptical, or rhomboidal-oval, acute, thin, niem- 
 branaceous, sharply and unequally cut-serrate, often somewhat incised, 
 somewhat pubescent, an inch to an inch and a half long, and about one- 
 half as wide. Common petioles one or two inches long, and together 
 
720 Materia Medica. 
 
 with the peduncles are armed with recurred, bristly prickles, sornetiineg 
 naked. Stipules linear, subulate, entire, or sen-ate. Flowers large, 
 white, nearly solitary, on slender, elongated, prickly, somewhat cor- 
 ymbed pedicels, with leafy bracts; lower peduncles distant; upper 
 crowded. Petals obovate, in one variety orbicular, and twice as long as 
 the calyx. i'VwY large, black, very sweet and juicy. — W. — T. — G. 
 
 RuBirs ViLLOSTJS, is a perennial, half shrubby plant, pubescent and 
 prickly. Its root, woody, knotty, and horizontal, and sends up a tall, 
 branching, slender, prickly, more or less furrowed and angular sfem, re 
 curved at top, and three to six feet high. Leaves mostly in threes, some- 
 times fives, often solitary, on a channeled, hairy petiole ; leaflets ovate, 
 acuminate, sharply and unequally serrate, covered with scattered hairs 
 above, and with a thick, soft, pubescence underneath ; terminal stalked ; 
 two side ones sessile; petiole and back of the midrib commonly armed 
 with short recurved prickles. Brnnchlets, stalks, and lower surface of 
 the leaves hairy and glandular; leaflets from two and a half to four 
 inches long, by. one and a half to two and a half inches wide. Flowers 
 large, in erect racemes with a hairy, jjrickly stalk ; pedicels slender, an 
 inch or two long, with glandular hairs and lanceolate bracts. Petals 
 five, white, ovate or oblong, concave, contracted into a short claw at 
 base. Calyx short, with ovate, hairy segments, ending in an acuminate 
 point, or a lanceolate leaflet. Stamens numerous, inserted on the calyj 
 along with the petals; filaments slender; anthers small. Fruit large, a. 
 first green, then red, and when matured, black; it consists of about 
 twenty roundish, shining, black, fleshy carpels, closely collected into an 
 ovate or oblong head, subacid, well-flavored, and ripening in August and 
 September. — L. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — The Hed Raspberry grows wild and is common to Canada 
 and the Northern United States, growing in hedges, neglected fields, 
 thickets and hills, flowering in May, and ripening its fruit from June to 
 August. The leaves are the officinal parts. They impart their proper- 
 ties to water, giving to the infusion an odor and flavor somewhat simi- 
 lar to that of some kinds of black tea. 
 
 The Dewberry likewise grows wild in dry, stony fields, gravelly soil, 
 and neglected grounds, and is common from Canada to Virginia, flower- 
 ing in May, and ripening its fruit in July and August. The root is the 
 officinal part, it is generally smaller than the Blackberry root, with its 
 external covering transversely cracked, of a dark brownish-gray color, 
 odorless, and woody internally. Blackberry grows abundantly in most 
 parts of the United States, in old fields, by the roadside, and on the 
 borders of thickets, fiowering from May to July, and maturing its fruit 
 in August. The root is the part used ; as met with in the shops it is 
 of a brownish-gray color externally, sometimes with a reddish tinge, 
 in pieces of various lengths, having a diameter varying' from two to ten 
 or twelve lines, furrowed longitudinally, and woody internally. The 
 barks of these two plants have an astringent, slightly bitter taste. 
 
 These plants possess similar medicinal properties, and may be sub- 
 stituted the one for the other ; and as they belong to the same genus, 
 I have placed them together. The bark of the old roots, or the smaller 
 roots, of Dewberry and Blackberry, should always be preferred as the 
 woody portion is inert; their odor and taste are similar, and they im- 
 part their virtues to water, alcohol, or Port wine. They contain a 
 large quantity of tannic acid, with bitter extractive; no accurate analyr 
 sis has been made of them. The fruits of these plants are much es- 
 teemed as an article of diet, and have been manufactured into cordials, 
 
EuDBECKiA Laciniata. 721 
 
 jam, jelly, and syrup. They contain volatile oil, citric and malic acids, 
 sugar, mucus, etc. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These plants are useful as astringents. An in- 
 fusion or decoction of the leaves of Easpberry, or the bark of the roots 
 of the other two, has been found an excellent remedy in diarrhea, dj-s- 
 entery, cholera infantum, relaxed conditions of the intestines of chil- 
 dren, passive hemorrhage from the stomach, bowels, or uterus, and in 
 colliquative diarrhea. The decoction used as an injection is useful in 
 gonorrhea, gleet, leucorrhea, and prolapsus uteri and ani; in prolapsus 
 uteri, it may be used either alone or combined with the internal use of 
 a decoction of equal parts of black cohosh and Blackberry roots, taken 
 freely. The leaves of Easpberry, in decoction with cream, will allay 
 nausea and vomiting, and combined with aromatics has been found 
 useful in diarrhea, cholera morbus, and cholera infantum. It is said 
 that Easpberry will, during labor, increase the activity of the uterine 
 contractions when these are feeble, even in instances where ergot has 
 failed, and that it has been found serviceable in after-pains. The/rwi^, 
 especially that .of the Blackberry, makes an excellent syrup, which is 
 of much service in dysentery, being pleasant to the taste, mitigating 
 the accompanying tenesmus and sufferings of the patient, and ulti- 
 mately effecting a cure. The fruit of the Easpberry contains very 
 little nourishment, but is an agreeable acidulous article, rarely disturb- 
 ing the stomach, and when eaten freely, promotes the action of the 
 bowels. Easpberry syrup added to water,- forms a refreshing and 
 beneficial beverage for fever-patients, and during convalescence. The 
 jelly or jam may likewise be used in similar cases; that of the Black- 
 berries being more astringent, is better adapted to cases of diarrhea, 
 dysentery, and cholera infantum. Dose of the decoction of these 
 plants, from one to four fluidounces several times a day; of the pulver- 
 ized root-bark from twenty to thirty grains. 
 
 The Ruhus Odoratus, or Rose-flowering Raspberry, has an erect or re- 
 clining, unarmed, glandular -pilose, shrubby stem, from three to five 
 feet in height. Leaves four to eight inches long, nearly as wide, cor- 
 date at base, palmately three to five-lobed, unequally serrate, lohes acu- 
 minate, the middle one prolonged, petioles two or three inches long, and 
 with the peduncles, calyx:, and branches, clothed with viscid hairs. 
 Flowers many, large, nearly two inches in diameter, in terminal corymbs. 
 Petals orbicular, purple- rose color; stamens numerous, whitish. Fruit 
 broad and thin, bright-red, sweet. This plant grows on rocky banks 
 and in upland woods in the United States and Canada, flowering in 
 June and July, and ripening its fruit in August. A decoction of it is 
 said to be powerfully diuretic, and may be used freely in affections of 
 the urinary organs, and dropsy. — W. — G-. 
 
 EUDBECKIA LACINIATA. (G-elappte Eudbeckie.) 
 
 Thimbleweed. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese. — Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia Frustranea. 
 
 THE WHOLE PLANT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also known by the names of Gone-disk Sun- 
 flower, and Tall Cone-flower, is a tall, showy, indigenous, perennial 
 plant, with a round, glabrous stem, three to eight feet in height. Leaves 
 alternate, smooth or roughish ; lower ones pinnate with from five to 
 seven cut or three-lobed leaflets, petio-late ; upper ones irregularly three 
 46 
 
722 Materia Medi,ca. 
 
 to five parted; lobes ovate-lanceolate, pointed. Mowers large, terminal: 
 pappus crenate ; chaff truncate and downy at the tip. Bays one or 
 two inches long, oblanceolate, bright yellow, spreading or drooping 
 THsk oblong-conical and columnar in fruit, greenish-yellow. — G. — W. 
 
 History. — This plant grows in various parts of the United' States, in 
 damp places, low thickets, edges of swamps and.ditches, etc., flowering 
 from July to September. The whole herb is recommended to be used. 
 Its chemical reactions, as well as formation, are not known. It imparts 
 its properties to water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Thimbleweed is a valuable diuretic, tonic, and 
 balsamic. Useful in many diseases of the urinary organs, and highly 
 recommended in strangury, Bright's disease, and wasting or atrophy 
 of the kidneys. Dose of the decdction, ad libitum. 
 
 The Etjdbeokia Purpurea of Linns3us, variously called Red Sun- 
 flower, Comb-flower, or Purple Cone-flower fthe Echinacea Purpurea of 
 Moenchausen), has a thick, black root, with branched, sulcate, smooth, 
 or rough stems, three to five feet in height. Leaves alternate, four to 
 eight inches long, and about one-fifth as wide, rough, with short, stiff 
 bristles ; lower ones broad-ovate, attenuate at' base, five-nerved, veiny, 
 long-petioled, remotely -toothed ; cauline ones lanceolate-ovate, acumin- 
 ate, nearly entire. Heads large, solitary, on long peduncles. Disk 
 thickly beset with the stiff, pointed, brown chaff. Bays from fifteen to 
 twenty, two or three inches long, dull purple, pendulous, bifid. This 
 plant is common to the Western prairies and banks, and is found also 
 in the Southern States, flowering from July to September. The root is 
 very pungent to the taste, and has been popularly used in medicine 
 under the name oi Black Sampson; it is stated to have' been employed 
 with much benefit in syphilis. Both of the above plants deserve a full 
 and thorough investigation from the profession. Prom all that I have 
 been able to learn, the latter plant is equal to the stillingia in medicinal 
 
 -w.—a. 
 
 EUMEX ACBTOSA. (Sauer Ampfer.) 
 . Sorrel. 
 Nat. Ord. — Polygonacese. Sex. SySt. — Hexandria Trigynia. 
 
 THE leaves. 
 
 Description.— Rnmex Acetosa has a long and tapering, somewhat 
 woody root, with an erect, simple, leafy, striated stem, one or two feet 
 high. Dower leaves petiolate, somewhat ovate, arfow-shaped, with two 
 lateral teeth ; upper ones sessile, more oblong, and narrower. Stip'"'^^ 
 tubular, membranous, fringed. Clusters erect, compound, whorled, leaf- 
 less. J''ZoM)ers dioecious; mates green, with a reddish tinge ; inner sepaZa 
 ovate, rather larger than the outer; females rather redder ; inner sepals 
 ovate, obtuse, red, entire, each bearing an oblong, pale tubercle. Tha 
 whole herb is smooth and powerfully and agreeably acid. The root is 
 astringent. The plant is common to England, and is sometimes culti- 
 vated in this country. — D. 
 
 EuMEX Acetosblla, Field or Sheep Sorrel, has a leafy stem from six 
 to twelve inches in height, with lanceolate-hastate, pleasantly-acid 
 leaves. Flowers small, reddish, in panicled racemes. Valves ovate, 
 scarcely enlarging in fruit, destitute of granules. Stamens and styles 
 on separate plants ; styles adherent to the angles of the ovary. This 
 
EuMEX Aquaticus, etc. 72S 
 
 weed is found in abundance throughout the United States, growing in 
 pastures, waste grounds, and worn fields, flowering all summer. — G. — W. 
 
 History. — The leaves of these two plants are the parts used in medi- 
 cine. They are inodorous, and have an agreeable, acid, slightly astrin- 
 gent taste. The leaves are composed of superoxalate of potasea, tar- 
 taric acid, mucilage, fecula, chlorophyll, tannic acid, and woody fiber. 
 By drying, their acidity is lost. They are used alone, or in an infusion 
 of the fresh leaves. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Fresh Sorrel leaves are refrigerant and diuretic. 
 An infusion is useful in febrile and inflammatory diseases, and in scor- 
 butic diseases. They may likewise be used as a salad, or boiled like 
 spinage. The leaves eaten freely are said to have produced poisonous 
 effects, owing to the oxalic acid they contain. Wrapped up and roasted, 
 the leaves form an excellent application to indolent tumors, wens, boils, ' 
 etc., hastening suppuration. The inspissated juice, applied on leather, 
 is said to form an effectual but painful cure for tumors and incipient 
 cancers. Acting upon this hint, the following preparation has been 
 found a useful remedy in cutaneous cancers, viz. : Take of burnt alum, 
 one drachm ; citric or tartaric acid, two drachms ; oxalic acid, two 
 drachms ; rain-water, half a pint. Mix. To be applied by means of a 
 camel'B-hair pencil. 
 
 ETJMEX AQUATICUS. (Grosser Wasser Ampfer.) 
 
 Grreat Water Bock. 
 
 EUMEX BEITANNIOA. (Wasser Ampfer.) 
 
 Water Dock. 
 
 RUMEX OBTUSirOLIUS. (Stumpfblattriger Ampfer.) 
 
 Blunt-leaved Dock. 
 
 EUMEX CEISPUS. (Krauser Ampfer.) 
 
 Yellow Dock. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Polygonacese. Sex. 8yst, — Hexandria Trigynia. 
 
 THE EOOT. 
 
 Description. — ^Eumex Aquaticus has a stout black root, whitish inter- 
 nally, with a thick, erect stem, three to five feet high. Leaves a foot 
 or more in length, three to five inches wide, smooth, lanceolate, pointed; 
 Imoer ones cordate, on long petioles. Flowers verticillate, in a terminal, 
 leafy panicle. Pedicels capillary, drooping. The three petals, or as 
 termed by some botanists, the three inner divisions of the calyx, which 
 form a kind of triangle, and are termed valves, are large, broadly-ovate, 
 obtuse, entire, minutely granular along the center. This is an European 
 plant, but introduced into this country, growing in wet places, ditches, 
 etc., and flowering in July.— TF. — G. ' 
 
 RuMEX Britannica, or Yellow-rooted Water Bock, has a large root, ex- 
 ternally dark, internally yellowish, with an angular, furrowed, branch- 
 ing stem, two or three feet high. Leaves broad-lanceolate, acute at both 
 ends, three to five inches long, petiolate, flat, smooth, with the sheathing 
 stipules slightly rent. Flowers perfect, in verticillate fascicles collected 
 into a large, terminal panicle, the spikes of which are nearly leafless ; 
 pedicels capillary and nodding in fruit. Calyx valves large, cordate, en- 
 tire, graniferous, two of the grains small or abortive. This is an indig- 
 
724 Materia Medica. 
 
 enous plant, growing in muddy places, along banks of streams, etc.. 
 in various parts of the United States, and bearing flowers from May to 
 August.— W.— &.— Wi. 
 
 EtTMEX Obtttsipolius, or Blunt-leaved Dock, ha,s ite root brown outside 
 and yellow within ; the stem is two or three feet high, furrowed, some- 
 what roughish, branching, and leafy. Radical leaves about a foot 
 long, and five or six inches in width, ovate-cordate, obtuse, rather 
 downy on veins underneath, somewhat wavy margined, often with stalk 
 and veins red; wy^er owes oblong-lanceolate, and acute. J^o?i-ers in long, 
 nearly naked racemes ; whorls loose and distant ; valves ovate-halbert- 
 shaped, sharply denticulate at the base, strongly reticulated, one of them 
 principally bearing a granule on the back. This a common weed, in- 
 troduced from Europe, growing about houses and fields, and flowering 
 from May to August. — G. — W. Riegel found in the R. Obtusifolfus, 
 resin, starch, albumen, mucilage, lignin, sulphur, acetates, malates, 
 phosphate of lime, an extractive matter having some resemblance to 
 tannin, and a principle which he named rumicin, and which Karl von 
 Thann has proved to be identical with chrysophanic acid of rhubarb. 
 
 EuMEX Crisptjs, or Yellow Dock, is the species of Dock more com- 
 monly used by physicians, and is, perhaps, the only one entitled to an 
 officinal rank in our Dispensatory. It has a deep spindle-shaped, yel- 
 low roof, with a stem two or three feet high, angular, furrowed, some- 
 what zigzag, smooth to the touch, panicled, leafy. Leaves lanceolate, 
 acute, strongly undulated, and crisped at the edges, of a light-green 
 color ; radical ones on long petioles, truncate, or subcordate at base ; 
 uppermost narrower, and nearly sessile. Flowers numerous, pale-green, 
 drooping, in a large panicle consisting of many wand-like racemes of 
 half-whorls, interspersed with leaves below. Inner sepals, or valves, 
 much larger than the outer, veiny, waved, entire, ovate, each bearing 
 a large ovate brown grain or tubercle on the back. Nut contracted at 
 each end, with three blunt or tumid angles. This plant is also intro- 
 duced into this country from Europe, growing in cultivated grounds, 
 waste grounds, about rubbish, etc., flowering in June and July. — L. 
 G.— W. 
 
 History. — I have placed these four species of Dock together, in con- 
 sequence of their possessing similar medicinal properties, and which 
 under separate heads would lead to an unnecessary repetition. The 
 roots of several other species have been medicinally employed, and 
 may be used indiscriminately with the above, as the R. Pdtientia and 
 R. Alpinus of Europe, and the R. Acutus and R. Sanguineus of this coun- 
 try. These various Dock -roots have hardly any odor, an astringent, 
 bitterish taste, and yield their virtues to alcohol, or boiling water. 
 The young leaves of some of the species are sometimes used as greens. 
 Yellow Dock -root varies in length from four to six inches, or more, and 
 has an epidermis easily removed, beneath which are the back ,layer8, 
 the woody part, and the medulla. The bark of the root is the most 
 active, thaugh the whole root is generally employed. As found in the 
 shops. Yellow Dock-root is in slices cut transversely and dried, and 
 occasionally the root is divided longitudinally into halves or quarters ; 
 it is sometimes called Sour Dock, Narrow Dock, or Curled Dock. The 
 term Sour Dock has been given to it probably on account of the sour- 
 ness of the petioles, and which is due to the oxalic acid they contain. 
 Yellow Dock-root has been found to contain a small amount of sugar, 
 gummy substance, albuminous substance, starch, tannin forming green 
 deposits with iron salts, lignin, and several salts 
 
JvUTA (iliAVEOLENS. 725 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The Dock-i-oots are decidedly alterative, tonic 
 mildly astringent, and detergent, and are eminently useful in scorbutic, 
 cutaneous, scrofulous, scirrhous, and syphilitic affections, leprosy, ele- 
 phantiasis, etc. ; for which purpose we prefer the Rumex Crispus, which 
 is principally employed for its alterative and tonic influences in all 
 cases where these are desired. The fresh root bruised in cream, lard, 
 or fresh butter, forms an excellent ointment for scrofulous ulcers, 
 scrofulous ophthalmia, itch, and a discutient for indolent glandular 
 tumors. An ointment of the root of B. Crispus, and the root-bark of 
 Celastrus Scandens, with gunpowder, is said to prove a certain cure for 
 the itch, as well as being of value in other cutaneous diseases and ul- 
 cers. The powdered root is recommended as a dentifrice, especially 
 when the gums are spongy. Dose of the decoction or syrup, from one 
 to four fluidounces, three times a day. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Eumecis; Extractum Kumecis Alcoholicum; 
 Syrupus Eumecis Compositus ; Tinetura Corydalis Comp. 
 
 EUTA G-EAVBOLBNS. (Starkriechende Eaute.) 
 
 Eue. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eutacese. Sex. Syst. — Deeandria Monogynia. 
 
 LEAVES AND UNRIPE FRUIT. 
 
 Description. — Eue is a glaucous, hairless, erect, suffruticose, perennial 
 plant, with branching stems, two or three feet in height, woody below with 
 a grayish rough bark; herbaceous and smooth above. Leaves alterna,te, 
 two and three pinnately divided ; leaflets sessile, oblong, obtuse, dotted, 
 glaucous or bluish-green, six to ten lines long, by two to four wide; 
 terminal ones obovate-cuneate. , Mowers yellow, or pale greenish-yellow, 
 in terminal, corymbose racemes; peduncles subdividing. Petals four, 
 yellow, unguicula,te, concave, wavy, a little irregularly toothed. Sta- 
 mens eight, longer than the petals ; filaments subulate ; anthers ovate, 
 obtuse, yellow. Styles four, distinct at the base, where they spring 
 from the inner angle of the carpels above the common axis ; united 
 upward into a single pistil which is attenuated toward the apex ; stigma 
 four-fuiTOwed. Carpels terminal, leafless, trichotomous, cymose. Fruit 
 a. roundish capsule, warted, four-lobed, each lobe opening into , two 
 valves. — Xi. — W. It is remarkable that the anthers move in turns to 
 the pistillum, and after having shed their pollen retire. 
 
 History. — ^Eue is a well known evergreen, half-shrubby plant, com- 
 mon to Southern Europe, and introduced into this country as a garden- 
 plant ; it flowers in July and August. The whole plant has a strong, 
 heavy, unpleasant smell, and a bitter, acrid, pungent taste, which is 
 owing to its volatile oil. The leaves are the parts used, and when fresh 
 are said to irritate and even vesicate the surface to which they are 
 applied. They should be gathered when the seed-vessels are well-de- 
 veloped, yet still green ; the seed-vessels of the unripe fruit are covered 
 with large oil vesicles, and may likewise be used for medical purposes. 
 Eue yields its properties to boiling water in infusion, but alcohol is its 
 best solvent. The plant loses much of its activity by drying. Mahl 
 analyzed the plant in 1811, and found in it volatile oil, bitter extractive, 
 chlorophyll, peculiar vegetable animal matter precipitable by tincture 
 of nut-galls, malic acid, gum, albumen, starch, and woody fiber. An 
 acid, termed Eutinic, has also been found in it, and which appears to 
 be a coloring principle. 
 
726 Materia Medica. 
 
 Properties and U.ies. — Rue is emmenagogue, eebolic, anthelmintic and 
 antispasmodic. In large doses it seems to be a narcotico-acrid poison. 
 It causes abortion when used by pregnant females, accompanied with 
 inflammation of the stomach and bowels, with cerebral disturbance. 
 Its action is chiefly directed upon the uterus, and is capable of exciting 
 menorrhagia, inflammation and miscarriage. It has been successfully 
 used in flatulent colic, hysteria, some nervous complaints, epilepsy, and 
 as an excellent vermifuge. Dose of the leaves, from ten to twenty 
 grains; of the decoction, from one to four fluidounces ; of the oil, from 
 two to six drops. 
 
 The following is the preparation of a person in Indiana who has the 
 reputation of effecting cures of epilepsy : Half fill a gallon bottle with 
 equal parts of green Eue and garlic-roots, add seven ounces of asafe- 
 tida, and fill the bottle with old whisky. After macerating for ten or 
 twelve days, it may be taken in doses of a wineglassful every morning, 
 on an empty stomach,, and another every night on going to bed. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Eutte ; Oleum Eutse. 
 
 SABBATIA ANGULAEIS. (Winkelige Sabbatie.) 
 
 American Centaury. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Gentianacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE HERB. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also called Rose-pink, has a yellow, fibrous, 
 biennial root, with an erect, smooth, quadrangular stem, the angles 
 winged, having many opposite branches, and one to two feet in height. 
 Leaves opposite, sessile, ovate, cordate at base, clasping the stem, five- 
 veined, smooth, entire, one to two inches in length by half an inch to 
 one and a half inches in width. Flowers numerous, an inch and a quarter 
 to an inch and a half in diameter, of a rich rose-color, terminal, on 
 elongated peduncles, greenish or whitish in the center, forming a large 
 corymbose panicle. Galyx with five lanceolate segments ; tube of calyx 
 angular. Corolla rotate, five-parted, with oval segments twice as long 
 as the calyx. Stamens five ; filaments slender ; anthers yellow, oblong, 
 slightly recurved when the flower first opens, — after shedding their 
 pollen they become revolute and curl up. Ovary ovate ; style longer 
 tha,n the stamens, declined. Stigma two parted, the segments separate 
 at first, but gradually become twisted spirally together. Capsule, one- 
 celled, two-valved, with numerous seeds. — L. — W. 
 
 History. — This plant is common to most parts of the United States, 
 growing in moist meadows, among high grass, on the prairies, and in 
 damp rich soils, flowering from June to September. The whole plant 
 is used. It has a very bitter taste, and yields its virtues to water or 
 alcohol. The best time for gathering it is duri-ng its flowering season. 
 It is preferable to the European Centaury. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tonic. Used in fall periodic febrile diseases, 
 both as a preventive and as a remedy. It is also serviceable as a bitter 
 tonic in dyspepsia, and convalescence from fevers. When administered 
 in warm infusion it is a domestic remedy for worms, and to restore the 
 menstrual secretion. Dose of the powder from half a drachm to a 
 drachm ; of the cold infusion four fluidounces every two or three hours ; 
 of the tincture, one or two fluidrachms ; and of the extract from two tc 
 six grains. 
 
 Off. Prejo.— Infusum Sabbatia. 
 
Saccharum Oiticinarum. 727 
 
 SACCHAEUM OFFIOHSTAEUM. (Gewohnliches Zuckerrohr.) 
 
 Sugarcane. 
 Nat. Ord. — Graminacese. Sex. Syst. — Triandria Digynia. 
 
 THE SUGAR, OR SACCHARINE PRINCIPLE OP THE JUICE. 
 
 Description. — Sugarcane is a plant having an articulated, jnicyroot, 
 from which proceed several erect, solid stems, ten or twelve feet high, 
 an inch oi' two in diameter, of a yellow, purple, red pr striped color 
 externally, internally whitish, juicy, saccharine, pithy. Leaves situ- 
 ated at the joints, at intervals of about two or three inches, flat, sheath- 
 ing at base, two to four feet in length, about one fourth as wide, the 
 margins armed with numerous, small, sharp teeth. Panicle terminal, 
 spreading, erect, oblong, one to three feet in length, and grayish from 
 the quantity -of long, loose hairs surrounding the florets ; branches alter- 
 nate and very spreading. Machis striated. Florets dioecious in pairs. 
 Glumes smooth. Palece smooth, membranous, of a pink color. 
 
 Sistory. — This plant is cultivated in the East and West Indies, in vari- 
 ous Spanish provinces, and in some of the Southern United States ; its na- 
 tive country is unknown. Those canes which have not flowered, or have 
 no tendency to flower, are the richest in Sugar; and the lower part of 
 them contains the greatest proportion. The juice constitutes nearly 
 one-half of the cane, and when expressed, ferments rapidly, forming an 
 acid, so that it requires to be promptly evaporated, and its acidity neu- 
 tralized, before the Sugar can be made. The Sugar and molasses of 
 commerce are obtained from the juice of this plant, and are prepared 
 as follows : The matured stems of the plant are subjected to pressure 
 between rollers, and their juice expressed ; as it ferments in a few nain- 
 utes forming an acid, it is saturated with lime, and then promptly 
 evaporated to a proper consistence, when brownish crystalline grains 
 form, which, when dried in the sun, constitutes hrown Sugar, and the 
 residual liquid, when duly concentrated, is molasses. , 
 
 The juice of Sugarcane is of a pale, yellowish -gray color, with a faint 
 fragrant odor, and an agreeable sweet taste. It contains cane Sugar in 
 great quantity, a notable amount of glucose or grape Sugar, gum or 
 dextrine, phosphate of lime and magnesia, some other salts of lime and 
 magnesia, sulphates and chlorides, potassa, soda, and a peculiar azo- 
 tized albuminous matter, readily putrefiable, not coagulable by heat or 
 acids, but forming an insoluble compound with lime. — P. There are 
 various sugars, obtained from different bodies, and from the investi- 
 gations of Bertholot.and others, it would appear that the sugars, as 
 well as mannite and the bodies allied to it, are polyatomic alcohols like 
 glyCeriji, for they possess the power of entering into combination with 
 various acids, with elimination of water, in some cases yielding peculiar 
 colligated acids, analogous to the tannic, and in others furnishing neu- 
 tral bodies closely'allied to the fats. — Miller. 
 
 Cane Sugar may likewise be obtained from the beet (Beta Vulgaris), 
 from onions, turnips, cornstalks, etc. A great amount is prepared by 
 concentrating the sap of the sugar maple (Acer Saccharinum) . In France 
 and Austria considerable quantities are manufactured from the beet. 
 A large quantity is obtained from the sap of the cocoa-nut tree (Cocos 
 Nuciferd), as well as from other palms growing in India. The Chinese 
 Sugar-plant, Saccharum Sinense, as well as the Sorgho Saccharatum, 
 yield large quantities. 
 
 There are several other saccharine principles, to which a brief refer- 
 
728 , Materia Medica. 
 
 ence may be made : 1 . Glucose or Grape Sugar,, which is found in grapes 
 cherries, plums, figs, honey, diabetic urine, and by the action of sul- 
 phuric acid upon starch, lactin, gum, or lignin. ' It has also b^en found 
 in the liver of diiferent animals. The term "grape Sugar" has been 
 applied to these several Sugars, in consequence of their almost, if not 
 quite, identical characters. If starch, dextrin, gum, diastase, or cellu- 
 lose,' be boiled with one hundred parts of water acidulated with about 
 one part of sulphuric acid, it becomes changed into glucose ; if baryta 
 be added to separate the acid, a clear liquid is left, which deposits crys- 
 tals of grape Sugar on evaporation. Grape Sugar is not so sweet as 
 cane Sugar, from which it is easily distinguished by the action of acids 
 and bases. Strong sulphuric acid dissolves without charring it, form- 
 ing sulpho-saccharic acid, and the alkalies or alkaline earths, which do 
 not decompose cane Sugar, unless very concentrated, rapidly convert 
 grape Sugar into a brown matter. It is much less soluble than cane 
 Sugar, requiring one and a half parts of cold water ; it dissolves in 
 every proportion in boiling water, is not soluble in absolute alcohol, 
 but soluble in ordinary alcohol. It undergoes no loss by boiling water 
 as is the case with cane Sugar. It is white, odorless, gritty between 
 the teeth, is readily powdered, 2^ parts are I'equired to sweeten as much 
 as 1 part of cane Sugar, and forms in cauliflower-like crystals, and in 
 rhomboidal prisms. "V^ith chloride of sodium it forms hard, regular, 
 hexagonal, double pyramidal crystals, colorless, 2!N'aCl,-|--2 (Cij H,2 O1.2) 
 H2 Oj. Its solution exhibits the prismatic rays with polarized light ; 
 when the plane of the polarization is rotated from right to left the col- 
 ors are less brilliant. It softens at 160° F., and at 212° it loses two 
 equivalents of water, and becomes of syrupy consistence, carpomel; at 
 a higher heat it forms caramel. Like cane Sugar, it possesses right- 
 handed circular polarization. Its sp. gr. is 1.39, and its formula Cu 
 Hi4 Oi4=^180-)-18. Inosit is a Sugar found in muscle, differing from 
 grape Sugar in containing two more equivalents of water of crystalliza- 
 tion. 
 
 Uncrystallizahle or Fruit Sugar, Lcevulose, called by Souberain Ghula- 
 riose, is found in sweet fruits and honey, along with grape Sugar ; it is 
 likewise obtained by subjecting other sugars to the action of acids. 
 Long-continued boiling of cane Sugar in water will produce it. It does 
 not crystallize, has a very sweet taste, is dissolved in water or alcohol, 
 and wholly parts with its water when heated upon the water-bath, giv- 
 ing, when dried at 212° E., the formula O12 R,^ 0-2- Its solution in 
 water rotates the plane of polarization to the left. Like the other Su- 
 gars it is capable of direct vinous fermentation. (.See Roney, page 518.) 
 
 Sugar of Ergot, C12 H,3 Ojs, Wigger's mushroom Sugar, prof^ured from 
 ergot of rye; it forms in transparent rhombic prisms, is dissolved by 
 water or alcohol, and is susceptible of the vinous fermentation. Bra- 
 connot's mushroom Sugar is mannite. For a description of the other 
 saccharine principles, see glycerina, manna, and lactin. 
 
 Sugar, which at present constitutes so important an article in the food 
 of all civilized nations, seems to have been known at a very early -oeriod 
 to the inhabitants of India and China. It was used only as a medicine 
 for ages after its introduction into the West. But it was not until after 
 the discovery of America, and the introduction of the Sugarcane into 
 ■the "West Indies by the Spaniards, that its use as an article of food be- 
 came cbmmon. Almost the whole of the Sugar of commerce is pro- 
 duced in the Bast and West Indies, and some of the Southern States of 
 this country. The Tahiti or Otaheite cane is a thritty Sugarcane in 
 
Saccharum Ofpicinaeum. 72f 
 
 those States, being quite hardy as a plant and yielding more Sugar than 
 the ordinary Sugarcane. A new plant has recently been introduced 
 into Europe and this country from northern China, the Sorgho or Holcaf. 
 Saccharatus; it grows with great rapidity, does not require irrigation, 
 and yields from sixteen to twenty per cent, of Sugar, from which eight 
 to ten per cent, of pure alcohol can be obtained. The refuse affords an 
 excellent food for cattle. 
 
 After the first concretion or crystallization of Sugar from the cane- 
 juice, a thick, dark -brown, slightly empyreumatized syrup is left, called 
 Molasses, or Treacle, Sacchari Fcex, or Sacchari Syrupus Mnpyreumaticus. 
 Of this, there are two varieties, called the " Sugar-house molasses," and 
 "West India Molasses." These are viscid, dark -brown, dense liquids, 
 composed of amorphous or uncrystallizable Sugar, crystallizable Sugar, 
 gum, extractive, various salts, and water. They have a sweet taste, the 
 flavor of the Sugar-house, which is the ofScinal molasses, being much 
 more pleasant than that of the other, and its consistency beihg also 
 thicker, and increasing slowly under exposure. The West India mo- 
 lasses in solution with water, allowed to ferment, and then distilled, 
 affords rum. The specific gravity of the officinal molasses is about 
 1.400. • 
 
 The ^ains obtained by the first crystallization of Sugar from the 
 juice of the cane, forms the brown Sugar, raw Sugar, or muscovado of 
 commerce, Saccharum Commune, or Saccharum non Purificatum; and, 
 when purified by elutriation with water, solution in water heated by 
 steam, clarification with blood and alumina, filtration through animal 
 charcoal, concentration in vacuo, crystallization, and displacement of the 
 impure syrup in the crystalline mass by passing pure syrup through it, 
 this constitutes the white, loaf, or refined sugar, Saccharum Purum. 
 Several other methods for refining Sugar are also pursued by sugar-re- 
 finers. Raw Sugar, of good quality, is in small shining grains, which 
 are short, broken, four-sided prisms varying in color from very pale 
 yellowish-gray,'to rather deep yellowish-brown, dry when recent, but 
 afterward somewhat clammy, of a purely sweet taste, and of a feeble 
 honey -like odor. 
 
 Pure Sugar is usually prepared in compact, crystalline, conical loaves, 
 which are snow-white, dry, easily pulverizable, of an intense sweet 
 taste, without any aroma, are not altered by exposure to the atmosphere, 
 and exhibit a strong phosphorescence when two pieces are rubbed to- 
 gether; their specific gravity is from 1.5629 to 1.6065. It crystallizes 
 in oblique, four-sided prisms, terminated by two converging planes, or 
 in derived figures, in which form it contains 5.3 per cent, of water of 
 crystallization. Sblia Sugar melts, at a heat of 350° or 360°, and solid- 
 ifies on cooling into Barley Sugar, which is at first amorphous, and 
 vitreous, but subsequently becomes crystalline and opaque ; but crystal- 
 lization may be prevented by the addition of a little tartaric acid or 
 cream of tartar. The specific gravity of barley Sugar is 1.505. In- 
 creased heat renders it viscous without giving any color to it ; at 392° 
 it is decomposed, giving off aqueous vapor and forming a brown sub- 
 stance, which, gradually exposed to 430°, becomes black and hygrosco- 
 pic, having the formula of 0^ Hja Ojg. A sudden application of the heat 
 converts the sugar into caramel, water, acetic and formic acids. Dis- 
 tilled with three parts of lime. Sugar yields a clear and colorless volatile 
 liquid, of specific gravity 0.7921, which has a peculiar smell and a pun- 
 gent taste, and is miscible in all proportions with water, alcohol, or 
 ether, called acetone C„ II, O^; also, another colorless oily liquid, of an 
 
730 Materia Medioa. 
 
 agreeable odor, boiling at 183°, and insoluble in watei*, metacetone G^ 
 Hio Oj. Cane Sugar differs from fruit Sugar, in its solution rotating 
 the plane of polarization to the right, and in producing with acids a 
 Sugar which polarizes from right to left. 
 
 Cane Sugar is soluble in about its own weight of water at 48°, and 
 when the water is nearly at the boiling point it is capable of dissolving 
 any quantity of Sugar. Water thus saturated with Sugar is called syrup, 
 Syrupus Simplex ; it is a dense and very adhesive fluid, and when spread 
 thin upon paper, it soon dries, and forms a kind of varnish, which is 
 easily removed by water. Sugar is also soluble in twelve parts of recti- 
 fied spirit and eighty parts of alcohol ; saturated with volatile or essen- 
 tial oils, it forms the oleosaccharum of some of the European Pharma 
 copoeias; it also assists in forming an emulsion with the fixed oils. 
 Strong acids alter Sugar ; concentrated sulphuric or muriatic acid 
 blackens it, and causes it to deposit a eharry matter on the addition 
 of water ; these acids when diluted, convert it successively into grape 
 sugar, uncrystallizable Sugar, ulmic'acid and formic acid. Mtric acid 
 generates successively saccharic, oxalic, and carbonic acids ; so that 
 fifty-eight grains of oxalic acid may be procured from one hundred 
 grains of Sugar. Chlorine converts Sugar into saccharic acid. Oxalic, 
 tartaric, citric, malic, and acetic acids prevent Sugar from crystallizing 
 from its watery solution, effecting changes in it similar to those result- 
 ing from the action of mineral acids. Sugar combines with alkalies, 
 losing its sweet taste, and producing compounds which make it more 
 permanent in its character. E. Maumene has found that cane Sugar 
 spontaneously changes into uncrystallizable Sugar, when kept for a long 
 time in solution. The formula of cane Sugar is C^ Hju 022=342, or O12 
 H„-0,,=171. 
 
 The tests for the detection of Sugar in urine are as follows : 1. Mix 
 together equal parts of solution of neutral chromate of potassa, and 
 liquor potassa, and label, "Test for Sugar." As this does not test cane 
 Sugar, use the following (in grape Sugar the green color is more or less 
 intense with the abbve test, according to the proportion of Sugar pres- 
 ent) : add together equal parts of solution of bichromate of potassa, and 
 liquor potassa. The color with this last, is also green on boiling, but 
 the saccharine fluid must be thick and syrupy. To use these test-fluids, 
 place some urihe in a white evaporating dish, or a test-tube, add a small 
 quantity of the test and boil, when, if Sugar be present, a sap-green 
 color will be produced from the decomposition of chromic acid ; the re- 
 duced oxide of chromium is held in suspension by the potassa. — Jno. 
 Morsley. 
 
 2. M. Luton's easily-prepared and unchangeable "test for Sugar," 
 acts at once, without any previous preparation of the urine, and suo- 
 :eeds in cases where the ordinary tests act slowly and obscurely. Its 
 action is not disturbed by the presence of albumen, urea, or uric acid. 
 To prepare it, add an excess of sulphuric acid to a cold saturated solu- 
 tion of bichromate of potassa, in such a manner that some free sulphv ric 
 acid will be present when all the chromic acid is liberated. The liquid 
 will be of a beautiful, limpid, red color, and is composed of water, 
 chromic acid, bisulphate of potassa, and an excess of sulphuric acid. 
 To use it, add enough of it to the suspected urine to impart a red color 
 to it, then warm the mixture; a brisk effervescence ensues, and the 
 color changes from red to emei aid-green, if Sugar be present. Chro- 
 mic acid is an active oxidizing agent, particularly in the presence of 
 another acid ; it gives up some of its oxygen to the Sugar, and the. re- 
 
SaCCHARUM Oi^FXOINARUM. 731 
 
 suit is carbonic acid, water, and sesquioxide of chrome, this last dig- 
 solves in the free sulphuric acid and forms the persulphate of this 
 sesquioxide. 
 
 3. Saturate a strip of white merino in a strong solution of tin, and 
 dry it. A few drops of a very dilute saccharine fluid placed on the 
 merino, and exposed to a temperature of 260° to 300° P., immediately 
 produces a dark -brown or black spot. Linen or cotton will not answer, 
 and care must be taken not to scorch the merino. — Maumene. 
 
 4. Add a few drops of solution of sulphate of copper to the urine, 
 enough to give it a pale blue tint (a pale blue phosphate of copper 
 may be precipitated) ; now add an excess of liquor potassa, if Sugar 
 be present, a purplish-blue solution is formed, and if the mixture be 
 carefully boiled for a few minutes, a reddish or yellowish-brown pre- 
 cipitate ensues; if no Sugar, a black one. — Trommer. 
 
 5. Add to the urine about half its bulk of pure liquor potassa, and 
 boil gently for a few minutes ; if sugar be present, the liquid will assume 
 an orange-brown, or bistre tint. — Moore. 
 
 6. If ,a few drops of thoroughly washed yeast be added to saccharine 
 urine, at 70° or 80° F., it undergoes vinous fermentation. 
 
 7. Saccharine urine when exposed for a few hours to a temperature 
 of 70° E., has a frothy white layer to form on its surface as if floiir 
 had been sprinkled on, and which consists of minute torula vesicles, 
 ovoid, or elliptical, articulated or distinct, with granular contents. 
 
 8. Dr. Donaldson gives the following simple and easy method for dis- 
 covering the presence of Sugar in the blood, urine, or bile : Take of 
 crystallized carbonate of soda, and caustic potassa, each, five parts, 
 bitartrate of potassa six parts, crystallized sulphate of coj)per four 
 parts, distilled water thirty -two parts ; mix together, boil and filter. 
 A few drops of this solution, thrown into urine or other liquid sus- 
 pected of being saccharine, and heated over a spirit-lamp, will discover 
 the smallest quantity of Sugar present. After a few minutes applica- 
 tion of heat, the liquid acquires first a yellowish -green color, and be- 
 comes more and more reddish -yellow, as the proportion of Sugar is more 
 considerable. 
 
 9. Liehig. — Dissolve a small quantity of oxgall in the suspected fluid 
 in a test-glass, and then rapidly add a quantity of concentrated sul- 
 phuric acid equal in amount to that of the fluid in the glass, care being 
 taken to pour it along the side of the glass ; if sugar be present, a beau- 
 tiful purpurine is immediately produced. 
 
 10. The following may be used as a substitute for BarreswilVs test as 
 well as Fehling's: Take of sulphate of copper 32 grains, neutral tartrate 
 of potash 64 grains, caustic potash (potassa fusa) 128 grains, distilled 
 water two fluid ounces. Dissolve the tartrate of potash and caustic pot- 
 ash together in one portion of the water, and the sulphate of copper 
 alone in the other; afterward mix the two solutions. This test should 
 always be prepared shortly before using it ; half a grain of grape sugar 
 exactly reduces the oxide of copper contained in 100 minims of the 
 solution. To employ it with diabetic urine, first boil the urine to free 
 it of ammonia, and albumen ; then filter, and to render the filtered 
 urine clear, if required, add acetate of lead in solution to get rid of 
 coloring matter, urates, and phosphates — filter again, flf traces of sugar 
 are only sought after, the urine may be concentrated by evaporation). 
 Diabetic urine generally requires to be diluted with four times its bulk 
 of water. To 100 minims of the blue test liquid placed in a small 
 porcelain capsule, with a piece of solid caustic potash about double the 
 
732 Materia Mbdica. , ■ 
 
 size of a pea, and heated to boiling over a spirit lamp, add ttie diluted 
 urine slowly drop by drop, from a graduated tube, until the blue color 
 is entirely removed, keeping the fluid boiling all the time. As soon as 
 the blue color has disappeared, the amount of diluted urine employed 
 is to be read off from the graduated scale of the tube. The amount of 
 Sugar per ounce is now ascertained by the following simple rule of 
 .proportion: as, the number of minims of diluted urine required to 
 remove the the blue color, is to .5, of a grain of sugar, so ai-e 480 
 minims (one fluid ounce) of diluted urine to the number of grains of 
 Sugar existing in a fluid ounce of the diluted urine. As the urine 
 was diluted with four times its bulk of water, the answer obtained by 
 the preceding calculation must be multiplied by five in order to ob- 
 tain the exact amount of Sugar in one ounce of the undiluted urine. 
 — Pavy. 
 
 11. The following elaborate process is a very exact one : Ist. Pre- 
 cipitate the coloring matter, etc., from the urine with a solution of 
 neutral acetate of lead (common sugar of lead), and filter; 2d. Again 
 precipitate with a solution of subacetate of lead, (basic acetate of lead,) 
 and filter. 3d. To the filtrate add aqua ammonia as long as it causes 
 a precipitate. Collect the precipitate ; decompose it with sulphuretted 
 hydrogen ; filter to remove the sulphuret of lead, and evaporate the 
 clear solution, in a water bath, to dryness, and the sugar remains. 
 
 12. The best, most certain and expeditious method of detecting Sugar 
 in any fluid, is by means of a polarizing apparatus, having first clari- 
 fied the fluid by the addition of a small quantity of tannic acid, fol- 
 lowed by subacetate of lead, when clarification is required. 
 
 Crystallized sugar is apt to contain a small amount of lime, origi- 
 nating in the saccharine plant itself when growing in a calcareous earth, 
 or from the agents employed in purifying it ; its presence may be read- 
 ily detected by adding a solution of oxalate of ammonia to a solution 
 of the sugar. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Sugar is nutritive, alterative, demulcent, and 
 topically antiseptic. It belongs to the class of "elements of respira- 
 tion," contributes to the formation of fat and lactic acid, and by its oxi- 
 dation furnishes heat. It has been detected in the tissue of the liver. 
 As it is void of nitrogen, it can not sustain life alone, and only becomes 
 eminently nutritive when combined with other alimentary proximate 
 princi^Jles. Used in large quantities it is injurious to digestion. In 
 relation to both vegetable and animal matters it acts powerfully in pre- 
 venting putrefaction ; the former of which may be preserved indefi- 
 nitely in syrup, so long as the syrup is secured against fermentation ; 
 While the latter, after long immersion in syrup, or in moistened Sugar, 
 may be perfectly mummefled. On this account it is now used considera- 
 bly in the preservation of fish, and various meats, instead of salt, to 
 which it is superior, requiring a smaller amount, and not materially 
 affecting the flavor nor the nutritive properties of these meats. Sugar 
 or molasses, when freely eaten by children, prove excellent anthelmin- 
 tics, and have also proved efi&cacious in scorbutic affections. Powdered 
 white Sugar is sometimes sprinkled over ulcers to remove fungus or 
 proud-flesh, and has been blown upon the ball of the eye to remove 
 specks on its cornea. As a demulcent, Sugar may be employed in va- 
 rious forms, in cough, hoarseness, soreness of the throat, etc. When 
 taken to the extent of twelve or sixteen ouncps per day, dissolved in 
 water. Sugar is said to powerfully increase the sexual passion. It has 
 long been supposed that the teeth are injured or acted upon by Sugar, 
 
Saccharum Lactis. 733 
 
 in a manner calculated to cause their decay, but this opinion is errone- 
 ous ; if particles of sugar become lodged between the teeth, and are 
 allowed to decompose, decay will inevitably ensue, but if the particles 
 be removed at an early period. Sugar will be found to exert a benefi- 
 cial influence upon the teeth and gums. The use of it, however, is 
 mainly confined to the preparation of syrups, to conceal the unpleasant 
 taste of several drugs, to render water and oils miscible, to suspend 
 certain medicines in the form of mixture or emulsion, to prevent the 
 oxidation of some chalybeate compound, and also for converting some 
 agents into the state of conserve, confection, electiiary, pill, or lozenge. 
 For pills, molasses is most generally preferable to syrup, as it does not 
 so readily harden, and preserves them in a soft, moist state, for a long 
 time, while its antiseptic properties prevent them from becoming moldy. 
 
 Sugar in solution absorbs a very large quantity of lime. A saccha- 
 rate of lime has been found very beneficial in the chronic diarrheas of 
 children, as well as to prevent acidity of the stomach, and the disposi- 
 tion to diarrhea so common in children of a certain age at particular 
 seasons. It is made by saturating simple syrup with lime, and then 
 filtering it ; it forms a transparent mixture of an extremely alkaline 
 taste, and may be added to water or niilk. It is altogether superior to 
 the bicarbonate of soda. Dose for an infant, from a fourth to half a 
 drachm, given in some of the mother's milk ; for an adult from one 
 drachm to two and a half. 
 
 Off. Frep. — Confectio Senna3 ; Syrupus. 
 
 SACCHAEUM LACTIS. (Milch-Zucker.) 
 Sugar of Milk. Lactin. Lactose. 
 
 Preparation. — When milk has had its butter and cheese removed from 
 it, it is called "whey; " this, evaporated to the consistence of molasses, 
 and when cool, clarified by white of eggs, strained and evaporated, 
 forms Sugar of Milk crystals on cooling. To purify them, redissolve 
 in boiling water, decolorize by animal charcoal, and recrystallize, re- 
 peating the process as often as may be necessary. 
 
 History. — Sugar of Milk forms in white quadrilateral crystals, which 
 are hard, gritty between the teeth, soluble in five or six parts of water 
 at 60° F., and in two and a half at 212°. Their aqueous solution pro- 
 duces right-handed rotation of a ray of polarized light. They are'not 
 dissolved by alcohol or ether, are inodorous, and much less sweet than 
 cane sugar. Sugar of Milk is capable of undergoing vinous fermenta- 
 tion only when an acid has been formed in or added to it. It combines 
 with ammonia and oxide of lead. Its presence prevents the precipita- 
 tion of many metallic solutions. By boiling with diluted acids it is 
 changed into grape sugar, and nitric acid converts it into saccho-lactic 
 acid. It stands between cane sugar and grape sugar in composition, 
 and has the sp. gr. 1.6. Its formula is Ca^ H^j O24, or when anhydrous. 
 Cm His, O19. It is met with in the form of powder, or in crystallized 
 cylindrical pieces of various lengths, and from two to four inches in 
 diameter. 
 
 As many concentrated preparations have been presented to the pro- 
 fession, purporting to be pure articles, but which were mere triturations 
 with Sugar of Milk, I will give a mode for detecting them. If the sus- 
 pected preparation be agitated with absolute alcohol or ether, the 
 Sugar of Milk will not be dissolved, but the oil, resin, or coloring matter 
 
734 Materia Medica. 
 
 may be taken up ; if it be agitated with six parts of cold water, the 
 sugar will be dissolved, and sometimes the coloring matter will be 
 taken up ; but the oil or resin will separate on standing; on the addi- 
 tion of an excess of absolute alcohol to its aqueous solution, the Sugar of 
 Milk falls in a crystalline state. If cane sugar be present in the aqueous 
 solution, it will not be precipitated by the sub-acetate of lead ; it will dis- 
 solve in half its weight of cold water, from which it may be precipitated by 
 an excess of absolute alcohol. A small quantity of yeast added to the solu- 
 tion in which cane sugar is present will occasion fermentation, but not 
 if only sugar of Milk be present. {See Magnesia and Soda for other tests.) 
 Properties and UseSi — Its principal medicinal use is in the trituration 
 of drugs ; to aid in rendering them finer and more energetic, as well as 
 to assist in more easily dividing active agents which are to be given in 
 minute doses ; thus, if we wish to divide one grain of strychnia into 
 twenty doses, it may be thoroughly triturated with nineteen grains of 
 Sugar of Milk, and one grain of the mixture gives the required dose. 
 Or, one grain of resin of podophyllum, whieb, in general, is a cathartic 
 dose, by long trituration with ten grains of Sugar of Milk, will form 
 several purgative doses. In these cases, the trituration should always 
 continue for from one hour to one hour and a half. As a medicinal agent, 
 Sugar of Milk is inert. Though being a non-nitrogenous substance, it 
 has been employed as an article of diet in pulmonary and other affec 
 tions where such diet is desirable; also, as a nutrient in excessive gastric 
 irritability. 
 
 SAGAPENUM. (Sagaben.) 
 
 Sagapenum. 
 
 THE GUM-RESIN OF AN UNCERTAIN PLANT. — ^Ferula Persica. Persischy 
 
 Stakenkraut.'] 
 
 History. — Sagapenum is imported from the Levant. It is the solidified 
 juice of an unknown plant, probably of Persian origin. It is common- 
 ly in tears agglutinated together, of a brownish-yellow color, a hot and 
 bitter taste, alliaceous odor, softens between the fingers, but does not 
 melt when heated, is sparingly soluble in water, but almost completely 
 soluble in alcohol, and when distilled with water it yields a pale-yellow, 
 very fluid volatile oil, of a strong, alliaceous smell, and a bitter, acrid 
 taste ; it is readily soluble in ether and alcohol, and is speedily changed 
 to a transparent resin on exposure to the air. — T. Sagapenum contains 
 two resins, one yellowish-brown, insipid, and odorless, insoluble in 
 ether, oil of turpentine, and oil of almonds, soluble in warm liquor po- 
 tassa and alcohol ; the other reddish-yellow, of a bitter, disagreeable 
 taste, an odor like Sagapenum, soluble in alcohol and ether, but little 
 soluble in oils of turpentine and almonds. According to analyses of 
 Brandes and Pelletier, Sagapenum consists of volatile oil, resin, gum, 
 with potash and some salts, mucilage, malate and phospate of lime, for- 
 eign matters and moisture. The volatile oil is pale-yellow, very fluid, 
 lighter than water, has a bitter, acrid taste, a garlicky odor, is soluble 
 in alcohol or ether, and is speedily changed into a transparent resin 
 when exposed to the air. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Sagapenum possesses similar medicinal proper- 
 ties with ammoniac and asafetida ; but is not so powerful as the last 
 of these. It is sometimes added to discutient plasters as a stimulating 
 ingredient. The dose is from half a scruple to half a drachm. 
 
Sacl's liuJiPHii. TSS 
 
 SAGUS EUMPHIl. (Sagobaum.) 
 
 Sago. — Sago. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Palniaceue. Sex. Syst. — Monoecia Hexandria. 
 
 THE PREPARED FARINA FROM THE PITH. 
 
 Description. — The Sagus Euinphii oi^ Sago Palm has an erect stem, of 
 middling height, with large, pinTaately-divided leaves, and prickly peti- 
 oles, rachides and spathes ; the prickles scattered or confluent. Fl-owers 
 polygamo-moncecious on the same spadix. Spadix much branched, 
 sheathed by many incomplete spathes. Amenta terete. Calyx three- 
 cleft; coroiJZa tripartite. Stamens six; ani/iers afQxed by the back. Fruit 
 a globose berry, coated by reversed scales, depressed on both sides, 
 on6-seeded. 
 
 History. — This tree is common to Malacca and the adjacent islands, 
 growing spontaneously in low, swampy lands, and the Sago is obtained 
 from its pith, or spongy medullary substance, of which it contains a 
 large quantity when the tree is 8u£S.ciently developed. Several speciesi 
 of palm are known to produce fine Sago, among which may be named 
 — Sagus Losois or Sagus Inermis, the Unarmed Sago Palm, a native of 
 Borneo and Sumatra, and Sagueris Eumphii, abounding in all the east- 
 ern isles of the Indian Ocean. 
 
 As soon as the palm has arrived at a sufficient degree of maturity it 
 is cut into pieces of five or six feet in length; the woody part is cut otf 
 on one side, exposing the pith lying, as it were, in the hollow of a canoe. 
 Cold water is poured in, and the pith well stirred, by which means the 
 starch is separated from the fibrous part and passes through with the 
 water, when the whole is thrown on a sieve. The Sago, thus separated, 
 is allowed to settle ; the water is poured oif, and, when it is half dry, 
 it is granulated by being forced through a kind of funnel. It is said 
 to acquire its whitish color while dried by artificial heat. One tree 
 alone, of some species, will yield no less than from two to five hundred 
 pounds. 
 
 The following description of the several Sagos of commerce is con- 
 densed from Pereira : 
 
 Sago Mial or Flour is imported in the form of a fine amylaceous 
 powder, whitish, with a buffy or reddish tint, having a feeble, some- 
 what unpleasant and moldy odor, and presenting a glistening granular 
 appearance under a pocket lens. The microscope shows it to consist of 
 irregularly elliptical or oval, more or less ovate, usually isolated parti- 
 cles, often narrowed or tapered at one extremity, and appearing as if 
 truncated, or more or less mullar-shaped ; most of them have an irregu- 
 lar surface as if eroded. Their starch ptoticles measure from .0022 by 
 .0016 of an inch, to .0005 by .0008 of an inch. The hilum, when per- 
 fect, is circular ; but it cracks in the form of a single slit, or of a cross, 
 or in a stellate manner. The surfaces present the appearance of a series 
 of concentric riilgs or annular lines, less distinct, however, than in the 
 potato starch, and which lines are indicative of the concentric layers of 
 which each particle is composed. Under the polarizing microscope, 
 the particles show a black cross, the center of which is the hilum. 
 
 Common or Brown Sago occurs in irregularly rounded or globulai 
 masses or grains, whitish on one side, and grayish-brown on the other. 
 Under the microscope, these grains are found to consist of starch parti- 
 cles like those of Sago meal, but more broken, and less regular in their 
 shape. Their size varies from .0026 by .00155 of an inch to .00075 by 
 .0006 of an inch. 
 
736 Matj!ria Medioa. 
 
 Pearl Sago occurs in pearl-like grains, which vary in size from thai 
 of poppy seeds to that of white mustard seeds, or even larger. The 
 grains are more or less globular, and of various colors, being white, 
 brownish yellow, pink, or roseate, and the tint is not uniform over 
 their whole surface ; the colored kinds can be made perfectly white by 
 a solution of chloride of lime. Under the microscope it is found to 
 consist of particles like those of Sag(f meal, but all more or less rup- 
 tured, and presenting indistinct traces of rings, and which are doubt- 
 less produced by the process of gi-anulation. The starch particles of 
 Pearl Sago measure from .0031 by .0019 of an ipch, to .0008 by .00075 
 of an inch. 
 
 Of these varieties thePearlSago is more commonly used in this coun- 
 try, the others being rarely met with. Sago possesses the general 
 characters of starch. Sago meal is insoluble in cold water ; but by 
 boiliijg water, it almost entirely dissolves, and yields a tolerably .clear 
 solution. The decoction, when cold, strikes a blue color with tincture 
 . of iodine. Pearl Sago swells up in cold water, but does not completely 
 dissolve by boiling, a more or less considerable amount of matter re- 
 maining behind. The filtered cold aqueous infusion of sonje sorts of 
 Pearl Sago, strikes a blue color with tincture of iodine. 
 
 A factitious Sago is prepared in Prance and Germany from potato- 
 starch, of which there are two kinds, one red and. the other brownish. 
 The microscope will detect the factitious from the real sort. (See po- 
 tato starch) ; many of the potato starch particles, by the influences to 
 which they have been subjected during their metamorphosis. into Sago, 
 become swollen, ruptured in the direction of their long axis, and by 
 drying have shriveled, leaving a long, linear, sometimes curved or even 
 branched line, with incurved or involute edges, indicating the situation 
 of the rupture. — P. 
 
 ~ Properties and Uses. — Sago is nutritive and demulcent, and is a con- 
 venient and agreeable' article for making puddings, gruel, and diet 
 drinks for the sick room. It should always be long boiled before it is 
 used. It is not so much used as formerly, being superseded by the 
 purer arrow-root and tapioca. For common uses, half an aunce of 
 Sago may be boiled in a pint of water (in some cases milk is preferred),- 
 the solution strained, and flavored with sugar and spices, lemon or 
 even with a little white wine, when there are no contra-indioations to 
 their use. 
 
 Castillon's Powders, a popular article of diet for invalids, in cases of 
 indigestion, chronic dysentery, etc., is composed of Sago, Salep, Traga- 
 canth, each, in powder, four drachms, powdered prepared oyster-shells 
 one drachm. These are to be well mixed, and divided into twelve 
 powders ; sometimes it is colored with a small quantity of cochineal. 
 For use, each powder is to be boiled with a pint of milk ; which 'may 
 be sweetened and flavored to suit the patient's taste. 
 
 SALIX ALBA. (Weisse Weide.) 
 
 Willow. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Salicacese. Sex. Syst. — Dioecia Diandria. 
 
 THE BARK. 
 
 Description. — Salix Alba, or White-willow, is a tree thirty to eightjf 
 feet in height, with many round, widely spreading branches, silky 
 
Saxix Alba. 737 
 
 -Ahen youug, and a thick, brown bark, full of cracks; that of the smaller 
 branches smooth and greenish. Leaves alternate, on short petioles 
 lanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate. Broadest a little above the middle 
 pointed, tapering toward each end, acutely serrate with the lower ser- 
 ratures glandular ; both sides of a grayish, somewhat glaucous, green, 
 beautifully silky, with close-pressed silvery hairs, especially on the 
 under surface, and which is very dense and brilliant on the uppermost, 
 t5r youngest leaves; the lowermost on each branch, like the bracteas, 
 are smaller, more obtuse, and greener. Stipules variable, either round- 
 ish or oblong, small, and often wanting. Flowers and leaves appear 
 coincidently. Aments on short stalks, with three or four spreading, 
 leafy bracteas, terminal, cylindrical, and elongated. Scales brown, 
 elliptical, lanceolate, pubescent at the margin ; those of the barren 
 aments narrower toward the base; of the fertile, dilated and convolute 
 in that part. Stamens two, yellow, rather longer than the scales, with 
 one obtuse gland before, and one behind ; filaments hairy in their lower 
 part. Anthers roundish, yellow. Ovary very nearly sessile, green, 
 smooth', ovate-lanceolate, bluntish, longer than the scale. Style short; 
 stigmas short, thick, two-parted, recurved, and nearly sessile. Capsule 
 ovate, brown, smooth, rather small. — L. — G. — W. 
 
 History. — The "White or European Willow is a large tree of rapid 
 growth, native of Europe, and introduced into this country ; its flow- 
 ers appear from March to June. The bark, which is the officinal part, 
 is readily removed from the stem during the months of July, August and 
 September. The dried bark is met with more or less quilled, pliable 
 and tough, with a faint odor, and a bitter taste combined with some 
 astringency. Water takes up its medicinal properties, the decoction 
 having a dark -reddish color, and which is precipitated abundantly by 
 gelatine, carbonates of potassa and ammonia. Lime-water gives at 
 first a blue, and then a buff-colored precipitate. Sesquichloride of 
 iron throws down a dark -green tannate of iron. If the decoction con- 
 tains much salicin, concentrated sulphuric acid reddens it. It consists, 
 according to Pelletier and Caventou, of bitter yellow coloring-matter, 
 green i&ttj matter similar to that found in cinchona, tannic acid, resin- 
 ous extract, gum, wax, woody fiber, and a magnesian salt containing an 
 organic acid. There are numerous species of Salix, many of which un- 
 doubtedly possess analogous medicinal virtues; the best rule to follow 
 is to select those whose barks possess great bitterness, combined with 
 astringency. Among those which have been used, are the S. Alba, S. 
 Caprea, S. Russeliana, S. Purpurea, and S. Pentandra. The Weeping 
 Willow, or Babylonian Willow, Salix Babylonica is cultivated as an orna- 
 mental free. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Willow bark is tonic, antiperiodic, and an as- 
 tringent bitter. It has been given in intermittents, dyspesia connected 
 with debility of the digestive organs, passive hemorrhages, chronic mu- 
 cous discharges, in convalescence from acute diseases, and in worms. 
 Although occasionally substituted for the cinchona bark, it is inferior 
 in activity. In chronic diarrhea and dysentery, the tonic and astrin^ 
 gent combination of the Willow renders it very eligible. It may be 
 given in substance, in doses of one drachm of the powder, repeated as 
 indicated ; or of the decoction, one or two fluidounces, four or five times 
 a day. The decoction has also proved efficacious as a local application 
 to foul and indolent ulcers. 
 
 . Salix Nigra, Black or Pussy Willow, is a tree growing fifteen to 
 twenty-five feet high, covered with a rough, blackish bark, and found 
 
 47 
 
738 Materia Medioa. 
 
 on the banks of rivers, especially in New York and Pennsylvania 
 Leases narrowly lanceolate, pointed and tapering at each end, serrulate, 
 Smooth and green on both sides; petioles and midveins tomentose. 
 Stipules small, deciduous, dentate ; aments erect, cylindric, villous ; scales 
 oblong, very villous. Sterile aments three inches long; glands of the 
 sterile flowers two, large, and deeply two or three cleft. Stamens four 
 to six, often but. three in the upper scales; filaments bearded at basg. 
 Ovary pedicellate, smooth, ovoid; style very short; stigmas bifid. 
 Branches pale-yellow, and brittle at base, and are much used for the 
 manufacture of baskets and other kinds of wicker-work, — G. — W. The 
 bark of Black Willow is recommended as a poultice in gangrene, and as 
 an external application to foul and indolent ulcers, in which it stands 
 unrivaled. It is made by simmering the powdered bark in cream. It 
 has also been successfully used in various swellings of the neck. In- 
 ternally, the root is a bitter tonic, effectual in inter mitten ts. Some 
 have highly recommended it in asthma and gout. A decoction of the 
 Black Willow buds or aments is useful in gangrene, taken internally, 
 and applied locally; and drank freely it proves a powerful anaphro- 
 disiac, suppressing venereal desires for a long time, and is highly recom 
 mended in the treatment of spermatorrhea. 
 
 SALVIA OPFIOESrALIS. (Gemeiner Salbei.) 
 
 Sage. — Salvei. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Lamiacesa. Sex. Syst. — Diandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — Salvia OfScinalis, or Garden Sage, is a plant with a pubes- 
 cent, four-sided stem, with erect branches, hoary with down, leafy at the 
 base, those bearing flowers a foot or a foot and a half long, tomentose. 
 Leaves opposite, entire, petioled, ovate-lanceolate, erenulate, rugose, the 
 lowermost white with wool beneath. Flowers blue, in whorls, and in long, 
 terminal, nearly simple racemes ; whorls few-flowered, distinct ; flora,l 
 leaves or bracts sessile, ovate, acuminate, membranous, and striated at 
 the base. Calyx campanulate, membranous, colored, striated, downy, 
 and bilabiate ; upper lip three-toothed ; lower bifid ; all the teeth subu- 
 late, acuminate. Corolla two or three times as long as the calyx, with 
 a large projecting tube, ringed in the inside, and bilabiate ; upper lip 
 arched, lower one trilobed, the lateral lobes being reflexed. Stamens 
 affixed to short pedicels transversely about their middle. — L. — W. 
 
 History. — Sage is a native of Southern Europe, and has been natu- 
 ralized in this country as a garden plant ; the leaves and tops should be 
 gathered and carefully dried during its flowering season, which is in 
 June and July. They have a peculiar, strong, aromatic, camphorous 
 odor, and a sharp, warm, slightly bitter taste, which properties are 
 owing to its volatile oil. This oil may be obtained by distilling the 
 plant with water; when old it is aways a mixture of Camphor Cis Hu 
 Oj with Cia Hio O. It imparts its virtues to boiling water in infusion, 
 but more readily to alcohol. The infusion becomes black on the addi- 
 tion of sulphate of iron, Ifumerous other species have similar proper- 
 ties, as the >Si. Sclarea or Clarry, a native of Southern Europe, which is 
 said to be antispasmodic and balsamic. Also the S. Morminum, S. Ben< 
 galensis of India, S. Pomifera of Greece, etc. 
 
Sambuctts Canadensis. 739 
 
 Properties and ?7ses.— Sage is feebly tonic and astringent, expecto- 
 rant, diaphoretic, and having properties common to aromatics. An in- 
 fusion is beneficial in flatulence connected with gastric debility, and 
 will, it is stated, prove efficacious in restraining the exhausting sweats 
 of hectic fever ; it may likewise be used warm, as an anthelmintic, and 
 for the purpose of causing diaphoresis in some febrile diseases. The 
 warm infusion will cause active diuresis by checking its diaphoretic ten- 
 dency. Dr. James Anton, of Lebanon, 0., considers it an excellent reme- 
 dy for spermatorrhea; also a valuable antaphrodisiac to check excess- 
 ive venereal desires. It may be used in connection with moral, hy- 
 gienic, and other aids, if necessary. Yan Swieten states that a vinous 
 infusion forms an excellent fomentation to the breasts or nurses, when 
 it is desirable to check the flow of milk. The infusion is much used as 
 a gargle for inflammation and ulceration of the throat, and relaxed 
 uvula, either alone or combined with vinegar, honey, alum, or sumach 
 berries. • The oil may be used in small doses as a carminative and stimu- 
 lant; and externally, applied with friction in rheumatism. Dose of 
 the infusion, from two to four fluidounces, three or four times a day ; 
 of the powdered leaves, twenty to thirty grains. 
 
 Salvia Lykata, variously named Wild or Meadow Sage, Lyre-leaved 
 Sage or Gancer-Weed, is a perennial plant, growing from Canada to 
 Florida in shady woods and meadows, and flowering in May and June. 
 It has an erect, quadrangular, nearly leafless stem, One or two feet high, 
 branching and covered with hairs pointing downward. Radical leaves 
 obovate, lyre-shaped or sinuate-pinnatifid, sometimes almost entire, 
 and petiolate ; cauline leaves mostly, but one or two pairs, just below 
 the raceme, smaller and narrower than the radical. Flowers blue, in 
 loose and distant whorls of about six, forming a long, interrupted 
 raceme ;, iracts oblong-linear, not longer than the calyx. Upper lip of 
 the blue-purple pubescent corolla, short, straight, not vaulted; tube 
 much exserted.— W- — G. The fresh radical leaves will, it is positively 
 asserted, when bruised, and applied to warts, generally destroy them ; 
 the application to be continued for a day or two, and renewed every 
 twelve hours. It is also reputed to have cured cancers. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Salvias Compositum. 
 
 SAMBUCUS CANADENSIS. (Canadischer Flieder.) 
 
 Elder. 
 
 Wat. Ord. — Caprifoliacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Trigynia. 
 
 THE FLOWERS AND BEERIES. 
 
 Description. — Sambucus Canadensis is a common well-known native 
 plant, five to twelve feet high, with a shrubby stem, filled with a light 
 SLuA porous pith, especially when young. Bark rather scabrous and 
 cinereous. Leaves nearly bipinnate, aptiposed; leaflets in three or four 
 pairs with an odd o^e, oblong, oval, acuminate, smooth, serrate, the 
 lower ones often two or three parted. Petioles smooth. Flowers numer- 
 ous, white, in very large level-topped, five-parted cymes, and have a 
 heavy odor. Calyx small, five-parted ; corolla five-cleft, segments obtuse ; 
 stamens five; stigma obtuse, small, sessile. Fruit numerous purplish- 
 black berries. — W- 
 
 Sambucxis Nigra, or European Elder, is much larger than the preced- 
 ing. The stem is much and irregularly, though always oppositely 
 
.740 Materia Medica. 
 
 branched, and of quick growth; after a year's grcwth the branches 
 become filled with a light spongy pith, and covered with a smooth 
 gray bark. Bark of the stem rough and whitish. Leaves usually two 
 pairs of smooth, deep-green leafl.et8, with an odd one, all smooth, ovate- 
 lanceolate, sei-rate. Flowers numerous, cream-colored, in large, smooth, 
 five-partite cymes, with a sweet but faint smell ; some in each cyme ses- 
 sile. Calyx five-cleft; corolla rotate, five-cleft; lobes obtuse. Fruit & 
 globular, purplish-black berry, having reddish stalks. — L. — Le Oand. 
 
 History. — Sambucus Canadensis is an indigenous shrub growing in 
 all parts of the United States, in low, damp grounds, thickets, and 
 waste places, flowering in June and July, and maturing its berries in 
 September and October. S. Nigra is indigenous to Europe, growing 
 in situations similar to those of the American variety. The two plants 
 possess similar medical properties. The officinal parts are the flowers, 
 the berries, and the inner bark. 
 
 The odor of the flowers is characteristic and heavy, quite^ powerful 
 wben fresh, but faint when dried ; they are slightly aromatic and bit- 
 terish, and impart their virtues to hot water. Boiling dissipates a vol- 
 atile oil, which may be obtained by distillation with water ; when cold 
 it has the consistence of butter. Ammonia is present in water which ' 
 has been distilled from the flowers, and to which they probably owe 
 some of their medicinal properties. Elder flowers contain volatile oil, 
 acrid resin, tannic acid, malates of potassa and lime, mineral salts, a 
 trace of sulphur, etc. 
 
 The berries have little or no odor, an acid-saccharine taste, and yield 
 by expression a purple juice, called Flder-rob, which gives a dark-lilac 
 color with alkalies, and a scarlet with acids ; acetate of lead added to 
 the juice causes a blue deposit of its coloring substance. It contains 
 malic acid, a little citric acid, sugar, and coloring matter. 
 
 The inner bark is whitish, with a green tint, odorless, of a saccharine 
 taste, but subsequently bitterish, with some acrimony, and imparts its 
 properties to water or alcohol. Simon states that the active principle 
 of the bark is a soft, uncrystallizable resin, and which may be obtained 
 by treating an evaporated, syrup-like alcoholic tincture with ether 
 which takes up the resin ; filter, and make into an extract by evapora- 
 tion. Twenty grains produced vomiting four or five times, and as 
 many stools. Kramer found the bark to contain valerianic acid, vola- 
 tile oil in trace, albumen, tannic acid, an acid sulphurous fatty matter, 
 resin, gum, wax, grape sugar, chlorophyll, pectin, starch, various salts, 
 etc. — Ohemical G-azette, May, 1846. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In warm infusion the flowers are diaphoretic, 
 and gently stimulant ; in cold infusion they are diuretic, alterative, and 
 cooling, and may be used in all diseases requiring such action, as in 
 hepatic derangements of children, erysipelas, erysipelatous diseases, 
 etc. In infusion with maidenhair and beech-drops, they will be found 
 very valuable in all erysipelatous diseases. The expressed juice of the 
 berries, evaporated to the consistence of a syrup, is a valuable aperient 
 and alterative ; one ounce of it will purge. An infusion of the young 
 leaf-buds are likewise purgative, and sometimes act with violence. 
 The flowers and expressed juice of the berries have been beneficially 
 employed in scrofula, cutaneous diseases, syphilis, rheumatism, etc. 
 The inner green bark is cathartic ; an infusion of it in wine, or the ex- 
 pressed juicp will purge moderately, in doses of from half a fluidounce 
 to a fluidounce ; large doses produce emesis ; in small ones it proves an 
 efficacious deobstruent, promoting all the fluid secretions, and is much 
 
Sanoi-INaria CanauKxNsis. 7-il 
 
 ■used in dropsy, especiallj' that following scarlatina, and other febrile 
 and exanthematous diseases, as well as in many chronic diseases. 
 .Beaten up with lard or cream, it forms an excellent discutient oint- 
 ment, and which is of much value in burns, scalds, and some cutane- 
 ous diseases. The juice of the root in half-ounce doses, daily, acts as a 
 hydragogue cathartic and diuretic, and will be found valuable in all 
 dropsical aifections. The inner bark of Sambucus Nigra is hydragogue 
 and emeto-cathartic. It has been successfully used in epilepsy by tak- 
 ing it from branches one or two years old, scraping off the gray outer 
 bark, and steeping two ounces of it in five ounces of, cold or hot water 
 for forty-eight hours. Strain, and give a winegiassful every fifteen 
 minutes when the fit is threatening ; the patient fasting. Eesume it 
 every six or eight days. 
 
 Off. Frep. — Aqua Sambuci ; Syrupus Sarsaparillse Compositus ; Ungu- 
 entum Sambuci ; Vinum Sambuci. 
 
 SANGUINAEIA CANADENSIS. (Canadische Blutwurz.) 
 
 Bloodroot. — Burtwurzel. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Papaveracese. Sex. Syst. — Polyandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Bloodroot, also called Bed Puccoon, is a smooth, herba- 
 ceous, perennial, indigenous plant, with a horizontal, truncate or pre- 
 morse, creeping root, covered with scattered fibers, and ojnitting an 
 acrid bright orange- colored juice when cut or bruised. It is frequent- 
 ly crooked, two or three inches long, three to six lines in diameter, 
 brownish-red externally, and red internally. From each bud of the 
 root-stalk there springs a single leaf, and a round, erect scape about six 
 inches high, with a single fiower; and as they arise, the folded leaf in- 
 closes the flower-bud, and rolls back as the latter amplifies. Leaf 
 smooth, on long, channeled petioles, reniform or cordate, with large 
 roundish lobes separated by rounded sinuses ; the underside strongly 
 reticulated by orange-colored veins, paler than the upper, and at length 
 glaucous. Flower white, scentless, of a quadrangular outline, and of 
 short duration. Galyx formed of two concave, ovate, obtuse sepals, 
 falling off when the corolla expands ; corolla eight (or more by cultiva- 
 tion) petals, which are spreading, concave, obtuse, the external ones 
 longer ; sometimes they have a purple or rose tint. Stamens short, 
 numerous, with oblong, yellow anthers. Ovary oblong, compressed, 
 style none; stigma thick, somewhat two-lobed. Capsule oblong, acute 
 at bothi extremities, two-valved. Seeds numerous, roundish, com- 
 pressed, dark shining red, half-surrounded by a white vermiform 
 raphe.— i.— W.—B. 
 
 History. — Bloodroot is found growing throughout the United States in 
 shaded woods, groves, rich soils, etc., presenting very elegant but odor- 
 less flowers from March to 'June. The root is the ofBcinal part, although 
 the whole plant is actively medicinal. The fresh root is from one to 
 four inches in length, fleshy, round, about as thick as the finger and 
 tolerably stout in the middle, abrupt at the end, often contorted and 
 truncated, somewhat curved at each end, covered with orange-colored . 
 fibers two or more inches in length, of a reddish-brown color exter 
 nally, brighter blood-red within, and containing an abundance of 
 Drangc -colored juice, which flows oat when the root is cut. The' end 
 
742 Materia Medica. 
 
 of the root always appears as if broken or cut off by a dull instrument, 
 in removing it frorn the grouniJ. 
 
 A horizontal section of the fresh root is a most beautiful object under 
 the microscope ; it is found to consist of numerous cells throughout its 
 central part, somewhat oval or hexagonal, of nearly equal diam/eter, 
 and containing, let, a large proportion of the orange-colored resin pe- 
 culiar to the plant, presenting the most beautiful shades of transparent 
 lamber; 2d, a magnificent transparent, garnet hue, not seen, however, 
 in every cell, resembling dots of garnet scattered over the field, with 
 la,teral facets, like a precious stone, and which are probably the san- 
 guinarina of the plant ; and 3d, a scarcity of white, transparent sub- 
 stance, consisting of a colorless, fixed oil. The juice when examined 
 under the microscope, presents numerous transparent milk-like glob- 
 ules, and many colored granules, free and in clusters ; with a power of 
 740 diameters, multitudes of transparent monads are seen in active 
 motion. These globules and granules are rendered thinner and more 
 transparent by liquor potassa, and are mostly dissolved by ether ; acetic 
 acid dissolved most of the granules. The juice forms a fine dye of an 
 orange color, the color being fixed by various mordants, as, permuriate 
 of tin, and sulphate of alumina. — Gr. D. Gibh. 
 
 As found in the shops, the dried root has considerably shrunken, is 
 dark brown externally, bright yellow internally, but becoming dark- 
 brown by the action of the air, more or less crooked, compressed, cor- 
 rugated, having a short, unevep, pithy -like fracture, a peculiar faintly 
 virose odor, and a bitter, acrid, and pungent taste, leaving an impres- 
 sion in the fauces for some time after it has been chewed. It is readily 
 reduced to brownish -red powder, which causes sneezing' when stirred. 
 Boiling water or alcohol takes up its active properties, the latter, how- 
 ever, being the best menstruum for procuring its active principles ; the 
 root should be kept in a dry place ; age or moisture impairs its activ- 
 ity. The seeds are about the size of barley grains, of a shining dark 
 reddish-brown color, half surrounded with a peculiar white vermiform 
 appendage, projecting at the lower end ; they contain a bland, nutri- 
 tious, and colorless fixed oil. 
 
 The following principles have been found in bloodroot, viz. : Sanguin- 
 arina, discovered by Dr. Jas. P. Dana ; porphyroxin in tabular crystals, 
 analogous to that discovered in opium by Merck ; puccine, discovered 
 by Prof E. S. Wayne, of Cincinnati, and named by Dr. Geo. D. Gribb, of 
 London ; chelidonic acid,* also discovered by Prof Wayne, who con- 
 siders the acrid and pungent taste it possesses as due entirely to a salt 
 of sanguinarina, j)robably the chelidonate; fecula; saccharine matter; 
 vegetable albumen ; orange-colored resin ; a yellowish fixed oil, soluble 
 in ether ; extractive matter ; lignin ; a little gum. Puccine is obtained 
 as follows : after all the sanguinai^ina has been obtained by Schiel's 
 process, a very deep-red substance remains held in solution by the 
 ether, which leaves a yellowish solid deposit upon the sides of the ves- 
 sel. If the ether is left to evaporate, a non-crystalline, dark-red sub- 
 stance remains. Ee-dissolve this in ether, remove all the sanguinarina 
 by agitation with dilute sulphuric acid, separate the ethereal portion 
 from the acid, and evaporate spontaneously. Treat the remaining 
 dark -red translucent mass with alcohol, in a displacer, add water to the 
 deep-red tincture procured, collect the precipitate upon a filter and dry 
 
 * T. M. Newbold found this add to differ in some of its reactions witli those of chelidonic 
 add, and proposes, therefore, to call it Sanguinarinic aeid. Am. Jour. P?iarm., XXX\ III; 
 p. 49fi. 
 
Sanguis Draconis. 743 
 
 it. It is pale-red, tasteless, insoluble in water, but soluble in alcohol 
 or ether, and forms deep-red crystals with hydrochloric and sulphuric 
 acids. Fifteen pounds of the root furnish 130 grains of it. TKe fixed 
 oil may be obtained by allowing an infusion of the bruised root to stand 
 three or four days in the heat of summer, when a thick, iridescent con- 
 tinuous film of oil forms upon the surface of the liquid, whieli possesses 
 an oily, bitterish, somewhat acrid taste, immediately felt in the fauces. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The actions of Bloodroot are various according 
 to the manner in which it is administered ; in small doses it stimulates 
 the digestive organs, and, increases the action of the heart and arteries, 
 acting as a stimulant and tonic ; in larger doses it acts as a sedative to 
 the heart, reducing the pulse, causing nausea, and consequently dia- 
 phoresis, increased expectoration, and gentle diuresis, at the same time 
 stimulating the liver to increased action ; in still larger doses it causes 
 severe vomiting, with distressing gastralgia, and symptoms of narcosis; 
 death has ensued from large doses. Poisonous doses produce burning 
 and racking pains in the digestive canal from the mouth to the stomach, 
 insatiable thirst, dilated pupils, nausea, an anxious countenance, cold- 
 ness of extremities, cold sweats, and more or less diminution of the fre- 
 quency of the pulse, with irregularity. The powder excites sneezing 
 when introduced into the nostrils, stimulating the nasal membrane for 
 some time. It has been successfully used in bronchitis, laryngitis, 
 whooping-cough, and other affections of the respiratory organs, as a 
 nauseant, or, combined with other agents, as an emetic ; also in dyspep- 
 sia as a stimulant tonic, and as an alterative in jaundice and rheuma- 
 tism. In torpid conditions of the liver it is very valuable, and it has 
 alsp proved beneficial in scrofula, amenorrhea, and dysentery. Used 
 as a snuff, either alone or combined with bayberry bark, it is beneficial 
 in coryza, some headaches, and is recommended as a remedy for nasal 
 polypus. Applied to fungous growths, indolent and ill-conditioned 
 ulcers, and fleshy excrescences, the powder often proves of utility, re- 
 moving the fungous growth by its escharotic action, and creating a new 
 and healthy energy in the ulcers. An infusion made in vinegar has 
 been found valuable in several obstinate cutaneous diseases, tetter, ring- 
 worm, and warts. Dose of the powder, as an emetic, from ten to twen- 
 ty grains; of the tincture, froip twenty to sixty drops; as a stimulant 
 or expectorant, ftom three to five, grains; as an alterative, from half a 
 grain to two grains. It may be used in powder, pills, tincture, or extract. 
 
 Off- Frep. — Acetum Sanguinariae ; Extractum Sanguinarise Alcoholi- 
 cum; Mistura Sanguinariae Composita; Pilulse Taraxaci Compositse; 
 Pulvis Ipecacuanhse Compositus ; Pulvis Lobelise Compositus ; Pulvis 
 Myricse Compositus ; Sanguinarin ; Sanguinarina ; Tinctura Lobelise 
 Composita ; Tinctura Sanguinariae ; Tinctura Sanguinariae Acetata ; 
 Tinctura Sanguinariae Composita ; Tinctura Yiburni Composita. 
 
 SAl^TGUIS DKACONIS. (Drachenblut.) 
 Dragon's Blood. 
 
 RESIN OF CALAMUS DRACO. 
 
 Description. — Calamus Draco is a small palm growing in the islands of 
 the Indian Archipelago. While the plants are young the trunk is erect, 
 and resembles an elegant, slender palm tree, armed with innumerable 
 dark-colored, flattened elastic spines, often disposed in oblique rows, 
 with their bases united. By age they become scandent, and over- 
 
744 Materia Medica. 
 
 run trees to a great extent. Leaves pinnate, their sheaths in peti- 
 oles armed as above described ; leaflets single, alternate, onsiform, 
 margins remotely armed with stiff, slender bristles, as are also the ribs; 
 twelve to eighteen inches long and about three-fourths of an inch 
 broad. Spadix of the female hermaphroditfe inserted by means of a 
 short, armed petiole on the mouth of the sheath opposite to the leaf, 
 oblong, decompound, resembling a common oblong panicle. Spathes 
 several, one to each of the four or five primary ramifications of the 
 spadix, lanceolate, leathery; all smooth except the exterior or lower 
 one, which is armed on the outside. Calyx turbinate, ribbed, mouth 
 three-toothed, by the swelling of the ovary split into three portions, and 
 in this manner adhering, together with the corolla, to the ripe berries. 
 Corolla three-cleft ; divisions ovate-lanceolate, twice afe long as the calyx, 
 permanent. Filaments six, very broad, and inserted into the base of 
 the corolla. Anthers filiform, and seemingly abortive. Ovary oval; 
 style short ; stigmas three-cleft ; divisions revolute, glandular on the in- 
 side. Berry round, pointed, of the size of a cherry. — L.^Eoxb. 
 
 History. — ^Dragon's Blood is a dark-red substance, which is imported 
 from the Bast Indies, and which is procured from the berries of the C. 
 Draco, by rubbing or agitating them in a bag, softening the resinous 
 exudation obtained by heat and making these up into masses. It is 
 also had from several other palms. There are several sorts of it; one, 
 occurring in dark reddish-brown sticks, a foot or more in length, and 
 from three to six lines in diameter, enveloped with palm leaves, and 
 bound with narrow slips of cane ; another occurs in reddish-brown 
 lumps of the size and shape of an olive, also covered with leaves in a 
 moniliform row ; another, of very fine quality, is a reddish powder ; a 
 fourth occurs in large, irregular pieces or tears, while an inferior 
 kind is in very large masses or lumps, presenting a heterogeneous 
 fracture. — P. Dragon's Blood is brittle, tasteless, and odorless. It is 
 not acted upon by water, but is almost all dissolved by alcohol. It also 
 forms solutions with oils and ether. It fuses by heat, and emits a ben- 
 zoic-acid-like fume on burning. Its solution stains marble a fine deep- 
 red color, and the hotter the marble the deeper the stain penetrates. 
 Herberger found it to be composed of 2.0 fixed oil, 90.7 red resin, which 
 he called draconin, and considered a weak acid, 3.0 benzoic acid, 1.6 
 oxalate of lime, 3.7 phosphate of lime. — T. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Dragon's Blood was formerly considered an 
 astringent, and used in doses of from ten to thirty grains in passive 
 hemorrhages, diarrhea, etc. Its principal use is to color tooth-powders, 
 plasters, tinctures, and varnishes. It is an ingredient of the following 
 preparation, which, whether deservedly or not, has acquired much rep- 
 utation in the treatment of syphilis : Take of Dragon's Blood and colo- 
 cynth, of each, two drachms, gamboge, half an ounce, sweet spirits of 
 nitre and balsam copaiba, of each, two ounces. Mix the first three ar- 
 ticles in a mortar, and then add to them three gills of boiling water ; 
 keep it hot, and stir for one hour, then cool, and after uniting the last 
 two, add them to the first mixture, stirring for some time. The dose is 
 a half ounce to produce free catharsis ; after which, a drachm, two or 
 three times a day, to keep up a gentle action on the bowels. ITotwith- 
 Btanding the character of this compound, it is said to have effected cures 
 in A'ery severe forms of the disease. 
 
Sapo. 745 
 
 SAX-ICULA MAEILANDICAj (Canadischer Sanike..) 
 
 Sanicle. 
 
 Nat. Ort?.— Apiaeese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 THE aooT. 
 
 Description. — Sanicle is an indigenous, perennial herb, sometimes 
 known by the name of Blacksnake Root, with a stewi, one to three feet 
 high, smooth, furrowed, and dichotomously branched. Leaves three to 
 five-parted, digitate, mostly radical, on petioles six to twelve inches 
 long ; segments two to four inches long, half as wide, oblong, ii-regularly 
 and mucronately toothed. Cauline leaves few. nearly sessile. Flowers 
 mostly barren, white, sometimes yellowish ; sterile flowers on slender ped- 
 icels ; fertile ones sessile. Segments of the calyx entire. Involucre six- 
 leaved, serrate. Umbels often proliferous ; umbellets capitate. Fruits sev- 
 eral in each umbellet, and densely clothed with hooked bristles. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — Sanicle is common to the United States and Canada, and 
 is found in low woods and thickets, flowering in June. The fibrous 
 root is the officinal part ; its taste and odor is somewhat aromatic. 
 Water or alcohol extracts its properties. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Sanicle very much resembles valerian in its ac- 
 tion on the system, possessing nervine and feebly anodyne properties, 
 together with some astringency. It has been used with advantage as 
 a domestic remedy in intermittent fever, sore-throat, cynanehe trachea- 
 lis, erysipelas, and some cutaneous diseases. It is very efficacious in 
 chorea, in doses of half a drachm, of the powdered root, three times a 
 day, to children eight or ten years of age. It has also been beneficially 
 employed in various other nervous affections. The decoction of- it is 
 said to be valuable in gonorrhea, dysentery, passive hemorrhages, and 
 leucorrhea, administered in doses of from two to four fluidounces, and 
 repeated three or four times a day. The decoction used freely, at the 
 same time bathing the wound with it, is reputed a certain cure for the 
 bites of poisonous snakes. 
 
 SAPO. (Seifo.) 
 Soap. 
 
 Soap is an artificial product, being the result of an union of one or 
 more fatty acids with a salifiable oxi-base. The common soaps are 
 true salts, or stearates, margarates, or oleates of ammonia, potassa, or 
 soda, and are- soluble in water ; while those soaps which are formed by 
 the combination of fatty acids with metallic oxides, as for instance the 
 oxide of lead soap or lead-plaster, are insoluble in' water, but soluble 
 in fat oils, and oil of turpentine. Fatty substances and oils are com- 
 posed of two solid constituents' and one fluid. Of the former, one is 
 termed Stearin, or Stearinate of Glycyl, and is the chief ingredient of 
 the hard fats, as beef and mutton suet, butter of cocoa, etc. ; the other 
 is called Margarin, oi Margarinate of Glycyl, being more common in 
 the soft fats, as lard, etc. ; add the fluid Olein, or Oleinate of Glycyl, is 
 the principal constituent of the liquid fats or oils. (^See Adeps, Lard.) 
 
 Stearin is a combination of stearic acid and glycerin, or the oxide of 
 glycyl. Stearic Acid is obtained by the saponification of mutton suet 
 with potassa, dissolving the soap formed in six parts of boiling water, 
 decomposing the solution by hydrochloric acid, when a mixture of 
 stearic and oleic acids rises to the surface. This mixture is strongly 
 
746 Materia Mbdioa. 
 
 pressed between warm plates so long as any oleic acid flows out ; the 
 residue is impure stearic acid, which may be purified by solution in 
 boilipg alcohol and crystallization, repeated till its melting point is 
 constant at 159° F. Stearic acid is a white solid body, which melts at 
 159° F., having the specific gravity 0.854 when in the fused state ; on 
 cooling it crystallizes in large, shining scales, or in brilliant needles. 
 It may be reduced to powder, is not dissolved by water, but is by alco- 
 hol or ether, especially when these are at the boiling point, and burns 
 like wax with a clear flame, on which account it is used in the forma- 
 tion of improved candles. Its formula is HCse H35 0*^284. 
 
 Margarin is a combination of margaric acid and glycerin. Margaric 
 acid is found in large quantity in human fat, lard, and olive oils, butter, 
 etc. It is best procured from olive oil, by saponifying it with potassa, 
 and decomposing a watery solution of the soap with acetate of lead. 
 The deposit, which is composed of margarate and oleate of lead, is 
 dried, and treated several times with boiling ether, which takes up the 
 oleate of lead. An acid is added to the remaining margarate of lead, 
 which separates the lead from the margaric acid, and the margaric 
 acid deposited is dissolved in hot alcohol, from which it crystallizes on 
 cooling. It may also be procured by boilitig stearic acid with an equal 
 weight of nitric acid of specific gravity 1.273 ; the solidified portion 
 formed on cooling becomes, by pressure and several crystallizations 
 from alcohol, pure margaric acid. Margaric acid is in white, glossy, 
 tasteless, and odorless scales, melts at 140° F., and on cooling congeals 
 in white, pearly prisms, running through each other ; it is insoluble in 
 water, soluble in ether and hot alcohol, and combines instantly with 
 alkaline bases, decomposing the carbonates and forming soaps.. Its 
 formula is HG34 II33 04- 
 
 Olein is a combination of oleic acid and oxide of glycyl. To procure 
 Oleic acid treat oil of bitter almonds with potassa, and to the soap 
 formed add hydrochloric acid ; this separates the oleic and margaric 
 acids. To the decomposed mixture add about half its weight of oxide 
 of lead, and digest for two or three hours at a temperature of 212° F., 
 by which means margarate and acid oleate of lead are formed. Ether 
 is added which dissolves only the oleate of lead ; the ethereaj solution 
 is mixed with an equal volume of water, to which hydrochloric acid is 
 added as long as is required for decomposition, and the mixture must 
 be well shaken. The ether rises to the surface holding the oleic acid 
 in solution ; decant it and distill it off, there remains a compound of 
 pure oleic acid with oxidized acid. By subjecting this compound to a 
 temperature of about 19° F., the pure crystals of stearic acid form, 
 while the oxidized acid remains in the solution. Oleic acid is a taste- 
 less, inodorous, colorless, oily fluid at temperatures above 57°, but when 
 once melted it does not solidify until cooled to 40°, and when solid it 
 does not melt until heated to 57° It is not soluble in water, but 
 readily soluble in alcohol or ether, swims on water, and becomes brown 
 by absorption of atmospheric oxygen, with which it has a tendency to 
 combine, and is then termed by the soap manufacturers re.d oil. It 
 lorms salts or soaps with bases. Its formula is HGss ^n 04=282. The 
 oleic acid of fat oils and of drying oils are very different. {See Adeps 
 and Oleum Olivce.) 
 
 1 When an alkaline base is added to fats or oils, a combination takes 
 place between it and one or more of these fatty acids, forming soaps, 
 or oleates, margarates, or stearates of the particular base which has 
 been added, while at the same time, a princijjle is isolated, termed 
 
Sapo. 747 
 
 Glycerin, which see under its proper head. Among those soaps which 
 are soluble in water the soda soaps are the hardest, the ammonia soaps 
 the softest, while the potassa soaps rank between the two. Also with 
 the fatty acids, stearic acid forms the hardest soaps, while oleic acid 
 forms the softest. White Soap is a stearate of soda with some oleate. 
 Naples soap is oleate and margarate of potassa. Castile Soap is oleate 
 and margarate of soda, colored by metallic oxides, chiefly oxides of 
 iron, in such a way as to give the desired mottled appearance. Com- 
 mon Soft Soap is chiefly oleate of potassa. There are many other fatty 
 acids which form soaps with alkalies, as Cocinine, from the cocoa-nut, 
 containing cocinic acid, and forming the Cocoanut-oil Soap, used for 
 washing with sea-water ; Palmitine, from palm-oil, containing palmitic 
 acid, forming the Palm-oil Soap ; Phocenine, from train or fish oil, con- 
 taining phocenic acid, and forming Soft Soap, etc. 
 
 The theory of soap-making is very simple, depending on the afftnity 
 between the alkalies and the fat acids; on the solubility in water of the 
 alkaline stearates, margarates, oleates, etc. ; and, finally, on the power 
 of a certain amount of free alkali or sea-salt, to coagulate the soap, and 
 render it insoluble in the liquid in which it swims, and which in fact 
 runs o& its surface as water does off the surface of fat, while yet the 
 soap retains perfectly its solubility in pure water. 
 
 Preparation. — " In order to form soap, the oil or fat is boiled with a 
 solution of caustic potassa or soda, till the whole forms a thick, viscid 
 emulsion, which can be drawn out into long, clear threads. If not 
 clear, either water or alkali must be added, according as the turbidity 
 depends on undecomposed oil, or on a deficiency of water. When the 
 saponification is complete, the next step is to separate the soap from 
 the excess of alkali, the glycerin, and the superfluous water. This may 
 be effected by boiling down till the alkaline lye becomes very concen- 
 trated, when the soap becomes insoluble, and rises to the surface. The 
 same end is attained by adding very strong lye or common salt, both 
 of which render the soap insoluble when added in sufficient quantity ; 
 soap being absolutely insoluble in alkaline lye of a certain strength, as 
 well as in a saturated solution of commoo salt. The separation is ^ 
 known to be complete when the liquid ceases to froth in boiling ; and 
 the soap is ladled off into molds, where it is well stirred to favor the 
 separation of the liquid, which should run off from, its surface like 
 water from fat. The soap brought to this state in the first operation 
 is called grain soap, from its separating in grainy particles at first. It 
 may be further purified by repeating the process of dissolving in alka- 
 line lye, and separating it by the.addition of salt. In this process the 
 impurities subside, and the soap generally takes up more water ; so 
 that, although whiter, it is less strong." "What is called marbled (or 
 mottled) soap is grain soap which has not been subjected to purification ; 
 and the gray, blue, and green colors in it arise principally from the 
 presence of insoluble soaps of oxide of iron or of copper. (The solu- 
 tion of the iron salt (protosulphate) being added, decomposition of it 
 takes place, and protoxide of iron is diffused through the soap, giving 
 its familiar marbled appearance. When the soap is cut up into bars 
 and exposed to the air, the blue protoxide passes by absorption of oxy- 
 gen into peroxide ; hence, a section of a bar of Castile Soap shows the 
 outer edge red marbled, while the interior is bluish marbled.) It is to 
 be observed, that when common salt is added to the solution of asoap 
 of potassa, the latter is converted into soda soap, entirely or partially, 
 according '» the quantity of salt, while jhloride of potassium is formed. 
 
748 Materia Medic a. 
 
 As this latter salt does uot cause the soap to separate, like oommon 
 salt, it is necessary to use twice as much salt to separate the soap when 
 it has been made with potassa. If a soap of potassa be required, it 
 must be separated by caustic potassa. In Germany, soda soap is first 
 made with potassa, and the potassa soap is decomposed by common 
 salt. In England and France, soda soap is made directly with caustic 
 soda. The use of salt in this important process depends on the curious 
 fact that soap, like muscular fiber or animal membrane, can not be 
 moistened by a saturated solution of salt ; that is, can not deprive it 
 of water. On the other hand, if these substances be moistened with 
 water, or dissolved in it, the addition of dry salt in sufficient quantity 
 will remove the whole of the water." — Turner's Chemistry, 8th edition, 
 p. 1118. 
 
 History. — Alkaline soaps have a peculiar odor, according to the char- 
 acter of fat and alkali employed in their manufacture, a somewhat alka- 
 line taste, and are soluble in water or alcohol, their solubility increas- 
 ing with the elevation of temperature. The substance called transpar- 
 ent soap is prepared by evaporating an alcoholic solution of pure soap. 
 There are several varieties of soap, three of which are used in medi- 
 cine, viz. : 1. Gastile Soap, Sapo Durus, which is prepared with olive oil 
 and a solution of caustic soda; there are two kinds, the white and 
 marbled. White Castile Soap is a purer but weaker soap than the 
 marbled; " it is of an ashy-white color, quite dry, leaves no oleaginous 
 spot 0^- paper, is inodorous, not corrosive nor alkaline to the taste, is 
 pulverizable, and completely dissolved by water or alcohol ; when it 
 continues damp, or has a saline efflorescence externally, it is not pure." — 
 Geiger. Marbled Castile Soap is not so pure as the preceding, but is 
 harder and stronger with alkali. The marbled appearance is produced 
 by adding to the soap, as soon as it is completely made and separated 
 from the spent lye, a fresh quantity of lye, and immediately after a so- 
 lution of sulphate of iron. A precipitate is formed, which gives the 
 dark-colored streaks to the soap. — P. 
 
 2. Common Soap, Sapo Vulgaris. This is made with tallow and soda, 
 and there are two kinds of it, viz. : White-curd Soap, made with j)ure 
 or white tallow and soda ; and Mottled Soap, a domestic soap, made 
 from refuse kitchen grease, etc. 3. Soft Soap, Sapo Mollis, a potash 
 soap prepared from oil or fat. This soap, so frequently employed for 
 therapeutical and domestic purposes, is often adulterated with starch to 
 the extent of 25 per cent. 
 
 The non-ofiicinal soaps are as follows : * Windsor Soap, Sapo "Windsor, 
 is made of olive oil two parts, tallow eighteen parts, soda to saponify, 
 and perfumed with some essential oil. The following are the propor- 
 tions for two kinds of Windsor Soap : White Windsor Soap — take of 
 white Curd Soap one hundred weight, Cocoanut-oil Soap twenty-one 
 pounds, oil soap (olive oil and soda) fourteen pounds, oils of caraway, 
 thyme, rosemary, of each, half a pound, oils of cassia, cloves, of e.ich, 
 four ounces. Brown Windsor Soap—tsike, of Curd Soap three-quarters 
 of a hundred weight, Cocoanut-oil Soap, common yellow Eosin Soap, 
 and Oil Soap, of each, one-fourth of a hundred weight, caramel half a 
 
 * An excellent soap that has beea successfully employed for the preservation of birds, 
 etc., in niusenms, is prepared as follows : Take of white, soft, tallow soap made with pot- 
 ash 100 parts, pulv. biarseniate of potassa 24 pts., glycerin 19 pts., oil of rosemary 3 pts., oil of 
 thyme 3 pts., camphor 8 pts., Peru balsam 3 pts., Oxide of zinc 10 pts. Slightly heat the 
 Boap, incorporate the powdered arsenical salt, then the oxide of zinc and camphor; remove 
 from the fire and add to the mass when nearly cold the balsam and oils. To use it, add a 
 sufllcient quantity of water to it, and by means of a brush paint all the parts it is desired 
 ta preserve, with It. Z. Patli. 
 
Sai'o. 749 
 
 piut, oils of caraway, clovee, thyme, cassia, petit grain, and French 
 lavender, of each, half a pound. Sapo Amygdalinus, or Almond Soap, 
 should be made as follows: Add to oil of almonds twenty-one ounces, 
 in snuiU proportions and stirring frequently, a solution of caustic soda 
 (at 1.334 ep. gr.) ten ounces; leave the mixture for some days at a 
 temperature of 64° to 68° F., stirring occasionally ; then put into molds, 
 until suificiently solid, after which expose it to the air for eight weeks. 
 The perfumers prepare it thus: Take of finest Curd Soap 100 weiglit, 
 Oil Soap, Cocoanut-oil Soap, each 14 pounds, oil of almonds a pound 
 and a half, oil of caraway half a pound, oil of cloves one-fourth of a 
 pound. Sapo Animalis, or Beefs-marrow Soap, made by boiling beef- 
 marrow with two parts of water, and half a part of soda lye ; when 
 saponified, add one-fifth of common salt, stir, remove the soap from the 
 surface, and place it in molds. Fuller' s-earth- Soap is made of Curd Soap 
 ten and a half pounds, Cocoanut-oil Soap three and a half pounds, 
 baked fuller's earth fourteen pounds, oil of French lavender two ounces, 
 oil of origanum one ounce. Money Soap is composed of best Yellow 
 Soap one hundred weight, Fig Soft Soap (commonest olive oil with po- 
 tassa) fourteen jjounds, otto of citronella one pound and a half. Sand 
 Soap is prepared of Curd Soap and Cocoanut-oil Soap, each, seven 
 pounds, sifted sea-sand twenty-eight pounds, oils of thyme, cassia, cara- 
 way, and French lavender, each, two ounces. Camphor Soap is made 
 of Curd Soap twenty-eight pounds, oil of rosemary, camphor, each,, one 
 pound and a quarter. Sapo Terebinthina, or Starkey's Soap, made by 
 triturating together one part, each, of oil of turpentine and dry car- 
 bonate of potassa, and afterward adding one part of Venice turpentine, 
 continuing the trituration until the mass has a proper consistence ; 
 used in gonorrhea. Yellow or Rosin Soap is prepared with lard or tal- 
 low, rosin, and solution of caustic soda; frequently palm oil is added. 
 Saponaceous cream of almonds : Melt seven pounds of fine clarified lard 
 in a porcelain vessel, by a salt-water bath, or by a steam-heat under 
 fifteen pounds pressure; then run in wry stou-^y, potassa lye, containing 
 26 per cent, of caustic potassa, three pounds twelve ounces, agitating 
 continually from right to left during the whole time; when about half- 
 the lye is run in, the mixture begins to curdle ; it will, however, finally 
 become so firm and compact that it can not be stirred, if the operation 
 is successful. The soap is now finished, but it is not pearly ; it will, 
 however, assume that appearance by long trituration in a mortar, 
 gradually adding alcohol three ounces, in which is dissolved, essential 
 oil of almonds two drachms. This makes an excellent shaving soap. 
 Glycerin has been introduced into toilet soaps, whichretain the original 
 soft consistence, and impart the unctuosity of the glycerin to the skin. 
 For a description of fancy soaps, etc., see Am, Jour. Pharm., XXVII., 
 p. 558 to 565. 
 
 The adulterations of Castile Soap are numerous, they may be known 
 by the following characteristics: white Castile soap is free from any 
 unpleasant odor, is wholly dissolved by both alcohol or water, leaves 
 no greasy spot upon paper, and does not suffer much loss in weight on 
 drying. The detergent property of soap is due to its amount of alkali, 
 consequently those soaps containing'the largest proportion of alkali, — 
 or in other words, those containing a fatty acid, the equivalent weight 
 of which is small — must be the most efficacious. — R. Greager. — Am. Jour. 
 Pharm., 1861, p. 355. Free alkali in soap may be determined by add- 
 ing to a concentrated solution of the soap, either calomel or nitrate of 
 mercury, either of which yields a black pvecipitati'. Corrosive subli 
 
760 Materia Medica. 
 
 mate gives a white precipitate with a neutral solution of soap, and a 
 red when it is alkaline ; though resinous soaps resist this reagent. The 
 alkalinity of a soap may be suspected by its piquancy to the tongue. 
 Soap is incompatible with sulphate of magnesia, sulphate of lime, chlo- 
 ride of lime, lime-water, metallic salts, alum, and all acids. Hard waters 
 may be made soft and thereby prevented from decomposing soap, by 
 precipitating all the lime they contain by the addition of enough car- 
 ' bonate of soda or potassa ; the water thus purified will no longer curdle 
 the soap but will form a lather with it. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Soap is internally slightly laxative; and ex- 
 ternally it is detersive. Its action is very much like that of the alka- 
 lies, but less energetic : hence it may be administered in considerable 
 djOses without producing inflammation, though it readily disturbs diges- 
 tion. As an antacid it is useful in strong solution, in cases of poison- 
 ing by mineral acids, and also in acid condition's of the stomach. It' 
 has likewise been found serviceable in those cases of gravel in which 
 uric acid prevails ; but it does not dissolve the uric acid formations. 
 In cases of poisoning by acids, it may be used until more effective agents 
 can be procured, as chalk, lime, magnesia, or the alkaline bicarbonates. 
 It is seldom used alone as a purgative, but is usually combined with 
 aloes, gamboge, resin of podophyllum, or other resinous cathartics, whose ' 
 irritating properties are thereby modified. United with rhubarb, it forms 
 a pill of much service in obstinate costiveness and biliary derangements ; 
 it lessens the astringent action of rhubarb. Externally it has been 
 found serviceable in tinea -capitis, itch, and other cutaneous diseases, 
 and as a discutient in glandular enlargements, abscesses, contusions, 
 etc., in which it is used either in form of liniment or plaster. Soft Soap 
 especially has been found efficacious in these cutaneous affections, used 
 either alone, or in combination with other suitable agents. An excel- . 
 lent injection is formed by making a strong soapwater from Soft Soap, 
 and which will be found useful in obstinate costiveness, or where it is 
 dfesirable to produce a prompt discharge from the bowels. In the pre- 
 paration of pills, liniments, or plasters, we must be particular not to 
 add agents which are chemically changed by the soap. Soap may be 
 administered in a dose of from five to thirty grains, and is commonly 
 used in the pilular form ; in poisoning by mineral acids, half a pint of 
 a strong solution should be promptly administered, and be repeated 
 every few minutes, as long as the patient can swallow it, if necessary. 
 
 Off. Prep, of Common Sard Soap. — Linimentum Cajuputi Composi- 
 tum ; Linimentum Opii ; Linimentum Saponis Camphoratum. 
 
 Off. Prep, of Gastile 8oap.—Pilu\ss Aloes Compositse; Pilulse Eesina 
 Podophylli Compositse ; Pilulse Saponi Compositse. 
 
 Off. Prep, of Soft Soap. — Unguentum Sulphuris Compositum. 
 
 SAPONAEIA OFFICINALIS. (Gemeines Seifenkraut.) 
 
 Soapwort. — Seifenwurzel. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Oaryophyllacese. Sex. Syst. — Decandria Digynia. 
 
 THE ROOT AND LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — ^This is a stout, perennial herbaceous plant, sometimes 
 known by the name of Bouncing Bet, with a stem one to two feet in 
 height. Leaves lanceolate, inclining to elliptical, very acute, smooth 
 two or three inches long, about one-third as wide. Flowers many, large 
 
SAPONARrA Officinalis. 751 
 
 flesh-colored or paie pink, often double, in paniculate fasicles. Calyx 
 cylindrical^ slightlj'^ downy. Petals five, unguiculate;, crowns of th( 
 petals linear. Stamens ten ; styles two ; capsule oblong, one-celled 
 -G.— W. 
 
 History. — Soapwort is found growing in Europe and the United 
 States, by road-sides and in waste places, flowering in July and August. 
 The parts used medicinally are the root and leaves ; they are without 
 odor, and of a bitterish, slightly saecharine taste, with a subsequent 
 persistent pungency and a benumbing sensation. With water they be- 
 come frothy, like soap suds ; water or alcohol extracts their active 
 properties. Analysis has detected in the root a principle called Saponin, 
 extractive, resin, gum, woody fiber, etc. Saponin appears to be its act- 
 ive principle, and is allied to esculin from the horse-chestnut, and sen- 
 egin from seneka. It is also found in a considerable number of other 
 plants, as in senega, the root of the common pink, pimpernel, fruit of 
 horse-chestnut, in several varieties of lychnis, etc. According to Bussy, 
 it may be obtained by boiling the powdered root of Soapwort in alco- 
 hol of 85 per cent., filtering the hot tincture, and allowing it to cool. 
 The saponin partly precipitates, which is collected on a cloth, pressed 
 between folds of blotting-paper, and dried. The process to be repeated 
 until the root is exhausted. If colored,- it must be digested in ether to 
 remove the coloring matter. Saponin is white, friabla, amorphous, has 
 a sweetish, followed by a sharp, persistent, acrid taste, and when 
 snuffed excites powerful sneezing. It is soluble in water, frothing 
 strongly when agitated, even when the solution contains only one- 
 thousandth its weight of saponin. Its aqueous solution is sometimes 
 used for cleansing the finer varieties of wool from grease ; when evap- 
 orated it leaves the saponin in the form of a transparent, brittle var- 
 nish. It is soluble in alcohol of all strengths, in one-fifth its weight of 
 absolute alcohql, but insoluble in ether. It burns in the air, emitting a 
 fragrant odor ; when distilled it blackens, swells, and gives off an em- 
 pyreumatic oil. Weak alkalies have no action on it while cold, nor 
 dilute acids. Muriatic and acetic acids increase its solubility in alco- 
 hol. Boiling^aeids convert it into saponic or esculic acid ; boiling po- 
 tassa changes it into esculate of potassa. Its formula is Cgg H.^g Oz^, (-P- 
 A. Bolley) also C^ H^o Oi4.(?) 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Soapwort is tonic, diaphoretic, and alterative ; 
 and forms a valuable remedy in the treatment of syphilitic, scrofulous 
 and cutaneous diseases,, also in jaundice, liver-affections, rheumatism, 
 and gonorrhea. It is generally used in decoction ; although an extract 
 or the inspissated juice will be found equally efficacious. Dose of the 
 decoction, from two to four fluidounces, three or four times a day ; of 
 the extract or inspissated juice, from ten to twenty grains. Saponin 
 has been advised as a substitute for the root, but this is not satisfacto- 
 rily established; it will likewise be found a powerful sternutatory. 
 Dose, from two to six grains. E. Pelikan believes that saponine is des- 
 tined to play a 'different part from that which is now given to it, and 
 that it should be submitted to further investigations. According to his 
 experiments he finds that saponine and identical substances produce a 
 local paralysis followed by rigidity of the muscles and paralysis of the 
 nerves of sensation ; and also that between saponine and agents that 
 act upon the pupil, as, atropia and physostigmine, there exists consid- 
 erable analogy. — G-az. Med. de Paris, 1867. 
 
752 Materia Medica. 
 
 SAEEACENIA PUEPUEEA . (Parpurfarbene Sarrac u a i e.) 
 
 Sarraeonia. 
 Nat. Ord. — SarraceniaceaB. Sex. Syst. — Polyandria Monogfnia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also known as Side-saddle Mower, Fly-trap. 
 and Huntsman's Cup, is an indigenous, perennial plant, of a very curi- 
 ous character. Leaves or acidia six to nine inches long, radical, short- 
 globose, inflated or cup-form, contracted at the mouth, having a broad 
 urched lateral wing from half an inch to an inch in width, and extended on 
 the outside of the mouth into a broad-cordate, erect lamina, or hood, cov- 
 ered above with reversed hairs. Scape one to two feet in height, terete, 
 smooth, and supporting a single, large, purple, nodding ;?OM;«r. — W. 
 
 History. — This plant owes its strange appearance to a curious pitcher- 
 shaped metamorphosis of the leaf, which resembles very much an old- 
 fashioned side-saddle; six of these generally belong to each plant. The 
 leaf, which springs from the root, is formed by a large, hollow tube 
 swelling out in the middle, curved and diminishing downward till it 
 ends in a stem, contracted at the mouth, and furnished with -a large 
 spreading, heart-shaped appendage at the top, which is hairy within, 
 the hairs pointing downward, so as to cause every thing which falls 
 upon the leaf, to be carried toward the petiole ; a broad wavy wing ex- 
 tends the whole length on the inside ; these lie upon the ground with 
 their mouth turned upward, .so as to catch the water when it falls. 
 They hold nearly a wineglassful, and are generally filled with water 
 and aquatic insects, which undergo decomposition or a sort of digestion, 
 and serve as a nutriment to the plant. The root is in the form of stems 
 or fibers, five to seven or eight inches in length, of various diameters 
 not exceeding that of a quill, dented at unequal intervals, having a 
 smooth fracture, and without rootlets or medullary sheatn ; it is readily 
 reduced to a slightly aromatic powder and a fibrous residue, and com- 
 municates its bitter taste to water, alcohol, or ether. Oil is colored 
 light amber by it. The stem rise's direct from the root, it is round, 
 quite smooth, and bears an elegant, deeply reddish-purple terminal 
 flower, having two flower-cups ; the external consisting of three small 
 leaves ; the internal of five, egg-shaped, obtuse leaves, shiny, and of a 
 brownish -purple. The blossoms are five, guitar-shaped, obtuse, repeat- 
 edly curved inward and outward, and finally inflected over the stigma, 
 which is broad and spreading, divided at its margin into five bifid lobes, 
 alternating with the petals, and supported on a short cylindrical style ; 
 this is surmounted by the stamens, which are numerous, having short ■ 
 threads, and large, two-celled, oblong, yellow anthers attached to them 
 on the under surface. In the yellow-flowered species of the Southern 
 States, the bottle is very long, resembling a trumpet, by which name it 
 is often called. 
 
 The whole species are water-plants, and are found only in -wet mead- 
 ows, wet, boggy places, marshes, mud-lakes, etc., and grow from Lab- 
 rador to Florida, flowering in June. There are several varieties, as the 
 S. Heterophylla, found in the swamps at ISToi'thampton, Mass., and the 
 S. Rubra, 8. Flava, S. Variolaris, S. Drummondii, and S. Psyttacina, 
 which are common to the South, and all of which, probably, possess 
 similar medical virtues, though Morris states positively that the S. 
 Purpurea is the only one possessing therapeutical properties. The root 
 is the part used; it has a bitter and astringent taste and yields its 
 
Satureja Hortenbis. 753 
 
 properties to water. Analysis has detected in it a pulverizable, tannin- 
 like resin, readily soluble in alcohol, or ether ; an aromatic, bitter extrac- 
 tive soluble in water or alcohol ; a yellow coloring principle ; substances 
 composing the frame work of the plant, and an alkaloid named Sarra- 
 cenina. It is white, soluble in alcohol or ether, forms salts with acids, 
 the sulphate crystallizing in beautiful needles having a bitter taste, 
 which is communicated to its solutions. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The therapeutical actions of Sarracenia are not 
 fully ascertained. It is supposed to be a stimulating tonic, diuretic, 
 and laxative ; in connection with osmunda regalis and blue cohosh, it 
 will form a valuable syrup for chlorosis, all uterine derangements, dys- 
 pepsia, and other gastric difficulties. An infusion of the leaf has been 
 found equally available with that of the root. The best mode of em- 
 ploying it is not well determined,; though the powder may be given in 
 doses of from twenty to thirty grains three or four times a day ; and 
 the infusion or Syrup from one to three fluidounces. Dr. Porcher of 
 S. Carolina instituted some experiments upon himself, using the recent 
 root. He found it to possess bitterness and astringency, and to produce 
 diuresis, gastric excitation, moderate catharsis, and at the same time to 
 cause au increase and irregularity in the heart's action, and a feeling 
 of congestion about the head. This was the result of 180 grains taken 
 in two hours' time. "These symptoms distinctly point to the parts of 
 the system influenced by the drug, — the gastric filaments of the gan- 
 glionic, or organic system of nerves. This produced an increased action 
 of the circulating system, and drove the blood to the head ; it also in- 
 creased the peristaltic action of the entire alimentary caual, and pro- 
 moted the renal and other glandular secretions, without any apparent 
 effect upon the nerves of animal life." 
 
 The root is useful in all cases, where there is a sluggish or torpid con- 
 dition of the stomach, the intestines, the liver, the kidneys, or the uterus, , 
 producing costiveness, dyspepsia, sick headache, amenorrhea, dysmenor- 
 rhea, and the various functional derangements which are so commonly 
 to be met with. The plant has been extolled as a prophylactic in small 
 pox, and also to modify it and shorten its duration when present. Al- 
 though many physicians have made statements to this effect, yet all are 
 not agreed ; we do not think the plant possesses any such curative pro- 
 perty as has been attributed to it in this disease, and believe those who 
 have written in its favor, have allowed themselves to be mistaken. 
 The plant, however, undoubtedly possesses valuable properties, which 
 render it well worthy the attention of the enlightened practitioner, in 
 this, as well as in other diseases. ' 
 
 SATUEBJA HOETBNSIS. (Gemeiner Garten Saturei.) 
 
 Summer Savory. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Lamiacese. Sex. Syst. — Didynamia Gymnospermia. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — Summer Savory is an annual plant, with a branching 
 and bushy stem, about eighteen inches in height, woody at base, fre- 
 quently changing to purple. Leaves numerous, small, linear-oblong, 
 entire, acute at the end. Flowers pink-colored, on axillary, cymose 
 peduncles. Calyx tubular, ribbed, about as long as the corolla. Co- 
 rolla bilabiate, with nearly equal divisions ; stamens diverging, scarcely 
 exserted. — W. 
 48 
 
754 Materia Medica. 
 
 History. — This well-known plant is a native of the south of Europe, 
 and is extensively cultivated in the gardens of this country and Europe 
 for culinary purposes, flowering in July and August. The leaves are 
 the parts employed. They have an aromatic odor and taste, analogous 
 to those of thyme, and impart their properties to boiling water in in- 
 fusion, but more freely to alcohol. Its virtues depend upon a volatile 
 oil. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Summer Savory is a stimulant, carrainativ e, and 
 emmenagogue. A warm infusion is beneficial in colds, menstrual sup- 
 pression, and flatulent colic; the cold infusion is a gentle stimulating 
 tonic during convalescence from fevers. The infusion may be used in 
 doses of from two to four ounces several times a day. The oil is some- 
 times used as a local application to carious teeth for relieving toothache; 
 and its tincture is a valuable carminative. The S. Montana, or "Winter 
 Savory, with mucronate leaves, somewhat one-sided peduncles, and acu- 
 minate and mucronate segments of the calyx, possesses similar properties. 
 
 SCILLA MAEITIMA. (Meerzwiebel.) 
 
 Squill. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Liliacese. Sex. Syst. — Hexandria Monogymia. 
 
 THE BULB. 
 
 Description. — Squill is a perennial plant with a roundish-ovate bulh. 
 \esej large,, half above ground, with the integuments either pale-green 
 or red, and giving off fibrous roots. Leaves proceeding from the bulb, 
 are broad-lanceolate, channeled, spreading, recurved, shining, deep- 
 green, and make their appearance long after the flowers. Scape two 
 or three feet high, and terminated by a rather dense, long, ovate raceme 
 Mowers about three-fourths of an inch in diameter, spreading, pale, yel- 
 lowish-green, with a green stain on the middle of each segment. Pe 
 duncles purplish ; bracts linear, twisted, deciduous. Filaments shortei 
 than the segments of the perianth. — L. — Wi. 
 
 History. — Squill is a native of almost every part of the Mediteranean 
 coast, and is also met with in Portugal and Prance. It flowers in 
 August and September. Steinheil has proposed to remove it into a 
 new genus under the name of Squilla Maritinia, as the structure of its 
 nectaries and seeds distinguish it from the genus Scilla. The only part 
 used is the bulb. When recent it is pyriform, from three to six inches 
 in its largest diameter, and consists of concentric scales, the outer ones 
 of which are thin and membranous, while the inner ones are whitish, 
 thick, fleshy, and full of juice; they weigh on an average from one to 
 four pounds, though they have attained a weight of ten pounds and a 
 half. Two kinds of Squill, both abounding in an acrid juice, and hav- 
 ing a bitter taste, are met with in commerce, the white and the red, so 
 called from the color of their scales. The white is preferred. Ths 
 juice of the fresh bulb is very acrid and vesicating, but is rendered 
 much milder by desiccation. "When intended for medical use. Squill 
 bulbs ought not to be kept entire, but should be stripped of their outer 
 scales, cut transversely into thin slices, and dried carefully at the tem- 
 perature about 100° F. "When recent, these slices have a mucilaginous, 
 disagreeably bitter, and somewhat acrid taste, with a feeble radish like 
 odor. As ordinarily met with, dried Squill is in scales or slices of various 
 sizes, wrinkled, somewhat translucent, white or yellowish-white, friable 
 
SciLLA Maritima. 755 
 
 and easily reduced to ponder, nearly inodorous, and of a mucilaginouS; 
 strongly bitter, sickening, slightly acrid taste. Tliey attract moisture 
 from the air, and then become pliable and spoiled, on which account 
 they, as well as their powder, should always be kept in well-closed ves- 
 sels, Squill yields its properties to water, spirit, or diluted acids; btit 
 the best solvents are proof-spirit or vinegar. 
 
 Vogel found in the dried root, Seillitin, with some sugar 35, tannic 
 acid 24, gum 6, woody fiber, and some citrate of lime 30, acrid volatile 
 matter. Tilloy found in it Seillitin, unerystaillizable sugar, gum, fatty 
 matter, and piquant, very fugaceous matter. Seillitin may be obtained 
 from the fresh bulb according to the following process of M. Landerer : 
 Digest the pounded bulb in dilute sulphuric acid, and boil the solutior. 
 down to one half, saturate this with lime to neutralize, and let it stand 
 foi three days. Dry the precipitate, and then digest it in alcohol of sp. 
 gr. 0.838; let this evaporate spontaneously, when prismatic crystals 
 will be deposited. They are bitter, alkaline, soluble in 120 times their 
 weight of alcohol, insoluble in water and fixed and volatile oils, and 
 neutralized acids. Tilloy obtained it from dry squills, by macerating 
 them in alcohol, decanting, and evaporating to the consistence of a 
 syrup. Mix this syrup with alcohol of sp. gr. 0.842. There remains 
 an extractive matter which must be well kneaded with alcohol. Evap- 
 orate the alcoholic solution to the consistence of an extract. Digest the 
 extract in ether, which dissolves a yellow-colored solid fatty matter, 
 having an acrid and bitter taste, insoluble in water, but very soluble in 
 alcohol, ether, and the alkalies. The residue insoluble in ether, is 
 treated with water, which separates Seillitin in yellow fiocks. These 
 flocks are collected on a filter. Seillitin thus obtained is softened in 
 hot water, and collected in a mass ; is brown when cold, brittle, acrid 
 and bittfer ; melts by heat, swelling up, giving at first an aromatic, and 
 then a urinous odor. It is insoluble in ether, soluble in alcohol ; and 
 one grain of it killed a dog. Tilloy analyzed this plant again a few 
 years since, with somewhat different results. M. Marais, who has more 
 recently instituted some very careful experiments, found squill to con- 
 tain vegetable mucilage 30, sugar 15, tannin 8, acid red coloring mat- 
 ter 10, yellow odorous acid coloring matter 2, fatty matter 1, seillitin 1, 
 iodine traces, salts 5. The Seillitin which he obtained was uncrystalli- 
 zable, hygrometric without being deliquescent, because in soluble in water, 
 and very soluble in alcohol or ether without heat. It was in pale yel- 
 low semi-transparent lamellae, and even when decolorized by precipi- 
 tating its alcoholic solution with water, it retook its color and semi- 
 transparency by desiccation. Its taste was penetrating, intensely bit- 
 ter, increased by the presence of water. Concentrated sulphuric acid 
 dissolved it causing a beautiful violet color ; concentrated nitric acid 
 caused a bright red color which quickly disappeared. Hydrochloric 
 acid gave no reaction with it, and did not dissolve it. Concentrated 
 solutions of ammonia and potassa did not dissolve it, but decomposed 
 it, and removed its bitterness ; hydrated alkalies disengaged ammonia 
 from it, showing that it contained nitrogen. With tannin it gave a 
 pale yellow precipitate ; with perchloride of iron an orange ; with per- 
 chloride of platinum a yellow. Heated on a sheet of platinum, it lique- 
 fied, turned brown, swelled up, became black, and disappeared without 
 leaving any residue. Its reaction was alkaline. It had' all the charac- 
 ters of the acronarcotic poison, causing strong inflamTnation of the diges- 
 tive apparatus even in the dose of fths to fths of a grain. It first pro- 
 duced vomiting and violent purging, followed by narcotism, and death 
 
756 Materia Medioa. 
 
 ensued apparently from paralysis of the heart. Applied by the ender- 
 mic method its action was much quicker and almost exclusively nar- 
 cotic; by this method a rabbit was killed in 37 minutes by /^ths/of a 
 grain, and a vigorous dog 82 minutes by f-ths of a grain. He obtained 
 it by the following process : Make a concentrated tincture of squill with 
 alcohol at 0.90, or at 0.56, according to whether the squill is fresh or 
 dry. Precipitate with clear milk of lime, pour on the whole a suffi- 
 cient quantity of ether to form, when the mixture is agitated and suf- 
 fered to stand, a magma covered with a certain quantity of alcoholic 
 and ethereal liquor, which is immediately decanted. Wash the magma 
 with fresh ether until it has lost all its bitterness. Unite the liquors 
 and distill until there only remains in the retort the alcohol, with the 
 scillitin and a little fatty matter. Evaporate this solution at a gentle 
 heat, as quickly as possible, take up the residue left, by alcohol at 90° 
 which dissolves the scillitine and the fatty matter remains ; filter, evap- 
 orate to complete dryness, the scillitin remains, which must be imme- 
 diately put into a well-closed phial. — Am. Jour. Pharm. 1857, from Jour. 
 de Pharm. 
 
 Prof. Schroff considers the white and red bulbs of scilla to come from, 
 the same plant ; they do not possess a volatile principle, but their effect 
 on the skin is owing to hard crystals of oxalate of lime, sharp pointed 
 at each end. ^ The active principle is contained in the outer scales, the 
 innermost being inert. The red variety is the most effective, and yields 
 a larger amount of extract, of which the alcoholic is superior to the 
 aqueous. Besides the narcotic principle, scillitin, there is an acrid one 
 in squills which has not yet been isolated. — N. Bep. Ph. XIV., p. 193. 
 Chemists are so divided upon the characters of Scillitin, that further 
 investigations are required. — T. — G. — P. Squill kills rats almost in- 
 stantly ; two drachms of powdered Squill may be made into balls with 
 half a pound of strong smelling cheese (or with fried lard), and 
 thrown where they visit. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Squill is irritant, emetic, cathartic, diuretic, 
 and expectorant. In large doses it is a dangerous irritant poison, pro- 
 ducing inflammation of the alimentary canal, and urinary organs, and 
 proving fatal in the dose of only twenty-four grains of the powder. 
 Some constitutions are so susceptible of its irritant action, that it can 
 not be safely used in any dose, unless combined with opium. It is sel- 
 dom used as an emetic or cathartic, on account of its uncertainty in 
 producing these effects. In small doses it causes nausea and depres- 
 sion of the pulse, and never stimulates the circulation. Its expecto- 
 rant action is greatly increased by the addition of opium ; and its diu- 
 retic by the conjunction of digitalis, or some other vegetable or saline 
 diuretic. It is used in dropsy, catarrh, pneumonia, asthma, and 
 phthisis. It acts better in general than in local dropsies, and also in 
 those of an asthenic character. As an expectorant it will be found 
 useful in chronic catarrh, humid asthma, winter cough, and other 
 chronic bronchial affections. Troublesome vomiting or purging caused 
 by Squill is best corrected by opium. Where there is much inflam- 
 mation or vascular excitement, it is contra-indicated. Dose of the pow- 
 der, as a diuretic and expectorant, from one to three grains; as au 
 emetic, from six to twelve grains; of the syrup, one or two fluidrachms,. 
 The piluiar form is the best when Squill is given in powder. 
 
 Off, Preo. — ^Acetum Scillse ; Syrupus Scillse. 
 
SCUTELLAKIA LATERIFLORA. 757 
 
 SCKOPHULAEIA NODOSA. (Knoliges Skr^felkraut.) 
 
 P'igwort. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Scrophulariaceffi. Sex. Syst. — Didynamia Angiospermia. 
 
 THE LEAVES AND ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Figwort has a perennial, whitish, tuberous, and knotty 
 root, with a leafy, erect, quadrangular, smooth stem, two to four feet 
 in height, with paniculate, opposite branches above. Leaves opposite, 
 petiolate, ovate, ovate-oblong, or the upper lanceolate, acute, sharply 
 and unequally serrated, rounded, acutish, or broadly cordate at base, 
 veined, of a deep green color, three to seven inches in length. Flowers 
 small, three or four lines long, ovoid, dark-purple, slightly drooping, 
 on axillary and terminal, forked, angular, glandular peduncles in ob- 
 long thyrsoid panicles. Calyx in five segments which are broadly 
 ovate, obtuse, slightly margined ; corolla of a dull green, with a livid 
 purple lip, subglobose ; limb contracted, sub-labiate, having a green 
 scale or sterile filament, adnate to the upper side. Stamens didyna- 
 mouB ; sterile anthers, broadly orbicular. Capsule ovate-oblong. — L. — 
 W.— G. 
 
 History. — This plant is a native of Europe, and found growing in dif- 
 ferent parts of the United States, in woods, hedges, damp copses, and 
 banks, flowering from July to October. The S. Marilandica and S. 
 Lanceolata, kno-^n by the names of Carpenter's Square, Jffealall, Square- 
 stalk, etc., are mere varieties, possessing similar medicinal properties. 
 The leaves and root are the oflScinal parts, and yield their virtues to 
 water or alcohol. The leaves have an offensive odor, and a bitter, un- 
 pleasant taste ; the root is slightly acrid. Much of the odor and taste 
 are lost by drying. The reddish aqueous infusion is darkened by the 
 sesquichloride of iron, but not by tincture of nut-galls. Grandoni found 
 it to contain brown bitter resin 0.31, extractive with gum 4.84, extrac- 
 tive having the odor of benzoic acid 0.88, chlorophyll 1.58, starch 0.23. 
 greenish fecula 0.18, besides gum, starch, inulin, malic and pectic acids, 
 etc. Walz has obtained two principles from this plant, viz : scroplm- 
 larin, a and p, and scrap hularosmin. — Mayer, Am. Jour. Pharm., 1863, p. 295. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Figwort is alterative, diuretic, and anodyne ; 
 highly beneficial in hepatic diseases, scrofula, cutaneous diseases, dropsy, 
 and as a general deobstruent to the glandular system when used in in- 
 fusion or syrup. Externally, in the form of fomentation, or ointment, 
 it is valuable in bruises, inflammation of the mammae, ringworm, piles, 
 painful swelling, itch, and cutaneous eruptions of a vesicular character. 
 The root, in decoction, and drank freely, i» said to restore the lochial 
 discharge when suppressed, and to relieve the pains attending difficult 
 menstruation. This plant possesses valuable and active medicinal prop- 
 erties. Dose of the infusion or syrup, from two to four fluidounces. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Scrophularise ; Syrupus Eumecis Compositus; 
 Tinctura Corydalis Comp. 
 
 SCUTELLAEIA LATEEIFLOEA. (Seitenbluhendes Schildkraut.) 
 
 Scullcap. 
 Nat. Ord. — Lamiacese. Sex. Syst. — Didynamia G-ymnospermia. 
 
 THE WHOLE HERB. 
 
 Description. — Scutellaria Lateriflora has a small, fibrous, yellow per- 
 ennial root, with an erect, very branching, diffuse, quadrangular, nearly 
 
758 Materia Medioa. 
 
 glabrous stem, one to three feet in height ; branches opposite. I/eaves oe 
 petio^les about an inch long, opposite, thin, entire, nearly membranouSj 
 subcordate on the stem, ovate on the branches, acuminate or acute, 
 coarsely serrate and slightly rugose. Flowers small, of a pale blue color, 
 in long, lateral, axillary raceraes, with ovate, acute, entire, subsessile, 
 distichous bracts, each flower axillary to a bract, and pedunculated. 
 Calyx has an entire margin, w-hich, after the corolla has fallen, is closed 
 with a helmet-shaped lid. Tube of the corolla about a quarter of an inch 
 long, the upper lip concave and entire, the lower three-lobed. Seed four 
 in the closed calyx, oval, verrucose. — W- — &■ — B. 
 
 History. — Scullcap is an indigenous herb, growing in damp places, 
 meadows, ditches, and by the sides of ponds, flowering in July and 
 August. It is known by the names of Blue Scullcap, Side-Floivering 
 Scullcap, Mad-dog Weed, and Hood-wort. Hhe whole plant is- ofiicinal; 
 it should be gathered while in flower, dried in the shade, and kept in 
 well-closed tin vessels. It is inodorous, but has a bitterish, taste ; alco- 
 hol or boiling water extracts its properties. Scullcap is said to contain 
 an essential oil ; a fixed oil, yellowish-green, and soluble in ether ; a 
 bitter principle soluble in water, alcohol or ether ; chlorophyll : a pecu- 
 liar volatile matter ; albumen ; a sweet mucous substance ; a peculiar 
 astringent principle ; lignin, chloride of soda and other salts. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Scullcap is tonic, aervine, and antispasmodic. 
 This is one of those valuable agents which a certain class of physicians 
 consider inert ; yet it has proved especially useful in chorea, convul- 
 sions, tremors, intermittent fever, neuralgia and all nervous affections. 
 In delirium tremens, an infusion drank freely will soon produce a calm 
 sleep. In intermittents it may be beneficially combined with bugle. 
 Where teething has impaired the health of children, an infusion may 
 be given with advantage. la all cases of nervous excitability, restless- 
 ness, or wakefulness, attending acute or chronic diseases, or from other 
 causes, it may be drank freely with every expectation of beneficial re- 
 ■ suits. The warm infusion has a tendency to keep the skin moist ; the 
 cold has a tonic influence, and either may be drank freelj'. When its 
 soothing effects have ceased, it does not leave an excitable, irritable 
 condition of the system, as is the case with some other nervines. Half 
 an ounce of the dried leaves or herb, to a half a pint of boiling water, 
 will make a very strong infusion. Scullcap has been extolled as a 
 remedy in hydrophobia, but this is still a matter of uncertainty. The 
 S. Hyssopifolia and S. Integrifolia possess similar properties. 
 
 Scutelline, so called, is a nostrum of no value. The preparation erro- 
 neously called scutellarine is procured as follows : Make a tincture of 
 the herb, Scutellaria Lateriflora, with alcohol of 76 per cent., distill off 
 the alcohol until the liquid is of the consistence of a fluid extract, add 
 to it several times its weight of water, and precipitate with a solution 
 of alum. Wash the precipitate to free it from the alum, and dry it in 
 the open air, without heat. As far as this has been chemically tested; 
 it has maaifested neither acid nor alkaline reaction, and as it is not a 
 resin, it is for the present classed among the neutral principles with 
 salicin. It forms a powder of a green color, owing to the chlorophyll 
 not having been separated ; but although not chemically pure, it is 
 suflBlciently so to be of great use in medicine. It is of a light greenish- 
 brown color, with a faint, tea-like odor, and a peculiar, herbaceous, 
 somewhat gritty, resinous, tea-like taste, is insoluble in water, par- 
 tially soluble in alcohol, and more so in ether. I have never used this 
 preparation, though it is reputed a most valuable nervine and tonic, 
 
Secale Cereale — Ergota. 759 
 
 especially useful in cases of depression of the nervous and vital powers 
 after long sickness, over-exercise, excessive study, or from long-con- 
 tinued and exhausting labors. One grain will, it is stated, frequently 
 ■(.roduce its quiet and soothing effect, controlling nervous agitation, 
 and inducing a sensation of calmness and strength. It has been ad- 
 vantageously combined with oleo-resin of cypripedium, resin of cimici- 
 fuga, and resin of caulophyllum, in various female difficulties, both in 
 the gravid or non-gravid state, accompanied with an excitable or irri- 
 table condition of the nervous system. It maybe used wherever Scull- 
 cap is indicated. Its dose is from one to five grains, three or four 
 times a day, though an increased quantity will not produce any un- 
 pleasant effects. However, the extract, and fluid extract of ScuUcap 
 will, probably, be found the best preparations of this plant. , 
 
 ,Off. JPrep. — Extractum Scutellariae Alcoholicum ; Extractum Scutel- 
 lariae Fluidum ; Infusum Scutellariae ; Pilulse Valerianae Compositse. 
 
 SECALE CEEEALE. (Gebaueter Eoggen.) 
 
 Eye. — Eoggen. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Graminaceae. Sex. Syst. — Triandria Digynia. 
 
 THE SEED OR GRAIN. 
 
 BEGOTA. {Secale Cornutum.] (Mutterkorn.) 
 Ergot. Spurred, or Smut Eye. 
 
 DEGENERATED SEEDS OF SECALE CEREALE AND A FtTNGtJS. 
 
 Description. — Eye has a stem four to six feet high, hairy beneath the 
 spike, in a wild state seldom over a foot high. Leaves lance-linear, 
 rough-edged, and rough above, glaucous ; lower ones, together with 
 their sheaths, covered with a soft down. Itachis bearded on each side 
 with white hairs. Glumes subulate, ciliated, scabrous,8horter than the 
 florets, taken together with their awns. Outer palece folded up, keeled, 
 tri-nerved, with very long awns ; the two nerves and awns very rough. 
 Stamens three. Ovary pyriform, pilose. Stigmas two. — L. — W. 
 
 History. — The native country of Eye is not positively known, though 
 supposed to have originated about Caucasus ; at the present day it is 
 considerably cultivated among civilized nations. Ground into fine 
 flour it is used as an article of diet in the form of bread or mush. Eye 
 bread is not so light-colored, nor so readily digested as wheat bread. 
 According to Binhof, the grain consists of about six and a half per 
 cent, of meal, the balance being husk or bran, nearly two and a half 
 per cent., and moisture. The meal consists of starch 61.07, gum 11.09, 
 gluten 9.48, albumen 3.28, saccharine matter 3.28, husk, salts, acid, 
 etc.— P. 
 
 Eye is frequently diseased and rendered poisonous by a parasitical 
 fungus, the Urgotcetia Abortifaeiens of Quekett, or Oidium Abortifaciens 
 of Berkeley. This is a microscope fungus, belonging, according to 
 Berkely, to the genus Oidium. Its threads are white, irregularly 
 branched ; sporidia numerous, elliptical, moniliform, finally separating, 
 transparent, sometimes slightly contracted about their middle, usually 
 containing one, two, or three, but occasionally as many as ten or twelve 
 well-defined greenish granules. They average about -^^ of an inch 
 long, and g^'g^ of an inch broad. "When placed on glass and moistened 
 with water, they readily germinate or produce other plants, though in 
 
760 Materia Medica. 
 
 various ways. — Quekett. By the growth of this plant upon the ovarium 
 of grasses, a disease is produced therein, involving the whole of the 
 embryQ, which is called Spur, or Ergot. (Tulasne denies it is a dis- 
 ease.) It attacks Eye, wheat, corn, etc., and the ergotized grains of 
 the first two appear to possess similar medicinal properties. Much 
 discordance of opinion has heretofore obtained in relation to the nature 
 and formation of Ergot, but the microscopic researches of Pereira, 
 Quekett, and others, have settled the question as to its parasitical ori- 
 gin, but the real character of the parasite is still undetermined. 
 
 More recently this plant has been examined by Tulasne, who appears 
 to have placed its history upon a scientific basis. He considers it as 
 belonging to the genus Claviceps of the family Sphseriacei, an Ascomy- 
 cetouB Fupgus, of which he describes three species, Claviceps nigricans, 
 C. microcephala, and 0. purpurea, the latter growing on the flowers of 
 grasses, such as Eye, wheat, oats, and numerous pasture grasses. The 
 first sign of the attack upon the flower of a grass is the appearance of 
 the parasitical fungus (sphacelia) upon the outside of the nascent pistil, 
 which extends over all parts of the grain, coalescing the stigmas and 
 anthers, and giving a whitish appearance to the grain ; it then enters 
 into the outer part of the substance of the wall of the ovary, growing 
 with this until it forms a fungoid mass of the same shape as an ovary, 
 but obliterating the cavity of the latter. At this time it is soft, white, 
 grooved on the surface, and excavated by irregular cavities which are 
 connected with the external folds or grooves; the surfaces of these are 
 all covered with parallel linear cells, like a hymenium (the term ap- 
 plied to the layer of cellular tissue upon which are seated the basidio- 
 spores of the higher Fungi), and from the extremities of these arise 
 elongated, ellipsoid, or oval cells, about -^(^^ of an inch in length. 
 These bodies become detached, and when they are placed in water, 
 germinate and emit filaments ; they are sperm-cells (spermatia), naked 
 spores (stylospores'), or perhaps reproductive cellules (conidia) ; they 
 exhibit no motion in water, although they resemble the spermatia of 
 some other fungi. At this time Tulasne calls the structure a sperma- 
 gonium (an organ supposed to contain fertilizing bodies).. At a certain 
 epoch a viscid fluid exudes from the sphacelia, flowing over it and carry- 
 ing about multitudes of the spermatia or stylospores ; but previous to 
 this, a solid body, of a violet color on the surface and white within has 
 originated at the base of the spermagonium, and it gradually grows and 
 rises out of the palese of the flowers, forming the spur or Ergot. This 
 is not a metamorphosed seed resulting from diseased conditions, but a 
 real new fungoid structure. 
 
 Ergot should be gathered previous to harvest, and is said by M. Bon- 
 jean to be much more active after the fifth day of its formation. " When 
 we examine a number of ears of ergotized Eye, we find that the num- 
 ber of grains on each spike which have become ergotized varies consid- 
 erably ; there may be one only, or the spike may be covered with them. 
 Usually the number is from three to ten. The mature Ergot projects 
 considerably beyond the paleaa. It has a violet-black color, and presents 
 scarcely any filaments and sporidia. The Spurred Eye, or Ergot of 
 commerce, consists of grains which vary in length from a few lines to 
 an inch, or even an inch and a half, and whose breadth is from half a 
 line to four lines. Their form is cylindrical or obscurely triangular, 
 with obtuse angles, tapering at the extremities (fusiform), curved like 
 jhe spur of a cock, unequally furrowed on two sides, often irregularly 
 cracked and fissured. The odor of a single grain is not detectible, but 
 
Secale Cereale^Brgota. 761 
 
 of a large quantity is fishy, peculiar, and nauseous. The taste is not 
 very marked, but is disagreeable arid very slightly acrid. The grains 
 are externally purplish -brown or black, more or less covered by a 
 bloom, moderately brittle, the fractured surface being tolerably smooth, 
 and whitish or purplish white. Their specific gravity is somewhat 
 greater than that of water, though, when thrown into this liquid they 
 usually float at first, owing to the adherent air. The lower part of the 
 grain is sometimes heavier than the upper." — P. "When Ergot is es 
 amined under the microscope, its internal pari is seen to be composed 
 of minute hexagonal or rounded cellular tissue, the cells containing from 
 one to three globules of oil ; its violet or blackish coat consists of a -layer 
 of longitudinally elongated delicate cells, and its bloom consists of spori- 
 dia. Unless kept carefully excluded from the air, it softens and swells, 
 and becomes infected with numerous brown insects, about the size of a 
 pin's head, while at the same time it acquires a deep black color and 
 heavier odor. Its powder quickly becomes damp, and full of animalv 
 cules. It should always be used recently pulverized, or if kept in powder, 
 it should be in well-closed and darkened vials, and with a few lumps 
 of camphor added. It imparts its virtues to water or alcohol; long 
 boiling renders it inert. The best Ergot is dry, and easily broken, free 
 from insects, burns with a clear flame, and is incapable of forming a 
 dark-blue pulp when its powder is triturated with iodine and water. 
 
 Dr. E. J. Nunn, of Savannah, Ga., recommends the following method 
 as an effectual mode of preserving Ergot : Reduce good Ergot to a coarse 
 powder in a mortar or coffee-mill, and dry it at a temperature not ex- 
 ceeding 139° P. Next prepare a solution of camphor, eighty grains to 
 a fluidounce of ether. Clean and dry some strong ounce vials, being- 
 careful that they contain no moisture. Place a fluidrachm of the 
 camphor solution into a vial, and immediately begin filling with the 
 dry Ergot, pressing the powder very tightly several times while filling, 
 with a suitable instrument. As soon as the bottle is filled, and the 
 whole of the Ergot is observed to be dampened by the camphor solu- 
 tion, pour half a fluidrachm more of it into the vial, and immediately 
 cork with some good tightly -fitting velvet corks, and cover the top with 
 sealing-wax. If larger bottles are used, increase the quantity of solu- 
 tion proportionately. Examine the vials occasionally; if the wax 
 softens, or any part of the powder becomes dry, it is an indication that 
 the cork does not fit tight; it must then be removed, a little more solu- 
 tion added, recorked, and resealed. Ergot has thus been kept for eight 
 years. The heat of the water used to make the infusion of Ergot will 
 be amply sufficient to vaporize and expel every particle of the ether and 
 camphor. — Am. Jour. Pharm., XXYII., 309. i 
 
 Ergot has undergone several analyses. Wiggers found in it, 1.25 
 ergotin ; 35 peculiar fixed oil; 1.05 white crystallizable fat; 0.76 cerin; 
 46.19 fungin; 7.76 vegetable ozmazome; 1.55 peculiar saccharine mat- 
 ter; 2.33 gummy extractive, with red coloring matter ; 1.46 albumen; 
 4.42 superphosphate of potassa ; 0.29 phosphate of lime, with trace of 
 iron ; 0.14 silica. Legrip's analysis gave much less fungin, 3.50, a 
 brown resin 2.75, etc. H. L. Winckler gives as the most important 
 chemical constituents, secaline in combination with ergotine, a red fer- 
 ruginous coloring matter with a base yet to be eliminated, albumen 
 soluble in water and in a coagulated condition, a large quantity of fatty 
 oil, which in the normal grain appears to be replaced by amylon, fun- 
 gous sugar, which disposes the watery extract of Ergot of Eye so strongly 
 *;o fermentation, formiates, and phosphates. He Considers the specific 
 
762 Materia Medioa. 
 
 action of Ergot ascribable to the secaline compound, or the coloring 
 matter, or both of those compounds together and not to the fatty oil, 
 A. watery extract is, he states, the most active preparation, but it can 
 not be kept ; a tincture, prepared with alcohol of 40 per cent., by several 
 days' digestion at an ordinary temperature, from finely pulverized Ergot, 
 is of a dark brown color, and contains all the active constituents of the 
 Ergot, with very little fatty oil, which separates in a crystalline form 
 at very low temperatures. The spirituous extract is best kept and most 
 effective when it is prepared by twice extracting the fine powder with 
 ;in equal quantity of cold distilled water, clarifying the concentrated 
 extract, and treating it with alcohol of eighty percent, as long as a pre- 
 cipitate results on the addition of a fresh portion. The spirituous fluid 
 is after twenty -four hours separated from the precipitate by filtration; 
 the filtrate subjected to distillation in a water-bath, and the residue 
 evaporated to the consistence of an extract. Obtained in this way, the 
 extractive ergotine is a little hygroscopic, has a light-brown color, a 
 slight narcotic odor, dissolves under the separation of a little ergotine 
 ( Wiggers) in water, and evolves, when treated with a solution of caus- 
 tic potass, the penetrating odor of secaline in a high degree. By dis- 
 tillation of the concentrated watery extract with caustic lime, a very 
 concentrated solution of secaline is also obtained. Winckler has found 
 the compound of ergotine with secaline, ergotinate of secaline, in the black 
 sporous mass of Lycoperden Cervinum. — Am. Jour. Fharm., XXV., 412, 
 from Central Blatt, etc. 
 
 Winckler dried some recent Ergot of Eye at 139° F., pulverized it, 
 and extracted first with ether, then with water. The aqueous solution 
 was treated with strong alcohol, and separated from albuminous mat- 
 ter by filtration ; the spirit waw distilled off and the residue brought 
 to dryness. During this operation a small quantity of a brown powder 
 (the ergotine of Wiggers) was piecipitated, which again dissolved in the 
 concentrated liquid. The re-ddue abovo (Winkler's eoctractive ergotine) 
 dissolved readily in alcohol and water, under the precipitation of a light- 
 brown powder (the ergotine of Wiggers^. It had a bitterish, cooling taste, 
 and, when distilled with quicklin- u, afforded a distillate with the odor 
 of herrings, containing propylujiine v. irimethylamine, but no am- 
 monia. The residue consisted of a compound of secaline (a volatile 
 base), with Wiggers' ergotine, which Winckler regards as an acid. 
 The solution with ether, first exttacted, contained a fatty oil, equal to 
 34. per cent, of the Ergot. By treating Ergot with alcohol acsidified 
 with sulphuric acid, he extracted a red ferruginous coloring matter. — 
 Jour. Pharm. and Trans., XIII., p. 86. Secaline or propylamin, the vola- 
 tile alkaloid of ergot, has since been found identical with the propyla- 
 min obtained from herring pickle; according to Wenzell, it exists pre- 
 formed in Ergot. 
 
 W. T. Wenzell, of La Crosse, Wisconsin, states that he has succeeded 
 in isolating two nitrogenized alkaloids from ergot, one of which he 
 names ecbolina, and the other ergotina ; the first contains the physiolo- 
 gical property of exciting uterine contraction, and has a powerful influ- 
 ence upon the spinal cord in both sexes ; half a grain is equal, in effect, 
 to thirty grains of ergot. Ergotina was less active, though it caused 
 some cerebral excitement and a reduction of the pulse! He also found 
 that propylamine is the only volatile base, contained in ergot. He 
 sums up the constituents found by himself in the aqueous infusion of 
 ergot, as follows : ergotate of ecbolina, ergotate of ergotina, ergotate of 
 potassa, acid phosphate of magnesia, phosphate of propylamina, chlo- 
 
Secale Ceeeale — Erqota. 763 
 
 ride of potassium, and chloride of calcium. For his processes and re- 
 marks, see Am. Jour. Pharm., 1864, p. 193—202. 
 
 The Oil of Ergot may be obtained by percolating finely -powdered 
 Ergot with ether, and allow the ether to evaporate spontaneously. It 
 consists of a colorless and translucent portion, and. a reddish-brown 
 one; but as the oil grows older, it becomes more colored throughout. 
 Its taste is oily and slightly acrid, is of less specific gravity than water, 
 is soluble in ethers, alcohol, naphtha, essential oils, creasote, caustic alka- 
 lies, bisulphuret of carbon, and is not acted upon by dilute mineral 
 aoids. It appears to possess no valuable medicinal influences. 
 
 Ergot is incompatible with acetate and diacetate of lead, nitrate of 
 silver, and tincture of galls. Iodine does not indicate starch in it. Its 
 aqueous infusion is red and possesses acid properties. — P. 
 
 M. Payne found Bye to contain starch 65.65 parts ; gluten and other 
 azotized matters, 13.50 ; dextrine, glucose, or other congenerous sub- 
 stances, 12 ; fatty matters, 2.15 ; cellulose, 4.10 ; silica, phosphates of 
 lime, magnesia, and soluble salts of potassa and soda, 2.60. 
 
 Ergot may be detected when mixed with farinaceous substances, by 
 the following method of M. Wittstein : Mix the suspected substance 
 with a little water in a test tube, and cover with a layer of solution of 
 caustic potassa, — if ergot be present, trimethylamine is disengaged, 
 which has an unmistakable odor of brine; the application of heat fa- 
 vors the development of this substance, but likewise quickly dissipates 
 it. Berlandt objects to this method, and recommends the decomjoosi- 
 tion of the propylamine of the ergot into marsh gas and hydrocyanic 
 acid as perfectly accurate. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Ergot exerts a remarkable effect on the human 
 system, more especially when its use has been persevered in for some 
 time. Its most serious influences are those occasioned by its continued 
 use as an article of food, and which are manifested by certain symp- 
 toms termed ergotism, and which assumes two types — convulsive ergotism 
 and gangrenous. The first form is characterized by weariness, giddi- 
 ness, muscular contraction, formication, dimness of sight, voracious 
 appetite, loss of sensibility, yellow countenance, convulsions and death. 
 The second is likewise accompanied by formication, voracious appetite, 
 insensibility, and gangrene of the extremities, with dropping off of the 
 toes. In doses of from thirty to sixty grains, and especially when the 
 stomacfi is in an irritable condition, it frequently causes vomiting and 
 nausea. When given in large doses it is ^pt to affect the cerebro-spi- 
 nal system, as known by heaviness of the head, headache, vertigo,, en- 
 larged pupils, and other symptoms of narcotism. It frequently lessens 
 the action of the heart and arteries, though sometimes this is increased, 
 with febrile symptoms, especially during parturition. A single dose, 
 varying from two to eight drachms, has occasioned vomiting, colic, 
 pains, and headache ; single doses of one or two scruples have no great 
 influence under ordinary circumstances. 
 
 Medicinally, Ergot is used on account of its power of promoting 
 uterine contraction in languid natural labors. When thus employed, 
 it produces a strong, continued, and, as it were, spasmodic contraction 
 of the uterus, seldom permitting any relaxation until the child is born, 
 and often continuing for some minutes after. The contractions and 
 pains caused by Ergot are distinguished from those of natural labor by 
 their continuance ; scarcely any interval can be perceived between 
 them, but a sensation is experienced of one continued forcing effort 
 Sometimes Ergot causes no unpleasant effects on the .system ; and like- 
 
764 ' Materia Medica. 
 
 wise fails to excite uterine contractions, which will be found the case 
 with other parturient agents. The causes of these failures are not 
 knowi), being merely conjectural. It is said that Ergot poisons the child, 
 and causes its death. This may, probably, sometimes be the case, but 
 I am induced to believe that the fatality more generally ensues in con- 
 sequence of the long-continued and constant pressure of the contracted 
 organ upon the cord and fetus, causing its utero-fetal circulation to 
 cease, and thus destroying it by asphyxia. In a state of pregnancy. 
 Ergot will occasion abortion, though it sometimes fails here likewise. 
 It also influences the non -gravid uterus, producing painful contractions 
 or bearing-down pains, and on this account has been useful in check- 
 ing menorrhagia, uterine hemorrhage, and in expelling polypus masses. 
 
 As a parturiebt, its use should always be avoided, if possible, in first 
 labors. The conditions for safety and success are, that the labor be 
 somewhat advanced, the mouth of the womb being moderately dilated, 
 that no mechanical obstruction to delivery exists, as deformity of the 
 pelvis, rigidity of the os uteri, mal -presentation, or, disparity of the size 
 of the child to the parts of the mother, and, more especially, that the 
 only cause of the slow progress of labor is insufficiency of the uterine 
 contractions in point of force or frequency. One or two drachms of 
 the powder may be stirred in four fluidounces of hot water, and when 
 sufficiently cool, may be given in tablespoonful doses every ten minutes, 
 until labor pains are induced ; usually in fifteen or twenty minutes the 
 labor pains increase in force and frequency, and gradually become con- 
 tinuous, and effect the expulsion of the child within an hour. Many 
 objections are raised to its use, but, in general, if prudently administered, 
 no bad effects will ensue. In those cases where the child is dead, and 
 circumstances require prompt delivery, as, where the patient is greatly 
 exhausted, or where the system becomes very irritable, etc., Ei'got may 
 be administered. It may likewise be administered to facilitate abortion 
 when it has once commenced, as well as to check uterine hemorrhage 
 in the gravid or non-gravid state. It may likewise be given with ad- 
 vantage in retained placenta, as well as for promoting the expulsion of 
 a mole, hydatids, a clot of blood, or other uterine contents, when the 
 womb has once begun to act. It is doubted by many whether it will 
 excite uterine contractions in any instance, unless a natural movement 
 toward such action has commenced, but, as previously remarked„ there 
 is no doubt of its influence upon the womb at other times than that of 
 parturition. In small dosestit has been recommended in painful dys- 
 menorrhea, where membranous shreds pass off. It has been efficaciously 
 employed in leucorrhea, gonorrhea, amenorrhea, and paraplegia. Some- 
 times it has proved advantageous in paralysis of the bladder, fever and 
 ague, etc., but is rarely employed for these purposes. In these affections 
 it may be given in doses of from five to ten or fifteen grains three times 
 a day ; but its use should not be persisted in too long, on account of its 
 tendency to cause dangerous symptoms. Ergot has also been recom- 
 mended in these affections by subcutaneous injections, prepared as fol- 
 lows : Extract of ergot 5 parts, alcohol, sp. gr. 90, glycerin, of each, 15 
 parts ; mix. 
 
 According to Dr. Brown -Sequard,, Ergot diminishes the blood in the 
 spinal cord, by causing a contraction of its blood vessels ; dilates the 
 pupil ; acts more especially on the fibers of the womb and of the blad- 
 der and urethra, and appears to exert a more powerful influence on the 
 inferior portion of the spinal cord, It should be used in the same forms 
 of paralysis, and disease of the spinal cord, as Belladonna. Bonjeniv's 
 
8EL1NUM Palustbe. 765 
 
 purified extract, sold generally, but improperly, as " ergotin," is often 
 employed in the spinal and cerebellar lesions resulting fi-om masturba- 
 tion and sexual excesses, in the dose of from two to ten grains, two or 
 three times a day. It is prepared as follows : exhaust powdered ergot 
 by displacement with cold water, heat the soluti6n in a water bath and 
 filter; evaporate to the consistence 'of syrup, and add a large excess of 
 alcohol to throw down the gummy matter, albumen, etc. ; when settled, 
 decant the clear liquid, and evaporate by water bath to the consistence 
 of a soft extract. One ounce of ergot yields about seventy grains. In 
 the same diseases, Wenzell's ecbolina may be used in doses of from yig-th 
 of a grain to Jth or -J of a grain. 
 
 Eye-bread, or Eye-mush, is laxative, especially to those unaccustomed 
 to its use, and is som,etimes taken to obviate costiveness. The dry flour 
 allays the heat and itching of erysipelas and other affections of the skin, 
 when applied upon the affected parts. In the form of poultice it is often 
 applied to discuss tumors or swellings, or to hasten their suppuration 
 when far advanced, (ireen Eye, when from six to ten inches high, made 
 into a salve by simmering in fresh cream, I have known to cure several 
 most inveterate cases of tinea-capitis ; to be applied to the scalp twice 
 a day. 
 
 Ustilago Madis* is the name given to a parasitic mushroom found 
 growing on corn ; it is probably the seed, changed (similar to rye into 
 ergot) in its nature by the early presence of a parasitical fungus. It is 
 well known as the black excrescence forming on the end of defective 
 ears of corn, and gives a dry black powder, resembling lampblack. It 
 has a very powerful action upon the uterus, promptly exciting it to 
 contractions when in a gravid state, and also exerts a peculiar influence 
 upon the reproductive organs and spinal cord of both sexes. It has 
 been introduced into practice by the Homcepaths, who recommend it in 
 ovarian irritation, ovaritis, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, premature men- 
 struation, and other menstrual derangements, metrorrhagia, turn of life, 
 agalactia, also in the lesions of the spinal cord and cerebellum resulting 
 from masturbation, and in many skin diseases. It is certainly deserv- 
 ing a careful investigation. Its dose Varies from half a grain to 20 grains, 
 according to its effects and the influence desired. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Bxtraetum Brgotas Fluidum ; Infusum Brgotse ; Tinctura 
 Brgotse; Vinum BrgotSB. 
 
 SBLINUM PALUSTEB. (Sumpf Silze.) 
 
 Marsh Smallage. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Apiaeese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description.— Tlhis plant is the Gnidum Palustre of Sprengel, the Pence- 
 danum Montanum of Koch, and the Conioselinum of Fischer, also known 
 
 *The following statements have been made concerning this agent: "Its action on the 
 uterus is as powerful as the ergot of rye, and perhaps more."— iindiej^. "Its use is attendea 
 with shedding of the hair, both of man and beast, and sometimes even of the teeth. JMu'es 
 fed on it lose their hoofs, and fowls lay eggs without any sTael\s:'-BowUn. " 'J jlouDt- 
 less by its abortifacient power that it causes the eggs of fowls to be extruded before theie 
 has been time for a shelf to be formed. By what power does it cause the shedding of the 
 hair of man and brute animals, and the casting off of the hoofs of mules long ^f "ft?" 
 itV— Prof Thtllv. " In a cow house where cows were fed on Indian corn infested wun mis 
 parasite, eleven of their number aborted In eight days After their food was changed 
 Sone of the others a,horted."-Anal.Med. Netr. Beige a.nA Rep <2«PivThe belter to be con- 
 vinced of the pofionous nature of this mushroom the author after having dried a^ 
 verized them, administered six drachms to two bitch dogs with young, which soon caused 
 them to abort.— D)-. H. W. Burt.— Am. Homeop. Obs., 1868, p. 30o. 
 
766 Materia Medica. 
 
 as Peucedanum Palustre. It has a simple, tapering, perennial root, with 
 many long fibers. Stem erect, four or five feet high, hollow, deeply fur- 
 rowed, not hairy, branched and corymbose in the upper part, bright- 
 purple at the base. Leaves about five or six on the stem, alternate, re- 
 mote, ternate, with bipihnate divisions ; leaflets opposite, deeply pinnati- 
 fid, dark-green, smooth, their segftients linear-lanceolate, never quite 
 linear, acute, entire or trifid ; petioles smooth, striated, dilated, sheathing 
 at the base, with a reddish membranous margin. Umbels large, hori- 
 zontal, of numerous, angular, general and partial rays. General bracts 
 several, lanceolate, pointed, dependent, not half the length of the rays, 
 their margins membranous and partly colored ; partial ones similar, 
 rather longer in proportion, and often confluent. JPYowers white, numer- 
 ous, uniform, with involilte petals. Fruit very light straw-ccflor, four 
 lines long, shining, obovate ; the dorsal ridges very near each other, 
 distinctly elevated, sharp, the lateral depressed and far within the broad 
 thin margin ; vittce of the commissure subulate, straight, about half the 
 length of the fruit.— i. 
 
 History. — This plant grows in marshes and boggy meadows in the 
 north and middle of Europe. The root is branched, fleshy, deep brown 
 externally, white and milky within, having a strong aromatic odor, 
 and an acrid and piquant taste ; the dried root is of a less deep brown 
 color, yielding a bright yellow powder, bordering on gray. The root 
 abounds in a white fetid, bitter juice, which hardens into a brown acrid 
 resin ; it is the part employed. It imparts its properties to water or 
 alcohol. According to Peschier, the root contains a volatile oil, a fatty 
 oil soluble in ether, and alcohol at 93° P. (34° C), gummy matter, a 
 yellow coloring principle, a nitrogenous raucoso-saccharine principle, a 
 peculiar acid (selinic), phosphate of lime, and lignin. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Marsh Smallage is emmenagogue, diuretic, and 
 antispasmodic, but abandoned as an internal remedy on account of its 
 caustic and dangerously poisonous properties. Ten or twenty grains, 
 according to the patient's age, repeated every five hours, and after a time 
 gradually augmented, have cured several cases of .epilepsy in the course 
 of from three to six months ; but it must not be used where abdominal 
 obstructions exist, or where there is an exalted sensibility of the genital 
 apparatus. If it produces diarrhea or colic, the doses must be lessened 
 to twice, or even once a day ; sometimes it purges, nauseates, or causes 
 gastralgia. In nervous and sanguine persons, especially those of irri- 
 table habits, it increases the violence of the disease. Two grain doses, 
 repeated twice daily, have proved almost immediately beneficial in the 
 convulsions of children during the process of dentition. This agent 
 generally exerts a favorable influence upon menstruation and its disor- 
 ders. Has also been used with success in pertussis, nervous affections, 
 etc. The Marsh or Hemlock Parsley, Selinum Ganadense, or Cnidium 
 Canadense of Sprengel, and Gonioselinum Oanadense of Fischer, which 
 grows in swamps, wet woods, and around the mouths of large rivers 
 from Canada to Carolina, and westward, is a species of the above plant, 
 and deserves a trial in the diseases just mentioned. It is a plant 
 two to four feet in height, somewhat resembling the Conium Macula- 
 tum, and having an angular, flexuous, hollow stem. Leaves- on large, 
 inflated petioles, ternately divided ; the divisions bipinnate, with linear- 
 oblong, acute lobes. Umbels compound. Petals white, spreading. In- 
 volucre wanting, or two or three leaved. Styles slender, diverging. Fruit 
 about two lines long, oblong, oval. Vittoe solitary in the dorsal interval, 
 two or three in the lateral. It flowers in August and September. — W.— G. 
 
Senecio Aureus. . 767 
 
 SEMPBEVIVUM TEOTOEUM. (Gemeines Hauslauch.) 
 
 Common Houseleek. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Orassulaeese. Sex. Syst. — Polyandria Polygynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — Houseleek has a fibrous roost crowned with several rosace- 
 ous tufts of numerous, oblong, acute, keeled, fringed, extremely succu- 
 lent leaves. The stem from the center of one of these tufts, is about a 
 foot high, erect, round, downy, clothed with several, more narrow, ses- 
 sile, alternate leaves, and terminating in a sort of many-flowered cyme. 
 with spiked branches. Flowers large, pale rose-colored, without scent. 
 Segments of the calyx twelve or more, with a similar number of petals, 
 stamens, and pistils. Offsets spreading. — L. 
 
 History. — This is a well known perennial plant, a native of Europe, 
 and is so succulent and har,dy that it will grow on dry walls, and on 
 the roofs of houses. It sends out runners with offsets, rarely flowering. 
 — W. Its period of flowering is in August. It is much cultivated in 
 ■some places. The fresh leaves are the parts used, they are thick, fleshy, 
 mucilaginous, somewhat plano-conyex, smooth, odorless, and of a mixed 
 flavor, combining slight acidity with astringency. According to Thom- 
 son they contain a large proportion of supermalate of lime. This ma- 
 late is less soluble in water than gam arable, is insoluble in alcohol, red- 
 dens vegetable blues, and yields a precipitate with alkalies, sulphuric, an d 
 oxalic acids. The juice of the leaves filtered with an equal quantity of 
 alcohol, forms a beautiful, white, highly volatile coagulum. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The fresh leaves are useful as a refrigerant, 
 when bruised; and applied as a poultice, in erysipelatous affections, 
 burns, stings of insects, and other inflammatory conditions of the skin'. 
 The leaf sliced in two, and the inner surface applied to warts or corns, 
 and changed twice a day, will, it is said, positively cure them. The 
 juice, applied locally, has cured ringworm, shingles, and many other 
 ■cutaneous affections. Dr. A. Brown recommends the following in 
 many cases of deafness : fill a four or six ounce vial with the leaves of 
 Houseleek, cork it tightly, and place^.it within an unbaked loaf of 
 bread. When the bread is baked remove the bottle, and there will be 
 found a liquid of a soft, oily character, which may be dropped into the 
 «ar, say one or two drops every night. When applied it produces a 
 singular, stimulating sensation. In erysipelas, he has found much ben- 
 efit from the free internal use of the leaves bruised in milk and water, 
 in quantity sufScient merely to stain the liquid. The bruised leaves 
 applied as a poultice, have, in his hands, cured severe cases of shingles 
 in twenty-four hours. The leaves also possess an astringent property, 
 which is beneficial in many cases. May not the properties of this 
 agent be owing to its lime-salt ? It is somewhat singular that so use- 
 ful an agent as malic acid (and some of its salts), has never been in- 
 troduced as a standard medicine. 
 
 SENECIO AUREUS. (Goldenes Kreuzkraut.) 
 Life Root. 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese ; Tribe, Senecionidese. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia 
 Superflua. 
 
 THE ROOT AND HEEB. 
 
 Description. — This plant is known by several other names, as Bag- 
 wort, False Valerian, Golden Senecio, Squaw-weed, and Female Regulator. 
 
768 Materia JVlEtoicA. 
 
 It has an erect, smoothish, striate stem, one or two feet high, floccose- 
 woolly when young, simple or branched above, terminating in a kind 
 of umbellate, simple or compound corymb. Radical leaves simple and 
 rounded, the larger mostly cordate, crenate-serrate, and long-petioled ; 
 loyjer cauline leaves lyre-shapedj upper ones few, slender, cut pinnatifid, 
 dentate, sessile or partly clasping, the terminal segnients lanceolate. 
 Peduncles subumbellate and thick upward. Corymb umbel-like. Bays 
 from eight to twelve, four or five lines long, spreading. Flowers golden- 
 yellow. Scales linear, acute, and purplish at the apex. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — This is an indigenous, perennial plant, growing on the 
 banks of creeks and on low marshy grounds, throughout the northern 
 and western parts of the Union, flowering in May and June. The root 
 and herb are the officinal parts, and the medicine is peculiar to Ameri- 
 can practitioners, not being known to others ; it yields its properties 
 to water or alcohol. It has not been analyzed. There are several 
 varieties of this species, which possess similar medicinal virtues, as the 
 Senecio Balsamitce or Balsam Groundsel, with the stem and peduncles vil- 
 lous at base ; leaves few, small, distant, pubescent ; radical ones oblong, 
 spatulate, or lanceolate, sometimes cut-toothed, tapering into the peti- 
 ole; cauline ones lyrate or pinnatifid; flowers subumbellate. This va- 
 riety grows in pastures and on rocky hills. — W. — G. 
 
 Another, the Senecio Gracilis, Unkum, or Female Regulator, a slender 
 state of the species, found on rocky shores; radical leaves orbicular, on 
 long petioles, subcordate, crenate ; cauline ones very few, remote, linear- 
 oblong, dilated at the base, incisely dentate ; peduncles very short, pi- 
 lose, subumbelled ; involucre smooth ; rays few, very short. The Senecio 
 Obovatus, a variety of the S. aureus, with the radical leaves obovate, 
 crenate-serrate, petioled ; cauline ones pinnatifid, toothed ; flowers sub- 
 umbelled, long-peduncled, bracted, with a cavity under the receptacle 
 like some other of the genus ; stem somewhat glabrous. Pound in the 
 meadows, etc. — W. This plant, in infusion, has cured several cases of 
 amenorrhea. Several cases of abortion are stated to have followed its 
 use, and it has been recommended as a substitute for ergot. It cer- 
 tainly deserves further investigation. 
 
 Senecio Lanceolatus, found in shady cedar swamps in Vermont ; it has 
 all the leaves lanceolate-oblong, thin, sharply and unequally toothed, 
 either wedge-shaped or somewhat cordate at the base, the upper cau- 
 line ones being pinnatifid-cut toward the base. Among these varieties, 
 the Senecio Gracilis is considered the most efficient in uterine difficul- 
 ties, and it is from this that the oleo-resin, improperly called Senecin, . 
 was at first prepared ; though of late years, I learn that it has been 
 made from several varieties of this plant, indiscriminately. 
 
 The whole herb is used. The root grows just below the surface of 
 the ground, and runs along horizontally ; it is from half an inch to six 
 or eight inches in length, and about two lines in diameter, reddish or 
 purplish externally, white-purplish internally, with an aromatic taste, 
 and having scattered fibers. When dried, and mixed with the herb, it 
 is found of various lengths from one-fourth of an inch to an inch or two, 
 greenish-brown, or yellowish-brown externally, wijbh very fine longi- 
 tudinal lines, a few fibers attached, short fracture, presenting under the 
 microscope a shining, waxy surface, with a central pale-purple sub- 
 stance surrounded by a greenish -yellow one, with a light-yellowish 
 ring between the two ; it is inodorous, and has a faintly bitter, herba- 
 ceous, peculiar, resinous taste, with a very slight degree of pungency. 
 It yields its properties best to alcohol. 
 
8ESAMUM Indicum. 769 
 
 Properties and Z7ses.— Life Root is diuretic, pectoral, diaphoretic, 
 tonic, and exerts a peculiar influence upon the female reproductive 
 organs, which has given to it, especially the S. Gracilis, the name of 
 Female Regulator. It is very efficacious in promoting the meijstrual 
 flow ; and may be given alone, in infusion, or combined with equal 
 parts of asarum and savin, in amenorrhea not connected with some 
 structural lesion. It will also be found valuable in dysmenorrhea. In 
 menorrhagia, combined with cinnamon and raspberry leaves, it has 
 been found very serviceable, when administered during the intermen- 
 strual- period, as well as at the time of ovulation. It has proved an 
 excellent diuretic in gravel and other urinary affections, either alone, 
 or given in combination with other diuretics; and is said to be a spe- 
 cific in strangury. In pulmonary and hepatic affections it has proved 
 advantageous ; and taken freely, the decoction has efl'ected cures of 
 dysentery. This is one of our valuable agents in the treatment of 
 female diseases. Dose of the decoction, four fluidounces, three or four 
 times a day. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Senecii ; Extractum Senecii Fluidum ; Senecii 
 Oleo-resinse. 
 
 SESAMUM INDICUM. (Indischer Sesam.) 
 Benne. 
 Nat. Ord. — Pedaliacese, Lindley; Bignonise, Jussieu. Sex. Syst.-r 
 Didynamia Angiospermia. 
 
 THE LEAVES AND SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — Sesamum Indicum is an annual plant, with an ereot> 
 pubescent, branching stem, two to four feet in height. Leaves ovate- 
 lanceolate, or oblong; lower ones trilobed and sometimes ternate; upper 
 undivided, irregularly serrate and pointed. Flowers of a pale-purple 
 color, axillary, on short glandular pedicels. Fruit an oblong, mucro- 
 nate, pubescent capsule, containing numerous small, oval, yellowish 
 seeds. — W. — Wi. 
 
 History. — There are two species of this genus, the S. Indicum, and 
 the S. Orientale, both of which were originally from India, and are now 
 much cultivated in several parts of Africa, West Indies, and in the 
 Southern United States. That growing in the South is the S. Indicum, 
 and flowers in August. The parts used are the leaves and seeds. The 
 seeds are rather small, sulphur-colored, sometimes very dark, and con- 
 tain a large quantity of a sweetish, odorless oil, of a light-yellow color, 
 mild to the taste, of sp. gr. 0.9191, and which may be obtained by ex- 
 pression. It does not readily acquire rancidity, and forms an excellent 
 substitute for olive-oil. The negroes of the South make considerable 
 use of the seeds as an article of diet. The leaves contain a large 
 amount of mucilage, which may be procured by macerating them in 
 water. 
 
 Prcyperties and Uses. — A fresh leaf or two added to half a pint of 
 water forms a pleasant, demulcent drink, very useful in catarrhal affec- 
 tions, acute diarrhea, and dysentery, summer-complaint of children, 
 and affections of the bladder, kidneys, and urethra. It may be drank 
 freely. When the leaves are dried, their mucilage will be best ex- 
 tracted by water at 212° P. The mucilage forms an excellent soothing 
 application in ophthalmia, irritations, cutaneous affections, etc. ; but is 
 49 
 
770 Materia Medica. 
 
 inferior to slippery-elm. The oil may be used topically in eruptions 
 of a scaly or bran-like character, or, it may be given internally in the 
 same manner as olive-oil to produce a laxative effect. It is stated 
 that the natives of India employ it as an abortive, and to promote 
 the menstrual discharge. It is much used as a perfumed oil for the 
 hair. 
 
 SBVUM. (Talg.) 
 Suet. 
 
 THE PREPARED PAT OP OVIS , ARIES. 
 
 Sistory. — Suet, Mutton Suet or Sheep Tallow, is the adipose matter of 
 the domestic sheep, ovis aries. For medical purposes the kidney-fat is 
 melted at a gentle temperature and then strained, in order to separate 
 the membranous portions. It may be rendered still purer by heating 
 it in water at 212°. It is somewhat similar in its properties to lard, 
 but is harder and more compact, and melts at 103°. When fresh and 
 well prepared it is white, nearly odorless, of a mild, oily taste, slightly 
 soluble in alcohol but not in water, more soluble in ether ; when long 
 kept it is apt to become yellow and rancid, and consequently should 
 not then be used in pharmacy. According to Ohevreul, it consists 
 principally of stearin and olein, and a little margarin and hircin ; and 
 its ultimate comppsition is, carbon 78.99, hydrogen 11.70, oxygen 9.30. 
 B-ircin is a liquid oil, which yields Mrcic acid and glycerine when 
 saponified ; it is probably a mixture of capric and caprylic acids. (See 
 Adeps, Oleum Olivce, and Sapo.) 
 
 Mr. Wiggin, of Ipswich, has patented a mode for melting and puri- 
 fying tallow and other kinds of grease. The process consists in heat- 
 ing the fatty substance in the state in which it is removed from the 
 animal, with a small quantity of sulphuric acid of specific gravity 1.3 
 to 1.45. The acid dissolves the membrane and other impurities present, 
 acquiring a dark color and thick syrupy consistence, while the fat sepa- 
 rates in a state of great purity. It has been suggested that the fats ob- 
 ' tained by this process were probably the fatty acids resulting from the 
 decomposition of the neutral fats by the oil of vitriol ; but Mr. Wiggii^ 
 replies that in using the sulphuric acid at the density indicated, no de- 
 composition of the fats was effected, and that no sulphurous acid was 
 evolved in the process. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Suet is nutritive and emollient, but not so easy 
 of digestion as the fat of the pig or ox ; yet made into a broth, with or 
 without aromatics, and used in diarrhea, dysentery, afld general debility. 
 It is sometimes used as a dressing to blisters, and may be applied to 
 most of the purposes for which lard is used, on account of its superior 
 hardness, and higher melting point. For forming an ointment, it will 
 be found preferable to lard, especially when it is to be applied to several 
 forms of cutaneous disease. The addition of benzoic acid, sulphite of 
 soda, or sweet gum, will prevent its tendency to become rancid and 
 disagreeably odorous. 
 
SiMARUBA Officinalis. 771 
 
 SILPHIUM PEEFOLIATUM. (Durchwachsene Silphie.) 
 
 Indian Cup-plant. 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia Necessaria. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also known by name of Ragged Gup, has a 
 perennial, horizontal, pitted rhizome, beset with radicles, and a large, 
 smooth, square herbaceous stem, four to seven feet high, and often branched 
 above. Leaves opposite, connate-perfoliate, ovate, coarsely toothed, ab- 
 ruptly narrowed into winged petioles at the base, the upper pairs form- 
 ing a cup-shaped disk with their connate bases ; they are eight to four- 
 teen inches long, by four to seven wide. Flowers terminal, with fifteen 
 to twenty-five oblong, lanceolate, yellow rays, and a large dark-colored 
 disk. Heads in a trichotomous cyme, the central on a long peduncle ; 
 scales ovate, obtuse, squarrose ; achenia broadly ovate, winged, emar- 
 ginate. — W. — <?. 
 
 Sistory. — This plant is common to the Western States, and is found 
 growing in rich bottom or interval lands, bearing numerous yellow 
 flowers in August. The root is the officinal part ; it is large, long and 
 crooked, and imparts its properties to water or alcohol. It has a per- 
 sistent, acrid taste. There are several species of Silphium, which yield 
 by exudation and incision a fine fragrant and bitterish gum like Frank- 
 incense, white or amber color, and which is chewed by the Indians to 
 sweeten the breath. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Cup-plant is tonic, diaphoretic and alterative. 
 A strong infusion of the root, made by long steeping, or an extract, is 
 said to be one of the best remedies for the removal of agueeake, or en- 
 larged spleen ; it is also useful in intermittent and remittent fevers, in- 
 ternal bruises, debility, ulcers, liver affections, and as a general altera- 
 tive restorative. The gum is said to be stimulant, and antispasmodic. 
 The S. Gummiferum, or Eosin-weed, and S. Laciniatum, or Compass- 
 weed, are said to be emetic in decoctiorj. They have effected cures in 
 intermittent fever, and are beneficial in dry, obstinate coughs, asth- 
 matic affections, and pulmonary catarrhal diseases. Said to cure the 
 heaves in horses. The dose of the powdered root of S. Perfoliatum is 
 twenty grains. The Eosin-weed yields an abundance of a resinous se- 
 cretion very closely i-esembling mastich, and might well be substituted 
 for this expensive article, ^his resin appears to be possessed of diuretic 
 properties, increasing the flow of urine, to which it imparts a strong 
 aromatic odor. The root has been employed as an expectorant in cough 
 and other pulmonary difficulties ; it has been prepared by cutting it in 
 small pieces, covering each layer with loaf-sugar, and the whole with 
 brandy. After standing for several days, express, strain, and bottle for 
 use. 
 
 SIMAEUBA OFFICINALIS.' (Officinelle Simaruba.; 
 
 Simaruba. — Mhuhrrinde. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Simarubacese. Sex. Syst. — Decandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE bark of the ROOT. 
 
 description. — Simaruba, called in Jamaica Mountain Damson, is a tree 
 with. long, horizontal, creeping roots, and a trunk about sixty feet in 
 height, alternately branched at the summit ; the old bark is gr-ooved 
 and blackish ; the young smooth, ash-colored, spotted yellow. Learns 
 alternate and abruptly pinnate, with a long, naked, petiole, sometimeg 
 
772 Materia Medica. 
 
 nearly fourteen inches long; leaflets alternate, two to nine on -each side, 
 about two inches long, oval, smooth, firm, mucronate, on short footstalks, 
 and whitish underneath. Flowers yellowish -white, some male, others 
 female, mixed upon branched, scattered panicles, very small (Dr^ Wright 
 states that the male and female flowers, in Jamaica, are on diiferent 
 trees, or dioecious). Calyx small, cup-shaped, five-parted. Petals stiff, 
 sharp-pointed, whitish, fixed between a membranous disk and the calyx. 
 Stamens ten, nearly equal ; filaments each arising out of a small, rounded, 
 velvety scale; anthers oblong, incumbent. Capsules five, ovate, black- 
 ish, disjointed, placed on a fleshv disk, with a rather fleshy pericarp.^ — 
 L.— Wi. 
 
 History. — Simaruba grows in Jamaica, Guiana, and other parts of 
 South America. Notwithstanding it has been placed in the class and 
 order Deeandria Monogynia, Linn., it is undoubtedly a pentagyn, for 
 the styles arise from a five-lobed ovary, are separate from each other 
 below, and terminate superiorly in five stigmas which are united. It 
 is found in sandy places, flowering from October to January. The root- 
 bark is the ofScinal part. The bark is rough, scaly, tuberculated, light, 
 tough, yellowish-brown in its substance, but tinged with gray externally, 
 odorless, not easily powdered, and intensely, bitter.— &—^<i. "Water 
 'or, alcohol takes up its properties. Morin found in it quassin, a brittle 
 resin, an aromatic volatile oil having a benzoin-odor, woody -fiber, ulmin, 
 an ammonical salt, malic acid, traces of gallic acid, malatfe and oxalate 
 of lime, oxide of iron, and silica. — P. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Simaruba is apt to excite vomiting and purg- 
 ing when taken in large doses. In smaller doses it is tonic, and may 
 be used in infusion in all eases where simple bitter tonics are indicated. 
 It may be used in all cases as a substitute for quassia. It was at first 
 introduced to the profession as a calmative astringent in chronic dysen- 
 tery and diarrhea. However, it merely acts as a tonic, proving very 
 useful in weakened conditions of the digestive apparatus, butinjurious 
 in dysenterj' when improperly administered. The infusion is the best 
 form for exhibition ; a drachm or so may be added to half a pint of 
 boiling water, and given in doses of a tablespoonful every two hours. 
 
 Foy recommends a compound infusion, made by placing in one pint 
 of boiling water, two drachms, each, of coarsely bruised Simaruba and 
 worm-wood ; digesting for fifteen or twenty minutes ; then straining 
 and adding one' fluidounce of syrup of gentian. The dose is a wine- 
 glassful two, three, or four times a day, and may be used in dyspepsia, 
 anorexiia, and in convalescence from intermittents. Simaruba is sel- 
 dom used at present. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Simarubse. 
 
 SINAPIS ALBA. (Weisser Senf.) 
 
 White Mustard. 
 
 SINAPIS NIGEA. (Schwarzer Senf.) 
 
 Black Mustard. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Brassioacese. Sex. Syst. — Tetradynamia Siliquosa. 
 
 THE SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — Sinapis Alba is an annual plant, with a thinly hirsute 
 stem, two to five feet high. Leaves smoothish, lyrately pinnate; irregu- 
 larly denate, rugged, and pale -green; lower lobes oblong and deeper, 
 
SiNAinS A I, ISA SlNAPIS J^IGBA. 773 
 
 erermiiial larger. Flowers large, pale-yellow; petals ovate, with straight 
 claws ; sepals linear, green, equal at base, spreading. 8iliques cr podi 
 spreading, hispid, torose at the place of the seeds, nerved, shorter than 
 the compressed, ensiform beak, about four-seeded. Seeds globose, large, 
 and pale. — W. — JJ. 
 
 SiNAPis ITiGKA is also an apnual plant, with a round, smooth, striate, 
 branching stem, three to six feet high. Lower leaves large, lyrate, rough, 
 variously lobed and dentate ; upper linear-lanceolate, smooth, entire, 
 jiendulous; all petiolate. J'toi^ers small, sulphur-yellow ; caZya; spread-^ 
 ing ; petals obovate. Pods very numerous, nearly an inch long, bluntly 
 quadrangular, nearly even and smooth, appressed close to the rachis of 
 the raceme, tipped by a small, short, four-sided style, but wholly desti- 
 tute of the ensiform beak of the above species. Seeds numerous, small, 
 globose, blackish-brown, veined. — L. — W. 
 
 History. — These plants are indigenous to Europe,- and have been in- 
 troduced into this country, where they are cultivated for use, apd are 
 found growing in old fields and waste places, flowering in June and 
 July. The seeds of the Black Mustard are small, about the size of mil- 
 let-seed, roundish, brownish-black externally, yellow within, and green- 
 ish in powder, of an acrid, burning, bitterish, oily taste, scentless when 
 dry, but exhaling, when moistened, apenetrating, diffusive vapor, of a 
 peculiar odor, and exceedingly irritating to the eyes and nostrils. 
 "White Mustard -seed is nearly three times as large as the other, yellow 
 externally as well as in its substance, and of a similar but much more 
 feeble odor and taste. — 0. Its powder is yellow. Both kinds of Mus- 
 tard-seed are employed in medicine in the form of flour, and the white 
 seeds are likewise used entire. Table Mustard is prepared from the 
 white seeds ; but the finest quality is prepared with the purest flour of 
 both the white and black, in nearly equal quantities. An English qual- 
 ity of table Mustard is said to be prepared by mixing 145 pounds of 
 Mustard flour, made by grinding together two bushels of black and 
 three of white seed, with fifty-six pounds of wheat flour, to diminish 
 the pungency, and two pounds of turmeric to improve the color; then, 
 to restore the acriiiony without the pungency, one pound of chilly 
 pods, and a half a pound of ginger is added. The officinal flour of 
 Mustard should be made with the black and white seeds only, without 
 any adulteration. 
 
 By expression, both kinds of seeds yield a fixed oil, thick, of the con- 
 sistence of olive-oil., of a greenish -yellow color, sp. gr. 0.92, bland, and 
 nearly free of odor ; it is known as oil of Mustard, and affords hydrate 
 of erucaic acid when saponified. — Chem. Gaz., YII. It constitutes 
 about 28 per cent, of the seeds, and has been used as a purgative and 
 vermifuge. Oil of mustard seed is of a similar character to olive-oil, 
 and is frequently added to the latter oil as an adulteration. 
 
 When the fixed oil has been separated from Black Mustard -seeds, by 
 expression, they give, when digested with water, and then distilled, the 
 volatile oil of Mtstard, G^ H5 NSz, which is not the case with the White 
 Mustard-seeds. It is colorless at first, but afterward yellowish or 
 brownish, has a specific gravity of 1.015, a most penetrating odor, and 
 is of an intense, penetrating, pungent acridity. It is scarcelj' dissolved 
 in water, but quite so in alcohol or ether. Its boiling point is a little 
 over 290° F., and when treated with alkalies, it forms alkaline sulpho- 
 cyanides*; according to Dr. Will jt may be viewed as a sulpho-cyanurei 
 of allyle, 0^ H-^C, iSTS.,. The seeds owe their properties to this oil.— C 
 —Ghevi Ga.'. "ill., 253 ISTos. 62-64. 
 
774 Materia Medica. 
 
 From the investigations of chemists, Black Mustard-seeds have been 
 found to contain myronate of potassa, myrosin, fixed oil, a pearly, fatty 
 matter, gummy matter, sugar, colorinjf matter, sinapisin, free acid, pe- 
 culi-ar green matter, salts. Myrosin is an indifferent nitrogenized body, 
 •bearing considerable resemblance to vegetable emulsin, but entirely 
 distinct from it. When the seeds of Blapk Mustard are bruised and 
 macerated in water, the myrosin present, producing fermentation, effects 
 an influence upon the mixture which develops the volatile oil. If hot 
 water be at first used, the myrosin would be coagulated, and its influ- 
 ence be lost ; in this respect i't resembles emulsin, as well as in its coag- 
 ulability by acids and alcohol. It can not be procured from Black 
 Mustard-seeds, because the presence of myronic acid, when in contact 
 with water, changes it into volatile oil. It may be obtained from White 
 Mustard-seeds, which contain no myronate of potassa, by maceratiiig 
 them in cold water, filtering, evaporating to the consistence of molasses, 
 not raising the heat above 104°, and dissolving the residue in alcohol ; 
 the myrosin is deposited, and must be separated, dissolved in water, 
 and carefully evaporated by a gentle heat ; it almost always contaius 
 a portion of albumen. 
 
 Myronate of potassa is a body not yet fully studied. It may be ob- 
 tained from Black Mustard-seeds, by freeing them of their fatty oil by 
 expression, and then completely exhausting them with alcohol. Ee- 
 move the alcohol by filtration and expression, and digest the seeds with 
 water, which dissolves the myronate of potassa. Evaporate the watery 
 solution to the thickness of extract, and treat the residue with weak 
 alcohol ; carefully evaporate this, and the myronate of potassa is ob- 
 tained in crystals, which may be purified by washing them with weak 
 alcohol. They are not dissolved by absolute alcohol, but are by water, 
 are permanent in the air and bitter. 
 
 Myronic acid is a non -crystalline, permanent, odorless, bitter, and 
 sourish mass, of a syrupy consistence, containing nitrogen, carbon, 
 hydrogen, oxygen, and sulphur ; it is dissolved by water or alcohol, but 
 not by ether. With alkalies it forms crystalline salts, which in solution 
 with myrosin, afford volatile oil. It may be obtaified from the myro- 
 nate of potassa by dissolving it in a solution of tartaric acid, evapo- 
 rating to a syrupy consistence, and separating the bitartrate of potassa 
 by diluted alcohol. The acid remains in the solution, from which it 
 may be procured by evaporation . In the presence of myrosin and water, 
 a dJecomposition of this acid occurs with fermentation, resulting in the 
 development of the volatile oil of Mustard. 
 
 SuVpho-sinapisin, G.^ H^j l^Sj 0„ may be procured from the Wiiite 
 Mustard-seeds after the separation of their fixed oil, by forming tin 
 aqueous decoction with them, evaporating this to the consistence of 
 thick syrup, adding to it seven or eight times its measure of absolute 
 alcohol, filtering, and removing the alcohol by distillation until a syr- 
 upy mass is left ; as this cools, crystals of sulpho-sinapisin are deposited. 
 Ee-solution in alcohol and crystallization will render them still more 
 pure. They are white, bitter, not acid, and soluble in water, alcohol, 
 or ether. Aoids, oxides, and salts acting upon them, give rise to hydro- 
 sulphocyanic acid. Myrosin acting upon them develops this acid, 
 and a fixed, acrid principle, which is reddish unctuous, pungent, and 
 sulphuretted, and which is found to be produced when White Mustard- 
 seeds are added to water. 
 
 Sinapisin is an indifferent substance obtained from Black Mustard- 
 Beeds, by Simon. A strong absolute alcoholic tincture of the seeds wag 
 
SiNAPis Alba.— SiNAPis I^igra. T75 
 
 evaporated, and the sinapisin was obtained from the residue by ether. 
 It forms in white micaceous crystals, is volatile, dissolved by alcohol, 
 ether, and the oils, but not by alkalies and acids, and is not changed 
 into volatile oil by the action of myrosin. Babo and Hirschbrunn 
 have found in white mustard-seed an alkaline principle which they 
 term sinapine, Cj.^ Hjj NO,,, ; when acted upon by caustic potash or soda 
 it is decomposed into a salt of sinapic acid, and a new alkali called 
 sinkaline, which forms in deliquescent crystals. Sinapic acid crystal- 
 lizes in prisms soluble in boiling alcohol, insoluble in ether. 
 
 Mustard is most energetic, whether intended for internal or external 
 nse, by being mixed with water at ordinary temperatures. If boiling 
 water, spirits, vinegar, or other acids be mixed with it, the myrosin 
 contained in it is coagulated to a greater or less extent^, thus prevent- 
 ing the formation of those pungent principles to which its properties 
 are owing. Tor the above statements I am indebted to Francis's 
 Chemical Gazette, Bell's Pharmaceutical Journal and Transactions, 
 which contain excellent abstracts from foreign papers ; also to the 
 Journal de Pharmacie, the American Journal of Pharmacy, and Pe- 
 reira's Materia Medica, etc. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Mustard is an irritant, stimulant, rubefacient, 
 vesicant, .^nd diuretic. It is used in small quantities, internally, as a 
 condiment, and mild but eflScient excitant of the organs of digestion. 
 In drachm doses it acts as an emetic, and, will thus be found service- 
 able in cases of gastric torpidity, poisoning by narcotics, to stimulate 
 the stomach, and to aid other emetics in fulfilling their indications. In 
 large doses the volatile oil is poisonous, causing inflammation of the 
 stomach and bowels, and impairing the normal character of the fluids 
 of the system by its absorption. Externally, it quickly excites redness 
 of the skin, and if too long applied, inflammation, ulceration, and even 
 sloughing ; but if removed in time, the redness is succeeded only by 
 induration of the cuticle, and occasionally desquamation. The sting- 
 ing pain which remains after the removal of the Mustard, may be miti- 
 gated by sponging the part with cold water, or dropping ether on it. 
 Sinapisms are beneficially applied over the abdomen and spine, in gas- 
 tric and enteriiic inflamm^ttions, and over the epigastrium, in vomiting 
 from irritability of the stomach ; also to the spine, wrists, and ancles, 
 to arouse the system in apoplectic and comatose conditions, and' in 
 typhus fever ; to the feet and legs, for pains in the head during fevers 
 and other diseases, and in determinations to the head ; and to various 
 parts for removing pain, mitigating local inflammations, or arousing 
 from stupor. In the treatment of cholera, Mustard is an excellent ru- 
 befacient application, likewise in dyspepsia and obstinate constipation. 
 Applied to the breasts it will often relieve suppression of the menses, 
 as well as menorrhagia; to be applied intermittingly. A prolonged 
 application of a Mustard cataplasm causes blistering, with even ulcer- 
 ation and gangrene. The volatile oil of Mustard is a powerful rube- 
 facient and vesicatory ; and in the dose of two drops, several times a 
 day, in some mucilaginoflS vehicle, it is a good diuretic, useful in 
 dropsy, and has been serviceable in colic. A liniment composed of one 
 part of the oil, dissolved in sixteen parts of alcohol, or in ten parts 
 of olive or almond oil, is a good substitute for a sinapism.* White 
 
 *A very useful article has recently been presented to the profession, called mustcord 
 paper. It Is prepared as follows : Upon a strong sheet of paper is spread a thin layer of 
 black mustard flour (previously deprived of its inert fixed oil), by means of a solution (*f 
 caoutchouc in sulphuret of carbon, or in some volatile oil. The adhesion is perfect, and 
 
776 Matekia Medioa. 
 
 Mustard-seeds, taken entire, were formerly used a,s a favorite tonic in 
 dyspepsia. Dose of Mustard, as an emetic, one, two, or three drachms, 
 with six or eight ounces of warm water. 
 Off. Prej). — Cataplasma Sinapis. 
 
 SISYMBEIUM OFFICDTALE. [Erysimum Officinale.] (Officineller 
 
 Hederich.) 
 
 Hedge Mustard. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Cruciferse. Sex. /Syst— Tetradynamia Siliquosa. 
 
 THE SEEDS AND HEEB. 
 
 Description. — This is an annual, herbaceous plant, with a round, more 
 or less hairy, branching stem, one to three feet high. Leaves runcinate; 
 lower ones three to eight inches long by one to three wide, the lower 
 segments placed at right angles to the midvein, oi pointing backward, 
 the terminal segment largest; upper ones in three lanceolate segments 
 placed at right angles. Mowers small, yellow, and terminate the 
 slender, virgate raceme, which becomes one or two feet long. Siliques 
 or pods subulate, erect, sessile, closely appressed to the rachis. Seeds 
 in a single row in each cell, ovoid, marginless. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — This is an unsightly weed, inhabiting the United States 
 and Europe, growing in waste places, and flowering from May to Sep- 
 tember. Its taste is herb-like, faintly resembling that of mustard. 
 The seeds, leaves, and flowering tops are used ; the former possess the 
 greatest pungency. Water extracts its active properties by infusion. 
 
 Properties and Us6s. — It is reputed expectorant, and has been used 
 with advantage in hoarseness, old coughs, asthma, and ulcerated throat; 
 likewise said to exert some influence in urinary obstructions as a diu- 
 retic. The powdered seeds may be used internally in the dose of from 
 Jve to thirty grains, or an infusion may be given every two or three 
 hours in tablespoonful doses. The juice rubbed up with sugar or 
 honey is also used. The Sisymbrium Sophia, or Plix Weed, with bipin- 
 hately-divided leaves, the lobes oblong-linear, incised ; pedicels four 
 times the length of the calyx ; petals smaller than the sepals, — is a very 
 intensely pungent plant. Its seeds have been recommended in gravel, 
 and to remove worms ; and a fomentation of the leaves as an applica- 
 tion to obstinate ulcers. 
 
 SMILAX OFFICINALIS.' (Officinelle Stechwinde.) 
 
 Sarsaparilla. — Sarsaparille. 
 Nat. Ord. — Smilacese. Sex. Syst. — Dicecia Hexandria. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Smilax OflScinalis has a twining, angular, prickly, and 
 shrubby stem; the young shoots being unarmed. Leaves ovate-oblong. 
 
 the preparation remains unalterable by time or atmospheric action. To use It, requires 
 only to wet it with water for 12 or 15 seconds, and then apply upon the skin, when it be- 
 comes a most active sinapism. M. Paul BlgoUot Is the inventor. This sinapism has been 
 found more efficacious than ammonia in the bites or stings of horseflies, gnats, mosquitoes, 
 bees, wasps, etc. As soon as the first sensation of the sinapism is felt, the pain and swell- 
 ing rapidly disappears, and In from 1 to 24 hours the cure is complete. It may be used in 
 slfcases where a sinapism is indicated, except, perhaps, in a mustard foot-bath; it re- 
 quires no loss of time in preparation, no water, no Are, no flfur, no linen, Is easily con- 
 veyed about, and acts promptly. 
 
Smilax Officinalis. 777 
 
 acute, cordate, netted, five or seven nerved, coriaceous, smooth, a foot 
 long, four or five inches broad ; young ones lanceolate, oblong, acumin- 
 ate, tri-nerved. Petioles an inch long, smooth, bearing tendrils above 
 the base. Flowers unknown. This plant grows in New Granada on 
 the banks of the Magdalena, near Bajorque, and is called Sarzaparilla 
 by the natives. Great quantities of it are sent to Mompox and Car- 
 thagena, whence it is shipped for Jamaica and Cadiz. Pereira sup- 
 poses this to be the Jamaica Sarsaparilla, the best and most valuable 
 kind in commerce. — I/. This kind of Sarsaparilla very much resem- 
 bles the Honduras, and is seldom, if ever, seen in this country, at least 
 under the above name. Pereira describes it as occurring in that coun- 
 try in bales of from 60 to 80 pounds each, which are composed of the 
 long roots folded and made up into bundles about a foot and a half 
 long, and six inches broad. Its cortex is brownish, with an orange-red 
 tint, and when chewed it tinges the saliva, giving at first a slightly 
 mucilaginous and bitter taste, followed by some acrimony. It contains 
 a less proportion of starch than the Honduras root, and considerably 
 more extract. 
 
 Smilax Syphilitica has a round, smooth stem, furnished only at the 
 knots with two to four short, thick, straight prickles. Leaves a foot 
 long, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, shining, coriaceous, three-nerved, 
 terminated by a long point. — X/. Humboldt and Bonpland discovered, 
 this plant in New Granada, on the river Cassiquiare, between Manda- 
 vala and San Francisco Solano. — P. 
 
 Smilax Papyragea has a four-cornered or plane-angular, polished, 
 prickly stem; leaves somewhat membranous, oval-oblong, obtuse at 
 both ends, or usually pointletted at the apex, quite entire, unarmed, 
 five-ribbed, with three more prominent ribs. Cirrhi inserted beneath 
 the middle of the petiole. This plant grows in the province of Eio 
 Negro and neighboring places, and yields the Brazilian Sarsaparilla. 
 
 Smilax Medica has an angular stem, armed with straight aculei at 
 the joints, and a few hooked ones in the intervals. .Leaves of the text- 
 ure of paper, smooth, bright-green on each side, cordate, auriculate, 
 shortly acuminate, five-nerved, with the veins of the under side promi- 
 nent; they are variable in form, being ovate, somewhat panduriform, 
 auriculate, and somewhat hastate, with the lobes of the base obtuse, 
 sometimes obsolete, sometimes divaricating ; their edge not straight, 
 but as if irregularly crenate ; petioles and midrib armed, when old, with 
 straight, subulate prickles. Peduncles varying in length from three 
 lines to an inch or more. Umbel about twelve-flowered, with tl\e pedi- 
 cels about three lines long. Sehiede found this plant on the east slope 
 of the Mexican Andes, where the root is gathered and then carried to 
 Vera Cr,uz ; it is supposed to furnish the Vera Cruz Sarsaparilla of 
 commerce. — L. The plant grows in Papantla, Tuspan,. Nautla, etc., 
 and is usually shipped at Vera Cruz and Tampico, being put up in 
 large bales weighing from one hundred and fifty to two hundred 
 pounds. ' 
 
 Smilax Saksapahilla has a stout, somewhat flexuous, slightly quad- 
 rangular stem, with \ few scattered, hooked prickles above. Leaves un- 
 armed, elliptical-ovate, cuspidate, abruptly contracted at each end, with 
 three strong veins, and two lateral smaller secondary ones, glaucous 
 beneath, two or three inches in diameter, and upon short, margined 
 petioles, with two lojig tendrils at their bases. Flowers in small, thin 
 umbels, of three or four, yellowish-white; peduncles longer than the 
 short petioles. Berries three-seeded, red, according to Woodville; black 
 
778 Materia Medica. 
 
 to Pursh. This is a native of the Southern United States, growing in 
 swampy thickets, etc., and flowering from May to August. — W. It does 
 not furnish any of the Sarsaparilla of commerce, and is supposed to be 
 destitute of any active medicinal properties, but on what grounds I do 
 not know. There is a plant in the South extensively known as Bamboo 
 Brier, the root of which I have much used in practice, and with de- 
 cidedly more successful results than from the use of any of the Sarsapa- 
 rillas of the shops — from the description of the plant, given to me by 
 those who have seen it growing, I am inclined to believe it is one of the 
 species of Sarsaparilla, probably S. Sarsaparilla, and I invite the at- 
 tention of physicians to it, as a remedy in every respect superior to 
 the usual commercial article, especially in primary and secondary syph- 
 ilitic diseases. 
 
 Smilax China has a hard, large, knotty, uneven rhizoma, brown or 
 blackish internally, whitish within, Stem tapering, slightly prickly, 
 growing two or three feet high without support, but acquiring a greater 
 length if scramblingamong bushes. JOeaves thin, membranous, roundish, 
 five-nerved, acute or obtuse at each end, mucronate at the point ; stipules 
 distinct, obtuse. Umbels small, ten-flowered, greenish-yellow. Fruit 
 red, about the size of a bird cherry. — L. This plant grows in Eastern 
 Asia, and furnishes the China-root of commerce. It has been used as a 
 substitute for Sarsaparilla, but is not found to be as active. It occurs 
 in large, ligneous, knotty pieces, from two to six or more ,inches in 
 length, and one or two inches in diameter; externally it is grayish- 
 brown, internally a light flesh, or yellowish-white color. It.is inodor- 
 ous, and has a slightly astringent taste.— P. 
 
 History. — The Sarsaparillas are all climbing plants, having aculeate 
 stems ; there are many species, but they do not all possess medicinal 
 activity. Among several species growing in Guiana, Hancock found 
 but one which was endowed with any virtues as a medicine. In com- 
 merce several kinds of Sarsaparilla are found, but it is very difBeult to 
 refer satisfactorily to the species which furnish them. The Mexican 
 and South American Sarsaparillas have numerous long, delicate roots 
 proceeding from one caudex, or rhizome ; they are usually taken from 
 the ground with the caudex attached, and are frequently packed in this 
 manner for exportation. There are other varieties, besides those above 
 named, which are occasionally met with in our markets, among which 
 may be named the Caraccas Sarsaparilla, which is imported in heavy 
 packages.. The roots frequently contain large proportions of starch. 
 Much care seems to be taken in preparing them for the market. There 
 are several other varieties of an inferior character, which it is unneces- 
 sary to notice. 
 
 Honduras Sarsaparilla is the kind most esteemed and more commonly 
 employed. It is imported from Belize, and other parts of the Bay of 
 Honduras, in parcels two feet or more in length ; the roots are folded 
 into a kind of hank, and held closely together by passing some of "the 
 roots transversely around those forming the parcel. These parcels, 
 weighing from two to twenty pounds, are formed into large packages, 
 weighing from eighty to one hundred and twenty pounds, which are 
 partially enveloped in hide or skin. The roots have a few rootlets at- 
 tached, are of a grayish or reddish brown color, with a very mealy 
 cortex. — P. 
 
 The Sarsaparilla of commerce, consists of very long roots, having a 
 thick bark of a grayish or brownish color when the epidermis is re- 
 moved, somewhat corrugated lengthwise, with a thin internal woody 
 
SiiiLAx Officinalis. 779 
 
 portion, and a pithy center, which is frequently very amylaceous. Sar- 
 saparilla has scarcely any odor, but possesses a mucilaginous taste, with 
 a slowly developed and persistent bitterish acridity. Those loots 
 which have a deep orange-red tint are preferred, but more especially 
 those whose taste is acrid and nauseous; the stronger this is, the 
 better is the quality of the root. Water, either cold or hot, and also 
 diluted alcohol, extracts its medicinal virtues, which, however, are 
 materially injured by too great, or long continued heat. Hancock, in 
 his remarks upon Sarsaparilla, published in the Transactions of the Lon- 
 don Medico-Botanical Society, 1829, observes that after having exhausted 
 the root with water, he subsequently digested it in spirits for a few 
 hours with a gentle heat, then added hot water, and by pressure ob- 
 tained a much more acrid infusion than that made with water alone. 
 There is no doubt that alcohol added to infusions of the root will in- 
 crease their medicinal power. Sarsaparilla has undergone several an- 
 alyses j according to Batka, it contains a crystalline matter (parallinic 
 ■ acid), a coloring crystalline matter, an essential oil, gum, bassorin, 
 starch, albumen, extractiform matter, gluten and gliadine, fibrous and 
 cellular tissue, pectic acid, acetic acid, and several salts oT lime, potassa, 
 magnesia, and oxide of iron. Thubeuf found in it a crystalline sub- 
 stance (salseparin), a coloring matter, a resinous matter, ligneous matter, 
 starch, chloride potassium, nitrate potassa, fixed aromatic thick oil, and 
 waxy substance. — P. 
 
 In 1825 Pallota extracted from Sarsaparilla root a peculiar substance 
 to which he gave the name of pariglin Or parillina. This was afterward 
 examined by Folchi, and called by him smilacin. Thubeuf followed 
 next, and gave it the name of salseparin. Batka published a set of ex- 
 periments on the Sarsaparilla root, and drew as a conclusion from 
 them, that the peculiar substance distinguished by the above names was 
 an acid, to which he gave the name of parallinic acid. Poggiale has 
 examined the statements of his predecessors, and has come to the con- 
 clusion, that the pariglin, smilacin, salseparin and parillinic acid are all 
 one and the same substance under different names. To this substance, 
 the properties of which he has examined, he has given the name of 
 salseparin. Thubeuf obtained it by the following process : Exhaust the 
 root with warm alcohol. Distill off about six-sevenths of this tincture. 
 Digest the residue for a day or two with animal charcoal, and filter 
 while the liquid is still hot. On cooling, the smilacin is dej)Osited in 
 crystals. By repeated solutions and crystallizations, it is obtained pure. 
 If we evaporate the mother-waters to dryness on the water-bath, and , 
 treat the dry residue with hot water, resin and fatty matter are left be- 
 hind. The aqueous solution being evaporated to dryness, and the resi- 
 due treated with alcohol, we may obtain more smilacin by evaporating 
 the alcohol. Smilacin, when thus obtained, is a white powder, which, 
 when dissolved in alcohol, and left to spontaneous evaporation, crystal- 
 lizes in fine needles. They are white and tasteless while solid, but have 
 a bitter taste when dissolved. They are heavier than water, dissolve 
 with difficulty in cold, but more easily in water at 212° F., are soluble 
 in hot or cold alcohol, hot ether, and in volatile oils. They are soluble 
 in dilute acid and alkaline solutions, and are thrown down when the 
 acids or alkalies are saturated. Pallota swallowed thirteen grains of 
 it, and found it to occasion nausea, vomiting, diminution of the fre- 
 quency of the pulse, and diaphoresis. — T. Should this prove to be the 
 active principle of the root, its proper name would be Sarsaparillin- 
 Souberain's process for procuring parillin is to exhaust SarsanariUa 
 
780 Materia Medica. 
 
 with alcohol, and to the filtered tincture add a solution of acetate of 
 lead, until it no longer causes a precipitate. Should there be an excess 
 of lead, remove it hy the addition of a few drops of sulphuric acid. 
 Filter and distill. The watery part left in the retort, on cooling, de- 
 posits the parillin as a white powder. The liquors here are in a great 
 measure decolorized by the precipitation; they are less viscous, and de- 
 posit the parillin with great facility. By saturating the mother-liquor 
 with chloride of sodium, more parillin may be obtained. Like the pre- 
 ceding it is neutral and forms a lather with water. 
 
 Dr. Berthold Seeman, in a communication to the Linnean Society, 
 Doc. 6th, 1854, stated as the conclusions at which he had arrived, after 
 a careful investigation of the subject, that the greater proportion of 
 Sarsaparilla imported under the commercial names of "Lisbon," "Ja- 
 maica," or "Brazilian" and "Guatemala" or "Eed Paraguay" Sarsa- 
 parilla is the produce of one species only, the Smilax Officinalis; and 
 further, that the S. Medica, and S. Papyracea are identical with it. The 
 difference in the roots as to the quantity of rootlets or beards attached, 
 is clearly the result of the rootlets having been removed by some me- 
 chanical means or other before the article reaches the marked. The 
 condition indicated by the chief pharmacological distinction into 
 "mealy" and "non-mealy" samples, he believes to depend on the age 
 of the roots, and on the locality in which they are collected. While, 
 however, the botanical source of the various Sarsaparillas was thus 
 ^ held to be identical, the value of the commercial distinctions, as such, 
 was admitted ; for as long as the Brazilian collectors continue to strip 
 the roots of their beard and put them up in long bundles, there will 
 always be Lisbon Sarsaparilla ; as long as the inhabitants of the Spanish 
 Main continue to preserve the rootlets we shall have Jamaica Sarsapa- 
 rilla; and as long as the climate and other physical conditions of Gua- 
 temala remain unchanged, we shall continue to receive from that local- 
 ity Sarsaparilla distinguished by its abundance of starchy matter. — 
 Pharm. Jour. & Trans., XIII., 385. 
 
 Sarsaparilla should never be purchased unless, after having chewed 
 it for a few minutes, it leaves a distinct persistent pungency or acrimony 
 in the mouth and fauces, without this effect it can not be relied upon 
 as an efficient article. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Sarsaparilla is generally considered as an alter- 
 ative, though stated by some to possess diuretic, diaphoretic, and emetic 
 properties. Its mode of action, however, is not well understood, as it 
 effects normal changes in the system without any appreciable change 
 in the operation of the various organs. No medicine has, probably, 
 ever passed through so many changes of popularity, having been at 
 various times most highly lauded as an efficient alterative, and as often 
 been pronounced inert. There is no doubt however, that, when prop- 
 erly prepared, it exerts a favorable influence over the system. The 
 diseases in which it has been more particularly recommended, are in- 
 veterate syphilis, pseudo-syphilis, mercurio-syphilis, and struma in all 
 its forms. It has been used in several chronic diseases, as of the skin, 
 rheumatic affections, passive general dropsy, gonorrheal neuralgia, and 
 other depraved conditions of the system, where an alterative is re- 
 quired. A drink is made in Angostura which enjoys much reputation 
 there as an alterative beverage : it is made of Eio Negro Sarsaparilla 
 one pound, rasped guaiac wood six ounces, aniseed and bruised liquorice 
 root, of each, two ounces, mezereon root-bark one ounce, molasses one 
 pound, and half a dozen bruised cloves; pour upon these articles two 
 
Sodium. 781 
 
 gallons of boiling water, aud shake the vessel three times a day. As 
 soon as fei-mentation begins, it may be taken in doses of four fluid- 
 ounces two or three times a day, — G. — Trans. Med. Sot: Soc, 1829. At 
 the present day, Sarsaparilla is but little used as above ; the Stillingia 
 Sylvatica being found greatly superior to it in medicinal efficacy, is em- 
 ployed in preference. Dose of Sarsaparilla in powder, thirty grains, 
 three or four times a day ; of the infusion or syrup, four fluidounces. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Sarsaparillse j Bxtractum Sarsaparillse Flu- 
 idum ; Infusum Sarsaparillse ; Syrupus Sarsaparillse Cpmpositus. 
 
 SODIUM. ISodium.'] (Natronmetall.) 
 Sodium. 
 
 Preparation: — Sodium is obtained by a process exactly similar to that 
 described for potassium, substituting acetate of soda for cream of tar- 
 tar. As Sodium does not combine with carbonic oxide, the process is 
 much more productive than in the case of potassium. 
 
 History. — Sodium was first described by Sir Humphry Davy in 1808, 
 who succeeded in obtaining it by a process similar to that which, ena- 
 bled him to procure potassium from potassa, viz. : by decomposing soda 
 by galvanic agency. Gay-Lussac and Thenard afterward succeeded in 
 procuring it in large quantities from soda by the same process as that by 
 which they had obtained potassium, that is, passing potash through iron 
 turnings; heated to whiteness in a gun barrel covered on the outside with 
 clay to protect it from the action of the fire. But it is not so easy to 
 obtain Sodium in this way as potassium. Manufacturers obtain it by 
 exposing a mixture of charcoal, anhydrous carbonate of soda, and 
 chalk to a high temperature. The best product is obtained with a 
 mixture of 717 parts of the dry carbonate of soda, 175 of charcoal, and 
 108 of chalk. Sodium is the metallic basis of the alkali, soda; it is a 
 white metal having a color intermediate between that of silver and 
 lead. At the common temperature of the air it is solid and very mal- 
 leable, and so soft that pieces of it may be welded together by strong 
 pressure. It retains its softness and malleability at the temperature of 
 32". It is an excellent conductor of electricity, melts at 194°, and at 
 nearly a red beat, volatilizes with colorless vapor. Its affinity for oxy- 
 gen is inferior to that of potassium, nevertheless it oxidizes readily 
 when exposed to the air, and is converted into caustic soda, and conse- 
 quently should be kept in naphtha. When Sodium is thrown upon 
 water it does not take fire as potassium does ; it moves rapidly over 
 the surface of the water, absorbs its oxygen and liberates its hydrogen, 
 thus almost immediately decomposing the water. If the water, how- 
 ever, be thickened with gum, or, if there be only a few drops of water, 
 the action of Sodium is attended with a flame of a yellow color. It 
 forms with oxygen three oxides, the protoxide, or soda, the suboxide, 
 and the peroxide, the most important among which is the protoxide, 
 which is capable of forming numerous salts. The specific gravity of 
 Sodium is 0.97, at 4° F. ; it is rather hard, its symbol is iNa, and its 
 equivalent weight 23.3, or 287.5. 
 
 Sodium constitutes two-fifths of all the sea-salt existing in salt water, 
 and is also found in the water of springs, rivers, and lakes, in almost 
 all soils, and in the form of rock-salt. Sea-salt is a compound of So- 
 dium with chlorine, Na CI. It is also contained in many minerals, sea- 
 
782 Materia Medica. 
 
 plants, and in most animal fluids. Sodium and the salts of the pi-otox 
 ide burn with a more or less rich yellow-colored flame. 
 
 The various medicinal preparations, formed from the protoxide of 
 this metal, will each be described under its appropriate head, hereafter. 
 
 Beside magnesia, and sugar of milk, there has been found in some of 
 the fraudulent so called " concentrated remedies " which have been 
 manufactured of late years, salt, etc. If a small portion of the fraudulent 
 article be heated on platinum before a blowpipe, instead of leaving the 
 white incombustible substance left when magnesia is the adulteration, 
 the residue will be found to fuse at an elevated heat. Place a small 
 quantity of this fused substance on a glass slide, and dissolve it in a 
 drop or two of water if it be carbonate of soda, the solution will restore 
 the blue color to reddened litmus paper. To the drop of this solution 
 add a drop of a solution of chloride of platinum, and carefully, evapo- 
 rate over an alcohol lamp. Before the fluid is entirely evaporated, place 
 it under the microscope, when if the residue first obtained by calcina- 
 tion be soda, large, very transparent prisms of an indefinite length will 
 be seen, which possess the faculty, in a high degree, of polarizing light ; 
 they are very soluble in water. 
 
 SOD^ ACBTA8. (Bssigsaures Natron.) 
 Acetate of Soda. 
 
 History. — Acetate of Soda, formerly called Crystallized Foliated Earth 
 of Tartar, was first obtained in lY67by Meyer. It is usually prepared 
 by ■ makers of pyroligneous acid. The impure pyroligneous acid" is 
 neutralized with lime, forming an acetate of lime ; this is decomposed 
 with a strong solution of sulphate of soda, crystallizing the Acetate of 
 Soda formed thus through double decomposition, and purifying the 
 crystals, by melting and again crystallizing them. — G. It may be ob- 
 tained by the following process of the Dublin College : "Take of crys- 
 tallized carbonate of soda of commerce one pound (avoir.), or a sufficient 
 quantity ; acetic acid of commerce, sp. gr. 1.044, one pint (imperial meas- 
 ure). To the acid, placed in a porcelain capsule, add by degrees the 
 Carbonate of Soda, and, taking care that there shall be a slight excess 
 of acid, evaporate the resulting solution till a pellicle begins to form on 
 its surface, and set it by to crystallize. The crystals, wiien drained of 
 the mother-liquor, and dried by a short exposure to the air on a porous 
 brick,, should be enclosed in a well-stopped bottle." 
 
 This process is very similar to the one laid down by Wittstein, in 
 which the acetic acid drives off the carbonic and forms with the soda. 
 Acetate of Soda. 1772 parts of acetic acid, sp. gr. 1.045, containing 36 
 per cent, (pure acid), are saturated by 1790 parts of carbonate of soda. 
 To save fuel the strongest commercial acid should be employed. The 
 salt dried in the warm is anhydrous. Acetate of Soda is met with 
 either in amorphous foliaceous masses of interlaced crystals, or 
 crystallized in striated needles, or large fluted oblique rhombic 
 prisms variously modified. It is white, permanent in ordinary air, but 
 effloresces and becomes anhydrous in warm and dry air. It has a pun- 
 gent, saline taste, approaching to bitter, not very unpleasant. It re- 
 quires about two and a half parts of water at the ordinary temperature 
 to dissolve one'part, its own weight of boiling water, and twenty-four 
 parts of alcohol ; its specific gravity is 2.1. A temperature of 550°. 
 cautiously managed, drives off its water of crystallization without the 
 
SOD.E Boi4As. 783 
 
 loss of any acid ; but at 600° the acetic acid is decomposed, and a mix- 
 ture of carbonate of soda and charcoal is left. Sulphuric acid drives 
 out the acetic acid, and combines with the soda to form a sulphate. 
 Litmus-paper is not aifected by Acetate of Soda, nor is its solution pre- 
 cipitated by chloride of platinum, which will serve to distinguish it 
 from a salt of potassa. It contains one equivalent of acid 51.48, one of 
 soda 31.3, and six of water 54=186.78. Its formula is N"a 0^ H.. 0^, 3 
 H, Oj=82-f54. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Acetate of Soda possesses the diuretic propei'- 
 ties of acetate 6f potassa, but in a feebler degree, but it has the ad- 
 vantage over the potassa salt, in not being deliquescent. Its dose is 
 from twenty grains to one or two drachms. 
 
 SODiE BOEAS. (Boraxsaures Natron.) 
 Borate of Soda. Borax. — Borax. 
 
 History. — Borax is an abundant natural production found in several 
 parts of the world, especially in the waters of various lakes in Persia 
 and Thibet ; on the borders of which it is left in impure crystals dur- 
 ing the dry season. In its natural or crude state it is collected in large 
 masses, which are broken and dried, and are imported under the name 
 of Tineal or crude borax. It is also met with in the mines of Potosi j 
 and is largely manufactured by the direct combination of boracic acid 
 with soda. The crude Borax or Tincal comes from Thibet and various 
 parts of Asia by the way of Calcutta ; there are three varieties of it, 
 viz. : Indian Tincal, which is met with in small crystals ; Bengal or 
 Chandenagor Tincal, which is in large, well-defined, hexssdral prisma- 
 tic crystals ; and Chinese Tincal, which is imported in crusts and masses, 
 and is imperfectly refined. The Tincal met with in commerce is in six- 
 sided prisms, flattened, opaque, of a waxy luster, coated with a soapy 
 substance, or occasionally with argillaceous matter, and usually of a 
 yellowish, bluish, or greenish color. It is generally purified previous to 
 being made use of. This was for a long time done by the Dutch only, 
 who contrived to keep the process a secret ; but in 1818, Eobiquet and 
 Marchand published a process for its purification, since which Tincal 
 is refined in several countries. Several methods are employed ; one is 
 to calcine the Tincal, which destroys the fatty or saponaceous matter 
 with which it is coated, and afterward dissolve and crystallize the salt. 
 A second method is to wash the Tincal several times with cold lime- 
 water, so as to destroy the alkaline soap on its surface, and convert it 
 into an insoluble calcareous soap ; then dissolve the salt in hot water, 
 and decompose any remains of the alkaline soap in the solution by a 
 little muriate of lime ; finally strain, evaporate, and crystallize by very 
 slow cooling.— C A third method is to wash the Tincal with a solu- 
 tion of caustic soda, then dissolve it in water, add some caustic soda to 
 the solution to precipitate earthy matters, decant and evaporate the 
 clear solution. Borax is usually crystallized in wooden vessels, liuetl 
 with lead, and which have the form of short inverted cones. — P. 
 
 Eecently, considerable of the refined Borax of commerce is prepared 
 from boracic acid, which exists in abundance in certain lagoons and hot 
 springs in Tuscany, which are stated to furnish about two and a half 
 millions of pounds annually. It is impure when first obtained, contain- 
 ing in 100 parts 76.5 crystallized boi-acic acid, 8.5 sulphate of ammonia, 
 2.6sulphateofmagnesia, 5.0 sulphate of lime, 1.2 silica, 1.3 sulphuric acid. 
 
784 Materia Medic a. 
 
 6.6 water, besides various other impurities. Carbonate of soda is dissolved 
 In water contained in tubs lined with lead and heated by steam ; to this 
 coarsely pulverized boracic acid is added. Thp evolved gas is passed 
 through sulphuric acid, to detain any carbonate of ammonia which may 
 be contained in it. The liquor is boiled, and allowed to stand for ten 
 or twelve hours, and is then, drawn off into wooden crystallizing vessels 
 lined with lead, in which crude or rougb Borax is deposited. This is 
 refined by dissolving it in water, contained in a tub lined with lead and 
 heated by steam; adding more carbonate of soda, and crystallizing. 
 The crystals are allowed to drain, and when dry are packed in chests, 
 forming the common or prismatic Borax. Octahedral Borax is obtained 
 "by using more concentrated solutions. Sautter has patented a dry 
 process for preparing Borax. It consists in mixing^ 38 parts of pure 
 dry boracic acid with 45 parts of crystallized carbonate of soda, and 
 placing the mixture upon wooden shelves in a heated room. The bo- 
 racic acid expels the carbonic acid and some water, and combines with 
 the soda. — P. 
 
 Borax crystallizes in large, oblique, rhombic prisms, or in flattened, 
 six or eight-sided prisms, usually terminated by two or four converg- 
 ing planes ; it is white, translucent, shining, inodorous, and possessed 
 of a peculiar sweetish, slightly saline and somewhat alkaline taste. Its 
 reaction is alkaline. It eflioresces gradually in the air. It dissolves in 
 twelve parts of cold, and two of boiling water; sulphuric acid added 
 to a hot concentrated solution causes a precipitate of colorless pearly 
 crystalline scales of boracic acid, which colors the flame of burning alco- 
 hol green. At a gentle heat. Borax fuses in its water of crystallization, 
 swells, and ultimately becomes an anhydrous salt, called calcined Borax, 
 with the loss of four-tenths its weight. At a still higher temperature, 
 it fuses again, and on cooling forms a soluble transparent mass called 
 vitrified Borax or glass of Borax, which is anhydrous Borax, Na O 2 B O3. 
 Octohedral Borax, ISa O 2 B O3 5 HO, contains only five equivalents of 
 water, and on this account offers several advantages over the prismatic 
 variety. Boracic acid, BO3 is composed of one equivalent of boron 10.9, 
 and three of oxygen 24=34.9. .Borax is, therefore, a Biborate of Soda, 
 Na 2 B Oa-flO H 0=100.8+90, or 1260+1125. 
 
 Soluble Cream of Tartar or Boro-tartrate of Potassa, K, B O2, Cj Hi O12, 
 is a solution of three parts of cream of water, one part of Borax, and 
 eight parts of water, boiled for two or three minutes, and filtered when 
 cool ; when this solution is evaporated it forme a gummy mass, ■wrhich 
 absorbs moisture from the atmosphere, and is white, sour, and soluble 
 in water. In the French Codex is a formula which gives a much more 
 soluble preparation than that made by the above process ; one part of 
 crystallized boracic acid, four parts of powdered bitratrate of potassa, 
 and ten parts of water, are exposed, in a silver vessel, to ebullition with 
 constant agitation, until evaporation has reduced the mixture to a thick 
 mass ; this mass is detached in portions, spread on plates, and dried in 
 a heated stove. The dry product is then broken into pieces and pre- 
 served in well closed bottles. It is soluble in water in all proportions. 
 When Borax is added to a mucilage it soon thickens it into a firm, 
 tremulous jelly, which is soluble in syrup. A few drops of diluted 
 acetic acid added to the mucilage or emulsion will prevent this action 
 of Borax. 
 
 Borax is rarely adulterated. An adulteration has been noticed in 
 England, in which the Borax contained twenty per cent, of phosphate 
 of soda. This may be separated by exposing the article to the heat-of 
 
8oD^ Oarbonas. 785 
 
 tt drying-room for a few hours, when the phosphate effloresces, and 
 may be picked out and tested with the usual reagents. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The medicinal actions of Borax are but imper- 
 fectly known. It is supposed to be a diuretic, refrigerant, antilithic, 
 emmenagogue, and aphrodisiac. It has been found an excellent remedy 
 in renal diseases and gravel, when uric acid is present in excess, and 
 may be used in doses of from twenty to forty grains. It is rarely used 
 as a parturient agent, yet there is no doubt that it exerts an action on 
 the uterus. It has been successfully used in amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea. 
 and to promote parturition, or expedite the delivery of the placenta. 
 In such instances it has been used alone, or combined with other agents, 
 as ergot, blue cohosh, cinnamon, etc. , Ten grains given for a dose, and 
 repeated three or four times a day for several days, have produced 
 abortion, attended with pains all over the system, and excessive debility 
 of the joints, which remained for several months in a greater or less 
 degree. It is an aphrodisiac, and will excite the venereal appetite when 
 taken internally ; but its aphrodisiac effects are said to be more marked 
 when a solution of it is injected into the rectum; and retained there an 
 hour or two. A solution of ten or fifteen grains to the fluidounce of 
 water, injected, will, in two or three hours, produce a powerful venerea, 
 excitement. And if the strength of the solution be doubled, it will 
 cause powerful erections, and several copious seminal emissions. These 
 aphrodisiac effects, however, will often be found to fail among certain 
 parties. 
 
 It is in extensive use as an external application in aphthous and in- 
 flammatory conditions of the mouth and throat, and in scaly diseases 
 of the skin. A solution of one drachm in five fluidounces of water, with 
 a little sugar or honey, forms one of the best applications for use as a 
 gargle in the early stage of mercurial salivation, and also in all varie- 
 ties of aphthous ulceration of the moutt and throat. One drachm of 
 Borax dissolved in two fluidounces of distilled vinegar, is said to be an 
 excellent lotion for ringworm of the scalp — G. In liver spots {pityriasis 
 versicolor), it has also been found beneficial, and in pruritus vulva, com- 
 bined with morphia. Combined with sugar it forms an excellent col- 
 lyrium, and enters into several cooling or refrigerant lotions. Powdered 
 Borax blown into the nostrils will be found useful in many instances 
 of chronic catarrh, and chronic inflammation of the mucous membrane 
 lining the nasal and faucial passages. Sprinkled around libraries, 
 pantries, etc., it will be found effectual in driving away cockroaches, 
 and other insects. The dose of Borax is from ten to thirty grains, dis- 
 solved in water, or in infusion of elm or flaxseed. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Lotio Boracis ; Lotio Boracis cum Morphia. 
 
 SOBM CAEBONAS. (K-ohlensaures Natron.) 
 Carbonate of Soda. — Sodasalz. 
 
 History. — Carbonate of Soda exists in a native state in various parts 
 of the world in mineral waters, lakes, and springs, or in the surface of 
 certain soils, in the form of an efflorescence ; it is also met with abun- 
 dantly in the ashes of sea-weeds and salt-marsh plants. It occurs in 
 three forms : 1. The monocarbonate or neutral carbonate of soda, the sal 
 soda of the shops, which is found in crystals, and in the form of efflo- 
 rescence in Egypt, Hungary, Bohemia, and several other parts of the 
 world. 2. A carbonate of soda, which occurs in the mineral kingdom, 
 50 
 
786 Materia JVEedica. 
 
 and is found in thin crusts on the surface of the earth, near Tripoli, at 
 the bottom of a lake in Venezuela, on the sides of several lakes in 
 Egypt, etc. It is probable that this is a double salt composed of the 
 monocarbonate and bicarbonate. 3. The bicarbonate of soda,- whioh ib a 
 constituent of many mineral waters, but which is generally prepared 
 from the monocarbonate. (See Part II.) 
 
 Barilla or Kelp are impure preparations of soda, procured from the 
 ashes of marine plants, and were formerly used in the manufacturing 
 of soda. Barilla is a hard-grayish or grayish-blue mass, not deliq^ues- 
 cent, having an alkaline, acrid taste, and a singular odor^ It is ob 
 tained by the combustion of plants belonging to the order Chenopo- 
 diacese and consists of carbonate of soda, sulphate of soda, sulphuret 
 and chloride of sodium, carbonate of lime, alumina, silica, oxide of iron 
 and carbonaceous matters. There are several varieties of barilla, im- 
 ported from the Canary and Teneriffe Islands, Sicily, Carthageria, and 
 the Bast Indies. KelpAa obtained by the combustion of cryptogamie 
 plants of the order Algacese. It consists of hard, dark -gray or bluish 
 masses, having an acrid caustic taste, and is composed of chloride of 
 sodium, carbonate of soda, sulphates of soda and potassa, chloride of 
 potassium, iodide of potassium or sodium, and insoluble and coloring 
 matters. At one time about 20,000 persons were engaged in the manu- 
 facture of kelp in the Orkneys and Hebrides Islands. — P. 
 
 The artificial salt is prepared by decomposing the sulphate of soda,, 
 which salt is more commonly made by converting common salt (chlo- 
 ride of Sodium) into the sulphate by means of sulphuric acid. The sul- 
 phate being thoroughly dried is intimately mingled with chalk or lime- 
 stone powder, and pit-coal in powder, in the proportion of 50 of salt, 
 25 of coal, and from 55 to 60 of calcareous matter, according to its 
 purity ; the mixture is then subjected to a strong heat in a reverbera- 
 tory furnace, and frequently turned over, till flames cease to be emitted, 
 and a pasty, dark mass is obtained called Black Soda-ash, Biill Alkali, 
 or British Barilla. When properly prepared, this contains soda chiefly 
 in the form of a carbonate, equivalent to about 55 per cent. When this 
 is lixiviated and evaporated to perfect dryness, the carbonate of soda 
 becomes a white or gray compact substance which is called Soda-ash oi 
 White Soda-ash. The Carbonate of Soda, or Sal-soda of commerce, is 
 obtained by dissolving the White Soda-ash (above mentioned), sepa- 
 rating the impurities by filtration or sedimentation, running the solu- 
 tion into vats, and allowing it to crystallize. This mode of manufac- 
 turing Carbonate of Soda is now carried on throughout England, but 
 especially at Liverpool and Glasgow, on a prodigious scale of magni- 
 tude. — C. M. E. Kopp has procured soda by decomposition of sul- 
 phate of soda with sesquioxide of iron and coal ; which process is now 
 adopted by several manufacturers in England. 
 
 Carbonate of Soda crystallizes in rhombic octahedres, or in laige ob- 
 lique rhombic prisms, or forms derived from the latter. These are color- 
 less, transparent, alkaline, and somewhat caustic to the taste, exceed- 
 ingly efflorescent in the air, soluble in two parts of water at 60°, not 
 dissolved by alcohol, and changes reddened litmus paper to its original 
 blue. At a moderate heat they lose their water of crystallization ; if 
 it be increased, they become converted into a white, opaque, anhydrous 
 carbonate. The anhydrous salt is fused at a full red heat. Carbonate 
 of Soda may be known from the carbonate of potassa by its crystalline 
 appearance and disposition to efflorescence ; from bicarbonate of pots,s- 
 Ba by its efflorescence; from bicarbonate of soda, by that being nevei 
 
SoD^ Hyposulphis. 787 
 
 distinctly crystalline. In solution, it may be discriminated from car 
 bonate of potassa by chloride of platinum, an excess of tartaric acid, 
 or perchloric acid, occasioning no precipitate; and from bicarbonate of 
 soda by giving a white precipitate with sulphate of magnesia, and a red- 
 dish-brown one with corrosive sublimate. Its incompatibilities are acids, 
 metallic and earthy salts, solutions of lime, bitartrate of potassa, hydro- 
 chlorate of ammonia, etc. Its formula is Na O-, CO2+IO HO^53+90, 
 or 662. 5-f 1125. The quantity of water will, however, vary in its pro- 
 portion, owing to the degree of efflorescence of the salt. 
 
 The ordinary impurities of Carbonate of Soda are, chloride of sodium 
 and sulphate of soda. They may be distinguished as follows : Super- 
 saturate the salt with nitric acid, so as to change it into nitrate of soda, 
 and then divide the solution into two parts ; to the one add a solution 
 of chloride of barium, which will give a white precipitate if a sulphate 
 be present; to the other, add a solution of nitrate of silver, which will 
 also give a white precipitate, soluble in ammonia, if a chloride be pres- 
 ent. The presence of hyposulphite of soda is detected by hydrochloric 
 acid, which causes the evolution of sulphurous acid gas, and the pre- 
 cipitation of sulphur. Ordinary salt is very apt to be present in the 
 commercial article. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In large doses Carbonate of Soda will prove 
 very injurious, producing a softening and disorganization of the tissues 
 of the stomach. In smaller ones it acts as an antacid and diuretic. The 
 antidotes to an improper dose are vegetable acids, as vinegar, lemon- 
 juice, sour wine, solution of cream of tartar, citric or tartaric acids; 
 sweet oil largely administered will also modify its destructive action. 
 As a remedy it has been used in gastric acidity, in urinary affections 
 with uric acid deposits, gastrocephalalgia or sick headache, pertussis, 
 goitre, scrofula, etc. It is usually preferred to the potassa salt on ac- 
 count of its more pleasant taste. As with all the alkaline carbonates, 
 if too long employed, it may bring on phosphatic gravel through the 
 alkalinity of the urine ; on this account, the bicarbonates dissolved in 
 carbonic acid water and taken, are preferable, as the excess of carbonic 
 acid tends to keep the phosphates in solution. It has been found useful 
 in some cutaneous diseases, used internally and applied locally, in solu- 
 tion, fifteen or twenty grains, or even more of the carbonate, to two 
 fluidounces of water. Or a bath may be prepared of similar propor- 
 tions. The dose of Carbonate of Soda is from ten to thirty grains in 
 solution. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Perri Carbonas Saccharata; Perri Subcarbonas; Liquor 
 SodsB Chlorinatse ; Magnesise Carbonas ; Pilulse Perri Carbonatis ; SodsB 
 Acetas; Sodse Bicarbonas ; Sodse Carbonas Bxsiccatus ; Sodse et Potassse 
 Tartras; Sodae Phosphas; Zinci Carbonas Prsecipitatus. 
 
 SODjB hyposulphis. (Uuterschwefligsaures JSIatron.) 
 
 Hyposulphite of Soda. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of crystallized carbonate of soda thirty -two parts ; 
 distilled water sixty -four parts ; sublimed sulphur ten parts. Dissolve 
 the carbonate in the water, add the sulphur, and pass a stream of sul- 
 phurous acid through the solution. When the gas shall be in excess in 
 the liquor. Hyposulphite of Soda is in solution. Then boil for a few 
 minutes, filter, evaporate by a gentle heat to a third of its volume, and 
 set aside in a cool place to crystallize. In this process, carbonic acid 
 
••i-m 
 
 788 Materia ALedica. 
 
 is evolved, and the Hyposulphite of Soda formed in solution. — French 
 Codex. Walchner gives the following as a ready mode of preparing it: 
 Pure crystallized carbonate of soda is dried as much as possible, and 
 reduced to a fine powder; one pound of it is then mixed with ten ounces 
 of flowers of sulphur, and the mixture heated in a glass or porcelain 
 dish gradually, until the sulphur melts. The mass, which cakes to- 
 gether, is kept at this temperature, and is divided, stirred, and mixed, 
 in order that each part may be brought into contact with the atmos- 
 phere. The sulphuret of sodium formed passes, under these circum- 
 stances, by the absorption of oxygen from the atmosphere, with a 
 slight incandescence, gradually into sulphite of soda. It 'is dissolved 
 in water, filtered, and the liquid immediately boiled with flowers of 
 sulphur; the filtered, nearly colorless, strongly concentrated liquid- 
 affords Hyposulphite of Soda in very pure and beautiful crystals, and 
 in large quantity. — P. 
 
 History. — Hyposulphite of Soda was first noticed by Chaussier in 1709. 
 It forms large, transparent,-oblique, colorless prisms, having a cool taste 
 succeeded by bitterness. They are soluble in water, the solution hav- 
 ing an alkaline reaction, but are insoluble in alcohol, which precipitates 
 it from water. Chloride of silver dissolves in it almost as readily as 
 sugar in water; with nitrate of silver it gives a white fl ..cculent precipi- 
 tate, which ultimately becomes black, owing to its conversion into sul- 
 phuret of silver and sulphuric acid. It is permanent in the air. Its 
 solution kept in close vessels, deposits sulphur, and changes into sulphite ; 
 in a warm air it becomes sulphate of soda, depositing sulphur. Heated, 
 it fuses, giving off watery vapors and sulphuretted hydrogen, then be- 
 comes dry, and again liquid, at a red heat, while sulphur sublimes^ and 
 on cooling a dark yellow mass of an hepatic smell and taste remains. 
 Its formula is Na O, Sj Oj, and its equivalent weight 79. On account 
 of its dissolving several compounds of silver, it is much used among 
 daguerreotypists. 
 
 If Hyposulphite of Soda is contaminated with sulphuret of sodium, the 
 white precipitate caused by nitrate of silver will soon assume a gray 
 or black color ; if carbonate of soda be an impurity, acetic acid will 
 cause an effervescence in the solution ; if sulphate of soda be present, 
 chloride of barium causes a white precipitate in the solution when acidi- 
 fied. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Hyposulphite of Soda acts as a resolvent, alter- 
 ative, and sudorific. It has been used as a substitute for the natural 
 sulphurous waters, in chronic diseases of the skin, secondary syphilis, 
 gout, rheumatism, piles, etc., and in biliary calculi, in which it is said 
 to exert a solvent action. More recently it has been advantageously used 
 as an azymotic, etc. (See Magnesice Sulphis.) Internally it has been found 
 efficacious in a species of water-brash, in which the fluid ejected is very 
 frothy, and contains a fungus growth or plant called sarcina ventriculi. 
 Any acidity of stomach must first be removed, after which give a table- 
 spoonful of a mixture composed of infusion of quassia three fluidounces, 
 Hyposulphite of Soda a drachm or a drachm and a half It has also 
 been employed successfully in diphtheritic and aphthous ulcerations of 
 the mouth, both internally and as a local application. Its dose is from 
 ten to sixty grains in pills or aqueous solution. A syrup is composed of 
 one drachm of the Hyposulphite, two ounces and seven drachms of sugar, 
 and one and a half fluidounces of water ; dissolve with a gentle heat 
 and filter. The dose is from one to four tablespoonfuls. A bath is also 
 prepared from it, Balneum Sodce Syposulphitis, as follows : From one to 
 
S(iD/E Si;lpiia8. 789 
 
 four ounces of the soda-suit, as may be required, is added to enough 
 water to form a bath. If a small quantity of dilute sulphuric acid, or 
 of \inegar, be added to the bath while the patient is inimereed, sulphur- 
 ous acid and sulphur are set free. 
 
 SOD^ SULPHAS. (Sehwefelsaures Natron.) 
 Sulphate of Soda. — Glauber's Salz. 
 
 History. — Sulphate of soda, also known as Glauber's Salt, from its 
 discoverer in 1658, and Vitriolated Soda, exists more or less abundantly 
 in various mineral springs, in sea-water, and in the form of mineral 
 blended with sulphate of lime. It is found in the mineral springs of 
 Carlsbad, Cheltenham, Sulphur Springs of Virginia, Saratoga Pavilion 
 spring. Geyser springs, and Paipa among the Andes, in the latter of 
 which it is so abundant that it forms crystals upon the soil over which 
 the water is thrown. It is also found in the ashes of some marine plants, 
 and in the blood, urine, and other animal fluids. It is likewise prepared 
 artificially from sea-water. The Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia gives the 
 following formula for preparing it : " Take of the salt which remains 
 after making pure muriatic acid, two pounds, dissolve this in boiling 
 water, three pints (Imperial measure) ; then add of powdered white 
 marble, so long as effervescence takes place : boil the liquid, and when 
 neutral, filter it; wash the insoluble matter with boiling water, add- 
 ing the water to the original liquid; concentrate till a pellicle begins to 
 form, and then let the liquid cool and crystallize." — 0. It is also pre- 
 pared in the first step of the process of manufacturing carbonate of 
 soda from the chloride. 
 
 Sulphate of Soda crystallizes in large oblique rhombic prisms, often 
 truncated on their acute edges so as to form six-sided prisms, and ter- 
 minated by two, four, or six converging planes ; when hastily crystal- 
 lized, the crystals are small and acicular. Its crystalline form and 
 general appearance resemble those of the sulphates of magnesia and 
 zinc. Its taste, at first, has some resemblance "to that of common salt, 
 but soon becomes very disagreeably bitter. When exposed to the air it 
 effloresces, loses a great part of its water, and falls into a white powder, 
 but is not otherwise altered ; it loses about 56 per cent, of its weight. 
 One part of it is soluble in three parts of water at 60°, and in one part 
 of water at 212°. Alcohol does not dissolve it.. When exposed to heat, 
 it first undergoes the watery fusion, then its water of crystallization is 
 evaporated, and it is reduced to a white powder. At a red heat this 
 powder fuses again. Sulphate of Soda is not liable to adulterations, 
 though sometimes its acid or base may be present in excess, which may 
 be readily ascertained by test-paper. Should it contain salt, or iron, 
 these may be detected by the usual tests. Sulphate of Soda is incom- 
 patible with baryta and potassa, and salts containing these bases, and 
 with the salts of silver, mercury, lead and lime. It is composed of one 
 equivalent of base 31.3, one of acid 40.1, and ten of water 90. Its formula 
 is ISTa O SO.., and its equivalent weight 71.3; the crystallized salt is Na 
 O, SOs+lO iEO=:161.3. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Sulphate of Soda is a mild but efScient cooling 
 laxative or purgative, promoting secretion and exhalation from the gas- 
 tro-intestinal membrane, without causing inflammation or fever. It 
 appears to impede the coagulation of blood, and also causes endosmose 
 of the serum. On account of its disagreeable taste, it has been gradu- 
 
790 Mateeia Medica. 
 
 ally displaced by the sulphate of magnesia^ Its usual dose is six or 
 eight drachms dissolved in eight or ten fluidounceS of water ; when its 
 water of crystallization is removed by drying or eflorescence the dose 
 must be decreased to three or four drachms. As a diuretic, the dose 
 must be smaller, and diluted with considerable water. A few drops of 
 sulphuric acid may be advantageously added to lessen its bitter taste; 
 or some citric acid. 'According to M. de Luca, crystallized Sulphate of 
 Soda "has the property of holding the fibrin of the Wood in solution, and 
 acts favorably in causing opacities and spots on the cornea to wholly 
 or partially disappear ; he reduces this salt to a very fine powder, and 
 by means of a camel's hair pencil deposits it upon the eyeball, repeat- 
 ing the process twice a day; it causes no unpleasant sensation, and after 
 several days of treatment the opacities commence to gradually disap- 
 pear. 
 
 SOBM SULPHIS. 
 Sulphite of Soda. 
 
 Preparation. — The monosulphate or neutral salt, 'Na SO2+8 HO, 
 is prepared by saturating the bisulphite of soda with carbonate of 
 soda. 
 
 Bisulphite of Soda, Sodas Bisulphis, may be obtained bj^ passing a 
 current of sulphurous acid gas through a solution of one part of crys- 
 tallized Carbonate of soda in two parts of water, till the liquid reddens 
 vegetable blues, and then concentrate; the bisulphate forms in four- 
 sided rectangular prisms on cooling. They have a sulphurous acid 
 odor, -redden vegetable blues, and have an acid sulphurous taste; theii 
 fortnula according to Mr. Thos. Clark is, Na 2 SO, 9 HO. One part 
 of them is soluble in four parts of water at 60°, and more freely in boil- 
 ing water. This salt has been preferred by some physicians to the Hy- 
 posulphite, in the vomitings and aphthous ulcerations referred to above; 
 - it being remarTied that when the Hyposulphite is decomposed hj the 
 hydrochloric acid of the stomach, not only is sulphurous acid set free, 
 but sulphur is precipitated which is not a desirable agent — this is not 
 the case with the bisulphite. The dose of the bisulphite of soda is from 
 twenty to sixty grains. Added to syrups or vegetable juices, a few 
 grains of the bisulphite being put into a bottle containing either, sul- 
 phurous acid is evolved, which bj' destroying the yeast plant or its seeds 
 prevents fermentation. A solution, injected into one of the common 
 carotid arteries, has been been used as a preservative of bodies for dis- 
 section. It must be fully saturated with the sulphurous acid gas, or it 
 will promote putrefaction. It not only preserves the bodies, but does 
 not destroy the scalpels, nor cause any inconvenience when applied to 
 outs or abraded surfaces. It has also been used in epidemic cholera as 
 a disinfectant; being' given internally, while the rooms and streets were 
 fumigated with sulphurous acid. 
 
 Sulphite of Soda is also prepared by passing a stream of sulphurous 
 acid through a, solution of carbonate of soda, eonce-ntrating the result- 
 ing solution and allowing it to crystallize. On the large scale it is pre- 
 pared by exposing crystals of carbonate of soda, moistened, to the vapor 
 of burning sulphur. 
 
 History. — Sulphite of Soda crystallizes in white, oblique prisms, which 
 dissolve in about four parts of cold water at 60° F., and about one part 
 of boiling, have a feebly alkaline reaction, and a sulphurous taste. Br. 
 Astrie states that it is very refreshing, having an after-taste somewhat 
 
SoDii Auro-Terchloridum. 79] 
 
 like that of roasted hazel-nuts. It is efflorescent, and by exposure is 
 slowly converted into the sulphate, on which account it should always 
 be kept in a dry atmosphere and in closely-stopped vessels. Its formula 
 is Na SO2 ; the crystals contain eight atoms of water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Sulphite of Soda, as well as the Bisulphite, 
 were introduced to the profession, along with other sulphites, by M, 
 Polli, as azymotics, as described under Magnesise Sulphis, which see. 
 These several sulphites are employed in the same maladies, and for the 
 same purposes, both internally and externally ; and their efficacy in the 
 diseases in which they have been recommended is now generally ac- 
 knowledged by the medical profession. The dose of the Sulphite of 
 Soda is from ten to sixty grains three times a day. Whether used in- 
 ternally or externally it evolves sulphurous acid, upon which the re- 
 medial virtues of all the sulphites appear to depend. It agrees well 
 with the stomach, has no local irritating properties, and acts as a diu- 
 retic. 
 
 Dr. Astrie highly recommends the sulphite of soda as a remedy to the 
 -effects of mercury upon the system; the thick precipitate formed by the 
 union of white of egg and a solution of corrosive sublimate, is at once 
 restored to a transparent fluid by a few drops of a solution of the sul- 
 phite of soda. 
 
 SODII AUEO-TBECHLOEIDUM. (Chlorgoldsaures Chlornatrium.) 
 
 Auro-Terchlorlde of Sodium. Chloride of Gold and Soda. — Ghlor- 
 goldnatrium. 
 
 Preparation. — 1. Dissolve four parts of gold in nitro -muriatic acid, 
 evaporate the solution to dryness, and treat the dried mass with eight 
 times its weight of distilled water containing in solution one part of 
 well dried common salt. Evaporate the solution nearly to dryness, 
 stirring all the time with a glass rod. — Figuier. 
 
 2. Dissolve eighty-five parts by weight of terchloride of gold, arid 
 sixteen parts of chloride of sodium, in a small quantity of water; evap- 
 orate the solution by a gentle heat until a pellicle forms, and then put 
 aside to crystallize. 
 
 History. — This salt, also known as jnuriate of gold and soda, is in the 
 form of prismatic, quadrangular, and elongated crystals, of a very lively- 
 yellow color, permanent in the air, unless they contain uncombined ter- 
 chloride, when they are slightly deliquescent. They are composed of 
 69.3 of terchloride of gold, 14.1 of , chloride of sodium, and 16.6 of 
 water; their formula is Na 01 Au Ols+4 HO, and their equivalent 
 weight 400. They are soluble in waiter. When heated they give out 
 water, and then melt, and at a red heat give out chlorine ; but it requires 
 a very long continued application of heat to drive off the whole of the 
 chlorine. Of all the preparations of gold, this is the most to be relied 
 upon. When taken into the system, being a soluble salt, it is excreted 
 and passed off by the skin and kidneys, principally the latter. It is in- 
 compatible with most vegetable and mineral acids, earths, most vegetable 
 juices, and the oxides or salts of other metals. The simpler the form 
 in which it is prepared for administration, the less liability will there 
 be of its decomposition. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The chloride of gold and soda, in large doses, 
 is a corrosive poison, in small medicinal doses it is endowed with gen- 
 sral. stimulant and diuretic properties, acting also as an energetic alter- 
 
792 Materia Medica. 
 
 ative. It has been highly recommended in primary and secondary 
 syphilis, scrofulous and herpetic affections, goitre, scirrhous tumors, 
 ophthalmic affections, dropsy, etc. It it principally used among phy- 
 sicians as an antisyphilitic ; in which it is of decided eflScacy. In four 
 cases where some of the virus from chancres had accidentally lodged in 
 the eye, producing symptoms threatening a loss of that organ, I saved 
 the eyes-by bathing them several times a day, with a wash made by dis- 
 solving seven grains of the chloridfe of gold and soda in a fluidounce of 
 distilled water ; likewise using the salt internally. The dose internally 
 is from one-twelfth to one-thirtieth of a grain, which may be given in 
 pill form or in solution, thus, — Dissolve two grains of mui*. gold and 
 soda in a fluidounce of water, of which the dose is ten or fifteen drops 
 every two or three hours. For pills, mix two grains of the salt of gold, 
 with one drachm of powdered starch, lycopodium, or orris root, and 
 form into a pill mass with a suflScient quantity of gum Arabic in solu- 
 tion; divide into forty pills, each of which contains one-twentieth of a 
 grain of the gold-salt. Or, it may be given in powder made by rubbing 
 together one grain of the salt with one drachm of white sugar, or sugar 
 of milk, and dividing into twelve, fifteen, or twenty powders, according 
 to the dose required. It has, however, been given in doses of from one- 
 sixth to one-half a grain, three times a day, and without any unpleasant 
 consequences ; but when such doses are prescribed, its action should be 
 carefully watched, and its administration be suspended for a time. Its 
 effects upon the system in over doses, or when the patient contracts 
 cold while under its infiuence, are said to be equally as severe and 
 dangerous as those following the use of corrosive sublimate, under the 
 same circumstances. Externally, it may be applied to scrofulous and 
 syphilitic ulcers, in solution, or, made into an ointment with prepared 
 lard, in the proportion of seven or nine grains to the ounce of water, 
 or lard. 
 
 SODII CHLOEIDUM. (Chlornatrium.) 
 
 Chloride of Sodium, — Common Salt. — Salzsaures Natron. Kochsalz. 
 
 History. — Chloride of Sodium (Sodce Murias, Muriate of Soda) occurs 
 abundantly in both kingdoms of nature, being met with in the solid 
 form, and as an ingredient of various waters. It has been known and 
 employed as an indispensable seasoner of food since the very origin of 
 the human race. It exists in unlimited quantity in the waters of the 
 ocean, and is also found in many mineral waters, springs, etc., in a state 
 of solution. It is also met with in the solid form near Cardona, in Spain, 
 near Cracow, and in various other parts of the globe. Marine plants 
 contain it, as well as the blood of man, urine, etc. Sea water contains 
 about two and a half per cent, of chloride of Sodium, with several other 
 mineral salts. All salt waters have the salt procured from them either by 
 concentrating their water with the aid of heat, or by spontaneous evap- 
 oration. In Prance, and along the borders of the Mediterranean, the 
 waters are evaporated by exposure to the sun, and the salt procured is 
 t^le bay salt of commerce, which is in large grains approaching the cu- 
 boidal form. In the evaporation of sea water, sulphate of lime is de- 
 posited in the early part of the process, and after the crystallization of 
 the Chloride of Sodium, a large proportion of magnesian salts remain 
 in the mother-water. The salt obtained is in small, white, irregular 
 grains, tending to the cubic form, and is called sea-salt. Salt found al- 
 
SoDii Chloridum. 793 
 
 ready existing in the solid state, is termed Bock-salt, Fossil-salt, Gem- 
 salt, etc. It is usually tinged with yellow, or some other color, owing 
 to its association with small quantities of iron; etc. All these various 
 forms of salt may be purified by solution and re-crystallization. The 
 difference in them consists in the size and density of their grains, and 
 the impurities with which they are combined ; the salt itself does not 
 vai-y in its constitution. 
 
 Chloride of Sodium crystallizes in regular colorless, transparent cubes, 
 by slow evaporation; and in hollow, four-sided pyramids, by rapid. 
 They are permanent ip the air, but become moist on the surface in a 
 damp atmosphere, or when chloride of magnesium is present. They 
 are soluble in two parts and two-thirds of temperate water, which solu- 
 bility is slightly increased in boiling water. They are scarcely soluble 
 in absolute alcohol, and contain no wa,ter of crystallization. Heat 
 causes Chloride of Sodium to decrepitate from the presence of water 
 inclosed in the crystals ; a red heat fuses, and a white heat volatilizes 
 it. It communicates a bright yellow hue to the flame of spirit. Ni- 
 trate of silver added to its solution occasions a curdy white precipitate 
 of chloride of silver, soluble in ammonia. It does not yield a yellow 
 precipitate with chloride of platinum, nor a crystalline deposit with 
 tartaric acid, as is the case with chloride of potassa. Its most usual 
 impurities are sulphates, nitrates, and chlorides pf lime and magnesia. 
 Pure chloride of Sodium is almost equally soluble in temperate and in 
 boiling water; has no action on litmus or turmeric; yields little or no 
 precipitate with carbonate of soda, and nitrate of baryta; its solution 
 is not precipitated by solution of carbonate of ammonia followed by so- 
 lution of phosphate of soda, and a solution of nine grains in' distilled 
 water, is not entirely precipitated by a solution of twenty-six grains of 
 nitrate of silver. If lime and magnesia are together in the salt as im- 
 purities, carbonate of soda will occasion a white precipitate ; nitrate of 
 baryta will give a white precipitate if a sulphate be present. Carbo- 
 nate of ammonia causes a precipitate if lime be present, after which phos- 
 phate of soda will detect magnesia. It is incompatible with nitric, sul- 
 phuric, and several other acids, carbonate of potassa, nitrate of silver, 
 and protoxide of mercury. It is composed of one equivalent of chlo- 
 rine 35.42, and one of Sodium 23.3=58.72, or 731.25, Na-fCl. Accord- 
 ing to A. Stiersch, salt in contact with zinc for some time, acts upon 
 that metal forming oxide of zinc and a soluble Compound of zinc and 
 chloride of sodium ; on this account, solutions containing salt should 
 not be kept in galvanized iron vessels. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Prom two to four drachms of Chloride of So- 
 dium will purge, and sometimes vomit ; and in still greater quantity it 
 will induce free emesis without causing prostration. In smaller doses 
 it is a mild irritant, alterative, and vermifuge.* It is useful in all 
 chronic diseases characterized by a pale color of the tongue with a 
 white coat or fur. A teaspoonful or. so of salt, swallowed without being 
 in solution, will frequently check hemorrhage from the lungs ; and for 
 this purpose, as well as to act as ain astringent in diarrhea and dysen- 
 tery, it has been combined with lemon juice, or a solution of citric acid. 
 As a tonic or alterative it is very useful in scrofula and all strumous 
 diseases. Used moderately as a condiment it improves the digestive 
 
 * Chloride of sodium may be detected in urine, by adding a few drops of nitric acid to 
 some urine, in a test tube, and then a few drops of a solution of nitrate of silver. If chlo- 
 ride of sodium be present a dense white precipitate of chloride of silver, which is insolu 
 ble, wUl fall. 
 
794 Materia Medica. 
 
 powers, and corrects the disposition to generate worms. It should be 
 freely eaten by strumous children^ and those troubled with worms, 
 whose digestive organs it inyigorates. It is serviceable as an antidote 
 in poisoning by nitrate of silver. Certain kinds of dyspepsia are bene- 
 fited by it. It exerts a salutary influence upon the system, even dur- 
 ing health, when taken in yerj small quantity, but an undue amount 
 of it used daily, does, undoubtedly, in many persons dispose to plethora 
 and corpulency. In spasms of an epileptic or apoplectic character, the 
 effects of intemperance, salt and mustard, a teaspoonful or two of each, 
 given in warm water, every ten or fifteen minutes, until free emesis is 
 produced, will be found the most eflScient emetic. In these cases, 
 counter-irritation may be produced by bastinadoing the feet, and after 
 the vomiting, the patient may drink freely of good fresh milk. During 
 the cholera of 1849-50-51, in Cincinnati, much benefit was derived 
 from the following mixture : black pepper, in powder, fine table Salt, 
 of each, one teaspoonful ; vinegar, five teaspoonfuls ; hot water, half a 
 tumblerful. Dose, a tablespoonful every five, ten, or fifteen minutes, as 
 circumstances required. It speedily checked vomiting, abated the 
 watery discharges, and removed the cramps. It succeeded in many 
 cases, where every other means had failed. Externally, Salt is a topi- 
 cal stimulant, frequently useful in contusions, sprains, and glandular 
 enlargements. In powder or solution it has likewise proved efBcacious 
 as an application in some ophthalmic diseases. Added to injections it 
 renders them more stimulating. An artificial sea-water bath, Balneum 
 Maris Factitium, is made by dissolving five ounces, avoirdupois, of 
 common Salt to every wine gallon of water ; it acts as a mild irritant 
 and tonic, and is very useful for weakly persons and those of strumous 
 " diathesis. Another artificial sea-wa,ter is made for a vivarium or marine 
 aquarium in which to keep marine animalcules, sea-plants, diatoms, etc. 
 It is composed of Chloride of Sodium 43J ounces, sulphate of magnesia 
 7^ ounces, chloride of magnesium 6 ounces, sulphate of lime 2f ounces, 
 chloride of potassium 1^ ounces, bromide of magnesium, carbonate of 
 lime, each, 21 grains, soft spring or rain water 10 gallons ; mix, dis- 
 solve, and filter through a sponge in a glass funnel. The dose of Salt 
 as>a tonic or alterative, is from ten to sixty grains. It has recently 
 been recommended as a remedy in phthisis and intermittent fever. 
 The entire absence of salt in the food, gives rise to a cachectic condition, 
 and other morbid states, with the formation of an abundance of intesti- 
 nal worms. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Acidum Muriaticum Purum ; Liquor Sodse Chlorinatse ; 
 SodsB Murias Purum. 
 
 SOLANUM DULCAMAEA. (Klettenider Nachtschatten.) 
 
 Bittersweet. (Bitter susz.") 
 Nat. Ord. — Solanacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE ROOT AND TWIGS. 
 
 Description. — Bittersweet or Woody Nightshade, is a woody vine, hav- 
 ing a woody root, with a shrubby, flexuous, thornless, and branching 
 ste7n, several feet in length; with an ashy-green hark on the stem and 
 large branches. Leaves alternate, acute, generally smooth ; lower ones 
 ovate or coraate ; upper ones more or less perfectly hastate ; all entire. 
 Flowers purple, drooping, on branching peduncles from the side of the 
 stem, in spreading, cymose clusters. Calyx very small, purplish, acute. 
 
SoLANUM Dulcamara. 795 
 
 persistent, five-parted. Corolla rotate, purple, with five reflexed seg- 
 ments, and two round green spots at the base of each segment. Fila- 
 ments short ; anthers erect, opening by pores at the apex, ye.low, con- 
 verging into a cone. Ovary roundish ; style filiform ; stigma simple, 
 obtuse. Fruit a scarlet, oval, juicy, bitter, and poisonous berry ; seeds 
 many, plano-convex, whitish. — L. — W. — Gr. — B. 
 
 History. — Bittersweet, also known by the names of Violet-bloom and 
 Scarlet-berry, is common to both Europe and this country, growing in 
 moist banks, around dwellings, and in low, damp grounds, about hedges 
 and thickets, flowering in June and July. Its berries are ripened in 
 autumn, and hang upon the vines for several months. There are two 
 varieties, the S. Tomentosum, with a round stem, almost glabrous 
 throughout; and S. Marinum, having an angular stem, leaves ovate- 
 cordate, not hastate, pubescent. The parts used in medicine are the 
 roots and twigs. The berries when eaten have certainly produced 
 serious consequences, though considered by many to be harmless. 
 
 The twigs should be collected in the autumn, after the dropping of the 
 foliage; they have an unpleasant odor, which is lost by drying ; and 
 their taste is bitter, followed by some sweetness and a slight acridity. 
 The dried twigs found in the shops are in pieces varying in leflgth, 
 having a greenish-gray epidermis, a light wood, and a very light and 
 spongy pith. They impart their properties by infusion to boiling 
 water, and also to diluted alcohol; long boiling impairs their medicinal > 
 activity. Pfaff found them to contain picroglycion 21.817 ; vegeto- 
 animal matter 3.125 ; gummy extractive 12.029 ; gluten with green 
 wax 1.4; resin containing benzoic acid 2.74; gummy extractive, starch, 
 sulphate and vegetable salts of lime 2.0 ; oxalate and phosphate of lime 
 with extractive 4.0 ; and woody-fiber 62.0. Desfosses discovered sola- 
 nina in the stems. 
 
 Several other species of Solanum appear to possess medicinal power. 
 An extract of the herb Solanum Tuberosum (common potato), has been 
 found useful in chronic rheumatic affections, gastric and intestinal 
 spasms, cough, etc., in the dose of from one-eighth of a grain to a grain. 
 Some practitioners have, however, employed it in these affections, and 
 in very large doses, without observing any influence whatever. Prob- 
 ably, cultivation, soil, climate, season, etc., exert some influence upon 
 the medical powers of the plant. The potato itself has been eaten raw, 
 either with or without vinegar, in cases of scurvy, and with good ef- 
 ■ feet ; occasionally it caused narcosis, and slight purgation. Consider- 
 able potassa may be procured from potato-stalks ; and if they be gath- 
 ered while the plant is in flower, and passed through an oil-mill, the 
 juice obtained is said to form a handsome yellow dye. 
 
 Solanum Ltcopeesicon (Jjycopersicon Esculentum), or Tomato, like the 
 potato, came originally from South America. Its fruit contains an 
 acid, a thick, adhesive, brownish, resinous-like substance, and proba- 
 bly, an alkaloid. It is much used as an article of food in the United 
 States, and is supposed to exert a healthy influence upon the liver and 
 biliary organs. The leaves have a heavy, disagreeable odor, and con- 
 tain oil, extractive, and an alkaloid strongly resembling Solanina. 
 Most of the Solanums are nutritive, or possess medicinal virtues. 
 
 Solanina, or Solania, may be obtained by expressing the juice of the 
 ripe berries of Solanum Nigrum, and then adding ammonia to the 
 liquid. The alkaloid is thrown down in a grayish powder. Dissolve 
 this in boiling alcohol, and digest the solution with a little animal 
 charcoal. .Filter and evaporate, and Solanina is obtained pure. It 
 
796 Materia Medica. 
 
 I 
 
 may also be obtained from the stialks, leaves, and berries of S. Dulca- 
 mara, and S. Tuberosum, by forming a hot alcoholic solution, concen- 
 trating, and allowing to cool, when the alkaloid forms in crystals. 
 Wackenrode has also obtained it from potato sprouts by allowing them 
 to macerate for twenty-four hours in water rendered acid by the addi- 
 tion of sulphuric acid, repeating the maceration with new portions of 
 sprouts in the same liquid, and expressing. Having allowed the liquid 
 to stand seven or eight days, it was filtered, and a small excess of 
 slaked lime, in powder, added ; then filtered to obtain the precipitate, 
 which was dried, and boiled in alcohol. By several solutions in boil- 
 ing alcohol, and subsequent crystallizations, he obtained crystals of 
 Solania. Solania crystallizes in minute prisms, or feathery crystals, 
 which are colorless or of a pearly luster, odorless, and having a sharply 
 bitter, aromatic taste, followed by persistent itching in the esophagus. 
 It is hardly soluble in water or ether, more so in cold alcohol, and 
 readily so in boiling alcohol. It has an alkaline reaction, and forms 
 with acids bitter salts. Iodine forms with it, or its salts, a brown iodide 
 of Solanina, which is insoluble. Solanina is sometimes obtained in the 
 form of a pearly -white powder. It appears to be poisonous, one grain 
 having killed a rabbit in six hours; four grains caused paralysis of the 
 hind legs in an hour, followed by death in eight hours: Its formula^ 
 according to Blanchet, is Ogi Hug NOjg, and its equivalent weight 810. (?) 
 Zwenger gives it the formula Cge H,o NO32. It has not been used in 
 medicine, nor is its chemical nature satisfactorily determined. Prof. 
 Caylus, of Leipsic, who has made some careful experiments with this 
 alkaloid, as well as with the twigs of the dulcamara, states that an ex- 
 tract of the twigs is from five to ten times niore active than the twigs, 
 and Solania is thirty times more powerful than this extract. He con- 
 siders the plant and its active principles to possess poisonous proper- 
 ties, which may prove fatal in large doses. All these preparations, 
 when administered internally, cause renal congestion, and occasionally 
 an augmented urinary secretion of an albuminous nature ; thej^ exert 
 a depressing or paralyzing influence upon the respiratory nervous sys- 
 tem, cause increased but enfeebled cardiac action, tetanic sjjasms of the 
 thoracic muscles as well as of those of the extremities, and increase the 
 sensitiveness of the cutaneous nervous system ; they exert no direct 
 influence upon the brain, stomach, or bowels. He believes they act 
 more particularly on the spinal cord and medulla oblongata, and re- 
 commends the acetate of solania in pulmonary maladies attended with 
 spasm or irritation, in doses of one-sixth of a grain to a grain. — Ann. 
 de Ther., 1859, p. 24. 
 
 Picroglycion (Pfaff), or Dulcarin (Desfosses), is a bitter, sweetish, crys- 
 talline substance, which is fusible, soluble in water, alcohol, or acetic 
 ether, and is not precipitated from its solutions by infusion of nut-galls, 
 or metallic salts. Pelletier thinks it is sugar combined with Solanina. 
 —P. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Solanum Dulcamara is a mild narcotic, diuretic, 
 alterative, diaphoretic, and discutient. It has been chiefly used in 
 syrup or decoction in cutaneous diseases, syphilitic diseases, rheumatic 
 and cachectic aff'ections, ill conditioned ulcers, scrofula, induratious from 
 milk, leucorrhea,, jaundice, and obstructed menstruation,. It is of more 
 benefit in scaly cutaneous diseases than in others, as in lepi'osy, tetter, 
 eczema, and porrigo, and especially in combination with guaiacum and 
 yellow-dock root. In large doses it causes sickness at stomach, vomit- 
 ing, prostration or syncope, and spasmodic twitchings. With some 
 
SOLANUM NlQEUM. 797 
 
 s 
 
 persons it depresses the action of the heart and arteries, and causes a 
 moderate degree of lividity on the hands and face. It is reputed anta- 
 phrodisiac, and has proved beneficial in mania attended with powerful 
 excitement of the venereal functions. Equal parts of the twigs, yellow- 
 dock root, and stillingia made into a syrup, form a valuable preparation 
 for scrofulous affections, as well as syphilitic. Externally, in the form 
 of ointment, it is employed. as a discutient to painful tumors, also as 
 an application to some forms of cutaneous disease, ulcers, and erysipe- 
 latous affections. Dose of the decoction or syrup, one or twofluidounces ; 
 of the extract, from two to five grains; of the powdered leaves, from 
 ten to thirty grains. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Solani ; Extractum Dulcamara. 
 
 SOLANUM NIGEUM. (Schwarzer Nachtschatten.) 
 
 Garden Nightshade. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Solanacese. Sex. 8yst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — Solanura Nigrum is a fetid, narcotic, bushy herb, with 
 a fibrous root and an erect, branching, angular, herbaceous, thprnless 
 stem, one or two feet in height. Leaves undivided, ovate, toothed and 
 waved, smooth, lengthened out at the base, almost always with the 
 lamina perforated and the margin erose as if gnawed by insects. Um- 
 bels from the intermediate spaces between the leaves, solitary, peduncled, 
 simple, downy, nodding. Flowers white or pale-violet, with a musky 
 scent ; anthers yellow.' Berries globose, black, about the size of peas. — 
 
 L—w.—a. 
 
 History. — The Garden or Deadly Nightshade, is found growing along 
 old walls, fences, and in gardens, in various parts of the iJnited States, 
 flowering in July and August. There are several varieties of this spe- 
 cies, of which the Solanum Virginianum is the most abundant in this 
 country. It has an erect, prickly, stem; pinnatifid leaves, prickly on 
 both sides ; divisions sinuate, obtuse ; margin ciliate ; calyx prickly, and 
 flowers blue, or whitish. The leaves are the parts employed', and yield 
 their properties to water, alcohol, or fixed oils. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Solanum Nigrum is a narcotic and sedative, pro- 
 ducing when giveri in large doses, sickness and vertigo. One to three 
 grain s of the loaves infused in water, will , it is said, produce a copio us per- 
 spiration, and often purge on the next day. They have been used in 
 cancer, scurvy, and scrofulous affections, being applied locally as a eata-' 
 plasm, or in ointment, and also exhibited in small doses internally. 
 Solania exists in it more abundantly than in the S. Dulcamara, to which 
 it is somewhat analogous in medicinal properties, with more active and 
 energetic narcotic virtues. The berries are poisonous, causing torpor, 
 burning in the stomach, fever, nausea, stupor, and insensibility ; though 
 this is denied by M. Dunal of Montpelier. The plant is now employed 
 in the form of ointment only, as a discutient. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Unguentum Stramonii Compositum. 
 
798 Materia Mbdica. 
 
 SOLIDAGO ODOEA. (Wohlriechende Goldruthe.) 
 
 Sweet-scented Goldenrod. 
 
 j!^at. Ord. — Asteracese. Sex. >S'i/s^— Syngenesia Superflua. • 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — This plant is also known as Fragrant-leaved Goldenrod 
 and Sweet Goldenrod; it has a perennial, woody, much branched and 
 creeping root, and a slender, round, yellowish-green sifem, smooth or 
 slightly pubescent below, pubescent at top, often reclined, and two or 
 three feet in height. Leaves closely sessile, linear-lanceolate, broad at 
 base, entire, acute, rough at the margin but otherwise smooth, with a 
 prominent midrib, and covered with small pellucid dots. Flowers of a 
 deep golden-yellow color, in a terminal compound, and usually secund- 
 paniculate raceme, the branches of which are very slender, rigid, and 
 spread almost horizontally, are each accompanied by a small leaf, and 
 support the flowers on downy pedicels, which put forth from the upper 
 side of the peduncle, and have small, linear, subulate bracts at their 
 base. Scales of the involucre oblong, acute, smooth, or slightly pubes- 
 cent, the lower ones shorter, and closely imbricating the rest. F%orets 
 of the ray few, with oblong, obtuse, yellow ligules, those of the disk fun- 
 nel-shaped, with acute segments. Pappus shorter than the florets of 
 the disk. (The leaves of this plant are from an inch and a half to three 
 inches long by from three to five lines broad, with a strong, yellowish 
 mid vein, but no veinlets.) — L. — G. — W. 
 
 History. — This plant is common to the United States, growing in dry 
 fertile woodlands and sunny hills, and flowering from July to October. 
 There are many species of this genus growing throughout the country, 
 and which difi^er from each other in their degree of astringency and 
 fragrance. The leaves are the parts used ; they have an odor when 
 bruised resembling anise and sassafras, and a slightly astringent, spicy, 
 rather pleasant taste ; they contain a volatile oil, which may be pro- 
 cured by distilling them with water ; it is of a pale-yellowish color. 
 "When properly dried the leaves form an excellent substitute for tea. 
 They impart their virtues to alcohol, or boiling water in infusion ; but 
 boiling injures them. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Sweet-scented Goldenrod is gently stimulant 
 and carminative ; and in warm infusion diaphoretic. It may be given 
 in infusioli in flatulent colic, sickness at stomach, and as a pleasant 
 drink in convalescence from severe dysentery, diarrhea, cholera-mor- 
 bus, etc. ; and may also be added to nanaeating medicines to render 
 ■them more agreeable to the taste. The oil is carminative and diuretic ; 
 and its tincture or essence has been used as a diuretic in suppression of 
 urine among infants, and as a local application in some forms of head- 
 ache. Its essence is useful to remove flatulency, check vomiting, relieve 
 cramp of the stomach, and to hide the unpleasant flavor of nauseous 
 medicines. The flowers are said to be aperient, tonic, astringent, and 
 diuretic, and have been found beneficial in gravel; urinary obstructions, 
 ulceration of the bladder, and in the early stage of dropsy ; taken in 
 infusion. 
 
Spigelia Marilanuica. 790 
 
 SOLIBAGO EIGIDA. (Steife Goldruthe.) 
 
 Hardleaf Goldenrod. 
 
 Nat. Or<f.— Aster acess. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia Superflua. 
 
 THE LEAVES AND BLOSSOMS. 
 
 Description. — This plant is also termed Bigid Goldenrod; it has a sim- 
 ple stem, corymbose above, terete, roiind, striate, rough, minutely hairy, 
 very leafy, three to five feet in height.' Leaves one to four inches long, 
 ovate-oblong, rough, with minute rigid hairs ; upper ones entire, veiny. 
 thick, rigid ; lower closely sessile by a broad base, slightly serrate ; radi- 
 cal ones lanceolate, acuminate, nerved, petiolate, sometimes near a foot 
 long, two or two and a half inches broad. Flowers yellow, in a terminal, 
 compound, close, cojjipact, paniculate raceme. Heads very large, about 
 thirty-four flowered ; rays twice the length of the obtuse involucre, 
 deep-yellow, from seven to ten, and about three lines by one. Scales.- 
 of the involucre round-obtuse, nerved, membranaceous at the edges. — 
 W.— G. 
 
 Sistory.— This is a tall species, growing in dry fields and rocky woods 
 throughout the United States, and is abundant in the western prairies, 
 flowering in August and September. It is the styptic plant of old Dr. 
 Bone, of New Jersey, who is said to have suppressed hemorrhages from 
 large blood-vessels by applying it locally, in the powdered state ; a 
 property likewise attributed to the Solidago Virgaurea or European 
 Goldenrod, found in this country and Europe. The leaves and blos- 
 soms of S. Migida are the parts employed ; they have an astringent 
 taste, and yield their virtues to water or alcohol. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Hardleaf G-oldenrod is tonic, astringent, and 
 styptic. In powder or infusion, it is beneficial in all external hemor- 
 rhages, epistaxis, hemoptysis, hematemesis, and hemorrhage from the 
 bowels. Applied with excellent effect in form of poultice, to old ulcers. 
 The oil is diuretic. This plant deserves further investigation. 
 
 The Solidago Gigantea, Smooth Three-ribbed G-oldenrod, will like- 
 wise be found to possess similar virtues. The Chrysopsis Argentea, 
 Silver Aster, also named G. Graminifolia, belonging to this family of 
 plants, forms a very powerful styptic application to wounds, and said 
 to be the sheet-anchor in field-surgery among the Cherokees. Internally 
 it is beneficial in diarrhea, dysentery, aphthous ulceration of the mouth, 
 «tc. 
 
 SPIGBLI^L MAEILANDICA. (Marylandische Spigelie.) 
 
 Pink-root. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eubiacese ; Suborder, Spigeliese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria 
 Monogynia. 
 
 THE EOOT. 
 
 Description. — Botanists vary in their arrangement of this plant ; be- 
 side the above given order and suborder, we find it classed in the natural 
 order Gentianacece, also Spigeliacece, and Loganiacem. It is usually known 
 as the Carolina Pink or Worm-grass. Is is a herbaceous, indigenous 
 plant, with a perennial, very fibrous, yellow root, which sends up several 
 erect, simple, nearly smooth, four-angled stems, of a purplish color, six 
 to twenty inches high. Leaves opposite, sessile, ovate-lanceolate, acute 
 or acuminate, entire, smooth, with the margin and veins roughish-hairy ; 
 
800 Materia Medica. 
 
 they are three or four inches long by an inch and a half, or two inches 
 and a half broad, the stipules are scarcely perceptible. Flowers few in 
 number, in a terminal seeund spike, supported on short pedicels; thej' 
 are somewhat club-shaped, scarlet externally, yellow internally, from 
 an inch and a half to two inches in length. Calyx persistent, willi five, 
 long, linear, subulate finely serrulate divisions, which are reflexod in tliu 
 ripe fruit. Corolla funnel-shaped, four times as long as the .calyx, the 
 tube inflated in the middle and angular at top, divided into five acute, 
 spreading segments, the edges of which are slightly tinged with green. 
 Stamens short, inserted into the mouth of the corolla between the seg- 
 ments ; anthers oblong, heart-shaped, exserted. Ovary small, superior, 
 ovate; style about the length of the corolla, jointed near its base, and 
 terminating in a linear, fusiform, fringed stigma, projecting considerably 
 beyond the corolla. Capsule double, consisting of two cohering, one- 
 celled, globular carpels attached to a common receptacle, and containing 
 numerous, small, angular seeds. — L. — W. — G-. — B. 
 
 History. — This plant is a native of the United States, growing'in dry 
 rich soils, and on the borders of woods in the Southern States, flower- 
 ing in May and June. The plant, of which several varieties exist, was 
 used by the natives as an anthelmintic long before the discovery of 
 America, and through them a knowledge of it was imparted to the 
 early settlers, who used it for some years before it was introduced to the 
 profession. Drs. Lining, Chalmers, and Garden, of South Carolina, 
 acquainted the medical public with its uses, since which it has become 
 an officinal I'emedy. It is generally received in bales or casks from the 
 Western States, in which section it has been found growing in great 
 abundance. The part used is the root. It is composed of a number of 
 delicate, crooked, corrugated fibers, of a dajrk-brown color externally, 
 issuing from a short dark-brown rhizome, arid having a feeble odor, and 
 a bitterish, saccharine, somewhat nauseous taste. Boiling water readily 
 takes up its sensible qualities by infusion. Wackenrode found the herb 
 to contain myricin 0.30, resin, with chlorophyll, 2.40, peculiar resin 0.50, 
 peculiar tannic acid 17.20, lignin 75-20, malates of potash, and lime, and 
 chloride of potassium 6.30. In the root he found fixed oil a trace, acrid 
 resin with seme fixed-oil 3.13, peculiar tannic acid 10.56, bitter acrid ex- 
 tractive 4.89, lignin 82.69. Peneulle found albumen and a viscid, sac- 
 charine substance. Dr. E. H. Stabler, in a recent analysis of Pink-root, 
 found it to contain a bitter, unerystallizable proximate principle, a vola- 
 tile oil, tannic acid, inert extractive, wax, inert resin, salts of soda, potassa 
 and lime, and lignin. He believes the activity to reside in its bitter, 
 acrid principle, which is soluble in water or alcohol, insoluble in ether, 
 non-volatile, neutral, and deliquescent. The alkaline carbonates do not 
 diminish its activity. — Am. Jour. Pharm., CXXXI., 511. Age impairs 
 the virtues of Pink-root. Sometimes the roots of other plants will be 
 found mixed with those of Spigelia ; they, together with the stalks and 
 leaves of the latter, should be carefully removed before preparing the 
 medicine for administration. 
 
 Properties and CTses.^— Pink -root is an active and certain vermifuge, 
 especially among children. In large doses it is very apt to purge, and 
 produce various unpleasant symptoms, as increased action of the heart 
 and arteries, dizziness, dilatation of the pupils, imperfect vision, and 
 muscular spasms, often terminating in convulsions, together with various 
 other indications of narcosis. One of its more frequent effects is spas- 
 modic twitchings of the eyelids. These symptoms seldom happen when 
 catharsis is produced, either by the drug alone, or exhibited in combi- 
 
SpiRiEA TOMENTOSA. 801 
 
 natioB with a purgative. The powdered root may be given to a child 
 from two to four years of age in doses of from five grains to a scruple, or 
 one or two fluidounces of a sti-ong infusion, administering it twice a 
 day for a few days, and then' giving an active purgative. A jelly has 
 been recommended as an agreeable form of administration, as follows : 
 To sixteen fluidounces of water add eight ounces of pulverized Pink- 
 root, and four drachms of Corsican moss, and boil down to ten fluid- 
 ounces. The decoction should then be decanted into a saucepaen, con- 
 taining two and a half ounces of white sugar, and again boiled down, 
 carefully stirring with a silver spoon, until four ounces of jelly arc 
 obtained. Then strain through a sieve into a jar containing two drops 
 of the essence of citron or caraway. It will keep for some time in a 
 cool place, and its flavor may be improved by substituting syrup of, 
 raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries, or mulberries, etc., for the sugar. 
 It is also useful in those conditions of the system, caused by worms, 
 which resemble infantile remittent and other febrile diseases, and hy- 
 drocephalus. A well known worm tea is composed of Pinlf-root half 
 an ounce ; senna two drachms ; savin half a drachm ; manna two 
 drachms. Mix, and infuse in a pint of water ; dose one or two fluid- 
 ounces. Dose of powdered Pink-root for an adult, one or two drachms. 
 Off. Frep. — Extractum Spigelise et Sennse J'luidum: lufusum Spigelia". 
 
 SPIE.^A TOMENTOSA. (Pilzige Spiree.) 
 
 Hardback. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eosacese. Sex. Syst. — Icosandria Pentagynia. 
 
 THE HERB. 
 
 Description. — This plant, known also by the names of Meadow-sweet, 
 White-leaf, and Steeple-bush, is a small shrub, about three or four feet in 
 height, with several simple, straight, round, ferruginous-tomentose, 
 hard, brittle stems ; leaves alternate, simple, ovate-lanceolate, smoothish 
 and dark-green above, rusty white with a dense tomentum beneath, 
 unequally serrate, crowded, on short petioles — they are an inch and a 
 half to two inches in length, and about one half as wide. Flowers 
 small, very numerous, light-purple or rose colored, in a short, dense, 
 slender, terminal spike, or pyramidal -cluster of some beauty. Sta- 
 mens numerous, exserted, conspicuous ; styles five ; carpels five, distinct, 
 woolly ; seeds awl-shaped at each end. — W. — Gr. 
 
 History. — This is a beautiful shrub, common in low grounds and 
 moist meadows, throughout the United States, flowering from May to 
 August. The herb is the part used, especially the leaves and bark. It 
 has an odor somewhat resembling that of black tea, and a very astrin- 
 gent, bitter taste, which properties it imparts to boiling water in infusion. 
 It appears to contain tannic and gallic acids, and bitter extractive. The 
 fruit is persistent, remaining through the winter, and furnishing food for 
 the snow-bird. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Hardback has been found an excellent astrin- 
 gent in summer-complaint of children, diarrhea, and other diseases re- 
 quiring this class of remedies, and is less offensive to the stomach than 
 most agents of this kind. It has likewise proved efficient as a tonic in 
 cases of debility, convalescence from diarrhea, dysentery, etc., and to 
 improve the digestive functions. It is generally given in infusion, the 
 dose being one or two fluidounces. A very elegant extract, not inferior 
 to catechu, may be made by carefully evaporating an infusion made by 
 51 
 
802 Materia Medica. 
 
 percolation, aad which may be given in doses of from two grains to a 
 scruple. 
 
 SPIRIT TAPOE-BATH. (Weingeist Dunst Bad.) 
 Hot- Air Bath. — Seisse Luft Bad. 
 
 History and Uses. — A Spirit Vapor-bath exerts a most powerful, yet 
 beneficial influence upon the whole system, aiding vei-y materially oux 
 endeavors to remove disease. This highly valuable mode of producing 
 activity of the cutaneous vessels has long been practiced in many sections 
 of the country as a domestic remedial agent, and was first introduced 
 to the notice of the medical profession by myself, about twenty-five 
 years ago, since which it is in much use among physicians. The ad- 
 vantages to be derived from this .method of producing perspiration are 
 very great, and it is not followed with any of those injurious conse- 
 quences which often attend the internal administration of a sudorific. 
 
 It is to be given as follows : The patient is undressed, ready for get- 
 ting into bed, having removed the shirt and underclothing worn through 
 the day, and put on a night-shirt or other clothing to be worn only 
 while sweating, and during the night, if the bath is taken at bedtime. 
 He is then seated on a high Windsor, or wooden -bottomed chair, or in- 
 stead thereof, a bench or board may be placed on a common open -bot- 
 tomed chair, care being taken that the bottom is so covered that the- 
 flame will not burn him. After seating himself, a large blanket or 
 coverlet is thrown around him from behind, covering the back part of 
 his head and body, as well as the chair, and another must be passed 
 around him in front, which last is to be pinned at the neck, loosely, so 
 that he can raise it and cover his face, or remove it down from his face, 
 from time to time, as occasion requires, during the operation of the bath. 
 The blankets must reach down to the floor, and cover each other at the 
 sides, so as to retain the vapor, and prevent it from passing off. 
 
 This having been done, a saucer or tin vessel, into which is put one or 
 two tablespoonfuls of whisky, brandy, spirits, alcohol, or any liquor that 
 will burn, is then placed upon the floor, directly under the center of the 
 bottom of the chair, raising a part of the blanket from behind to place 
 it there ; then light a piece of paper, apply the flame to the liquor, and 
 as soon as it kindles, let down-the part of the blanket which has been 
 raised, and allow the liquor to burn till it is consumed, watching it 
 from time to time to see that the blankets are not burned. As soon as 
 consumed, put more liquor into the saucer, about as much as before, and 
 again set it on fire, being very careful to pour no liquor into the saucer 
 while the flame exists, as there would be danger of burning the patient, 
 blankets, and perhaps the house. Continue this until the patient sweats 
 or perspires freely, which in a majority of cases will be in five or ten 
 minutes. 
 
 If, during the operation, the patient feels faint or thirsty, cold water 
 must be sprinkled or dashed in his face, or he may drink one or two 
 swallows of it ; and in some cases, the head may be bathed with cold 
 water. 
 
 As soon as free perspiration is produced, wrap the blankets around 
 him, place him in bed, and cover him up warm, giving him about a 
 pint of either good store tea, ginger, or some herb tea to drink, as 
 warm as he can take it. After two or. three hours, remove the covering, 
 piece by piece, at intervals of twenty or twenty-five minutes between 
 each, that he may gradually cease perspiring. 
 
Spibitus jEtheris Nitrosi. 803 
 
 There is uo danger of taking cold after this Hot- Air bath, if the pa- 
 tient uses ordinary precaution ; and if his disease will allow, he can 
 attend to his business on the next day the same as usual. In fact, the 
 whole is a very easy, safe, agreeable and beneficial operation, much 
 more so than a mere, reading of the above explanation would lead one 
 to suppose. Chairs are now manufactureid expressly for this purpose. 
 
 This bath is much employed by many physicians, and is highly benefi- 
 cial in colds, pleurisy, and all febrile and inflammatory attacks^ diar- 
 rhea, dysentery, sluggishness of cutaneous vessels, and in all chronic 
 disease where there is an abnormal condition of the skin. In acute dis- 
 eases, it maj'^ be repeated once a day, if required , in chronic diseases, 
 onco or twice a week, or once in a fortnight, accoi ding to indications. 
 
 "Where it can be done, it is always preferable to bathe the patient 
 with an alkaline wash, both before and after this Vapor-bath. 
 
 SPIEITUS ^THBEIS NITEOSI. 
 Spirit of Nitrous Ether. (Salpeter-jEther-Wein-Geist.) 
 
 Also known by thp names, Sweet Spirit of Niter; Spirit of Nitric 
 Ether; Solution of the impure Hyponitrite of Oxide of Ethyle in Alcohol 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Eectified Spirit (alcohol) two pints and six 
 Jluidounces ; pure ^Nitric Acid (D. 1500) seven fluidounces. Put fifteen 
 ounces of the Spirit, with a little clean sand, into a two-pint matrass, 
 fitted with a cork, through which are passed a safety-tube terminating 
 an inch above the spirit, and another tube leading to a refrigeratory. 
 The safety-tube being filled with pure Nitric Acid, add through it 
 gradually three fluidounces and a half of the Acid. When the ebullition 
 which slowly arises, is nearly over, add the rest of the Acid gradually, 
 half a fluidounce at a time, waiting till the ebullition caused by each 
 portion is nearly over before adding more, and cooling the refrigera- 
 tory with a stream of water, iced in summer. The ether thus distilled 
 over being received into a bottle, it is to be agitated, first with a little 
 milk of lime till it ceases to redden litmus-paper, and then with half 
 its volume of a concentrated solution of muriate of lime. The pure (?) 
 hyponitrons ether thus obtained, which should have a density of 0.899, 
 is then to be mixed with the remainder of the Eectified Spirft, or ex- 
 actly four times its yolume. 
 
 " Spirit of Nitric Ether ought not to be kept long, as it always under- 
 goes decomposition, and becomes at length strongly acid. Its density 
 by this process is 0.847." — Ed. The above measures are Imperial. 
 
 "Wittstein gives the following formula: "Alcohol, 80 per cent., sp. gr. 
 0.840, twenty-four parts, is combined with pure Nitric Acid, sp.-gr. 1.20, 
 six parts. This is distilled in a sand-bath, or over a naked fire, until 
 twenty parts have passed over ; lime is then added and shaken with it 
 so long as it reddens litmus-paper ; the neutral fluid poured from the 
 excess of lime is now rectified to a small residue, and to exclude the 
 external air the space between the retort and receiver must be tightly 
 connected by a bladder, in which there are only a few needle punctures 
 to allow the air contained in the receiver to escape. About eighteen 
 parts of Sweet Spirit of Niter are obtained, which must be at once put 
 into three or four ounce vials, well filled and stopped ; thereby prevent- 
 ing the whole stock from becoming acid at once from frequent exposure 
 to the air." 
 
 History. — Ir: the process of the Edinburgh Dispensatory, an impure 
 
804 ' Materia Medica. 
 
 hyponitrous ether is first formed, to which, subsequently, four volumes 
 of rectified spirit are added. When the operation is conducted on a 
 large scale, violent action and daffgerous explosions will be apt to occur, 
 unless the precautions named in the first part of the Edinburgh formula 
 are strictly attended to. When the ebullition manifests a tendency to 
 become tumultuous, according to Christison, it may be subdued at once 
 by simply blowing cool air across the matrass. The presence of the 
 sand in the matrass, and the position of the extremity of the safety- tube, 
 are essential precautions, without which the liberation of the ethor is 
 attended with dangerous succussions or violent ebullition. Under ordi- 
 nary circumstances nitric acid will not combine with the oxide of ethyle 
 contained in alcohol, but by losing two equivalents of oxygen, it is con- 
 verted into hyponitrous acid, and then enters into combination with it. 
 The two equivalents of oxygen are, however, not evolved free, but act- 
 ing on another portion of alcohol, abstracts from it two equivalents of 
 hydrogen, forming two equivalents of water, and a new body, aldehyd, 
 or dehydrogenized alcohol, C4 Hj O2. Other secondary products are also 
 formed. The distillate is slightly acid, from which it is freed by agi- 
 tation with milk of lime; and any water or alcohol it may contain is 
 removed by the addition of conoentrated solution of chloride of calcium ; 
 a pure ether separating and floating on the saline solution. Wittstein 
 states that a portion of aldehyd remains stubbornly combined with the 
 hyponitrous ether ; to remove which, it must be rectified to about one- • 
 sixth in an apparatus through which, during the distillation, a continu- 
 ous stream of carbonic acid is passed, otherwise the oxygen of the air 
 in the apparatus would mix with the aldehyd and ether, and cause the 
 formation of free nitric acid. In the formula given by Wittstein, nitrite 
 of oxide of ethyle and aldehyd are formed chiefly, which remain dis- 
 solved in the excess of alcohol. For a very excellent article on the 
 method of preparing Sweet Spirit of Niter, by B. E. Squibbs, M. D., 
 of the U. S. Navy, see Am. Jour. Pharm., XXVIII., 289. Sweet Spirit of 
 Niter is at the present time prepared in large quantity for druggists 
 by manufacturing chemists, and should be made by them according to 
 the U. S. Pharmacopasia, the formula in which is based upon that of 
 Dr. Squibb, just referred to, and which yields an article of a uniform 
 character and strength, of specific gravity 0.837. 
 
 Sweet Spirit of Niter is of a Very light greenish-yellowish color, of a 
 strong, agreeable ethereal taste and odor, somewhat analogous to those 
 of ripe apples, and of specific gravity 0.837. It is very volatile, pro- 
 duing much cold by its evaporation, and is also inflammable, its flame 
 being whitish. On keeping, it becomes strongly acid, more especially 
 when frequently exposed to atmospheric action. It readily combines 
 with water or alcohol, boils at 156°, and should not redden litmus-paper. 
 By evaporation with gentle heat it gives no residue. When its decom- 
 position into acid, etc., has not proceeded far enough to give an effer- 
 vescence with carbonate of potassa, it is not worth noticing. By keep- 
 ing crystals of bicarbonate of potaesa in Sweet Spirit of Niter, Mr. 
 Harvey says, its tendency to acidify will be prevented without its be- 
 coming appreciably alkaline. If chloric ether be present in Sweet 
 Spirit of Niter, nitrate of silver will cause a white precipitate of chlo- 
 ride of silver. If aldehyd be present a solution of caustic potassa will 
 produce an irritating, cinnamon odor, and impart a yellow color to the 
 liquid, owing to the formation of an oil which rapidly oxidizes and is 
 converted into a resin, but which is different from the brown resiii of 
 aldehyd, also formed by the addition of potassa. Acids, as acetic and 
 
Si'iRETTis PYUoxii^icrs. 805 
 
 nitric, may be known by litmus-paper, and carbonate of potassa as 
 above stated. Acetic acid, is very apt to form rapidly when aldehyd 
 is present, owing to the action of oxygen, which converts it into acetic 
 acid and water. The greater part of the Sweet Spirit of loiter of the 
 shops is adulterated either with alcohol or water, which, of course, 
 materially impair its value as a medicine; these adulterations are ex- 
 ceedingly difficult to detect. The presence of alcohol might be detected 
 by adding an article to the suspected fluid which is soluble in that 
 menstruum but not in ether or water ; while water might be ascer- 
 tained by the solution of a substance soluble in this fluid, but not in 
 ether or alcohol. Sweet Spirit of Niter is composed of hyponitroua 
 ether, alcohol, and a little aldehyd, which latter is difficult to remove 
 entirely, unless the distillation during the process of obtaining the spirit 
 be stopped immediately upon the 'first appearance of this impurity. 
 When the aldehyd is removed, the spirit consists of one volume of hy- 
 ponitrous ether, and four volumes of alcohol. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — When not adulterated with water or alcohol. 
 Spirit of Mtrous Ether is a stimulant and antispasmodic, in" its actions 
 closely resembling those of sulphuric ether' but less energetic. As a 
 diuretic, it is considered useful in dropsy associated with diseased heart, 
 more so than when connected with diseased kidney; being a stimulant 
 diuretic, it is best adapted to asthenic conditions. In dropsy it may be 
 advantageously combined with syrup of squill, acetate, bicarbonate, or 
 nitrate of potassa, or tincture of digitalis. It is useful in strangury, 
 and is a good addition to copaiba as a diuretic for diluting the acrimony 
 of the urine. However, it will be found an uncertain diuretic, not al- 
 ways exerting this influence in cases where it is administered. It is often 
 used in fevers as a refrigerant and mild diaphoretic, and may Ipe given 
 alone, or in conjunction with other agents to cause diuresis and per- 
 spiration. When the preparation becomes old, nitrous acid is formed, 
 and its internal administration will be followed by pain in the stomach 
 and gripings. As a carminative, it is frequently useful in relieving 
 flatulence and allaying nausea. On account of its volatility, it may be 
 applied externally to produce cold by its evaporation. Spirit of ISTitrous 
 Ether when inhaled is a narcotic poison ; its accidental inhalation dur- 
 ing sleep has caused death. Pereira gives the following mode of treat- 
 ment for persons who have inhaled this ether, as well as carbonic acid 
 gas: ''Eemovethe patient immediately into the open air, and place him 
 on his back, with his head somewhat elevated. Produce artificial res- 
 piration by pressing down the ribs, forcing up the diaphragm, and then 
 suddenly removin^'the pressure. Dash cold waterover the body, apply 
 bottles of hot water to the feet," with frictions, inhalations of ammonia, 
 and stimulants. Dose of Spirit of Nitrous Ether, from half a flui- 
 drachm to two fluidrachms, three or four times a day in water, or ac- 
 cording to the indications to be fulfilled. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Mistura Copaibse Composita. 
 
 SPIEITUS PYEOXILICUS. (Methyloxyd.) 
 
 Pyroxilic Spirit — Holzather. 
 
 History. — This substance has received the names of Wood Naphtha, 
 Pyroligneous Ether, Hydrated Oxide of Methyle, Wood Alcohol, 
 Methylic Alcohol, etc.; it appears to have been discovered in 1812, by 
 Mr. Philip Tnj'lor, who, however, did not make it known until in 1822 
 
806 Materia Medica. 
 
 When wood is distilled for the purpose of obtaining acetic acid, the 
 Pyroxilic Spirit is formed, and found in the aqueous liquid which comes 
 over. It is decanted off to separate it from the tar which comes over at 
 the same time. This aqueous liquid being again subjected to distillation, 
 it is in the first tenth of the product that we are to look for the Pyroxi- 
 lic Spirit. By repeated rectification it is obtained in a state of consid- 
 erable purity. The last rectification must be made over quick-lime, 
 partly to remove water, and partly some other impurities. The quan 
 tity of ammonia disengaged when the lime is added is considerable. 
 
 Pyroxilic Spirit is pure when it does not become colored by exposure 
 to the air and light, when it mixes with water in all proportions with- 
 out becoming rqiuddy, and when it has no action on paper stained with 
 vegetable colors. It is colorless, very fluid, and has a peculiar smell, at 
 once alcoholic and aromatic, and mixed with the odor of acetic ether. 
 It boils at 150° P., and its specific gravity is 0.798. It may be pre- 
 served without alteration in a vessel, though imperfectly corked ; but 
 when its vapor mixed with air is left in contact with spongy platinum, 
 much heat js evolved, and formic acid is formed. It dissolves many 
 salts, many resins, potassa, soda, most essential oils, and forms crystal- 
 line compounds with chloride of- calcium, baryta, and lime. It readily 
 unites with alcohol, ether, and water. — T. It differs from acetone or 
 pyro-acetic spirit by its dissolving a saturated solution of chloride of 
 calcium, which is not the case with the latter. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Pyroxilic Spirit is the preparation recommended 
 by Dr. J. Hastings as a remedy for phthisis pulmonalis ; he incorrectly 
 termed it Wood Naphtha. Although it has no influence in effecting 
 cures in this disease, it is frequently of service in relieving the cough 
 and feverish symptoms which manifest themselves. As to its action in 
 vomiting, Christison says, " I can amply confirm all that has been said 
 of it as an antiemetic remedy in cases of chronic vomiting ; for in cases 
 of this affection depending on both functional or organic disease, I have 
 frequently seen the vomiting arrested or greatly mitigated by Pyroxilic 
 Spirit." It has also been found of service in dysentery and diarrhea. 
 The dose is from five to twenty drops, three or four times a day, mixed 
 with a fluidrachm or two of compound tincture of cardamom and a 
 fluidounce of water. It may be substituted for alcohol in lamps for 
 chemical purposes, and answers exceedingly well for making varnishes, 
 as it is more volatile than alcohol.- Bodies which contain much oxygen 
 are more readily dissolved by it than hydrogenous bodies. 
 
 SHELL-LAO SPLITS. (Schellack.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of finely pulverized Shell-lac one pound, alcohol 
 90 per cent, one quart; mix, and expose it to a moderate heat in a loosely 
 stopped bottle, for forty-eighty hours, when the Shell-lac will be dis- 
 solved. "With this solution saturate woolen cloth, and allow it to dry. 
 To apply and fit the cloth to any part, cut it into the proper shape, and 
 then hold it near a fire or hot stove, or dip it into boiling water, when 
 it will become soft and j)liabie. As soon as it has cooled so as not to 
 burn the patient, apply it to the part, and by holding it for a few min- 
 utes, or by the application of the bandage while it is yet pliable, it will 
 assume any form desired, and on coolingj it becomes hard and remains 
 exactly as at first placed. If it is desirable to strengthen the splint, 
 take two pieces of the saturated cloth, spread one side of each with a 
 thick coat of the solution, by means of a common paint-brush, allow 
 
Spongia. 807 
 
 the alcohol to' evaporate, and then, placing these two coated sides to- 
 gether, press them with a hot flat-iron until they have become perfectly 
 cemented. This operation may be repeated several times, if it is neces- 
 sary to increase the strength of the cloth or splint. 
 
 SPONGIA. (Schwamm.) 
 Sponge. 
 
 History. — Sponge belongs to the class Protozoa of animals, character- 
 ized by a soft, very elastic body, multiform, more or less irregular, very 
 porous, traversed by numerous canals, which open externally by very 
 distinct vents (oscula), and composed of a kind of subcartilaginoue 
 skeleton, anastomosed in every direction ; composed of reticulated 
 horny fibers in or among which are usually imbedded siliceous or cal- 
 careous spicula ; they are fixed by a kind of root at the base, or en- 
 crusting. They are in verj' large masses, flattened and slightly convex 
 above, cracked and lacunose, especially feelow; oscula large and round. 
 Turkey Sponge from Smyrna is the best and finest kind met with in the 
 shops ; West India or Bahama-Sponge is of a much coarser character. 
 Sponge adheres to rocks by a very broad base, and those who collect it, 
 carry with them a knife in order to facilitate its removal. When first 
 taken from the sea it has a fishy odor, and has to be squeezed and 
 washed to free it from gelatinous matter, otherwise it would speedily 
 putrefy. Its color varies from a pale to a deep brownish-yellow, and 
 it generally contains sand and other foreign matters from which it 
 should be freed as much as possible, before using. The Sponge of com- 
 merce is merely the dry skeleton of the animal from which the gela- 
 tinous flesh has been removed. It is soft, light, flexible, and compressi- 
 ble, absorbs water and thereby swells up, burns evolving an animal 
 odor, is dissolved by liquor potassa, and is colored yellow by nitric 
 acid. To prepare it for use, it should first be beaten and well shaken, 
 then placed in water for a day or two, beaten again, dried and shaken 
 to remove foreign substances, after which it may be placed in very dilute 
 hydrochloric or sulphuric acid to dissolve the earthy concretions, and 
 finally wasted in several waters to free it from acid. Hornemann found 
 Sponge to contain a substance similar to osmazome, animal mucus, fat 
 oil, a substance soluble in water, a substance soluble only in potassa, 
 and traces of chloride of sodium, iodine, sulphur, phosphate of lime (?), 
 silica, alumina, and magnesia. Hatchett found in it gelatin, and a thin, 
 brittle, membranous substance, resembling coagulated albumen. — P. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^Sponge, properly prepared, is of much utility 
 to the surgeon, on account of the facility with which it absorbs fluids, 
 and is much used for removing blood during operations, which would 
 otherwise interfere with their safe andrapid termination; to imbibe acrid 
 discharges from wounds and ulcers ; and to check external hemorrhage 
 from small bloodvessels by pressing it upon the bleeding part. The 
 Sponge tent made by impregnating Sponge with melted wax, pressing 
 it between two iron plates, and then forming it into size and shape re- 
 quired, is not resorted to as frequently as formerly in enlarging sinus 
 orifices and canals. Sponge has likewise been used for producing pre- 
 mature delivery, by introducing a piece of sponge tent, of a conical 
 form, into the mouth of the uterus, and allowing it to remain there for 
 a time, and then changing it -until by its swelling, and the irritation 
 it produces, uterine contractions are caused. Sponge tents, tamponsi, 
 
808 Materia Medica. 
 
 etc., may readily be made by first moistening the Sponge with water 
 then cut or mold it into any shape, or press it into a tube of the re- 
 quired diameter, and immerse it into alcohol of 95 per cent., the Sponge 
 permanently retains the shape given to it. To remove this firmness it 
 is only required to moisten the sponge with water. 
 
 SPONGIA USTA. (Gebrannter Schwamm.) 
 Burnt Sponge. 
 
 Preparation. — Cut the sponge in pieces, and bruise it, so as to fiee ii 
 from foreign matters adhering to it; burn it in a covered iron vessel, 
 until it becomes black and friable ; afterward reduce it to a very fine 
 powder. — Dune. — Lond. By burning, sponge is partly decomposed. It 
 loses its water, and the animal principles of which it chiefly consists 
 are decomposed; but the charcoal and saline matters, especially the 
 iodine upon which its virtues depend, remain in a state fitter for medi- ' 
 cal use. The burning or roasting should not be carried further than 
 what is sufficient to decompose the animal principles, and render the 
 Sponge friable ; 1000 parts of sponge yield 333 of burnt. — Ed. — I>unc. 
 
 History. — Preuss calcined 1000 parts of Sponge : of these, 343.848 
 parts were destroyed by heat. The residue consists of carbon and 
 siliceous insoluble matters, 327.0 ; chloride of sodium 112.08 ; sulphate 
 of lime 16.430 ; iodide of sodium 21.422 ; bromide of magnesium 7.570; 
 carbonate of lime 103.2 ; magnesia 4.73 : protoxide of iron 28.720 ; and 
 phosphate of lime 35.0. Burnt Sponge, if good, should evolve violet 
 fumes {vapor of iodine), when heated with sulphuric acid in a flask. — P. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Said to be alterative and antiscrofulous ; and 
 has been efficacious in scrofula, bronchocele, diseases of the skin, and 
 tuberculous affections generally. Its dose is from half a drachm to two 
 or even three drachms. A pill, which has acquired some considerable 
 reputation in the cure of scrofula, and tuberculous maladies generally, 
 called the Iodine pill, and which I made known to the profession sev- 
 eral years since, is made as follows : Take of iodine fifty grains ; sul- 
 phate of morphia ten grains ; Burnt Sponge one hundred grains. Trit- 
 urate these well together, and into a fine powder, and then form the 
 mixture into a pill mass, by the addition of molasses or other compati- 
 ble medium, and divide into one hundred pills. To be kept in a dry 
 place. Dose, two or three pills daily. 
 
 STATICE CAEOLINIANA. (Carolinische Grasnelke.) 
 
 Marsh Eosemary. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Plumbaginacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Pentagynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — The resemblance which this plant bears to the foreign 
 Stafice I/imonium, is such as to have induced many botanists to rank it 
 as a variety. They will be found to differ, however, in the American 
 species having smaller flowers, and flat, somewhat wedge-shaped leaves, 
 while the leaves of the S. I/imonium are oblong and wavy at the mar- 
 gins. Statice Caroliniana is also known by the names of Sea -Lavender, 
 Ink-root, etc.; it is a perennial maritime plant, indigenous, having a 
 large, fleshy, fusiform or branched, brownish -red root, from which 
 
Stellakia Media. SOS 
 
 arises annually a scape and leaves. Leaves radical, petiolate, cunei- 
 form, or narrow obovate, smooth, veinless, obtuse, mucronated, level 
 and flat on the margin. Scapes round, smooth, slightly scaly, flexuose, 
 terminated hj a panicle of numerous branches, which bear the flowers 
 on the upper side only. Flowers pale bluish -ptirple, altei-nate, erect, 
 mostly in pairs, but appearing singly in consequence of one expanding 
 before the other. Peduncles short, forked, concealed by several sheath- 
 ing scales. Calyx funnel shaped, scarioue and pink at the edge, five- 
 angled, the angles ciliate, ending in long acute teeth, with sometimes, 
 not always, minute intermediate teeth. Petals five, spathulate, obtuse, 
 longer than the calyx. Stamens five, inserted in the claws of the 
 petals ; anthers heart-shaped. Ovary superior, small, obovate, with five 
 ascending styles shorter than the stamens. Fruit an oblong utricle, 
 one-seeded, inclosed in the calyx. — L. 
 
 History. — Marsh Eosemary is common in the salt-marshes on the 
 Atlantic shore of the United States, bearing flowers from August to 
 October. The part used is the root, which is rather large and heavy, 
 inodorous, but having a saltish, amarous, and strongly astringent taste. 
 Alcohol or water takes up its properties, especially when hot or boiling. 
 Mr. E. Parrist, who analyzed it, found it to consist of about 12 per 
 cent, of tannic acid, volatile oil. resin, gum, albumen, caoutchouc, ex- 
 tractive, coloring matter, woody fiber, and several salts.— ^Im. Jour: 
 Pharm., XIV., 116. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Marsh Eosemary is a strong astriiogent, and 
 has long been used as a domestic remedy in diarrhea, dysentery, etc., 
 in the font of infusion or decoction. It is not indicated in the acute 
 stages of these affections, but will be found very eflicacious as an as- 
 tringent and tonic, after the active symptoms have subsided. The de- 
 coction is very useful as a gargle or wash in ulcerations of the mouth 
 and throat, scarlatina anginosa, etc. Externally, the powdered root 
 may be applied to old ulcers, or made into an ointment, as a soothing 
 application for piles. The decoction is like-v^ise very useful as an in- 
 jection in chronic gonorrhea, gleet, leucorrhea, prolapsus ani and uteri, 
 and in some ophthalmic affections. It may be used in all cases where 
 astringents are indicated. 
 
 The Statice liimonium, of Europe, is possessed of the same powers, 
 but in a less degree. The infusion may be given in doses of from half 
 a fluidounce to two fluidounces, every two, three, or four hours. 
 
 STBLLAEIA MEDIA. (Mittleres Sternkraut.) 
 
 Chickweed. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Caryophyllacese. Sex. Syst. — Decandria Trigynia. 
 
 THE PLANT. 
 
 Description. — This plant is the Alsine Media of Linnaeus ; it is an an- 
 nual or biennial weed, six to fifteen inches in length, with prostrate, 
 branched, brittle, round, jointed, and leafy stems, distinguished by the 
 alternate, lateral, hairy lines, extending from joint to joint. Leaves 
 ovate, ovate-cordate, glabrous, the lower on hairy petioles. Flowers 
 small, white, in forked cymes ; petals two-parted, shorter than the 
 calyx Stamens varying, three, five, or ten. — W.—G. 
 
 Sistory. — This is a common plant throughout the United States, 
 growing m fields and around dwellings, in moist, shady places, proba- 
 
810 Materia Medioa. 
 
 bly introduced from Europe ; it flowers from the beginning of spring 
 to the end of autumn. The seeds are eaten by poultry and birds. The 
 whole herb is used, when recent. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Chickweed appears to be a cooliQg demulcent. 
 I have- seen the fresh leaves bruised and applied as a poultice to indo • 
 lent, intractable ulcers on the leg, of many years' standing, with the 
 most decided and immediately beneficial results ; to be changed two or 
 three times a day. In acute ophthalmia, the bruised leaves will like- 
 wise be found a valuable application. An ointment made by bruising 
 the recent leaves in fresh lard, may be used as a cooling application to 
 erysipelatous and other forms of ulceration, as well as in many forms 
 of cutaneous disease. 
 
 STILLINGIA STIjYATICA. ("Wald Stillingie.) 
 
 Queen's-root. 
 
 Nat. Ord- — Euphorbiacese. 8ex. Syst. — Moncecia Monadelphia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant is also known by the name of Queen's Be- 
 light, Yaw-root, and Silver-leaf; and was named in honor of Dr. Benj. 
 Stillingfleet. It is a perennial herb, with a glabrous somewhat angled 
 stem, which, upon being broken, gives out a milky sap, and which at- 
 tains the height of two to four feet. Leaves sessile, lance-oblong, taper- 
 ing at the base, serrulate, somewhat leathery. Flowers yellow, on a 
 terminal spike; male flowers with a hemispherical involucre, many- 
 flowered or wanting, perianth tubular, erose, florets scarcely longer 
 than the bracteal scales ; stamens two or three, exsert. Female flowers. 
 with an inferior, one-flowered calyx; style three-cleft; capsule three- 
 grained. — Eaton. — Wi. 
 
 History. — This plant is found growing in sandy soils from Maryland 
 to the G-ulf of Mexico, and in Mississippi and Louisiana, flowering 
 from April to July. A whitish acrid juice exudes from the plant when 
 cut or broken. It is much more active in its recent state, than when 
 dried, and loses much of its medicinal virtue by age; The root is the 
 part used ; as found in the shops it is in pieces from one to three or 
 four inches long, and from four lines to an inch or more in diameter, 
 covered with a bark of a yellowish-brown or grayish-brown color ex- 
 ternally, and reddish -yellow, or light-rose colored internally and in its 
 substance, and varying in thickness from a mere scale to a line or two. 
 Its odor is peculiar, slightly oleaginous, somewhat between that of 
 liquorice and blue-flag roots ; its taste is somewhat bitter and unpleas- 
 ant, succeeded by a persistent pungent acridity in the mouth and throat. 
 Its fracture is short, irregular, and exhibits a soft, pithy, yellowish, or 
 pinkish internal woody portion . Alcohol or water extracts its virtues, 
 but its best solvent is diluted alcohol. Its properties appear to be 
 owing to a very acrid oil. It also contains resin, woody fiber, coloring 
 matter, extractive, etc. 
 
 The Oil of Stillingia, so called by its manufacturers, is more properly 
 an alcoholic fluid extract ; it is composed of about forty per cent, of 
 oil, with the remainder consisting of extractive, resin, etc. It is pre- 
 pared by adding alcohol ninety -five per cent, to the recent root of Stil- 
 lingia, and making a saturated tincture; then distill off the alcohol. 
 The residue is the preparation sold and used as the oil of Stillingia 
 
Stillingia Sylvatioa. 81] 
 
 Upon standing for a length of time, a floeculent deposit takes place, of 
 a reddish-brown character. A similar preparation is made with ether 
 by displacement and evaporation ; it forms a more consistent liquid, 
 probably .holding more fixed oil. The above oil Or alcoholic fluid- 
 extract of Stillingia, is of a dark brownish-red color, of a strong, pecu- 
 liar, not unpleasant odor, and of a faint taste at first, but in a short 
 time followed by exceediiag pungency and acridity, very persistent in 
 its character, and which is especially felt in the throat and fauces, 
 being accompanied with a very unpleasant sensation in the stomach if 
 swallowed. The recent root, as I have been informed by Mr. W. S. 
 Merrell, affords a larger quantity of oil than when old, probably, be- 
 cause the oil becomes oxidized and changed to resin by age, and is no 
 longer soluble in ether, although the real active principle of the article 
 is but little impaired.* I have seen a preparation, called Stillingin, 
 purporting to have been prepared by a so-called Pharmaceutical Insti- 
 tute of the city of New York, sold for one dollar per ounce. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In large doses, Stillingia vomits and purges, 
 producing in many instances, a peculiar, disagreeable burning sensa- 
 tion in the stomach, or some portion of the alimentary canal, accom- 
 panied with more or less prostration of the system. In less doses it is 
 an alterative, exerting an influence over the secretory functions, which 
 is unsurpassed by any other known alteratives. It is an American 
 remedy of much importance and value, and is extensively used in all 
 the various forms of primary and secondary syphilitic affections, in 
 which it appears to have almost a specific action, also in scrofulous, 
 hepatic, and cutaneous affections, in which its administration is fol- 
 lowed by the most successful results. In the form of fluid extract, 
 combined with oils of anise or caraway, it has been found very bene- 
 ficial in chronic laryngeal and bronchial affections, and in leucorrhea. 
 Small pieces of the recent root, chewed occasionally through the day, 
 have effectually and permanently cured laryngitis and bronchitis. The 
 oil is entirely too acrid for internal use, unless it be well incorporated 
 with some mucilaginous or saccharine substance ; and, for internal use, 
 the fluid extract, or syrup, will be found sufficiently energetic and effi- 
 cacious. But as an external stimulating application,' the oil will be 
 found very valuable in many instances. One drop of it placed upon 
 the tongue, and repeated three or four times a day, is reputed to have 
 proved successful in cases of severe croup. The root, when long kept, 
 
 * Mr. "W. Saunders, of Loudon, Ont., has prepared an oil of Stillingia from the dried root, 
 which he considered equal. If not superior to that from the recent root, both as to quan- 
 tity and quality ; this is contrary to what I have been informed by some of our manufac- 
 turers In this city, who, I fear, have not, from some cause, been always as free to give full 
 information concerning pharmaceutical processes and matters, as would be desirable for 
 the profession generally to, understand. This fact of Mr. Saunders also goes to prove that 
 the root, when dried, possesses active therapeutical properties. He also states that the oil 
 obtained by him from the dried I'oot was superior to soriie which he purchased from a 
 Cincinnati dealer. In all the various editions of this work, and in my lectures, I have 
 endeavored to impress upon the minds of the profession, etc., the fact that there is a vast 
 amount of humbuggery and imposition in the preparation of many of our remedies, and 
 that they should be veiy careful how, what, and of whom they purchase. Mr. S. is the 
 first person, to my knowledge, who has fearlessly come forward and publicly sustained 
 my statements, he says — " I rear that there is more mixing and adulteration carried on in 
 the manufacture of these eclectic remedies than in any other department of pharmaceu- 
 tical labor, for I have rarely, if ever, made a preparation according to any of the published 
 formulas which did not prove very much superior in quality to any similar article I could 
 buy from the dealers."— jlm. Jour. Pharm., 1869, p. 149. He has simply stated a truth, and 
 it would be well for our medical men to bear it constantly in mind ; for, while the manu- 
 facture of worthless articles has brought wealth to the pockets of the manufacturers, il 
 has in many instances proved a sad and serious matter to the patients of those of our 
 practitioners who, not using their own Judgments and observations in these matters, have 
 too confidently relied upon the statements and sophistries of the interested pharmaceu- 
 tists. 
 
812 Materia Mbdica. 
 
 is said to have its active properties considerably impaired. Bose of 
 the tincture, from half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm ; of the decoction, 
 one or twb fluidounces. This article is reputed to have formed an in- 
 gredient of Swaim's Panacea ; such is not the case. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Extractum Stillingise Alcoholicuni ; Extractum Stillingise 
 Pluidum ; Linimentum Stillingise Compositi;im ; Pilulse PhytolaccsB 
 Compositse ; Syrupus Stillingise ; Syrupus Stillingise Compositus ; 
 Tinctura Stillingise. 
 
 STEYCHNOS NUX YOMICA. (Gemeine Krahenauge.) 
 
 Nux Vomica. — Brechnuss. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Apocynacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE SEEDS. 
 
 jDescription. — This is a moderate sized tree, with, a short, pretty thick, 
 often-crooked trunk. Branches irregular, covered with smooth, ash- 
 colored bark ; young shoots deep green, highly polished. Wood white, 
 hard, close-grained, bitter. Leaves opposite, short-stalked, oval, shin- 
 ing, smooth on both sides, three to five nerved, or rather between that 
 and triple, or quintuple, differing in size from an inch and a half to 
 four inches long, one to three broad. Flowers small, greenish-white, 
 funnel-shaped, in small, terminal cymes, with a disagreeable odor. 
 Calyx five-toothed : corolla also five-parted. Filaments scarcely any or 
 exceedingly short, inserted over the bottoin of the divisions of the 
 corolla; anthers oblong, half within the tube, and half without. Ovary 
 superior, roundish, two-celled, with many ovules in each cell, attached 
 to the thickened center of the partition. Style as long as the tube of the 
 corolla ; stigma capitate. Fruit a berry, round, about the size of a large 
 apple, covered with a smooth, hard rind, of a rich orange-color when 
 ripe, and filled with a white, soft, gelatinous pulp. Seeds five, nidu- 
 lant, discoidal, with a central prominence, covered with a fine woolly 
 substance, but whitish and hard like horn internally. — L. 
 
 History. — The Nux Yomiea tree inhabits Coromandel, Ceylon, and 
 other parts of the East Indies. The wood is exceedingly bitter, especi- 
 ally that of the root, which is said to cure intermittent fevers, and 
 bites of venomous snakes. The pulp of the fruit is greedily eaten by 
 various birds. The Lignum Colubrinum or Snake-wood, which is gener- 
 ally referred to the Strychnos Colubrina, is frequently nothing less than 
 the Nux Vomica wood. The bark contains a large proportion of brucia, 
 and some strychnia, and is said to be identical with the False Angus- 
 tura bark. 
 
 The seeds are the parts used in medicine. They are round, peltate, 
 scarcely an inch in diameter, nearly flat, or very slightly convex on 
 the dorsal surface, and concave on the other or ventral surface, and are 
 usually surrounded by a filiform annular stria. In the center of the 
 ventral surface of the seed is the orbicular hilum or umbilicus. At one 
 part of their circumference or margin there is a slight prominence, 
 which answers to the chalaza, and to the radicle of the embryo. From 
 this prominence to the umbilicus is a more or less obvious line foi-ming 
 the raphe. These seeds have two coats ; the outer one or testa is simple, 
 fibrous, and gives origin to short, silky hairs of an ash-gray or yellow- 
 ish color, and which are directed from the center toward the circum- 
 fcj'once: within this is the inner coat or endopleura, which is simple 
 
Strychnos Nux Vomica. 813 
 
 .ind very thin, and envelopes the nucleus of the seed. The nucleus is 
 composed of two parts — namely, albumen and embryo. The albumen 
 is bipartite, cartilaginous or horny, of a dirty-white color, of an in- 
 tensely bitter taste, and has, in it^ interior, a cavity Qoculamentum 
 vertim). Unlike that of most seeds, the albumen of Nux Vomica is of 
 a poisonous character. The embryo, which, is milk-white, is seated in 
 the circumference of the seed, its locality being frequently indicated 
 by a point somewhat more projecting than the surrounding parts. It 
 consists of two large cordiform, acuminated, triple-ribbed, very thin 
 cotyledons, a distinct cauliculus, and a centripetal radicle." — P. Watel', 
 proof-spirit, and rectified alcohol dissolve the bitter active ingredients ; 
 and the last solvent acts most energetically. Ether takes up a concrete 
 oil, and some wax, The seeds are with difSculty reduced to a powder. 
 The simplest method is that of the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, which 
 directs them to be softened well with steam, and tlien sliced, dried and 
 ground. The powder has a fallow -gray color, a bitter taste, and a pe- 
 culiar odor, similar to that of liquorice. Concentrated sulphuric acid 
 blackens it ; nitric acid renders it a deep orange-yellow color. The aque- 
 ous decoction is o^ a pale grayish-yellow color, and intensely bitter, and 
 becomes orange-yellow on the addition of nitric acid, and emerald- 
 green by sesquioxide of iron, which disappears on the addition of hydro- 
 chloric acid. Tannic acid, or infusion of nut-galls, produces in the 
 aqueous decoction a copious precipitate. Pelletier and Caventou> 
 found the seeds to contain strychnic or igasurie acid, strychnia, brucia, 
 a small quantity of wax, concrete oil, yellow coloring matter, gum, a 
 little starch, bassorin, woody fiber, carbonate of lime and chloride of 
 potassium in the ashes. M. Be^noix has discovered a substance in the 
 seeds which he calls Igasurin, and which is found in the mother-waters 
 from which the strychnia and briieia have been precipitated by lime, 
 at the temperature of ebullition. It appears in the mother-liquor as 
 brilliant, silky needles, containing ten per cent, of water, and very bit- 
 ter. It dissolves readily in 200 parts of boiling water, and crystallizes 
 out quickly when the water cools. Its influence upon polarized light, 
 and its behavior with the usual reagents, are almost identical with 
 those of brucia. Concentrated nitric acid reddens it, and this becomes 
 violet on adding chloride of tin in drops. Sulphuric acid causes first 
 a rose-color, then yellow and greenish-yellow ; dilute acids form with 
 it crystallizable salts, mostly soluble ; potassa, soda, and ammonia, pre- 
 cipitate it from its solution, but redissolve it when in excess ; iodide of 
 potassium causes a gradual deposit of light reddish-yellow crystals. 
 Its solutions are also precipitated yellow by bichloride of platinum, 
 and white by tannic acid and nut-galls. In some respects it resembles 
 strychnia, in others brucia ; but M. Desnoix thinks it to be intermedi- 
 ate between the two. — Am. Jour. Pharm., XXVI., 31. M. Schutzen- 
 berger has been enabled to separate igasuria into nine closely related 
 new alkaloids, diifering in their composition, and resembling brucia in 
 their characters ; in the table he gives, he terms them igasurias, a, h, 
 c, d e,f, g, h, and i. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 1858, p. 535. 
 
 Vielgruth has proposed the following simple test for Nux Vomica. 
 A few grains of the substance supposed to contain Nux Vomica is 
 treated with proof-spirit. Th* tincture is evaporated to dryness at a 
 temperature not exceeding 95° F. A drop or two of dilute sulphuric 
 acid is added to the residue. The whole is again exposed to the above- 
 mentioned temperature ; when, if Nux Vomica be present, a beautiful 
 carmine-red color ensues. If the heat be stopped in ten or fifteen rain- 
 
314 . Materia Medica. 
 
 utes, the color disappears, but will appear with less brightness on re- 
 heating. (See Strychnia in Pharmacy.) 
 
 Froperties and Uses.- — ^Nux Vomica is an energetic poison, exerting its 
 influence chiefly upon the cerebro-spinal system; it is supposed to affect 
 the spinal cord principally, because the division of this cord does not 
 prevent its poisonous influence, and, again, because when the cord is 
 destroyed by the introduction of a piece of whalebone into the spinal 
 canal, the convulsions immediately cease. In poisonous doses Nux 
 Voniica produces violent tetanic convulsions without impairing the 
 functions of the brain, with asphyxia and death. When given in doses 
 sufficiently large to influence the system, a sensation of debility and 
 heaviness is experienced, the spirits become depressed, the limbs trem- 
 ble, and a slight rigidity or stiffness comes on when it is attempted to 
 move. Frequently, the person can not stand erect ; he staggers, and if 
 at this time he be suddenly tapped on the ham while standing, a slight 
 convulsive attack will often ensue, with an inability to stand. In the 
 njost severe paroxysms caused by this medicine, the patient retains his 
 mental faculties, and the slighest motion, noise, or even a breath of 
 wind passing over him, will excite convulsions anew, every time these 
 occur. Sometimes, even with small doses, there will be sudden starts 
 resembling shocks of electricity, which will be more or less severe, oc- 
 casioning him to jerk the muscles acted upon in this manner. It fre- 
 quently occasions priapism. Of course, these symptoms vary with dif- 
 ferent persons, in proportion to their susceptibility to the influence of 
 the medicine, and to the quantity swallowed. The usual effects of !N"ux 
 Vomica are about as follows : in poisonous doses, stiffness, weariness, pain 
 or rending in the limbs, violent tetanic convulsions, with short intervals 
 of repose, acute sensibility, dreadful alarm, and finally death ; in small 
 doses, twitching of the muscles, restlessness, anxiety, and increase of 
 urine, perspiration, etc. ; when the doses are rather large, there will be 
 more active spasm of the muscles, a tendency to lock-jaw, with the pre- 
 ceding symptoms more or less severe. Heat in the epigastric region, con- 
 striction of the throat, headache, dizziness, and impairment of vision with 
 closely contracted pupils, are often caused by small doses ; and more 
 especially with the corpulent and apoplectic, there will be painful sensa- 
 tions in the skin compared to an electric shock, or to the creeping of 
 insects over the surface, with more or less perspiration, slight involun- 
 tary spasms of the muscles, and a very disagreeable, dreamy or vague 
 condition of the brain. The pulse may or may not be increased in 
 frequency. Chloroform is said to be beneficial in poisoning by ISTux 
 Vomica. 
 
 In medicinal doses, Nux Vomica is tonic, and increases the action of 
 the various excretory organs ; it should always be given, as well as its 
 alkaloids, in doses to fall short of any immediate sensible effects upon 
 the system. It is principally employed in cases where there is a want 
 of nervous energy, as in the treatment of paralysis, especially when this 
 has been of sonle standing, and not occasioned by hemorrhage of the 
 nervous centers, or inflammatory conditions of them. It must not be 
 used in recent cases, or while general reaction prevails, or when signs 
 exist either of local irritation m the brain or spinal cord, or of deter- 
 mination of blood toward the head. Congestion or inflammation must 
 always be removed before employing it. It is said to be ftiore beneflcial 
 in general palsy and paraplegia than in hemiplegia, and also in local 
 palsies, as of the bladder, amaurosis, impotence, spermatorrhea, tremor 
 of the muscles produced by habitual intoxication, etc. It has also been 
 
.SucciNr.vi. B15 
 
 beneficially employed in neuralgia, chorea, obstinate constipation, pro- 
 lapsus of the rectum, borborygmi of females, colica pictonum, etc. A 
 bmall quantity added to cathartics, frequently increases their energy. 
 Dysmenorrhea, dyspepsia, dysentery, rheumatism, hysteria, mania, 
 worms, intermittent fever, eneuresis, chronic splenitis, etc., have been 
 successfully treated by the use of this agent. ISTux Vomica and its 
 a-lkaloids should always be given with great care, the physician closely 
 observing its effects. The dose of powdered Nux Vomica is five gj-ains 
 three or four times a day, and gradually increased to ten, or until ;i 
 slight influence is observed. The alcoholic extract is the best form of 
 administration and may be given in doses of from one-fifteenth to one- 
 twentieth of a grain as a tonic; and in paralytic affections from half 
 a grain to two grains in the form of a pill, and, as with the powder, 
 gradually increased. The saturated tincture may be given in doses of 
 from five to thirty drops, likewise gradually increased. (See Strychnia.) 
 Off. Frep. — Extractum jN"ucis VomicEe ; Pilulse Copaibse Compositse ; 
 Strychnia; Tin ctura Nucis Vomicae. 
 
 SUOCINUM. (Bernstein.) 
 Amber. 
 
 History. — The origin of Amber is very uncertain ; it is believed to be 
 a fossil resin, the prodixee of an extinct plant. It may be derived from 
 some resin formerly liquid or soft ; or possibly from the slow oxidation 
 of a fatty matter, as we see succinic acid formed from fats by oxida- 
 tion. It is found in beds of wood coal, deposited in Greenland, France, 
 Switzerland, etc. At Trahenieres, in the Henegau, it is found in clay 
 mixed with a certain quantity of the debris of wood nearly in the state 
 of wood coal. The greatest part of the Amber of commerce is found 
 in Prussia, on the south shore of the Baltic, being thrown up from the 
 sea between Konigsljerg and Memel. It is supposed to be derived from 
 beds of wood coal in the basin of the Baltic. It is also met with on the 
 east coast of England, and in several parts of the United States. That 
 it was at one time liquid, is obvious from the insects which are occasion- 
 ally found buried in it. No living insect is known exactly similar to 
 those found in Amber ; showing that a very long period must have 
 elapsed since the trees producing it vegetated. — T. A mine of Amber has 
 been discovered recently in Grassy Gully, near Eockwood, Australia, the 
 Amber of which corresponds in all respects with the brown Amber of 
 Europe. 
 
 Amber is a brittle, light, hard substance, usually nearly transparent ; 
 eometimes almost colorless, but commonly yellow, deep-brown, or red. 
 It usually occurs in irregularly shaped pieces, flat, somewhat rounded 
 at the sides, with considerable luster, tasteless, and without smell, ex- 
 cept when pounded or heated, when it emits a fragrant odor. It yields 
 readily to the knife, has a conchoidal vitreous or resinous fracture, be- 
 comes negatively electrical by rubbing, and has a specific gravity l.Wi'o 
 Water has no action on it; but alcohol, by long digestion, dissolves 
 about one-eighth of the Amber, and forms a colored solution, which 
 when concentrated becomes milky when mixed with water ; the pre- 
 cipitate possesses the properties of a resin. A boiling fixed alkali 
 almost wholly dissolves Amber, forming a kind of soap, soluble in 
 alcohol or water, and not thrown down by water. Dilute acids have 
 no action on Amber ; sulphuric acid convorts it into a black resinous 
 
816 Materia Medica. 
 
 mass ; nitric acid acts upon it, dissolving it completely. Heated in the 
 air, Amber fuses at about 550°, evolving an agreeable aromatic odor, and 
 burning with a clear yellow flame. It can not be fused without under- 
 going some chemical change. By destructive distillation iu an alembic, 
 Amber yields first an acid liquor, which contains succinic and acetic 
 acids ; then some succinic acid is deposited in the neck of the alembic, 
 and an empyreumatic oil, oil of Amber, comes over, at first thin and 
 yellowish, afterward brown and thick ; toward the end of the opera- 
 tion, a yellowish light'sublimate is observed in the neck of the alembic ; 
 this is called by Berzelius, crystallized pyretine ; by Vogel, volatile resin 
 of Amber ; by Gmelin, Amber -camphor. An inflammable gas is evolved 
 during the whole time of the operation, which must be permitted to 
 escape. — P. The ultimate constituents of Amber are carbon, hydro- 
 gen, and oxygen. The proximate principles are a volatile oil, with a 
 strong but agreeable odor; a resin soluble in cold alcohol; a resin 
 soluble in boiling alcohol ; succinic acid ; and a bituminous matter on 
 which alcohol, ether, fixed and volatile oils, and alkaline solutions, 
 exert no solvent action. Baudrimont found .48 of sulphur in 100 parts 
 of Amber. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Amber is not used as a medicine ; its principal 
 employment is in the preparation of its oil, and acid, and varnish. 
 Amber varnish is made by roasting two pounds of Amber, and then 
 dissolving it in three pounds of linseed oil, and a suflS.cient quantity of 
 oil of turpentine. The process for obtaining the crude oil of Amber 
 will be given in the second pp-rt of the work. 
 
 Off. Frep. — Oleum Succini Eectiflcatum. 
 
 SULPHUE. (Schwefel.) 
 
 Sulphur. 
 
 SULPHUE SUBLIMATUM. (Sublimirter Schwefel.) 
 
 Sublimed Sulphur. Flowers of Sulphur. — Schwefelblumen. 
 
 SULPHUE LOTUM;. (Gercinigter Sublimirter Schwefel.) 
 
 Washed Sulphur. — Gewaschene Schioefelblumen. 
 
 History. — Sulphur is an abundant natural production, occurring prin- 
 cipally in volcanic districts, especially in Sicily, where it may be ob- 
 tained in a state of purity, and often crystallized. It also occurs iu 
 the organized kingdom in both animals and plants, and in the iuor- 
 ganized kingdom in combination with gypsum, heavy-spar, and many 
 other minerals, with oxygen as sulphuric acid, with hydrogen as sul- 
 phuretted hydrogen, with mineral waters, imparting to them medicinal 
 virtues, and also in the forming of sulphurets or sulphides with several 
 metals. Considerable Sulphur has been obtained near Lake Charles, 
 Louisiana, and of a very pure quality. 
 
 For supplying the wants of medicine and the arts. Sulphur is ob- 
 tained from two sources ; one, imported from Sicily, and known as 
 Native or Volcanic Sulphur, the other, prepared from the sulphurets of 
 iron or copper, and known as Pyritic Sulphur, which is seklom em- 
 ployed in medicine.. Volcanic Sulphur occurs in masses or crystals ; 
 the crystallized variety presents the form of very acute rhombic oetae- 
 dres, bright sulphur -yellow in color, and exceedingly pure. The mass- 
 ive Sulphur has a grayisi.-j-ellow tint, rather less bri'ttle and less lustrous 
 
Sulphur. 817 
 
 ihan the preceding, with many grayish or bluish spots or streaks, aris- 
 ing from mineral impurities. From the volcanic Sulphur, pure Sul- 
 phur is prepared by distillation. Crude Sulphur is prepared by distil- 
 lation of Sulphur from the Sulphur earths or metals; this, when puri- 
 fied by being again melted, allowing the impurities to settle, and then 
 pouring the clearer Sulphur into long cylindrical molds, ten or fifteen 
 lines in diameter, forms the well-known JRoll, Stick, or Cane Sulphur ; 
 and the impure, grayish residue left, when reduc.ed to powder is known 
 as Horse brimstone {Sulphur Vivum). Boll Sulphur is now made by 
 subliming the Sulphur in iron vessels, fusing the product, and casting 
 it into cylindrical molds. 
 
 The best mode of purification is to sublime the Sulphur, pass the 
 sublimed vapor into a close chamber of considerable size, where it con- 
 denses in fine impalpable powder, consisting of minute globules be- 
 tween a thirtieth and a two-hundredth of an inch in diameter, unless 
 they have been exposed to light or agitation, when they are apt to pre- 
 sent a crystalline structure. This is called Flowers of Sulphur, or Sub- 
 limed Sulphur. Washed Sulphur is the Sublimed Sulphur well washed 
 with boiling water to free it from acidity which is apt to be present, in 
 consequence of the combustion some of it undergoes in the act of sub- 
 liming, thereby giving rise to sulphuric acid. When properly washed, 
 it is not affected by the action of the atmosphere. Crude Sulphur is 
 imported principally from Sicily ; roll Sulphur from Marseilles. Both 
 Sulphur and borax are found in large quantities in Napa valley, Cali- 
 fornia, where they are purified for commerce. 
 
 Sulphur is a hard brittle substance, of greenish-yellow, dark -yellow, 
 or brown-yellow color, and haVing a faint peculiar taste and odor. It 
 is unchanged in the atmosphere, is a non-conductor of electricity, and 
 develops negative electricity when rubbed. It is insoluble in water, is 
 soluble in boiling oil of turpentine, bisulphuret of carbon, chloride of 
 Sulphur, oils, alcohol, and ether. Its symbol is S ; its equivalent weight 
 16 ; and its sp. gr. when pure, from 1.97 to 2.00. It volatilizes at about 
 180°, giving off its peculiar odor, and when heated to between 224° and 
 230°, it passes into a state of fusion ; about 400°, or a little higher, the 
 melted mass becomes thicker and brownish ; and if kept for some time 
 at this temperature, or if it be suddenly cooled, as by throwing it into 
 water, it remains quite soft, so that it may be drawn into threads; in 
 this state it is called Soft Amorphous Sulphur, which is capable of receiv- 
 ing and retaining delicate impressions of seals, coins, and the like. — -C. 
 —P. At 650° it sublimes unchanged, if oxygen be excluded. When 
 exposed to the air, Sulphur inflames spontaneously at about 300°, and 
 burns with a pale blue flame, emitting at the same time a great quan- 
 tity of strongly suffocating fumes. The combinations of Sulphur are 
 many, and it forms one of the most potent among chemical agents. 
 According to M. Dietzenbacher, if sulphur be heated with a small quan- 
 tity of iodine, bromine, or chlorine, its physical and chemical properties 
 are modified in a remarkable manner; it becomes almost permanently 
 soft and malleable at the ordinary temperature, and is not dissolved by 
 sulphide of carbon. The allotropic conditions of sulphur, principally 
 effected by heat, are four, — prismatic sulphur soluble in sulphide of car- 
 bon ; octohedral sulphur partially soluble in sulphide of carbon ; crummy 
 sulphur insoluble in sulphide of carbon ; and insoluble sulphur. Bed and 
 black sulphur are not allotropic conditions, but a modification of sulphur 
 due to the presence of a very small amount of fcreign substance.— 
 Chem. Ga£.,Kaj 15, i85-i. 
 52 
 
818 , Materia Medica. 
 
 Sulphur, from carelessness in its purification, ;nay contain sulphuric 
 acid, from which it should always be freed ; this may be detected by 
 agitating some of the sulphur in water, and testing the water with lit- 
 mus paper. It is sometimes contaminated ^vith arsenic, which may be de- 
 tected by converting the Sulphur and arsenic into sulphuric and arsenic 
 acids, through the action of nitric acid and heat, neutralizing the acids 
 by carbonate of soda, adding muriatic acid in excess, and transmitting 
 sulphuretted hydrogen for some minutes ; upon which yellow sulphuret 
 of arsenic will fall down. 
 
 Prof J. W. Bailey, in Silliman's Jour., May, 1851, says : " Any sub- 
 stance containing Sulphur will yield an alkaline sulphuret if heated 
 with carbonate of soda, either with or without the addition of carbona- 
 ceous matter, according as a deoxydizing action is or is not required. 
 The magnificent purple which is then produced by the addition of thie 
 fused mass to a drop of the solution of the nitro-prusside of sodium will 
 at once prove the presence of Sulphur." He adds that the smallest 
 particle which can be conveniently supported on a platinum wire for 
 blowpipe experiment, will thus distinctly manifest Sulphur, when pres- 
 ent. M. Z. Eoussin's method of preparing the nitro-prussiate of sodium 
 is as follows : One part of ferrocyanide of potassium in powder is added 
 to two parts of commercial nitric acid, diluted with an equal volume 
 of water. The mixture, contained in a porcelain dish, is exposed to the 
 heat of a water-bath, and is constantly agitated to promote the reaction 
 which is accompanied by the disengagement of much gas, and especially 
 of hydrocyanic acid. The decomposition is thus slowly effected, and 
 when no more gas is given off, the liquid is to be exactly neutralized 
 with carbonate of soda, while it is still maintained at the same tempera- 
 ture. An ochreous precipitate iow separates, and afterward, on con- 
 tinuing the evaporation, white crystals appear on the surface of the 
 liquid, while at the same time an odor of ammonia is developed. There 
 is to be now added to the liquid an equal volume of rectified alcohol. 
 The mixture is to be heated to the boiling point, and then thrown on 
 to a filter. The deposited salt is to be washed with a little alcohol, and 
 the filtered liquor submitted to spontaneous evaporation. Eegular 
 prisms, of a ruby-red color, consisting of nitro-prussiate of sodium will 
 be speedily deposited. When the crystallization has proceeded for some 
 time, the crystals are to be separated and dried. The mother liquor 
 will now yield crystals of nitrate of pota,s8a and of soda, and the nitro- 
 prussiate must be separated from these by treating the mixed salts with 
 proof-spirit at 212°, when a further crop of crystals, as pure as the first, 
 may be obtained. Another very delicate test for sulphur is molybdate 
 of ammonia dissolved in hydrochloric acid, and then reduced by the 
 addition of water ; the minutest quantity of sulphur placed in a drop 
 or two of this solution imparts to it a blue color. 
 
 Properties and ZZses.— Sulphur is a stimulant, laxative, diaphoretic, 
 alterative, and is considered a certain remedy in itch. It is used in 
 hemorrhoids, diseases of the bladder, and in pregnancy as a mild 
 cathartic, either ailone, combined with cream of tartar, or with some 
 other saline purgative. It is given alone in one or two drachm doses, 
 in milk or molasses ; or thirty grains of Sulphur combined with two 
 drachms of bitartrate of potassa. One serions objection to its use is, 
 that it renders the stools, and even the insensible transpiration, insup- 
 portably fetid ■; which arises from its being converted within the body 
 into sulphuj-etted hydrogen; if the Sulphur contains acid, its operation 
 will be attended with more or less griping. It is probable that Sulphur 
 
Sulphur. 819 
 
 is rendered soluble, and therefore absorbable by the soda of the bile.-— 
 P. In chronic catarrh, chronic rheumatism, cutaneous diseases, and 
 in the chronic stage of pertussis, it may be administered two or three 
 times a day, in doses of twenty or thirty grains. Dr. Guibourt, of Paris, 
 has used sulphur with considerable success in the treatment of lead- 
 eolic ; and Dr. Laugantiers, by administering teaspoonful doses every 
 hour of a mixture of a teaspoonful of sulphur in four fluidounces of 
 water, has found it beneficial in the treatment of croup. 
 
 Externally, Sulphur is used in various cutaneous diseases of the vesic- 
 ular, scaly, or papular kind. Sulphur-baths are likewise found bene- 
 ficial in scrofula, chronic palsy, chronic rheumatism, scabies, and all 
 kinds of scaly cutaneoiis disorders; the sulphurous acid gas is applied 
 to the body, the head being protected. The effects occasioned are 
 warmth, redness, and pricking of the integuments, followed by consid- 
 erable sweating and excitement of the circulation. If the gas should 
 be inhaled, it will prove powerfully irritating to the glottis, and alto- 
 gether irrespirable, even when diluted with atmospheric air. The ef- 
 fects of Sulphur, and of sulphurous acid in cutaneous diseases and rheu- 
 matism may be obtained by using the sulphuret of potassain the form 
 of bath, say two or three ounces to one hundred pounds of water.* 
 
 loDiBE OF Sulphur, or Bisulphide op Iodine is prepared, according 
 to the French Codex, by rubhing together, in a glass or porcelain mor- 
 tar, /owr^flrts of Iodine and one part of Sublimed Sulphur. When the 
 articles are thoroughly mixed, introduce the mixture into a fiask placed 
 on a san^-bath- Heat gently at first, when the color of the mixture 
 becomes gradually dark, throughout, |i"om bottom to its top, elevate the 
 heat so as to Inelt the iodide. When the whole is melted, successively 
 incline the flask in various directions, so as to bring into the mass such 
 portions of lo'dine as may become condensed upon its superior walls; 
 then allow it to cool. Break the flask ; divide the iodide of sulphur 
 into fragments and preserve them in well closed glass-stoppered bottles. 
 This article-is a black, crystallizahle compound, having the color and 
 radiated appearance of sesquisulphuret of antimony, the odor of iodine, 
 and staining the cuticle, paper, etc., like this substance. Its elements 
 are easily separated by heat. Boiled in water, the iodine escapes with 
 the vapor, leaving about one fifth part of nearly pure sulphur. It is 
 insoluble in water, but is soluble in about sixty -five parts of glycerin. 
 Internally, in doses of from, one to six grains per day, it has been 
 found useful in scrofulous and various cutaneous affections ; it may be 
 given in pill form. Externally, in form of ointment, Unguentum Sul- 
 phuris lodidi, one part to 8, 12, or 16 parts of lard or cocoa-nut fat, it 
 has been very efScacious in certain chronic cutaneous diseases, as, lupus, 
 acne, herpes, eczema, tinea capitis, etc. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Confectio Sennse Composita ; Perri Sulphuretum ; Potassse 
 Sulphas cum Sulphure ; Potassii Sulphuretum ; Sulphur Prsecipitatum ; 
 Unguentum Sulphuris ; Unguentum Sulphuris Compositum ; Vinum 
 Cinchonse Compositum. 
 
 'Sulphurous cusid may be detected In mine by half fllUng a test tube with tbe suspected 
 urine, slightly acidulated with hydrochloric acid, and then suspend in the tube above the 
 Drine a piece of starched paper stained blue with a weak solution of Iodine. If sulphurous 
 acid be present its evolution will decolorize the paper. 
 
820 Materia Medica. 
 
 SYMPHYTUM OFFICINALE. (Officinelle Beinwurz.) 
 
 Oomfrey. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Boraginaeese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Comfreyhas an oblong, fleshy, perennial rooi, black exter- 
 nally, and a pilose, herbaceous stem, three or four feet high, branching 
 above, and winged by the decurrent bases of the pointed, wavy, rough- 
 edged leaves; lower leaves and radical ovate-lanceolate, tapering into a 
 petiole ; upper and floral lanceolate. Flowers white or of a rose color, 
 in terminal, revolute racemes. Oalyx five-parted, with lanceolate, acu- 
 minate sepals ; the corolla tubular-campanulate ; limb with five recurved 
 teeth. ^Stamens five, included ; awit^ers elongated. Style &\iform. Nut- 
 lets smooth, ovate, fi^xed by a large excavated (perforate) base. The 
 whole plant is rough with dense hairs. — W. — (?. 
 
 History. — Comfrey is a native of Europe, but naturalized in this coun- 
 try, growing on low grounds and moist places, flowering all summer. 
 The root is officinal; when fresh it is glabrous, fusiform', branching, ten 
 or twelve inches in length, by one in diameter, and very mucilaginous. 
 The dried root, as found in the shops, is in pieces varying from one to 
 four or five inches long, black and corrugated externally, dark whitish 
 and corneous-like internally, nearly odorless, viscid, and slightly astrin- 
 gent. It contains a very little tannic acid, and a large amount of mu- 
 cilage, which is readily extracted by water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This plant is demulcent and slightly astringent. 
 With other mucilaginous agents, it is considered inert or of but little 
 medical importance by many writers ; but this is an erroneous view, 
 the result of deficient investigation. AH mucilaginous agents exert an 
 infiuence on mucous tissues, hence the cure of many pulmonary and 
 other affections, in which these tissues have been chiefly implicated, by 
 their internal use. Physicians must not expect a serious disease to 
 yield to remedies which act on mucous membranes only ; and to deter- 
 mine the true value of a medical agent, they must first ascertain the 
 true character of the affection, as well as of the tissues involved. Again, 
 mucilaginous agents are always beneficial in scrofulous and anaemic 
 habits. Comfrey root is very useful in diarrhea, dysentery, coughs, 
 hemoptysis, other pulmonary affections, .leucorrhea, and female debil- 
 ity ; these being principally mucous affections. It may be boiled in 
 water, wine, or made into a syrup, and taken in doses of from one to 
 four fiuidounces of the preparation two or three times a day. Bxter-. 
 nally, the fresh root, bruised, forms an excellent application to bruises, 
 ruptures, fresh wounds, sore breasts, ulcers, white swellings, etc. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Syrupus Aralise Compositus ; Yinum Symphytii Com- 
 positum. 
 
 SYMPLOCARPUS FCETIDUS. (Stinkender Pottroes.) 
 
 Skunk Cabbage 
 Nat. Ord. — Aracese. Sex. Syst. — Tetrandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE ROOTS AND SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — This plant has been a troublesome one for botanists to 
 dispose of; it has been variously annexed to Modes, Dracontium, and 
 Pathos. Salisbury has termed it Symplocarpus, a name which is pre- 
 
SYMrLOCARin;s Fostidus. 821 
 
 fcrred by many botanists, and -wbich it is deemed best to continue. It 
 is a perennial plant, having a large, abrupt root or tuher, with numer- 
 ous, crowded, verticilate, fleshy fibers, whieh extend some distance 
 into the ground. The spathe appears before the leaves, which is ovate, 
 turgid, various in width, cucuUate, spotted and striped, with purple 
 and yellowish-green, the top acuminate and incurved, the edges folded 
 inward, auriculate at the base and at length coalescing. Flowers dull 
 purple, tetrandrous, numerous, within the spathe on an oval or sub- 
 globose, short pedunculated spadix. Calyx four fleshy, wedge-shaped, 
 truncate, sepals, the top and edges inflected. Corolla none. Stamens 
 four, opposite the sepals, with subulate yiZamenfe equal in length to the 
 calyx; and oblong, exserted, two-celled anthers. Style four sided, taper- 
 ing J stigma minute, pubescent ; ovary roundish, concealed within the spa- 
 dix. After the spathe decays, the spadix continues to grow, and with it 
 every part of the flowers except the anthers. "When the fruit is ripe, 
 the spadix has attained many times its original' dimensions, while the 
 calyx, filaments, and style are larger, very prominent and separated 
 from each other. Within the spadix, at the base of each style, is a 
 naked, round, fleshy seed, as large as a pea, white, tinged with green 
 and purple, invested with a separate membranous coat, and with a 
 prominent embryo situated in a depression at top, and umbilicately at- 
 tached to a large, solid perisperm. Sometime after the flowers, nu- 
 merous large, crowded leaves appear, which are oblong, cordate, acute,, 
 smooth, with numerous fleshy veins of a pale color, on long, channeled 
 petioles, furnished with large oblong sheaths, bright-green, and often 
 twenty inches long by twelve broad. — L. — G. — W- ' 
 
 History. — This is an indigenous plant, growing plentifully in various 
 parts of the United States, in moist grounds, flowering in March and 
 April, and maturing its fruit in August and September ; it forms a 
 roughened globular mass two or three inches in diameter, in decay 
 shedding the bulblet-like seeds, which are from one-third to half an 
 inch in diameter, and filled with the singular solid fleshy embryo.— (r. 
 The whole plant has an extremely disagreeable odor, and which has 
 given rise to the several names of Skunk- cabbage, Skunk-weed, Polecat- 
 weed, and Meadow-cabbage. The parts used are the roots and seeds. 
 The root should be gathered soon after the appearance of the spathe, 
 or after the seeds have matured in autumn ; it has the unpleasant odor 
 of the plant, and when fresh a persistent acrid taste. As found in the 
 shops, it is in somewhat cylindrical pieces, two inches or more in length, 
 and about one in diameter, or, more commonly, in transverse slices, 
 very much compressed and corrugated. Its color externally is dark- 
 brown, and internally whitish, or yellowish white. Drying lessens the 
 odor as well as the acridity of the plant, and age and exposure dissi- 
 pate them entirely, consequently the root should be renewed annually. 
 The seeds are frequently used and preferred as being more energetic 
 than the root ; they have an exceedingly acrid taste, and emit the fetid 
 odor of the plant only when bruised. They preserve their virtues 
 longer than the root. The properties of this plant are chiefly owing 
 to a volatile substance which loses its activity by desiccation, and is com- 
 pletely volatilized by subjection to an increased temperature. Alcohol 
 or water extracts' its virtues, and the aqueous infusion should be made 
 by displacement. Mr. Turner found it to contain a fixed o'l, wax, 
 starch, volatile oil and fat, etc. — Am. Jour. Pharm., II., 1. 
 
 Properties mul Uses. — In large doses, according to Bigelow, Skunk- 
 cabbage will cause sickness at stomach, vomiting, headache, dizziness 
 
822 Materia Medica. 
 
 and impaired vision. In medicinal doses it is a stimulant, exerting 
 expfectorant, powerful antispasmodic, and faintly narcotic influences. 
 It has been successfully used in asthma, hooping-cough, nervous irri- 
 tability, hysteria, epilepsy, and convulsions dui'ing pregnancy and labor ; 
 likewise in chronic catarrh, pulmonary, and bronchial affections. The 
 powdered root or seed may be given in doses of from ten' to forty 
 grains, three times a day; but the most eligible mode of administra- 
 tion is a saturated tincture of the fresh root, of which one or two flui- 
 drachms may be given for a dose. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Pulvis Lobelise Compositus ; Pulvis Aselepise Compositus , 
 Tinctura Symplocarpi ; Tinctura Lobelise Composita ; Tinctura Lobe- 
 Use et Capsioi ; Tinctura Sanguinarise Composita ; Tinctura Sanguin- 
 arise Acetata ; Tinctura Yiburnii Composita. 
 
 TAMAEINDUS IISTDICA. (Indischer Tamaridenbaum.) 
 
 Tamarind. — Tamarinden. 
 Nat. Ord. — Fabacose. Sex. Syst. — Monadelphia Triandria. 
 
 PTILP OF THE PODS. 
 
 Description. — This is a large tree with many spreading branches, a 
 siout, straight trunk, and a rough, ashy-gray bark, usually attaining the 
 height of thirty or forty feet. Leaves alternate, abruptly pinnated ; 
 leaflets in twelve to fifteen pairs, opposite, subsessile, small, obtuse, 
 entire, smooth on both sides, tapering a little, of a greenish-yellow color, 
 about six lines long by two broad ; the inferior pair larger. Pettoles 
 four to six inches long, channeled ; stipules small, deciduous. In a cold, 
 damp atmosphere, and also after sunset the leaflets close themselves. 
 Flowers yellow, veined with red, in terminal and lateral racemes. Bracts 
 obovate, colored, one-flowered, deciduous. Corolla somewhat papilion- 
 aceous, erect, unilateral, the length of the calyx, three-cleft. Segments 
 ovate, acute, concave. Calyx four-leaved, cruciate, expanding, tubular 
 at base, deciduous; limb bilabiate, reflexed; upper lip tri-partite; 
 lower broad, two-toothed. Vexillum or middle petal oblong, its mai'gins 
 involute and curled ; wings oval, margins curled. Keel two short sub- 
 ulate processes under the stamens. Stamens ten, seven very short and 
 sterile, the others longer, monadelphous, bearing incumbent anthers. 
 Ovary stalked, linear, with the subulate style much incurved ; stigma 
 obtuse. Legume oblong, pendulous, neai-ly linear, generally curved, 
 somewhat compressed, filled with a firm, acid pulp, covered with a hard, 
 scabrous bark, which never separates into valves ; under the bark run 
 three fibers, one down the upper concave margin, and the other two at 
 equal distances from the inferior or convex edge. Seeds from six to 
 twelve, somewhat trapeziform, ^compressed, covered with a smooth, 
 hard, brown shell, and inserted into the convex side of the pericarp.-- 
 L.— W. I. 
 
 History. — The Tamarind tree inhabits both the Bast and West Indies; 
 the pods of those in the latter country are shorter than the other, and 
 fewer seeded. The part used is the fruit, which, when recent, has a 
 pleasant acid taste. They are generally brought to this country as a 
 kind of preserve, made by removing the epicarp, arranging the fruit in 
 layers in a cask, and filling the interstices with syrup at 212° As met 
 with in this country, they are reddish brown, have a sweet and agreea- 
 bly acid taste, and consist of acid-sj'rup, seeds, endocarp and fibers; the 
 
Tanacettjm Vulqare. 823 
 
 acidity of tiie syrup is due to its admixture with the sarcocarp or pulp. 
 The seeds should be solid and corneous, not soft and expanded, 
 the fibers should be tough, and the whole appearance of the mass 
 should be fresh and syrupy, not dried up from loss or lack of syrup, and 
 without a moldy odor. Sometimes, from being prepared in copper ves- 
 sels, they may prove dangerous, but the presence of any of this metal 
 may be known by the syrup giving a oopperish-red color to a clean 
 knife-blade. According to an old analysis by Vauquelin, they contain 
 a little sugar, pectic acid, and parenchymatous fiber, with 9.4 per cent. 
 of citric acid, 1.5 of tartaric acid, 0.5 of malic acid, and 3.25 of bitar- 
 trate of potassa. It readily parts with its properties to water.— C 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tamarind-pulp is useful to allay thirst, and is 
 nutritive and refrigerant : in large quantity, laxative. On this account 
 it forms a useful and agreeable drink in febrile and inflammatory dis- 
 eases ; and with persons recovering from sickness, to keep their bowels 
 regular, it may form a portion of their diet. A convenient cooling lax- 
 ative is Tamarind-whey, made by boiling an ounce of the pulp in a 
 pint of milk, and straining the product. Combined with senna, or res- 
 inous cathartics, it is said to diminish their cathartic operation. — P. 
 Dose, from a drachm to two ounces. 
 
 TAKACETUM VULGAEB. (Gemeiner tiheinfarren.) 
 
 Tansy. — Rheinfarre. 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia Superflua. 
 
 THE HERB. 
 
 Description. — Tansy has a perennial, moderately creeping root, and 
 an erect, herbaceous, somewhat six-sided, leafy, solid, striated, smooth 
 stem, one to three feet in height, branched above into a handsome 
 corymb of flowers. Leaves smoothish, dark-green, doubly and deeply 
 pinnatifid ; segments oblong-lanceolate, pinnatifid and ineisely serrate ; 
 margined petiole cut-toothed. Flowers golden -yellow, in dense, ter- 
 minal, many-headed, fastigiate corymbs ; disk-florets five-cleft, perfect ; 
 ray-florets few, trifid, pistillate. Scales of the involucre scarious at the 
 apex, small, obtuse, imbricated. Pappus short, equal, membranous, 
 five-lobed ; aehenia with a quadrangular entire crown. There is a 
 variety called Double Tansy, Tqnacetum Orispum, w\th crisped and dense 
 leaves. — D. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — Tansy is indigenous to Europe, but has been introduced into 
 this country; it is cultivated by many, and also grows spontaneously 
 in old grounds, along roads, etc., flowering in the latter part of sum- 
 mer. The whole plant is officinal ; it has an unpleasant, aromatic odor, 
 and a strong, rather pungent and bitter taste, which properties it owes 
 to a yellow or greenish volatile oil, which possesses, in a strong degree, 
 the taste and odor of the plant, a sp. gr. of 0.952, and ultimately depos- 
 its a camphor. Its medicinal virtues are extracted by alcohol, ether, 
 chloroform, and by water in infusion. Drying impairs much of its 
 activity. Peschier found the leaves to contain volatile oil, fatty oil, 
 wax, or stearine, chlorophyll, bitter resin, yellow coloring matter, tan- 
 nin with gallic acid, bitter extractive gum, woody fiber, tanacetic acid. 
 The bitter matter 'is the substance usually denominated extractive; 
 but according to Peschier, it is in part resin. Tanacetic acid is crys- 
 tallizable, and precipitates lime, baryta, and oxide of kad. and causes 
 a precipitate with a solu^^ion of acetate of copper. — P. 
 
824 Materia Medica. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tansy is tonic, emmenagogae, and diaphoretic 
 In small doses, the cold infusion will be found useful in convalescence 
 from exhausting diseases, in dyspepsia with troublesome flatulence, hys- 
 teria, jaundice, and worms. A warm, infusion is diaphoretic and em- 
 menagogue, and has been found beneficial in intermittent fever, sup- 
 pressed menstruation, tardy labor-pains, and as a preventive of the par- 
 oxysms of gout. The seeds are reputed the most efiScient for worms. 
 The oil is likewise used as an anthelmintic, and as an abortive ; but for 
 this last purpose it is highly dangerous. Tansy is much employed in 
 the form of fomentation to swellings and tumors, local inflammations, 
 etc., and applied to the bowels in amenorrhea, and painful dysmenor- 
 rhea. The vinous infusion is said to be beneficial in strangurj', and 
 other urinary obstructions, and in debility of the kidneys. The dose 
 of the powder is from thirty to sixty grains, every three or four hours; 
 of the infusion, from one to four fiuidounces ; of the tincture, one or 
 two fluidraehms ; of the oil, from two to ten drops. A very pleasant 
 compound tincture may be made, by adding Tansy two-ounces, Swamp 
 Milk- weed' one ounce, Unicorn Eoot, and Prickly Ash Berries, of each, 
 half an ounce, to two pints of diluted Alcohol ; let them macerate for 14 
 days, and filter. This is useful as a vermifuge and tonic, and may be 
 given to a child two or three years old, in doses of a teaspoonful three 
 or four times a day, in some sweetened water. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Infusum Tanaceti ; Tinotura Laricis Composita. 
 
 TAEAXACTJM DENS-LBONIS. (Gemeiner Lowenzahn.) 
 
 Dandelion. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Compositc-Cichoracese. Sex. Syst.-^Syngenesia, jBqualis. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant is placed in the !N"atural Order Cichoracece 
 by Lindley, and is the Leontodon Taraxacum of Linnseus. It is an 
 herb, with a perennial, tap-shaped, very miXkj root, with a dull-brown- 
 ish epidermis. Leaves radical, numerous, spreading, of a bright, shin- 
 ing green, quite smooth, tapering downward, sessile, pinnatifid, with 
 ruucinate, sharp, unequally toothed lobes. Scape or flower-stem longer 
 than the leaves, erect, round, smooth, brittle, naked, hollow, five or six 
 inches in height, and bearing a single yellow head. Flowers of a uni- 
 form golden-yellow, in round heads an inch and a half in diameter, ex- 
 panded in the morning and fine weather only. Involucre double ; ex- 
 ternal scales small, closely pressed, spreading or reflexed ; internal ones 
 in one row, erect, linear ; all frequently callous-horned at the apex. 
 Florets numerous, strap-shaped, equal, and five-toothed. Stamens with 
 hair-like filaments; Receptacle naked, convex, dotted. Ovary obovate ; 
 style slender, cylindrical; stigmas two, revolute. Achenia oblong or 
 linear-obOvate, blunt and squamously muricated at the summit, longi- 
 tudinally striated, with a long beak ; pappus white, hair-like, very soft, 
 , simple, radiated in many rows. After blossoming the inner involucre 
 closes for a time, the slender beak elongates and raises up the pappu& 
 while the fruit is forming, the whole involucre is then reflexed, expos- 
 ing to the wind the naked fruits with the pappus displayed in an open 
 globular head nearly two inches in diameter. — L. — &. — W. 
 
 History. — This plant is a native of Greece, but is now found growing 
 abundantly in Europe, and this country, in fields, gardens, and along 
 
Taraxacum Dens-Leonis. 825 
 
 road-sides, flowering from April to November. There are some other 
 species recognized by botanists, but which appear to possess the same 
 medicinal powers. The young leave's are frequently used as a salad, 
 or greens. The whole plant exudes a white, bitter juice when broken 
 or wounded, whose sensible qualities are said to be greater during the 
 period, of inflorescence. The root only is the officinal part, which 
 should be collected while the plant is in flower. When recent, it is 
 from three to five inches or more in length, from three to nine lines in 
 diameter, tap-shaped, fleshy, dull yellow or brownish externally, white 
 internally, inodorous, and bitter. 'As found dried in the shops, it is 
 considerably diminished in size, having lost more than half its weight, 
 is corrugated lengthwise, friable, odorless, with a bitter, viscid taste. 
 Alcohol or boiling water extracts its properties. Sprengel found the 
 leaves and stem to consist of 85 parts of water, 9.140 of albumen, mu- 
 cilage, gum, and sugar, 3.091 of matters extractible by dilute caustic 
 potassa, 0.100 of wax, resin, and chlorophyll, and 2.669 of fiber. The 
 milky juice of the root was found by John to contain caoutchouc, bitter 
 matter, traces of resin, sugar, and gum, free acid, phosphates, sulphates, 
 and hydrochlorates of potassa and lime, and water. Squire found in 
 it, gum, albumen, gluten, an odorous principle, extractive, and a pecu- 
 liar crystallizable principle soluble in alcohol and water. — P. A neu- 
 tral crystalline, very bitter principle, which may be obtained in stel- 
 lated and dendritic masses has been found by Polex, which he called 
 taraxacin ; it has a bitter, somewhat acrid taste, and is soluble in alco- 
 hol, ether, and boiling water. It is fusible, inflammable, burns without 
 developing ammonia, and forms colorless solutions with concentrated 
 acids. To obtain it, receive the fresh milky juice in distilled water, 
 remove the albumen and resin by boiling, filter and slowly evaporate 
 to form crystals. These may be purified by washing and by solution 
 in either alcohol or distilled water, and re-crystallizing. — Pharm. Jour, 
 and Trans. I., 425. The intercellular substance in the root is, accord- 
 ing to Vohl, pectose, derived from the metamorphosis of the cellulose.; 
 — Jour, de Pharm., XLV., p. 362. Dandelion root should always be 
 used in the recent state ; drying, as well as long boiling, destroys its 
 virtues. Chicory-root is sometimes, if not frequently added, as an 
 adulteration, to dandelion root. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Dandelion root when dried possesses but little 
 medicinal virtue ; when recent, it is a stomachic and tonic, with slight- 
 ly diuretic and aperient actions. It has long been supposed to exert 
 an influence upon the biliary organs, removing torpor and engorge- 
 ment of the liver as well as of the spleen. It is also reputed beneficial 
 in dropsies owing to want of action of the abdominal organs, in uterine 
 obstructions, chronic diseases of the skin, and impairment of the diges- 
 tive functions. It should not be used by those whose digestive organs 
 aro weak, as it is apt to occasion dyspepsia, flatulence, pain, and diar- 
 rhea. The addition of cream of tartar to its decoction will render it 
 more diuretic and laxative. As far as my own experience with this 
 article goes, I think its virtues have been overrated. The existence of 
 an irritable condition of the stomach or bowels, or acute inflammation 
 contra-indicate its employment. Dose of the decoction, one or two 
 fluidounces ; of the e:^tract, from five to thirty grains. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Decoctum Taraxaci; Bxtractilm Taraxaci ; Bxtraotvro 
 Taraxaci Fluidum ; Pilulse Taraxaci Composite. 
 
826 Mateeia Medica. 
 
 TELA AEANBiB. (Spinnewebe.) 
 Cobweb.' Spidersweb. 
 
 History. — The medicinal species of spider, from which the web is ob' 
 tained is the Tegenaria Medicinalis, belonging- to the division Homo- 
 gangliata, class Arachnida. They are found in angles of walls, corners 
 of fences, old houses, barns, etc., where they weave a large, angular, 
 nearly horizontal web, at the upper part of which is a tube in which 
 they keep themselves perfectly at rest, until the web has ensnared a 
 fly or other prey. The field spider's web is said to be of no account, 
 medicinally, while that of the house spider is considered very useful. 
 There are various opinions among medical men as to the modus oper- 
 andi of cobweb, some attributing it entirely to the control of the imag- 
 ination, while others view it in a different light, and entertain favor- 
 able opinions of it as a powerful therapeutical agent. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — -Febrifuge, sedative, and antispasmodic. Said 
 to have been found useful in the cure of intermittents when all other 
 agents have failed ; also recommended in several nervous affections, to 
 relieve pain, lessen spasmodic action, and cause sleep, without any 
 deleterious narcotic influences. Dr. Eobert Jackson used it in the de- 
 lirium, pains, spasms, and subsultus, common in continued fevers, in 
 dry, nervous coughs, hiccough, etc. It has also been reputed efficacious 
 in hysteria, periodical headache, chorea, asthma, morbid wakefulness 
 and restlessness, and muscular spasms. The dose is five or six grains, 
 rolled up in the form of a pill, and repeated three or four times a day.' 
 It has been applied to fresh wounds to check hemorrhage, and has 
 been used as a plug to the nostrils in cases of long-continued and ob- 
 stinate epistaxis. 
 
 The small silver-headed spider, given in a dough pill, is said to be a 
 prompt and efficacious cure for ague. 
 
 TBPHEOSIA VIEGINIANA. (Virginische Tephrosie.) 
 
 Hoary Pea. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Leguminosse. Sex. Syst. — Diadelphia Decandria. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant has several other names as Gat-gut, Goat's 
 Bue, and Devil's Shoe-string, by which last name it is more commonly 
 known in the South. It is indigenous, with a perennial root, and a 
 simple, erect, villous stem, one to two feet high. Leaves unequally pin- 
 nate ; leaflets numerous, fifteen to twenty-nine, crowded, linear-oblong, 
 acuminate, straight-veined, the odd one oblong-obcordate — they are 
 about an inch in length by two or three lines in breadth ; petiolules 
 about a line long. Stipules subulate, one-third of an inch long, decidu- 
 ous. Flowers large, yellowish- white, marked with red-purple, in a 
 dense, terminal, subsessile raceme. Calyx very villous, with five, nearly 
 equal, subulate teeth. Banner roundish, usually silky outside, white ; 
 keels obtuse, rose-colored, cohering with the red wings. Legume flat, 
 linear, falcate, villous, many-seeded. — W. — &. 
 
 Tepheosia OnobetchoIdes (Il^uttj. — Pilose with somewhat rusty 
 hairs. Stem stout, erect, flexuous, more or less branched, about two 
 feet high. Leaflets thirteen to seventeen, nearly smooth above, silky- 
 hirsute beneath, cuneate-oblong, obtuse or retuse, and mucronate at the 
 
TriEA Chinensis, 827 
 
 end, an inch or more long, one-fourth as wide ; stipules free, subulate. 
 Raceme very long (one or two feet), terminal, nearly opposite the 
 leaves, many flowered ; flowers small, red and white. Galyx villose- 
 hispid, teeth triangular, the lowest subulate, exceeding the others 
 Legume two inches long, slightly falcate, eight to twelve seeded. — W. 
 
 History. — ^Each of the above plants is known in the South by the 
 common name of Devil's Shoe-string. Several varieties of the plant are 
 found growing in dry 8a,ndy soils from Canada to Florida, and from 
 Illinois and Missouri to Texas, all of which, probably, possess similar 
 medicinal powers. The two plants above described are the ones more 
 commonly used. They flower in June and July. The root is of a light 
 drab color, from a foot and a half to two feet or more in length, and ■ 
 varying in thickness from one-eighth to three-eighths of an inch ; it is 
 crooked, not much branched, gradually tapering, with a very few, scut- 
 tering fibers. Internally its color is whitish yellow. The root is hard, 
 breaks with a short cottony fracture, as may be seen by examining the 
 fractured end with a pocket lens, has a faint spicy odor, and a spicy, 
 faintly sweetish and slightly astringent taste, succeeded by a moderate 
 degree of pungency. It yields its virtues to water or alcohol. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The root of this plant alone, or in combination 
 with other agents, has been found a very efficacious remedy in syphilis ; 
 many Southern practitioners have spoken of it to me in the highest 
 terms, as an antisyphilitic. The decoction is also much used as a ver- 
 mifuge, and is Said to be as efficient and powerful as the spigelia. Ac- 
 cording to Dr. B. 0. Jones, the plant is a mild, stimulating tonic, hav- 
 ing a slight action on the bowels, and the secretive organs generally, 
 and applicable in the treatment of many diseases, especially in a cer- 
 tain stage of typhoid fever, where there is little use of active medicine. 
 He recommends the fbllowing Compound Fluid Extract of Tephrosiar 
 Take of Tephros. Virg. (the plant) eight ounces, Eumex Acutus (Dock) 
 two ounces, water four quarts. Place the plants in the water and boil 
 till it is reduced to one quart. Strain, and when intended to be kept, 
 mix with an equal bulk of brandy or diluted alcohol, and half its 
 weight of sugar, macerate for several days, and strain through muslin. 
 The dose is from half a fluidounce to a fluidounce, two, three, or four 
 times a day. — Am. Jour. Fharm., Wol. XXVIII., 218. 
 
 THBA CHINENSIS. (Chinesischer Thee.) 
 
 Tea.— TAee. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Terns'tromiaceffi. Sex. Syst. — Monadelphia Polyandria. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — The Tea-plant, Thea Chinensis, is an evergreen shrub, 
 when uncultivated reaching even to thirty feet in height, but seldom 
 attaining more than six or seven feet when under cultivation. There 
 are two varieties of this plant, admitted by botanists, the Thea Viridis, 
 Green Tea, and the Thea Bohea, Black Tea. 
 
 Thea Vibidis has many alternate, bright brown and smooth branches, 
 green and downy when young. Leaves alternate, bright deep-green, 
 oval or oval-lanceolate, short stalked, very convex, serrated, entire to- 
 ward the base, and at the apex, which is acuminate and emarginate , 
 shining on both sides, blistered when old, slightly downy beneath. 
 Flowers small, white, axillai-y, solitary, with a rather heavy odor. Go- 
 
828 Materia Medica. 
 
 rolld five to nine petals, unequal, the outer one shorter. Calyx without 
 bracts, five-cleft, segments imbricate^, equal. Stamens numerous, 
 smooth, adhering to the very base of the petals ; filaments white, awl- 
 shaped ; anthers rounded, reniform, opening at the base. Ovary ovate, 
 pubescent; style simple at the base, trifid above. Capsule spheroidal, 
 three-celled, often by abortion one or two celled ; cells opening at the 
 apex, one, or rarely two-seeded. Seeds spheroidal, wingless. — Zi. 
 
 Thea Bohea, very milch like the last ; but the leaves are flatter, 
 .smaller, darker -green, with small serratures, and terminating grad- 
 ually in a point, not at all acuminate or emarginate. — i. Flowers axil- 
 lary, several together. 
 
 History. — The Tea-plant inhabits Eastern Asia, and is extensively 
 cultivated in China both for home use and exportation. The Japanese, 
 as well as some of the neighboring nations also cultivate it to a certain 
 extent. There are two kinds of Tea imported into this country. Green 
 Tea, and Black Tea, and of each of these two, there are several varie- 
 ties. Thus, of Green Tea, we have Twankay, Hyson-skin, Young Hyson, 
 Old Hyson, Imperial, and Chunpowder; of Black Tea we have Bohea, 
 Congou, Campoi, Souchong, Caper, and Pekoe. The leaves of the Green 
 Tea have a dark bluish-green color, a pleasant, somewhat fragrant odor, 
 and a bitterish, slightly asti'ingent, somewhat herbaceous taste ; they 
 impart their peculiar taste and odor to boiling water by infusipn, 
 forming an agreeable and invigorating drink. According to Dr. Has- 
 sal, who has subjected the various kinds of Tea to mici-oscopioal and 
 chemical examinations, but little unadulterated Tea is exported from 
 China. He found that the Chinese adulterated Tea With the leaves of 
 the ash, plum, camellia sasanqua, chloranthus inconspieuus, and other 
 plants; colored them with indigo, Prussian-blue, turmeric, etc., and 
 glazed them with graphite, plumbago, etc. In addition to this, there 
 are unprincipled dealers, who do not hesitate to still further adulterate 
 Teas after their importation. 
 
 According to more recent investigations by Mr. Fortune, and Messrs. 
 Grundherr and Hertell, it appears that all the Teas are collected from 
 the same plant, but their quality is subject to climatic influence, soil, 
 culture, and preparation. The tender tops of the shrub yield the finest 
 Teas, while the lower leaves yield the common kinds. The first crop 
 also yields finer Teas than subsequent crops, which are successively of 
 poorer quality to the fifth or sixth crop. The green Teas are not col- 
 ored by drying on copper plates as is generally supposed, although 
 some varieties are colored artificially, but with perfectly inert sub- 
 stances. The black Teas have to undergo a proeeas of fermentation 
 before they are dried, and lose thereby a portion of their narcotic 
 action. — Proceedings Am. Pharm. Assoc, 1868, p. 184. The change of the 
 leaf from green to black, is mainly due to chemical alterations pro- 
 duced by the oxygen of the air upon the constituents of the leaf, and 
 especially upon the astringent principle ; this change being prevented 
 in green Tea by the rapid process of drying to which it is subjected. — 
 W. A. Miller. 
 
 The leaves of Black Tea are much darker colored than those of 
 Green, and their taste and odor is not so pleasant, and to some per- 
 sons are very offensive. They form a brownish infusion with boiling 
 water. Black Teas also undergo adulteration by the Chinese to a con- 
 siderable extent. Mulder found Tea to consist of — 
 
Thea Chinensis. 829 
 
 bREEN. BLACK. 
 
 Essential oil (to which the flavor is due) 0.79 0.60 
 
 Chlorophyll 2.22 1.84 
 
 Wax 0.28 
 
 Resin 2.22 3.64 
 
 Gum 8.56 7,28 
 
 Tannic acid 17,80 12.88 
 
 Theine 43 0.46 
 
 Extractive 22.30 19.88 
 
 Extractive, dark colored 1.48 
 
 Colorable matter, separable by hydrochloric acid 23.60 19.12 
 
 Albumen 3.00 2.80 
 
 Vegetable fiber 17.08 28.32 
 
 Ash 5.56 5.24 
 
 100.0 100.0 
 
 "The theine is obviously much underrated in Mulder's analysis. Ac- 
 cording to Stenhouse, the Teas of commerce contain, on an average, 
 about two per cent, of theine. M. Peligot procured over four per cent, 
 of theine by the following process : To the hot infusion of green Tea, 
 subacetato of lead, and then ammonia, were added; the liquid was 
 filtered, and the lead separated by means of sulphureted hydrogen ; 
 after a second filtration, the clear liquid, being evaporated at a gentle 
 heat, afforded, on cooling, an abundant crop of crystals. By re-evapo- 
 ration of the mother-liquid more crystals were procured, amounting 
 altogether to from five to six per cent. Theine, when pure, crystallizes 
 in fine needles, glossy, like white silk ; the crystaJs^Jose eight per cent, 
 of their weight, or two atoms of water of crystallization, at 212i° ; they 
 are bitter, but have no smell, melt at 550°, sublime at 543° without de- 
 composing ; dried at 350°, they dissolve in 98 parts of water, 97 of alco- 
 hol, and 194 parts of ether. It is a feeble base, being precipitable from 
 its solutions by tannic acids alone. (See " Adulterations Detected^, etc., 
 by Arthur Hill Sassal, M. D." p. 65 to 104.) Theine and caffein are con- 
 sidered as one and the same alkaloid by chemists. Hlasiwetz and 
 Malin state that Tea contains, besides the substances already known, 
 gallic acid, oxalic acid, and quercitrine. — Proceedings of Am. Pharm. 
 Assoc, 1867, p. 176. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tea is a mild stimulant and astringent ; used 
 in moderation, the infusion, when not too strong, is a harmless and re- 
 freshing beverage. As to its effects upon the constitution there is quite 
 a diversity of opinions, but it is very probable that with healthy per- 
 sons no pernicious influences arise from its use, unless taken in large 
 quantities, or very strong. It is very agreeable to the invalid when 
 made into a weak infusion ; and may be used in fevers and inflamma- 
 tory diseases when it is desired to check sleep. In colds, catarrhs, and 
 slight attacks of rheumatism, warm Tea is taken as a diluent, diuretic, 
 and diaphoretic. It frequently relieves headache, and allays the irri- 
 tation of the stomach produced by the intemperance of the previous 
 day. With some persons, however. Tea produces very unpleasant 
 nervous symptoms; as tremors, anxiety, headache, sleeplessness, etc. 
 Tea is said to be a sedative to the heart and bloodvessels; and.Liebig 
 considers it to possess considerable nutritive power. Black Tea is gen- 
 erally preferred by those of weak or delicate nerves, on account of its 
 being less apt to produce disagreeable nervous symptoms. Bxternallj' 
 th^ infusion has been used with advantage as a collyrium. The essen- 
 tial oil of tea exerts a most powerfully stimulating and intoxicating 
 
830 Materia Medica. 
 
 effect. In China, tea is seldom used till it is a year old, on account of 
 the well-known intoxicating effects of new tea, due probably to the 
 larger proportion of essential oil contained in the freshly-dried leaf — 
 W. A. Miller. According to Dr. Levin the effects of theine and eaf- 
 fein are identical, with the exQeption that the first is a less powerful 
 toxic than the latter, requiring double the doses to produce the same 
 effect, and likewise occasions convulsive movements in the limbs, which 
 have not been noticed from the action of the latter. — Arch, de Phys., 
 Norm, et Path., 1868. 
 
 The Chinese use a tea-oil for lamps and as, an article of food; it is 
 pale-yellow, nearly odorless, of sp. gr. 0.927, burns with a clear white 
 flame, is slightly soluble in ether, but insoluble in alcohol or water. It 
 is, however,not obtained from the seeds of the tea-plant, but from various 
 species of the genus Gamella, as theC Oleifera, or 0. Sesangua. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Lotio Hydrastis Composita. 
 
 THUJA OCCIDBNTALIS. (Amerikanischer Lebensbaum.) 
 
 Arbor Vitse. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Pinacese. Sex. Syst. — MonoBcia Monadelphia. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — This tree, also called False White Cedar, from its resem- 
 blance to the white cedar {Cwpressus Thyoides), is indigenous to this 
 country, and attains the height of thirty to fifty feet. Trunk crooked, 
 rapidly diminishing in size upward, throwing out recurved branches 
 from base to summit; branches ancipital, flat and broad. Wood very 
 light and soft, but exceedingly durable. Leaves evergreen, rhomboid- 
 ovate, with a gland on the back, squamose, appressed, imbricated in 
 four rows. Cowes terminal, oblong, nodding; scales pointless, one-seeded; 
 seeds broadly winged. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — This evergreen tree grows wild in various parts of the 
 United States from Canada to Carolina, on the rocky borders of streams 
 and lakes, and in swamps, flowering in May. It abounds especially in 
 Canada and the Northern States ; it is said to attain only the height 
 of thirty-six feet, and fourteen inches in diameter, when one hundred 
 and fifty years old, The leaves and twigs are employed ; they have a 
 pleasant benzoinic odor, and a pungent, bitterish, aromatic taste. A 
 yellowish-green, pungent, aromatic, essential oil may be procured from 
 them Uy distillation. Water or alcohol extracts their virtues. M. 
 Kawalier has submitted the leaves and twigs of this tree to a very 
 elaborate analysis, and has found in it, besides the volatile oil and bit- 
 ter principle (pinipicrin) a crystalline coloring principle thujine, thuji- 
 genin, and a peculiar tannic acid which he named ^iwitanmc acid. — Chem. 
 aaz., 1859, pp. 61 and 88. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — A decoction of the leaves has been used in in- 
 termittent fever, remittent fever, coughs, rheumatic and scorbutic affec- 
 tions, etc. Made into an ointment with lard or other animal fat, the 
 fresh leaves are useful as a local application in rheumatic and neural- 
 gic affections ; a poultice of the cones and powdered Podophyllum in 
 milk, will, it is asserted, remove the worst rheumatic pains. The oil 
 has been successfully employed as a vermifuge. The expressed juice 
 or tincture of the leaves is highly recommended as an application to. 
 condylomata, removing these growths in from three to four weeks 
 The tincture to be made by bruising an ounce of the fresh leaves, and 
 
Thymus Vulgaris. 831 
 
 macerating it for several days in lialf a pint of alcohol. The condylo- 
 mata should be kept constantly moistened with the tincture by means 
 of lint dipped in it. Internally, the tincture has proved useful in amen- 
 orrhea, in fluidrachm doses, repeated three times a day. By some it is 
 said to act as a powerful excitant, others again deny this. 
 
 THYMUS VULGAEIS. (Gemeiner Thymian.) 
 
 Thyme. — ■ Thymian. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Lamiacese.. Sex. Syst.- — Didynamia Gymnospermia. 
 
 THE HERB. 
 
 Descriptim- — Thyme is a small undershrub, with erect, suffruticose, 
 numerous, branched stems, procumbent at base, six to ten inches in 
 height. Leaves oblong-ovate and lanceolate, numerous, revolute at the 
 fiides. Flowers bluish-purple, small, in terminal, leafy, whorled spikes. 
 — W. The Thymus Serpyllus, Wild Thyme or Mother of Thyme, with a 
 decumbent stem, flat, entire, elliptical punctate, obtuse, and petiolate 
 leaves, ciliate at base, and purple,- spotted, capitate flowers, has similar 
 virtues to the above. — W. 
 
 History. — These two plants are natives of Europe, introduced into this 
 country, and extensively cultivated in gardens as culinary plants, espe- 
 cially the T. Vulgaris ; they blossom during the summer. The whole 
 herb is used; it should be collected when in flower, and carefully dried. 
 It has a strong, pungent, spicy, rather pleasant taste and odor^ both 
 of which are retained by careful drying. These properties are due to a 
 reddish-brown volatile oil, procured by distilling the plant with water. 
 Its specific gravity is similar to that of the oil of origanum, for which 
 it is frequently substituted. The herb yields its virtues to alcohol, or 
 to boiling water by infusion. M. Lallemand found the oil to contain a 
 large quantity of thymol or stearoptene; it is crystalline, melts at 108° 
 P., and will remain liquid for a considerable time at the ordinary tem- 
 perature, has no rotary action on polarized light, and has the formula 
 C20 Hu O^. Thymene, the other constituent of oil of Thyme, is isomeric 
 with turpentine, has no rotatory action on polarized light, and has the 
 formula Ca, His- Thymic acid is obtained by treating the oil of Thyme 
 -with solution of caustic potassa ; decomposing the resulting thymate of 
 potassa by sulphuric acid, which forms a sulphate of potassa and sets 
 the thymic acid free; it has an odor somewhat like that of Thyme. It 
 is one of the homologues of carbolic acid, and may be used as an antisepr 
 tic, to remove parasites, and, when concentrated, to cauterize the dental 
 nerves. A solution of one part to four of alcohol and 992 of water, is 
 very efl3.cacious as a dressing to wounds and ulcers, favoring cicatriza- 
 tion. Being more agreeable than carbolic acid, it may be substituted 
 for it in all cases. An ointment of it may be made by triturating from 
 two to twenty drops of it with one ounce of lard. Pills may be made 
 of it by mixing together three grains of thymic acid, six grains of me- 
 dicinal soap, and a sufficient quantity of excipient, and dividing the 
 mass into twenty pills. 
 
 Properfies and Uses. — Thyme is tonic, carminative, emmenagogue and 
 antispasmodic. The cold infusion is useful in dyspepsia with weak and 
 irritable stomach, and as a stimulating tonic in convalescence from ex- 
 hausting diseases. The warm infusion is beneficial in hysteria, dys- 
 menorrhea, flatulence, colic, headache, and to promote perspiration. 
 Occasionally the leaves hav^i been employed externally, in fomentation. 
 
832 Materia Medica. 
 
 The oil is valuable as a local application to neuralgic and rheunaatio^ 
 pains; and internally, to fulfill any of the indications for ^vhicb the 
 plant is used. Dose of the infusion, from one to three fluidouncos ; of 
 the oil, from two to ten drops on sugar, or in emulsion. Thyme, ScuU- 
 eap, and Eue, of each, two ounces, Peony and Black Cohosh, of each, 07ie 
 ounce, macerated for fourteen days in Diluted Alcohol, and then filtered, 
 forms a good preparation for nervous and spasmodic diseases in children ; 
 it may be given in teaspoonful doses to a child three years old, repeating 
 it three or four times a day, sweetening and diluting it if desired. A 
 strong infusion of the Thymus Serpyllus, slig-htly sweetened, and mixed 
 with gum Arabic, is stated by M. Joset to be a sovereign remedy foi 
 whooping cough, convulsive and catarrhal coughs, and stridulous sort 
 throat, the favorable result occurring at the end of a very few days ;'it 
 may be taken ad libitum. 
 
 TEIFOLIUM PEATBJNSB. (Acker Klee.) 
 
 Eed Clover. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Fabaceae. Sex. Syst. — ^Diad,elphia Decandria. 
 
 ' THE BLOSSOMS. 
 
 Description. — Eed Clover is a biennial plant with several stems arising 
 from the same root, ascending, somewhat hairy, varying much in its 
 height. I/eaves ternate ; leaflets oval or obbvate, entire, nearly smooth, 
 often notched at the end, lighter colored in the center. Stipules ovate, 
 mticronate. Mowers red, fragrant, in short, dense, ovate, sessile spikes or 
 heads. Corollas unequal, monopetalous ; lower tooth of the calyx longer 
 than the four others, which are equal, and all shorter than the rose-red 
 corolla. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — This plant is common to the United States, being extensively 
 cultivated in grass lands, with herds^grass (Phleum Pratense) and other 
 grasses, and often alone ; it flowers throughout the summer. The blos- 
 soms or flowers are the parts used. A strong decoction ig made of them, 
 which is evaporated to the consistence of an extract. 
 
 Properties (ind Uses. — The extract spread on linen or soft leather, is 
 said to be an excellent remedy for cancerous ulcers. It is also highly 
 recommended in ill-conditioned ulcers of every kind, and deep, ragged- 
 edged, and otherwise badly conditioned burns. It possesses a peculiar 
 soothing property, proves an efficacious detergent, and promotes a health- 
 ful granulation. A strong infusion of the plant is said to aiford prompt 
 relief in whooping cough, suspending the spasmodic cough entirely in two 
 or three days ; it is to be given in half fluidounces every hour or two 
 throughout the day. 
 
 There are two other varieties of Clover which are occasi6na,lly em- 
 ployed by practitioners, viz. : the Melilotus Officinalis, of Willdenow, or 
 M. Vulgaris, of Eaton, — Yellow Melilot Clover, with an erect, sulcate 
 stem, about three feet high, with spreading branches. Leaves pinnately 
 trifoliate ; leaflets obovate-oblong, obtuse, smooth, with remote, mucron- 
 ate teeth. Flowers yellow, in one-sided, spicate, axillary, loos^ panicu- 
 late racemes ; calyx half as long as the corolla; legume ovoid, two seed- 
 ed. It' is an indigenous annual, growing in alluvial meadows, and 
 flowering in June. The whole plant is scented, having nearly the odor 
 of the sweet-scented vernal grass, Anthoxanthum Odoratum. The other 
 is the Melilotus Leucantha, of Koch, M. Alba, of Nuttall, and Trifolium 
 Officinale, of Linnfeus,— -White Melilot Clover, or sweet-scented Clover, 
 
Trillium Pendulum. 833 
 
 a biennial, with an erect, robust, verj' branching, sulcate stem, four to 
 six feet high ; leaflets variable, oval, ovate, ovate-oblong, truncate, and 
 mucronate at the apex, remotely serrate, one or two inches long ; stip- 
 ules setaceous. Floioers white, numerous, the racemes more loose and 
 longer than in the preceding species. Petals unequal, banner longer 
 than wings or keel ; calyx shorter than the corolla, by more than one- 
 half This plant grows in similar situations with the last, flowering in 
 July and August, and having a sweet fi-agrance, which is improved 
 upon being Avi&d.^W. The leaves and flowers of these two plants are 
 boiled in lard, and formed into an ointment, which is found of utility 
 as an application to all kinds of ulcers. The Vanilla or Seneca Grass, 
 used for a stimulant purpose, is the Hiernchloa Borealis. 
 
 TEILLIUM PENDULUM. (Hangendes Dreiblatt.) 
 
 Bethroot. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Trilliacese. Sex. Syst — Hexandria Trigynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. I 
 
 Description. — This is one of an extensive genus of North American, 
 herbaceous, perennial plants, which are variously known under the 
 names of Wake-Robin, Birth-root, Indian-Balm, Lamb's Quarter, Ground 
 Lily, etc. It has an oblong, tuberous root, from which arises a slender 
 stem, ten to fifteen inches in height. Leaves, three in number, whorled 
 at the top of the stem, suborbicular-rhomboidal, abruptly acuminate, 
 three to five inches in diameter, on petioles about a line in length. 
 Flowers white, solitary, terminal, cernuous, on a recurved peduncle 
 from an inch to two and a half inches long. Sepals green, oblong- 
 lanceolate, acuminate, an inch long; petals oblong-ovate, acute, an inch 
 and a quarter in length by half an inch broad. Styles three, erect, with 
 recurved stigmas. — B. — W. 
 
 History. — This plant is common to the Middle and Western States, 
 growing in rich soils, in damp, rocky, and shady woods, and flowering 
 in May and June. Nearly all the species ot" the genus Trillium, are 
 medicinal, and possesses analogous properties ; and among them the 
 T. Erythrocarpum, T. Grandiflorum, T. Sessile, T. Erectum, and'T. Nivale, 
 are the most common, and consequently the most frequently collected 
 and employed. These plants may be generally known by their three 
 verticillate, net-veined leaves, and their solitary, terminal flower, which 
 varies in color in the different species, being white, red, purple, whitish- 
 yellow, or reddish-white ; the peduncle will also be found erect in some 
 species, and recurved' in others. The roots of these plants are oblong 
 or terete, somewhat tuberous, dark or brownish externally, white inter- 
 nally, ft'om one to five inches in length, and from half an inch to an 
 inch and a half in diameter, beset with afewbi^anching fibers laterally. 
 They have a faint, slightly terebinthinate odor, and a peculiar aromatic 
 and sweetish taste ; when chewed they impart an acrid astringent im- 
 pression in the mouth, causing a flow of saliva, and a sensation of heat 
 in the throat and fauces. The rootlets have but little of the acrimony 
 of the root. Prof B. S. Wayne, of Cincinnati, observes that if tincture 
 of iodine be added to the white internal surface of the root, it strikes a 
 deep blue color, indicating the presence of starch in abundance. The 
 root contains volatile oil, gum, resin, extractive, tannic acid, and starch. 
 It yields its active principles to water, and its tonic and stimulant virtues 
 to diluted alcohol. The acrid principle of this root, Trilline, was obtained 
 53 
 
834 Materia Medica. 
 
 hy Prof. Wayne, as follows : A tincture made by displacement, was 
 evaporated, to which water was added as the alcohol passed away. 
 Upon cooling, a very fluid oleo-resin floated upon the surface of the 
 water, of a light-brown color, and having the odor but not the acridity 
 of the root. The acrid watery portion having been separated from the 
 oil, both acetate and subacetate of lead was added as long as a precip- 
 itate was produced, the lead precipitate was then removed by filtration, 
 and the excess of lead removed by the careful addition of sulphuric 
 acid. The clear filtrate being still acrid, was allowed to stand for 
 twenty-four hours, when a gelatinous precipitate took place, the fluid 
 losing its acridity. This precipitate was separated by filtration, care- 
 fully washed witb water, as water appeared to remove some portion of 
 it, and allowed to become almost dry on the filter, when it was dis- 
 solved in dilute alcohol and left to spontaneous evaporation. It formed 
 a dry -white, amorphous mass, easily powdered, powerfully acrid, solu- 
 ble in alcohol, and, in quantity of half a grain to two ounces of water, 
 formed a persistent, frothing, soap-like mixture. Its tincture, brushed 
 on glass and dried, was easily detached in glistening scales. — Am. Jour 
 Pharm., XXVIII., 512. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Bethroot is astringent, tonic, and antiseptic ; it 
 has been employed successfully in hemoptysis, hematuria, menorrhagia, 
 uterine hemorrhage, leucorrhea, cough, asthma, and difScult breathing, 
 and is said to have been much used by the Indian women to promote 
 .parturition. The astringent varieties of Trillium have been found use- 
 ful in hemorrhages,; the acrid species in chronic affections of the mem- 
 branes lining the air-passages, phthisis, hectic fever, etc. All the va- 
 rieties have been found eflSxsient either internally or externally, in 
 chronic mucous discharges, leucorrhea, menorrhagia, etc. Boiled in milk, 
 it has been administered with benefit in diarrhea and dysentery ; and 
 an infusion of equal parts of Trillium and Lycopus Yirginicus, has 
 been highly recommended for the cure of diabetes. Externally, the 
 root, made into a poultice, is very useful in tumors, indolent or offen- 
 sive ulcers, anthrax, buboes, stings of insects, and to restrain gangrene. 
 In some instances its efScacy has been increased by combination with 
 bloodroot. The red Bethroots will, it is said, check ordinary epistaxis, 
 by merely smelling the freshly-exposed surface of the recent root, and 
 it is therefore probable that they contain an astringent principle of a 
 volatile nature. The leaves of the Beth-plants, boiled in lard have 
 been much used, in some sections of country, as an application to ulcers, 
 tumors, etc. Dose of powdered Bethroot one drachm, to be given in 
 hot water ; of the strong infusion, which is the most common form of 
 administration, from two to four fluidounces. These plants undoubted- 
 ly possess active properties, and deserve further investigation. — The 
 Trilline, prepared as named above by Prof. Wayne, has not been used 
 in Inedicine ; but a less active agent has been sold under the same 
 name, which is of no therapeutical value. 
 
 TEIOSTBTTM PBEPOLIATUM. (Durchwachsener Dreistein.) 
 
 Pever-root. 
 Nat. Ord. — Caprifoliacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 BARK OF THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This plant is known also by the names of Wild Ipecac, 
 Horse- Gentian, Wild Coffee, and Dr. Tinker's Weed. It is indigenous, 
 
Triticum Hybernum. 835 
 
 with a perennial, thick, and fleshy root, subdivided into numerous hori- 
 zontal branches. Stems several from same root, simple, stout, erect, 
 round, hollow, soft, pubescent, two to four feet high. Leaves opposite, 
 oval-acuminate, mostly connate, entire, abruptly contracted at base, 
 nearly smooth above, pubescent beneath, prominently veined, six inches 
 long by three broad; in some plants the upper leaves are almost am- 
 plexicaul. Flowers dull purple, axillary, sessile, mostly in clusters of 
 three or five in the form of whorls, rarely solitary. Oalyx-tuhe ovoid ; 
 limb five-parted, segments linear-lanceolate, leaf-like, persistent, having 
 a solitary bract ; corolla tubular, gibbous at the base, somewhat equally 
 five-lobed, scarcely longer than the calyx. Stamens fivo, included ; 
 filaments hairy. Ovary inferior ; style long, slender ; stigma capitate, 
 lobed. Fruit an oval berry, about nine lines long and six thick, of an 
 orange-red or purple color when ripe, hairy, somewhat three-sided, 
 crowned with the persistent calyx, three-celled, each cell containing a 
 hard, bony, furrowed seed. — W. — G-. — B. , 
 
 History.— Fever-root is found throughout the United States, in lime- 
 stone, and rich soils, in shady locations, and among rocks, flowering 
 from May to August. The root is the officinal part. It is of a dirty 
 yellowish-brown color externally, about a foot and a half long, and 
 about nine lines in diameter, whitish internally, sends out flbers, has a 
 nauseous smell, and a disagreeably amarous taste. When dried it is 
 readily reduced to powder. Its virtues are imparted to water, alcohol, 
 or ether. It has not been analyzed. The Triosteum Angustifolium, 
 smaller than the above, with a bristly, hairy stein, lanceolate, and sub- 
 connate leaves, tapering to the base, peduncles opposite, one-flowered, 
 and flowers of a greenish-cream color, possesses analogous properties, 
 and may be substituted as aii equivalent for thie above. — W. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The bark of the root is emetic when recent, or 
 when administered in large doses of the powder. In doses of from a 
 scruple to a drachm, the powder is a mild, but slow catharic, with a 
 tonic influence. In the early stages of fever, it may be given in all cases 
 where a gentle action on the bowels is desired. It has been recom- 
 mended as a laxative-tonic in dyspepsia, and autumnal fevers, also in 
 hyuteria, hypochondria, and convalescence after febrile diseases. Some 
 have stated it to possess diuretic properties, and have employed it in 
 chronic rheumatism with success. Eafinesque considers the leaves to be 
 diaphoretic. The hard seeds are said to be very similar in flavor to 
 cofPbe, when roasted and ground. Dose of the tincture from one to 
 four fluidrachms ; of the extract, which is the best form of administra- 
 tion, from five to fifteen grains. 
 
 TEITICUM HYBBEITUM. (Gemeiner Weizen.) 
 
 Wheat. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Graminacese. Sex. Syst. — Triandria Digynia. 
 
 FLOUR or THE SEEDS. 
 
 Des&iption. — This plant, the common Winter Wheat, described as 
 /' Sativum, and T. Vulgare, has a fibrous root, and a round, smooth, 
 siiaight stem, three to four feet or more in height, the internodes being 
 somewhat inflated. Leaves lance-linear, veined, roughish above, with 
 iinncate and bristly stipules. Flowers on a four-cornered, imbricated, 
 terminal spike, two or three inches in length, with a tough rachis. 
 
83*5 Materia Medica. 
 
 Spikelets crowded, broad-ovate, about four-flowered; ^fcmes ventr'r'u>se 
 ovate, truncate, luucronate, compressed below the apex, round and con- 
 vex at the back, with a prominent nervure. Palece 'of the upper florets 
 somewhat bearded. Grains loose. — W. — L. — Wi. 
 
 History. — Several species of Triticum are cultivated in different coun- 
 tries, among which may be named the T. Vidgare, the species most 
 generally raised in this country and Europe. It has two varieties, T. 
 Vulgare ^stivum or Spring Wheat, and T. Vulgare .Hybernum, or Win- 
 ter Wheat. Linnseus considered these as distinct species, hut botanists 
 of the present day generally refer them to one common stock. Barley 
 and oats have the perianth attached to the grain, which is not the case 
 with Wheat. Wheat is supposed to be a native of Central Asia, in the 
 country of the Baschkirs. The ofScinal part is the seeds, deprived of 
 their husk, and ground to a fine flour. Wheat is liable to the follow- 
 ing diseases, from parasitical fungi, viz.: 1. Bunt, smut-balls, or pepper - 
 brand, produced by Uredo Caries, and giving a disgusting odor to the 
 flour. This fungous plant is also called Tilletia Garies, and infests corn 
 grains and other grasses. 2. Smut, dust brand, or burnt-ear, produced 
 by Uredo Segetum or Ustilago Garbo. 3. Bust, red-rag, red-robin, or rerf 
 gum, caused by the young state of Puccinia Graminis. 4. Mildew, pro- 
 duced by the more advanced growth of P. Graminis. 5. Ergot, caused 
 by the Oidium dbortifaciens or Glaviceps purpurea, and which is as 
 powerful in its action on the uterus as ergot of rye. Two diseases of 
 Wheat kre produced by parasitical animalcules, viz. : 1. Ear-cockle, 
 purples, or pepper corn, caused by a microscopic, eel-shaped animalcule, 
 called Vibrio Tritici, or Anguillula Tritici. 2. Wheat-midge, an abortion 
 of the grains caused by a minute two-winged fly called Oecidomyia 
 Tritici.— P. ' 
 
 Good Wheat flour is very white, has a faint peculiar odor, and 
 nearly tasteless. According to Vauquelin it consists-of starch, glu , 
 sugar, gum, bran, and water. Payen found starch from 58 to 73 parts; 
 gluten, and other azotized matters, from 11 to 22; dextrine, glucose, or 
 congenerous substances, from 6 to 9 ; fatty matters, 1.87 to 2.61 ; cellu- 
 lose, 3 to 4 ; silica, phosphates of lime, magnesia, and soluble salts of 
 pptassa and of soda 2.12 to 3.02. According to Mr. Johnston the com- 
 position of Wheat-bran is subject to great variation ; the following is 
 the average : Water 13.1, coagulated albumen 19.3, oil 4.7, husk and a 
 little starch 55.6, saline matter (ash) 7.3. The proportion of these con- 
 stituents in Wheat grains varies according to climate, soil, mode of 
 culture, quality of manure, time of cutting, etc. The starch, which 
 constitutes at least one-half of Wheat grains, is of finer, quality, and of 
 greater density than that obtained from most other sources. {See 
 Amylum). The gluten of Wheat is usually assumed as the most perfect 
 form of that principle, and is more abundant in Wheat than in any 
 other kind of grain, rendeifing Wheat flour superior to any other in the 
 manufacture of bread. If Wheat flour be kneaded into a paste with a 
 little water, it forms a tenacious, elastic, soft, ductile mass. This is to 
 be washed cautiously, by kneading it under a small stream of water 
 till the water no lonjger carries off any thing, but runs off colorless ; 
 what remains behind is gluten. It is of a gray color, exceedingly tena- 
 cious, ductile, and elastic, has a peculiar smell, and hardly, any tane. 
 On exposure to the air, it slowly dries, forming a hard, brittle, slightly 
 transparent, dark-brown substance, resembling glue, which breaks Ike 
 glass, with a vitreous fracture, imbibes water, but loses its tenacity i.tjd 
 elasticity by boiling. It decomposes rapidly in a moist atmosphere-, 
 
Tritici;.m Hvbernum. 837 
 
 emitting a very offensive odor. Gluten has been resolved into vegeta- 
 ble fibrin, glntin or pure gluten, mucin or vegetable caseine, and oil. 
 
 The milky liquid produced by washing the Wheat flour, as above 
 named, contains in solution gum, sugar, and vegetable albumen. Vege- 
 table albumen may be obtained by allowing this fluid to deposit its 
 starch, pouring off the supernatant liquor, and heating it to nearly 
 boiling, 140° to 160° ; flakes of coagulated albumen are formed. Vege- 
 table albumen is soluble in water, but when coagulated by heat it is 
 insoluble ,' it is also insoluble in alcohol and ether. When dry it is 
 opaque, white, gray, brown, or black, according to circumstances, and 
 is not adhesive like gum. Solutions of caustic alkalies readily dissolve 
 it, and an excess of acid throws down a precipitate composed of the 
 acid and albumen ; this precipitate is but little soluble in water, and is 
 precipitated from it again by acids, prussiate of potash, corrosive sub- 
 limate, and infusion of nut-galls. It is not soluble in the alkaline car- 
 bonates, nor in caustic ammonia after having been coagulated. Car- 
 bonate of ammonia is its, best precipitant from an acid solution, throw- 
 ing it down in white flocks. The solution of albumen in caustic po- 
 tassa, forms an insoluble precipitate with earthy or metallic salts, 
 which is a compound of the albumen and the base of the salt. A salt 
 of peroxide of iron produfes thus a deep-red precipitate ; of protoxide, 
 a white precipitate, which by exposure to the air becomes yellow ; 
 the salts of copper give a pale oluish-green precipitate. — T.. Vegetable 
 albumen possesses nearly all the characters of animal albumen, and is 
 considered identical in composition with it. Dr. Bence Jones found it 
 to be composed of carbon 55.01, hydrogen 7.23, nitrogen 15.92, oxygen, 
 sulphur, and phosphorus, 21.84. 
 
 Vegetable fibrin is the essential part of what is called the gluten of 
 Wheat. When Wheat softened in water is kneaded and washed as 
 above stated, to remove the starch, sugar, etc , and the residuary mass 
 is beat up with rods, the pure fibrin adheres in elastic, transparent fila- 
 ments to the rods. These, after being treated by ether, to remove fat 
 oil, are pure fibrin. When dried, it becomes grayish and translucent, 
 like horn. When heated, it yields the usual products of animal mat- 
 ters ; and when left to itself, in the moist state, it putrefies, disengaging 
 fetid gases. It is quite insoluble in water. Diluted phosphoric and 
 acetic acids dissolve it easily; these solutions are precipitated by ferro- 
 cyanide of potassium, and by infusion of galls. Dilute potassa also 
 dissolves it; and this solution, when neutralized by phosphoric or 
 acetic acid, yields a precipitate which dissolves in an excess of either 
 of these acids. Dr. Bence Jones found it to consist of carbon 52.22, 
 hydrogen 7.42, nitrogen 15.98, oxygen, etc., 21.38. 
 
 Glutin or pure gluten is obtained by boiling crude gluten in alcohol, 
 which dissolves gluten, caseine, and oil. On cooling the caseine is de- 
 posited. The supernatant liquid on being evaporated to dryness, 
 yields an adhesive mass, from which the oil may be removed by ether; 
 the residue is gluten. Its composition according to Mulder is lO (C^c 
 H31 Nj Oi.0+S.,r It is dissolved by alkalies and acids, the hydrochloric 
 acid forming a blue solution. Its solution in acetic acid is precipitated 
 by chloride of mereury and infusion of galls, but the acetate of lead, 
 and persulphate of iron does not affect it. It differs from casein and 
 albumen by its solubility in alcohol. 
 
 It is through the presence of gluten, that flour can be made into 
 bread The small quantity of yeast added, causes vinous fermenta- 
 
838 Materia Medica. 
 
 tioti. with evolution of carbonic acid gas which expands the gluten intc 
 vesicles, and gives to the baked bread its light spongy character. 
 
 Wheat is not much subject to adulterations in this country ; the most 
 we, have to fear is diseased Wheat, but an examination under the micro- 
 scope, will at once detect parasitical growths, or their spores, etc. Good 
 Wheat in a cold decoction is rendered blue by the tincture of iodine; 
 good Wheat flour is colored orange-yellow by nitric acid; and blue by 
 recently made tincture of guaiacum. ' 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Wheat is very nutritive, when made into bread 
 or cakes and baked. Toasted-bread infused in water, forms an agree- 
 able and lightly nourishing drink for invalids, especially those suffer- 
 ing from febrile or inflammatory attacks. It may be sweetened with loaf- 
 sugar, or a little molasses, and flavored, if desired, with strawberry -juice 
 raspberry-juice, lemon-juice, etc., or the syrups of these fruits may be 
 added to flavor it. Wheat flour is occasionally used to lessen the itch- 
 ing and burning sensations produced by urticaria, scalds, burns, ery- 
 sipelas, etc. ; rye-flour, however, is considered to act more efficiently; 
 it is to be dusted upon the affected parts. It cools the part, excludes 
 the air, and absorbs any discharges present, forming with them a crust 
 which effectually protects the part underneath. When bread is soaked 
 in milk, boiling hot, it forms the emollient bread and milk poultice ; a 
 small quantity of sweet lard or olive oil added, improves it; yeast, with 
 or without charcoal, mixed with this, forms an excellent antiseptic poul- 
 tice ; or, if powdered mustard be added, a sinapism is formed. When 
 a bread poultice is applied to inflamed parts, the addition of a solution 
 of borax will frequently facilitate its action. When it is desired to , 
 administer very small doses of remedial agents, this may be accom- 
 plished by mixing them with the crumb of bread, micapanis, in pill form. 
 But nitrkte of silver if used thus, will be converted into a chloride, by 
 the reaction existing between it and the salt in the bread- Wheat flour 
 lightly baked, so as to acquire a pale buff tint, forms an excellent food 
 for infants, invalids, and convalescents ; it may be boiled with milk or 
 milk and water, and lightly salted or sweetened as desired. 
 
 A very useful article of diet for patients, suitable in nearly all chronic 
 affections has been recommended by Dr. T. J. Wright of Cincinnati ; 
 the seeds of wheat are to be well cleansed by several washings in cold 
 .water, saving only those seeds which sink to the bottom. Cover these 
 with water, allow them to stand for 12 or 15 hours, then pour off the 
 water, add some more, and boil for two or four hours, or until the 
 spermoderm is cracked, when remove the wheat from the water. When 
 cold it is ready for use. Small quantities only should be prepared at a 
 time, especially in warm weather. This may be eaten with molasses, 
 or sugar, the same as with boiled rice, or it may be boiled in milk or 
 water, and be formed into a gruel, with the addition of a sufficient 
 amount of Indian meal. It is nutrient, and laxative. 
 
 Bran, Furfuras Tritiei, in decoction or infusion is sometimes employed 
 as an emollient foot-bath ; it is also taken internally as a demulcent in 
 catarrhal affections. Its continued use causes a relaxed condition of 
 the bowels. Bran poultices are sometimes used, warm, in abdominal 
 inflammations, spasms, etc. Bread made from unsifted flour has been 
 found beneficial in indigestion and constipation. The following forms 
 a good bread for patients laboring under diabetes. Wash coarse Wheat 
 bran thoroughly with water on a sieve until the water passes through 
 clear ; dry this in an oven, grind it to a fine powder, and to seven eggs, 
 one pint of milk, one-fourth pound of butter, and a little ginger, add 
 
TussiLAGO Farpaea. SSS 
 
 enough of the bran flour to make a paste; divide into seven equal 
 parts, and bake in a quick oven, say from twenty to twenty-five min- 
 utes. — P. 
 
 Teiticum Eepens, Gouch Grass, Quitch Grass, Dogs' Grass, has been 
 highly recommended by Dr. H. Thomson and others in cases of exces- 
 sive irritability of the bladder from any cause ••lessening the. frequency 
 and pain of irritation. One ounce of the under-ground stem (or so- 
 called root), is infused for one hour in a pint of boiling water. When 
 strained, and cool, it may be given in wineglassful doses several times 
 a day. It is diuretic, and slightly aperient. It may likewise be used 
 in the form of syrup. 
 
 TUSSILAGO FAEPAEA. (Huflattig.) 
 
 Coltsfoot. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese. Sex. Syst. — Syngenesia Superflua. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — Coltsfoot has a long, perennial, creeping, horizontal rhi- 
 zoma, with many fibers. Leaves radical, erect, on furrowed, channeled 
 footstalks, heart-shaped, slightly lobed, copiously and sharply toothed, 
 very smooth of a slightly glaucous green above, pure white and densely 
 cottony with prominent veins beneath; when young they are revolute 
 and thickly enveloped in cottony down. They do not appear until 
 after the flowers are withered ; they are five to eight inches long, by 
 from three to six broad. Flowers large, bright-yellow, compound ; heads' 
 drooping in the bud, about an inch broad ; rays spreading, copious, very 
 narrow. Bach flower-head on a simple, round, wooly scape, about five 
 inches high, scaly with numerous, reddish, smooth, scattered bracts, 
 crowded under the head like an exterior involucre. Receptacle naked. 
 Anthers scarcely tailed ; styles of the disk inclosed, abortive ; of the ray 
 bifid, with taper arms. Achenium, of the ray oblong-cylindrical; of the 
 disk abortive. Pappus of the ray in many rows ; of the disk in one row, 
 consisting of very fine setse — L. 
 
 Sistory. — This plant grows in Europe, the Crimea, Persia, Siberia, and 
 the East Indies, from the seaTshore to elevations of nearly eight thous- 
 and feet ; it also grows in this country in wet places, on the sides of 
 brooks, flowering in March and April. Its presence is a certain indi- 
 cation of a clayey soil. — W. The flowers are rather fragrant, and 
 continue so after having been carefully dried. The leaves are the parts 
 used, though all parts of the plant are active, and should always be 
 employed, especially the leaves, flowers and root. The leaves should 
 be collected at about the period they have nearly reached their full size ; 
 the flowers as soon as they commence opening; and the root immediately 
 after the maturity of the leaves. When dried, all parts have a bitter, 
 mucilaginous taste, and yield their properties to water or diluted alco- 
 hol. Sesquichloride of iron renders the infusion green. It appears* to 
 contain mucilage, bitter extractive, tannic acid, coloring matter, salts 
 and lignin ; but no deflnite analysis has been made. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Coltsfoot may be regarded as emollient, demul- 
 cent, and slightly tonic. — P. The decoction is usually administered in 
 doses of from one to three or four fluidounces, and has been found use- 
 ful in coughs, asthma, hooping-cough, and other pulmonary aifections ; 
 and is said to have been useful in scrofula. The powdered leaves form 
 a good errhine, for giddiness, headache, nasal obstructions, etc. Used 
 externally in form of poultice to scrofulous tumors. 
 
840 Materia Medica. 
 
 TTPHA LATIFOLIA. (Breitblattrige Kolben.) 
 
 Cat-tail Flag. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Typhacese. Sex. >%si.— MoncEcia Triandria. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 r 
 
 Description. — Cat-tail Flag, or Beed Mace, as it is sometimes called, is 
 a perennial plant, with a smooth, round stem, three to five feet high, 
 leafy below, and terminated by large cylindric spikes. Leaves flat, 
 erect, ensiform, slightly concave within near the base, two to four feet 
 long, and nearly one inch wide. Mowers very numerous. Spikes of a 
 brownish color, six to ten inches in length, and about one inch in 
 diameter, composed of slender, downy flowers, so compact, particularly 
 the fertile ones, as to be of considerable hardness. The upper portion 
 is smaller, and composed of the sterile flowers, so that the staminate and 
 pistillate parts of the spike approximate, or are almost continuous; — 
 
 w.—a. 
 
 History. — This plant is common to all parts of the United States, and 
 is found growing in ditches, muddy pools, borders of ponds, and other 
 wet places, flowering in July. The leaves are called Flags, and are 
 used for weaving the seats of chairs ; the flowers have been used for 
 making beds. The root is the part used ; it yields its properties to 
 water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Astringent and emollient. Boiled with milk, 
 it has been found useful in dysentery, diarrhea, and infantile summer- 
 complaint, and a decoction of it has been beneficial in gonorrhea. Ex- 
 ternally, the root, in combination with elm and aromatics, forms an 
 excellent poultice for white swellings, tumors, and ulcers. The root, 
 bruised until it becomes like a jelly, forms an excellent application for 
 burns and scalds, erysipelas, ophthalmia, and all local inflammations. 
 
 ULMUS FULVA. (Braungelbe Eiister.) 
 
 Slippery-elm. — Ulmenrinde. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Ulmacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Digynia. 
 
 THE INNER BARK. 
 
 Description. — Slippery-elm, also called Bed Elm, is a tree from twenty 
 to sixty feet in height and one or two feet in diameter. Bark brown- 
 ish, that of the branches whitish and scabrous. Leavesfour to six inches 
 long, two or three inches broad, lanceolate-oval, or obovate-oblong, con- 
 spicuously acuminate, doubly serrate, the upper surface scabrous, 
 beneath tomentose-pubescent, and standing on downy footstalks about 
 four lines long. Buds rusty-wooly. Flowers sessile, in dense lateral 
 clusters, and appear before the leaves. Calyx about seven-lobed, cam- 
 panulate, downy; corolla none; stamens Ave or seven, short, reddish. 
 Fruit an orbicular samara, compressed, with a broad, membranaceous 
 border, not fringed, and about six lines in diameter ; seeds one, round. 
 — W. — G. — Darlington. 
 
 History. — The Slippery-elm tree is a large tree common to this coun- 
 try, especially in the Western States ; it grows in woods and low 
 grounds, along fences, and in rich, dry or moist soils, flowering in 
 April. The officinal part is the inner bark, which is generally sepa- 
 rated from the tree in long strips. It is met with in the shops in flat 
 
TJlmus Fulva. 841 
 
 fragments, of various lengths, about two or three lines thick, of a yel 
 lowish-white color on its external surface, and slightly tinged with red 
 on its inner ; its odor is characteristic and by no means disagreeable! 
 and its taste is purely mucilaginous. It is also met with in the form 
 of a ragged, fibrous mass, and in very fine powder of a whitish-yellow 
 color, which is obtained by grinding the bark. Slippery-elm bark con- 
 sists principally of mucilage and woody fiber ; water takes up its mucil- 
 age, from which it is precipitated by the acetates of lead. Dr. 0. W. 
 Wright states that when fatty substances are heated for several 
 minutes with slippery-elm bark, in the proportion of one part of bark 
 to 128 parts of the fat, and then the fat be removed by straining, this 
 has acquired the property of not undergoing rancidity. — Am. Jour. 
 Fharm., XXIV., p. 90. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Elm bark is nutritive, expectorant, diuretic, 
 demulcent, and emollient, and is a very valuable remedial agent. In 
 mucous inflammations of the lungs, bowels, stomach, bladder or kid- 
 neys, used freely in the form of a mucilaginous drink ^one ounce of 
 the powdered bark to a pint of water), it is highly beneficial, as well 
 as in diarrhea, dysentery, coughs, pleurisy, strangury, and sore-throat, 
 in all of which it tends powerfully to allay the inflammation. A table- 
 spoonful of the powder boiled in a pint of new milk affords a nourish- 
 ing diet for infants weaned from the breast, preventing the bowel com- 
 plaints to which they are subject, and rendering them fat and healthy. 
 Some physicians consider the constant use of it, during and after the 
 seventh month of gestation, as advantageous in facilitating and caus- 
 ing an easy delivery ; a half pint of the infusion to be drank daily. 
 Elm bark has likewise been successfullj^ employed externally in 
 cutaneous diseases, especially in obstinate cases of herpetic and syphi- 
 litic eruptions, and certainly possesses more efficient virtues than are 
 commonly supposed. As an emollient poultice, the bark has been 
 found very serviceable when applied to inflamed parts, suppurating 
 tumors, fresh wounds, burns, scalds, bruises, and ulcers; and in the 
 excruciating pains of the testes which accompany the metastasis of 
 cynanche parotidaea, whether of recent or long standing, the constant 
 use of an Elm poultice regularly changed every four hours will be found 
 a superior remedy. Notwithstanding its general value as an applica- 
 tion to ulcers, it will often be found injurious, especially when used as 
 a cataplasm to ulcers of the limbs, rendering the ulcer more irritable 
 and difficult to heal, and frequently converting a simple sore, which 
 might be cured by astringent or other washes, into an almost intract- 
 able ulcer ; much care, is therefore required, in the application of this 
 bark externally. As an injection, the infusion will prove useful in 
 diarrhea, dysentery, tenesmus, and hemorrhoids, also in gonorrhea and 
 gleet. The powder sprinkled on the surface of the body, will prevent 
 and heal excoriations and chafings, and allay the itching and heat of 
 erysipelas. As the bark increases in bulk by imbibing moisture, it 
 has been recommended to form bougies and tents of it for the dilata- 
 tion of strictures, fistulas, etc., but in urethal strictures it has proved 
 troublesome, from liability of the part behind the stricture breaking 
 off in the attempt to withdraw it, and passing into the bladder. The 
 infusion of the bark is the common form of administration, and may 
 be drank ad libitum. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Cataplasma Ulmi ; Infusum Ulmi. 
 
842 Materia Medica. 
 
 UETICA DIOICA. (Zweitausige ISTessel.) 
 . . Common Nettle. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Urticacese. Sex. Syst. — Monoecia Tetraudria. 
 
 THE ROOT AND LEAVES. 
 
 Description. — This plant, also called Great Stinging Nettle, is a peren- 
 nial, herbaceous, dull-green plant, armed with minute rigid hairs or 
 prickles, which transmit a venomous fluid when pressed. Stem ohtuse- 
 iy four-angled, branching, two to four feet high, arises from a creeping 
 and branching root, with fleshy shoots and many fibers. Z^eaws, oppo- 
 site, petiolate, cordate, lance-ovate, spreading, conspicuously acumi- 
 nate, coarsely, and acutely serrate, the point entire, armed with stings, 
 three or four inches long, and about half as wide. Flowers small, green, 
 monoecious or dioecious, in branching, clustered, axillary, interrupted 
 spikes, longer than the petioles. — W. — i. 
 
 History. — This is a well known plant, common to Europe and the 
 United States, growing in waste places, by wood-sides, in hedges, and 
 in gardens, flowering from June to September. A decoction of the 
 plant strongly salted, will quickly coagulate milk without imparting 
 to it any unpleasant flavor. The leaves and root are generally used, 
 and yield their virtues to water. No analysis has been made of the 
 plant. The young shoots have been boiled and eaten as a remedy for 
 scurvy. The irritation caused by rubbing the sharp hairs of the Net- 
 tle on the skin, is said to be caused by the free formic acid which they 
 contain. — Am. Jour. Pharm., XXII., 181. Mr. B. Shoemaker who has 
 found starch, gum, albumen, lignin, sugar, and two resins, in the root, 
 believes the diuretic properties of the root to be due to a warm, pene- 
 trating, volatile oil. — Am. Jour. Pharm., XXXYIII., p. 492. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Common Nettle is astringent, tonic, and diu- 
 retic. A decoction is Valuable in diarrhea, dysentery, hemorrhoids, 
 various hemorrhages, and scorbutic afi'ections, and has been recom- 
 mended in febrile affections, gravel, and other nephritic complaints. A 
 strong syrup made of the root, combined with suitable quanities of 
 wild-cherry bark and blackberry root, forms an excellent remedy for 
 all summer complaints of children, and bowel afi'ections of adults. The 
 leaves of the fresh plant stimulate, infiame, and evdn raise blisters on 
 those portions of the skin with which they come in contact, and have, 
 in consequence, been used as a powerful rubefacient. Paralysis is said 
 to have been cured by whipping the affected limbs with them. Ap- 
 plied to bleeding surfaces they are an excellent styptic. The seeds and 
 flowers, given in wine, in doses not to exceed one drachm, have been 
 reputed equal to cinchona in tertian and quartan agues — la;rger doses 
 will, it is said, induce a lethargic sleep. The seeds, in doses of four- 
 teen or sixteen seeds, and repeated three times daily, are highly recom- 
 mended as a remedy for g&itre, and to reduce excessive corpulence ; 
 they are also considered anthelmintic. Warts rubbed with the freshly 
 expressed juice of this plant, three or four times a day, continuing the 
 api^lication daily for 10 or 12 days, disappear without any pain being 
 produced. — M. Jaroschevits. Dose of the powdered root or leaves from 
 twenty to forty grains; of the decoction from two to four fluidounces. 
 
 Urtica Urens, or Dwarf Nettle, possesses similar properties, and has 
 been found very eflS^cacious in uterine hemorrhage. It has a branch- 
 ing, hispid, stinging stem, one or two feet high, with broadly -elliptic, 
 acutely serrate leaves, about five-veined, on short petioles, one or two 
 
UvARiA Triloba. 843 
 
 inches long, and about two-thirds as broad. Flowers in drooping, pe- 
 dunculate, nearly simple clusters, two in each axil, and shorter than 
 the petioles. This is an annual, introduced from Europe. — W. 
 
 Drtica Pumila, Cool-weed, Eich-weed, or Stingless Nettle, has a 
 peculiar, grateful, strong smell, indicating'active properties ; it is stated 
 that the leaves bruised give immediate relief in inflammations, painful 
 swellings, ecchymosis, erysipelas, and the topical poison of rhus; and 
 that an ointment made from it is beneficial in inflammatory rheuma- 
 tism. It is the Pilea Pumila of Lindley, and has a smooth, shining, 
 ascending, weak and succulent, often branched, and translucent stem, 
 four to eighteen inches high, and together with the whole plant, destitute 
 of stings. I/eaves on long petioles, opposite, rhombic-ovate, crenate-ser- 
 rate, membranaceous, glabrous, pointed, three-nerved, about two inches 
 long, and two-thirds as broad. Flowers monrecious, triandrous, in axil- 
 lary, corymbed heads shorter than the petioles. Sepals of the fertile 
 flowers lanceolate, and a little unequal. This plant is worthy of fur- 
 ther investigation. — W. 
 
 XJVAEIA TEILOBA. (Dreilappige Asimine.) 
 
 Papaw. 
 
 Wat. Ord. — Anonacese. Sex. Syst. — Polyandria Polygynia. 
 
 THE SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — This is the Porcelia Triloba of Michaux, and the Asimina 
 Triloba of Adamson ; it is a small and beautiful indigenous tree, growing 
 from ten to twenty feet high. The young shoots and expanding leaves 
 clothed with a rusty down, soon glabrous. Leaves thin, smooth, entire, 
 ovate-oblong, acuminate, eight to ^welve inches long, by three or four 
 broad, tapering to very short petioles. Flowers dull purple, axillary, 
 solitary ; petals veiny, round ovate, the outer ones orbicular, three or 
 four times as large as the calyx. Flowers appear with the leaves, about 
 an inch and a half wide. Fruit a yellowish, ovoid-oblong, pulpy pod, 
 two or three inches long, by about an , inch in diameter, fragrant, 
 sweet, edible in autumn, contain about eight seeds. — W. — Gr. 
 
 History. — The Papaw or Custard Apple-tree is an inhabitant of the 
 Middle, Southern, and Western States, growing in rich soil, and on the 
 banks of streams, and flowering from March to June. The fruit is 
 large and fleshy, and has an unpleasant smell, but when ripe and after 
 frost, the pulp is sweet, luscious, and yellow, similar to custard ; it is 
 considered a healthy fruit, and is sedative and laxative. The seeds, 
 which are the parts used, have a fetid smell, similar to stramonium; 
 they are covered with a tough, hard exterior coat, of a light-brownish 
 color and smooth externally, lighter and wrinkled internally, inclosing 
 a kernel of a whitish-yellow color, compressed, deeply fissured on both 
 sides, nearly inodorous, very faintly bitter and sweetish, and dry and 
 branny when chewed, leaving a very persistent, faint, but rather un- 
 pleasant sensation of nausea. They are of various shapes, being flat, 
 ovoid, nearly circular, or somewhat reniform, with a longitudinal fur- 
 row or depression along the center of each of the flat surfaces, and 
 frequently a ridge or elevation instead of the furrow. They yield their 
 properties to alcohol. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Emetic; for which purpose a saturated tinc- 
 ture of the bruised seeds is employed, in doses of from ten to sixty 
 drops. The bark is said to be a bitter tonic, and has been used as such 
 
844 Materia JU.edica. 
 
 in domestic practice. The medical properties of this agent have not 
 been fully investigated. 
 
 TJYTJLAEIA PBEFOLIATA. (Durchwaesener Knotenfuss.) 
 
 Bellwort. 
 Nat. Or^. — Liliaceaj. Sex. Syst. — Hexandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Bellwort h^s a perennial, creeping rootstalk, and a stem 
 eight to fourteen inches high, dividing at top into two branches. Leaves 
 clasping-perfoliate, elliptical, rounded at base, acute at apex, two or 
 three inches long by one-third as broad, smooth,,glaucous underneath. 
 Flowers solitary, pale-yellow, about an inch long, pendulous from the 
 end of one of the branches ; perianth subcampanulate, tuberculate- 
 Bcabrous within ; segments linear-lanceolate, about an inch long, twisted; 
 anthers cuspidate, three-fourths of an inch long. Capsule or pod obo- 
 vate-truncate, divergently three-lobed at top ; lobes with convex sides. 
 
 —w:—G. 
 
 History. — Bellwort is a smooth, handsome plant common to the United 
 States, growing in moist copses, woods, etc., and flowering in May. The 
 root is the part employed, which, when recent, is acrid and mucilaginous. 
 It imparts its properties to water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Bellwort is tonic, demulcent, and nervine, and 
 may be used in decoction or powder, as a substitute for cypripedium. 
 The decoction has proved beneficial in sore mouth and affections of 
 the throat, also inflammation of the gums. A poultice of it is useful 
 in wounds and ulcers. Boiled in milk, and the decoction drank frfeely, 
 with a poultice of the root applied to the wound, it has considerable 
 reputation as an alexipharmic in bites of venomous snakes. A poul- 
 tice of the green or dried root, in powder, and mixed with hot new 
 milk, is very highly recommended in all stages of erysipelatous inflam- 
 mation, to be renewed when dry ; the same application has been used 
 beneficially in acute ophthalmia. An ointment made by simmering the 
 powdered roots and green tops in lard, for an hour, over a slow fire, and 
 straining by pressure, is useful in herpetic affections, sore ears, mouths, 
 etc., of children, and also in mild cases of erysipelas. 
 
 VACCINIUM PEONDOSUM. (Laubige Heidelbeere.) 
 
 Blue Whortleberry. 
 Nat. Ord. — Ericaceee. Sex. Syst. — Deeandria Monogynia. 
 
 « 
 
 THE FEUIT. 
 
 Description. — This is a shrub, three to six feet high, with a grayish 
 bark, and round, smooth, slender, and divergent branches. Leaves de- 
 ciduous,, obovate-oblong, obtuse, entire, pale, glaucous beneath, covered 
 with minute resinous dots, the margin being slightly revolute. Flowers 
 small, nearly globose, reddish-white, in loose, slender, lateral, braeteate 
 racemes; bracts oblong or linear, rather deciduous, shorter than the 
 pedicels ; pedicels from five to ten lines long, slender, drooping, braeteate 
 near the middle. Corolla ovoid-campanulate, with acute divisions, in- 
 closing the stamens. Fruit large, globose, dark-blue, covered with a 
 glaucous bloom, sweet and edible. — W. 
 
s 
 
 VALERIANA Officinalis. 845 
 
 Vaocinium Eesinosum, Black Whortleberry, or Huckleberry, is a bushy 
 shrubone to three feet in height. Branches cinereous-brown, villose when 
 young. Leaves deciduous, oblong-ovate, or oblong-lanceolate, rather 
 obtuse, entire, petiolate, one or two inches long, about one-third as wide, 
 thickly covered with shining resinous dots beneath. Flowers reddish, 
 tinged with green, or yellowish-purple, in lateral, secund, dense, corym- 
 bose racemes, small and drooping ; pedicels about the length of the flowers, 
 sub-bracteolated; bracts and bractlets reddish, small, deciduous. Corolla 
 ovoid-conic, at length subcampanulate, five-angled, contracted at the 
 mouth, longer than the stamens, shorter than the style. Fruit globose, 
 black, without bloom, sweet, edible. — W 
 
 History. — These plants are common to the Northern States, growing in 
 woods and pastures, flowering in May and June, and ripening their fruit 
 in August. The fruit, or berries, together with the bark of the root, are 
 the parts used. They yield their virtues to water. 
 
 The different varieties of "Whortleberry possess similar properties, 
 as the v. Dumosum, or Bush -Whortleberry, V. Corymbosum, or Giant- 
 Whortleberry, V. Pennsylvanicum, or Black -blue-Whortleberry, V. Vitis 
 Idcea, or Bilberry, and several others. Several species are found grow- 
 ing in the mo.untainous regions of some of the Southern States. Torrey 
 and Gray have removed the V. Frondosum, V. Resinosum, and V. Dumo- 
 sum, from the genus Yaccinium, and placed them in a new one called 
 Gaylussacia, in honor of the distinguished chemist, Gay-Lussac. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Diuretic and astringent. The fruit is very use- 
 ful, eaten alone, with milk or sugar, in scurvy, dysentery, and derange- 
 ments of the urinary organs. The berries and roots, braised and steeped 
 in gin, form an excellent diuretic, which has proved of much benefit in 
 dropsy and gravel. A decoction of the leaves or bark of the root is 
 astringent, and may be used in diarrhea, or as a local application to 
 ulcers, leucorrhea, and ulcerations of the mouth and throat. Both the 
 berries and root-bark of Y. Arboreum, or farkleberry, are very astrin- 
 gent, more so than the other varieties above named, and may be used 
 in all cases where this class of agents is indicated, as in diarrhea, 
 chronic dysentery, etc., taken internally ; and the infusion will be found 
 valuable as a local application in sore throat, aphthous ulcerations, 
 some-forms of chronic ophthalmia, leucorrhea, etc. 
 
 VALEEIAJSTA OFFICINALIS. (Gemeiner Baldrian.) 
 
 Valerian. 
 
 Nat Ord. — Valerianaceae. Sex. Syst. — Triandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — The oflScinal Valerian, sometimes known as Great Wild 
 Valerian, is a large herb, w;ith a perennial, tuberous, somewhat creep- 
 ing, fetid root, most aromatic when growing in dry pastures, with nu- 
 merous long, dark-brown rootlets, and a smooth, hollow, furrowed 
 item about four feet in height. Leaves all pinnate, opposite ; leaflets in 
 from seven to ten pairs, lanceolate, coarsely serrated, those of the radi- 
 cal leaves broadest, approaching to ovate, on long footstalks. Flowers 
 flesh-colored, small, fragrant, in terminal cymose, contracted panicles. 
 Bracts ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, herbaceous, membranous at the 
 edge, appressed, rather longer than the ovary. Calyx superior, rolled 
 inward in the form of a rounded, thickened rim, ultimately becoming 
 
' ■■,' J" 
 
 846 Materia Medica. 
 
 a sort of pappus to the seed. Corolla funnel-shaped, smooth ; tube gib- 
 bous at the base on that side of the flower turned away from thg axis, 
 hairy internally ; limh spreading, divided into five nearly equal, con 
 cave, linear, rounded segments. Stamens three, exserted, subulate, 
 white, from the middle of the corolla-tube ; anthers yellow, oblong. 
 Ovary inferior, narrow-oblong, compressed, one-celled, with a single 
 pendulous ovule; style filiform; stigma divided into three filiform lobes. 
 Fruit light-brown, linear-ovate, compressed, with a slightly elevated 
 ridge on one side, terminated by the twelve filiform, plumose, recurved 
 segments of the calyx-limb. — i. — Wo. 
 
 History. — Yalerian is a European plant growing in wet places, or 
 even in dry pastures, flowering in June and July. The plant thrives 
 best in a light, dry soil ; that growing in low, wet situations is not so 
 active, therapeutically. Valerian is also cultivated in this country, 
 especially in Vermont and 'New Hampshire, and is fully equal, if not 
 superior to that of English growth. The Valerian of American growth' 
 has almost entirely superseded the foreign in this country. The medic- 
 inal part of the plant is the root, which consists of a short tuberculated 
 underground stem or rhizome, from which issues one or more creeping 
 shoots or stoles, and numerous round tapering root-fibers, from two to 
 six inches long, whitish internally, and, when fresh, grayish or yellow- 
 ish ; white externally, but when dried, yellowish-brown. They give 
 origin to flbrillse or rootlets. The taste of the root is warm, camphor 
 aceous, slightly bitter, somewhat acrid, and nauseous. The odor of the 
 fresh roots is not very considerable, but of the dry, especially when 
 they have been kept for some time, much stronger ; it is fetid, charac- 
 teristic, and highly attractive to cats, and, it is said, to rats also. — P. 
 It should be gathered soon after the leaves have fallen, and carefully 
 dried. It imparts its properties readily to water, alcohol, and ammo- 
 niated alcohol. The valerian imported from England is the best. 
 Tromrasdorf found Valerian to contain a peculiar volatile oil combined 
 with valerianic or valeric acid, starch, albumen, peculiar extractive 
 matter (Valerianin) , yellow extractive matter, soft or balsamic resin, 
 mucilage, valerianate of potassa, malates of potassa and lime, sulphate 
 and phosphate of lime, silica, and woody fiber. — P. The root depends 
 chiefly upon the volatile oil for its medicinal powers, which does not 
 exist ready formed, but is produced only by the action of water, dur- 
 ing. distillation ; the oil passes over with the aqueous vapor, and floats 
 on its surface in the receiver. Pure Valerian oil is neutral, clear, and 
 with rather an agreeable odor ; by the action of the air it resinifies, 
 becomes yellowish, thick, of a disagreeable odor, and valerianic acid is 
 formed. Valerianic acid is also present in the berries of the Viburnum 
 Opulus, and other plants ; it is a frequent product of the oxidation of 
 oleic acid and of other fatty acids ; it is likewise often present in decay- 
 ing cheese, but it is most readily obtained by the action of oxidizing 
 agents, as caustic potassa on amylic alcohol. Valerianic acid, HCic 
 Hg O,=102, is a limpid colorless oil, remaining liquid at 0° P., its sp. 
 gr. is 0.937, and it boils at 347° P. . It has a powerful valerian odor, 
 and a sour, burning taste. It is sparingly soluble in water, but is 
 soluble in alcohol and ether in air proportions, and is also freely solu- 
 ble in strong acetic acid. M. J. Lefort obtained the acid in large 
 quantity, by placing in a reto.rt 100 parts of water, two of sulphuric 
 add, one and one-fifth of bichromate of potassa, and twenty of the 
 powdered root, and then distilling. Chiozza has obtained anhydrous 
 valerianic acid thus — when oxychloride of phosphorus. P Clj Oj, is 
 
Vanilla Akomatica. 847 
 
 brought into contact with valerianate of potassa, a violent , reaction 
 takes place, and the odor of the oxychloride disappears. By treating 
 the mass with a weak solution of carbonate of potassa, and then with 
 ether, and evaporating the ethereal solution, the anhydrous acid is ob- 
 tained. — Am. Jour. Science and Arts, March, 1853. Gruneberg recom- 
 mends the following: Take 2f lbs. of bichromate of potassa, intvoduco 
 it into a retort, and pour 4J lbs. of hot water upon it. A cooled mix 
 ture of 1 lb. of fusel-oil and 4 lbs. of sulphuric acid diluted with 2 lbs. 
 of water is to be allowed to flow very slowly and in a thin stream intci 
 the liquid in the retort, and the whole is then to be distilled. The dis- 
 tillation goes on quietly, and nine ounces of oily valerianic acid arc 
 obtained. 
 
 M. 0. Eeveil has detected the roots of Scahiosa Succisa and S. Arvensis 
 to the extent of 22 per cent, in some Valerian. The caudex of the sca- 
 bious is shorter, truncated at its base ; the radicles a little larger and 
 smoother, having but little evidence of longitudinal strise, are very 
 fragile, fracturing with great facility, presenting a whitish amylaceous 
 smvface. These roots are inodorous, tjut soon acquire the odor of Vale- 
 rian by association. — Am. Jour. Fharm., XXVII., 21. , 
 
 Properties and Uses.— Valerian excites the cerebro-spinal system. 
 Large doses cause headache, mental excitement, visual illusions, giddi- 
 ness, restlessness, agitation, and even spasmodic movements, and fre- 
 quently nausea. In medicinal doses it acts as a stimulant-tonic, anti- 
 spasmodic, and calmative, and has been used in chorea, epilepsyj hys- 
 teria, and in the low forms of fever where a nervous stimulant is re- 
 quired. Although sometimes very effectual in curing, it as frequently 
 fails in producing more than temporary benefit. The extract is worth- 
 less, but the fluid extract has been found to possess all the medicinal 
 virtues of the root. The powder is apt to ii-ritate the stomach and 
 bowels ; its dose is from half a drachm to two drachms, every three or 
 four hours; the infusion, which is a preferable form, may be given in 
 doses of one or two fluidounces ; the fluid extract in dose's of from 
 twenty to sixty drops in a little water ; the tincture, in doses of one or 
 two fluidrachms ; and the volatile oil from two to six drops. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Acidum Valerianicum ; Extractum Valerianae Pluidum ; 
 Infiisum Valerianse ; Oleum Valeriana ; Pilulse Valerianse Compositse ; 
 Tinctura Valerianse ; Tinctura Valerianse Ammoniata. 
 
 VANILLA AEOMATICA. (Gewiirzhafte Vanille.) 
 
 Vanilla. — Vanillen. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Vanillacese. Sex. Syst. — Grynandria Monandria. 
 
 THE PBUIT OR PODS. 
 
 Description. — ^Vanilla Aromatica is a shrubby, climbing, aerial para 
 site ; it commences its growth in the crevices of rocks, or on the trunk.s 
 of trees, suspending itself to contiguous objects, and finally becomes 
 detached from its original support, being truly an aerial plant. Planted 
 in the woods or in warm ravines, it grows rapidly, fastening upon the 
 trees in its neighborhood, especially those whose barks are soft and 
 spongy. Stem round, about as thick as the finger, twenty to thirty feet 
 in length, often smaller at the base than at the summit. Leaves alter- 
 nate, oblong, entire, on short petioles, glaucous, green, fleshy, ppinted 
 by a species of abortive tendril, which is a continuation of the midrib; 
 
848 Materia Medioa. 
 
 opposed to each leaf, are one or two aerial roots, which attach them- 
 selves to surrounding objects. Flowers axillary, paniculate, yellowish- 
 white at base, attended with one green bract ; they expand one after 
 another, and endure only for a day. Ovaries appear at first view to bo 
 peduncles, they are erect after fecundation, then become pendulous u8 
 they enlarge. Fruit a silique or species of beau, yellow or buff cohir, 
 of an agreeable aromatic odor, filled with a pulpy matter containing 
 acicular crystals of an impure benzoic acid. They must be dried with 
 care, or they lose their properties. 
 
 History. — Vanilla grows in Mexico and other parts of tropical South 
 America. There are several species which are supposed to furnish the 
 Vanilla of commerce, as Y. Planifolia, V. Sativa, V. Sylvestris, V. Qui- 
 anensis, V. Palmarum, and V. Pompona. The Vanilla is prepared differ- 
 ently in different places. In some places they dry the fruits in the sun, 
 or by artificial heat, and then sweat them in blankets ; in other places, 
 they dip them in boiling water, hang them up to dry in the sun, and 
 then oil them. These processes are said to not only preserve the fruits, 
 but also to develop their odor, which is wanting in the recent state. 
 There are several kinds of Vanilla to be met with, which consist of 
 long, somewhat compressed pods, varying from two to eight inches in 
 length, and from one-third to three-fourths of an inch in diameter. The 
 best is of a dark shining brown color externally, tapering at the ex- 
 tremities, curved at the base, corrugated lengthwise, plump, heavy, 
 pliant, soft, of a fine fragrant odor, and coated with brilliant acicular 
 crystals. Sometimes dry, shriveled pods are freshened up with balsam of 
 Peru, or are rolled in benzoic acid to give to them a crystallized appear- 
 ance. Bucholz found Vanilla to consist of an odorous, brownish-yel- 
 low fixed oil, having a rancid, disagreeable odor, 10.8; soft resin, scarcely 
 soluble in ether, and yielding a very faint odor of vanilla, when heated, 
 2.3 ; bitter extractive, with some acetate of potassa, 16.8 ; acidulous, 
 bitterish, astringent extractive 9.0; sweet extractive 1.2; saccharine 
 matter with benzoic acid 6.1; gum 11.2; starchy matter 2.8; lignin 
 20.0; oxidized extractive dissolved by potassa 7.1 ; gum extracted by 
 potassa 5.9; benzoic acid 1.1; water and loss 5.7. No oil is obtained 
 from Vanilla by distillation with water, alcohol, or ether. — P. M. Gob- 
 ley procured the odorous principle which he named Vanillin, by the 
 following process : Treat the vanilla with alcohol, and mix the extract 
 obtained with water q. s. to give it a syrupy consistence, and then agi- 
 tate with ether. By evaporation the ethereal solution leaves a brown, 
 powerfully odorous substance. Treat this residue with boiling water, 
 which dissolves the aromatic principle, filter, evaporate, and allow to 
 crystallize. Purify the colored crystals by animal charcoal and suc- 
 cessive crystallizations. The crystals when pure are in long colorless 
 needles or four-sided prisms, have a most powerful aromatic odor strongly 
 resembling vanilla, and a warm, penetrating taste ; they are hard and 
 crack under the teeth. They exert no sensible action on litmus, fuse 
 at 168° P., volatilize at 302° P. and form small brilliant white needle- 
 like crystals having the fragrant odor of vanilla. They are difficultly 
 soluble in cold water, much more so in boiling water, from which solu- 
 tion they are deposited on cooling, very soluble in alcohol, ether, fixed 
 and volatile oils, in dilute acids without change, and in oil of vitriol 
 which gives a yellow color with them. Potash solution dissolves them, 
 from which solution acids precipitate them unchanged.. The formula 
 of vatiillin is C20 He O4. It very much resembles coumariiie, the sub- 
 stance obtained from the Paham leaves, an epiphytic plant of Mauritius 
 
Vekatrum Album. 849 
 
 (Angroecum .fragrans), also from the Tonka bean (I)ipteryx odorata), 
 asperula, and melilot. M. Stokkeby terms it vanillic acid, and gives its 
 formula as C34H22O20; sesquichloride of iron renders its solutions of a 
 deep violet color ; nitric acid transforms it into oxalic acid ; sulphuric 
 acid dissolves it with a green color, which becomes red by heat ; its 
 fusing point appears fixed at 180° P. He also found in vanilla, resin, 
 wax, fixed oil, tannin giving a green color with the salts of iron, gum, 
 saccharine matter, phosphates, and sulphates, but no starch or albumen. 
 Vanilla yields its virtues to water or alcohol. 
 
 Properties and Uses.— Aromatic stimulant. Useful in infusion, in 
 hysteria, rheumatism, and low forms of fever. It is also considered an 
 aphrodisiac, powerfully exciting the generative system. Much used in 
 perfumery, and to flavor tinctures, syrups, ointments, confectionary, 
 ice-cream, etc. Dose of the powder, from eight to ten grains ; of the 
 infusion, made in the proportion of half an ounce to a pint of boiling 
 water, half a fluidounoe three or four times a day. Vanilla is said to 
 exhilarate the brain, prevent sleep, increase muscular energy, and 
 stimulate the sexual propensities. To pulverize it, the pods must be 
 cut in small pieces, mixed with sugar four parts, and pounded in an 
 iron mortar, then sifted ; the residue to be powdered with more sugar, 
 and so on. Prof. W. Procter gives the following method for preparing 
 a Fluid Hxtract of Vanilla: Out choice Vanilla, one Troy ounce, in 
 short transverse slices, beat it to a pulp with two ounces of sugar and a 
 little deodorized alcohol, put the mixture in a small percolator, and 
 pour gradually on, first deodorized alcohol four fluidounces, and after- 
 ward diluted alcohol, till twelve fluidounces of tincture are obtained. 
 Add two ounces of sugar to this tincture, evaporate it at 120° F., till 
 reduced to six fluidounces ; then add ten ounces of sugar and five fluid- 
 ounces of water, or as much as is suflScient to make the whole measure 
 a pint. Thus made, Pluid Extract of Vanilla embodies all the aroma 
 of the beans, and is well adapted for pharmaceutical and culinary pur- 
 poses. (See Syrup Vanilla.) — Am. Jour. Pharm., XXVI., 300. 
 
 VEEATEUM ALBUM. (Weiszer G-ermer.) 
 
 "White Hellebore. — Weisze Nieszwurzel. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Melanthacese. Sex. Syst. — Polygamia Mouoecia. 
 
 THE RHIZOMA. 
 
 Description. — By some botanists this plant is placed in the class and 
 order of the Sexual System, Hexandria Trigynia. Veratrum Album is 
 a perennial herb, with a fleshy, oblong, somewhat horizontal, premorse 
 rhisoma, about the thickness of a finger, blackish, or brownish-white 
 externally, whitish, or pale yellowish-white internally, having numer- 
 ous fleshy, brownish-white fibers or true roots. Stem straight, round, 
 striated, one to four feet high. Leaves alternate, plaited, broad-ovate, 
 acutish. Flowers yellowish-white, green at the back, eight lines in 
 diameter, in a terminal panicle ; segments spreading, serrulate, and 
 somewhat wavy. In other respects it resembles the Veratrum Viride. — L. 
 
 History. — White Hellebore inhabits Europe, especially the Alpine and 
 Pyrenneean districts. The part used is the rhizome or cormus, though 
 the whole plant is highly noxious. The dried root, as found in the 
 shops, consists of a single, double, or many-headed rhizoma, cylindrical, 
 or in the form of a truncated cone, from two to four inches by one 
 54 
 
850 Materia Medica. 
 
 inch, rough, corrugated, grayish, or blackish-brown externally, having 
 a faint, unpleasant odor, and a sweetish, bitter, and then intensely, dis- 
 agreeably, and permanently acrid taste, diluted alcohol is its besl 
 solvent. Its powder is somewhat of an ash-color Pelletier and Cav- 
 entou, who analyzed it- in 1820, found it to contain fatty matter, com 
 posed of olein, stearin, and a volatile (cevadic ?) acid, supergallate of 
 Veratria, yellow coloring matter, starch, ligneous matter, and gum , 
 the ashes contained much phosphate and carbonate of lime, carbonate 
 of potassa, and some traces of silica, and sulphate of lime. Simon 
 found a white, crystalline, fusible and inflammable substance in it, 
 which he called barytin ; its properties have not been thoroughly in- 
 vestigated. He also found another alkaloid, called jervina. Veratria 
 is the active medicinal principle of White Hellebore. {See Veratria.) 
 
 Properties and Uses. — White Hellebore is a violent irritant poison, 
 occasioning when snuffed up into the nostrils, severe coryza, and when 
 swallowed severe vomiting and profuse diarrhea. When it proves fatal, 
 narcotic symptoms are superadded, such as stupor and convulsions. It 
 was formerly administered as an emetic and purgative in insanity, as a 
 diaphoretic in some diseases of the skin, and as a sternutatory, in combi- 
 nation with some other powder to modify its action, in headache, am- 
 aurosis, and ophthalmia. — G. At present it is rarely used, except in the 
 form of decoction or ointment, as an external application to kill lice, 
 and cure the itch, and some other cutaneous affections ; but used thus, it is 
 not always free from danger. It has been used for the cure of gout, as 
 a substitute for the Eau Medicinale of Husson ; three parts of the wine of 
 White Hellebore added to one part of laudanum, was given in doses of 
 from half a fluidrachm to two fluidrachms. Poisoning by White Helle- 
 bore may be treated by coffee as a drink and in injection, with stimulants 
 to overcome the depressed condition of the heart and arteries, and 
 opiates and demulcents to relieve internal inflammation. Dose of the 
 powder, from one to eight grains gradually and cautiously increased, 
 commencing with one grain ; of the vinous tincture, from twenty to 
 sixty minims. Its use always requires great care. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Unguentum'Sulphuris Compositum; TJnguentum Veratri 
 Albi. 
 
 VEEATEUM SABADILLA. (Sabadillgermer.) 
 
 Cevadilla. — Sahadill. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Melanthacese. Sex. Syst. — Polygamia Monoecia. 
 
 THE SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — The precise origin of this remedy is yet involved in 
 obscurity; by some Cevadilla is referred entirely to the Veratrum, 
 Officinale, which has also been named Selonias Officinalis, and Asagrcea 
 Officinalis ; while others consider it the product of the V. Sabadilla and 
 A. Officinalis, with other plants of allied species. More definite knowl- 
 edge is required before its origin can be positively specified. The new 
 British PharmacopaBia give the Asagrcea Officinalis as the only plant 
 from which the seeds are procured, and M. Gruibourt's investigations 
 have led him to the same conclusions. The following is a description 
 of two plants from which the seeds are reputed to be obtained : 
 
 Veeatrttm Sabadilla of Eetzius is a plant three or four feet high, 
 with a simple, erect, round scape. Leaves numerous, spreading on the 
 ground, all radical, ovate-oblong, obtuse, with from eight to fourteen 
 
Vekateum Sabadilla. 85] 
 
 ribs, glaucous underneath. Flowers blackish-purple, rather nodding, 
 on spreading, simple, or a little branched ^am'des; pedicels very short, 
 approximated in twos and threes ; those of the fertile flowers eventual- 
 ly becoming turned to one side ; those of the sterile flowers deciduous, 
 and leaving a scar. Segments of the periantli ovate-lanceolate, and vein- ' 
 less. Ovaries three, oblong, conjiate, obtuse ; styles acute, dilated down- 
 ward ; stigmas simple. Capsules three in form, resembling those of 
 Larkspur, occupying only one side of tbe stem, opening at the apex 
 inside. Seeds three in each cell, imbricated, ciirved, blunt' on one side, 
 sooty, acrid. This plant inhabits Mexico and the Westlndia Islands. — i. 
 
 AsAGRJEA Officinalis, Lindley, Veratrum Officinale, Schlechtendahl, 
 and Helonias Officinalis of Don, is a csespitose plant, bulbous, with the 
 leaves linear, tapeHng to a point, even, smooth, entire, channeled above, 
 carinate at the back, about four feet long, by three lines broad. Scape 
 naked, the height of a man, quite simple, terminated by a raceme 
 eighteen inches long. Perianth deeply six-parted, spreading, yellowish- 
 white, permanent, with linear, thick, veinless, obtuse segments, three of 
 which are rather broader than the others. Filaments six, somewhat , , 
 clavate, those opposite the broad segments of the perianth longer than 
 the others, all longer than the perianth. Anthers large, yellow, cordate, 
 obtuse. Ovary formed of three cells, united by their sutures, with an 
 obscure stigma. Fruit tricapsular ; the carpels united by their suture 
 separable. Seeds winged, wrinkled. Lower flowers hermaphrodite 
 and fertile ; upper male and sterile. This plant is a native of the east- 
 ern side of the Mexican Andes, near Barranca de Tioselo, by the Ha- 
 cienda de la Laguna, in grassy places. — L. 
 
 History. — Cevadilla seeds are said to be brought from the Antilles, 
 and are generally associated with the tri-follicled fruit, each division 
 of which is composed of a slender, elastic, membranous follicle, and 
 from one to three black, shining, flat, shriveled, winged, elastic seeds. 
 The seeds are odorless, but have a bitter, acrid, tingling taste, which is 
 intense, persistent, and disagreeable ; and their powder excites violent 
 sneezing and discharge from the nostrils. They yield their properties 
 with difficulty to water, but readily to alcohol. Meissner found them 
 in 1819 to consist of various extractive matters, 25 per cent, of fixed 
 oil, 10 of resin, a peculiar fatty acid, called Sabadillic or Cevadic acid 
 (Pelletier and Caventou), various other unimportant constituents, and 
 0.6 of the alkaloid Yeratria. — C. {See Veratria.) M. Couerbe discov- 
 ered both Sabadillia and Veratria in the seeds, the former of which has 
 been considered by E. Simon as a double compound of resin and soda 
 with resinous veratrine. Fr. Hiibschmann has since obtained Sabadillia 
 by treating this substance with ether, which dissolved the Yeratria and 
 left the Sabadillia. It is a white amorphous powder, does not cause 
 sneezing like Yeratria, is insoluble, in ether, dissolves in 143 parts of 
 cold water, which solution is not rendered turbid by ammonia, but is 
 by carbonate of potassa, which precipitates about two-thirds of the 
 alkaloid, and which, when heated, forms into a resinous mass. — Am. 
 Jour. Pharm., XXY., 133. M. Lucien Biart asserts that the seeds of 
 Cevadilla participate but little in the energetic properties of the cap- 
 sules ; this statement requires confirmation. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Cevadilla seeds have been used as a vermifuge, 
 and to destroy vermin in the hair, but their dangerous drastic and irri- 
 tating properties have caused them to be dismissed from practice. They 
 are principally used in the manufacture of Yeratria ; and rarely, but 
 with great caution, in some nervous diseases, tape-worm, etc. The dose 
 
852 Materia Medica. 
 
 is fronl five to thirty grains, for the expulsion of taenia, and other 
 worms. An extract has proved beneficial in painful rheumatic and 
 neuralgic affections. 
 Off. iVep.^Veratria. 
 
 VBEATEUM VIEIDE. ^G-riine Nieszwurz.) 
 
 American Hellebore. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Melanthacese. Sex. Syst. — Polygamia Monoecia. 
 
 THE RHIZOMA. 
 
 Description. — This plant, known also by the names of Swamp Helle- 
 bore, Indian Poke, and Itch-ioeed, has a perennial, thick and fleshy rhizo- 
 ma, its upper portion tunicated, its lower half solid, and sending forth 
 a multitude of large, whitish roots. Stem three to five feet high, round- 
 ish, solid, striated, pubescent throughout the greater part of its length, 
 closely invested with the sheathing bases of leaves. Lower leaves large, 
 six inches to a foot long, half as wide, oval, acuminate, pubescent, 
 strongly plaited, nerved, the lower part of their edges meeting round 
 the stem ; upper leaves gradually narrower ; uppermost, or bracts, linear, 
 lanceolate ; all alternate. Flowers numerous, green, in compound ra- 
 cemes axillary from the upper leaves, terminal ; the whole forming a 
 sort of panicle. Peduncles roundish, downy. Bracts boat-shaped, acu- 
 minate, downy. Pedicels many times shorter than the bracts. Perianth 
 divided into six green, oval, acute, nerved segments, of which the altel-- 
 nate ones are longest ; all the segments contracted at base into a sort 
 of claw with a thickened or cartilaginous edge. . Stamens six,, with re- 
 curved filaments and roundish two-lobed anthers. Carpels three, coher- 
 ing, with acute recurved styles as long as the stamens, A part of the 
 flowers are barren, and have only the rudiments of styles, so that the 
 plant is strictly polygamous. Seed-vessel of three oapsuleSi united to- 
 gether, separating at top, opening on their inner side. Seeds, flat, 
 winged, imbricated.— i. 
 
 -Hiiston/.— American Hellebore is indigenous to the United States, 
 growing in swamps, low grounds and moist meadows, flowering in June 
 and July. The oflicinal part is the rhizome, which should be gath- 
 ered in autumn, after the decay of the leaves. As it rapidly loses its 
 virtues, it should be renewed annually, and kept in well-closed vessels. 
 When fresh it has a very strong, unpleasant odor ; when dried it is 
 nearly inodorous, and has a sweetish bitter taste, succeeded by a per- 
 sistent acridity. Its physical and therapeutica} properties strongly re- 
 semble those of the white Hellebore, and according to Mr. Worthing- 
 ton, of Philadelphia, it contains veratria, gallic acid, extractive, etc. 
 Mr. W. precipitated a cold infusion of the root with subacet^te of lead, 
 separated the excess of lead with sulphuretted hydrogen, evaporated to 
 one-half, boiled with an excess of magnesia. The precipitate was col- 
 lected on a filter, dried, treated with boiling alcohol and animal char- 
 coal, and the filtered alcoholic solution evaporated. The light-colored 
 pulverulent residue was nearly insoluble in water, more soluble in 
 ether, and very soluble in alcohol. It melted when heated, and burned 
 without residue ; had a burning acrid taste, acted powerfully as a ster- 
 nutatory, and formed salts with the acids, of which the sulphate, tar- 
 trate, and oxalate only were crystallizable. Prom these properties, 
 Mr. Worthington infers its identity with veratria ; but it is probable 
 that it is not veratria, but like colchicia, a distinct, though analogous 
 
Vebatrum ViaiDE. 853 
 
 rinciple. — Am. Jour. Pharm., XXV., 110. Since these experiments, Mr. 
 Joseph Gr. Eichardkon has been led to believe that the alkaloid obtained 
 from sabadilla, and that from Veratrum Viride are identical, that it is 
 veratria. An interesting paper by him, detailing his experiments, will 
 be found in the Am. Jour. Pharm., XXIX., 204. Mr. Charles Bullock 
 more recently investigated the commercial veratria obtained from this 
 plant, and which Mr. J. C. Scattergood believed to be associated with 
 a resin, possessing greater sedative properties than the veratria when 
 isolated from it. Mr. Bullock obtained two alkaloids, neither of which 
 is veratria, as they act diiferently from this principle under chemical 
 reagents ; one was a soft powder, the other a hard, semi-resinous sub- 
 stance, and when recently precipitated and still moist they emitted a 
 peculiar odor faintly recalling that of the alkaline hypochlorites. One 
 of these alkaloids is soluble in ether, and the other, which possessed 
 the sedative action of the plant in a marked degree, is insoluble in that 
 menstruum. Consequently, this whole matter requires a complete new 
 analysis. For particulai"s, see Am. Jour. Pharm., 1863, p. 74, — 1865, p. 
 321,-1866, p. 97,— and 1868, p. 63. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^American Hellebore exerts an influence upon 
 the system similar to that of white Hellebore. In large doses it is dan- 
 gerous, producing dizziness, pain in the head, impaired vision, dilata- 
 tion of the pupils, depression of the nervous, muscular, and vascular 
 ■systems, and other unpleasant symptoms of a narcotic character. In 
 medicinal doses, it has been recommended by Prof. Tnlly in gout, rheu- 
 matism, etc., as equal, if not superior to colchicum, Dr. Osgood affirms 
 it to be an excellent agent in all diseases in which it is required to di- 
 minish the activity of the heart and arteries, and his observations have 
 been confirmed by the united testimony of those practitioners who 
 have used the tincture of the root as prepared by Dr. Norwood.* Dr. 
 
 *Dr. W. C. Norwood, of Cokesbury, S. C, and whose publications more especially called 
 tbe attention of the profession to this agent, states that, from aptual experiments made by 
 himself, this plant ha^ proved.— 1. Slightly acHd, confining this action mostly to the moutii 
 and fauces. — 2. JExpectorant^ and unsurpassed by any other article for which this property 
 Is claimed.— 3. Diaphoretio, being one of the most certain belonging to the Materia Medica; 
 often exciting great coolness or coldness of the surface; sometimes rendering the skin 
 merely soft and moist, and at others producing free and abundant perspiration, without 
 reducing or exhausting tlie system. — i. Adenagie, deobslment, or altei-ative, far surpassing 
 Iodine, and from which much advantage may be expected in the treatment of cancer and 
 consumption. — 5. Nei-mne, and never narcotic. This property renders it of great value in 
 the treatment of painful diseases, and such as are accompanied with spasmodic action, 
 convulsions, morbid irritability, and irritative mobility, as in chorea ^specially, epilepsy, 
 pneumonia, puerperal fever, neuralgia, etc. And it produces its effects in this respect 
 without stupefying and torpifying the system, as opium is known to do.— 6. Slmetie; it is 
 slow, but certain and efficient, rouses the liver to action duritfg its operation, and vomits 
 without occasioning the prostration or exhaustion which follows the action of most other 
 emetics. It is also superior to the majority of emetics, in not being cathartic. It is pecu- 
 liarly adapted as an emetic in whooping-cough, croup, asthma, scarlet lever, and in all 
 cases where there is much febrile or InflaMmatory action.— 7. Arterial sedative. This he 
 considers its most valuable and Interesting property, and for which It stands unparalleled 
 and unequaled as a therapeutic agent.— 8. In small doses, it creates and promotes appe- 
 tite, beyond any agent with which we are acquainted. 
 
 Dr. Norwood recommends the following formula for the tincture : Take of the dried 
 root of Veratrum Viride, eight ounces ; alcohol .835 sixteen ounces. Macerate for two 
 weeks, express, and Alter. To a,n adult, eight diropsare given, and which must be re- 
 peated every three hours, increasing the dose one or two drops every time, until nausea 
 or vomiting, or a reduction of the pulse to sixty-five or seventy ensue ; then reduce to one- 
 half in all oases. Females and persons from fourteen to eighteen, should commence with 
 six drops, and increa-se as above ; children from two to five years to begin with two drops, 
 and increase one drop only ; below two years of age, one drop. When nausea, vomiting, 
 or other unpleasant effects ensue from its administration according to the above direc- 
 tions, they may be speedily relieved by one or two portions of syrup of morphia and tinc- 
 t'lrf of ginger, or brandy and laudanum. He has reduced the pulse by Its use, to thirty- 
 flvtr beats per minute, without exciting the least nausea or vomiting. In pneumonia, 
 typhoid fever, and many other diseases, it must be continued for from three to five or seven 
 days afterthe symptoms have subsided ; and in typhoid fever, while using the Veratrum 
 quiuia is absolutely inadmissible, it Is administered in a little sweetened water. Its em- 
 ployment may be continued indefinitely. In moderate doses, or short of nausea, without 
 *he least inconvenience. Repeated trials have to a great extent proved the correctness of 
 Dr Norwood'.s stalernents. 
 
854 Materia Medica. 
 
 TuUy also speaks of it as possessing alterative, emetiCj errhine, and 
 epispastic properties. Prof.. J. M. Scudder believes that Yeratrum is 
 preferable to aconite in sthenic diseases, high grades of fever, pulmo- 
 nary and other active inflammations. (See Aconite.) It is the remedy 
 when there is a frequent but free action of the heart, where there is 
 active capillary circulation, and in serous inflammations when there is 
 a full and hard pulse, a full and bounding pulse, or a corded or wiry 
 pulse. In determination of blood to the brain, and in active delirium, 
 he would employ Veratrum in conjunction with gelseminum; this agent 
 is also of service where it is desirable to increase the action of the ex-- 
 cretary organs. He says of Veratrum : " It lessens the frequency of the 
 pulse in both large and small doses. In large doses the sedative action 
 is a real depression of life, and the circulation is really impaired. 
 Such an action may be temporarily borne in sthenic fevers and inflam- 
 mation, and may be attended with good results. Yet, as it can not be 
 continued for any considerable length of time, and can only be resorted 
 to in high grades of action, it is- better to depend upon small doses, 
 which improve innervation through the sympathetic, remove obstruc- 
 tions to the free circulation of blood, also irritability of the circulatory 
 system, the power of which it increases. Veratrum, in small doses, 
 gradually lessens the frequency and hardness of the pulse, and pro- 
 motes a uniform and equal circulation." He prefers a saturated tinc- 
 ture made from the recent root, of which he adds ten drops to three 
 fluidounces of water, and administers it in teaspoonful doses repeated - 
 every hour. . 
 
 Prof. A. J. Howe states that as an " alterative Veratrum Viride takes 
 a high rank ; it improves the appetite, and favors assimilation by ex- 
 citing to action the lacteals and lymphatic system generally. In scro- 
 fula, constitutional syphilis, cancer, and tetter, it can be employed as 
 an internal remedy to great advantage. It tends to correct the men- 
 strual fVinetion, restraining a too frequent and profuse flow, and excit- 
 ing to greater activity a scanty and tardy menstruation." 
 
 M.. Oulmont, who has made some very interesting experiments upon 
 man and animals, considers Veratrum Viride to be a poison (sedative) 
 to the heart, analogous to digitalis, from which it diff'ers by its extreme 
 rapidity of action. Having comparatively studied the physiological 
 action of veratria and that of Veratrum Viride, he is led to conclude 
 that this alkaloid, a considerable proportion of which enters into the 
 composition of the Veratrum, is not its active principle; and he has 
 confirmed this conclusion by an experiment upon a rabbit, with Vera- 
 trum Viride deprived of its veratria, which produced exactly the same 
 phenomena as those of the pure Veratrum Viride. 
 
 It is commonly given in the form of tincture, — from one to ten drops 
 (gradually increased until some effect is produced) every two, three or 
 four hours. The extract, or inspissated juice may be co"mmenced with 
 one-fourth of a grain, and carefully increased as required. The pow- 
 dered root may be given in from four to ten grain doses.- The V. Par- 
 viflorum and F. Angustifolium, of this country, are probably medicinal 
 and should be investigated. 
 
Verbena Hastata. 365 
 
 VERBASCUM. THAPSUS. (Gemeines WoUkraut.) 
 
 Mullein. — WoUkraut. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Scrophulariacese. Sex. Syst.—Penta.ndria, Monogynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES AND FLOWERS. 
 
 « 
 
 Description. — Mullein is a biennial plant, with a straight, tall, stout, 
 woolly, generally simple stem, occasionally with one or two branches 
 above, winged by the decurrent bases of the leaves, three to five feet 
 high. Leaves alternate, oblong, acute, decurrent, indented at the mar- 
 gin, rough, densely tomentose on both sides. Flowers of a golden-yel- 
 low color, rotate, nearly sessile, in a dense, spiked, 'club-shaped raceme; 
 calyx five-parted and downy; corolla five-lobed, rotate, lobes broad^ 
 rounded, Somewhat unequal ; stamens five, the two lower smooth, the 
 rest downy. Capsule or pod ovoid-globose, two-valved, many-seeded. . 
 — W.—G. 
 
 History. — Mullein is common to the United States, growing in recent 
 clearings, along the sides of roads, in slovenly fields, etc., flowering 
 from June to August. Some botanists consider it to have been intro- 
 duced from Europe. The leaves and flowers are the parts used. They 
 have a faint, rather pleasant odor, resembling that of a mild narcotic, 
 and a somewhat bitterish, albuminous taste, and yield their virtues to 
 boiling water. Morin found the flowers to contain a yellow volatile 
 oil, a fetty acid, free malic and phosphoric acids, malate and phosphate 
 of lime, acetate of potassa, uncrystallizable sugar, gum, chlorophyll, 
 and yellow resinous coloring-matter. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Mullein is demulcent, diuretic, anodyne, and 
 antispasmodic. The infusion is useful in coughs, catarrh, hemoptysis, 
 diarrhea, dysentery, and piles. Its diuretic properties are rather weak, 
 yet it is very useful in allaying the acridity of urine, which is present 
 in many diseases. It may be boiled in milk, sweetened, and rendered 
 more palatable by the addition of aromatics, for internal use, especially 
 bowel complaints. A fomentation of the leaves also forms an excellent 
 local application for inflamed piles, ulcers, and tumors. The leaves 
 and pith of the stalk form a valuable cataplasm in white-swellings, and 
 infused in hot vinegar or water, it makes an excellent poultice to be 
 applied to the throat in cynanche tonsillaris, cynanche maligna, and 
 mumps. The seeds, it is said, will rapidly pass through the intestines, 
 and have been successfully used in intestinal obstructions. They are 
 narcotic, and have been used in asthma, infantile convulsions, and to 
 poison fish. The infusion may be drank freely. The fiowers, placed 
 into a well-corked bottle, and exposed to the action of the sun, are 
 said to yield an excellent relaxing oil. The leaves dried and smoked 
 in a pipe, like tobacco, are often useful in asthma, and laryngeal affec- 
 tions. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Cataplasma Verbasci. 
 
 VERBENA HASTATA. (Spiessformiger Eiserhard.) 
 
 Vervain. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Verbenacese. Sex. Syst. — Didynamia Gymnospermia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — Vervain, sometimes known by the names of Wild Hys- 
 sop, or Simpler's Joy, is an erect, tall, elegant, and perennial plant, with 
 
856 Materia Medica. 
 
 an obtusely ft)ur-angled stem, three or four feet high, having opposite, 
 paniculate branches above. Leaves opposite, petioTate, lanceolate, acu- 
 minate, rough, incisely serrate ; lower often lobed or somewhat hastate. 
 Flowers small, purplish-blue, sessile, tetrandrous, in long, erect, slender, 
 imbricated, terminal and axillary, panicled spikes. Calyx five-toothed; 
 corolla funnel-form,, limb five-cleft, nearly equal ; seeds ioMv. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — Yervain is indigenous to the United States, growing along 
 road-sides, and in dry, grassy fields, flowering from June to September. 
 The root is the part used ; it is woody and fibrous, faintly odorous, and 
 of a bitter, somewhat astringent, nauseous taste, and imparts its j)rop- 
 erties to water. There are several varieties of this plant, as the V. 
 Urticifolia, or Nettle-leaved Vervain, with white flowers, the V. Spuria, 
 with blue flowers, and others, the roots of which possess similar proper- 
 ties, but in a milder degree than' the V. Hastata. Sometimes the leaves 
 of T. Hastata are used instead of the root, but they are less active. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Vervain is tonic, emetic, expectorant, and su- 
 dorific. As an emetic and sudorific it has proved beneficial in inter- 
 mittent fever, given in warm infusion or in powder. In all cases of 
 colds and obstructed menstruation it may be used as 'a sudorific. 
 Taken cold, the infusion forms a good tonic in some cases of debility, 
 anorexia, and during convalescence from acute diseases. It has been 
 reputed valuable in scrofula, visceral obstructions, gravel, and worms. 
 The following application has been recommended as effectual in pro- 
 moting the absorption of the blood effused in bruises, and allaying the 
 attendant pain : Take of Vervain, senna, and white pepper, of each, 
 equal parts. Make a cataplasm by mixing -with white of eggs. Dose 
 of the powdered root, from one to two scruples ; of the infusion, from 
 two to four fluidounces, three or four times a day, or oftener if it is de- 
 sired to vomit. The root of F. Urticvfolia boiled in milk and water, 
 with the inner bark of Quercus Alba, and the decoction drank freely, is 
 said to be efficacious in cases of poisoning by the Ehus Toxicodendron. 
 The V. Officinalis is a European plant, possessing similar properties 
 with the above, but less active. 
 
 I will state here that the Verbesina Sinuata (Elliott), has been found 
 a very valuable antisyphilirtic. The root is made into an infusion, 
 which must be drank freely and as largely as the stomach will bear. 
 It is somewhat spicy and agreeable to the taste, and will be found efll- 
 cacious in both the primary and constitutional forms of the disease. 
 
 VEENONIA FASCICULATA. (Buschelformige Vernonie.) 
 
 Ironweed. 
 Nat. Ord. — Asteracese. Sex. SyM. — Syngenesia Squalls. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This is an indigenous, perennial, coarse, purplish-green 
 weed, with a tall, striate or grooved, tomentose stem, three to ten feet 
 in height. Leaves four to eight inches long, by one or two broad, nar- 
 row lanceolate, tapering to each end, serrulate, alternate, smooth above, 
 lower ones petiolate. Flower-heads numerous, in a compact or loose, 
 somewhat fastigiate cyme. Oorolla showy, dark-purple, tubular, twice 
 as long as the involucre. Involucre smooth, ovoid-campanulate ; scales 
 appressed, all but the lowest rounded and obtuse, without appendage. 
 — W.—G. 
 
Veronica Officinalis. 857 
 
 History. — Ironweed is a very common plant in tlie Western States, 
 growing in the woods and prairies, and along river streams, and flower- 
 ing from July to September. The root, which is the part used, is 
 bitter, and imparts its properties to water or alcohol. The Vernonia 
 Noveboracensis, growing in the Eastern, Western, and Middle States, 
 and its variety V. Prcealta, bearing purple flowers, and the V. Tonien- 
 tosa, with some other species, possess similar medicinal properties. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Ironweed is a bitter tonic, deobstruent, and 
 alterative. In powder or decoction, the root is beneficial in amenor- 
 rhea, dysmenorrhea, leucorrhea, and menorrhagia. In intermittent, 
 remittent, and bilious fevers, the decoction or a saturated tincture has 
 been recommended. Said to have been useful in scrofula, and some 
 cutaneous diseases. Dose of the decoction, one or two fluidounces ; of 
 the tincture, one or two fluidrachms. The leaves or powdered root in 
 the form *of poultice make an excellent discutient application to tumors. 
 
 VEEONICA OFFICINALIS. (OfScineller Ehrenpreis.) 
 
 Speedwell. 
 
 'Nat. Ord. — Scrophulariacese. Sex: Syst. — Diandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE LEAVES AND TOPS. 
 
 Description. — This is a roughish -pubescent plant, the stem of which is 
 prostrate, rooting at the base, six to twelve inches long, with ascend- 
 ing branches. Leaves opposite, vary from ovate to obovate, generally 
 elliptical, short-petioled, obtuse, serrate, mostly narrowed to the base, 
 an ineh or an inch and a half long.' Flowers paie-blue, in long, axillary, 
 erect, dense, many-flowered, pedunculate racemes ; 'pedicels shorter 
 than the calyx. Calyx four-parted ; corolla rotate. Pods or capsules 
 •puberulent, obovate-triangular, emarginate, strongly flattened, several 
 seeded. — W. 
 
 Sistory. — Speedwell is a native of Europe, and now very common in 
 North America, growing on dry hills, and in woods and open fields, 
 flowering from April to August. The leaves and tops are employed ; 
 they have a faint odor, and a slightly bitter and aromatic taste. The 
 V. Beccabunga, or brook-lime, is found in most of the Eastern arid North- 
 ern States, growing in small streams and near water-courses; this to- 
 gether with the Y. Anagallis, V. Scutellata, V. Agrestis, and V. Peregrina, 
 possesses somewhat similar properties. They all impart their virtues 
 to water. According to Prof F. F. Mayer, Enz found the fresh juice and 
 extract from the herb ( V Officinalis') to contain a bitter principle solu- 
 ble in water and alcohol, but scarcely in ether, precipitable by salts of 
 lead, but not by tannin ; an acrid principle, and a red coloring matter, 
 all contained in the precipitate with neutral acetate of lead, together 
 with malic, tartaric, and citric acids ; also acetic and lactic acids, and a 
 tannin striking a green color with iron ; a crystallizable, apparently 
 fatty acid, soluble in alcohol and ether; a soft, dark-green bitter resin, 
 and mannite. Prof Mayer found in the dry herb an alkaloid, and a 
 very small yield of a saponaceous principle. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 1863, 
 p, 209. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Speedwell is expectorant, alterative, tonic and 
 diuretic. It was formerly administered in coughs, catarrhs, renal, and 
 skin diseases, jaundice, etc. Likewise reputed beneficial in scrofula and 
 other diseases where alteratives are indicated, especially the V. Pere- 
 
858 Materia Medica. 
 
 grina ; to be given internally, and used as a wash. The Y. Beccabunga 
 is antiscorbutic, diuretic, febrifuge, and emmenagogue, and said to be 
 beneficial in cases of obstructed menstruation, scurvy, fevers, and coughs.^ 
 The decoction of the plants may be used freely. 
 
 VIBUENUE: OPULUS. (Gemelner Schneeball.) 
 
 High Cranberry. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Caprifoliacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Trigynia. 
 
 THE BABE. 
 
 Bescri-ption. — This is the Viburnum Oxycoccus of Pursh ; it is a nearly 
 smooth and upright shrub or small tree, rismg five to twelve feet in 
 height ; stems several from the same root, branched above. Leaves three- 
 lobed, three-veined, broadly wedge-shaped or truncate at base, broader 
 than long ; lobes divaricate, acuminate, crenately -toothed on the sides, 
 entire in the sinuses ; petioles have two or more glands at the base, chan- 
 neled above. Flowers white or reddish-white, in rayed, peduiiculated 
 cymes ; marginal flowers large and sterile ; inner flowers much smaller and 
 fertile. Fruit ovoid, red, very aoid, ripens late, and remains upon the 
 bush after the leaves have fallen ; it resembles the common cranberry, 
 and is sometimes substituted for it. The V. JRoseum, Snowball, or Guel- 
 der-rosetree, is a cultivated European variety, with the whole cyme 
 turned into large sterile flowers. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — This is a handsome indigenous shrub, growing in low rich 
 lands, woods, and borders of fields, in the northern part of the United 
 States and Canada, flowering in June, and presenting at this time a 
 very showy appearance. The flowers are succeeded by red and very acid 
 berries, resembling low cranberries, and which remain through the 
 winter. The bark is the officinal part ; as met with in the shops, it is 
 in thin, longitudinally curved pieces, from one-fourth of an inch to two 
 or three inches in length, and from two to six lines in width, with a 
 dark grayish epidermis., and whitish -yellow, or reddish-yellow internal 
 integument ; it has no smelly and a peculiar, not unpleasant, bitterish 
 and astringent taste. It is frequently put up by the Shakers, when it 
 is somewhat flattened fl-om pressure. It has not been analyzed, but is 
 known to contain valerianic acid. It yields its properties to water or 
 diluted alcohol. Yihurine is the name given to a secret nostrum, purport- 
 ing to be obtained from this plant. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — High Cranberry bark is a powerful antispas- 
 modic, and, in consequence of this property, it is more generally known 
 among American practitioners by the name of Cramp-bark. It is very 
 efl'ective in relaxing cramps and spasms of all kinds, as asthma, hyste- 
 ria, cramps of the limbs or other parts in females, especially during 
 pregnancy, and it is said to be highly beneficial to those who are sub- 
 ject to convulsions during pregnancy, or at the time of parturition, 
 preventing the attacks entirely, if used daily for the last two months 
 of gestation. The following forms an excellent preparation for the re- , 
 lief of spasmodic attacks, viz : Take, of Cramp-bark, two ounces, scull- 
 cap, skunk-cabbage, of each, one ounce, cloves, half an ounce, capsicum, 
 two drachms. Have all in powder, coarsely bruised, and add to them 
 two qiarts of good sherry or native wine. Dose, one or two fluidouncos, 
 two or three times a day, Dose of the decoction, or vinous tincture of 
 Cramp-bark, two fluidounces, two or three times a day. It may be 
 
Viburnum Prunifolium. 85'J 
 
 proper to remark, here that I have found a poultice of low cranberries 
 very efficacious in indolent and malignant ulcers ; and applied round 
 the throat in the inflammation and swelling attending scarlatina-ma- 
 ligna, and other diseases, it gives prompt and marked relief. Probably 
 the High Cranberries will effect the same results. (See Cataplasma 
 Oxycocci.) 
 
 Viburnum Dentatum, Arrow -wood or Mealy -tree, called by the former 
 name on account of its long, straight, slender branches or young shoots, 
 is a somewhat smooth shrub, six to twelve feet in height, growing in 
 low grounds, damp woods and thickets, throughout the United States, 
 with roundish-ovate, dentate-serrate, furrow-plaited leaves, on long, slen- 
 der petioles. Leaves two or three inches in diameter ; upper pair oval, 
 the veins beneath prominent, parallel, pubescent in their axils. Flowers 
 white, in pedunculate cymes, appear in June. Fruit small, ovoid-glo- 
 bose, dark -blue berries. — W. — G. 
 
 The bark of this tree is ash-colored, and is employed as a diuretic 
 and detergent, and has been highly recommended as an internal and 
 external agent 'to cure cancer; the infusion to be used freely. It cer- 
 tainly deserves the attention of the profession in their treatment of this 
 formidable disease. It may also be used in extract, pills or plaster. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Extractum Viburni Alcoholicum; Tinctura Viburni Com- 
 posita. 
 
 VIBTJENUM PEUNIFOLIUM. (Paflumenblattriger;Schneeball.) 
 
 Black Haw. 
 Nat. Ord. — Caprifoliacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Trigynia. 
 
 THE BARK OP THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This shrub or tree, also known by the name of Sloe, ie 
 indigenous to this country, growing to the height of from ten- to twenty 
 feet. Branches spreading, some of them often stinted and naked, giving 
 the plant an unthrifty aspect. Leaves about two inches long, nearly 
 as wide, roundish-ovate, smooth, shining above, obtuse at both ends, 
 acutely serrate, with uncinate teeth, situated on short petioles slightly 
 margined with straight, narrow wings. Flowers white, in large ter- 
 minal, sessile cymes. Fruit ovoid-oblong, sweet, edible, blackish berries. 
 — W.—G. 
 
 History. — This tree is found throughout the United States, being 
 most abundant in the Middle and Southern States, in rich, dry wood- 
 lands. It flowers from March to June, and presents at this time a very 
 handsome appearance. It is usually found in woods and thickets. The 
 bark of the roots, stem, and branches are medicinal, but that of the 
 root is preferred. It is fawn-colored externally, with a feeble odor, 
 and a very bitter, slightly aromatic taste. Water or alcohol extracts 
 its properties. It is readily pulverized when dry, and affords a red- 
 dish-colored powder tinged with gray. It is said to contain extractive 
 matter, gum. tannin, gallic acid, and a peculiar resinous principle,. for 
 which the name of Viburnin has been proposed. It is obtained by the 
 asual process for separating the resinous principles from plants, and is 
 a light reddish-brown powder, intensely bitter, possessing, so it is said, 
 the properties of the bark in a concentrated form. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Black Haw is tonic, astringent, diuretic and 
 alterative ; the decoction has been used as a gargle in aphthae, as a wash 
 to indolent ulcers, and ophthalmic affections; and internally in chronic 
 
860 Materia Medica. 
 
 diarrhea, dysentery, and palpitation of the heart. It. appears "to exert 
 an especial tonic influence upon the uterus, and is highly recommended 
 in cases of threatened abortion, and as a preventative in cases of habit- 
 ual miscarriage ; in the latter case its use should commence a week or 
 •two previous to the aborting period, and be continued through the 
 remaining period of pregnancy. Dr. Phares, of Mississippi, states that 
 it will prevent abortion whether habitual or otherwise — whether threat- 
 ened from accidental cause or criminal drugging. He considers it to 
 completely neutralize the effect of the cotton bark when this is used for 
 the purpose of causing abortion. It has also proved useful in relieving 
 severe after-pains, as well as the spasmodic symptoms incident to preg- 
 nancy, as colic, cramp, etc. The infusion may be given in half-fluid - 
 ounce doses, several times a day ; or the tincture in doses of a fluidrachm, 
 four or five times a day. The powder may given in half drachm or 
 drachm doses. 
 
 VIOLA PEDATA.. (Gefusstes Veilchen.) 
 
 Blue Violet. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Violacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. 
 
 THE WHOLE PLANT. 
 
 Description. — Blue Violet, or as it is sometimes called, Bird's-foot Violet, 
 is an indigenous, stemless plant, glabrous, with the leaves and scapes 
 all from perennial, fleshy, premorse, subterranean rootstocks. Leaves 
 -pedatelyfive to nine parted; globes linear-lanceolate, obtuse, nearly en- 
 tire. Petioles with long, ciliate stipules at base. Flowers large, very 
 showy, an inch broad, pale or deep lilac-purple, fragrant. Peduncles 
 somewhat four-sided, much longer than the leaves. Segments of the 
 calyx linear, acute-ciliate, emarginate behind. Petals veinless, entire, 
 beardless. Spur or beak obscure. Stigma large, fl|ittened at the sides, 
 obliquely truncate, pierced at the top. — W. — G. 
 
 History. — This plant is common to the United States, growing from 
 Maine to Florida, and west to Missouri, in dry woods and pastures, and 
 sandy places, flowering in May and June. The herb and root are used, 
 and impart their virtues to water. 
 
 The Viola Odorata, or Sweet Violet of Europe, is much cultivated in 
 this country on account of its beautiful flowers, which appear in April 
 and May. It is a small creeping plant, with flagelliform runners; 
 leaves roundish-cordate. Sepals five, ovate, obtuse ; petals five ; spur 
 very blunt. Flowers fragrant, deep' purple, often white, occasionally 
 lilac, on radical, furrowed, quadrangular peduncles. Bracts inserted 
 above the middle of the scape. Capsules turgid, hairy, bursting with 
 elasticity, many-seeded, three-valved. Seeds turbinate, pale. — L. — Be 
 Gand. 
 
 Both of these plants possess similar properties ; the flowers are com- 
 monly employed, but the whole plant is medicinal. The flowersshould 
 be gathered as soon as they are fully expanded, the sepals removed, 
 and then carefully dried. An infusion of the flowers of the V. Odorata, 
 and probably of some others, may be used as a test for acids and alka- 
 lies, the former changing it to a red, the latter to green. Pagenstecher, 
 in 1822, found the Viola Odorata to contain an odorous principle, 
 blue coloring matter, crystallizable and uncrystallizable sugar, gum, 
 albumen, and salts of potassa and lime. Boullay found the whole plant- 
 to contain an acrid principle, extremely active and poisonous, which he 
 
ViscuM Flavescens. 861 
 
 has termed violia. It is a white powder, bitter and acrid, slightly solu- 
 ble in water, insoluble in ether, precipitated from its solution by infu- 
 sion ,of nut-galls, and operating somewhat like emetia. It may exist 
 in some other plants of this family. Boiling water extracts the virtues 
 of these pla,nts. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The flowers and seeds of V. Odorata act as laxa- 
 tives in doses of three or four drachms, rubbed up with sugar and water ; 
 the root in half-drachm or drachm doses is emeto-cathartic, but it is 
 uncertain in its action. The seeds have been recommended in uric acid 
 gravel. The odorous emanations from the flowers have caused faint- 
 ness and giddiness, and in one ease were supposed to have brought on 
 apoplexy. 
 
 Blue Violet is mucilaginous, emollient, and slightly laxative ; also 
 antisyphilitic, and forms a valuable remedy for this disease, when com- 
 bined with Corydalis Formosa. Has been used in pectoral, nephritic, 
 and cutaneous affections, especially crusta lactea. The plant should be 
 used when fresh, as drying destroys its active properties. The V. Tri- 
 color, or pansy, may be used as a substitute. The roots of these plants 
 are bitterish and slightly acrid, and in doses of from eight to ten grains 
 are tonic ; from twenty-five to thirty grains, purgative ; and from forty 
 to sixty grains emetic. 
 
 The Viola Ovata, or Eattlesnake Tiolet, has been highlj'' recommended 
 in the bites of rattlesnakes, the infusion to be freely administered ; and 
 the infusion used internally, with a fomentation of the leaves locally 
 applied, have proved efficacious in obstinate chronic ophthalmia ; 
 a similar course is reputed very valuable in scrofulous diseases. Pro 
 bably all the species possess analogous properties ; they are undoubt- 
 edly more active agents than are generally supposed, and deserve 
 further investigation. 
 
 VISCUM FLAVESCENS. (Mistel.) 
 
 Mistletoe. 
 
 JVat. Ord. — Loranthacese. Sex. Syst. — Dioecia Tetrandria. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 Description.— This is the Viscum Verticillatum of Nuttall, and Viscum 
 Album of Walter ; it is a yellowish-green, succulent parasite, growing on 
 the branches and trunks of old trees, especially elms, oaks, hickories, 
 etc. Stems jointed, a foot or a foot and a half in length, rather thick, 
 with many round, spreading, opposite, sometimes vertioillate, terete 
 branches. Leaves opposite, cuneate-obovate, three-veined, obtuse, 
 smooth, entire, contracted at the base into a short petiole, nine 
 to sixteen lines long, by four to nine broad. Flowers small, greenish- 
 white, sterile ones mostly three-parted, in axillary, solitary spikes, 
 about as long as the leaves. Fruit globose, yellowish-white, smooth, 
 semi-transparent, with a viscous pulp, in clusters, and contain one fleshy 
 sieed; they remain throughout the winter. — W. — <r. 
 
 History. — This parasitic shrub is found growing on various trees ; but 
 that which is found on the oak is preferred. The bark and leaves have 
 an unpleasant odor, and a mawkish, bitterish taste. The proper time 
 for collection is in November, when it should be gradually dried, pul- 
 verized, and kept in a well-stopped bottle. It should never be kept 
 more than a year, as age impairs its active qualities. The mistletoe 
 growing on the water or black elm ( JJlmus Nemoralis), and on the water- 
 
862 Materia Medica. 
 
 oak {Quercus Aquatica)i is reputed to possess the most energetic medi 
 cinal virtues. All parts of the plant contain viscin or birdlime, whicL 
 is very adhesive, soft, and elastic, having a greenish or brownish color, 
 insoluble in water and fixed oils, slightly soluble in alcohol, very solu- 
 ble in ether and oil of turpentine. According to Henry, the ^berries 
 contain viscin, green wax, gum, bassorin, brown extractive, lignin, salts 
 of potassa, lime, magnesia, and oxide of iron, united to vegetable acids. 
 Properties and Uses. — Narcotic, antis'pasmodic, and tonic. Has been 
 found beneficial in epilepsy, insanity, paralysis, and other nervous dis- 
 eases. In using this agent it is always necessary to regulate the con- 
 dition of the stomach and bowels, and the menstrual discharge, and 
 other faulty secretions, and remove worms, if any are present, previ- 
 ous to its exhibition. It may be given in doses of from thirty to sixty 
 grains, and gradually increased to three or four drachms, three or four 
 times a day, and if it produces sleep or other narcotic efi'ects, the dosef 
 must be diminished. This plant is by no means inert, and its failures 
 in the hands of some practitioners must be attributed to the want of 
 proper doses, or to the employment of an article which age or exposiire 
 to the air had injured. The powder is best given in an infusion of 
 valerian. 
 
 VITIS VINIFEEA. (Gemeiner Weinstock.) 
 The Grape. — Traube. 
 Nat. Ord. — Vitacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Monogynia. , 
 
 THE FRTTIT, AND ITS FERMENTED JUICE. 
 
 Description.^Ihis is a climbing shrub, which has been known in 
 nearly all parts of the globe from a very early period. There are 
 many varieties of it, which will generally be found to agree in most 
 respects with the following description of De Candolle : Leaves lobed, 
 sinuated, toothed, smooth or downy, flat or crisp, pale or deep green ; 
 branches prostrate, climbing, or erect, tender, or hard; racemes or 
 branches loose or compact, ovate or cylindrical ; fruit or berries red, yel- 
 low, or purple, watery or fleshy, globose-ovate or oblong, sweet, musky, 
 or austere. Calyx somewhat flve-toothed ; petals five, cohering at the 
 point, separating at the base, and dropping off like a calyptra. Sta- 
 mens five. Style none. Berry two-celled, four-seeded ; the cells or seeds 
 often abortive. 
 
 ■History. — The Grape-vine grows wild in the south of Asia and in 
 Greece, and was, probably, first cultivated in the East, but at what period 
 it is impossible to say ; it must have been known to the antediluvians, as 
 Scripture informs us that Noah, after leaving the ark, " planted a vine- 
 yard and drank of the Wine." At present it is cultivated in the warm 
 temperate climates of Europe and America. The leaves and tendrils 
 are somewhat astringent, arid were formerly employed in diarrhea, 
 hemorrhages, and other morbid discharges. The juice of the stem has 
 also had medicinal virtues attributed to it, and is often added at the 
 present day to washes for improving the hair and removing baldness. 
 The juice of the unripe fruit is called Verjuice, apd contains malic, citric, 
 tartaric, or paratartaric, and racemic acids, with bitartrate of potassa, 
 sulphates of potassa and lime, a little tannic acid, etc. The juice of the 
 ripe fruit is called Must, and contains sugar, gum, malic acid, bitartrate 
 of potassa, various inorganic salts,, etc. ; when fermented it is called Wine. 
 So long as the ripe Grape remains entire, it undergoes little change be- 
 
VlTlS VlNli'ERA. 863 
 
 yond gradual desiccation und a conversion of its acid into sugar; but if 
 the Grape be crushed, or its juice expressed, and the temperature main- 
 tained at between 60° and 70°, fermentation ensues through the action 
 of the air, and of the insoluble glutenoid principle existing in the 
 husk, which acts the same part as that of yeast in the fermentation of., 
 malt or solutions of sugar. The consequence is the Must becomes 
 warmer, the sugar gradually disappears, and carbonic acid escapes, 
 which causes a head — the name given to the convex frothy matter 
 which is formed on the surfiace of the liquor — and alcohol is formed ;it 
 the expense of part of the tartaric acid in the bitartrate of potassa. 
 There is also developed a volatile ethereal aromatic substance in small 
 quantity, which is called cenanthic ether ; but possibly this principle 
 exists originally in the juice. When the process reaches a certain stage, 
 the liquor, at first very turbid under the effervescence of fermentation, 
 becomes gradually clear, of a peculiar odor and ta,ste called vinous, and 
 of a pale straw-color if the juice only was used, or if the Grapes have 
 a colorless husk, but of a finer amber or deep-red color if the husks 
 were red and not separated. Left in this state to itself, the Grape juice, 
 now become Wine, would erelong, under the influence of its ferment, 
 undergo further changes, and lose its vinous character. But this is pre- 
 vented, first by the action of sulphurous acid vapor on the ferment, 
 and afterward by removing this principle entirely, as well as any other 
 floating impurities, by a mixture of isinglass and white of egg, whose 
 gelatin and albumen — forming bulky precipitates, the former with the 
 tannic acid of the Wine, the latter by coagulation under the influence 
 of its alcohol, — and carrying down with them all fine insoluble parti- 
 cles, — accomplish what is called the process of fining. Sometimes the 
 process of fermentation is arrested at an early stage, while a consider- 
 able part of the sugar remaips unaltered ; and in this way are obtained 
 the Sweet Wines. In other instances, when the fermentation is more 
 advanced, but without its being arrested, the Wine, after undergoing 
 peculiar management, is corked up in strong bottles ; so that, as it con- 
 tinues to ferment, it becomes charged with carbonic acid, producing 
 what are called Sparkling Wines. Much more generally the fermenta- 
 tion is permitted to go on, till by far the greater part of the sugar has dis- 
 appeared, and the liquor becomes still. For the most part,' such Wines 
 are subsequently kept for some time in casks, to undergo the process of 
 ripening, during which bitartrate of potassa is deposited in crusts, 
 along with coloring matter, while what remains of the sugar of the 
 juice, slowly undergoes complete conversion into alcohol. These Wines 
 are called bry Wines. 
 
 Wines differ considerably in their flavor, and in the respective pro- 
 portions of their constituents ; these differences depend partly on orig- 
 inal differences in the Grape, partly on differences in climate or culti- 
 vation, partly on differences of management before, during, and after 
 fermentation, and sometimes upon express additions being made to 
 alter the flavor. — G. Wines are designated according to their color, 
 red or white ; according to their taste and other properties, sweet, acidu- 
 lous, drying, strong or generous, light, rough, sparkling, still, etc. The 
 Wines of different countries are distinguished by names generally des- 
 ignating their place of manufacture, as follows: French Wines.— 
 Champagne (of which we have the still, creaming, or slightly sparkling, 
 the full frothy, the white and the pink) ; Burgundy, red and white; Her- 
 mitage; Cote Botie; Rousillon; Frontignac ; Claret, the most esteemed 
 being the produce of Laftte, Latour, Chateau Margaux, and Haut- 
 
864 . Materia Medica. 
 
 Brion; Yin de Grave; Sauterne; and Barsac. Spanish Wines. — Sherry 
 (Xeres) : Tent (Eota) ; Mountain {Malaga) ; Benicarlo {Alioant). Por- 
 tugal Wines. — Port, red, and white (Oporto); Bucellas; Lisbon; Calca- 
 vella; and Colares (LiBbon), An inferior description of red Port Wine 
 is shipped at Figuera and Aveiro. German Wines. — Rhine and Moselle 
 Wines. The term Hock (a corruption of Hochheimer) is usually applied 
 to the first growths of the Rhine. The term Rhenish commonly indi- 
 cates an inferior Ehine Wine. Hungarian Wines. — Tokay. Italian 
 and Sicilian Wines. — Lachryma Ghristi; Marsala; Syracuse; Lissa. 
 Grecian and Ionian Wines. — Oandian and Cyprus. Madeira and the 
 Canary Islands. — Madeira; Cawary (Teneriffe). Cape or Good Hope 
 Wines. — Oape Madeira; Pontac ; Gonstantia, red and white, a sweet, 
 luscious wine, much esteemed. Persia.n Wines. — Shiraz. English 
 and American Wines. — Grape, Raisin, Currant, Gooseberry, etc. — P. 
 In this country, it is exceedingly diflScult, if not impossible, to obtain a 
 pure foreign wine ; they are either adulterated, or manufactured from 
 various articles. 
 
 The native Catawba Grape, introduced to public notice by Major Ad- 
 lum of Washington city, is a superior Wine Grape, producing a most 
 excellent Wine, which it was supposed would supersede the use of all 
 foreign Wines, at least, for medical and pharmaceutical uses, but its 
 acidity renders it frequently objectionable. The late Mr. Longworth, 
 of Cincinnati, had been for a long time engaged in the cultivation of 
 this and other kind of Grapes, as well as in the manufacturing of native 
 Wines, and by dint of perseverance and careful investigation succeeded 
 in' preparing Wines which were fully equal to those of foreign origin. 
 Catawba and Sparkling Catawba, are well known throughout the coun- 
 try as superior articles, and their purity and freedom from adulterations 
 render them preferable in all instances where these agents are indicated 
 or required. At this day, we have many other pure Wines from native 
 grapes, as from the Ive's seedling. 
 
 According to Gmelin, Wine consists of alcohol, water, an odorous 
 principle, blue coloring of the husk in red Wine, tannic acid, bitter ex- 
 tractive, grape-sugar, gum, yeast, acetic acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, 
 bitartrate of potassa, bitartrate of lime, sulphates and chlorides, phos- 
 phate of lime, carbonic acid, and in some of the Ehine Wines, paratar- 
 taric or racemic acid. (Enanthic ether, glycerin, and volatile oil, are like 
 wise contained in them. The quantities of these constituents vary in 
 the different Wines; thus, the sparkling Wines contain more carbonic 
 acid than the others, the sweet Wines more sugar than the acid, and 
 the astringent Wines more tannic acid, etc. 
 
 By age. Wines lose more or less of their alcohol and acidity, and ac- 
 quire an improved flavor. Our native wines, however, are seldom met 
 with over a year or two old, the demand being so great that they are 
 disposed of almost as soon as made, without having the opportunity of 
 becoming improved by age, and this may probably be one reason why 
 some of them are so acid, not having had time to deposit all their tar- 
 tar. I have met with a sample of still catawba wine, which was fully 
 equal to the best old Madeira, and possessed scarcely any appreciable 
 acidity; it was ten or twelve years old. In a medicinal po'int of view, 
 the most important ingredient in Wine is the alcohol, which is found 
 to vary in the different kinds, and which is so chemically combined with 
 the other constituents as to modify its intoxicating influence, rendering 
 it mere important in this respect, than when given in the same por- 
 tions in an undiluted state. It must be recollected, however, that nearly 
 
VlTIS V.lNirEEA. 
 
 865 
 
 all Wines, ^nd especially the foreign, have from 4 to 10 per cent, of 
 brandy mixed with them, according to the character of the wine. Mr. 
 Brande, in 1811, made an examination of Wines and liquors to deter- 
 mine the per centage of alcohol contained in them ; M. Julia Pontenelle 
 has also instituted similar investigations, as well as Dr. Christison ; the 
 following are the tables prepared by them, in which it will be seen that 
 according to the more recent experiments of Dr. Christison, the quan- 
 tity of alcohol in Wines has been, heretofore, somewhat overrated. 
 
 Mr. Brande's Table. 
 Bectifted Spirit (825 Dens.) by volume in 100. 
 
 Scotch whisky 54.32 
 
 Irish whisky..., 53.90 
 
 Rum 53.68 
 
 Brandy 58.89 
 
 Hollands 51.60 
 
 Lissa wine, 
 
 strongest 26.47 
 
 mean 25.41 
 
 weakest 24.35 
 
 Raisin wine, 
 
 strongest 26.40 
 
 mean 25.12 
 
 weakest 23.20 
 
 Marsala, strongest 26.03 
 
 mean 25.09 
 
 weakest 25.05 
 
 Port, strongest 25.83 
 
 mean : 22.96 
 
 weakest 21.40 
 
 Madeira, strongest 24.43 
 
 mean 24.17 
 
 weakest 23.93 
 
 Currant wine 20.55 
 
 Cape Madeira 
 
 strongest 22.94 
 
 mean 20.51 
 
 weakest 18.11 
 
 Red Madeira, 
 
 strongest 22.30 
 
 mean 20.35 
 
 weakest 1 8.40 
 
 Sercial, strongest 21.40 
 
 mean 20.34 
 
 weakest 19.24 
 
 TenerifFe 1'9.79 
 
 Colares 19.75 
 
 Constantia, white 19.75 
 
 Laohryme Christi 19.70 
 
 Sherry, strongest 19.83 
 
 mean 19.17 
 
 weakest 1 8.25 
 
 Vidonia 19.25 
 
 Lisbon 18.94 
 
 Bucellas 18.49 
 
 Constantia, red 18.92 
 
 Caloayella, 
 
 strongest 19.20 
 
 mean 18.65 
 
 weakest 18.10 
 
 Cape Muscat 18.25 
 
 Bousillon, 
 
 strongest 19.00 
 
 mean 18.13 
 
 weakest 17.26 
 
 Cape wine 18.11 
 
 Malaga, sti'ongest....... 18.94 
 
 mean 18.10 
 
 weakest 17.26 
 
 White Hermitage 17.43 
 
 Alba flora 17.26 
 
 Zante 17.05 
 
 Malmsey 16.40 
 
 Shiraz 15.52 
 
 Lunel 15.52 
 
 Syracuse 15.28 
 
 Claret, strongest 17.11 
 
 mean 15.10 
 
 weakest 12.91 
 
 Nice 14.63 
 
 Burgundy 
 
 strongest 16.60 
 
 mean 14.67 
 
 Burgundy 
 
 weakest 11.95 
 
 Sauterne.... 14.22 
 
 Barsac 13.86 
 
 Champagne, still 13.30 
 
 sparkling 12.80 
 
 Tent ..13.30 
 
 Riyes Altes 12.79 
 
 Vin de Graye, 
 
 strongest.. ....... 13.94 
 
 mean 13.37 
 
 weakest 12.80 
 
 CotepRotie 12.32 
 
 Red Hermitage 12.32 
 
 Goosejierry wine 11.84 
 
 Hock, strongest 14.37 
 
 mean 12.08 
 
 weakest 
 
 Champagne, red 
 
 strongest 12.56 
 
 mean 11.93 
 
 weakest 11.30 
 
 Orange wine 11.26 
 
 Tokay 9.88 
 
 Elder wine 8.79 
 
 Cider, strongest 9.87 
 
 mean 7.54 
 
 weakest 5.21 
 
 Perry 7.26 
 
 Burton ale 8.88 
 
 Edinburgale 6.20 
 
 Dorchester ale 5.5fr 
 
 Average of ales 6.87 
 
 Brown stout 6.80 
 
 London porter 4.20 
 
 Small beer 1.28 
 
 M. Julia Fontenelle's Table. 
 Alcohol by volume in 100. 
 
 Bamyullis 21.96 
 
 Rives Altes 21.80 
 
 Collionvre 21.62 
 
 Dapalme 20.93 
 
 Mirepeisset 20.45 
 
 Salces 20.43 
 
 Narbonne •. 19.90 
 
 5r, 
 
 Lezignan 19.46 
 
 Leucate de Pitou 19.70 
 
 Montagnac 19.30 
 
 Nissan 18.80 
 
 Meze 18.60 
 
 Bezieres 18.40 
 
 Lunel : 18.10 
 
 Montpellier ; 17.65 
 
 Carcassone 17.22 
 
 Frontignan 16.90 
 
 Bourgogne 14.76 
 
 Bordeaux 14.73 
 
 Champagne 12.20 
 
 Toulouse 11.97 
 
866 
 
 Materia Medica. 
 
 Table from Christison's Experiments in 1838. 
 
 Aio. I>7 Froof-Spirit, 
 
 weight liT volume 
 
 iD 100 parta. 
 
 30.66 
 33.91 
 37.27 
 31.31 
 30.84 
 
 Tort, weakest 14.97 
 
 mean of 7 wines ...16.20 
 
 strongest ....17.10 
 
 White Port 14.97 
 
 Sherry, weakest 18.98 
 
 mean of 13 wines not 
 
 long ia cask 15.37 33.59 
 
 Shevry, strongest 16.17 35.12 
 
 mean of 9 long in cask 
 
 in East Indies..: 14.72 32.30 
 
 Sherry, Madre da Xeres 1'6;90 37:06 
 
 Madeira, long in cask in the 
 
 East Indies 14.09 30.80 
 
 strongest 16.90 37.00 
 
 Teneriffe, long in cask at Cal- 
 cutta 13.84 30.21 
 
 Seroial 15.45 33.65 
 
 Dry Lisbon 16.14 
 
 Shiraz 12.95 
 
 Amontillado ..12.63 
 
 Claret, first growth, 1811 7.72 
 
 Chateau Latour, do. 1825 7.78 
 
 Eosan, 2d growth, 1825 7.61. 
 
 Vin Ordinaire, Bordx 8.99 
 
 Rives Altes 9.31 
 
 Malmsey 12.86 
 
 Rudesheimer, first quality.... 8.40 
 
 RudesheimeT, inferior 6.90 
 
 Hambacher, first quality 7.85 
 
 Edinburgh ale, unbottled 5.70 
 
 Same ale, 2 years bottled 6.06 
 
 London porter, four months in 
 
 bottle 5.36 
 
 Ale. bT Proof-Spirit 
 weight by Tolnme 
 
 34.71 
 28.30 
 27.60 
 16.95 
 17.06 
 16.74 
 18.96 
 22.36 
 28.37 
 18.44 
 16.19 
 16.15 
 12.60 
 13.40 
 
 11.91 
 
 Table of the Proportion of Alcohol (sp. gr. 0.825 at 60° F.) by Measure, 
 contained in 100 parts of wine. 
 
 [A. means average ; P. Pontenelle ; P. Prout.] 
 
 Brande. Others. 
 
 1. Lissa A. 25.41 18.90 P. 
 
 2. Kaisia A. 25.12 
 
 3. Marsala „..A. 25.09 
 
 4. Port A. 22.96 18.40 P. 
 
 5. Madeira A. 22.27 20.64 P. 
 
 6. Currant 20.55 21.20 P. 
 
 7. Sherry.. A. 19.17 
 
 8. Teneriffe 19.70 23.80 P. 
 
 9. Colares 19.75 
 
 10. Lachryma Christi.. 19.70 
 
 11. Constantia, white.. 19.75 14.50 P. 
 
 12. Constantia, red 18.92 14.50 P. 
 
 13. Lisbon 18.94 
 
 14. Malaga 18.94 
 
 15. Bucellas 18.49 
 
 16. Red Madeira A. 20.35 
 
 17. Cape Musohat 18.25 
 
 18. Cape Madeira A. 20.51 
 
 ~19. Grape wine 18.11 
 
 20. Calcavella A. 18.65 
 
 21. Vidonia 19.26 
 
 22. Alba Flore 17.26 
 
 23. Malaga 17.26 
 
 24. White Hermitage.. 17.43 
 
 Brande. 
 
 25. Rousillon A. 18.13 
 
 26. Claret A 
 
 27. Zante 
 
 28. Malmsey-Mad'ra ... 
 
 29. Lunel 
 
 30. Sheraz 
 
 15.10 
 17.05 
 16.40 
 15.52 
 15.52 
 
 Others. 
 
 18.01 F 
 
 31. Syracuse 15.28 80.00 P. 
 
 32. Sauterne 14.22 
 
 33. Burgundy A. 14.57 12.16 P. 
 
 34. Hock A. 12.08 
 
 35. Nice 14.63 
 
 36. Barsac 13.86 
 
 37. Tent 13.30 12.20 F 
 
 38. Champagne A. 12.61 
 
 39. Red Hermitage 12.32 
 
 40. Vin de Grave 13.94 
 
 41. Frontignal (Rive- 
 
 salte) 12.79 
 
 42. CoteRotie 12.32 
 
 43. Gooseberry. 11.84 
 
 44. Orange A. 11.26 
 
 45. Tokay 9.88 
 
 46. Elder.... 8.79 
 
 Many of the imported Wiaes are subject to adulteration, some of 
 which it is difScult to detect. The addition of lead may be ascertained 
 by the black precipitate occasioned on testing the wine with sulphu- 
 retted hydrogen ; the presence of lime by the large amount of precipi- 
 tate occasioned by the addition of a solution of oxalate of ammonia. 
 Alum in Wines may be detected by boiling,, which renders them tur- 
 bid, -with a flocculent precipitate ; this is not the case with red Wines 
 when free from any aluminous salt. Sulphuric acid in Wines may b« 
 detected in very minute quantity by the rose-red color which a drop 
 of the wine will impart to ordinary glazed paper which has been 
 
VlTIS ViNlFERA. 867 
 
 dipped iuto a solution of starch and dried; Wine in which free sulphu- 
 ;-ic acid is not present, when thus dropped, produces a violet-blue color; 
 ^n the former instance the structure of the paper is impaired, but not 
 in the latter. Many counterfeit or spurious wines are also prepared 
 by unprincipled persons, some of which impair the tone of the stom 
 ach, and are not fit to be used as medicinal agents. Port Wine is fre 
 quently imitated with mixtures of rough cider, sloe-juice or damson- 
 juice, red Cape, real Port, brandy, elder -juice, logwood, red tartar, etc. 
 Madeira is frequently met with of a spurious character, being some 
 times made of Cape Wine, brandy. Sherry, Port, masted malt, etc. 
 Sherry is often made of sugar, water, raisins, yeast, bitter almonds, 
 spirit, etc. In this country, many of the foreign wines are closely 
 imitated by mixtures of crab-apple cider, Catawba Wine, brandy, real 
 Wines, sugar, honey, flavoring materials, etc. Champagne is seldom 
 met with in this country, unless it be an imitation ; hence the great 
 preference given all over the country to Sparkling Catawba, which is 
 fully equal to imported Champagne. An excellent imitation of Cham- 
 pagne Wine is made_as follows : Take of good cider (crab-apple cidej" 
 is the best), twenty-eight gallons ; fourth-proof brandy one gallon ; 
 genuine Champagne Wine five gallons ; milk one pint ; bitartrate of 
 potassa half a pound. These are mixed together, allowed to stand for 
 a time, and bottled while fermenting. > 
 
 The acids contained in grape juice are either free or combined with 
 
 earths or alkalies, forming with them partly acid and partly neutral 
 
 ' salts. It is only the fre.e acids and those contained in the acid salts 
 
 that are known by their taste ; and the quantity of these existing in 
 
 Wine or Must can only be shown by saturation with a basic salt. 
 
 Aside from the fact that the deleteriousnese of the wine mainly de- 
 pends on its proportion of acids, they are also said to exert an essen- 
 tial influence on the development of aromas. In support of this opinion, 
 it has been contended that those Wines which contain much acid, like 
 the Bhine Wines, show a strong bouquet, while in the Southern Wines, 
 containing less acid, this quality is almost entirely wanting. Chemists 
 have discovered a great variety of acids in the juice of the grape, but, 
 for the practical part of wine making, it is sufficient for us to know 
 with certainty that as the grape ripens, while the proportion of sugar 
 in it increases, the quantity of acid is continually diminishing, and 
 hence, by leaving the grapes on the vine as long as this change is going 
 on, we have a double means of improving them. 
 
 All Wines, without exception, to be still good and of agreeable taste, 
 must contain from four to seven-thousandths of free acids, and each 
 Must containing more than seven -thousandths of free acids may be 
 considered as containing too little water and sugar in proportion to its 
 acid ; hence the means of correction become obvious— there must be 
 more water and sugar added until the Must has its proper proportion 
 of sugar and acid. Heretofore, the difficulty has been a want of means 
 to readily determine the amount of free acids contained in the Must or 
 Wine ; but, fortunately, there is now a simple and reliable method, 
 applicable to general use, for determining the quantity of free acids in 
 the Must or wines, even to the ten -thousandth part ; this is the Acet- 
 ometer, recently invented by Mr. H. Twitchell, of Cincinnati. This 
 instrument consists of two small glass jars fitted with air-tight covers 
 and having a connecting channel from one to the other. One jar has 
 a glass tube inserted into its cover, which projects about eight inches, 
 and is graduated into certain divisions. The other has a stuffing box 
 
868 Materia Medica. ^ 
 
 in its cover through which passes the stem or handle of a spoon, the 
 bowl of which is inside the jar, and outside there is a milled button. 
 The jar with the graduated tube is filled with water up to a mark upon 
 its external surface. The measuring glass (furnished with the instru- 
 ment), is then filled up to a mark near its upper part with the Wine, or 
 Must to be tested, which is poured into the jar with the spoon ; the 
 spoon is then drawn up so that when the covers are in place it will not 
 touch the fluid to be tested. The spoon is now to be filled with pure 
 bicarbonate of soda, the covers clamped on air-tight with the clamp 
 and set-screw, until the water is in the graduated tube at the surface 
 of tl^e cap into which it is cemented. Thus prepared the spoon with 
 its contents is pushed down into the Must or Wine, and rotated until no 
 more gas is given off. The gas passes into the other jar and forces the 
 water up into the glass tube, and the graduation to which it rises in- 
 dicates the thousandths of acid contained in the Must or Wine. 
 
 Eipe Grapes are. a most delicious and refreshing fruit, the juice of 
 which is especially adapted to patients with fevers, and which in large 
 quantities prove aperient and diuretic, but, eaten moderately will be 
 found beneficial to those disposed to diarrhea or dysentery ; they are 
 also useful in many instances of acid stomach. The skin and seeds of 
 the Grape are indigestible, and apt to occasion serious intestinal dis- 
 ease, and should therefore never be used. Dr. Cullen considers ripe 
 sweet Grapes, the safest and most nutritive of -all fruits. Grapes, wher 
 properly. dried, are denominated raisins, Uvoe Passce, of which thero 
 are several kinds known in commerce. The finest are the Spanish or 
 Malaga raisins, of which there are three kinds, Muscatels, Sun or Bloom 
 raisins, and the Lexia raisins. Corinthian raisins, or dried currants (Uvse 
 Passae minores), are obtained from a very small Grape called the Bkick 
 Corinth, and are produced at Zante, Patras, etc. Eaisins contain more 
 saccharine matter than fresh Grapes, as may be known by the saccha- 
 rine eflflorescenee which is often seen upon their surfaces, and which is 
 called Grape sugar, Ci, H^ Ou^lSO+lS. The juice of the ripe Grape 
 has been found to contain extractive. Grape sugar, gum, glutinous 
 matter, a little malic, tartaric, and citric acids, bitartrate of potassa, 
 supertartrate of lime, malate of lime, odorous matter, etc. 
 
 Properties and Uses, — In moderate quantities Wine operates as a 
 stimulant to the nervous an4 vascular systems, and the secreting or- 
 gans. It quickens the action of the heart and arteries, diffuses an 
 agreeable warmth over the body, promotes the different secretions, 
 communicates a feeling of increased muscular force, excites the mental 
 powers, and banishes unpleasant ideas. In a state of health, its use 
 can be in no way beneficial, but on the contrary, its habitual employ- 
 ment in many cases proves injurious by exhalisting the vital powers 
 and inducing disease. The actual amount of injury it may inflict will 
 of course vary with the quantity and quality of the Wine taken, and 
 according to the greater or less predisposition to disease which may 
 exist in the system. Maladies of the digestive organs, and of the cere- 
 bro-spinal system, gout, gravel, and dropsy, a,re those most likely to be 
 induced or aggravated by it. Intoxication in its varied forms is the 
 effect of excessive quantities of Wine. Wine, however, possesses a tonic 
 influence not observed after the use of ardent spirit, and differs from it, 
 likewise, in not inducing disease of the liver. Dr. McCuUoch observes, 
 " It is well known that diseases of the liver are the most common and 
 the most formidable of those produced by the use of ardent spirits ; it 
 is equally certain that no such disorders follow the intemperate use of 
 
VlTIS ViNIPERA. 869 
 
 pure Wine, however long indulged in. To the concealed and unwitting 
 consumption of spirit, therefore, as contained in the Wines commonly 
 drunk in this country, is to be attributed the excessive prevalence of 
 those hepatic affections which are comparatively little known to our 
 Continental neighbors." (The French.) 
 
 As a medicinal agent. Wine is employed principally as a cordial, stim- 
 ulant, and tonic ; some, however, possess acid and astringent proper- 
 ties. Wine is useful in low forms of fever to support the vital powers, 
 promote sleep, and relieve delirium and subsultus tendinum ; it; is also 
 useful as a stimulating tonic in convalescence from fevers, and from 
 various chronic diseases. It is often given with the best effects in 
 cases of extensive ulceration, copious suppuration, gangrene of the ex- 
 tremities, and after profuse hemorrhages, severe operations, or exten- 
 sive injuries. Whenever it causes dryness of the tongue, thirst, quick 
 pulse, restlessness or delirium, its use should immediately be dispensed 
 with, as well as in active inflammations. In tetanus, its free use has 
 at times produced an apparent alleviation of the disease. — T. The best 
 wines for practical use, are Port, Sherry, or Madeira, among the strong- 
 est Wines ; and among the weaker, Claret, Hock, Moselle, and Cham- 
 pagne. Tort is a red or dark-purple, somewhat astringent Wine, and 
 may be used as a stimulant tonic in cases of debility; it is apt, how- 
 ever, to cause constipation, and usually disagrees with weak stomachs. 
 Sherry is a dark yellowish-brown white Wine, having a pleasant and 
 peculiar flavor, and containing a very small amount of free acid ; it is 
 best adapted for gouty patients, and those disposed to acid stomach, or 
 uric acid deposits. Madeira is somewhat of the color of Sherry, is 
 feebly acid, and more stimulating than Sherry ; it is better adapted for 
 old persons and weak, broken down constitutions, and for invalids. 
 Teneriffe is similar to Madeira Wine, but less stimulating. Among the 
 weaker Wines, none are equal to the Claret or Bordeaux Wine ; this 
 Wine is acid, and slightly astringent, and is the least injurious among 
 the Wines. It may be used, as well as the Ehine and Moselle Wines, 
 where the urine deposits phosphates, in low fevers, etc., but should not 
 be used in gout, and uric acid deposits. Champagne is more apt to 
 cause headache than any other Wine, yet it is a good excitant and di- 
 uretic, useful in hypochondria, low stage of fevers, excessive debility, 
 and in excessive vomiting during pregnancy or at other times. Cataw- 
 ba Wines are rather acid, and may be used as a substitute for Madeira 
 and Claret. The dose of Wine varies from a teaspoonful to a wine- 
 glassful, to be repeated every one, two, or four hours, according to the 
 circumstances of the case ; it may be given alone, or mixed with water 
 and sweetened, and if not contra-indicated, some nutmeg may be grated 
 upon it. Wine may also be added to soups, gruels, milk, etc., and to 
 nutritive and stimulating enemas. Wine is sometimes employed in the 
 preparation of Medicated Wines, but from its liability to undergo de- 
 composition, it is much more objectionable as a solvent than diluted al- 
 cohol. — In obstinate cases of conjunctivitis, of one or two years' stand- 
 ing, apparently unyielding to all treatment, I have found permanent 
 cures to be rapidly effected by allowing the patient a free use of the 
 ripe Catawba Grape ; the children thus cured were of a strumous dis- 
 position. In some cases, it was astonishing to witness the rapidity 
 with which the cure progressed. 
 
 Raisins are used in medicine principally for imparting a flavor to 
 various infusions, decoctions, etc. When eaten freely they are apt to 
 cause flatulency aad other unpleasant symptoms, on account of their 
 
8,70 Materia Medioa. 
 
 difficult digestibility. An excellent, pure and sparkling Wine, equal to 
 any Champagne in this country, may be made as follows : Take twelve 
 pounds of good raisins, cut each raisin in two, and put them into a five- 
 gallon demijohn, nearly filled with clean soft water; let it stand un 
 corked for about fourteen days, then filter, bottle, and cork well. Upon 
 the residue, after the Wine is poured off, put as much water as before, 
 let it stand a sufficient time, and the result will be a good white Wine 
 
 XANTHOEEHIZA APIIPOLIA. 
 
 Tellowroot. — Gelhwurz. 
 Nat. Ord. — Eanunculacese. Sex. Syst. — Pentandria Polygynia. 
 
 THE ROOT. 
 
 Description. — This is a small, deciduous, indigenous shrub, one to 
 three feet in height, with a thick, horizontal deep yellow root, throw- 
 ing up numerous suckers. Stem short, woody, leafy above, with a 
 bright yellow bark and wood. Leaves pinnate, of about three pairs with 
 an odd one, glabrous, about eight inches long including the long petioles ; 
 they are two or three inches long, ovate or rhomboidal, sessile, incisely 
 lobed and dentate, sometimes divided almost to the base on one side, 
 pale green, smooth above, slightly pubescent beneath. Flowers small, 
 dull purplish-brown, in axillary, compound, drooping racemes, appear- 
 ing with the leaves. Calyx of five sepals, regular, spreading, decidu- 
 ous ;, corolla of five obovate, concave, two-lobed petals, smaller than the 
 sepals, raised on a claw. Ovaries from five to nine. Follicles or cap- 
 sules inflated, compressed, spreading, an inch and a half long, one- 
 celled, two-valved, opening at the apex ; seeds oval, flattened. — L. — ■ 
 W.—G. 
 
 History. — This plant is found along river banks in the mountains of 
 Pennsylvania to Florida, being chiefly confined to the mountains. It 
 is also found in some of the Western and South-Western States, flower- 
 ing in March and April. The root is the officinal part ; it varies in 
 length from four to twelve inches, is about six lines in diameter, is 
 bright yellow, and exceedingly bitter. Water extracts its virtues, and 
 sulphate of iron is not incompatible with its infusion. The bark of the 
 stem is equally as efficacious as the root. The Indians were well ac- 
 quainted with it as a dye ; it dyes silk a bright yellow, and wool a dark- 
 brown or dun color. Berberine exists in the root, to which its tonic 
 properties are undoubtedly due. 
 
 Properties and- Uses. — Yellowroot is a pure, bitter tonic ; considered 
 by the late professor Barton to be superior to Colombo. It may be 
 used for all purposes in which the other simple tonic bitters are appli- 
 cable. Dose of the powder one or two scruples, three times a day ; of 
 the decoction, one or two tablespoonfuls ; of the tincture, which is its 
 most eligible form, from one to three fluidrachms. It contains a bitter 
 resin, which would probably form an excellent tonic. 
 
Xanthoxyluji Fraxineum. 871 
 
 XANTHOXYLUM FEAXINEUM. 
 
 Prickly Ash. — Stachel JSsche. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Xanthoxy^acese. Sex. Syst. — Dioscia Pentandria. 
 
 THE BABK AND BEERIES. 
 
 Description. — This shrub is the JTanthoxylum Americanum of Miller, the 
 X FraxinifoUum of M^irshall, the X Ramiflorum of Miehaux, and the 
 X. Tricarjpum of Hooker, it is known by the various names of North- 
 ern Prickly Ash, Toothache-bush, Yellow-wood, etc. It is an indigenous 
 shrub, ten or twelve feet in height, with alternate branches, which are 
 armed with strong, conical, brown prickles, with a broad base, scat- 
 tered irregularly, though most frequently in pairs at the insertion of 
 the young branches. Leaves alternate and pinnate ; leaflets about five 
 pairs with an odd one, nearly sessile, ovate, acute, with slight vesicular 
 serratures, somewhat downy underneath ; common petiole round, usually 
 prickly on the back, sometimes unarmed. Flowers in small, dense, ses- 
 sile umbels, near the origin of the young branches; they are small, 
 greenish, dioecious or polygamous, appear before the leaves, and have 
 a somewhat aromatic odor. In the sterile flower the calyx is five leaved, 
 with oblong, obtuse, erect segments, five stamens with subulate fila- 
 ments, and sagittate, four-celled anthers ; the ovary is abortive. In the 
 hermaphrodite or perfect flower, the calyx and stamens are like the last, 
 ovaries three or four, pediceled, with erect, converging styles nearly as 
 long as the stamens. Fertile or female fliowers grow upon a separate 
 tree, are apetalous, with a smaller and more compressed eabyx, and five 
 pediceled ovaries, with styles converging into close contact at top, and a 
 little twisted ; stigmas obtuse. Each fertile flower is succeeded by as 
 many capsules as it had ovaries. Capsules stipitate, oval, covered with 
 excavated dots, varying from green to red, two-valved, one-seeded ; 
 seeds oval, blackish. — L.^W. — Cr. 
 
 History. — The Prickly Ash is a native of North America, growing 
 from Canada to Yirginia, and west to the Mississippi, in woods, thick- 
 ets, and river banks, flowering in April and May before the appearance 
 of the leaves. The whole plant contains medicinal virtues ; the fra- 
 grance of the fruit and leaves is due to a volatile oil which may be ex- 
 tracted by alcohol or other. Both the bark and fruit (berries) are oflS- 
 cinal. The bark met with in the market is in fragments of various 
 sizes, quilled, a line or two in thickness, with a light, ash-colored epi- 
 dermis, which is frequently removed, internally whitish and glossy ; 
 that from the small branches frequently exhibits the prickles. It is 
 faintly odorous, friable with an amylaceous fracture,, and has a slightly 
 aromatic taste succeeded by bitterness, and a persis'tent acridity. Its 
 powder is light-gray. It yields its properties to boiling water or alco- 
 hol. The fruit or berries, as met with in the shops, consists of an open, 
 bivalved, oval capsule, about three lines in length and two in diame- 
 ter, brownish and covered with excavated dots externally, whitish-yel- 
 low, and smooth internally, and usually with a portion of the stalk ap- 
 pended ; they inclose an oval, shining, blaok, wrinkled seed, which in the 
 dried state is hollow, and grayish-yellow, or light brownish-yellow in- 
 ternally, inodorous, very brittle, and having the peculiar taste of the 
 capsule in a very faint degree ; this seed is more often absent than 
 present in the capsule, from whose opening it escapes, and may be gen- 
 erally found separated from it, but mixed up with the mass. The 
 medicinal virtues of the fruit reside in the capsules, which have a faint 
 
872 Materia Medica. 
 
 ly aromatic, peculiar odor, and a warm, pungent, peculiar, aromatic, 
 and pleasaat taste, both of which properties are more energetic in the 
 recent than in the dried fruit. They depend upon a volatile oil for 
 their properties, which they yield to alcohol or ether. 
 
 Dr. Staples found the bark to contain fixed oil of a greenish color, vol- 
 atile oil, resin, coloring matter, gum, and a crystallizable matter which 
 he named Xanihoxyline, but which has subsequently been shown to be 
 the alkaloid berberin. 
 
 Mr. "W. S. Merrell has prepared an oil from the berries, which he calls 
 Oil of Xanthoxylum ; it is obtained by macerating the bruised berries 
 in alcohol or ether, filtering and evaporating. That made by the agency 
 of alcohol is the most turbid and probably contains resin and extractive. 
 It is of a dark -brown color, of a faint, peculiar odor, and of the taste 
 peculiar to the berries in a high degree of concentration, being aromatic, 
 and very warm and pungent. One pound of the berries yields about 
 four fluidounces of the oil ; and one fluidounce of this to thirty-two 
 fluidounces of alcohol makes a good strong tincture, equal to one made 
 by macerating two ounces of the berries in a pint of alcohol. 
 
 An ethereal oil has been made from the bark, by filtering its ethereal 
 tincture, and then evaporating or distilling off the ether. Four pounds 
 of the bark thus treated yield one pound of oil. The oil is dark green- 
 ish-black in bulk, yellowish -green in thin layers, very fluid, possessing 
 an odor of ether, and the peculiar taste of the bark in an eminent de- 
 gree. It is soluble in alcohol, ether, and alkaline solutions, and will 
 probably be found to possess the active principle of the bark in a con- 
 centrated form. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Prickly-Ash bark is a stimulant, tonic, altera- 
 tive, and sialagogue. Taken into the stomach it causes a feeling of 
 warmth, slightly accelerates the pulse, and determines to the skin causing 
 a gentle moisture. It is used as a stimulant in languid states of the sys- 
 tem, and as a sialagogue in paralysis of the tongue and mouth. It has 
 proved highly beneficial in chronic rheumatism, colic, syphilis, hepatic 
 derangements, and wherever a 'stimulating alterative treatment is re- 
 quired. Combined with equal parts of pulverized blueflag and mandrake, 
 it will bring on salivation, and is useful on this account in the treat- 
 ment of scrofulous, syphilitic and other diseases where thei-e is a want 
 of susceptibility to the influence of other alterative agents ; the mixture 
 must be given in small doses, and repeated at short intervals. Exter- 
 nally, it forms an excellent stimulating application to indolent and 
 malignant ulcers. Dose of the powder, from ten to thirty grains three 
 times a day. 
 
 Prickly-Ash Berries are stimulant, carminative, and antispasmodic, act- 
 ing especially on mucous tissues. Combined with pokeberries, in the 
 form of tincture, they are invaluable in chronic rheumatism, and ter- 
 tiary syphilis. The tincture is also useful in all nervous diseases, spasms 
 of the bowels, flatulency, and in diarrhea. In tympanitic distension of 
 the bowels, during peritoneal inflammation, it is a safe and superior 
 remedy, used internally as an injection ; half a fluidraohm to a flui- 
 drachra, internally, every hour or two in sweetened water — and half a 
 fluidounce of the tincture, with occasionally ten or twenty drops of 
 laudanum added, according to the symptoms, given by enema every 
 fifteen or thirty minutes. In Asiatic cholera,, it was extensively used 
 by many of the physicians of Cincinnati, and with great success; it 
 acted like electricity, so sudden was its influence over the system ; in- 
 deed, many patients likened its action to an electric shock, which seemed 
 
Zea Mays. 873 
 
 to diffuse itself ttiroughout the whole frame. It was administered in 
 teaspoonful doses, slightly diluted, and repeated, according to circum- 
 stances, every five, ten or fifteen minutes, with an injection, prepared as 
 above mentioned, which was given immediately after each discharge 
 from the bowels, and retained by the patient as long as possible. This 
 is one of our most valuable agents. The dose of the tincture of the 
 berries, as a carminative and antispasmodic, is from ten to thirty drops, 
 three or four times a day. Used by some, during the intermissions, as 
 a remedy in intermittent fever, which it is said to remove speedily. There 
 is a material •difference, in their influence on the system, between the 
 tincture of the bark, or that of the berries, which should always b'e had 
 in view. A patient with cholerine came very near losing life, in conse- 
 quence of using the tincture of the bark, instead of the berries, as pre- 
 scribed ; the druggist who filled the prescription supposed the proper- 
 ties of each were similar, and that they could be safely substituted the 
 one for the other The oil of Xanthoxylum may be used for the same 
 purpose as the berries, in doses of from two to ten drops in mucilage, 
 or on sugar; and its tincture, made according to the formula above, may 
 be administered in the same doses as the tincture of the berries. 
 
 The Aralia Spinosa is frequently but erroneously called by the name 
 of Southern Prickly -Ash ; it differs from the Xanthoxylum in its botan- 
 ical character, as well as in its medicinal virtues, and, according to Mr. 
 W. S. Merrell, the article supposed to be bark of Aralia Spinosa, 
 which was employed during the cholera, was not the A. Spinosa, but a 
 Xanthoxylum. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Enema Xanthoxyli ; Bxtractum Xanthoxyli Fluidum ; 
 Oleoresinae Xanthoxyli; Tinctura Laricis Composita; Tinctura Xan- 
 thoxyli. 
 
 ZEA MATS. (Tiirkischer Mays.) 
 
 Indian Corn. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Graminacese. Sex. Syst. — Monoecia Triandria. 
 
 THE rEUIT OR SEEDS. 
 
 Description. — Indian Corn is a monoecious, paniceous grass, annual^ 
 with a fibrous root, and an erect, leafy stem, channeled on one side, five 
 to ten, and in some varieties, fifteen to twenty feet high. Male flowers 
 terminal, racemose ; females axillary, densely spiked. Stamens three. 
 Ovary sessile, ovate. Style one, long, capillary. Stigma ciliated. Cary- 
 opsides roundish or reniform, arranged on a large cylindrical recepta- 
 cle, or rachis, popularly called the cob, generally in eight rows. The 
 ordinary color of the ripe grams or caryopsides is yellow ; but they are 
 frequently met with white, parti-colored, red, purple, or even black. — 
 W.—P. 
 
 History. — Corn is a native of the warm latitudes of America, and 
 its varieties are exceedingly numerous. It is extensively cultivated in 
 the United States, and also in various parts of the world, and is much 
 used in these countries as one of the principal articles of diet. It is very 
 nourishing and digestible, and is used in many forms in this country, 
 as bread, mush, puddings, cakes, etc. It is incapable of being made into 
 light or raised bread, on account of its small quantity of gluten. Boast- 
 ing-ears, or hot Corn, as it is called in this country, consists of the 
 young ears which are gathered just previous to becoming ripe and hard, 
 and boiled in water ; they forna an agreeable and nutritious food, but 
 
874 Materia Medioa. 
 
 should not be used by those disposed to looseness or other intestinal de- 
 rangements. According to Dr. Payen, Corn consists of starch, 67.55 
 parts; azotized matter, with a principle analogous to gluten, 12.50; 
 dextrine, glucose, or congenerous substances, 4; flitty matters, 8.80; 
 cellulose, 5.90 ; silica, phosphates of lime, magnesia, and soluble salts 
 of potassa and soda, 1.25. The starch from corn measures from .0010 
 of an English inch to .0001. About nine per cent, of a yellow oil has 
 been procured from Corn, which has been considerably used in lamps, 
 etc. According to Fresenius, it consists of carbon 79,68; hydrogen 
 11.53; and oxygen 8.79. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Corn-meal forms a very palatable and nutritious 
 gruel for the sick, and in the form of mush is an excellent diet for con- 
 valescents as well as a good emollient poultice for ulcers, swellings, 
 rheumatic pains, etc. An infusion of parched Corn is useful in allaying 
 the nausea and vomiting attendant upon many diseases. It may be 
 drank freely. For the parasitic fungus growing on Corn, Ustilago madis, 
 see Secale Gereale. 
 
 ZINCl CAEBONAS. (Kohlensaures Zinkoxyd.) 
 Carbonate of Zinc. Calamine — Galmei. 
 
 History.— There are two native ores of Zinc — one Zinpi Oarbonas Im- 
 purum of the Materia Medicas, known by the name of Galamine; the 
 other a silicate of the oxide of zinc called Electric Calamine. The 
 former is the one used in medicine ; it is found in various parts of Eu- 
 rope, and occurs crystallized, or in compact or earthy masses, presenting 
 a gray, yellow, or brown color, and having a specific gravity of 4.2 to 4.5. 
 
 Calamine, or Impure Carbonate of Zinc, before being employed in 
 medicine, is directed to be reduced to a powder, by first calcining it, 
 reducing it to a very fine powder, usually in mills, and then submit- 
 ting it to the process of elutriation. In this state it loses water and 
 more or less carbonic acid, and becomes rather an impure oxide of zinc. 
 It forms a grayish, yellowish, or pinkish powder, and is soluble in 
 nitric, sulphuric, or hydrochloric acids, with little or no effervescence ; 
 some of its impurities may, however, be insoluble. 
 
 Precipitated Carbonate of Zinc, Zinci Carbonas Prsecipitatus, is pre- 
 pared by dissolving sulphate of zinc, carbonate of soda, of, each, sepa- 
 rately, four ounces, in boiling water, one pi?nt; mix the solutions; 
 when a double decomposition ensues, sulphate of soda is formed in the 
 solution, and carbonate of zinc precipitated. The precipitate must be 
 washed with hot water, in order to remote all sulphate of soda. This 
 forms a Carbonate of Zinc, having the formula Zn O COj, and equiva- 
 lent weight 62.5. It forms a fine, white, tasteless powder, insoluble in 
 water, but soluble with effervescence in acids, and is sometimes errone- 
 ously called flowers of zinc. 
 
 The Lapis Caliminaris of commerce contains from 70 to 80 per cent 
 of sulphate of baryta, and is totally unfit for use where Carbonate of 
 Zinc is wanted. — F. Bringhurst, Am. Jour. Pharm., XXIX., 308. 
 
 Properties and CTses.— Prepared Calamine is used as a dusting pow- 
 der for children, and as a mild desiccant and astringent application in 
 chafings, intertrigo, excoriated nipples, ophthalmia tarsi, simple ulcera- 
 tions, etc. The precipitated Carbonate of Zinc is used for similar pur 
 poses. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Ceratum Calaminse. 
 
ZiNci Chloridum. 875 
 
 ZESrCI CHLOEIDUM. (Chlorzink.) 
 Chloride of Zinc. 
 
 Preparation. — This compound has also been known by the ni,mea 
 Muriate, Sydrochlorate, or Butter of Zina It is prepared according to' 
 the London Pharmacopseia as follows : Take of hydrochloric acid, one 
 pint, Imperial measure, and mix it with distilled water, two pints, Impe- 
 rial measure ; to this mixture add zinc, in small pieces, seven ounces. 
 When the effervescence has nearly ceased, apply heat, until bubbles are 
 no longer evolved. Pour off the liquor, strain it, and evaporate it until 
 the salt is dry. Melt this in a lightly-covered crucible by a nearly red 
 heat, and then pour it out on a flat and smooth stone. "V^hen coW break 
 in pieces, and keep in a well-stopped vessel. 
 
 History. — Zinc readily and completely dissolves in hydrochloric acid, 
 with formation of Chloride of Zinc and evolution of hydrogen gas. 
 Commercial zinc contains iron, but as this is unimportant in a medicinal 
 view, it has not been thought necessary in the above process to sepa- 
 rate it. Iron may, however, be removed, if desired, by sesquioxidizing 
 the iron by nitric acid, redissolving the salt, adding a small quantity 
 of chalk, or carbonate of soda, filtering after the precipitate has been 
 deposited, and evaporating to dryness, and it may be again fused as in 
 the above process. Thus, take of small fragments of zinc one troy ounce, 
 place it in glass vessel and gradually add to it sufficient hydrochloric 
 acid to dissolve it; strain the solution, add to it nitric acid twenty-four 
 grains, and evaporate to dryness. To the dried mass add water two 
 fluidounces, and when it is dissolved add chalk twenty four grains, and set 
 the mixture aside for 24 hours. Then filter; again evaporate to dry- 
 ness, fuse the dried mass, pour it ujwn a cold, flat stone^ and when 
 hard, break into fragments, and preserve in well-closed vessels. 
 
 Pure Chloride of Zinc is a white crystalline powder, odorless, and 
 of a pungent saline, nauseous, metallic taste; it rapidly deliquesces iu 
 the air; heated in a platinum spoon it fuses, yielding when cool a 
 grayish white mass ; if the heat is continued, thick white vapors are 
 given off. leaving finally a white mass, which while hot appears, 
 yellow, but on cooling quite white, or. with only a slight yellow 
 tinge. This residue is oxide of zinc with a trace of Chloride of Zinc, 
 which can not be removed by heat. The neutral Chloride of Zinc does 
 not volatilize as Buch, but separates into a volatile acid and a fixed 
 basic salt ; while a part becomes decomposed, chlorine is given off, and 
 the metal acquires oxygen. The salt is readily soluble in water, alco- 
 hol, and ether; the solutions have an acid reaction; if they contain 
 white flocculent matter, this is oxide of zinc, with a trace of chloride, 
 from heating too strongly. The aqueous solution with a little acetic 
 acid should give no violet color (iron) with tannic acid. Tannic acid 
 gives a dirty white precipitate of tannate of zinc in the pure solution 
 which is dissolved by acetic acid. A precipitate by chloride of barium 
 is due to sulphuric acid. If sulphuretted hydrogen is passed into the so- 
 lution acidified with hydrochloric acid, and causes a yellow precipitate 
 soluble in concentrated hydrochloric acid, cadmium is present : if it ap- 
 pears more or less brown, it is to be washed, digested with hydrosul- 
 phuret of ammonia, filtered, and the filtrate evaporated to dryness in 
 a J)latinum spoon and heated to drive off all the sulphur; a yellowish - 
 white powder remaining is tin in the 'form of a sulphuret, and which is 
 soluble iri hydrosulphuret of ammonia. — Witt. Chloride of Zinc dis- 
 solves copper, but not silver, and is used to separate mixed filings of 
 
876 Materia Medica. 
 
 these metals, and to restore the surface of plated copper which has 
 been heated, as in soldering. In this case the silver sinks into the cop- 
 per, and does not become visible until the outer surface of copper is. 
 dissolved off. A solution of Chloride of Zinc was patented by Sir 
 William Burnett to prevent dry rot in wood, and as a disinfectant and 
 antiseptic. The formula of Chloride of Zinc is Zn CI ; its equivalent 
 weight 68. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Large doses of Chloride of Zinc act as an irri- 
 tant poison, producing a burning sensation in the stomach, nausea,, 
 vomiting, anxiety, short breathing, small quick pulse, cold sweats, faint- 
 ing, and convulsions; in small doses it has been given in scrofula, 
 chorea, epilepsjf, and other nervous diseases. Its principal use is as an 
 external agent; from two to five grains dissolved in a fluidounce of 
 water maybe used as an application to syphilitic and scrofulous ulcers, 
 to the vaginal walls in leucorrhea, to the os uteri in ulceration, as an 
 urethral injection in gonorrhea and gleet, and to the eye in the relaxed 
 and congested condition of the arteries in inflammations of this organ. 
 Its local action on living tissues, when not diluted, is that of a caustic 
 or escharotic, depending partly on its affinity for albumen and gelatin, 
 with which it forms difficultly soluble compounds : so that when placed 
 in contact with living parts into whose composition these organic com- 
 pounds enter, the chloride exercising its affinity, destroys the life of the 
 part, unites with the albuminous and gelatinous matters present, de- 
 composes the carbonate and hydrosulphuret of ammonia found in the 
 secretion from malignant ulcerations, and forms a white eschar, which 
 separates in from ten to twelve days. Its action is accompanied with 
 a violent burning pain for several hours, or until it has destroyed the 
 parts. Beside corroding the parts with which it is in immediate con- 
 tact, it exercises an influence over the vital actions of neighboring 
 parts, and produces no constitutional symptoms from its absorption. 
 For cancers and malignant ulcers the following have been used : 1. 
 Take one part of Chloride of Zinc, and mix it with two, three or four 
 parts of flour, forming a paste with as little water as possible ; a 
 stronger preparation is made by mixing together two parts Chloride of 
 Zinc, and one part chloride of antimony, with flour in quantity pro- 
 portioned to the desired strength. — Dr. Ganquoin. This paste must be 
 continued after the removal of the eschar formed, until all the morbid 
 tissue has been removed. 2. Take of chloride of bromine three parts. 
 Chloride of Zinc two parts, chloride of antimony one part, chloride of 
 ' gold one part, powder of liquorice, sufficient to make into a paste. — 
 Landolfl. For manner of using see College Journal of Medical Science, 
 Cin., O., 1856,' p. 98, and Braithwaite' s Retrospect, part 33, 1856, p. 48. 
 A cauterizing paste used in the London hospitals, is composed of Chlo- 
 ride of Zinc twelve parts, chloride of antimony eight parts, pulverized 
 starch four parts, glycerin a sufficient quantity to form a paste. This 
 has been successful as a local application to cancer. When to be used 
 as an escharotic. Chloride of Zinc may bo formed into cylinders, which 
 will be much more manageable than the salt alone, \ij the following 
 plan of M. Sommie : — Soften gutta percha with boiling alcohol, then 
 incorporate it in a warm porcelain mortar with an equal portion of 
 Chloride ,of Zinc in a fine state of division. Then rapidly i-oll out the 
 mass on a porphyry slab in the manner of making pastilles, and form it 
 into cylinders of the size of a quill, and of various lengths ; keep these in 
 wide-mouthed bottles with a little powdered chalk. The dose inter- 
 nally, of Chloride of Zinc, is one or two gi-ains, dissolved in sufficient 
 
ZiNCI OXITDUM. 871 
 
 « ater. Veiy weak solutions of Chloride of Zinc, two to four grains 
 to the fluidounce of water, have been used successfully, by injections, 
 in obstinate gonorrhea, and gleet. Solutions of carbonate of soda, or 
 potassa, or of soap, may be freely given in cases of poisoning by Chlo- 
 ride of Zinc ; these change it into an insoluble carbonate. 
 
 ZINCI OXYDUM. (Zincoxyd.) 
 Oxide of Zinc. 
 
 Preparation. — When the precipitated carbonate of zinc is exposed to 
 a strong heat, it is deprived of its carbonic acid, and the oxide is left; 
 this is the plan now recommended by the U. S. and British Pharmaco- 
 poeias. Oxide of Zinc may also be prepared by combustion of the metal 
 in the air, washing the oxide with water, and elutriating to remove any 
 unburnt metallic particles. Zinc fuses far below a red heat, but instantly 
 becomes covered with a gray pellicle (suboxide) ; on removing this, the 
 zinc, at a red heat, breaks out into a bluish-white luminous flame, from 
 the energetic combination with the oxygen of the air, which should be 
 allowed freely to the fused metal ; in this way it gradually becomes oxi- 
 dized. Prepared thus it is sometimes called Flowers of Zinc. 
 
 History. — Pure Oxide of Zinc is a milk-white, tolerably light, odor- 
 less, and tasteless powder; it is not dissolved by water or alcohol. 
 Exposed for some time to the air, it attracts carbonic acid, and should 
 therefore be kept in well-olosed bottles. At a red heat it acquires, with- 
 out further change, a yellow color, which on cooling again disappears ; 
 at a stronger heat it fuses to a yellow glass. Heated on charcoal be- 
 fore the blowpipe, it is reduced and volatilizes completelj' ; a small 
 portion condensing forms a yellow ring on the cold charcoal, becoming 
 white on cooling. It is readily soluble in dilute sulphuric, nitric, or 
 hydrochloric acids, with effervescence, if carbonic acid be present. A 
 gray color indicates metallic particles. "Water digested with it should 
 yield, when filtered and evaporated, no residue; should any occur and 
 effervesce with dilute acids, it is carbonate of soda. If it effervesces with 
 dilute acids, it contains either carbonate of zinc, lime, or magnesia. To 
 determine if it is either of the latter, the nitric acid solution is super- 
 saturated with ammonia, precipitated with hydrosulphuret of ammonia, 
 filtered, the excess of hydrosulphuret of ammon ja driven off by boiling, 
 and oxalate of ammonia added, a precipitate is lime; after filtering this, 
 any precipitate caused by phosphate of ammonia is magnesia. If the 
 residue left by evaporating the water boiled on the Oxide of Zinc, gives, 
 when supersaturated with nitric acid, a white precipitate with nitrate 
 of baryta, sulphate of soda is present ; if the portion insoluble in water 
 when dissolved in nitric acid gives a white precipitate with nitrate of 
 baryta, it contains basic sulphate of zinc. If its nitric acid solution ac- 
 quires a red color with sulphocyanide of pdtassium, iron is present. 
 The formula of Oxide of Zinc is Zn 0; its equivalent weight 40.5. — 
 Witt. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Oxide of Zinc in large doses produces irritation, 
 vomiting, and sometimes purging. In small doses of from two to ten 
 grains, it has been used in epilepsy, chorea, catalepsy, pertussis, hysteria, 
 neuralgia, gastrodynia, etc., as a tonic, antispasmodic, and sedative. Long 
 used it acts as a slow poison, causing tabes sicca. It is seldom used inter- 
 nally, as its effects are very uncertain. Applied to ulcerated or other se- 
 creting surfaces, it acts as a desiccant and astringent, and has been found 
 
8'78 Materia Medica. 
 
 useful as an application to excoriations, cliaps and cracks of the nipples 
 simple ulcerations, ophthalmic and cutaneous affections, etc. In ecze- 
 ma, impetigo, and ophthalmia tarsi it has been found especially useful. 
 An impure Oxide of Zinc, known by the name of tutty, is occasionally 
 used for similar purposes, but it is inferior to the pure oxide. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Unguentum Zinci Oxidi ; TJnguentiim Zinci Oxidi Com • 
 positum. 
 
 ZINCI SULPHAS. (Schwefelsaures Zinkoxyd.) 
 Sulphate of Timc—Zinkvitriol. 
 
 Preparation. — Three parts of concentrated Sulphuric acid are mixed 
 with fifteen parts of water in a leaden vessel, and while still warm two 
 parts of commercial zinc, in small pieces, are added and allowed to 
 stand, with frequent agitation, for a few dayB;\ the vessel is then gently 
 warmed, until no further action is perceptible, then one-eighth the 
 weight of zinc already employed added, digested for a day, and filtered 
 while hot. The solution is diluted to thirty -two parts with water, and 
 two parts removed ; these are precipitated with carbonate of soda not 
 in great excess, and after washing, returned to the balance of the solu- 
 tion from which it was originally taken, and then chlorine gas is to be 
 passed in until the solution smells of it. (This course precipitates the 
 iron. The chlorine gas from f part of hydrochloric acid and -1^ part of 
 manganese, will be sufficient for two parts of zinc.) The solution-' of 
 Sulphate of Zinc thus obtained is evaporated in a porcelain dish, the 
 crystals dried on filtering-paper, at the ordinary temperature, and kept 
 in a cool place; the mother liquor is thrown away. Prom two parts 
 of zinc, eight parts of crystallized sulphate are obtained. — Witt. 
 
 The Edinburgh College observes that " This salt may be prepared 
 either by dissolving fragments of zinc in dilute sulphuric acid till a 
 neutral liquid be obtained, filtering the solution, and concentrating 
 sufficiently for it to crystallize on cooling-^-or, by repeatedly dissolving 
 and crystallizing the impure Sulphate of Zinc of commerce, untrl the 
 product, when dissolved in water, does not yield a black precipitate with 
 tincture of galls, and corresponds wilh the characters laid down for 
 Sulphate of Zinc in the list of the Materia Medica." 
 
 Concentrated sulphuric acid exerts little or no influence on metallic 
 zinc; but dilute sulphuric acid dissolves it readily. With evolution of 
 hydrogen from the decomposition of water, the oxygen of which unites 
 .with the metal, and the oxide thus formed combines with the sulphuric 
 acid and a certain portion of water, forming the sulphate, which may 
 be obtained in crystals by evaporation. If the sulphuric acid be added 
 at once to the zinc and water, instead of gradually, a violent efferves- 
 cence will take place, which may'occasion a loss of some of the fluid. 
 When carbon is chemically combined with the zinc, a disagreeable 
 smelling gas is evolved, carburetted hydrogen CH2. If sulphur or 
 arsenic is present, they are given off at tbe same time. The White 
 Vitriol of commerce is an impure Sulphate of Zinc; it is prepared by 
 roasting the native sulphuret of zine, or zinc-blende of mineralogists, in 
 a reverberatory furnace, then exposing it to the air in a moist state 
 until the sulphuret is converted by oxidation of its sulphur and metal 
 into the sul^jhate; this is lixiviated, and the solution, concentrated by 
 evaporation, is poured into molds, where it concretes into cakes like 
 loaf sugar. In this state it contains many impurities, as copper, lead, 
 cadmium, and especially iron, in the form of sulphates; and from which 
 
ZiNCi SiTLniAs. 879 
 
 d may be purified by roasting, dissolving, and crystallizing it, and 
 more thoroughly by dissolving it, immersing metallic zinc in the solu- 
 tion so as to displace the other metals, and then obtaining crystals by 
 evaporation. A little iron is commonly left behiiid. Oxide of zinc 
 added to the solution of white vitriol and boiled, will precipitate the 
 iron as well as the other foreign metallic sulphates, by combining with 
 their sulphuric acid. 
 
 History. — Pure Sulphate of Zinc forms colorless, right- rhombic prisms ; 
 it is odqrless, and has a sharp, saline, bitter, astringent, nauseous taste. 
 It slightly effloresces on exposure to the air. Heated, it fuses, loses 
 water, again becomes dry, and at a r^d heat gradually loses all its acid, 
 leaving pure oxide of zinc as a residue. It dissolves in two and one- 
 third parts of cold, and in less than equal parts of boiling water ; its 
 solution reacts acid ; ' alcohol does not dissolve it. Its watery solution 
 is precipitated white by the alkalies or their carbonates, oxide or car- 
 bonate of zinc being thrown down ; and either precipitate is soluble in 
 an excess of the alkali. Of course, if iron be present, which is gener- 
 ally the case, it is not dissolved again. The solution will be colored 
 blue by ammonia when copper is the impurity; but if it be iron, the 
 ferrocyanide of potassium will render it bluish-white. Either of these 
 reagents produce a white precipitate with a solution of pure Sulphate 
 of Zinc. Sulphuretted hydrogen gas throws down a white sulp buret 
 of zinc. Sulphate of Zinc has the formula Zn SO3, and equivalent 
 weight 80.5. The crystals have the formula Zn O SOs-|- 7 HO, and the 
 equivalent 143.3. It is incompatible with ammonia, soda, potassa, and 
 their carbonates, milk, mucilages, lime-water, vegetable astriijgent infu- 
 sions, hydrosulphurets, acetate of lead, etc. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In large doses Sulphate of Zinc is an irritant 
 poison, causing vomiting, purging, coldness of the extremities, flutter- 
 ing pulse, and great depression; but seldom occasions death. In doses 
 of from half a scruple to half a drachm it occasions prompt vomiting, 
 and on this account, as well as for the absence of that distressing nau- 
 sea which usually follows other emetics, it is generally used to dislodge 
 poisons from the stomach ; its promptness and want of nausea, prevents 
 any great degree of absorption of the poison to be removed. In doses 
 of from one to five grains it is reputed tonic, astringent, and antispas- 
 modic, and has been used in dyspepsia, chronic dysentery and diarrhea, 
 chronic bronchial affections with profuse secretions, gleet, leucorrhea, 
 intermittent fever, chorea, hysteria, epilepsy, spasmodic asthma, whoop- 
 ing-cough, etc. Like chloride of zinc, it has a great affinity for albu- 
 men and fibrin. By quite a large class of practitioners its internal use 
 is entirely dispensed with for other agents of a more desirable character. 
 Used in solution varying from one to six or eight grains of the salt to 
 a fluidounce of water, it has proved beneficial as a coUyrium in chronic 
 ophthalmia, as an injection in chronic gonorrhea,. gleet, and leucorrhea, 
 as a gargle in ulceration of the throat, and relaxed uvula, and as a wash 
 for ulcers attended with profuse discharge, or with loose flabby granu- 
 lations. Applied to gangrenous or mortified parts, the powdered 
 Sulphate of Zinc corrects the fetor, and arrests further decomposition ; 
 it should be applied over the atfected part, and then be covered with 
 flour paste, or an elm poultice. Used in this manner it is also useful in 
 malignant ulcerations, to check hemorrhages, etc. Combined with 
 powdered blood-root, it has been successfully used in nasal polypi, and 
 also in phagedenic chancres. Sulphate of Zinc was the secret remedy 
 of a eancer-doctor of this city, who at one time acquired some consider 
 
880 Materia Medica. 
 
 able notoriety by means of puffing, advertising, etc. ; I was strongly in 
 hopes he really had a remedy for this distressing disease, cancer, but 
 found that after having been treated by him and pronounced cured, the 
 disease usually returned in from one to three years, eventually destroy- 
 ing the patient. 
 
 Anhydrous Sulphate of Zinc, in the form of powder or paste, has been 
 successfully employed as a local application, in lupus, condylomata, 
 warts, ulcers of the cervix uteri, callous ulcers, fistula in ano, vascular 
 tumor in the meatus urinarius of females, etc. It is very painful, but 
 acts promptly and efficaciously. The powder should be impalpable, 
 and the paste may be made by adding a sufficient quantity of glycerin 
 to it. 
 
 In cases where large doses of Sulphate of Zinc have been swallowed, 
 the vomiting usually prevents any dangerous effects; any inflammation 
 or irritation, however, that may be produced, should be met with mu- 
 cilaginous drinks, opiates, etc., and be treated upon general principles 
 
 Off. Prep. — Lotio Hydrastis Composita ; Lotio Myrrhse Composita , 
 Lotio Sodii Composita ; Lotio Zinci Composita ; Unguentum Zinci 
 Sulphatis ; Unguentum Zinci Compositum. / 
 
 ZINGIBEE OPFICIJSrALB. (Aechter Ingwer.) 
 
 Ginger. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Zingiberacese. Sex. /Si/st— Monandria Monogynia. 
 
 I ■ THE RHIZOMA. 
 
 Description. — The Ginger plant has a biennial, tuberous root'ov rhi-' 
 zoma ; stems erect, oblique, round, annual, invested by the smooth 
 «heaths of the leaves, two or three feet in height. Leaves subsessile, on 
 long sheaths, alternate, lanceolate, linear, acute, smooth above and 
 nearly so beneath, bifarious, four to six inches long by an inch broad , 
 sheaths smooth, crowned with a bifid ligula. Scapes radical, solitary, a 
 little removed from the stems, six to twelve inches high, enveloped in 
 a few obtuse sheaths, the uppermost of which end in tolerably long 
 leaves, and terminate in oblong spikes, about the size of the thumb. 
 Eocterior bracts imbricated, one-flowered, obovate, smooth, membranous 
 at the edge, faintly striated lengthwise; interior enveloping the ovary, 
 calyx, and the greater part of the tube of the corolla. Mowers small, 
 of a dingy-yellow color. Calyx tubular, opening on one side, three- 
 toothed ; corolla with a double limb, outer of three, nearly equal, ob- 
 long segments ; inner a three-lobed lip, of a dark purple color. Sterile 
 stamens subulate ; filament short. Anther oblong, double, crowned with 
 a long, curved, tapering, grooved horn. Ovary oval, three-celled, with 
 many ovules in each ; style filiform ; stigma funnel-shaped, eiliate, 
 lodged just under the apex of the horn of the anther. — L. 
 
 History. — The native country of Ginger is unknown, though sup- 
 posed to be Asia. It is cultivated in the tropical regions of Asia and 
 America, and also at Sierra Leone. The flowers and stalks have a 
 fragrant odor, which is especially developed when they are rubbed or 
 bruised. The fresh root is perennial, firm, knotted, of a compressed 
 roundish form, beset with transverse rugae, covered with ash-colored 
 bark, partly of a purplish tinge, and sends off many long fibers and 
 offsets. The internal substance of the younger roots is softish, fleshy, 
 and greenish ; of the older it is compact, fibrous, whitish, and wheii 
 
Zingiber OrriciNALB. 881 
 
 powdered has a yellowish appearance. — T. The root forms the Ginger 
 of commerce, and is gathered from December to March, or soon after 
 the decay of the stalks. Green Ginger is sometimes imported froai 
 Jamaica ; it consists of soft and juicy rhizomas with buds, which hiive 
 merely been washed after collection. The young annual shoots, when 
 washed, scraped, peeled, and put in jars with syrup, form Preserved 
 Gringer, of which Jamaica furnishes the finest kind. The rhizomes, dug 
 up; washed, and scraped, and then dried in the sun and open air, were 
 formerly termed White Gringer. When picked, cleaned, scalded gradu- 
 ally lU boiling water, and then dried in the sun, they form the Black 
 Ginger of commerce. There are several kinds of Ginger, all of which, 
 however, possess similar properties. The more common varieties are 
 the White Ginger from Jamaica, and the ordinary Black Gringer from 
 the East Indies. The first has its epidermis removed, and is hence 
 said to be uncoated, and is usually of a pale yellowish color; the second 
 retains its coat or epidermis, which is wrinkled and of a dark-gray 
 color. They are both fibrous and amylaceous in texture, yet also 
 somewhat resinous in fracture near the surface. A transverse section 
 of the larger and more perfect pieces shows ■an outer, horny, resinous- 
 looking zone, surrounding a farinaceous center, which has a speckled 
 appearance from the cut extremities of the fibers and ducts. The odor 
 of Ginger is peculiar, pungent, and aromatic, and its taste peculiar, 
 powerful, aromatic, and burning, but not disagfeeable or nauseous 
 when very small pieces are chewed. Age, and especiallj'' exposure, 
 impair these active properties. Water, proof-spirit, and alcohol take 
 lip the virtues of Ginger. The best Ginger is that wliich cuts pale, but 
 bright ; its quality, however, must be judged by its color, odor, taste, 
 heaviness, and freedom from perforations by insects. Morin analyzed 
 Ginger in 1823, and found its. composition to be volatile oil, acrid soft 
 resin, resin insoluble in ether and oils, gum, starch, lignin, vegeto- 
 animal matter, osmazome, acetic acid, acetate of potassa, sijlphur ; the 
 ashes contained carbonate, sulphate, and muriate -of potassa, phosphate 
 of lime, alumina, silica, iron, and manganese. — P. 
 
 The Oil of Ginger may be obtained by distilling Ginger with water. 
 It is pale yellow, very fluid, of sp. gr. 0.893, boils at 475° P., has the 
 odor of Ginger, a mild taste, succeeded by hot acridity. It is composed 
 of carbon and hydrogen, with water, and belongs to the same class of 
 essential oils as the coriander oil; while Ginger belongs to the cam- 
 phene group of aromatics. — Papousck. The root is probably indebted 
 to this oil for its flavor. 
 
 The soft resin, to which the pungency of the root is due, may be ob- 
 tained by digesting the alcoholic extract of Ginger first in water, then 
 in ether, and evaporating the ethereal tincture. The residual resin is 
 yellowish-brown, soft, combustible, aromatic in odor, and of a burning 
 aromatic taste. It is soluble in alcohol, ether, oil of turpentine, and 
 hot almond-oil. — P. 
 
 Properties and C/ises.— Ginger is stimulant, rubefacient, errhine, and 
 sialagogue. When chewed it occasions an increased flow of saliva, and 
 when swallowed it acts as a stimulating tonic, stomachic, and carmina- 
 tive, increasing the secretion of gastric juice, exalting the excitability 
 of the alimentary muscular system, and dispelling gases accumulated 
 in the stomach and bowels. It is much used to disguise other drugs, 
 concealing their nausea, or preventing their tendency to cause tormina. 
 When taken into the nostrils, it causes severe sneezing. It has been 
 used in combination with astringents or other agents, in diarrhea and 
 
882 Materia JVLedioa. 
 
 dysentery ; prepared with rhubarb, in the form of cordial or syrup 
 few articles are more valuable in cholera morbus, and cholera infantum. 
 It is eminently useful in habitual flatulency, dyspepsia, hysteria, and 
 enfeebled and relaxed habits, especially of old and gouty individuals ; 
 and is excellent to relieve nausea, pains and cramps in the stomach, 
 and bowels, and to obviate tenesmus. Combined with black-willow 
 bark, it forms an excellent poultice for indolent ulcers ; and has been 
 used as a sialagogue to relieve paralytic affections of the tongue, tooth- 
 ache, and relaxed uvula. Ginger in powder formed into a plaster with 
 warm water; and applied on paper or cloth to the forehead, has re- 
 lieved violent headache. Cakes made of Ginger and molasses, with 
 flour, etc., are very beneficial to the stomach, when eaten in modera- 
 tion. Dose of Ginger, in powder, from ten to thirty grains ; of the in- 
 fusion, prepared by adding half an ounce of the powdered or bruised 
 root to a pint of boiling water, one or two fluidounces. A large quan- 
 tity of Ginger taken internally might produce serious effects. 
 
 A good Ginger wine may be made by boiling half a pound of the 
 best Ginger, bruised, in six gallons of water, for half an hour, and then 
 filtering the decoction. Place the decoction in a demijohn, and add to 
 it six pounds of raisins, cut in two, and the thin rinds of five lemons. 
 Let this stand until vinous fermentation has ensued, then filter, add 
 one pint of French brandy, and an ounce and a half of good isinglass 
 previously dissolved in some of the wine. Place this in a strong ves- 
 sel, cork it well and securely, and keep it for six months in a cool cel- 
 lar (the longer the better), then carefully remove the wine from any 
 sediment which may ensue, and bottle it for use. It improves by age. 
 
 A good Ginger beer may be prepared as follows : Take of White 
 Sugar two pounds, Lemon juice or Cream of Tartar fourteen drachms. 
 Honey twelve and a half drachms. Bruised Ginger thirteen drachms. 
 Water two gallons. Boil the Ginger in two pints of the water for half 
 an hour ; p.dd the sugar, lemon juice, and honey, with the remainder 
 of the water, and strain ; when cold, add the white of an egg, and 
 twenty-four minims of essence of lemon ; let it stand for four days, and 
 then bottle. Ethereal Eoctract of Ginger is made by placing Ginger four 
 ounces in Ether six ounces, in a displacement apparatus ; evaporate 
 the percolate by means of a water-bath ; one part of this is equivalent 
 to sixteen parts of Ginger. 
 
 A preparation called Qingerine may be prepared by adding a solution 
 of salt to a strong essence of Ginger ; or by carefully distilling off the 
 spirit from the essence of Ginger. 
 
 Off. Frep. — Acidum Sulphuricum Aromaticum ; Infusum Zingiberis j 
 Pulvis Asclepise Compositus ; Pulvis Jalapse Compositus ; Syrupus 
 Zingiberis; Tinctura Zingiberis. 
 
 HTDEATE OP CHLOEAL.* (Chlorine Alcohol.) 
 
 Mstory.— Chloral was discovered by Liebig, in 1830, being a chlorine 
 alcohol, having its name abbreviated, similar to that of aldehyd,— 
 cAtor(ine) a/(cohol). Many long names have been given to it by chem- 
 
 * since the preceding portion of the work was In type. Chloral has been under investiga- 
 tion by the physicians of this country, having been recently Introduced to the profession as 
 a hypnotic and auffisth etio by Prof. Oscar Liebreich, of Berlin ; I have therefore Tseen obliged 
 to give It aplace In this part of the work. For the remarks concerning It, I am chiefly In- 
 debted to Dr. A. Jacobi, Medical Record, 1869, p. 433, Prof. Chas. A. Joy, Xm. Jowr. Pharm., 
 1870, p. 73, and to the parties whose names appear in the article.— .H". 
 
Hydrate op Chloral. 883 
 
 ists, as, aldehyde of trichloretted acetic acid, trichloraldehyd,trichlor- 
 methylhydrocarbonoxyd, trichloracetyloxydhydrat, but which are not 
 likely to be adopted by medical men. It is the final product of the 
 action of dry chlorine through pure anhydrous alcohol for many hours; 
 the process as heretofore pursued is long, tedious, and expensive, and 
 not at all likely to be pursued should its therapeutic advantages create 
 a demand for it. Experiments are already being instituted by many 
 chemists, for the purpose of discovering a more easy and less expensive 
 process for its manufacture. 
 
 Chloral is a thin, limpid, oily fluid, having a somewhat fatty taste, and 
 a strong, caustic, penetrating odor occasioning 'lachrymation. It has 
 the specific gravity 1.502, boils at 203° F., and can be distilled unchanged. 
 It gradually becomes thicker, and occasionally charges into an insolu- 
 ble modificBtion with development of heat ; this' modification presents 
 a porcelain-like mass termed metachloral, which, though isomeric with 
 the fluid Chloral, is insoluble in water, alcohol, or ether, but which is 
 reconverted into Chloral by distillation ; contact with water gradually 
 changes it into the crystallized Hydrate, of Chloral. It mixes in all 
 proportions with water, ether, or alcohol ; and dissolves sulphur, phos^- 
 phorus, bromine, and iodine. The aqueous solution of Chloral has no 
 action upon vegetable colors ; oxides of silver or mercury do not affect 
 it ; concentrated sulphuric acid deprives it of water and separates the 
 anhydrous crystals. Solution of caustic potassa or of caustic soda, de- 
 composes Chloral with production of chloroform and formiate of po- 
 tassa, or soda, and it is, probably, to this decomposition of Chloral in 
 the alkaline fluids of the body, gradually producing chloroform, that 
 its influence upon the system is due. Its formula is G^ CI3 OH. 
 
 When Chloral is mixed with water, heat is developed, and/ in a short 
 time it crystallizes in star-shaped needles of Hydrate of Chloral, Cj CI3 
 OH-f-Hj O. These needles when melted form a white, solid, crystalline 
 mass, soluble in water, presenting a slight opalescence upon keeping, 
 having a peculiar, melon -like, somewhat pungent odor, and which when 
 treated with sulphuric acid forms a colorless oily layer, eventually be- 
 coming a solid mass. Its aqueous solution is neutral, gives no change 
 upon the addition of nitrate of silver, becomes milky upon the addition 
 of an alkaline solution, but eventually gets clear again, and yields some 
 chloroform at the bottom of the test tube. If hydrochloric acid be 
 present in the aqueous solution, a slight addition of ammonia will prove 
 a corrective. For therapeutical purposes Hydrate of Chloral must be 
 strictly pure, as impurities are by no means rare, and which occasion 
 irritating and even serious effects ; it must form a hard, white, crystal- 
 line mass, be completely soluble in water, not smell of chloride of car- 
 bon or hydrochloric acid, but retain the peculiar penetrating odor of 
 Chloral. It would be dangerous to employ Hydrate of Chloral con- 
 taminated by chlorous acetylene, chloride of carbon, and other inciden- 
 tal products, and hence great care must be observed in its preparation. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^Prof. Liebreich* at first experimented upon 
 frogs and rabbits, and then upon human subjects, using it internally 
 and by subcutaneous injections. M. Demarguay, who experimented 
 
 •' The following is the explanation given by Prof. Liebrelch as to the cause of his researcli 
 with this article. In a paper presented to the Chemical Society of Berlin, May 24th, 1869 : 
 " There are some substances which pass through the body without decomposition and with- 
 out exercising any appreciable influence on the even tenor of our life ; there are others 
 which go to build up and nourish ; others take up something from the body by chemical 
 decomposition and then leave It ; some are useful, such as acetic acid and sugar. I experi- 
 mented recently to ascertain if, by the splitting up of certain compounds In the body, the 
 separated compound would exert the same influence it would if administered alone. 
 
884 Materia Medica. 
 
 with it, in a communication to the Academy of France, observed, that 
 it produces a well-marked soporific effect upon weak patients, the dura- 
 tion of which effect is in proportion to the debility of the patient ; that 
 the sleep induced by it is calm, being disturbed only in patients suffer- 
 ing from acute pains ; and that it may be given in doses of from one 
 to five grammes (fifteen to seventy-seven grains). He states that the 
 breath of the person smells of it. He does not believe with Prof. 
 Liebreich that it is decomposed into chloroform and formiate salt in the 
 blood, but agrees that it is the most rapid of all known soporifics. Dr. 
 B. W. Eichardson of, London, who has also experimented with this 
 agent, sums up its effects as follows (Med. Times and Gaz., Sept. 4, 1869) ; 
 Hydrate of Chloral can safely produce deep and prolonged narcot- 
 ism ; during a portion of the period of this narcotism, there may 
 be complete anaesthesia with absence of reflex actions', and a con- 
 dition in which every kind of operation fails to call forth consciousness, 
 there are also intervals of apparent exalted sensibility, and during the 
 narcotism there is invariably a reduction of temperature ; in the tfan- 
 sition from drowsiness to stupor there is no stage of muscular excite- 
 ment, but in birds, vomiting ; it produces muscular relaxation, which 
 extends to the muscles of volition, to the iris, and to the muscular arte- 
 rial system, and, from the condition of the musctes after death we may 
 infer that this paralysis is in part dale to change within the muscular 
 structure itself; its action on the nervous system is primarily on the 
 sympathetic ganglia, afterward on the cerebrum, and, lastly, on the 
 heart; when recovery takes platce it is followed by no bad results; in 
 fatal cases the functions destroyed are, 1. the cerebral ; 2. the voluntary 
 muscular; 3. the respiratory; 4. the heart; in small proportions it 
 somewhat* arrests the coagulation of the blood ; in large quantities it 
 stops the process of coagulation altogether, destroys the blood corpuiscles 
 and produces general destnaction of blood, b-at the dose required to 
 produce extreme narcotism need not be so large as to lesad to serioxis 
 derangement of the blood ; its phepomena correspond as far as observed 
 with those from ohloroforin, and the balance of evidence is that they are 
 the result of the action of chloroform. 
 
 Dr. Wm. A. Hammond (Med. BecGrd, N. Y., 1870, p. 499), from some 
 careful observations, in ntimerous experiments made by himself, believes 
 he has clearly demonstrated,-^^l. that pretty fel-ge doses of t)he Ohloral 
 Hydrate produce at first congestion of the brain, probably from vaso- 
 niotor paralysis accompanied by functional exaltation ; 2. that this 
 .stage is soon followed by one of cerebral anemia (perhaps from cardiac 
 and cerebro-spinal paralysis), with the resultant drowsiness deepening 
 into pi-ofound sleep ; 3. that small doses produce only the congestion 
 and excitement, with no subsequent hypnotic effect. He is satisfied 
 that it is a remedy of rear value in many nervous diseases. M. Bouchu't 
 (L' Union Medicale, Nov. 13, 1869) considers Hydrate pf Chloral a power- 
 ful sedative of the motor and sensitive nervous system, the doses of 
 which should not exceed five grammes (seventy-seven grains) for'adults, 
 and two grammes (thirty -one g'rains) for children. Its effects are more 
 prompt when given by rectum than by mouth, and, when injected sub- 
 
 Tilohloraoetlc aelfl of Domas andCKlOral of Lieblg ajipeared to be the most fa-vorable for 
 expelriinent., It Is 'known that these bodies when brought In contact with alkaJine solu- 
 tions Split upliito chloroform, and'formlates and carbohates df the alkalies. Both of these 
 jsubstauces being soluble in WBlter are easily absorbed ; after they have passed into the 
 circulation they Coine in contact with the alkali of the blood. My experiments proved 
 that the fortnic and carbonic acids had no particular eftect, while the Chloroform exerted 
 its full influence." 
 
Hydrate of Chloral. 885 
 
 cutaneously, it occasions formidable eschars. When the agent is pure, 
 and in the state of solid hydrate its results (most calm hypnotism and 
 almost absolute insensibility) are rapid, manifest, and energetic, its 
 action lasting longer than wheji chloroform is employed. 
 
 Dr. Jules Worms, after a series of experiments, concludes that Hj - 
 drato of Chloral dissolved in ten parts of water can be drank without 
 any. inconvenience to the amount of ten grammes (154 grains); the 
 effect is felt with one and a half or two grammes (twenty -three or thirty 
 grains), but there are some obstinate cases which require a dose of two 
 or three grammes; in about ten or fifteen minutes after the digestion 
 of the Hydrate, a calm, often profound sleep, occurs without any modi- 
 fication in the temperature of the body, in the regularity of the pulse 
 or of the respiration, and which continues for seven or eight hours, and 
 the awaking from which is not accompanied by headache, nausea, tor- 
 por or other disagreeable sensations. 
 
 The cases in which Hydrate of Chloral has been recommended, are 
 sleeplessness and excitement where opium or other narcotics are objec- 
 tionable, as, in acute mania, delirium-tremens, hysteria, etc., to relieve 
 pain in neuralgia, cancer, rheumatism, painful disease of joints, and in 
 painful minor surgical operations ; to reduce the animal heat in fe.vers, 
 and especially those following surgical operations ; to produce extreme 
 muscular relaxation in medical and surgical cases, where'' it is required 
 to overcome resistance or spasm ; in tetanus, passage of biliary calculi, 
 it likewise dissolves these calculi, strangulated hernia, reduction of dis- 
 locations or fractures, etc. It has also been successfully used in severe 
 sea-sickness, vesical catarrh, metritis, consumptive cough, epilepsy, cho- 
 rea, puerperal peritonitis, phlegmasia dolens, gastralgia, enteralgia, jier- 
 tussis nervous asthma, laryngospasraus, etc. According to Dr. A. JacobiJ 
 its use is contra-indicated in gastric ulcerations, as the remedy is slightly 
 caustic, and in catarrhal or ulcerative affections of the larynx, in which 
 cases it produces pain and cough. The dose varies from five to ten 
 grains as a hypnotic, which in severe cases may be increased to twenty 
 or thirty grains. Leibreich recommends seven grains as the dose for 
 children j'for adults from twenty -five to thirty grains, where short in- 
 tervals of sleep are required, and repeated every two or three hours, 
 and in cases where more determinative effects are demanded at once, 
 from 60 to 120 grains at once. As a rule it is better to prescribe mod»- 
 erate and frequently-repeated doses rather than one large dose. The 
 only mode of its administration is in distillediwater, being well diluted, 
 one part of the Hydrate to fifty of water. When the dose is large, its 
 bitter, pungent taste may be correted by the addition of some syrup, 
 tincture of orange, or by giving it in mucilage. Alkaline additions to 
 it must be avoided, and the chemical constituents of the food taken 
 before or after its administration should be taken into consideration. 
 
PAKT n. 
 
 PHAEMACY. 
 
 COLLECTION AND PEESBEVATION OF PLANTS. 
 
 It is of vital importance to the practitioner that the agents which he 
 employs in practice be as perfect in their character as circumstances 
 will admit; for, no matter how excellent a remedy may be when prop- 
 erly prepared, an inattention to the requisites demanded for its purity 
 and excellence may prove very serious in its results.* The custom 
 pursued by some apothecaries of retaining on hand an old and inert 
 stock of medicine, and palming it off upon the physician or his patient 
 as genuine, is, very reprehensible, and can not be too severely discoun- 
 tenanced, and we are glad that this practice is confined to but very few. 
 It is the positive duty of the apothecary to furnish himself with good 
 articles of medicine, to take especial care in preserving them, that they 
 do not become soiled o-r otherwise injured, to prepare them, when called 
 for, in a neat, scientific, and expeditious method, and to dispense them 
 strictly according to the physician's prescriptions, without using his 
 own judgment in the matter, or substituting other agents for those 
 which may not be in his store, because, it is not to be expected that he 
 should know the indications which the practitioner desires to fulfill, 
 nor the especial object in view which originated the prescription. One 
 exception, perhaps, may be made, in which the -agents are of a dele- 
 terious or poisonous character, when, should the apothecary consider, 
 from the quantity of the article, or its dose, if that can be ascertained, 
 
 * " In ordinary transactions, the manufacturer who does not act or hold himself as phar- 
 maceutist, and who sells his products by wholesale, is not obliged to deliver them in a 
 state of absolute purity (unless he has so advertised), it suffices if in this respect he fol- 
 lows the usages of commerce. But with the pharmaceutist it is entirely diiferenl, his 
 name is attached to the label accompanying each medicine, which ia his testimony certi- 
 fying that the medicine conforms to the prescription, and that it lias been prepared from 
 articles having the degree of purity required by the exigencies of his profession. It is then, 
 at the same time, a conscientious duty and an Indispensable precaution for his own secur- 
 ity, that he submits the substances furnished to him by manufacturers or by commerce, 
 to a very close examination, and, if necessary to a previous purification before making 
 use of them, then only can he accept the responsibility of allowing them to pass under 
 the sanction of his name. On this account, to be properly aecomplished , requires on the 
 part of the pharmaceutist a great experience in chemical analyses and experiments, and 
 a thorough knowledge of all studies bearing upon these applications. His occupation is 
 one of the greatest responsibility, imposing upon him a constant vigilance and supervi- 
 sion ; he must perfectly know the medicines he employs, he must superiutend their prep- 
 aration, and be able at any time to rectify any fault that may be connected with them. ' 
 
 (887) 
 
888 Pharmacy. 
 
 that a mistake or oversight may have occurred, it is then his duty not 
 to alter or modify the prescription, but to send it back to the physician, 
 or present it himself in person, that it may be examined and corrected. 
 As by far the greater number of agents used in American practice are 
 derived from the vegetable kingdom, an attention to the following ob- 
 servations "^i\i, as a general rule, insure pure and active medicines. 
 
 All medicinal plants, with but a few exceptions, have their active 
 qualities more or less impaired by long keeping; the more recent they 
 are, the better will they be adapted to therapeutical indications, hence, 
 the pharmaceutist should, as a general rule, reject the supply of the 
 previous year, and provide himself with fresh, agents ; with our indig- 
 enous remedies this is more especially necessary, as these can be, and 
 should be freshly collected every year. Plants should be gathered at a 
 proper period, according to the portion designed for use, and which is 
 generally recognized as being at the time when the natttral juices of 
 such part exist in it more copiously. Great attention should be be- 
 stowed upon this matter, as the reputation of an agent depends entire- 
 ly upon its careful collection and preservation ; thus many of our most 
 active agents possess but little medicinal powers when young, and are 
 at this early period often eaten without danger as greens, among which 
 may be named the young shoots of poke, asclepias, dandelion, etc. Soil, 
 climate, and cultivation exert a remarkable influence on the properties 
 of plants, and, with the exception of the Labiatse, whose aroma becomes 
 much improved by cultivation, nearly all other plants become deteri- 
 orated and useless as medicines when reared under the hand of the cul- 
 tivator. Plants found in their places of natural growth present the 
 greatest degree of medicinal a,ctivity, consequently, it is recommended 
 to gather these and no others. When found in an arid situation, the 
 Umbelliferse are usually aromatic, but are very apt to become more or 
 less virulent when met with in moist locations ; wet soils are best adapted 
 for the Cruciferse, while the reverse is true of the Labiatse. The atten- 
 tion of the herb-collector should always be directed to these several 
 points. 
 
 Boots — Boots must be collected according to the character of the 
 plant; thus an annual plant will yield the most actively medical root, 
 just previous to the flowering season : though the generality of this 
 class of root are erroneously gathered after the flowering period, and 
 consequently are less active and do not retain their qualities for any 
 reliable time. The roots of biennial plants are most energetic if col- 
 lected shortly after the leaves have fallen from the plant, in the autumn 
 of its first year; some recommend gathering the roots of biennials 
 in the spring of their second year, but this will be found applicable to 
 only a few plants. The roots of perennial plants are most active when 
 gathered at any time between the decay of the leaves and flowers, and 
 the vegetation of the succeeding spring. Bulbs should be collected as 
 soon as they have matured, but during the absence of vegetation ; they 
 are, as a general rule, more active soon after the loss of foliage. 
 
 Stems. — Herbaceous stems should be collected after the foliage has ap- 
 peared, but before the blossoms have developed themselves. Ligneous 
 or woody stems, as a general rule, should be collected after the decay of 
 the leaves, and previous to the vegetation in spring. 
 
 Barks. — Barks are to be gathered when the most active part of the 
 plant is concentrated in them, which happens in spring previous to flow- 
 ering, and in autumn after the foliage has disappeared. At the proper 
 season for collection, the bark will be found more easily detached from 
 
Collection and Preservation op Plants. 88& 
 
 the root, body, or stem, than at any other period. Spring is usually 
 preferred for resinous barks, and autumn for the others. Too much 
 care can not be displayed in gathering barks. When too young or too 
 old, they are apt to possess but little medicinal virtue, and should be 
 thrown aside, together with impurities and all inert parts. 
 
 Leaves. — Leaves should be eoHected as soon as they have become 
 matured, which is generally between the period of inflorescence and 
 maturation of the fruit or seeds. It must be remembered that biennial 
 plants do not perfect their leaves in the first year ; consequently they 
 must be gathered only during the second year of their growth. 
 • Flowers. — Flowers should be collected either when they are about to 
 open, or just after they have opened, and occasionally, the buds are to 
 be preferred to the expanded flowers. They, as well as leaves, should 
 be gathered in dry weather, after the dew is off them, or in the even- 
 ing before it falls, and are to be freed from all foreign, decayed, and 
 inert matters. Aromatic plants are to be collected after the flower- 
 buds are formed. Stalks and .twigs are generally gathered soon after 
 the decay of the flowers. Berries, succulent fruits and seeds are to be 
 collected only when ripe, unless the medicinal virtue is contained in 
 the unripe article. 
 
 Drying of Plants. — The proper drying of vegetable substances is of 
 the greatest importance, as the activity of this class of remedial agents 
 frequently depends as much upon the method and care taken in drying 
 them as upon their inherent qualities. Many remedies are often in- 
 jured or rendered inert by an improper or careless mode of drying. 
 All parts of plants should be dried as quickly as possible, but not so 
 rapidly, nor at such a temperature as would destroy or dissipate their 
 active properties. 
 
 Boots are to be well washed, rejecting worm-eaten and decayed por- 
 tions, as well as removing all fibers and rootlets which possess no medi- 
 cinal power. If they consist principally of fibers, with but a small 
 rootstalk, they may be dried immediately, either by sun-heat, or by an 
 artificial heat not exceeding 85° P. If they are juicy it is better to dry 
 them without slicing (as generally advised), because their juices will 
 be thereby less liable to changes from the action of the atmosphere. It 
 will be best to dry them in a room, artificially heated, the temperature 
 not to exceed 110° P., nor below 75° P. The room should be so ar- 
 ranged as to permit the escape of moisture, as well as Admit a free cir- 
 culation of air, and the roots should be turned over thoroughly, at least 
 as often as once in every twenty four hours. Thick and strong roots 
 may be cut into transverse pieces about four or five lines in thickness, 
 and dried the same as the preceding; if the slices be strung upon 
 threads, the drying process will be equally as good, and less trouble- 
 some. If they contain a tough, inert bark, this should be removed 
 while the root is fresh. Bulbs may be dried similarly to the above, after 
 having removed their external coats. Such roots as lose their virtues 
 by drying, or are directed to be preserved in a fresh state, are to be 
 kept buried in dry sand. 
 
 Barks and stems may be dried in the atmosphere in' dry weather ; or, 
 in a room artificially heated, as above named, in damp weather; they 
 should be spread thinly, and frequently be stirred ; in some cases they 
 may be tied or strung up loosely in small bundles, and dried as just 
 named- Twigs and woods require a similar management. 
 
 Leaves should be removed from the stems, etc., and spread thinly on 
 some kind of wicker-worked -lessel, which will permit a free circula- 
 
890 Pharmacy. 
 
 tion through them. Then expose them in a darkened room heated tc 
 about 135° F., turning them twice a day, and continuing this until they 
 are thoroughly dried. Some persons prefer tying the branches, to which 
 the leaves are attached, in small bundles, hanging these up in the dry- 
 ing-room, and removing the leaves as soon as the process is finished. 
 The leaves, when dried, must retain their natural color, or else their 
 medicinal powers will be more or less injured. The usual method of 
 drying leaves is to strip them from the stem, lay them loosely on the 
 floor of a dark room, and turn them several times; and when dried, 
 press them in packages. The custom of moistening or steaming leaves 
 and other preparations previous to packing them in bundles, for the 
 purpose of causing them to pack more solidly, and which is pursued by 
 many collectors of medicinal plants, is exceedingly improper. The ar- 
 ticles become very much deteriorated in quality thereby, and soon 
 mold. 
 
 Flowers require considerable care and attention, in order to retain their 
 smell and natural color. They should be dried rapidly, in the same 
 way as named for drying leaves; and as soon as thoroughly dried, 
 should be firmly compressed into packages, and kept in dry situations. 
 Some flowers lose their active properties by drying; these may be kept 
 . loosely in large specie-capped jars. Berries and succulent fruits may be 
 tied together in loose bundles, and these be suspended in the darkened 
 drying apartment ; or, they may be removed from the branches, and 
 be loosely spread in thin layers on a frame of wicker-work, frequently 
 stirring them until the process is completed. Seeds may be dried, when 
 this is necessary, by the same method as directed for leaves separated 
 from the stems. Aromatic herbs and annual plants, generally, when not 
 too succulent, may be tied in small bundles, and dried as advised for 
 leaves similarly prepared. Boots, leaves, barks, etc., whose medicinal 
 virtues are lost by drying, should be collected at the proper season, and 
 their properties retained by forming from them syrups, tinctures, or 
 inspissated juices. By this means, the active medical virtues of many 
 very valuable agents, which would otherwise be lost, may be preserved. 
 In the drying of plants, there is always a considerable loss of water, 
 as well as some loss of their volatile constituents. The Edinburgh Dis- 
 pensatory furnishes the following table, as showing the quantities ob- 
 tained from 1000 parts of each article named, after desiccation : 
 
 Boots of Angelica Aroh'l 263 Twigs of Sola. Dulcamara 308 
 
 Aspi'm Filix Mas 500 Leaves of Atro. Belladon 140 
 
 Inula Helenium 187 Conii Maculatnm , 185 
 
 Vnleriana sylves 316 Datura Stramon'm 110 
 
 Bark of the Oak 410 Digitalis purpur 180 
 
 Elder 292 Hyosoyamus niger 135 
 
 Elm 375 Melissa ofaoinalis 220 
 
 Leaves of Salvia officinalis 220 Flowers of Lavandula vera 510 
 
 Tops of Mentha piperita 215 Sambuous Ebulus 266 
 
 Flowers of Anth's nobilis 338 Petals of PapaverRhceas 84 
 
 Borage officinalis 66 Rosa rubra 330 
 
 Medicines, however carefully and skillfully they may have been col- 
 lected and dried, will, nevertheless, soon become useless if they are not 
 properly preserved from all injurious influences. They must in general 
 be defended from the effects of moisture, too great heat, or cold, and 
 confined air. When their activity depends on volatile principles, they 
 must be preserved from the "contact of air and light as much as possi- 
 ble. The action of,' long-continued light is very injurious to nearly all 
 
Weights anb Measures. 891 
 
 medicines. A very important item for the apothecary is, to obtain a 
 dry storeroom, and one as free as possible from rats, mice, cockroaches, 
 etc., and it should be so arranged with doors and windows, as to permit 
 a proper ventilation after a period of damp weather, or whenever ven- 
 tilation may be deemed necessary. All medicines should be kept ex- 
 cluded from light, air, and moisture as much as possible, and none 
 should be stowed away so long as the least dampness is upon them. 
 Most of our druggists keep their medicinal roots in barrels, or large 
 boxes, which are perfectly dry, and freed from impurities, but they very 
 frequently allow them to remain uncovered ; it will be found a better 
 plan to have them always covered. In tile same way, all coarse parts, 
 of plants may te kept, as barks, woods, etc. And when articles are 
 kept for any lenglih of time, an inspection o;f them every six or twelve 
 months will generally be found advantageous, as they may be still 
 longer preserved by the removal of decayed parts, impurities, insects, 
 etc.; and this re-inspection is more especially necessary when recent 
 articles are to be added to older ones. Herbs, leaves, and seeds, should 
 first be compressed into paper packages, or into bags, and then packed 
 in boxes or barrels. Powders, flowers, aromatic leaves, and articles 
 possessing volatile constituents, should be kept in glass or earthen vesr 
 sels well covered, or in tin canisters ; when kept in glass Vessels, these 
 should be painted or varnished black on the outside to pi'event the ac- 
 tion of light; or, the glass itself may be opaque. The direct rays from 
 the sun should never be permitted to fall upon vessels containing medi- 
 cines.' During very warm weather, or immediately after a protracted 
 damp season, all medicines should be inspected, particularly those most 
 liable to be affected by these conditions ; by which means moldiness and 
 the ravages of insects may be prevented. When insects have been dis- 
 covered among powders, etc., it requires considerable patience and at- 
 tention to remove them; various methods have been advised. As, for 
 instance, keeping the cavity of the vessel in which they are found con- 
 stantly saturated with the vapor from camphor, chloroform, ether, aro- 
 matic oil, etc., and also when the vessel is air-tight, by exhausting the 
 air from it, or placing it under the receiver of an air-pump. But few 
 druggists, however, will adopt this latter course, except to save some 
 costly drug. For one mode of preserving drugs, see Ergot. Oils, 
 fixed or volatile, are best preserved in a dark room or cellar, the tempera- 
 ture of which does not exceed 60° F. Concentrated preparatidns, as resin- 
 oids, oleo-resins, alkaloids, laetircated compounds, etc., should always be 
 kept well corked, and in a cool and dark place ; light, the action of the 
 atmosphere, dampness, or too great a degree of heat, will be found to 
 impair their activity. 
 
 WEIGHTS AND MBASUEBS. 
 
 In the purchase and sale of medicines, the avoirdupois weight is used 
 in this country; but in dispensing prescriptions and preparing medi- 
 cinal mixtures, the Troy weight is employed ; and this is the weight 
 designed to be used in this part of the present work, unless stated other- 
 wise. For the convenience of the apothecary, this has been disposed 
 into grains, scruples, and drachms ; thus, twenty grains being equal to 
 one scruple; three scruples to one drachm ; eight drachms to one ounce ; 
 and twelve ounces to one pound. This measure is frequently termed 
 "apothecaries' weight." With fluids, wine-measure is the one which is 
 recognized, and designed to be employed in this work, unless stated 
 
892 Phakmact. 
 
 otherwise. Other measures of an approximate character are like-wise 
 frequently employed in dispensing medicines, as drops, teaspoonful, 
 dessertspoonful, tablespoonful, and wineglassful, but these should never 
 be made use of where accuracy is absolutely necessary* (See "Weights; 
 and measures in the Appendix.) 
 
 For the measurement of liquids, graduated glass measures, varying 
 from four to sixteen ounces, are made use of, in which any quantity not 
 Ifcss than one fluidrachm may be proportioiied ; and for obtaining frac- 
 tions of a fluidrachm, the minimeter, divided into gixty parts or minims, 
 is a very useful instrument. The mode pursued by many apothecaries, 
 Qf dropping liquids from thei lip of the bottle, is very inaccurate and 
 objectionable from the fact that the drops of various liquids vary con- 
 siderably in size, and even jthose of the same liquid -wary considerably, 
 according to the size of the vessel from which they are dropped, as the 
 following results of Mr. Alsop's investigations verify : 
 
 When dropped from When dropped fron 
 a large bottle. a small bottle. 
 
 One fluidrachm of diluted sulphuric acid yielded 24 drops 84 drops. 
 
 do- of Scheele's hydrooy. acid 35 do 70 do. - 
 
 do. of distilled water .31 do 54 do. 
 
 do. ' of solution of ammonia 40 do 48 do. 
 
 do. of tincture of opium 84 do 135 do. 
 
 do. of rectified spirit 100 do. 130 do. ' 
 
 do. of tine, of muriate of iron 100 do 150 do. 
 
 From this table will be seen the disadvantages of measuring medi- 
 cines by drops, which not only vary in the manner above stated, that is 
 from the difference in size of the vessel out of which they are dropped, 
 
 * but likewise from their differences in viscidity or cohesiveuess, as well 
 as from changes in the angle of inclination at which the vessel is held 
 while dropping. To obviate the difficulty heretofore experienced in 
 measuring fractions of a fluidrachm, Mr. Alsop has invented a minime- 
 ter, which practical experience has found to completely answer the in- 
 tended purpose ; it consists of a cylindrical glass syringe, having a 
 small bore, and which is graduated into sixty equal parts or minims. 
 Another minimeter has been invented, equally as useful, and in 
 some respects preferable to Alsop's. It consists of a cylindrical glass 
 tube of small bore, divided into sixty equal parts or minims ; at the 
 top of this is blown a large bowl or reservoir, sufficiently large to 
 answer the purpose, over which is fastened a thin piece of caoutchouc. 
 The instrument is held between the thumb and middle finger, the fore- 
 
 . finger then presses on the caoutchouc covering, thereby expelling all or 
 part of the air contained in the reservoir ; if the point of the divided 
 tube be then dipped into the fluid to be used, and the pressure with- 
 drawn gradually, the fluid will Wse to any indication required, which 
 
 - point is easily regulated by the forefinger. To empty the instrument, 
 renew the pressure upon the caoutchouc. Instead of fastening the 
 caoutchouc upon the reservoir, it may be placed upon the top of a small 
 funnel, made to fit accurately into and upon the reservoir. 
 
 M. Lebaigue, a pharmaceutist of Paris, has invented a new dropping 
 
 * The revisers of the new U. S. PharmaeopcEla, for 1893, have seen proper, in their wis- 
 dom, to omit the old and long-usanctloned divisions, as scruple, drachm, and pound of Troy 
 weight, for the future, retaining only the Troy grain and the Troy ounce. This may be an 
 Improvement, but so small; after all their eiforts toward perfecting a system of weights and 
 measures, that it is impossible for me to see it^ and hence shall continue the old division so 
 long sanctioned and well understood by all. I did hope that the Convention would estab- 
 lish a declmal'standard, which is very much needed, talking the Troy pound as a basis ; 
 but their action in this matter has strongly reminded me of the fable of the mountain in 
 labor. 
 
JUetermination of Specific Gravities. 893 
 
 glass, which promises to become a very useful instrument. It is a very 
 simple apparatus, may be adapted to the different forms of bottles used 
 by the pharmaceutist, or may be used by the patient whenever required. 
 It consists of a single piece, without the presence of caoutchouc ; is not 
 acted upon by the fluids generally used, fills itself whatever may be the 
 amount of fluid, and allows the drops to fall one after another without 
 any other pressure than that of the liquid itself, and gives drops of the 
 same weight whether the glass be full or almost empty. Experiments 
 with it have shown that if, in the same conditions of efflux, the weight 
 of the drops varies with different fluids, it remains invariable for the 
 same fluid, whatever liiay be its nature or the proportion of fixed ma- 
 terials held in solution by it. So that all alcoholic tinctures prepared 
 with the same alcohol give drops of equal weight, and a complex fluid 
 like wine gives drops of a weight depending upon the proportion of 
 water and alcohol entering into its composition. Five different mod- 
 els of this dropping glass have been made by the inventor. 
 
 DETBEMIJSTATION OF SPECIFIC GEAVITIES. 
 
 Specific gravity is the density or compactness of a substance, or the 
 quantity of ponderable matter contained in a body compared with the 
 space it occupies, and which is ascertained by the method explained 
 hereafter. Atmospheric air is universally taken as the standard of 
 comparison for the specific gravity of gaseous substances, and pure 
 water for that of liquids and solids. In medicine the apothecary will 
 frequently desire to know the purity or strength of any given drug, 
 which in many cases may be readily determined upon ascertaining its 
 specific gravity. The most correct method of determining the specific 
 gravity of a liquid is by means of a small bottle, graduated to hold 
 exactly 1000 grains of pure water at 60° F. ; the bottles with stoppers 
 are the best. The bottle is to be filled with the liquid, the stopper re- 
 placed, in doing which some air and liquid will be forced out, and then 
 the bottle must be wiped dry and clean. It is next to be weighed very 
 carefully, and the weight is the specific gravity ; thus, the bottle holds 
 exactly 1000 grains of pure water, but if, when filled with some other 
 fluid, it be found to weigh less than 1000 grains — say 930 graiiis — then 
 the specific gravity of that fluid is written .930 ; but if it weigh more 
 than 1000 grains — ^say 1650 grains, or 1267 grains — then the specific 
 gravities will be 1.650 or 1.267. Or, the following equation may be 
 employed. As the weight of water in grains, 1000, is to the weight of 
 the liquid 1267, so is 1 to the specific gravity : 
 
 1000 : 1267 : : 1 : 1.267. 
 
 Any one can make a bottle of this kind, at least as correct for prac- 
 tical purposes as a hydrometer, by placing in a small vial a certain 
 amount of water at 60° F., marking its height on the bottle with a dia- 
 mond point, and then weighing it. The density of other liquids will be 
 determined by filling the bottle up to the mark with such liquids, and 
 weighing it. If exactly 1000 grains of pure water are marked off, the 
 weight of the liquid will give the specific gravity as above ; but if the 
 water weigh more or less than 1000 grains, then the gravity must be 
 determined by calculation according to the above equation. Thus, 
 suppose the mark indicated 350 grains of water, and the fluid to be 
 tested at the same mark weighs 375 grains, tlien — 350 : 375 : : 1 : 
 1.07142-f. 
 
894 Pharmacy. 
 
 For purposes of convenience and facility in ascertaining' specific 
 gravities, certain instruments are used, called Hydrometers. There are 
 several kinds of hydrometers, which are named according to the liquids 
 for which they are intended, as for instance, Saccharometers to determine 
 the specific gravity of syrups ; Alcohometers to determine the specific 
 gravity of alcohol ; Maeometers to test the purity of certain oils ; Gal- 
 actometers for ascertaining the quality of milk ; Urinometers for ascer- 
 taining the specific gravity of urine. Hydrometers are also named 
 according to their peculiar consti-uction, or to the character of the grad- 
 uated scale, as Nicholson'' s, which is also applicable for taking the spe- 
 cific gravities of solid substances ; Cartier's for liquids lighter than 
 water ; Baume's, for all kinds of liquids ; Twaddle's, Zanetti's, Sike's, 
 and various others. Baume's is the one more commonly used, an im- 
 provement upon which has been made by Dr. W. H. Pile of Philadel- 
 phia, from whom they, as well as specific-gravity bottles and all kinds 
 of hydrometers, can be obtained. His improvement consists in having 
 both the degrees of Batime as well as the specific gravity, accurately 
 represented on the gj-aduated scale. In pharmacy, the hydrometers 
 of Dr. Pile are more commonly employed. 
 
 The specific gravity of fluids may be readily determined by the fol- 
 lowing methods : If the weight of the fluid exceed that of water, ascer- 
 tain the degree of Baume, and deduct this from 145, by then dividing the 
 remainder into the same number (145), the specific gravity is obtained. 
 By a reversed method the specific gravity may be converted into 
 Baume, thus : find the specific gravity and divide 145 by it : deduct 
 the quotient from the same number (145), and the result gives the de- 
 gree of Baume. 
 
 If the weight of the fluid is less than that of water, a different process 
 must be pursued. Having ascertained the degree of Baume, add 130 
 to it, and divide the remainder into 140, which will give the specific 
 gravity. By a reversed process the specific gravity may be converted 
 into Baume, thus : find the specific gravity and divide 140 by it ; de- 
 duct from the quotient 130, and the result gives the degree of Baume. 
 
 " The specific gravity of solid bodies is ascertained, by first accurately 
 weighing the substance in the air, and then by means of a hair or 
 slender silken thread attached to the body, or to the scale of the bal- 
 ance, weighing it again in distilled water ; take the difference between 
 the two weights, and divide it into the weight in the air. The difl'er- 
 ence between the two weights, gives the weight of a quantity of water 
 equal to the bulk of the solid, and the division gives the specific gravity 
 of the body. Thus, if a body weighs 630 grains in the air, and 600 grains 
 in water, the difference between the two, 30 grains, is the weight of the 
 bulk of water displaced by the body, or of a bulk of water equal to that 
 of the body ; this weight of the displaced water being divided into the 
 weight of the body in air, 630, gives the specific gravity of this body, 
 21.00. 
 
 If, however, the solid be lighter than water, some modification of this 
 process is required, which may be illustrated by taking the specific 
 gravity of a piece of wax. The weight of the wax in air is 105.4 
 grains. On immersing the wax in water, two pressures are exerted ; a 
 pressure downward, equal to the gravity or weight of the wax, and a 
 pressure upward, equal to the weight of the volume of water displaced 
 by the wax ; but the specific gravity of water being greater than that of 
 wax, theupward pressure preponderates and the wax rises to the surface. 
 Thus we find that a volume of water equal to that qf the wax, weighs 
 
PULVEKlZATlO.N, EiV., OJj' MEDICINES. S9£ 
 
 as much as the wax, and something more. We must ascertain \\ovi 
 much more, and this is done in the following manner ; Some body 
 heavier than water, and the weight of which in water is known, is 
 attached to the wax, which has been previously weighed, alone in the 
 air, and the two bodies are weighed in the water together. A piece of 
 lead may be used for this purpose. The lead alone, for instanpe, weighs 
 378 grains in water ; with the wax attached to it, the weight in water 
 is 372.4 grains, making a difference of 5.6 grains ; and this 5.6 grains 
 is equal to the excess of the upward, over the downward pressure on 
 the wax when immersed in water. Thus, a volume of water equal to 
 that of the wax, weighs 5.6 grains more than the wax; or the weight 
 of the wax in air, 105.4+5.6=111 grains; then 111 : 1 :: 105.4 : 0.949, 
 the specific gravity of the wax. 
 
 It sometimes happens that the solid substance, the specific gravity of 
 which is to be determined, is in powder, or in several small particles. In 
 such cases, it is found convenient to proceed as in the followirig method 
 of taking the specific gravity of calomel : — 
 
 100 grains of calomel are introduced into a specific -gravity bottle, 
 which holds 1000 grains of distilled water; the bottle is filled up with 
 water, and the weight of the contents is found to be 10837. grains; 
 deducting the weight of the calomel (100 grains) from this, the re- 
 mainder (983.7 grains) will be the weight of the water in the bottle, and 
 the difference (16.3 grains) between this and 1000 grains, the weight of 
 the whole contents of the bottle when filled with distilled water, is 
 the weight of a volume of water equal to the volume of the calomel. 
 
 Then, 16.3 : 1 : : 100 : 6.03, the specific gravity of the calomel. 
 
 In taking the specific gravity of substances soluble in water, other modi- 
 fications of the process are required. Sometimes the substance may be 
 covered with a thin coating of varnish, so as to protect it from the 
 action of the water. This method answers very well for blue pill, 
 which may be brushed over with a strong tincture of mastic, and then 
 proceeded with as in the case of the lead. In other instances, however, 
 it is necessary to pursue a different course. Thus, any powder that is 
 soluble in water, must have its specific gravity taken, in the first in- 
 stance, with reference to some liquid in which it is not soluble. Spirit 
 of wine, oil of turpentine, or olive-oil, may be used in such cases. The 
 process may be illustrated by describing the method of taking the spe- 
 cific gravity of guano in oil of turpentine. 
 
 In the first place, the specific gravity of the oil of turpentine is as- 
 certained to be 0.874. Then 100 grains of guano are introduced into a 
 specific-gravity -bottle, as in the case of the calomel; and the bottle 
 being filled up with oil of turpentine, the weight of the contents is 
 found to be 922.7 grains, from which, deducting 100 grains, the re- 
 mainder (842.7 grains) will represent the oil not displaced by the 
 guano; and this, deducted from 874 grains, the quantity of oil the bot- 
 tle is capable of holding, leaves 51.3 grains as the weight of a volume 
 of oil of turpentine equal to that of guano. Now 874 : 51.3 : : 1000 : 
 58.7, the weight of a volume of water equal to that of the guano. 
 
 Then, 58.7 : 1 : : 100 : 1.7, the specific gravity of the guano."— 
 Gray's Supplement to the Pharmacopoeia , by Redwood. 
 
 PULVEEIZATION", ETC., OF MEDICINES. 
 Dl-ugs are reduced to a state of powder, by several processes, which 
 will be presently described. All the oflBcinal powders, however, are 
 
896 Phaemacy. 
 
 now prepared on a large scale by wholesale druggists and others, or 
 the retailer can have any article reduced to powder by sending it tc 
 the drug-mills, where the grinding and pulverization of drugs is fol- 
 lowed as a business, and one or more of which establishments are to be 
 found in every large city. But on account of the Irauds frequently 
 practiced at these drug-mills, most retail druggists pi'efer to prepare 
 many of their own powders in order to have them pure ; beside which, 
 it often becomes necessary to powder small portions of medicines not 
 usually kept in this form. 
 
 For the coarse divisions of drugs, knives are necessary for the pur- 
 pose of dividing fibrous and tough articles into narrow transverse fi-ag- 
 ments, and a mill or mortar for reducing them into still finer particles. 
 For some drugs an ordinary spice mill will answer, but for the greater 
 part, a Swift's drug-mill will be found very convenient both for coarse 
 and fine powders. The other methods pursued by the druggists are as 
 follows : ' 
 
 Pulverization.— The article being well dried, and all impurities and 
 inert parts removed, is placed in a metallic mortar, either of iron, bell- 
 metal, or brass, though iron mortars are more commonly used for all 
 drugs, except those containing tannic or gallic acids. The bottom of 
 the mortar should be concave ; and its sides should neither be so in- 
 clined as not to allow the substances operated on to fall to the bottom 
 between each stroke of the pestle, nor so perpendicular as to collect it 
 too much togetner and thus retard the operation. The pestle should 
 be of the same material as the mortar, and its operating extremity 
 should be somewhat bulbous or tuberous, with a convex surface adapt- 
 ed to the concavity of the bottom of the mortar. The mortar should 
 be provided with covers to prevent the finest and lightest parts from 
 escaping, and to defend the operator from the effects of disagreeable or 
 noxious substances. Both these ends are more completely attained by 
 tying a piece of pliable leather round the pestle, and round tbe mouth 
 of the mortar. It must be closely applied, and at the same time so 
 large as to permit the free motion of the pestle. In some instances, it 
 will be even necessary for the operator to cover his mouth and nostrils 
 with a wet cloth, and to stand with his back to a current of air, that 
 the very acrid particles which arise may be carried from him. Too 
 great a quantity of any substance must never be put into the mortar 
 at a time, as it very much retards the operation. — Coxe. If the upper 
 end of the pestle be attached to the end of a somewhat flexible pole, 
 the other end of which is stationary, forming a kind of elastic ispring, 
 it will be found to facilitate the operation very much, by xhe aid it 
 affords in raising the pestle. After contusion has been continued for 
 some time, the contents of the mortar are thrown upon a fine sieve, 
 and after the finer particles have beep sifted through, the coars.er are 
 to be again returned into the mortar for further bruisi<ng; and this 
 course, contusion and sifting, should be pursued alternately from time 
 to time, until complete pulverization is effected. Several sieves, of 
 various degrees of fineness, should always be kept on hand. For small 
 powderings, a large wooden pill-box, three or four inches in diameter, 
 may be made into a sieve, by removing the head from its cover, and 
 likewise its bottom ; a piece of book-muslin may be kept stretched on 
 one end of the box by means of the cover, thus forming a sieve of any 
 required degree of fineness. To avoid any loss of powder, and at the 
 same time protect the face and eyes of the operator, a cylindrical drufn 
 sieve is used. These are prepared by the Shakers ; they consist of a 
 
Pulverization, etc., of Medicines. 897 
 
 leather-covered bottom and top, between which are two separate parts, 
 one having a coarse wire sieve, and the other a fine hair sieve. The 
 various parts fit into each other, and when in operation, the finest 
 powder is received into the lower apartment, the next finest remains 
 upon the fine sieve, and the coarser rests upon the metal sieve ; and, at 
 the same time, the operator is not annoyed by the escape of any of the 
 powder. A very excellent sieve for large operations, is Harris's 'patent 
 sieve. {See Am. Jour. Pharm., XXY., p. 31.) 
 
 Trituration. — When it is desired to reduce powders, obtained as 
 above, to a more uniform degree of fineness, they are subjected to trit- 
 uration ; this process is also adopted for the reduction of substances 
 which could not otherwise be .powdered, and for thoroughly mixing 
 powders to form compound^. It is usually performed in a glass or 
 wedgewood mortar. The left hand holds the mortar, while the right 
 grasps the pestle and communicates to it a circular motion from the 
 center to the circumference, and back again, alternating these motions 
 so as to expose all parts of the article to the operation of the pestle ; 
 being careful, however, not to approach the pestle so near the circum- 
 ference of the mortar as to throw out any of its contents. The circular 
 notion must at the same time be accompanied with a degree of press- 
 are sufficient to produce the desired result. In large operations, the 
 mortar is made stationary, and the pestle is formed with a long handle, 
 the upper part of which plays in an iron ring fastened at a proper 
 height above, and over the center of the mortar, and which renders the 
 operation less tedious and fatiguing. 
 
 Levigation. — This differs from trituration, only in the addition of 
 water or alcohol to the powder operated upon, so as to form the whole 
 mass into a kind of paste, which is rubbed until it be of sufficient 
 smoothness or fineness. — Coxe. It is performed in flat mortars of 
 glass, agate, wedgewood ware, etc., or on slabs of the same materials, 
 with plane surfaces, the operating face of the pestle or muller being 
 also flat. 
 
 Elutriation. — This consists in adding a powder to a liquid which does 
 not act upon it, as water or alcohol, for the purpose of separating the 
 coarser from the finer particles. The liquid containing the powder is 
 well shaken, and is then allowed to stand for a length of time sufficient 
 for the coarser particles to become deposited at the bottom of the ves- 
 sel ; the supernatant fluid containing the finer particles is then poured 
 ofi", and these may be obtained by filtration, or by allowing them to 
 subside. 
 
 Granulation. — This is employed for the mechanical division of some 
 metals, as tin, zino, etc. It is performed either by stirring the melted 
 metal with an iron rod until it cools, or, by pouring it into water, and 
 stirring it continually, as before, or, by pouring it into a covered box, 
 previously well rubbed with chalk, and shaking it uptil the metal 
 cools, when the rolling motion will be converted into a rattling one. 
 The adhering chalk is then to be washed away. — Coxe. 
 
 The facility of pulverization will depend, in a great measure, upon 
 the dryness of the article operated upon, for, the more moist the arti- 
 cle the more difficulty will be experienced in reducing it to powder. 
 Some articles require to be exposed to heat, from time to time during 
 their pulverization, in order to free them from moisture which they 
 have absorbed from the atmosphere. Eesins and gum resins which be- 
 come soft in summer, must be powdered in very cold weather, and 
 must be beaten gently, or they will be converted into a paste, instead 
 57 
 
898 Pharmacy. 
 
 of being powdered. "Wood, roots, barks, horn, bone, ivory, etc., must 
 be previously cut, split, chipped, or rasped. Fibrous woods and roots 
 should be finely shaved after their bark is removed, for otherwise their 
 powders will be full of hair-like filaments, which can scarcely be sep- 
 arated. Some substances will even re,quire to be moistened with mu- 
 cilage of tragacanth, as agaric, or of starch, and then dried before they 
 can be powdered. Camphor may be conveniently powdered by the addi- 
 tion of a little alcohol or almond oil. The emulsive seeds can not be 
 reduced to powder, unless some dry powder be added to them. To aio- 
 matic oily substances, sugar is the best addition. — Ooxe. Nux Vomica, 
 St. Ignatius' beans, and the tuberous roots of the orchis, being tough 
 and horny, can hardly be powdered without a particular treatment. 
 If nx Vomica and St. Ignatius' bean, should be exposed to the action of 
 steam, until they have swelled to about twice their original size, and 
 then dried rapidly in the drying room. The orchis roots should be 
 macerated in cold water until they are soft, and then dried as in the 
 other ease. After being thus treated, they are easily powdered. Salts 
 which are not easily reduced to powder by trituration, may be dis- 
 solved in water, and then the solution evaporated to dryness, keep 
 ing it constantly and actively agitated all the time, as sal ammoniac 
 salt of tartar, tartrate of potassa, etc. Some articles may be precipi- 
 tated from a solution in fine powder. Some salts powder more readily 
 after their water of crystallization has been driven off. Substances, 
 the particles of which adhere when submitted to pressure, but which 
 are not held together by a strong cohesive force, as magnesia and other 
 similar substances, may be powdered by being merely rubbed over the 
 surface of a sieve. — Procter's Mohr and Bedwood. Damp materials, not 
 containing a volatile principle dissipated by heat, should be well dried 
 by artificial heat, and powdered in a warm, dry room. Many seeds, 
 etc., require to be first ground in a mill and then triturated. Phospho- 
 rus may be placed in a bottle containing alcohol, and heat applied until 
 it melts ; then by constant and active agitation until the fluid cools, the 
 phosphorus will be obtained in a fine powder. Powdering is generally 
 accompanied with some loss, but in no ways equal to that arising from 
 drying. 
 
 Calcination is generally applicable to inorganic substances, it consists 
 in exposing them to great heat without melting them ; its object is to 
 deprive certain articles of their carbonic acid, of their water of cryb 
 tallization, to isolate the oxides of certain metallic salts, to produce di- 
 rect oxidation, or to drive off sulphur from sulphurets, at the same time 
 oxidizing the metallic base. ^ 
 
 Incineration is more applicable to organic substances, which are ex- 
 posed to a red heat in open vessels, until all combustible matters are 
 destroyed and nothing is left but the ashes. 
 
 Fusion is the subjection of solid bodies to a degree of heat suficient 
 to melt them or convert them at once into a fluid condition ; the degree 
 of'heat necessary for this purpose varies with different bodies when the 
 body assumes the condition of softness before entering into the fluid 
 state, as with solid fats, plasters, etc., the melting is then termed lique- 
 faction. When a body can not be fused by heat, without the presence 
 of another body, this latter is called a flux. 
 
 Oxidation implies the combination of oxygen with bodies ; reduction 
 means the separation of oxygen from substances by heat or chemical 
 reaction, thereby converting them into their original state of metal or 
 combustible ; the word is equally applied to the separation of the met- 
 
Separation of Solibs from Liquids, etc. 89i) 
 
 als from «iiiorides, sulphides, and similar binary compounds. Sublima- 
 tion is the process which converts solid bodies into vapor by the appli- 
 cation of heat, and subseq^uently recondenses them to the solid or crys- 
 talline state by refrigeration ; it is a distillation of solid bodies. Cata- 
 lysis, or decomposition by contact, is where a body possessing what has 
 been termed the " catalytic force," decomposes other bodies and re- 
 solves them into new compounds, merely by con-tact with them, or by 
 an action of presence, without gaining or losing any thing itself; thus 
 the presence of insoluble yeast in a solution of sugar resolves it into 
 carbonic acid gas and alcohol, a change which can be effected by no 
 other known means ; starch is converted into gum and grape sugar by 
 the presence of an acid, which, after effecting the decomposition, is 
 found free and undiminished in quantity, etc. Meotrolysis is the term 
 applied to direct decomposition by the electro current, and those bodies 
 susceptible of this decomposition are called Electrolytes. 
 
 SBPAEATION OF SOLIDS FEOJM FLUIDS, ETC. 
 
 ■A solid may be removed from a fluid which does not act upon it, by 
 filtration, or by allowing it to settle to the bottom of the vessel, and 
 then removing the clear fluid by decantation, or by the uie of a syphon. 
 If the vessel containing the liquid be provided with a properly made 
 lip, the decantation maybe performed without spilling any of the liquid, 
 and without disturbing the deposit. But decantation has to be per- 
 formed with vessels of all kinds; and the process may be facilitated by 
 holding a glass rod in a slightly inclined vertical position, the lower 
 end of which is placed in the receiving vessel ; the lip of the decanting 
 jar is brought nearly or quite in contact with the upper part of this 
 rod, upon which the fluid is poured. The adhesive attraction between 
 the rod and the liquid prevents the latter from fiowing in any other 
 direction than along the rod into the receiver. 
 
 If the circumference of the vessel be so large as to render it impossi- 
 ble to pour with the guiding rod, which is very apt to be the case if its 
 sides be perpendicular, with no lip present, and the fluid contained nearly 
 filling it, — a little grease rubbed over the part of the vessel at which it 
 is designed for the liquid to flow, will, by preventing any adhesion of 
 it to the surface of the vessel at that point, cause it to flow in a more 
 cylindrical stream, and with less liability of overrunning the sides of 
 the vessel. 
 
 Cases, however, occur where, from the character of the fluid, the 
 shape or size of. the vessel containing it, or from the disturbance occa- 
 sioned to the priecipitate upon motion, decantation is difficult or impos- 
 sible ; in such cases the syphon will effect the separation. The syphon 
 is a tube bent so as to form two legs inclined toward each other at about 
 the same angle as the two limbs of the letter V, being rounded how- 
 ever at the place where it is bent. One of the legs must be much shorter 
 than its fellow. By filling the syphon with some of the liquid to be 
 decanted, and then placing the short leg into the fluid, this will dis- 
 charge itself from the end of the longer leg, and will continue to flow 
 as long as this end of the tube is below the level of the liquid in which 
 the other end is immersed. 
 
 Pipejfies are instruments used for removing small quantities of liquid 
 from the surface of precipitates or from places from which it would be 
 difficult otherwise to remove them. A pipette is a slender glass tube 
 with one end drawn to a very small point and capillary orifice, and at 
 
900 ' Pharmacy. 
 
 an inch or so from which a hulb is blown. The instrument may be 
 straight, or it may be bent above the bulb at an oblique angle. To i-e- 
 move the liquid the small point of the instrument is carefully placed in 
 contact with it, while with the mouth, or which is better, by means of 
 a syringe attached to the upper part of the instrument. Or by means of 
 an India-rubber bottle attached to its upper end, suction is made and 
 continued until the bulb is filled — this is then removed, and the process 
 is to be continued until all the liquid has been removed. Pipettes may 
 ,al80 be used for removing powders, insects, etc., from fluids, taking up 
 urinary deposits, animalcules, microscopic crystals, etc. The forefinger 
 of the hand in which the pipette is held is placed upon the upper end 
 of the tube so as to close the upper orifice ; the other end is then im- 
 mersed in the liquid and brought into contact with or as near as possi- 
 ble to the object, and the finger then removed from the upper end. Hy- 
 drostatic pressure then forces the liquid, and with it the object, into 
 the lower part of the tube, and, by replacing the finger upon the uppei 
 end of the tube, the object can be removed and transferred to any de- 
 sired situation. 
 
 Wheu it is desirable to separate liquids which are immiscible with 
 each other, as water from oils, ether, or chloroform, etc., separating 
 funnels or separators are employed, of which there are several varieties. 
 Filtration. — For the purpose of separating fluids from solids, or from 
 insoluble impurities, filtration is employed, by which the fluid is caused 
 to pass through the pores of certain media which are impervious to 
 solids. Filters are prepared from various materials, and always of such 
 as can not be chemically acted upon by the substances for which they 
 are intended. " Fats, resins, wax, and oils, are strained through linen 
 or cotton cloth spread evenly over a piece of wire-cloth or net stretched 
 in a frame. For saccharine and mucilaginous liquors, fine flannel may 
 be used; for some saline solutions, linen." — Coxe. Sand, powdered 
 glass, powdered quartz, and asbestos, are used in filtering strong alka- 
 line or acid solutions, which would exert a chemical action on organic 
 filtering media. Animal charcoal is used where it is desired at the 
 same time to remove the color or odor of the solution. For nearly all 
 delicate operations, paper filters are us.ed ; alcoholic, ethereal, and chloro- 
 form tinctures, and many aqueous preparations are filtered through un- 
 sized paper made from cotton or linen rags. Paper from woolen rags 
 being of coarser texture and more porous than the other, is used for 
 filtering rapidly, and is often employed for syrups, some oils, etc. ; can- 
 ton flannel, and hatters' felt are also used for the same purpose. Solid 
 fats, thick syrups, and oils, as well as fluids which deposit crystals on 
 cooling, require the aid of heat during the filtration, in order that they 
 may be kept hot. This is accomplished by the use of a water-bath fun- 
 nel, or Dr. Hare's hot filtering apparatus. Glycerin filters best when 
 hot, and through hatters' felt. Liquids which are aff'ected by atmos- 
 pheric action, or which evaporate readily, should have the filter in which 
 they are placed covered with tin foil, or a plate of glass may be luted 
 to the top of the vessel containing the filter, by means of a mixture of 
 wax and lard, rendering it air-tight. In order, however, to keep up an 
 atmospheric communication between the cavity of the funnel arid that 
 of the receiving bottle, which will always be necessary, a small piece 
 of glass tube may be bent at a proper angle and .placed between the 
 filter and the funnel, the upper part extending to the top of the filter, 
 and the lower extremity opening below the filter in the neck of the 
 funnel or in the receiving bottle. To prevent it from sliding into the 
 
Separation oi- Solids frojm Liquids, etc. 901 
 
 receiving bottle, it may^ be twisted near its lower end. Very viscid 
 fluids sometimes occasion considerable difficulty when filtered by 
 the usual modes; to overcome this, new pl'ans of filtering have 
 been devised, called filtering upward, by Prof. W. Procter, Jr., and Mr. 
 W. E. Warner. An account of the instrument p??oposed by the latter 
 gentlemen will be found in Am. Jour. Pharm., 1861, p. 13. — The fluid 
 that has passed through the filter is termed the filtrate; the powder or 
 substance remaining in , the filter after all the fluid has passed through, 
 is called the precipitate. 
 
 Expression. — In instances where it is required to remove fluids from 
 ■solids as much as possible, as from the residue of tinctures, decoctions, 
 etc., expression is employed, being, in pharmaceutical operations, usu- 
 ally accomplished by screw presses. The substance to be pressed is 
 placed in a stout canvas or woolen bag, properly arranged under the 
 press, and pressure gradually applied, increasing it slightly from time 
 to time, till all the fluid is separated. In some instances, the solid is 
 placed within the cavity of a sheet-iron cylinder, which is extensively 
 perforated with small orifices, this is expressed by means of circular 
 blocks of wood adapted to the internal diameter of the cylinder, and 
 which are gradually forced downward upon the substance hy the press, 
 as in the preceding instance, the liquid flowing through the perforations 
 into a sheet-iron or tin vessel placed under the cylinder, and from which 
 it may be removed into other vessels, as often as necessary. "When 
 recent medicinal plants are to be expressed for the purpose of obtaining 
 their juices, etc., they should first be beaten, ground, or bruised; and 
 if they be somewhat dried, water or alcohol, according to the nature 
 of the liquid to be obtained, should be added to moisten and soften ' 
 them. Subacid fruits, when not too firm or large, may be placed in 
 woolen bags without previous beating or contusion ; these should be ar- 
 ranged under the press between a sheet-iron vessel beneath, and a stout 
 block of wood above; the pressure should be gentle at first, increasing 
 it gradually. Fruit having thick skins, as lemons, oranges, etc., must 
 have them removed previous to expression. Seeds containing oil are 
 first bruised or ground, then put into bags, upon which a powerful pres- 
 sure is exerted. In the expression of many viscid substances, as butter 
 of cacao, most solid aad liquid fats, resins, and gum-resins, the employ- 
 ment of the heat will be advantageous, and which is effected by means 
 of hot iron plates. Many oils, however, are more apt to become rancid' 
 when thus obtained, and are consequently pressed in stout woolen 
 bags, or in presses and apparatus made especially for the purpose, as in 
 the case of almond oil, castor oil, etc. 
 
 Clarification. — When liquids contain foreign matters impairing their 
 transparency, and which can not be removed by filtration, or precipi- 
 tation and decantation, tl;iey are rendered clear by the process of clari- 
 fication. This is usually accomplished by mixing with the cold liquid, 
 white of egg well beaten with a little water, which, on being heated, 
 coagulates and rises to the surface, carrying with it all the impurities. 
 The fluid may now be filtered or skimmed. Spirituous liquors are 
 clarified without the assistance of heat, by means of isinglass dissolved 
 in water, or of any albuminous fluid, as milk, which coagulates with 
 the action of alcohol. In using albumen in the clarifying process, it 
 must be remembered that it occasionally unites with some of the active 
 principles of a liquid, and will separate them from the rest. Some ex- 
 pressed juices, as those of all the antiscorbutic plants, are instantly 
 .:;larified "by the addition of any vegetable acid.— Coa;e. When expressed 
 
902 Pharmacy. 
 
 oils contain mucilage, they may be freed from it by adding them tc 
 water and boiling. 
 
 Precipitation is *he name given to the deposition of an insoluble pow- 
 der in a fluid upon the bottom and sides of the containing vessel, as in 
 cases of trituration, levigation, or elutriation ; this is also termed me- 
 chanical precipitation ; however, subsidence is the better term for the 
 mere deposition of substances that are not dissolved but only diffused 
 mechanically through a fluid. Chemical precipitation occurs when a 
 substance or its elements, existing in the form of solution, separates 
 from its menstruum in the form of fine powder or crystals, and gener- 
 ally, but not always, falls to the bottom of the fluid ; this separation 
 being due to the addition of another solution which produces a chemi- 
 cal change in the original solution, either by combining with the dis- 
 solved substance and precipitating with it ; or, by combining with one 
 of its elements, while the remaining element is separated in an undis- 
 solved form. Precipitation may also ensue from the mere cooling of a 
 solution, from heating it, as when albumen is present, or, from the ad- 
 dition of water or alcohol to fluids holding substances in solution that 
 are insoluble in one or the other of these liquids. The most general 
 instances of precipitation are those of double decomposition between 
 the solutions of two double salts. In all these instances the separated 
 substance is called the precipitate, and the liquid or agent that caused 
 the separation is termed the precipitant ; the act itself being precipita- 
 tion. Vessels in which this act is carried on are c&Wed precipitating jars 
 or kottles. 
 
 Precipitation occurs rapidly or slowly, according to the solubility of 
 the precipitate; it may be employed as a means of pulverization, of 
 purification, or of obtaining insoluble substances. After all precipita- 
 tion has ceased, the supernatant fluid may be decanted off, removed by 
 means of a syphon, or else by filtration. The precipitate must then be 
 washed with some fluid in which it is not soluble, generally j)ure water, 
 occasionally alcohol, continuing the washing until all foreign sub- 
 stances or remains of the mother fluid are removed, and then be dried 
 on bibulous paper, or on a porous stone. Great care should be had in 
 this operation of precipi taction to avoid adding an excess of the pre- 
 cipitant; and this may be effected by removing a drop os two from 
 the solution, at various times during the process, placing them upon a 
 piece of glass, and testing with a small drop of the precipitant. For 
 the purpose of washing precipitates, bottles have been variously pre- 
 pared, and which are called wash-bottles. Precipitates may be washed 
 upon a paper filter, or in precipitating jars, and frequently upon linen 
 or- muslin filters. When it is desired to separate oil from water, or to 
 separate other liquids that are immiscible, it may be accomplished by 
 means of a separating funnel, or a separator, of which there are several 
 models. 
 
 Dialysis is the name given to a process by which certain substances 
 are. separated. A glass vessel is filled with a certain amount of dis- 
 tilled water, usually from six to ten times more in quantity than there 
 is of the fluid to be acted upon. Within this vessel, and resting upon 
 the water, is placed another smaller vessel consisting of a circumferen- 
 tial frame of gutta-percha, over one open extremity of which is care- 
 fully extended a circular piece of parchment paper, and which is fast- 
 ened by twine, or another gutta-percha hoop. Into this is placed the 
 fluid containing the elements to be separated. This instrument, the 
 invention of Mr. Graham, of London, is called the dialyser. Fluids 
 
Separation of Solids from Liquids, etc. 903 
 
 placed in the smaller vessel containing salts and organic matters, wiU 
 be found, by the phenomena of osmosis, to yield their salts to the water 
 in the vessel below, while the organic substances remain in the fluid in 
 the smaller vessel. Mr. G-raham has found that certain substances, 
 generally those that are crystallizable, and which he terms crystalloids, 
 are very diffusible, and pass more or less readily through the septum 
 or parchment paper into the distilled water below, which, when thus 
 impregnated, he terms the diffusate; while others, again, non-crystal- 
 lizable, and of a gummy or gelatinous nature, and which he terms col- 
 loids, are much less diffusible, and do not pass through the parchment 
 paper. - Other porous bodies have been found to answer a similar pur- 
 pose as dialysing septa. This process of dialysis may prove useful in 
 various ways to the pharmaceutist, as well as to the physician in a 
 medico-legal point of vieM', as in cases of supposed or actual poisoning, 
 in separating alkaloidal salts from their aqueous solutions, from the 
 solution of the plants containing them, or from residual fluids which 
 are generally thrown away, but which are known to contain small por- 
 tions of the alkaloidal salt or salts, in separating the active from the 
 inert parts of fluid compounds, etc., etc. 
 
 Crystallization is that process by which a body in passing from a 
 fliiid or vaporous to a solid state, assumes certain determinate, mathe- 
 matical forms, called crystals. There are several modes of crystalliza- 
 tion, as, by precipitation from chemical or galvanic action, by sublima- 
 tion, by fusion and partial cooling, and by evaporation of solutions by 
 means of heat, or spontaneously. Crystallization is an excellent mode 
 of rendering many bodies perfectly pure ; the process, in solutions 
 with deposition, may generally be facilitated by placing insoluble nu- 
 clei of some kind in the solution, as, strings, wire, strips of wood or 
 sheet lead, or even a crystal of the same substance. Large crystals are 
 procured when the evaporated solution is allowed to cool slowly; small 
 crystals by constantly agitating the solution and effecting a rapid cool- 
 ing. As a general rule, in order to procure good crystals, a solution 
 should be kept undisturbed until crystallization has ceased. 
 
 The fluid from which crystals have been obtained is called the 
 mother -water ; it may be a pure solution of the salt dcpo'iit.cd, or it may 
 contain other substances. A solution of crystals in sunie menstrua 
 that will not decompose them, and from which they can be recrystal- 
 lized, is the usual way of purifying them. When coloring matter is 
 the chief impurity, the mother-water, or the second solution of the 
 crystals, should be decolorized with animal charcoal, previous to the 
 subsequent crystallization. Crystals may be dried upon a filter, upon 
 a porous substance, by expression in a bag of linen, or by exposing 
 them to a continuous current of air. 
 
 Distillation is a process by which a volatile liquid is separated from 
 a less volatile or a fixed substance, whether solid or fluid ; to attain 
 this object the more volatile fluid is converted into a gaseous or vapory 
 form by means of heat, from which it is again converted into the fluid 
 form by refrigeration. An apparatus for distilling consists of 1, a ves- 
 sel, a retort or still for holding the substance from which the fluid is to 
 be separated ; 2, a condenser or worm, in passing through which, the 
 vapor is cooled, or condensed, and converted into the fluid form, called 
 the distillate ; and 3, a receiver or vessel in which the distillate is col- 
 lected. There are various pattejns of distilling apparatus, suited to 
 the kind of distillation, or the character of the article to be distilled, or 
 jf the substance from which the distillate is to be procured In phai- 
 
904 Pharmacy. 
 
 macy, distillation is chiefly employed in procuring distilled waters, 
 volatile oils, recovering alcohol, etc., from certain mixtures. When a 
 fluid is rendered purer by distillation, being separated from its impu- 
 rities, the process is termed rectificatf.on, and may require one or several 
 distillations. When the distillate is returned to the retort or still, 
 together with fresh quantities of the substance to be distilled, it is 
 termed cohobation, and is much employed in obtaining oils and other 
 volatile principles from medicinal plants. 
 
 For the performance of operations requiring heat, a charcoal furnace, 
 or a spirit-lamp, is generally used by those pharmaceutists who can not 
 avail themselves of the superior advantages of gas. For those who 
 have gas, several useful gas-burners or lamps have been invented, as, 
 Bunsen's Gras Burner, with Grifiiu's modifications (see Am. Jour. Pharm., 
 1862, p. 46) ; and Warren's laboratory safety lamp (^Ibid. p. 218), All 
 the various apparatus required in Pharmacy can be obtained of Messrs. 
 Bnlloek & Crenshaw, Philadelphia, Edward Parrish, Philadelphia, J. 
 F. Luhme & Co., No. 9 Lafayette Place, New York city, — these gentle- 
 men will send their catalogue of articles with prices to any address, 
 when required, P. O. stamp accompanying letter to prepay postage. 
 The articles can be procured of them through any wholesale drug 
 establishment. 
 
 FLUID PEEPAEATIONS. 
 
 Medicines are frequently administered in the fluid form, being usually 
 prepared either with water or alcohol; occasionally other liquids are 
 used, as ether, chloroform, brandy, wine, vinegar, etc. The most com- 
 mon methods of obtaining fluid preparations are as follows : 
 
 Infusions. — Infusion is employed to extract the virtues of aromatic 
 and volatile substances, which would be dissipated by decoction and 
 destroyed by maceration ; also to separate substances of easy solution 
 from others which are less soluble. The process consists in pouring 
 upon the solvend or substance to be infused, placed in a proper vessel, 
 the menstruum or solvent, either hot or cold, as may be required, cover- 
 ing it up, agitating it frequently, and after a due time straining or de- 
 canting off the liquor, which is then termed the Infusion. — Coxe. As 
 many articles yield their active principles to solvents, only at certain 
 temperatures, infusions are prepared by maceration or digestion, accord- 
 ing to the peculiarities of the solvend in this respect. Maceration is the 
 subjecting solvends to the action of fluids at the ordinary temperature 
 of the atmosphere, and continuing this action until the liquid employed 
 has extracted the virtues of the substance infused, as in the case of 
 tinctures, cold infusions, and medicated wines. Digestion, popularly 
 termed " steeping," differs from maceration, only in exposing the infu- 
 sion to an elevated heat ranging mostly from 100° to 150°, but occasion- 
 ally as high as 200° F. 
 
 JDecoctions. — Substances which are not volatile, and whose texture is 
 so dense and compact as to resist the action of fluids when macerated 
 or digested, are boiled in these liquids, and the strained liquor is called 
 a Decoction. Most articles are impaired by boiling, and where decoction 
 is required, care must be taken not to continue the heat for too long a 
 time, as but few articles submitted to this process require more than five 
 or ten minutes exposure to the boiling temperature. 
 
 Lixiviation. — When a body is composed of soluble and insoluble mat- 
 ter, which are held closely together, the soluble matter not readily yield 
 
Fluid Preparations. 905 
 
 ing itself to a solvelit, this is extracted by the process of lixiviation , 
 which consists in passing the solvent slowly through the body which has 
 been reduced to a coarsely powdered state, as in the familiar instance of 
 procuring lye by lixiviating the ashes of wood. And this method may 
 be used in nearly all cases where it is desired to separate the soluble 
 from the insoluble materials, as in the preparation of tinctures, infu- 
 sions, etc. 
 
 The METHOD or displacement, or percolation is an improvement upon 
 til is process. It consists in reducing the article to be acted upon to a 
 proper degree of fineness, then soaking it for a few hours with a suffi- 
 ciency of the spirit to make it into a stiff pulp ; itis then to be packed 
 in a cylinder with the requisite degree of pressure, which can only 'be 
 learned from experience, and the alcohol or spirit poured over it. The 
 cylinder may be made of tin, twelve inches in length, two and a half 
 inches in diameter, or fourteen by four, or seventeen by six ; the lower 
 part of this cylinder is made funnel-fashion, to the base of which a me- 
 tallic plate pierced with holes is accurately fitted, and which, when in 
 operation, should have a thin stratum of carded cotton laid over it, pre- 
 vious to placing in the powder. 
 
 ■ The solution which first passes through is always in a state of high 
 concentration, and should be set aside. The others are weaker, and 
 may be evaporated to the proper strength, or mixed with the first por- 
 tion, as required. In this process the liquid must be allowed to perco- 
 late slowly ; if the powder be packed too closely, it will not flow at all; 
 if too loosely, it will run through too i-apidly. Some substances when 
 moistened with a fluid become so tenacious as either to permit its top 
 slow percolation, or prevent it altogether, as with guaiacum, rayrrh, and 
 other resinous bodies, gums, etc.; in such cases the powder of these 
 articles should be mixed with an equal quantity of coarse sand or pound- 
 ed glass, previous to putting them into the displacer. 
 
 In the process of displacement, it would be exceedingly improper to 
 indiscriminately reduce all articles to a powder of the same degree of 
 fineness, as, with some, if too fine, they would pack so closely as to be 
 impenetrable by the menstruum ; while with others, a coarse powder 
 would allow the liquid to pass through rapidly without being charged 
 with all its soluble portions, etc. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia has, there- 
 fore, very properly given a list of terms, each one of which indicates a 
 degree of fineness, that will allow a powder to pass through a seive con- 
 taining a certain number of meshes to the linear inch, as explained in 
 the following abstract : 
 
 Coarse requires a sieve 20 meshes to the vnoh. 
 Moderately coarse, do 40 do 
 
 Moderately fine, do 50 do 
 
 Fine, do 60 do 
 
 Very fine, do 80 do 
 
 For further and more detailed accounts of the various manipula- 
 tions required in Pharmacy, the reader is referred to "Mohr and Bed- 
 wood's Practical Pharmacy, by Wm. Procter, Jr., a very valuable work, 
 which should be in the possession of every physician and druggist ic 
 the country; also Parrish's '^Introduction to Practical Pharmacy.") 
 
906 Pharmacy. 
 
 DISPENSIEG OP MBDICIKES, OE BXTEMPOEANBOUS 
 PHAEMACY. 
 
 A major portion of the apothecary's duties consists in dispensing 
 medicines to supply the calls of his customers, either on their own ac- 
 count, or more generally in answer to the prescriptions of medical men. 
 This is performed at the counter, either in view of the patient, or be- 
 hind a screen, which prevents the latter from witnessing the dispenser's 
 operations. Some druggists have a separate room for dispensing medi- 
 cines, which is decidedly preferable to the screen. The object of these 
 plans is, in the first place, that the operator may not be disturbed in 
 his manipvflations by the calls from others enteijing the shop, and in the 
 second place, to avoid the innumerable queries of curious and suspicious 
 persons relative to the prescription and its components. If he makes 
 known the contents thereof he may offend the physician ; if he hesi- 
 tates in answering, or refuses to answer, he may offend his customer. 
 The screen, but especially the dispensing room, prevents any of these 
 unpleasant occurrences. To perform the office of an apothecary cor- 
 rectly, neatly, and expeditiously, one requires a thorough knowledge of 
 his profession, united with a quick perception, sound judgment, firm- 
 ness of resolution, physical agility, and an expertness at manipulating. 
 In connection with these, cleanliness and urbanity are indispensable 
 requisites. The apothecary who attends to the dispensing of medicines 
 should never be found doing so in his shirt-sleeves ; there is not a 
 shadow of excuse for it, and no matter how warm the weather may be, 
 a^thin light coat should always be worn. Some apothecaries I havB 
 seen who lick the mouths of their bottles after. having poured the re- 
 quired quantities of fluid from them, or who, in helping themselves to 
 syrups or other preparations kept in bottles, apply the mouth of the 
 bottle to their own mouth, instead of pouring it into some proper ves- 
 sel from which they could drink it ; these are very disgusting habits, 
 of which no properly-bred person would be guilty, and which alone 
 should be sufficient cause for a withdrawal of all public patronage. 
 And if these are valid reasons for bestowing custom upon some more 
 cleanly dispenser of medicines, what can be said of those individuals 
 who scratch their heads and blow their noses with their fingers, not 
 only while in the act of preparing medicines, but even in sight of their 
 patrons? A man of coarse mind, possessing none of the polish of refine- 
 ment, and having no regard or care for the views or sentiments of 
 others relative to the above points, is no more fit to dispense medicines 
 than the most ignorant boor. Medicines are, in general, sufficiently 
 repulsive without harving extra aversion added to them through disgust- 
 ing and uncleanly habits, and the apothecary should so observe and 
 regulate his actions as to win the confidence of the most fastidous indi- 
 viduals. A neat, cleanly and orderly store, a polite, attentive and cleanly 
 apothecary or clerk, devoid of all offensive habits whatever, together 
 with accuracy, neatness and dispatch in filling prescriptions, will 
 always command- the confidence and patronage of physicians as well 
 as patients. 
 
 In American practice, decoctions and infusions are seldom ordered in 
 prescriptions ; but where they do occur, the infusion mug of Mr. Aleop, 
 of London, will be found one of the best instruments for facilitating the 
 process. " Mr. Alsop has suggested a good method of preserving infu- 
 fusions, which might be very advantageously adopted by those who have 
 not a sufficient demand for them to make it worth while to prepare them 
 
Dispensing 6v Medicines, etc. 907 
 
 daily. The infusion is introduced into bottles provided with well-ground 
 stoppers, and which are filled to the brim. If the infusion was not hot 
 when put into the bottles, it must be subsequently made so by plung- 
 ing the bottles into boiling water, and leaving them therefor some min- 
 utes. The stoppers, which should be of rather a conical form, tapering 
 downward, and smeared with a little wax, so that they may fit perfectly 
 air-tight, and not become immovably fixed in the mouths of the bottles, 
 are now to be inserted. In doing this, each stopper will displace a por- 
 tion of the liquid from the mouth of the bottle, thjas insuring the total 
 absence of air. As the liquid cools, it will contract, and leave a vacuum 
 in the upper part of the bottle. If the operation be carefully conducted, 
 so as completely to exclude the air, the infusion will keep for weeks, 
 or even for months, without undergoing any change. Mr. Alsop states 
 that he has kept infusion of cusparia in this way for nine months, in- 
 cluding the summer months, and at the end of that time it was in eveiy 
 respect as good as when first made. He suggests that the stopper of 
 each bottle used for this purpose should be tied to the neck of the bottle, 
 to prevent its being misplaced. ": — Mohr and Redwood. 
 
 Where fluid extracts of articles are kept, an infusion of any of them 
 may. be made by adding the requisite amount of the extract to a given 
 quantity of water, and, if necessary, subjecting the infusion to rapid 
 filtration. This will be found an expeditious and efiicacious method. 
 
 It is frequently the case that medicated waters of an aromatic charac- 
 ter, not ordinarily kept, are ordered ; these may be readily prepared by 
 rubbing together two drops of any essential oil with four or five grains 
 of carbonate of magnesia for every fiuidounce of water, adding the 
 water gradually while rubbing, and then filtering. Camphor -water may 
 be prepared by triturating it with magnesia, according to the formula 
 given under Medicated Waters. Myrrh renders camphor more soluble 
 in water, in the proportion of one part of the former to five of the lat- 
 ter. A camphor mixture, containing about three-fourths of a grain to 
 the fiuidounce, has been recommended; it is as follows : Take of tinc- 
 ture of camphor thirteen fluidrachms; tincture of myrrh, half a flui- 
 drachm; alcohol, four fluidounces; mix. Of this add four fluidrachms 
 to a pint of pure water. When spermaceti and ether are rubbed to- 
 gether, the latter more readily unites with water. Mixtures or emul- 
 sions, after having been thoroughly triturated, should be strained to 
 remove any coarse particles which may be present. The terebinthinate 
 essential oils may be more readily made into an emulsion by adding a 
 small quantity of fixed oil to them, or the yolk of egg may be added 
 with advantage. The gum-resins may be rendered softer by trituration 
 with camphor ; carbonate of potassa is also said to saponify them, and 
 render them more convenient for emulsions and pills, and more solu- 
 ble in water, especially myrrh, ammoniac, sagapenum, and to some 
 extent galbanum and asafetida. A little borax will often be found 
 greatly to improve an emulsion. A little milk added to seammony 
 facilitates its formation into an emulsion. M. Constantiu recommends 
 the following mode of preparing emulsions with gum-resins, the heat 
 in which does not appreciably effect the substances acted upon. Place 
 the gum -resin prescribed, in small pieces, in a marble or porcelain mor- 
 tar, and add about four times its weight of alcohol. Then ignite the 
 alcohol, and triturate the Whole with a porcelain pestle until the alco- 
 hol has all burned away. The gum-resin acquires the appearance of 
 a soft extract. Now add the liquid in small quantities at a time, and 
 by trituration a perfectly homogenous emulsion is produced, from which 
 
908 Pharmacy. 
 
 no separation takes place on standing, and in which the gum-resin 
 is very completely distribnted. When the quantity of gum-resin ig 
 large, the addition of yolk of egg will improve the emulsion, by pre- 
 venting reunion of the resinous portion. A small quantity of powdered 
 gum Arabic might also be added to the gum -resin after the combustion 
 of the alcohol has ceased, in order to render the emulsion more perfect. 
 The resins afford results equally satisfactory. It is only necessary to 
 add to them what they need to convert them into gum resins, and 
 powdered gum Arabjc answers this purpose. To the resin, balsam of 
 tolu, for instance, twice its weight of gum Arabic, is to be added, not 
 forgetting the alcohol in the same quantity as before, the mode of ope- 
 rating being also the same as for gum-resins. Balsam of. tolu may be 
 thus perfectly suspended, forming an emulsion, the taste of which is 
 very agreeable, and has nothing repugnant to the patient. Elaterium 
 may be rendered more soluble in alcohol by the addition of a few drops 
 of nitric acid, and it is best given combined with some syrup. It is 
 recommended by Prof. Procter to add a little olive-oil to croton-oil, 
 when this is to be added to a mucilage, in order to more equally and 
 permanently diffuse it through the preparation. A few drops of alco' 
 hoi will facilitate the reduction of camphor to powder. 
 
 All articles used by the apothecary, as mortars, graduating glasses, 
 spatulas, pill or ointment slabs, etc., should be cleansed immediately 
 after using them, being careful to wipe them perfectly dry. Patty 
 bodies, fixed oils, and resins, may be removed by alcohol, carbonate of 
 potassa, or other alkali ; carbonate of potassa will also remove prussiate 
 of iron ; metallic substances may be removed by the diluted mineral 
 acids in which they are soluble. The aroma from musk, volatile oils, 
 etc., may be destroj'ed by exposing or rubbing the vessel or instrument 
 with those agents from which hydrocyanic acid is procured, as peach 
 meats or leaves, bitter almonds^ etc. If resins or fats are present, these 
 must previously be removed by their appropriate solvents. The dis- 
 pensing scales should constantly be kept clean, and in some place not 
 exposed to the dust, as, for instance, in a glass case, and they should 
 frequently be examined to ascertain whether they continue jDroperly ad- 
 justed. Scales adjusted to weighing grains and parts of an ounce, are 
 easily rendered inaccurate by being placed in situations where they are 
 exposed to much jarring, or frequent unnecessary handling ; the apothe- 
 cary will do well to observe this statement, and act in accordance with 
 it. The Troy and grain weights used in prescriptions, and in pi-epar- 
 ing compounds, etc., should be correct; this is important, as many of 
 the smaller Troy weights sold in this country, will be found far from 
 being true._ Black, and orange colored bottles are stated to be the best 
 for preventing the action of light upon organic substances ; or, the bottles 
 may be covered with a varnish of the same color. When organic sub- 
 stances adhere so strongly to vessels of porcelain or glass, that they can 
 not be removed by the ordinary means, C. Brunner states that if the 
 unclean surface of the vessel be moistened with strong sulphuric acid, 
 and then some pulverized bichromate of potassa be sprinkled upon the 
 acid, and the vessel be set aside in a warm place for several hours, de- 
 struction of the organic matter results, and the vessel may readily be 
 cleansed.— (CAem. Gaz., No, 410, p. 430.) A great deal has been said 
 and written about prescriptions ; my own view of the matter is that a 
 prescription is an order from a physician to any apothecary, requiring 
 the latter to put up certain simples or compounds for the patient; that 
 .8, the physician not desiring to prepare the medicine himself (in which 
 
ACETA. 906 
 
 case ho would give no order), prefers some one else, an educated jJliar- 
 maceutist, to take his place as far as the dispensing of the medicine, he 
 deems best for his patient, is concerned. The order or prescription, there- 
 fore, belongs exclusivelj' to the pharmaceutist intowhose hands it falls for 
 dispensing, who should by no means part with it, nor even give a copy of 
 it to the patient, unless so ordered by the physician. The j)harmaceu- 
 tist retains the original prescription to show that it has been dispensed 
 bj' him, as well as to protect himself from difficulty, should such be likely 
 to arise at any subsequent time. But the order is only for that time, and 
 the pharmacjeutist is not justified in dispensing again from that order 
 or prescription, unless so ordered by the physician, because he does not 
 know what changes may have occurred in the patient's disease contrain- 
 dicating, further use of the medicine, or whether it is desirable to con- 
 tinue the use of the same remedy; and should any thing serious occur 
 to the patient from using the medicine dispensed a second time from 
 the same prescription, without an order from the physician, the phar- 
 maceutist alone must bear the blame ; he has assumed a heavy respon- 
 sibility, and no censure whatever belongs to the physician. If the phy- 
 sician desires his prescription to be dispensed from time to time when- 
 ever the same patient requires a renewal of the medicine, he should 
 write the word " Eep.," or " Eepeto," at the bottom of the prescription ; 
 or, if, having neglected to do this upon the original prescription, he 
 requires its renewal, he may write upon a slip of paper the number 
 and date placed by the pharmaceutist upon the label of the containing 
 vessel, together with his own name, thus — suppose the number to be 
 11701 and the date April 1-6, 1869, and the physicians name, Eush — he 
 will write, "E. 11701, j^, 69— Eush— Eep." This will release the 
 pharmaceutist from blame or responsibility, provided he correctly dis- 
 penses the medicine. For numerous other points connected with dis- 
 pensing, the druggist is referred to the works named in the preceding 
 article. 
 
 In some parts of this country, it is not uncommon for the dispensing 
 office to contain one or more idlers or loungers, during a portion of 
 every day, who, from their continual staring at lady-customers, as well 
 as their tobacco-spitting 'and smoking, drive the respectable portion of 
 patrons to other shops ; these are more generally the associates of the 
 assistants or clerks, who, without intending offense frequently offend 
 very seriously. A proper course should be adopted in relation to this 
 class of visitors. 
 
 ACETA. (Essige.) 
 Vinegars. 
 These are officinal liquid medicines, formed of Vinegar, and charged 
 by maceration with different medicinal principles. Many medicines 
 contain active principles which are not readily taken up by water or 
 alcohol, or are, perhaps insoluble in them, but which are freely soluble 
 in Vinegar ; others again, although soluble in water or alcohol, are not 
 as efficient and energetic thus prepared, as when tinctured in Vinegar; 
 on this account, medicated Vinegars are especially useful in many in- 
 stances. The Vinegar of commerce is very apt to contain impxirities 
 and elements which lead to its decomposition, hence, when used as a 
 solvent for pharmaceutical purposes, distilled Vinegar should be pre- 
 ferred. The solvent property of Vinegar chiefly depends upon its acetic 
 acid, which renders it more especially valuable in the preparation of 
 
910 PHARMACr. 
 
 those agents which are soluble in this acid, or which are rendered more 
 soluble by being converted into acetates. Medicated Vinegars are not 
 permanent preparations ; and to prevent their spoiling too rapidly, a 
 small proportion of alcohol is usually added to them, which, however 
 necessarily gives rise to some acetic ether ; if the same proporti6n of 
 concentrated acetic acid be substituted for the alcohol, the formation ot 
 the ether may be avoided, and the medicated vinegar be preserved 
 equally as well. It is better to prepare this class of compounds only 
 as they are required. Mr. W. S. Merrell states "that in the Yinegars of 
 lobelia, and sanguinaria (or where the color of the preparation is neces- 
 sarily dark), good cider or wine Vinegar is to be preferred to distilled 
 Vinegar ; and in these preparations the alcohol necessary for their 
 preservation should he first added to the powdered ingredients so as to 
 aid in dissolving their oily and resinous principles, and then displaced 
 or expressed with the Vinegar." When a pure Vinegar is desirable, 
 diluted acetic acid should be employed. 
 
 AcETUM Dbstillatum. Distilled Vinegar. (Bestillirter Essig.) 
 
 Preparation.— Take of Vinegar eight parts, place in a glass or silver 
 retort, and distill over into a receiver of similar material seven parts. 
 Dilute the product, if necessary, with distilled water, till the specific 
 gravity is 1.006. 
 
 Distilled Vinegar is recommended to be prepared from wine Vinegar, 
 chiefly on account of its aroma ; and it should be prepared in glass or 
 silver vessels, as lead or copper ones are extremely dangerous from the 
 poisonous salts liable to be for;med, viz. : the acetate of lead or copper. 
 It is a clear liquid, occasionally with a yellowish tint, and differs from 
 dilute acetic acid in containing a small proportion of alcohol, acetic 
 ether, and mucilage. Excess of alkali added to it, and the solution 
 heated, gives a brown color to the liquor, with a dark precipitate, which 
 is supposed to be the decomposed mucilage. "When of good quality. 
 Distilled Vinegar is quite colorless, of a pure acetous odor, frequently 
 somewhat ethereal, but entirely unmixed with empyreuma or other dis- 
 agreeable taint, and is wholly evaporated by heat. It may be rendered 
 unfit for pharmaceutical purposes, by the presence of metals or mineral 
 acids. If sulphuric acid be present, a solution of chloride of barium 
 will produce a white precipitate of sulphate of baryta; if nitric acid 
 be present, a small piece of pure silver macerated for a few days in the 
 Vinegar will be more or less dissolved ; then if a drop or two of hy- 
 drochloric acid be added, a white precipitate of chloride of silver will be 
 formed. If hydrochloric acid be present, a solution of nitrate of silver 
 will occasion a white precipitate of the chloride of silver. Lead may 
 be detected by sulphuretted hydrogen forming a black precipitate of the 
 sulphuret of lead ; or, if sulphuric acid be added, a white sulphate of 
 lead will be precipitated. Copper also forms a black precipitate of the 
 sulphuret of copper with sulphuretted hydrogen ; or, if the liquor be 
 saturated with ammonia, and sulphuric acid be added, a blue color will 
 be produced. Ferrocyanide of potassium gives a reddish-brown eoloi 
 with copper, and a blue one with iron. Tin forms a brown precipitate 
 with sulphuretted hydrogen, the sulphuret of tin ; or, a solution of 
 chloride of gold will cause the deep purple precipitate, known as the 
 purple of Cassius. (These same tests will answer to detect the impuri- 
 ties of concentrated acetic acid.) 
 
 Dilute Acetic Acid, Acidum Aceticum Dilutum, is made by mixing 
 acetic acid one part, with distilled water seven parts. It should have the 
 specific gravity 1.006. But the specific gravity of dilute acetic acid, as 
 
ACETA. 91] 
 
 well as of diBtilled Vinegar, is not so certain u test of the amount of acid 
 present, as its saturating power ; 50 grains of either fluid should be neu- 
 tralized by 3.8 grains of cystallized bicarbonate of potassa, or, accord- 
 ing to Wittstein, 16 grains of the acid should be exactly neutralized by 
 one grain of dry carbonate of potassa. From the fact that distilled 
 Vinegar contains certain more or less organic impurities, in all prepa- 
 rations where purity is required Diluted Acetic Acid should be substi- 
 tuted for it. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The properties of Distilled Vinegar, and of Di- 
 luted Acetic Acid, correspond with those of ordinary Vinegar (sen 
 page 23). 
 
 Off. Prep. — Acetum Lobeliae ; Acetum Sanguinariae ; Acetum Scillse ; 
 Tinctura SanguinarisB Acetata Composita. 
 
 Acetum Lobeliae. Vinegar of Lobelia. (Lobelien Essig.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Lobelia Seed, in powder, four ounces; Diluted 
 Acetic Acid two pints. Macerate the Lobelia Seed with the Diluted 
 Acetic Acid, in a close glass vessel, for seven days ; then express the^ 
 liquor, filter, and add to the filtered product. Alcohol, (or Concentrated 
 Acetic Acid) one fluidounce. The whole amount of fluid thus procured 
 should measure two pints. This medicated Vinegar may also be pre- 
 pared by percolation. 
 
 History. — In this preparation Diluted Acetic Acid is used instead of 
 Distilled Vinegar. The Alcohol is added to impede the decomposition, 
 and as its quantity is very small, no objection can reasonably be made 
 to its presence. We have known this preparation to retain its activity 
 for two years, when kept well corked and not exposed to the action of 
 light. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Vinegar of Lobelia is an emetic, nauseant, and 
 expectorant, and is a valuable relaxant in spasmodic affections. It may 
 be given to fulfill all the indications for which Lobelia is administered. 
 Externally, it forms an excellent application in several cutaneous dis- 
 eases, as salt-rheum, erysipelas, .poisoning by rhus, etc. Dose, as an 
 emetic, from one to four fluidrachms, repeated every fifteen minutes ; 
 as an expectorant, from five to thirty drops or more, every half-hour, 
 in elm or flaxseed infusion. One part of Vinegar of Lobelia added to 
 one part, by measure, of Syrup, forms a very pleasant preparation for 
 children. 
 
 Acetum Sanguinaei^. Vinegar of Bloodroot. * (Blutwurzel Essig.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of pioodroot, in powder, four ounces ; Diluted 
 Acetic Acid two pints. Macerate the Bloodroot with the Diluted Acetic 
 Acid in a close glass vessel, for seven days ; then express the liquor, 
 filter, and add to the filtered product. Alcohol (or Concentrated Acetic 
 Acid) one fluidounce. The whole amount of fluid thus procured should 
 measure two pints. This Medicated vinegar may also be prepared by 
 percolation. 
 
 History. — In this preparation. Diluted Acetic Acid is used instead of 
 Distilled Vinegar. When kept well corked and in the dark, it may be 
 preserved for along time, though it loses its dark-red color. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Vinegar of Bloodroot is seldom used as an 
 emetic, except in combination with other agents of this class. Its chief 
 employment internally is as an expectorant, hepatic, and alterative. As 
 an external application it is useful in many cutaneous affections. Dose, 
 
 * vinegars of Lobelia, and Bloodroot, two Eclectic preparations introduced to the pi;o- 
 fession, have been adopted as officinal remedies In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, and U. S. Uis 
 peusatory. 
 
912 • Pharmacy. 
 
 from ten to thirty drops, in some mucilage or syrup, and repeated three 
 of four times a day. 
 
 AcETUM SciLL.ai. Vinegar of Squill. (Meerzwiebel Essig.) 
 
 Preparation.— lake, of fresh, dried Squill, in small fragments, two 
 ounces; Dilute Acetic Acid, or Distilled Vinegar one pint ; Proof-spirit 
 one and a half fluidounces. Macerate the Squill in the Vinegar (or Di- 
 lute Acid) for seven days, in a covered vessel ; strain and express the 
 liquor, add the spirit, and filter the whole. — Ed. 
 
 Or, the Squill may be coarsely bruised and macerated for two or 
 three days in half the above-named quantity of Dilute Acetic Acid, 
 then, as soon as it has ceased swelling up, placed in a displacement appa- 
 ratus, and enough Dilute Acetic Acid be added, from time to time, as 
 required, until one pint of Vinegar of Squill has filtered through. 
 
 History. — In this preparation either Dilute Acetic Acid or Distilled 
 Vinegar may be employed. The addition of Proof-spirit prevents the 
 too rapid decomposition of the preparation, but as this agent is fre- 
 quently required in cases where the least stimulus would be objectiona- 
 ble, it is better to make up no more at a time than the above formula 
 calls for, leaving out the Spirit. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia omits the 
 Spirit, while the British retains it while preparing the Syrup of Squill. 
 Vogel says (An. de Ohim., V. 83, p. 157) that when kept. Vinegar of 
 Squill deposits a precipitate consisting of citrate of lime and tannin. — 
 Coxe. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Vinegar of Squill contains all the medicinal 
 virtues of the Squill. It is sometimes employed as an expectorant in 
 affections of the air vessels, and as a diuretic in dropsies ; but, on account 
 of its tendency to decomposition, its principal use is in the preparation 
 of Syrup of Squill. Its dose is from half a fluidrachm to one or two 
 fluidrachms in some aromatic water. 
 
 Off Prep. — Syrupus Scillse. 
 
 ^THBEBA. (Aether.) 
 Ethers. 
 
 The action of several of the acids on one of the alcohols produces an 
 order of compounds, which possess both important chemical properties 
 and medicinal virtues. They are named Ethers, and agree in certain 
 general qualities, but differ in others according to the acid used in their 
 formation — they are all extremely volatile, and require to be kept in 
 closely-stopped vials, and in cool situations. — Ooxe. They are usually 
 very odorous, have a somewhat sweetish flavor, and are exceedingly 
 inflammable, requiring to be kept from the neighborhood of flame, es- 
 pecially when exposed to the air. Ethers are divided into simple, dou- 
 ble or mixed, and compound. The simple ethers all contain oxygen, and 
 are U3ually formed by the distillation of the alcohol with sulphuric 
 acid. They, as well as the compound ethers of the monobasic acids, 
 may generally be volatilized without undergoing decomposition ; but 
 their boiling point rises above 39° P., for each addition of the hydro- 
 carbon d Hj. They have not yet been found as natural products of 
 vegetable life, but the compound ethers appear to be frequently pres- 
 ent in fruits and some other parts of plants, which occasionally owe 
 their fragrance to these bodies ; thus oil of Wintergreen is a methyl sal- 
 icylate, G-i Hj, Cu H5 Os, and may be artificially produced by the re- 
 action of oxide of methyl upon salicylic acid. 
 
^THEEEA. 913 
 
 The gradual addition of sodium or potassium to anhydrous alcohol 
 occasions a brisk action with rapid elevation of temperature followed 
 by solution of the metal and disengagement of pure hydrogen gas ; a 
 fusible, crystallizable, deliquescent compound is formed, which is named 
 sodium, (or potassium) alcohol, or, sodic (or potassie) ethylate, and which 
 is regarded as alcohol having its typical atom of hydrogen displaced by 
 an atom of sodium or of potassium. The action of sodium or potassium 
 upon the other alcohols is of an analogous nature. Double or mixed 
 ethers are obtained from the sodic or potassie ethylate being acted upon 
 by an equivalent amount of methyl-iodide, or amyl-iodide, etc. ; in the 
 first instance, ethyl-methylic ether being formed ; in the second, amyl- 
 ethylic. In consequence of the existence of double ethers, discovered 
 by Williamson, it has become necessary to double Liebig's formula for 
 ether. 
 
 The reaction of one of the alcohols with a monobasic acid, in the 
 proportion of one atom of each, gives rise to the formation of a com- 
 pound ether, with elimination of one atom of water. Compound ethers 
 are also obtained by other modes. Many of the artificial essences sold 
 by perfumers and confectioners consist of compound ethers dissolved 
 in alcohol ; for it is a remarkable circumstance that the pure ethers 
 often have a repulsive odor, which is very different from that which 
 they possess when largely diluted with alcohol. The so-called pea?- oil, 
 or essence of Jargonelle pear, is an alcoholic solution of amyl- acetate, 
 Cio H],, C4 H3 O4. Apple oil is a similar preparation of amyl-valerate, 
 Ci„ H,i, Cio H9 O4. Pine apple oil is simply butyric ether, C4 H5, C^ H, 
 O4, diluted with alcohol. Essence of melons is the ethyl compound of 
 one of the acids of cocoanut oil. Essence of quinces is dilute pelargonic 
 ether, C4 H5, C,8 Hi, O4. CEnanthic ether, a mixture of rutic and cap- 
 rylic ethers, occasions the peculiar odor of wine, and is the basis of 
 Hungarian wine oil, employed for flavoring manufactured brandy. — 
 Miller. 
 
 Ether. Ethylic Ether. Vinic Ether. (Schwefel-Aether.) Hydric 
 Ether. Oxide of Ethyl. 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Sulphuric Acid ten, fluidounces, Alcohol fifty 
 fluidounces. Pour twelve fluidounces of the spirit gently Over the Acid in 
 an open vessel^ and then stir them briskly and thoroughly ; transfer the 
 mixture immediately into a glass matrass connected with a refrigera- 
 toiy, and raise the heat quickly to about 280° I'. As soon as the ethe- 
 real fluid begins to pass over, supply fresh alcohol through a tube into 
 the matrass in a continuous stream, and in such quantity as to equal 
 the volume of the fluid which distills over. This is best done by con- 
 necting one end of the tube with a graduated vessel containing the Al- 
 cohol — passing the other end through a cork fitted into the matrass — 
 and having a stopcock on the tube to regulate the discharge: When 
 the whole Alcohol has been added, and forty-two fluidounces have been 
 distilled over, the process may be stopped. Agitate the impure ether 
 with sixteen fluidounces of a saturated solution of Muriate of Lime, con- 
 taining also half an ounce of lime recently slaked. When all odor of 
 sulphurous acid has disappeared, pour off the supernatant liquid, and 
 distill it with a gentle heat so long as what passes over has a density 
 not higher than 0.735. More ether of equal strength may be obtained 
 from the muriate of lime, and from the residuum of each distillation a 
 weaker ether may be obtained in small quantity, which must be recti- 
 
 58 
 
914 Pharmact. 
 
 fied by distilling it gently again." — Ed. The above measures are Im- 
 perial.* 
 
 The present method of preparing ether is known as the " continuous 
 process " of Eoullay. It' consists in mixing together two measures of 
 alcohol, sp. gr. 0.830, and one measure of concentrated sulphuric acid : 
 the mixture is submitted to distillation in a capacious retort, which 
 must be connected with an efficient condenser. Through the tubulure 
 of the retort a tube is introduced, which is in communication with a 
 reservoir of alcohol, designed to maintain a supply of spirit sufficient 
 to keep the amount of liquid at a uniform level in the retort, during 
 the course of subsequent distillation. The temperature is then rapidly 
 raised so as to maintain the mixture in steady ebullition. The liquid 
 which passes over consists almost entirely of ether and water, mixed 
 with a small portion of alcohol which has distilled over unchanged. 
 This process may go on without interruption until a quantity of al- 
 cohol, about thirty times as great as that originally taken, has be- 
 come converted into ether. Isethionic acid is gradually formed in the 
 residue. 
 
 The crude ether may be purified by agitating it with an equal bulk 
 
 *Tlie following lemarkSjConcernlng the manufacture of ether, and based upon Liebig's 
 theory of ether, are from wittsteln's Practical Pharmaceutical Chemistry: Alcohol Is a 
 , hydrated oxide of ethyle, while Ether is the Oxide of Ethyle. When alcohol comes in 
 contact with sulphuric acid, the latter separates it from its water of hydration, which is 
 replaced by two equivalents of hydrated sulphuric acid ; these, with the Oxide of Ethyle, 
 form an acid salt, sulphovinic add, or rather a bisulphate of oxide of ethyle. From some 
 unexplained reason a small portion of alcohol, and consequently of sulpb aric acid, always 
 remains unacted on. When the mixture Is heated to 284° F., it begins to boll ; the bisul- 
 phate of oxide of ethyle is, however, not permanent at this temperature, but, decompos- 
 ing, forms hydrated sulphuric acid and ether ; and the sulphuric acid not being volatile 
 at 284° F., remains behind as a hydrate, the ether and some water passing over, but un- 
 combined. 
 
 The formation of the ether then is due to the formation of bisulphate of oxide of ethyle 
 from sulphuric acid and alcohol, and the InstabiUty of this body at its boiling point. The 
 hydrated sulphuric acid thus liberated, and remaining in the retort, has the property, as 
 before stated, of again combining with alcohol, with the same results ; hence the reason 
 for the addition of alcohol in a very small stream, or by drops, to the boiling mixture. 
 Against the possibility of this new formation ofbisulphate of oxide of ethyle may be ob- 
 jected, the temperature of the boiling mixture, which would rather favor decomposition. 
 To meet this, it may be suggested that the drops of cold alcohol cause a momentary cooling 
 In a smaU circle, thus allowing the possibility for combination ; the next moment, however, 
 the temperature rises, and decomposition again ensues. The chemical process, during the 
 dropping of the alcohol into the boiling mixture, is thus a continuous formation of bisul- 
 phate of oxide of ethyle, and its instantaneous decomposition into sulphuric acid, ether, 
 and water. 
 
 There are some minor conditions by which the quantity and purity of the product Is 
 modified. By the contact of hydrated sulphuric acid and absolute alcohol, the action of 
 the acid on alcohol must, according to the preceding statement, be endless, and if only ether 
 and water distilled over this would be the case ; but for reasons which we can not at present 
 control, the process is not entirely so simple ; for instance, the sulphuric acid acts as an ox- 
 idizing agent on the elements of the alcohol, causing the formation of sulphurous acid, that 
 passes over, and a carbonaceous body remaining behind, which at first is quite soluble, col- 
 oring the acid of a deep brown, butgradually Increasing (together with sulphurous acid), it 
 separates as a tough black pellicle on the surface. On the composition of this black body 
 there are yet doubts ; its elements are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur (CgoHj^ 0™ 
 Ss?). Another product of decomposition during the process, is oil of wine=C4 H4, a yel- 
 lowish thick oil, which on rectifying the ether is commonly found floating on the watery 
 residue. This destructive action occurs with absolute as well as hydrated alcohol, and on 
 account of the high price of the former, alcohol of about 90 per cent. Is used. The employ- 
 ment of this alcohol also circumscribes the action of the sulphuric acid, on account of its 
 containing at the outset ten per cent, of free water. It is clear that in employing this 
 alcohol the acid continually acquires more water, abstracting it from the alcohol, and re- 
 tainingit with a force which prevents more than a small portion ■ passing over witii the 
 ether. There comes, however, a time when the acid has taken up as much water as under 
 the circumstances it can retain (the boiling point of this mixture is only 264° F.). Together 
 with the ether, water is now liberated ; when, however, they meet in their nascent state, 
 they again combine, forming alcohol. It Is consequently a rule, and a highly important 
 one to remember, that the yield of ether is continually smaller, in proportion to the water 
 combined with the alcohol ; that of 80 per cent., containing 20 per cent, of water, gives on 
 distillation a far greater amouLit of spirit than ether, consequently it must not be em- 
 ployed.— Witt. 
 
 However carefuUy the process may have been conducted, the ether is usually impreg- 
 nated with some of the above named substances. To remove the alcohol and water which 
 are present in the ether, the solution of mnrlat« of lime Is added, while the slaked lime 
 removes any sulphurous acid which may be present, and the whole is redistilled at a 
 gentle heat not sufficient to vaporize the alcohol and water. 
 
jliTHEllEA. 915 
 
 of water containing one fortieth its weight of caustic soda in solution; 
 the water combines with the alcohol, and the soda neutralizes any sul- 
 phurous acid that may have distilled over; the liquid separates into 
 two layers, the upper one of which consists of ether, holding a little 
 water in solution. The ether may be freed from water by allowing .it 
 to stand for a day or two upon quicklime, or upon chloride of calcium ; 
 it is then to be rectified by the heat of a water -bath, and condensed in 
 vessels kept cool with ice-cold water. 
 
 Alcohol may also be converted into ether by heating it with phos- 
 phoric, arsenic, and perchloric acids, as well as by means of stannic 
 chloride, chloride of zinc, fluoride of boron, and by several other pro- 
 cesses. — Miller. Ether is obtained on a large scale, in the U. S. Naval 
 Laboratory, by steam, as described by E. E. Squibb, M. D., in Am. Jour. 
 Fharm., 1856, p. 385. 
 
 The process in the last French Codex, is as follows : " Take of Alco- 
 hol of 85°, seven hundred grammes (about one and, a half pints'); Sul- 
 phuric Acid of 1.84, one thousand grammes (about two pounds eight 
 ounces, troy). Place a glass retort with large tubulure, deeply in a sand- 
 bath, until the sand covers it as high .as the point to which the mixture 
 will be raised. The neck of the retort must be fitted to a long funnel- 
 shaped tube, the extremity of which must be adapted to a flask or bal- 
 loon, the inferior tubulure of which must be fixed upon the worm of an 
 ordinary alembic. The spiral of the worm is joined to a long glass 
 tube, the object of which is to convey the ether far from the heating 
 apparatus, and, if possible, into an adjacent room. 
 
 " Upon a support situated above the retort, is placed a flask filled 
 with alcohol, and provided at its base with a tubulure which receives a 
 glass tube bent so as to enable it to pass nearly to the bottom of the 
 retort. Into the cork through which this tube passes, is also inserted a 
 thermometer tube (graduated to 300° F., and having its bulb as far 
 down into the retort as will reach the middle of the liquid), for the 
 purpose of giving the temperature of the mixture. The tube of com- 
 munication between the retort and the vessel containing the a,lcohol, 
 must be furnished with a stop-cock, so that it may be opened or shut, 
 as needed. All the joints of the apparatus must be very carefully luted, 
 and a receiver must be placed at the extremity of the condensing tube, 
 into which is conveyed the products of the operation. 
 
 "The apparatus being thus prepared, the whole of the alcohol is to 
 be placed into an earthen pan to which the sulphuric acid is gradually 
 added, until the amount prescribed in the formula above is employed, 
 •constantly stirring. Pour this mixture, heated by the reciprocal action 
 of the two fluids, into the retort ; then adapt the cork, carrying' the 
 tube with stopcock and thermometer, and lute it. Now heat the sand- 
 bath, raising the heat quickly until the liquid boils. As soon as the 
 thermometer attains 266° F., open the stopcock, and let the alcohol in 
 the upper flask flow out quite slowly, so as to keep the temperature of 
 the fluid in the retort, between 266° and 284° F., and that the alcohol 
 may, during the whole of the process, replace the portion of the pro- 
 duct which has distilled over. 
 
 " The alcohol which feeds the retort should indicate 95° centesimal ; 
 its proportion is not exactly limited, b,ut it may attain about fifteen times 
 the weight of the mixture. Carry on the operation until the etherifi- 
 cation has efiected this amount of alcohol, and the volume of the resi- 
 due in the retort is the same as was that of the mixture employed at 
 the commencement of the distillation. 
 
916 Pharmacy. 
 
 " To rectify the impure product collected in the receiver, mix it with 
 twelve-hundredths its weight of a solution of caustic potassa, indicating 
 a sp. gr. 1.32 ; keep the liquids in contact for forty-eight hours, fre- 
 quently shaking them strongly together, then by means of a glass si- 
 phon decant the ether ; mix it with six-hundredths of oil of sweet 
 almonds, and submit it to distillation in a previously well dried alembic. 
 The first four-fifths of the ether are collected, the last fifth is set aside 
 for a subsequent operation. 
 
 " To obtain oflScinal ether, wash the first condensed products with 
 twice their volume of water; after a sufl&ciently prolonged rest^ decant 
 the ether, and place it in contact for thirty-six hours, with one-tenth its 
 weight of a mixture of equal parts of fused chloride of calcium and 
 calcined slaked lime. Distill over a water-bath, and collect the first 
 nine-tenths. 
 
 " The density of this ether, thus rectified and purified is about 0.720. 
 
 " The purest ether of commerce indicates a sp. gr. nearly 0.725 ; it 
 contains a small proportion of alcohol, never to exceed three-hun- 
 dredths." 
 
 Theory of the Production of Ether. — Ether is a colorless, exceedingly 
 volatile, and inflammable liquid, and is formed from alcohol by the 
 agency of sulphuric acid, as described below. The formation of 
 ethers from alcohols has long been a subject of chemical study and in- 
 vestigation, and various hypotheses have been advanced by chemists- 
 to explain their true composition and formation from alcohols. "We shall 
 not attempt to describe them all, but will confine our remarks to those 
 of Liebig, and Williamson, the views of the latter being now accepted 
 by chemists as the correct explanation of the theory of etherification. 
 
 Liebig's hypothesis was for many years accepted as the most probable, 
 and from its beauty and simplicity was readily received by chemists. 
 According to Liebig, alcohol (Cj H5 0-(-H0) was the hydrate of a radi- 
 cal ethyl (C4 H5), and ether, the oxide of this radical (C4 H5 0), was by 
 his formula produced simply by depriving alcohol of an equivalent of 
 water, and ether the result. 
 
 According to Williamson's views, that many bodies are formed on the 
 
 type of water g K 0=16, etherification is the replacement of the hydrogen 
 
 in alcohol by a carburetted hydrogen. In so doing, water is also formed, 
 which of course obliges us to assume the same unity of oxygen in both. 
 Alcohol is, therefore, water in which half of the hydrogen is replaced by 
 a carburetted hydrogen ; and ether, is water in which both atoms of 
 hydrogen are replaced by a carburetted hydrogen. They may, there-, 
 fore, be formulated thus (0=12 and 0=16) : 
 
 WATBB ALCOHOL. ETHEE. 
 
 Williamson explains etherification of alcohol by sulphuric acid g }s 0,, 
 
 as follows, to consist in the fact that sulphuric acid and alcohol are 
 transformed into sulphovinic acid and water by one-half of the hydro- 
 gen of the former changing place with the carburetted hydrogen of 
 the latter, thus : 
 
 ALCOHOL. 
 
 
 SULPHUatO 
 
 SULPHOVINIC 
 
 
 
 ACID. 
 
 AQID. 
 
 =^H.}o 
 
 -1- 
 
 H}sa = 
 
 . C^H.|go^ 
 
 + l]o- 
 
.Etuerea. 917 
 
 "Which sulphovinic acid coming in contact with an atom of alcohol 
 forms sulphuric acid and ether, thus : 
 
 ALCOHOL. SULPHOVINIC ETHEB. SBLPHUBIC 
 
 ACID. ACID. 
 
 Wnich sulphuric acid again coming into contact with alcohol re- 
 forms sulphovinic acid, which reacts as before, and the process thus goes 
 on continuously. 
 
 Ether is produced by the action of sulphuric acid on alcohol, as fol- 
 lows, and may be made a continuous process, and a small quantity of 
 acid, to produce an indefinite amount of ether ; the main thing to be 
 observed is the boiling point of the mixture of acid and alcohol, and 
 as long as it is kept between the temperatures of 260° to 300° P., the 
 formation of ether by the decomposition of the sulphovinic acid goes 
 on, owing to the action of the acid on the alcohol, at this temperature ; 
 ether and water distill over contaminated with traces of acid and hydro- 
 carbon, and sulphuric acid remains to cause the reaction, eic, upon fresh 
 alcohol run into the apparatus. 
 
 Ether is commercially made in leaden stills heated by steam to the 
 proper temperature, and the alcohol is allowed to run into the appa- 
 ratus as rapidly as the formation and distillation of ether from the 
 mixture in the still will permit, the temperature being kept between 
 260° and 300° P. The crude ether thus obtained is purified by wash^ 
 ing it with water, and carefully redistilling it with an alkali to remove 
 traces of acid, etc. (For the above remarks on the Theory of the Pro- 
 duction of Ether, I am indebted to Prof E. S. Wayne, of this city.) 
 
 History. — Ether, improperly called Sulphuric Ether, is a transparent, 
 thin, mobile, very volatile fluid, of an agreeable, penetrating, peculiar 
 odor, a pungent, cooling, spirituous taste, and a high refractive power. 
 It is highly inflammable, and the greatest care must be taken in keep- 
 ing its vapor from the neighborhood of flame of any kind. It is a bad 
 conductor of electricity, does not become solid at 146° P. below zero 
 {Mitchell), boils at about 95° P., when of sp. gr. 0.720, and at 40° P., 
 below zero, when in a vacuum. Its sp. gr. at 60°, when pure, is 0.720 
 (ether fortior), though that of the shops will be found to vary from 0.733 
 to 0.765 ; for officinal purposes it may range from 0.740 to 0.750, but 
 not beyond this in either direction of the scale. The ordinary ether 
 of commerce contains a small per cent, of alcohol. The vapor of ether, 
 according to Gray-Lussae, has the sp. gr. 2.586. Absolute ether of 0.720 
 is soluble in 10 parts of water ; officinal ether 0.750 in 9 parts ; both 
 are miscible with alcohol in any propoi-tion. Pure ether, when freshly 
 made, causes no alteration in the color of litmus or turmeric paper; 
 but, by exposure, it absorbs oxygen, oxidizes slowly, and decomposes, 
 yielding aldehyd, aldehydic acid, acetic and formic acids. Its vapor is 
 very apt to form dangerous explosive mixtures with oxj'gen or atmos- 
 pheric air. It is rapidly volatilized in an open dish, at the ordinary 
 temperature, without leaving a residue ; if an oily liquid remains, 
 smelling of fusel-oil, and possessing a sharp taste, this arises partly 
 from the employment of a very impure alcohol, and partly from the 
 presence of a little oil of wine. By evaporation ether produces intense 
 cold. Pure ether dissolves one-eightieth of its weight of phosphorus , 
 but if it contains alcohol, only one two hundred and fortieth ; it also 
 dissolves a very small portion of sulphur, bromine, and iodine, but the 
 eplutions of the latter decompose by keeping. It abstracts bichloride 
 
918 Pharmacy. 
 
 of mercury, terchloride of gold, bichloride of platinum, and the sesqui- 
 chloride of iron, from their watery solutions. It dissolves most resins, 
 pyroxylie spirit, many fats, volatile oils, gallic acid, some of the vege- 
 table alkaloids, urea, osmazome, gun-cotton, chromic acid, tannic acid, 
 caoutchouc, etc. Its formula is (G^ H5 02)=74. 
 
 Dr. C. F. Schonbein states that if a little pure ether be put into a 
 bottle filled with pure oxygen or atmospheric air, and exposed to dif- 
 fused light, the bottle being occasionally shaken, the ether, after the 
 lapse of four months, will have acquired new properties. Although 
 producing no action upon blue litmus-paper, it will discharge the color 
 of solution of indigo, convert pure phosphorus, when immersed in it, 
 into phosphorus acid, eliminate iodine from iodide of potassium, change, 
 pure sulphate of protoxide of iron to the basic and acid sulphate of the 
 deutoxide, transform yellow prussiate of potassa into the red salt, con- 
 vert sulphuret of lead into the sulphate, etc. Similar effects are pro- 
 duced with oil of turpentine and oil of lemons, when treated in the 
 same way as the ether. He expresses an opinion that the property 
 which these substances thus acquire, is due to the presence of oxygen 
 in a chemically exalted condition. 
 
 M. Grimault has given a method by which pure ether may be gela- 
 tinized, or, if required, various substances may be dissolved in it, as 
 camphor, cyanide of potassium, morphia, conia, etc. If four measures 
 of pure ether are added to one measure of white of egg, and the mix- 
 ture be briskly agitated, the albumen will soon be seen to swell, and 
 absorb the entire ether, forming a thick collodion, which soon becomes 
 au opaline, trembling jelly, and does not separate into the two ingre- 
 dients of which it is composed. Applied to the skin, and covered with 
 a band of cloth, or caoutchouc, it speedily causes redness without vesi- 
 cation ; and when it begins to dry, a new layer may be applied if 
 necessary. If the mixture be exposed to a water-bath at 158° P., an 
 almost instantaneous solidification is obtained without the separation 
 of ether. 
 
 Good ether should leave no perceptible stain or odor upon evapora- 
 tion, and should not redden litmus paper; the rank odor left upon the 
 evaporation of some ethers of commerce is an evidence of impurity, 
 and such ethers should be rejected by the practitioner, and never be 
 used for the purpose of inhalation — ^for which purpose the ether pre- 
 pared by Dr. Squibb should alone be employed. Ether may be recog- 
 nized by its combustibility, its yellowish-white flame, its volatility, its 
 peculiar odor and taste, its complete solubility in alcohol, and its spar- 
 ing solubility in water, separating from it, so that two layers of fluid 
 are formed. Ether may be adulterated with acids, alcohol, water, oil 
 of wine, etc. Litmus will detect the presence of acid, which may be 
 neutralized by adding potassa to the fluid, until it gives no acid re- 
 action, shaking it well. Non-volatile matterb may be detected by re- 
 maining after the ether has been removed hj distillation or evapora- 
 tion. If a mixture of ether and water produce a white color, oil of 
 wine is present ; the ether may be separated by distillation at a gentle 
 heat. Alcohol in too large a quantity will increase the specific gravity 
 of the ether ; it may be removed by shaking the ether with double its 
 volume of water. Upon standing, the water and alcohol separate from 
 the ether, which forms the upper layer, and may be removed by decan- 
 tation. . The water which the ether acquires by this process may be 
 removed by distillation over chloride of calcium. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Ether is a narcotic, stimulant, antispasmodic, 
 
J^jTherea. 919 
 
 refrigerant, and carminative. In moderate doses it powerfully acts 
 upon the mouth, throat, and stomach, allays spasm, relieves flatulence, 
 without increasing arterial action. It first excites the cerebral func- 
 cions, then depresses. In somewhat larger doses it causes intoxication. 
 In very large doses it causes nausea, increased flow of saliva, giddiness, 
 and suspension of sensation and voluntary motion. Locally applied, it 
 produces rubefaction, and sometimes vesication, if its evaporation be 
 prevented ; but acts as a refrigerant, occasioning a great degree of 
 cold, when suffered to evaporate. Its antispasmodic and stimulating 
 properties render it eficacious in spasmodic asthma, flatulent colic, 
 hiccough, subsultus tendinum, cramp of the stomach, nervous head- 
 ache, sick headache attended with double vision, photopsy, and nausea 
 or vomiting, — lowness of spirits, gastrodynia, hysteria, dyspnoea, pal- 
 pitation, and gout of the stomach ; it is also eflScacious to overcome the 
 painful spasms occasioned by urinary or biliary calculi, during their 
 passage through the ducts or tubes ; for this purpose it is frequently 
 conjoined with oil of turpentine. As an antispasmodic, it will be found 
 useful in all forms of spasmodic action, unattended by inflammation/ 
 as chorea, epilepsy, tetanus, etc. The dose of ether varies from ten to 
 sixty drops, wliich should be repeated at short intervals. It may be 
 given in water by triturating it with a little spermaceti ; and is fre- 
 quently combined with opium, ammonia, or valerian. Capsules of ether, 
 or pearls of ether (^Clertm), are prepared by inclosing five or six minims 
 of pure ether in capsules made of gum and sugar ; they afford a very 
 pleasant and efficacious mode of administering this fluid. They should 
 be freshly prepared every 10 or 12 months, as they part with their 
 ether. Lortet has found these capsules useful in tenia. He gives at 
 one dose two ounces of ether, followed in two hours by one ounce of 
 castor-oil. When one fluidounce of pure ether is well agitated in a 
 closed bottle, with two fluidracbms of white of egg, a tremulous jelly 
 is formed, termed gelatinized ether, which may be spread on cloth and 
 applied upon painful parts, to act as an anaesthetic. It should be cov- 
 ered with a compress or some body to prevent too rapid evaporation ; 
 and, on account of its want of permanency, should only be made when 
 required for use. 
 
 When applied locally as a refrigerant, allowing it to evaporate, it is 
 useful in nervous and other headaches, in external inflammations, 
 strangulated hernia, etc. As a rubefacient, it may be employed in all 
 cases where this effect, is indicated, by checking its evaporation. The 
 spray of ether directed upon painful parts has been used as a local an- 
 aesthetic, as well as for minor surgical operations. 
 
 The virtues of many agents containing vegetable oils and resins, may 
 be taken up by ether in the form of tincture, when, by evaporating 
 the ether, the desired active product is left behind ; this is the case with 
 lobelia seeds, capsicum, Scutellaria, podophyllum, ptelea, stillingia, 
 xanthoxylon berries, iris, and several other officinal preparations. 
 Under the name of Letheon, ether is' sometimes employed as an anaes- 
 thetic agent, for the prevention and removal of pain and spasm, and 
 whenever severe operations are about being performed. It has also 
 been employed in this manner, in severe dysmenorrhea, as well as dur- 
 ing parturition. It maj'^be used in a similar manner to that for inhal- 
 ing chloroform ; about from four to six minutes will be required before 
 anesthesia occurs, the patient generally inhaling the vapor from a 
 fluidounce and a half to two fluidounces of the liquid ; it should be 
 used in small quantities at a time, and any depression of the pulse, or 
 
920 Pharmacy. 
 
 spasmodic symptoms occurring during its inhalation indicate danger 
 and its further inhalation should be discontinued. Stimulants, cold 
 water to the head and spine, electro-magnetism, etc., are the means to 
 overcome its unpleasant effects. To produce ansethesia chloroform is 
 more commonly preferred. The practice of frequently inhaling ether 
 is dangerous, often causing inflammation of the brain, or insanity, i 
 
 Off. Prep. — Lotio -ffiltheris Composita. 
 
 JEther Aoetious. Acetic .^her. Mhyl Acetate. Acetate of Oxide of 
 Ethyle. (Bssig-^ther.) 
 
 -Preparation. — " Three parts of finely powdered Acetate of Lead are to 
 be put into a glass retort, with a previously cooled mixture of Concen- 
 trated Sulphuric Acid one part, and Alcohol, 90 per cent., one part. 
 When the salt is thoroughly saturated and well shaken up with the 
 spirit, place the retort in a sand-bath, having a receiver connected with 
 it, but not quite air-tight, by means of a bladder ; allow the mixture to 
 digest for a whole day with a very gentle heat, and then distill to dry- 
 ness. The acid distillate is shaken with some hydrate of lime, and, if 
 it smells of sulphurous acid, with peroxide of manganese also ; when 
 neutralized, it is to be distilled until one-seventh remains in the retort. 
 The product will equal, or rather exceed, in weight, the alcohol em- 
 ployed.* 
 
 Several other processes have been pursued ; thus the common acetate 
 of soda may be employed. To Concentrated Sulphuric Acid one fart, 
 and Alcohol, 90 per cent., one part, add Acetate of Soda one part, and 
 Water half a part. The Acetate of Soda and Water are to be first put 
 in the retort, and then the mixture of Sulphuric Acid and Alcohol j 
 then proceed as in the former process. 
 
 To prepare Anhydrous Acetic Ether, the lead salt must first be de- 
 prived of its water of crystallization by a gentle heat, and added to the 
 spirituous acid mixture. The acid distillate is then shaken with one- 
 third its volume of water, and rectified over fused chloride of calcium. 
 
 History. — Acetic Ether is an oxyacid ethylic ether : it is a transpar- 
 ent liquid of a peculiar, but agreeable and powerful smell and burning 
 taste. Its specific gravity is from 0.85 to 0.89 ; it boils at 160°. Seven 
 or eight parts of water dissolve it ; it mixes with alcohol and ether in 
 every proportion, and is decomposed by acids and alkalies. It burns 
 with a yellowish-white flame, and acetic acid is developed during its 
 combustion. It is always present in small quantity in wine vinegar, 
 which owes its flavor to this compound. It is a good solvent for the 
 essential oils, resins, and pyroxylon ; mixed with an alcoholic solution 
 
 *By mixing the alcohol and sulphuric acid, the latter separates from the former its 
 water of hydration, which is replaced by two equivalents of hydrated sulphuric acid : 
 these with the Oxide of Ethyle, form an acid salt, sulphovinic acid, or bl-sulphate of 
 Oxide of Ethyle. When this comes in contact with acetate of lead, especially when 
 heated, an exchange of elements takes place, neutral sulphate of lead, neutral Acetate of 
 the Oxide of Ethyle, and free sulphuric acid resulting ; the neutral acetate of Oxide of 
 Ethyle is removed by distillation, leaving the sulphate of lead and sulphuric acid as a 
 residue. The distillate is not a pure Acetate of Oxide of Ethyle, but contains (dependent 
 on the quantity of acetate of lead and alcohol) water, alcohol, free acetic acid (formed by 
 the action of a small portion of sulphuric acid on the sugar of lead— this can not be obvi- 
 ated, but is reduced by the digestion and distillation to a mere trace), almost always sul- 
 phurous acid, and free sulphuric acid, which latter, on the temperature increasing toward 
 tlie end of the process, passes over. The distillate being agitated with the lime and perox- 
 ide of manganese, the free acetic acid, sulphurous acid (partly converted by the oxygen 
 of the manganese into sulphuric and hyposulphnric acids), and the sulphuric acid com- 
 bine with them, and are retained in the residue on rectification, while the neutral Acetate 
 of Oxide of Ethyle, with the alcohol and some water, passes oyer, and constitutes the offi- 
 cinal Acetic Either. The spirit is abstracted by shaking this with water, and the water 
 by pouring off the ether which swims on its surface, and distilling it with fused chloride 
 of calcium. By using the acetate of soda, exactly the same results are obtained, except 
 that instead of sulphate of lead, the bisulphateof soda remains, which, when neutralized 
 with lime, may be employed as Glauber's salts. "— WiM. 
 
JStheeea. 921 
 
 of ciaiistic potassa, the mixture ie immediately decomposed into acetate 
 of potassa and alcohol. Acetic Ether readily dissolves chloride of lime, 
 and forms a crystallizable compound with it, which yields the ether 
 unchanged on the application of heat. Good Acetic Ether will not 
 affect litmus and turmeric papers ; volatilizes readily and rapidly at a 
 gentle temperature ; and, if it leaves a residue which is blackened by 
 sulphuretted hydrogen, lead is present ; one part of Acetic Ether, and 
 three parts of alcohol 80 per cent, form the Spiiitus Aceticus JEthereus. 
 The formula of Acetic Ether is Cg Hg O4. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — It is somewhat similar in its operation to ether, 
 but is milder, more . agreeable, and more diaphoretic. It is used in 
 nervous fevers, putrid fevers, cardialgia, spasmodic vomiting, and as- 
 thenic affections of the stomach and bowels. Dose, from half a flui- 
 drachm to two fluidrachms, in a sufficient quantity of water. 
 
 ^THEK Hydriodicus. Hydriodic Ether. Iodide of Ethyle. (Jod- 
 w asserstoff-jEther . ) 
 
 Preparation. — Take ten parts of Iodine, five parts of Alcohol 38°, and 
 one part of Phosphorus. Place the alcohol in a retort and add a small 
 amount of iodine ; then add a small quantity of the phosphorus, from 
 time to time, until the liquid becomes colorless ; a fresh portion of 
 iodine is then added, and then a fresh quantity of phosphorus and so 
 continued until all the iodine and phosphorus have been added. Cool 
 the mixture thus obtained by immersing the bulb of the retort after 
 each addition, in cold water to moderate the action. After the reaction 
 has terminated, the liquid is to be distilled by the heat of a water-bath, 
 taking care that the iodine (as shown by its brown color) is in slight 
 excess. The distillate should be washed with water, digested on chip- 
 ride of calcium, and redistilled. 
 
 History — Hydriodic Ether is colorless, and has no acid reaction. It 
 is a hydracid ethylic ether. Its odor is ethereal, its taste pungent, but 
 less sharp than that of sulphuric ether. Its density is 1.9206 at 72° P.; 
 it boils at 160° F., and is not inflammable. When thrown on burning 
 coals, it expands in purple vapor. It is uot decomposed immediately 
 by potassa, nor by nitric or sulphurous acids, but sulphuric acid de- 
 composes it, and sets free a part of the iodine. The action of tlie air 
 discolors it slightly by liberating a little iodine, which, may be readily 
 removed by the alkalies, or mercury, a globule of which thrown into 
 the vial, is sufficient to retain the ether in a state proper for inhala- 
 tion. 
 
 Its density admits of its being kept under water, in which it is insol- 
 uble ; but soluble in alcohol. Its formula is C^ H5 1. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Hydriodic Ether, is recommended by Dr. 
 Huette, by way of inhalation, as a remedial agent in several diseases, 
 especially in pulmonary consumption, tubercular affections in many 
 parts of the body, and where it is desired to saturate the system quickly 
 with iodine ; it apjjears likely to play an important part in medicine. 
 Fifteen to thirty grains of the Hydriodic Ether are transferred, by 
 means of a graduated pipette, into a little ground-stoppered bottle (3 or 
 4 centimeters) an inch to an inch and a half high. The ether is cov- 
 ered with a stratum of water about two or two and a half millimetres 
 thick, the object of which is to moderate the evaporation ; when the 
 vial is applied to one of the nostrils, and the air contained within it is 
 drawn by an inspiration. The ethereal vapor is sufficiently diluted 
 with air before reaching the lungs. The evaporation of the ether 
 may be accelerated by inclining the vial to one side, so tliat the contin- 
 
922 Phabmacy. 
 
 uity of the watery layer may be broken and the heat of the hand may 
 be Bipplied to the same object. Fifteen or twenty inspirations suffice 
 for the impregnation of the system with iodine, and a quarter of an 
 hour after the cessation of the inhalations, iodine is found in the urine, 
 and has also been found present in fifty or sixty hours afterward. 
 
 The physiological effects of this ether are said to be, " After some in- 
 halations, an impression of calmness and satisfaction announces that 
 the Hydriodic Ether acts at first conformably with the sedative prop- 
 erties of the other ethers employed in medicine. The respiratory mo- 
 tions are carried on with readiness and fullness, advantageous to the 
 birculation ; but the antispasmodic action of the ethereal vapor which 
 favors the absorption of the remedy, is soon followed by the influence 
 of the absorbed iodine. The increase of vigor ceasing to be limited 
 to the thoracic muscles, extends to the muscular system. The appe- 
 tite is developed, the secretions are increased, the genital feelings be- 
 come more sensitive, the pulse acquires fullness, and the vivacity of the 
 feelings and the activity of the intellect, prove that the impulse given 
 to the other organs extends to the brain also. Such are the effects that 
 four daily inhalations of ten minutes each produced on Dr. Huette. As 
 to accident, he never experienced any thing but a little coryza, and fre- 
 quently when the vapor has been too concentrated, a slight feeling of 
 pressure in the temples." 
 
 He thinks that in many cases there will be an advantage in substitut- 
 ing the inhalation of Hydriodic Ether, for the other preparations of 
 iodine, observing that inhalation permits the fractioning of the doses to 
 any extent and causes the absorption of the medicine by more 'extended 
 surfaces, more generally accessible in all their parts, and better calcu- 
 lated for the absorption of the smallest medicinal atoms, than are the 
 digestive organs. — Am. Jour. Pharm., XXIII., 156. It has likewise 
 been advantageously employed in inhalation by several physicians of 
 this country in chronic diseases of the air passages, especially in mem- 
 branous phthisis and bronchial affections. 
 
 AMlftDNIA. (Ammoniak. — Fliichtiges Laugensalz.) 
 Ammonijb BEfJZOAS. Benzoate of Ammonia. 
 
 Preparation.—'^ Take of Solution of Ammonia three fluidounces (Imp. 
 meas.) ; Benzoic Acid two ounces (Avoir.) ; Distilled Water eight fluid- 
 ounces (Imp. meas.). Dissolve the Benzoic Acid in the Solution of Am- 
 monia previously mixed with the Water; evaporate at a gentle heat; 
 and set aside that crystals may form."— 5nt Pharm. 
 
 History. — Benzoate of Ammonia is in small, white, laminated crystals, 
 having a somewhat benzoic acid odor, an alkaline, bitterish taste, with 
 slight acridity ; it is soluble in water or alcohol, and is hygroscopic. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This salt is a mild diuretic, somewhat stimulant, 
 forming hippuric acid with decrease of urea in the urine. It has been 
 employed as a diuretic in cases of deficient activity of the renal organs, 
 in chronic irritation of the urinary mucous membrane, in phosphatic 
 urinary sediments, of which it tends to aid the solution, and in gout. 
 The dose is from 10 to 60 grains, in water, two or three times a day. 
 
 Ammonite Phosphas. Phosphate of Ammonia. 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Strong Solution of Ammonia eight fluidounces 
 (Imp. meas.); Diluted Phosphoric Acid twenty fluidounces (Imp. meas.). 
 Add the Solution of Ammonia to the Phosphoric Acid ; dissolve by a 
 
Ammonia. 923 
 
 gentle heat the crystalline precipitate which forms; and set the solu- 
 tion aside that crystals may again form. Eemove the crystals, and. 
 having dried them quickly on filtering paper placed on a porous brick, 
 preserve them in a stoppered bottle. The mother liquor, if evaporated 
 to half its bulk, will, upon being mixed with two fluidounces of strong 
 Solution of Ammonia, give additional crystals." — Brit. Pharm. 
 
 History. — Phosphate of Ammonia forms in large, prismatic, trans- 
 parent crystals, which have a not very disagreeable taste, an odor like 
 that of ammonia but much weaker, are soluble in twice their weight 
 of water, insoluble in alcohol, and gradually lose their transparency 
 from loss of water and ammonia. Their formula is 3 (N H^ 0) POj-j-S 
 HO. The Phosphate of Ammonia found in drug stores is not this salt, 
 but either the neutral salt, 2 (ISTHi O) HO, PO^+HO, or, the acid phos- 
 phate, ISTH^O, 2 HO, PO5+4 HO. 
 
 Properties and C/ses.— This salt was recommended in 1846, by Dr. T. 
 H. .Buckler, for the cure of gout and rheumatism, and though the grounds 
 upon which he commenced its use are not tenable, yet the article has 
 been found useful in these affections, and in some diseases of the urin- 
 ary apparatus. The dose varies from ten to forty grains, in half a fluid- 
 ounce of water, and repeated two or three times a day. 
 
 AmmonijE Yaleeianas. Valerianate of Ammonia. (Baldriansaures 
 Ammoniak.) 
 
 Preparation. — Place a thin layer of pure Monohydrated Yalerianic 
 Acid in a flat caj^sule, completely closed by a bell-glass, and admit An- 
 hydrated Ammoniacal Gas until the acid is completely saturated. It 
 is to be kept in small quantities in completely closed vessels. 
 
 Valerianate of Ammonia thus prepared forms in pearl-white tufts of 
 acicular crystals radiating from a center, which have an odor resem- 
 bling valerianic acid, but less disagreeable, a sweet taste, are neutral, 
 isomorphous, assuming a distinct change in color and crystalline struct- 
 ure upon slight exposure to the air, and so deliquescent that it soon 
 becomes liquid upon continued exposure to atmospheric moisture. Its 
 chemical action is greatlj' increased by solution, but not its physical. 
 The method given by Benj. T. Crew {Am. Jour. Pharm., Vol. XXXII., 
 page 109) is, probably, the best method yet devised for procuring Vale- 
 rianate of Ammonia in dry crystals, and upon which is based the for- 
 mula of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. He first prepares a monohydrated 
 valerianic acid of about sp. gr. .933, which is then saturated with gas- 
 eous ammonia previously passed over fragments of quicklime, or, until 
 litmus-paper is no longer acted on. In a few hours perfectly dry, snow- 
 white, non-deliquescent crystals are formed. They have the peculiar 
 unpleasant odor of valerianic acid, a sharp, rather sweetish taste, deli- 
 quesce only in moist air, are slightly effervescent in dry air, and dis- 
 solve freely in water or alcohol. Strong alkalies and the mineral acids 
 decompose it. Valerianate of Ammonia is more commonly prepared 
 by our manufacturing chemists. The article used in. medicine is a so- 
 lution of the Valerianate, for which several formulae have been given,' 
 as — 
 
 1. Takeof Monohydrated Valerianic Acid, an OMMce (Troy) ; carefully 
 saturate this by adding gradually Caustic Solution of Ammonia, a suffi- 
 cient quantity; when the niixture becomes neutral to test-paper, add 
 Simple Syrup, flavored with Oil of Gaultheria, a sufficient quantity to 
 make the whole amount to one pint. Bach fluidrachm is equivalent to 
 a little over four grains of Valerianate of Ammonia. — F. Stearns. 
 
 2. Take of Distilled Water thirty-two drachms; Valerianic Acid one 
 
924 Pharmacy. 
 
 drachm ; Subcarbonate of Ammonia a sufficient quantity to neutralize the 
 acid; then add Alcoholic Extract of Valerian too scruples. — Declat. 
 
 3. Take of Crystals of Valerianate of Ammonia too dracAms; Extract 
 of Valerian two scruples; Fluid Extract of Valerian two fluidrachms ; 
 Syrup of Orange-flower half a fluidounce; Distilled Water seven and a 
 half fluidounces. Make a solution and filter. This makes a solution of 
 ^he Valerianate for internal use. 
 
 The composition and properties of these several solutions of Valeri- 
 h,i-ate of Ammonia are not accurately ascertained, and the different speci- 
 mens obtained are far from being uniform. The preparation formed for 
 internal administration by the formula of Declat is of a brown color, 
 not very limpid, and of a valerianic odor and taste. 
 
 Properties and' Uses. — This salt has been highly recommended in neu- 
 ralgia, epilepsy, headache, nervous irritability, chorea, etc. The dose 
 of the salt is from four to ten grains three times a day ; of Declut's solu- 
 tion, from a fluidrachm to half a fluidounce, according to the urgency 
 of the symptoms. Elixir of Valerianate of Ammonia is a preparation 
 designed to disguise the disagreeable taste of the valerianate, and for 
 which several formulae have been proposed. One, about as useful as any, 
 is as follows: Take of Valerianate of Ammonia one drachm; Pluid Ex- 
 tract of Vanilla half a fluidounce, Compound Tincture of Cardamom 
 four fluidrachms, Tincture of Prickly Ash Berries two fluidrachms, 
 Syrup of Orange flower six fluidrachms. Water three and a half fluid- 
 ounces ; mix. The dose is a teaspoonful, to be repeated three times a 
 day. 
 
 Ammonium Bromidum. Bromide of Ammonium: (Bromsaures Am- 
 moniak.) 
 
 Preparation. — Place Sulphide of Ammonium* a sufficient quantity, in 
 a Florence flask, then, through a glass funnel having a tube sufficiently 
 long to reach nearly to the bottom of the flask, add small portions of 
 Bromine from time to time, shaking the mixture after each addition, 
 and waiting until reaction ceases before adding more. Continue the 
 ad.dition until a slight redness is perceptible, when a little Sulphide of 
 Ammonium may be added to remove the color; then boil to drive off any 
 excess of the Sulphide, filter, and evaporate to dryness; or, when a pel- 
 licle is formed, set aside to crystallize. 
 
 History. — Bromide of Ammonium is a white, prismatic salt, becoming 
 yellow and slightly acid by exposure to the air ; it is only slightly solu- 
 ble in alcohol, but freelj^ soluble in water, the solution being inodorous 
 and of a mild alkaline taste. The above method of preparation, is the 
 one pursued by Messrs. W. J. M. Gordon & Co., manufacturing chemists 
 and pharmaceutists of this city, who are also largely engaged in the 
 manufacture of our active concentrated preparations. According to Mr. 
 C. Umney, this salt is frequently met with impure, being contaminated 
 with iodine; he advises the following method of detecting the presence 
 of iodine : Dissolve some of the Bromide in water, adding to the solu- 
 tion, starch, and subsequently a few drops of chlorine water, when, if 
 any iodine be present, a blue color will be produced. Bromine is 
 also set free by this process, but it does not produce a blue color with 
 starch. 
 
 Properties and C/ises.— According to Dr. Gibb, this salt is tonic, seda- 
 
 "Sulphide of Ammonium may be made by passing steam tbrough a mixture of sulphate of 
 ammonium and the lime proceeding from the purification of l)urnlng gas (oxysalphuret 
 of lime). The volatile product Is collected in a condensing apparatus, and gives a sulphide 
 of good quality and strength. It is an extremely fetid liquid, and is sometimes employed 
 in analyses in Hie place of sulphuretted hydrogen.— 5penee. 
 
Ammonia., 925 
 
 live, or antispasmodic, according to the quantity given, and the mode 
 of administration. In large doses frequently repeated, or given at inter- 
 vals, it influences the entire mucous tract, affects all the special senses 
 and produces impaired sensibility of the various mucous outlets. In 
 very large doses it produces poisonous effects analogous to those caused 
 by similar doses of bromide of potassium. It is more certain and relia- 
 ble in small doses, causing no diarrhea nor diuresis, while its special 
 properties are exerted sooner, and with less inconvenience. In small 
 doses, mure or less continued, it acts as a tonic and absorbent, and ex- 
 erts its peculiar properties on the skin and mucous membrane ; it pos- 
 sesses a soothing influence on the mucous membrane, and according to 
 the strength and mode of its application, so does it diminish the sensi- 
 bility ; it improves the intellectual powers, increases the bodily capacitj^ 
 and promotes healthy functions ; when continued with a well regulated 
 diet it diminishes the weight of the body, causing absorption of fat in 
 the economy, and arresting atheromatous changes. It has been found 
 beneficial in corpulency, cutaneous diseases, glandular and other enlarge- 
 ments, scrofulous affections, scrofulous ophthalmia, and epilepsy due to 
 certain causes. Bromide of Ammonium has also been found serviceable 
 in jiertussis in doses of one grain for each year of the patient's, age, 
 repeating the doses three times a day ; also in eases of nervous prostra- 
 tion from sexual excesses or masturbation, accompanied with deranged 
 sexual nervous i>ower. The dose is from one to three grains, which 
 may be rc])outed two or three times a day; it is best taken dissolved in 
 water. 
 
 Ammonium Iodidum. Iodide of Ammonium. (lodsaures Ammoniak.) 
 
 Preparation. — Place Iodine, a sufficient quantity, in a Florence flask, or 
 dish, and add to it a small quantity of water, or enough to cover it, 
 then add Sulphide of Ammonium to it, agitating it from time to time, 
 and continue the addition of the Sulphide until the red color has dis- 
 appeared ; boil to drive off the excess of the Sulphide, filter, and evap- 
 orate to drj-ness. 
 
 History. — Iodide of Ammonium thus prepared is a white crystalline 
 powder, which, however, is readily decomposed by the air, and assumes 
 after a time first a yellow, and then a brown color ; it may, however, 
 be easily restored, by adding a little solution of sulphuretted hydrogen 
 till colorless, filtering, and evaporating to dryness. — Annals of Pharm., 
 Jan., 1853. It is soluble in water, is not unpleasant to the taste, 
 though a little more pungent than the iodide of potassium. It is much 
 employed in photography. The above formula is also from the Messrs. 
 Gordon. 
 
 The preparation made according to the above formula has the objec- 
 tion that traces of sulphur obstinately adhere to it, and that, even 
 when excluded from light, discoloration occurred with evolution of free 
 iodine. A formula has, therefore, been proposed by Mr. Jas. F. Bab- 
 cock which produces a salt, absolutely pure, and which, if carefully 
 dried, remains white for a considerable period, even on exposure to 
 light and air, and which has a perfectly reliable composition. The pro- 
 cess consists in the double decomposition of pure iodide of potassium, 
 and pure sulphate of ammonia, forming iodide of ammonium and sul- 
 phate of potassa ; it is as follows : dissolve by heat Iodide of Potassium 
 five parts by weight, and Sulphate of Ammonia two parts by weight, in 
 Distilled Water four parts by weight. On cooling, a large proportion 
 of sulphate of potassa is deposited; and when the fluid is at 60° P., Al- 
 cohol, 95 per cent., one part by weight, is mixed with it, which separates 
 
926 PUARMACT. 
 
 all but about one per cent, of sulphate of potassa, and the concen- 
 trated solution of Iodide of Ammonium, after evaporation, yields crys- 
 tals of perfectly white Iodide. Subsequent addition of alcohol will 
 separate the whole of the sulphate of potassa from the mother liquor, 
 which, on evaporation to dryness, will yield an additional quantity of 
 the Iodide. To give the best results, the evaporation should be per- 
 formed in the dark, or in the evening by gas-light. The solution being 
 very concentrated, will require but comparatively little boiling, and the 
 precipitate of sulphate of potassa being crystalline, can be readily sepa- 
 rated by filtration. — Proceedings Am. Pharm. Assoc.., 1866, p. 245. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Its action is somewhat analogous to that of 
 iodide of potassium, its therapeutic effects being, however, more rapidly 
 evidenced. It frequently produces diuresis, and also appears to have a 
 well-marked and satisfactory influence in the reduction of glandular 
 swellings. It has been very successfully employed in scrofula, con- 
 stitutional syphilis, glandular enlargements, chronic rheumatism, 
 phthisis pulmonalis, and in strumous disorders generally. The dose 
 for an adult is from one to three grains, repeated three or four times 
 daily; it may be taken dissolved in water. A liniment made by dis- 
 solving half a drachm of the iodide in an ounce of glycerin, and ap- 
 plied to enlarged tonsils by means of a camel's-hair brush once or twice 
 a day, has, in the course of three or four months, aided by internal use 
 of the salt, effected their complete and permanent reduction. The 
 same liniment, employed in frictions, has been found beneficial in noc- 
 'turnal syphilitic pains of the muscles or joints. An ointment (20 or 30 
 grs. to an ounce of lard) has been efficacious in lepra and psoriasis, and 
 in what is known as "camp or prairie itch," applying about half an 
 ounce of it in frictions, twice a day. But a small quantity of this oint- 
 ment should be prepared at a time, and kept in well-stopped vessels, 
 as the action of the air decomposes the iodide. 
 
 AQTJiE MBDIOAT.^. (Medicinishe Wasser.) 
 
 Medicated Waters. 
 
 These consist of water holding in solution some medicinal or aro- 
 matic principles, as certain gases, volatile oils, etc. Heretofore, those 
 waters which contained a portion of the aroma of certain plants, were 
 procured by distilling water from either the fresh or dry herb ; the 
 principal portion of the volatile oil which collected on the top of the 
 distillate upon standing, was removed, a siifficient amount being re- 
 tained by the water to render it of the taste and odor of the plant. 
 But such distilled waters are very apt to become spoiled, unless great 
 care be taken to redistill them from time to time, or add to them some 
 preservative material which is frequently an undesirable addition. It 
 has, therefore, been found the best method to triturate the essential oil 
 itself with certain substances in the water, which so minutely divide the 
 former as to render it more soluble in the latter, as carbonate of mag- 
 nesia, pumice stone, finely-powdered glass or silica, etc., which yield a 
 clear and permanent solution after being filtered through paper. Car- 
 bonate of Magnesia is the medium more commonly employed in this 
 country. As ordinary water contains several agents which may de- 
 compose or ultimately destroy the aromatic virtues imparted to it by 
 the above method, it is of much importance that distilled water only be 
 always used. T. B. Groves has succeeded in recovering volatile oils 
 
AqlM'; MedicaTjE. 927 
 
 from their watery solutions, bj' tirst adding to them olive oil, and ther 
 saponifying with potash. The soap thus formed, when decomposed bj 
 an acid, liberates the mixed oils, from which the aromatic portions may 
 be separated by shaking with alcohol. — Pharm. Jour, and Trans., V. 
 347, Feb., 1864. 
 
 Aqua Acidi Carbonici. Carbonic Acid Water. Soda Water. Min- 
 eral Water. Artificial Seltzer Water. (Kunstliches Selterser Wasser.) 
 
 Preparation. — This is prepared by condensing Carbonic Acid Gas, 
 generated by the action of Dilute Sulphuric Acid on pulverized Marble, 
 by means of an apparatus manufactured for the purpose. Five or six 
 volumes of gas may thus be condensed in one volume of water. 
 
 Bistory. — At the ordinary temperature and pressure of the atmos- 
 phere, one volume of water absorbs one volume of carbonic acid gas, and 
 acquires a sp. gr. of 1.0018. By doubling the pressure, the quantity of 
 gas absorbed by the water is doubled, and so on for other degrees of 
 pressure ; for Dr. Henry has shown that the quantity of g^B forced 
 into the water is directly as the pressure. — P. Thus, for water to ab- 
 sorb five times its bulk of this gas, a pressure of five atmospheres must 
 be used. 
 
 The " soda water " of the shops is merely a carbonic acid water, ren- 
 dered more palatable by the use of some aromatic or agreeable syrup ; 
 when the carbonated water and syrup are bottled up together, it is 
 then known by the name of " mineral water." Water containing car- 
 bonic acid is very effervescent, has a pleasant, tingling, slightly acidu- 
 lous taste, and an acid reaction. The vessels containing it should be 
 strong, and perfectly air-tight, and kept in a cold place, otherwise the 
 gas will escape, and the water lose' its sparkling activity. Too much 
 care can not be taken to avoid metallic impurities, especially lead, which 
 should not be used at all where the carbonic acid water can come in 
 contact with it; the pipes leading from the fountain should be made 
 either of block tin or gutta-percha. The fountain containing this 
 water, if made of copper, should be well lined with tin, and should be 
 carefully examined every season before using it. The glass-lined 
 iron fountains are preferable, and should be used whenever they can be 
 obtained. 
 
 The fixed air, acid vapor, and aerial acid of former times is now termed 
 carbonic acid. It is an invisible, irrespirable gas, having a faint odor 
 and a sharp, slightly acidulous taste. Its specific gravity is 1.5245, and 
 •it is so much heavier than air, that it may be poured from one vessel 
 to another ; it slightly reddens litmus ; is not combustible, extinguishes 
 most burning bodies ; and is reduced to a limpid, colorless liquid under 
 a pressure of 36 atmospheres at 32°, which is insoluble in water, and in 
 the fat oils, but is soluble in all proportions in alcohol, ether, oil of tur- 
 pentine and carburet of sulphur. When the pressure is removed from 
 the liquid carbonic acid, the cold produced by the evaporation of one 
 part is so great that another part freezes, forming a white, snow-like 
 body, which is a bad conductor of heat, and has the temperature 148° 
 F. Mixed with ether and placed under the exhausted receiver of an 
 air-pump, Faraday obtained a temperature of 166° F. The metallic, 
 alkaline, and earthy salts formed with carbonic acid are called carbo- 
 nates. If a light be introduced into a well, pit, mine, or other place, it 
 will burn dimly or be extinguished if this gas be present, and the air 
 of such place will certainly destroy life if respired. The sparkling and 
 effervescing properties of many kinds of wine, beer, cider, etc., are 
 owing to the presence of carbonic acid gas. When carbonic acid has 
 
928 Pharmacy. 
 
 accumulated in cellars or other places, so as to render them fatal tc 
 animal life, it may be removed ]jy sprinkling about some liquor ammo- 
 nia ; this combines with the carbonic acid to form carbonate of ammo- 
 nia, and fresh air rushes in to fill up the space produced by the conden- 
 sation of the acid. The formula of carbonic acid is CO^; its equiva- 
 lent weight, 22. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Carbonic acid water is a refreshing, refrigerant 
 beverage, useful to allay thirst, check nausea, and promote diuresis. It 
 may be used in fevers, inflammatory diseases, chronic inflammation of 
 the stomach, vomiting of pregnant females, etc. ; and may be taken 
 three or four times daily in doses of from three to six fluidounces. Car- 
 bonic acid gas has been used with success in scrofulous ophthalmia, 
 being directed upon the affected part in a small jet ; it has also been 
 directed upon the uterus and upper part of the vagina in dysmenorrhea 
 and ulceration of the cervix ; passed into the rectum it has been found 
 useful in ulceration of the rectum and dysentery; and in cancerous and 
 other ulcers it forms a good application. The jet should be continued 
 from three to ten minutes upon the affected part, repeating it four or 
 five times a day. 
 
 In accidents arising from its inhalation, remove the patient immedi- 
 ately into the open air, and place him on his back with his head some- 
 what elevated, and pursue a treatment similar to that named in pois- 
 oning by the inhalation of sweet spirit of niter. 
 
 ,Aqtja AMMONi.aE. Ammonise Liquor. Water of Ammonia. Liquor 
 Ammonia. Solution of Ammonia. (Aetzende Ammoniakfliissiqkeit.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Muriate of Ammonia thirteen ounces; Quick- 
 lime thirteen ounces; Water seven fluidounces and a half; Distilled Water 
 twelve fluidounces. Slake the Lime with the Water, cover it up till it 
 cools, triturate it well and quickly with the Muriate of Ammonia pre- 
 viously in fine powder, and put the mixture into a glass retort, to 
 which is attached a receiver with a safety-tube. Connect with the re- 
 ceiver a bottle also provided with a safety-tube ; and containing four 
 ounces of the Distilled Water, but capable of holding twice as much. 
 Connect this bottle with another loosely corked, and containing the 
 remaining eight ounces of Distilled Water. The communicating tubes 
 must descend to the bottom of the bottles at the further end from the 
 retort ; and the receiver and bottles must be kept cool by snow, ice, or 
 a running stream of cold water. Apply to the retort a gradually-in- 
 creasing heat till gas ceases to be evolved ; remove the retort, cork up 
 the aperture in the receiver where it was Connected with the retort, 
 and apply to the receiver a gentle and gradually-increasing heat, to 
 drive over as much of the gas in the liquid contained in it, but as little 
 of the water, as possible. Should the liquid in the last bottle not have 
 the density of 0.960, reduce it with some of the stronger Aqua Ammo- 
 nia in the first bottle, or raise it with distilled water, so as to form 
 Aqua Ammonia of the prescribed density." — PJd. The fluid measures 
 in this formula are Imperial. We have by this process a Liquor Am- 
 monice Fortior, sp. gr. 0.880, and Aqua Ammonice, sp. gr. 0.960. 
 
 History. — Muriate of Ammonia consists of an equivalent of ammo- 
 nium ITH4 and chlorine^^NHj CI. Lime (oxide of caleium=rCa O) 
 decomposes it, forming chloride of calcium, water, and ammonia. 668 
 parts require only 350 parts of lime, but rather more is prescribed, as 
 in the first place the lime may not be quite pure, and the excess will 
 also insure a more certain contact with the muriate of ammonia ; for 
 
AqUj® Medicate. 929 
 
 this reason more water is ordered than is necessary to slake the lime, 
 viz., sufficient to convert the whole into a thick paste. The slaking of 
 the lime, which is thus converted in a convenient manner into an ex- 
 tremely fine powder, is due to the avidity with which this base com- 
 bines with one equivalent of water, forming a hydrate. The heat thus 
 generated is partly owing to the water passing from the fluid to the 
 solid state, and also from the great affinity lime has for it. In order 
 to obtain most of the gas entirely pure, two vessels must be employed, 
 the receiver to hold any impurities that may pass over, and the quart 
 bottle holding the distilled water which absorbs the pure gas as it 
 passes over. Glass tubes are recommended to connect them, but on 
 account of their fragility, leaden ones may be used without any preju- 
 dicial results. It is necessary to keep the bottle well cooled, otherwise 
 a considerable loss of ammonia will ensue, as much heat is evolved 
 during its passage from the gaseous to the liquid state. The tube 
 which passes into the bottle should be long enough to reach nearly to 
 its bottom, and should be connected with it, not quite air-tight, by 
 means of bladder. Water of Ammonia sp. gr. 0.96 contains in 100 
 parts .90.4 of water, and 9.6 of ammonia, consequently ten parts contain 
 nearly one part of pure ammonia. Water of Ammonia may also be 
 prepared from sulphate of ammonia. — Witt. 
 
 Water of Ammonia is a transparent liquid, of a peculiarly pungent 
 odor, and a caustic, alkaline taste. It quickly brov/ns turmeric paper, 
 which regains its yfellow color on exposure to the air. On account of 
 its volatility it must be kept in bottles with well-fitted glass stoppers, 
 and in a cool place ; corks are changed to a brown color, and gradually 
 corroded by it. If the Water of Ammonia contains a trace o{ Muriate 
 of Ammonia, it may be detected by saturating it with nitric acid, and 
 then adding a drop of a solution of nitrate of silver, which will produce 
 a white precipitate of chloride of silver. If carbonic acid be present, a 
 white carbonate of baryta will be produced by agitating the liquor 
 with baryta water ; lime-water, or chloride of calcium, will also pro- 
 duce a white precipitate of carbonate of lime. If sulphuric acid be 
 present, chloride of barium will cause a white precipitate insoluble in 
 hydrochloric acid. When tin vessels are used, the liquor may contain 
 some oxide of tin, but this being insoluble in it, will be deposited after 
 a few weeks' standing. If copper be present (as an oxide) the liquor 
 will have a bluish tint, and by the addition of sulphuretted hydrogen, 
 or hydrosulphate of ammonia, a black precipitate of sulphuret of cop- 
 pei' is formed, which may be removed by deposition and filtration. 
 Sefiquicarbonate of ammonia produces a precipitate when lime or other 
 earthy matter is present. According to Dr. Maclagan, Water of Am- 
 monia, when prepared from gas-liquor, is apt to contain some of its 
 volatile ingredients ; when an excess of nitric or sulphuric acid is 
 added to the solution, and a red color is imparted passing into purple ; 
 or, when the solution is supersaturated with hydrochloric acid, and a 
 clean shaving of fir -wood inserted into it became colored a rich pur- 
 ple — these are evidences of the gas-liquor impurities. The incompati- 
 bilities of Water of Ammonia are about the same as those of the sefiqui- 
 carbonate of ammonia. 
 
 The specific gravity of Solution of Ammonia will show the percent- 
 age of Ammonia contained in the solution. Davy, in " Elements of 
 Chemical Philosophy," p. 268, has given the following table for this 
 purpose. 
 
 59 
 
930 Fharmact. 
 
 100 parts of sp. gr. at 59° P. contain of Ammonia : 
 
 SP. GK. AMMONIA. SP. GB. AMMONIA. 
 
 0.8750 32.50 0.9435 14.53 
 
 0.8875 29.25 0.9476 13.46 
 
 0.9000 26.00 0.9518 12.40 
 
 0.9054 25.37 0.9545 ;.. 11.56 
 
 0.9166 22.07 0.9573 .". 10.82 
 
 0.9255 19.54 0.9697 ^ 10.17 
 
 0.9326 17.52 0.9619 9.60 
 
 09885 15.88 0.9692 9.50 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Water of Ammonia is a powerful irritant and 
 narcotic poison, producing in large doses tetanus and coma, and in 
 smaller quantity inflammation or ulceration. In medicinal doses it is 
 an energetic stimulant, especially of the nervous system, prompt, diffu- 
 sible, and transient. It is adapted for speedily rousing the action of 
 the vascular and respiratory systems, and for the prompt alleviation 
 of spasm. It exerts but little action on the cerebral functions, while it 
 stimulates the vascular system. It acts as a useful antacid in cases of 
 acid stomach, and in diseases which are caused or augmented in se- 
 verity by this gastric condition, as sick-headache, spasm, heart-burn, 
 palpitation, etc. It has likewise been used as a stimulant and anti- 
 spasmodic in neuralgia of the face and head, -asthma, pertussis, and 
 delirium -tremens ; and is highly recommended as an internal stimu- 
 lant in cases of retrocession of old and obstinate cutaneous eruptions. 
 The vapor of Water of Ammonia inhaled through the nostrils, makes 
 a powerful impression on the nervous system, and is useful in syncope, 
 to prevent an attack of epilepsy,- hysteria, etc. I have used the Water 
 of Ammonia successfully in the treatment of hydrophobia, an account 
 of which will be found m the " Western Medical Eeformer," Vol. VI., 
 Oct., 1846, p. 83 ; since which it has been used by others in this coun- 
 try and Europe, and with very successful results, and has also been 
 found a very efl3.cacious remedy against the bites of venomous serpents. 
 Externally, Water of Ammonia' may be used as a rubefacient, irritant, 
 or vesicant, as may be required, in rheumatic and neuralgic pains, and 
 internal inflammations. It has been found to benefit burns when not 
 too extensive. Its combination with oil forms a rubefacient liniment 
 much used. Dose of Water of Ammonia from five to twenty or thirty 
 drops, sufficiently diluted. The antidotes to it when swallowed in 
 large doses, or in an undiluted state, are acids, as vinegar, juice of 
 oranges or lemons, cider, etc., which should be administered at once to 
 secure any good effects ; they combine with the ammonia forming 
 harmless salts ; or olive-oil may be given. Inflammatory symptoms 
 must be met according to indications. 
 
 Aqua Ammonite Portior. Stronger Water of Ammonia. Ammonia 
 Liquor Portior. Liquor Ammonice Fortior, or Stronger Solution of 
 Ammonia, has properties very similar to those of the Water of Ammo- 
 nia, being, however, more highly caustic, acrid, and alkaline. Its sp. 
 gr. should be 0.900, while that of the weaker officinal solution should 
 be 0.960. Both of these solutions should be kept in two or four ounce 
 vials, and well stopped, as they rapidly lose their ammoniacal strength 
 by contact with the atmosphere. In determining the strength of 
 Water of Ammonia, the hydrometer should always be used. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Undiluted, this Stronger Water of Ammonia is 
 entirely too potent for medicinal use. Its principal employment is 
 externally as a counter-irritant. The formula for Gondret's Ammoniacal 
 Ointment as improved is as follows : Take of Lard sixtem drachms, Oi! 
 
AQUiE Medicate. 931 
 
 of Sweet Almonds one drachm ; melt the lard and mix it with the oil in 
 a wide-mouthed vial with a glass stopper, then add Ligltioi' Ammoni, 
 Fortior, sp. gr. 0.905, eight and a half drachms; close the bottle, mix the 
 contents by agitation, and keep in a cool place. Eubbed on the skin it 
 causes rubefaction, but if covered by a compress it speedily produces 
 vesication. If well prepared, vesication will take place in from eight 
 to twelve minutes. In cases of poisoning from swallowing this strong- 
 er Water of Ammonia, the means to be used are the same as named 
 above for the weaker solution. 
 
 The officinal preparations of Liquor Ammonia, sp. gr. 0.960, are Lini- 
 mentum Aramonise ; Linimentum Capsici Compositum ; Linimentum 
 Saponjs Camphoratum. 
 
 Aqua AMTGDAL.a! Kularm. Bitter- Almond Water. (Bitter Man del 
 Wasser.) 
 
 Preparation. — Triturate together Essential Oil of Bitter Almonds 
 eight minims, with Carbonate of Magnesia thirty grains, and gradually 
 add, while continuing the trituration, Distilled Water one pint; filter. 
 
 History. — This medicated water soon undergoes decomposition, on 
 which account it should only be prepared as required, and never in 
 large quantities. It is a sedative, of the character of hydrocyanic acid, 
 and is preferable to the distilled water of bitter almonds, which is more 
 dangerous in its effects upon the system, and which is sold under the 
 same name ; great care is required to distinguish between these two 
 preparations in dispensing prescriptions. 
 
 Properties and Uses. Bitter-Almond Water maj- be used in all cases 
 where hydrocyanic acid or its sedative compounds are useful, as in 
 whooping cough, pulmonary affections, etc. It is more commonly used 
 as an addition to other medicines to impart its peculiar flavor to theni. 
 The dose of it, when freshly made, is two fluidrachms, which may be care- 
 fully and gradually increased to six or eight fluidrachms, and which 
 may be repeated two or three times daily. 
 
 Aqua Calcis. Lime-water. Liquor Calcis. Solution of Lime. — Brit. 
 Pharm. (Kalk Wasser.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Lime half a pound; Distilled Water sixteen 
 pints. Slake the Lime with a little of the Water, pour the rest of the 
 water over it, and agitate. Then cover the vessel, and put it aside for 
 three hours. Preserve the liquor with the remaining lime, in well- 
 closed glass bottles, and use the clear liquid when wanted. 
 
 History. — This is an aqueous solution, and may be made with any 
 free-stone water, from springs, lakes, etc., instead of distilled water, 
 provided these are free from impurities. As lime is more soluble in 
 eol,d than hot water, the former should be used in making this prepara- 
 tion. Lime-water is a clear, transparent fluid, having a slightly earthy 
 odor, and an alkaline, unpleasant, and somewhat astringent taste and 
 alkaline reaction. It partially saponifies oils ; and on exposure to the 
 air, absorbs carbonic acid, which, forming carbonate of lime, is first 
 seen floating as a film on the surface of the fluid, being finally deposited 
 OD the sides and bottom of the vessel, and succeeded by another film, and 
 so on. Bottles containing it should always have an excess of lime, and 
 be kept well stopped. 
 
 Properties and JTses.^-Lime- water has been found useful in pyrosis, 
 gastrodynia, and other painful gastric symptoms due to deranged di- 
 gestion, likewise in epilepsy, and other spasmodic and chronic diseases, 
 which are accompanied with acidity of the stomach. In dyspepsia, 
 phthisis, and other forms of disease, where from acidity or irritability 
 
932 Pharmacy. 
 
 of the stomach the usual food is rejected, or if retained gives rise to 
 uneasiness and many unpleasant symptoms, one part of Lime-water 
 added to one, two, or three parts of good sweet-milk, will be found use- 
 ful as an antacid, calmative, and diet. A tablespoonful of Lime-water 
 will often allay troublesome vomiting. Lime-water has proved benefi- 
 cial as an astringent in chronic diarrhea and dysentery, and diabetes, 
 especially when given in combination with a decoction of white-oak 
 bark. It is a specific in cases of obstinate and repeated formation of 
 boils, and is advantageous in cases where there is an excess of uric 
 acid. It is sometimes used in combination with wormseed oil, or other 
 fluid anthelminties", for the removal of worms ; and will bB found more 
 especially efficacious in cases attended with great acidity. It has been 
 advantageously used as an injection in gleet, gonorrhea, leucorrhea, 
 ulceration, and increased discharges from the bladder, etc. Externally, 
 it has been employed as a wash in various affections of the skin, as 
 scabies, prurigo, lepra, psoriasis, and ringworm of the scalp, also in 
 BcrofulouB and indolent ulcers. Mixed with linseed oil, it forms a cal- 
 careous soap or liniment, the oleo-margarate of lime, which is very 
 valuable in scalds and burns ; oil of turpentine is sometimes advantage- 
 ouslj'' added to it. Lime-water should not be given during the pres- 
 ence of active infl.ammation ; nor should its use, be too long continued, 
 as it weakens the stomach and digestive powers. Its dose is from half 
 a fluidounce to four fluidounces, and may be taken alone, in milk, or in 
 some aromatic water. An overdose occasions unpleasant symptoms, 
 which are best combatied by bland and mucilaginous fluids. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Linimentum Oalcis. 
 
 Aqua Camphoe.«!. Camphor Water. (Campher Wassei-.) 
 
 Preparation. — Triturate Camphor one drachm, with Alcohol twenty min- 
 ims, then add Carbonate of Magnesia two drachms, and continue the 
 trituration, gradually adding Distilled Water one pint ; when the whole 
 mixture has been throughly ti'iturated, filter. 
 
 History. — By the .above process one fluidounce of water is made to 
 contain two grains of camphor. The first trituration with alcohol, by 
 destroying the tenacity with which the particles of camphor adhere to- 
 gether, renders it more readily pulverable ; the second trituration with 
 themagnesian salt subdivides it still more finely, so that. the water can 
 more readily act upon it, and produce the desired medicated water. 
 The filtration removes the magnesia and excess of camphor from the 
 solution. Were thirty -three grains of Camphor to be used in this pro- 
 cess instead of one drachm, the loss of Camphor would hardly be ap- 
 preciable; as it is, about twenty-eight grains of camphor, or nearly 
 naif the quantity employed is lost, unless measures be taken to recover 
 it from the precipitate. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Camphor Water is a very feeble preparation of 
 camphor, and is principally used as a vehicle for the administration of 
 some other remedies. It has, however, been useful in the typhoid stage 
 of febrile diseases to produce sleep aii'd quietness, also to relieve severe 
 after pains, and in all cases where small doses of camphor are indicated. 
 Its dose varies from half a fluidounce to two fluidounces, every one, two, 
 or three hours, as circumstances require. Externally, it has been found 
 useful in chronic ophthalmia, in combination with rose water, infusion 
 of golden seal, etc. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Mistura Camphorae Composita. 
 
 Aqua CHLOBiNn. Liquor Chlori. Chlorine Water. Solution of Chlorine. 
 
 Preparation. — Into a glass flask place finely powdered Black Oxide of 
 
Aqlta; ..Medicate. 933 
 
 Manganese one ounce, and then pour upon it Hydrochloric Acid six 
 ounces, diluted with clear, soft Water four fluidounces ; apply a gentle 
 heat, and, by suitable tubes, cause the chlorine gas, as it is developed, 
 to pass through clear, soft Water four fluidounces, placed in an interme- 
 diate small bottle, and thence to the bottom of a gallon bottle contain- 
 ing Distilled "Water two and a half pints, and the mouth of which is 
 loosely plugged with tow ov cotton. As soon as the chlorine ceases to 
 be developed, disconnect the bottle from the apparatus in which the gaa 
 has been generated, cork it loosely, and shake it until the chlorine 
 gas is absorbed. Then introduce the Chlorine Water thus made, into 
 an orange-colored bottle, capable of just holding it, stop it closely, and 
 keep in a cool and dark place. Orange color, and not green or blue, 
 obstructs the passage of those rays of light termed "chemical." 
 
 History. — By this process, which is similar to that of the Dublin 
 Pharmacopoeia, the hydrogen of the hydrochloric acid being removed 
 by the oxide of manganese, chlorine gas is set free, and is purified in 
 its passage, (through the bottle containing water) to the gallon bottle, 
 the mouth of which is loosely plugged to allow the chlorine gas to fill 
 the upper part of the bottle and drive out atmospheric air. For a simi- 
 lar reason, in shaking the bottle, it must be loosely worked to admit air 
 to fill up the vacuum, as this is caused by the water absorbing the gas. 
 The quantity of chlorine water thus made is about two and a half pints, 
 which should be kept in a bottle of just two and and a half pints capa- 
 city, or else, in half pint bottles, well stopped and protected from the 
 action of light to prevent evolution of oxygen, and the formation of 
 hydrochloric acid, from a combination of the hydrogen of the water 
 with the chlorine. Chlorine gas is of a greenish-yellow color, with a 
 pungent and suffocating odor, a peculiar and somewhat astringent taste, 
 and is highly irritating when respired, exciting cough and great irrita- 
 tion of the lungs, even when considerablj^ diluted with common air. It is 
 a non-conductor of electricity, supports combustion, has the specific grav- 
 ity 2.48, and equivalent number 35.5, or 443.75 ; its sj'mbol is 01. Under 
 pressure it is condensed into a bright yellow liquid of sp. gr. 1.33. Water 
 at 60° r., dissolves twice its volume of the gas. * 
 
 Chlorine water, formerly called oxymuriatic acid, is of a pale greenish- 
 yellow color, has an astringent, nauseous taste, an odor like that of the 
 gas, and possesses all the bleaching and oxidizing properties of the gas. 
 It has no acid reaction, unless it has been exposed to light. With water 
 near its freezing point, it combines and forms a crystalline hydrate of 
 a pale yellowish -green color, which Faraday found to contain ten equiv- 
 alents of water. As a test, dissolve five grains of pure sulphate of 
 protoxide of iron in four fluidrachms of the Chlorine water, if it be 
 properly prepared the addition of ferridcyanide of potassium will not 
 occasion a blue precipitate. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Chlorine water is a powerful antiseptic, destroy- 
 ing foul and noxious effluvia, and also acts upon the system as a stimu- 
 Jant. It has been used internally in chronic hepatitis, typhus, cynnnche 
 maligna, and scarlet fever, in doSes of one or two fluidrachms largely 
 diluted with water, and repeated two or thrae times a day. Diluted 
 with water, it has been emploj'ed as a gargle in the throat affections 
 attending the exanthema, in putrid affections of the mouth and throat ; 
 as a wash or local application in indolent, gangrenous, and carcinoma- 
 tous ulcerations, in indolent abscesses, buboes, and fistulous ulcers. In 
 hepatic disea.ses its internal should be associated with its external use 
 bathing around and over the region of the liver. Chlorine gas inhaled 
 
934 Pharmacy. 
 
 ill small quantity has been found serviceable in chronic catarrh, chroniu 
 bronchitis, and even in phthisis. At first expectoration is augmented, 
 but eventually it decreases with marked improvement in the general 
 health. Ten or twenty drops of chlorine water may be jDlaced in two 
 or three fluidrachms of water in a glass inhaler, to which add one or 
 two minims of sulphuric acid. Upon placing this in a water -bath at 
 100° F., the chlorine gas will be driven ofF, and which may be inhaled 
 by the patient for several minutes, repeating the operation several times 
 a day. — G. — Elliottson. 
 Aqua Cinnamomi. Cinnamon Water. (Zimmt Wasser.) 
 Preparation. — Triturate Oil of Oinnamon,_/j/'feen mmims, with Carbon- 
 ate of Magnesia half a drachm, continue the trituration, gradually add- 
 ing Distilled Water one pint; when the whole mixture has been tho- 
 roughly triturated, filter. When cinnamon water is prepared with true 
 oil of cinnamon, it soon becomes turbid from oxidation of the oil, and 
 the formation of cionamic acid, which crystallizes from the water. Oil of 
 Chinese Cinnamon yields a water by the oflicinal process, remaining 
 clear for a much longer time.— Proceedings Am. Pharm. Assoc, 1865, p. 67. 
 Properties and Uses. — Cinnamon Water is useful in passive hemorrhage 
 from the .lungs, sto^jiaeh, kidneys, or uterus, in chronic diarrhea and 
 dysentery, and in flatulency. It is frequently employed to cover the 
 unpleasant taste of other remedies, and will often allay vomiting. Its 
 dose is from two fluidrachms to two fluiuounces. It should not be used 
 when fever or inflammation is present. 
 Aqua Destillata. Distilled Water. (Destillirtes Wasser.) 
 Preparation. — Take twelve gallons of clear, soft, tasteless, and odorless 
 water (place it in a clean still, kept only for this purpose) ; first distill 
 two pints, and reject them ; then distill eight gallons, and keep the water 
 in a glass vessel. The still used in the distillation may be copper, and 
 the condenser should be made of block-tin, or glass. It has been found, 
 however, that vessels made of, or containing portions of metals, and 
 especially of lead or tin, do not yield so j^erfectly pure a distilled water 
 as when glass vessels are employed. 
 
 History. — Distilled Water, although not a medicated water, is intro- 
 duced here, partly to avoid a separate place for it, and partly on account 
 of its extensive employment in the preparation of medicated waters. 
 For medical purposes. Distilled Water should remain unchanged on tlie 
 addition of any of the following tests : " Lime-water, solutions of oxalate 
 of ammonia, acetate of lead, chloride of barium, nitrate of silver, sul- 
 phuretted hydrogen, and soap. If turbidness, milkiness,or precipitate be 
 occasioned by any of these, we may infer the existence of some impurity 
 in the water. But water which has been repeatedly distilled gives 
 traces of acid and alkali when examined by the agency of voltaic elec- 
 tricity, which, therefore, is the most delicate test of the purity of water. 
 Distilled Water also usually contains traces of organic matter. N"itrate 
 of silver is the most sensible test of its presence; a solution of this salt 
 in pure water, preserved in a well-stoppered bottle, undergoes no 
 change of color by exposure to light; but if any vegetable or animal 
 matter be present, the metal is partially reduced, and the liquid ac- 
 quires a dark or reddish tint." — P. In many pharmaceutical and 
 chemical processes, Distilled Water is very essehtial, while in others 
 pure spring or river, or rain water will be sufftcient. The reason for 
 throwing away the first two pints of water which are distilled over, is 
 that any volatile principles which maybe present, as ammonia, carbonic 
 
AqujE Medicate. 935 
 
 acid, etc., and which pass ovor with the first portions, maybe removed. 
 For the properties and uses of water,- see Aqua in part I. 
 
 Aqua Pceniculi. Fennel Water. 
 
 Preparation. — This is prepared in the same manner as Cinnamon 
 Water, on page 934, using Oil of Fennel instead of Oil of Cinnamon. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Fennel Water is a pleasant aromatic stimulant 
 and carminative ; and may be added to other medicines to render them 
 more agreeable. 
 
 Aqua Mentha Pipeeit^. Peppermint Water. (Pfeffermtinz Wasser.) 
 
 Preparation. — This is prepared in the same manner as Cinnamon Water, 
 on page 934, using Oil of Peppermint, instead of Oil of Cinnamon. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Peppermint Water is used as an antispasmodic 
 and carminative, in flatulence and flatulent colic, to allay nausea and 
 vomiting, and as a gentle aromatic stimulant. The dose is from four 
 fluidrachms to two fluidounces, three or four, or more times a day. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Mistura Camphorse Composita. 
 
 Aqua Mentha Vieidis. Spearmint Water. (Griine M.iinze Wasser.) 
 
 Preparation. — This is prepared in the same manner as Cinnamon 
 Water on page 934, using Oil of Spearmint, instead of Oil of Cinna- 
 mon. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Similar to those of peppermint water, to which 
 some persons prefer it. The dose is also the same. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Mistura Camphorse Composita. 
 
 Aqua Picis Liquid.*;. Tar Water. (Theer Wasser.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Tar two pints, Boiling Water a gallon. Mix 
 together, and stir with a wooden rod for fifteen minutes. When cold, 
 and the tar has subsided, strain the liquor and keep it in well-stopped 
 bottles.— J>M&. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tar Water has a Madeira-wine color, and a 
 sharp empyreumatic taste ; it reddens litmus, but does not effervesce 
 with carbonate of potassa, though it becomes more darkly colored. 
 Persulphate of iron blackens it. It consists of water, holding in solu- 
 tion acetic acid, resin, and pyrogenous oil. It exerts a mild influence 
 on mucous membranes, and hence has been found useful in chronic 
 catarrhal and urinary affections in doses of one or two pints daily. 
 Sometimes, Tar Water is prepared in j)ulmonary affections, as above 
 named, with the addition of Honey two pints. Externally it has been 
 found useful as a wash in diseases of the scalp, and other chronic affec- 
 tions of the skin. M. Lefort gives the following process for preparing 
 Tar Water : Into a black bottle with a narrow neck and capable of 
 holding a gallon, introduce three and a half ounces of semiliquid Nor- 
 way tar, previously washed with a small quantity of water ; then pour 
 upon it six and a half pints of distilled water, and expose it to a heat 
 of 122° to 140° F. The vessel must be immediately closed, and agi- 
 tated briskly and repeatedly. After five or six hours of this contact, 
 the operation is finished. The Tar Water ia then filtered and kept in 
 well-corked bottles. This he considers superior to any other Tai 
 Water, as it holds the various principles of the Tar. Each pint of this 
 water will dissolve from five to eight grains of Iodine, the fluid pre- 
 serving its physical properties, containing, lodated Phenie and Oxy- 
 phenic Acids, and, under reagents, manifesting none of the characters 
 which belong to free iodine and to the iodides. Honey may be added 
 to it if desirable. 
 
 Aqua PimentjE. Pimento Water. (Nelkenpfeffer Wasser.) 
 
336 Pharmacy. 
 
 Freparation.-^Take of Pimento, bruised, twelve and a half ounces , 
 Water two gallons. Mix them, and distill off one gallon. Or, it may 
 be prepared in the same manner as Cinnamon Water, on page 934, 
 using Oil of Pimento, instead of Oil of Cinnamon. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Used in flatulency, and weak digestion, in 
 doses of a fluidounce or two. 
 
 Aqua Hedbom^ Pulegioides. Pennyroyal Water. (Amerieanische 
 Pqley Wasser.) 
 
 Preparation. — Triturate Oil of American Pennyroyal half a flui- 
 drachm, with Carbonate of Magnesia a drachm, then with Distilled 
 Water two pints, to be gradually added ; finally, filter through paper. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Pennyroyal Water may be used as a, substitute 
 for, and in the same doses as peppermint and spearmint waters, to 
 which some persons prefer it. 
 
 Aqua Eosje. Pose Water. (Eosen Wasser.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the petals of Damask Eose (Rosa Gentifolia) 
 eight pounds ; Water four gallons ; mix them, and distill off two gallons. 
 The petals should be preferred when fresh ; but it also answers well to 
 use those which have been preserved by beating them with half their 
 weight of chloride of sodium. 
 
 Sistory. — Whei thus prepared, Eose-water is very fragrant and 
 clear ; but it deconaposes when kept for a long time, especially if ex- 
 posed to the action of light and air. According to A. Monthus, if the 
 calyces of the roses be also used in the distillation,' it tends to improve 
 the rose-water and prevent its early decomposition, in consequence of 
 their astringent principle solidifying the mucilage dissolved out of the 
 petals, thereby causing it to be retained in the still oi retort during 
 the distillation. Eose-water may also be prepared in the same manner 
 as pursued for cinnamcn water, using oil of roses instead of oil of cin- 
 namon ; or, by distilling water from the oil of roses. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^Eose-water forms an agreeable, cooling, unir- 
 ritating, and slightij' astringent coUyrium, which is useful in rnany 
 affections of the eye ; it is also added to lotions, washes, etc., to im- 
 part an agreeable perfume. 
 
 Off. Prep, — Confectio Eosse; Linimentum Terebinthinae Compositum; 
 Lotio jBtheris Composita ; Lotio Sassafras ; Unguentum Aquse Eosse. 
 
 Aqua Sambuci. Elder-Flower Water. (Plieder Wasser.) 
 
 Preparation. — To fresh Elder Flowers twelve pounds, add Water two 
 gallons. Distill one gallon. But little oil is contained in Elder Flow- 
 ers ; the water distilled from them is sometimes used in coUyria and 
 other lotion's. According to Mr. Haselden, the waters distilled from 
 rose leaves and Elder Flowers are better, when previously mixed or 
 beaten with half their weight of chloride of sodium, as it tends to pre- 
 serve them much longer from decomposition. 
 
 ]Sr. B. Medicated waters are frequently made by adding to a few 
 pounds of the leaves or flowers of the article required, six or seven fluid 
 ounces of proof-spirit, and two gallons of water ; from which one gallon 
 is distilled. In this way was formerly obtained nearly all of these 
 preparations, but the processes given above are now esteemed the best. 
 Aqua Florum Aurantii, Qrange-flower Water, Aqua Foeuiculi, Fennel 
 Water, Aqua Menthse Piperitse, Peppermint Water, Aqua Menthte Viri- 
 dis. Spearmint Water, together with several others, may be procured 
 from the plant or flowers, by the mcide of distillation just referred to 
 
Ateopia. 937 
 
 ATEOPIA. 
 
 Atropia. (Atropin.) 
 The alkaloid principle of A. Belladonna. 
 
 Preparation. — Pereira gives the following as Mein's process modified 
 by Liebig: "Fresh dried and powdered Belladonna Eoot is to be ex- 
 hausted by Alcohol, sp. gr. 0.822. To the Tincture add Slaked Lime,, 
 in the proportion of one part of lime to 24 parts of the dried root. Digest 
 for 24 hours, frequently shaking. Add, drop by drop, Sulphuric Acid 
 to the filtered Liquor, till there is a slight excess ; then filter again, and 
 distill off rather more than half of the spirit. To the residue add some 
 Water, and evaporate the remainder of the alcohol as rapidly as possi- 
 ble, but by a very gentle heat; filter again, and continue the evaporation 
 until the liquid is reduced to the one-twelfth part of the weight of the 
 root employed. To the cold liquid add, drop by drop, a concentrated 
 solution of Carbonate of Potassa, to throw down a dark grayish-brown 
 precipitate, taking care not to rendei' the liquid alkaline. In a few 
 hours filter again ; add Carbonate of Potassa as long as a precipitate 
 (Atropia) is produced ; and in from 12 to 24 hours collect the Crystal- 
 lized Atropia on a filter, press it between folds of blotting-paper, arid 
 dry it. To purifj" the dry, but impure Atropia, make it into a paste 
 with water, and again squeeze between folds of blotting-paper ; dry it, 
 and dissolve in five times its weight of Alcohol. The filtered liquor is to 
 be decolorized by shaking it with Purified Animal Charcoal, then de- 
 prived of the greater part of its alcohol by distillation, and afterward 
 evaporated by a gentle heat, so as to allow the Atropia to crystallize." 
 
 W. T. Luxton recommends an easy process, by which he obtains 
 about forty grains from a pound of the leaves : " A pound of the dry 
 Leaves of Belladonna are to be boiled in Distilled Water sufScient to 
 cover them, for two hours, and the decoction strained off through a 
 coarse cloth into a large precipitating jar. The leaves are again boiled 
 in a second water, and the decoctions mixed, to which two drachms of 
 strong Sulphuric Acid are now added ; the vegetable albumen is pre- 
 cipitated, and the clear liquor is drawn off with a syphon to a filter. 
 A clear sherry-colored solution comes through, which is either decom- 
 posed by passing gaseous Ammonia through it, or by suspending in it 
 a lump of Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia. Li either case, the color be- 
 comes changed to black, and crystals of Atropia are slowly formed. At 
 the expiration of a day or so, the supernatant liquor may be drawn off 
 with a syphon, and the crystals thrown on a filter to dry. To decolor- 
 ize them, about an ounce of spirit of ammonia may be poured on the 
 'filter, which washes away most of the coloring matter, leaving the crys- 
 tals moderately white." 
 
 Bouchardat states that by dissolving crude Atropia in acidulated 
 water, and then adding an alkaline carbonate to neutralize the acid, a 
 deposit of a resinous matter occurs at first, succeeded by a pulverulent 
 precipitate, which is alkaline ; this is Atropia, and has sometimes re- 
 ceived the name of belladonine. 
 
 History. — Thus prepared, Atropia crystallizes from its hot solution in 
 white, transparent prisms, with silky luster ; and from its solution in 
 dilute spirit, in needles like those of the sulphate of quinia ; it is odor- 
 less, has a bitter acrid, somewhat metallic taste. It is soluble in one 
 and a half times its weight of cold alcohol, 25 parts of ether, 3 parts of 
 chloroform, 33 parts of glycerin, and 70 parts of boiling water ; it fuses 
 above 212°, and forms soluble salts with sulphuric, nitric, muriatic, 
 
938 Pharmacy. 
 
 valeriauic, and acetic acids. At an ordinary temperature, water dis- 
 solves about -g^th, but aided by heat a much larger portion is taken 
 up ; the solution has a bitter, disagreeable taste. Dr. A. Von Planta 
 found Atropia jirepared by -Merck to possess the following properties : 
 It dissolved in 299 parts of water at the ordinary temperature ; alcohol 
 dissolved it in almost every proportion, ether less readily. Its solubil- 
 ity in all these fluids was increased by heat. At 194° P., it fused to a 
 clear transparent mass, which became brittle on cooling ; on the re-ap- 
 plication of heat, and again allowing it to cool, it was converted into 
 stellate groups of crystals. At 284° P., the greater portion is destroyed. 
 Heated upon platinum foil, it melts, pufifs up, gives off white fumes, and 
 burns with a bright flame, leaving a shining black cinder, which finally 
 disappears entirely. It has a strong alkaline reaction, and combines 
 with acids forniing uncrystallizable salts, soluble in water and alcohol, 
 but sparingly so in ether. Its formula is €34 H^ 2^05=289. Dr. ^. 
 Kraut, by placing some Atropia in a sealed tube with a hot saturated 
 aqueous solution of baryta, obtained a colorless amorphous substance, 
 which yielded acicular crystals of an acid which he called atropic acid, 
 which had the odor of benzoic acid, and an alkaloid termed tropia. 
 Dr. E. Pfeiffer also obtained crystals of benzoic acid ; probably they 
 were identical with the atropic acid of Kraut. 
 
 buLpaate of Atropia may be made by dissolving thirty grains of Atropia 
 in eighteen fluidrachms of Pure Ether, and then, adding to this, drop by 
 drop, a mixture of three grains of monohydrated sulphuric acid, and 
 half a fluidrachm of alcohol, sp. gr. 0.817, which forms a milky fluid, 
 continuing the addition of the mixture to saturation of the Atropia. 
 Then set the liquid aside, and when there is no further precipitate, 
 pour off the supernatant ether, and allow the residue to evaporate spon- 
 taneously to dryness. — M. Gh. Maitre. In this process, all the fluids 
 used should be free from water, and the whole manipulation should be 
 conducted in a cool place; the ether will hold any excess of acid or al- 
 kali, which however may be neutralized by adding a little more Atro- 
 pia or acid, as required. Sulphate of Atropia forms a white, semicrys- 
 talline solid, readily soluble in water, and alcohol, in three parts of 
 glycerin, but not soluble in chloroform or ether. 
 
 The London College prepares a sulphate of Atropia solely for exter- 
 nal application, by adding half a fluidounce of distilled water to two 
 fluidrachms of diluted sulphuric acid, in which seven scruples and a 
 half of Atropia, or enough to form a saturated solution are added ; the 
 solution is then filtered, and crystals obtained by evaporation with a 
 gentle heat. 
 
 Yalerianate of Atropia may be made by dissolving a suflScient quan- 
 tity of monohydrated Valerianic Acid in a sufficient quantity of pure 
 Ether, saturating this solution with Atropia, and allowing the liquid to 
 spontaneously evaporate. The salt is deposited in the form of light 
 white scales consisting of a mass of small crystals, which are very sol- 
 uble in water, less so in alcohol or ether, which fuse at 90° P., and be- 
 come, yellow by exposure to light and air. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Same as Belladonna. It is supposed to act as an 
 excitant of the ganglion cells and the fibers of the sympathetic nerve. 
 Internally from one twentieth to one-tenth of a grain may be given ; 
 and for external use it is generally preferred to the extract. To dilate 
 the pupil of the eye one grain of Atropia may ' be dissolved in 400 
 grains of water, to which five or six drops of acetic acid have been 
 added, and a few drops nf this solution be applied to the eye. This, 
 
Ateopia. 939 
 
 however, is not so useful as a solution of the Sulphate of Atropia, being 
 apt to cause irritation. To relieve neuralgic pains, the following may 
 be rubbed on the affected parts, three times a day, using eacfc time a 
 piece about the size of a pea : take of Atropia five grains^ Lard three 
 drachms, Oil of Eoses one drop; triturate thoroughly together. Dr. 
 Lusanna has used it successfully in this affection, by the endermie and 
 iatraleptic method. The skin being previously removed by a blister, 
 or, what is still better, because more speedy, the aihmoniacal pomade 
 of Gondret, when the Atropia is dissolved in a small quantity of alco- 
 hol, then mixed with simple ointment and applied to the denuded sur- 
 face. In this way, a half grain to a grain may be employed in the 
 twenty-four or forty-eight hours. latraleptically, he uses the follow- 
 ing ointment in the form of frictions over the part affected every two 
 or three hours, consuming a portion the size of a pea^ach time: R. 
 Atropia, 5 centigrammes, Alcohol at 36, q. s. Dissolve. Add Axungia, 
 12 grammes. 
 
 Sulphate of Atropia in solution, is preferred to any other salt of this 
 alkaloid for paralysing the power of accommodation, and for dilating 
 the pupil of the eye, whenever such dilatation is required ; but, for this 
 purpose, the salt must be pure and perfectly free from acid or alcohol, 
 else it is apt to occasion more or less irritation. That made according 
 to the preceding formula, with ether, will be found advisable. The habit 
 of ordering a solution of Atropia, to which a few drops of sulphuric 
 acid are to be added, is objectionable on the above acount, when it is 
 designed for application to the eye. More recently an Atropia gelatine 
 has been made for the purpose of dilating the pupil, and which is pre- 
 ferred, by oculists, to the solution ; it consists of a thin layer of gelatine 
 with which has been mixed some Sulphate of Atropia ; this layer is 
 marked out into discs or squares, each one of which contains about 
 ^-yij^-jth of a grain of Sulphate of Atropia. One of these discs placed 
 upon the eye, between the ball and the lid, rapidly dissolves and Causes 
 dilatation. When it is desired to paralyze the power of accommodation, 
 it is prepared of greater strength. Sulphate of Atropia is likewise 
 ased in solution in hypodermic injection, tht* quantity injected at a 
 time varying from the -gi^th, to the -j-J-g-th of a grain of the salt. The 
 solution may be made by dissolving one grain of the Sulphate in four 
 fluidrachms of distilled water; four minims of this contain ^th of a 
 grain of the salt; the amount to commence with is two minims, which 
 may be cautiously increased to three or four minims. Dr. J. Harley 
 values its hypodermic use very highly in those cases in which he ad- 
 vises the use of belladonna. By combining it with morphia when this 
 is subcutaneously injected, (say ^th of a grain of Atropia) it prevents 
 the faintness, nausea, and tendency to retching occasionally produced 
 by the morphia alone. It has been found very beneficial in every kind 
 of pain in the pelvic viscera, in sciatica, in painful iritis, in threatened 
 glaucoma, in spasmodic asthma, neuralgia, rheumatism, and, in fact, in 
 all painful and spasmodic disorders. M. Michea recommends the vale- 
 rianate of Atropia in spasmodic or convulsive diseases, in doses of a 
 milligramme per day for an adult, on commencing its use ; he considers 
 it superior to either valerian or belladonna, on account of its small dose, 
 and its certainty of action. It is also recommended in all chronic nerv- 
 ous complaints; the dose isjijj-th to -j^jjth of a grain, repeated two or 
 three times a day. Dr. A. Fleming prefers the following solution of 
 Atropia for internal use : Take of Atropia one grain, Distilled Watei 
 five drachms. Dissolve thoroughly with the aid of a few dro^js of di- 
 
940 ' Pharmacy. 
 
 luted muriatic acid, and add of rectified spirit sufficient to make ten 
 drachms. This solution keeps well, /is of uniform strength, and is 
 muph sa^ei* and more efficient than other preparations qf Belladonna. 
 Ten minims contain ^'^th of a grain of Atropia, which is the commenc- 
 ing dose for an adult ; it should be given in a little water, once daily, 
 at bed-time, and on an empty stomach. The dose may be increased daily 
 by two or four minims until some of the physiological effects are slightly 
 produced, as dry throat, dilated pupil, and dim sight. For children 
 under one year, the dose is one minim ; of two years, two minims ; of 
 three yearsi, three minims ; and so on up to ten years, when ten minims 
 may be given. Atropia should never be given in pill form, lest from 
 slow or deficient solution, it may accumulate in the stomach or bowels, 
 giving rise to severe atropism. He employs it in asthma, epilepsy, 
 whooping cough, constipation, and other diseases in which the remedy 
 is indicated. 
 
 BEEBEEINA. 
 
 Berberina. (Berberin.) 
 
 The Alkaloid Principle of Barberry, Golden Seal, and several other plants. 
 
 Preparation — Take of Barberry root, in fine powder, four pounds, 
 Water, Alcohol, 82 per cent.' each, a sufficient quantity. Thoroughly 
 moisten I the Barberry root with water, place it in a percolator, and 
 gradually add boiling water to it until that which passes has no longer 
 any color or taste. Evaporate the percolate to the consistence of a soft 
 extract, and digest it in hot alcohol repeatedly until the liquid has no 
 longftr a bitter taste. Mix the several tinctures thus obtained, filter, 
 and distill off the greater part of the alcohol. Expose the residue to 
 the open air in a cool place that crystals may form. These should be 
 separated from the dark mass in which they are immersed as exactly as 
 possible, by subjecting, them to pressure in a fine cloth, and washing 
 them with cold water. In order to purify them they should be treated 
 with boiling water, which dissolves them ; but on cooling they are 
 again precipitated. Remove the water by filtration, and dissolve the 
 precipitate twice successively in boiling alcohol, allowing it to cool each 
 time, that the crystals may be precipitated; 
 
 Mr. Wm. Procter, Jr., has procured it from the sulphate of Berberina, 
 and gives the following as the best process for procuring It ; " Take the 
 root of Hydrastis Canadensis, or of Berberis Vulgaris, preferably the 
 former, in coarse powder, exhaust it by repeated decoction or digestion 
 in boiling water, and evaporate the filtered liquid, to a soft extract. 
 Treat this with stronger alcohol by digestion in a water-bath still at 
 several times until it is exhausted. (or until a quart of alcohol has been 
 ,eraployed for the extract from each pound of the root). Add to the 
 tincture one-fourth of its bulk of water, distill off five-sixths of the alec 
 hoi, and add to the hot, watery residue an excess of diluted sulphuric 
 acid, and allow it to cool. The sulphate of Berberina crystallizes out, 
 and, if necessary, may be drained from the mother liquid, redissolvedj 
 in the smallest quantity of boiling water, and again crystallized. The 
 sulphate of Berberina thus obtained, is dissolved in boiling water, and 
 decomposed by the addition, in excess, of oxide of lead (freshly ob- 
 tained by precipitation from the acetate or nitrate of lead by liquor pc 
 tassa, and well washed), the solution being kept hot during the decom- 
 position When a drop of the hot clear liquid will not be precipitated 
 
Beeberina. 941 
 
 by baryta water or acetate of lead, the decomposition is finished. The 
 solution should then be filtered off hot, evaporated, and set aside for 
 crystallization. "—j4??i. JoMr. Pharm., 1864, p. 10. 
 
 History. — Berberina has the aspect of a very light powder, composed of 
 stellated groups of minute acicular crj'stals of a beautiful yellow color, 
 which are soluble in acetic acid, tartaric acid, citric acid, oxalic acid, 
 acetone, or methylic alcohol; slightly soluble in chloroform, cold alcohol, 
 or cold water; soluble in boiling water or alcohol, from which they pre- 
 cipitate on cooling, and insoluble in ether, oil of turpentine, naphtha, bi- 
 sulphuret of carbon, or oil of almonds. One hundred parts of water at 60° 
 P. completely dissolve Berberin forming a clear brilliant yellow solution ; 
 the addition of a few drops of vinegar or acetic acid renders it much 
 more soluble. Berberina communicates a yellow color to cold water, and 
 a very faint shade of yellow to oils of lavender and turpentine. Con- 
 centrated Bulphiiric acid dissolves and decomposes it, forming an olive- 
 green liquid, which loses its color and yields a dark brown precipitate 
 insoluble in alcohol or ether, when it is diluted with water. Nitric 
 acid dissolves it with strong effervescence, forming a dark mulberry- 
 purple liquid which grows lighter by standing ; when heated the color 
 vanishes, the solution becomes yellow, and at last almost colorless, and 
 crj'stals of oxalic acid are deposited. Diluted nitric, muriatic, or sul- 
 phuric acid, added to a saturated aqueous solution, gives beautiful 
 crystalline precipitates, which is not the case with phosphoric, acetic, 
 citric, or tartaric acids. Aqueous iodine renders it opaque, with a 
 brown precipitate; tannic acid, or iodohydargyra^e of potassium gives 
 a yellowish precipitate. Lime-water and solution of alum have no ac- 
 tion on its solution. Heated on platinum foil it melts, swells, gives out 
 a disagreeable smell, burns with flame, and leaves a charcoal difficult 
 to incinerate. Berberina is inodorous, has an intensely bitter persist- 
 ent taste, has no action on vegetable colors, except that of rendering 
 litmus j)aper green. Berberis Vulgaris yields about 1.3 per cent, of 
 this alkaloid ; Hydrastis Canadensis about 4 per cent. Mr. J. D'. Per- 
 rins has formed the following salts with this alkaloid : Ohloroaurate of 
 Berberina, Hyposulphite of Berberina and Silver, Bichromate of Ber- 
 berina, Nitrate of Berberina, Hydrobromate of Berberina, and Hydri- 
 odate of Berberina. He gives the formula of Berberina, C^ Hi, NOj. * 
 — Am. Jour. Pharm., 1863, p. 456. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Berberina is an excellent tonic, and also ap- 
 pears to possess slightly laxative properties. It will be found to exert an 
 efficient action upon all abnormal mucous tissues, and may be employed 
 in all cases where Barberry or Hydrastis is indicated. It may be used 
 in powder in doses of from two to twenty grains ; or in water, to which 
 citric, tartaric, or acetic acid has been added to aid its solution. The 
 acetate of Berberina, made by employing dilute acetic acid instead of 
 sulphuric, in the process of Mr. Procter's, given heretofore, and concen- 
 trating, will be found a very soluble salt* and of much efficacy. This 
 
 * Mr. Perrins {Am, Jour. Pharm., 1863, p. 456) has named the many different plants from 
 which Berberina has been procured; he also describes a remarliable compound of iodine 
 with Berberina, having certain analogies with the quinine-salt termed herapatldte, bear- 
 ing like this salt a strong resemblance to murexide, and to particles of the elytra of can- 
 tharides; under the miei'oscope it is seen to consist of crystals wliich polarize light. He 
 considers the formation of this new body as an excellent test for the presence of Berberina, 
 even in minute quantities. The best mode of obtaining this compound is to heat a solu- 
 tion of Berberina in alcohol of 90 per cent., placed in a strong bottle, with addition of 
 iodide of ethyle, to 100" C. ; upon cooling the bottle contains red crystals of hydriodate of 
 Berberinn, but if exposed to full sunshine for an hour or two, the crystals pass into the re 
 Hired green salt, when the bottle must be removed from the sunshine, or else the red 
 crystal.'; will again form. These green plates should be carefully removed from the solu- 
 tion, and oe well washed with weak alcohol to remove adhering iodine. 
 
942 Pharmacy. 
 
 article has not been sufficiently used by practitioners ; it appears to be 
 distributed in nearly every country, in which it may be procured from 
 a great number of plants in several of the natural orders ; this extensive 
 distribution can not, we believe, exist except for some adequate purpose, 
 and it is possible that this agent may be found to possess greater val- 
 uable medicinal powers than have heretofore been recognized. — (See 
 Am. Jour. Pharm., 1868, pp. 97, 301, 303, 456 ; and 1864, p. 10.) 
 
 Beeberina HTDROOHiiORAS. Berberina Murias. HydrochloTate of 
 Berberina. Muriate of Berberina. Hydrastin. 
 
 Two alkaloids have been discovered in the root of Hydrastis Cana- 
 densis, one of which has proven to be identical with the alkaloid con- 
 tained in the bark of Berberis vulgaris, and hence called Berberina, and 
 the other, as far as known, appears to be peculiar to the Hydras. Can. 
 and has been named Hydrastia or Hydrastina. The discovery that Ber- 
 berina exists in the golden-seal root, and that the product formerly 
 termed Hydrastin, is in reality, a Hydrochlorate of Berberina, is due to 
 Mr. F. Mahla. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 1862, p. 141. 
 
 Preparation. — Hydrochlorate of Berberina is best prepared by the 
 method of Prof W. Procter for procuring the sulphate, as named under 
 Berberina, substituting, however, dilute hydrochloric acid for the sul- 
 phuric; purifying the crystals by dissolving them in hot alcohol, and al- 
 lowing it to cool. 
 
 Dr. Hill's process was as follows : 
 
 Take of the root of Hydrastis Canadensis, in coarse powder, one hun- 
 dred pounds, and add of Alcohol a sufficient quantity to form a tincture 
 by percolation ; and distill off the alcohol ; the residuum, which is of a 
 thick, syrupy consistence, must be warmed, and poured into eight gal- 
 lons of Hot Water, which will take up the Berberina with a portion of 
 gum, extractive, and some coloring matter. Let it stand for two or three 
 days, and then decant into a precipitating tub, and add of Muriatic 
 Acid five pounds. This causes a precipitate, which, when perfected 
 must be collected on a linen or cotton cloth placed over a tub for the 
 purpose, and washed well by pouring clean water upon it. When it 
 has thoroughly drained, place it into a tin boiler, and add of Animal 
 Charcoal three pounds, and Alcohol, six or eight gallons; place this over 
 a strong heat, and stir constantly till it is all dissolved, bringing the 
 liquid to the boiling point ; then set it aside, and as it cools the crystals 
 will form on the sides of the boiler and through the alcohol, and will 
 continue to form for two or three days. The liquid and crystals must 
 then be placed on a cloth, as before, being careful not to dip iip the 
 charcoal which is in the bottom of the vessel, and wash the crystals 
 with cold alcohol, after which spread them on a cloth or paper, and 
 dry in the open air, or by moderate heat, if necessary. If they are not 
 of the proper color, redissolve them in alcohol with animal charcoal, 
 and proceed as at first. Foj- the purpose of obtaining any remaining 
 Berberina, the alcohol in which it crystallizes may be distilled and car- 
 ried through the same process as at first ; and the mother- water may 
 be treated with A-mmonia, and the precipitate purified in the same 
 manner as at first. 
 
 E". B. The above weights are Avoirdupois, and, for smaller quantities, 
 may be reduced as follows : Take of Hydrastis Canadensis root, in coarse 
 powder, four pounds, Troy; Alcohol, a sufficient quantity ; Hot Water, 
 two and a half pints ; Muriatic .A-cid, two ounces, Troy. Subsequently 
 add Animal Charcoal, /owrteew drachms, Troy, and Alcohol, one and 
 
Berbeeina. 943 
 
 three fourth pints, or two and a half pints . Proceed in other respects as 
 above directed. 
 
 Prof. E. S. Wayne has obtained forty-seven ounces of Hydrochlorate 
 of Berberina, from one hundred and eighty -six pounds of the pow- 
 dered root of Hydrastis, by the following method : Macerate and dis- 
 place by cold water, then acidulate the infusion with hydrochloric acid, 
 which precipitates JECydrochlorate of Berberina, and a gelatinous sub- 
 stance ; collect the precipitate on a filter, and wash with clean water ; 
 then dry it, dissolve the dried mass in alcohol, filter, and set aside to 
 crystallize. 
 
 History — This elegant and highly- valuable article was introduced to 
 the profession by Dr. H. H. Hill, wholesale druggist in Cincinnati. I 
 feel highly indebted to this gentleman for the promptness and cheerful- 
 ness which he has always exhibited in explaining to me his process of 
 manufacturing this article, and in giving to me all the information lie could 
 concerning it, and would take this occasion to remark, that I regret the 
 spirit of selfishness which prompts some manufacturers to withhold a 
 knowledgeiof their mode of preparing articles intended for therapeutical 
 use ; it is a species of empiricism which should never be countenanced 
 by any physician. No article of any kind should ever be employed by 
 a medical man unless its mode of preparation is known to the profes- 
 sion, and this course should be adopted by every practitioner, as one 
 among the many means of elevating the profession, and securing the 
 confidence of others, as well as of ourselves. It is but a short time since 
 that I was presented with a concentrated agent obtained by precipita- 
 tion with acetate of lead, and on an investigation I found some lead 
 mixed with it, and which, had I administered without a knowledge of 
 the process employed for obtaining it, and my consequent examination 
 might have caused serious results. In this instance the proper course 
 had not been taken to free the article from the lead. The profession, 
 therefore, can not be too uncompromising in refusing to administer 
 agents, however valuable they may be, which are manufactured by 
 secret processes, more especially as desperate means have been hereto- 
 fore used by designing and interested parties to force upon the profes- 
 sion secretly prepared agents of a most worthless character, and at 
 most exorbitant prices. ' -^ 
 
 Hydrochlorate of Berberina, forms in delicate, acicular crystals of a 
 yellow color and translucent. It exhibits neither acid nor alkaline re- 
 actions, and forms, when pulverized, a beautiful yellow powder. It is 
 soluble in boiling alcohol, but is deposited as it cools in crystals. It is 
 insoluble in cold alcohol, ether, chloroform, spirits of turpentine, and 
 water, though each liquid becomes tinged more or less of a yellow color. 
 It is rendered more soluble in alcohol, but not completely so, by am- 
 monia, liquor potassa, or acetic acid, the last article making the solution 
 of a lighter color. It dissolves to a greater extent in water by the ad- 
 dition of acetic acid, which changes the solution to a light yellow color; 
 ammonia or liquor potassa does not make it more soluble in water, and 
 nitric acid changes the Hydrochlorate of Berberina to a beautiful bright 
 yellow color, without solution — sulphuric acid to a chrome-yellow. 
 Concentrated nitric acid turns Hydrochlorate of Berberina red, and 
 concentrated sulphuric acid swells or effervesces and changes it to a 
 chrome-yellow color. Heat gradually changes the color to a brownish- 
 red, and then black with effervescence. At its point of effervescence 
 by the application of heat, it is inflammable if brought in contact with 
 
944 Pharmacy. 
 
 flame, burns quickly, and leaves a black, porous, shining substance be- 
 hind. 
 
 Soluble preparations of the concentrated principles of many of our 
 agents are always very desirable on account of the difference of thera- 
 peutic action existing between them and a decoction, infusion, or tinc- 
 ture of the crude articles ; thus, a decoction of golden seal exerts an in- 
 fluence in sore mouth, and several other affections, not to be obtained 
 from the insoluble Hydrochlorate of Berberina. Yet a few drops of 
 acetic acid added to water in which a small amount of Berberina is 
 contained, will render it soluble, and fit for local application. These 
 facts should be especially observed. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Hydrochlorate of Berberina is a tonic, with an 
 especial action on diseased mueovis tissues ; it possesses, in an eminent 
 degree, the tonic virtues of the root, and is much used as a substitute 
 for it. It is more beneficial as a tonic during convalescence from ex- 
 hausting diseases, such as bilious and typhoid fever, acute hepatitis, 
 gastritis, enteritis, diarrhea, dysentery, etc. In dyspepsia and chronic 
 inflammation of the stomach it is very valuable, and will be found of 
 especial advantage in the treatment of persons who are intemperate, 
 gradually removing the abnormal condition of the stomach, and in 
 many instances destroying the appetite for liquor ; it may be combined 
 in these cases with sulphate of quinia, extract of quassia, or other bit- 
 ter tonic. In jaundice a combination of equal parts of Hydrochlorate 
 of Berberina, extract of bayberry bark, and oleo-resin of prickly ash 
 bark, will often prove efficacious. Combined with sulphate of quinia 
 and extract of leptandra, it will be found useful in infantile remittent 
 fever. One part of Hydrochlorate of Berberina, and two of fine salt, 
 well triturated together, form an excellent powder for many ophthalmic 
 diseases, to be blown into the eyes through a quill or small tiibe. 
 Equal parts of Hydrochlorate of Berberina, resin of caulophyllum, 
 and extract of leptandra, form an excellent medicine for aphthae and 
 other ulcerations of the mouth and throat, in infants, as well as adults; 
 it should be administered internally. A pill composed of one grain of 
 Hydrochlorate of Berberina, one-twentieth of a grain of alcoholic ex- 
 tract of nux-vomiea, and sufficient oleo-resin of ptelea to form a pill 
 mass, is found atf efficacious remedj' for some forms of dyspepsia, and 
 loss of appetite ; one pill to be given fbr a dose, and repeated three 
 times a day. Dose of Hydrochlorate of Berberina, for an adult, from 
 three to five grains ; for children, from half a grain to three grains, and 
 which may be repeated from three to six times a day, if required. 
 
 Dr. T. L. A. Greve, a druggist of this city, who prepares the various 
 remedies and compounds named in this work, prepares the Sulphate of 
 Berberina, Berberinse Sulphas, by saturating hot alcohol with Hydro- 
 chlorate of Berberin, filtering the saturated tincture, and adding, while 
 it is still hot, a sufficient quantity of sulphuric acid. The sulphate is 
 precipitated in the form of a deep yellow crystalline powder, which is 
 separated from the liquid by filtration, washed with a small quantity of 
 alcohol to remove the free acid, and then dried. It may also be pre- 
 pared by adding sulphuric acid to a saturated tincture of the root of 
 Hydras. Can., but he states that the product is less pure than that ob- 
 tained by the above process from the hydrochlorate. Four grains of 
 Sulphate of Berberina dissolved in one fluidounce of hot Water, forms, 
 when cold, an excellent coUyrium in purulent and phlyctenular con- 
 junctivitis, and an efficient injection in otorrhea, ozcena. uterine leucor- 
 
Calx. 945 
 
 fhea, catarrh of the bladder, chronic gonorrhea, prostatorrhea, and all 
 relaxed or enfeebled conditions of mucous membranes. 
 
 He also prepares the Iodide of Berberina, Berberinse lodidum, by add- 
 ing iodide of potassium to a solution of the Hydrochlorate or Sulphate 
 of Berberina. The Iodide precipitates in the form of a light yellow 
 powder, which is insoluble in water or alcohol, and may be used in 
 cases where iodine and berberin are indicated. 
 
 CALX. 
 lAme Preparations. 
 
 Calcis Phosphas PR.a!oiPiTATA. Precipitated Phosphate of Idme. 
 3one- Phosphate of Lime. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of finely-powdered Calcined Bone, two ounces; 
 Hydrochloric acid four ounces ; Water of Ammonia six fluidounces ; Dis- 
 tilled "Water a sufficient quantity. Digest the Calcined Bone in the 
 Hydrochloric Acid diluted with eight fluidounces of the Water, until it 
 is all dissolved. Then filter the solution and add to it eight fluidounces 
 more of the Water, and afterward the Water of Ammonia, gradually 
 adding it until the fluid acquires an alkaline reaction. The precipitate 
 thus obtained mnst be collected on a calico filter, and, to remove any 
 hydrochlorate of ammonia that may be present, washed with boiling 
 Distilled Water as long as the liquid which passes through occasions a 
 precipitate, when dropped into a solution of nitrate of silver acidulated 
 with nitric acid. Dry the washed product at a temperature not ex- 
 ceeding 212° P. 
 
 History. — Precipitated Phosphate of Lime is a very tine white, taste- 
 less, inodorous, and smooth powder, consisting of pure phosphate of 
 lime in a state of very minute division, and which is fused by an in- 
 tense heat. " It is insoluble in water ; nitric, muriatic, and acetic acids 
 dissolve it. Prom its solution in diluted nitric acid, oxalate of ammo- 
 nia throws down a white precipitate of oxalate of lime, amd acetate or 
 nitrate of lead a heavy white precipitate of phosphate of lead. The 
 best test for it is the ammoniacal nitrate of silver ; which, if the solu- 
 tion in nitric acid be neutralized so far as is possible without a perma- 
 nent precipitate being occasioned, will throw down a lemon-yellow 
 phosphate of silver." Its formula is 8 Ca 0-|-3 PO5. — 0. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Phosphate of Lime was at one time considered 
 a useful remedy in rickets and mollities ossium, its application to these 
 diseases being based upon a theoretical inference from the state of the 
 bones, which are known to be deficient in their calcareous constituents. 
 Eecently it has again been presented to the profession as a remedy in 
 the treatment of tuberculous aflFections, as, scrofula, pulmonary con- 
 sumption, etc. But it is extremely doubtful whether the beneficial re- 
 sults following its use are due to it, or to the other agents with which 
 it is usually associated, as, cod-liver oil, preparations of iron, etc. The 
 following compound has been recommended in phthisis, scrofula 
 chloro-anemia, mollities ossium, caries, and oxaluric gravel : Take of 
 Precipitated Phosphate of Lime thirty parts. Precipitated Carbonate 
 of Lime twenty parts. Bicarbonate of Soda six parts ; mix thoroughly 
 together. The dose is one or two drachms in sweetened water, every 
 morning and evening. Dose of Precipitated Phosphate of Lime from 
 ten grains to half a drachm. 
 
 60 
 
946 Pharmact. 
 
 CATAPLASMATA. (Umsehlage.) 
 Cataplasms. 
 
 Cataplasms, ordinarily called "poultices," are preparations applied to 
 an external part for the purpose of producing relaxation, keeping up 
 moisture, and allaying pain and inflammation. They are usually com- 
 posed of substances capable of absorbing considerable fluid, and are 
 applied either cold or warm, in a moist state. They should not be 
 made so thin, as to flow over the parts adjacent to their application, noi 
 so thick as to become dry too rapidly ; neither should they be composed 
 of substances which stick too tenaciously to the skin and are not read- 
 ily removed by water, nor of hard bodies. They should always be re- 
 moved without being permitted to dry. Owing to the affections for 
 which they are applied, and their influences upon these, they have, re- 
 ceived the several names of emollient, disQutient,. refrigerant, stimulat- 
 ing, etc. When applied to ulcers, tender and irritable parts, etc., it is 
 customary to cover their surfaces with a little olive oil, in order to pre- 
 vent their adhering to such parts. Poultices are commonly prepared 
 by nurses, but medical men and druggists should be acquainted with 
 their method of preparation. 
 
 Spongio-piline is sometimes applied to parts to absorb excessive mois- 
 ture, or to prevent evaporation. It is a thick cloth composed princi- 
 pally of sponge, one side of which is applied to the skin in a wet or 
 dry state, according to the action required ;, the other side being coated 
 with some water-proof varnish. 
 
 Cataplasma Carbonis. Charcoal Cataplasm. (Kohlen Umsehlage.) 
 
 Preparation. — Macerate Bread two ounces, with Water ten fluidounces, 
 for a short time near the flre ; then gradually add and mix with, it Pow- 
 dered Flaxseed ten drachms, stirring so as to make a soft cataplasm 
 With this mix powdered Charcoal two drachms, and when prepared foi 
 application, sprinkle one drachm of Charcoal on the surface of the cata- 
 plasm. — Loud. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Charcoal properly prepared, has the property 
 of removing the fetid odor evolved by gangrenous and phagedenic 
 ulcers, for which the above cataplasm is designed. It should be re- 
 newed two or three times in every twenty -four hours. As an antisep- 
 tic, however, charcoal is inferior to the hypochlorites (chlorides) of 
 lime, and soda, or diluted carbolic acid. 
 
 Cataplasma Datjci. Carrot Cataplasm. (Mohrriiben Umsehlage.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Garden Carrots, scraped, four ounces, Indian 
 meal one ounce. Boiling Water a sufficient quantity to form a cataplasm 
 of the proper consistence. 
 
 Properties and Uses — This will be found a valuable application to 
 indolent and gangrenous ulcers, and painful tumors. 
 
 Cataplasma Peementi. Yeast Cataplasm. (Hefen Umsehlage.) 
 
 Preparation. — To half a pint of milk, tepid, add Yeast two fluidounces, 
 and fine Slippery -Elm bark a sufficient quantity to form a cataplasm of 
 the proper consistence. — Beach's American Practice. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is valuable as an antiseptic application. 
 It will be found especially serviceable in gangrenous and phagedenic ul- 
 cerations ; it destroys the fetor, often checks the sloughing, and assists 
 the separation of the dead parts. It should be renewed two or three 
 times a day. Five or ten drops of Carbolic Acid stirred in this poul- 
 tice, will augment its antiseptic virtues. 
 
 Cataplasma Lini. Flaxseed Cataplasm. ("Leinsaamen Uraschl&ge ) 
 
(JatapIiAbmata. 947 
 
 Freparation. — ^To Boiling Water ten fluidounces, add gradually, Pow- 
 dered Flaxseed four ounces and a half, or a sufficient quantity ; stir con- 
 stantly, so as to make a cataplasm. — Lond. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a valuable emollient cataplasm, to allay 
 pain, inflammation, and favor suppuration. It is used for similar pur- 
 poses with the elm poultice. 
 
 Cataplasma LobelIjE. Lobelia Cataplasm. (Lobelien Umschlage.) 
 
 Preparation.— To equal parts by weight of powdered Lobelia and fine 
 Elm bark, add a sufficient quantity of weak Lye, warm, to form a cata- 
 plasm. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms an excellent application to felons, 
 white-swelling, wounds, fistula, inflammation of the breast and other 
 parts, stings of insects, erysipelatous inflammations, and painful swell- 
 ings or ulcerations. It should be frequently renewed. 
 
 Cataplasma Oxtcocci. Cranberry Cataplasm. (Oronsbeeren Um- 
 schlage.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of ripe Cranberries any quantity, and bruise them 
 to form a cataplasm. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Applied around the throat in quinsy, and in 
 swelling of the glands of the throat in scarlatina and other diseases, I 
 know of no more useful agent ; its action is very prompt, relieving in a 
 few hours. It has been likewise reputed useful in cancerous ulcers, 
 erysipelatous inflammation, and gouty rheumatism. 
 
 Cataplasma PHTTOLACca;. Poke-root Cataplasm. (Kermesbeer Um- 
 schlage.) 
 
 Preparation.— VX&cei fresh Poke-root in hot ashes to roa«t, when suflS.- 
 ciently done, mash it and form a cataplasm. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This may be applied to all kinds of tumors in 
 order to discuss them ; or if they be too far advanced, it will hasten ' 
 suppuration. In the latter instance its action is accompanied with 
 much pain. It is especially valuable in tumors of an indolent character, 
 as buboes. It should be renewed two or three times a day. 
 
 Cataplasma Stkamonii. Stramonium Cataplasm. (Stechapfel Um- 
 schlage.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the fresh leaves of Stramonium, any quantity, 
 bruise them, and add a small quantity of hot water to form a sufficiently 
 moist cataplasm. , . 
 
 Properties and Uses. — I have found this a decidedly efficacious appli- 
 cation in peritoneal inflammation, the whole abdomen is to be covered 
 with it ; likewise in acute rheumatism, and in gastro-intestinal inflam- 
 mations. Applied to the perineum in enlargement of the prostate, 
 for the purpose of securing the passage of the catheter in case of re- 
 tention of urine, when it can not otherwise be entered into the blad- 
 der, I know of no better agent^it should remain on the parts about an 
 hour before attempting the introduction of the catheter. It will be 
 found valuable in all rheumatic or neuralgic pains. 
 
 Cataplasma Ulmi. Mm Cataplasm. (Ulmen Umschlage.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Powdered Elm-bark, a sufficient quantity ; stir 
 it in hot Water, or Milk and Water, to the consistence of a cataplasm. 
 —Beach's Am. Prac. 
 
 Properties and ZJses.— This cataplasm is of almost universal applica- 
 tion, and is superior, in many respects, to every other. As an applica- 
 tion to painful swellings, infljammations, ulcerations, and to facilitate the 
 soparation of the slough produced by caustics, and for various other 
 
948 Pharmacy. 
 
 purposes, it stands, and justly, too, in high repute among American phy- 
 sicians. 
 
 CEEATA. (Wachssalben.) 
 Cerates. 
 
 Cerates are agents intended for external appliealSon, and are com- 
 posed of wax, or spermaceti, combined with fatty matters, and with which 
 resins, powders, etc., are frequently amalgamated. The articles enter- 
 ing into. their composition should always be pure, especially the fats, as 
 these preparations are very prone to rancidity; the addition of benzoic 
 acid tends to prevent this change, but its presence is not always desira- 
 ble. Prof. B. S. Wayne finds that by substituting paraflSne for the wax, 
 in cerates aind ointments, the disposition to decompose is effectually pre- 
 vented. Cerates are firtner in consistence than ointments, and are in- 
 tended more as a sort of plaster than for inunction. In the prepara- 
 tion of cerates the water-bath will be found preferable to a direct ex- 
 posure to the fire ; and, to effect the fusion of the materials, a very mod- 
 erate heat will be sufficient. During the cooling of the compound it 
 should be constantly and thoroughly stirred, not permitting one part 
 to solidify before another. Cerates should be made in small quantity at 
 a time, and should be kept in a cool place, in jars closely covered with 
 tin foil, so as to exclude the air as much as possible. It is very likely 
 that the use of wax in these preparations will be entirely superseded 
 by paraffine, which does not become rancid. 
 
 Ceratum CALAMiN.ffl. Calamine Cerate. Turner's Cerate. (Galmei 
 Wachssalbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of prepared Calamine one ounce; Simple Cerate 
 five ounces ; mix them well together. — Ed. 
 
 Or, take Prepared Carbonate of Zinc, Wax, of each, half a pound; 
 Olive Oil sixteen fluidounces (Imperial measure). Melt the Wax in the 
 Oil, remove them from the fire, and as soon as the mixture begins to con- 
 crete, add the Carbonate of Zinc, and stir briskly until they be cold. — 
 Lond. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This cerate is an excellent desiccant and astrin- 
 gent application to burns, scalds, erysipelatous ulcerations, chafings, etc. 
 —P. 
 
 Ceratum Cetacei. Spermaceti Cerate. (Wallrath Wachssalbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — "Take of Olive Oil six parts; White Wax three parts; 
 Spermaceti one part. Heat the Oil gently; add the Wax and Sperma- 
 ceti ; stir the whole briskly when it is fluid, and continue the agitation 
 until it is cool." — Sd. It is found that this cerate may be preserved a 
 much longer time when made of yellow instead of white Wax, and of 
 Olive Oil not bleached J. B. Barnes. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Spermaceti Cerate is used as a mild and unir- 
 ritating application to superficial ulcers, excoriations, blisters, etc. ; 
 more active ingredients are sometimes added to it. — P. 
 
 The following formulae are given for lip salve : Bed Lip-salve. — Place 
 in a vessel. Oil of Almonds one pound; Spermaceti, White Wax, Alka- 
 net-root, of each, two ounces. Melt over a steam or water-bath, and al- 
 low the articles to digest on the Alkanet four or five liours to extr^iCt its 
 color ; then strain through fine muslin, and add two drachms of Oil of 
 Roses just before the mixture cools. Stir well together. 
 
 White Lip-salve. — Melt, as above, Oil of Almonds four ounces, with 
 
Ceraxa. 949 
 
 White Wax and Spermaceti, each, one ounce; when nearly cool, add Oil 
 of Bitter Almonds half a drachm ; Oil of Geranium fifteen minims. Stir 
 thoroughly together. After Lip-salvo is poured into pots, and has be- 
 come cold, a red-hot iron must be held over it for a minute or so, in 
 order that the heat radiated from the iron may melt the surface of the 
 salve, and make it even and smooth. — Am. Jour. Fharm., XSVIII., 86. 
 
 Camphor Cold-cream is made by melting together Almond Oil, Wax, 
 Spermaceti, of each, one pound ; now pass, in a very small stream, of 
 Eose-water one found, agitating constantly till the whole is introduced 
 and well incorporated, then add Powdered Camphor two ounces; Oil of 
 Eosemary one drachm. Rose Cold-cream is made similarly of Almond 
 Oil, Eose-water, each, one pound; "White Wax, Spermaceti, each, one 
 ounce; Oil of Eoses half a drachm. Camphor Ball is made by melting 
 together, Spermaceti three drachms ; White Wax four dradhms ; Almond 
 Oil one ounce; and then adding Powder Camphor itAree drachms. Cam- 
 phor Ice is made by melting Spermaceti one drachm with Almond Oil 
 one ounce, and adding Powdered Camphor one drachm. 
 
 Ceratum Crotonis. Croton-Oil Cerate. (Cj-oton Oel Wachssalbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Melt Lard five ounces, with White Wax one ounce, and 
 when nearly cool, add Croton Oil two ounces, and stir until cool. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Croton-Oil Cerate is a rubefacient and vesicant, 
 and may be used in all cases where such actions, or counter-irritation, 
 are demanded. 
 
 Cebatum EESiNiB. Unguentum Besince. Resin Cerate. Basilicon Oint- 
 ment. . (Basilicum Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Eesin five ounces, Axunge (Lard) eight ounces, 
 Beeswax two ounces. Melt them together with a gentle heat, and then 
 stir the mixture briskly while it cools and concretes. " — Ed. "Strain 
 it while it is hot." — Brit. Pharm. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This cerate forms a mildly stimulant, digestive, 
 and detergent application to ulcers which follow burns, scalds, etc., ori 
 which are of a foul or indolent character, and also to blistered surfaces 
 to promote a discharge. — P. 
 
 Ceratum Sabin^b. Savin Cerate. Ointment of Savin. (Savenbaum 
 Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — "Take of fresh Savin two pounds; Beeswax one pound; 
 "harA four pounds. Melt the Lard and Wax together, add the Savin, and 
 boil them together till the leaves are friable; then strain." — Ed. 
 
 Or, half an ounce of the dried Savin leaves in fine powder, may be 
 rubbed intimately with Ceratum Eesinse four ounces. 
 
 Mr. I. J. G-rahame proposes the following as making a more eligible 
 cerate than the formulae in any of the pharmacopoeias : Take of Lard 
 seven and a half ounces ; Eesin one and a half ounces ; Yellow Wax three 
 ounces; Fluid Extract of Savin two ounces. Melt together the Lard, 
 Eesin, and. Wax, and when nearly cold, having stirred it constantly, 
 add the fluid extract, and continue the stirring to completion. 
 
 The Fluid Extract of Savin may be made thus : Take of finely pow- 
 dered English Savin, prepared from recently dried leaves, /owr olcnces ; 
 Alcohol (about 90 per cent.) a sufficient quantity. Pour on the Savin 
 sufficient Alcohol to dampea the powder (ten drachms). Pack imme- 
 diately in a suitable displacer, with considerable pressure, and having 
 placed on the surface a piece of perforated paper, pour on the Alcohol, 
 and when six fluidounoes shall have passed, put aside for spontaneous 
 evaporation, until reduced to three fluidounces — stirring frequently, 
 meanwhile, facilitates the process. Continue the addition of the Alco- 
 
960 Pharmacy. 
 
 hoi until eight fluidounces more pass ; reduce this by water -bath at a 
 moderate temperature to one fluidounce, and mix it with the previous 
 three fluidounces.^JoMr. and Trans, of Maryland Coll. of Fharm., 1858. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Savin Cerate is applied to blistered surfaces, to 
 maintain a constant discharge. It is less irritating than the cerate of 
 cantharides, and has no tendency to excite strangury. When well 
 prepared it has a fine green color, is uniform and transparent, without 
 any tendency to separate, and has a smell like that of the plant. 
 
 Ceratum Simplex. Simple Cerate. (Einfache Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Melt together Prepared Hog's Lard four ounces, and 
 White Wax two ounces, agitating the whole briskly until cool. Put up 
 in small vessels, and cover well with tin foil, to protect as much as 
 possible from the action of the atmosphere. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Simple Cerate forms a mild and cooling appli- 
 cation to irritated surfaces, wounds, excoriations, burns, blisters, etc. 
 Mr. W. J. M. Gordon, pharmaceutist of this city, has prepared a "Par- 
 affin Cerate," which has been found a very useful article. It is com- 
 posed of Parafflne two drachms. Oil of Almonds half an ounce, White 
 Wax one drachm, Oil of Eoses two drops. 
 
 CBEBI. CEEBOLI. 
 
 Bougies. — Bougies. 
 
 Preparation. — Bougies are made by dipping strips of soft linen cloth, 
 rather wider at one end than at the other, into certain emplastic or 
 elastic compositions, folding them closely, and rolling them firmly on 
 a smooth slab. For elastic Bougies, pieces of cat-gut, bundles of 
 thread, etc., are sometimes used. The following are some of the com- 
 positions held in most repute : 
 
 1. Bell's. — Lead Plaster four ounces; Yellow Wax one ounce and a 
 half ; Olive Oil three drachms. 
 
 2. Hunter's. — Olive Oil three pounds; Yellow Wax one pound; Eed 
 Lead one pound and a half; boil together over a slow fire till combined. 
 
 3. Swediatjr's White. — White Wax one pound; Spermaceti three 
 drachms; Acetate of Lead from two drachms to one ounce; boil together 
 slowly. 
 
 4. Pidbrit's Wax. — Yellow Wax six part's; Olive Oil one part. 
 
 5. Goulard's. — Yellow Wax six ounces; melted and mixed by stir- 
 ring With Goulard's Extract of Lead from two drachms to two ounces. 
 
 6. Elastic. — Boiled Linseed Oil twelve ounces; Amher four ounces; 
 Oil of Turpentine four ounces, in which is dissolved Caoutchouc five 
 drachms. Melt and mix the articles well together, and spread the com- 
 pound at three successive . intervals upon a silk cord or web. Place 
 the pieces, so coated, in a stove-oven heated to 150° F., and leave them 
 in it for twelve hours, adding fifteen or sixteen fresh layers in succes- 
 sion, until the instruments have acquired the proper size. Polish first 
 with pumice-stone, and finally smooth with tripoli and oil. 
 
 Bougies are usually employed for dilating strictures, as of the ure- 
 thra, vagina, neck of the uterus, and rectum. The largest size that 
 can be conveniently introduced is first used, and the size gradually in- 
 creased as the treatment progresses. The wax Bougie is often em- 
 ployed for obtaining the form of an urethral stricture, its location and 
 distance fiom the external orifice. 
 
Decocta. 951 
 
 CONFEC.TIOJSTES. (Bingemachtes.) 
 Confections or Conserves. — Latwerge. 
 
 CoNFECTio Eos^ai. Conserve of Boses. Confection of Hoses. (Eoaen 
 latwerge.) ' 
 
 Preparation. — Take of recent Petals of the Red Eose a pound ; White 
 Sugar three pounds ; beat the Eose Petak in a stone mortar ; then, the 
 sugar being added, beat them again until they are thoroughly incor- 
 porated. — Lond. 
 
 Or, the fresh Petals finely powdered one ounce, va&j be rubbed with 
 Eose-water at 150° F., two fluidounces; then gradually add powdered 
 Eefined Sugar seven ounces; pure Honey one ounce and a half. Beat 
 the whole together in a stone or marble mortar into a uniform mass. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation is much used as a common, 
 pill basis for sulphate of quinia, and other medicines. Its astringency 
 is very weak. It has no tendency to mold, ferment, or become candied. 
 
 CoNFECTio Senn^. Confection of Senna. Electuary of Senna. Leni- 
 tive Electuary. (Senneslatwerge.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of* Purging Cassia, bruised, eight ounces ; Tama- 
 rind five ounces ; digest these in water one pint, in a covered vessel for 
 three hours, and separate the pulp by rubbing through a coarse sieve. 
 Digest the residue with water half a pint, for an hour, then separate 
 the pulp as before, and add it to the first portion ; to this pulp add 
 Pig, bruised or cut into fine pieces, six ounces ; Prune, deprived of seed, 
 and cut into fine pieces three and a half ounces, and digest for four 
 hours. Pass the pulp first through a coarse sieve, and then through a 
 fine one ; add to it Sugar, in coarse powder twenty-five ounces, and dis 
 solve by the heat of a water-bath. Finally, add Senna, finely pow- 
 dered, four ounces ; Coriander, finely powdered, two ounces, and thor- 
 oughly mix the whole ; and if necessary, evaporate by a water-bath 
 until the finished Confection weigiiB forty -eight ounces. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — When correctly prepared, this confection is a 
 pleasant, mild, and very effectual purgative, useful during pregnancy, 
 and for patients afflicted with costiveness, hemorrhoids, or diseases of 
 the rectum. The dose is from one to three drachms, or more. 
 
 Off- Prep. ^-Gonfectio Sennas Composita. 
 
 CoNFECTio Senn^ Composita. Compound Electuary of Senna. (Zu- 
 eammengesetze Senneslatwerge.) 
 
 Preparation.— Tnke of Confection of Senna one ounce; Bitartrate of 
 Potassa half an ounce; Pulverized Jalap three drachms; Nitrate of Po- 
 tassa. Flowers of Sulphur, each, two drachms; Extract of Butternut a 
 sufficient quantity to form into a mass of pilular consistence. Keep in 
 small glass jars well covered with tin foil. 
 
 Properties and C/ses.^— This confection has been used with advantage 
 in constipation, and in hemorrhoids of whatever form. Twelve or six- 
 teen grains may be taken for a dose, in pill form; repeating it twice 
 every day, so as to act mildly on the bowels. 
 
 "bBCOCTA. (Abkochungen.) 
 
 Decoctions. 
 
 The solution procured from the various parts of plants, by boiling 
 them in water, is called a Decoction. Decoctions are generally pre- 
 pared from those articles which do not readily yield their active constit- 
 
952 Pharmacy. 
 
 uents to water, at a temperature below 212° F. ; yet it must oe re 
 membered, that as most plants contain stairch, gum, and other inert 
 matters, which are readily soluble in water, these will' generally bj 
 found associated with the remedial principles in a decoction. Medi- 
 cines containing volatile principles, or principles which are changed 
 into insoluble and inert matters at a boiling heat, should never be sub- 
 jected to decoction. As a general rule, decoctions should never be em- 
 ployed or prescribed, because, since the introduction of infusion by dis- 
 placement, the virtues of nearly all medicinal plants can be obtained 
 by reducing them to a fine powder, and carefully percolating with water 
 at temperatures varying from 60° to 200° F., according to the solvent 
 nature of the active principle. 
 
 When, however, decoction is determined upon, the medicinal ingredi- 
 ents should be sliced, bruised, or powdered, according to their character 
 and placed in an earthen-ware, glass, or irop vessel, of suitable size, the 
 latter being lined internally with porcelain. In most instances, tin ves- 
 sels may be employed, but copper, brass, iron, zinc, or glazed earthen- 
 ware vessels, on account of their liability to oxidation, or incompati- 
 bility with some of the active principles, as tannic acid with iion, etc., 
 are apt to prove injurious, and should not, therefore, be used. The 
 water employed should be pure and clear, and the boiling should not 
 be carried on for too long a period. During the boiling the vessel 
 should be kept covered, so as to exclude as much as possible the pres- 
 ence of air, the action of which is very apt to materially impair the 
 medicinal principles held in solution. The boiling finished, the decoc- 
 tion should be strained before it becomes cool. 
 
 In decoctions where several articles are employed, the whole should 
 not be placed in at once, but each article should be placed in the boil- 
 ing water at periods adapted to the time required to obtain its proper- 
 ties by the operation of boiling, or, in other words, according to its 
 degree of solubility. Some plants require to be boiled for some minutes, 
 while others will yield all their virtues if added during the middle, or 
 toward the termination of the process. Volatile agents should be added 
 after the decoction has been removed from the fire, and strained while 
 boiling hot ; and then it should be kept closely covered until cold. 
 
 Decoctions are very seldom ordered from the apothecary, but almost 
 always are made a matter of domestic management; hence, a list of 
 decoctions is omitted as unnecessary, an explanation of the general 
 rules relating to them being deemed sufficient. The ordinary mode of 
 preparing decoctions, with physicians, is to allow one ounce of the ar- 
 ticle used to one pint of water, and the dose of which is from one to 
 four fluidounces, depending on the activity of the agent, or the physi- 
 ological effect which is required. Where the proportions are different 
 from these, it will be referred to in the description of the properties 
 and uses of the article. 
 
 From various influences, decoctions are very liable to speedy change 
 or decomposition j consequently they should be made in small quanti- 
 ties, whenever required, and not be used after becoming two days old, 
 
 especially in hot weather. 
 
 • 
 
 EMPLASTEA. (Pflaster.) 
 
 Plasters. 
 
 Plasters are designed to be applied upon the skin or surface of the 
 body ; they are of much thicker consistence than cerates, require a cer- 
 
Bmplastra. 953 
 
 tain degree of heat to soften them sufficiently fbr spreading, and are 
 very adhesive when applied to any part of the body, if its temperature 
 be of an ordinary character. Thej' are intended to fulfill four indications 
 viz. : to give mechanical support or pressure to certain parts ; to hold 
 cut surfaces in approximation ; to protect parts from atmospheric action ; 
 and to produce sedative, stimTilant, or other therapeutical influences, 
 according to the nature of the medicines associated with them. They 
 are most usually composed of resins combined with wax, fats, and other 
 gubstances, and frequently in combination with the oleo-margarate of 
 lead or lead^plaster as a basis. Plasters should be prepared in some 
 metallic vessel, as tin, or iron, and which, in consequence of the swell- 
 ing many articles undergo when heated, thereby augmenting their vol- 
 ume, should be considerably larger than that required to hold the com- 
 ponents of the plaster when in an unmelted condition ; the temperature 
 used in making them should not be too high, and, instead of exposing 
 the vessels containing them to a direct fire, a water -bath should be used, 
 which will prevent them from becoming carbonized. The heat should 
 be continued no longer than is necessary to effect the proper amalga- 
 mation of the ingredients ; and those of a volatile character should bfe 
 added at as late a period during the cooling of the plaster as is consistent 
 with their intimate combination with it. After having melted wdx, 
 resinous stibstances, etc., together, they should be strained while hot, 
 to remove impurities, and, as the several articles required to form the 
 plaster are added, the mass should be well stirred. Some plasters re- 
 quire to be stirred constantly till cold, while others are poured into 
 cold water, during their melted state, and worked by the hands, knead- 
 ing them until nearly cold, and then forming theta into cylindrical rolls, 
 or long square sticks, of various dimensions to suit the views of the 
 operator. The cylinders are usually made by rolling portions of the 
 plaster on a hard, smooth surface, kept constantly moist during the 
 operation. If some of the components of a plaster are soluble in water, 
 the plaster should not be worked in this fluid, but be allowed to cool, 
 either in the Vessel in which it is prepared, or in pans or cylinders made 
 for the purpose. When cooled in tin or iron pans, it is usually divided'' 
 into long square sticks. As the action of the air exerts an influence 
 upon plasters, it is advisable to cover them with paper, tin-foil, or other 
 material, in order to protect them as much as possible against this in- 
 fluence ; and they should always be kept in dry and cool situations. 
 Plasters should be solid and not adhesive, at atmospheric temperatures ; 
 and should become, not top soft, but very flexible and tenacious when 
 exposed to the natural heat of the body. When a plaster softens under 
 ordinary atmospheric warmth, it should be remelted, and more resin, 
 or other of its solid constituents be added ; if it is too firm, not being 
 readily spread at a moderate heat, or not sufficiently adhesive when in 
 contact with the body, a sufficient quantity of olive oil should be added 
 upon remelting it. 
 
 Plasters are sprei*d upon various materials in accordance with the 
 object for which they are used. If they are designed to act as mechani- 
 cal supports, to exclude atmospheric air, etc., white sheepskin is the best 
 material; if they are to be applied to ulcers, to surfaces exposed by the 
 removal of the skin, or to wounds for the purpose of holding the divided 
 surfaces in close contact with each other, some softer material may be 
 used, as muslin, etc. Sometimes oiled silk, or india-rubber cloth is em- 
 ployed, and where economy is desired, they are spread on stout paper- 
 The spreading of plasters maybe much facilitated by the druggist hav 
 
954 Pharmacy. 
 
 ing tin or paste-board frames of various sizes and shapes suited to the 
 several parts of the body to which they may be applied, each one hav- 
 ing a central aperture of the required figure ; the tin-frame being laid 
 upon the leather, the plaster is spread upon that part of it exposed by 
 the central aperture. Some druggists after cutting the leather some- 
 what larger than that of the size desired, paste strips of paper, about 
 half an inch wide, along the edges of the leather, and remove them, 
 after having spread the plaster within the space which they inclose. 
 The plaster should be spread thinly and evenly, always leaving an un- 
 spread edge or border, half an inch wide, which serves to, protect the 
 linen worn over it from adhering to it. There are various modes of 
 spreading the plaster ; some melt the plaster in a suitable vessel over 
 a gentle flre, and spread it by means of a cotomon spatula; others use 
 an iron instrument made expressly for the purpose, which, when prop- 
 erly heated, they apply to the plaster ; as this melts, the fused portion 
 is dropped upon various parts of the leather, and the spreading is ac- 
 complished, by carefully passing the same heated iron over the surface,, 
 carrying portions of the melted plaster along with it. A very excellent 
 contrivance has been invented by Mr. Boggett, of England. It consists 
 of an iron instrument somewhat similar to the one referred to above, 
 the handle and body of which is hollow, or have a tube passing through 
 them. To the orifice at the end of the handle is attached one end of a 
 movable or portable gutta-percha or other tube, the other end of which 
 is attached to a gas-burner, the same as with portable gas-burners. 
 The body or spatula part of the instrument has its upper surface perfo- 
 rated by a number of small holes, its urider surface being smooth for 
 spreading. Upon allowing the gas to flow along the tube into tl>e 
 spatula, it passes out through the small holes referred to ; by igniting 
 it at these points, the spatula is readily heated to the temperature re- 
 quired for spreading. The size of the flame and the heat of the spatula 
 can be regulated by the stop-cock attached to the gas-burner. Thus 
 the heat can be kept up constantly during the operation of spreading, 
 with but very little trouble. Care must be taken not 'to heat the 
 irons employed in spreading to too great a degree, else certain parts 
 of the plaster may become volatilized or decomposed. When it is 
 desired to obtain large quantities of plasters, they are spread by ma- 
 chines made for the purpose, for an account of which the reader is 
 referred to "Procter's Mohr and Eedwood on Pharmacy," and "Par- 
 rish's Pharmacy." 
 
 Bmplasteum Acidi Carbolioi. Carbolic Acid Plaster. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Shellac three parts ; Crystallized Carbolic Acid 
 one part. Heat the Shellac with about one-third of the Carbolic Acid 
 over a slow fire till the lac is completely melted ; then remove from 
 the fire and add the remainder of the acid, and stir briskly till the in- 
 gredients are thoroughly mixed. Strain through muslin, and pour into 
 the machine for spreading plaster, and, when the liquid has thickened 
 by cooling to a degree ascertained by experience, spread to the thick- 
 ness of about one fiftieth of an inch. Afterward, brush over the sur- 
 face of the plaster lightly with a solution of gutta-percha in about 
 thirty parts of bisulphide of carbon. 
 
 The coating of gutta-percha, through which the carbolic acid per- 
 meates freely, is given to prevent the plaster from adhering to the 
 skin, as it is desirable that such a dressing should adhere very slightly, 
 if at all. When the bisulphide of carbon has all evaporated, the plas- 
 ter may be piled in suitable lengths in a tin box, without adhering, or 
 
Emplastra. 955 
 
 it may be rolled up and kept in a canister. It can be softened either 
 by a watery or an oily fluid, and may be kept unimpaired for months. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Used as an antiseptic dressing to wounds, for 
 the purpose of destroying the vitality of the germs occasioning fermen- 
 tation and piitrefaction, thus preventing sloughing, the formation of 
 unhealthy pus, arresting putrefaction, and favoring healing by the 
 first intention. The plasters are kept applied over the part by means 
 of ordinary adhesive plaster strapped around the edges of the piece 
 employed — one per cent, of Carbolic Acid being first added to the ad- 
 hesive plaster. — Prof. Lister. Mr. Thos. B. Jenkins, of Louisville, pro- 
 poses to prepare this plaster in the following manner, as being more 
 plastic, maintaining its properties unimpaired, and adapting itself to 
 any irregular surface ; his formula is about as follows : mix together 
 Carbolic Acid one part, (jrljoevin four parts ; then add Prepared Chalk 
 fourteen parts, mix well by kneading, and inclose in closely stopped 
 jars. The proportion of chalk as given by him is thirteen andfourteen- 
 seventeeth parts.— Am. Jour. Pharm., 1869, p. 293. 
 
 Bmplastbum AooNiTtJM. Acouite Plaster. (Bisenhut Pflaster.) 
 
 Preparation — Take of Aconite root, in coarse powder, four ounces, 
 moisten it with six fluidounces of Alcohol, sp. gr. 0.835, and permit it 
 to macerate twenty -four hours ; then put it in a displacer, and pour on 
 gradually Alcohol sp. gr. 0.835 a sufficient quantity to make a pint of 
 tincture. Distill off three-fourths of the Alcohol, ev-aporate the residue 
 on a water-bath to a thick, syrupy consistence, then add Lead Plaster 
 (Bmp. Eesinse), in a melted state three ounces and a. half, and stir con- 
 stantly until it is properly incorporated with the soft resinous extract, 
 and cools. 
 
 History. — This forms a brown, homogeneous mass, weighing about 
 four Troy ounces. It should, when used, be spread in a thin layer on 
 skin or oiled-silk, and may be used several times when its application 
 has not been too long continued at first. It is considered superior to 
 that in which only Aconiiia enters, being more uniform in its strength 
 and of equal efficacy. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — It possesses the medicinal efficacy of the root, 
 and has been found a valuable application in neuralgia, headache, 
 rheumatic pains, painful tumors of the breast and other parts, and in 
 inflammatory dysmenorrhea. — W. Procter, Jr. 
 
 Bmplastbum Arnica. Arnica Plaster. (Wohlverlei Pflaster.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of finely bruised Arnica flowers one pound, Troy, 
 and pour over them two pints of a mixture of Alcohol, sp. gr. 0.835, 
 three pints., Water, one pint. Allow this to stand forty-eight hours, 
 pack it in a percolator, and pour on slowly the remainder of the Alco- 
 hol and Water until three pints of Tincture are obtained. Evaporate 
 this tincture in a water-bath or still, till reduced to a soft resinous 
 extract (weighing about two ounces), and incorporate it, by stirring., 
 with melted Adhesive ' Plaster (Bmp. Eesinse), /owr ounces, Burgundy 
 Pitch one ounce. Make into rolls. The plaster is uniform in texture, 
 has a deep yellow-brown color, spreads easily, is adhesive, and of a 
 very desirable consistence. If a plaster more decidedly rubefacient, 
 without vesicating, is required. Cerate of Cantharides one hundred and 
 eighty OTains, may be added to the above. — Wm. Procter, Jr. — F. C. 
 Orth. The Oerate of Gantharides may be made by melting together 
 Yellow Wax and Eesin, each, three and a half drachms ; Lard five 
 drachms; strain through linen or muslin, add finely powdered Can- 
 tharides six drachms, and mix together by stirring briskly until cold. 
 
956 Pharmaot. 
 
 Froperties and Uses. — A stimulant, useful as an application to painful 
 or sprained joints, chronic rheumatic pains, weak back, etc. 
 
 Bmpiastrum Belladonnje. Belladonna Plaster. (Tollkraut Pflas- 
 ter.) . 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Alcoholic Extract of Belladonna root, one ounce, 
 form it into a uniform soft mass by trituration with a small quantity 
 of Alcohol. Add this to Eesin Plaster, melted, itAree ownces. — Ed. This 
 operation should be conducted in a Wedgewood, or porcelain mortar, 
 which rests in water heated to 212° P., and the trituration should be 
 continued until the plaster has become cool. By this means the Alco- 
 hol is evaporated from the extract, which is equally diffused through 
 the plaster. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is an anodyne and antispasmodic agent 
 for the relief of syphilitic, rheumatic, neuralgic, and other pains. 
 When applied to the "sacrum it has afforded relief in dysmenorrhea. 
 Should the constitution Suffer from the influence of the belladonna, as 
 sometimes happens, the plaster must be omitted for a few days, and 
 th^n be reapplied. If it be heated too much in spreading, its proper- 
 ties will be much impaired. 
 
 Emplastrum Belladonna Compositum. Compound Plaster of Bella- 
 donna. (Zusammengesetztes Tollkraut Pflaster.) 
 
 Preparation. — Takeof Eesin Plaster ^ue ounces ; Alcoholic Extract of 
 Belladonna root, one ounce; Alcoholic Extract of Conium Maculatum 
 one ounce and a half ; Pulverized Iodine two scruples. Place the plaster 
 in an earthenware mortar, and put this in hot water. When' the plas- 
 ter (!ommences to melt, add the Extracts of Belladonna and Conium, 
 and rub the ingredients well together ; then take the mortar from the 
 water-bath, continuing the trituration, and when nearly cool, add the 
 Iodine. 
 
 N. B. The inspissated juices of the above narcotics are preferable to 
 the ordinary extract in preparing this plaster. 
 
 Properties and CTses.— This plaster maybe used for the same purposes 
 as the belladonna plaster, and is also an excellent application over 
 scrofulous and other tumors, white-swelling, and goitre ; and may like- 
 wise be applied over the region of the liver and spleen for chronic 
 affections of these organs, and over the lumbar vertebrae in severe dys- 
 menorrhea. Like the preceding plaster, it occasionally affects the con- 
 stitution, and then requires to be omitted for a few days. — J. K. 
 
 Emplastrum Capsici Compositum. Compound Capsicum Plaster. 
 Common Strengthening Plaster. Sear-Cloth Plaster. (Zusammengesetztes 
 Spanischpfeffer Pflaster.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Rosin four ounces; Yellow Wax one ounce; 
 Tincture of Capsicum half a pint; Melt the Eosin and Wax, and add 
 the Tincture ; keep stirring by a gentle heat, until the alcohol is evap- 
 orated ; then remove from the fire, and when nearly cold, add Pulver- 
 ized Camphor half an ounce, Oil of Sassafras forty-five minims. Stir till 
 cold. — Beach's Am. Prac. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a gently stimulating and strength- 
 ening plaster, and may be used in all cases where artificial support, 
 prevention of the contact of atmospheric air, or mild stimulation is 
 required. 
 
 Emplastrum MrRicai. Bayherry Plaster. Green Salve. (Wachs- 
 gagel Pflaster.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of White Gum Turpentine and Bayberry Wax, 
 
Emplastra. 957 
 
 each, two ounces. Melt together, strain, and stir till cold. In winter 
 a small quantity of Olive Oil may be added. — Beach's Am. Prac. 
 
 Fropetiies and Uses. — This forms a very valuable and efficacious ap- 
 pliciitioii to scrofulous and other ulcers, also to many cutaneous affec- 
 tions. It 's often prepared of the consistence of an ointment for these 
 purposes. See Bayberry Ointment. 
 
 Emplastrum Picis Compositum. Compound Tar Plaster. Irritating 
 Plaster. (Zusammengesetztes Pechpflaster.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take Burgundy Pitch one pound and a half; While 
 Turpentine one pound; melt them together, add Tar three pounds, stir 
 well together and strain, renaove from the fire, and add finely -powdered ' 
 M tin drake root, Blood -root. Poke-root, Indian Turnip, each, ten ounces. 
 Incorporate well together. — T. Y. M. When it let desired to have a 
 more active preparation, and one wnich will act more promptly, Bu- 
 phorbium, in powder, four ounces, is added to the above articles. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This plaster is irritant, rubefacient and suppu- 
 rative. It is used extensively in all cases where counter-irritation or 
 powerful revulsion is indicated, in neuralgia, rheumatism, and in all 
 painful chronic diseases. It acts more efficiently, and is much more 
 adhesive when spread quite thin, on soft leather, than when spread on 
 any kind of cloth ; though it may be spread on oil-silk, india-rubber 
 cloth, or other substance that will not absorb any portion of it- This 
 plaster may be held in place by a bandage or two, as it has to be re- 
 moved daily, but when it is desired to have a firmer adhesion to the 
 skin, some adhesive plaster may be applied around the margin left on 
 the material upon which the Tar Plaster is spread. When applied to 
 a part of the body, it must be removed daily, for the purpose of thinly 
 re-spreading the same piece of leather, or oil-silk, etc., with the plaster, 
 which is to be immediately reapplied upon the part. This course is to 
 be continued until the surface, to which it is applied, commences dis- 
 charging matter, after which it should be removed two or three times 
 a day, wiping it quite dry each time before re-spreading it, and like- 
 wise carefully drying, the sore as much as possible. This latter is best 
 accomplished by lightly pressing ujjon it soft pieces of dry cotton, 
 linen, or lint, so as to absorb all the pus. The practitioner must bear in 
 mind that he is never, no matter what may be the condition of the sore 
 or surrounding parts, to wet it ; this will render it irritable and inflamed, 
 cause it to cease suppurating healthily, and even to require its immedi- 
 ate healing. 
 
 This plastet is very painful, producing more or less irritability of 
 the system, and should never be used except when its use is indispensa- 
 ble ; when it becomes very painful and irritating, depriving the patient 
 of sleep, or causing him to complain loudly, it must be removed, and a 
 slippery-elm poultice be applied. Many practitioners consider the dis- 
 turbance of sleep, alone, as an indication for removing the plaster; 
 which may be reapplied, when it is desirable to continue the suppura- 
 tive discharge for a longer time, as soon as the elm poultice has allayed 
 the local irritation. If this is not required, the sore maj' be healed by 
 some simple application, as simple cerate, a mixture of beeswax and 
 tallow, Eed Oxide of Lead Plaster, etc. Whenever the Tar Plaster or 
 the dressings to the sore produced by it, are removed for renewal, the 
 sore should each time be cleansed from matter, in the manner referred 
 to above. As the peculiar odor of the ingredients of this plaster may 
 be observed in the excretions, there is no doubt but that they are ab 
 
958 fHARMACT. 
 
 sorbed into the system, and exert an alterative as well as a counter-ir 
 ritating influence. 
 
 Emplastrtjm Plumbi Oxidi EtTBRUM. Hed Oxide of Lead Plaster 
 Black Salve. (Schwarzes Mennige Pflaster. Mutterpflaster.) 
 
 Freparation. — Take of Olive Oil one quart; Eosin, Beeswax, of each 
 one ounce. Melt together and raise the mixture nearly to the boiling 
 point ; then gradually add Pulverized Eed Lead twelve ounces. Stir 
 constantly, and when the Lead is taken up by the Oil, the mixture be- 
 comes brown, or a shining black ; then remove from the fire, and when 
 nearly cold add of Pulverized Camphor /owr scruples. It should not be 
 removed from the fire until its consistency is such that it may be spread 
 easily, and which may be ascertaitied by removing small portions of it 
 from time to time, on a knife, and testing this when cold. — Beach's Am. 
 Prac. 
 
 This is undoubtedly the old Nuremburg Plaster of the German phar- 
 macopoeias, the formula for which is as follows : Take of Eed Lead eight 
 ounces; Olive Oil a pound ; mix, and expose to a heat until the mixture 
 assumes a brown or blackish appearance, and then add Eosih half an 
 ounce; Yellow "Wax an ounce and a half; Camphor two drachms; stir 
 thoroughly together. 
 
 In the preparation of this plaster it must be remembered that Olive 
 Oil requires a heat of about 600° for ebullition ; and should bubbles be 
 observed when the heat is only 212°, it will probably be owing to the 
 presence of water. If the Oil, itself, is not brought nearly to the boil- 
 ing point, the Eed Lead will not be acted upon ; hence, the operator 
 should not add this until the Oil has been so far heated as to scorch a 
 feather when dipped into it. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a valuable application in burns, many 
 cutaneous affections, and syphilitic, scrofulous, fistulous, and all other 
 species of ulcers. ' 
 
 A preparation similar to the above is emplo3'ed by many practition- 
 ers in preference ; it is made as follows : Heat two quarts of Linseed 
 Oil until it will scorch a feather, then gradually add one pound of Eed 
 Lead in powder; when the Eed Lead is taken up by the Oil, and the 
 mixture is black, remove from the fire, and when nearly cold add two 
 ounces of Oil of Turpentine, and stir until the mixture is cold. 
 
 Emplastrum Plumbi. Zead Plaster. Litharge Plaster. (Bleipflaster.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of finelj' -powdered Oxide of Lead (Litharge) two 
 "pounds and a half ; Olive Oil half a gallon; Water one pint. Mix them ; 
 heat from 200° to 212° F., and stir constantly till the Oil and Litharge 
 unite, replacing the water as it evaporates. — Ed. — Lond- — JDuh. The 
 new British Pharmacopoea, direct Litharge /oMr pounds (Avoir.), Olive 
 Oil one gallon, and Water three and a half pints (Imp. measure). It is 
 also very properly directed to keep up the presence of the water, which 
 is necessary to the combination of the Oil and Litharge, by adding 
 more Water, at different times, during the process, if necessary. 
 
 Wittstein prepares this plaster by mixing six and one-third parts of 
 very finely powdered litharge with one and three-fourth parts of water 
 in a copper or earthen vessel, aiid gently warmed. At the same time 
 ten parts of Olive Oil are weighed into a copper vessel, capable of con- 
 taining fifty parts, and the process conducted as related in the following 
 paragraph : 
 
 The Olive Oil should be placed in a vessel capable of containing at 
 least four times its bulk, and heated, at first gently, until it begins to 
 fume and crackle, when, with constant stirring, the litharge and water. 
 
Emplastra. 959 
 
 which have been gently heated in another vessel, are to be added in 
 very small portions, taking care that one portion is nearly dissolved, or 
 that no more bubbles or aqueous vapors are evolved, before another is 
 added. After the addition of the last portion, heat for a few minutes, 
 withdraw a small jjortion and knead it under water ; if it is readily 
 worked without imparting a milkiness to the water, the whole is allowed 
 to cool, and molded to the required form. If the test is unsatisfactorj', 
 the boiling must be continued, with the occasional addition of an ounce 
 or so of wai-m water, but a quarter of an hour should be ample time. 
 
 History. — Olive Oil is composed of about 70 parts of olein and 30 of 
 raargarin. "When hot Olive Oil is mixed with water and litharge, the 
 latter being a stronger base, combines with the margaric and oleic 
 acids in the oil, while the base in the oil, glycerin, is liberated, and 
 combines with one equivalent of water to form a hydrate. The lead 
 compound thus formed is an Oleo-Margarate of Lead. 13,203 parts of 
 Olive Oil require 8,364 parts of litharge, and 338 parts of water, or 10 
 parts of Olive Oil, 6j litharge, and ^ part of water ; the latter must, how- 
 ever, be considerably increased, as the new compound forms but slowly, 
 allowing the greater part of the water to evaporate, which has the 
 good effect of preventing the mixture from becoming too hot, and boil-' 
 ing over, or igniting. Without the addition of water, the fatty acids 
 are not separated from the glycerin, and no plaster forms ; if a portion 
 of plaster is formed when no water has been added, it is because oil 
 always contains a small quantity, and the remainder must have been 
 derived from the elements of the oil. There being great disadvantages 
 in omitting the water, this process has no practical value. In the 
 method here given, the formation of the plaster is rapid when the 
 oxide of lead is in fine powder ; the mixture of the latter with water 
 must be added warm, otherwise, at the moment of contact with the 
 hot oil, a spirting and boiling up of the mass ensues, from the sudden 
 formation of aqueous vapor. Stirring fa,cilitates the combination, by 
 intimately mixing the particles, and prevents any from adhering to the 
 bottom of the vessel. To a practiced workman the tenacity and con- 
 sistence of the mass indicates when it is entirely formed, and this is 
 more satisfactorily ascertained by kneading a portion of it under water ; 
 if the water becomes turbid, free oxide is present, and oil globules will 
 rise to the surface, and this necessitates a continuance' of the boiling, 
 with the addition of a little warm water. In order to remove the 
 glycerin, the plaster is usually kneaded for a time under water, which 
 washes it away. — Witt. Unless good pure sweet oil be used, a very 
 imperfect plaster will be, obtained ; and a heat by steam will be found 
 better than by direct exposure of the vessel to fire. 
 
 Lead Plaster, or diachylon, as it is frequently termed, is a yellowish 
 white body, or white when the oxide is pure, brittle when cold, plastic 
 when warm, insoluble in water or alcohol, and partially soluble in ether, 
 the margarate of lead forming the residue. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Lead Plaster is chiefly used as a basis for other 
 plasters. It is used in surgery on account of its adhesiveness and mild- 
 ness of local action, rarely causing irritation. . It is used to keep the 
 edges of wounds together, and as an application to blistered and chafed 
 surfaces, and occasionally to some ulcers, all of which it serves to pro- 
 tect from atmospheric influence. The sedative character of the lead 
 aiding in its formation, probably assists its beneficial action. 
 
 An ointment is in considerable use as a dressing for burns, scalds, 
 chilblains, and various cutaneous affections accompanied with a burn^ 
 
960 Pharmacy. 
 
 ing or smarting sensation. It is prepared as follows : Take' of Lead 
 Plaster one pound and a half ; melt it by a gentle heat, and when melted 
 add to it Oil of Turpentine nine fluidounces ; Linseed Oil three fluid- 
 ounces; Oil of Origanum one poMwd ; Tincture of Opium f/iree/MidoMHfles. 
 Stir the ariicles constantly until the mass has sufficiently cooled. This 
 is applied by completely and thickly covering the alfected part with 
 the ointment, over which a layer of raw cotton is to be placed, and 
 allowed to remain until the part is well. In the case of deep burns, 
 should the pain return after a few hours, the ointment should be re- 
 moved, softening it with some warm oil, and a cataplasm of elm bark, 
 or flax seed, be applied. It is said to afford prompt relief Should the 
 burn be extensive, care must be taken not to apply the ointment over 
 the whole of it, but only over a portion at a time. 
 
 Emplastrum Eesin^. Besin Plaster. Adhesive Plaster. (Helt- 
 pflaster.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Lead Plaster three pounds ; very finely pow- 
 dered Resin half a pound (Avoir.). Melt the Lead Plaster with a gen- 
 tle heat, add the Eesin, and make a plaster. — Lond. The proportions 
 generally used in this country are one part, by weight, of Eesin, to six 
 ■parts of Lead Plaster. 
 
 This preparation, when spread upon muslin, forms the ordinary Ad- 
 hesive Plaster; as age impairs its adhesiveness, fresh supplies should be 
 obtained frequently. Sometimes powdered Castile Soap is added to it, 
 which increases its plasticity without diminishing its adhesiveness, and 
 renders it less brittle in winter. If a small band of Adhesive Plaster 
 be written on its back as though it were paper, then warmed and placed 
 upon a bottle, it will form an excellent label for placing upon vessels 
 to be kept in cellars and damp places. In place of ink, varnish may 
 be used, colored with vermillion. The following forms an excellent 
 Adhesive Plaster: Take of Eesin Plaster three ounces; Lead Plaster 
 thirteen drachms and a half; Soap sliced, two drachms and a half. Melt 
 together and spread on linen. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This plaster is more irritating, as well as more 
 adhesive than the preceding' one. It is used in surgery to hold the 
 edges of wounds together, to keep the dressings of ulcers, etc., in place, 
 to make pressure upon, or give support to parts, and for the samfe pur- 
 pose as the Lead Plaster. It is sufficiently irritating in its composition, 
 without having any other stimplating agents combined with it. 
 
 Emplastrum EesinjE Compositum. Compound Besin Plaster. Ad- 
 hesive and Strengthening Plaster. (Zusammengesetztes Harzpflaster.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of "White Eesin twelve ounces; Yellow Wax, Bur- 
 gundy Pitch, Tallow, of each, one ounce. Melt these together, and add 
 Olive Oil, Pulverized Camphor, and Sassafras Oil, of each, one drachm; 
 West-India Eum one fluidounce. Incorporate well together, then pour 
 the whole into cold water, and work it in the hands till cold, forming 
 it into rolls or sticks. — Beach's Am. Prac. 
 
 The late Dr. W. P. Watrous, of Mount Sterling, Ky., preferred the 
 following: Melt together, Eesin ^Aree powrnds ; Beeswax /owroMwces; take 
 from the fire, and when nearly cold add, gradiially, Camphor half a,n 
 ounce, dissolved in Oil of Hemlock, Oil of Sassafras, and Olive Oil, of 
 each, one ounce; Oil of Turpentine half an ounce. Work in water as 
 above. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms an Adhesive and Strengthening 
 Plaster, used in Eheumatism, weakness of the joints, wounds, ulcers, etc. 
 It is possessed of considerable stimulating property, and has been fre- 
 
Rnejiata. 9(51 
 
 "juently used by practitioners ; yet, notwithstanding, it is an unscientific 
 preparation, as the Eum and Tallow will not be found to unite readily. 
 the Bmplastrum Capsici Compos, is a much better article to use for the 
 same purposes. The formula of Dr. Watrous will be found a good one, 
 forming an elegant plaster, much superior to the preceding one. 
 
 Bmplastrum Saponis. — Soap Plaster. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Hard Castile Soap, in powder, one part, by 
 weight, Lead Plaster nine parts. Triturate the Soap with a sufficieni 
 quantity of Water to render it quite soft, then add it to the Lead Plastei 
 previously melted over a gentle fire, heat them together with con- 
 stant stirring until they are thoroughly incorpos-ated and evaporated to 
 a proper consistence. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This plaster, spread on leather, is used as a 
 diacutient and mechanical support. It will be found very useful as an 
 application for constant wear, to aid in softening and removing corns, 
 after they have been shaved carefully down. The addition of iodine 
 and camphor will greatly improve its utility in this respect. 
 
 BNBMATA. (Klystiere.) 
 Injections or Clysters. 
 
 Injections are medicinal agents in the form of infusion, decoction, or 
 mixture, etc., designed to be passed into the rectum, vagina, urethra, 
 bladder, etc. Sometimes pulverized ingredients are added to those in- 
 tended for the rectum. They are usually thrown into the rectum to 
 remove constipation, to allay infiammation of the lower intestines, to 
 remove ascarides, to stimulate or nourish the system, to produce an in- 
 fluence upon distant organs by sympathetic action, as to occasion eme- 
 sis, perspiration, uterine action, etc., and as a revulsive. When medi- 
 cines or liquid food can not be administered by mouth, from any cause 
 whatever, they may be used in the form of a rectal injection, in about 
 double the quantity required when taken into the stomach; though 
 some care is required in proportioning the dose of powerful medicines 
 for this mode of administration. When an evacuation of the bowels is 
 designed, as in bilious colic, apoplexy, convulsions, constipation, etc., 
 the quantity of fluid should be large — ^one or two pints for an adult, 
 repeating it every ten, twenty or thirty minutes, until the object is ef- 
 fected. Children will require proportions of the above quantity, accord- 
 ing to their ages and susceptibilities. When it is desired to make an 
 impression upon distant or neighboring parts, or upon the rectum itself, 
 or to produce a constitutional influence, the injection should be given 
 in as small an amount of fluid as is consistent with its activity or char- 
 acter, and should be held within the rectum as long as possible ; and if 
 the patient can not thus retain it, a warm compress of linen or muslin, 
 may be pressed upon the anus with a moderate degree of firmness, by 
 the nurse, and which will prevent the enema from being immediately 
 evacuated. 
 
 Injections into the vagina are intended to aid in restoring the normal 
 condition of its walls, to assist in the cure of excoriation or ulceration 
 of the cervix, to remove vaginal leucorrhea, to produce a sedative in- 
 fluence upon the uterus, to indace premature delivery, etc. Uterine 
 injections are designed to remove a low grade of inflammation of its 
 mucous lining membrane, to cure ulceration in the canal of the cervix, 
 to stimulate the organ to activity, etc. Urethral injections are to relieve 
 inflammation of the urethra or bladder, to check chronic discharges from 
 61 
 
962 Pharmacy. 
 
 the urethra, heal ulceration of the bladder, stimulate the mucous lining 
 membrane of the urethra, and the prostate gland, etc. And injection s into 
 other parts are usually for the purpose either of removing foreign or un- 
 . healthy matters, allaying inflammation, or stimulating the parts to in- 
 creased action. Effects, in this way, are frequently obtained of a very 
 salutary character, and which it would be impossible to procure by llie 
 administration of remedies by mouth. There are so many ingenious in- 
 struments at present contrived for the administration of injections, that 
 it is almost impossible to speak in favor of any particular one ; suffice 
 it to say, that the old-fashioned clyster-bag and pipe is inferior to any 
 other apparatus for this purpose, and should not be used when any of 
 the others can be obtained. 
 
 Injections are a very valuable mode of treatment, in many diseases ; 
 indeed some affections can not be readily nor permanently cured with- 
 out them. They are found especially beneficial in bilious colic, in bilious, 
 typhus, yellow, and congestive forms of fever, in dysentery and diarrhea, 
 etc. In infants, life has often been preserved by their timely applica- 
 tion, and the pains and dangers of the parturient woman have frequently 
 been very materially lessened by their use. And yet, notwithstanding 
 their value and importance, there are hundreds of families, especially 
 in country places, who do not supply themselves with the articles neces- 
 sary for their administration, but who depend entirely upon the physician, 
 or perhaps a neighbor, for the use of a syringe. This is a very reprehensi- 
 ble omission, and, although not exactly within the province of this work, 
 yet, from the evil results which I have seen depending upon a negli 
 gence of the above character, I can not refrain from making a few brief 
 advisory remarks. Every individual, and more especially every family, 
 is liable to sickness which may require the use of a syringe, and to de-' 
 pend upon the physician for its supply is certainly bad policy, for very 
 few, especially among those practicing in the country, furnish them- 
 selves with a quantity sufficient to meet the demands of the various 
 families under their professional care ; besides, very few physicians 
 carry an article of this kind, and, in some diseases, the delay occasion d 
 by sending for it may be death to the patient. No doubt, an immense 
 number of patients, and more particularly among those residing in the 
 country, die yearly solely from the want of an instrument with which 
 to administer an injection. It is, therefore, a matter of duty with the 
 practitioner, both to himself and to his patients, to strongly impress 
 these facts upon those who patronize him professionally, and urge them 
 by all means to make the necessary provisions. A metallic syringe, 
 capable of holding a pint, and a smaller one of three or four fluidounces, 
 should be found in possession of every family, as these can be adapted 
 to meet any emergency requiring their use. 
 
 Injections are emollient, stimulant, anodyne, purgative, antispas- 
 'modic, etc., and are most generally prescribed by the physician to suit 
 the emergency of the case, without regard to officinal directions. For 
 purposes of nutrition, as well as to reduce inflammation of the lower 
 intestines, infusions, of starch, of elm bark, of flaxseed, and of corn- 
 meal, are usually injected into the rectum, with a portion of laudanum 
 added ^hen inflammation is present; and in cases where the stomach 
 rejects all food and medicine, and when this condition is accompanied 
 with prostration, a proper quantity of wine, brandy, or some similar 
 stimulant, may be added to the nutrient clyster, and repeated as often 
 as the circumstances require. The following are among the agents of 
 this class in more common use : 
 
Enemata. 963 
 
 Enema Aloes Composita. Compound Clyster of Aloes. (Znsammen- 
 gesetztes Aloe Klystier.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Aloes two scruples; Carbonate of Potassa _^/ieeM 
 grains; Tincture of Asafetida three fluidrachms ; Infusion of Boneset 
 liidf a pint. Mix and rub them together. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a stimulant, cathartic, and vermifuge 
 clj'ster, and may be used with advantage for the removal of ascarides 
 from the rectum, also in constipation, especially among females labor- 
 inii; under amenorrhea. — J. K. . 
 
 Enema Asafcetid^ Composita. Compound Clyster of Asafetida. (Zu- 
 sammengesetztes Stinkasand Klystier.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Mandrake two drachms ; Balmony four drachms; 
 Water half a 'pint. Make a decoction, strain, and add to it Tincture of 
 Asafetida three fluidrachms. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is used with children troubled with ascar- 
 ides in the rectum. To a child two or three years old, about one-half 
 of the quantity may be used at a time, and repeated according to cir- 
 cumstances. — <7. K. 
 
 Enema Cathabticum. Cathartic Clyster. (Abfiihrendes Klystier.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Common. Table Salt half an ounce; Olive or 
 Castor Oil one fluidounce ; Molasses two fluidounces ; Warm Water two 
 pints. Mix together. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a very common laxative clyster, and one 
 the ingredients of which are generally to be procured readily in every 
 family. The above quantity is intended for an adult ; it may be given 
 at once, or be divided into two equal parts, to be used within ten or 
 fifteen minutes of each other. It is generally employed in cases of 
 constipation, or where a speedy evacuation of the bowels is desired. An 
 injection is sometimes used for the above purposes, and in diarrhea 
 and dysentery, and, indeed, in almost every case where one is indicated, 
 composed as follows: Take of Sweet Milk half a pint; Infusion of Elm 
 bark half a pint; Olive Oil two fluidounces ; MolaaBes four fluidounces ; 
 Bicarbonate of Potassa half an ounce. Mix these articles together. 
 When there are pains and gripings in the lower intestines, Laudanum, 
 half a fluidrachm, may be added to each injection. — Beach's Am. Prae. 
 
 Enema Cimicifug^ Composita. Compound Clyster of Black Cohosh. 
 (Zasammengesetztes Wanzenkraut Klystier.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Black-Cohosh Boot, in powder, two ounces; 
 Cranesbill Boot, in powder, two ounces; Waier four pints. Mix them 
 together, make a decoction, and strain. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is an astringent preparation, combining 
 with it a peculiar influence on the vaginal walls and cervix uteri, and 
 is much employed in leucorrhea, prolapsus uteri, relaxation of the va 
 ginal walls, etc. It should be used with a female syringe, and re- 
 peated three or four times a day ; the patient being placed in a recum- 
 bent position on her back, with the hips elevated so as to retain the in- 
 jection some ten or fifteen minutes, each time. — T. V. M. 
 
 Enema Lobelia Composita. Compound Clyster of Lobelia. Antispas- 
 modic Clyster. (Zasammengesetztes Lobelien Klystier.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Water half a fluidounce; Compound Tincture 
 of Lobelia and Capsicum, half a fluidrachm. Mix together. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a relaxant and antispasmodic clyster, 
 and is used in cases of tetanus, convulsions, rigidity of the os uteri,_and 
 whenever its peculiar actions are indicated. The proportions, as given 
 in the above formula, are adapted to an infant from several weeks to a 
 
964 Pharmacy. 
 
 year old, laboring under an attack of convulsions '; for adults, half a 
 fluidounce or even more of the tincture, may be added to a sufSciout 
 quantity of water ; and bo in proportion. — J. K. 
 
 Enema Opii. Clyster of Opium. (Opium Klystier.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Decoction of Starch, or Infusion of Elm Bark, 
 one fluidounce ; tincture of Opium twenty minims. Mix them. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This clyster is useful in irritation or inflamma- 
 tion of the bladder, uterus, or prostate gland, in obstinate emesis, in 
 the passage of renal calculi, in nephritis, iii dysentery, and in painful 
 affections of the large intestines. It may sometimes be necessary tc 
 double or treble the quantity of opium tincture named in the formula. 
 It should be retained in the rectum as long as possible, and may be re- 
 peated every one, two or three hours, and in severe cases even oftener, 
 according to the urgency of the symptoms. If frequently employed it 
 will produce the constitutional effects of the opium. 
 
 Enema Senn.*! Composita. Compound Clyster of Senna. (Zusam- 
 mengesetztes Sennesblatter Klystier.) 
 
 Preparation.-rTake of Senna and Boneset, of each, four ounces ; Boil- 
 ing "Water one quart. Pour the Water on the herbs and macerate them 
 by a moderate heat for about ten minutes ; then strain, and add while yet 
 hot, Molasses four fluidounces; Common Salt, and Powdered Lobelia 
 Seed, of each, two drachms; Powdered Bayberry Bark two ounces; Pow- 
 dered Capsicum two drachms. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is one of the best clysters that can be used 
 in bilious colic ; it should be given as warm as the patient can bear, 
 one-half the above quantity at a time, and may be repeated in fifteen 
 minutes ; of course in connection with this, the internal administration 
 of a .decoction of Dioscorea Villosa, and local applications of cloths 
 wet with hot water are to be employed. — J. K. 
 
 Enema Tebebinthin.^ Composita. Compound Clyster of Turpentine. 
 (Zusammengesetztes Terpenthin Klystier.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Castor-oil half a fluidounce ; Oil of Turpentine 
 two fluidrachms ; Camphorated Tincture of Opium one fluidrachm. Mix 
 together. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This injection is principally employed in flatu- 
 lency, and tympanitic tension of the abdomen, especially during an 
 attack of peritonitis. It may be repeated two, three, or four times a 
 day. It may likewise be used in ascarides, obstinate constipation, and 
 amenorrhea. 
 
 Enema Xanthoxyli. — Clyster of Prickly Ash. (Stachel Eschen 
 Klystier.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Water one fluidoicnce ; Tincture of Prickly- Ash 
 Berries one fluidrachm ; Tincttfre of Opium twenty minims. Mix together. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This clyster will be found very beneficial in 
 typapanitic distension of the abdomen from any cause. It will likewise 
 be found efficacious in Asiatic cholera, and in diarrhea ; in these last 
 diseases it should be given and repeated immediately after each opera- 
 tion from the bowels, and should be retained in the rectum as long as 
 possible. I have also used it with much benefit in th* tympanitic ab- 
 domiein of children, which so generally proves fatal, and which attends 
 or follcws an attack of diarrhea or summer-complaint. — J. K. 
 
' • EXTRAOTA. 9()5 
 
 EXTfiACTA. (Extracte.) 
 ExtracoB. 
 
 When an infusion, decoction, or tincture is reduced to a soft, solid 
 ir.ass by evaporation, eitlier spontaneous or artificial, it is termed an 
 Extract. If it be prepared from a decoction or infusion it is called a 
 Watery or Aqueous Extract ; if from an alcoholic tincture, it forms an 
 Alcoholic Extract; if both water and spirit are used in preparing it, it 
 is termed a Sydro^alcoholic Extract; if ether, wine, or acetic acid, be 
 the menstruum from which it is made, it is called Ethereal, Vinous, or 
 Acetous Extract, according to the fluid used. The most important point 
 in the manufacture of extracts is to employ as a solvent a liquid that 
 will take up the medicinal constituents of a remedy, and but little, if 
 any, of its inert portions. The constituents of plants not desirable to 
 extract are gum, amylum, saccharine matter, apotbeme, etc., and as 
 these are soluble in water, and the first two, especially, are insoluble 
 in alcohol, in most cases alcohol or ether will be found a better medium 
 for obtaining the active principles than water. The best solvent of 
 the medicin;al virtues of plants will be that fluid in which they are the 
 most readily dissolved : thus, resins, oils, oleo-resins, etc., require alcohol, 
 and, occasionally, ether; alkaloid prindiples require acidulated fluids, 
 using such acids as will not form an insoluble preparation with the 
 alkaloid ; bitter extractive requires water ; and some plants will require 
 two or more solvents^ either combined together, or employed succes- 
 sively, mixing together the several residual extracts after they have 
 all been thus obtained. In the preparation for an extract, the operator 
 should previouslj' acquaint himself with the nature of the principles 
 oontained in the drug, their solubility, their relations to heat and air, 
 their volatility, etc., so that he may adopt the menstruum best calcu- 
 lated to remove the greatest amount of active matter, and control the 
 evaporation, so that this may not be injured by heat, or lost by vola- 
 tilization. Frequently, the juices of fresh plants are obtained by 
 grinding and pressing, and then evaporating to the proper consistence; 
 -these have been termed Inspissated Extracts or Juices (Succi Spissati). 
 
 There is, probably, no class of remedial agents requiring so much 
 care in their preparation as extracts ; for, if an extract be improperly 
 prepared, either by employing a wrong solvent, or too much heat, etc., 
 it is of no value as a medicine, and it is not to be relied upon by the 
 physician. At the present lime, it has been found that extracts prepared 
 from decoctions are, with a few exceptions, worthless ; hence, the med- 
 icated liquids from which they are obtained are procured either by dis- 
 placement, maceration, digestion, or infusion. These are permitted to 
 evaporate spontaneously, by the application of heat, or in vacuo. The 
 latter furnishes the best extract, the first the next best, while that ob- 
 tained by the remaining mode is of medium character, and apt to be 
 of variable strength, On this account it is very difScult for druggists 
 or physicians to manufacture the best extracts, not generally being 
 provided with the necessarj' apparatus for so doing. Establishments, 
 however, are formed in various sections of the country for the prep- 
 aration of extracts on a large scale, and, "as good articles can be fur- 
 nished at prices much cheaper than the druggist could afford to 
 manufacture them for, it is preferable to procure them from such estab- 
 lishments.* 
 
 * The (1 ly form given to many extracts has been the source of considerable criticism 
 based upou the following queries: i. By submitting an agent to an elevated temperature 
 
966 Pharmacy. 
 
 Ordinarily, the plan adopted is, to obtain the juice, or tincture, etc., 
 of the plant, gently heat it to coagulate albuminous substances, filter or 
 strain it, and then evaporate at a temperature ranging between 90° 
 and 200° F., being careful never to raise it to the boiling point. A 
 high temperature, as well as atmospheric action, will impair the efllcacy 
 of the preparation. But this mode, although it has been the oHe pur- 
 sued for many years, is far inferior to that of preparing this class of 
 medicines in vacuo. 
 
 In forming the solution for aqueous extracts, soft water, as free from 
 foreign matters as possible, should be employed. Clean rain water, or 
 the water from some of our lakes or rivers, will be found to answer 
 quite as well as water which has been distilled. The articles to be 
 acted upon by the fluid should be ground, but not too finely, the degree 
 of fineness depending upon the substance used, and the resulting liquid 
 should be obtained from them by the process of displacement. Filter 
 the solutions, and evaporate in a steam or water-bath, until the proper 
 consistence is obtained. The evaporation should be conducted at as 
 low a temperature, and as quickly as the nature of the solution will 
 admit, using a broad, shallow dish, and not stirring it, in order to avoid 
 exposing too great a surface to the injurious action of the atmosphere. 
 Long continued evaporation by heat, under exposure to the atmos- 
 phere, is as detrimental to an extract as a boiling heat, hence the solu- 
 tions should be procured in as concentrated a form as possible. And 
 in those instances where diiferent solutions are obtained, the weaker 
 ones should be the first evaporated, not adding the stronger until the 
 first have been brought to an equal strength with them ; by this means, 
 the more concentrated liquids will not be injured by too long an ex- 
 posure to heat. 
 
 When alcohol or ether is used in the preparation of extracts, it will 
 be best to distill these fluids, not only for the purpose of saving them,^ 
 but likewise to prevent the extracts from being impaired by atmospheric- 
 influence ; a vacuum apparatus, however, will be superior to ordinary 
 distillation, as these fluids may be evaporated at a much lower temper- 
 ature, and without exposure to the air. Hydro-alcoholic extracts are. 
 best made by first forming an alcoholic extract from the plant, then 
 an aqueous extract, combining the two while hot. Ethereal extracts are 
 usually of a semi-fluid consistence. By means of Mohr's continuous 
 displacing apparatus, as the percolated tincture falls into the receiver, 
 the ether is driven off to pass again through'Hhe articles, and thus con- 
 tinues until all their strength is exhausted ; the whole process of tinc- 
 turing and forming an extract being thus performed at the same time. 
 Extracts should be kept in glass, stone, or earthenware vessels, and be 
 guarded as much as possible from the action of air and light, by cov- 
 
 for the length of time usually required in these oases, are not its active principles changed; 
 or injured? 2. In the passage from the soft to the dry state, do not changes occur in the 
 primitive constitution of the various elements of the original substance ? 3. To perfect 
 the dry extract is not there too great a loss of time, fuel, etc. ?4. Is it not apt to be with dlfD- 
 oulty that a dry extract can be dissolved in a iluid preparation, at least, without an insolu- 
 ble portion being present? .5. Can a dry extract be readily taken from the fragUe vessel 
 containing It, without endangering the fracture of the vessel? Considering these questions,, 
 M. Perron advises the addition of a very small quantity of glycerin to the solution to be 
 evaporated, and which will give the following advantages : 1. The extract remains soft 
 whatever may be the daily subtractions from it, besides running no risk of moldiness.^ 
 2. Its solubility in fluid preparations is prompt and perfect. For pills, the only instances 
 in which the dry extract, readily pulverizable, may present some advantage, the soft ex- 
 tract may form the excipient and thus prevent any unnecessary increase of size. 3. Th& 
 soft extract mixes readily with fatty bodies, which is often very difficult to effect with th* 
 dry extract. 4. The separation of the resins, which is observed in ordinary soft extracts, 
 forming gi-umous extracts, does not occur when glycerin is used, owing to the intimacy 
 with which all thi!ir lieterogenous parts are uniled, 
 
BXTKACTA. 967 
 
 ering them with tin foil and leather; and to prevent them from be- 
 coming moldy, their surfaces may be covered with a small quantity of 
 alcohol. Extracts thus fixed, in large jars, may be kept for an indefi- 
 nite length of time by placing the jars in air-tight vessels from which 
 the air has been removed by an air-pump. Each jar of extract will re- 
 quire an air-tight receiver for itself; from this, smaller pots may be filled 
 from time to time for dispensing purposes, the air being removed from 
 the receiver every time the larger jar is returned to it. 
 The modes of preparing extracts are as follows : 
 
 1. AQUEOirs Extracts. — Take ofvthe Leaves, Eoot, Bark, or other 
 part of the plant employed, in powder more or less fine, a pound ; 
 Water a sufficient quantity. Mix the Leaves, or Eoots, etc., with half 
 their weight of clean soft water; in twelve hours put the whole into a 
 displacement apparatus, and exhaust it by adding water to it from 
 time to time, until the liquid which passes no longer contains any of 
 the virtues of the plant, or part of it employed. Expose this filtered 
 infusion to a temperature of 212° F., then strain it, and evaporate it in 
 the vapor-bath at a temperature not to exceed 120° F., to the due con-, 
 sistence ; or, the evaporation may be conducted in a vacuum appa- 
 ratus. 
 
 2. Alcoholic Extracts. — Take of the Leaves, Eoot, Bark, or other 
 part of the plant employed, in powder more or less fine, a pound; Alco- 
 hoi [or Diluted Alcohol], Water, of each, a sufficient quantity. Mix the 
 Leaves, or Eoot, etc., with half their weight of Alcohol, or enough to 
 thoroughly moisten them ; in twenty -four hours put the whole into a 
 displacement apparatus, and exhaust by adding Alcohol to it from time 
 to time, until four pints of tincture have been obtained. Then add clean, 
 soft Water and continue it, until the liquid which percolates through 
 causes a slight turbidness of the previously filtered liquor, as it drops 
 into it. [The object of adding the Water toward the latter part of 
 the process is to remove the alcohol absorbed by the powder ; and as soon 
 as this is effected, and the water commences to percolate, it causes a 
 turbid condition of the filtered Alcoholic fluid immediately around the 
 drops as they fall into it.] Place the filtered liquor in a suitable vac- 
 uum apparatus, and remove the Alcohol, and then, if necessary, evap- 
 orate the residue in the vapor-bath at a temperature hot to exceed 120° 
 F., to the due consistence ;. or, which is much better, the whole process 
 of evaporation may he carried on in a vacuum apparatus. 
 
 3. Htdeo-alcoholic Extracts. — Take of the Leaves, Eoot, Bark, or 
 other part of the plant employed, in powder more or less fine,, a pound ; 
 Alcohol ninety per cent.. Water, of each, a sufficient quantity. Mix the 
 Leaves, or Eoots., etc., with half their weight of Alcohol, or enough to 
 thoroughly moisten them ; in twenty-fonr hours put the whole into a 
 displacement apparatus, and exhaust by adding Alcohol to it ffom 
 time to time, until it passes off without any taste of the article em- 
 ployed. Eemove the greater part of the Alcohol from this filtered 
 tincture, and evaporate the remainder to the due consistence in one 
 of the ways named in the preceding modes ; that in vacuo being the 
 best. 
 
 To the powder in the displacement apparatus, add gradually Water, 
 a sufficient quantity, until the liquid which passes no longer contains 
 any of the virtues of the plant, or part of it, employed. Expose this 
 filtered infusion to a temperature of 212° F., then strain it, and evap- 
 orate it in the vapor-bath to the due consistence'. 
 
 Mix the Alcoholic and Aqueous Extracts thus obtained, while each are 
 
968 Pharmacy. 
 
 hot, and stir constantly until cold. With a few exceptions, Alcoholic 
 Extracts are found to be superior to any others. 
 
 Any variation from tlie above process, in the preparation of the fol- 
 lowing extracts, will be explained under its appropriate head. 
 
 BxTEACTTTM AcoNiTi Alcoholicum. AlcohoUc Extract of Aconite. 
 (Spirituoses Eisenhut Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust coarsely powdered Aconite Leaves, in a per- 
 colator, with Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity.'^ From the tincture 
 thus made separate the Alcohol, and then carefully evaporate the resi- 
 due until it is of the required consistence. Be careful not to spoil the 
 extract by too high a temperature while evaporating. The Leaves 
 should be recently dried, and finely powdered. When the extract is 
 prepared in large quantity at a time, a vacuum apparatus should be 
 used in order to save the alcohol, without exposure to a temperature 
 that would injure the active medicinal virtues of the aconite. (See 
 preparation of Alcoholic Extracts on page 967.) 
 
 This is the only extract of aconite, that should be used. It should 
 be carefully prepared either in vacuo, or in a water -bath, employing a 
 moderate heat, lest it be spoiled. The water is added toward the latter 
 end of the process in order to drive out the alcohol retained by the 
 plant, and as soon as the water passes, it renders the filtrate turbid, 
 when the operation should be finished. A more powerful preparation 
 is made from the root. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Extract of Aconite possesses the properties of 
 the plant in a powerful degree ; it may be used in rheumatism, neural- 
 gia, gout, scrofula, cutaneous diseases, inflammatory and febrile dis- 
 eases, and in all cases in which the use of aconite is admissible. The 
 dose is from one-fourth of a grain to a grain, two or three times a day, 
 which may be increased to two grains if required. When the extract 
 is of good quality it causes numbness and tingling in the mouth and 
 lips, shortly after taking it. The extract prepared from the root in a 
 similar manner, is much more active, and should be administered in 
 smaller doses, from one-tenth to one-fourth of a grain. 
 
 ExTBACTUM Aletris Alcoholicum. AlcohoUc Extract of Unicorn 
 Boot. Aletridin. Aletrin. (Spirituoses Aletris Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust coarsely powdered Unicorn Eoot a pound, 
 with Alcohol, Water, of each, a sufficient quantity, proceeding in the 
 same manner as explained for the preparation of AlcohoUc Extracts on 
 page 967.— J. K. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a very elegant and useful prepara- 
 tion of Unicorn Eoot. It may be used as a tonic in cases of debility 
 of the digestive organs, and will also be found valuable in uterine difS- 
 culties, as- prolapsus, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, etc. The dose is from 
 half a grain to two grains, three times a day. 
 
 ExTRACTUM Anthemidis Alcoholicttm. AlcohoUc Extract of Chamo- 
 mile. (Spirituoses Chamillen Bxtrakt^ 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust Chamomile Flowers, bruised, a pound, with 
 Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity, proceeding in the same manner as 
 explained for the preparation of Alcoholic Extracts, on page 967. At 
 the close of the process volatile oil of Chamomile j'l/iteew minims, may be 
 thoroughly incorporated with the extract, as advised by the British 
 Pharmacopoeia. 
 
 *By making the Diluted Alcohol with a mixture of one part of Water and two parts 
 of Strong Acetic Acid, Instead of Water alone, a much stronger extract will l)e ob- 
 tained. 
 
EXTRACTA. 969 
 
 Properties and CTses.— Extract of Chamomile is a tonic, and may bo 
 used in all cases where the crude article is indicated. It may be beno- 
 fieially combined with other extracts, as of seullcap, cramp-bark, black- 
 cohosh, golden-seal, ladies'-slipper, etc. The dose is from one to five 
 grains, three times a day. 
 
 ExTRACTUM Apooyni Alcoholicum. AlcohoUc Extract of Indian 
 Henyp. (Indianisches Hanf Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — ^Exhaust coarsely powdered Indian Hemp (Apocynum . 
 Cannabinum), a pound, with Alcohol, Water, of each, a sufficient quantity, 
 proceeding in the same manner as explained for the preparation of Al- 
 coholic Extracts, on page 967. — J. K. This extract, either dried or not, 
 has been sold and employed in therapeutics under the erroneous name 
 of apocynin. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This extract is purgative, and either alone or 
 in combination with extract of leptandra, is much employed in afi'ec- 
 tions of the liver and stomach, in intermittents and in the low stage of 
 4;yphoid fevers. It has also been employed with advantage as a diu- 
 retic and emmenagogue. The dose is from one to ten grains, two or 
 three times a day. 
 
 ExTRACTUM Abctii. Extract of Burdock. (Klettenwurzel Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust Burdock Root, coarsely powdered, or in pieces, 
 a pound, with Water a sufficient quantity, -proceeding in thesamn manner 
 as explained for the preparation of Aqueous Extracts, on page 967. 
 
 Properties and CTses.— Extract of Burdock is principally used as an 
 alterative, in scrofula, syphilis, cutaneous aifections, etc. The dose is 
 from five to twenty grains, repeated three times a day. 
 
 ExTRACTUM Aromatici. Aromatic Extract. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Cinnamon, Ginger, each, in fine ftowder, three 
 ounces; Cardamon, free from their capsules, l^utmeg, each, in fine pow- 
 der, one ounce and a half ; Sugar nine ounces ; Alcohol of sp. gr. 0.817, a 
 sufficient quantity. Mix all the powdered aromatics, put the mixture 
 in a displacement apparatus, and gradually add Alcohol until the mix- 
 ture is exhausted ; pour the resulting percolate over the sugar, evapo- 
 rate spontaneously or at a low heat until dry, agitating constantly to- 
 ward the end of the proc-ess. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a pleasant stimulant a^nd carmina- 
 tive, which may be used in cases of flatulency, in gastric debility, and to 
 render other medicines more palatable. It answers all the purposes of 
 the "Aromatic Powder," and "Aromatic Confection " of the U. S. 
 Pharmacopoeia. The dose is from five grains to sixty. Added to wine 
 it forms a very good Aromatic Wine. 
 
 Extractum AsclepijB Alcoholicum. Alcoholic Extract of Pleurisy 
 Root. (Asclepias Extrakt Spirituoses.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust coarsely powdered Pleurisy Eoot a pound, 
 with Alcohol, "Water, of each, a sufficient quantity, proceeding in the 
 manner as explained for the preparation of AlcohoUc Eoctracts, on page 
 
 967.— j: K. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Alcoholic Extract of Pleurisy Eoot is expecto- 
 rant, tonic, laxative, and antispasmodic. It will be found useful in 
 chronic and acute catarrhal coughs, rheumatic affections, dysentery, 
 etc. From its peculiar action upon the ligaments of the uterus, it proves 
 highly beneficial in prolapsus, and other displacements of this organ. 
 The dose is from three to ten or fifteen grains three times a day. 
 
 Extractum BAPTisiiE Alcoholicum. Alcoholic Eoctract of Wild 
 Indigo. (Spirituoses Baj)tisien Extrakt.) 
 
970 Pharmacy. 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust coarsely powdered Bark of Wild Indigo Root 
 a pound, with Alcohol, Water, of each, a sufficient quantity, proceeding in 
 the same manner as explained for the preparation of Alcoholic Extracts, 
 on page 967. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This extract is antiseptic, with purgative and 
 emetic properties when taken in large doses. It is especially advanta- 
 geous in typhoid conditions of the system, in malignant ulcerations of 
 the mouth and throat, in scarlatina, and in all cases where there is a 
 tendency to putrescency or gangrene. It exerts a powerful stimulan*; 
 effect on the glandular and nervous systems, and will be found useful in 
 scrofula, obstinate hepatic torpor, etc. Its virtues are increased by com- 
 bination with extract of leptandra, resin of podophyllum or cimicifuga. 
 The dose is one-fourth of a grain, gradually increased to one or two 
 grains, and repeated three times a day. — J. K. 
 
 ExTiiACTUM Belladonnje Alcoholioum. Aleoholii; Extract of Bella- 
 donna. (Spirituoses Tallkraut Extrakt.) 
 
 Prepamfion.— Exhaust coarsely powdered Belladonna Boot in a per-~ 
 bolator, with Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity.* From the tincture 
 thus made separate the Alcohol, and then carefully evaporate the resi- 
 due until it is of the required consistence. Be careful not to spoil the 
 extract by too high a temperature while evaporating. The roots should 
 be teceutly dried, and finely powdered. When made in large quantity, 
 it should be in vacuo, bo that too elevated a temperature may be avoided, 
 and also that the alcohol maybe saved. {See preparation of Alcoholic 
 Extracts, on page 967.) 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This Extract possesses all the virtues of Bella- 
 donna, which see, and is the most usual form of administration. The 
 dose is from one-tenth of a grain to half a grain, or even a grain, to be 
 repeated two or three times a day. 
 
 BxTBACTUM Cannabis Purificattjm. Extract of Indian Hemp, purified. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the commercial Extract of Indian Hemp, im- 
 ported from India, one and a. half ounces, triturate it thoroughly with 
 Alcohol, sp. gr. 0.S35, one and a half fluidounces, and then add to it of 
 the same Alcohol nine fluidounces. Let the whole macerate for thirty- 
 six hours, filter, and, while on the filter, add more Alcohol, until the Ex- 
 tract is thoroughly exhausted. Evaporate the filtrate to dryness in a 
 water-bath, at a temperature not exceeding 150° F. 
 
 This forms a dark, dull-green extract, having the well-marked odor of 
 hemp resin, is soluble in strong alcohol, ether, chloroform, olive oil, and 
 oil of turpentine, the latter solution depositing minute, scaly crystals, on 
 standing; almost wholly soluble in benzole; not affected by alkalies; 
 and with cold nitric acid, sp. gr. 1.38, it is slowly acted on evolving red 
 fumes, being converted into an orange-red resinoid substance, about as 
 abundant as the resin treated, and which, when washed with water and 
 dried, resemble minute fragments of gamboge. — W. Procter, Jr. — Pro- 
 ceedings Am. Pharm. Assoc, 1864, 246-7. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The same as stated under the head of Cannabis 
 Indica, in Part I. This extract being purified, and possessing greater 
 uniformity of strength than the ordinary commercial extract, should be 
 administered in somewhat smaller doses. 
 
 BxTRACTtTM Caulophtlli Alcoholicum. AlcohoUc Extract of Blue 
 Cohosh. (Spirituoses Stammblatt Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust coarsely powdered Blue-Cohosh 'Root a pound, 
 
 * If the Diluted Alcohol be prepared with Acetic Acid and Water, the same as stated for 
 Extract of Aconite, in note on page 968, it will form a more powerful extract. 
 
EXTRACTA. 97] 
 
 with Alcohol, "Water, of each, a sufficient quantity, proceeding in the same 
 manner as explained for the preparation of Alcoholic Extracts, on page. 
 967. ((See Besin of Blue Cohosh.) 
 
 Properties and tfses. — Alcoholic Extract of Blue Cohosh is antispas- 
 modic and parturient. It may be advantageously combined with extract 
 of dioscorea, in bilious colic, flatulency, and griping pains arising from 
 the use of drastic purgatives; with oleo-resin of pricklj^ ash bark, al- 
 coholic extracts of cimicifuga, or Scutellaria, in rheumatic affections ; 
 and with oleo-resin of senecio, resin of cimicifuga, alcoholic extracts of 
 aletris, ascleplas, or high cranberry bark in uterine diseases. It will 
 be found very useful in amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea ; and forms 
 with muriate of berberin, an elegant remedy for deranged conditions of 
 the stomach, dyspepsia, etc. It has also been found serviceable in after- 
 pains. The dose is from one to five grains, three times a day.^^J. K. 
 
 ExTRACTUM CiMiciPUG.a! Alcoholioum. AlcokoUc Extract of Black Co- 
 hosh. (Spirituoses Wanzenkraut Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust Black-Cohosh Eoot, in moderately fine powder,' 
 a jiOMwd, with Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity, proceeding in the 
 same manner as explained for the preparation of Alcoholic Extracts, on 
 page 967. 
 
 Prof W. Procter, Jr., recommends to exhaust the root in the same 
 manner as when preparing thp fluid extract (which ,see), and evaporate 
 the solutions separately until they have a syrupy consistence, mix them 
 and finish the evaporation with care over a water-bath with constant 
 stirring. Eight grains represent a drachm of the root. Some of our 
 manufacturers sell, for an extract of Black Cohosh, the extract prepared 
 from the root after its^esin has been removed ; this is a worthless article, 
 and a great imposition upon the profession. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Alcoholic Extract of Black Cohosh possesses all 
 the virtues of the root, and in nervous derangements, as chorea, epilepsy, 
 etc., is much superior to the resin from the root in action and efficacy ; 
 it is decidedly more narcotic and antispasmodic than this resin. I 
 make extensive and successful use of it in epilepsy, chorea, delirium -tre- 
 mens (in which I combine it with quinia), nervous excitability, and 
 many spasmodic affections. Persons subject to cramps will be speedily 
 and permanently relieved by the employment of this extract combined 
 with the extract of cramp bark. The Alcoholic Extract of Black Co- 
 hosh may be used in all instances where the employment of the root is 
 indicated. The dose is from one to five or ten grains, three times a day. 
 —J.E. 
 
 BxTRAOTUM CoLOOTNTHiDis. Extract of Colocynth. (Koloquinten Ex- 
 trakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Colocynth, sliced and deprived of its seeds, 
 three pounds ; Diluted Alcohol half a gallon. Macerate the Colocynth 
 in the Diluted Alcohol for thirty-six hours, occasionally pressing it with 
 the hand. Express the liquor strongly and strain. Finally, evaporate 
 to the proper consistence, or, the extract may be made by percolation, 
 etc., as named for Alcoholic Extracts on page 967. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This extract is cathartic, and may be used in 
 the dose of from one to four or five grains. 
 
 ExTRACTUM CoLOCTNTHiDis CoMPosiTUM. Compouud Extract of Colo- 
 cynth. (Zusammengesetztes Koloquinten Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation.— Take of Extract of Colocynth one drachm ; powdered 
 Extract of Aloes six drachms; powdered Scammony ttco drachms; pow- 
 dered Cardamoms half a drachm; Castile Soap (soft), one drachm and a, 
 
972 Pharmacy. 
 
 half. Mix the powders, and the remaining ingredients being added 
 beat all together so that a pill mass may be formed. — Lond. Dr. E. E. 
 Squibb, M. D., of the U. S. Navy, from the ineflaeiency of this compound 
 as generally prepared, recommends the following formula : Take of dry 
 Extract of Colocynth ten drachms and a half ; Aloes thirty-four drachms and 
 a half; Eesin of Scammony eleven drachms and a half; Cardamom three 
 drachms; Soa,^, dried at 212° , seven drachms and a half . Mix thoroughly 
 together, pulverize, and sift, and make into pills with water a sufficient 
 quantity. — Am. Jour. Pharm., X.XIX., 97. In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia 
 this extract is prepared in the form of powder, in order that it may be 
 mixed with other articles, or be formed into pills by the addition of any 
 extract, alcohol, or water, etc. The proportions given in that work, are, 
 of each, finely powdered. Extract of Colocynth three and one half parts; 
 Aloes tivelve parts ; Eesin of Scammony, Soap, each three parts; Carda- 
 mom one part. But Dr. Squibb's formula, as given above, is undoubtedly 
 a preferable one. If one part of Capsicum, or of Oil of Cloves, be add- 
 ed to the formula of TJ. S. Pharm., or one drachm of either be added to 
 Dr. Squibb's formula, it will tend very much to prevent any griping or 
 other unpleasant action. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Compound Extract of Colocynth is an active 
 cathartic, and may be employed in all cases where catharsis is indicated. 
 Erom the difficulty with which pure scammony can be obtained in this 
 country, I would suggest as a substitute for it in the above formulse, 
 resin of podophyllum, in powder, one-fourth the amount of scammony 
 resin named in each, and which will by no means lessen the value or 
 efficacy of the preparation. This extract maybe especially used in con- 
 stipation, torpor of the liver, headache, etc., in doses varying from three 
 to twenty grains. 
 
 BxTEACTrM CoNii Alcoholicum. Alcoholic Extract of Poison Hem- 
 lock. (Spirituoses Schierling Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust coarsely powdered Conium Mac. leaves, in a 
 percolator, with Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity.'^ From the tinc- 
 ture thus made separate the Alcohol, and then carefully evaporate the 
 residue until it is of the required consistence. Be careful not to spoil 
 the extract by too high a temperature while evaporating. The leaves 
 should be recently dried and finely powdered. When made in large 
 quantity, it should be in vacuo., so that too elevated a temperature may 
 be avoided, and also that the alcohol may be saved. This extract loses 
 its virtue by age and exposure ; it should always be put up in small 
 jars, tightly covered with tin-foil, and, if it does not yield the peculiar 
 smell, like that of mice, when rubbed with a little potassa, it may be 
 considered worthless. (See preparation of Alcoholic Extracts, on p. 967.)- 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This extract is narcotic, and may be used in 
 all cases where its peculiar influence is desired. The dose is from one- 
 eighth of a grain to one, two, or three grains, two or three times a 
 day. 
 
 BxTRACTUM CoRNUs Floeid^. Extract of Dogwood. (Hartriegel 
 Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust coarsely powdered Dogwood Bark a pound, 
 with Alcohol, Watei', of each, a sufficient quantity, proceeding in the 
 same manner as explained for the preparation of Alcoholic Extracts, on 
 page 967. 
 
 « If the Diluted Alcohol he prepared with Acetic Acid and Water, the same as stated for 
 Extract of Aconite, in note on page 968, it will form a more powerful extract. 
 
JBXTRACTA. 073 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Extract of Dogwood is tonic and antiperiodic, 
 and may be successfully used as a substitute for quinia, in many cases. 
 It will be found useful in dyspepsia, debility of the stomach, and as a 
 tonic in dropsical affections after the water has been evacuated. The 
 dose is from one to five grains, three times a day. 
 
 ExTRAOTUM OoRTDALis Alcoholicum. AlcohoUc Extract of Turkey 
 Corn. (Spirituoses Corydalis Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust coarsely powdered Eoot of Turkey Corn a 
 pound, with Alcohol, Water, of each, a sufficient quantity, proceeding in 
 the same manner as explained for the preparation of Alcoholic Extracts. 
 on page 967. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This extract is tonic and alterative, and may 
 be employed in all cases where tonics are indicated. It is useful in all 
 scrofulous affections ; and in syphilitic diseases, both primary and sec- 
 ondary, it will be found among our most efficient agents. The dose is 
 from one to five grains, three times a day. — J. K. 
 
 BxTRACTTJM Ctpripedii Alcoholioum. AlcohoUc Extract of Yellow 
 Ladies' -slipper. (Spirituoses Yenusschuh Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust coarsely powered Yellow Ladies' -slipper Eoot 
 a pound, with Alcohol, Water, of each, a sufficient quantity, proceeding 
 in the same manner as explained for the preparation of Alcoholic Ex- 
 tracts, on page 967. — E. S. Wayne. 
 
 Properties and C/ses.— This extract is tonic and antispasmodic, and 
 may be used to fulfill all the indications of the crude root in hysteria, 
 chorea, nervous headache, and nervous irritaljility. It may be com- 
 bined with the alcoholic extract of scullcap, in many cases, advantage- 
 ously. Its dose is from one to five grains, two or three times a day. 
 
 ExTRAcruM DioscoRE^. Extract of Dioscorea. Dioscorein. 
 
 Preparation. — Make a saturated tincture of the powdered roots of 
 Dioscorea Yiliosa, and filter ; add the tincture to its weight of water, 
 and carefully distill off the alcohol ; the resinoid principle will be left 
 behind in the water, collect, dry, and pulverize it. This is the original 
 formula as named to me by Mr. W. S. Merrell, for its preparation, 
 about the time of its introduction to the profession. 
 
 History. — ^The profession are indebted to W. S. Merrell* for the pre- ' 
 paration and introduction of this highly valuable agent; it having 
 been first prepared by him in the winter of 1852-3. It forms a light 
 yellowish -brown powder of a faint smell, and a slightly sweetish, resin- 
 ous, very bitter, disagreeable taste, with a persistent acridity which is 
 very sensibly felt in the throat and fauces. When exposed to the at- 
 mosphere it absorbs moisture, becomes darker colored, tenacious, of a 
 pilular consistence, and leaves a light-yellowish greasy stain on white 
 paper in which it is kept. It has neither acid nor alkaline reactions. 
 When first prepared it is wholly soluble in alcohol, but on keeping for 
 a time is only partially dissolved ; in this respect it resembles resin of 
 podophyllum, and some other resins, which, though completely taken 
 up by alcohol at first, become less soluble in this menstruum by age ; 
 probably owing to an oxidizing of the resinoid by the action of the 
 atmospheric oxygen. It is partly soluble in water, and insoluble in oil 
 of turpentine. Ether very slightly dissolves it, and ammonia added 
 
 * Mr. W. S. MeireU informs me that through an error regarding the characters of the 
 plant, himself and other manufacturers have heretofore been employing a species at 
 Smilax, indiscriminately with the Dioscorea, in the preparation of Dioscorein, (?) ana 
 hence, no doubt, has arisen the ineffioacy of the preparation in bilious colic, etc, so loudly 
 complained of by many of our physicians. As far as Mr. M. i.' concerned, the error wil) 
 not be repeated. 
 
974 Pharmacy. 
 
 to the ethereal mixture forms a dark-reddish turbid solution, with the 
 ether floating on the top of a, light straw color. Chloroform produces 
 with it a dark, muddy solution, whicti becomes light brown on the ad- 
 dition of ammonia, and if permitted to stand for ten or fifteen minutes, 
 the mixture divides into four separate layers, the upper one being clear 
 and of a dark wine color, the next turbid and light brown, the third 
 saponaceous and whitish-yellow, and the lower one being a clear yel- 
 lowish-white liquid. Hy rubbing with diluted muriatic acid it forms a 
 liquid which, on standing, throws down a yellowish-white precipitate, 
 the supernatant liquor being clear and transparent; the same result 
 ensues when rubbed with diluted sulphuric acid. Ammonia added to 
 its aqueous solution forms a light straw-colored, saponaceous fluid, 
 with a very small precipitate of a dark color. Eubbed with sulphuric 
 acid it becomes o£ a dark brownish-red color, and partially dissolves ; 
 with nitric acid, it becomes light yellowish-red ; with muriatic acid, 
 whitish -yellow ; with acetic acid, a light straw color, and partially dis- 
 solves ; ammonia or liquor potassa forms an amber color with it. It 
 should be kept in bottles well stopped ; if it is desired to form pills of 
 it, exposure to the atmosphere will produce the proper tenacity for 
 this purpose. It is desirable to ascertain whether the medicinal vir- 
 tues of Dioscorea reside in a resin, alkaloid, or neutral principle. 
 
 Dr. T. L. A. Greve, a very reliable and scientific pharmaceutist, 
 states that the article which has been sold for some years past, and is 
 still sold under the name of Dioscorein, is the alcoholic extract of the 
 root, dried and powdered. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Extract of Dioscorea possesses the properties 
 of the crude root in an eminent degree, and is undoubtedly as much a 
 specific in bilious colic, as quinia is in intermittent. In a severe case 
 of bilious colic pronounced past hope by several physicians, four grains 
 rubbed up with a tablespoonful of brandy afforded prompt relief, and 
 a repetition of the dose, in about twenty minutes from the time of 
 taking the first, effected a cure. In ordinary cases, one or two grains 
 of this extract may be administered every five, ten, or twenty minutes, 
 according to the urgency of the case. In flatulence, borborygmi, etc., 
 it may be advantageously combined with ginger, extract of aletris, or 
 of asclepias ; in many forms of uterine disease its union with resin of 
 black cohosh, oleo-resin of senecio, resin of blue cohosh, etc., will 
 prove very useful; and it may be combined with the extract of cornus 
 sericea, to overcome the nausea and vomiting of pregnant females. In 
 cramp of the stomach, or painful spasmodic affections of the bowels, a 
 pill or powder composed of equal parts of extract of Dioscorea, resin 
 of blue cohosh, and extract of high cranberry bark, will be found a 
 remedy of great value, as well as in after-pains ; the mixture should 
 be given in three or four grain doses, and repeated every half-hour or 
 hour. It is strictly an American remedy, of great value, and not 
 hitherto employed by practitioners of other countries. Dose, from one 
 to four grains, repeated as circumstances require. 
 
 ExTRACTUM DtTLCAMAEiE. Extract of Bittersweet. (Bittersiiss Ex- 
 trakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust the Bark of the Eoot and Twigs of Bitter- 
 sweet, coarsely powdered or in pieces, a pound, with Alcohol, Water, of 
 each, a sufficient quantity, proceeding ir. the same manner as explained 
 for the preparation oi Alcohol Extracts, on page 967. 
 
 Properties and Uses.— The Extract of Bittersweet possesses the active 
 properties of the plant, and may be beneficially employed in scrofula 
 
EXTRACTA. 975 
 
 syphilis, cutaneous diseases, and wherever the plant is indicate!. The, 
 dose is from two to ten or twenty grains, three times a day. 
 
 BxTRACTUM EuPATORii. Eoctmct of Boneset. (Wasserdost Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust the Tops and Leaves of Boneset, bruised, a 
 pound, with Water a'sufficient quantity, proceeding in the same manner 
 as explained for the preparation o; Aqueous Uxtracts, on page 967. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Extract of Boneset is tonic and aperient, and 
 may be given with advantage in convalescence from exhausting diseases. 
 intermittent fever, dyspepsia, debility of the digestive organs, and gen- 
 eral debility. The dose is from one to ten grains, two or three times ii 
 day. 
 
 ExTEACTUM GENTiANiB. .Extract of Gentian. (Enzian Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust coarsely powdered Gentian apound, with water 
 a sufficient quantity, proceeding in the same manner as explained for the 
 preparation of Aqueous Extracts, on page 967. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This extract is a tonic, and may be used wher- 
 ever this indication is present, either alone or in conjunction with other 
 tonics. The dose is from one tp ten grains. 
 
 ExTRACTTTM Geranii. Extract of Geranium. (Geraniin.) 
 
 Preparation. — This article was formerly obtained by making a satu- 
 rated tincture of the root of Geranium Maculatum, filtering, distilling 
 oflf a part of the alcohol, adding water to the rest, and evaporating to 
 dryness. Many manufacturers have preferrred to make it by evaporat- 
 ing an aqueous decoction of the root to dryness. 
 
 Dr. Theodore L. A. Greve, an excellent chemist and druggist, engaged 
 in the manufacture of " concentrated preparations," in this city, has 
 given me the following statement : " Formerly, the dried and powdered 
 resin of Geran. Mac. was sold under the name of Geraniin, but was 
 found to be nearly inert, the dried Alcoholic Extract was then substi- 
 tuted for it, under the same name. By the ordinary mode of desiccating 
 this extract, the tannic acid, upon which the activity of the root princi- 
 pally, if not exclusively, depends, is almost wholly decomposed, and the 
 resulting ' Geraniin,' is quite worthless. A very good preparation, may; 
 however, be obtained, by evaporating a saturated tincture of the root 
 to the consistence of thin syrup, then spreading this on glass plates 
 with a brush, and when dry scraping off with a knife. The 'Geraniin ' 
 thus formed is in thin scales, very astringent, and possesses in a great 
 degree the active properties of the root." This latter is the article now 
 used by the profession. 
 
 History. — This is especially an American remedy. It was first pre- 
 pared by Mr. "Wm. S. Merrell, of Cincinnati, according to the formula 
 first given above, and who introduced it to the profession under the 
 name of " Geraniin ; " it was a black substance, forming a dark -brown 
 glistening powder of a faint odor, somewhat like that of molasses, and 
 an astringent, acidulous taste, leaving a flavor in the mouth somewhat 
 resembling that of good green tea. Cold water added to it does not 
 appear to dissolve any, but when filtered gives an acid reaction, turn 
 ing blue litmus paper red, and on the addition of sulphate of iron be- 
 comes a deep bluish-black, forming a good writing ink. Ammonia 
 added to water in which it is placed, partially dissolves it; liquor po 
 tassa added, completely dissolves it, forming a black solution ; muriatic 
 acid added, does not affect its solution at all. It is very little soluble 
 in alcohol, imparting to it a light reddish-yellow tinge, and on the ad- 
 dition of ammonia, more of the extract is dissolved, and the rest is held 
 in a state of suspension in the liquid. It is insoluble in ether, chloro- 
 
97e i'HARMACY. 
 
 rorm, and oil -of turpentine ; acetic acid added to ether partially dig 
 solves it, causing a reddish solution; arftmonia added, does not render 
 it any further soluble, and the clear ether floats on the top. Its com - 
 position is not yet determined, though it undoubtedly contains an abun- 
 dance of tannic or gerano-tannic acid. Like many other of our impure 
 concentrated agents, the name selected for it was entlrelj^ inappropriate. 
 
 The Extract of Geranium (G-eraniin), as at present manufactured, has 
 not been experimented with as to its reactions ; probably, they are 
 very similar to the above, but with greater intensity. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Extract of Geranium is a powerful astringent, 
 and, unlike tannic acid in its action, does not cause a drj-ness of the 
 mucous surfaces with which it comes in contact, but produces its thera- 
 peutical influences upon them with the continuance of their natural 
 moisture. On this account and in connection with its not unpleasant 
 taste, it will, undoubtedly, in a short time, supersede the use of tannic 
 acid in most of the diseases in which this acid is employed. It may be 
 employed in all instances where astringents are indicated. It has been 
 found a superior article both in the first and second stages of dysentery, 
 diarrhea, and cholera-morbus. Equal parts of Extracts of Geranium 
 and dioicorea, and resin of blue cohosh, will be found a valuable mix- 
 ture in diai^rhea and cholera-morbus, when much pain and flatulency 
 are present ; the mixture may be given in six-grain doses to an adult, 
 every fifteen or twenty minutes, or as often as the urgency of the case 
 may require. Extract of Geranium will be found efiicacious in hemor- 
 rhages, hematuria, monorrhagia, leucorrhea, gleet, diabetes, etc. In 
 colliquative diarrhea it answers an excellent purpose, either alone, or 
 in combination with quinia. Externally, it may be applied to ulcers, 
 and combined with alum and gum Arabic, it forms an excellent appli- 
 cation to bleeding wounds and in epistaxis. All practitioners who have 
 used this article in their practice, speak in the highest terms of its effi- 
 cacy as an astringent. Dose of the Extract, from one to five grains or 
 more, repeated as required ; it may be given in syrup, molasses, gruel, 
 water, or Port wine. 
 
 BxTBACTUM GossYPii. Extract of Cotton Bark. (Baumwollen Rinde 
 Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust the recent Inner Bark of the Boot of the Cot- 
 ton plant, in small pieces, a pound, with water a sufficient quantity., pro- 
 ceeding in the same manner as explained for the preparation of Aqueous 
 JSxtracts on page 967. This extract should be placed in small jars, and 
 kept well covered, to prevent, as much as possible, any loss of its vir- 
 tues. Unless made from the recent root it will be inert. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Extract of Cotton Bark is emmenagogue and 
 abortivant. It will be found useful in amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea, 
 combined with belladonna and quinia. The dose is from one to five or 
 ten grains, three times a day. — J. K. 
 
 ExTliACTUM HiEMATOXTLi. Extract of Logwood. (Blauholz Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Logwood, in fine chips, a pound ; Boiling Water 
 a gallon. Macerate for twenty -four hours, then boil down to four pints, 
 strain and concentrate in the vapor-bath to the due consistence. — Hd. 
 The process should not be carried on in an iron vessel, on account of 
 the astringent principle present. 
 
 Extract of Logwood should be a dry, fragile, pulverulent mass. 
 Brande states that twenty pounds of the extract may be obtained from 
 a hundred weight of the rasped wood. Old extract becomes very hard, 
 d-equently passing through the bowels undissolved, when given in pills, 
 
EXTRACTA 977 
 
 and should, therefore, not be used in their preparation, .but only in so- 
 lutions. 
 
 Properties and Z7ses. ^Extract of Logwood is astringent and tonic, and 
 will be found useful in diarrhea, dysentery, relaxed conditions of the 
 bowels succeeding cholera infantum, and in chronic laryngitis or bron- 
 chitis accompanied with considerable mucous expectoration. The dose 
 is from five to thirty grains, two or three times a day. In three cases 
 of chronic diarrhea, with mucous, bloody, and purulent discharges of 
 the bowels, from ulceration of the colon. Prof A. J. Howe succeeded in 
 arresting the abnormal evacuations, when several approved remedies 
 bad been tried in vain, by means of a strong solution of Extract of Log- 
 wood. About two ounces of the extract was dissolved in a pint of warm 
 water, of which, when cold, a tablespoonful was given for a dose, re- 
 peating it every three hours. 
 
 ExTRACTUM Helenii Alcoholicum. AlcohoUc Extract of EUcampdne. 
 (Alantwurzel Extraktj) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhp,ust coarsely powdered Elecampane Eoot a pound, 
 with Alcohol, Water, of each, a sufficient quantity, ;froceeding in the 
 same manner as explained for the preparation of Alcoholic Extracts, on 
 page 961.— J. K. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This extract is stimulant and tonic, and is very 
 useful in chronic pulmonary affections, debility of the digestive organs, 
 torpor of the liver, dyspepsia, and chronic cough. The dose is from 
 one to ten grains, three times a day. 
 
 ExTRACTiJM Hydrastis Hydro-alcoholicum. Hydro-Alcoholic Ex- 
 tract of Golden Seal. (Spirituoses Gelbwurzel Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust coarsely powdered Eoot of Golden Seal a 
 pound, with Alcohol, Water, of each, a sufficient quantity, proceeding in 
 the same manner as explained for the preparation of Hydro-alcoholic 
 Extracts, on page 967. — Prof E. S. Wayne thinks that an Aqueous 
 Extract of Golden Seal is preferable _to the Hydro-alcoholic. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This extract possesses all the tonic virtues of 
 the root, and may be used in all cases where that is indicated. In many 
 instances it will be preferable to the muriate of berberin, on account of 
 the insolubility of the latter. The dose is from two to five grains, three 
 tiuies a day. — J. K. 
 
 BxTRACTUM Hyoscyami Alcoholicum. AlcohoUc Extract of Henbane. 
 (Spirituoses Bilsen Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust recently dri«d Henbane Leaves, in coarse 
 powder, a pound, in a percolator, with Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quan- 
 tity.^ From the tincture thus made separate the Alcohol, and then care- 
 fully evaporate the residue until it is of the required consistence. Be 
 careful not to spoil the extract by too high a temperature while evapo- 
 rating. The leaves should be recently dried, and not too finely pow- 
 dered. When made in large quantitj^, it should be in vacuo, so that too 
 elevated a temperature may be avoided, and also that the alcohol may 
 be saved. (See preparation of Alcohol Extracts, on page 967.) 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This extract contains all the medicinal virtues 
 of the Henbane, and may be administered whenever this drug is indi- 
 cated. The dose is from one-fourth of a grain to two or three grains, 
 three times a day. The smallest dose must first be given, and the quan- 
 tity gradually increased until the desired influence is experienced. 
 
 » If the Diluted Alcohol be prepared with Acetic Acid and Water, the same as stated for 
 Extract of Aconite, in note on page 968, it wiU form a more powerful extract. 
 
 62 
 
978 Pharmacy. 
 
 ExTBACTUM IgnatijE Amarje Alcoholicum. Alcoholic -Extract oj St. 
 Tgnatius' Bean. (Spirituoses Ignatius Bohnen Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of St. Ignatius' Beans a pound, bruise them in an 
 iron or br^ss mortar until reduced to small fragments or very coarse 
 powder ; moisten them with water in a covered vessel, and apply heat 
 until the tissue of the pieces becomes soft, and can be bruised into a 
 pulpy mass. Mix this mass with Alcohol, 0.835, twice its bulk, and 
 macerate in a close vessel and in a warm place for twenty -four hours ; 
 then place in a percolator, and add Alcohol until ten or twelve pints of 
 tincture have been obtained. Distill off the Alcohol, heat the residue 
 in a water-bath until reduced to the consistence of a soft extract. About 
 ten per cent, of a brown extract will be thus obtained, of a peculiar 
 heavy odor, and an intensely bitter taste. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Analogous to those of nux vomica, but supposed 
 to be more eflScient in nervous diseases, headaches, etc. The dose is 
 about half a grain, two or three times a day. It is an active and dan- 
 gerous preparation, and must be used with care. — W. Procter, Jr. 
 
 ExTRACTaM iRiDis Alooholictjm. AlcohoUc Extract of Blue Flag. 
 (Blauer Kalmus Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation.— Etxh&ViBt coarsely powdered Blue-Flag Eoot a pound, 
 with Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity, proceeding in the same man- 
 ner as explained for the preparation of Alcoholic Extracts', on page 967. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The Alcoholic Extract of Blue Flag is a valua- 
 ble cathartic and alterative. In doses of from one to five grains or 
 more, it will be found a useful purgative in cases of obstinate consti- 
 pation, hepatic torpor, indigestion, amenorrhea, etc. In larger doses 
 it will produce hydragogue results, and may be given with advantage 
 in chronic pulmonary affections, dropsy, worms, etc. In doses to fall 
 short of catharsis, it becomes a valuable alterative, and will be found 
 especially useful in rheumatic diseases, scrofula, syphilis, etc., and will 
 frequently cause ptyalism. A few grains of ginger or capsicum will pre- 
 vent any harshness of action. As an alterative, the dose is from one- 
 fourth of a grain to a grain, three times a day. — J. K. 
 
 ExTRAOTUM Jalap.^!. Extract of Jalap. 
 I Preparation. — Take of Jalap, in rather fine powder, half a pound ; 
 Alcohol two pints ; "Water a sufficient quantity. Proceed as named for 
 Hydro-alcoholic Extracts on page 967, making about two pints of tincture, 
 and about three pints of infusion, each of which is to be reduced to 
 the consistence of molasses, then mixed, and evaporated, as required, 
 either to a pilular coiisistence, or to dryness. If made in vacuo, a pre- 
 ferable article will be obtained, as too high a temperature will be 
 avoided, and the Alcohol may also be recovered. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is cathartic in doses of from ten to twenty 
 grains, but is seldom used alone, being generally added to pills to in- 
 crease their laxative or cathartic effect. 
 
 ExxRACTUM JuGLANDis Alcoholicum. AlcohoUc Extract of Butternut. 
 (Spirituoses Walnuss Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust the Inner Bark of the Eecent Eoot of Juglans 
 Cinerea, in coarse powder or pieces, a pound, with Diluted Alcohol a 
 sufficient quantity, proceeding in the same manner as explained for the 
 preparation of Alcoholic Extracts, on page 967. 
 
 This is of a dark color, a caramel-like odor, and a bitterish, somewhat 
 astringent taste. The extract prepared by the country people is of an 
 inferior kind, and should never be purchased by the apothecary. It is 
 QBually made with water, which does not extract all the medicinal yir- 
 
EXTRACTA. 979 
 
 tues of the bark, and is likewise apt to be more of less injured by the 
 improper application of heat. Hence, manypractitionens, having used 
 the country-prepared extract, and found it irregular in itsieffocts, decry 
 all other extracts. In preparing the extract, the bark of the root 
 should be collected between April and July, and used while fi-csli. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — A gentle cathartic, acting upon the bowels 
 without disposing them to subsequent constipation. The dose is from 
 ten to thirty grains. 
 
 ExTRAOTUM Kramerije. Extract of Bhatany. (Eatanhia Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation — Exhaust the Bark of Ehatany-root, rather finelj^ pow- 
 dered, a pound, with Water a sufficient quantity, proceeding in the same 
 manner as explained for the preparation of Aqueous Extracts, on page 
 967. The evaporation must be carried "so far that the extract will be 
 dry when cold, and should be carried on quickly, at a temperature not 
 to exceed 158° P. The best extract is said to be that made in vacuo. 
 
 Good Extract of Ehatany is of a dark red color, somewhat glOBsy, 
 faintly odorous, powerfully astringent, and almost wholly dissolved by 
 water. Its evaporation should be performed quickly, or else in vaOUO, 
 as the atmosphere speedily oxidizes its active principles, impairing 
 them, and rendering, them more or less insoluble. The bark of the 
 root furnishes the greatest amount of extract, and that prepared with 
 water is superior to that made with alcohol. For some purposes a soft 
 extract is prepared by stopping the evaporation at the proper time. 
 Much of the Extract of Ehatany found in the shops is of an inferior 
 quality. 
 
 Properties and ZZses.— Extract of Ehatany may be used whenever an 
 astringent is required : in some cases it will be found preferable to any 
 other agent of this class. The soft extract may be advantageously 
 ased as a local application to ulcers, hemorrhoids, and fissures of the 
 anus. The dose is from five to twenty grains, three or four times a 
 day. 
 
 Extractum Leonuri Alooholicum. Alcoholic Extract of Motherwort. 
 (Herzgespann Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust the recently dried herb of Leonurus Cardiaca, 
 in coarse powder, a pound, with Alcohol, Water, of each, a sufficient 
 quantity, proceeding in the same manner as explained for the prepara- 
 tion of Alcoholic Extracts, on page 967.: — J. K. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Extract of Motherwort is emmenagogue, nerv- 
 ine, and antispasmodic, and may be used with advantage in all forms 
 of disease in which the cold infusion of the herb is recommended. The 
 dose is from three to six grains, every two or four hours. It may be 
 advantageously combined with the extracts of asclepiae, black cohosh, 
 nerve root, cramp-bark, scullcap, etc. 
 
 Extractum LEPTANDR.ai Alooholicum. Alcoholic Extract of Black- 
 root. (Virginisches Ehrenpreiswurzel Extrakt.) Leptandrin. Besin of 
 Leptandra. 
 
 Preparatioji. — Exhaust the recently dried root, of Leptandra Virgin- 
 ica, in coarse powder, a pound, with Alcohol, Water, of each, a sufficient 
 quantity, proceeding in the same manner as explained for the prepara- 
 tion of Alcoholic Extracts, on page 967. — E. S. Wayne. 
 
 Prof. E. S. Wayne procured the bitter principle, which appears to be 
 the active part of the root, by the following process : The root in coarse 
 powder was treated with water in a percolator, until the infusion was 
 no longer bitter ; subacetute of lead was added to this, and the precipi- 
 tate removed by filtration ; carbonate of soda was then added to remove 
 
980 Pharmacy. 
 
 exeeBs of lead, and the liquid again filtered. The pale yellow liquid 
 was then allowed to filter through a column of purified animal char- 
 coal. The Jiquid that passed through was totally devoid of taste and 
 color. The coal was then washed with water until this commenced to 
 have a hitter taste ; it was then dried and treated with boiling alcohol, 
 and the alcoholic solution allowed to evaporate spontaneously ; it dried 
 to a dark -green mass, no signs of crystallization being observed during 
 the time. It was again dissolved in water, treated with ether, and 
 allowed to evaporate, when a number of bitter, pale-green needle- 
 shaped crystals were obtained. — Am. Jour. Pharm., GXXV., 510. 
 
 A very superior preparation from Leptandra is made by Prof Wayiie 
 ip the following manner: exhaust the root in a percolator with alcohol; 
 evaporate the resulting tincture to expel the alcohol; sufficient water 
 is then added to precipitate all the resin. The watery solution is then 
 filtered, and evaporated on a water -bath to the consistence of a thick 
 syrup, which is dried by placing it upon sheets of glass. It is detached 
 in bright brownish scales, resembling the citrate of iron. Its dose ia 
 two or three grains. This preparation undoubtedly contains all the 
 medicinal virtue of the root, as the resin appears to be nearly inert.* 
 
 Mr. T. L. A. Greve, states that " under the name of Leptandrin various 
 preparations have been sold. Originally, the soft resin was simply dried 
 and powdered, but it was found to be nearly inert. The Alcoholic Ex- 
 tract, dried and powdered, makes a good preparation, and would, pro- 
 bably, be better, if deprived of its resin ; it is very difficult, however, 
 to dry it without the addition of magnesia or some other absorbent." 
 Most of the so-called Leptandrin made at present for medicinal pur- 
 poses, is merely a dried aqueous extract ; so that our practitioners may 
 observe how much they have been imposed upon heretofore, by the 
 
 " Impure Besin of Leptandra, heretofore known by the incorrect name, Leptandrin, raay 
 be prepared as foUows : Take of coarsely-powdered Leptandra any quantity, alcohol 90 per 
 cent., a sufficient quantity. By percolation, obtain a saturated tincture. Flace the tinc- 
 ture in a still, and distill off the alcohol, and while hot add the residuum slowly and grad- 
 ually to cold "water, equal to two or three times its volume. Allow this to stand for seven 
 or eight days, when the resinous matter will precipitate to the bottom of the vessel in a 
 semi-liquid mass, wjiile the water will hold in solution most of the extractive and color- 
 ing matter. Remove this water, and to the residue add a fresh supply of cold water, sub- 
 jecting it to another washing. Then carefully remove the water, alter having allowed all 
 the resinous matter to precipitate, which last must be dried in shallow tin or porcelain 
 plates by a moderately-continued heat, until it becomes perfectly friable on cooling, and 
 which generally requires several days. In the preparation of this article, high-proof alco- 
 hol must be employed, on account of the large amount of extractive matter present, which 
 is soluble in water, and which, according to the proportion of water present in the tinc- 
 ture, prevents the precipitation of the Besiu. Care must be taken likewise in the applica- 
 tion of heat, as too great a heat, say above 175° or 180°, will render the precipitate inert or 
 materially affect its character. The above is the process at one time employed in the pre- 
 paration of this resin ; it may be obtained, however, by adding the tincture to four times 
 its weight of water, distilling off the alcohol, and setting aside flie residue for several days, 
 until all the Resin precipitates. Remove the water, and dry the precipitate as above, hav- 
 ing previously washed It in fresh water to remove extractive, etc. Roots of the second 
 year's growth are said to afford the most Resin. Resin of Leptandra, according to its 
 mode of preparation, is a jet-black resinous substance, resembling pure asphaltum, or of 
 a grayish-brown color, with a peculiar, faint, cyanic smell and taste, somewhat bitter, but 
 not disagreeable. In its aggregate form, it has a vitreous fracture, is unalterable in a dry 
 atmosphere, and is without acid or alkaline reactions. Its powder has a black, glistening, 
 soot-like appearance, and coalesces in a warm and moist air. When first made it is solu- 
 ble in alcohol, though as with many other resins upon exposure to atmospheric influence,, 
 it becomes imperfectly soluble in alcohol, but perfectly so upon the addition of aqua am- 
 monia. It is insolublein water, but the addition of liquor potassa or aqua ammonia, ren- 
 ders it completely soluble, from which solutions it is precipitated by acids. Ether takes up 
 a portion of it, and aqua ammonia added, perfectly dissolves it, leaving the ether floating 
 above of a light reddish-yellow color. It is lighter than chloroform, and is Insoluble in 
 It. Spirits of turpentine takes up a smaU portion, forming a dirty-white liquid ; acetic 
 acid likewise dissolves a small proportion. None of the above agents have been tried with 
 heat. Nitric acid turns Resin of Leptandra a brownish-yeUow color ; muriatic acid, a light 
 yeUowish-green ; and sulphuric acid, reddish-brown. Heat seral-liquefles it, and it burn? 
 with a bright white flame, giving out a sweet, balsamic, rather agreeable odor, somewhat 
 resembling balm of Gllead buds when burned, or incense. It was first prepared and intro- 
 duced to the profession by W. S, Merrell, of Cincinnati, under the incorrect name, Lep- 
 tandrin. 
 
EXTRACTA. 981 
 
 representations of some manufacturers of the concentrated principles, 
 as to their modes of preparation, etc. (N. B. The powder known here- 
 tofore by the name of " leptandrin," being at this day prepared so as to 
 be nearly worthless, I have substituted the present extract for it in all 
 the formula in this work where its use occurs.) 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Extract of Leptandra is a powerful cholagogue, 
 with but slight laxative influence ; except given in very large doses its 
 cathartic powers are but verj' feeble. It is one of the most efficacious 
 and important agents among those of American origin, being the only 
 known medicine that efficiently stimulates and corrects the hepatic se- 
 cretions, and functional derangements of the liver, without debilitating 
 the system by copious alvine evacuations. It may be safely and effica- 
 ciously employed in the treatment of diarrhea, cholera-infantum, some 
 forms of dyspepsia, typhoid fever, and all diseases connected with bili- 
 ary derangements. Combined with resin of podophyllum it is a prompt 
 and effectual remedy in epidemic dysentery, often effecting a perma- 
 nent cure in from twelve to eighteen hours ; in dysentery with irritable 
 bowels, it may be used alone with advantage, or combined with cam- 
 jDhor, as in such cases its union with resin of podophyllum is contra-in- 
 dicated. In intermittents it renders the action of quinia, when united 
 with it, more certain, and prevents the liability to a return of the disease, 
 at least for the season, and is likewise highly beneficial in infantile re- 
 mittent fever, and in periodic diseases generally, of an obstinate char- 
 acter, in which quinia alone seems to produce but little or no result. 
 It may also be used in many other combinations with much advantage, 
 as with hydrochlorate of berberin, or dried beefs gall, in some dyspep- 
 tic affections, jaundice, piles, etc., or with oleo-resin of blue flag, extract 
 of wild indigo, extract of poke, extract of turkey corn, resin of blue 
 cohosh, and other active principles, in various forms of disease. Dose 
 of Extract of Leptandra, from one-half of a grain to five, six, or seven 
 grains, every three or four hours, according to the action or effect de- 
 sired. Some practitioners neglect the use of this agent, because it does 
 not act so powerfully as resin of podophyllum, and hence lose the in- 
 fluence of a very important remedy in functional derangements of the 
 Jiver, and other organs essential to digestion.* In relation to the dried 
 extract (leptandrin) Prof Hill observes, and which observations will 
 apply with equal force to the ordinary extract : 
 
 " This is not, strictly speaking, a cathartic. It is aperient, alterative, 
 and tonic. Its effects on the liver are peculiar. In cases of children 
 afflicted with summer complaint, where there is evidently a lack of the 
 proper biliary secretion, but where, owing to the already irritated con- 
 dition of the bowels, the ordinary medicines for ardusing the liver are 
 inadmissible, this article seems to be the very thing needed. While it 
 acts freely upon the liver, instead of purging it seems only to change 
 the discharges from the light and watery or slimy condition, to a darker 
 and apparently bilious state, rendering them more and more consistent, 
 until they become perfectly natural, without having been arrested en- 
 tirely, or at any time aggravated. It at the same time seems to act as 
 a tonic, restoring the tone of the stomach and increasing the strength 
 and activity of digestion. It is a most valuable remedy in dyspepsia. 
 
 " The dose is from one-fourth to one grain eVery one or two hours in 
 acute eases, and from one to two grains three times a day in chronic 
 
 * The above remarks refer to both »,he ordinary extract, and the dried extract, heretofore 
 kin>wn as " Leptandrin." — K. 
 
982 Pharmacy. 
 
 cases. It is valuable to combine with reain of podophyllum as a remedy 
 in dyspepsia and chronic hepatitis. 
 
 '■ In the epidemic dysentery which has prevailed for the past two 
 seasons, in many parts of our country, this article has been of great 
 service. It was usually given with the best success after evacuating 
 the bowels freely, with a combination of resin of podophyllum and dried 
 Extract of Leptandra or rhubarb.* For this purpose, give from one- 
 half of a grain to one grain every hour, gradually lengthening the in- 
 tervals as the discharges become darker. Though it may not be.appli- 
 cable in all cases of dysentery, it is doubtless one of the most useful 
 articles in this dangerous disease." 
 
 In cholera-infantum, a di'sease which sometimes sets at defiance all 
 the skill of the physician, I have met with excellent success by the fol- 
 lowing combination : Take of dried Extract of Leptandra six grains, 
 quinia three grains, camphor one grain and a half, ipecacuanha three- 
 fourths of a grain. Mix and divide into twelve powders, of which one 
 may be given every two or three hours, and its use continued thus for 
 several days. Its action at first is to increase the alvine passages and 
 apparently augment the disease, but in a few days the character of the 
 evacuations changes, they become more and more normal, as well as 
 more regular in their. appearance ; after which, one or two powders 
 per day for a week, will render the cure permanent. This powder, in 
 large doses for adults, will be found very eflScacious in painful diar- 
 rhea and dysentery, as well as in severe pains depending upon intes- 
 tinal irritation. The following has also been of advantage in cholera- 
 infantum: Triturate together, charcoal one drachm, with dried Bxtracl 
 of Leptandra three grains, and divide into twelve powders, of which 
 one powder is to be given every two or three hours until the evacua- 
 tions become more natural, after which, give one or two powders a 
 day for a few days. 
 
 Extract of Leptandra will be found to act with more certainty when 
 it is given in a soluble form, as in tincture, weak solution of potassa, 
 etc. Like hydrochorate of berberin, and other concentrated prepara- 
 tions which are insoluble in water, it frequently passes through the 
 alimentary canal unchanged, when given in the form of powder. The 
 Extract of Leptandi'a, made according to Prof Wayne's process, the 
 third one named above, is superior to any other that has been pre- 
 sented to the profession. 
 
 BxTRAOTUM LupTJLiN^. Extract of LwpuUn. (Lupiilin Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Commercial Lupulin four ounces; Alcohol 
 eight fluidounees. Place the Lupulin loosely in a percolator, cover with 
 Alcohol, and allow it to stand an hour. Then gradually add Alcohol 
 until two pints of filtered liquor are obtained. Pour this liquor in a 
 shallow dish, and set aside to evaporate spontaneously.— W. W. D. 
 Livermore. 
 
 Commercial Lupulin is more or less mixed with hops, and conse- 
 quently varies in its activity. The above extract contains the medic- 
 inal principles of the hops unimpaired, is of uniform strength, and is 
 in a form convenient for pills. In making larger quantities of extract, 
 it would be economical to distill off about three-fourths of the alcohol, 
 previous to spontaneous evaporation. Commercial Lupulin yields 
 about two scruples of extract to a drachm of the grains. 
 
 * I have omitted the old incorrect names of leptandrin and podophyllin, in the original, 
 and substituted the correct ones.— .iT. 
 
flXTEAOTA. 98? 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This extract possesses the active properties of 
 the hops in an eminent degree, and may be used in all cases where 
 Lupulin is admissible. The dose is from two to ten grains three times 
 £t day. 
 
 ExTRACTTJM MiTCHELL.*!. Uxtract of Partridge-berry. (Mitchella 
 Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust the recently dried herb, Mitchella Eepens, in 
 coarse powder, a pound, with Alcohol, Water,, of each, a sufficient quan- 
 tity, proceeding in the same manner as explained for the preparation 
 of Alcoholic Extracts, on page 967. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This extract is an invaluable preparation, and 
 possesses the active medicinal virtues of the plant. It is employed 
 more especially on account of its tonic influence upon the uterus ; and 
 in diseases of this organ it may be usefully combined with extracts or 
 resins of black cohosh, or caulophyllum, or extract of aletris, oleo- 
 resin of senecio, etc. The dose is from one to ten grains three times a 
 day. — J. K. 
 
 ExTRAOTUM MYRicaE. Uxtract of Bayberry Bark. Myricin. 
 ■ Preparation. — I am indebted to Dr. H. H. Hill, of this city, for a 
 description of the mode of preparing this artiale. Make a saturated 
 tincture of Bayberry Bark, filter, distill off a portion of the alcohol, 
 evaporate the remainder by means of a water-bath until the mass is of 
 a syrupy or semifluid consistence, then spread it in thin layers on glass 
 or metallic plates, and allow it to dry by spontaneous evaporation, 
 which will require several weeks. 
 
 Some manufacturers precipitate from the tincture, by water, similar 
 to the method employed for obtaining resin of podophyllum ; the arti- 
 cle obtained by this process is lighter colored than that had by the 
 above, and the yield is much less, beside a great portion of the astrin- 
 gency of the bark is taken up by the water, and the agent possesses 
 merely stimulant, with but slight astringent virtues. 
 
 History. — The profession are indebted to the late Dr. P. D. Hill, of 
 this city, for first preparing and introducing this elegant article to 
 their notice. It forms a light grayish-brown powder, with a peculiar, 
 spicy smell, and a peculiar, bitterish-astringent taste, with some degree 
 of persistent pungency. It is soluble in alcohol, partially soluble in 
 ether, and its astringency is taken up by water, the rest being insolu- 
 ble. Sulphate of iron forms a black inky liquid with the water in 
 which this extract has been agitated. It is perfectly soluble in water 
 to which ammonia has been added. It is much to be regretted that so 
 many of our active medicinal preparations have received names which 
 justly belong to pure chemical principles, notwithstanding such names 
 were given from no improper motives. It is absolutely necessary that 
 we drop these misnomers for others more in accordance with the char- 
 acters of the preparations, and the sooner this is done the sooner will 
 we be relieved of the charge of empiricism in these matters. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This extract is a stimulant and astringent, and 
 will be found a very advantageous remedy in chronic diarrhea and 
 dysentery, in dysentery with typhoid symptoms, and in colliquative 
 diarrhea of phthisis ; in scarlatina it may be given with advantage, 
 while a decoction of the bark is employed as a gargle ; it will likewise 
 be found a useful remedy for aphthous affections, when given inter 
 nally, and applied locally. It forms an efficacious application to ten 
 dijr, spongy, bleeding gums, and an excellent snuff for polypus, also 
 for headache and catarrhal affections. It is likewise beneficial in 
 
•^Si Pharmact. 
 
 jaundicOj and in combination with extracts of leptandra and apocy- 
 num, I nave successfully treated several cases of this affection. In 
 some instances of cholera, it will be serviceable, given in combination 
 with extract of geranium. Combined with extract of leptandra, resirt 
 of podophyllum, or some other cathartic, it may be employed with 
 benefit in the latter stages of typhoid fever. Dose, from two to ten 
 grains of the powder, which may be repeated as often as required. 
 
 ExTEACuuM Nucis VoMicjE Alcoholicum. AlcohoUc Extract of Mux 
 Vomica. (Spiritupses Krahenaugen Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Nux Vomica any convenient quantity ; expose 
 it in a proper vessel to steam till it is properly softened ; slice it, dry 
 it thoroughly, and immediately grind it in a coffee-mill. Exhaust the 
 powder either by percolating it with Alcohol, or by boiling it with re- 
 peated portions of Alcohol until this spirit comes off free from bitter- 
 ness. Distill off the greater part of the spirit ; and evaporate what 
 remains to a proper consistence in the vapor-bath." — Ed. Or, the ex- 
 tract may be made by macerating for two hours finely powdered Nux 
 Vomica six ounces, in alcohol two fluidounces, then putting the whole 
 into a displacement apparatus, and adding alcohol from time to time 
 until the liquid that passes is no longer bitter, then evaporate as stated 
 under Alcoholic Extracts, on page 967; or in vacuo. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This extract contains the powerful properties 
 of l^ux Vomica, but varies in strength, on account of the want of 
 uniform quantity of strychnia in the seeds. It may be employed in 
 cases where the action of this agent is required. It is very useful in 
 cases of obstinate constipation, and may be employed in the following 
 combination : Take Extract of Butternut two grains ; Eesin of Podo- 
 phyllum one sixteenth of a grain ; and Alcoholic Extract of Ifux Vomica 
 one-fourth of a grain ; mix thoroughly together and form a pill, which 
 is a dose, and may be repeated two or three times daily, or until the 
 desired effect is produced. The dose of the above Extract of Nux 
 Vomica is from one-fourth of a grain to two grains, repeated two or 
 three times a day, and carefully watching its«effects. 
 
 BxTRACTUM Opii. Extract of Opium. 
 
 Preparation. — Macerate six ounces of Opium, in small slices, in half a 
 pint of Water, and_ then reduce the Opium to a uniform pulpy mass by 
 trituration. Express the liquor, and to the residuum add another half 
 pint of Water, in which allow it to macerate for twenty -four hours, and 
 Express. Eepeat the operation a third, fourth, and fifth time, with 
 fresh additions of Water each time. Then mix all the liquors together, 
 filter, and Evaporate by a water-bath to a proper consistence. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — It is not known what is the exact difference 
 between the constituents of Opium and its extract, yet it has been 
 found that many persons who can not take the crude drug without ex- 
 periencing many unpleasant symptoms, can take the extract without 
 its being followed by any of these symptoms. The dose is one-fourth 
 of a grain to one-half The extract may be combined with other ex- 
 tracts, and, being soluble in water, may readily be reduced to an aque- 
 ous solution. 
 
 ExTRAOTTJM PHYTOLACCA ALCOHOLictTM. AlcohoHc Extract of Poke. 
 (Spirituoses Kermesbeer Extrakt.) 
 
 iVe^amiiow.— Exhaust the recently dried Leaves of Poke, in coarse 
 powder, a pound, with Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity, proceeding 
 in the same manner as explained for the preparation of Alcoholic Ex- 
 tracts, on page 967. 
 
EXTRACTA. 98fi 
 
 Extract of Poke prepared in this manner, is superior to that pre- 
 pared in the ordinary way with water. The leaves employed in the 
 preparation of the extract should be gathered immediately previous to 
 the ripening of the berries, at which period they are the most active. 
 An extract may be prepared from the Poke-root in the same manner, 
 but it is somewhat doubtful whether it is as energetic as that from the 
 leaves. An extract formed by evaporating the expressed juice of the 
 recent ripe berries is frequently employed, but it is presumed to be 
 inferior in point of efficacy to that from the leaves. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These various extracts of Poke are emetic and 
 purgative in large doses; in medicinal doses they are alterative, and 
 are especially useful in syphilitic, mercurio-syphilitic, and rheumatic 
 diseases, and. particularly in the osteoeopic pains of mercurio-syphilis. 
 They lose their virtues by age, and should be freshly prepared every 
 year. The dose is from one to five grains, or more, three times a day. 
 
 The inspissated juice of Poke-berries (Succus Inspissatus Phytolaccce 
 BacccB), is frequently employed as a valuable agent in rheumatism ; it 
 is milder than the extract prepared from the root or leaves. 
 
 ExTRACTUM Plantaginis Cordat^e HYDRO-ALCOHOLicrM. Hydro-ol- 
 coholic Extract of Water Plantain. (Spirituoses Wegerich Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — ^Exhaust the recently dried Eoot of Water Plantain, in 
 coarse powder, a pound, with Alcohol, Water, of each a sufficient quan- 
 tity, proceeding in the same manner as explained for the preparation 
 of Hydro-alcoholic Extracts on page 967. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Hydro-alcoholic Extract of Water Plantain is 
 astringent, and has been used with much success in Asiatic cholera, 
 diarrhea, and dysentery. ' The dose is from one to ten grains, repeated 
 every one, two, or three hours, as the urgency of the case requires. — 
 W. S. M. 
 
 BxTRACTUM PoDOPHTLLi. Extract of Mandrake. 
 
 Preparation- — Take of recently dried Mandrake Eoot, in rather fine 
 powder, a pound; Alcohol, Water, of each a sufficient quantity. Pro- 
 ceed as named for Hydro-alcoholic Extracts on page 967; making four 
 pints of tincture, and four pints of infusion, each of which is to be re- 
 duced to the consistence of molasses, then mixed, and evaporated to a 
 pilular consistence. A preferable extract may be obtained if the pro- 
 cess is conducted in vacuo. A worthless article of extract of Mandrake 
 has been sold for the genuine article, being prepared from the resi- 
 duum left after the resin had been extracted. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — As an alterative, this may be given in doses of 
 from half a grain to two or three grains ; as a purgative, from three to 
 twelve grains. It may be used as a substitute for jalap in all cases 
 where a purgative is required. Although not so active as the alcoholic 
 extract, it is more useful. 
 
 BxTRACTUM PoLYGONi. Extract of Water-pepper. (Knoterig Ex- 
 trakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust the recently dried herb of Water-pepper, in 
 coarse powder, a pound, with Water a sufficient quantity, proceeding in 
 the same manner as explained for the preparation of Aqueous- Extracts, 
 on page 967. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Extract of Water-pepper is stimulant, diuretic, 
 and emmenagogue, and is especially useful in amenorrhea, and chronic 
 aflfections of the kidneys. The dose is from two to ten grains, three or 
 four times a day. 
 
.•~v> 
 
 986 Pharmacy. 
 
 ExTKACTUM Pruni ViRGiNiAN^a; Alcoholicum. Alcoholic Extract of 
 Wild Cherry. (Wilde Kirschen Einde Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation — Take of Wild Cherry Bark, in coarse powder, a pound, 
 Alcoliol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the Bark with a pint of Alcohol, 
 let it stand twenty-four hours, then transfer it to a displacement appa- 
 ratus, and gradually add Alcohol until it passes off without the taste of 
 the root. Evaporate by a gentle heat, or spontaneously ; too great a 
 degree of heat will spoil the extract. , 
 
 Wild-Cherry Bark yields to Alcohol 22 per cent, of dry, deep-red, 
 bitter, astringent extract, containing amygdaline. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — It has been suggested that this extract may be 
 rendered available for extemporaneous prescriptions in the following 
 manner, so as to get the sedative power of the Bark associated with all 
 its tonic qualities, thus : Take of Alcoholic Extract of Wild-Cherry 
 Bark two drachms. Emulsion of Sweet Almonds half a pint ; triturate 
 the extract with a portion of the emulsion till dissolved, and then add the 
 remainder and mix. It should not be used for several hours after it is 
 prepared. The dose is a tablespoonful, and it may be sweetened with 
 sugar or syrup. Before administration it must be shaken, as the coag- 
 ulum formed by the tannin of the extract acting on the albumen of 
 the emulsion is not to be removed. — W. Procter, Jr. 
 
 BxTRACTrM Ptele^ Alcoholicum. Alcoholic Extract of Shrubby 
 Trefoil. (Spirituoses Pteleen Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust the recently dried Bark of the Eoot of Ptelea 
 Trifoliata, in coarse powder, a pound, with Alcohol, Water, of each, a 
 sufficient quantity, proceeding in the same manner as explained for the 
 preparation of Alcoholic Extracts, on page 967. — E. S. Wayne. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This extract is an elegant preparation, and may 
 be used in all cases where the Ptelea is indicated. Its use is at the 
 present time superseded by that of the oleo-resin of Ptelea. The dose 
 -is from two to ten grains. 
 
 ExTRACTUM Ehei. Extract of Bhubarb. (Ehabarber Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — ^Exhaust coarsely powdered Ehubarb a pound, with 
 Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity, proceeding in the same manner as 
 explained for the preparation of Alcoholic Extracts, on page 967. It is 
 common to mix a pound of coarse sand with the Ehubarb in the dis- 
 placement apparatus to favor the percolation. 
 
 Great care is required in the preparation of this extract, as both the 
 tonic and purgative properties of Ehubarb are very apt to become de- 
 teriorated by the process. Only a gentle heat must be employed. The 
 extract prepared by evaporation in vacuo, will be found decidedly the 
 best ; it possesses the odor and taste of the root. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Extract of Ehubarb possesses virtues similar 
 to the drug itself, and may be given in pill form, or in solution in doses 
 of from five grains to half a drachm. 
 
 ExTRACTUM EuMEcis Alcoholicum. AlcohoUc Extract of Yellow Bock. 
 (Ampfer Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust coarsely powdered Yellow-Dock Eoot a pound, 
 with Alcohol, Water, of each a sufficient quantity, proceeding in the 
 same manner as explained for the preparation of Alcoholic Extracts, on 
 page 967. — E. S. Wayne. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This extract is tonic and alterative, and is effi- 
 cacious in scrofula, and cutaneous diseases. It is most generally given 
 in combination with some other alterative, as extract of poke, cimici- 
 
EXTRACTA. - 987 
 
 fuga, dulcamara, corydalis, etc. The dose is from one to five grains 
 three times' a day. 
 
 ExTKACTUM SanguinarijE ALOOHOLiotrM. AlcohoUc Extract of Blood- 
 root. (Spirituoses Blutwurzel Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust coarsely powdered Bloodroot a pound, with 
 Alcohol, "Water, of each, a sufficient quantity, proceeding in the same 
 manner as explained for the preparation of Alcoholic Extracts, on page 
 967. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation of Bloodroot is expectorant, 
 alterative, and emmenagogue, and may be used with benefit in pulmo- 
 narj' and hepatic diseases, jaundice, and amenorrhea. Externally it 
 forms a mild caustic, and may be advantageously applied to indolent 
 ulcers and fistula-in-ano. It possesses the virtues of the root. "The dose 
 is from one-eighth of a grain to a grain. — J. K 
 
 BxTRACTUM Scutellariae Alcoholictjm. Alcoholic Extract of Scull- 
 cap. (Spirituoses Schildkraut Extrakt. 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust the recent dried herb, Scullcap, in powder, a 
 pound; with Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity, proceeding in the same 
 manner as explained for the preparation of Alcoholic Extracts, on page 
 967.— J. K. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The Alcoholic Extract of Scullcap is tonic, ner- 
 vine, and antispasmodic. It has been used with advantage in cases of 
 nervous excitability, chorea, wakefulness, and restlessness ; it may be 
 used alone or in combination with the alcoholic extracts of cimicifuga, , 
 cypripedium, or asclepias. The dose is from one to five grains, three 
 or four times a day. 
 
 ExTRAOTUM Stillingi^ Algoholicum. AlcohoUc Extract of Queen's 
 Boot. (Spirituoses Stillingie Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust the recent Eoot of Stillingia, cut into small 
 pieces, a poundj'with Alcohol, Water, of each a sufficient quantity, pro- 
 ceeding in the same manner as explained for the preparation of Alco- 
 holic Extracts, on page 967. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In large doses the Alcoholic Extract of Stil- 
 lingia is emetic and cathartic, for which actions it is but little employed 
 in medici^ie, on account of the nausea, prostration, and burning sensa- 
 tion at the stomach caused by it. In small doses it is a valuable alter- 
 ative, peculiar to American practice, and may be efficaciously used in 
 all diseases requiring alterative remedies. It is usually given in com- 
 bination with other alteratives, the virtues of which it appears to in- 
 crease. The compound Syrup of Stillingia is now more generally used 
 in practice, but this extract will be found useful in cases where pills 
 are preferred to fluid preparations. The dose is one, two, or three 
 grains, three times a day. 
 : ExTRACTUM Stramonii Alcoholictim. AlcohoUc Extract of Stramo- 
 nium. (Spirituoses Stechapfel Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust recently dried Stramonium Leaves, in coarse 
 powder, a pound, in a percolator, with Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quan- 
 tity.'^ From the tincture thus made separate the Alcohol, and then 
 carefully evaporate the residue until it is of the required consistence. 
 Be careful not to spoil the extract by too high a temperature while 
 evaporating. When made in large quantity, it should be in vacuo, so 
 that too elevated a temperature maybe avoided, and also that the alco- 
 
 « If the Dilated Alcohol be prepared with Acetic Acid and Water, the same aa stated 
 for Extract of Aconite, in note on page 968, it will form a more powerful extract. 
 
988 - Pharmacy. 
 
 hoi may. be saved. (See preparation of Alcoholic Extracts, on page 
 967.) 
 
 An alcoholic extract, may be also made by substituting the Stramo- 
 nium Seed, ground into powder, for the Leaves. The seeds are sup- 
 posed to furnish a more energetic preparation. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The Alcoholic Extract of Stramonium is pre- 
 ferable either to an aqueous extract of the leaves, or iheit inspissated 
 juice. It is, in large doses, a nai'cotic poison ; in medicinal doses it is 
 anodyne and antispasmodic, and maj' be administered' with benefit in 
 painful and periodic diseases, nervous excitability Or irritability, gas- 
 tritis, enteritis, peritonitis, dysmenorrhea, rigidity of the os uteri, etc., 
 etc. It may also be applied externally in rheumatic and neuralgic 
 pains, and to reduce local inflammations. The dose is from an eighth 
 of a grain to a grain, three times a day. 
 
 ExTRACTUM Taraxaci. Extract of Dandelion. (Lowenzahn Ex- 
 trakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Cut Dandelion-root, any convenient quantity, into small 
 slices, place them to macerate in barely sufBcient water to cover them ; 
 in twelve hours, or as soon as they become pulpy, place them under a 
 strong pressure, strain the liquor which passes, out, and evaporate until 
 it is of the due consistence. 
 
 Dandelion -root, for the above purpose, should be collected in Sep- 
 tember, October, or November. The juice procured by the above 
 method should be evaporated in shallow vessels, by means of steam 
 heat; but the best extract is obtained by evaporation in vacuo. 
 
 History. — In the evaporation of this extract, too much heat or too 
 long an exposure to the action of the air, will spoil it. When the ex- 
 tract is good, it is brownish not blackish, bitter and aromatic, and not 
 sweet. A blackish-sweet extract is more or less impaired. The extract 
 should be renewed annually, as it loses its virtues by age and exposure. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Extract of Dandelion is tonic, diuretic, and 
 aperient. It is much recommended in affections of the liver, spleen, 
 and kidneys, in dropsical diseases, etc. I have made much use of vari- 
 ous preparations of Dandelion, and the effects are far from being so de- 
 cided and beneficial as the testimony of writers led me to suppose ; we 
 have several agents vastly superior to it in medicinal efficacy, in the 
 diseases for which it is prescribed. The dose of the extract is from 
 ten to sixty grains three times a day. 
 
 Extracttim Yiburni Alcoholioum. Alcoholic Extract of High- Cran- 
 berry Bark. Alcoholic Extract of Cramp-Bark. Viburine. (Spirituoses 
 Schneeball Einden Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Exhaust coarselj'-powdered Bark of Viburnum Opu- 
 lus a pound, with Alcohol, Water, of each a sufficient quantity, proceed- 
 ing in the same manner as explained for the preparation of Alcoholic 
 Extracts, on page 967. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Alcoholic Extract of High- Cranberry Bark ia 
 tonic and antispasmodic, and may be used in all cases in which the 
 High-Cranberry Bark is indicated. In uterine difficulties it may be 
 advantageously combined with some uterine tonic, as resins of caulo- 
 phyllum or cimicifuga, oleo-resin of senecio, alcoholic extract of aletris, 
 etc. In bilious and flatulent colic, and spasmodic pains of the stomach 
 and bowels, it will be found very efficacious in combination with ex- 
 tract of dioscorea. The dose of it is from one to ten grains, throe 
 times a day. — J. K. 
 
ExTRACTA Fluida. 989 
 
 EXTEACTA FLUIDA. (Fliissige Bxtrakte.) 
 Fluid Extracts. — Essential Tinctures. — Concentrated Tinctures. 
 
 These are concentrated medicinal principles, not reduced to a solid or 
 nearly semifluid consistence, as with extracts, and have the advantage 
 over ordinary extracts in being prepared with less evaporation, and 
 consequently less heat,' whereby their activity is not so liable to im- 
 pairment. With some medicines, as for instance, Gubebs, in which the 
 medicinal virtue depends entirely upon a fluid substance, and can not 
 be reduced to a solid extract, the fluid extract presents a valuable mode 
 of administration. The menstruum employed in the preparation of 
 fluid extracts varies according to the character of the constituents 
 comprising the virtues of the plant ; thus, many agents require only 
 water, and those containing oil and resin require alcohol or ether, ac- 
 cording to the degree of solubility in these menstrua, and their action 
 upon non-medicinal principles which may exist in the substance under 
 operation. Fluid extracts should be made so that one fluidounce ex- 
 actly represents the medicinal virtues of one Troy ounce of the crude 
 drug or drugs employed, and great care and attention is required in 
 their preparation, from the fact that too great a temperature or too long 
 an exposure to the action of the atmosphere, frequently tends to de- 
 compose and render them worthless. One great difficulty relative to 
 fluid extracts is their natural tendency to decomposition ; this may be 
 obviated to a great extent by the addition of sugar or other preserva- 
 tive agents, as alcohol, acetic acid, etc. "When prepared by means of 
 ether, these extracts generaljy keep well and for a long time, without- 
 any material unfavorable change. 
 
 In the last edition of this work, 1864, reference was made to a sug- 
 gestion by Mr. "W. M. Gordon, concerning the employment of glycerin 
 in the preparation of syrups, tinctures, etc. ; since then I have made 
 several preparations without the aid of heat, in which glycerin formed 
 a part of the menstruum, one or two of which are named in my work 
 on Chronic Diseases, 1867, pages 738, 774, 808, etc. "Within the last 
 two years I have made several preparations for my own use in prac- 
 tice, by a meth-od that appears to give the full medicinal strength of 
 the articles, ounce for ounce, which may, undoubtedly, be adopted in 
 the preparation of the greater part, if not all, of our fluid e:^racts, and 
 I refer to it here that some of our pharmaceutists may experiment with 
 it and ascertain how far it is applicable in this direction. The advan- 
 tages it appears to possess over the usual mode, are the avoidance of 
 heat, less labor and expense, and greater certainty of obtaining the de- 
 sired product, which is not liable to fermentation or decomposition. 
 The method is briefly as follows : Take a pound of the article to be 
 formed into a fluid extract, in not too fine a powder, and thoroughly 
 moisten it with some of the menstruum, which is composed of a mixture 
 of equal parts of alcohol, glycerin, and water ; then transfer it to a 
 displacement apparatus, and cover it with enough of the menstruum to 
 make the whole amount employed equal to one pint, and allow it to 
 macerate a week before permitting the fluid to percolate, and of which 
 twelve fluidounces must be procured. If this amount does not pass, 
 mere of the menstruum may be added until the required quantity has 
 filtered through. Now add water or alcohol, enough to exhaust the 
 articles, evaporate to four fluidounces and add these to the first re- 
 served twelve fluidounces, thus making one pint of fluid extract. It 
 may be possible that, instead of water, certain articles containing oils 
 
990 Pharmacy. 
 
 or oleo-resins niay require an alkaline liquid ; certain others, as bella- 
 donna, aconite, etc., may require equal parts of strong acetic acid and 
 water ; while with others again, as, elder-blows, wild-cherry bark, 
 maiden-hair, cleavers, etc., the alcohol may be omitted, and equaj 
 parts of glycerin and water alone be employed. These are mere sugges- 
 tions, the value of which must be determined by experiment. The ar- 
 ticles that I have prepared by this method, have given me great satis- 
 faction.* 
 
 It may be proper to observe here that fluid extracts, according 
 to the present U. S. Pharmacopcfiia, are made entirely of alcohol of 
 strength adapted to the constituents of the article, no sugar entering 
 into their composition. In this way an ounce Troy of an agent can read- 
 ily have its virtues held in a fluidounce. But I have retained the pre- 
 ceding remarks in consequence of having given several formula; in 
 which both water and sugar enter, and which preparations could not 
 very readily be placed under any other head. All these matters per- 
 taining to therapeutics will be placed on a correct basis as soon as 
 the Eclectic Pharmacopceia is finished, and which, it is to be hoped, 
 will make a decided change for the better in several of our prep- 
 arations. 
 
 BxTRACTUM Anthemidis Plttidum. Fluid Extract of Chamomile. 
 (Fllissiges Kamillen Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Bruised Chamomile Flowers twelve ounces ; Al- 
 cohol, Water, of each, a sufficient quantity. Mix the Chamomile with a 
 sufSeient quantity of Alcohol, and allow it to stand for twenty-foui 
 • hours; then transfer it to a percolator angl pour Alcohol gradually upon 
 it until a pint and a half of filtered liquid is obtained. Place this in an 
 evaporating dish, and allow it to evaporate spontaneously until reduced 
 to six fluidounces. 
 
 To the Flowers in the percolator, add gradually a sufiicient quantity 
 of Water until it passes -without any of the taste of the Chamomile. 
 Evaporate this portion in a water-bath to six fluidounces. 
 
 Mix together the alcoholic and aqueous solutions. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This Fluid Extract of Chamomile Flowers is a 
 tonic, and possesses all the properties of the crude article. Bach fluid- 
 ounce of the Extract represents a fluidounce of the Flowers ; hence the 
 dose is from half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm three times a day. It may 
 be advantageously combined with the fluid extracts of cimicifiiga, vale- 
 rian, cypripedium, Scutellaria, etc. 
 
 ExTRACTUM BucHU Fluidum. Fluid Extract of Buchu. (Flussigcs 
 Buccoblatter Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Buchu, sixteen ounces, reduce it to a moderately 
 fine powder, and place it in a suitable vessel for percolation. Then 
 pour upon it Alcohol a sufficient quantity to moisten it, letting it stand 
 for twelve hours; add Alcohol to it until twelve fluidounces of filtrate 
 have been obtained, and set this aside. Continue the percolation by 
 the addition of more Alcohol, until the Buchu is exhausted ; evaporate 
 this last to four fluidounces, either by distillation, or by some other 
 convenient method ; add this to the twelve fluidounces first obtained, 
 agitate together and, if necessarj', filter, and make one pint of Fluid 
 Extract. 
 
 » since having written the above remarks, I have had my attention called to a commu- 
 nication In the Am. Jowr. Pharm., 1869, p. 385, from Mr. Sam'l Campbell, of Philadelphia, 
 In which he has made a suggestion similar to my own, as regards the employment of 
 glycerin in the manufacture of fluid extracts. He divides fluid extracts Into two classes, 
 the alcoholic, In which the menstruum is alcohol three parts, glycerin one part; and the 
 hydro-alcoholie. in which tho menstruum is alcohol two parts, glycerin, water, each, one 
 part. It appears that he has tested the proce.s.s suocesstn,iy with many articles named oy 
 *:lTr rv the communication. It IB certainly very giatlfymg to learn that others are arrlv 
 mg at itie same viewK.tr. [uyseii m this matter. K. 
 
ExTRAtTA Fluida. 991 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Fluid Extnut of Buchu is a gentlj^ stiniuhitirig 
 diuretic, and maybe used in chronic catarrh of the bladder, gravel, mor- 
 bid irritation of the bladder and Urethra, and other affections of the 
 urinary organs. The dose is from twenty to sixty minims, three times 
 a day. 
 
 ExTRAOTUM Cannabis Fluidum. Fluid Extract of Indian Hemp. Con- 
 centrated Tincture of Indian Hemp. 
 
 Preparation.— Taka of the dried Leaves of Cannabis Indica, in coarse 
 powder, sixteen Troy ounces; Alcohol, 95 p. ct., a sufficient quantity. 
 Moisten the Leaves thoroughly with Alcohol, and let it stand for seven 
 days ; then transfer thie mixture to a percolator, and gradually add Al- 
 cohol, returning a little of the first that passes, till it runs clear. Eeserve, 
 by itself, of the first running, twelve fluidounces ; then add a sufficient 
 quantity of Alcohol to the residuum in the j)ercolator, until the leaves 
 are thoroughly exhausted ; evaporate this latter percolate to four fluid- 
 ounces, and, while warm, mix in the reserved Tincture, and make ope 
 pint of Fluid Extract. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Same as the Indian Hemp, in doses of Irom three 
 to ten minims, or more, three or four times a day. This process is from 
 Messrs. Merrell & Thorpe of this city, whose preparations appear to 
 have given a general satisfaction to druggists and physicians. 
 
 Extraotum Celastri Fluidtjm. Fluid Extract of False Bittersweet. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the recently dried Bark of the root of False 
 Bittersweet, in fine powder, sixteen ounces; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient 
 ■quantity. Moisten the powdered bark thoroughly with some of the Di- 
 luted Alcohol, and let it stand for twenty four hours; then transfer it 
 to a percolator, and gradually add Diluted Alcohol until twelve fluid- 
 ounces have been obtained. Set this aside ; then add Diluted Alcohol 
 until the bark is exhausted ; evaporate this to four fluid ounces, and 
 add it to the twelve fluidounces first obtained, so as to make a pint of 
 Fluid Extract. 
 
 JProperties and Uses. — This Fluid Extract possesses the same virtues as 
 the bark, in doses of from half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm, three times 
 a day. 
 
 Extractum Cimicifug^, Fluidum. Fluid Extract of Black Cohosh. 
 (Fliissiges Wanzenkraut Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of recently dried Black-Cohosh Eoot, in fine pow- 
 der, sixteen ounces; Alcohol, 92 per cent., one pint and a half; Diluted 
 Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Mix the Cohosh with an equal weight of 
 sand, moisten it with a portion of the Alcohol, transfer it to a displace- 
 ment apparatus for volatile liquids, and pour on the remainder of the 
 Alcohol. When the liquid commences to pass, close the orifice so that 
 its passage shall be by drops; and when the menstruum disappears 
 above, immediately add Diluted Alcohol until the filtered tincture 
 measures a pint and a half. Set this aside in a capsule in a warm place 
 until it is reduced to twelve fluidounces. 
 
 Meanwhile, continue the percolation with Diluted Alcohol until the 
 root is exhausted. Evaporate this in a water-bath to four fluidounces, 
 and mix it gradually with the first product so as to avoid as much as 
 possible the precipitation of the resin from the latter. After standing 
 a few hours the fluid extract should be filtered, and if it does not mea- 
 sure a pint add a sufficient quantity of alcohol to make that measure. 
 
 If the amount of resin precipitated is considerable, it may be sepa- 
 rated by a cloth -strainer, redissolved in a little alcohol, and added to 
 the solution, which should then be filtered. 
 
992 Pharmacy. 
 
 History. — This fluid extract is prepared after the manner of Prof. B 
 S. Wayne. It has a dark reddish-brown color like laudanum, is trans- 
 parent, and possesses the bitter, disagreeable taste of the root in a marked 
 degree. Its flavor may be improved by the addition of white sugar, 
 and a small portion of some aromatic essence at the time of taking it. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The Fluid Extract of Black Cohosh possesses 
 tonic, narcotic, antispasmodic, alterative, and emmenagogue properties. 
 It may be used with advantage in rheumatism, neuralgia, scrofula, 
 syphilis, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, chorea, and all diseases in which 
 the root is indicated. The dose is from ten minims to a fluidraehm. 
 The Fluid Extract prepared with Alcohol three 'parts and Glycerin one 
 part, will be fbund better adapted for patients, with whom it is required 
 to procure the sedative influence of the drug freed, as much as possible, 
 from any stimulant action. The process to be conducted similar to that 
 named for Fluid Extract of Uva IJrsi. 
 
 ExTRAOTUM OiNCHON.Si Fluidum. Fluid Uxtract of CinchoTia. (Fliis- 
 siges China Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Calisaya Bark, in a uniform coarse powder, 
 eight Troy ounces, moisten it with Diluted Alcohol, and after standing 
 t>velve hours, pack the moist Bark properly in a percolator, and pour 
 Diluted Alcohol on it gradually until four pints of tincture have passed, 
 or until its bitterness is exhausted. Evaporate the tincture in a water- 
 bath (or a still) to nine fluidounces ; then add of Sugar ten Troy ounces, 
 continue the heat until it is dissolved, and strain while hot. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Same as Peruvian bark, and may be used alone 
 or in combination with other agents. Dose, one fluidraehm. — A. B. 
 Taylor. 
 
 BxTRACTUM CiNCHON.<B Fluidum Aromaticum. Aromotic Fluid Ex- 
 tract of Cinchona. (Fliissiges Aromatisches China Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparaft'on.— Take of Calisaya Bark, in moderately coarse powder, 
 eighteen atid a half Troy ounces; Cardamom, Calamus, Ginger, each, in 
 fine powder, one hundred and ninety-two Troy grains ; "White Sugar, twenty- 
 one ounces and six drachms, Troy; Alcohol 95 per cent.. Diluted Alcohol, 
 each, a sufficient quantity. 
 
 Moisten the Calisaya Bark with five fluidounces of Diluted Alcohol 
 for twelve hours, pack the moist Bark properly in a conical percolator, 
 ' and pour Diluted Alcohol on it gradually until sixty-six and a half 
 fluidounces of tincture have passed, or until the Bark is exhausted. 
 Distill off the Alcohol from the filtrate, and evaporate the remainder 
 to eighteen fluidounces ; set this aside for twelve hours, and then decant 
 the clear liquor from the sediment, — reserving both the clear liquor and 
 the sediment. 
 
 Mix the Cardamom, Calamus, and Ginger together, and moisten the 
 mixture with four fluidrachms of Alcohol 95 per cent., pack it in a 
 conical percolator, and pour Alcohol 95 per cent, on it until it is ex- 
 hausted. Add this to the reserved sediment from the evaporated Bark 
 filtrate, agitate them together until the sediment is dissolved, and then 
 pour this solution upon the Sugar contained in a proper vessel, and stir 
 the mixture well. When the sugar has absolved all the solution, apply 
 a gentle heat by means of a water-bath, and tlien, as the mixture be- 
 comes warm, gradually add in small portions, stirring all the time, the 
 clear liquor decanted from the Bark sediment, being careful so to grad- 
 uate the heat and the additions, that the resinous matter be not pre: 
 cipitated. During this part of the process the heat must be gradually 
 increased so that the temperature will have risen to 180° or 190° F 
 
ExTRACTA Fluida. 993 
 
 The whole is then kept heated, with constant stirring, until it measures 
 twenty-nine fluidounces, when it is allowed to become cold. Finally 
 strain it through a sieve of forty meshes to the inch, and make it meas- 
 ure twenty-nine fluidounces, by adding a sufficient quantity of Diluted 
 Alcohol. — E. B. Squibb. 
 
 This forms a very elegant and pleasant Fluid Extract, which was much 
 used in the army hospitals. One minim of the preparation represents 
 half a grain of Calisaya Bark. In making larger quantities of it, the 
 following proportions may be employed for twenty-three pints of the 
 fluid extract, viz. : Calisaya Bark, twelve and a half pounds (avoir.) ; 
 Ginger, Cardamom, Calamus, ieach, five and a half ounces (avoir.) ; "White 
 ^uga,v fourteen pounds and three ounces (avoir.). 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Same as Peruvian bark, being at the same time 
 slightly carminative and stimulant, and may be used in all cases where 
 such a combination is desired. Dose, from half a fluidraehm to two 
 fluidrachms. 
 
 ExTEAOTUM CoNii Fluidum. Fluid Extract of Poison Hemlock. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the finely powdered and recently dried leaves 
 of Poison Hemlock, sixteen ounces ; Acetic Acid half a fluidounce ; Di- 
 luted Alcohol, a sufficient quantity. Mix the acid with three pints of 
 the diluted alcohol, moisten the powdered leaves uniformly with half a 
 pint of the mixture, pack it in a conical percolator, cover it with a disc 
 of cloth, and add gradually the remainder of the acidulated alcohol, re- 
 serving the first twelve fluidounces of tincture, and continuing the pro- 
 cess until three pints more have passed, using diluted alcohol at the 
 last. Evaporate this last portion to four fluidounces, at a temperature 
 not exceeding 150° F., mix it with the reserved tincture, and filter 
 through paper. — W. Procter, Jr. — Proceedings Am. Pharm. Assoc, 1859, 
 p. 271-2- 
 
 Prof Procter remarks that in each of the drugs (ergot, conium, lo- 
 belia) there exists an alkaloid united with an organic acid, as a salt, 
 which is so unstable in its nature, as to be with each drug partially de- 
 composed by the ebullition of its solution ; this tendency is almost com- 
 pletely controlled by acetic acid, at a temperature below 150° F., and 
 a quite unexceptionable fluid extract is thus obtained. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — It contains the active properties of Poison hem- 
 lock in a concentrated form, and may be given in doses of from three 
 to ten or twelve minims, according to the effects produced. 
 
 ExTEACTUM CoENUs Floeid^ Fluidum. Fluid Extract of Dogwood. 
 (Fliissiges Hartriegel Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation, — Take of Dogwood Bark, in coarse powder, sixteen Troy 
 ounces; Alcohol 76 per cent., four pints; White Sugar six troy ounces; 
 Water a sufficient quantity. Moisten the Bark thoroughly with Alcohol 
 and let it stand for twenty-four hours ; then transfer it to a percolator, 
 and gradually add the rest of the Alcohol, returning a little of the first 
 that passes till it runs clear. Eeserve, by itself, of the first running, 
 four fluidounces; evaporate the remaining alcoholic tincture that comes 
 through to four fluidounces, and likewise set it aside. To the Powder 
 in the percolator add gradually cold "Water a sufficient quantity, until 
 the liquid that passes is but slightly impregnated with the properties 
 of the Dogwood ; evaporate this latter solution to half a pint, then add 
 the Sugar, continue the evaporation until the syrup is reduced to eight 
 fluidounces, and while warm, mix in the reserved tincture and Extract, 
 and make one pint of Fluid Extract. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Fluid Extract of Dogwood is tonic, stimulant, 
 
 63 
 
994 Pharmacy. 
 
 and slightly astringent. It may be used in all cases where tonics are 
 indicated, and will be found beneficial in female debility, leucorrhea, 
 etc. The dose is from half a fluidrachm to two fluidrachms. 
 
 BxTEACTTTM CuBEB.a] Pluidum. Fluid Extract of Cubebs. (Pliissiges 
 Cubeben Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation.— GavefuWy place Powdered Cubebs sixteen ounces, into 
 a displacement apparatus, and gradually pour Ether upon it. When 
 two pints of ethereal tincture have filtered through, remove it into a 
 retort on a water-bath, and by a moderate heat distill off a pint and a 
 half of the Ether. The residue may be placed in a shallow evaporat- 
 ing dish, and the balance of the Ether be allowed to evaporate spon- 
 taneously.— W. Procter, Jr. 
 
 This substance consists of all the volatile oil, cubebin, and resin, most 
 of waxy matter, and none of the extractive of cubebs, and hence em- 
 braces all the active principles of the plant. It is of a dark olive-brown 
 color, and possesses the odor, taste, and virtues of the drug. The waxy 
 matter, and cubebin are deposited upon standing a long time. — Am. 
 Jour. Pharm., XVIII., 167. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation possesses the virtues of cu- 
 bebs, and may be given in the dose of from ten to thirty minims, in 
 emulsion, or in capsules, and repeated three times a day. 
 
 Another process has been given by Prof. Procter {Proceedings Am. 
 Pharm. Assoc, 1859, p. 272-3) for preparing this fluid extract, thus : 
 Moisten Cubebs, in fine powder, sixteen ounces, with deodorized Alco- 
 hol four fluidounces, pack tightly in a percolator, cover the surface with a 
 disc of cloth, and pour on deodorized Alcohol gradually until two pints 
 have slowly passed. Eeserve the first twelve fluidounces, and evapo- 
 rate the remainder to four fluidounces by a gentle heat not exceeding 
 150° F., mix it with the reserved tincture, and filter through paper. 
 He thinks this has some advantages over the other (which is somewhat 
 of an oleo-resin) in mixtures that are not emulsive. 
 
 ExTRACTTJM Cypripedii Fluidcm. Fluid Extract of Yellow Ladies'- 
 slipper Moot. (Plussiges Venusshuh Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Yellow Ladies'-slipper Eoot, in moderately fine 
 powder, sixteen Troy ounces; Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten 
 the Eoot thoroughly with some of the Alcohol, and let it stand for 
 twenty -four hours ; then transfer it to a percolator, and gradually add 
 Alcohol until twelve fluidounces have been obtained. Set this aside ; 
 then add Alcohol until the root is exhausted ; evaporate this to four 
 fluidounces, and add to it the twelve fluidounces first obtained, so as to 
 make one pint of Fluid Extract. — E. S. Wayne. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The Fluid Extract of Cypripedium is tonic, 
 nervine, and antispasmodic, and may be beneficially employed in 
 chorea, hysteria, nervous headache, and all cases of nervous irritability 
 and excitability. A few drops of oil of anise may be added to it to 
 improve its flavor. The dose is from half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm, 
 three times a day. 
 
 ExTRACTUM EpiGEiE Fluidum. Fluid Extract of Trailing Arbutus. 
 (Flussiges Epigaen Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation.-=^Take of the recently dried Leaves of JEpigea Eepens, 
 in coarse powder, sixteen Troy ounces; Alcohol a sufficient quantity ; Di- 
 luted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the leaves thoroughly with 
 some of the Alcohol, and let it stand for twenty-four hours ; theti trans- 
 fer it to a pereolator, and gradually add the rest of the Alcohol, return- 
 ing a little of the first that passes, until it runs clear. Eeserve, by 
 
ExTRACTA Fluida. 995 
 
 itself, of the first running, twelve fluidounces ; then add gradually a 
 sufficient quantity of Diluted Alcohol, until the liquid that passes is but 
 slightly impregnated with the taste of the Leaves ; evaporate this lat- 
 ter solution to four fluidounces, then mix in the reserved Tincture and 
 make one pint of Fluid Extract. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The Fluid Extract of Trailing Arbutus posses- 
 ses diuretic and astringent properties, and will be found superior to the 
 preparations of uva ursi, buchu, etc., in gravel, and various other dis- 
 orders of the urinary organs. It may likewise be used in chronic diar- 
 rhea and summer complaint ; the dose is one fluidrachm three or four 
 times a day. — J. K. 
 
 ExTRACTUM ERG0T.a! Fltjidum. Fluid Bxtract of Ergot. (Flussiges 
 Mutterkorn Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of fresh Ergot, in powder, eight Troy ounces; 
 Ether four fluidounces ; Alcohol, twelve fluidounces ; Water, a sufficient 
 quantity. Moisten the Ergot with some of the Ether, let it stand for 
 twenty -four hours, and then transfer to a percolator, and add gradually 
 the remainder of the Ether. When all has passed through allow the 
 Ethereal Tincture to evaporate spontaneously. To the Powder in the 
 percolator add gradually the Alcohol, and when all has passed, evapo- 
 rate the filtered tincture to four fluidounces. Again add gradually to 
 the Powder in the percolator, a sufficient quantity of Water, until the 
 liquid passes without the taste of the Ergot ; evaporate this liquid to 
 four fluidounces, and add to it six ounces of White Sugar, and again 
 evaporate to four fluidounces. Mix the alcoholic and aqueous solutions 
 while hot, and when cold add the residuum of the evaporated Ethereal 
 Tincture, and thoroughly incorporate by agitation. — W. Procter, Jr. 
 
 History. — The Ether in this preparation takes up a portion of the 
 active principle in combination with the inert fixed oil ; while the other 
 agents, undoubtedly, take up certain proportions of the active princi- 
 ple not touched by the Ether. The spontaneous evapdration of the 
 Ether gives the oil and active principle combined, and which must be 
 well mixed with the other solutions. The heat in evaporating the al- 
 coholic and aqueous solutions, should be below 212°. As there is yet 
 some doubt in relation to the active principle of Ergot, a preparation 
 which will represent the drug in its natural form is desirable, and 
 which is had in this fluid extract. 
 
 Mr. W. J. Watson prepares a fluid extract by macerating freshly 
 powdered 'Ergot four Troy ounces in Diluted Alcohol one pint (made of 
 Alcohol 95 per cent., one part mixed with water four parts) for four 
 days, then transfer to a percolator, and when the liquid ceases to pass, 
 pour on water until two pints have passed ; evaporate to six fluid- 
 ounces, by water-bath, and add Alcohol six fluidounces ; let it stand 
 with occasional agitation for twelve hours and filter. It is of a Ma- 
 deira-wine color ; possessing a strong taste and odor of Ergot. One 
 fluidrachm represents one scruple of Ergot. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 
 XXVIII., 519. Also same Journal, XXVII., 302, for Mr. T. E. Baker's 
 process. 
 
 In the proceedings of Am. Pharm. Assoc, 1859, p. 271, Prof. Procter 
 has given another process, very different from the one above quoted 
 from him, and which has been adopted in the U. S. Pharmacopoe'ia. 
 With the exception of substituting finely powdered Ergot for the leaves 
 of Poison Hemlock, the process is identical in every respect with the 
 one heretofore named for Fluid Extract of Poison Hemlock, page 993, 
 which see. This process gives a clear fluid, of a dark-brown color 
 
996 PHAKMAOr. I 
 
 somewhat red, possessing a taste like ergot, and developing the pecu- 
 liar fishy smell of the alkaloid, propylamia, when liquor potassa is 
 added to it. ' ' 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This fluid extract may be used as a substitute 
 for ergot in all cases ; it is pleasant to the taste, is always ready for use, 
 requires a small dose, and acts promptly without naasea. The dose is 
 from half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm ; the latter dose is about equal 
 to two doses of powdered ergot. The extract prepared by the last 
 named process of Prof. Procter, is more active than the others, and 
 should be given in doses of from ten to thirty minims. 
 
 ExTRACTUM Gentian.;® Fluidum. Fluid Extract of Gentian. (Fllis- 
 siges Enzian Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Gentian, in moderately fine powder, sixteen 
 Troy ounces; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity . Moisten the Gentian 
 with Diluted Alcohol for twelve hours, introduce into a percolator, add 
 Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity, and set aside the first twelve fluid- 
 ounces that pass ; then continue the addition of Diluted Alcohol until 
 the root is exhausted ; evaporate this last filtrate to four fluidounces, 
 and add to it the twelve fluidounces first obtained, so as to make one 
 pint of Fluid Extract. 
 
 History. — This extract has a dark -brown color, is free from sediment, 
 and transparent in thin strata. "With water it forms a clear mix- 
 ture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tonic, and may be given in doses of from half 
 a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm, which represent half a drachm to a drachm 
 of Gentian Eoot. It may be variously combined with other agents to 
 meet particular indications. For instance, should an aperient tonic 
 with antacid properties be desired, the following form may be used : 
 Take of Fluid Extract of Gentian two fluidounces; Fluid Extract of 
 Ehubarb two fluidrachms ; Bicarbonate of Potassa one drachm , Tincture 
 of Ginger two fluidrachms. Mix. One fluidrachm of this mixture will 
 be equal to about forty grains of gentian, six of rhubarb, and three of 
 bicarbonate of potassa. 
 
 If a chalybeate tonic is desired, the following may be employed : 
 Take of Citrate of Iron and Quinia, one drachm ; Water six fluidrachms; 
 dissolve, and add Fluid Extract of Gentian two fluidounces. A fluidrachm 
 of this mixture will represent about forty-five grains of gentian, and 
 three grains of citrate of iron and quinia. — Wm. Procter, Jr. 
 
 BxTEACTUM Gentian.^; Fluidum Gompositum. Compound Fluid Extract 
 of Gentian. (Zusammengesetzte Fliissiges Enzian Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Gentian, in coarse powder, sixteen Troy ounces; 
 Bitter Orange-Peel, Coriander Seeds, of each, in coarse powder, four ■ 
 Troy ounces ; "Water, Alcohol, of each, a sufficient quantity. Macerate 
 the Gentian in two and a half pints of "Water for twelve hours, and in- 
 troduce it into a percolator ; allow the infusion to pass slowly, adding 
 "Water at intervals until five pints of liquid have passed. Evaporate 
 this to ten fluidounces. Macerate the Orange Peel and Coriander 
 Seeds in a mixture of eight fluidounces of Alcohol, and four fluidounces 
 of "Water for twelve hours; introduce them into a percolator, and add 
 gradually a sufficient quantity of Diluted Alcohol to displace twelve 
 fluidounces of tincture. Evaporate this to six fluidounces by a gentle 
 heat (120° F.), add it to the solution of Gentian while hot, and strain. 
 "When finished, the Fluid Extract should measure a pint. — Wm. 
 Procter, Jr. 
 
 History. — The Compound Fluid Extract of Gentian is a colored, thin. 
 
ExTEACTA Fldida. 997 
 
 syrupy liquid. In the preparation of it. I should prefer Prickly -Ash 
 Berries to the Coriander, both on account of their flavor, and well- 
 known influence on mucous tissues. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tonic and carminative, and may be given in 
 doses of from half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm. 
 
 BxTKACTUM Gltctrrhiz^ Fluidum. Fluid Extract of Liquorice. 
 
 .Preparation. — Take of powdered Extract of Liquorice (Calabria) 
 eight ounces, Water two pints. , Boil the Liquorice in, the Water until it 
 is dissolved, strain through flannel or fine muslin, and evaporate to ten 
 fluidounces, and then add Glycerin five fluidounces, Alcohol one fluid- 
 ounce. Or, when it has been evaporated to ten fluidounces, add Gly- 
 cerin eight fluidounces, and evaporate at a moderate heat to one pint. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation is intended to facilitate the 
 dispensing of extract of liquorice in cough mixtures, and for conceal- 
 ing the bitter taste of quinia, and quinia mixtures, aloes, and other 
 unpleasantly bitter medicines. 
 
 ExTRAOTUM HTDEANGE.ffi: Fluidtjm. Fluid Extract of Hydrangea. 
 (Pliissiges Hydrangeen Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — 1. Tak^ of the Eoot of Hydrangea sixteen Troy ounces; 
 Water six pints or a sufficient quantity ; Honey two pints. Boil the root 
 for a long time in successive portions of water, add the Honey, and 
 evaporate to two pints. — W. Procter, Jr. 
 
 2.— Take of the Eoot of Hydrangea, in fine powder, sixteen Troy 
 ounces; Alcohol a sufficient quantity; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quan- 
 tity. Moisten with Alcohol for twenty-four hours, place in a perco- 
 lator, and add Alcohol until twelve fluidounces of filtrate have been, 
 obtained, and set it aside. Then add Diluted Alcohol until the ropt is 
 exhausted, evaporate this to four fluido'unces, and add to it the twelve 
 fluidounces first obtained, so as to make one pint of Fluid Extract. — 
 ./. K. 
 
 Properties and, Uses. — Valuable in irritable conditions of the urethra 
 and bladder, from the presence of stone or gravel, etc., and to change 
 the character of lithic urine. The dose is from half a fluidrachm to a 
 fluidrachm.. 
 
 BxTRACTUM Hyosctami Pluidum. Fluid Extract of Henbane. (Fliis- 
 siges Bilsen Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the recently dried Leaves of Henbane, in fine 
 powder, six-teen Troy ounces ; Alcohol, Diluted Alcohol, each, a sufficient 
 quantity. Moisten the Henbane with Diluted Alcohol for twenty-four 
 hours; introduce it into a percolator, and add Alcohol until twelve 
 fluidounces have passed, which set aside. Then add Diluted Alcohol 
 until the Leaves are exhausted, evaporate this at 150° F., to four fluid- 
 ounces, and add to it the twelve fluidounces flrst obtained, so as to 
 make one pint of Fluid Extract. Filter, if necessary. 
 
 History. — This forms an elegant and durable preparation of Hyos- 
 cyamus. In percolation the fluid should be allowed to pass very slow- 
 ly, that thorough exhaustion of the leaves may take place. 
 
 Properties arid, Uses. — This extract possesses all the virtues of Hyos- 
 cyamus, and may be given wherever the influence of the plant is de- 
 sired. The dose is from ten to thirty minims. 
 
 ExTRACTUM Iridis Pluidum. Fluid Extract of Blue Flag. (Pliissiges 
 Blauer Kalmus Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation.— Take of recently dried Blue-Flag Eoot, in moderately 
 fine powder, sixteen Troy ounces; Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten 
 the Blue-Flag with the Alcohol, for twenty -four hours, introduce it 
 
998 Pharmacy. 
 
 into a percolator, add Alcohol until twelve fluidouiices have been ob- 
 tained. Set this aside, and add Alcohol until the root is exhausted ; 
 evaporate this last to four fluidounces, and add to it the twelve fluid- 
 ounces first obtained, so as to make one pint of Fluid Extract. — E. S. 
 Wayne. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This holds the virtues of Blue-Flag in a con- 
 centrated state, and may be used in syphilis, dropsy, scrofula, and all 
 diseases in which the crude article is indicated. The dose is from ten 
 to thirty minims. 
 
 , BxTRACTUM Leptandr^ Fluidum. Fluid Extract of Blackroot. 
 (Fliissiges Bhrenpreis Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Leptandra Eoot, in fine powder, sixteen Troy 
 ounces; Alcohol, a sufficient quantity. Moisten the Eoot with Alcohol, 
 and let it stand for twelve hours. Then place it in a percolator, and 
 add Alcohol until twelve fluidounces have passed, which set aside. 
 Continue the percolation with Alcohol until the Eoot is exhausted ; 
 evaporate this last to four fluidounces, and add to it th* twelve fluid 
 ounces first obtained, and filter if necessary, so as to make one pint of 
 Fluid Extract.— .S. S. Wayne. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This extract is laxative, cholagogue, and tonic, 
 and may be advantageously substituted for the root in all cases. The 
 dose is from ten to sixty minims, one, two, or three times a day. As a 
 laxative it is preferable to the extract, when dried. 
 
 BxTRACTUM LoBELi.as FiiTJiDTiM. Fluid Extract of Lobelia. (Fliis- 
 siges Lobelie Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — -Take of Lobelia Leaves, in fine powder, siocteen ounces , 
 Acetic Acid one fluidounce ; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Mix 
 the Acid with three pints of the Diluted Alcohol, moisten the Lobelia 
 uniformly with half a pint of the mixture, pack it in a conical perco- 
 lator, cover it with a disc of cloth, and gradually add the remainder 
 of the acidulated alcohol, reserving the first twelve fluidounces of tinc- 
 ture, and continuing the process until three pints more have passed, 
 using Diluted Alcohol at the last. Evaporate this portion to four fluid- 
 ounces, at a temperature not exceeding 150° F., mix it with the re- 
 served tincture, and filter through paper. — Wm. Procter, Jr. This pro- 
 cess is based on the fact, that in the presence of an excess of acid, the 
 lobelina of the natural salt, which gives activity to the drug, is not de- 
 composed and destroyed by the heat used. A fiuidrachm 6f this ex- 
 tract is equal to half a fluidounce of the tincture, or a drachm of the 
 powdered leaves. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The Fluid Extract of Lobelia possesses all the 
 properties of the plant in a concentrated degree. It may be used wher- 
 ever lobelia is indicated. The dose is from five minims to a fiuidrachm, 
 according to the effect required ; and which are equivalent to five 
 grains or a drachm of the powder. 
 
 ExTRACTUM Lobelia Fluidum Oompositum. Compound Fluid Ex- 
 tract of Lobelia. (Fliissiges Zusammengesetztes Lobelien Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of recently dried Bloodroot, Skunkcabbageroot, 
 and Lobelia Seeds and Leaves, each, coarsely powdered, four Troy 
 ounces; Alcohol, Diluted Alcohol, each, a sufficient quantity. Moisten the 
 articles mixed together with suflicient Alcohol, and let them stand for 
 twenty -four hours; then transfer the mixture to a percolator, and 
 gradually add Alcohol, returning a little of the first that passes, till it 
 runs clear. Eeserve, by itself, of the first or strongest running', twelve 
 fluidounces; then pour Diluted Alcohol on the residuum in the perco- 
 
BxTHACTA Fluida. 999 
 
 (ator, until the liquid that comes through has very little of the color or 
 taste of the medicine ; evaporate this latter solution to four fluidounces 
 by a heat considerably below the boiling point, and while warm mix 
 in the reserved Tincture, and make one pint of Fluid Extract. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This fluid extract is emetic, expectorant, and 
 antispasmodic, and may be used as a substitute for the acetated tinc- 
 ture of bloodroot. A fluidrachm of the extract is equivalent to about 
 a drachm of the powder; the dose is from ten to sixty minims accord- 
 ing to the desired effect. — E. S. Wayne. 
 
 ExTEACTiJM LupunN^ Fluidum. Fluid JExtract of Lupulin. (Fliis- 
 siges Hopfen Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Lupulin four Troy ounces; Alcohol, Eectiiied 
 Ether, each, a sufficient quantity. Put the Lupulin in a glass displaeer,, 
 pour upon it four fluidounces of Ether, and then sufllcient Alcohol to ob- 
 tain six fluidounces by slow percolation, and set the liquid aside. Then 
 continue the displacement with Alcohol till ten fluidounces of liquid 
 passes. Evaporate this to two fluidounces, and mix it with the ethereal 
 tincture, and bj' means of a water-bath at 100° F., or spontaneously, let 
 the Ether evaporate, so that the resulting fluid extract shall meas-ure 
 four fluidounces. 
 
 The U. S. Pharmacopoeia gives a pi-ocess diff'erent from the preceding, 
 being identical in all respects with that given for the Fluid Extract of 
 Leptandra, on page 998, with the exception, that Lupulin is used in- 
 stead of Leptandra, the Alcohol employed is of sp. gr. 0.817, the reserved 
 l^ortion is three fluidounces, and four fluidounces of Concentrated Tinc- 
 ture are ultimately obtained. But I do not think it is at all superior to 
 that obtained by the process above named. 
 
 History. — Lupulin contains about one per cent, of valerianic acid, a 
 volatile oil, and a considerable quantity of yellow resin, beside a bitter 
 principle ; hence, in treating it to get a concentrated solution, a process 
 must be pursued which will retain the volatile principles in the prepara- 
 tion when finished. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This fluid extract may be used wherever lupu- 
 lin is indicated ; a fluidrachm is equivalent to a drachm of lupulin, so 
 the dose can be readily proportioned. It may be advantageously com- 
 bined, at times, with fluid extract of Scutellaria, wild cherry, or valerian, 
 etc'. 
 
 BxTRACTUM Phytolacca Fluidum. Fluid Extract of Poke-root. Con- 
 centrated Tincture of Poke-root. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of fresh Poke-root, finely sliced, sixteen Tray 
 ounces; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity.. Moisten the Poke-root 
 with Diluted Alcohol for three days; then transfer it to a percolator, 
 together with a sufficient quantity of sand or other finely powdered 
 inert and insoluble substance, and gradually add Diluted Alcohol until 
 twelve fluidounces have been obtained, which set aside. Continue the 
 percolation until the Poke-root is exhausted, evaporate the latter perco- 
 late to four fluidounces, mix it with the reserved tincture, and make one 
 pint of Fluid Extract. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The same as those of Poke-root. The preceding 
 process is from one of our reliable firms, Merrell & Thorpe, and gives a 
 tincture or extract, ounce for ounce of the root. Dose, from five to ten 
 drops, three or four times a day. 
 
 ibcTRACTtiM PoLYGONi Fluidum. Fluid Extract of Water-pepper. 
 (Fliissiges Knoterig Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the recently dried leaves of "Water-pepper, in 
 
1000 Pharmaot. 
 
 coarse ^powder, sixteen Troy ounces; Alcohol, Diluted Alcohol, each, a 
 sufficient quantity. Moisten the Leaves thoroughly with Alcohol, and 
 let them stand for twenty -four hours; then transfer them to a perco- 
 lator, and gradually add Alcohol, returning a little of the first that 
 comes through, till it passes clear. Eeserve, by itself, of the first ruu- 
 ning, twelve fluidounces ; then gradually add a sufficient quantity of Di- 
 luted Alcohol to the residuum in the percolator, until the liquid that 
 comes through has very little of the color or taste of the Water -pep- 
 per ; evaporate this latter solution to four fluidounces, and while warm 
 mix in the reserved Tincture, and makd one pint of Fluid Extract. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Eluid Extract of Water-pepper possesses the 
 properties of the herb in a concentrated fbrm, and may be given when- 
 ever that is indicated. It is especially useful in uterine diseases. The 
 dose is from ten to sixty minims, three or four times a day. 
 
 BxTRAOTUM Pkttni ViRGiNiANiE Fluidum. Fluid Extract of Wild 
 Cherry Bark. (Flussiges Wilde Kirschenrinde Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Wild Cherry Bark twenty-four Troy ounces 
 Sweet Almonds three Troy ounces; Pure Granulated Sugar thirty-six Troy 
 ounces; Alcohol 88 per cent, and Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Macer 
 ate the powdered Bark in two pints of Alcohol for eight hours, intro 
 duce it into a percolator and pour on Alcohol till five pints have passed, 
 observing to regulate the passage of the liquid by a cork or stop-cock 
 Introduce the tincture into a capsule (or distillatory apparatus, if the 
 Alcohol is to be regained), and evaporate it to a syrupy consistence 
 add half a pint of Water, and again evaporate till the Alcohol is en 
 itirely removed. Beat the Almonds, without blanching, into a smooth 
 paste with a little of the water, and then add sufficient to make the emul- 
 sion measure a pint and a half, and pour it in a quart bottle previously 
 containing the solution of the extract of the Bark, cork it securely, and 
 agitate occasionally for twenty-four hours, so as to give time for the de- 
 composition of the amygdaline. The mixture is then to be quickly ex- 
 pressed and filtered into a bottle containing the Sugar, marked to hold 
 three pints. Water should be added to the dregs, and they again ex- 
 pressed till sufficient filtered liquid is obtained to make the fluid extract 
 measure three pints. 
 
 History. — This extract is a dark, wine-red, transparent liquid, not 
 syrupy in consistence, and possessed of a bitter, hydrocyanic taste. None 
 of the oil of almonds is retained. If it be desired to make a preparation 
 free from astringency, strips of isinglass, previously softened in water, 
 may be added to the aqueous solution, which will remove the tannic acfd. 
 — Wm. Procter, Jr. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This may be used wherever Wild Cherry Bark 
 is indicated. One fluidrachm of it represents thirty grains of the bark, 
 two fluidounces of the infusion, or a tablespoonful of the syrup. Four 
 fluidounces of this fluid extract may be added to twelve fluidounces of 
 simple syrup to form a syrup of wild-cherry bark. 
 
 A still superior Fluid Extract of Wild Cherry, may be made by freely 
 moistening the finely powdered bark, sixteen ounces, and Sweet Almonds, 
 beaten to a paste with just enough Water, an ounce and a half, with a 
 mixture of equal parts of glycerin and water ; cover and let them macer- 
 ate for four days, pack uniformly in a percolator, and gradually add of 
 the mixture of equal parts of glycerin and water, until eleven fluidounces 
 halve been used altogether. Then gradually add Alcohol until enough 
 has passed to make the whole amount of fluid extract equal to one pint. 
 
EX'VKACTA Fl.UIDA. 1001 
 
 This gives a preparation having double the strength of that obtained 
 by the preceding process ; or ounce for ounce. 
 
 BxTRACTUM Ehei Pluidum. Fluid Extract of Bhubarh. (Fliissiges 
 Rhabarber Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of moderately coarse powder of Rhubarb Root 
 sixteen minces; Alcohol, sp. gr., .817, Glycerin, Water, each, a sufficient 
 quantity. Mix together equal j)art8 of the Alcohol, G-lycerin, and Water, 
 freely moisten the powdered Rhubarb with it, cover, and let them 
 macerate for four days ; pack uniformly in a percolator, and gradually 
 add of the above fluid mixture, until sixteen fluidounces have been used 
 altogether. Then add gradually Alcohol, until a pint of Fluid Extract 
 has been obtained. This Fluid Extract will be found fully equal to that 
 obtained by the process of U. S. Pharmacopoeia, is more permanent in 
 its character, and requires neither heat nor evaporation. It possesses a 
 decided taste and odor of the root. 
 
 Fi'operties and Uses. — This is an excellent and efficient preparation, 
 containing all the medicinal virtues of the rhubarb, and maybe admin- 
 istered in all cases where that drug is admissible. The dose for an adult 
 is from half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm, which are equivalent to simi- 
 lar quantities of the root. When it is desired to disguise the taste, in cases 
 where stimulants are not contra- indicated, six or eight fluidrachms may 
 be added to the above eight fluidounces, of a mixture composed of equal 
 parts of tincture of prickly-ash berries, tincture of ginger, and essence 
 of sassafras. 
 
 BxTKAOTUM Ehei et Potass^ Pluidum. Fluid Extract of Bhubarb 
 and Potassa. Fluid Neutralizing Extract. (Alkalisches Pliissiges Rha- 
 barber Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the root of the best India Rhubarb, and Bicar- 
 bonate of Potassa, each, thirty-two Troy ounces; Cinnamon, and Golden 
 Seal, e&ch, sixteen Troy ounces; Oil of Peppermint owe y?MJrfmc/im ; White 
 BvLg&v forty -eight Troy ounces; Alcohol, Diluted Alcohol, and Water, a suffi- 
 cient quantity. Having reduced the Rhubarb, Cinnamon, and Golden 
 Seal to a moderately fine powder, moisten them with Alcohol, and allow 
 them to stand for twenty-four hours ; then place them in a percolator 
 and add Alcohol until three pints of tincture have passed, which set 
 aside. Then add to the residuum in the percolator. Diluted Alcohol until 
 the articles are exhausted ; evaporate this to one pint, and add it to the 
 reserved tincture. Dissolve the Bicarbonate of Potassa and Sugar in 
 Water a sufficient quantity to make four pints, employing a moderate 
 heat, and add this to the reserved tincture, likewise, so -as to make one 
 gallon of fluid extract. Let it stand for forty-eight hours, filter, or 
 pour off the clear liquid from the sediment, and add the Oil of Pepper- 
 mint dissolved in a little. Alcohol. 
 
 This formula differs from that given in former editions by the sub- 
 stitution of Alcohol' for Brandy; and as it is difficult nowadays to 
 procure other than manufactured Brandy, even at very high prices, 
 the change will be found advantageous in this respect, besides giving 
 a fluid extract in no way inferior to any heretofore made. If, however. 
 Brandy bo desired instead of Alcohol, that liquor may be employed to 
 moisten the articles, and also to percolate through them until four pints 
 of tincture have been obtained ; to which add the Oil of Peppermint, 
 previously dissolved in a little Alcohol, and set this aside. Then ex- 
 haust the residuum in the percolator with Diluted Alcohol, add the Po- 
 tassa and Sugar to this filtrate, evaporate by a moderate heat to four 
 
1002 Pharmaot. 
 
 pints, and add it to the reserved Brandy tincture, so as tc make ceo 
 gallon of Fluid Extract. , 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is an elegant and superior preparation, 
 being an improvement upon the Neutralizing Cordial. It is used for the 
 same diseases as the compound powder of rhubarb, and is a more eligi- 
 ble form of administration. One fluidrachm of this fluid extract is 
 equivalent to one drachm of the powder. 
 
 BxTRACTTJM Ehus Fluidum. Fluid Uxtract of Sumach. (Plussiges 
 Sumach Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the recently dried bark of Ehus Glabrum, in 
 coarse powder, sixteen Troy ounces ; Alcohol, Diluted Alcohol, each, a suf- 
 ficient quantity. Add sufficient Alcohol to the bark to thoroughly moisten 
 it, and let it macerate for twenty-four hours ; then transfer the mixture 
 to a percolator, and gradually add Alcohol, returning a little of the 
 first that passes, till it runs clear. Eeserve, by itself, of the first run- 
 ning, twelve fluidounces. Then pour Diluted Alcohol on the residuum 
 in the percolator, until the liquid that comes through has very little 
 of the taste of the Sumach ; evap'otate this latter solution to four fluid- 
 ounces, and while warm mix in the reserved Tincture and Extract, 
 and make one pint of Fluid Extract. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The Fluid Extract of Sumach is tonic, astrin- 
 gent, and antiseptic. It will be found beneficial in scrofula, gonor- 
 rhea, diarrhea, dysentery, and in mercurial sore mouth and salivation. 
 The dose is from half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm three times a day. 
 
 BxETACTTJM Sarsapakill^ Fltjidum Composittjm. Gompound Fluid 
 Extract of Sarsaparilla. (Zusammengesetztes Flussiges Sarsaparille 
 Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Sarsaparilla-root, cut in pieces and bruised, 
 sixteen Troy ounces ; Liquorice-root, bruised, two Troy ounces; Mezereon, 
 in small pieces, Yellow Dock Eoot, sliced and bruised, of each, one Troy 
 ounce; Alcohol, Diluted Alcohol, each, a sufficient quantity ; White Sugar, 
 twelve Troy ounces. Moisten all the articles, with the exception of the 
 Sugar, with Alcohol, for twelve hours, then add Diluted Alcohol until 
 four pints of tincture have passed ; evaporate this to twelve fluidounces, 
 add the Sugar, and, if necessary, evaporate by gentle heat to one pint 
 of Fluid Extract ; flavor with five minims of Oil of Wintergreen, 
 and ten minims of Oil of Sassafras, previously dissolved in a small 
 quantity of AlcoLol. 
 
 Properties and CTses.— This fluid extract is alterative, and may be 
 used in scrofula and secondary syphilis. The dose is a fluidrachm, which 
 is equivalent to a drachm of the root, three or four times a day. 
 
 ExTRACTtiM ScDTELLARi^E Pluidum. Fluid Extract of Scullcap. (Fliis- 
 siges Sohildkraut Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the recently dried Leaves of Scullcap, in coarse 
 powder, sixteen Troy ounces; Alcbhol, Diluted Alcohol, each, a sufficient 
 quantity. Add a sufficient quantity of the Alcohol to the Scullcap to 
 thoroughly moisten it, and allow the mixture to macerate for twenty- 
 tour hours ; then transfer it to a percolator, and gradually add Alcohol, 
 returning a little of the first that comes through, till it runs clear. 
 Eeserve, by itself, of the first running, twelve fluidounces. Then pour 
 gradually on the residuum in the percolator a sufficient quantity of 
 Diluted Alcohol, until the liquid that passes is but slightly impregnated 
 with the properties of the Scullcap ; evaporate this latter solution to 
 four fluidounces, and while warm mix in the reserved Tincture, and 
 make one pint of Fluid Extract. 
 
EXTBACTA FlUIDA. 1003 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Pluid Extract of Scullcap is tonic, nervine, and 
 antispasmodic, and is a very convenient and eligible form of adminis 
 tering the active principles of the plant. It 'may be used in all casce 
 where the herb is indicated. The dose is from half a fluidrachm to a 
 fluidrachm, three or four times a day. — J. K. 
 
 Bxtracttjm Senecii Fluidum. Fluid Extract of Life-root. (Fliissiges 
 Kreutzkraut Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the recently dried Herb Seneeio Aureus, in 
 coarse powder, sixteen Troy ounces; Alcohol, Diluted Alcohol, each, a 
 sufficient quantity. Add a sufficient quantity of the Alcohol to the Herb 
 to thoroughly moisten it, and all6w the mixture to macerate for twen- 
 ty-four hours ; then transfer it to a percolator, and gradually add Al- 
 cohol, returning a little of the first that passes, till it runs clear. Ee- 
 serve, by itself, of the first running, twelve fluidounces. Then pour 
 gradually on the residuum in the percolator a sufficient quantity of 
 Diluted Alcohol, until the liquid that passes is but slightlj' impreg- 
 nated with the properties of the Life-root Herb ; evaporate this latter 
 solution to four fluidounces, and while warm mix in the reserved 
 Tincture, and make one pint of Fluid Extract. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This fluid extract possesses the medicinal vir- 
 tues of the Life-root, and forms a useful agent in amenorrhea, either 
 alone, or in combination with the fluid extracts of black cohosh, water- 
 pepper, etc. It may, likewise, be used advantageously in the other 
 diseases in which the root is found efficient. The dose is from half a 
 fluidrachm to a fluidrachm, three or four times a day. — J. K. 
 
 ExTRACTUM SENEG.«i Fluidum. Fluid Extract of Seneka.. 
 
 Preparation. — Take- of Seneka, in moderately fine powder, sixteen 
 ounces ; Alcohol, "Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Mix three pints of Al- 
 cohol with a pint of Water. Moisten the powder uniformly with six 
 fluidounces of the mixture, and let it macerate for twenty -four hours ; 
 pack it firmy in a conical percolator, cover the surface with a disc of • 
 cloth, and gradually add more of the same menstruum until three pints 
 have slowly passed, being careful to reserve the first twelve fluidounces. 
 Evaporate the remainder in a water-bath at 150° F. (or in vacuo), until 
 reduced to four fluidounces. Mix it with the reserved tincture, and 
 after standing, with occasional agitation^ for twenty-four hours, filter, 
 dropping sufficient of the menstruum on the filter to make the measure 
 of a pint.— TFw. Procter, Jr. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Fluid Extract of Seneka possesses all the prop- 
 erties of the root, and may be given drachm for drachm, in all cases, 
 in which the root is indicated. It may also be added to syrup, honey, 
 . and other articles, to form seneka syrup, expectorants, etc. 
 
 ExTBACTUM Senn.*! Fluidum. Fluid Extract of Senna. (Fliissiges 
 Sennes Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Senna, in rather fine powder, sixteen ounces ; 
 Sugar eight ounces; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the 
 Senna with four fluidounces of Diluted Alcohol, allow it to stand for 
 twenty-four hours, pack it in a conical percolator, cover it with a disc 
 of cloth, and pour on Diluted Alcohol until three pints have slowly 
 passed. Eeserve the first pint, and in a warm place let it evaporate to 
 half a pint. To the remaining two pints of tincture add the Sugar, 
 and in a water-bath concentrate the solution to halt a pint, and mix it 
 with the reserved concentrated tincture, and strain if necessary. 
 
 In this pi'ocess, the aromatics and Hoffman's anodyne, of former 
 processes, are omitted. When it is desirable to aromatize this fluid 
 
1004 Pharmacy. 
 
 extract, add sixteen minims of oil of cloves dissolved in half a fluid- 
 junce of tincture of ginger to the quantity of the formula. If the 
 senna is passed through a sieve fifty or sixty meshes to the inch, and a 
 funnel-shaped percolator be used, the first pint of tincture will con- 
 tain most of the valuable portion of the senna, and by the precautions 
 suggested in its evaporation it is not injured in the process. As the 
 aromatics are omitted, the fluid extract can be employed to make other 
 fluid extracts, tinctures, or syrups, into which Senna enters. — W. Proc- 
 ter, Jr., Proc. Am. Pharm. Assoc, 1859, p. 275. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a neat preparation of Senna. The 
 dose for an adult is half a fluidounce. 
 
 BxTRACTTJM Senn^ et JalaPjSE Fluidum. Fluid Extract of Senna and 
 Jalap. Fluid Extract of Antibilious Physic. (Fliissiges Sennes und 
 lalappe Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation — Take of Senna, in coarse poWder, sixteen Troy ounces; 
 Jalap Eoot, in coarse powder, eight Troy ounces; Alcohol, a sufficient 
 quantity; Carbonate of Potassa six drachms ; White Sng&r eight Troy 
 ounces ; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity ; Oil of Cloves forty minims ; 
 Oil of Anise twenty minims. Mix the Senna and Jalap together, and 
 add a sufficient quantity of Alcohol to thoroughly moisten them, and 
 let the mixture stand for twenty-four liours ; then transfer it to a per- 
 colator, and gradually add Alcohol, returning a little of the first that 
 passes, till it runs clear. Eeserve by itself, of the first running, sixteen 
 fluidounces. Then add a sufficient quantity of Diluted Alcohol to the 
 residuum in the percolator, until the liquid passes bu!t very little im- 
 pregnated with the properties of the medicine : evaporate this latter 
 solution to four fluidounces, then add the Sugar, the Carbonate of Po- 
 tassa, the Oils of Cloves and Anise, previously dissolved, in a little Al- 
 cohol, also the reserved Tincture, and make one pint and a half of 
 Fluid Extract. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a concentrated form of the Compound 
 Powder of Jalap, and may be given with safety in all cases where a 
 purgative is required. Should any resinous matter be deposited, it 
 must be dissolved in Alcohol and combined with the extract ; the addi- 
 tion of the Carbonate of Potassa is to enable the resinous matter de- 
 posited during evaporation, to be dissolved, also to aid in counteracting 
 the griping property of the medicine. The dose for an adult is one flui- 
 drachm, which is about equivalent to one drachm of the powder. — J. K. 
 
 BxTRACTUM Sennjb ET Ehei Pluidijm. Fluid Extract of Senna and 
 Rhubarb. (Fliissiges Sennes und Ehabarber Exitrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Senna, in coarse powder, twelve Troy ounces; 
 Ehubarb, in coarse powder, /oi<r Troy ounces ; Bicarbonate of Potassa, 
 half a Troy ounce; Sugar eight Troy ounces ; Tincture of Ginger a fluid- 
 ounce; Oil of Cloves eight minims; Oil of Anise sixteen minims; Alcohol, 
 Water, of each, a sufficient quantity. Mix the Senna and Ehubarb to- 
 gether, pour upon them two pints of Diluted Alcohol, and allow them 
 to macerate for twenty-four hours ; then introduce the mixture into a 
 percolator furnished below with a stop-cock or cork to regulate the flow. 
 A mixture of one part of Alcohol and three .of Water should now be 
 gradually added, so as to keep a constant but slow displacement of the 
 absorbed menstruum, until one gallon of tincture has passed. Evapo- 
 rate this in a water-bath to eleven fluidounces, dissolve in it the Sugar 
 and Bicarbonate of Potassa, and after straining, add the Tincture of 
 Ginger holding the Oils in solution, and mix. When finished. the whole 
 should measure a pint. 
 
EXTRACTA FlUIDA. 1005 
 
 History. — If the percolation has been properly conducted, the ingre- 
 dients will have been sufficiently exhausted when six pints of fluid have 
 passed. As by far the larger portion of the soluble matter passes in 
 the first two pints, it is well to set these aside and evaporate them sepa- 
 rately to six fluidounces, subsequently adding it to the other liquid when 
 it has been reduced to five fluidounces. As the cathartic principles of 
 senna and rhubarb are very susceptible to injury from heat, especially 
 in contact with the air, the propriety of using the best available means 
 for conducting the evaporation need not be urged. When the evapora- 
 tion is conducted in open vessels, some advantage is gained by adding 
 the sugar to the tincture and continuing the process until it measures 
 fifteen fluidounces. The sugar protects the extractive matter from oxi- 
 dation, and more completely suspends or dissolves the resinous part of 
 the Rhubarb contained in the tincture. The bicarbonate of potassa 
 should not be added to the extract while it is above 140° P., and should 
 be reduced to powder previously. 
 
 This Fluid Extract may also be more readily prepared, by mixing 
 together Fluid Extract of Rhubarb four fluidounces, Fluid Extract of 
 Senna twelve fluidounces, dissolving the Bicarbonate of Potassa in the 
 mixture, and then adding the oils previously dissolved in the tincture 
 of ginger. 
 
 Properties arid Uses. — Senna has little, if any, tonic influence dn the 
 alimentary surfaces ; an overdose has a depleting effect, often incon- 
 venient, and its exhibition is frequently attended with griping. Rhu- 
 barb, on the other hand, possesses both a purgative and astringent prop- 
 erty, the latter coming into play after the former has manifested itself, 
 and thus repairing, as it were, its effects. The astringent or tonic ac- 
 tion of rhubarb is so strongly marked, that, in most eases, when a simple 
 cathartic is needed, it becomes necessary to combine this drug with some 
 other cathartic to overcome or modify this peculiarity. By the union 
 of senna and rhubarb in the concentrated form presented by a fluid 
 extract, and in due proportion, a resulting cathartic is obtained which 
 is safe, unattended by unpleasant symptoms, and not followed by con- 
 stipation when the dose has been properly gi:;aduated. The association 
 of alkalies and alkaline salts with rhubarb and senna, has a tendency 
 to prevent their griping, and in case of senna, to increase its activity. 
 The dose of this fluid extract, for an adult, is from half a fluidrachm to 
 a fluidrachm. — Wm. Procter, Jr. 
 
 ExTRACTiTM Serpentaei^ Flttidum. Fluid Boctract of Virginia Snake- 
 root. (Fliissiges Virginische Schlangenwurzel Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Virginia Snakeroot, in moderately fine powder, 
 sixteen. Troy ounces ; Diluted Alcohol, a sufficient quantity. Moisten the 
 Serpentaria with four fluidounces of Diluted Alcohol, cover with a disc 
 of eloth, and allow it to stand for twenty -four hours ; then transfer it 
 to a percolator and gradually add Diluted Alcohol until twelve fluid- 
 ounces have passed, which reserve. To the root in the percolator, add 
 gradually a sufficient quantity of Diluted Alcohol, until it is exhausted. 
 Evaporate this last solution in a water-bath, to four fluidounces, to which 
 add the twelve fluidounces of the reserved alcoholic tincture, and make 
 one pint of Fluid Extract. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This fluid extract forms a useful tonic, which 
 may be used in cases where the root is admissible. Each ounce of it 
 represents an ounce of the root. The dose is from fifteen to forty -five 
 minims, three or four times a day. — JS. S. Wayne. — W. Procter, Jr. 
 
1006 Pharmacy. 
 
 BxTRACTUM Spigeli^ F'Luidum. Fluid Extract of Pink-root, 01 
 Spigelia. (Flussigep Spiegelien Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Pink-root, in fine powdfer, sixteen Troy ounces , 
 White Sugar, six Troy ounces; Alcohol, Diluted Alcohol, each, a suffi- 
 cient quantity. Moiisten the Pink-root with Alcohol for twenty-four 
 hours ; then transfer it to a percolator, and gradually add Diluted Al- 
 cohol until twelve fluidounces have been obtained, which set aside. 
 Continue the percolation until the Pink-root is exhausted, add to this 
 filtrate the Sugar, evaporate to four fluidounces, mix it with the reserved 
 tincture, and make one pint of Fluid Extract. — E. S. Wayne. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a very elegant fluid extract which 
 may> be employed in all cases where Pink-root is indicated. The dose 
 for an adult is from two to four fluidrachms ; for a child one or two 
 years of age, from ten to thirty minims. This fluid Extract may also 
 be made in the same manner as named for fluid extract of senna, sub- 
 stituting Pink-root for the Senna leaves: which is the process of.Prof 
 Procter, Jr., adopted by the U. S. Pharm. 
 
 BxTRACTTJM Spigelijb et Senn.^ Fluidtjm. Fluid Extract of Spiffe'- 
 lia and Senna. (Flussiges Spigelien und Sennes Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of coarsely-powdered Pink-root sixteen ounces 
 (Avoir.); Senna, in coarse powder, eight ounces; Whiter Sugar twenty- 
 four ounces ; Carbonate of Potassa one ounce ; Oil of Caraway, Oil of 
 Anise, each, half a drachm; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Mix 
 the Pink-root and Senna with two pints of Diluted Alcohol, and macer- 
 ate for forty-eight hours. Then introduce them into a displacement 
 apparatus, and gradually add more Diluted Alcohol until flve pints 
 have passed. Evaporate this in a water-bath to twenty fluidounces, 
 and add the Carbonate of Potassa, which prevents any resinous sub- 
 stance from being precipitated, and also modifies the griping action of 
 the Senna. Triturate the Oils with a portion of the Sugar, then with 
 the whole of it, add this to the evaporated liquid, and dissolve the 
 Sugar by a gentle heat. The whole should measure two pints. — W. 
 Procter, Jr. 
 
 This Fluid Extract may also be prepared by mixing together Fluid 
 Extract of Vink-root five fluidounces. Fluid Extract of Senna three fluid- 
 ounces, dissolving in them Carbonate of Potassa two drachms, and oils 
 of Caraway, and Anise, each, ten minims. — W. Procter, Jr., Proc. Am. 
 Pharm. Assoc, 1859, p. 276. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This fluid extract is quite a pleasant medicine, 
 possessing both cathartic and anthelmintic properties. An adult may 
 take half a fluidounce or an ordinary tablespoonful for a dose ; and a 
 child two to four years old, a fluidrachm or a teaspoonful. 
 
 ExTRACTUM Spigeli^ Compositum Fluidum. Compound Fluid Ex- 
 tract of Spigelia. Fluid Extract of Entozoic Powder. (Zusammeuge- 
 setztes Fliissiges Spigelien Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Pink-root, Swamp Milkweed, Mandrake, Bit- 
 ter-root, each, in fine powder, two and. three quarter Troy ounces; Bal- 
 mony, in moderately fine powder, flve Troy ounces; Alcohol, Diluted 
 Alcohol, each, a sufficient quantity. Add a sufficient quantity of the 
 Alcohol to the articles to thoroughly moisten them, and allow the 
 mixture to macerate for twenty-four hours ; then transfer it to a per- 
 colator, and gradually add alcohol until twelve fluidounces have passed, 
 which set aside. Then gradually add Diluted Alcohol to the residuum 
 in the percolator, until it is exhausted ; evaporate this in a water-bath. 
 
EXTIIAC'TA Fluida. lOOT 
 
 to four fluidonnces, and while warm mix in the reserved Tincture, and 
 make one pint of Fluid Extract. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This fluid extract may be used instead of tht 
 Compound Powder of Spigelia, in doses of from five to eight drops for 
 a child a year old, or from ten to twenty drops for an adult, repeating 
 the dose every hour until it acts freely upon the bowels, after which ad- 
 minister the dose three times a day, for several days in succession. A 
 very pleasant preparation for worms maybe made by adding one part 
 of this fluid extract to twelve parts of Simple Syrup, of which the dose 
 for a child a year old is a teaspoonful, and for an adult a tablespoonfuJ, 
 to be repeated in the same manner as named in the preceding doses. 
 This will answer especially for those children who can not take the 
 Entozoic Powder. — J. K. 
 
 ExTEAOTUM Stillingi^ Pluidum. Fluid Extract of Queen's Boot. 
 Bronchial Elixir. (Pltissiges Stillingien BxtraktJ 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the recently gathered Eoot of Stillingia, cut 
 into small pieces, siocteen Troy ounces; White Sugar eight Troy ounces; 
 Oil of Caraway a fluidrachm; Alcohol, Diluted Alcoho], each, a suffi- 
 cient quantity. Cover the root with Alcohol, and let the mixture stand 
 for twenty -four hours ; then transfer it to a percolator, so packed as to 
 admit of a slow running, and add gradually Alcohol, returning a little 
 of the first that passes, till it runs clear. Reserve, by itself, of the first 
 running, twelve fluidounces. Then pour Diluted Alcohol on the residu- 
 um in the percolator, until the liquid that comes through is but slightly 
 impregnated with the properties of the Stillingia; then add the Sugar, 
 and evapoi'ate by a moderate heat to four fluidounces, then mix in the 
 reserved tincture and the Oil of Caraway, and make one pint of Fluid 
 Extract. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This fluid extract possesses all the active prop- 
 erties of the Queen's Eoot, in a concentrated form, one fluidrachm 
 being equal to one drachm of the root. On account of its great ac- 
 tivity it is never used in scrofula, syphilis, etc., in which the more 
 agreeable and suflSciently active and efficacious compound syrup of 
 stillingia is preferred. It has been, however, found very efficient in 
 bronchitis, laryngitis, and various pulmonary affections. The dose is 
 from two to five or ten drops, to be placed upon the tongue, and allowed 
 to pass very slowly into the stomach. 
 
 ExTRACTUM Taraxaci Fluidum. Fluid. Extract of Dandelion. (Pliis- 
 siges Lowenzahn Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the recently dried Eoot of Dandelion, in rather 
 fine powder, sixteen ounces ; moisten it with four fluidounces of a mix- 
 ture composed of Alcohol two parts, Glycerin, Water, each, one part, 
 and then pack it uniformly in a funnel-shaped percolator, the lower 
 orifice of which is closed by a cork. Pour upon the powder one pint of 
 the same fluid as above named, cover and allow it to stand four days. 
 Eemove the cork, and let one pint percolate, or, if necessary, add grad- 
 ually enough of the fluid to obtain the pint of Fluid Extract. This 
 forms a preparation equal to any, at least, and of a more permanent 
 character, requiring no heat whatever in making it, which is a great 
 desideratum in the preparation of fluid extracts, etc. 
 
 Properties and Uses'. — Fluid Extract of Dandelion may be adminis- 
 tered in all cases when the influence of tjiis drug upon the system is 
 •lesired. The dose is one or two fluidrachms three times a day. Some 
 practitioners speak very highly of the therapeutical influence of dan- 
 delion; others, myself among the ti timber, do not; probably, in the 
 
1008 Pharmacy. 
 
 latter instances, the cause may exist in using preparations rendered 
 inert by the heat employed in their manufacture. 
 
 ExTRACTUM Uv.a: TJrsi Pluidtim. Fluid Extract of Uva Ursi. (Pliis- 
 siges Barentrauben Bxtrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Uva Ursi. in rather fine powder, sixteen 
 ounces; moisten it with six fluidounces of a- mixture composed of Al- 
 cohol two parts, Glycerin, Water, each, one part, and then pack it uni- 
 formly in a funnel shaped percolator, the lower orifice of which, is 
 closed by a cork. Pour upon the powder one pint of the same fluid as 
 above named, cover, and allow it to stand four days. Eemove the cork, 
 and let one pint percolate, or, if necessary, add gradually enough of 
 the fluid to obtain the pint of Fluid Extract. This forms an elegant, 
 permanent, and useful fluid, not very disagreeable to the taste, and less 
 likely to disagree with the digestive apparatus than those fluid extracts 
 containing cane-sugar. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This may be used wherever Uva Ursi is indi- 
 cated, in doses of a fluidrachm. It has been found very useful in irri- 
 table conditions of the bladder, associated with three to five fluidounces 
 of the fluid extract of lupulin. 
 
 ExTRACTUMVALEEiAN.ai Pluiuum. Fluid Extract of Valerian. (Fliis- 
 siges Baldrian Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of coarsely powdered Valerian Eoot sixteen Troy 
 ounces ; Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Introduce the Valerian, uniformly 
 and without pressure, into a displacement appairatus. Moisten with 
 Alcohol for twenty-four hours, and then pour on Alcohol until twelve 
 fluidounces of Tincture have been obtained, which set aside. Then 
 pour on Alcohol until the i^oot is exhausted, evaporate, by a moderate 
 heat, 112° to 115°, to four fluidounces, to which add the reserved, twelve 
 fluidounces of Tincture, and make one pint of Fluid Extract. — E. S. 
 Wayne. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This holds the virtues of Valerian in a concen- 
 trated state, and may be used when desired to obtain the influence of 
 that agent. It may also be combined with various other fluid extracts, 
 as of cimicifuga, cypripedium, senecio, etc. The dose is one or two 
 fluidrachms, three times a day, or oftener if required. This Fluid Ex- 
 tract may also be prepared by using a mixture of Alcohol three parts, 
 Glycerin one part, preceding in a way similar to that named for Fluid 
 Extract of Uva Ursi. 
 
 ExTEACTUM Vanilla Fluidum. Fluid Extract of Vanilla. (Flus- 
 siges Vanille Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of choice Vanilla one Troy ounce ; Sugar fourteen 
 Troy ounces; Deodorized Alcohol, four fluidounces; Diluted Alcohol, 
 Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Cut the Vanilla in short transverse 
 slices, beat it to a pulp with two ounces of the Sugar and a little Al- 
 cohol, put the mixture in a small percolator, and pour gradually on 
 first the Alcohol, and afterward Diluted Alcohol, till twelve fluidounces 
 of tincture are obtained. Add two ounces of Sugar to this tincture, 
 evaporate it at 120° F., till reduced to six fluidounces ; then add the 
 remainder of the Sugar and five ounces of Water, or as much as is suf- 
 ficient to make a pint of Fluid Extract. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This extract embodies all the aroma of the 
 beans, and is well adapted for both pharmaceutical and culinary uses. 
 Two fluidounces added to two pints of simple syrup, form an excellent 
 Syrup of Vanilla, or if a perfectly transparent syrup be desired, two ounces 
 of the fluid extract may be triturated with two drachms of Carbonate 
 
Ferrum. 1009 
 
 of Magnesia, to which half a pint of Water may be added gradually; 
 then filter, mix the liquid with another^ half-pint of water, add two and 
 a half pounds (Troy) of Sugar, dissolve with gentle heat, and strain. — 
 Wm. Procter, Jr. . 
 
 ExTRACTUM Xanthoxyli Flttidum. Fluid Extract of Prickly Ash. 
 (Flussiges Stachel-Bschen Extrakt.) 
 
 Preparation.^-T&ke of Prickly- Ash Bark, in moderately fine powder, 
 siocteen Troy ounces; Alcohol, a sufficient quantity . Moisten the bark thor- 
 oughly withAlcohol, and let it stand twenty-four hours ; then transfer 
 the mixture to a percolator, and gradually add Alcohol, returning a little 
 of the first that passes, till it runs clear. Eeserve, by itself, of the first 
 running twelve fluidounces; then add a sufficient quantity of Alcohol to 
 the residuum in the percolator, until the liquid thai! comes through has 
 a very little of the taste of the medicine ; evaporate this latter solution 
 to four fluidounces, and while warm, mix in the reserved Tincture, and 
 make one pint of Fluid Extract. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Fluid Extract of Prickly-Ash Bark is a stim- 
 ulant, tonic, alterative, and sialogogue, and may be used in all cases 
 where the bark is indicated, or desired. The dose is from ten to thirty 
 minims, three times a day. — J. K. 
 
 FEEETJM. (Eisen.) 
 Preparations of Iron. 
 
 Ferri AoETAS. Acetate of Iron. (Essigsaures Eisenoxyd.) 
 
 Preparation.— Take of Carbonate of Iron one ounce; Acetic Acid, six 
 ounces; digest for three days and filter. 
 
 History. — ThiS' solution has a deep red color, and an acid and stroagly 
 chalybeate taste. It is incompatible wi'bh alkalies and their carbonates, 
 the strong acids, and vegetable astringent infiisions. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tonic and astringentj and possesses the general 
 medical properties of the preparations of iron. A diluted solution of 
 it, with a few drops of creasote, will be feund a valuable injection' in 
 leucorrhea. Dose, five to twenty drops, in water. {See Tinctura Ferri 
 Acetatis.) 
 
 Ferri Oarbonas Saccharata. Saccharated Carbonate of Iron. (Koh- 
 lensaures Bisen mit Zucker.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Sulphate of Iron four ounces; Carbonate of 
 Soda four ounces and a quarter ; Sugar two ounces ; Boiling, Distilled 
 Waiter four pints, Imperial measure. Dissolve separately the Sulphate of 
 Iron and Carbonate of Soda, each, in two pints of the "Water, ffii-x the 
 solutions while still hot, and set the mixture asidte, that the Carbonate 
 of Iron may subside. Then, having poured off the supernatant liquor, 
 wash frequently the precipitated Carbonate. To this add the Sugar, 
 dissolved in two fluidounces of Water, and evaporate the mixture by 
 means of a water-bath until the powder is dry. Keep this in a well- 
 stopped bottle. — Lond. 
 
 In the British Pharmacopceia, this formula has been somewhat 
 changed, thus : Sulphate of Iron two aiioird. ounces, and Carbonate of 
 Soda two and a half avoird. ounces, are, each, separately dissolved in 
 half a gallon. Imperial measure, of Boiling Distilled Water. The two 
 solutions are mixed in a deep cylindrical vessel, with' brisk stirring, 
 and the vessel is then closely and accurately covered. After standing 
 for twenty -four hours, the clear fluid is removed by a syphon, and ope 
 ^llon, Imperial measure, of Boiling Distilled Water is added to the 
 64 
 
1010 Pharmacy. 
 
 precipitate, stirred well, allowed to rest again for twenty -four hours, 
 and the clear liquor again removed. Collect the resulting Carbonate 
 on a calico filter, express ij, rub it with Eefined Sugar one avoird. ounce, 
 in a porcelain mortar, and dry the mixture at a temperature not ex- 
 ceeding 212° r. The process above given from the London Pharma- 
 copoeia, recommends the addition of the sugar as soon as the precipi- 
 tated Carbonate is washed, and which is preferable to the process of 
 Br. Pharm., as the salt is thereby better protected from atmospheric 
 influence ; the temperature in drying is also too elevated, it should not 
 be above 135° or 140°. 
 
 -Hisiorj/.^Protosulphate of iron and carbonate of soda, in solution, 
 exchange acids, the carbonate of iron being precipitated of a greenish- 
 white color, the sulphate of soda remaining in solution. This precipi- 
 tate rapidly absorbs oxygen from the air, becoming brown, and part- 
 ing with its carbonic acid forms a hydrated oxide of iron. But when 
 sugar is added to the moist carbonate of iron, it immediately abstracts 
 its water, and at the same time the mass acquires a deep green color, 
 becomes deliquescent, and the carbonate of iron having a protecting 
 covering of sugar undergoes no further change during the evaporation 
 to dryness. The real use of the sugar is to prevent the oxidizing action 
 of the air on the protoxide of iron, and by this means the carbonic acid 
 is retained in combination with the latter. The sugar may possibly in 
 this case exert an opposing action to the formation of peroxide, as it 
 possesses the property of reducing peroxide of copper to protoxide, 
 although it has not the power of converting any of the peroxide, al- 
 ready present, to protoxide. — Witt. 
 
 Saccharine Carbonate of Iron forms a permanent greenish or browur 
 ish-gray powder, odorless, with a sweet, and somewhat ferruginous 
 taste. Cold water dissolves the sugar and a small quantity of iron, 
 and if the solution be heated, it becomes yellow and turbid from the 
 separation of hydrated peroxide of iron, with evolution of carbonic 
 acid. With hydrochloric acid it strongly effervesces. 100 parts cor- 
 respond to about 45 parts dry carbonate of iron. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a useful chalybeate tonic, superior to 
 the protocarbonate of iron, but not equal to V allet's pills of carbonate 
 of iron, in which the raetal is more completely protected from oxida- 
 tion. (See Pilulce Ferri Oarbonatis.') The dose is from five to twenty 
 grains, in pill ; it renders the stools greenish-black. 
 
 Perri Chloridum. Ferri Perchloridum. Ferri Sesquichloratum. 
 Chloride of Iron. Ferchloride of Iron. (Bisenchlorid Salzsaures Bis- 
 enoxyd.) 
 
 Preparation. — In a roomy glass flask, place one part of Metallic Iron 
 (iron filings or turnings) add four parts of Hydrochloric Acid, sp. gr. 
 1.130 ; when the first violence of the action is over, the flask is digested 
 in the sand-bath as long as evolution of gas occurs, and the liquid then 
 filtered. Two parts more of Hydrochloric Acid, and one part of Nitric 
 Acid, sp. gr. 1.20, are added, and the whole heated in a flask until the 
 brownish-yellow vapors cease to be evolved ; a part of the solution is 
 then poured into a dish and avaporated, with constant stirritig, to a 
 syrup, or until a small portion dropped on a piece of porcelain solidifies 
 on cooling (this it will do when the solution is reduced to four times 
 the weight of the Iron dissolved in it) ; the dish is now put on a glass 
 plate, and covered with a bell-glass. To prevent its attracting moisture 
 from the air, the edge of the bell-glass is greased. The fluid commences 
 to' crystallize in a day or two, and when converted into a solid mass, 
 
Ferrum. 1011 
 
 the dish is warmed for a moment, the mass, which is readily separated, 
 must be broken up, put in a well-closed bottle, and kept in a dark 
 place. The salt is more rapidly dried by continuing to stir the fluid, 
 after removing from the fire, until entirely cold. One part of Iron 
 yields nearly four parts of crystallized Perchloride. The process of 
 U. S. Pharm. does not materially differ from the preceding one of 
 Wittstein's. 
 
 M. Beral gives the following formula for this preparation : Take of 
 Peroxide of Iron _/?ue parts. Hydrochloric Acid nineteen parts. Mix in a 
 platina capsule, and boil ten minutes, in order to dissolve the oxide. 
 Concentrate the solution to fifteen parts by a water-bath, let it cool and 
 filter. The solution ought to be of a red-brown color. On the addition 
 of water it becomes yellowish if the mixture is neutral, and almost 
 colorless if it is acid. It is not decomposed by the air. This is the 
 fluid commonly used in medicine. 
 
 History. — Metallic iron is rapidly acted on' and dissolved by hydrated 
 hydrochloric acid ; in order that the evolution of gas be not too rapid, 
 the iron is added to the acid gradually, or vice versa. The chlorine of 
 the acid combines with iron and forms protochloride, while the hydro- 
 gen of the acid is evolved. The gas thus set free possesses a disagree- 
 able smell, from the presence of light carburetted hydrogen^^CHj 
 which is formed at the expense of the carbon from which even the best 
 iron is not entirely free. The carbon is present in the iron partly in 
 combination, partly as a mixture; it is the former portion only which 
 forms carburetted hydrogen ; the carbonaceous matter mixed with it 
 precipitates as black flakes, and must be separated by filtration . Iron 
 also frequently contains traces of phosphorus and sulphur, in which 
 case phosphoretted and sulphuretted hydrogen are formed. 
 
 In order to convert the protochloride of iron into perchloride, half 
 as much more chlorine is necessary, consequently the addition of two 
 parts of hydrochloric acid to the four parts already contained. The 
 action of some other body is required to place this in a condition to 
 give up its chlorine, which is effected by the addition of nitric acid. 
 2100 parts of iron require 2730-)- 1365^4095 parts of anhydrous hydro- 
 chloric acid, or 10,500+5250=15,750 parts of sp. gr. 1.130; and 675 
 parts of anhydrous nitric acid, or 2500 parts of sp. gr. 1.20. Only four 
 parts of acid are ordered for one part of iron, the excess of the latter 
 remaining in the filter. That converted by the additional hydrochloric 
 and nitric acids into sesquichloride can only be evaporated over the 
 fire to the point at which it ctystallizes, and not, as is frequently done, 
 to dryness, otherwise it partially decomposes, forming a reddish-brown 
 mass, which on treating with water leaves a residue of oxide of iron. 
 Chloride of iron, containing six equivalents of water, loses, by evapo- 
 rating to dryness, about half its weight, the residue consisting of one 
 eq. of Perchloride of Iron, two eqs. of peroxide of iron, and one eq. of 
 water ; consequently six eqs. are decomposed, six eqs. of hydrochloric 
 acid and eleven eqs. of water being given off. The loss of weight also 
 agrees with the atomic weight, as three eqs. of crystallized Perchloride 
 of Iron:=8112; one eq. of anhydrous Perchloride of Iron-)-two eqs. 
 peroxide of iron -f one eq. water=4142 ; while six eqs. hydrochloric 
 acid and eleven eqs. water=:3966. Moreover, the residue contains a 
 trace of protochloride of iron* arising from the decomposition of a very 
 small quantity of perchloride into protochloride and free chlorine. 
 
 Perchloride of Iron is seldom obtained in well-defined crystals, but 
 usually in corrugated masses, or a crystalline powder of a brownish- 
 
10i2 Phaemact. 
 
 yellow color, which, under a powerful magnifier, appears as an aggre- 
 gation of yellow transparent, rhombic, tabular, crystals. It has a 
 slight smell of chlorine, powerful acid reaction, and a pungent, saline, 
 astringent, disagreeable taste. It is readily soluble in water, alco- 
 hol, and ether. In the air it rapidlj^ deliquesces, forming a brown- 
 ish-yellow liquid, on which account it is convenient to keep the prep- 
 aration dissolved in its weight of water ready for use. Exposed to the 
 light the salt becomes of lighter color, giving off a third of its chlorine 
 and becoming protochloride ; for these reasons the action of air and 
 light must be avoided. At a gentle heat, it fuses in its water of crys- 
 tallization, but by further action of the heat it is decomposed; on contin- 
 uing to heat the dry mass to redness, the remainder of the water is given 
 off, together with free chlorine and protochloride of iron, from decom- 
 position of a portion of the Perchloride of Iron- ; another portion of the 
 latter combined with oxide sublimes as a basic chloride; the residue, 
 consisting of an iron-gray mass, when finely rubbed up, forms a dark 
 crimson powder, consisting of pure oxide. Any contamination of this 
 preparation with protochloride is known by the blue precipitate the 
 latter forms with ferroeyanuret of potassium. The formula of Per- 
 chloride of Iron is Fcj, CI3-I-6 ^O.— Witt. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Perchloride of Iron is given in solution, and is 
 a powerful styptic. Internally, it has been successfidly administered in 
 epistaxis, hemoptysis, hematemesis, menorrhagia, uterine and other 
 hemorrhages of a passive character; the dose is from five to ten drops in 
 a sufficient quantity of water, and repeating it two, three, or even four 
 times a day. It has also been used in surgery, in the treatment of 
 aneurism and varicose veins ; a few drops of a concentrated solution of 
 the perchloride is injected into the arteries or veins, under the influence 
 of which all the blood within a distance of two or three lines is converted 
 in a few minutes into a solid clot. It has not yet been determined what 
 is the real mode of action of this salt on the blood. According to some, 
 it coagulates the whole of the blood and all its elements ; according to 
 others, it acts only on the fibrin, and others, again, contend that its ac- 
 tion is confined to the albumen. A solution of the salt, as named 
 above, is the best form of preparation, though it decomposes on stand- 
 ing. A process for preparing the solution has been given by M. du 
 Buisson, but the difficulty is that it contains too much free hydrochlo- 
 ric acid. It is as follows^ : Ptire hydrochloric acid is to be saturated 
 as far as possible with hydrated peroxide of iron ; the solution is evap- 
 orated over a gentle fire to about one half and then further evaporated 
 over a water -bath, taking care to remove the aqueous vapors, as these 
 cause the formation of hydrochloric acid and the deposition of oxy- 
 chloride of iron. When the liquid has thus acquired the consistence 
 of a thick syrup (in this state it crystallizes on being cooled, without, 
 however, assuming a solid mass), the evaporation is stopped and an 
 excess of gelatinous hydrated peroxide of iron mixed with a little 
 water is added ; they are stirred together for a quarter of an hour, and 
 then allowed to stand for several hours. Sufficient distilled water is 
 added to make the density equal to 30° Baume, and it is then left in 
 contact with excess of hydrated oxide for eight days, when it is filtered, 
 and again allowed to stand for fifteen days. The density of this for 
 varicose veins, as preferred by surgeons, *s 20° Baume, and for aneur- 
 isms 15° or 20°. This solution is but slightly acid when first prepared, 
 but becomes more aeid on being kept from deposition of oxychloride. 
 
 Perchloride of Iron arrests aj-terial or venous hemorrhage resulting 
 
Fekrum. lOlS 
 
 either from accident, or as a conseqilenee of surgical operations. Hem- 
 orrhage from the bowels may be checked by an enema conaposed of 
 from twenty to twenty-five drops of a concentrated solution of Per- 
 chloride of Iron to seven ounces of fluid. Hemorrhage from an abscess 
 may be checked by injecting a solution composed pf ten drops of the 
 concentrated solution to seven fluidounces of water. Twenty drops to 
 three and a half fluidounces of water has been successfully used as an 
 injection in chronic gonorrhea or leucorrhca, in weak and lymph.4itic 
 subjects. As a local or external hemostatic from three to flve parts of 
 Perchloride of Iron may be dissolved in one hundred parts of Distilled 
 Water ; lint may be thoroughly moistened witb this, and applied 
 upon the seat of hemorrhage, with more or less pressure. One part of 
 Perchloride of Iron to five hundred parts of Distilled Water, and the 
 solution sweetened and administered internally in .proper doses, checks 
 the most profuse hemorrhages in from twenty-four to thirty-six hours, 
 and is also UBeful in chronic diarrhea ; without the sweetening, it is 
 useful as an injection in uterine flooding, cholera, colliquative diarrhea, 
 etc. Mr. J. T. Lawrence says, "If the solid Perchloride of Iron be 
 kept in a bottle, a small portion of it after a time deliquesces into a 
 thick brown fluid, which is constantly kept in a state of supersatlira- 
 tion by the undeliquesced portions of the salt. This liquid, applied by 
 means of a spun-glass brush to a bleeding surface arrests the bleeding 
 almost instantaneously. This mode of application is particularly val- 
 uable in applying the styptic to such cases as excision of the tonsils, 
 bleeding from the deeper seated vessels of the gums, etc." 
 
 Jeannel proposes a new Perchloride of Iron for therapeutical pur- 
 poses, containing five equivalents of peroxide of iron Fcj CI3, 5 Pcj O3. 
 It is prepared with 100 parts of pure hydrochloric acid of sp. gr. 1.15, 
 and 522 parts of hydrate of sesquioxide of iron, of 75 for 100 of 
 water. Dissolve cold by trituration in a glass mortar, and filter. It 
 forms a limpid, deep garnet-red fluid, with an astringent, but not bitter 
 taste. It very strongly coagulates blood and albumen, and the coagu- 
 lum does not become redissolved as is the case when the officinal per- 
 chloride is used ; it is not painful when applied to wounds ; may be read- 
 ily dried on plates placed in a stove heated to 104° F., yielding blackish 
 brown, very soluble, lamina, which, when powdered, form an excellent 
 local application for modifying wounds affected with hospital gatigrene, 
 abscesses of a bad character, phagedenic chancres, etc. 
 
 Ferri CiTRAS. Citrate of Iron. (Citronensaures Bisen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of moist Hydrated Sesquioxide of Iron eight 
 ounces; crystallized Citric Acid /owr ounces; Distilled Water sixteen 
 fluidounces. Dissolve the Citric Acid in the Distilled Water, heat to 
 near the boiling point, and add the Hydrated Sesquioxide of Iron, add- 
 ing rather more than the acid will dissolve. When cold, filter, evap- 
 orate by a water-bath to a syrupy consistence, spread out on earthen - 
 ware dishes or glass plate, and dry with a gentle heat until it separates 
 in scales. 
 
 Duhamel recommends three parts of Citric Acid, in crystals, two 
 parts of dry Hydrated Oxide of Iron, and twelve parts of Distilled 
 Water at 180° F., proceeding as in the above formula. 
 
 The U- S. Pharm. states to evaporate solution of Citrate of Iron to a 
 syrup consistence, sj)read on glass plates, and allow it to dry. But the 
 first process above given is preferable, because the druggist does not 
 .always have the solution of ferric citrate on hand, and will therefore 
 have to perform two operations in order to obtain the iron citrate 
 
1014 Pharmacy. 
 
 by tho process of U. S. Pharm. ; in the above, but one Operation is re- 
 quired. A similar remark will also apply to the Ammoniacal Citl-ate 
 of Iron following. 
 
 M. Jeannel proposes a neutral Citrate of Iron, made by taking hy- 
 drate of iron, proceeding from 100 parts of crystallized proto-chioride 
 of iron, peroxidized by nitric acid, decomposed by ammonia and 
 washed, say 40 parts of real ferric oxide. Add, crystallized citric acid, 
 dissolved in a little warm water, 105 parts. The still moist oxide com- 
 bines, even in the cold, and 124 parts of citrate of iron is obtained, 
 upon drying it in the stove. The combination is effected with the 
 equivalent of each constituent. An excess of hydrate of iron gives an 
 insoluble subcitrate. 
 
 History. — This is a percitrate of the sesquioxide of iron, Fcj O3 Ci 
 2HO=;263 ? If a greater heat than that directed were to be used the 
 sesquioxide of iron would have its solubility lessened. Citrate of Iron 
 is in brownish -red scales, not readily dissolving in cold water, but 
 quickly in boiling, reddens litmus-paper, and has a not unpleasant fer- 
 ruginous taste. (For Properties and Uses, see below. Citrate of Iron and 
 Ammonia.) 
 
 Ferri Bt AMM0Ni.a! CiTRAS. Citrate of Iron and Ammonia. (Cit- 
 ronensaures Eisen und Ammoniak.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Citric Acid six Troy ounces; Water two pints; 
 recently precipitated Sesquioxide of Iron a sufficient quantity ; Water , 
 of .Ammonia sixfluidounces. Dissolve the Citric Acid in the Water, add 
 the Sesquioxide of Iron until the acid is saturated, and filter. To the 
 filtrate add the Water of Ammonia, and by a heat about 140° or 145°, 
 evaporate to a syrupy consistence. Spread this on glass plates, and 
 when dry, remove the scales, and keep in well-stopped bottles. 
 
 A preparation called Aramonio-Citrate of Iron, or Ferric Citrate of 
 Ammonia, Ferri Ammonia Citras, or Ammonice' Ferrico-Gitras (P.) is 
 made as follows: — Take of crystallized Citric Acid four ounces; clean 
 Iron Filings, or small Iron Nails two ounces ; Distilled Water, Solution 
 of Ammonia, each, a sufficient quantity. Dissolve the Citric. Acid in 
 twenty times its weight of water in a Wedgewood dish, add the Iron, 
 atid apply a gentle heat until effervescence ceases, and no more iron is 
 dissolved, renewing the water from time to time as it evaporates ; filter 
 the solutiou, and add solution of ammonia until it is slightly in excess ; 
 evaporate by the heat of a water-bath until it acquires a syrupy con- 
 sistence ; then spread it out in thin layers on earthenware dishes, and 
 dry it with a gentle heat. When dry it will separate from the dishes 
 in scales. — (Redwood, from P.) It is in thin, shiny, beautiful hyacinth- 
 red scales, of a sweetish and astringent taste, n^eutral, readily soluble 
 in water, and not made blue by ferrocyanide of potassium. Liquor po- 
 tassa added to a solution of citrate of iron and ammonia, precipitates 
 the sesquioxide of iron, with disengagement of ammonia. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These salts are pleasant ferruginous tonics, and 
 may be given to children in ordinary cases of debility, struma, etc. 
 The dose of either is from four to ten grains in pill, or in water flavored 
 with orange-peel, syrup, etc. The citrate is best given in the form of 
 pill. 
 
 Ferri et Quinije Citras. Citrate of Iron and Quinia. (Citronen- 
 saures Eisen und Chinin.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Citrate of Iron five ounces; recently precipi- 
 tated Quinia one ounce ; Citric Acid two drachms ; Distilled Water twelve 
 flvidounces. Mi.K these together in a glass or porcelain vessel,' and ap- 
 
Ferrtjm. 1016 
 
 ply heat but not suflScient to produce boiling ; stir constantly. Whei. 
 the articles are all dissolved, carefully concentrate to a honey consist- 
 ence, and dry it on glass in the same manner as the Ferro-Tartrate of 
 Morphia. — Wm. Procter, Jr. 
 
 History. — Citrate/of Iron and Quinia thus made is in glossy, dark red- 
 dish-brown scales, soluble in water. It may also be made in the fol- 
 lowing manner: Dissolve Citrate of Iron four parts, Citrate of Quinia 
 one part, in Distilled Water, and evaporate the solution to dryness, as 
 directed for Citrate of Iron. — Beral. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — A valuable tonic, useful in all cases where iron 
 and quinia are indicated, and especially in the anemia following malarial 
 fevers. Dose, five to ten grains, in solution, or pill, repeated three 
 times a day. 
 
 The following Citrates of Iron have been recently introduced into' i 
 practice, and I can not do better than introduce them at this place. 
 
 1. Ferri et Quinice Citras cum Strychnice. Ferri et Quinice Stfychnice 
 que Citras. Citrate of Quinia and Iron with Strychnia. (Citronensaures 
 Chinin und Strychnin.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Citrate of Iron and Quinia /our hundred and 
 ninety grains ; Crystals of Strychnia, Citric Acid, each five grains ; Water 
 five fluidounces. Dissolve the Citrate of Iron and Quinia in four and a 
 half fluidounces of the Water, and, having dissolved the Strychnia and 
 Citric Acid in the remaining half fluidounce of Water by boiling, mix 
 the solutions, evaporate to a syrupy consistence, and spread on glass 
 plates to dry in scales. 
 
 History. — One grain of Strychnia, twenty -grains of Quinia, and 
 seventy -nine grains of Citrate of Iron, are contained in each one hun- 
 dred grains of this preparation. The scales exactly resemble those of 
 Citrate of Iron and Quinia, but have a more persistently bitter taste. 
 The presence of Strychnia may be detected in the residue from the 
 evaporation of the chloroformic solution of the alkaloids by the usual 
 color tests. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This may be used in all cases of nervous debility 
 anemia, chlorosis, dyspepsia, torpor of liver, constipation, etc., in which 
 the use of Iron, Quinia, and Strychnia is indicated; it, together with 
 the one next to be described is the safest, if not the best, means of ex- 
 hibiting Strychnia. Five grains of the preparation contain one-twen- 
 tieth of a grain of Strychnia. The dose is from two to five grains, two 
 or three times a day. 
 
 2. Ferri et Strychnice Citras. Citrate of Iron and Strychnia. (Ci- 
 tronensaures Eisen und Strychnin.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Citrate of Iron four hundred and ninety grains; 
 Crystals of Strychnia, Citric Acid, each, five grains; Water five fluid- 
 ounces. Proceed in the same manner as in the preceding preparation. 
 
 History. — This is a combination of Citrate of Iron with Citrate of 
 Strychnia, One hundred grains of which contain one grain of Strychnia. 
 It strongly resemble* the simple Citrate of Iron, haa an acid and ferru- 
 ginous, and persistently bitter taste, and is deliquescent. By drying 
 and powdering this salt, treating it with chloroform, and evaporating, 
 the strychnia may be detected by the usual tests. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation is useful in debility, dyspep- 
 sia arising from atony, chlorosis, chorea, suppressed menstruation, etc. 
 Five grains contain one-twentieth of a grain of strychnia. The dose 
 is three to six grains, two or three times a day. 
 
1016 Pharmacy. 
 
 3. Ferri et Zinci Gitras. Citrate of Iron and Zinc. (Citronensauree 
 Bise-n und Zinc.) 
 
 Preparation — Take of Citrate of Seaquioxide of Iron four ounces; Car- 
 bonate of Zinc one ounce; Citric Acid three ounces; Solution of Ammo- 
 nia, Distilled Water, of each, a sufficient quantity. \ Dissolve the Citric 
 Acid in ten fluidounces of Distilled Water, and add the Carbonate of 
 Zinc gradually. Before the point of saturation is attained the solution 
 will deposit the citrate of zinc as an insoluble powder. Collect this on 
 a filter, and having ascertained, by drying si weighed portion of the 
 mass at 212° P., how much is equivalent to one ounce of dry citrate of 
 zinc, this quantity is to be healed in a capsule with th« Citrate of Iron, 
 and ten fluidounces of Distilled Water. When the iron salt is dissolved, 
 add enough Solution of Ammonia to effect solution of the citrate of 
 zinc, an excess of ammonia being avoided. The whole is now to be 
 evaporated to a syrupy consistence, and spread on glass plates to dry 
 in scalfes. 
 
 Sistory. — This preparation forms in brownish-green scales, knd has 
 a ferruginous and slightly metallic taste. As, in addition to the 
 citrates of iron and zinc, it contains ammonia, it is more properly an 
 " ammonio-citrate of iron and zinc." The article as found in com- 
 merce is very variable. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Used as a tonic, in cases where iron is not con- 
 tra-indicated, as, in anemia, chorea, epilepsy, and other diseases of the 
 nervous system. The dose is from two to five grains, two or three times 
 a day. — S. N. Draper. 
 
 Ferri et Quinine Tartras. Tartrate of Iron and Quinia. (Wein- 
 steinsaures Bisen und Chinin.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Crystallized Tartaric Acid, Distilled Water, 
 each, by weight, two ounces ; moist Hydrated Sesquioxide of Iron, pure 
 Quinia, of each, a sufficient quantity. Boil the Tartaric Acid and the 
 Distilled Water together, in a glass or platina vessel ; as soon as the 
 Acid is dissolved, add the Iron as long as the fluid will dissolve it. 
 Heat the mixture until the deep blood-red fluid becomes clear, and then 
 add the Quinia until the fluid ceases to dissolve it. Evaporate the solu- 
 tion by means of gentle heat to the consistence of thick syrup, and 
 spread it in thin layers on glass, to dry. — Prof. J. M. Sanders. 
 
 History. — This salt is much more soluble than the citrate of iron and 
 quinia. It forms into scales of a beautiful crimson color. It is incom- 
 patible with astringent vegetable infusions, strong acids, alkalies and 
 their carbonates. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The Perrotartrate of Quinia is a valuable tonic, 
 and may be used with benefit in chlorosis, amenorrhea, debility, anemia, 
 and during the remissions or intermissions from fever ; also in scrofula, 
 and whenever the union of quinia with a chalybeate is indicated. The 
 dose is from three to five grains, three times a day, either in solution 
 or in the form of pill. t 
 
 Perri Perroctanuretum vel Perroctanidum. Ferrocyanuret or 
 Ferrocyanide of Iron. Pure Prussian Blue. Prussiate of Iron. (Blau- 
 saures Bisenoxyd. Berlinerblau.) 
 
 Preparation. — This is formed by precipitating a solution of Perro- 
 cyanurct of Potassium with Sulphate of the Sesquioxide of Iron, and 
 washing the blue precipitate with water until it no longer has any 
 taste, then drying the washed precipitate, and reducing it to pow- 
 der. 
 
 The Prussian Blue of commerce is obtained by fusing animal matters 
 
Perrum. 1017 
 
 with carbonate of potassa so as to form cyanide of potassium, and treat- 
 ing the solution of the product with alum and green vitriol. The green- 
 ish precipitate thus produced acquires a lively blue tint under expos- 
 ure to the air. It may be rendered .very pure, by digestion in sul- 
 phuric acid considerably diluted. — C 
 
 History . — If iron be precipitated from a solution which has been en- 
 tirely converted into a persalt the precipitate will contain no protoxide. 
 For this purpose the sulphate of iron is previously treated with nitric 
 acid. The latter gives up three equivalents of its oxygen, which, unit- 
 ing with six equivalents of protoxide, forms the sesquioxide. To foi-m 
 a soluble neutral sulphate of the sesquioxide of iron, three equivalents 
 of sesquioxide of iron require nine equivalents of sulphuric acid, con- 
 sequently three equivalents of sulphuric acid must be added to six of 
 protosulphate of iron. The nitric oxide, NOj, to which the nitric acid 
 is thus reduced, when in contact with the air again combines with two 
 equivalents of oxygen, and appears as- brownish-yellow vapors NOi. 
 The whole of the protoxide in the sulphate of iron can be converted 
 into sesquioxide without the. addition of sulphuric acid, but the pro- 
 cess is more expensive, the sulphuric acid keeps the sulphate soluble, 
 preventing any precipitate. The ferrocyanuret of jjotassium occasions 
 a decomposition, in which three equivalents of ferrocyanuret Cfyj K, 
 =3Cfy K.^ are required for two equivalents of the sulphate of sesqui- 
 oxide of iron, or 2Pe.i Og 3S0.,. The result is Prussian Blue. Chemists 
 are not agreed as to the precise nature of Prussian Blue ; Berzelius 
 gives its formula as 3Pe Cy-j-2Fe,i Cy3=Fe, Cy,j. Its equivalent weig-ht 
 is 430. Ferroeyanogen, according to Liebig, is a bibasic radical, Oy, 
 Fe=Cfy=105.87. 
 
 During the decomposition of animal matters by heat, cyanogen is 
 generated ; as when blood and carbonate of potassa are calcined in an 
 iron pot ; and it is from animal matters, in this way, that Prussian 
 Blue is made in large quantities. Cyanogen has been detected in com- 
 bination with iron, in the urine, perspiration, and menstrual fluid ; and 
 in combination with sulphur and potassium in the saliva. Prussian 
 Blue has been found in the greenish-blue discharge of some ulcers. 
 
 Prussian Blue, when well made, is of a beautiful dark -blue color, with-' 
 out taste or odor, and is not dissolved by water, alcohol, ether, oils, or 
 dilute acids. It is decomposed by the concentrated acids, with a vari- 
 ety of phenomena. The alkalies also decompose it, forming ferrocy- 
 anates. Heated in the air, it burns slowly, leaving, sesquioxide of iron, 
 and earthy matters if present. Oxalic and other organic acids dissolve 
 it, forming a beautiful deep-blue solution. "When Prussian Blue is 
 boiled with diluted muriatic acid, filtered, and ammonia added to it, 
 no precipitate takes place if the drug be pure — should one ensue, how- 
 ever, the article is impure. 
 
 * Properties and Uses. — ^Prussian Blue is tonic, sedative, and febrifuge ; 
 and was introduced as a remedy in periodic diseases, in conjunction 
 with sulphate of quinia, by the late Prof I. G. Jones, who used it with 
 great success in the treatment of these diseases. He did not regard 
 the febrile or inflammatory symptoms as contra-indicating its use, pro- 
 vided the disease was, in the least degree, of a periodical character. It 
 is now successfully used in intermittent, congestive, bilious, and typhoid 
 fevers, especially during the remissions, and also in typhoid pneumonia ; 
 the dose is three or four grains, combined with the same quantity of 
 sulphate of quinia, and which is to be repeated every three, four or 
 five hours, according to the nature of the case. Prussian Blue, or as 
 
1018 Pharmacy. 
 
 more commonly but incorrectly called among physicians, Prussiate of 
 Iron, has likewise been successfully used in diarrhea, summer com- 
 plaint of children, pertussis, dyspepsia, epilepsy, hysteria, chorea, and 
 facial neuralgia. The dose is usually from one to five grains, three times 
 a day. 
 
 Fekei Iodidum. , Iodide of Iron. (Binfach lodoisen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Iodine two ounces and two drachms ; Pure Iron 
 Pilings six drachms ; Distilled Water, cold, /owr fluidounces and a half. 
 Place these articles in a Florence flask, boil till the liquid loses its dark 
 color, then filter it rapidly into another clean flask, and, without delay, 
 place the flask over the flame of a spirit-lamp or gas-burner, and evap- 
 orate the liquid at a boiling heat. The ebullition may be allowed to 
 proceed with very little attention for a considerable period, but when 
 the liquid passes from a green shade into black, close attention be- 
 comes necessary, as the process now approaches very near to its close. 
 
 The iodide may now be obtained either as a crystallized hydrate, or 
 in an amorphous anhydrous form, by the following processes : 1st, as a 
 crystalized hydrate, by dipping an iron wire or glass rod into the liquid 
 in the flask at short intervals, till, on removing and cooling, the iodide 
 is found to form a dry and hard crust on the rod. When the evapora- 
 tion has reached this point, remove ,the flask from the flre, and the 
 flised iodide crystallizes on cooling. 
 
 2. As an anhydrous iodide ; the evaporation must be carried still far- 
 ther. The period for bringing the application of heat to ,a close, can 
 very readily be judged of by occasionally, placing a piece of cold glass 
 over the mouth of the flask, and removing the heat when moisture 
 ceases to be condensed on the glass. A pure anhydrous, spongy pro - 
 tiodide will then be found in the flask. As during the whole operation 
 the flask is filled with a body of steam continually given off by the 
 liquid, the atmospheric air is excluded to the last, and no free iodine is 
 given off during the whole process. The iodide may be removed by 
 breaking the flask ; and the compound should, without the least delay, 
 be coarsely bruised in a warm dry mortar, and then placed in small 
 bottles and well corked. — T. and S. Smith. 
 
 On the old plan the iodine was mixed with the water, and the iron 
 filings gradually added, with constant stirring of the mixture. This was 
 then heated until it acquired a greenish hue, filtered, and evaporated to 
 dryness in an iron vessel. 
 
 History. — The iodine combines with the iron to form protiodide ; the 
 only part the water plays is to facilitate the process. It is necessary for 
 the combination that one of them first assumes the fluid state, and it 
 happens thus: — at first a little iodine dissolves in the water, and then 
 combines with a portion of the iron, forming a solution of protiodide 
 of iron, which is capable of dissolving more iodine than pure water, 
 and thus acquires a greater power of acting on the iron than at first,' 
 and this continues until all the iodine is taken up by the iron. One 
 equivalent of iodine=1586 parts, requires one equivalent of iron=350 
 parts, but it is always better to have iron in excess. The above obser- 
 vations are by Wittstein, who is speaking of the old process of manu- 
 facturing this compound, referred to above, and he continues in his re- 
 marks : — " The iron must not be added at once, or the heat will be raised 
 80 much as either to break the glass or cause the fluid to boil over. The 
 evaporation of the solution in an iron vessel is to prevent as much as 
 possible the formation of sesquioxide. and sesquiodide of iron, which 
 under these circumstances is but slight. The oxygen of the air will, of 
 
Februm. 1019 
 
 course, act on the surface of tlie liquid, oxidizing a portion of the iroL, 
 the iodine thus separated, uniting with another portion of the iodide 
 to sesquiodide ; from this cause the solution during the evaporation ac- 
 quires a trace of brown color. The evaporation is recommended by 
 some to be carried on, until a portion of the solution dropped on a 
 piece of cold porcelain solidifies, because, when carried to dryness, the 
 mass left is apt to consist of protiodide, sesquiodide, and sesquioxide of 
 iron." 
 
 The process of the Messrs. Smith, above given, is preferable to the 
 older ones in vogue, as the action of the air is almost entirely avoided 
 by it. In Am. Jour. Pharm., 1869, p. 52, Dr. Squibb refers to this process, 
 which he has somewhat modified. This salt is not referred to in the U. 
 S. Pharm., 1863. 
 
 Iodide of Iron is a dry greenish -gray, or greenish-black crystalline 
 mass, odorless, and of a sweetish, astringent taste somewhat resembling 
 iodine. "Water or alcohol form with it, when freshly made, a greenish 
 solution, having an acid reaction ; in the air, on being kept, it deli- 
 quesces, forming sesquioxide and sesquiodide of iron, and will not be 
 wholly soluble, forming a yellow or brown solution. Gently warmed it 
 melts, and by a further , action of heat, water, and air, continually 
 evolves iodine vapors, and leaves a grayish-brown mass, consisting of 
 protiodide, sesquiodide, and sesquioxide of iron. If the dried mass be 
 heated to redness, all the iodine is given off, and the iron remains as oxide. 
 In order to prevent the solution of the protiodide of iron from giving 
 off free iodine, or being converted into sesquiodide of iron, even when 
 exposed to the air and light, a coil of. iron wire should be kept in the 
 solution. Mr. Phillips, Jr., has suggested that, by the mutual action of 
 iodide of iron and water, hydriodic acid and protoxide of iron are 
 formed ; the iron being acted upon by the oxygen of the atmosphere 
 speedily becomes sesquioxide ; while the hydriodic acid becoming oxi- 
 dized under the joint influence of air and light, yields water and free 
 iodine ; and which is the cause of the acidity which is observed in the 
 solutions ^s soon as sesquioxide is formed. The anhydrous salt con- 
 sists of one atom of iodine 126.3, and one of iron, 28=:154.3; its form- 
 ula is Fe I. The crystallized salt contains in addition five atoms of 
 water Te I-)-5 HO=199.3. It is incompatible with vegetable astringents, 
 soda, potassa, and other alkalies, liquor calcis, metallic salts, etc. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The influence of Iodide of Iron upon the sys- 
 tem, resembles that caused by the ferruginous salts, more than that oc- 
 casioned by iodine. As a tonic it improves the appetite, invigorates 
 the digestive organs, and blackens the alvine evacuations, diminishing 
 their offensive odor. Sometimes it acts as a laxative, but more gener- 
 ally as a diuretic. It has been efficaciously used in scrofula, chlorosis, 
 secondary syphilis, amenorrhea, chronic rheumatism, chronic cutaneous 
 diseases, fluor-albus, asthenic dropsy, old visceral engorgements, atonic 
 dyspepsia, and in all cases where there is torpor in the system of nutri- 
 tion, where there is paucity of red globules in the blood, and the fluid 
 is too thin. On account of its tendency to decomposition when ex- 
 posed to the air, it should always be given in solution. (See Liquor 
 Ferri lodidi). Iodide of Iron has, however, been given in pill form, 
 being protected from deleterious agencies by the addition of gum and 
 sugar, or tragacanth and honey. {See Am. Jour. Pharm., XY., 71, and 
 cm., 138.) The Liquor Ferri lodidi, evaporated to a proper consist- 
 ence for making pills, would probably form a better mode of adminis- 
 tering this salt in a solid state, than wh^n made by the above process 
 
1020 Pharmacy. 
 
 (See FilulcE Ferri lodidi.) The dose of Iodide of Iron is three grains 
 three times a day, gradually increased to eight or ten grains. 
 
 Of late, considerable use is being made of Dr. Dupasquier's paste, or 
 pills of protiodide of iron ; it is prepared as follows ; Take of Iodine 
 121 grains; Iron 242 grains; Distilled Water 378 grains. Introduce 
 the whole into a small matrass, which hold plunged during eight or 
 ten minutes in water heated to about 167° F., so that no portion of the 
 Iodine shall be volatilized. Agitate the mixture frequently. At first 
 the liquid becomes brown, but soon gets perfectly colorless, or, at most, 
 retains a nearly imperceptible green hue. (This preparation ought 
 always to be extemporaneous, for it would be in vain to attempt to 
 preserve it unaltered for an hour, even in ground stoppered bottles, 
 and although metallic iron were present,, owing to the decomposition 
 of water.) 
 
 Filter the above solution, and pour the solution into an untinned 
 iron vessel; add Pure Honey 302 grains; evaporate rapidly, until a 
 great part of the original water be dissipated, and a syrupy consistence 
 be attained ; then add at intervals, continually agitating with an iron 
 spatula, powder of G-um Tragacanth 184 grains. Form into a mass, 
 and divide into 200 pills ; each pill contains about three-quarters of a 
 grain of Protiodide of Iron, and will remain a long tim€ unaltered. 
 JSlaneard' s- Fills are similar, but sugar coated as soon as made. M. 
 €rille likewise prepares the above mixture in the form of sugar -plums. 
 The paste is mixed with sugar, and then formed into plums or pills, 
 and thickly coated over with sugar, in which state it may be kept per- 
 manent for years. 
 
 Ferri Lactas. Lactate of Protoxide of Iron. Lactate of Iron. 
 (Milchsaures Eisenoxydul.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Lactate of Lime twelve and a half ounces; 
 Pure Crystallized Sulphate of Protoxide of Iron eight and a half ounces ; 
 Boiling "Water, Cold Distilled Water, of each, sixty-two and a half 
 ounces, by weight ; Lactic Acid a sufficient quantity. Dissolve the Lac- 
 tate of Lime in the boiling water; also dissolve the Sulphate of Iron in 
 the Cold Distilled Water; then filter each of these solutions, mix them 
 in a vessel ; feebly acidulate the mixture with Lactic Acid, and heat in 
 aj salt-water bath, constantly stirring it until the completion of the 
 double decomposition. The Sulphate of Lime formed is to be removed 
 by filtering, and the filtrate is to be quickly reduced to one-half by 
 evaporation in an iron vessel (or, if porcelain be used, some iron filings 
 must be added). Filter the concentrated liquid, and on cooling, it 
 forms crystals of Lactate of Iron, which should be washed with Alco- 
 hol, and dried on bibulous paper. — Lepage. 
 
 History. — Lactic acid, according to the experiments of Bernard and 
 Barreswil, exists in a number of the secretions of the human body, and 
 especially in the gastric juice ; it has therefore been supposed by medi- 
 cal men that as this acid in its action on the salts of iron taken into 
 the stomach, may convert them into a lactate, this salt already formed 
 might prove a valuable agent; hence the preparation of Lactate of 
 Iron introduced to the profession by G-elis and Conte. When pure, 
 lactate of iron is in colorless, acicular or prismatic crystals, which are 
 not altered by exposure to the air, are neai'ly insoluble in water, solu- 
 ble in forty-eight parts of cold, and twelve of boiling water, the solu- 
 tion reddening litmus-paper, and having a sweetish, mild chalybeate 
 taste. When colored, it is impure. As it is liable to adulteration, it 
 fihould always be purchased in the crystalline form, and in no other. 
 
Ferrum. 1021 
 
 'I'he Lactate of Lime used in the above process may bo made as fol- 
 lows ; Take of Skim-milk half a gallon ; place it in a glass or earthen 
 vessel, and add to it Water one gallon ; Powdered Sugar of Milk sixteen 
 oiinceh ; Powdered Chalk twelve ounces and six drachms. Place this 
 where it will be exposed to a heat between 75° to 95°, and permit the 
 fermentation which ensues to continue for twelve or thirteen days, and 
 as the water evaporates, add more to keep the quantity regular. Then 
 remove the liquor to another vessel, expose it to a gentle heat, stir- 
 ring all the time, and slowly raise it to the boiling point, which must 
 be continued for fifteen minutes. On the subsidence of the casein and 
 other matters, pass the supernatant fluid through a flannel bag, and on 
 evaporation of the strained liquid to dryness. Lactate of Lime is ob- 
 tained. The fermentation, which is due to the casein present, changes 
 the lactin in the mixture into lactic acid, which, as fast as it forms, i« 
 baken iip by the chalk, thereby converting its lime into a lactate. — M. 
 Gobley. (See Am. Jour. Fharm., 1853, p. 556.) 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Lactate of Iron has been found efficacious in 
 anemia, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, and other diseases in which the 
 preparations of iron are usiially of service. The dose is from one to 
 three grains, gradually increased, and repeating it at periods of three 
 or four hours. As it is not superior to other chalybeates, its costliness 
 will probably prevent it from coming into general use. 
 
 Ferri Oxidum Hydratum. Hydrated Sesquioxide of Iron. Hydrated 
 Peroxide of Iron. Hydrated Oxide of Iron. (Eisenoxyd Hydrat.) 
 
 Preparatio?i. — "Take of Sulphate of Iron four ounces; commercial 
 Sulphuric Acid three fluidrachms and a half; !N'itric Acid (D. 1.380) nine 
 fluidrachms ; Stronger Aqua Ammonise three fiuidounees and. a half; 
 Water two pints." (The above fluid measures are Imperial). "Dis- 
 solve the Sulphate in the Water, add the Sulphuric Acid, and boil the 
 solution ; add then the Nitric Acid in small portions, boiling the liquid 
 for a minute or two after each addition, until it acquires a yellowish- 
 brown color, and yields a precipitate of the same color with ammonia. 
 Filter; let the liquid cool; and add in a full stream, the Aqua Am- 
 monise, stirring the mixture briskly. Collect the: precipitate on a 
 calico filter ; wash it with water till' the washings cease to precipitate 
 with nitrate of baryta ; squpeze out the water as much as possible ; 
 and dry the precipitate at a temperature not above 180° F. 
 
 " When this preparation is kept as an antidote for poisoning with ar 
 senic, it is preferable to preserve it in the moist state, after being simply 
 squeezed." — ^d. It should be kept under water, in a stoppered bottle, 
 when prepared moist as an antidote. 
 
 History. — ^As already observed, in speaking of the changes which 
 occur in making Prussian Blue; the oxygen of nitric acid converts the 
 sulphate of protoxide of iron into the sulphate of sesquioxide. When 
 caustic solution of ammonia (oxide of ammonium) is added to the ses- 
 quisulphate of iron thus made, it combines with the sulphuric acid of 
 the latter to form a readily soluble salt; the sulphate of ammonia, 
 which remains in the solution, may be obtained from it, by evap- 
 oration, in the solid form. At the same time this change occurs with 
 the sulphuric acid and ammonia, the sesquioxide of iron is precipitated 
 in combination with three equivalents of water. The sesquioxide 
 retains in combination with it some ammonia, which is removed by the 
 washings with water. This oxide of iron, when employed as an anti- 
 dote for arsenic, should be used in the moist state, to insure a speedy 
 
1022 Pharmacy. 
 
 and certain action, and for this purpose it is kept as stated in the for 
 mula. 
 
 Hydrated Oxide of Iron, as prepared by the above process, is an 
 amorphous powder, of a reddish-brown tint, odorless, tasteless, insoluble 
 in water, but dissolving readily in hydrochloric acid forming a golden- 
 yellow solution. Heated to redness, it loses its water, and then does 
 not so readily render arsenioits acid insoluble. If it effervesces with 
 hydrochloric acid, this indicates the presence of carbonic acid ; oxalate 
 of ammonia will cause a precipitate if lime be present. If the solution 
 in hydrochloric acid gives a blue precipitate with ferrocyanuret of po- 
 tassium, it contains protoxide ; if after dissolving it in hydrochloric 
 acid there is a white gelatinous residue, soluble in potassa, it is silica, 
 arising from its being made with a potassa containing silica instead of 
 with ammonia. A solution of carbonate of ammonia strikes a blue 
 color when oxide of copper is present ; should the color not be perfectly 
 evident, supersaturate with acetic acid, and add solution of ferrocyan- 
 uret of potassium, which causes a brownish-red precipitate if the small- 
 est trace of copper be present. The terhydrated oxide of iron which 
 exists in the moist mass loses, by long standing, the half of its chemi- 
 cally combined water, becoming crystallized instead of amorphous, it is 
 no longer soluble in acetic acid, and dissolves with difficulty in tartaric. 
 It is, therefore, recommended, about every six jnonths, that the hydrate, kept 
 as an antidote to arsenic, be redissolved in hydrochloric acid, and precipitated 
 with ammonia. The formula for this hydrated oxide is Fe., 0,-\-3 HO, 
 with 25.20 per cent, of Water. — Witt. When used for poisoning by 
 arsenic, the hydrated oxide of iron should "be in the form of a soft or 
 gelatinous moist magma." — P. (/See Am. Jour. Pharm., 1842, p. 29.) 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation, as with other chalybeates 
 possesses tonic properties. But it is principallj- used in cases of pois- 
 oning by arsenic, in which it proves a valuable antidote. When this 
 Hydrated Oxide of Iron is placed into an aqueous solution of arsenic, 
 it removes the arsenious acid so thoroughly, forming an insoluble sub- 
 stance, that even sulphuretted hydrogen will not indicate the presence 
 of the poison. This insoluble substance is the subarseniate of protoxide 
 of iron. The Hydrated 'Oxide of Iron in the moist state may be used 
 freely in cases of poisoning by arsenic. Dr. Maclagan states that '■ at 
 least twelve parts of oxide, prepared by ammonia, are required for each 
 part of arsenic." Dr. T. E. Beck recommends it to be given every five 
 or ten minutes, or as often as the patient can swallow it, until relief is 
 obtained; adults may take a tablespoonful; children a dessertspoonful. 
 Of course the sooner it is given after the poison has been taken, the 
 more prompt and efficacious will be its action. If Hydrated Oxide of 
 Iron be not at hand, let the common red oxide of iron be given with 
 water as a substitute ; for though not equally efficacious with the Hy- 
 drated Oxide, it appears to possess some antidotal power. As a tonic, 
 the dry hydrate may be employed in doses of from five to twenty 
 grains. 
 
 In relation to this uniformly successful antidote to poisoning by arsen- 
 ious acid. Prof W. Procter, Jr., has recently furnished a formula which 
 is easily executed, which furnishes a concentrated solution of the Ter- 
 sesquisulphate of Iron of known strength, so that the operator can 
 graduate the precise quantity of oxide by means of his measure glass, 
 and which has been adopted in the U. S. Pharm. The formula, to- 
 gether with Prof. P.'s remarks, are given entire : Take of Protosulphate 
 
J^'ERRUM. l()2a 
 
 of Iron, well crystallized, sixty -four ounces Troy, Sulphuric Acid seoen 
 fluidounces ; Nitric Acid, sp. gr. 1.38, twelve fluidounces ; Water a suffi- 
 cient quantity. 
 
 Ueduoe the Sulphate of Iron to moderately fine powder in an iron 
 mortar, mix together the Acids and five fluidounces of Water, put the 
 mixture in a large porcelain capsule on the sand-bath or other regular 
 source of heat, and add the powdered Sulphate, about two ounces at a 
 time, stirring after each addition, till the effervescence ceases, until all' 
 has been added, and the elimination of nitrous fumes has ceased. In 
 the absence of a porcelain capsule and 89,nd-bath, the operator may use 
 a gallon glass jar, supported in a vessel of Boiling Water; in either 
 case, the vessel should be large enough to allow for active effervescence, 
 and it is hardly necessary to say that the operation should be performed 
 under a chimney-hood, or in the open air, to avoid the noxious fumes 
 of Nitrous Acid. The dense solution thus obtained should then be di- 
 luted with Water until it measures four and a half pints (wine measure), 
 and then filtered through thick muslin. 
 
 Solution of Tersulphate of Iron thus prepared, has a dark, reddish- 
 brown color in quantity, the specific gravity of 1.587 at 60° P., but little 
 if any odor, a powerful styptic taste, and mixes readily with Water, so 
 as to form a solution with more color in proportion to its dilution than 
 the strong liquid. Each fluidounce of this solution contains a fraction 
 more than 120 grains of Sesquioxide; each fluidrachm 15 grains, and 
 each minim a quarter of a grain ; and as it is equally applicable for pre- 
 paring the Oxide for chemical as for antidotal purposes, this correspond- 
 ence of weights with measures gives great facility in calculating any 
 precise quantity desired. 
 
 It is this solution which I have proposed should be kept by every 
 apothecary as the source of Hydrated Sesquioxide of Iron. Its strength 
 is such that it requires about an equal measure of commercial solution 
 of Ammonia (sp. gr. .940) to decompose it. The apothecary who is 
 suddenly called upon for the antidote will proceed in the following 
 manner : 
 
 Take of solution of Ter-sulphate of Iron, half a pint; Solution of 
 Ammonia half a pint (or a sufficient quantity); Water a sufficient quantity. 
 Pour the Solution of Iron into a half-gallon jar, add two pints of 
 Water, and then add the Ammonia, stirring constantly until in slight 
 excess. This is known when, after displacing the air in the jar by blow- 
 ing, it continues to smell slightly of Ammonia. The contents of the 
 jar are then thrown on a piece of strong muslin, previously well moist- 
 ened, and the liquid, holding in solution Sulphate of Ammonia, ex- 
 pressed from it as quickly as possible, until the Oxide remains in the 
 cloth of a pasty consistence. The cloth is then opened on a dish, Water 
 added and incorporated with the. Oxide by means of a spatula, and then 
 again expressed. If the demand is urgent, the Oxide may be sent 
 without further washing, if not urgent, the washing may be repeated 
 twice more. It is then quickly removed by a spatula from the cloth tc 
 a quart mortar, and Water mixed with it by trituration, until it meas- 
 ures a pint, when it should be poured into a wide-mouthed bottle, 
 corked, and the following label attached, viz. : 
 
1024 Pharmacy. 
 
 HY]!)RATED SESQUIOXIDE OF IRON. 
 
 (Eisenoxydhydrat.) 
 
 (Ferri Oxldum Hydratain V. H. Pharni.) 
 
 Antidote to Arsenic. 
 (Gegengift gegen Arsenik.) 
 
 ' This preparation consists of Hydrated Sesqnioxide of Iron AQd 
 
 Water, in such proportion that each tabiespoonful contains thirty 
 grains of the dry oxide ; and is intended to neutralize the poisonous 
 effects of AraenixyiM Acidy or commou While Arsenic when talLen into 
 the stomach. It is well to precede the administration of this anti- 
 dote by an active emetic of Ipecacuanha, ov of Mustard, so that any 
 undisBolTed arsenic may be thus mechanically removed, if possible. 
 If, however, this has not been done-befdre obtaining the antidote, no 
 time should be lost in giving it. The patient should take a table- 
 spoonful for a dose every live or ten minutes, but if vomiting should 
 intervene, let a dose be given, immediately after each attack, unless 
 otherwise directed by the physician in attendance. 
 
 When the poisoning has been caused by Arsenite ofPotassa (Fowler's 
 Mineral Solution), Soda, or Ammonia, or by the Salts of Arsenic Acid, 
 after giving the first dose add six tablespoonfuls of Yinegar to the 
 contents of the bottle; and shake it a few minutes, until t?he'acidity 
 is neutralized, and then give it as above. 
 
 When the Oxide is intended for other ferruginous prepa-ratiotis, as 
 for instance, Citrate of Iron, it should be washed by displacement oj t 
 cloth-filter, till the washings cease to precipitate Chloride of Barium, 
 The small amount of Sulphate of Ammonia remaining in the Oxide, 
 when prepared hurriedly as above, is of no account in a case of poison- 
 ing. The detail in the above label m not objectionable, as it will- be 
 often of use even to the experienced physician, not to spea-kof the very 
 many who have had but little if any experience in poisoiiing cases, a-nd 
 will likewise enable any person of ordinary ability to administer the 
 antidote without loss of time. Whep it is so easy to be prepared for 
 these occasions, every apothecary who has a proper regard for his repu- 
 tation and duty, will provide the means above detailed, and be ever 
 ready. It should, as remarked by Wittstein, be renewed, or made over 
 again, at least every six months, in order to keep up its antidotal powers. 
 
 'E. B. — In an emergency when the solution of Ter-sulphate of Iron is 
 not at hand, the Tincture of Chloride of Iron will answer ; form a pre- 
 cipitate by the addition of aqua ammonia, collect this precipitate on a 
 mnslin filter, squeeze it, and wash it well with water. It need not be 
 washed until all saline taste is removed, as the presence of chloritle of 
 ammonia in it will in no way impair its efScacy. — «/. IT. 
 
 Ferki Oxidtim Nigrum. Black Oxide of Iron. Ferri Oxidum Mag- 
 neticum. Magnetic Oxide of Iron.- (Schwarzes Eisenoxydiil Qxyd!.) 
 
 Description. — "Take of Sulphate of Iron six ounces ; Sulphuric Acid 
 (commercial) two fluidrachms and two fluid' scruples ; Pure Nitric Acid 
 four fluidrachms and a half; Stronger Aqua AmraomsB four fluidrachms 
 and a half; Boiling Water three pints. (The above fluid measures are 
 Imperial.) Dissolve half the Sulphate in half the Boiling Water, and 
 gradually add the Sulphuric Acid ; boil ; add the Mtric Acid by de- 
 grees, boiling the liquid after each addition briskly for a few minutes. 
 Dissolve the rest of the Sulphate in the remainder of the Bbiling Water; 
 mix the two solutions thoroughly ; and immediately add the Ammonia 
 in a full stream, briskly stirring the mixture at the same time. Collect 
 the'black powder on a calico-filter ; wash it with Water till the water 
 is scarcely precipitated by a solution of nitrate of baryta, and dry it at 
 a temperature not exceeding 180°." — Ed. 
 
Ferrum. 1025 
 
 History. — As stated uuder Prussian Blue, the object of the first part 
 of this process is to convert the sulphate of the protoxide of iron into 
 the sulphate of the sesquioxide, and which is effected by adding nitric 
 acid to the boiling solution. The acid gives oxygen to the protoxide, 
 while, binoxide of nitrogen NOj^SO, escapes. The additional quantity 
 of sulphuric acid is required to render the sesquioxide salt neutral, and, 
 prevent the precipitate of a basic sulphate of the sesquioxide. When 
 sulphate of the protoxide of iron is added to sulphate of the sesquiox- 
 ide, we obtain a mixture of sesqui and protosulphates of iron (Fe 0-|- 
 803) + (Fcj Oj+S SOa). Caustic ammonia precipitates the sesqui and 
 protoxides of iron chemically combined with each other and one equiva- 
 lent of water, and uniting with the sulphuric acid forms soluble sulphate 
 of ammonia (oxide of ammonium). 3450 parts of anhydi^cus sulphate 
 of magnetic oxide of iron (corresponding to, three equivalents or 5214 
 parts of protosulphate) require 852 parts of anhydrous or 8250 parts of 
 hydrated ammonia of sp. gr. 0.960 (=about 10 pr. ct. of ammonia). 
 The precipitate is easily washed without acquiring a higher form of 
 oxidation. The first portion of the wash water may be evaporated for 
 sulphate of ammonia. — Witt. . : 
 
 Black Oxide of Iron thus prepared forms a jet-black, or grayish-black 
 mass, with a velvety appearance, and is- attracted by the magnet. It 
 is odorless and tasteless, dissolves in hydrochloric acid, quietly, and 
 without a residue, from which yellowish solution it is precipitated hj 
 ammonia. Its formula is Fe, O+Fcj O3+HO ; its equivalent weight, 
 116. 
 
 The scales which are struck from red-hot iron by t^e blacksmith's 
 hammer, the .MtMops Martis of the old Materia Medicas, consist of 
 chemical combinations of the protoxide and sesquioxide of iron in vari- 
 able proportions. They are prepared for medicinal use by washing 
 them, freeing them from impuritieSjby the magnet; triturating them, 
 and separating the fine powder by the method directed for making pre- 
 pared chalk. It is, however, inferior in medicinal virtue to the black 
 oxide prepared as above. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is an excellent ferruginous tonic, is not 
 changeable when exposed to the atmosphere and dampness, is more 
 readily soluble in the fluids of the stomach than, the sesquioxide, and 
 produces no local irritation. The dose is from five grains to a scruple, . 
 three or four times a day. 
 
 Ferri Peroxydum. Ferri Sesquioxidum. Peroxide of Iron. Sesqui- 
 oxide of Iron. Bed Oxide of Iron. (Eothes Bisenoxyd.) 
 
 Preparation. — Expose Sulphate of Iron to heat, until the water of 
 crystallization is expelled. Then roast it by an intense fire so long as 
 acid vapors arise. Wash the Peroxide until the washings, when ex- 
 amined by litmus, appear fr.ee from acid. Lastly, dry it on bibulous 
 paper. — Ihib. 
 
 The process in Br. Pharm., exposes Hydrated Peroxide of Iron to 
 the heat of a stove or oven, until it becomes dry to the touch, and then 
 exposes it to a temperature pf 212° F., until it ceases to lose weight ; 
 pulverize it and keep in a closed bottle. 
 
 History. — ^Peroxide of Iron is an odorless, and tasteless, dark, crim- 
 son-red powder, not magnetic, insoluble in water, dissolved, but not 
 readily, by hydrochloric acid without any gas being evolved, and form- 
 ing a golden yellow solution, which is not changed to a blue by ferro- 
 (jyanuret of potassium unless protoxide of iron is present. It is anhy- 
 drons, and has been called Colcothar, and Crocus Martis Astringens. In 
 65 
 
1026 Pharmacy. 
 
 the above process the water and sulphuric acid of the crystallized 
 sulphate of iron are evolved ; the iron is sesquioxidized at the expense 
 of a portion of the sulphuric acid, while some sulphurous acid is 
 evolved. 
 
 M. A. Yogel recommends the following as a preferable method of 
 preparing a Eed Oxide of Iron or colcothar, for safely and successfully 
 polishing glass and metals, without any previous washing ; producing 
 a very fine polish without scratching. Into a solution of sulphate of , 
 iron made with boiling water and filtered, a concentrated solution of 
 oxalic acid is poured, until the yellow precipitate of oxalate of irop is 
 no longer formed. When the liquor has entirely cooled and ceased to 
 deposit any more, the precipitate is washed on a cloth with hot water 
 until the water ceases to acquire an acid reaction. The oxalate of iron, 
 not yet perfectly dry, is in the next place heated on a plate of iron over 
 a charcoal fire or a lamp. The decomposition of the salt commences 
 at about 400° P., and at a temperature a little higher than this the Eed 
 Oxide of Iron is formed in a very finely divided state. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Peroxide of Iron possesses tonic and somewhat 
 styptic properties, and is used principally in strumous and neuralgic 
 affections, in combination with extract of eonium. The dose is from 
 two to eight grains, three or four times a day. It may also be used in 
 the preparation of iron plaster. 
 
 The Jied or Styptic Powder is prepared by merely submitting sulphate 
 of iron two parts, and alum one part, to a red heat, and continuing it 
 until a reddish substance is formed; it undoubtedly contains a portion 
 of acid. It is powerfully astringent and styptic, and is used as an ap- 
 plication to bleeding piles, and external hemorrhages ; it is usually 
 applied in the form of ointment, but may also be given internally for 
 the same purposes. 
 
 Perri Phosphas. Phosphate of Iron. (Phosphorsaures Eisenoxy- 
 dul.) 
 
 Preparation. — "Ten parts of freshly prepared Protosulphate of Iron 
 are dissolved in one hundred parts of Water, and then mixed with a solu- 
 tion of thirteen parts of Phosphate of Soda in one hundred and thirty 
 parts of Water (both solutions must be cold)'. The supernatant liquid 
 is poured off when the precipitate has subsided, the latter washed with 
 cold water, thrown on a filter, drained on several layers of bibulous 
 paper, and dried in the open air with a gentle heat (if possible by the 
 sun) ; the dry precipitate is rubbed to powder, and kept in a cool place. 
 The yield is about five parts." — Witt. The process of the U. S. Pharm. 
 is merely a modification of the one just given ; among other things, 
 using hot water in washing the precipitate, instead of cold. 
 
 History. — When solutions of ordinary phosphates of soda and proto- 
 sulphate of iron are mixed together, a white precipitate is formed, 
 which so long as the protosulphate of iron is in excess, is a hydrated 
 tribasic phosphate of protoxide of iron=3 FeO-j-Pj Oj-f 8 HO. This 
 precipitate acquires, almost directly after its formation, a bluish-gray 
 shade, which by washing becomes somewhat stronger, and exposed to 
 the air the precipitate becomes, as it dries, blue throughout. If, on 
 the other hand, an excess of phosphate of soda is used, it is not, under 
 similar circumstances, of a pure blue tint when dry, but has a tinge of 
 gray, or sometimes a greenish-gray color. In such a precipitate, we 
 find the proportion of iron to phosphoric acid is not 3 to 1, but 19 to 6, 
 or 16 to 5; that is, the iron predominates. But even the precipitate 
 obtained by excess of protosulphate of iron, and equally carefully dried, 
 
Fekrtjm. 1027 
 
 will be of a d'iriy-blue color if the supernatant liquor is not poured off 
 the precipitate so soon as it is thrown down. This liquid, which con- 
 tains protosalt of iron, soon begins to change, and the protophosphate 
 of iron is raised to a sesquiphosphate^Fe.^ Oa-j-Pj Os+S HO, which 
 precipitates. If the protosulphate of iron is old and partially oxidized, 
 the preparation, even with the greatest precaution, will be grayish- 
 green instead of blue. 
 
 Protophosphate of iron is a beautiful lavender- blue, odorless and taste- 
 less powder. "When exposed to a nloderate warmth it instantly loses 
 its blue color, becoming a greenish-gray ; more Strongly heated, the 
 water is given off, the proto is converted into a Sesqaisalt and the resi- 
 due is a grayish-brown. It is not dissolved by water, but is by acids. 
 Hydrochloric acid forms a greenish-yellow solution with it ; in the solu- 
 tion ferrocyanuret of potassium readily detects the protoxide of iron 
 by its blue precipitate, and sulphocyanuret of potassium, the peroxide 
 of iron by its blood-red color. If -the hydrochloric solution is thrown 
 down by excess of ammonia, the supernatant liquid must be colorless ; 
 a blue color would denote copper. — Witt. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Phosphate of Iron is a valuable chalybeate 
 tonic. It has been recommended as a remedy in cancer, to be uSed in- 
 ternally, and also applied to the diseased part ; likewise to restore and 
 invigorate the virile powers. Marked advantage has been derived from 
 its use in febrile diseases. The doSe is from one to ten grains, three 
 times a day. 
 
 Dr. Routh has met with much success in some cases of anemia and 
 debility, brought on by venereal or other excesses, over-study, and de- 
 pressing diseases, by the use of a new preparation of Phosphate of 
 Iron, a superphosphate, which he has found better adapted for a speedy 
 cure than other preparations of iron ; it has likewise been of much 
 benefit in eases of virile weakness from onanism, or other causes. It is 
 prepared by adding as much Phosphate of Iron as the metaphosphoric 
 acid, HO POj, in a boiling state would take up, and allowing it to cool. 
 The proportions will be found nearly two of acid to one of the phosphate. 
 The solution obtained is of a semitransparent, greenish or slaty hue, 
 which hardens on exposure to the air for a day ; but mixed with 
 liquorice powder or flour, it can be at once made up into pills. The 
 compound is soluble in any proportion of water, and free fropi any 
 nauseous, inky taste. It is not yet analyzed, to know whether it is a 
 superphosphate of iron, or the mere solution of the phosphate in the 
 acid. It does not gripe or constipate, and has proved beneficial in cases 
 of debility, where there is a prevalence of nervous symptoms, or a large 
 quantity of phosphates voided by urine. Dose, one or two grains, three 
 times a day — in some instances combined with an equal proportion of 
 phosphate of quinia. 
 
 B. Souberain gives the following formula for a syrup of pyrophosphate 
 of iron, for persons who can not take other preparations of iron : Take 
 of sulphate of sesquioxide of iron 55.4 grains ; water 924 grains. This 
 is to be slowly dissolved, which sometimes occupies two or three days, 
 but it is preferable to put it into a fiask, and to dissolve it in a water- 
 bath. Then take of crystallized pyrophosphate of soda 462 grains, 
 pure water seven fluidouuces and six fluidrachms, distilled peppermint 
 water three and a half fiuidounces ; this is to be dissolved cold or at a 
 gentle heat, and then to the cold solution is to be' added the previously 
 described solution of persulphate of iron . At the moment of admixture, 
 a precipitate is formed, which, however, soon dissolves; the liquor is to 
 
1028 Fhabhacy. 
 
 be filtered, and one pound five ounces, avoirdupois, of white sugai 
 added. Dissolve without heat, in a glass vessel. If heat or a tetnpei- 
 ature above 122° P., be employed, the syrup will assume the color of 
 wine-dregs : and at .160° to 180°, it will become very dark. 
 
 Pyrophosphate of soda is prepared by drying ordinary phosphate of 
 soda, and fusing it at a red heat : the mass then dissolved in boiling 
 water, and the solution filtered and crystallized. By these means a 
 salt is obtained, having for its formula 2 NaO+POj+lO Aq. It con- 
 tains 40 per cent, of water of crystallization. It forms a white precip- 
 itate with salts of silver, instead of a yellow one as formed by the ordi- 
 nary phosphate of soda. ' 
 
 The pyrophosphate of iron corresponds to the preceding salt. Its 
 formula is 2 Fe^ 08+ 3 PO5. It is insoluble in water, but soluble in 
 pyrophosphate of soda, — Lond. Pharm. Jour, and Trans., XII., 498. (For 
 other syrups of Phosphate of Iron, see Am. Jour. Pharm., XXVI., Ill 
 to 115.) 
 
 Fekri Pyrophosphas. Pyrophosphate of Iron. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Pyrophosphate of Soda*/oMr ounces; Solution 
 of Tersulphate of Iron eight ounces; Citric Acid two ounces and six 
 drachms ; "Water of Ammonia six ounces and six drachms ; Water, a suffi- 
 cient quantity. Dissolve the Pyrophosphate of Soda in sixty ounces of 
 Water by means of heat, cool the solution to 50° F., and filter it into 
 a bottle of the capacity of two hundred and fifty ounces. Then add 
 the Solution of Tersulphate of Iron, shake the mixture well, fill the bot- 
 tle up with water, again agitate it, and set it aside ,fpr twenty-four 
 hours to settle. Decant the clear liquid from the precipitate by means 
 of a syphon, pour the precipitate upon a muslin strainer, drain, it for 
 twenty-four hours, then wash it with Water until the washings pass 
 almost tasteless, and transfer the magma (Pyrophosphate of Iron) to a 
 weighed porcelain basin. 
 
 Upon the Citric Acid, contained in a suitable vessel, pour the Water 
 of Ammonia, a little at a time, with constant stirring until the crystals 
 are all dissolved, and the acid accurately saturated. Then add this so- 
 lution to the magma in the basin, and apply heat. Stir the mixture 
 constantly till the magma is perfectly dissolved, and evaporate the so- 
 lution to twenty -four ounces, and filter it through paper. Finally, 
 pour the solution upon glass plates, dry the salt by a moderate heat 
 and keep it in well closed bottles, secure from the action of light. — K 
 B. Squibb, M. B., Am. Jour. Pharm., 1860, p. 37. 
 
 In this process the solution of Tersulphate of Iron must be fully ses- 
 quioxidized or the salt when made will not scale properly. Anhydrous 
 Pyrophosphate of Soda, even in powder, is difficult of solution, and by 
 applying heat to aid in dissolving it much time is saved. The quantity 
 of iron is accurately adjusted and yields accurate results; if it be defi- 
 cient in quantity or strength, there will bfl a corresponding loss, because 
 pyrophosphate of iron is soluble in solution of pyrophosphate of soda, 
 
 »Dr. Squibb prepares the Pyrophosphate of Soda by melting orystallized phosphate of 
 soda, sixteen ounces, In a porcelain capsule by means of heat, and boil It down to dryness, 
 over a gas flame. Collect the dry salt (7H' ounces) in a sand crucible and expose it to a 
 (Sierry-red heat until it fuses. PinaUy, when cold, break the crucible, and having collected 
 the fused salt (5>i ounces), powder it, and keep it in a stoppered bottle. 
 
 In this process, when the salt melted in its water of crystallization is nearly dry. It 
 should be stirred to avoid loss by splashing, and render It more easily detached from the 
 capsule. The heating in the crucible to drive ofl" the equivalent of basic water requires 
 mnch care and attention, because If the heat goes beyond cherry-redness, a portion of the 
 salt is decomposed, the crucible perforated, and the lower portion escapes into the tire 
 before the upper portions are fused. The crucible should be heated slowly. (See Am Jam. 
 Pharm., 1860, p. 36.) 
 
Ferrum. 1029 
 
 and if it be in great excess, there is also a reaction involving loss. The 
 resulting precipitate of pyrpphosphate of sesquioxide of iron, 2 Fe^ O3, 
 3 b PO5, is quite insoluble in water, and may therefore be copiously 
 washed without loss. It settles very slowly from being in a very finely 
 divided state, and hence it is better to wash it by decantation two or 
 three times, before placing upon the strainer, which it clogs, and 
 thus renders washing very tedious. The citrate of ammonia solution 
 may be made as directed without water ;. its point of saturation is at- 
 tained by means of litmus paper, and the smell of ammonia. If am-^ 
 monia be in excess, it decomposes tne iron salt and turns it brown ; 
 should this be the case, the excess of ammonia should be driven off by 
 heat, before adding the solution to the magma. Care must be taken to 
 cool to 50° P., as stated, as a higher temperature renders the salt more 
 or less insoluble. 
 
 History. — Pyrophosphate of Iron, sometimes called " Soluble Pyro- 
 phosphate of Iron," is in the form of beautiful yellowish green, or ap- 
 ple green granular fragments or scales looking like crystals, which are 
 odorless, have a pleasant acidulous, slightly saline taste, of tough con- 
 sistence but breaking between the teeth, slightly deliquescent, readily 
 soluble in water in all proportions, and forming a bright yellowish 
 green solution, with which ferrocyanide of potassium produces only a 
 sky-blue coloration, without precipitate. Dr. Squibb, in giving its com- 
 position, states that anhydrous pyrophosphate of iron is present to the 
 amount of 48.8 per cent. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Pyrophosphate of Iron is an excellent chaly- 
 beate tonic, and may be given in all cases where iron is indicated ; 
 from its ready solubility ;t may be added advantageously to many 
 syrups and solutions. Indeed, I have derived great benefit in various 
 instances from such an addition. Its dose is from two to five grains, 
 repeated two or three times a day. It appears to thoroughly influence 
 the system, but without any unpleasant or harsh action. Dr. Squibb 
 gives the formula for a syrup made as follows : Mix twenty -four 
 ounces of the solution of Pyrophosphate of Iron, that formed previous 
 to pouring it upon plates, with two hundred and forty-eight parts of 
 syrup. It is a transparent, yellowish-green syrup, not disagreeable to 
 the taste, and every fluidrachm of which contains one grain of the an- 
 hydrous salt. . It is apt to mold upon the surface, but this may be to 
 a great extent avoided by the addition of some aromatic oil, or by 
 using glycerin in the preparation instead of syrup. 
 
 Ferri Eedactum. Ferri Pulvis. J?educed Iron. Powder of Iron. 
 Iron, by Hydrogen. (Bisenpulver.) 
 
 Preparation.—" Take of Peroxide of Iron, Zinc, in small pieces. Oil 
 of Yitriol, Water, each, a sufficient quantity ; introduce into a gun-barrel 
 as much of the Peroxide of Iron as will occupy the length of about 
 ten inches, confining it to the middle portion of the barrel by plugs of 
 asbestos. Let the gun-barrel be now placed in such a furnace as is 
 used for organic analysis, one end of it being fitted, hy means of 11 
 cork, into a bent adapter, whose further extremity dips in water, while 
 the other end (of barrel) is connected with a bottle containing the Zinc 
 and "Water; with the intervention, however, of a desiccation -tube, 
 including fragments of Caustic Potassa, and a small bottle half-filled 
 with Oil of Vitriol. Matters being thus arranged, a little Oil of Vitriol 
 is to be poured into the bottle containing the Water and Zinc, with the 
 view of developing a sufficiency of hydrogen to expel the air from the 
 interior of the apparatus. As soon as this object is considered to have 
 
1030 Pharmacy. 
 
 been accomplished, the part of the tube containing the Peroxide of 
 Iron must be surrounded with ignited charcoal, and, when it is thus 
 brought to a low red heat, the Oil of "Vitriol is to be gradually added 
 to the Zinc, so as to cause a steady current of hydrogen to pass through 
 the Oil of Vitriol and desiccation tube into the gun-barrel. As soon 
 as the reduction of the Oxide is completed, which may be judged to 
 have taken place when the gas-bubbles escape at apparently the same 
 rate through the water in which the adapter terminates, and through 
 the bottle containing the Oil of Vitriol, the fire is to be removed (a 
 slow current of hydrogen being still continued), and, when the gun- 
 barrel has assumed the temperature of the air, its metallic contents 
 should be extracted, and preserved in an accurately-stopped bottle." 
 —Dub. 
 
 Mr. A. Morgan, apothecary to S Patrick Diin's Hospital, Dublin, 
 recommends the following process d,s a certain and easy way of fur- 
 nishing a cheap Powder of Iron : Bight ounces of yellow prussiate 
 (ferrocyanide) of potash are to be heated in an oven till the water of 
 crystallization is driven off, reduced to a very fine powder, then thor- 
 ouglily mixed with four ounces of red oxide of iron (previously well 
 washed and finely pulverized), and three ounces of pure dried carbon- 
 ate of potassa. This mixture is then to be introduced (a small por- 
 tion at a time) into a crucible previously heated to low redness. The 
 heat must be kept up till all appearance of eifervescence has ceased. 
 The crucible is then allowed to cool, the mass scooped out, powdered, 
 and having been introduced into a large bottle, repeatedly washed by 
 agitation and decantation with distilled water, till the washings cease 
 to precii^itate with solution of nitrate of silver. The powder is then 
 to be turned out on a filter, and dried as rapidly and with as little ex- 
 posure to air as possible. It may now, if necessary, be passed through 
 fine sieve to separate any particles which may have agglutinated, owing 
 to the application of too high a heat. The powder should be preserved 
 in a well-stopped bottle. With this process and the quantities men- 
 tioned, the product obtained will weigh about three ounces and half 
 
 As thus obtained, the Reduced Iron is a fine powder, of a dark gray 
 color, not feeling gritty or coarse under the fingers ; it dissolves com- 
 pletely in muriatic acid with considerable effervescence, and the solu- 
 tion thus obtained yields with potassa or ammonia, the greenish , gela- 
 tinous precipitate indicative of a protosalt. If the precipitate be red- 
 dish, it shows the powder to contain oxide of iron. Water digested 
 on the powder should not precipitate with solution of nitrate of silver; 
 that would indicate that all the cyanide of potassium had not been 
 washed out. For the chemical actions in this process, see Am. Jour. 
 Pharm., CXII., 450. 
 
 Wohler recommends the following process : — Pure crystals of sul- 
 phate of iron are heated in an iron pan until perfectly dehydrated, the 
 powder mixed with two or three times its weight of pure dry chloride 
 of sodium, introduced into a clay crucible, and heated to redness until 
 it melts. When the melted mass is cold, it is washed with water, and 
 the oxide of iron remains as a ci-ystalline powder of blackish-red color. 
 The oxide of iron thus obtained is reduced by ignition to redness in a 
 current of dry hydrogen, either in a glass tube or gun-barrel. The gas 
 is generated from iron and sulphuric acid, and care must be taken that 
 the latter is not arsenical. The gas is dried either by sulphuric acid, 
 or oxide of calcium, introduced between the generator and the tube 
 containing the oxide. As soon as atmospheric- air is displaced from the 
 
Ferrum. 1031 
 
 apparatus, the tube is heated to full redness, and the temperature and 
 current of hydrogen maintained so long as the formation of water is 
 observed at the open end of the tube. When this is at an end, the 
 tube is removed from the fire, closed at each end, and when cold the 
 reduced iron transferred to a bottle. Care must be tahen to prevent 
 access of air to the Eeduced Iron while hot, as it is highly pyrophoric 
 in this state. The reduced iron thus prepared should not appear black 
 in places, which, would show that the reduction was imperfect. It 
 should consist of small gray lamellar crystals of the same form as the 
 oxide of iron. These crystals are porous pseudomorphs, and may there- 
 fore be reduced to very fine powder with ease. The powder should be 
 light-gray without 'luster, when pressed with a polished substance 
 should acquire metallic luster, and burn readily when heated. It should 
 be perfectly soluble in dilute sulphuric acid with evolution of hydro- 
 gen. — Lond. Pharm. Jour, and Trans., XIV., 575. 
 
 H. Zangerle suggests that this article can be made by igniting five 
 parts of protoxide of iron, six parts of anhydrous ferrocyanuret of 
 potassium, and one and three-quarter parts of anhydrous carbonate 
 of potassa ; the ignition is maintained until the evolution of gas ceases. 
 The fused mass, on cooling, is thoroughly washed with pure water, and 
 the residue dried. The product is a dark-gray powder, which is me- 
 tallic iron in a state so finely divided as to burn throughout when any 
 part is touched with a lighted match. 
 
 For some valuable remarks on preparing Iron by Hydrogen, see 
 paper by Prof. W. Procter, Jr., in Am. Jour. Pharm., XIX., p. 11, and 
 XXYI., p. 217. 
 
 History. -;-This prepartion was introduced into medicine by Que- 
 venne, as a substitute for porphyrized, iron. Powder of Iron, when 
 thoroughly deoxidized, is of a slate-gray color, readily acted on by di- 
 lute acids, evolving hydrogen gas, and forming a protosalt of iron. 
 When of a black color it should be rejected. It oxidizes rapidly, and 
 hence should be kept in dry and well-closed bottles. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — When this powder of iron is properly prepared, 
 and not without, it forms a valuable tonic, and is considered to be su- 
 perior to any other form of metallic iron for medicinal employment. 
 It is without inky flavor, and is not liable to blacken the teeth. Its 
 tendency to oxidize, and the unpleasant eructations of hydrogen gas to 
 which it gives rise, render it objectionable. It may be used in chloro- 
 sis, anemia, and in all diseases in which there is a deficiency of red 
 blodd-corpuscles. The dose is from one or two grains to ten or twelve, 
 in pill or bolus. 
 
 Ferri Subcarbonas. Subcarbonate of Iron. Precipitated Carbonate 
 of Iron. (Kohlensaures Eisenoxydul.) 
 
 Preparation — " Take of Sulphate of iron four pounds ; Carbonate of 
 Soda four pounds and two ounces ; Boiling Water six gallons (Imperial 
 measure). Dissolve the Sulphate and Carbonate separately, each in 
 three.gallons of the Water. Mix the solutions together while j^et hot, 
 and then let the precipitate subside. Pour off the supernatant liquor, 
 wash the precipitate repeatedly with water, and dry it." — Lond. 
 
 History. — In the above process a double decomposition takes place ; 
 one equivalent of sulphate of iron is decomposed by one equivalent of 
 the carbonate of soda ; which reaction precipitates one equivalent of 
 the protocarbonate of iron, while one equivalent of sulphate of soda 
 remains in solution. By exposure to the air during the washing and 
 drying, the protocarbonate of iron is decomposed, — the protoxide of 
 
1032 Pharmacy. 
 
 iron is converted into sesquioxide by its combination with the oxygen 
 of the atmosphere, while carbonic acid is disengaged. It usually eon- 
 tains a small portion of undecomposed protocarbonate of iron, and 
 hence is known by the name, Subcarbonate of Iron, which distinguishes 
 it from the sesquioxide of the preceding article. It should not be ex- 
 posed to a red heat for the purpose of improving its red color, as it 
 'becomes changed in its character as well as in its medicinal efficacy. 
 
 Subcarbonate of Iron, as found in the shops, is a brownish-red pow- 
 der, of a somewhat astringent taste, odorless, not magnetic, and not 
 dissolved by water. It is soluble in hydrochloric acid, with feeble 
 effervescence, which solution affords a deep blue precipitate with the 
 ferrocyanuret of potassium, a purplish-black precipitate with tincture 
 of nut-galls, a brownish-red precipitate with the alkalies, and a red 
 c'olor with sulphocyanic or meconic acid. If it contain copper, a 
 bright rod of iron dipped into the above solution will have that metal, 
 deposited on it. After the sesquioxide has been thrown down by am- 
 monia from the hydrochloric solution, the supernatant liquor should 
 give no indication of containing any other metal in solution when 
 chloride of barium, ferrocyanuret of potassium, or sulphuretted hy- 
 drogen are added. — P. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In large doses it is apt to occasion nausea, with 
 a heavy sensation in the epigastric region, and other dyspeptic symp- 
 toms; it also renders the stools black. It is an excellent chalybeate 
 tonic and alterative, and has been successfully used in chorea, neural- 
 gia, chlorosis, and anemia. Sometimes used in intermittent fever, 
 when connected with an anemic condition or where the nutritive func- 
 tions are deranged. In chronic diarrhea and dysentery, enlargement 
 of the liver and spleen, epilepsy, dropsy, cancer, scrofula, and diseases 
 of the urinary organs connected with debility, it has been successfully 
 used. The dose is from five grains to two drachms, three times a day ; 
 there is no necessity for being particular or exact as to the dose; 
 though I see no necessity for large doses of any of the chalybeates, as 
 the system can take up but a small portion daily for its own uses. It 
 nray be used as an inferior substitute for the hydrated sesquioxide of 
 iron in cases of poisoning by arsenic, when the hydrated oxide can not 
 be at once obtained. 
 
 Off. Prep.— Tinctura Perri Chloridi. 
 
 Ferri Succinas. Succinate of Iron. Succinate of Peroxide of Iron. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Succinate of Ammonia* one ourice ; Solution 
 of Tersulphate of Iron two ounces; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. 
 Dilute the solution of Tersulphate of Iron with eight ounces of the 
 Distilled Water, and having dissolved the Succinate of Ammonia in 
 four ounces of the Distilled Water, warm the solutions and mix them 
 together, continuing the heat moderately (not to exceed 170° F.), until 
 the Succinate of Iron is completely precipitated. Wash the precipitate 
 with Distilled Water until the washings will no longer give a precipi- 
 tate with Chloride of Barium and Aqua Ammonia, and keep the Hy- 
 drate under water, in a stoppered bottle. 
 
 Chemical Properties. — Freshly precipitated Succinate of Peroxide of 
 Iron has a light rose-pink color, which, on drying the salt, becomes 
 brick-red. In the moist state it is rapidly and completely dissolved 
 
 * Succinate of Ammonia is prepared as follows: Take of Solution of Ammonia, sp. gi. 
 0.960, one fluidounce ; Succinic Acid half a flaidounce. By the aid of a gentle heat dissolve 
 the Succinic Acid in the solution of Ammonia ; then evaporate the solution sufficiently 
 (very little), and set it aside to crystallize. 
 
Ferkum. 1033 
 
 (wlien dry, ivith more difficulty) by hydrochloric acid, without effer-^<5S- 
 cence, produciug a beautiful yellow solution which yields a copious 
 blue precipitate with ferrocyanide of potassium, even when highly" di- 
 luted; but no precipitate with the ferridcyanide of potassium, thus 
 showing it to be a salt of the peroxide of iron, and not of the protoxide. 
 It should be constantly kept in the moist state, and under water, 
 otherwise it becomes hard and gritty. When to be administered, this 
 may be shaken up in the water, and the dose be poured out. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This salt of iron was introduced to the profes- 
 sion in 1867, Am. Jour. Med. Sciences, p. 51, by Dr. T. H. Buckler, of 
 Baltimore, Md., as a remedy in biliary calculi. To dissolve the choles- 
 terine, of which gall-stones are chiefly composed, he recommends the 
 use of chloroform, in doses of a teaspoonful three times a day, after 
 each meal, continuing its use for several days that these calculi may 
 become dissolved. In cases where there are severe paroxysms of pain, 
 the doses should be given ev.ery hour while the pain lasts. To control 
 the fatty or cholesteriq diathesis, and thus prevent the further forlna- 
 tion of these calculi, the Hydrated Succinate of the Peroxide of Iron 
 must be used continuously for six or twelve months, in doses of ten or 
 twelve grains after each meal, though if considerable more be taken 
 it will produce no unpleasant results. This Succinate will also be 
 found useful for leucophlegmatic persons disposed to obesity, or to 
 fatty degenerations of vital structures. If these views be correct, this 
 preparation will certainly prove very valuable. 
 
 Perki Sulphas. Sulphate of Iron. Sulphate of Protoxide of Iron. 
 Green Vitriol. Copperas. (Schwefelsaures Bisenoxydul. Grriiner Eis- 
 envitriol.) 
 
 Preparation. — " In a glass flask, or, on the large scale, in a leaden 
 vessel, are mixed six parts of Concentrated Sulphuric Acid with twenty- 
 four parts of "Water, and four parts of pure Iron (turnings or filings) ; 
 the whole, frequently stirred with a porcelain or wooden spatula, is 
 allowed to digest for one day ; the vessel is now placed on the fire, and 
 heated as long as any gas is evolved, then filtered, the hot filtrate 
 mixed with owe-/oMrtA ^ari of Concentrated Sulphuric Apid, and allowed 
 to stand two days in ,a cool spot. The crystals which have formed, are 
 freed from the mother-liquor, and spread out on paper, if possible, in 
 the sun to dry ; then kept in a well-closed bottle or stone jar. The 
 solution yields, on concentration, a ^considerable portion of salt, and 
 generally from the above proportion of ingredients, seventeen parts of 
 protosulphate are obtained." — Witt. 
 
 The Dublin Pharmacopoeia gives the following formula : " Take of 
 Irop Wire, or turnings of Wrought lion, four ounces (avoirdupois); 
 commercial Oil of Yitriol four fluidounces j Distilled Water one pint and 
 a half. (The fluid measures being Imperial.) Pour the Water on the 
 Iron placed in a porcelain capsule, add the Oil of Yitriol, and when 
 the disengagement of gas has nearly ceased, boil for ten minutes. 
 Filter now through pd,per, and having separated the crystals which, 
 after the lapse of twenty -four hours, will have been deposited»from the 
 solution, let them be dried upon blotting paper placed upon a porous 
 brick, and then preserved in a well-stoppered bottle." Bonsdorff rec- 
 ommends, in filtering, to have the inferior extremity of the funnel 
 touch the bottom of the vessel into which the liquid filters, thereby 
 causing the fluid, as it drops, to be less acted upon "by the oxygen of 
 the atmosphere, and consequently less disposed to form peroxide.^ 
 
 History. — "Concentrated sulphuric acid has no action on iron in the 
 
1034 Phaemacy. 
 
 cold, but mixed with a certain portion of water, a lively effervescence 
 ensues ; the oxygen is separated from a part of the water, and unites 
 with the iron, the protoxide of iron thus formed combines with the sul- 
 jjhuric acid, and the hydrogen escapes. In order to dissolve 350 parts 
 of iron, independently of the water necessary for its dilution, 613 parts 
 of monohydrated sulphuric acid are necessary ; in the proportions 
 above given there is an excess of acid ; this is rather advantageous 
 than otherwise, as it prevents the solution of any traces of copper that 
 may exist with the iron. Most of the iron dissolves in the cold, and 
 it is only toward the end that the action is to be assisted by warming. 
 Besides the excess of iron (which after the filtration may be washed 
 with water, and quickly dried), there remains on the filter, carbonace- 
 ous matter and a little silica. Even the best iron contains a little carbon, 
 which is partly in chemical combination, and partly a mechanical admix- 
 ture ; the latter separates in black flakes, but the former at the moment 
 of its liberation combines with hydrogen, and is given off as the high- 
 est carburetted hydrogen (Marsh ga8=CH2), imparting to the hydrogen 
 its unpleasant odor. The quantity of carburetted hydrogen which 
 separates is considerable, if, instead of pure sulphuric acid, the ether 
 residue is employed, for the latter contains a carbonaceous matter in so- 
 lution (to this it is indebted for its brownish color), which yielding up 
 its carbon to the hydrogen, causes at the same time an entire decolori- 
 zation of the acid. If traces of phosphorus and sulphur are present, 
 the evolved gases are not free from phosphuretted and sulphuretted hy- 
 drogen, and we then have a nauseous odor. The solution when filtered 
 clear, and previous to crystallization, is, while still warm, mixed with 
 some sulphuric acid, which prevents its higher oxidation; the free 
 acid becoming in a certain degree a protecting cover to the salt." — Witt. 
 Pure protosulphate of iron crystallizes in bluish-green oblique rhom- 
 bic prisms, is odorless, and possesses at first a saline, and then a sweet- 
 ish, astringent taste. At the ordinary temperature it requires scarcely 
 two parts of water for its solution ; of hot water three-fourths of its 
 weight ; the clear solutions retain the color of the salt, and have an acid 
 reaction. It is insoluble in alcohol. Exposed to the air, the crystals 
 effervesce ; they lose six equivalents of water, and become covered 
 with a white powder=Ee O+SO3-I-HO, which frCJm the absorption of 
 oxygen gradually changes to yellow, loses another atom of water, and 
 forms sesquisulphate of sesquioxide of iron. Such a partially oxidized 
 salt dissolved in water separates into neutral sulphate==Fej Oj+S SO3, 
 which remains in solution, and into the basic salt=Fe2 Os-|-3 SO3, 8 
 HO, which precipitates as a yellowish-brown powder. The sam« yel- 
 lowish-brown powder precipitates from a solution of protosulphate of 
 iron when exposed to the air, while the solution becomes at the saine 
 time of a yellow color, and contains sesquioxide. "When heated proto- 
 sulphate of iron fuses in its water of crystallization, leaving a white 
 powder,- which heated more strongly in the air absorbs oxygen, and 
 becomes red ; heated gradually to redness, it evolves sulphuric acid, 
 water, and sulphurous acid, while a dark crimson-red powder of pure 
 sesquioxide of iron remains. The separation of sulphurous acid is oc- 
 casioned by the decomposition of the sulphuric acid of part of the salt, 
 which as such, is not separable from the protoxide of iron, but the lat- 
 ter combining with one equivalent of its oxygen forms sesquioxide, and 
 then the sulphurous acid is given off. The impure Sulphate of Iron 
 met with in commerce should not be used in medicine. Any contam- 
 ination of protosulphate of iron with sesquisulphate may be known by 
 
Fkbrum. 1035 
 
 ,the gray or greenish -yellow color of the crystals, and chemically by 
 sulphocyanuret of potassium which renders its solution red. If ammo- 
 nia be heated with a splution, it assumes a blue color if oxide of cop- 
 per is present. Oxide of zinc may be detected by heating the Sulphate 
 of Iron with nitric acid, adding excess of solution of caustic potasea, 
 after a short time heating, filtering, and dropping hydrosulphate of 
 ammonia into the filtrate ; a white precipitate insoluble in acetic acid 
 will occur if zinc be present. If on treating the solution with axietie 
 acid it partially or entirely disappears, alumina is present, in which 
 ease the acetic-acid solution is rendered turbid by excess of ammonia. 
 To detect magnesia, all the metals, and any alumina that may be pres- 
 ent, are precipitated by hydrosulphate of ammonia,' and to the filtered 
 liquor add phosphate of sofla, which forms with magnesia insoluble ani- 
 monio-phosphate of magnesia. Should oxalate of ammonia also cause 
 a precipitate, lime is present, and must be removed previously to test- 
 ing with phosphate of soda. — Witt. The formula of crystallized Sul- 
 phate of Iron is Fe O+SOj-fT HO ; its equivalent weight 139. 
 
 The Dublin Pharmacopoeia also orders a Granulated Sulphate of Iron, 
 Ferri Sulphas Granulatum, which does not oxidize so readily as the 
 ordinary sulphate, and is preferred in the preparation of the anhydrous 
 or dried Sulphate of Iron, and also in that of the syrup of phosphate 
 of iron ; it is prepared as follows ; — " Take of Iron Wire or turnings 
 of "Wrought Iron four ounces (avoir.) ; commercial Oil of Vitriol four 
 fluidounces ; Distilled "Water a pint and a half; Eectified Spivit ten fluid- 
 ounces. (The fluid measures being Imperial.) Pour the Water on the 
 Iron placed in a porcelain capsule, add the oil of Vitriol, and when the 
 disengagement of gas has nearly ceased, boil for ten minutes. Filter 
 now through paper into a vessel containing eight fluidounces. Imp. 
 meas., of the Spirit, and stir the mixture as it cools, in order that the 
 salt may be obtained in minute bluish-white granular crystals. Let 
 these, deprived by decantatiou and draining- off the adhering liquid, 
 be washed on a funnel or small percolator with the remainder of the 
 Spirit; and, when rendered quite dry by repeated pressure between 
 folds of filtering paper, and subsequent exposure for twenty-four hours 
 beneath a glass bell over a common dinner plate half-filled with Oil of 
 Vitriol, let them be preserved in a well-stopped bottle." 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In small doses. Sulphate of Iron causes more 
 oir less constipation, is absorbed, and acts as a tonic, astringent, and 
 emmenagogue ; it blackens the stools. In large doses it causes pain, 
 heat, uneasiness at the pit of the stomach, and retchings and emesis. 
 In excessive doses it is an irritant poison, acting chemically on the 
 albumen and other organic constituents of the tissues. The stomach is 
 more or less injured by a long-continued use of it. It hds been used 
 as a tonic in scrofula, dyspepsia, chlorosis^ amenorrhea, and in debility 
 following 'protracted diseases. In phthisis pulmonalis the following 
 preparation has been found very serviceable ; it relieves cough, assists 
 expectoration, improves the appetite and digestive functions, and invig- 
 orates the whole system : Take of commercial Sulphate of Iron six 
 drachms; Whisky or good Holland Gin half a pint; mix together. The 
 dose is half a fluidrachm every two hours. As an astringent. Sulphate 
 of Iron is given in humid asthma, passive hemorrhages, chronic mucous 
 catarrh, leucorrhea, gleet,' diabetes, old dysenteric afl'ections, etc. The 
 dose is from half a grain to six grains in pill form. Prof. A. J. Howe, 
 states that " a strong solution of Sulphate of Iron has effected cures of 
 diabetes, and may sometimes be successfully employed in dropsies aris- 
 
1036 Pharmacy. 
 
 ing from rarious causes. A solution holding ten grains of the sulphate 
 to a fluidounce of water maybe given in doses of from two to four flui- 
 draehms, repeated three or four times a day. In some instances where 
 diuretics and hydragogue cathartics have heen employed without bene- 
 ficial results, the Sulphate of Iron has produced the happiest eifects." 
 From one to ten grains of the Sulphate of Iron dissolved in a fluidounce 
 of boiling water has been found useful as a collyrium in chronic opth- 
 thalmia, a wash (or with lard, as an ointment) in erysipelas and some 
 eczematous skin diseases, and as an injection in gleet, and chronic dys- 
 entery, prolapsus of the rectum, etc. Sulphate of Iron has been used 
 as a disinfectant, particularly in correcting foul odors from cesspools, 
 drains, vaults, etc. ; it may be used freely, either in substance or in so- 
 lution ; the products being sulphate of-ammonia and hydrated sulphuret 
 of iron. Sulphate of Iron becomes changed when in contact with the 
 atmosphere, and which alteration may be prevented by sprinkling the 
 crystals of this salt with alcohol, or with sweetened water, and keeping 
 them in well-closed vessels. Mr. Welborn has succeeded in preserving 
 them by a, still more simple method, viz. : by placing a small fragment of 
 camphor in the upper part of the vessel containing the ferric salt. 
 
 M. Monsel, surgeon to the Military Hospital at Bordeaux, recom- 
 mends a Persulphate of Iron, as an hemostatic, to be prepared as fol- 
 lows : "Distilled water 100 grammes; sulphuric acid, 69° Baume, 10 
 grammes. Place these in a porcelain capsule capable of holding one 
 half a litre. To this add protosulphate of iron 50 grammes. When 
 the salt is dissolved, and the solution has reached a boiliag point, add, 
 in small quantities at a time,- nitric acid, 35° Baume, 16 grammes. 
 During this process an abundance of nitric oxide vapors are evolved, 
 which, however, cease in a short time. As soon as the red vapors cease 
 to be disengaged, again add, in small quantities at a time, protosulphate 
 of iron 50 grammes. This again sets free the nitric oxide ; the solution 
 is boiled till this ceases. Hot water is now added until the volume 
 of 100 grammes is obtained, and the solution is set aside to cool, after 
 which it is carefully filtered. The solution is transparent, having a 
 deep, reddish-brown color, odorless, very astringent without causticity, 
 and should mark 45° pese sets. After 36 hours standing, there is de- 
 posited an insoluble powder, from which the solution is again filtered, 
 after this powder ceases to be precipitated. Concentrate the filtered 
 liquid, by boiling, to the consistence of honey, then pour it in thin layers 
 on glass plates, and dry in a stove at 95° F. . Thus prepared it forms red- 
 dish scales resembling those of citrate of iron, and dissolves in water or 
 alcohol without decomposition. The aqueous solution, of sp. gr. 45° 
 Baume, after .long digestion, will dissolve peroxide of iron, and on the 
 addition of sulphuric acid loses its color. It contains one-fourth water; 
 its formula is 5 SO3 2 PeOj. If, in drying, the heat be carried above 
 100° F., the salt becomes anhydrous, and has a greenish tint. 
 
 The action of this salt, on blood and albumen is powerful ; with the 
 former it produces a voluminous clot, absolutely insoluble, which contin- 
 ues to enlarge for several hours after its application, and becomes quite 
 hard and firm. Dr. H. H. Toland, of San Francisco, California, who has 
 successfully used this salt, says, " if applied to a superficial wound as 
 soon as made, not a drop of blood escapes, and no pain results from 
 the application. It acts by producing instantaneous coagulation of the 
 blood, and will be found invaluable in hemorrhage from the mouth, nose, 
 and throat, when it is impossible to ligate the vessel, and may be equally 
 efficacious in alarming uterine hemorrhages, either active or passive. 
 
, Feruum. 1037 
 
 111 solution it could be readily applied ; it is very deliquescent, and dis- 
 solves speedily in water." — Pacific Med. and Surg., July, 1858. 
 
 Stearate of Iron. — Is made by dissolving separately, in about three 
 times their weight of water, one part of sulphate of iron, and two parts 
 of hard soap, and then mixing the solutions ; the resulting greenish 
 precipitate is to be separated, dried, and then melted by a gentle heat, 
 and spread on cloth like an ordinary plaster. 
 
 Off. Prep.— ¥evri Carbonas Saccharatum; Ferri Citras ; Forri et 
 Quiniffi Citras ; Ferri Ferrocyanuretum ; Ferri Oxidum Hydratum ; 
 Ferri Oxidum Nigrum; Ferri Phosphas; Ferri Subcarbonas; Ferri 
 Sulphas Bxsiccatum ; Ferri Valerianas ; Pilulse Ferri Carbonatis; Pi- 
 lulffi Ferri Compositse ; Tinctura Ferri Acetatis. 
 
 Ferri Sulphas Exsiccatum. Dried Sulphate of Iron. (Trockenes 
 Schwefelsaures Eisenoxydul.) 
 
 Preparation. — Expose any convenient quantity of Sulphate of Iron to a 
 moderate heat, in a porcelain or earthenware vessel, not glazed with lead, 
 till it is converted into a dry, grayish -white mass, which is to be reduced 
 to powder. — Hd. 
 
 The Dublin Pharmacopceia orders of " G-ranulated Sulphate of Iron 
 any convenient quantity; expose the salt in a porcelain capsule to an oven 
 heated not exceeding 400° F., until aqueous vapors cease to be given 
 off, and, having then reduced it to fine powder, preserve it in a well- 
 stopped bottle." 
 
 History. — By exposure to a moderate heat, the crystals lose six- 
 sevenths of their water of crystallization ; so that 85 grains of dried 
 sulphate are equivalent to 139 grains of the. crystallized sulphate, or 
 three grains are equal to 4f8^ grains of the .crystals. If the heat be over 
 400° P., the salt will be reduced to an oxide, the sulphuric acid being 
 driven off.' — P. The granulated sulphate is best adapted for the prep- 
 aration of the anhydrous salt. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Same as sulphate of iron ; to be used in pill 
 form. Externally, in solution, as an astringent lotion for indolent 
 ulcers, and as an injection in leueorrhea and gonorrhea of females. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Lotio Hydrastis Composita. Pilulse Polygoni Compositae. 
 
 Ferri Sulphuretum. Sulphuret of Iron. (Schwefel-Eisen.) Proto- 
 sulphuret of Iron. 
 
 Preparation. — "The best Sulphuret of Iron is made by heating an iron 
 rod to a full white heat in a forge, applying a stick of sulphur to the end 
 of the rod, and allowing the fused globules of Sulphuret which form to 
 ^all into a deep vessel filled with water. These should be free of sulphur 
 and kept in a close vessel. 
 
 An inferior kind, but suflSciently good for pharmaceutic purposes, may 
 be obtained by mixing thoroughly together Sublimed Sulphur one part, 
 and Iron Filings three parts. Heat the mixture in a covered crucible 
 till it becomes red hot, then remove the crucible from the fire, still keep- 
 ing it covered, and allow the action to go on without anj' further heat." 
 —Ed. 
 
 History. — There are several Sulphurets of Iron, but only one used in 
 pharmacy, viz. : the protosulphuret. Iron and sulphur combine at a red 
 heat to form simple sulphuret, any excess of sulphur being given off, 
 and coming in contact with the air ignites, and forms sulphurous acid=: 
 SO.^. Three hundred and fifty parts of iron require 200 parts of sul- 
 phur, but an excess of the latter is always necessary, as, before the com- 
 bination of the two is complete, a portion has been volatilized. When 
 made by the latter process, the crucible must not be opened until quite 
 
1038 Pharmacy. 
 
 cool, otherwise the mass absorbs oxygen with avidity, becoming jTartly 
 converted into a sulphate of iron. 
 
 The mass must be removed from any unmixed" sulphur. In the fli-st 
 process, to be successful the iron mtist be raised to a full while heat; 
 at a lower temperature the sulphur is merely fused on its surface ; but 
 if the heat be high enough, the two bodies unite with the emission of 
 brilliant sparks, and the protosulphuret is instantly formed, and falls 
 down in a fused and incandescent state, and on being received in the 
 water, brownish-yellow globules are obtained, having a somewhat crys- 
 talline texture. 
 
 Sulphuret of Iron varies in appearance according to its mode of pre 
 paration ; by the first-named process it is yellowish, by the second a 
 dark-gray mass, heavy, full of blisters, of a partly metallic luster, odor- 
 less and tasteless. Kept in a close vessel, it undergoes no change; on 
 the other hand, in the air, especially if moist, it oxidizes and acquires 
 an inky taste. In dilute sulphuric or hydrochloric acid it must, with a 
 powerful evolution of sulphuretted hydrogen gas, gradually and almost 
 entirely dissolve (a thorough solution must not be expected, on account 
 of the carbon in the iron), and the gas must be entirely absorbed by a 
 solution of acetate of lead, else it contains free hydrogen. — Witt. Its 
 formula is Fe 8=44.12. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Sulpuret of Iron is used in pharmacy and chem- 
 istry for procuring Hydrosulphuric acid or Sulphuretted Hydrogen gas: 
 Diluted sulphuric or hydrochloric acid is added to it, in a proper ves- 
 sel, and the sulphuretted hydrogen is disengaged as a gas, and may be 
 collected over warm water, or solution of salt. In this process water is 
 decomposed ; the oxygen converts the iron into protoxide, which com- 
 bines with the sulphuric acid, forming a protosulphate of iron, while 
 the hydrogen of the water, with the liberated sulphur, forming a gas, — 
 the sulphuretted hydrogen which is evolved. The excess of water in 
 the dilute acid is of use in promoting the action by keeping in solution 
 the salt which forms. Sulphuretted hydrogen is a transparent, colorless 
 gas, having the odor of rotten eggs, and a specific gravity of 1.178. It 
 reddens litmus, burns in the air with a bluish flame, producing sulphur- 
 ous acid gas and water, and depositing sulphur on the sides of the ves- 
 sel in which it is burned. In bottles not quite full, or imperfectly 
 corked, it becomes milky, a white powder is thrown down, and this can 
 go on until the water contains no scent of the gas. This is owing to 
 the combination of the atmospheric oxygen with the hydrogen, form- 
 ing water. If the washing of this gas is omitted it may contain sul- 
 phuric acid, known by chloride of barium rendering it turbid. In 
 order to preserve the gas in a bottle that has been opened as long as 
 possible, it should, after being well corked, be inverted in a vessel of 
 cold water, entirely to cover the neck. Water absorbs two or three 
 timesits volume of the gas, and acquires its smell and a nauseous 
 sweetish taste. Sulphuretted hydrogen blackens white lead and solu- 
 tions of the salts of lead, copper, and bismuth. Under a pressure of 
 17 atmospheres at 50° P., it condenses into a limpid fluid of sp. gr 
 0.9, and which freezes at 122° F., forming a white, crystalline, translu- 
 cent substance. When respired, even although much diluted with air, 
 it is highly deleterious, and as it is often formed where animal matters 
 or excrements putrefy, as in burying-vaults or cloaca!, it not unfre- 
 quently causes the death of the workmen who suddenly come in con- 
 tact with it. When air is moderatelj^ diluted With it, its respiration 
 causes immediate insensibility with depression of all the powers of 
 
Ferrum. 1039 
 
 life ; still more diluted, it causes convulsions, and when air is but 
 slightly contaminated with it, it causes nausea, debility, and headache. 
 The smell of |;he gas ought, in all cases, to be viewed as a warning of 
 danger. As the gas is very deleterious to organic life generally, and as 
 it is said not to be so dangerous when locally applied, it might form an 
 excellent local application to destroy cell-formations, as in cancer, etc. 
 It forms hydrosulphurets, sulphohydratee, or hydrosul})hates with 
 bases. Its formula is HS, and its eq^uivalent weight 17. 
 
 Kemp has contrived a very simple apparatus for generating sulphu- 
 retted hydrogen for pharmaceutical and chemical purposes, which may 
 be easily constructed, and admits of the evolution of the gas being dis- 
 continued at pleasure. It consists of a tall, cylindrical glass jar, with 
 a lateral tubulure near the top. On the top of the jar a thick plate of 
 ground-glass is made to fit air-tight upon the ground edge of the jar ; 
 in the center of this plate is a hole to admit a cork, through which 
 passes a copper-wire, supporting a perforated leaden or earthenware 
 basin for holding the sulphuret of iron. A washing-tube, fitted by a 
 cork into the lateral tubulure, and the delivery tube is connected with 
 it at its further extremity by a piece of vulcanized caoutchouc. In 
 using this apparatus, the cylinder is one-third filled with dilute acid, 
 the sulphuret of iron placed in the leaden basin, and the glass plate 
 fitted on tight with a little grease. When gas is required, the basin 
 is lowered into the acid by means of the copper -wire, and when a 
 sufficient quantity has been obtained, it is again drawn up. "When large 
 quantities of the gas are required, the basin may be fully immersed, 
 but only just below the surface, because theii the solution of iron-salt 
 being denser than the acid, falls to the bottom of the jar, and is re- 
 placed by the acid. — Pharm. Jour, and Trans., XIY., 281. Mehn gives 
 an easy method for the preparation of sulphuretted hydrogen, as fol- 
 lows : JMEix with powdered sulphuret of antimony one third its volume 
 of siliceous sand, or powdered stoneware ; we may now throw upon it 
 from the first a large quantity of hydrochloric acid and heat it actively 
 without any uneasiness as to the results. The gas is regularly and 
 abundantly evolved to the end. The mass becomes but slightly heated 
 and does not distill over into the wash bottle.* 
 
 Fekei Tannas. Tannate of Iron. (Gerbesaures Bisenoxyd.) 
 
 Preparation. — "Take of pure Tannic Acid nine ounces; Precipitated 
 dubcarbonate of Iron forty-four ounces ; Water a sufficient quantity. Dis- 
 solve the Tannic Acid in sufficient water, and boil the solution, to 
 which, while boiling, add gradually the Subcarbonate of Iron, moder- 
 ately dried ; agitate the solution till effervescence ceases. Evaporate 
 the mixture in a porcelain vessel, at a temperature of 176° F., until it 
 becomes thick ; then spread it on glass or porcelain to dry in a stove 
 at 9b°."—Beneditti, £uchner's Bepertorium, XLV., S. 289, 1847. 
 
 History. — According to the above process Tannate of Iron forms in 
 blue scales, it is not dissolved by water, and has no taste. 
 
 *In organic analyses, we have almost always to eliminate some principles with tlie 
 acetate of lead. To separate the lead, authors say in a few words " to remove It by means 
 of a current of sulphuretted hydrogen." This is easily said ; but the operator is to be 
 pitied, for there are few manipulations more lengthy, more tiresome, and more uncertain 
 in their progress and their results, than this ; and he is very fortunate if the flask or mat- 
 rass does not break and throw the hydrochloric acid over his clothes and perhaps upon 
 his f^ce. The current of gas diminishing, he stirs up the fire ; the contents of the matrass 
 or retort swell up and pass over into the wash bottle. If the acid is in excess, there is a 
 disengagement of hydrochloric acid gas not foreseen in the programme ; if the sulphur Is 
 too dry, the apparatus breaks, etc. By the above process these small dangers and Incon- 
 veniences are avoided. This very simple method acts with the same eflScacy in the prepa- 
 ration of chlorine by hydrochloric acid and the binoxide of manganese, and in that of 
 oxygen by sulphuric acid and the binoxide of manganese.— Paiisei. 
 
1040 Pharmacy. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tannate of Iron possesses tonic and astringent 
 properties. It has been used with beneiSt in chlorosis, amenorrhea, 
 chronic diarrhea, and in the diarrhea accompanying some febrile dis- 
 eases, etc. The dose is two or three grains, made into pills, and grad- 
 ually increased, so that in the coui'se of a day thirty grains may be 
 gdven. 
 
 Ferei Valekianas. Valerianate of Iron. (Baldriansaures Bisen- 
 oxyd.) 
 
 Preparation. — To clean Iron Pilings, in a Wedgewood mortar, add 
 gradually an equal weight of Valerianic Acid, and stir constantly. In 
 an hour, add Distilled "Water ; gently warm the whole in a flask, and 
 filter. The surface in contact with the air becomes covered over with 
 a crystalline layer of the Valerianate ; collect this on a filter, and ex- 
 pose as before, repeating the process as long as crystals are obtained. — 
 
 Or it may be prepared according to Wittstein's method : To a solu- 
 tion of three parts of crystallized Sesquichloride of Iron in one hundred 
 parts of "Water, add a cold solution of Valerianate of Soda, made by 
 saturating five parts of oily Valerianic Acid in sixty of "Water with 
 Carbonate of Soda, and then boiling the liquid to expel all the Carbonic 
 Acid. The Valerianic Acid drives oif the Carbonic Acid from the 
 Carbonate of Soda, and uniting with the base forms a neutral salt. 
 
 1500 parts of the terhydrated Valerianic Acid require 1790 parts of 
 crystallized carbonate of soda. It is necessary to boil the solution tc 
 drive off all the carbonic acid. If this neutral solution is added in 
 sufficient quantity (as long as it causes a precipitate), to a solution of 
 sesquichloride, or any sesquisalt of iron, a dark brick -red precipitat''- 
 of "Valerianate of Iron is formed, and readily soluble sulphate or chlo- 
 ride of soda. 4500 parts of Valerianic Acid saturated with soda requirn 
 2704 parts of crystallized Sesquichloride of Iron, or 3513 parts of dry 
 Sesquisulphate of Iron, The affinity between the oxide of iron and 
 Valerianic Acid is so feeble that a gentle heat will remove most of the 
 acid ; consequently the precipitation should take place only when cold. 
 The precipitated "Valerianate of Iron is to be washed with a little Cold 
 "Water, and dried at a temperature, not exceeding 68°. If too much 
 water be used, or if the washing be continued, the acid will be removed. 
 
 The Dublin Pharmacopoeia of 1850, gives the following process for 
 obtaining this salt : " Take of Valerianate of Soda five ounces and three 
 drachms; Sulphate of Iron /owr ownces ; Distilled "Water one _piwt Con- 
 vert the Sulphate of Iron into a tersulphate of the sesquioxide (as 
 directed in the formula for Prussian Blue), and add Distilled "Water 
 until the solution be augmented to the bulk of eight fluidounces. Dis- 
 solve the Valerianate of Soda in ten fluidounces of the "Water, and mix 
 the two solutions cold ; then, having placed the precipitate which 
 forms, upon a filter, and washed it with the remainder of the "Water, 
 dry it, by wrapping it in bibulous paper, and allowing it to stand on a 
 porous brick for some days. "When dried, it should be kept in well- 
 stopped bottles." 
 
 In this process, after having converted the Protosulphate of Iron into 
 the Sesquisulphate, the Valerianate of Soda which is added, acts in the 
 same manner as in the preceding method by Wittstein. 
 
 History. — The valerianate of sesquioxide of iron is a dark brick -red 
 powder, not crystalline, smelling and tasting faintly of valerianic acid. 
 Slowly heated, it gradually gives off all its acid without fusing ; heated 
 rapidly it melts and the acid is decomposed and volatilized. It does 
 
GrLTCERINA. 1041 
 
 not mix with cold water even when rubbed with it ; boiling water de- 
 composes it, freeing valerianic acid, and leaving hydrated sesquioxide 
 of iron. It dissolves in alcohol and acids. Its solution in hydrochloric 
 acid will, if too much of this acid has not been added, cause no blue 
 color with ferrocyanuret of potassium. — Witt. , 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Valerianate of Iron is a nervo-tonic, and will 
 be found serviceable in nervous disorders, hysteria, chorea, neuralgia, 
 chlorosis, and anemic conditions with excitability or irritability of the 
 nervous system. The dose is one or two grains, in pill form, repeated 
 tliree or four times a day. 
 
 GLTCBEIlSrA. 
 
 Grlycerina. Glyceroles. 
 
 The term G-lycerina* is here applied to fluid glycerines, or solutions 
 of agents in Grlycerin, as being preferable to the ordinary names of 
 "glyceroles," " glycerates," or " glycemates," and includes all fluid 
 preparations of the kind referred to, whether for internal administra- 
 tion or local application. When for internal use, the second Glycerin, 
 or that grade next to the purest may be used; but when for local ap- 
 plication the Glj'-cerin must be perfectly pure. Many solutions of Gly- 
 cerin or Glycerin and Water, are apt upon standing to develop micro- 
 scopic cryptogams, unless a certain proportion of alcohol is added to 
 the solutions ; these cryptogamous formations appear to gradually di- 
 minish the medicinal virtues of the solution. On this account, it is 
 better to prepare this class of solutions in small quantity at a time, and 
 only as they are wanted. (See Lotions and Plasmce.) 
 
 Gltcerinum Aloes. Glycerin Solution of Aloes. Glycerole of Aloes. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of finely powdered Socotrine Aloes four drachms ; 
 Glycerin /owr ounces, Troy; Triturate the Aloes with the Glycerin in a 
 glass or porcelain mortar, transfer to a bottle and agitate well together ; 
 if the Aloes is not entirely dissolved, digest the mixture for fifteen min- 
 utes in a water-bath, and strain. This forms a syrupy liquid of a bright 
 mahogany color. 
 
 Properties and i!7ses.— This is recommended as a local application in 
 lichen agrius, and eczematous affections. 
 
 Gltcerinum Atbopia. Glycerin Solution of Atropia. Glycerole of 
 Atropia. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Atropia four grains ; Glycerin one ounce, Troy ; 
 
 * A eiyeertmwm Argentma NUratis may be made by dissolving crystals of nitrate of silver 
 80 grains In (ilycerln one fluidounce. Six minims of this solution contain one grain of 
 nitrate of silver. Pure Glycerin will dissolve the nitrate without any precipitate ; an im- 
 pure or inferior Qlj'cerin is at once detected by a precipitate occuring. The solution 
 should be kept in a blackened vial so as to exclude the light. Weaker solutions may be 
 made from this, according to the strength desired, thus 
 
 For grains to the fluidounce. Minima. 
 
 1 add 3 
 
 2 "..... 6 
 
 3 " 9 Of the above Glycerin 
 
 i " 12 solution to four flui- 
 
 5 " 15 drachms of Olyoerln 
 
 10 " 80 or distUled water, as 
 
 20 " 60 may be preferred. 
 
 80 .". — - 80 , 
 
 40 *' 120 
 
 60 " 180 
 
 By this table, it is observed, that if we desire a solution of the strength of five grains of 
 nitrate of silver to the fluidounce, all we have to do is to add fifteen minims of the above 
 Glycerin solution to four fluldrachras of Glycerin or distilled water. 
 
 66 
 
1042 Phakmaot. 
 
 Triturate the Atropia with, the Glycerin in a glass or porcelain mortar, 
 trapsfer to a vial, ajad keep it well corked. 
 
 Propeirties and Ums. — This is used for the purpose of paralysiing. the 
 accooiHiodative power of the eye, for dilating the pupil, etc. One hun- 
 dred and twenty parts of the preparation contain one part of Atropia. 
 It may be diluted with Grlycerin if required. It may also he used in 
 all cases, internally or externally, where Atropia is indicated. 
 
 Gltgerintjm BisMi7TSi. Glycerin Mwdmre of Bismuth. Grlycemle of 
 Bismuth- 
 Preparation. — Take of Subnitrate of Bism.uth one ounce; Glyeerin 
 three ounces, Troy ; agitate together in a bottle. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^Useful as a local application in eczema, excoria- 
 tions, chaps of the lips and hands, in gonorrhea, vaginitis, chrodic 
 granular conjunctivitis, ciliary and glandular blepharitis, etc. It should 
 always- be well shaken just previous to using it. 
 
 Gltcerinum Boracis. Grlyeerin Solution of Borax. GVyeepde of Bo- 
 rax. 
 
 preparation. — Take of powdered Borax one ounce; Glycerin, three 
 ounces, Troy; Triturate the Borax with the Glycerin in a glass or 
 porcelain mortar, transfer it to a bottle, and agitate well together. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — -This is efficient in thrush and aphthous aflfee- 
 tions, in inflammations of external mucous membranes when not too 
 severe, as, of the mouth, nose, vagina, etc. Applied locally. 
 
 Gltcerinum Carbolicum. Glycerin Solution of Carbolic Acid. Gly^ 
 cerole of Carbolic Acid. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of conimercial Carbolic Acid one ounce ; Glycerin 
 four ounces, Troy; mix together in a bottle, with agitation. 
 
 Properties and Uses.' — This preparation may be used of full strength 
 in- the preparation of Carbolic Acid Plaster ; but when designed for 
 local applications, it should be still further diluted with Glycerin. 
 One drachm of this solution contains twelve grains of Carbolic Acid ; 
 therefore, if it be desired to have a preparation in which 25, 50, 100, 
 500, or 1000 parts contain 1 part of Carbolic acid, we will add to one 
 part of this solution, as the case may require, 20, 45, 95, 495, or 995 
 parts of Glycerin. The weakest solution has been advised as a dress- 
 ing- to gangrenous wounds in preference to a solution of permanganate 
 of ■pota,8sa,.-~Maissonneuve. The other solutions have been used in 
 various cutaneous affections, cancerous and other fetid ulcerations. 
 
 Gltcerinum Chloroformi. Glycerin Solution of Chloroform. Gly- 
 c&role of Chloroform. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Chloroform two and a half fluidrachms ; Gly- 
 cerin eight fluidounces ; rapidly and thoroughly triturate, in a glass mor- 
 tar, the Chloroform and Glycerin together, place the mixture at once 
 in, a vial, and keep well stopped. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Useful as a local application in vulvar pruritus, 
 scrotal pruritus, and in pruritus of the mouth in teething infants, and 
 wherever the local action of Chloroform is desired. 
 
 Gltcerinum Gallioum. Glycerin Solution of Gallic Acid Glyceroh 
 of Gallic Acidi 
 
 Preparation, — Take of Gallic acid owe drachm; Glycerin two ounces. 
 Troy. Triturate thor-oughly together in a glass mortar, and keep in a 
 well-stopped vial. 
 
 Properties and ZTses.-^Useful in inflammatory affections of. mucous 
 surfaces, as of the fauces, nasal membrane, ear, vagina, etc. It is to be 
 applied locally, either as a wash, gargle, or injection. 
 
GLYCEftlNA. 1043 
 
 GiYCERiNUM loDiNii Col^POsiTUJl. Cotfipourtd Glycerin Solution) of 
 fodine. . Glycerols of Iodine. 
 
 Prepdfdtion. — Take of Iodine one drdchm ; Iodide of ^Potassium om 
 drachm ; Grlycerin /owr drachwis. Thbroughly triturate in a glass mor- 
 tar the Iodide of Potaissiam and Glycerin tbgetlrer, then gradually add 
 the Iodine, and continue the trittiratioh until it is all dissolved, and 
 keep the mixture in a well-cloSed Vessel. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^This is a somewhat cailstic preparatioh, very 
 useful as a local application to ulceration of the os uteri, non-vascular 
 goitre, scr'ofulous ulcers, as well as those from etonsfitutibnal syphilis. 
 It should be applieid by means of a hair pencil, or lamjf-wick poi-te 
 caustic. 
 
 Glyoerinum Kino. Glycerin Solution of Kino. &lyderol'e of Kino. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of powdered Kino four drachms; Glyderin tybo 
 fluidounces. Triturate thorbughly togetlier in a' Wodgeiwo6d mortar, 
 and transfer to a vial. 
 
 Propefrties and Uses. — This foi*)ns- a pesrman^nt solution, not giviiig any 
 deposit, and should be employed as a substitute fbr the tindtiire of KiifO. 
 
 Glycerinitm PepsIni COaap'dSlTUM. Compound Glycerin Solution of 
 P&psin. 
 
 Pr&paration. — Take of Oleo-resin of Ptelea Trifolia;ta tiio drachm's ; 
 dry Pepsin four drachnis and sixteen grains ; Pure Glycerin one pint. 
 Rub the Oleo-resin of Ptelea, in a mortar, thoroughly with the Gly- 
 cerin ; then filter through paper, and add the Pepsin. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation is introduced' to the profes- 
 sion by Mr. T. L. A. Greve, as a remedy in Certain dyspeptic affections, 
 in which -the ingestion of food is followed by gastric heaviness, pain, 
 or sense of irritation, etc. The dose is a teaspoonful, to be taken tfeU or 
 fifteen minutes previous to each meal. In cases of pyrosis, excessive 
 flatulency, or where sarcina ventriculi are developed, five grains of 
 sulphite of soda may be added to each dose. 
 
 GLYCERIN0M Picis LiQDiD^. Gtyccrtn Solution of Tar. Glycerole of 
 Tar. 
 
 Preparation.— Take of Tiar, strained, owe Troy ounce; Garb6iia;te' of 
 Magnesia, rubbed to powder on a sieve, three Troy ounces; Alcbhol two 
 fluid&aiices ; Glye^riu four fluidounces ; Water a sufficient quantity. Mix 
 the Alcohol and Glycerin with ten fluidouUces of water. Eubthe Tar 
 in a mortar with the' Carbonate bf Magnesia added gradually, until a 
 smooth pulverulent mixture is obtained ; then, add gradually, in small 
 portions at a time, with thorough trituration continued for fifteen or 
 twenty minutes, six fluidounces of the mixture of Alcohol, Glycerin, 
 and' Water, and strain with strong expression ; return the residue to 
 the mortar, aUd repeat the trituration as before, with five fluidounces 
 more of the same liquid-, and again strain and express ; again treat the 
 dregs ii» the same manner with the remainder of the fluid mixture, 
 and after expression, reduce the residue by trituration to a uniform 
 condition, and finally pack firmly in a glass funnel, prepared for perco- 
 lation, and pour upon it the' expressed liquors; previously mixed, and 
 when the mixture has all passed from the surface, continue the perco- 
 lation with water until one pint of liquid has'been obtained. 
 
 History.— Thin lA an elegant and' palatable preparatioh of Tar, of a 
 odantifui rich reddish-brown color at first', biit losing its' transparency 
 from a deposition of resinous matter, which does'nbt, however, affect 
 the medicinal virtues of thfe preparation in the least. If Glyceriii be 
 substituted for the alcohol; in' its prepEtration, the solution is nearly &e 
 
1044 Pharmacy. 
 
 strong as when alcohol is employed, and deposits less resin. Glycerin 
 appears to be a good solvent of the medicinal properties of Tar, and 
 possessing demulcent, alterative, and nutrient properties, serves as a 
 valuable adjunct to the latter therapeutically. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Glycerin solution of Tar is very valuable in 
 chronic cough, chronic laryngeal, bronchial, and pulmonary affections, 
 , and, being free from sugar, it is less liable to offend the stomach and 
 disturb the digestive functions of patients requiring its long continued 
 use. It may be associated with the fluid extracts of wild cherry bark, 
 bloodroot, etc., to suit the views of the prescribing physician. The 
 dose is from two to four fluidrachms, three or four times a day, which 
 will represent from about 7^ to 15 grains of tar. — J. B. Moore, Am. 
 Jour. Pharm., 1869, p. 115. 
 
 Glyoerinum Potassii Bromidum. Glycerin Solution of Bromide of 
 Potassium. Glycerole of Bromide of Potassium. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Bromide of Potassiiim one drachm ; Glycerin 
 five drachms, Troy. Triturate the Bromide and Glycerin in a Wedge- 
 wood mortar, and transfer to a vial. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This solution has been employed as a local ap- 
 plication to regions affected with local or reflex spasms. It is applied 
 upon compresses or by injection. Qne-half of the above mixture (2^ 
 drachms) is to be added to a quart of water, and then applied as above. 
 It may also be given internally wherever the bromic salt is indicated, 
 in doses of half a teaspoonful in a wineglass of water, and repeated 
 three or four times a day. 
 
 Glycerinum PoTASs.ai Chloras. Glycerin Solution of Chlorate of Po- 
 tassa^. Glycerole of Chlorate of Potassa. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Chlorate of Potassa, in powder, one drachm ; 
 Glycerin ten drachms, Troy. Place the two articles in a vial, and agitate 
 until the chlorate is all dissolved. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This has been found valuable as a disinfectant 
 and dressing for ill-conditioned wounds, and ulcers, and as a local ap- 
 plication to enfeebled and ulcerated mucous surfaces, as, in aphthous 
 affections of the mouth, leucorrhea, genorrhea in females, nasal ulcera- 
 tions, etc. 
 
 Glycerinum QDiNi.ffl Sulphas. Glycerin Solution of Sulphate of 
 Quinia. Glycerole of Quinia. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Sulphate of Quinia twenty-four grains ; Glyce- 
 rin two fluidounces. Triturate the Quinia with the Glycerin, in a glass 
 mortar, until it is dissolved, and transfer to a vial, 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms an elegant preparation, containing one 
 grain and a half of sulphate of quinia to the fluidrachm. It may be 
 used both internally and externally in all cases where quinia is indicated. 
 
 Glycerinum Quinije SuLphas cum STRYCHNiiE. Glycerin Solution of 
 Sulphate of Quip,ia with Strychnia. Glycerole of Quinia and Strychnia. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Strychnia one grain; Sulphate of Quinia /orty 
 grains; Glycerin four fluidounces. Triturate, in a glass mortar, the 
 Strychnia and the Quinia salt with the Glycerin, until they are dis- 
 solved, and transfer to a vial. „ 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This solution will be found very useful in ob- 
 stinate intermittent fevers, neuralgia, nervous prostration, and in some 
 forms of debility of the reproductive system. The dose is a teaspoon 
 fal three times a day. 
 
 Glycerinum Sod.® Sulphis. Glycerin Solution of Sulphite of Soda. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Sulphite of Soda two drachms ; Glycerin three 
 
' Inpusa. , 1045 
 
 fluidWnces. Thoroughly triturate the Soda salt with the' Glycerin, in a 
 glass' or tVedgewood mortar, and transfer to a vial. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a preparation that ^ill he found 
 very useful as a local application in many cutaneous affections, especial- 
 ly ^those of a parasitical character. It may also be used internally in 
 zymotic diseases. One fluidrachra contains about five grains of sul- 
 phite of soda. 
 
 GrLYCERiNUM Tannioum. Glycerin Solution of Tannic Acid. Glycerole 
 of Tannic Acid. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Tannic Acid one drachm ; Glycerin four 
 drachms ; mix in a warm mortar and triturate until the tannic acid is 
 dissolved. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This will be found an excellent local applica- 
 tion in leucorrhea, gleet, the nasal discharges following the exanthema- 
 tons affections, otorrhea in children, granular ophthalmia, ozoena, etc 
 It is contra-indicated in active inflammations, which should be allayed 
 previous to its use. 
 
 INFU8A. (Warme Aufgiisse.) 
 
 Infusiotis. 
 
 Infusions are solutions of vegetable principles in water, effected with- 
 out boiling, and to which, when not contra- indicated, some kinds of 
 spirit are occasionally added for the purpose of preserving them. 
 The addition of any alcoholic mixtitre is, however, only made in cases 
 where the medicinal action of the liquor itself is desired. Clear soft 
 water^ as, river, rain, or distilled water, should be used in the 
 preparation of infusions ; hard, or limestone water, from springs or 
 wells, or water holding saline substances in solution, are unfit for this 
 purpose, as they are apt to occasion precipitates, or else fail to take up 
 all the desired medicinal principles. The almost universal method of 
 preparing infusions is to pour water at 212° F., on the materials,* coarse- 
 ly bruised or cut in small pieces, and then, covering the vessel contain- 
 ing them, allowing them to stand until the fluid becomes cold. If a 
 long continuance of a low heat is required, the vessel containing the 
 infusion is exposed to a water-bath, or to the necessary temperature by 
 the side of a fire. Drugs containing volatile active constituents, or 
 which are deteriorated by a temperature somewhat elevated, or which 
 contain a principle not desired and which is not readily dissolved by 
 water at a low degree of heat, are better made into infusions by cold 
 instead of hot water. 
 
 Infusions form a very expeditious and convenient mode of exhibit- 
 ing many medicines, as the most of them readily yield their active con- 
 stituents in this way, without requiring to be very finely divided. The 
 principal objection to them is the difficulty of keeping them for any 
 length of time, in consequence of which they. require to be prepared 
 off-handed, and in limited quantity at a time. Mr. Alsop, however, 
 has devised a plan by which they may be preserved for several months 
 (see page 906). -The water employed in making infusions should be 
 pure, and distilled water, rain water, or water free from earthy, saline 
 and metallic principles may be used, and no other. Mugs containing 
 a movable diaphragm, are now much in use for the preparation of in- 
 fusions, and they are superior to any other mode. The diaphragm ex- 
 tends to one-third or one-half of the depth of the mug, and contains 
 the vegetable remedy, while the jar is filled with hot or cold water as 
 
1046 Pharmacy. 
 
 may be required. A constant circulation is kept up in tjie fluid 
 by the increased density of the impregnated water carrying it to the 
 bottom, while its place is occupied by the less impregnated fluid, and 
 this continues until the remedy is exhausted of its active soluble prin- 
 ciples. ' 
 
 In making infusions with boiling water, starch and other principles 
 are often taken up, whose presence disposes to acidity or niioldinesSj or 
 perhaps favors reactions which materially impair the infusions ; on this 
 account percolation by cold water is preferable, as it avoids these in- 
 conveniences, beside which these infusiQns have a less tendency to de- 
 cay than those made at a boiling temperature. The procesp of percola- 
 tion or displacement by "cold water, affords infusions of very great 
 strength, and is preferred to any other mode ; it requires, however,'that 
 the articles should be more finely powdered, as a general thing, than 
 is customary in preparing infusions in the ordiniary way. When of 
 too much strength, the infusion may be reduced by dilution with water. 
 Very excellent infusions may be prepared with many medicinal herbs, 
 roots, or barks, by percolating with a fluid composed of three parts 
 water and one part glycerin. 
 
 The usual rule for preparing infusions is to add from half an ounce to 
 an ounce of the coarsely bruised herb or root to a pint of water, of which, 
 when prepared, the dose is from one to two fluidounces. They are better 
 when prepared in glazed earthenware or porcelain vessels fitted with 
 covers, than when prepared in metallic vessels, on account of a liability 
 to chemical alteration from metallic influence, and which frequently 
 impairs the preparation. Infusions containing acids, or saline substances 
 should always be prepared and kept in glass or china vessels. 
 
 In the preparation of infusions, the reactions of agents should always 
 be kept in view. Thus, infusion of chamomile flowers yields precipitates 
 with nitrate of silver, sulphate of iron, gelatin, yellow Peruvian bark, 
 tincture of chloride of iron, corrosive sublimate, and the acetates of lead. 
 Infusion oi! horseradish undergoes rapid decomposition, and is precipi- 
 tated wi\h acetate of lead, infusion of galls, nitrate of silver, corrosive 
 sublimate, and the alkaline carbonates. Infusion of cloves is precipi- 
 tated by the soluble salts of antimony, ?inc, iron, silver, lead, and by 
 lime-water. Infusion of cascarilla is precipitated by infusion of galls, 
 acetates of lead, sulphates of zinc and iron, nitrat;e of silver, and lime- 
 water. Infusion of yellow Peruvian lark is incompatible with potassa, 
 soda, ammonia, and their carbonates, lime, magnesia, tannic and gallic 
 acids, and vegetables containing these acids, tartaric acid, oxalic acid, 
 and the soluble tartrates and oxalates. It also affords precipitates with 
 other agents, which, however, do not always Injure its efficacy or active 
 principle, as corrosive sublimate, arsenious acid, tartar emetic, gelatin- 
 ous solutions, soluble salts of iron, silver, and zinc, and many vegetable 
 solutions, as those of cloves, chamomile, columbo, cascarilla, galls, horse- 
 radish, catechu, digitalis, senna, orange-peel, rhubarb, valerian, and 
 simaruba. Infusions of senna, gentian, rhubarb, and columbo, are better 
 when made with cold water. When boiling water is added to columbo 
 it takes up the starch, and the infusion spoils rapidly ; it should be 
 made with cold water, then boiled, and filtered to separate albuminous 
 matter. Infusion of digitalis is precipitated by acetate of lead, sulphate 
 of iron, and infusion of cinchona. — Lond. — Phillips. — Pharm. Jour, and 
 Trans., vol. XIV., 18,55, pp. 486, 438, 439, 403, 339. 
 
 As nearly all vegetable medicines are occasionally administered in 
 the form of infusion, it would be useless to enter into an especial rela- 
 
Inpusa. 1047 
 
 tion of them, further than already explained in the above general rules.; 
 they are more commonly prescribed as secondary or auxiliary measufes, 
 and are left for the nurse or family to prepare. However, there are a 
 few compound infusions, some of which are of a spirituous nature^ which 
 it may be advisable to describe on account of their extensive employ- 
 ment, and superior efficacy in the diseases for which they are recom- 
 mended. 
 
 Inpusum Apii Compositum. Compound Infusion of Parsley. (War- 
 mer Petersilien Aufguss.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Parsley Eoots and Seeds, coarsely bruised. Sub- 
 carbonate of Iron, each,/0Mr ounces; Horseradish Root, inamall pieces, 
 two ounces; Juniper Berries, Squill, White Mustard-seed, Mandrake 
 Eoot, and Queen of the Meadow, of each, finely bruised, one ounce ; Good 
 Cider six quarts. Boil the Cider and pour it on the rest of the articles 
 mixed together,' in an earthen vessel; cover the vessel, and digest with 
 a gentle heat for twenty-four hours. 
 
 The eider should not be hard, nor too new, but sparkling and pleas- 
 antly tart, and after digestion by heat, it should be allowed to rem aim 
 upon the articles, without straining it off. Bj this course, the liquid 
 becomes still further impregnated with the properties of the medicines. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a most excellent preparation in several 
 varieties of dropsy, for which alone it is used ; it increases the action 
 of the kidneys, regulates the bowels, improves the digestive functions^ 
 and promotes activity of the absorbent vessels. The dose is one or two 
 fluidounces, three times a day. In the summer season, half the iabove 
 quantity may be made at one time, as otherwise it becomes very sour 
 and moldy. It should always be used immediately after its preparation. 
 -^. K. 
 
 Inpusum BpiG,«i,ai Compositum. Compound Infusion of Trailing Arbu- 
 tus. Diuretic Compound. (Ziisammengesetzter Warmer Bpigaen Auf- 
 guss.) 
 
 Preparation. — TaJse of Trailing Arbutus, Queen of the Meadow Rbbt, 
 Dwarf-Elder Bark, Marsh-mallow Boot, each, coarsely bruised, half an 
 ounce; Boiling Water, good Holland Gin, of each, one pint; Hooey a 
 sufficient quantity. Pour the Boiling Water and Gin on the plants, and 
 digest them with gentle heat, in a close covered vessel, for six hours ; 
 then remove from the fire, strain, and add sufficient Hobey to render it 
 pleasantly sweet. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a very valuable remedy in gravel, in 
 chronic catarrh of the bladder, suppression of urine, high colored or 
 scalding urine, inflammation of the urethra, iand other disorders of the 
 urinary organs. In oxalic deposits, however, it is of no utility. The 
 dose is about two fluidounces, three or four times a day ; in severe cases, 
 this dose may be given every hour until relief is obtained, after which 
 every three or four hours. In oases of gravel, a corresponding quan- 
 tity of Wild-Carrot Eoot and Seed may be advatitageously added to the 
 articles. — J. K. 
 
 Inpusum Geranii Compositum. Oorhpound Infusion of Qranesbill. 
 (Zusammengesetzter Warmer Kranichsohnabel AufgUss.) 
 
 Preparation.' — Take of Cranesbill, Witch Hazel, Black Cohosh, and 
 Golden Seal, each, coarsely bruised, half an ounce; Boiling Water twn 
 pints. Mix the articles together, and digest with a gentle heat, in a close 
 vessel, for two hours; remove from the fire and strain. If required. 
 Alum one drachm, may be added. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms an efficacious astringent wash ic 
 
1048 Pharmacy. 
 
 aphthous and other diseases of the mouth and throat, when unaccompa- 
 nied with inflammation ; and is also useful as an injection in leucorrhea, 
 prolapsus ani, and prolapsus uteri. "Without the alum, this infusion may 
 be administered internally in doses of from a fluidrachm to half a fluid- 
 ounce, repeated three or four times a day, and will prove eflacacious in 
 chronic diarrhea and dysentery, in passive hemorrhages, in hemorrhoids, 
 and in debilitated conditions of the venous system.— J. K. 
 
 Inftjsum Htdbastis Compositum. Compound Infusion of Golden Seed. 
 ( Zusammengesetzter Warmer Gelbwurzel Aufguss.) 
 
 Freparation — Take of Golden Seal, Blue Cohosh, Witch Hazel, of each, 
 in powder, half an ounce; Boiling Water one pint; pulverized Alum one 
 drachm; Honey a sufficient quantity. Add the plants to the Boiling Water, 
 and digest with a gentle heat, in a close vessel, for half an hour, remove 
 ifrom the fire, strain, add the Alum, and sufficient Honey to thoroughly 
 sweeten the infusion. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This infusion is very valuable as a wash or gar- 
 gle in various forms of sore mouth, arid ulcerated sore-throat. With- 
 out the Alum, it may also be employed internally in the same cases as 
 named in the preceding article.— t/. K. 
 
 Infusum Salvi.® Compositum. Compound Infusion of Sage. (Zusam- 
 mengesetzter Salvei Aufguss.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Sage Leaves, Hyssop Leaves, of each, one ounce; 
 BoilingWater two pints; pulverized Borax one drachm. Place the Herbs 
 in the 3oiling Water, allow them to digest for half an hour, then strain 
 and add the Borax. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This infusion is employed as a wash and gar- 
 gle in aphthse, sore-throat, and quinsy, when accompanied with inflam- 
 mation. 
 
 LACTINATBD PREPARATIONS. 
 
 These are new forms, in which active and powerful medicines are 
 presented to the profession by the manufacturers, and are entirely dis- 
 tinct from those worthless articles whose mode of preparation is kept 
 becret, and which, though containing large proportions of lactin, mag- 
 nesia, etc., are sold at extravagant prices as the genuine unadulterated 
 articles. The officinal lactinated preparations are composed of alcoholic 
 extracts, essential or inspissated tinctures, and juices, resinoids, etc., 
 thoroughly triturated with lactin or sugar of milk. They are said to 
 De best formed in the process of mixture, by mixing the lactin with 
 the medicine before it is dried, and then carefully drying and powder- 
 ing them together. This combination of medicines with lactin has the 
 advantage, 1st, of presenting many of the soft resinoids and inspissated 
 tinctures, in the dry powdered form, without changing their chemical 
 'Character, as is liable to be done by mixing them With alkalies or min- 
 eral substances. 2d. Of rendering them soluble, or at least readily 
 miscible in water, and thus more easily administered, and more readily 
 diffused in the stomach. 3d. Of greatly increasing the activity of all 
 the resinoids, and such other preparations as are but partially- soluble 
 in water. Pour grains of such a mixture, although it contain only one 
 grain of the medicine, will be generally found as active as two grains 
 of the same medicine given in its isolated state, while at the same time 
 it produces less irritation and other unpleasant effects. Many concen- 
 trated agents are much improved by this mode of combination, and are 
 kept prepared in this way, as in their pure state they are so concen- 
 
LiNIMENTA. 1049 
 
 trated and insoluble as to act ae irritants on the stomach before they 
 can be sufficiently diffused and absorbed to produce their therapeutical 
 effects. 
 
 The lactinated medicines should be kept in ounce or two-ounce vials, 
 with as little exposure to air and light as possible. All articles contain- 
 ing volatile principles, as the essential oils, soft resinoids, and oleo-resins, 
 should be kept in half-ounce or ounce vials, as by frequently exposing 
 them to the air they become inert. Those articles which absorb moist- 
 ure from the air, and thus render the combination hard, or which require 
 very large proportions of lactin to form a dry mixture, should not be 
 lactinated. 
 
 Lactinated preparations are made of various proportions of lactin, and 
 which are expressed on the label of the vials containing them ; thus, 
 there may be equal parts, eiach, of the medicine and the sugar of milk; 
 or to one part of the former, there may be added two, five, or ten parts 
 of the latter. 
 
 Ordinary cane sugar, saturated with concentrated alcoholic or ethereal 
 tinctures of various medicines, and then dried, has b6en used ^J medi- 
 cal men, and found very useful, but it will be found inferior to, and less 
 permanent than a lactinated medicine, properly prepared. 
 
 LESriMBNTA. (Linimente.) 
 Liniments. 
 
 These preparations are designed for external application, and should 
 always be of a consistence which will enable them to be applied to the 
 skin by gentle rubbing with the naked hand, or flannel. They are 
 usually composed of oily, spirituous, gummy, or saponaceous sub- 
 stances, are more fluid than ointments, denser than water, and at the 
 ordinary heat of the body are always fluid. The benefit derived from 
 them, depends either upon their counter-irritating influences, or from 
 absorption of their active constituents. Liniments are usually pre- 
 scribed extemporaneously by physicians, each having a preference ; 
 yet it is absolutely necessary that there be some established rule in re- 
 lation to them, and that the officinal preparation be generally known. 
 
 LiNiMENTUM AcoNiTi. Linimentum Aconiti Radicis. Aconite Liniment. 
 (Eisenhut Liniment.) 
 
 Preparafion.^Take of Aconite .Root, in powder, four ounces; Grly- 
 cerin two fluidrachms ; Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Macerate the Aco- 
 nite with half a pint of Alcohol for twenty -four hours, then pack it in 
 a small displacer, and add Al6ohol gradually until a pint of tincture 
 has passed. Distill off twelve fluidounces, and evaporate the residue 
 until it measures twelve fluidrachms. To this add Alcohol two flui- 
 drachms, and the Glycerin, and mix them. 
 
 This preparation is offered by W. Procter, Jr., as a substitute for 
 aconitia as an external anaesthetic application. It is twice the strength 
 of the root, and is exceedingly active. The Criycerin is added for the 
 purpose of retarding evaporation after application of the liniment to 
 the skin, and which ma}' be further secured by using oiled silk. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This liniment may be used in all cases in which 
 aconitia would prove useful, as in gout, neuralgia, and rheumatism. It 
 is to be used as follows : Cut a piece of lint or muslin of the size and 
 form of the part to be treated, lay it on a plate or waiter, and by means 
 of a camel's-hair brush, saturate it with the liniment. Thus prepared 
 
1050 / Pharmacy. 
 
 it should be applied to the surface, a piece of oiled silk laid over and 
 kept in place by an adhesive edge, or by a bandage. Care should be 
 taken not to apply it to an abraded surface, and in its use the patient 
 should be informed of its character, and avoid bringing it in contact 
 with the eyes, nostrils, or lips. 
 
 LiNiMENTUM AcoNiTiNA CoMPOsiTUM. Compound Liniment of Aconitina 
 Anodyne Pomade. (Zusammengesetztes Bisenhut Liniment.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Glycerin, Hydrocyanic Acid, each, one flui- 
 drachm ; Aconitina one grain. Eub the Glycerin and Aconitina thor- 
 oughly together, and then add the Hydrocyanic Acid ; when thor- 
 oughly mixed, put in a well-stopped vial. 
 
 In preparing this, care should be employed not to inhale any of the 
 mixture, and after the addition of the hydrocyanic acid, the mixture 
 should be bottled as .quickly as possible. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Anodyne ; to be applied locally by means of a 
 camel's-hair pencil over parts aifected with neuralgia; when painted 
 on the regions about the eye it will allay the pains incident to several 
 affections of the internal coats of the eye. — Prof. A. J. Howe. 
 
 LiNiMENTUM AcoNiTi BT Chlorofoemi. Aconite and Chloroform Lini- 
 ment. (Bisenhut Liniment mit Chloroform.) 
 
 Preparation.— I&^e of Castor-oil two fluidrachms ; Chloroform, Water 
 of Ammonia, Tincture of Aconite-Eoot, each, tivo fluidrachms; Cam- 
 phorated Tincture of Soap one fluidounce. Mix them well together. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a liniment useful in rheumatic and 
 neuralgic pains, and wherever such a combination is desired. If the 
 solution above does not readily form a perfectly homogeneous mixture, 
 a few moments' heating in a water-bath will effect it. — W. Procter, Jr. 
 
 The following form excellent liniments, which have been found very 
 efficacious in rheumatic and neuralgic pains : — 1. Take of Fluid Ex- 
 tract of Aconite two fluidounces ; American Petroleum, sp. gr. 40° to 42° 
 Baume, six fluidounces ; mix. 2. Take of Fluid Bxtract of Aconite, 
 Chloroform, each, two fluidounces ; Benzole four fluidounces ; mix. — J. K. 
 
 LiNiMENTUM ^RUGiNis. MelJEJgypticum. Verdigris Liniment. (Griins- 
 pan Liniment. Grtinspan Sauerhonig.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Verdigris (Subacetate of Copper), in powder, 
 one ounce; Yinegar seven fluidounces ; ~S.oi3.ej fourteen ounces. DisSolve 
 the Verdigris in the Vinegar, and strain through linen ; then gradu- 
 ally add the Honey, and boil down to the proper consistence. — Lond. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a stimulant, detergent, and slightly 
 escharotic. It is applied by means of a camel's-hair pencil to venereal 
 ulcers of the throat, as well as to other indolent ulcers. Diluted with 
 water it is employed as a gargle. This preparation should be made 
 only as required, because, by keeping, it undergoes chemical change; 
 the honey becomes colored, and its crystallizable sugar is converted into 
 uncrystallizable saccharine matter, while the subacetate of copper is 
 reduced to the form of minute granules of metallic copper. — P. 
 
 LiNiMENTUM Ammonia. Liniment of Ammonia. Common or Volatile 
 Liniment. (Ammoniak Liniment. Fluchtiges Liniment.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Solution of Ammonia a fluidounce ; Olive Oil 
 two fluidounces. Mix, and agitate them well together. — Ed. — Lond. 
 
 In this liniment a soap is formed by the union of the oil and ammo- 
 nia, which is but imperfectly dissolved, and a white oloo-margarate of 
 ammonia is formed with some glycerin. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation is used as a rubefacient in 
 rheumatic and neuralgic pains, sore-throat, sprains, bruises, etc. It 
 
LiNIMENTA. 1051 
 
 njay be applied over the part on flannel, or the skin may be gently 
 tubbed with it. If it becomes too active, it must be weakened with a 
 sufficient quantity of oil. 
 
 LiNiMENTUM Ammonite Compositum. Compound Liniment of Ammonia. 
 (Zusammengeaetztes Ammotiiak Liniment.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Stronger Solution oi XramonisL five fluidounces ; 
 Tincture of Camphor two fiuidounces ; Spirit of Eosemary one fluidounce. 
 Mix them well together. This liniment may also be made weaker for 
 some purposes with three fiuidounces of Tincture of Camphor, and two 
 of Spirit of Eosemary." — Ed. 
 
 This liniment, of the two strengths given, is a mere dilution of the 
 stronger solution of ammonia, in two different degrees ; the ammonia 
 alone being too potent for use. It closely resembles Granville's Coun- 
 ter-irritant Lotion. The camphor and rosemary serve but little other 
 purpose here than that of diluting agents. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This liniment may be used to produce rubefac- 
 tion, vesication, or cauterization. A piece of linen, six or seven times 
 folded, or a piece of thick and coarse flannel impregnated with the lini- 
 ment, is to be applied to the part and covered with a thick towel, which 
 is to be firmly pressed against the part ; a very good plan is to select a 
 box the size of the part to be acted upon, introduce pateiit lint into it, 
 saturate it with the fluid, and hold it firmly upon the part. If rubefaction 
 merely be desired, the application is continued for only six or eight 
 minutes, or the weaker solution may be used; if vesication- or cauteri- 
 zation be required, ten to fifteen minutes will be necessary. It is em- 
 ployed in painful and spasmodic affections, neuralgia, cramp, rheuma- 
 tism, lumbago, swollen and painful affections of the joints, headache, 
 sore-throat, sprains, etc. — P. 
 
 LiNiMENTUM Cajcputi Compositum. Compound Cajeput Liniment. 
 (Zusammengesetztes Cajeput Liniment.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Oils o,f Sassafras, Cajeput, and Hemlock, each, 
 one ounce; Soap a sufficient quantity. Mix them together and form a 
 lipiment. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — -This forms a valuable stimulating and discutient 
 application ; it is principally used in indolent scrofulous tumors, and in 
 the mammary inflammations of nursing women. — J. K. 
 
 •LiNiMENTUM Galois. Liniment of Lime. (Kalk Liniment.) 
 
 Preparation. — :Take of Olive, or Linseed Oil, and Lime-water, equal 
 parts. Mix and agitate them together. — Ed. — Land. 
 
 The oil and lime unite and form a calcareous soap, the oleo-marga- 
 rate of lime, with some glycerin. It is called Garron Oil. Turpentine 
 may be sometimes advantageously added to it. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a very useful application to recent 
 burns and scalds ; it is best applied on carded cotton. The following 
 is also reputed beneficial in burns : Take of Lime-water two fiuidounces; 
 Oil of Turpentine, Olive Oil, each, onefiuidounce. Mix. If it be used 
 immediately after the accident, add Oil of Pennyroyal one fluidounce. 
 
 LiNiMENTUM CamphorjE. Gamphor Liniment. (Kampfer Liniment.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Camphor an ounce and a half; Chloroform two 
 flwidraehms; Olive Oil two fiuidounces. Dissolve the Camphor in the 
 Oil and Chloroform mixed together. — W. B. Price. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a stimulant and anodyne applica- 
 tion, in contusions, sprains, rheumatic, neuralgic, and other pains. In 
 glandular enlargements it is used as a resolvent. 
 
 LiNiMENTUM CAMPHORi?! CoMPOsiTA. Compound Liniment of Gamphor. 
 
1052 JfHARMACT. 
 
 Rhuematic Liniment, or Drops. ' (Zusammengesetzte Kampher Lini-, 
 raent.) Tinctura Camphorce^Oomposita. Compound Tincture of Camphors 
 Rheumatic Tincture. 
 
 Preparation-. — Take of Camphor one pound: Oil of Origanum, Oil of 
 Hemlock, each, half a pound; Oil of Sassafras, Oil of Cajeput, each, ^wo 
 ounces; Oil of Turpentine one ownce ; Capsicum /oMr owwces; Alcohol one 
 gallon. Marcerate for fourteen days, and filter. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is exceedingly efficacious as an external 
 application, in almost every painful affection ; and is of advantage in 
 chronic rheumatism, pains in various parts of the system, bruises, 
 sprains, chilblains, contusions, lameness, numbness, white swellings, 
 and other swellings, etc. In ordinary cases apply two to four teaspoon- 
 fuls to the affected part, and rub it well by the fire ; and apply warm 
 flannel over the region of the affected part, several times a day. In- 
 ternally, take twenty drops on sugar ; but in severe and obstinate eases, 
 softer bathing as above directed, apply an additional piece of flannel, 
 which must be kept constantly wet with the drops, until relieved. 
 When applied to the teeth, wet a small quantity of cotton, and intro- 
 duce it into the decaying teeth ; if the face is swollen bathe with it 
 likewise. — J. K. 
 
 LiNiMBNTUM Capsici Compositum. Compound Capsicum Liniment. 
 (Zusammengesetztes Spanischpfeffer Liniment.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Tincture of Capsicum two fiuidounces ; Tincture 
 of Opium, emd Ac^na, Amraoniai, each, three fluidrachms ; Oil of Origanum, 
 two fluidrachms ; Oil of Cinnamon and Tincture of Camphor, of each, one 
 fluidrachm. Mix. 
 
 Properties and CTses.^This is a very efficacious application in rheu- 
 matic, pleuritic, neuralgic, and other pains. 
 
 LiNiMENTtTM Crotonis. Groton- OH Liniment. (Croton-Oel Liniment.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Croton Oil one fluid-ounce ; Oil of Turpentine 
 seven fluidounces. Mix together with agitation." — Dub. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This acts as a prompt rubefacient ; and when 
 used for some time, produces pustulation. From ten to thirty minims 
 may be placed upon a limited surface, and rubbed in ; and when pustu- 
 lation is required, this should be repeated two or more times every 
 day. 
 
 LiNiMENTUM Nigrum. Black Liniment. (Scharzes Liniment.) ' 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Olive Oil one fluidounce and a half ; Sulphuric 
 Acid one fluidrachm ; mix well together, and then add, Oil of Turpentine 
 half a fluidounce. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — An active counter-irritant, but does not vesi- 
 cate. To be rubbed on the part with a piece of lint, twice a day, until 
 the skin becomes tender and inflamed. It may be used in indolent 
 swellings of joints, rheumatic pains, and wherever active counter-irri- 
 tation is indicated. — Brodie. 
 
 LiNiMENTUM Olei. Liniment of Oils. (Oel-Liniment.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Oils of Cedar, Cajeput, Cloves, and Sassafras, 
 of each, one fluidounce. Mix. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms an efficacious application to rheu- 
 matic and other painful affections ; it should be rubbed on the affected 
 part, three or four times daily. 
 
 LiNiMENTUM Olei Compositum. Compound Liniment of Oils. Con- 
 centrated Liniment. (Zusammengesetztes Oel-Liniment.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Oils of Origanum, Hemlock, Cajeput, and 
 Camphor, each, four ounces, by weight; Capsicum two ounces. Mix the 
 
LiNIMENTA. 1063 
 
 Oils and dissolve the Camphor in the mixture ; then add the Capsicum, 
 and let it macerate for fourteen days, frequently agitating. Then 
 filter. 
 
 Properties and CTJses.-^This is a powerful counter-irritant, and may be 
 employed with advantage in indolent tumors, indurated mammae, 
 rheumatic and other pains, and to the spine, in epilepsy, nervous debil- 
 ity, etc.— J. K. 
 
 LiNiMENTUM Opii. Liniment of Opium. Anodyne Liniment. (Opium 
 Liniment.) 
 
 Preparation. — Tincture of' Opium, Liniment of Soap, each two fluid- 
 ounces. Mix. Brit. Pharm. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is an anodyne and mild rubefacient 
 application in contusions, sprains, neuralgic and rheumatic pains, 
 etc. 
 
 LiNiMENTUM Petrolei Compositum. Compound Liniment of Petroleum, 
 (Zusammengesetztes Steineole Liniment.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of American Petroleum, sp. gr. 40° to 42° Baume, 
 six fluidounces ; Aqua Ammonia, Tincture of Opium, each, onefluidounce ; 
 Camphor siocty Troy grains. Mix. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a very useful application in rheu- 
 matism, sprains, bruises, sore throat, and painful aifections. A Cam- 
 phorated Petroleum for similar purposes may be prepared by dissolving 
 one ounce of Camphor in one pint of American Petroleum, 40° to 45° B. 
 
 LiNiMENTUM Saponis. Soop Liniment. (Seifen Liniment.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of finely shaved or cut Castile Soap eighteen 
 drachms; Camphor nine drachms; Oil of Rosemary three fluidrachms ; 
 Alcohol eighteen fluidounces ; Distilled ^ aXQY two fluidounces and two flui- 
 drachms ; (fig 18). Mix the water with the Alcohol, add the soap, and 
 digest it in a water bath, at a temperature not exceeding 70° P., with 
 occasional agitation until the Soap is dissolved ; then strain the liquid, 
 and while it is hot add the Camphor dissolved in the Oil of Eosemary, 
 and agitate so as to effect a thorough mixture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a very useful stimulating and ano- 
 dyne application in contusions, sprains, rheumatic and other painful 
 affections. 
 
 LiNiMENTUM Saponis Camphoratum. Camphorated Soap Liniment. 
 Opodeldoc. (Kampherhaltiges Seifen-Liniment. Opodeldoc.) 
 
 Preparation.— Take of Common White Soap two ounces ; Camphor 
 one ounce ; Oil of Rosemary three drachms ; Oil of Origanum two drachms ; 
 Aqua Ammonia F P P, one ounce ; Alcohol one pint and a half. Place 
 the Soap in the Alcohol and digest on a sand-bath ; when the Soap is 
 dissolved, add the Ammonia, Oils and Camphor ; agitate till they are 
 dissolved, and immediately pour into wide-mouthed vials. When cold, 
 this liniment becomes of a semi-solid consistence. 
 
 This liniment assumes an appearance of solidity, which is owing to 
 its formation with a soap made with animal oil, instead of one with 
 vegetable or olive oil. It is yellowish-white, translucent, and becomes 
 fluid, at the temperature of the body. Before cooling, it is usually 
 placed in two or four ounces vials with wide mouths, and is known by 
 the name of Opodeldoc. The formula above given, I consider to be 
 much preferable to the one ordinarily followed in manufacturing the 
 article. 
 
 " Properties and Uses. — Camphorated Soap Liniment is an excellent an- 
 odyne embrocation in all local pains, rheumatism, contusions, sprains 
 sore throat, etc. 
 
1054 Pharmacy. 
 
 IiiNiMENTUM StillingijE CoMPOsituM. Oompound Liniment of Stillin- 
 gia. (Zusaramengesetztes Stillingie Liniment.) 
 
 Preparation. — ^Take of Oil of Stillingia one fluidounce ; Oil of Cajeput 
 half a flmdounce ; Oil of Lobelia two fluidrachms ; Alcohol, two fluid- 
 ounces. Mix together. 
 
 Properties andUses. — This forms a peculiar kind of liniment, possess- 
 ing stimulant and relaxant properties. It is used in chronic asthma, 
 , cj-oup, epilepsy, chorea, etc. In asthma and croup, the throat, chest 
 and neck is to be bathed with it, three or four times a day. In chorea, 
 epilepsy, a'nd spasmodic diseases, the whole vertebral column is to be 
 bathed with it. In rheumatism, sprains, and painful affections, the dis- 
 eased parts are to be bathed with it. In asthma its action is very 
 prompt and effectual, relieving and ultimately caring the most obsti- 
 nate cases. In the majority of instances, when applied to the chest, 
 neck, etc., the patient experiences a peculiar taste in the mouth, some- 
 what resembling that of the Lobelia and Stillingia combined. It is 
 often used of less strength, as — Take of Oil of Stillingia half a fluid- 
 ounce ; Oil of Cajeput half a fluidounce; Oil of Lobelia one fluidrachm ; 
 Alcohol three fluidounces. Mix. It is an agent peculiar to American 
 practice, and is very active and efficacious. — B. S. N. 
 
 LiNiMENTTJM SucciNi CoMPOSiTtTM. Compound Liniment of Oil of 
 Amber. (Zusamraengesetztes Bernstein Liniment.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Oil of Stillingia, Eectified Oil of Amber, each, 
 one fluidounce ; Oil of Lobelia three fluidtachms ; Olive Oil two fluidoUnces. 
 Mix together. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — I have found this preparation very efficient in 
 chronic asthma, croup, pertussis, chorea, epilepsy, rheumatism, sciatica, 
 and various other spasmodic and painful affections; in many instances 
 being much superior to the Compound Liniment of Stillingia. Its 
 manner of application is the same as recommended for the preceding 
 liniment. In very severe cases, it may be applied every hour, or half- 
 hour, and continued until vomiting ensues. It acts as a stimulant, re- 
 laxant, and anti-spasmodic. In many of the above diseases it will 
 effect a cure without the exhibition of any internal medicine ; and is 
 especially useful among children to whom it is difficult to administer 
 remedies by mouth, or in cases where the stomach rejects all medicines. 
 Care must be taken not to use too much of this liniment at any one 
 application. — J. K. 
 
 LiNiMENTUM Terebinthin.® Compositum. Gompound Liniment of 
 Turpentine. White Liniment. (Zusammengesetztes Terpenthin Lini- 
 ment.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Eose-water two and a half fluidounces ; Yolk of 
 Bgg one ; Oil of Turpentine three fluidounces ; Oil of Lemon half a flui- 
 drachm; Pyroligneous Acid (or in its absence Acetic Acid) one fluid- 
 ounce. To the Yolk slowly add the Eose-water, and rub together in a 
 mortar; then add the Turpentine and Oil of Lemons. Pour the mix- 
 ture into a pint bottle, and agitate to mix thoroughly ; then add the 
 Acid, and agitate quickly and briskly. It must be kept well corked. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Used in asthma and inflammation of the lungs, 
 rubbing it on the throat and chest with a sponge or cloth, from the 
 epiglottic region to the epigastric ; also useful whenever a coun'teP-irri- 
 tant is required. 
 
LlQUORES. 1055 
 
 LIQUORBS. (Fliissigkeitben.) 
 Liquors or Solutions. — Auflosungen. 
 
 Liquor Acidi Carbolici. Solution of. Garholic Acid. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Carbolic Acid (commercial) one part ; Oil of 
 Lemon three parts ; Alcohol 100 parts ; mix. 
 
 Properties and Uses.— This forms an intimate and permanent solu- 
 tion, which is. deprived of the unpleasant odor of the carbolic acid 
 without impairing its properties, by the presence of the lemon oil. It 
 may be used wherever carbolic acid is indicated, and may be more or 
 less dilated as required. 
 
 Liquor AMMONiiB Acetatis. Ammonub Acetatis Liquor. Solution 
 of Acetate of Ammonia. Spirit of Mindererus. (Essigsaure Ammoniak 
 Pliissigkeit.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Distilled Vinegar (or Diluted Acetic Acid) 
 one pint, add Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia, in small quantities at a 
 time, until effervescence ceases, and the acid is fully saturated. Filter 
 if necessary, and preserve in well-stopped bottles. It is better not to 
 make this article in too large quantities at a time; as it decomposes ; as 
 a rule it should be prepared only whentprescribed. The density of the 
 Distilled Vinegar should be 1.005^ and that of the Liquor Ammonise 
 Acetatis 1.011." 
 
 Wittstein states that the best metliod in preparing this solution is to 
 calculate the strength of the Liquor Ammonise Acetatis from the quan- 
 tity of acetic acid employed, the strength of which is determined, not 
 by its specific gravity, but from the quantity of dry carbonate of po- 
 tassa or soda it has been previously found to neutralize. 865 parts of 
 dry (anhydrous) carbonate of potassa, or 665 parts of dry carbonate of 
 soda, correspond to 638 parts of anhydrous- acetic acid. If the strength 
 of the acetic acid is once thus estajblished, it is quite immaterial what 
 proportion of carbonate or liquor ammonia, is required to neutralize it, 
 as a suflB.cient quantity of water to bring it to the proper strength may 
 then be added. 
 
 In the niethods usually pursued, the ordinary sesquicarbonate of am- 
 monia suffers gradual decomposition, if it is not always most carefullj- 
 guarded from exposure to the air, which is scarcely practicable, — evolv- 
 ing neutral carbonate, and leaving a white powder of bicarbonate of 
 ammonia, which renders the solution too weak. 
 
 History. — Ordinary carbonate of ammonia consists of two equiva- 
 lents of oxide of ammonium, and three equivalents of carbonic acid=2 
 NH4 0-(-3 CO2 ; the acetic acid drives out and replaces the carbonic acid« 
 1475 parts of carbonate of ammonia require 1276 parts of anhydrous, 
 or 3544 parts of acetic acid containing 64 per cent, of water. The car- 
 bonic acid can only be entirely driven off by heat, which must not 
 however be too great, otherwise acetate of ammonia will be volatilized. 
 
 Liquor Ammonia Acetatis is colorless, has a faint smell of acetic acid 
 and ammonia, a feeble saline and somewhat bitter taste, in which that 
 of ammonia is perceptible. This taste of ammonia, which is also per- 
 ceptible in other salts of this base hating a neutral reaction, is caused 
 by the free or feebly combined soda in the saliva combining with the 
 acid and evolving the ammonia. It should not be kept anj' consider- 
 able time, as it undergoes decomposition, and should be made only in 
 small quantities at a time. At a gentle heat it must entirely volatilize. 
 It! is liable to all the impurities named under the heads of acetic acid 
 and carbonate of ammonia. By evaporating it in vacuo, over sulphu 
 
1056 PaAukAcy. 
 
 ric acid, deliquescent crystals of the acetate are obtained. If the solu- 
 tion be colored, this niay generally be removed by filtering it through- 
 animal charcoal. If quite neutral, neither litmus nor turmeric papers 
 will be affected by it. The tests of its impurities are the same as 
 named in aqua ammonia, and carbonate of ammonia. Good Liquor 
 Ammonise Acetatis yields soluble crystals of acetate of silver with 
 nitrate of silver ; evolves ammoniacal gas if lime or potassa be added 
 to it, and vapors of acetic acid if sulphuric acid be added to it. Ses- 
 quichloride of iron forms a red liquor with it, the peracetate of iron. 
 Liquor Ammonise Acetatis is incompatible with the alkalies, strong 
 acids, corrosive sublimate, nitrate of silver, metallic sulphates, lime- 
 water, alum, chloride of calcium, magnesia, and some of its salts, etc. 
 If the solution of acetate of ammonia be kept ready prepared in the 
 shop, it should be left slightly acidulated ; and when dispensed, a small 
 particle of carbonate of ammonia should be added to impregnate it 
 anew with the carbonic acid gas which exhales upon standing. 
 ' Properties and Uses. — In small doses this solution is regarded as a re- 
 frigerant; in large doses diaphoretic and diuretic. The diuretic in- 
 fluence is more obvious when the patient is kept cool ; the diaphoretic, 
 when he is kept warm. It is principally used in fevers and inflamma- 
 tory affections, and is frequently associated with opium, tincture of 
 camphor, nitrate of potassa, etc. Its diuretic influence is more marked 
 when combined with sweet spirit of nitre. Applied on cloths, moist- 
 ened with itj it has been found useful in hydrocele and mumps. Tour 
 parts of the solution added to twenty-eight parts of rose-water and 
 one part of tincture of opium, form a very excellent collyrium in some 
 chronic inflammations of the eye. Its dose is from two fluidrachras to 
 a fluidounce in some sweetened water, and which may be repeated 
 every three, four, or six hours. 
 
 The following preparation has been recommended as an elegant and 
 pleasant anodyne, and diaphoretic in fevers, worthy the notice of the 
 profession : Liquor Ammon. Acetat. et Morphioe : Take of Solution of 
 Acetate of Ammonia one fluidrachm ; Acetate of Morphia one grain ; 
 Syrup of Lemon one fluidrachm ; mix together. The dose is from half 
 a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm, to be taken in water. Each fluidrachm 
 contains one-eighth of a grain of acetate of morphia. — W. 8. M. 
 
 Off. Prep. — ^Lotio .ffltheris Composita. 
 
 LiQUOK ArROPi.ai. Solution of Atropia. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Atropia, in crystals, four grains ; Alcohol one 
 fluidrachm, Distilled Water seven fluidrachms. Mix the Alcohol and 
 "Water, and dissolve the Atropia in the mixture. — Brit. Pharm. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — A drop instilled upon the eye for effecting dila- 
 tation of the pupil whenever this is desired for ophthalmoscopic exam- 
 ination, or for operations on this organ; also used in subcutaneous in- 
 jection in doses of y^th to ^th of a grain. For which purpose 15 
 minims of the solution, (equal to one-eighth of a grain of Atropia) 
 may be added to 105 minims of Water ; 15 minims of this contains ^tb 
 of a grain of Atropia ; 10 minims contains -g-Vth of a grain. 
 
 Liquor Calois Sulphuretum. Solution of Sulphur et of Lime. 
 
 Prip'aration. — Take of Sublimed Sulphur /owr ounces; Lime (unslaked) 
 eight ounces ; Water four pints. In a porcelain vessel place these articles, 
 and boil together uritil the Sulphur is dissolved. Allow the solution to 
 cool, add Water, if required, to make the whole amount of solution 
 measure four pints, and when all precipitation has ceased, pour off the 
 clear liquid above, and keep it in bottles closely stopped. 
 
LlQUORES. 1057 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This solution is very efficacious as a local appli- 
 cation in itch, tinea capitis, pityriasis, and other parasitic cutaneous 
 affections. In itch, the patient should be thoroughly washed with warm 
 soap suds, and then well dried ; following this, the solution is to be ap- 
 plied, and which must not be rubbed off. .Upon drying the sulphuret ia 
 left upon the skin in the form of a thin coating, which may be removed 
 in twenty or thirty minutes. Two, or three applications at most, effect 
 the cure. 
 
 Liquor Ferri Nitratis. Solution of Nitrate of Iron. Solution of 
 Pemitrate of Iron.- Solution of Ternitrate of Sesquioxide of Iron, (Salpe- 
 tersaure Bisenoxydul Losung.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of fine Iron Wire, free from rust, and cut into 
 small pieces, one ounce; pure Nitric Acid, sp. gr. 1.5, three fluidounces; 
 Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Dilute the Acid with sixteen 
 ounces of the Water, introduce the Iron Wire, and leave them in con- 
 tact until gas ceases to be disengaged. Filter the solution, and to it 
 add as much Water as will make its bulk one pint and a half. The sp. 
 gr. of this solution is 1.107. — Dub. The above fluid measures are 
 Imperial. 
 
 Mr. William Kerr introduced this preparation to the profession in 1832 
 {Ed. Med. and Surg. Jour., XXXVII., 99). When rightly made it is of 
 a deep-red color, clear, and powerfully astringent. On standing, sesqui- 
 oxide of iron forms, which at first destroys the transparency of the 
 liquid, but is finally deposited, and which may be prevented by the ad- 
 dition of a drachm of hydrochloric acid. 
 
 On account of the great liability to change in this preparation, various 
 suggestions have been made for the purpose of procuring a permanent 
 solution; among them is the following, offered by W. Procter, Jr., of 
 Philadelphia.— JlTH. Jour. Pharm., JSf. S. XXIX., 306. Mix Nitric Acid, 
 sp. gr. 1.42, three fluidounces, with Water half a pint, and add it gradually 
 in small portions at a time to Iron Wire (card teeth or small iron nails), 
 three ounces, Troy, previously mixed with a pint of water, observing to 
 moderate the reaction by setting the vessel in cold water. In this way 
 the iron is protoxidized at the expense of the water, and hydrogen is 
 evolved without the development of red fumes, which, when they occur, 
 indicate a decomposition of a part of the Nitric Acid. When all the acid 
 has been added, the solution should be repeatedly agitated with the 
 excess of iron, until on filtering a portion it has a light green color, and 
 affords a greenish-white precipitate with ammonia. It is now filtered 
 into a half-gallon flask, and Nitric Acid, sp. gr. 1.42, two fluidounces, 
 added, which converts it, with violent effervescence and the escape of 
 red nitrous vapors, into Ternitrate of Sesquioxide of Iron. The liquid 
 should now be gently heated to deprive it of the absorbed gas, diluted 
 until it measures three pints, and filtered through paper. It has a pale 
 straw color, and a sp. gr. of 1.098, a strong astringent, acid taste, and is 
 permanent. On the addition of ammonia it affords pure sesquioxide. 
 This process, with scarcely any modification, is now adopted in the U. 
 S. Pharmacopceia. In Am. Jour. Pharm., N. S. XXIII., 315, W. W. D. 
 Livermore offers the following formula for the preparation of a perma- 
 nent solution of this ferruginous salt ; it furnishes nearly the same re- 
 sult as obtained by Procter's method given above : Take of Sulphate 
 of Iron eight ounces j Carbonate of Soda ten ounces ; White Sugar twenty 
 ounces; Nitric Acid, sp. gr. 1.42, five fluidounces and flve fluidrdchms ; 
 Boiling Water, Simple Syrup, of each, a sufficient quantity. Dissolve 
 the Sulphate of Iron and Carbonate of Soda, each, in two pints of the 
 
 67 
 
1063 Pharmacy. 
 
 Water, filter, and add to each solution two ounces of Simple Syrnp, 
 Mix the solutions, and allow the precipitate to subside. Pour off the 
 supernatant liquid, and wash the precipitated carbonate carefully with 
 sweetened water, until the washings have no longer a saline taste. 
 Collect the precipitate upon a fine muslin strainer, and with gentle 
 pressure express as much of the Water as possible. Transfer to a por- 
 celain.capsule, and add gradually the Ifitric Acid, previously diluted 
 with an equal measure of water. Mix the Sugar with the solution, and 
 dissolve over a water-bath, stirring from time to time with a glass rod, 
 When done, the syrup should be made to measure .thirty fluidounces, 
 by the addition of a sufficient quantity of Water. Bach fluidrachm of 
 this syrup contains ten grains of dry Nitrate of Iron, and the dose 
 varies from twenty to forty drops. In Am. Jour. Pharm., N. S. XXY., 
 97, Mr. Joseph Laidley, of Eichmond, Va., has ascertained the forma- 
 tion of Oxalic Acid in the syrup of the Sesquinitrate of Iron, and con- 
 siders it ao unscientific and ineligible preparation ; for, without an ex- 
 cess of Acid, it is a mixture of proto and pernitrate, and with that ex ■ 
 cess the Acid generates Oxalic Acid. He has found the solution of the 
 protonitrate, as given by Prof Procter, to keep perfectly well, even 
 without the addition of the sugar, which as the iron salt is already pei 
 oxidized, he considers of no use for preventing what would not occur, 
 viz, ; the fUrther absorption of oxygen from the atm'osphere. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Solution of Nitrate of Iron is astringent, and 
 possesses the property of diminishing tei\dernes8 and irritability of 
 the mucous membranes with which it comes in contact. It has been 
 found useful in chronic diarrhea, where intestinal ulceration is absent, 
 and in the diarrhea of weak and nervous persons ; it is contra-indi- 
 cated if inflammatory symptoms are present. It has also been used in 
 hematemesis, hemorrhage from the bowels, uterine hemorrhage and 
 monorrhagia, especially in pale, feeble, and languid constitutions. It 
 has also been found advantageous as an injection, and by mouth, in 
 leucorrhea. In the colliquative diarrhea of tuberculous phthisis, it 
 has afforded much benefit, as well as in chronic diarrhea and cholera-in- 
 fantum of anemic or scrofulous patients. The dose is from five drops, 
 gradually increased to fifteen or twenty drops, or more, sufficiently di- 
 luted with water, and repeated three or four times a day ; the ordinary 
 dose is ten or twelve drops to commence with. Injected into the 
 vagina, it will cause considerable irritation, unless previously weakened 
 with water. 
 
 Liquor Perri Perchloridi. Solution of Perchloride of Iron. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of freshly prepared Chloride of Iron one ounce ; 
 Distilled Water one ounce. Dissolve the Chloride of Iron in the Water. 
 This forms a concentrated solution. 
 
 Properties and C/ses.— The same as named under Chloride of Iron, 
 page 1010. 
 
 For Liquor Ferri Tersulphas (Solution of Tersulphate of Iron), see 
 page 1122. 
 
 Liquor Iodini Compositus. Compound Solution of Iodine. (Zusam- 
 mengesetzte lodlosung.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Iodine three drachms ; Iodide of Potassium six 
 drachms; Eose- water half a pint. Add the Iodine and Iodide of Potas- 
 sium to the Eose-water and dissolve them with agitation. Distilled 
 Water may be substituted for. the Eose-water. 
 
 History. — Iodine is very slightly dissolved by water, but is extremely 
 Boluble in a solution of Iodide of Potassium. In preparing this solu- 
 
LiQUOBES. 1059 
 
 tion two parte of the iodide are generally added with one of iodine 
 forming a concentrated solution of iodine, which is the active medicinal 
 agent in the solution. The solution loses its strength hy exposure to 
 the air, in consequence of the evaporation of the iodine ; light also ap- 
 pears to exert a deleterious influence upon it. It should, therefore, be 
 kept in well-stopped bottles, and in a dark place. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Compound solution of iodine possesses all the 
 virtues of iodine, and may be used advantageously in scrofulous, syph- 
 ilitic, and all tuberculous diseases, or wherever iodine is indicated. 
 The dose is five drops in a tablespoonful of water, sweetened if desired, 
 and gradually increased to twenty or thirty dropS ; the dose to be re- 
 peated three times a day. Twelve drops is equal to about half a grain 
 of iodine. 
 
 Liquor Magnesia Oitratis. Solution of Citrate of Magnesia. (Cit- 
 ronensaure Magnesia Losung.) 
 
 Preparation. — Prof .E. S. Wayne gives the following formula for a 
 superior Solution of Citrate of Magnesia, which does not give a precipi- 
 tate on standing, if carefully prepared. Two solutions are first made, 
 thus : 
 
 Solution No. 1. — Take of Carbonate of Soda eight ounces and a half, 
 dissolve this in Tepid Water two pints; likewise dissolve in another 
 vessel Sulphate of Magnesia eight ounces, in Tepid Water two pints. 
 After the two solutions arc perfected and clear, mix them in a conven- 
 ient vessel, when a precipitate will take place. The precipitate, when 
 completed, must be washed frequently until all traces of sulphate of 
 soda are removed, which may be determined by adding baryta water 
 to it. The hydrate of magnesia thus formed, is to be mixed with Clear 
 Water /owr pints and the mixture charged with carbonic acid gas until 
 all the hydrate is dissolved, and which will require a pressure of lOO 
 or 110 pounds. 
 
 Solution No. 2. — Take of Citric Acid eight ounces. Calcined Magnesia 
 ten drachms. Simple Syrup two and a half pounds, Tepid Water two 
 pints. Dissolve the Citric Acid in the Tepid Water, then add the Mag- 
 nesia gradually until it is taken up and forms a clear solution, and 
 then add the syrup. 
 
 To place in bottles. — Take bottles of twelve fluidounces, each, fill them 
 at first two-thirds with Solution' No. 1, and then one-third with Solu- 
 tion No. 2, corking immediately. This forms a pleasant cooling pur- 
 gative, operating without pain or griping. The dose is the contents 
 of one bottle ; one half of which, or six fluidounces, will prove gently 
 laxative. 
 
 Citrate of Magnesia in powder is only slowly soluble in water, and 
 does not readily make a clear solution, hence the liquid citrate is usu- 
 ally preferred. It has an acid taste, without any unpleasant bitterness, 
 but is not permanent in its character, soon forming a deposit, which 
 impairs its medicinal qualities, in consequence of which, it should be 
 prepared only when wanted for immediate use. (See M. E. Eobiquet's 
 process for a soluble citrate of magnesia, in Am. Jour. Pharm., XXVIl., 
 317.) 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Solution of Citrate of Magnesia is a pleasant, 
 cooling purgative, acting mildly upop the bowels. The dose as a ca- 
 thartic ig about twelve fluidounces; as a laxative, six fluidounces. 
 
 Liquor Potass^. Solution of Potassa. (Aetzkali Eliissigkeit.) 
 
 Preparation. — "Take of dry Carbonate of Potassa /owr ounces; Lime, 
 recently burnt, two ounces; Water orty -five fluidounces. Imperial meas- 
 
1060 Pharmacy. 
 
 ure. Let the lime be slaked, and converted into milk ol lime, witl 
 seven iiuidounceB of water. Dissolve the carbonate in the remaining 
 thirty-eight fluidounces of water ; boil the solution, and add to it the 
 milk of lime in successive portions, about an eighth at a time — boiling 
 briskly for a few minutes after each addition. Pour the whole into a 
 deep narrow glass vessel for twenty-four hours; and then, with a 
 syphon, withdraw the clear liquid, wbich should amount to at least 
 thirty-five fluidounces, and ought to have a density of 1.072."— ^i. 
 The solution should be kept in green glass bottles, well stopped. 
 
 ' History. — Carbonate of potassa, in diluted solution, readily yields up 
 its acid to lime, which thus combined, precipitates as insoluble carbon- 
 ate of lime. 865 parts of carbonate of potassa require only 463 parts 
 of hydrate of lime ; but the quantity of linie must be increased, as it is 
 never entirely pure, and it also serves to keep the shape of the filter 
 while straining the solution. There is no fear that lime will be found 
 in the solution. The decomposition takes place also in the cold, but 
 I only after a longer period ; in order that it may be complete, the solu- 
 tion must not be too concentrated; as in this case the lime will not ab- 
 stract the carbonic acid, on the contrary, strong caustic potassa dis- 
 possesses carbonate of lime of itsacid, becoming converted into carbon- 
 ate of potassa. A silver vessel is the best to boil it in, otherwise a 
 clean iron one may be used, but neither porcelain, copper, nor any 
 other metal is applicable, from the action the potassa exerts on them. 
 For the same reasons no wooden or porcelain stirrer should be used, 
 and the strainer must be made of bleached linen. If all these things 
 are attended to a colorless solution is obtained, which, when concen- 
 trated, bears scarcely a yellow tinge. In testing the soluiion for car- 
 bonate of potassa, the precaution must be taken to pour the filtered 
 solution into a large excess of acid, and not the acid to the solution, as 
 in the latter case no gas is evolved until all of it has combined with 
 the potassa to form bicarbonate. Lime-water, which is also one of the 
 tests generally given for detecting carbonate of potassa in the solution, 
 is inapplicable for the purpose, as in solutions perfectly free from car- 
 bonic acid it causes a precipitate of hydrate of lime. The best and 
 quickest method of separating the carbonate and caustic lime is to 
 strain it; by allowing it to settle and decanting the clear liquor a great 
 deal of time is lost, which, from the avidity with which the solution 
 absorbs carbonic acid, must be circumscribed as much as possible. 
 "With no other preparation are quickness and cleanliness in manipula- 
 tion more requisite than with caustic potassa. — Witt. 
 
 Liquor Potassa may also be prepared by dissolving four drachms of 
 Potassa (hydrate) in eight fluidounces of Distilled "Water; and decant- 
 ing the clear solution from the deposit formed upon standing a day or 
 two. 
 
 Liquor Potassae is a colorless fluid, having a feeble peculiar odor, and 
 an excessively caustic corrosive taste. A brownish color is due to or- 
 ganic matter. It has a soap-like feel, and reddens yellow turmeric 
 paper. It strongly attracts carbonic acid from the atmosphere, and 
 should, therefore, be kept in closed vessels. It corrodes flint-glass, and 
 should be preserved in green glass bottles. Pure Liquor Potasses satu- 
 rated with nitric acid, gives no precipitate with carbonate of soda, 
 chloride of barium, or nitrate of silver; the first gives a precipitate 
 when some earthy or metallic substance is present ; the second gives 
 a precipitate insoluble in nitric acid when a sulphate is present; and 
 the third will occasion a precipitate soluble in ammonia, but insoluble 
 
LiQUORES. 1061 
 
 in nitric acid, if a chloride is present. Solution of chloride of platinum 
 forms a yellow precipitate with potassa. If on saturating the liquor 
 with nitric acid, white floeculent matter separates it will he silicic acid ; 
 ammonia causes a white precipitate in the nitric solution if alumina is 
 present ; sulphocyanuret of potassium a red color, if iron is present ; 
 oxalate of ammonia forms a white precipitate if litoe be present, and 
 after filtering the liquor, 'magnesia may be detected by a phosphate of 
 ammonia. It is incompatible with salts of ammonia, acids, acidulous 
 salts, calomel, bichloride of mercury, etc. 
 
 According to Dr. A. B. Garrod, Liquor Potassse destroys or renders 
 inert the active principle of hyoscyamus, stramonium, belladonna,, etc. ; 
 and other caustic alkalies produce similar results. The carbonates or 
 bicarbonates of these alkalies have not the property of destroying the 
 activity of the plants named. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Liquor Potassse is used as an antacid in con- 
 junction with a bitter tonic infusion in acidity of the stomach. The 
 solutions of the carbonates are, however, preferable as an antacid. It 
 has also been recommended to remove the tendency to formation of 
 uric acid in the urine, but is inferior) to the carbonates, which may be' 
 used for a longer time, and without debilitating the stomach so soon as 
 the Liquor Potassse. This fluid has been found useful as a resolvent in 
 induration and enlargement of the lymphatic glands, and especially in 
 excessive enlargement of the glandular papillae at the end of the tongue. 
 In scalding of the urethra accompanying gonorrhea, combined with ten 
 or twelve drops of laudanum, Liquor Potassse will be found to afford 
 prompt relief It has also been used in gout and rheumatism, attended 
 with uric acid in the urine, to diminish the viscidity of the mucus in 
 chronic bronchitis, and in some chronic skin diseases ; externalJy it has 
 been used as an application to ulcers, and in weak solution in some skin 
 diseases. The dose is from five minims to half a drachm ; it should be 
 taken in some mucilage, or water sweetened, and be repeated two, three, 
 or four times a day. When taken in quantities to injure the stomach, 
 or in an undiluted state, the proper antidotes, are acids which neutra- 
 lize the alkali, as vinegar, or solutions of acetic or citric acid, and oil. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Potassa cum Calce. 
 
 Liquor PoTASsiE Citratis. Solution of Gitrate of Potassa. Neutral 
 Mixture. (Citronensaure Kali Pliissigkeit.) 
 
 Preparation. — Triturate Citric Aeid two drachms, with Oil of Lemons 
 two minims, and then with Water four fluidounces ; when the solution is 
 perfected, gradually add crystallized Bicarbonate of Potassa, until effer- 
 vescence no longer takes place, and filter. This solution may also be 
 made by saturating Lemon-juice with tbe Bicarbonate of Potassa, and 
 filtering. 
 
 History.- — In these formulse the potassa of the alkaline salt is decom- 
 posed by the citric acid ; carbonic acid is given off with, effervescence, 
 and citrate of potassa is formed by the combination of the citric acid> 
 and the alkali, which is held in solution with some free carbonic acid. 
 "When the acid is saturated by the alkali; the solution, after the carbonic 
 acid has been allowed to pass off, will exert no action on blue or red- 
 dened litmus-paper. The two preparations are similar in medicinal 
 virtue, the citric acid and lemon oil in the first process being intended 
 to supply the absence of the lemon-juice. It is proper to filter, in order 
 to remove foreign or undissolved substances. 
 
 Properties arid Uses. — -This solution is a refrigerant preparation, act- 
 ing mildly on th^ skin, bowels, and kidneys. It is very useful in allay 
 
1062 Pharmacy. 
 
 ing gastric irritability. Its sedative and diaphoretic properties may 
 be augmented by the addition of tincture of aconitum or of digitalis ; 
 its diuretic influence is rendered more certain by combining it with 
 sweet spirit of niter ; and in diarrhea, or irritable bowels, some opiiwn 
 or morphia may be added to it. It forms a very grateful draught for 
 fever patients, and may be sweetened with sugar, if needpd. The dose 
 is a tablespoonful diluted with about an equal measure of water, and 
 repeated five or six times, or oftener, in the course of the day. A similar 
 preparation may be given as an effervescent drink, by forming one so- 
 lution of lemon-juice, and water, each, half a fluidounce; and another, 
 by dissolving bicarbonate of potassa a drachm and a half in four fluid- 
 ounces of water. The two solutions are to be mixed, and the whole 
 taken at a draught during the effervescence. 
 
 LiQTTOR Potass.* Permanganatis. Solution of Permanganaie of Po- 
 tassa. 
 
 ' Preparation. — Take of Permanganate of Potassa onepart; Distilled 
 Water nine parts ; mix and dissolve. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This solution contains 10 per cent, of the per- 
 manganate, but may be diluted to whatever extent is deemed necessary. 
 It may be used in all cases where the potassa salt is indicated. One 
 part of the solution added to 200 or more parts of distilled water may 
 be used as a local application in ozcena, putrid sore throat, leucorrhea, 
 gonorrhea, offensive otorrhea, and to remove the unpleasant odor from 
 the hands after dissection. 
 
 Liquor SoDiE Chlorinate. Solution of Chlorinated Soda. Labar- 
 r&ique's Disinfecting Liquid. (Chlornatron-Flussigkeit. Labarraquesche 
 Fliissigkeit.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Carbonate of Soda one pound ; Distilled Water 
 forty-eight fiuidounces ; Chloride of Sodinm four ounces ; Binoxide of 
 Manganese three ounces ; Sulphuric Acid two and a half fiuidounces. Dis- 
 solve the Carbonate of Soda in two pints of Water ; then put the Chlo- 
 ride of Sodium and Binoxide of Manganese, rubbed to powder, into a 
 retort; and add to them the Sulphuric Acid, previously mixed with 
 three fiuidounces of the Water, and cooled. Heat the mixture, and 
 pass the Chlorine first through five fiuidounces of the Water, and after- 
 ward into the solution of the Carbonate of Soda, above directed." — ■ 
 Lond. 
 
 The U. S. Pharmacopoeia prepare this solution by the decomposition 
 of twelve Troy ounces of Chlorinated Lime dissolved in nine pints of 
 Water, by twenty-four Troy ounces of Carbonate of Soda dissolved in 
 _ three pints of Water ; but the solution prepared according to the Lon- 
 don formula, given above, is far preferable to the latter. 
 
 The disinfecting power of this preparation was discovered by Labar- 
 raque about 1820. By the above process double decomposition occurs ; 
 hypochlorite of soda and chloride of sodium are formed in solution, 
 while carbonate of lime is precipitated. It forms a clear, alkaline fiuid, 
 with a slight odor of chlorine. Its precise chemical nature is not fully 
 determined. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This solution, in large doses, is an irritant 
 poison. In small doses it has been used as an antiseptic in all condi- 
 tions of the system attended with great prostration, dry, brown-coated 
 tongue, and offensive excretions, as in malignant fevers, exanthema- 
 tous diseases, dysentery, putrid sore-throat, anthrax, gangrene, mereu- 
 ral salivation, etc. It has also been used as a local application to 
 remove fetor, check ulceration and sloughing, in sore^nipples, burns. 
 
LOTIONES. 1063 
 
 ozcena, and in- foul vaginal discharges ; also in some diseases of the 
 skin, as eczema, scald-head, prurigo, etc. Its dose is twenty drops or 
 more, diluted with some mild aqueous liquid. Under the continued 
 use of it, glandular enlargements and chronic mucous discharges have 
 disappeared, and the secretion of urine is generally increased. When 
 used externally it must be diluted with from five' to thirty parts of 
 water, according to the sensiljility of the tissues or organs to be acted 
 upon by it. In contagious or malignant diseases, it may be sprinkled 
 around the rooms of the sick, as a disinfectant. 
 
 Liquor STKTCHNi.a! Niteatis. Solution of Nitrate of Stryehnia. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Strychnia, in crystals, /owr grains ; Nitric Acid, 
 six minims ; Distilled Water one fluidounce. Add the Strychnia to the 
 Water, and then add the Acid, and agitate until the Strychnia is dis- 
 solved. This forms a clear, permanent solution. 
 
 Properties and Uses.- — This may , be employed in all cases where 
 Stryehnia is indicated, whether externally or internally. Ten minima 
 contain one twelfth of a grain of Strychnia. One part of this solution 
 added to three parts of distilled water forms an excellent local applica- 
 tion for weakness of the eyes following inflammatory attacks of these 
 organs, for gleet, gonorrhea, leueorrhea with enfeebled vaginal walls, 
 and diarrhea with debility of the intestines or walls of the rectum. By 
 hypodermic injection Strychnia may be used in doses of y-'juth to ^th 
 of a grain ; one minim of the above solution contains y^th of a grain 
 of Strychnia. 
 
 LOTIONES. (Waschungen.) 
 Lotions, or Washes. 
 
 These comprise all compounds used as external washes and collyria, 
 in which vegetable or mineral substances are dissolved in water or 
 spirits, but which do not strictly class with infusions, liniments, mix- 
 tures, or tinctures. 
 
 Glycerin has been proposed as a vehicle for forming lotions with salts 
 of alkaloids, thus: 1. MorpMa Lotion, Take of Acetate of Morphia i^ree 
 grains ; Glycerin five drachms (Troy) ; dissolve. 2. Strychnia Lotion, 
 Take of Sulphate of Strychnia six grains ; Glycevm five drachms (Troy). 
 Dissolve the Salt in the Glycerin in a porcelain mortar. A teaspoonful 
 of this lotion is applied by friction in paralysis of the limbs, on the 
 vertebral column in chorea, on the temples in certain cases of amau- 
 rosis. 3. Veratria Lotionjlahe of Yeratria fifteen grains; Qlycer'm five 
 drachms ; Diluted Hydrochloric Acid a sufficient quantity. Dissolve. A 
 deaspoonful, applied by friction in chronic rheumatic pains of the joints, 
 or in the sacro-lumbar region to relieve painful menstruation. 4. Atropia 
 Lotion, Take of Atropia six grains; Glycerin, two and a half drachms; 
 Diluted Muriatic Acid a sufficient quantity. Dissolve and mix. Forty 
 or fifty drops, three times a day, rubbed on the track of the sub and 
 super-orbital nerves, on that of the facial nerve, etc. 
 
 Liquid preparations in which glycerin forms a large portion of the 
 menstruum, are termed " Glycerina," Glyceroles, or Glycerin Solutions. 
 (See Glycerina, Ointments and Plasmce.) 
 
 LoTio Alkalina. AlRaline Wash. (Alkalische Waschung.) 
 
 Preparation. — Ta,ke> of Carbonate of Soda (Sal Soda) two drachms; 
 Warm Eain-Water one quart. Dissolve ; or, 
 
 Make a weak Ley, by adding Hard-Wood Ashes to Hot Water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This wash is extensively and efficaciously em- 
 
1064 Pharmact. 
 
 ployed by physicians, as an application to the surface of the body and 
 limbs in kll Afebrile and inflammatory diseases, and in chronic affections, 
 In the former cases it is applied several times a day, especially when 
 the acute symptoms run high ; in the latter affections it is commonly 
 used once or twice a week. The surface should always be well rubbed 
 and dried immediately after each application. Frequently, when ex- 
 ternal stimulus is also required, the above proportion of water is les- 
 sened one-fourth or one-half, and the balance of the quantity made up 
 by the addition of whisky or other spirit. 
 
 LoTio ^THERis CoMPOsiTA. Compound Ethereal Lotion. Evapora- 
 ting Lotion. (Zusammengesetzte Aether Waschung.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Ether, Alcohol, Solution of Acetate of Ammo- 
 nia, each one ounce and a half; Eose-water three ounces and a half., Mix 
 together. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This lotion may be used to produce a refriger- 
 ant or stimulant influence according to its mode of employment. Ap- 
 plied to the surface and allowed to evaporate by free exposure, it acts 
 as a refrigerant ; but if the evaporation is prevented by covering the 
 part to which it is applied with the hand or a cloth, it acts as a stimu- 
 lant. The solution of acetate of ammonia, largely diluted (without the 
 addition of ether or alcohol), is a superior cooling lotion in all cases of 
 fever where there is a hot and dry state of the surface, often of itself 
 inducing diaphoresis. 
 
 LoTio Ammonia Htdroohloras. Lotion of Sydrochlorate of Ammo- 
 nia. (Salmiak "Waschung.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take! of Hydrochlorate oi A.mm.om& two drachms ; Dis- 
 tilled Water one fluidounce ; Tincture Of Conium Macula tum one fluid- 
 ounce. Dissolve the ammoniacal salt in the Water, and add the Tinct- 
 ure. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is sedative and resolvent, and is used as 
 a local application to discuss tumors, etc. Its external use is sometimes 
 associated with its internal exhibition. 
 
 LoTio BoEACis. Borax Lotion. Cooling Wash. (Borax Waschung.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Borax, in powder, two drachms, Eose-water 
 half a pint. Dissolve. In this preparation, Soft Eiver -water may be 
 substituted for Eose-water, when this latter can not be obtained. — 
 Beach's Am. Prac. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms k cooling application, and may be 
 used in inflammation of the eyes, and inflammation or ulceration of 
 the nipples, and of the mouth and fauces, as well as other irritated or 
 inflamed mucous surfaces. 
 
 LoTio BoRAOis cum Morphi.®. Borax Lotion with Morphia. (Borax 
 Waschung mit Morphium.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Borax, in powder, half an ounce ; Sulphate of 
 Morphia, six grains; Decoction of Golden Seal eight fluidounces. Add 
 the Borax and Morphia to the Decoction. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a cooling and mild anodyne wash, 
 and may be used in inflammation of the eyes, and sore and inflamed 
 nipple^, pruritus vulva, aphthous ulcerations of the mouth and fauces, 
 and other irritated or inflamed mucous surfaces. 
 
 LoTio Gltcbrini. Glycerin Lotion. (Glycerin Waschung.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Glycerin half an ounce; Distilled Water half a 
 pint. Mix. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This lotion has been recommended in eczema, 
 lichen, and other cutaneous diseases ; also as an application to the 
 
LOTIONES. 1068 
 
 meatus externus in cases of deafness owing to a want of secretion of 
 cerumen. 
 
 LoTio Hydrastis Composita. Compound Lotion of Golden Seal. 
 (Zusammengesetztje Gelbwurz Wascbung.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of strong Infusion of Green Tea, and of Golden 
 Seal, each, one pint; Sulphate of Zinc, Gunpowder, each, two drachms. 
 Mix, the decoction, then add the remainder of the articles, and agitate 
 briskly. After solutioni and decomposition have ceased, and the pre- 
 eipitate has subsided, pour off the supernatant liquid. 
 
 Properties and C/ses.-pThis lotion is principally employed as a collyr- 
 ium in chronic ophthalmic diseases, but it may be advantageously em- 
 ployed in all chronic affections of mucous surfaces, as an external ap- 
 plication. The affected parts are to be bathed with it several times a 
 day. 
 
 LoTio Hydrastis et Aooniti. Lotion of Golden Seal and Aconite. 
 (Gelbwurz und Bisenhut'Waschung.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Golden Seal, in powder, /owr drachms; Boiling 
 Water, four fiuidounces; Tincture of Aconite one fluidrachm. Add the 
 Golden Seal to the Water and digest for three hours by a gentle heat ; 
 then filter and evaporate to two fiuidounces, to which add the Tincture 
 of Aconite. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a superior application to the eye in 
 many cases of disease in that organ ; it may be applied by means of a 
 camel's-hair pencil, or by dropping a minim or two on the eyeball. I 
 have likewise found immense benefit in these cases, by substituting for 
 the Tincture of Aconite, a, fluidrachm or two of the Saturated Tincture 
 of Black Cohosh. Some physicians employ the Hydrochlorate of Ber- 
 berin in preparing the above formula, but as this is insoluble in water, 
 it can effect but little infiuence. This preparation will also be found 
 of service in chronic mucous difficulties, as vaginal leucorrhea, etc., 
 used as a wash or injection. — J. K. 
 
 Lotio JtTGLANDis. Wolnut Lotion. (Walnuss Waschung.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Extract of green Walnut Shells six grains ; Bid- 
 tilled Wa-ter fifty grains. Mix and dissolve. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is recommended as an efficacious agent in 
 enlargement of the tonsils, and is stated to be very prompt in its effects. 
 It is applied to the parts by means of a camel's-hair pencil. 
 
 LoTio Lobelia Composita. Compound Lobelia Lotion. Herpetic 
 Wash. (Zusammengesetzte Lobelie Waschung.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Bayberry Bark, Lobelia Leaves and Seed, Tel- 
 low -Dock 'Eoot, each, in powder, two drachms; Vinegar one pint. Mix 
 all together, and allow them to macerate for seven days, and filter ; or 
 make the lotion by displa,cement. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation forms an excellent local ap- 
 plication to several species of cutaneous disease, also to erysipelas and 
 erysipelatous inflammations. It is frequently prepared with Spirits 
 instead of Vinegar, especially where more active stimulation is. desired. 
 In erysipelas half a pint of a saturated solution of Muriate of Ammonia 
 may be added to the above quantity with advantage. 
 
 Lotio Myrrh^e Composita. Compound Myrrh Lotion. (Zusammen- 
 gesetzte Myrrhe Waschung.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Myrrh, in powder, half an ounce; Acetate of 
 Zinc one drachm and a half; Acetate of Lead half a drachm ; Water two 
 pints. Add the Myrrh to one and a half pints of the Water, and boil 
 together for ten or fifteen minutfs ; when cold, add the rest of the 
 
■J' ■•m 
 
 1066 Pharmacy. 
 
 Water, in which the Lead and Zinc salts have been previously dis 
 solved. Let them stand twenty-four hours and filter. If necessaijiy 
 add enough water to pass through the filter, to make the two pints of 
 Lotion. — J. K. 
 
 This forms an elegant lotion, without decomposition, is more readily 
 made, and is fully as efl'eetual as the old unscientific formula, as fol- 
 lows : Take of Myrrh, in powder, half an ounce; Sulphate of Zinc, 
 Acetate of Lead, each, two drachms; Boiling Water, two pints. Add the 
 Myrrh and the Salts to the Water ; let them macerate for seven days 
 and filter. — Beach's Am. Prac. In the preparation. of this lotion a de- 
 composition necessarily ensues. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Compound Myrrh Lotion is chiefly employed 
 in cases of chronic ophthalmia ; it will, however, be found useful in all 
 chronic mucous diseases. It is usually applied three or four times a 
 day and must not be used during the presence of inflammation. When 
 too severe it may be diluted with water. 
 
 LoTio Eefrigekans. Cooling Lotion. Saline Wash. (Kuhlende 
 Waschung.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Fine Salt half an ounce ; Spirits, Vinegar, and 
 Eain Water, each, four fiuidounces. Mix the fluids, and then dissolve 
 »he Salt in them. — Beach's Am. Prac. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This lotion is extensively employed as a cool- 
 ing application in cases of pain or determination to the head, during 
 fevers, inflammation of the brain, dropsy, etc. It is used cold or tepid, 
 according to the benefit received from its application at these tempera- 
 tures. 
 
 LoTio Sassafras. Sassafras Lotion. (Sassafrass Waschung.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Pith of Sassafras one drachm ; Eose-water a 
 pint. Mix, let them stand for four hours, and filter. — Beach's Am. 
 Prac. 
 
 Distilled Water may be substituted for the Eose-water, and the prep- 
 aration may be made more speedily by boiling the mixture for a few 
 minutes. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is an extemporaneous preparation, and is 
 principally used in acute ophthalmia. A similar preparation of Marsh- 
 Mallow Eoot, Blm Bark, or Buckhorn Brake, will be found equally 
 available. 
 
 LoTio SoDii CoMPOsiTA. Compound Soda Lotion. (Zusammengesetzte 
 Soda Waschung.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Eock Salt three ounces; Sulphate of Zinc one 
 ounce; Persulphate of Iron eight grains; Eain Water or clear Eiver 
 Water one pint. Add the articles together, and form a solution. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Used as a stimulating collyrium in chronic oph- 
 thalmic diseases. 
 
 LoTio ZiNCi GoMPOSiTA. Oompound Lotion of Zinc. (Zusammenge- 
 setzte Zink Waschung.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Sulphate of Zinc, Eock Alum, feach, one scruple; 
 Distilled Water two pints. Mix, and when dissolved, filter. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This lotion is used as a stimulating application 
 to the eye in cases of films, specks, opacities, etc. ; to abnormal growths 
 (5n mucous surfaces ; to indolent ulcers with fungous growths ; and tc 
 gangrene. 
 
MiSTUR^. 1067 
 
 MISTUE^. (Mixturen.) 
 Mixtures. 
 
 By Mixtures is meant all those preparations containing Oleaginous, 
 Mucilaginous, Albuminous, or Saccharine Substances, which are used 
 Internally, and can not properly be classed with infusions, decoctions, 
 syrups, tinctures, etc. ; also compounds in which Insoluble Substances, 
 whether liquid or solid, are suspended in aqueous fluids by the inter- 
 vention of some viscid matter. 
 
 MisTURA ALTERANTi.a] CoMPOsiTA. Compound Tonic Mixture. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Sulphate of Iron one drachm; Phosphate of 
 Soda six drachms ; Sulphate of Quinia one hundred and ninety-two grains ; 
 Strychnia six grains ; "White Sugar /owrfeew ounces; Dilute Phosphoric 
 Acid fourteen fiuidounces ; Solution of Ammonia, Dilute Sulphuric Acid, 
 Water, Boiling Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Dissolve the Sulphate 
 of Iron in one fluidounce of the Boiling Water ; also dissolve the 
 Phosphate of Soda in two fluidounces of the Boiling Water. Mix these 
 two solutions, and wash the precipitate (Phosphate of Iron) until the 
 washings pass tasteless. Dissolve the Sulphate of Quinia in two fluid- 
 ounces of the Water, with the aid of a sufficient quantity of the Dilute 
 Sulphuric Acid, and then add of the Solution of Ammonia a sufficient 
 quantity to precipitate the Quinia, and thoroughly wash this precipi- 
 itate. Add the Phosphate of Iron and the Quinia thus obtained, to- 
 gether with the Strychnia, to the Dilute Phosphoric Acid, and when 
 they are dissolved add the Sugar ; dissolve without heat. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Of this mixture, Prof. J. M. Scudder observes : 
 "A very important object in the treatment of many forms of chronic 
 disease, is to restore the tone of the stomach and bowels, and give bet- 
 ter innervation through the ganglionic nerves. The loss of power in 
 the worst cases (as in secondary syphilis) is sometinies so great that it 
 requires powerful means to accomplish the object. It is in these cases 
 especially, that this combination will be found most effective. This is 
 one of the most powerful combinations I have ever employed to restore 
 the action, of the ganglionic system of nerves, the appetite, and the 
 functions of digestion and nutrition. It may be employed in any 
 cachectic diseases, or where the blood is deficient in quantity and quali- 
 ty, with imperfect innervation. It is also an excellent remedy in peri- 
 odical diseases, as well as a prophylactic against them. The dose is 
 from fifteen minims to a fluidrachm." 
 
 MisTtJRA Camphor.^! Composita. Compound Mixture of Camphor. 
 (Zusammengesetzte Kampfer Mixtur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Camphor Water, Peppermint Water, and 
 Spearmint Water, each, one fluidounce; Camphorated Tincture of 
 Opium two ftuidrachms. Mix together. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a very efficacious agent in allaying 
 nausea and vomiting. It was extensively and successfully employed 
 in Cincinnati in the nausea and vomiting attending Asiatic cholera. 
 It possesses the virtues of the several articles entering into its com- 
 position, without the stimulating influence of the alcohol, which enters 
 into their tinctures, upon already partially-inflamed mucous surfaces. 
 The dose is from a teaspoonful to a tablespoonfiil every five minutes, 
 if the patient be vomiting, and every ten minutes if he be only nau- 
 seated. 
 
 MisTURA Cajuptjti Composita. Compound Cajeput Mixture. Hunn'i 
 Drops. (Zusammengesetzte Cajeput Mixtur.) 
 
1068 Phaemacy. 
 
 tPreparation.— Take of Oils of Cajeput, Cloves, Peppermint, and Anise 
 each, one fluidounce ; Eectified Alcohol /our ounces. Dissolve the Oils ir 
 the Alcohol. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a very valuable stimulant and antispas- 
 modic preparation, and has been successfully used in colic, cramp of 
 the stomach, or elsewhere, flatulence, pains in the stomach or bowels, 
 painful diarrhea, cholera-morbus, Asiatic cholera, and in all cases 
 where stimulant and antispasmodic action is desired. ■ During the chol- 
 era of 1849-50-51, it was extensively used in Cincinnati for the pur- 
 pose of overcoming violent spasmodic action, in the doses of one or 
 two fluidrachms, every ten or fifteen minutes; one or two doses gener- 
 ally succeeded in relieving the pains and spasms when all other means 
 ha4 failed. The ordinary dose is from ten drops to half a fluidrachm. 
 It should be given in simple syrup, mucilage of slippery-elm,, or in hot 
 brandy and water sweetened. Care should be taken not to introduce 
 too much of this preparation into the stomach at any one time, as a large 
 proportion of it would produce inflammation of the stomach. It is a 
 very valuable agent when properly used, and should always be kept 
 by every physician and druggist. 
 
 MisTURA Chenopodii Composita. Compound Wormseed Mixture. 
 Worm Mixture. (Zusammengesetzte Gansefuss Saamen Mixtur.) 
 
 Preparation.— Taike of Castor Oil one fluidounce ; "Wormseed Oil, A'nise 
 Oil, and Tincture of Myrrh, of each, one fluidrachm. Mix. — Beach's Am. 
 Prac. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is an excellent vermifuge, and may be 
 used in doses of one teaspoonful for an adult, to be repeated three or 
 four times a day, and aftpr having been taken for three successive days, 
 to be followed by a cathartic. This somewhat resembles " Fahne- 
 stock's Vermifuge," which is said to be composed of. Castor Oil one 
 fluidounce ; Oil of Wormseed one fluidounce ; Oil of Anise half a fluid- 
 ounce; Tinctare of Mjrrh. half a fluidrachm ; Oil of Turpentine ten mm- 
 ims ; Croton Oil one minim. Mix. The dose is a teaspoonful for an 
 adult, every two hours, to be continued for ten or twelve hours. 
 
 MisTURA CoPAiB-ffi CoMPOsiTA. Compound Copaiba Mixture. Diuretic 
 Drops. (Zusammengesetzte Co'paiva Mixtur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Spirit of Nitrous Ether and Oil of Almonds, 
 each, one fluidounce; Copaiba, and Oil of Turpentine, of each, half a 
 fluidounce; Camphor in powder, ten grains. Mix together the liquids, 
 then add the Camphor, and agitate briskly. — Beach's Am. Prac. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a diuretic mixture, which has been 
 successfally and extensively used in gonorrhea, gleet, scalding of urine, 
 and urinary affections. The dose is one fluidrachm, three times a day, 
 in some tea or mucilage. It should be well agitated previous to taking 
 it. There are various mixtures of Copaiba in use for the cure of gon- 
 orrhea, and as several of them have been found eflScacious, I give the 
 formula for preparing them : 
 
 1. Take of Copaiba, Spirit of Nitrous Ether, Compound Spirit of 
 Lavender, Tincture of Muriate of Iron, of each, one fluidounce. Mix. 
 The dose is a teaspoonful three times a day. 
 
 2. Take of Oil of Cubebs, Oil of Anise, Copaiba, Tincture of Opium, 
 Tincture of Muriate of Iron, of each, one fluidounce. Mix. The dose 
 is a teaspoonful three times a day. The two preparations above are 
 very disagreeable to the taste, but very efficacious in gonorrhea, aftei 
 the active symptoms have subsided. They must be agitated thoroughly 
 previous to taking each dose, and in order to protect the teeth from 
 
MlSTXTR^. 106S 
 
 che injurious action of the acid in the Tincture of Muriate of Iron, it 
 is recommended to rinse the mouth immediately after taking each dose, 
 with a solution of bicarbonate of potassa, 
 
 8. Take of Solidified Copaiba two ounces; White Wax one ounce ; Oil 
 of Gubebs-, Oil of Spearmint, of each, one fluidrachm ; Niter, finely pul- 
 verized, two drachms. Melt the Wax, add the Oils, and then the Co- 
 paiba ; stir all well together, and finally, add the Niter. This forms a 
 paste much used for the cure of gonorrhea. The dose is a quantity 
 about the size of a small chestnut, three times a day. 
 
 4. Take of Alum, in powder, onh drachm ; Precipitated Carbonate of 
 Iron half an ounce; Pulverized Cubebs one ownce ; CoT^aiba a sufficient 
 quar[tity to form a kind of paste. The dose is the same as in the pre- 
 ' ceding preparation. 
 
 MisTURA GLyoYRRHiz.ffi) CoMPOsiTA. Gompound Liquorice Mixture. 
 (Zusammengesetzte Lakritzen Mixtur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of powdered Extract of Liquorice, powdered Gum 
 Arabic, and White Sugar, each, two drachms; triturate these with 
 Water six fluidounhes, added to them gradually, and when these are 
 dissolved, strain the solution, and add to it Camphorated Tincture of 
 Opium one fluidounce, Tincture of Bloodroot half a fl/uidounce, Spirit of 
 Nitrous Ether two fluidrachms. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms an excellent cough mixture, and 
 may be used in catarrhal affections, after the subsidence of the more 
 active symptoftis, and when expectoration is present. An adult may 
 take half a fluidounce for a dose, and a- child three or four years old a 
 fluidrachm. A very excellent cough drop may be made as follows : 
 Dissolve Hydrochlorate of Ammonia two drachma in Water six fluid- 
 ounces, then add Extract of Liquorice two drachms, Bx-tract of Hyos- 
 cyamus half a drachm; when these are dissolved, add Syrup of Tolu 
 (ine fluidounce. The dose is the same as the above, and may be repeated 
 three or four times a day. A grain or two of the Sulphate of Sanguin- 
 aijin njay be added to render it more expectorant. 
 
 MiSTURA Olei Camphorata. Camphorated Miocture of Oils. (Zusam- 
 mengestzte Oel und Kampfer Mixtur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the Oils of Cloves, Cajeput, and Amber (recti- 
 fied), and Camphor, each, half an ounce^ Mix the Oils together, and 
 dissolve the Camphor in the' mixture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is intended for the relief of toothache. 
 The decayed portion of the tooth is to be cleansed and dried, and then 
 a few drops of the mixture on cotton applied to the part ; continue the 
 application two or three times in the same manner, and leave the last 
 in. the tooth. This has proved very eflBcacious, and has been exten- 
 sively sold throughout the country as " Parisen's Yegetable Specific." 
 
 It will not be amiss to give, at this place, another preparation for 
 toothache, which I have found of service. Take of Opium, and Niter, 
 each, two oufices ; Camphor an ounce and a half; Galls, in powder, four 
 ounces; Alcohol a pint and 'a half. Place the articles in the Alcohol, 
 macerate for fourteen days, and filter. To be applied the same as with 
 the preceding mixture. Various other agents, as Solution of Tannic 
 Acid, or Gallic Acid in Alcohol, etc., have been recommended for re- 
 lieving toothache, but the above will be found to answer the purpose 
 admirably. {See Carvacrol.) 
 
 MisTTJRA Olei Composita. Compound Mixture of Oils. Vermifuge 
 Oil. (Zusammengesetzte Oel Mixtur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Castor Oil and Wormseed Oil, each, one ounce, 
 
1070 Pharmacy. 
 
 Oil of Turpentine, and Oil of Anise, of etich, half an ounce. Mix to 
 gether. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms an efficacious remedy for worms, 
 and may be given in teaspoonful doses to an adult, and repeated every 
 two hours. After its employment for two or three days, a purgative 
 must be administered. — T. V. M. 
 
 MiSTURA Sanguinarije CompositA. Compound UMwre of Blood root. 
 €ough Drops. (Zusammengesetzte Blutwurzel Mixtur.) 
 
 Preparation. — -Take of Syrup of Ipecacuanha, Syrup of Squill, Tinc- 
 ture of Bloodroot, Syrup of Balsam Tolu, Camphorated Tincture of 
 Opium, each, one ounce. Mix together. — J. K. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a very efficacious preparation in severe 
 cough from colds, catarrhal or bronchial irritations. The dose is from 
 half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm whenever the fit of coughing is severe. 
 I have used it for many years in practice, with much benefit. A vefy 
 pleasant preparation for cough is composed of Oil of Anise, Oil of 
 Sweet Almonds, Tincture of Balsam Tolu, Canada Balsam, Madeira 
 Wine, each, one ounce. Mix. — Beach's Am. Prac. The dose is from ten 
 to twenty drops, three or four times a day, in a little elm or flaxseed 
 infusion. It assists expectoration, and affords great relief in tickling 
 coughs. 
 
 MiSTURA Spiritus Yini GtALLICI. Brandy Mixture. (Franzbrant- 
 wein Mixtur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Brandy, Cinnamon Water, each, four fluid- 
 ounces; the yolks of two Eggs-; Eefined Sugar half an ounce; Oil of 
 Cinnamon two minims. Mix together. — Lond. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a nutritive and stimulating prepa- 
 ration, especially adapted to the stage of prostration in low forms of 
 fever, and in cases of much debility from various other causes. 
 
 MOEPHIA. (Morphium.) 
 Compounds of Morphia. 
 
 Morphia. Morphia. (Morphium.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Turkey Opium, cut into thin slices, a pound ; 
 Distilled Water six pints ; Chloride of Calcium six drachms ; Prepared 
 Animal Charcoal as much as is sufficient. Macerate the Opium for 
 twenty -four hours with two pints of the Water, and decant. Macerate 
 the residuum for twelve hours with another two pints of the Water, 
 decant, and repeat this process with the rest of the Water, subjecting 
 the insoluble residuum to strong expression. Let the decanted solu- 
 tions and expressed liquor be evaporated by a steam or water heat to 
 the bulk of one pint, and then passed through a calico filter. Pour in 
 now the Chloride of Calcium, first dissolved in four fluidounces of Dis- 
 tilled Water ; and then proceed with the evaporation until the solu- 
 tion is so far concentrated, that upon cooling nearly the whole of it 
 becomes solid. Let this solid matter be enveloped in a couple of folds 
 of strong calico, and subjected to powerful pressure, the dark liquid 
 which exudes being reserved for subsequent use. The squeezed cake 
 is now to be acted on with about half a pint of boiling water, and the 
 whole being thrown upon a paper filter, the precipitate must be well 
 washed. The filtered solution having been evaporated as before, cooled 
 and solidified, the residue is to be again subjected to expression. If 
 the product be not quite white, this process should be repeated a third 
 
Morphia. 1071 
 
 time, the liquid forced out during the expression heing always pre- 
 served. Let the squeezed cake be dissolved in six fluidounees of boil- 
 ing water, and, if necessary, cleared by filtration through Prepared 
 Animal Charcoal, the portion of it soaked by the filter being carefully 
 washed out of it ; and to the solution thus obtained, let Water of Am- 
 monia be added, in slight excess, and let the crystalline precipitate 
 which forms when the liquor has cooled be collected on a paper filter, 
 and washed with cold Distilled Water until the washings cease to givo 
 a precipitate upon being dropped into an acid solution of nitrate of 
 silver. Lastly, let the filter be transferred to a porous brick, in order 
 that the Morphia it contains may become dry. 
 
 " The liquids separated by expression from the Muriate of Morphia, 
 in the preceding process, having been diluted with water, so as to oc- 
 cupy the bulk of four fluidounees, and then supersaturated slightly 
 with Ammonia, let the precipitate which forms be collected, after the 
 lapse of six hours, on a filter, and washed with a little cold water. This, 
 if redissolved in dilute muriatic acid, boiled with a little animal char- 
 coal, and filtered, will, upon cooling, aflEbrd a ci-ystalline deposit, from 
 which, when pressed, dissolved in water, and supersaturated with Am- 
 monia, an additional quantity of Morphia will be procured." — Duh. 
 The above weights are avoirdupois, and the measures Imperial. 
 
 " Take of Hydrochlorate of Morphia one ounce ; Solution of Ammonia 
 five fluidrachms ; Distilled Water a pint, Imperial measure. Add the 
 Hydrochlorate of Morphia, first dissolved in a pint of Water, to the 
 solution of Ammonia with an ounce of Water, shaking them together. 
 Wash the precipitated Morphia with Distilled Water, and dry it with a 
 gentle heat." — Lond. 
 
 The first and principal condition of success in the preparation of 
 Morphia consists in the selection of a good sort of opium. Although it 
 maybe averred as a general fact that the soft opium of Smyrna is very 
 rich in Morphia, yet too much faith should not be reposed in the mere 
 outward appearance of the article. The best and safest way is to ascer- 
 tain, by actual experiment, the proportion of Morphia present in a 
 given sample of opium. This is done most accurately by the ordinary 
 process of extracting Morphia. M. Oouerbe, however, recommends the 
 following process on account of the greater rapidity of its execution : — 
 
 Prepare an infusion (or rather maceration) of the opium in the usual 
 way, add to this lime in excess, and heat for a few seconds ; strain ; the 
 whole of the Morphia will be found in the strained liquid ; acidulate 
 the latter, and precipitate with ammonia. This will give the Morphia 
 almost white, and free' from admixture or narcotina. 
 
 History. — When opium is reduced to a coarsely powdered condition, 
 and is properly worked by hand in water, its Morphia is extracted by 
 this fluid. Working it thus several times in fresh portions of water, 
 with a lengthened maceration, will remove nearly if not all the Morphia 
 with its combined acid in the. drug. These several infusions are then 
 added together, and concentrated by evaporation. Solution of ammonia 
 being now mixed in with the concentrated infusion, it decomposes the 
 salt of Morphia, precipitating the alkaloid, and at the same time com- 
 bining with its acid to form a salt (meeonate of ammonia). The alco- 
 hol is added to dissolve coloring matter as soon as the Morphia is sepa- 
 rated from its acid, and thus prevents this coloring matter from bping 
 deposited with the alkaloid. By introducing the ammonia in por- 
 tions at two diff'erent periods of the process, the Morphia is not so 
 rapidly set free, and consequently the alcohol can take up nearly, if 
 
1072 Pharmacy. 
 
 not quite all, of the coloring matter, and other impurities soluble ii 
 this liquid. If too much ammonia be added, it will dissolve the Morphia; 
 and this must be guarded against. The impure yellowish crystals of 
 Morphia obtained are purified by the subsequent boiling iu alcohol, and 
 filtration through animal charcoal. In this process alcohol of sp. gr. 
 0.9032 is better than highly rectified alcohol wbich is apt to dissolve some 
 of the Morphia. The dfmmonia used should'be of the officinal standard. 
 Any Morphia which may be held by the alcohol, may be procured by 
 distilling this liquid, and, when properly concentrated, purifying it by 
 a similar operation. 
 
 Morphia, as ordinarily procured, is apt to contain a portion of nar- 
 cotina, which may be removed by ether in which the latter alkaloid is 
 soluble, but not the former. Or, diluted acetic acid may be used in 
 which only the Morphia is soluble ; the solution may then be filtered, 
 and the Morphia precipitated by ammonia. Or, diluted muriatic acid 
 may be employed; this dissolves both the Morphia and narcotina, the 
 latter is thrown down by adding lime and boiling the mixture ; then 
 upon filtration and adding ammonia to the filtrate the Morphia is pre- 
 cipitated. 
 
 Morphia is procured by other processes beside those given above. 
 "Wittstein says: — After trying several of the methods which appeared 
 to me most advantageous, I can recommend that of Mohr's as the best, 
 according to my experience. Twenty parts of good opium is cut into 
 slices and boiled, in a copper or leaden vessel, with sixty parts ojf water, 
 being constantly stirred with a wooden spatula, for half an hour, or 
 until all the slices are entirely softened, strain through a pointed bag 
 of rather coarse linen, press the residue, and treat it twice with fresh 
 water in the same way. The strained liquor is to be evaporated in the 
 same vessel to half its bulk ; forty parts of water, containing five parts 
 of hydrate of lime, are then heated to boiling, and the condensed liquid 
 gradually added to it ; the whole is then boiled for a quarter of an hour, 
 strained, pressed, and the residue twice boiled, each time with fifty parts 
 of water. The mixed fluids containing lime are concentrated to forty 
 parts and filtered. The filtrate is heated in a porcelain dish to boiling, 
 two parts of muriate of ammonia are added, and the whole allowed to 
 stand in a warm place, with frequent stirring, for one hour, or until an 
 evident evolution of ammonia takes place, then remove to a cold one. 
 After standing eight days the brown crystalline precipitate that has 
 separated is collected on a strainer, the liquid which passes off evapo- 
 rated to half, and this again allowed to stand eight days in a cool place, 
 strained, pressed, the mother -liquor thrown away, and the two residues 
 mixed. To the two precipitates, after washing them with cold water, 
 so much water is added that the whole weighs about twenty parts, then 
 add pure hydrochloric acid until the liqtiid acquires a feebly acid reac- 
 tion ; it is now heated to boiling, filtered while hot, and evaporated to 
 a small bulk. After it has stood some days, the crystalline mass which 
 forms is collected on linen, strongly pressed, again evaporated and 
 strained : this last black mother-liquor may be kept for mixing with 
 the opium at another preparation of Morphia. The crystallized and 
 d*ied mass is dissolved in four times its weight of boiling water, and 
 the solution added to a boiling mixture of three parts of hydrate of 
 lime and twenty-four parts water ; the straining, washing, treating with 
 sal ammoniac (one and a half pints) and hydrochloric ffcid, are repeated 
 as before, the precipitate dissolved in thirty times its weight of hot water, 
 and the solution, if colored, treated with freshly heated wood-charcoal : 
 
Morphia. 1073 
 
 when cold it is precipitated with ammonia, of which too large an excess 
 must be avoided. The precipitated white crystalline needles are col- 
 lected on a filter, rinsed with cold water, and dried with a gentle heat. 
 The product will be one-tenth or one-twelfth of the weight of opium 
 used. The precipitate which ammonia causes in the preparation of 
 meconic acid is dissolved in dilute hydrochloric acid, and treated ex- 
 actlj' like the M'atery solution of opium. 
 
 Water dissolves the salts of Morphia, codeia, thebain, and the greater 
 portion of narcotina; the cOdeia and thebain, on account of the little 
 contained, can only be isolated when operating on large quantities of 
 opium. When the watery solution comes in contact with the boiling 
 milk of lime, the acids pass to the lime, forming meconate and sulphate 
 of lime, the alkaloids precipitate, but the Morphia redissolves in the 
 limewater, the others remaining in the residue, from which narcotina, 
 codeia, and thebain may be extracted with alcohol or ether. For con- 
 venience sake the lime solution is evaporated, and during this process, 
 from the access of the carbonic acid in the atmosphere, a portion of the 
 lime precipitates as carbonate, and with it the Morphia that it had pre- 
 viously held in solution, this is only trifling, j'et quite sufficient to re- 
 pay (when a good quantity has been collected) for its exhaustion with 
 alcohol. When sal ammoniac is added to the condensed and filtered 
 solution, both compounds are decomposed ; the oxygen of the lime 
 forms water with one atom of hydrogen of the ammonium, the calcium 
 combining with the chlorine, ammonia is evolved, and the Morphia, 
 robbed of its solvent, precipitates with some coloring matter. In order 
 to insure entire decomposition heat must be employed, arid afterward 
 the whole is allowed quietly to rest for several days. The mother-liquor, 
 when further evaporated, yields a little more Morphia. The quantity 
 of sal ammoniac mentioned is more than sufficient to throw down all 
 the Morphia, but the excess is of no ill-consequence, and insures entire 
 precipitation. In order to purify this Morphia further from coloring 
 matter, it must "be combined with some acid with which it forms a read- 
 ily crystallizable and not very soluble salt; for this purpose hydro- 
 chloric acid answers best. Most of the coloring matter, with a little 
 hydrochlorate of Morphia, remains in the mother-liquor, and what still 
 adheres to the salt will be entirely removed by the second treatment with 
 lime, etc. The Muriate of Morphia obtained the second time forms with 
 water only a slightly colored solution, which is rendered perfectly color- 
 less by shaking with freshly prepared charcoal, and on the addition of 
 caustic ammonia precipitates as fine white needles, of a silky luster. An 
 excess of ammonia is to be avoided, as the Morphia will be redissolved 
 by it. If wished for in large crystals, it is dissolved in strong alcohol, 
 and the solution slowly evaporated. It is sometimes possible to decol- 
 orize the first Muriate of Morphia entirely with charcoal, and thus ren- 
 der the treatment with lime unnecessary ; it is well to try this with a 
 small portion first. 
 
 ' The precipitate obtained by evaporating the Morphia and lime solution 
 is dried, exhausted with strong alcohol, the solution concentrated, taken 
 up with hydrochloric acid, and the salt either purified alone or used up 
 with a fresh precipitate from opium. 
 
 Pure Morphia forms fine white needles of a silky luster, and, if ob- 
 tained from an alcoholic solution, by slow evaporation, in tolerably 
 large, colorless, semi-transparent, four-sided prisms. It is odorless, and 
 tastes distinctly bitter. It undergoes no change in the atmosphere. 
 Carefully heated it gives ofi' water, fusing to a yellow liquid, which still 
 68 
 
10,74 Pharmacy 
 
 more strongly heated decomposes, burning and leaving a carbonaceous 
 residue, which heated long enough must be entirely consumed. Water 
 dissolves but a trace of Morphia, but acquires a bitter taste from it. It 
 is insoluble in ether and chloroform. Boiling water dissolves about 
 one-hundredth of Morphia. Alcohol of 80 per cent, dissolves, at , the 
 ordinary temperature, one-thirtieth ; and boiling alcohol one-twentieth 
 of its weight bf Morphia, the solution having an alkaline reaction. , Its 
 alcoholic solution exerts a powerful rotation to the left upon a ray of 
 polarized light. It is soluble in dilute acetic, hydrochloric, nitric, and 
 sulphuric acids, also in the fixed and volatile oils, in solutions of potassa 
 and of soda:, also in small quantity, of ammonia, and in solutions of 
 caustic baryta, lime, and strontia. It is precipitated from its alkaline 
 solutions, when exposed to the atmosphere, on account of the alkalies 
 conabining with the carbonic acid to form carbonates. Nitric acid red- 
 dens Morphia or its salts) which becomes yellow after a little time. lo^if 
 acid is deoxidized by it, free iodine being liberated, which", may be rec- 
 ognized by its brown color, and by, the blue which it yields on the ad- 
 dition of a solution of starch, as well as by the intensified brown oje 
 red color caused by the addition of ammonia to it. This latter reaction 
 Vill detect one part of morphia in 10,000 parts of a solution.' Tincture 
 of galls gives, with neutral solutions, a dirty white precipitate of tan- 
 nate of Morphia, which is dissolved by acetic acid. Sesquisalts of iron, 
 give with Morphia and its salts, a deep blue color, which is dissipated 
 by heating. A solution of the terchloride of gold forms with Morphia 
 or its salts a yellow precipitate; if, after shaking' ttlis up well, a drop of 
 liquor potassa be added, the solution assumes various hues, first green- 
 ish, then bluish, then violet, and finally purple. If, on shaking with 
 •ether and evapor,a;ting, a crystalline residue is left, narcotina is present. 
 /The nitric acid or dilute acetic acid solution must give no precipitate 
 with nitrate of silver, nitrate of baryta, oxalate.'of ammonia, or phos- 
 phate of ammonia, which denote the presence of hydrochloric and sul- 
 phuric acids, lime, and magnesia. If oxalate of lime gives a precipitate 
 it must be removed previously to testing' for magnesia. Morphia has 
 the formula G35 Hjj NOe; its symbol is J, and its equivalent weight 292. 
 — Witt, and P. Miller gives its formula, C3, B.^^ NOe, 2 B:0=285+18. 
 Properties and Uses. — Morphia possesses essentially all the actions of 
 opium, and is the principle in that drug to which its narcotic, anodyne, 
 sedative, and diaphoretic properties are due. But as it is not so soluble 
 as its salts, these are usually employed ; the principal ones are the sul- 
 phate, muriate, and acetate. Pereira says that in comparing the mor- 
 Iphitic salts with opium, we observe that they are less stimulant, and 
 less disposed to cause sweating, constipation, headache, and dryness of 
 the tongue ; the feelings which they excite are less agreeable, and hence 
 they are not adapted to be be substituted for opium by the eaters of 
 this drug ; they more readily affect the bladder than opium. The salts 
 of Morphia are used wherever it is desired to obtain the' ordinary me- 
 dicinal influences of opium, and they are preferred to opium when ap- 
 plied endermically to alleviate severe pain of, a neuralgic character, 
 gastrodynia, obstinate vomiting, to relieve the excessive endermic oper- 
 ation of strychnia, etc., opium is best adapted in the prostrating stage of 
 typhus and typhoid fevers, as a stimulant, arid to check upheal thy dis- 
 charges. The saltBofMorphia pass into the circulation and areeiiminated 
 in the urine, in -wfhich fluid the morphia may be found shortly after their 
 administration. Given in large non-medicinal doses Moi-phia, as well 
 «8 its salts, is a powerful narcotic poison, producing symptoms similar 
 
Morphia. 1076 
 
 ij those caused by opium, as dimness of sight, excessive weakness, loss 
 of consciousness, contracted pupils, sometimes dilated, with coma, cold- 
 ness of the surface, frequent and small pulse, hurried stertorous respi- 
 ration, and occasionally convulsions. There may also be difficult mictu- 
 rition, itching, and a livid appearance of the skin. The treatment will 
 be the same as that named for poisonous doses of opium.* 
 
 The dose of Morphia and its saltE,;is from one eighth of a grain to a 
 quarter; and one-sixth of a grain represents about a grain of ordinary- 
 opium. 
 
 The various salts of Morphia, dissolved in water, haye been success- 
 fully used, by subcutaneous injection, in all paihfiil and inflammatory 
 affections, as well as in cases of obstinate restlessness,, irritability, and 
 delirium ; from one-eighth to one-fourth of a grain of the salt selected, 
 in solution, is injected at once, repeating the operation in a day or two, 
 or even every three or four hours, if the urgency of the case requires. , 
 Yomiting, nausea, or uneasiness, sometimes follows the injection, but 
 whicih soon passes away without injury to the patient. ;..,., 
 , Off. Pre]p. — Morphise Acetas; Morphia; Murias ; Morphise Sulphas; 
 Ferri et Morphise Tartras ; Quinise et Morphise Tartras. 
 ' Morphia Acetas. Acetate of Morphia. (Essigsaures Morphium.) 
 ; Prepcuration. — "Take of pure Morphia six drachms; Acetic Acid three 
 .fiuidrachms; Distilled W uter four fluidounces, Imp. meas. Mix the Acid 
 with the "Water, and pour them upon the Morphia to saturation. Let 
 the liquor evaporate with a gentle heat, that crystals may be formed." 
 — Lond. 
 
 Wittstein's process is, — "Intimately mix two parts of pure Morphia 
 with two parts of Water in a morjtar, warmed in a. sand-bath, and then 
 add concentrated Acetic Acid Jo it until the Morphia is dissolved ; one 
 part of Acetic Acid, sp. gr. l^OiS, will be sufficient. Pour the solution 
 on a shallow porcelain plate, dry at a temperature not to exceed 120° 
 P., powder, and preserve in a closed vessel in a cool place. The yield 
 will be about one-eighth more than the weight of the Morphia em- 
 ployed." 
 
 Morphia may be rendered pure and freed from any narcotina which 
 may be present with it, by boiling it in ether, which dissolves only the 
 narcotina. Acetic acid is here used instead of ordinary vinegar, ' on 
 account of its greater purity. 3775 parts of crystallized Morphia re- 
 quire 638 parts of anhydrous, or 1772 parts of acetic acid, sp. gr. 1.045 
 (^64 p. ct. of water). The salt crystallizes with difficulty, the solution 
 is therefore evaporated to dryness, which, to avoid decomposition (the 
 volatilization •of any of the constitutional acid of the salt), must be 
 done at a moderate temperature. It is best to conducit the evaporation 
 in a shallow porcelain plate." — Witt. 
 
 Acetate of Morphia is in the form of a snowy white, obscurely crys- 
 talline powder, or if crystallized, it is in slender acicular and fascicu- 
 lated crystals. It is inodorous, but possesses an intense, peculiar, bit- 
 ter taste. Water dissolves it readily, though not entirely ; this is owing 
 to a loss of some of its acid during evaporation' ^to dryness, so that there 
 is not enough present to hold the Morphia in solution. Consequently, 
 
 '" According to Marme, a solution of the double Iodide of cadmium and potassium precip- 
 itates aU the alkaloids in a very dilute solution to which sulphuric acid has been added. 
 These precipitates, flocculent at first, become for the most part ajlkaline>; they are Insblii' 
 ble in ether, slightly soluble in water, soluble in alcohol. These combinations have consld- 
 e'^aMfe analogy with those of the same. alkaloids tested by the iodo-m'ercurates and the 
 ibdo^bismuthates. ThiS;lodide of cadmium and potassium :does not precipitate the gluoos- 
 ides, asj amygdalin, sallcin. saponin, cyclamin, digltallu, pbloridzin, etc. 
 
1076 Pharmact. 
 
 when it is required to use the acetate in solution, a few drops of dis- 
 tilled vinegar added, will render it completely soluble. It is not so 
 readily soluble in alcohol as in water. It has the disadvantage of 
 being slightly deliquescent, and of losing acid when its aqueous solu- 
 tion is evaporated. A strong heat decomposes, and entirely dissipates 
 it. Its aqueous solution, moderately concentrated, is affected by heat, 
 nitric acid, and sesquichloride of iron, in the same manner as Morphia ; 
 and the alkalies or alkaline earths precipitate morphia from it, but re- 
 dissolve it if added in excess. Diluted sulphuric acid added to the salt, 
 disengages acetic fumes, and imparts an acetous odor to the solution. 
 It is supposed to consist of one equivalent of base 296.35, one of acid 
 51.48, and one of water 9=356.83. Its formula is NCa, H,g 0^ C^ H, 
 Os=i343. 
 
 Owing to unskillful preparation it may be adulterated with coloring 
 matter, which may be known by the want of its proper whiteness ; but 
 it may likewise be adulterated with various white powders. In addi- 
 tion to the above tests of its purity, the following formula of the Edin- 
 burgh College will be found generally SuflScient to detect the most part 
 of adulterations : " One hundred measures of a solution oi ten grains 
 in half a fluidounce of water and five minims of acetic acid, heated 
 to near 212°, and decomposed by a faint excess of ammonia, yield by 
 agitation a precipitate which in 24 hours occupies 15.5 measures of 
 the liquid."— a 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Acetate of Morphia exerts a similar, influence 
 upon the system as the other salts of morphia, and is preferred by 
 8om« practioners to them ; but I have not found the combination of 
 any acid to appreciably affect the therapeutical influence of the mor- 
 phia. It may be substituted for opiun?, as a general rule, or for any 
 of the other salts of morphia. The dose to produce an anodyne or 
 hypnotic effect is from one-eighth of a grain to one-quarter; but under 
 certain excitable conditions of the system, even more may be required. 
 One-sixth of a grain represents about a grain of opium. It is some- 
 times used externally, applied to vesicated surfaces, for the purpose of 
 affecting the system. Internally, it may be given either in the form 
 of pill or solution. A solution {lAquor Morphice Acetatis) may be formed 
 by adding four grains of Acetate of Morphia to four fluidounces of Dis- 
 tilled Water. If it does not readily dissolve, five minims of Diluted 
 Acetic acid may be added. The dose of this is from half a fluidrachm 
 to two fluidrachms. A fluidrachm or two of Alcohol mixed with the 
 water forming the solution,. will prevent spontaneous decomposition. 
 (*See Ferri et Morphice Tartras.') 
 
 MoRPHiiE Mtirias. Morphia Htdrochloras. Muriate of Morphia. 
 Hydrochlorate of Morphia. (Salzsaures Morphium.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of pure Morphia two parts, rub in a porcelain 
 dish with wsX&v five parts, heat to the boiling point, and add pure Hy- 
 drochloric Acid until the Morphia is dissolved (one part of Acid, sp. 
 gr. 1.130, will suffice), and then allow it to cool. After standing a day, 
 the crystals which form are separated from the supernatant liquid, 
 which is evaporated to further crystallization. The salt is spread on 
 filtering paper and dried ; about two and a half parts by weight should 
 be obtained." — Witt. The Hydrochloric Acid must be added gradu- 
 ally, and the mixture be constantly stirred. 
 
 History. — By the above process, morphia is saturated with "muriatic 
 acid, of which saturation its complete solution in the water is an indi- 
 cation, An excess of acid may be known by litmus-paper, which be» 
 
Morphia. 1077 
 
 comeB reddened if such be the case. 3775 parts of crystallized mor- 
 phia require 455 parts of anhydrous, or 1750 parts of hydrochloric 
 acid, sp. gr. 1.130==74 p. ct. water. — Witt. 
 
 Muriate of Morphia is usually met with in the form of a pure-white 
 powder ; but when crystallized it forms beautifully radiated tufts of 
 delicate feathery or satiny needles. It is inodorous; intensely bitter, 
 permanent in the air, soluble in fourteen parts of water at 60°, and in its 
 own, weight at 212°,, and is also soluble in alcohol. A concentrated 
 boiling solution forms, on cooling, almost a firm crystalline mass. Mu- 
 riate of Morphia is decomposed by dilute sulphuric acid, with disen- 
 gagement of muriatic acid ; strong nitric a(;id forms a deep-yellow 
 solution with it ; spirit of nitric ether slowly communicates a yellow 
 color to its solution ; the alkalies, especially potassa and lime-water, 
 precipitate morphia from the solution, but redissolve it when added in 
 excess. Heat, and sesquichloride of iron affect it. in the same manner 
 as they do morphia. Nitrate of silver added to its solution gives rise 
 to a precipitate of chloride of silver. Its formula is NCsj H^o O^ H 
 01=382.42. The -pune salt, dried at 150°, contains 12.7 per cent, of 
 water.— (7. 
 
 Muriate of Morphia prepared by the above process is free from nar- 
 cotina or other impurity, and the formula is sufficient for its prepara- 
 tion on a small scale ; but when to be manufactured on a large scale, 
 the process of Dr. Wm. Gregory will, probably, be found the most 
 economical, by which a large and pure product may be obtained. By 
 his process the meconate of morphia existing in the opium is decom- 
 posed by chloride of calcium, which forms, through double affinity, a 
 precipitate of meconate of lime, leaving Muriate of Morphia in solu- 
 tion, which is obtained in crystals by evaporation ; these are purified 
 by repeated solution, concentration, and crystallization, and lastly de- 
 colorization with animal charcoal. It is important to exhaust the 
 opium with as little water as possible, so as to avoid protracted heat 
 while evaporating. Other methods have been advised, but tha one 
 above given is sufficient for all practical purposes of the physician or 
 apothecary. 
 
 White sugar is said to enter into Muriate of Morphia as an adultera- 
 tion. The ffermentation test will serve to discover it. The principal 
 impurities, however, that are met with, are coloring matter and mois- 
 ture, the result of carelessness in its preparation. According to the 
 Edinburgh College, Muriate of Morphia should be snow-white, entirely 
 soluble in water, giving a colorless solution ; its loss of weight at 212° 
 should not exceed thirteen per cent.; and one hundred measures of a 
 solution of ten grains in half a fluidounce of water, heated nearly to 
 212°, and decomposed with agitation by a faint excess of ammonia, 
 should yield a precipitate which, in twenty-four hours, occupies 12.5 
 measures of the liquid. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Muriate of Morphia possesses properties simi- 
 lar to the other salts of morphia, having essentially all the actions of 
 opium. It is much more extensively used in Great Britain than in 
 this country ; and may be employed as a substitute for opium, or the 
 acetate, or sulphate of morphia. Its dose is from an eighth of a grain 
 to a half; one-sixth of a grain represents about one grain of opium. 
 A solution of the Muriate of Morphia (Liquor Morphice Hydrochloras) 
 is made by dissolving /owr grains of Hydrochlorate of Morphia in Dis- 
 tilled Waiter four fiuideunces, If it does not readily dissolve. Jive minims 
 of Diluted itydrochloric Acid may be added. The dose is from half a 
 
1078 Pharmacy. 
 
 fluidrachm to two fluidraehms. Alcohol, a fiuidrachm or two, rQixed 
 witK the water forming this solution, will prevent spontaneous decom-- 
 position. 
 
 MoRPHi.ai Sulphas. Sulphate of Morphia. (Schwefelsaures Mor- 
 phium.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of pure Morphia two parts ; ruli it in a porcelain 
 dish -with five parts of Distilled Water, then heat to boiling, and add 
 Sulphuric Acid until the Morphia is dissolved,' and then allow the solu- 
 tion^ to cool. After eitandinga day the crystals which form are treated 
 in the same manner as named for the crystals of Muriate of Morphia. 
 The Sulphuric: Acid must be added gradually, and the mixture be con- 
 stantly, stirred.— Witt. ' ' ' 
 
 Morphia is here saturated with sulphuric acid, of which saturation 
 its complete solution, in the water is an indication. An excess of acid 
 may be known by litmus-paper, which becomes reddened if this be' 
 present. The same as in the preparation of the, acetate of. morphia, 
 the heat must not be too high during evaporation of this salt, else it' 
 •w^ll be decomposed,- and a new body be procured destitute of morphia. ' 
 3775 parts of morphia require 613 parts of hydrated sulphuric acid, or' 
 3678 parts of dilute acid containing one-sixth of the mono- hydrated acid. 
 
 Sulphate of Morphia is obtained in colorless plumose crystals, fre- ' 
 quently in groups, which are odorless, bitter, unalterable in the air,' 
 dissolve in water at 60°, and in double their weight of water at 212°. 
 They consist of one equivalent of sulphuric acid=40 ; one of morphia , 
 ^292 ; and six equivalents of water=54. One of these equivalents ' 
 of water is an essential constituent of the salt, and can not be. re- 
 moved without destroying it ; the other five equivalents are the water ' 
 of crj'stallization. Its formula is NCj, Hjg Oj 803=332. Its purity ' 
 may be determined by employing the tests for the alkaloid and the acid. ' 
 Pure Sulphate of Morphia is readily and entirely soluble in water, and ' 
 nearly so in alcohol. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Sulphate of Morphia is probably more often ' 
 employed in this country than any other of the salts of this alkaloid, ' 
 and is considered to be more uniform in its effects on the system. It ' 
 possesses the usual properties belonging to morphia and its various 
 salts, and is used in cases where these are indicated. The dose is from ' 
 an eighth of a grain to a quarter, which may be given in pill or solu- 
 tion. One-sixth of a grain is about an equivalent of one grain of ' 
 opium. A solution of Sulphate of Morphia (^Liquor Morphice Sulphatis), 
 is made by dissolving four grains of the Sulphate of Morphia in four ' 
 fluidounces of Distilled Water. This forms a convenient solution, in ' 
 which the morphia maybe administered in minute or ordinary doses to 
 suit the occasion ; it will keep for a long time unaltered. A fluidrachm 
 of this solution is equal to about one-eighth of a grain of the sulphate. 
 When the sulphate is adulterated, or has been carelessly prepared, it 
 does not entirely dissolve in the water, which is usually owing to the 
 presence of morphia which is not combined fully with the sulphuric 
 acid. This difliculty may be overcome by the addition of a few drops 
 of Sulphuric Acid or eight or ten drops of Elixir Vitriol, and a flui- 
 drachm of Alcohol, which will render the salt wholly soluble in water, 
 and prevent it from decomposition. 
 
 There are other salts of Morphia, as the Mtrate, Phosphate, and Tar- 
 trate, prepared as the acetate, by substituting the respective acids; 
 also the Hydriodate of Morphia, made by mixing together strong solii- 
 
MOEPHIA. 1079 
 
 tions of muriate of morphia, two parts, and of iodide' of potassium 
 rather more than one part. Wash the precipitate with a little cold 
 water; press it between folds of blotting-paper,, redissolve it in' hot 
 water, and crystallize. Doses of these, same as the acetate. Iodide of 
 Morphia is obtained by dissolving 120 equivalents of dry acetate 
 of Morphia in eight times the weighi of cold distilled' water,' add- 
 ing, if necessary, a few drops of piife acetic acid, and mixing the 
 filtered solution with a solution of sixty equivalents of iodide of potas- 
 sium. After some, time the salt crystallizes in very slender crystals, 
 but which may be obtained of larger size by heating the mixture on a 
 water-bath, and allowing it to cool slowly. It closely resembles in 
 form, color, etc., the sulphate of quinia. It is insolublein cold water, 
 soluble in hot water, and readily in alcohol ; the solutions have a bitter 
 taste. Morphia neutralized with valerianic acid, forms Valerianate of 
 Morphia, a salt which is used to some extent in nervous diseases, rest- 
 lessness in fevers, etc. The dose is the same as the sulphate of morphia. 
 
 A preparation called " Solution of Bimeconate of Morphia " has 
 been introduced into this country from England, and' at a very hi'gh 
 price, and which is stated to possess all the therapeutic effect of opium 
 without any of Its disagreeable influences, as well as to bfe serviceable 
 in those' cases where from idiosyncrasy or other causes the c!rude drug 
 dr its ordinary preparations can not be employed, when these are indi- 
 cated. In the London Pharmaceutieal Journal, I find, on page 28S, v61. 
 XV., the following formula for this solution : "Take of Bimeconate of 
 Morphia ten grains; Alcohol owe fluidrachm ; Distilled Watdr thirteen' 
 Auidrachms. Mix." But there is no formula for the Bimeconate itself. 
 If there be such a salt, it may probably be made by the addition of 
 meconic acid to a solution of opium. The meconic acid niay be pro- 
 cured by the process given on page 6l0, or, by precipitation of the 
 solution of meconate of ammonia (see page 1072) forined in the man- 
 ufacture of morphia, and separating the meconic'acid from the jirecip- 
 itated meconate of lead by means of hot diluted hydrochloric acid. 
 Ori allowing the acid liquid to cool, the meconic acid will precipitate. 
 
 According to Prof. W. Procter, Jr., this solution is not a pure meco- 
 nate of morphia, but a meconate and thebolactate cbnlbihed. He gives 
 the followiiig process for its manufacture : Macerate Opium in jiowder 
 (or dry enough to powder) _^z>e iro^ownces in distilled water a pint, with' 
 agitation for three days, strain with expression, and again macerate in 
 successive portions of Distilled "Water a pint each i/me, for twenty-four 
 hours, until four pints have been used; and the 'opium! sufflcieiltly ex- 
 hausted. Evaporate the liquors , carefully to the measure of a pint, 
 filter, and add Solution of Acetate of Lead until it' ceases to produce a 
 precipitate. Collect this on a filter, thoroughly wash it with w^ter, 
 suspend it in a pint of warm Distilled Water' pass a current' of Sul- 
 phuretted Hydrogen through the ihixture un,til the lead 'is entirely pre- 
 cipitated, heat and filter the solution df Meconic Acid that remains, 
 u*^til deprived of sulphuretted odor. — Meanwhile, take the liquid filtered' 
 from the lead precipitate (containing the morphia, etc.) together with 
 the washings, evaporate them at a gentle heat to four fliiidounces ; 
 djop in siifBeient Diluted Sulphuric Acid to precipitate the oxide of 
 lead present, and filter; then mix tho filtrate with an equal bulk of 
 Alcohol, and carefully add Water of Ammonia, with agitation, until it 
 reinains in slight excess ; allowing it to rest twenty-four hours, that 
 the morphia may separate. Collect the impure morphia on a filtep, 
 wash it with a little water, and dissolve it in the hot solution of Me- 
 
1080 Pharmacy. 
 
 oonic Acid (above referred to) and filter if necessary, washing the 
 filter with a little distilled water. Finally, add suflflcient distilled water 
 to the filtrate to make it measure three pints, and then strongei Alco- 
 hol, 95 per cent., a pint, and mix them. 
 
 This solution is of a light reddish -brown color, varying, however, 
 in different specimens, and which is due to adhering coloring matter, 
 and especially to the oxide of iron with which it comes in contact dur- 
 ing the process ; its odor is that of alcohol, and its taste decidedly bit- 
 ter. Prof. Procter does not believe it to possess any merit not em 
 braced in the liquor opii compositus, of Dr. Squibb (Am. Jour. Pharm., 
 1860, p. 120), and the deodorized tincture of opium of the U. S. Pharma- 
 copoeia. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 1867, p. 104. 
 
 OLBA DESTILLATA. (Destillirte Oele.) 
 Distilled Oils. 
 
 For an account of Volatile, Distilled, or Essential Oils, see Olea Vol- 
 atilia, Part I., page 557. 
 
 The Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia gives the following general directions : 
 
 " Volatile Oils are obtained chiefly from the flowers, leaves, fruits, 
 barks and roots of plants, by distilling them with water, in which they 
 have been allowed to macerate for some time. Flowers, leaves, and 
 fruits generally yield the finest oils, and in greatest quantity when they 
 are used fresh. Many, however, answer equally well if they have beep 
 preserved by beating them into a pulp with about twice their weight 
 of muriate of soda, and keeping the mixture in well-closed vessels. 
 
 " Substances yielding Volatile Oils must be distilled with water, the 
 proper proportion of which varies for each article, and for the several 
 qualities of each. In all instances, the quantity must be such as to 
 prevent any of the material from being empyreumatized before the 
 whole oil is carried over. In operations where the material is of pulpy 
 consistence, other contrivances must be resorted to for the same pur- 
 pose. These consist chiefly of particular modes of applying heat, so 
 as to maintain a regulated temperature not much above 212°. On the 
 small scale, heat may be thus conveniently applied by means of a bath 
 of a strong solution of muriate of lime, or by means of an oil-bath, 
 kept at a stationary temperature with the aid of a thermometer. 
 
 " On the large scale heat is often applied by means of steam under 
 regulated pressure. In other operations it is found sufficient to hang 
 the material within the still in a cage or bag of fine network, and some- 
 times the material is not mingled with the water at all, but is subjected 
 to a current of steam passing through it. The best mode of collecting 
 the oil is by means of a refrigeratory', from which the water and oil 
 drop together into a tall narrow vessel provided with a lateral tube or 
 lip near the top, and another tube rising from the bottom to about a 
 quarter of an inch below the level of the former. It is evident that 
 with a receiver of this construction the water will escape by the lower 
 tube ; while the Volatile Oil, as it accumulates, will be discharged by 
 the upper one, except in the very few instances where" the oil is heavier 
 than water. By attending to the general principles now explained, 
 Volatile Oils may be readily obtained, of excellent quality, from the 
 flowers of Anthemis Nohilis, Lavandula Vera, and Ruta Graveolens ; from 
 the fruit of ^ne^Awm Graveolens, hrnised; Carum CarMi, bruised ; Eugenia 
 Pimerita, bruised ; Fosniculum Officinale, bruised ; Piper Ovbeba, ground ; 
 
Olea Destillata. 1081 
 
 and Pimpinella Anisum, ground ; from the undeveloped dried flowers 
 of Garyophyllus Aromaticus ; from the tops of Juniperus Sabina, and 
 Rosmarinus Officinalis; from the entire herb of Mentha Piperita, M. 
 Pulegium, M. Viridis, and Origanum Majorana ; and also from the 
 bruised root of Sassafras Officinale." 
 
 The Dublin Pharmacopoeia gives the following ofSeinal directions : 
 
 " The Volatile ou Essential Oils may be obtained by the follow- 
 ing general process : The substance from which the oil is to be extract- 
 ed is macerated for twenty -four hours, with five times its weight of 
 water, in a sheet-tin or copper still, and, a condenser being then at- 
 tached, half the water is drawn over by distillation, on the surface of 
 which the oil will be found to float, unless (which is rarely the case) 
 it should be heavier than water, when it will be found at the bottom 
 of the receiver. The oil having been separated, the aqueous product, 
 which is a saturated solution of the oil in water, is to be returned to 
 the still, and the distillation resumed, and continued till the resulting 
 liquid has the same volume as before. The oil is again separated, the 
 watery product returned to the still, and the distillation resumed ; and 
 this process is to be repeated until it ceases to afford any additional 
 oily product. The oil thus obtained is to be separated as completely 
 as possible from water, and preserved in a well-stopped bottle. 
 
 "In this way Volatile Oils may be obtained from the entire herb of 
 Mentha Piperita, Mentha Pulegium, Mentha Yiridis ; from the seeds or 
 fruit of Carum Oarui, Cubeba Officinalis,- Eugenia Pimenta, Fceniculum 
 Officinale, Juniperus Communis, Myristica Moschata, Pimpinella Anisum; 
 from the flowers of Anthemis Nobilis, Lavandula Vera ; from the unde- 
 veloped dried flowers of Garyophyllus Aromaticus ; from the tops of 
 Juniperus Sabina, Rosmarinus Officinalis ; from the bark of Ginnamo- 
 mum Zeylanicum. The water distilled over in the preparation of the 
 several oils should be preserved for medical use." 
 
 Volatile Oils are contained in cells, generallv peculiar, and often so 
 large as to be distinct to the naked eye. They frequently exist in 
 euch an abundance, that they may be obtained by mere expression, as 
 with tlje oils of lemon, orange, bergamot, and citron. Sometimes they 
 exude spontaneously or from incisions, in combination with gum or 
 resin, as in the case of turpentine. And again, the Volatile oil is not 
 formed in the plants until the reaction of water is obtained upon cer- 
 tain constituent principles, as in the case of the oils of black mustard- 
 seed, and bitter almonds, and perhaps peach-leaves, peach-kernels, etc. 
 Most commonly it adheres with more or less force to the parts of the 
 plant containing it, either becoming destroyed or dispersed when the 
 plant is dried or retained in part or altogether, even when long kept. 
 
 The greatest amount of Volatile Oil is procured by distilling an 
 aromatic plant in its recent state ; indeed, several articles must be dis- 
 tilled-, while recent, as by drying they lose their oil. Occasionally, 
 however, a dried substance is used for obtaining Volatile Oil, and when 
 this is the case, the article must be brought to a state of coarse com- 
 minution, and then be permitted to soak in water until it is softened, 
 or, until the water has completely penetrated it. Steam heat is the 
 best for the preparation of oils, because it is less apt to injure them ; 
 but some oils will not pass over at a heat of 212° F., in consequence of 
 which a strong solution of common salt is substituted for the water, * 
 and which solution requires a temperature of at least 230° P. to boil it. 
 But oils are apt to become empyreumatized by a high temperature. It 
 must be recollected that Volatile Oils are injured by too great a degree 
 
1082 Phakmact. 
 
 of heat, and that in consequence thereof, the degree of heat employed 
 in their distillation should, he as low as may he consistent for the ascent 
 of the oil. 
 
 The amount of water added to the plants in distillation, should he 
 suflOioient to cover them ; if it be in too large a quantity, a material 
 loss may be sustained by solution of the oil in the water ; if too small, 
 all the oil will not be separated, and the plant may be scorched, more 
 especially if the vessel containing it be exposed to a direct fire, instead 
 of a steam or water-bath. Not only will a proper amount of water 
 cause a ready separation of oils, even among those which by thein- 
 selves would not ascend at 212°, but it likewise interferes with any 
 proneness to decomposition by maintaining a regular degree of hedt. 
 Plants which are fresh do not generally need so much water as dried 
 ones. If too much water be used it may boil over ; to prevent which,' 
 the vessel used for distilling should not be more than two-thirds full 
 altogether. In some instances, where the oil exists in minate quan- 
 tity, and is of great value, the distilled fluid should be left at rest for 
 some time, and exposed to as low a temperature as can be commanded. 
 Sometimes the quantity of oil is so minute that the water retains it in 
 solution; this is obviated by cohobation, that is, by placing the same 
 water on renewed quantities of the herb, and subjecting it to redistil- 
 lation, repeating the process a number of times, or until the water can 
 take up no more of the oil. The oil is separated from the water after 
 distillation by instruments adapted for the purpose, called SepatatoHes,' 
 of which there are several in use. {See Procter's Mohr and Redwood's 
 Pharmacy, pp. 351-356.) ■ 
 
 The unpleasant empyreumatic smell which some Volatile Oils exhale 
 immediately after having been obtained, may in most instances, be re-' 
 moved by placing a layer of paper, a plate of glass, or a piece of oil- 
 silk over the mouth of the vessel containing them, and allowing it to' 
 stand thus for a few days, or until this peculiar odor has disappeared., 
 Volatile Oils should always be kept in well-closed, dark bottles; other- 
 wise they absorb oxygen from the atmosphere, become turbid, deposit^ 
 resin, and lose the purity and richness of their aroma. These may, in 
 a great measure, be improved by agitating them with animal charcoal 
 recently heated ; this will also answer the purpose of freeing thetii' 
 from water, which injures some oils. — C. Orange-colored bottles will' 
 protect the oils from the chemical influence of light, and will, at the 
 same time, permit one tn observe the condition, amount, etc., of the 
 oil contained in the bottles. When volatile oils are adulterated with 
 alcohol, fuchsine added to them will detect to one per cent, of this fluid, 
 as the fuchsine is readily soluble in alcohol, but insolulble in the oils.— 
 Puscher. ' 
 
 " The following Table, showing the proportion of Volatile Oil ob- 
 tained from the chief Medicinal Vegetable Substances, according to 
 the most recent experiments, will be found useful in several ways. 
 Among other things' it illustrates several of the general statements now 
 made as to the influence of modes of preparation and circutnstances ill 
 vegetation upon the quantity of oil. . The data are chiefly extracted or 
 eialculated from experiments by M. Eaybaud, in the Journal de Pkar- 
 mai'ie, XX. ; by Dr. Martins, ifl Repertorium fur die Pharmacie, XXXIX. ; 
 'by Dr. Bley, in the same work, XL VIII. ; by M. Diann and by M. 
 Voelter, in the same work, LV. ; and a few have been added from ex- 
 periments of my own. The numbers represent the number of ounces 
 obtained from 100 pounds avoirdupois. The experiments of the conti- 
 
f ■, ; ■ 
 
 ULEA Destillata. 1083 
 
 hental authorities were commonly made on the large scale. My own 
 were made on a small scale; and from a comparative trial in one or 
 two instances upon a large scale. I am disposed to give the preference 
 for accuracy to small operations, when they are carefully conducted. 
 The letters before the figures refer to the authority for each : — 
 
 A.mygdalus oommunie. Bitter almond Ra. 0.38 
 
 Amygdalus oommunis. Bitter almond Yo. 7.70 
 
 A.3iygdalus communis. Bitter almond (Duflos)... '. 0.8 to 4.80 
 
 Angelica Archangellca — dried root....... » Ea 4 50 
 
 Anthemis nobills^-freBh flowers raised at Grasse Rii. 0.75 
 
 Anthemis nobilis— dried flowers do do Ra. 1.38 
 
 Anthemis nobilis— dried flowers, long kept, Germany Bl. 4.50 
 
 Anthemis nobilla — flowers fresh dried Steer. 5.33 
 
 Anthemis nobilis — flowers 12 months dried Sieei-. 3.0 
 
 Apium graveolens — dried fruit i Ra. 9.0 
 
 Apinm Petroselimim — fresh herb, after flowering Ra. 3.38 
 
 Apium Fetroselinum-^dry fruit, France : Ra. 12.0 
 
 Apium Petiroselinum— dry fruit,' Germany l>a. 30.0 
 
 Artemisia Absinthium^-fresh herb, Paris Ra. 12.0 
 
 Artemisia Absinthium-^drred herb, recent, Germany Ma. 6.0 
 
 Artemisia Absinthium — dried herb, a, jeav old,' Germany Bl. 8.76 
 
 Artemisia Absinthium — dried heib, 3 years old, Germany Ma. 5.0 
 
 Artemisia ? Wormseed of commerce Ea. 3.0 
 
 Artemisia ? Levaat wormseed Vo. 10.8 
 
 Calamus aromatious — fresh root,' Germaiiy..:. .' Mft. 16.0 
 
 Cala'mus aromaticus — recently dried, Germany .Bl. 17.5 
 
 Calamus aioniaticus — >long dried, Germany Da. 14.3 
 
 Carum Carni — dried fruit of French commerce ...Ra. 50^12 
 
 Carum Cariii— dried fruit of German commerce Ma. 66.5 
 
 Carum Carul — dried fruit of German commerce Da. 46.6 
 
 Carum Carui — dried fruit of German commerce Vo. 70.0 
 
 Caryophyllus aromaticuS'. GloTes, Bourbon Ra. 144.0 
 
 Cai-yophyllus aromaticus. Cloves, Cayenne Ra. 152!0 , 
 
 Caryophyllus aromaticus. Cloves, Cayenne::.: '. .........Bl. 125.0 , 
 
 Cairyophyllus aromaticus. Cloves, jWoZwcca; French commerce Ra. 148.0 
 
 Caryophyllus aromaticus. G\oyes, Molucca : English commerce Ra. 112.5 > 
 
 Caryophyllus aromaticus. Cloves, average German commerce Vo. 226.0 
 
 Caryophyllus aromaticus. Cloves, finest German commerce Da. 250.0 . 
 
 Caryophyllus aromaticus. Cloves, German commerce Steer. 27210 
 
 CiVinamomum zeylanicum, cinnamon of comnlerce Ra. 1.56 
 
 Ginnamomum Cassia- cassia bark of commerce Ra. 12.0 
 
 Citrus Aurantium-^Sweet orange flowers, 1 May, Nice i Ra. 5.0 
 
 Citrus vulgarls.^-^Bltter orange flowers, 7 May, iVice Ra. 6.9 
 
 Citrus vulgaris, do do do 12 " Carmet Ra. 4.12 
 
 citrus vulgaris, do do do 16 July, Parw Ea. 0.9 
 
 Citrus vulgaris, do do do 14 Dec, 'Pans Ea. 6.5 
 
 Citrus Aurantium — rind of 100 oranges, by expression... Ea. 2.5 
 
 Citrus Aurantium, do by distillation Ra. 2.75 
 
 Citrus vulgarls^rind of 100 oranges, by expression..... Ea. 4.0 
 
 Citrus vulgaris, do by distillation ..Ka. 4.25 
 
 Citrus Limetta, rind of 100 limes, by distillation ..Ea. 2.12 
 
 Citrus Bergamium, rind of 100 bergamots, by distillation Ea. 2.9 
 
 Citrus Limon'um, rind of 100 lemons, by expression Ea. 1.9 
 
 Citrus Liinonum, do by distillation Ea. 1.4 
 
 Cochlearia ATmoraola^fresh seeds.. ;Ra. 0.9 
 
 Coriandriim' sativum^dry fruit of French commerce Ra. 2.3 
 
 Coriandrum sativum-i*dry fruit of German commerce Da. 9.0 
 
 Croton Eleut'heria — casoaTilla bark Bl. 5.62 
 
 Cuminum Cyminum — dry fruit of French commerce Ra. 44.0 
 
 Cuminum Gyminum-Miry frtllt of German commerce Bl. 32.5 
 
 Daucus Garota — dry fruit; Ea. 0.66 
 
 Daucus Garota*— fresh root Ea. 0.14 
 
 Drscocephalum moldavicum, flowering herb Ea. 2.10 
 
1084 Pharmacy. 
 
 tn-imya Winteri — Winter's bark (probably, however, only Canella alba) Ra. 0.5C 
 
 Eugenia Pimenta — pimenta berries, Jamaica.. Ha. 12 38 
 
 Foeniculum-' officimile — dry fruit of French commerce Ka. 33.0 
 
 Foeniculum^ officinale, do German commerce Ma. 56.6 
 
 Foeniculum* officinale, do German commerce Bl. 83.0 
 
 Foeniuulum* officinale, do German commerce Da. 60.4 
 
 Foeniculum officinale — flowering herb, Grasse Ra. 4.9 
 
 Foeniculum officinale — herb after flowering, Cfrasse Ra. 6.0 
 
 Galipea officinalis — Cusparia-bark of commerce Ra. 1.5 
 
 Genista canariensis, Bhodium-wood Ra. 0.47 
 
 Geum Ui'banum-^ry roots Ra, 0.53 
 
 Hysaopus officinalis — flowering herb, Grasse Ra. 5.30 
 
 Illicium anisatiim — star-anise-fruit Ra. 34,21 
 
 Illicium anisatum — star-anise-fruit Da. 25.5 
 
 Juniperus communis — green berries, 12 Sept Ra. 3.9 
 
 Juniperua communis — ripe berries, 1 Dec, France Ra. 7,7£ 
 
 Juniperus communis, do fresh, Germany Da. 15.5 
 
 Juniperus communis, do a year old, Germany Ma. 10.8 
 
 Juniperus communis, do ■ a year old, Germany Bl. 16.25 
 
 Juniperus Sabina — fresh twigs, 5 March, Grasse Ra. 19.05 
 
 Juniperua Sabina — fresh twigs, 2 Oct., Pans Ra. 14.26 
 
 Juniperus Sabina — dried twigs, recent, Germany Ma. 40.0 
 
 Juniperus Sabina— dried twigs, a year old, Germany, Ma. 25.0 
 
 Larix Cedrus — fresh cedar wood, Paris Ra. 0.3 
 
 Larix Cedrus — cedar wood of commerce Ra. 4.25 
 
 Laurus nobilis — fresh leavea, 26 Jan., Paris Ba. 5.25 
 
 Laurus nobilis — leaves some years dried, Germany Bl. 4.10 
 
 Laurus nobilis — f fresh leaves, "j poor soil, low site Chr. 7.33 
 
 Laurus nobilis — J early in Oct. vpoor soil, high site Chr. 6.9 
 
 Laurus nobilis— linear Edinb. J very fine soil, low site Chr, 17.12 
 
 Lavandula vera — flowering herbs, 2 Aug., Grasse Ra. 11.5 
 
 Lavandula vera do do 2 Aug., Grasse, north exposure Ra. 9.12 
 
 Lavandula vera — flowering herb, 26 July, Soureilias r Ra. 9.0 
 
 Lavandula vera — herb after flowering, 26 Sept., Soureilias Ra 15.0 
 
 Lavandula Spica — fresh herb, 24 July, Paris Ra. 7.62 
 
 Lavandula Spica — fresh herb, 4 Aug., Grasse Ra. 12.5 
 
 Lavandula Sloechas — dried spikes Ra. 6.43 
 
 Ligusticum Levisticum — fresh herb, Paris Ra. 1.12 
 
 Melissa officinalis — fresh flowering herb Ra. 0.26 
 
 Mentha piperita — fresh tops in flower, Grasse Ra. 6.26 
 
 Mentha piperita — fresh tops in flower, Pans Ra. 3.40 
 
 Mentha piperita — dried tops in flower, Germany..: Bl. 15.62 
 
 Mentha piperita — dried tops in flower, Germany Ma. 21.0 
 
 Mentha Pulegium — fresh flowering herb Ra. 1.0 
 
 Myristica moschata — mace of commerce, finest Vo. 154.0 
 
 Myristica moschata, do do fine 61. 125.0 
 
 Myristica moschata, do do worm-eaten Bl. 65.6 
 
 Myristica moschata — nutmegs of commerce, fine Bl. 108.25 
 
 Myristica moschata, do do worm-eaten Bl. 64.1 
 
 Myrtus communis— fresh leaves Sept. 20, Grasse Ra. 4.5 
 
 Myrtus communis — fresh leaves, Sept. 6, Paris Ra. 2.5 
 
 Origanum Majorana — fresh flowering herb, Aug. 3, Grasse Ra. 8,5 
 
 Origanum Majorana — fresh flowering herb, Aug. 3, Paris.. Ra. 4.4 
 
 Origanum vulgare — fresh flowering herb, Sept. 15, Paris. Ra, 0.4 
 
 Pimpinella Aniaum^dry fruit of French commerce Ra. 35.12 
 
 Pimpinella Anisum — dry fruit, new, German commerce Ma. 87.6 
 
 Pimpinella Anisum — dry fruit, old, German conamerce Ma. 27.0 
 
 Pimpinella Anisum — dry fruit of German commerce Vo. 25.0 
 
 Pimpinella Aniaum, do do do Da. 43.75 
 
 Piper Cubeba — Cubebs of French commerce Ra. 19.5 
 
 Piper nigrum — White pepper of do Ra, 16.0 
 
 Piper nigrum — Black pepper of do Ra. 18.12 
 
 Prunus Lauro-cerasus — fresh leaves, Nov. 23, Paris I Ra. 2.12 
 
 » It does not appear what is the exact species or variety of fennel understood by the 
 authors of these Jour experiments, as they use the vague name of Anethum Ftenieulum. 
 
OiiEA Destillata. ^ 1085 
 
 Prunus Lauro-cerasus, / fresh leaves ^ undeveloped, June 7 (Ihr. 10.13 
 
 Primus Lauvo-cenisus, 1 from the same ( half grown, June 7 Chr. 7.20 
 
 Prnnus Lauro-cenisus, 1 plant's; near { fall-gr., 8 Vf'ks on tree, July 15. .Chr. 4.96 
 
 Prunus Lauro-cerasus, ( Endinburgh. ) 12 months on tree, June 2 Chr. 1.0 
 
 Priiuus Lauro-eerasus, / X'resh leaves of the same "I 3 months on tree Chr. 7.04 
 
 I'riiuus Lauro-oerasus, \ plant, 1 Sept., 1836, Edin. (IS months on tree Chr. 2.24 
 
 Renealmia Cardamomiim — lesser cardamoms Ra. 11.42 
 
 Rosa centifolia, fresh flowers, Grasse Ra. 0.25 
 
 Rosmarinus officinalis — fresh flowering herb, Grasse Ra. 5.0 
 
 Rosmarinus oflSoinalis do Paris Ha. 3.5 
 
 lluta graveolens — fresh flowering herb, 20 July, Grasse Ra. 4.12 
 
 Kuta graveolens, do 28 July, Paris Ra, 0.63 
 
 Kuta graveolens — flowering herb, newly dried, Germany Bl. 4.4 
 
 Ruta graveolens — dried seeds. South of France Ra. 19.0 
 
 Salvia oiEcinalis, v. minor — fresh herb, 12 March, Grasse Ra. 6.0 
 
 Salvia officinalis, v. minor — fresh herb, 14 June, Paris Ra. 2.5 
 
 Salvia officinalis, v. major — fresh herb, 12 March, Grasse Ra. 4.0 
 
 Salvia ofScinalis, v. major — fresh herb, 14 June, Paris Ra. 3.05 
 
 Santalum album — sandal wood of commerce Ra. 5.0 
 
 Sinapis nigra — black mustard-seed, Germany, 12 months old Da. 3.9 
 
 Sinapis nigra — black mus,tard-seed, Germany, fresh Da. 5.0 
 
 Sinapis nigra — black mustard-seed, France, fresh Da.\ 7.76 
 
 Sinapis nigra — black mustard-seed, France Vo. 9.1 
 
 Tanacetum vulgare — fresh flowering herb, 9 July, Orasse Ra. 1.2 
 
 Tanacetum vulgare — fresh flowering herb, 25 July, Paris Ra. 5.8 
 
 Tanacetum vulgare — fresh tops, Germany Da. 5.0 
 
 Tanacetum vulgare — dried flowering herb, Germany • Bl. 15.6 
 
 Thuya oocidentalis, ( fresh \ Aged, stunted tree; exposed. Oct. 21 Chr. 10.8 
 
 Thuya oocidentalis, 1 twigs I Aged, vigorous; sheltered. Oct. 21 Chr. 10.25 
 
 Thuya oocidentalis, 1 near ? Young, vigorous ; exposed. Got. 9 Chr. 18.25 
 
 Thuya oocidentalis, ( Edinb. ) Young, vig.; exposed; fine soil. Sept. 26.. .Chr. 26.40 
 
 Thymus Serpyllum — fresh flowering herb, 6 Aug., Grasse Ra. 5.0 
 
 Thymus Serpyllum — fresh flowering herb, 5 July, Paris Ra. 9 
 
 Thymus vulgaris— fresh flowering herb, 16 Aug., Grasse ...Ra. 6.5 
 
 Thymus vulgaris — fresh flowering herb, 13 July, Paris Ra. 3.75 
 
 Valeriaija officinalis — dry root, a year old, Germany Bl. 30.16 
 
 Valeriiina officinalis — the root, Germany Da. 15.0 
 
 Valeriiina officinalii? — the root, Germany Vo. 10.6 
 
 Verbena odotata — fresh flowering herb, Paris Ra. 3.1 
 
 Zingiber officinale — dry root of commerce Ra. 10.8 
 
 The facts \i\ the preceding table seem to show that the flowers of 
 Anthemis NobUis, the berries of Juniperus Communis, and the root of 
 Acorus Calamus may be both dried and long kept, without material loss 
 of volatile oil ; but that the herb of Artemisia Absinthium and the tops 
 of Juniperus Sdbina, though they may be dried, can not be long pre- 
 served, without loss. It further appears that the seed of Sinapis Nigra 
 can not be long kept without material loss ; and that the mace and 
 kernel of Myristica Moschata suffer greatly in their proportion of oil, 
 when attacked by worms. The influence of season is well exemplified 
 ,in the case of the flowers of Citrus Aurantium, which is well known to 
 flower at different periods, of the year. The effect of climate is equally 
 well shown in many examples, such as the wood oi Larix Cedrus, the 
 herb or flowering tops of Lavandula Vera, Lavandula Spica, Mentha 
 Piperita, Myrtus Vulgaris, Origanum Majorana, Rosmarinus Officinalis, 
 Thymus Serpyllum, Thymus Vulgaris, Tanacetum' Vulgare, and the seeds 
 of Sinapis Nigra. Under this head, the great superioritj' of G-rasse, in 
 the south of Prance over Paris for raising plants for distilling oils, is 
 remarkable. The effect of soil or site is exhibited in my own experi- 
 ments with the leaves of Laurus NMlis and Thuya Occidentalis; and 
 that of the progress of vegetation is excellently shown in the instances 
 of the herb of Fosniculum Officinale and Lavendula Vera, the berries of 
 
1086 ' Pharmacy. 
 
 Juniperus Communis, but aboye all, the leaves of Prunus Laurocerasus. 
 ■Further^ the table presents many examples, but especially under' Cary- 
 bphyllus AromaticuSjCarum Carui, Gofiandrum Sativum, and lUicium Ani- 
 saium, of great differences prevailing in the relative proportion of vola- 
 tile oil, and consequently in relative activity, between different speci- 
 mens of the same vegetable substances as it occurs in ordinary com- 
 merce. In conclusion, it should be observed, that the circumstances 
 most favorable to the proportion of volatile oil are not necessarily al- 
 ways most favorable to its quality. Eaybaud mentions that the cloves 
 of English commerce, which will be seen (Caryophyllus Aromdtieus) from 
 the table to have furnished the lowest proportion of oil, produce it of 
 finer quality than other kinds he examined. And lavender, which 
 yields considerably more volatile oil after flowering than during in- 
 florescence (Lavandula Vera), produces in the latter casfe an oil of more 
 delicate fragrance than in the former ; and it is not so acrid." 
 
 The above useful information is extracted from Christison's Dispensa- 
 tory, and will, undoubtedly, prove serviceable to the apothecary and 
 manufactuTtng chemist. 
 
 Volatile oils possess almost universally the peculiar medicinal virtues 
 of their respective plants. They are most commonly used in the fprm 
 ,of alcoholic tincture, under the names of Essences, Tinctures, or Spirits; 
 or, a drop or two of the oil may be received on a little sugar, and dis- 
 solved by that intermedium in water, mucilage, etc. (See Volatile Oils 
 and tests for detecting ddulterations, pages 554 to 563.) 
 
 Oleum Anisi. Oil of Anise. (Anise Oel.) 
 
 History. — This oil is prepared iy distilling Anise with water, as here- 
 tofore explained, on page 1080. According to Mr. Brande, one cwt. of 
 the seeds or fruit yields about two pounds of oil. "When carefully pre- 
 pared it is transparent and nearly colorless, having a slightly yellow 
 tinge, with the taste and odor of the fruit from which it was obtained. 
 When fresh, distilled its sp. gr. is. 0,979, but this increases by time, so 
 that after eighteen months it may have the sp. gr. 0.7853. It congeate 
 at 50° and liquefies again at 63° ¥. It readily dissolves in alcohol Or 
 ether. By exposure to the air it forms resin, arid is less apt to solidify. 
 It is compose,d ;0f two volatile oils, — one, stearoptene, solid . at 60°, the 
 other, , eZeo^fewe, . liquid, — in the following proportions, eleoptene 7p|, 
 stearoptene 25. — P. Stearoptene becomes liquid when long kept ; ac- 
 cording to Cahours, it consists of 0^, H12 Oj. When : Oil of Anise is 
 adulterated with wax or spermaceti, these may be known by being in- 
 soluble in cold, alcohol ; camphor may be recognized by its odor. (See 
 Am. Jour. Pharm., XXVII., 472.) Oil of Anise is commonly procured 
 from Europe. The purity of Oil of Anise may be known by its speci- 
 fic gravity from 0.97 to 0.99, as well as its disposition to congeal readily 
 at below a medium temperature.* But still better by its quick congela- 
 tion into a solid hard mass with iodine, accompanied with a perceptible 
 increase of heat, and the development of yellowish-red and gray vapors. 
 Sulphuric acid heated with the oil produces a beautiful purple-red color, 
 and quickly inspissates and hardens it. Nitric acid gives rise to a 
 series of compounds, presenting a close analogy with the compounds, of 
 the salicylic series; they may be regarded as containing, a radicle 
 termed anisyl, Cis H O4, which may be viewed as a homologue of salicyl, 
 or as a body in which one atom of the hydrogen in salicyl has been 
 
 « According to Bauterean the congelation of this oil is no criterion of Its purity, as It will 
 congeal as readily as the pure article when one-sixth part of alcohol is presBnt,»nd less 
 readily when an equal weight of alcdhol is added to it. 
 
OlEA DESTILL/i^TA. 108X 
 
 displaced by an equivalent of methyl. The principal members of this 
 anisic group, are, anisyl hydride, nnisyl alcohol, an'isyl chloride, anisic' acid, 
 and anisine. The other reactions of the oil are similar to those of tlio 
 Oil of Star-anise. The above Oil of Anise from the Pimpinella AnLsiim, 
 is rarely met with in this country, being almost whollj' superseded by 
 the oil obtained from the Illicium Anisatum, imported from China, aiifl 
 kno'v^rn in commerce as the oil of anise (Fr. Oleum Badiana). 
 
 The purity of Oil of Star-anise (from Illicium Anisatum) may be known 
 by its combination with iodine, which takes place with a less develo])- 
 ment of vapor and heat, and its congelation into a solid resinous sub- 
 stance. By sulphuric acid thisoil becomes easily inspissated, is changed 
 into a solid mass, and becomes by heat dark blood-red. ' JsTitric acid, 
 however, produces only a thick fluid balsam, while the oil becomes yel- 
 low, and by heat red dish -brown. The difficulty with which the oil is 
 dissolved in five or six parts of alcohol, and in the alcoholic solution of 
 caustic potassa, with slight cbloration, as also its relation to cold, afe 
 useful tests. — Zeller. ' 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Both of the above oils are carminative and an- 
 tispasmodic, and especially adapted to flatulency and colic of infants. 
 They likewise, in connection with aqua ammonia, afford relief in' spas- 
 modic cough. The dose is from five to ten drops. Euschenberger states 
 that the offensive odor of the tersulphides in solutions or ointments is 
 removed or completely covered by the presence of Oil pf Anise: 
 
 Off- Prep. — Extractum Spigelise et Senriae Fluid um ; Mistura Cajuputi 
 pomposita ; Tinctura Anisi ; Tinctura Opii Camphorata. 
 
 Oleum Anthemidis. Oil of Chamomile. (Ohamillen Oel.) 
 
 History. -^Q>t\ of Chamomile is obtained by distillation of Chamomile 
 Flowers (Anthemis Nobilis) with Water, a thousand parts of Which yield 
 about eight parts of oil; when first qbtained it is greenish or bluish; 
 but filially becomes yellowish -brown ; its specific gravity is about 0.9083: 
 It has the odor pf chamomile flowers, and an aroinatic, somewhat pun- 
 gent taste. It is said to be a mixture of carbo-hydrogen, Cjo Hu, with 
 an oxygenated oil, Cu Hg Oj. ? Heated with caustic potash,, this oxy- 
 dized portion is, converted into angelate of potassa, with evolution of 
 hydrogen, from the former of which angelic acid may be obtained in 
 large, striated; colorless, fusible prisms. It is prepared in' Europe. 
 
 Properties and Uses— Oil of Gha,momile is tonic and antispasmodic; 
 and has been found very serviceable in spasm of the stomach, painful 
 dysmenorrhea, hiccough, pertussis, and to prevent or lessen the griping 
 influence of some cathartics. The dose is from five to ten' drops. The 
 Matricaria Chamomilla furnishes a thick, deep-blue oil, bfeeptning brown 
 by age, and which is frequently substituted for the Oil of Chamomile. 
 It is less antispasmodic than the true chiamomile oil. 
 ■ Oleum Bergamii. Oil of Bergdmot. (Bergamot Oel.) ■ 
 
 History. — Oil of Bergamot exists in the rind of the ripe fruit of Citrus 
 Bergamia or C. Idmetta, from which it may be obtained by expression 
 in the same manner as for procuring the oil of lemon. It may also be 
 obtained by distillation, but the product is not so agreeable as by ex- 
 pression. According toi Wight and Arnott, the leaves of the bergamot 
 tree are oblong, more or less elongated, acute, or obtuse, under side 
 somewhat pale ; petiole more or less winged or margined ; flowers usually 
 small and white,; fruit pale-yellow,' pyriform or depressed ; rind with 
 concave receptacles of oil; pulp more or less acid. About two ounces 
 and a half of pil may be obtained by expression from one hundred ber- 
 gamots. The plant is cultivated in the South of Europe, from whence 
 
1088 Pharmacy. 
 
 the oil is imported. It has a peculiar, agreeable, rich fragrance, and an 
 aromatic bitter taste ; its color is pale-yellow, with a greenish tint. Its 
 sp. gr. is 0.869 to 0.885 ; it concretes at 30°. It consists of a hydrocar- 
 bon Cao Hi6, and a solid substance G-^ Hjo 0,o. 
 
 The oils of the auriantacese are, in a still higher degree than the 
 lavender oil, protected by their delicate odor from adulteration, except 
 with 'alcohol ; on the other hand, a mixture of these oils with one an- 
 other is easily effected, and detected with greater difficulty. There 
 might, however, be but little inducement for doing this, except in the 
 case of oil of orange flowers, which is proportionately much dearer than 
 the others. The similarity of the respective chemical properties admits 
 also here of no better test than the smell. The unvarying and great 
 specific gravity, from 0.87 to 0.88, will serve to detect any admixture of 
 alcohol. The relation which the bergamot oil has to this solvent shows 
 distinctly the difference which exists between, its own proportion, of 
 oxygen and that of the other oils of the same family ; it is readily dis- 
 solved in alcohol, but like the other oils, it makes, at least when fresh, 
 the solution opaque. It is also distinguished from the orange and lemon 
 oils by being easily and clearly dissolved in liquor potassa^ This diifer- 
 eiice in its elements is also manifested in the reaction upon iodine, not 
 so much with regard to its fulminating property, which, although weaker 
 than the lemon oil, is rather stronger than in the orange oil, but by the 
 homogenous nature of the residue, which, in the twolast mentioned oils, 
 and in all oils free of oxygen, consists of two combinations, differing in 
 consistency! By the incapacity of dissolving santaline, this oil is, as well 
 as the others of the same family, protected against an admixture of al- 
 cohol. One part of alcohol added to five parts of the oil is hardly able 
 to impair the fulmination ; two drops of alcohol added to three drops of 
 oil produce certainly no real fulmination, but still a lively reciprocal 
 action with effervescence. — Zeller. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Gently excitant, but is used almost wholly in 
 perfumery. 
 
 Oleum Cajuputi. Cajeput Oil. (Cajeput Oel.) 
 
 History. — This oil is procured from the leaves of Melaleuca Cajuputi, 
 a tree growing in the Moluccas and adjacent islapds, and belonging to 
 the Nat. Ord. — Myrtaceae; Sex. Syst. — Polyadelphia Icosandria. It is a 
 small tree, with a tolerably erect but crooked trunk; a soft, thick, 
 spongy, whitish, ash-colored bark; and scattered branches, yfrith the 
 slender twigs often drooping as completely as in the weeping-willow 
 (Salix Babylonica). The leaves are alternate, most frequently vertical, 
 short-stalked, narow-lanceolate, while young, sericeous, sometimes 
 slightly falcate, entire, from three to five inches long, and from a half 
 to three-fourths of an inch broad ; very aromatic when bruised. Flowers 
 ternate, sessile, small, white, scentless, in terminal and axillary, downy 
 spikes ; bracts solitary lanceolate, silky, caducous. Calyx urceolate. 
 Corolla white, orbicular; filaments thvciy to forty, much longer than 
 the petals; anthers ovate-cordate, with a yellow gland on the apex. 
 Style somewhat longer than the stamens ; stigir^a obscurely three-lobed. 
 Capsules three-celled, three-valved ; seeds numerous, angularly wedge- 
 shaped. — L. 
 
 Cajeput Oil is obtained by distillation of the leaves, which are col- 
 lected in autumn, allowed to steep for a night in water, and then dis- 
 tilled in copper vessels. The yield is very little. It is imported from 
 the East Indies in green glass bottles. The oil is transparent, limpid, 
 of a grass-green color, a strong, penetrating odor, resembling the 
 
Olea Destillata. 1089 
 
 combined odor of camphor, rosemary, and cardamom, and an aro- 
 matic camphoracoous taste, succeeded by an impression of coolness. 
 The green color is not essential, and naay be removed by distillation ; 
 nor is it owing to the presence of copper, as was once thought. True, 
 it sometimes contains oxide of copper in solution, as has been ascer- 
 tained by Guibourt ; but the pure green oil has given no indications of 
 the presence of this metal, the green color, being attributed by M. Les- 
 son fo chlorophyll, or perhaps a somewhat different resinous principle. 
 When copper is pi-esent, a red precipitate is formed by shaking the oil 
 with a solution of ferroeyanuret of potassium. Oil o£ Cajeput varies in 
 sp. gr. from 0.914 to 0.9274; it is entirely soluble in alcohol, boils at 
 343° P., and when distilled, yields first a colorless oil of sp. gr. 0.897, 
 and then a green oil, weaker in odor, but more acrid in taste, and hav- 
 ing the sp. gr. 0.920. Sulphuric and nitric acids have but little action 
 on Cajeput oil ; it dissolves iodine, and converts potassium into potassa. 
 It is composed of G^ ^is 0.^, and the formula of its hydrocarbon is 
 
 In consequence of its price it is very sulyect to adulteration. Oils 
 of rosemary or turpentine, combined with camphor and bruised car- 
 damom seeds, and appropriately tinted with milfoil resin, are often sold 
 as genuine oil. Fulminating oils are easily detected, also the more 
 energetically acting oils of the labiatse, viz. : oils of lavender, origanum, 
 and spirese ; also the less violently acting oils of labiatse, as — oil of 
 rosemary, 'which serves most frequently for adulteration, but which are 
 distinguished by the energetic action of a solution of iodine, and can 
 be recognized by the degree of energy with which this reaction takes 
 place ; all, however, would materially alter the nature of the residue 
 of the iodint test presently to be described. Under certain circum- 
 stances, the oil of rosemary manifests, also, some coagulating parts in 
 its residue, but which always has the consistency of a Soft extract. 
 
 The slight changes of color in Oil of Cajeput, which are produced by 
 chroniate of potassa, are somewhat more tnarked with the oil of rose- 
 mary, but the equally slight color of the solution in liquor potassa, 
 which is clear in the cold, and turbid when warm, is the same in oil of 
 rosemary. The latter oil could not be detected by the sulphuric acid 
 test; the latter assumes a deep -red yellowish color, and the oil be- 
 comes brownish; by this, however, many other adulterations may be 
 indicated. The weak coloration of the Oil of Cajeput by nitric acid, 
 which imparts only a reddish and brownish color, accompanied by a 
 violent reaction and formation of a liquid balsam, will easily distinguish 
 it from some other oils, but not from oil of rosemary. 
 
 Iodine is the safest test of the purity of the rectified Oil of Cajeput ; 
 it can be recognized by a sensation of cold which it leaves behind in 
 the mouth. Its sp. gr. being below 0.91 to 0.92 will show the presence 
 of lighter oils and alcohol, and a divided rectification ; and its relation 
 to water will detect the adulteration with camphor. When, as above 
 referred to, iodine is added to Oil of Cajeput, a slightly energetic recip- 
 rocal action ensues, during which the temperature is but little increased, 
 with the slight development of yellowish-red vapors ; the residue im- 
 mediately becomes inspissated into a loose coagulum, which is soon 
 changed into a dry, greenish brown, brittle mass. — Zeller. The genu- 
 ine oil, it must be recollected, burns entirely away, leaving no residue ; 
 and beside the test above given, copper may be detected by dissolv- 
 ing the residuum which is left after burning the oil in nitric acid, 
 which becontes violet-colored when ammonia is added in excess. 
 69 
 
1090 Pharmacy. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Cajeput Oil is a powerful diffusive stimulant, 
 diaphoretic, and aBtispasmbdie. When swallowed it occasiouB a 
 Warmth in the stomach, with an increased action of the pulse, and occa- 
 fiionally diaphoresis. It is very much valued in the islands of the In- 
 dian Ocean, the inhabitants of which employ it extensively in rheuma- 
 tism, palsy, epilepsy, and many other diseases; using it both internally 
 and as a local application. It may be advantageously employed inter- 
 nally in chronic rheumatism, hysteria, colic, spasms or cramps of ths 
 stomach or bowels, cholera-morbus, Asiatic cholera, in the typhoid stage 
 of fevers, and wJierever a powerful 8timulan,t is required. It also ajj- 
 pears to be useful in removing worms and in chronic affections of mu- 
 cous tissues. It should never be given internally when inflammation is 
 present. Externally, it is very beneficial as an application to rheumatic, 
 neuralgic and other pains, and may be 'used alone, or in combination 
 . with other oils. It has likewise been found efficacious as a local ap- 
 plication in gutta rosea, parasitic, and other cutaneous maladies. Ap- 
 plied to the cavity of a carious tooth, it alleviates toothache. The 
 dose is from one to ten drops, on sugar, in emulsion, or in sweetened 
 brandy and water. Ext^nally it may be applied three or four times 
 a day. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Mistura Cajuputi Composita ; Mistura Olei Camphorata ; 
 Tinctura Oamphorse Composita. 
 
 Oletjm CAlai. Oleum Cartji. Oil of Caraway. (Kiimmel Oel.) 
 History. — This oil is easily separated by distillation of the fresh fruit 
 (Caraway) with water, which yields from 4.7 to 5.43 per cent. When 
 fresh prepared it is colorless, but by keeping becomes yellow, and 
 ultimately brown. It is limpid, and has the odor of the fruit, and an 
 acrid taste. Its specific gravity is 0.950, though this varies. It pro- 
 duces right-handed rotation on a ray of polarized light. According 
 to Schweizer it is composed of carbon 86.14, hydrogen 10.68, and oxy- 
 gen 3.18. ' It consists of a very fluid, colorless hydrocarbon, carvene, 
 C21, H16, and an oxidized portion, carvdl, Cjo 3.^ O^, which yields a liquid 
 camphor with hydrochloric acid, has the sp. gr. 0.953, boils at 437° F., 
 und is isomeric with thymal and with cuminic alcohol. When submit- 
 ted to distillation with caustic potassa, Oil of Caraway yields its carbo- 
 hydrogen Carvene. The brown residue in the retort yields, when mixed 
 with water, a brown resin, and a brown alkaline solution. If the lat- 
 ter be saturated with an acid, and distilled, an acrid oil, Carvacrol is 
 obtained, C^p Hjg O3. — P. 
 
 Properties and 'Uses. — Oil of Caraway is a warm diffusible stimulant 
 and carminative. It is frequently used to allay the griping and sick- 
 ening effects of medicines, also to increase their flavor. The dose is 
 from one to five or ten drops. Carvacrol placed on cotton, and intro- 
 duced into the cavity of a carious tooth , is said to give prompt relief. 
 Off. Prep. -^Bxtractum Spigelite et Sennse Fluidum, 
 Oleum Caryophtlli. Oil of Cloves. (Gewiirznelken Oel.) 
 History. — Oil of Cloves is procured by submitting Cloves, with water, 
 to repeated distillation ; to extract the whole of the oil from cloves, 
 they must be subjected to repeated cohobations. On an average they 
 yield from 17 to 22 per cent, of volatile oil. When first obtained Oil 
 of Cloves is a colorless or light-yellow fluid, which is not solidified by 
 a cold of 0°F., but the color deepens by keeping, and ultimately be- 
 comes dark brown. It has the well known smell of Cloves, and a hot, 
 disagreeable, biting taste. Its specific gravity is variable, being given 
 at from 1.034 to 1.061. It sinks in water in which it is sparingly solu- 
 
Olea PestiJ/Lata. 1091 
 
 olo; it is freelj' (}is3olved by alcohol, ether, copcentrated acetjc acid, 
 and the fixed oils. Nitric acid reddens it, and when the mixture is 
 heated, oxalic acid is formed. It is one of thejeast volatile, ^nd most 
 difficult to distill of all the volatile oils. Bttling says it consists of 
 carbon 74.6279, hydrogen 8.1531 and oxygen 17.2189. It appears to 
 be a mixture of two oils, one a hydrocarbon isomeric with oil of tur- 
 pentine, a light, colorless oil, C^ Hj, of sp. gr. 0.918, not combining 
 with bases, but absorbing hydrochloric acid gas without yielding a 
 crystalline compound. The other a heavy oil, C^ H^ O5, colorless, but 
 becoming colored by age, having the sp. gr. 1.079, which forms crystal- 
 line salts with alkalies, and is consequently termed carophylUc or eugenic 
 acid; it is reddened by nitric acid. These two oils may be obtaiped 
 separately, by distilling the crude oil from a solution of potassa; the 
 light oil passes over with watery vapor, the heavy rem,ains with the 
 potassa from which it may be obtained by distillation with phosphoric 
 or sulphuric acid. Oil of Cloves also furnishes two crystallizable sub- 
 stances, one, eugenin, said to be isomeric with eugenic acid, Cjo H12 O4; 
 the other, caryophyllin, C20 ^u O^, isomeric with ordinary camphor, is 
 gradually deposited from the oil in crystalline needles. 
 
 The properties which this oil possesses, afford great opportunity for 
 discovering its purity. Firstly, its relation to the alcoholic solution of 
 caustic potg/Ssa, with which it congeals entirely into a crystalline mass, 
 totally losing at the same time the clove odor. Any foreign substance 
 present would be excluded from this 'mass, or would interrupt and 
 weaken it. Similar to this, and equally marked, is the butyraceous 
 coagulum, which. is obtained by shaking the oil with a solution of 
 caustic ammonia, and which, after fusion, crystallizes. The spontane- 
 ous ready decomposition by nitric acid, and simultaneous formation of 
 a reddish-brown solid mass, as also the dark -blue coloration of the oil 
 by a small quantity of sulphuric acid, while a greater proportion of 
 the latter acid changes the oil into a blood-red solid mass, are equally 
 striking tests. To these, we may add the perfect decomposition of the 
 oil into brown flakes by chromate of potassa, accompanied by the loss 
 of the yellow color of the solution of this salt ; the solubility of iodine, 
 which forms with it a liquid extract, with but a small increase of temper- 
 ature, and also the perfect and easy solubility of santaline in it. — Zeller. 
 
 Properties 'and Uses. — Oil of Cloves is stimulant and irritant, and is 
 much used as a corrector of other medicines, and as an external coun- 
 ter-irritant. It is frequently inserted on cotton into the cavity of a 
 carious tooth to alle\tiate toothache. Its dose is from two to five drops 
 on sugar, or in emulsion. One part of Oil of Cloves mixed with three 
 parts of Linseed Oil, and given in milk, two or three times a day, in " 
 doses of six or eight drops, has been found useful in allaying pain, pal- 
 pitation, and other annoying symptoms common to some forms of heart 
 disease. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Mistura Cajuputi Composita ; Mistura Olei Camphorata ; 
 Pilnlse Aloes Compositse. 
 
 Oleum Chenopodii. Oil of Wormseed. (Gansefuss Saamen Oel.) 
 
 History. — Oil of Wormseed is prepared in this country ; that which 
 is procured from manufacturers near the city of Baltimore is the most 
 esteemed. It is obtained by distillation of the bruised seed or ripe 
 tops of the plant with water, and when first obtained is of a light yel- 
 low color, but becomes darker by age. It possesses the odor and taste 
 •of the plant, and has the specific gravity of 0.908, but which may by age 
 become 0.960. An oil of less strength is prepared in the Western 
 
1092 Pharmacy. 
 
 States from the leaves, stalks, and seeds of the matured plant, and piob- - 
 ably, possesses similar properties when given in larger doses. That 
 from the seeds always commands the highest price. Thirteen ounces 
 of the seeds gave three and a half drachms of volatile oil, according to 
 Bngelhardt. The oil is soluble in alcohol and ether; it absorbs large 
 quantities of chlorine, attended with augmented heat, and liberation of 
 hydrochloric acid gas; it does not explode with iodine, and leaves a 
 resinous mass when distilled from caustic potassa. According to 
 Volckel it consists of an oil, C12 Hu, O, of sp. gr. 0.919, which is readily 
 soluble in alcohol and ether, and which boils at 347° F.; also another 
 oil, which can not be obtained pure, but contains still more oxygen. 
 Mr. S. S. Garrigues differs from this, having found the oil to consist of 
 a hydrocarbon, a light oil, containing no oxygen, and another oil con- 
 taining oxygen; — Am. Jour. Pharm.,1854:, p. 404. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This oil is used only as an anthelmintic. Its 
 dose is from three to six drops for a child, repeated twice a day for 
 four or five days, and then followed by an active cathartic. It forms 
 the basis of several popular nostrums for worms. 
 
 Off. Prep. — -Mistura Chenopodii Composita ; Mistura Olei Composita. 
 
 Olkum CiNNAMOMi. OH of Cinnamon: (Zimmet Oel.) 
 
 History. — Oil of Cinnamon is obtained in Ceylon, by macerating the 
 bark, reduced to a gross powder, in sea-water for two days, adding 
 muriate of soda, and then distilling off the water. About a third of 
 the oil floats, and the rest sinks in the water which comes over ; and 
 the whole amounts on an average to eight ounces from eighty pounds, 
 avoirdupois, df recently prepared cinnamon. The color of Oil of Cin- 
 namon is wine-yellow, which slowly passes to cherry-red. — C. Its 
 taste is at first sweetish, afterward cinnamonic, burning, and acrid. It 
 is readily soluble in alcohol, has its specific gravity varying from 1.025 
 to 1.05, and boils at from 430° to 435° F. By exposure to the air, it 
 attracts oxygen, and crystals slowly form, --which ai-e called cinnamic 
 add, H0,8 H, O4 ; these are found in old Oil of Cinnamon, and have an 
 acrid taste, are volatile, soluble in alcohol, sparingly so in water, and 
 are decomposed by nitric acid, forming at first oil of bitter almonds, 
 and finally depositing benzoic acid. Two resins and water are also 
 formed by exposure of the oil to the atmosphere ; one of the resins is 
 O12 H3 0, the other C30 H15 O4. Concentrated nitric acid added very 
 gradually to avoid violent reaction, converts Oil of Cinnamon into a 
 mass of white crystalline scales, supposed to be a nitrate, or a salt in 
 which the oil acts the part of a base ; but watei- immediately decom- 
 poses these crystals into nitric acid and free cinnamyl hydride. With 
 ammonia the oil unites to form a crystalline solid amide, called cinn- 
 hydramide, C54 Hj^ IS^. Cinnamon Oil is a complex substance, its prin- 
 cipal constituent being a hydruret of cinnamyle, or cinnamyl hydride, C,, 
 H^ 02H=132, which is, in fact, the oil proper., Mr. Strecker,, some 
 years ago, ascertained that styrone, the oily liquid obtained by distill- 
 ing purified storax with potassa, was the alcohol of cinnamic acid. He 
 ' has recently proved that when styrone is treated with platina black, as 
 in making common aldehyde, the product is pure Oil of Cinnamon, 
 which is the aldfihvd of cinnamic acid; styrone, Cis Hu, O^, by absorbing 
 Oj, becomes db Hj 0.,-[-2 HO. 
 
 Oil of Cassia, or Chinese Oil of Cinnamon, very much resembles the 
 Ceylon oil in color, odor, and taste, but it is much inferior. Its chem- 
 ical reactions are similar to those of the Oil of Cinnamon, as well as \Xm 
 medicinal virtues. 
 
Oi.EA Destillata. 1093 
 
 M. Ulex Buggests that an adulteration of Oil of Cinnamon with oil 
 of cloves, may be detected by nitric acid which solidifies true Oil of Cin- 
 namon, and merely converts oil of cloVes into a brown liquid ; on the 
 other hand potash lye solidifies oil of cloves, if very concentrated, but 
 does not so affect Oil of Cinnamon. — Jour, de Fharm., 1859. 
 
 With Oil of Cinnamon, the question is not merely to detect adultera- 
 tions with other oils, but also to distinguish the two sorts of this oil from 
 one another, viz.: the Ceylon oil (true Oil of Oinnamon),, und the Chinese 
 oil (ail of Cassia), which differ very much in price. In both cases it is 
 difficult to obtain accurate .tests of the properties of these oils, as they 
 are almost exclusively obtained by way of commerce, and vary consid- 
 erably in their qualities, on account of their age and , careless method 
 •of preparation. 
 
 The chief distinction between the two oils is the odor — the Ceylon 
 ■oil is moreover more liquid, and of a less specific gravity than the 
 Chinese, and may be exposed to a greater degree of cold than the lat- 
 ter without becoming turbid. The most distinguishing characteristic 
 •of the cinnamon oils is, perhaps, their relation to the alcoholic solution 
 ■of caustic potassa, both dissolve in it readily and clear, with a rpddish 
 yellowish -brown color; after sometime, however, the solution becomes 
 very turbid, and a rather heavy, undissolved oil precipitates, while the 
 jsolntion gradually becomes clear again. 
 
 Another peculiar character is, where the oil is being decomposed by 
 ■nitric acid, a smell of bitter almond is perceptible. Both oils are at 
 the same time converted into a brown balsam ; in the Ceylon oil a' brisk 
 decomposition occurs sooner, and at a slighter heat. Iodine dissolves 
 rapidly in the Ceylon oil with a considerable increase of heat, and a 
 slight expulsive movement, a tough, extract-like substance remaining 
 behind. With the Chinese oil the reaction is slow, the development of 
 heat but very slight, quiet, and the residue a soft or liquid substance. 
 •Chromate of potagsa decomposes partially the Ceylon oil into bro-Wn 
 flakes, which are suspended in the solution. This is deprived of its 
 yellow color, while the iindecomposed portion of the Oil assumes a yel- 
 lowish light-red color, and becomes thick. The solution, treated with 
 Chinese oil, does not entirely lose its yellow color, contains no flakes, 
 and the oil is turbid, emulsive-ldke, and does not become clear again. 
 Sulphuric acid also furnishes a good test for these oils ; the Ceylon oil 
 forms with it a solid, hard mass, changing from a brownish-green into 
 deep black; in the Chinese oil, this substance is softer and deep olive 
 green. A smaller quantitj' of acid colors the oils purple-red, while 
 muriatic acid imparts to them a violet color. — Zeller. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Oil of Cinnamon is stimulant, aromatic, anti- 
 spasmodic, and carminative. It is frequently used to modify the taste 
 of medicines, and is given as a stimxilant in flatulent colic, cramp of 
 the 'stomach, paralysis of the tongue, etc. It undoubtedly exerts an in- 
 fluence upon the uterus, and will be found valuable in uterine hemor- 
 rhage, in the form of alcoholic tincture. The tincture of the bark is 
 frequently administered for this purpose, but I know from experience, 
 that although destitute of astringency, yet the tincture or essence of 
 the oil has the same, if not a better action, in such cases ; again it is an 
 unsafe remedy to exhibit during pregnancy, as it is very apt to produce 
 miscarriage. The essence, or even cordial of cinnamon, stimulates the 
 generative organs, and produces an aphrodisiac influence. The dose 
 of Oil of Cinnamon is one or two drops, given in emulsion; of the 
 essence from half a fluidi-achm to a fluidrachm, given in a wine-glass 
 
1094 Pharmacy. 
 
 of sweetened water. Ten di-ops of Oil of Cinnamon added to a flai • 
 drachm of olive oil, gently heated and rubbed upon the spine, will fre- 
 quently quiet a foBtless, fretful child suffering with flatulence or colic, 
 and cause it to sleep ; if the rubefacient power requires to be increased, 
 ten drops of aqua ammonia may be added. 
 
 Oleum Copaiba. Oil of Copaiba. (Copaiva Oel.j 
 
 Preparation. — "Take of Copaiba twelve ounces; Water two gallons. 
 Distill, preserving the Water ; when most of the Water has passed ovetf . 
 heat, return it into the still, and resume the distillation; repeat this > 
 process so long as a sensible quantity of th^ oil passes over with the i 
 Water."— -ScZ. 
 
 History. — The more recent the copaiba the greater is the amount of 
 volatile oil obtained. TJsuallj' about 33 or 50 per cent, of the copaiba 
 is procured in oil, and it is stated that one specimen yielded 80 per 
 cent. — Am Jour. Pharm. XXII., 289. When the oil has been rectified 
 and freed from water, it is colorless, has an acrid taste, and the peculiar 
 aromatic odor of copaiba; its specific gravity is 0.878. It is inflam- 
 mable, soluble in alcohol, ether, and sulphuret of carbon ; its boiling 
 point is 470° ; it dissolves caoutchouc ; it absorbs hydrochloric acid gas, 
 and artificial camphor is deposited in crystals. Potassium may be pre- 
 served in it unchanged. When dropped on iodine, heat and hydriodic 
 acid are suddenly produced. It dissolves sulphur, iodine, and phospho- 
 rus, and is converted into a resinous substance by nitric and sulphuric 
 acids. It seems identical in composition with pure oil of turpentine, 
 being composed of Cm Hg. 
 
 Small proportions of oil of turpentine can not casilj^ be detected in 
 this oil, as both react, in most cases, in the same manner. A chief dis- 
 tinction is the weaker fulmination of the Oil of Copaiba, as also the 
 circumstance that the latter requires double the quantity of alcohol for 
 its solution, which, notwithstanding, still remains turbid ; also, its rela- 
 tion to sulphuric acid is somewhat different ; the latter becomes yellow- 
 ish brown-red, but turpentine oil lively yellowish-red. — Zeller. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The Oil of Copaiba exerts an influence upon the 
 system, similar to that of copaiba, to wliich it is preferred on account of 
 the smaller dose required, and its non -tendency to cause nausea. It 
 enters into many of the nostrums of the day for the cure of gonorrhea. 
 The dose is ten or twenty drops, which should be given in syrup, pep- 
 permint, or cinnamon-water, mucilage or emulsion. 
 
 Oleum Cubeb^e. Oil of Cubebs. (Cubeben Oel.) 
 
 History. — Cubebs ground, and distilfed with water, furnish about 
 seven per cent, of this oil. It is a thick, colorless oil, but as commonly 
 met with has a greenish or yellowish tint. It possesses the peculiar 
 .taste and odor of the berries, boils at a little below 500° F, is lighter 
 than water, of specific gravity 0.929, and thickens on exposure to the 
 air without being deprived of its odor ; occasionally it deposits crystals, 
 which are supposed to be a hydrate of the oil. It is composed of car- 
 bon and hydrogen, CigH^. 
 
 Oil of Cubebs is devoid of oxygen, and differs from other oils having 
 a similar composition, by its viscidity and weak action upon iodine, 
 which imparts to it, at the beginning of the reciprocal action, a violet 
 color. Even absolute alcohol, in large proportions, and at a high tem- 
 perature, forms a solution which is mostly. clear; equal weights produce 
 a very turbid solution, throwing down flakes. The oil, which is strongly 
 clouded by nitric acid, becomes by heat onlj" pale-red, but is deconi- 
 posed, and converted into a consistent resin. Sulphuric acid assumes 
 
Olea Destjllata. 1O95 
 
 a red color, the oil becoming. crimson. These characteristics will sufiBpq 
 for this oil, which is already difficult to be adulterated, on account of it^ 
 viscidity and want of color, — Zeller. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^Oil of Cubebs may be substituted for the 
 powdered berries, in many instances with beneflt. It is less pungent 
 than the oleo-resin or fluid extract, a,nd is, probably, only one of tl^fi 
 active principles of cubebs. The dose is ten or twelve drops, three 
 times a day, gradually increased, as the stomach will permit, or until 
 it produces some decided results. It may be given in syrup, emulsion, 
 or in the form of capsules, like copaiba. 
 Oleum Brechthiti. Oil of Fireweed. (Erechthites Oel.) 
 History. — This oil is obtained by distilling the plant Erechthites 
 Hieraeifolius with water. As obtained in the shops it is quite fluid, 
 transparent, yellowish in color, of a strong, peculiar, fetid and slightly 
 aromatic odor, and a fetid, bitterish, burning taste. In its odor and 
 taste it somewhat resembles the oil of fleabane. It is soluble in etber, 
 alcohol, and partially in acetic acid; its sp. gr. is 0.927. Ifo analysis has 
 been made of it. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The therapeutical actions of Oil of Fireweed 
 are not well understood. It seems to resemble the oil of fleabane in its 
 influence upon various hemorrhages, and for which agent it is fre- 
 quently substituted, and is considered by many to be the most eflSca- 
 eious, in such cases, of the two oils. It also exerts a beneficial effect on 
 mucous surfaces, and has been successfully used in diarrhea, dysentery, 
 hemorrhoids, etc. As an antispasmodic it has been found of value in 
 spasms of the stomach and bowels, colic, hiccough, hysteria, ^nd per- 
 tussis, though it is apt to disagree with the stomach, causing nausea, 
 etc. It is chiefly employed for the same purposes as the oil of fleabane. 
 The dose is from five to twenty drops on sugar, or in emulsipn. Wheii 
 triturated with the extract of stramonium. Oil of Fireweed is s'^id to 
 form a valuable preparation for piles. 
 
 Oleum Ebigerontis. Oil of Fleabane. (Bernfungs Kraut Oel.) 
 History. — This is obtained by distillation of the leaves and flpwers pf 
 Fleabane {Erigerone Ganadense) with water. When first obtained it i^ 
 said to be of a light-yellow color, and transparent. The specimen •^hich 
 I have before me is about eighteen years old, it is quite fluid, of ?)■ wjne- 
 red color, clear, with a .peculiar, rather ^pleasant, aromatic, mint-like 
 odor, and an aromatic, bitterish, not very agreeable, penetrating taste ; 
 both the odor and taste recall to mipd those of oil of spearmint, com- 
 bined with oil of amber. The only change I have noticed in tjie oil in 
 my possession is a deposit of a reddish color, resembling currant-j^lly, 
 soft, tenacious, in flat or tubular scales or ci'ystalg, and which I have 
 not had an opportunity of analyzing. This deposit burns when brought 
 into contact with flame, giving off a dense sn^oke, with an odor resem- 
 bling that of cedar. The oil has not been analyzed- Prof Procter, of 
 Phila., examined a specimen of a light straw-color, very limpid, with a 
 .peculiar aromatic, not unpleasant odor, somewhat analogous to oil of 
 hemlock, and very persistent; its taste, peculiar, mild, and not very 
 pungent ; its specific gravity 0.845 to 0.850. It was very inflammable, 
 burning with an abundant sooty flame, boiling at 310° F., and continued 
 rising till 365°, showing that thei-e must be two volatile oils. It dis- 
 tills per se, unchanged and colorless, leaving a small olep-re^inous resi- 
 due in the retort. Potassium ^cts on it, eliminating gaseous niatler, 
 which continues until the metal disappears ; the oil at first a88i;inies a 
 reddish-brown color, which becomes deeper, and finally deposits a gelfk- 
 
1096 Pharmacy. 
 
 tinous residue, which is probably a resinate of potassa. The oil is, 
 therefore, highly oxygenous. Hydrate of potassa slowly turns oil of 
 erigeron red ; iodine combines with it without exploding ; fuming nitric 
 acid acts slowly at 60°, but when heated, explosively; sulphuric acid 
 instantly decomposes it. It is very soluble in ether and absolute alcohol, 
 but moderately so in commercial alcohol 0.835. — Am. Jour. ■ Pharml, 
 XXVI., 502. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Oil of Fleabane is haemostatic, stimulant and 
 carminative, with scarcely any perceptible astringency. It appears, 
 notwithstanding, to exert a very remarkable influence on the system in 
 hemorrhages, to check which it is chiefly used. It is of superior value 
 in all hemorrhages, but more especially when from the uterus. Further 
 investigations with this remedy are required, in order to know its 
 proper therapeutical actions. The dose is from two to ten drops, dis- 
 solved in alcohol, and administered in mucilage, or sweetened water. 
 It should be repeated according to circumstances, every 15 or 30 min- 
 utes, or every one, two, or four hours. Combined with five or six parts of 
 castor-oil, or of stramonium ointment, it forms a valuable application to 
 piles. (For further uses, see Erigeron Canadense, part I., page 343.) 
 
 Oleum Funiculi. Oil of Fennel. (Fenchel Gel.) 
 
 History. — Oil of Fennel is prepared from Fennel-seeds, by distillation 
 with water ; it is colorless or pale-yellow, possesses the peculiar taste 
 and odor of the fruit, is crystallizable at 50°, and has a specific gravity 
 of 0.997 to 0.999. Mneteen cwt. of the seeds yield 78 lbs. of oil. The oil 
 contains Stearoptene and Eleoptene, which are closely allied to the hydro- 
 carbon and solid crystallized oxidized compound constituting oil of 
 anise. It consists of carbon 13 equivalents, hydrogen 8, and oxygen 2. 
 
 The oil employed in this country is imported, but is not very uniform 
 in its character, and which is supposed by some to be owing to its being 
 the product of different plants or species. One specimen examined by 
 Dr. Montgomery remained fluid at 22°. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Oil of Fennel is principally used as a carmin- 
 ative, and for the purpose of correcting or concealing the unpleasant- 
 ness of other medicines. The dose is from five to twenty drops. 
 
 Oleum GAULTHBRi.a!. Oil of Wintergreen. (G-aultheria Oel.) 
 
 History. — Oil of Wintergreen, Methyl Salicylate, or Gaultheric Acid, 
 B[C,4 Hj (C2 H3) Os, is prepared by distilling the plant with water ; when 
 first procured it is nearly colorless, but becomes more or less of a deep- 
 yellow or red color by age. It has a peculiar, agreeable and persistent 
 odor, and a sweetish, somewhat pungent, peculiar taste. Its specific 
 gravity is 1.173, being the heaviest of the volatile oils, and. it boils at 
 412.° It possesses acid qualities, and has, according to Cahours, the 
 same composition as the salicylate of methylene. The oil consists of 
 methyl salicylate, which is metameric with anisic acid, and about one- 
 tenth of a hydrocarbon, termed gaultherilene, which is isomeric with oil 
 of turpentine, boils at 320° F., and constitutes the more volatile portion 
 of the oil. The methyl salicylate may be obtained artificially by dis- 
 tilling a mixture of 2 parts of crystallized salicylic acid, 2 of anhydrous 
 wood spirit, and 1 part of oil of vitriol. Solution of potassa added to 
 oil of wintergreen forms a crystalline mass termed potassic gaultherate, 
 which is soluble in water ; if the aqueous solution be heated with an 
 excess of alkali, wood spirit is liberated, and potassic salicylate is formed. 
 Glutz procured ehlorsalylic acid from oil of wintergreen by the action of 
 2 eq. of perchloride of phosphorus to 1 eq. of the oil ; the reaction was 
 violent at first, and the acid was deposited in the form of white needles. 
 
0[,IC\ DK8TILLATA. 1097 
 
 Oil of wintcrgreen is liable to bo adulterated with oils of sassafras 
 and black birch. If oil of sassafras be present, nitric acid will produce 
 a blood-red color with it. However, the purity of oil of wintergreen 
 may be determined by its great specific gravity. The greater part of 
 the oil used in this country is made in New Jersey. It is soluble in 
 alcohol and ether, and slightly so in watei*. 
 
 This oil is not peculiar to the Gaultheria alone, but has been detected 
 in the bark of Betula Lenta, the root of Polygala Paucifolia, and the 
 stems and roots of Spircea Ulmaria, Spiraea Lahata, and Gaultheria His- 
 pidula.—Am. Jour. Pharm., XIY., 2U, and XV., 241. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This oil is stimulant and aromatic, and is princi- 
 pally employed to correct or disguise the taste of other medicines. The 
 essence, or the oil dissolved in alcohol, is stated to have been found 
 effectual in curing intermittent fever. The dose of the oil is from five 
 to ten or fifteen drops on sugar, or in emulsion. 
 
 Oleum HEDE0ir.iB. Oil of Pennyroyal. (Amerikanischer Isop Oel.) 
 
 £istor2/.— This oil is obtained from the Pennyroyal plant of this country, 
 by distillation with water. It is of a pale yellow color, with the agree- 
 able odor of the plant, and its warm, pungent taste, and has the specific 
 gravity 0.948. 
 
 Properties and Uses.^Oil of Pennyroyal is a stimulant, carminative, 
 antispasmodic, and emmenagogue. It has been used with benefit in 
 cramp of the stomach, flatulent colic, nausea, amenorrhea, and to di- 
 minish the harshness of griping, as well as nauseating medicines. It 
 is frequently employed for the purpose of occasioning abortion, but as 
 with all agents of this sort, it is very dangerous. It is sometimes ap- 
 plied externally as a mild rubefacient. The dose is from two to ten 
 drops on sugar, or in emulsion. 
 
 Oleum Juniperi. Oil of Juniper. ("Wachholder Oel.) 
 
 History. — Oil of Juniper is procured from the bruised berries by dis- 
 tillation with water ; it may likewise be procured from the leaves. The 
 full grown green fruit yields more oil than the ripe, as in the process 
 of ripening the oil becomes converted into resin. The oil is colorless, 
 or pale-gfeenish, limpid, transparent, lighter than water, and causes the 
 left-handed rotation of polarized light ; its boiling point is 820° F., its 
 specific gravity is variously given at 0.839, and 0.911. It has the odor 
 of the fruit, and an aromatic, balsamic taste, and dissolves with difS- 
 culty in alcohol. It is isomeric with oil of turpentine, and consists of 
 two oils or carburets of hydrogen, G,^ ^u ; one colorless and more vola- 
 ■ tile ; the other colored, and less volatile. Both form crystalline hy- 
 drates, when agitated with a solution of salt. The more volatile oil, 
 almost entirely constitutes the oil obtained fromi the ripe fruit ; it is 
 soluble in alcohol and in hydrochloric acid, with which it forms a liquid 
 artificial camphor. — P. Oil of Juniper left in contact with water grad- 
 ually deposits a white crystalline hydrate, 0^0 Hie, H^ 0;,. When oil of 
 turpentine is added to oil of Juniper, the specific gravity of this adulter- 
 ated oil is much less than that of the pure oil. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Oil of Juniper is a stimulant diuretic, and is 
 frequently employed to arrest chronic mucous discharges, especially 
 from the urethra. It may also be used in cases of dropsy as a diuretic, 
 combined with other agents. The dose is from five to fifteen or twenty 
 drops. The peculiar taste and diuretic property of Holland Gin is 
 owing to the presence of this oil. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Pilulse Saporti Compositse. 
 
 Oleum Juniperi ViEGiNiANA. Oil of Cedar. (Geder Oel.) 
 
1098 Phaemact. 
 
 History. — This oil is prepared by distillation of the tops and leaves 
 of Red Cedar with Water. It is quite fluid, transparent, of a light-yel- 
 lowish or reddish color, but becoming of a wine-red color by age, pos- 
 sesses the peculiar odor, with the nauseous, bitterish, warm taste pecu- 
 liar to the leaves, in a concentrated degree. Upon standing, but very 
 little deposit ensues ; in a specimen of sixteen years' standing, and about 
 a pint in quantity, I observed a very slight deposit of confluent whitish 
 granules or scales, somewhat resembling white wax. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Internally this oil is stimulant and emmena- 
 gogue, possessing properties similar to those of the oil of savin ; how- 
 ever, it is very seldom administered internally. It is chiefly used as a 
 rubefacient, and forms an excellent local application in inflammatory 
 rheumatism and other painful affections, either alone or combined with 
 other articles to form a liniment. The dose, internally, is from two to 
 ten drops, on sugar. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Linimentum Olei. 
 
 Oleum Lavandula. Oil of Lavender. (Lavendel Oel.) 
 
 History. — Oil of Lavender is procured from the flowers of Lavender, 
 by distillation with Water ; about one pound of oil is obtained from 50 
 to 70 lbs. of the flowers. Oil of Lavender is of a pale-yellow color, a 
 pure, grateful, lavender odor, and a bitter, aromatic, camphoracebus taste. 
 Its specific gravity varies from 0.877 to 0.905. It exerts a left-handed 
 rotary action ; is soluble in alcohol of sp. gr. 0.830, and imperfectly so 
 in acetic acid, boils at 397° P., and according to Kane consists of CisHu 
 Oj. When the oil is distilled from the leaves, stalks, and flowers, its 
 specific gravity is stated by Brande to be 0.920. Upon exposure to the 
 air it absorbs oxygen to the amount of about 120 volumes in four months 
 and a half It consists of a fluid oil or Eleoptene, isomeric with oil of 
 turpentine, and a solid substance or Stearoptene, the latter of which is 
 isomeric with laurel-camphor, and is deposited by longstanding. 
 
 Oil of Lavender suffers no other admixture but that of alcohol, 
 without becoming worthless, and in the inferior cheap qualities which 
 are sold, the presence of alcohol is discoverable by the specific weight. 
 Of seventeen samples examined, the lowest sp. gr. of the inferior oil 
 was 0.86 ; that of the best qualities, mostly 0.87 to 0.89. The peculiar 
 character of Oil of Lavender by which it is distinguished, with regard 
 to the degree, frona all oils obtained from the Labiatse, is its quick and 
 violent fulmination with iodine, and the entirely changed, pungent, 
 acido-balsamic smell of the soft, extract-like residue. This character 
 is invariably observed in all genuine lavender oils, both commercial and 
 those prepared in the laboratory. The inferior, cheaper, commercial 
 sort does not fulminate. An intentional addition of one-third of alco- 
 hol did not perceptibly weaken the fulmination ; also, one-half of 
 alcohol did not destroy, but only weaken it ; an equal volume of alcohol 
 being added to the oil, no fulmination took place, but a lively ebulli- 
 tion and development of yellowish-red vapors. A moderate proportion 
 of alcohol, can not, therefore be discovered by these reactions ; for this 
 purpose, the almost indifferent relation of the pure oil to santaline is a 
 safer guide, as that containing alcohol dissolves santaline readily and 
 quickly. An adulteration with fulminating oils, which in this case can 
 not be detected by iodine, would be discovered by the differing relatioc 
 to caustic potassa. The alcoholic solution of the latter forms a clear 
 solution with lavendei'-oil, to which it communicates a dark, yellowish 
 rod-brown color, while the other oils are dissolved in it with difficulty, 
 and become turbid, with but a slight coloration. Among the better 
 
Olea Bestillata. 1099 
 
 tests, we may also reckon the deep reddish-brown color produced by 
 sjilphuric acid, accompanied by a strong inspissation, while the equally 
 colored acid has a slight shade of yellow. — Zeller. 
 
 The broad-leafed variety of Lavender, Lavandula Spica, furnishes 
 the Oil of, Spike; it is not so fragrant as the preceding oil, and bears 
 some analogy to oil of turpentine. It is chiefly used in the manufac- 
 ture of varnishes for artists, and in painting on porcelain. 
 
 Properties and Uses'. — Oil of Lavender possesses stimulant and car- 
 minative properties, and is sometimes administered in hysteria, nerv- 
 ous debility and headache. Its fragrance renders it an important arti- 
 cle in perfumery, in which it is principally used,. Its dose is from one 
 to six drops. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Tinctura Lavandulae Composita. 
 
 Oletjm Limonis. Oil of Lemons. (Citronen Oel.) 
 
 History. — Oil of Lemon is obtained by lightly grating the fresh rind 
 of the lemon, placing it in a fine cloth bag, and then subjecting it to 
 pressure ; the sediment is allowed to settle, and the clear oil is poured 
 oflf. — C. It may also be procured by distillation, but tliis mode is not 
 pursued, as it gives a less fragrant oil. The oil is imported from the 
 southern parts of Europe, as Italy, Portugal, etc. 
 
 It is of a pale-yellow color, but may be rendered colorless by distilla- 
 tion, has a rich lemon odor, a warm, aromatic, penetrating taste, and 
 is very volatile. Its specific gravity is 0.8517, but is reduced to 0.847, 
 by distillation of about three-fifths of it. In pure or anhydrous alcohol 
 it dissolves in all proportions, and is soluble in seven or eight parts of 
 ordinary alcohol. The pure oil is isomeric with pure oil of turpentine, 
 consisting of twenty equivalents of carbon, and sixteen of hj'drogen, 
 and forms by absorption of muriatic acid gas a solid substance of a 
 crystalline character, and an oily fuming liquid of a yellow color. The 
 solid substance is composed of one equivalent of oil, and one of acid, 
 and is analogous to the artificial camphor formed from oil of turpen- . 
 tine, the latter of which has the formula C^o H,e HCl, while that from 
 the lemons is CjoHg HCl. When cooled to 8° P., Oil of Lemon deposits 
 some crystals, and when exposed to the air it absorbs oxygen. • 
 
 It is frequently adulterated by alcohol, the fixed oils, or more fre- 
 quently by oil of turpentine. Alcohol may be detected by the milky 
 fluid which forms upon agitating the oil with water. The fixed oils 
 may be known by leaving a permanent stain upon paper, which is not 
 the case with the genuine oil. Oil of turpentine may be detected by the 
 turpentine odor evolved when the impure oil is evaporated from heated 
 paper. The saccharometer, as well as the polarizing apparatus, bave 
 been successfully used to detect the addition of oil of turpentine to vol- 
 atile oils. M. Biott states that the camphor formed by the Oil of Lem- 
 ons exercises no action on polarized light, while the oil itself rotates a 
 ray to the right. On the contrary, the camphor from oil of turpen- 
 tine exercises a power similar to that possessed by the isolated oil, of 
 rotating to the left. These molecular properties establish a difference 
 between the two oils, and may serve to detect adulteration and fraud. 
 Well rectified coal-oil has its odor entirely covered when added to oil 
 of lemon, but the adulteration may be detected by the difference in 
 specific gravity, and by the almost complete insolubility of the coal- 
 oil in alcohol. 
 
 In order to remove mucilaginous and other matters existing in the 
 Oil of Lemons, it is recommended by J. S. Cobb, to agitate the oil with 
 a little boiling water, and to allow the water to remain in the bottle. 
 
1100 Pharmacy. 
 
 A mucilaginous paixture forms on the top of the water, and acg^uires a 
 certain tenacity, so that the oil may be poured off nearly to the last; 
 without disturbing the deposit. The gradual decomposition of the oil, 
 he supposes to be owing to the presence of these impurities, which 
 enter during the process of expression and decantation. He recom- 
 mends that the oil, as well as all other essential oils, should be kept in 
 a cool, dark place, where no very great changes of tenrperatnre occur, 
 and in orange-yellow colored bottles. 
 
 .Properties and Uses. — Stimulant and aromatic. Its chief use is in 
 perfumery, and to impart an agreeable flavor to medicines. It has been 
 recommended in certain affections of the eye, as a local application. 
 A very agreeable drink for the summer and for febrile patients maybe 
 made of White Sugar four ounces, Oil of Lemon ten drops, triturate 
 together, and add Citric Acid two drachms ; a teaspoonful of this to a 
 tumbler of water forms a pleasant, refreshing draught. Tartaric acid 
 may be substituted for the citric; if desired. 
 Oleum Menth^e Piperit^e. Oil of Peppermint. (Pfeffermtinz Oel.) 
 History. — Oil of Peppermint is obtained by distilling the herb with 
 water ; which yifelds from the one hundred and seventieth to the three 
 hundredth part of the oil. When fresh it is nearly colorless, or light 
 greenish-yellow, but becomes darker and even reddish by age. It has 
 the strong aromatic odor of the plant, together with its warm, aro- 
 matic; camphorous taste, is of the specific gravity from 0.899 to 0.920, 
 is soluble in alcohol, and produces left-handed rotation on a ray of po- 
 larized light. When taken into the mouth and air inhaled, a sensation 
 of cold is produced. At 365° it boils, and at — 8° it deposits fine nee- 
 dle-like crystals of Stearoptene, which are said to have the same consti- 
 tution as the oil ; these crystals are also deposited at ordinary temper- 
 atures, on long standing. The composition of the oil is Coo Hjo Oj. Its 
 adulterations with alcohol and oil of turpentine are not infrequent ; 
 the latter may be known by the turpentine odor, by the imperfect so- 
 lution it forms with alcohol, and by its fulmiuation when iodine is 
 added to it ; the former may be known by the dirty white liquor formed 
 by adding an equal volume of water to it. It dissolves iodine slowly 
 and without increased heat. Any adulteration of this oil, except with 
 alcohol or other mint oils, may be easily detected by its peculiar odor 
 and taste. The presence of alcohol is betrayed by the specific weight, 
 which is seldom under 0.90, and which must be considerably lower, if 
 the alcohol be stronger. The most distinguishing character which the 
 peppermint oil shares with no other oil of the Labiatse, though with 
 some of the Compositse, is, its relation to chromate of potassa, which 
 communicates to it a deep red-brown color, and inspissates it into a 
 coagulum more like an extract than a resin, and by agitation is divided 
 into a flaky form, while the solution of the salt soon loses the whole of 
 its yellow color, or appears yellowish-green. The purple-red color im- 
 parted to the oil by the fourth part of its volume of nitric acid, is, at 
 least for the qualities of 0.89 to 0.90 very characteristic. The other 
 oils, which become merely brown, show at least a tendency to red, but 
 all, upon an addition of acid at a higher temperature, change to reddish- 
 brown and into a liquid balsam. ^.^eKer. In France, this oil has been 
 adultered with rectified oil of copaiba; M. Stanislas Martin detects this 
 fraud as follows : add to the suspected oil about one-sixth part of nitric 
 acid, place it in a test tube, expose it to heat, agitating it from time to 
 time, and when it boils take from the fire. Upon cooling, if the copaiba 
 oil be present, it will lose its fluidity, become resinous, and acquire 
 
Olea Destij^lata. 1101 
 
 more or less of a buttery conaistence, according to the amount of oil of 
 copaiba present ; but if the oil be pure, it will assume a chestnut- 
 brown color, but will not lose its fluidity. Oil of Peppermint is exten- 
 sively manufactured in this country. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Oil of Peppermint is a powerful diffusible stim- 
 ulant, with carminative, antispasmodic, and anti-emetic properties. It 
 is much employed to relieve flatulence, gastrodynia, nausea, spasms of 
 the stomach, and to cover the taste of other drugs. Externally, t is 
 occasionally employed as a rubefacient. It enters into a linimett, 
 which at one time was a popular remedy for various painful local affec- 
 tions ; it is composed as follows : Take of Oil of Olives, Oil of Pepper- 
 mint, Oil of Turpentine, Tincture of Opium, Alcohol, Aqua Ammonia, 
 each, one fluidounce ; mix. To be applied there or four times a day. It 
 is commonly used under the name of Essence of Peppermint, which is a 
 tincture of it. The dose of the oil is two to ten drops on sugar. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Aqua Menthse Piperitse; Mistura Cajuputi Composita; 
 Tinctura Olei Menthse Piperita. 
 
 Oleum MENTHiE Viridis. Oil of Spearmint. (Griine Miinzen Oel.) 
 
 History. — By distillation of Spearmint herb with water, from the one 
 hundred and seventieth , to the five hundredth part of a pale-yellow or 
 greenish oil is obtained. It reddens with age, has the peculiar odor 
 and taste of the herb in a strong degree, is less agreeable than oil of 
 peppermint, is soluble in alcohol, boils at 320°, and is of the specific 
 gravity varying from 0.914 to 0.975. According to Kane its composi- 
 tion is represented by the formula C35 H^g O. It is extensively prepared 
 in this country. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Oil of Spearmint is carminative, antispasmodic, 
 and diuretic. It is used very frequently as a substitute for the oil, of 
 peppermint, and is more oilen prescribed on account of its diuretic 
 properties. The dose of the oil is five or ten drops on sugar. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Aqua Menthse Viridis ; Pilulse Saponi Compositse ; Pilulse 
 Taraxaci Compositse ; Tinctura Olei Menthse "Viridis. 
 
 Oleum MoNAEDiE. Oil of Horsemint. (Monarden Oel.) 
 
 History .—^Oi\ of Horsemint is extensively manufactured in this 
 country from the fresh herb, by distillation with water. It is of a yel- 
 lowish or brownish-amber color, having a penetrating, aromatic odor 
 like that of the plant, and a strong, pungent, somewhat acrid taste; ' 
 and is soluble in alcohol. G. T. Bonsall states that when exposed to 40° 
 P., in the presence of moisture, a camphor is deposited, which, when 
 separated from the oil, and distilled over dry chloride of calcium, crys- 
 tallizes in large oblique rhombic prisms, composed of transparent plates. 
 This camphor melts at 118° P., boils at 426° P., and then solidifies upon 
 slight agitation at 82° P. Nearly all the oil is converted into this solid 
 substance. Monardin has been proposed as a name for this camphor, 
 or stearoptene, as it has been called. — Am. Jour. Pharm. XXV., 200. Its 
 odor is like that of thyme, it is soluble in alcohol and ether, and has the 
 formula of Cjo H14 O^. Monardin was first brought into notice by Prof 
 E. S.Waj'ne, in the year 1845; some remarks on which, by Wm. Procter, 
 will be found in Am. Jour. Pharm., XL, 1846, p. 86. This substance is 
 also contained in oil of thyme (thymol), and in the oil of an Indian plant, 
 Ptychotis ajowan; it is isomeric with carvol and with cuminic alcohol 
 The eleoptene or fluid oil of monarda oil, has a yellowish-red color. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Oil of Horsemint is stimulant, antispasmodic, 
 and anti-emetic, and in the form of the essence, has been much used to 
 allay nausea and vomiting in Asiatic cholera, cholera- morbus, etc., its 
 
1102 Ph ARM ACT. 
 
 action in these cases being prompt and permanent. The dose of the oil 
 is from two to five drops on supjar ; of the essence, from ten to thirty 
 drops in sweetened water. Externally, it is rubefacient and even vesi- 
 cant, and has been advantageously used in low forms of fever, cholera- 
 infantum, paralysis, rheumatic and neuralgic pains, etc. It soon causes 
 rubefaction when locally applied, affording in many instances almost 
 immediate relief 
 
 Oleum Origani. Oil of Origanum. (Dosten Oel.) 
 
 History. — This oil is procured from the Origanum Vulgare, hy distilia- 
 lion of the plant with water. On an average two hundred weight of the 
 plant yields about one pound of oil. It is of a yellowish, or reddish- 
 yellow, color, of a peculiar, agreeable, balsamic odor, and a warm, very 
 pungent taste. According to Kane it boils at 354° P., is of specific 
 gravity 0.867, and has the formula C50 H40 O. — P. It is imported from 
 Europe, and frequently contains oil of turpentine. Very little true Oil 
 of Origanum is met with in this country ; that generally sold for it, is 
 imported from France, and is the true oil of thyme from the Thymus vul- 
 faris; but, as the two oils possess nearly identical virtues, the substitu- 
 tion is therapeutically unimportant. The Oil of Sweet Marjoram, obtained 
 by distillation of the Origanum Majorana, is a pale-yellow or brownish 
 oil with the strong odor and taste of sweet marjoram, and on standing 
 deposits a camphor. It is seldom used in the United States. 
 
 Properties and Uses.- — Oil of Origanum is stimulant and rubefacient, 
 and is chiefly employed in the form of liniment as an application to 
 various parts suffering from painful affections. As with many other 
 essential oils, it affords relief in toothache upon being applied to the 
 decayed tooth by means of lint or cotton. It is very seldom admin- 
 istered internally. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Linimentum Capsici Compositum ; Linimentum Olei Com- 
 positum ; Linimentum Saponis Camphoratum ; Tinctura Camphorse 
 Cotnposita. 
 
 Oleum Pimento. Oil of Pimento. (Nelkenpfeffer Oel.) 
 
 History. — When Allspice or Pimento berries are bruised and distilled 
 with water, they yield a volatile oil in the proportion of 41 lbs. 6 oz. of 
 oil from one cwt. of the berries, or nearly 6 per cent. It is at first 
 without color or nearly so, but becomes reddish-brown by age.^ Its 
 odor is somewhat similar to that of cloves, and its taste acrid. It is 
 reddened by nitric acid, and its properties are almost identical with 
 those of oil of cloves. It i^ heavier than water, its density being given 
 as 1.021. It is composed of two oils ; by distillation with caustic potagsa 
 the hydrocarbon or light oil is obtained ; the residue, mixed with suJ- 
 phuric acid and distilled, gives out the heavy- oil. The first appears to 
 possess properties similar to the light oil of cloves; it floats on water 
 and on liquor potassa, and is slightly reddened by nitric acid. Potas- 
 sium sinks in it with scarcely any action upon it. The heavy oil, 
 pimentic acid, is identical with caryophyllic acid ; it forms crystalline 
 compounds with the alkalies ; is reddened and violently acted on by 
 nitric acid ; and becomes blue or greenish on the addition of tincture 
 of chloride of iron. — P. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Oil of Pimento is stimulant and aromatic, and 
 may be used for similar purposes as the other oils of like character, in 
 doses of from two to ten drops. 
 
 Off- Prep. — Aqua Pimentse. 
 
 Oleum Eos^s:. Oil or Otto of Hoses. (Eosen Oel.) 
 
 History. — Oil of Eoses, is manufactured in Egypt, and in various 
 
^ OlEA DjiSTILLATA. 1103 
 
 Asiatic countrieB, by diBtilliiig roses with water; on oooling, the oil 
 forms a film upon the surface of the water. Not quite three drachms 
 of oil are obtained from a hundred i>ounds of rose leaves, on which 
 account it is a very high priced oil. It is said also to be procured by 
 putting the petals 'in water, and placing them so that the sun can act 
 upon them, when the oil slowly passes out and floats on the top of the 
 water. The roses from which it is procured are the Eosa Centifolia, E. 
 Damascena, and R. Moschata; the manufacturing season is in March 
 and April. It is imported from Constantinople and Smyrna. 
 
 It is usually almost colorless, but color is no criterion of its goodness 
 or purity ; sometimes it is at first greenish, and afterward presenting 
 reddish, yellowish or greenish tints. It has an intense, and mo.«t pen- 
 etrating, diffuse odor, too powerful to be agreeable when undiluted. It 
 boils at about 590° F., remains fluid at between 84° and 86° F., becomes 
 a crystalline solid below 80° ; it is soluble in about 150 parts of alcohol, 
 and has the specific gravity 0.832 at 90° F. It consists of O^g Has O3. 
 It is combustible, and its vapor forms an explosive mixture with oxy- 
 gen. Two oils enter into its composition, one a liquid eleoptme, the 
 other a solid, stearoptene. They may be separately obtained by com- 
 pressing the frozen oil between folds of blotting-paper. The paper ab- 
 sorbs the eleoptene, and leaves the stearoptene or rose-camphor, which 
 is in crystalline plates, insoluble in alcohol, fusible at about 95° F., 
 having but little odor, and composed of equal number of equivalents of 
 carbon and hydrogen. 
 
 Owing to its high price, Oil of Eoses is often adulterated ; the addi- 
 tions to it are oil of rose-geranium^, and other essential oils, sperma- 
 ceti, fixed oils, etc. If it be adulterated with volatile oils, these will 
 not congeal at 80°, and if fixed oils, etc., be used, they will no,t wholly 
 evaporate from blotting-paper, with a gentle heat, and will impart an 
 oily stain to it. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Oil of Eoses is used altogether as a perfume, 
 and is frequently added to cerates, ointments, liquors, etc., for the pur- 
 pose of rendering them fragrant. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Aquse Eosse. 
 
 Oleum Eosmarini. Oil of Rosemary. (Eosmarin Oel.) 
 
 History. — When the recent, tops of Eosemary are distilled with Water, 
 they yield a volatile oil in the proportion of about one drachm of oil 
 from one pound of the herb. Oil of Eosemary is transparent and col- 
 orless, with the odor of rosemary, and a hot, aromatic, camphorous 
 taste. It is soluble in all proportions in alcohol of 0.830, but it requires 
 forty times its weight of ordinary alcohol to dissolve it. It boils at 365°, 
 has the sp. gr. 0.897, and formula C45 H38 Oz- — Kane. Exposed to the 
 air, it gradually precipitates crystals, stearoptene, which resemble cam- 
 phor, and amount to about a sixteenth of the oil by weight. An im- 
 pure article, composed of oil of rosemary and spirits of turpentine, is 
 well known in the shops ; the rosemary oil may be separated from the 
 turpentine by alcohol, which dissolves the oil. — T. See tests for pur- 
 ity of Oil of Cajeput on page 1088. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Oil of Eosemary is stimulant and rubefacient ; 
 it is principally employed, however, in perfumery. A very pleasant 
 Cologne* may be made as follows: Take of Oil of Eosemary, Oil of 
 
 "The following formula has been published by one of the Messrs. Farina, the originators 
 of Cologne: Take of purified Benzoin, Oil of Rosemary, each, by weight, one-fowrth of an 
 otmr.f.; Oil of Lavender half an ounce, by weight ; Strong Alcohol nine pints ; mix, and agi- 
 tate thoroughly together, and then luld successively, Oil of Neroli {petits graine). Oil of 
 
1104 Pharmacy. 
 
 Lemon, each, two fluidrachms ; Oil of Lavender, Oil of Bergamot, oi 
 each, one fluidrachm ; Oil of Cinnamon, Oil of Cloves, Oil of Roses, of 
 each, eight minims ; Alcohol one pint. Mix, agitate well, and after allow- 
 ing the mixture to stand for a few days, with frequent agitation, filler. 
 The dose of Oil of Eosemary is from two to ten drdps. 
 
 Off. Frep. — Linimentum Opii ; Linimentum Saponis Camphoratum. 
 
 Oleum Rutje. Oil of Rue. (G-artenraute Oel.) 
 
 History. — The fresh leaves and tops of Eue, when distilled with 
 Water, yield about seven grains in the thousand, of a yellowish, acrid, 
 heavy-smelling volatile oil, having the pure, intense, penetrating odor 
 of the plant, of specific gravity 0.8497, boiling at 415°5 P., and freez- 
 ing at 44°6 F. It becomes gradually darker with age. Its composi- 
 tion is given as C22 H22 O.^. Butic, euodic, and lauric aldeUyd appear to 
 be among the constituents of Oil of Eue. Gerhard considered this oil 
 to consist mainly of rutic aldehyd, but G. Williams has shown that euodic 
 aldehyd is its most abundant component, mixed with a small quantity 
 of lauric aldehyd, C24 Hj, O2, besides a hydrocarbon isomeric with oil 
 of Turpentine and with borneol. 0. Harbordt considers the oil to be a 
 mixed Ketone, not an aldehyd. Oil of Eue does not absorb oxygen 
 very rapidly, nor does it readily form a rutate of potassa with caustic 
 potassa, although it forms crystallizable compounds with the acid sul- 
 phites of the alki-metals. Concentrated nitric acid, by prolonged 
 action upon this oil, forms pelargonic acid,, Cig H,, O4 ; by moderating 
 the action of the nitric acid, rutic acid, HCjo H^ 0„ is procured in col- 
 orless needles, having a slight goat-like odor, a sour and burning taste, 
 readily soluble in alcohol, sparingly soluble in boiling water, melting 
 at 86° F., and becoming partially decomposed by distillation. 
 
 The high price and strong smell of this oil lead to, and facilitate its 
 adulteration. If prepared in the laboratory, this oil is distinguished 
 .by being slowly dissolved by iodine, unaccompanied by any external 
 signs of reaction, and the formation of a slightly viscid liquid ; by this 
 means, adulterations with oils of Coniferae, Aurantiaceae, and 'most La- 
 biatsB can be detected in it. Nitric acid acts but slowly upon it, and 
 changes it into a greenish yellow, thin liquid balsam ; chromate of po- 
 tassa produces no reaction. By the turbid solution in alcohol, by the 
 reddish-brown solution in liquor potassa, and by the similar but darker 
 coloration which the oil and the acid assume by sulphuric acid, the 
 cheaper oils of the Labiatse may be easily detected in it. — Zeller. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Oil of Eue is stimulant, antispasmodic, and 
 emmenagogue. It has been used with advantage in hysteria, convul- 
 sions, pertussis, amenorrhea, and dysmenorrhea, in the dose of from 
 one to five drops three times a day. It is sometimes criminally used, 
 for the purpose of producing abortion, in which it is highly dangerous, 
 having been followed by fatal consequences. 
 
 Oleum Sabine. Qil of Savin. (Sadebaum Oel. Sevenbaum Oel.) 
 
 History. — When the tops and leaves of Savin are submitted to distil- 
 lation with Water, they yield a yellowish clear oil, having in an in- 
 tense degree the peculiar odor of the leaves, and a bitter acrid taste. 
 The proportions of Oil obtained, as given by authors, vary very much, 
 being stated at from one to three per cent. According to Kane it boils 
 
 Lemon, esich, one ounce and Mminims; Oil of Sweet Orange (Aurantii Dulcis), Oil of Llm- 
 ettee {lAme), Oil of Bergamot, each, two ounces and 288 minims; Tlnot. Flor. Qeranli Bosei 
 
 iPtawers of Base Geramum) a sufficient quantity to impart the desired fragrance. Macerat* 
 at several weefes, and then All into flasks.— .4. D. Oirc, VIII. %5.—Am. Jowt, Phanrm., 186«. 
 p. 375. I have reduced the weights and measures in the above.— JST. 
 
Ulea Destillata. 1105 
 
 at 315°, has the sp. gr. 0.915 (or 0.89 to 0.94), and formula C^o H:,e, 
 being analogous to that of oil of turpentine. It effects the right- 
 handed rotation of planfe polarized light. Winckler mixed together 
 equal parts of Savin Oil and concentrated sulphuric acid, and then dis- 
 tilled it from milk of lime, to remove the sulphurous acid, and obtained 
 an oil very analogous to oil of thyme. Oil of Savin is soluble in two 
 parts of alcohol, fulminates with iodine, gives a thin balsam with nitric 
 acid, and upon standing for several months yields turpentine. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Oil of Savin is an emmenagogue, and is seldom 
 used for any other purpose, save as a liniment to the lumbar and sacral 
 regions, and internally in amenorrhea, in which it is sometimes very 
 efficacious. It also acts as a stimulant and abortivant. Ten drops of 
 the oil on sugar, repeated three times a day, will", it is stated, positively 
 produce abortion in from one to three weeks ; but, as with all other 
 agents of this kind, is apt to be followed by very serious consequences. 
 The dose of the oil, ordinarily, is from two to ten drops. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Tinctura Caulophylli Composita. 
 
 Oletjm Sassafras. Oil of Sassafras. (Sassafras Oel.) 
 
 History. — The root of Sassafras, when submitted to distillation with 
 Water, yields from two to three per cent, of a heavy Volatile Oil, color- 
 less at first, but gradually becoming yellow or red. According to Prof. 
 W. Procter, the difference in color of various samples of Sassafras oil 
 is due to the employment of roots of variable age and condition ; old 
 stump roots with the outer bark attached give a colored oil, while the 
 young roots yield the oil colorless. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 1866, p. 481. Sas- 
 safras oil has a powerful, penetrating sassafras odor, and a warm, pun- 
 gent, sassafras taste ; its specific gravity varies from 1.087 to 1.094. It 
 boils at 430° P., giving off great clouds of vapor, has the composition 
 Cia Hio O4, and slightly turns the plane of polarization to the right. 
 When agitated with water, it separates like oil of parsley, into two 
 portions, a fluid oil which swims on the surface of the liquid, and a 
 heavier fluid oil which falls to the bottom. IN'itric acid renders Sassa- 
 fras Oil an orange-red color, the compound having received the name 
 of Sassarubrin (Hare) ; the reaction is attended with emission of flame. 
 Oil of Sassafras is soluble in alcohol, ether, and chloroform, mixes with 
 other fixed and volatile Oils, and dissolves caoutchouc. On standing for 
 a long time, or when cooled by freezing, the pure oil deposits large 
 crystals of sassafras camphor, (stearoptene, sassafrol, Cjo Hn, O4), which 
 are scarcely soluble in water, but dissolve readily in alcohol, and have 
 the sp. gr. 1.245. They are not soluble in caustic potassa, acetic or 
 muriatic acid, even with the aid of heat, and yield oxalic acid when 
 treated with boiling nitric acid. Oil of Sassafras scarcely combines 
 with the caustic alkalies, and becomes thick, opaque, and white when sub- 
 jected to a current of chlorine gas ; after neutralization with milk of 
 lime, this thick mass furnishes on distillation a small quantity of cam- 
 phor, identical with common camphor. — Am. Jour. Pharm., XXYI., 166. 
 Oil of Sassafras is rarely adulterated in this country with oils of tur- 
 pentine, cloves, or lavender. 
 
 Zeller states that it is distinguished from most other oils by the clear 
 solution produced by iodine without inspissation. The green color 
 which is at first produced by two parts of the oil and one part of sul- 
 phuric acid, is not produced with any other oil; by heat this color 
 changes to blood-red. A greater quantity of oil produces in the heated 
 acid a magnificent amaranth-red color, while the oil itself appears only 
 brownish or bluish-red. With nitric acid the decomposition takes 
 
 70 
 
1106 Pharmact. 
 
 place without heat, and reddish -brown resin is formed, which, on being 
 heated, becomes hard and brittle. The great specific gravity and the 
 low degree of solubility in alcohol will easily lead to the detection of 
 an admixture of the latter which would counteract these properties. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Sassafras Oil is stimulant, diuretic, carminative, 
 alterative and diaphoretic. It may be used for all the purposes for 
 which the bark is recommended. It is said to be an efficacious appli- 
 cation to wens. It is much used as a local application to rheumatic 
 and other pains, and has proved advantageous when given internally 
 in chronic gonorrhea, apd in cystirrhsea. Its dose is from three to 
 twelve drops on sugar, or in emulsion. It is stated by Dr. Shelby, of 
 Huntsville, that Oil of Sassafras will not only prevent the injurious 
 effects of tobacco, but speedily remove them when produced; he has 
 verified this either by combining the tobacco with some sassafras bark, 
 and by smoking tobacco, in a strong pipe, to which a few drops of the 
 oil has been added. — Boston Jour. Ohem., 1860. 
 
 Off. Frep. — Emplastrum Eesinse Oompositum ; Linimentum Cajuputi 
 Compositum ; Linimentum Olei ; Pilulffi Saponi Compositse ; Tinctura 
 CamphorsB Composita. 
 
 Oleum Stjccini Eectificatum. Bectified Oil of Amber. (Gereinigtes 
 Bernstein Oel.) 
 
 Preparation. — "Take of Amber, in coarse powder, and Pure Sand, 
 each one part. Obtain by distillation, with a gradually increasing heat, 
 an acid liquor, an oil, and an acid in crystals. Compress the crystals 
 in bibulous paper, and sublime them a second time. The oil may be 
 detached from the acid liquor by filtration." — Dub. 
 
 The above process gives the crude Oil of Amber ; to purify it, the 
 following process must be pursued: " Take of Oil of Amber a pound; 
 Water six pints. Distill as above till two-thirds of the Water shall 
 have passed over, then separate the oil." — Dub. 
 
 History. — In procuring the crude oil from amber, the heat softens and 
 decomposes it, and its volatile oil, succinic acid and volatile spirit of 
 amber pass over into the receiver, while a kind of bitumen or pitch re- 
 mains in the retort. The oil swims upon the top of the fluid in the 
 receiver, from which it is subsequently taken by means of a separatory 
 instrument. This oil is of syrupy consistence, blackish, and of a char- 
 acteristic empyreumatic odor. The sand prevents the amber from run- 
 ning together into masses, and impeding the distillation, but it renders 
 the residuum unfit for the varnisher's use. The operation should be 
 carried on in an iron or earthenware retort, and exposed to the direct 
 action of the fire, for with a sand-bath the heat can not be sufficiently 
 regulated, and a glass retort is incapable of sustaining the necessary 
 temperature. 
 
 In rectifying the crude oil of amber, a very gentle heat suffices for 
 its redistillation. According to the above process, the oil is obtained of 
 a pale-yellowish color, which deepens by age, and answers every use- 
 flil purpose ; but by several redistillations it may be procured clear, 
 like water, and very fluid. Its odor is characteristic, bituminous, and 
 disagreeable, its taste pungent and biting, and its sp. gr. at 60° F., 0.903. 
 
 Rectified Oil of Amber is readily dissolved in absolute alcohol, chlo- 
 roform, ether, bisulphuret of carbon, or the fixed oils ; alcohol of spe- 
 cific gravity 0.830 dissolves only about one-fifth of it. It is not soluble 
 in water, though this fluid acquires its taste and odor in a slight degree. 
 It dissolves caoutchouc, unites with the flxed oils, has an acid reaction, 
 •nu becomes browner and more viscid by age. Its boiling point is 
 
Olea Destillata. 1107 
 
 340° F. ; mixed with sixteen or twenty times its volume of sulphuric 
 acid it separates into a lower brown-colored oil, and an upper clear oil, 
 which last washed with water parts into a light oil above, and a milky 
 opaque liquid. This light oil dissolves iodine, with a red color, with- 
 out fulminating, is soluble in alcohol, ether, fixed and volatile oils, and 
 does not act on potassium; the milky liquid bears some analogy to par- 
 affine. Nitric acid added gradually forms artificial musk with it. Eau 
 de Luce is formed by dissolving one part of Eectified Oil of Amber in 
 twenty -four parts of Alcohol, sp. gr. 0.830, and ninety -six parts of 
 Caustic Ammonia, sp. gr. 0.916. Sectified Oil of Amber is a carbo- 
 hydrogen. 
 
 Oil of Amber is sometimes adulterated with oil of turpentine. Dr. 
 Bolley suggests the following method of detecting it : In a cylindrical 
 glass vessel about a foot high, place the suspected oil, and pass a current 
 of hydrochloric acid gas into it by a tube dipping to near the bottom. 
 The gas must be dry, which may be procured by having it pass through 
 two bottles containing coarsely -broken chloride of calcium, before en^ 
 tering the oil. The current is to be continued an hour, and if oil of 
 turpentine is present to the extent of even five per cent., the mixture 
 gives crystalline evidence of it after standing twelve hours. Of course, 
 where the adulteration is large, the artificial camphor is apparent much 
 sooner. — Am. Jour. Pharm., XXVI., 119. According to Mr. A. E. Bbert, 
 Eectified Oil of Amber is liable to adulteration with kerosene, render- 
 ing the oil insoluble in absolute alcohol, imparting an opalescence to it by 
 exposure to direct sun-light, and forming no resin or artificial musk when 
 treated with nitric acid. He believes that there is but a small amount 
 of the true rectified oil of amber to be had in our markets, that which 
 is sold for it consisting principally either of turpentine agitated with 
 the crude oil of amber until it has the desired color, and which may be 
 detected by its odor, and violent fulminating action with iodine ; or 
 kerosene may be substituted for the turpentine on account of the cost 
 of the latter. — Proceedings Am. Pharm. Assoc, 1865, p. 149. It may be^ 
 owing to this adulteration that piles are cured by a local application 
 of it to them, as named by Prof. Procter in Am. Jour. Pharm., 1866, p. 
 217, as I have known^numerous instances where persons have cured or 
 relieved themselves of piles by the application of ordinary coal-oil. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^Eectified Oil of Amber is the only form in 
 which the oil of amber should be employed for internal use. It is 
 stimulant, diuretic, and antispasmodic ; and has been employed with 
 benefit in amenorrhea, hysteria, dysmenorrhea, tetanus, epilepsy, per- 
 tussis, infantile convulsions, and various other spasmodic affections. 
 The dose is from five to thirty drops on sugar, repeated as often as re- 
 quired. Applied externally it is a rubefacient, and has been efScaciously 
 used as a liniment in palsy, chronic rheumatism, pertussis, and infan- 
 tile convulsions ; in the latter affection it should be rubbed along the 
 spine, either alone or combined with an equal part of laudanum and 
 three or four parts of olive-oil. Roche's Embrocation, for pertussis and 
 some other spasmodic affections, is composed of oil of olive, oil of 
 cloves, each, one fluidouace ; oil of amber half a fluidounce. Mix. 
 
 Off Prep. — Linimentum Succini Compositum. 
 
 Oleum Tanaoeti. Oil of Tansy. (Eainfarren Oel.) 
 
 History. — Oil of Tansy is prepared by distilling the herb with Water. 
 It is usually yellow, sometimes of a green color, a warm, extremely bitter 
 taste, and odor like that of tansy, but more intense, is soluble in one 
 p^; i; cf alcohol, darkens by age, and on standing deposits stearoptene 
 
1108 Phaemact. 
 
 Its specific gravity is said to be 0.931. It has not been accurately ex- 
 amined. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Oil of Tansy possesses the properties of the plant, 
 but is seldom employed internally on account of its bitterness. It has 
 been employed to produce abortion, but almost always with fatal results. 
 Dose of the oil from- two to five drops. 
 
 Oleum Valerianae. Oil of Valerian. (Baldrian Oel.) 
 
 History. — When the root of Valeriana Officinalis is distilled with 
 Water it yields rather more than one per cent, of a volatile oil. When 
 freshly prepared and rectified, it is neutral, clear, with an odor not dis- 
 fagreeable ; by exposure to the air it resinifies, becomes colored, thick, 
 acid, owing to the formation of valerianic acid, and acquires a more 
 disagreeable odor. The crude oil consists of at least five substances, 
 whose relative proportions vary with the age arid mode of preservation 
 of the oil. Of these, two are volatile oils, and may be regarded as es- 
 sential components of the oil. The more volatile of these is borneen, 
 C20 H16, a colorless fluid, identical with carbo-hydrogen obtained from 
 Borneo camphor, having a turpentine odor. The less volatile is valerol, 
 C12 Hio O2, which is lighter than water, has an odor of hay, absorbs 
 oxygen by exposure, and yields valerianic acid. The three non-essen- 
 tial constituents are valerianic acid, a resin, a solid volatile oil or cam- 
 phor.— P. The specific gravity of Oil of Valerian at 77° is 0.9340, and 
 its taste is warm and camphoric. It boils at 320°. Caustic alkalies in- ' 
 troduced into the oil, hasten its oxidation and formation into valerianic 
 acid, and unite with it to form valerianates. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Oil of Valerian possesses the properties of the 
 root in a concentrated degree, and may be substituted for it in all cases 
 where the root is applicable. It has been found especially useful in 
 hysteria, chorea, restlessness, etc. An efficacious preparation for nerv- 
 ous, sleepless, and hysterical cases is composed of: — Tincture of Lu- 
 pulin, Tincture of Hyoseyaraus, of each, four fluidounces ; Camphor one 
 drachm ; and Oil of Valerian twenty -two minims. Mix, and give one 
 or two fluidrachms for a dose. The dose of the Oil of Valerian is two 
 to six drops. 
 
 OLEOEBSIN^. 
 
 Oleo-resins. 
 
 Oleo-resins are those substances obtained from vegetable medicines, 
 by means of ether, or alcohol, etc., which consist principally of a fixed 
 or volatile oil and a resin. In some cases the resin will be held in so- 
 lution in the oil, while in others it will be deposited upon standing, and 
 will require agitation to again diffuse and suspend it in the oil. A third 
 case occurs in which the oil and resin form a more or less permanent 
 mixture, having the consistence of a very soft extract. The resins in 
 these preparations, like the essential oils, are generally mixtures of two 
 or more resins, but which on account of their unequal solubility in dif- 
 ferent menstrua may frequently be isolated from each other. In ipany 
 instances the resins are formed by the oxidation of the essential oils 
 contained in the plants, or of a certain portion of these oils; hence, it 
 )'■• not surprising that they often have the composition of oxides of the 
 hydrocarbon, C40 H32, or of a hydrocarbon derived from this, having lost 
 a certain number of atoms of hydrogen in exchange for half that num- 
 ber of atoms of oxygen. — Miller. In many instances, especially with 
 
Olkoresin^. 1109 
 
 the Oleo-resins obtained from alcoholic tinctures, it will be better not to 
 distill off the remaining third of the alcohol from the water, until the 
 Oleo-resih has spontaneously precipitated and been separated from the 
 liquid, because an elevated or too prolonged heat will injure the prep- 
 aration. All these Oleo-resins should be kept in well stopped vessels.* 
 
 Oleoresina Capsioi. Oleo-resin of Capsicum. Ethereal Extract of 
 Capsicum. 
 
 Preparation.— 'Ecsh&ViSt finely powdered Capsicum any quantity, in a 
 percolating; apparatus, by Ether a sufficient quantity. Distill off three- 
 fourths of the Ether, and having placed the remainder of the solution 
 in an evaporating dish, allow it to evaporate spontaneously. 
 
 History. — This Oleo-resin consists of a thick oily liquid holding cap- 
 sicin, and a fatty substance which gradxially separates when the fluid 
 is allowed to rest, and which may be separated by straining. The Oleo- 
 resin forms a thick, dark-brownish fluid, possessing in a high degree 
 the acrid, burning taste of the capsicum, which is slightly soluble in 
 water, or vinegar, but very soluble in alcohol, ether, oil of turpentine, 
 and the caustic alkalies, forming reddish-brown solutions. Miller states 
 that capsicin is an alkaloid, forming crystallizable salts with some acids ; 
 and Dr. Lyons is inclined to believe that the plant may contain an al- 
 kaloid. Benzine is an excellent solvent of capsicum, and may be em- 
 ployed in the above process instead of ether. ^ 
 
 Properties and Uses. — As this Oleo-resin is a very powerful stimulant, 
 it may be added to liniments, poultices, etc., whenever excessive stimu- 
 lation or rubefaction is desired. It is entirely too active to employ as 
 an internal remedy, except in very small doses not exceeding one drop, 
 and which should be greatly diluted with syrup, glycerin, mucilage, or 
 olive-oil. Thus used it may prove useful in delirium tremens, and tqrpid 
 conditions of the stomach. 
 
 Oleoresina Cypripebii. Oleo-resin of Cypripedium. Cypripedin. "^ 
 
 Preparation. — By percolation exhaust coarsely powdered root of Yel- ' 
 low Ladies' Slipper any quantity, with Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Dis- 
 till off about two-thirds of the Alcohol, and add the residue to two or 
 three times its volume of water; by distilling off the remaining Alcohol, 
 or by allowing the mixture to stand, the oleo-resin precipitates. Collect 
 it, wash it in clear water, allow it to subside, and then separate it from 
 the water by decantation and filtration. The result is a dark substance 
 of the consistence of a soft extract. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This Oleo-resin may be used in all cases where 
 the crude root is indicated, in doses of from one to five grains, two or 
 three times a day; it is bestjgiven in pill form with some inert or ac- 
 tive (as may be desired) excipient. A dry " Cypripedin " has been pre- 
 sented to the profession, consisting of the oleo-resin and a sufficient 
 quantity of magnesia or other absorbent powder; in other instances, it 
 has been simply a dried aqueous extract. Either of these dried prep- 
 arations are nearly worthless. 
 
 Oleoresina Filicis. Oleo-resin of Fern. Ethereal Extract of Fern. 
 
 Preparation. — By percolation exhaust coarsely powdered root of Male 
 Fern any quantity, with Ether a sufficient quantity. Distill off three- 
 fourths of the Ether, and, having placed the remainder of the solution 
 in an evaporating dish, allow it to evaporate spontaneously. 
 
 <■ Mr. N. H, Blttenhouse, in the process for obtaining Oleo-resins, recommends the use of 
 oup ounce and a half of ether for each ounce of drug treated, followed by sufficient ben- 
 line to m&ke the amount of percolate equal to the amount of ether employed, as both 
 economical and satisfactory. — Proceedings Am. Pharmt Assoc, 1866, p. 208. 
 
1110 Pharmacy. 
 
 Properties and i7ses.— This may be used in all cases where Male Fern 
 is indicated, for which, see page 144. 
 
 Oleoresina Ieidis. Oleo-resin of Iris, or Blue Flag. Iridin. 
 
 Preparation. — 3j percolation exhaust moderately fine powder of the 
 root of Blue Flag any quantity, with Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Distill 
 off about two-thirds of the Alcohol, and add the residue to two or three 
 times its volume of water. By distilling off the remaining Alcohol, or 
 by allowing the mixture to stand, the Oleo-resin precipitates, collect it, 
 wash it in clear water, allow it to subside, and then separate it from 
 the water by decantation and filtration. 
 
 History. — I had the pleasure of calling the attention of the profession 
 to this article in 1844, about the same time I introduced the podophyllin 
 (to remarks on which I refer the reader), and again in 18^6. I have used 
 it extensively and find it to be an invaluable medicine. It is soluble 
 in alcohol, but insoluble in water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This Oleo-resin is cathartic, alterative, siala- 
 gogue, diuretic and anthelmintic. I have used it more or less exten- 
 sively for several years in combination with the resin of podophyllum, 
 and in the form of pill, for dropsy, primary and secondary syphilis, 
 chronic visceral affections, rheumatism, gonorrhea, and many female 
 affections. It is not as nauseating, when given alone, as the resin of 
 podophyllum, and requires rather larger doses. One grain triturated 
 with ten grains of sugar, may be given in three grain doses, every hour 
 or two, until a cathartic effect is produced. I have long used the fol- 
 lowing as a sialagogue in those cases of glandular diseases which seemed 
 to resist the action of other means, viz. : equal parts of Oleo-resins of 
 Iris, Podophyllum, and Xanthoxylum, given in grain doses every hour 
 or two until ptyalism was produced. By trituration with augar or laetin, 
 this combination becomes more active. Oleo-resin of Iris is not as prompt 
 in its effects as resin of podophyllum, although it may be substituted 
 for this in all instances ; and its alterative influence, though slowly de- 
 veloped and without any immediate appreciable effect, is yet positive 
 and certain. For the last ten years I have used it in preference to the 
 resin of podophyllum, in uterine diseases, conjoined with resin of cimi- 
 cifuga. The usual dose of Oleo-resin of Iris is from half a grain to five 
 grains. Physicians will occasionally meet with patients upon whom 
 resin of podophyllum, even in small doses, exerts a powerful and long 
 continued influence, sometimes not readily obviated ; in such cases, Oleo- 
 resin of Iris seems to me to be more especially indicated. The addition 
 of capsicum or resin of caulophyllum to Oleo-resin of Iris, mitigates any 
 harshness of action which it may produce. A combination of Oleo-resins 
 of Iris and xanthoxylum, with resin of podophyllum, or extract of cory- 
 dalis, is a most powerful and certain remedy for syphilis, either primary 
 or secondary, and will be found very useful in scrofula. Oleo-resin of 
 Iris three grains, extract of leptandra six grains, and bitartrate of potassa 
 twenty grains, made into one powder, forms a hydragogue cathartic of 
 much value in some forms of dropsy. Oleo-resin of Iris may be used 
 in all cases where the root of the iris in indicated. "Iridin," or "Iri- 
 sin," in powder, is prepared by addirg to the oleo-resin about ten per 
 cent, of magnesia or other absorbent ; sometimes the extract of the root 
 deprived of its oleo-resin, has been dried,' powdered, and sold under one 
 of the above names. — T. A. Greves. 
 
 Oleoeesina LuPTJLiN.a!, Oleo-resin of Lupulin. Ethereal Extract of 
 T/upulin. 
 
 Preparation. — By percolation exhaust Lupulin any quantity, with Ether 
 
Oleoresin^. 1111 
 
 a sufficient quantity. Distill off three-fourths of the Ether, and, having 
 placed the remainder of the solution in an evaporating dish, allow it to 
 evaporate spontaneously. 
 
 History. — This forms a thick, dark Oleo-resin, of the consistence of a 
 very soft extract, and possessing the taste and smell peculiar to lupulin. 
 It is soluble in ether, alcohol, and water of ammonia. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Similar to those of Lupulin, which see, page 429. 
 The dose of this Oleo-resin is from one to six grains, two, three, or four 
 times a day, given in pill form with some inert, or active if desired, 
 exoipient. It may also he rubbed up with syrup, glycerin, mucilage, 
 etc., by the aid of a little ether or other solvent. 
 
 Oleokesina Piperis. Oleo-resin of Black Pepper. Ethereal Extract 
 {or Oil) of Black Pepper. 
 
 Preparation. — By percolation exhaust finely powdered Black Pepper 
 any quantity, with Ether a sufficient quantity. Distill off three-fourths 
 of the Ether, and, having placed the remainder of the solution in an 
 evaporating dish, allow it to evaporate spontaneously. Pass the remain- 
 ing oil through muslin by expression. 
 
 History. — This forms a dark, greenish, rather thick liquid, possessing 
 all the active properties of the pepper. About one-sixteenth part of 
 the Oleo-resin is thus obtained, mixed with piperin, which is removed 
 by the expression. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Oleo-resin of Black Pepper may be used in all 
 cases where the fruit itself is indicated, in doses of from one to three 
 or four drops, rubbed up with mucilage, glycerin, syrup, or with pill 
 mass. 
 
 Oleoresina Ptele.®. Oleo-resin of Ptelea or Wafer Ash. Ptelein. 
 
 Preparation. — By percolation exhaust moderately fine powder of the 
 bark of Wafer Ash any quantity, with Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Dis- 
 till off two-thirds of the Alcohol, and add the residue to two or three 
 times its volume of water. By distilling off the remaining Alcohol, or 
 by allowing the mixture to stand, the Oleo-resin precipitates. Collect 
 it, wash it in clear water, allow it to subside, and then separate it from 
 the water by decantation and filtration. 
 
 History — The Oleo-resin of Ptelea, improperly named Ptelein, was, 
 I believe, first prepared by Mr. W. S. Merrell, and is obtained from the 
 tincture of the bark by precipitation with water, in the same manner 
 by which the Oleo-resins of Eupatorium purpureum, iris, xanthoxylum, 
 etc., are obtained. It is of the consistence of thick syrup or molasses, 
 dark-brown in mass, much lighter when in thin layers, and has a pe- 
 culiar odor, somewhat similar to that of the extract of liquorice, and 
 an oily, bitterish, acrid, persistent taste, peculiar and rather disagree- 
 able, and acting powerftiUy on the fauces. It is soluble in alcohol, 
 ether, oil of turpentine, and rather imperfectly in alkaline solutions ; 
 insoluble in acids and water. It imparts a slight milky color to water, 
 and separates into two portions, one of which floats on the water while 
 the other sinks. Acetic acid added to its alcoholic or ethereal solution 
 does net disturb them, unless added in excess. Water added to the 
 alcoholic solution produces a milky color, precipitating the resin; added 
 to the ethereal solution it separates the oil, which floats on the surface. 
 Properties and Uses. — Oleo-resin of Ptelea is a tonic, and possesses 
 other properties not yet satisfactorily understood. It is a valuable 
 medicinal agent, which should receive the especial attention of the 
 profession. I have used it extensively and successfully in cases of dys- 
 pepsia, combined with equal parts of oleo-resin of xanthoxylum, and 
 
1112 Pharmacy. 
 
 given in doses of one or two grains, repeated three times a day ; if con- 
 stipation be present, I have found the following an admirable combina 
 tion : Take of Oleo-resin of Ptelea nineteen grains, alcoholic extract of 
 nux vomica one grain, white sugar, or lactin, two drachms. Mix thor- 
 oughly together; the dose is six grains, to be repeated three or four 
 times a day. I have found the following a valuable pill in chronic ery- 
 sipelas, hepatic torpor, enlarged spleen, habitual constipation, chronic 
 dysentery, and some forms of dyspepsia : Take of resin of podophyllum 
 and extract of leptandra, each, one grain, sulphate of quinia four grains, 
 Oleo-resin of Ptelea eight grains ; mix these together, and divide into 
 eight pills. The dose is one pill, to be repeated two or three times a 
 day, and the alkaline bath to be used daily. The same remarks apply 
 to "ptelein" in powder, as are given with regard to "irisin" in 
 powder. 
 
 Oleoresina Senecii. Oleo-resin of Senecio, or Idfe Boot. Senecin. 
 
 Preparation. By percolation exhaust moderately fine powder of the 
 root and herb of Life Root any quantity, with Alcohol a sufficient quantity. 
 Distill off about two-tbirds of the Alcohol, and add the residue to two or 
 three times its volume of water. By distilling off the remaining Alcohol, 
 or by allowing the mixture to stand, the oleo-resin precipitates. Collect 
 it, wash it in clear water, allow it to subside, and then separate it from 
 the water by decantation and filtration. Any other of the Senecios 
 referred to in Part I. of this work may be used in the preparation of 
 this oleo-resin. 
 
 Sistory. — Oleo-resin of Senecio thus prepared, is of thick consistence, 
 a very dark green color, appearing quite black in mass, having a pecu- 
 liar, herbaceous odor, and a bitter, slightly pungent, persistent, and 
 rather unpleasant taste. A poption of it, probably the oil, is soluble in 
 alcohol, imparting a green color to the solution ; on the addition of 
 liquor potassa to the alcoholic solution, the oleo-resin is rendered wholly 
 soluble, and if muriatic acid be added in small quantity, it changes the 
 green solution to greenish-white, without precipitation. It is entirely 
 soluble in ether, fprming a greenish solution, which is not precipitated 
 by water, nor acetic acid. It is insoluble in water, but becomes soluble 
 on the addition of strong alkaline solutions. 
 
 A whitish-brown powder has been presented to the profession, under 
 the name of Senecin; it is a nostrum, the preparation of which is kept 
 secret. It may probably be a mere trituration of the oleo-resin with 
 sugar of milk, or magnesia, etc., or, it may, like many of these secretly 
 made so-called concentrated preparations, be merely a dried extract. 
 This shows the necessity that exists for practitioners to employ no secret 
 agents, nor such as are prepared by secret processes, lest they be im- 
 posed upon in the article itself, as well as in the exorbitant price de- 
 manded for it. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Oleo-resin of Senecio possesses the virtues of the 
 plant from which it is obtained, in a high degree. It is, however, more 
 especially employed in the treatment of female diseases, as amenorrhea, 
 dysmenorrhea, and other uterine derangements. Combined with alco- 
 holic extract of aletris, resin of caulophyllum, or resin of cimicifuga, it 
 will be found especially useful in these complaints. In monorrhagia it 
 may be combined with extract of geranium advantageously; or its 
 ethereal tincture may be administered in some astringent infusion. A 
 pill of Oleo-resin of Senecio, alcoholic extract of aletris, and sulphate of 
 iron, will be found of benefit in chlorosis accompanied with amenorrhea. 
 In dysmenorrhea it may be combined with extract of belladonna and 
 
Oleoresin^. 1113 
 
 sulphate of quinia. It Ib one of those agents which exert a tonic influ- 
 ence upon the uterus, thereby restoring its various- functional derange- 
 ments to a normal condition. Dose of the oleo-resin, from three to five 
 grains, three times a day. The same remarks apply to " senecin " in 
 powder, as are given with regard to " irisin " in powder. 
 
 Senecionine is the incorrect name given to a concentrated powdered 
 preparation recently made by our manufacturers. Dr. H. H. Hill pre- 
 pares it as follows : Make a tincture of the coarsely powdered leaves 
 and roots of Senecio, with alcohol of 76 per cent. Distill off the alcohol 
 until the liquid is of the consistence of a fluid extract, add to it several 
 times its weight of water, and precipitate with a solution of alum. 
 Wash the j)recipitate to free it from the alum, and dry it in the open 
 air without heat. It forms a dark-green powder, having a peculiar, 
 herbaceous, strong, unpleasant, somewhat resinous and senna-like taste 
 and odor, is soluble in water, partially soluble in alcohol, and more so 
 in ether. It is said to possess the virtues of the plant, and may be given 
 in doses of from one to five grains, three or four times a day. 
 
 Oleoresina Xanthoxyli. Oleo-resin of Xanthoxylum or Prickly Ash. 
 Xanthoxylin. 
 
 Preparation. — By percolation exhaust finely powdered Prickly-Ash 
 bark any quantity, with Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Distill off two- 
 thirds of the Alcohol, and add the residue to two or three times its vol- 
 ume of water. By distilling off the remaining Alcohol, or by allowing 
 the mixture to stand, the oleo-resin precipitates. Collect it, wash it in 
 clear water, allow it to subside, and then separate it from the water by 
 decantation and filtration. 
 
 History. — The profession are indebted to Mr. W. S. Merrell for the 
 preparation of this valuable agent, which appears to possess all the 
 medicinal properties of the bark in a concentrated form. When in mass 
 it is blackish, but of a reddish-brown color in thin layers ; it has a pecu- 
 liar odor, somewhat similar to that of most oleo-resins, and a peculiar, 
 bitterish taste, quickly succeeded by a persistent pungency in the mouth 
 and fauces. It is insoluble in water ; partially soluble in aqua ammonia 
 and liquor-potassa, forming a solution with a soapy feeling ; soluble in 
 ether, from which aqua ammonia removes a portion without' much 
 change of color ; soluble in oil of turpentine, and to a greater or less 
 extent in oil of savin, and some other essential oils; and soluble in al- 
 cohol, from which water precipitates it, forming a dirty -white solution. 
 Acetic, nitric, sulphuric, and muriatic acids, when added to the alco- 
 holic solution, occasion no precipitate. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Oleo-resin of Prickly Ash bark is stimulant, 
 tonic, alterative and sialagogue, and may be used in all cases where it 
 is desired to stimulate and strengthen mucous tissues. It forms an ex- 
 cellent remedy for rheumatism unaccompanied with inflammation, or 
 where there is an asthenic condition of the system, and I have often' 
 used it for this purpose with resin of black cohosh, in doses of one grain 
 of each, every one, two, or three hours, with much advantage. Combined 
 with quinia it will be found very beneficial in cases where quinia alone 
 appears to exert no infiuence, and will prove a valuable agent in dys- 
 pepsia, accompanied with want of appetite, flatulence, and distress after 
 eating, given in conjunction with oleo-resin of ptelea. In low typhoid 
 fever, Oleoresin of Prickly Ash bark will be found a valuable and per- 
 manent stimulating tonic, and may, when necessary, be added to laxa- 
 tives, in that disease, to prevent too much prostration — it must, however, 
 be emploj'ed only during the stage of prostration. It may be used alone 
 
1114 Pharmacy. 
 
 as a stimulating tonic and alterative. When a stimulating tonic is re 
 quired for children after diarrhea, dysentery, or other debilitating dis- 
 eases, a combination of muriate of berberin with Oleo-resin of Prickly 
 Ash bark will admirably fulfill the indication. In chronic rheumatism 
 I have found the following preparation highly beneficial: TakeofEesin 
 of Cimicifuga, Oleo-resin of Prickly Ash bark, and Extract of Apocynum, 
 each, one drachm, Proof-Spirits or Whisky one pint ; mix. Of this, the 
 dose is a tablespoonful three times a day, or sufficient to slightly affect 
 the head, at the same time attending to the surface and excretory func- 
 tions. Sometimes I add two drachms of guaiacum to the above. The 
 dose of the Oleo-resin of Prickly Ash bark is fi-om one to three grains, 
 three or four times a day. " Xanthoxylin " in powder is prepared 
 somewhat similar to the process named for " irisin " in powder ; as a 
 rule, all these dry oleo-resins (?) are nearly inert, and not as active as the 
 powdered crude article from which they are made. 
 
 PILULE. .(Pillen.) 
 
 Pills. 
 
 The form of pill is a very convenient mode of administering medi- 
 cines which operate in a small dose, and whose nauseous or offensive 
 odor and taste require them to be concealed from the palate. Substan- 
 ces which are not dissolved by water may also be given in pill form. 
 There is, probably, no form in which medicines are more frequently 
 administered than that of the pill ; and,, in many instances, to make a 
 good pill mass requires considerable knowledge, tact, and judgment on 
 the part of the operator. The points demanded to prepare a proper pill 
 mass are, to obtain sufficient consistency that the particles may cohere 
 together, and to have them firm enough to retain the globular form; 
 their component parts should be such as to prevent any tendency to 
 moldiness, or any absorption of moisture when exposed to the atmos- 
 phere. Medicines which are deliquescent should never enter into a 
 pill mass, and efflorescent salts should be previously exposed to heat so 
 as to fall to powder, by the removal of their water. Ingredients which 
 have a chemical reaction upon each other should not be added together 
 in a pill mass, unless it bo desired to secure the influence of the result- 
 ing formation. 
 
 Grum-resins and inspissated extracts are sometimes soft enough to be 
 made into pills without addition ; where any moisture is requisite, a few 
 drops of alcohol is more proper than syrups or conserves, as it unites 
 more readily with them, without sensibly increasing their bulk. In 
 some instances where alcohol will not act upon the mass, water may 
 be substituted. — Coxe. 
 
 Substances which do not admit of being made into a pill mass by 
 themselves, must have certain inert matters added to them, called exdp- 
 ienis; and such excipients only should be employed as will give the 
 proper degree of consistence and tenacity to the mass, without inter- 
 fering in any way with the action of its medicinal agents or rendering 
 the pills too large or hard. Excipients vary very much in their char- 
 acter, according to the nature of the articles to be made into pill form; 
 the most common are syrup, glycerin, mucilage, soap, bread-crumb, 
 conserve of roses, water, spirit, gum, sugar, magnesia, starch, molasses, 
 etc. The dry excipients are used to give the required firmness to ex- 
 
PiLULiE. 1115 
 
 tracts, confections, oils, and other fluid or soft substances; while the 
 moist excipients are intended for dry medicines, or agents "which are 
 insoluble, and among these molasses, syrup, aiid conserve of roses are 
 the most esteemed, especially when the pills are to be kept for a length 
 of time. 
 
 The addition of too much gum Arabic or tragacanth to the pill mass, 
 is objectionable, as it often causes the pill to become so hard as to have 
 its operation matei'ially modified, or perhaps causing it to pass through 
 the intestines without being dissolved. Whenever the excipient is 
 named by the physician in his prescription, the apothecary should 
 adopt it if practicable ; but, if it be not practicable, then he must follow 
 his own judgment. Indeed, it would always be better in prescribing 
 extemporaneous preparations of pills, if the physician would omit the 
 excipient, and leave it to the more practical knowledge of the apothe- 
 cary to supply. 
 
 The best excipients for dry powders, as jalap, rhubarb, ipecacuanha, 
 ginger, digitalis, conium, etc., are molasses or conserve of roses ; those 
 for resinous extracts, resins, and gum-resins, are soap, proof-spirit, 
 alkaline solutions, and sometimes mucilage ; and those for the volatile 
 oils and oleo-resins, are soap, magnesia, white wax, etc. The proper 
 selection of these, however, depends entirely upon the peculiar nature 
 of the medicines ordered, and requires a considerable degree of prac- 
 tical knowledge, not expected to be possessed by the practicing physi- 
 cian. 
 
 The medicinal ingredients of the pill mass should be perfectly mixed 
 and incorporated, usually combining together the active ingredients first, 
 and afterward the excipient; and the mass should be worked in the 
 hand, on a pill slab, or in a mortar, until it is thoroughly homogeneous. 
 If the mass be too hard it may not be dissolved in the juices of th© 
 stomach ; if too soft there will be difficulty in forming it into pills. 
 The pill mass being properly formed, is now to be divided into pills ; 
 certain portions of it are, by means of a spatula, or by the pill-machine, 
 made into long, round, slender rolls, of the desired thickness, which are 
 then divided into pills. If the pill -machine be used, the pills are accu- 
 rately divided and made globular at the same time ; if the spatula be ' 
 used, the pills are rounded by the fingers. Most apothecaries are fur- 
 nished with pill-machines, which serve to expedite the process, as well 
 as to secure a greater degree of accuracy. 
 
 Several pill-machines for facilitating the process of pill-making have 
 been at various times presented to the profession, but, though promising 
 a great deal at first, they appear not to have given any great amount 
 of satisfaction to pharmaceutists generally, and have fallen into dis- 
 credit. However, Mr. Bushby, of Manchester, England, has recently 
 invented a pill-machine which, it is stated, is greatly superior to any 
 that has yet been presented to the pharmaceutical public ; it rolls the 
 mass, cuts, and rounds the pills at one and the same time, and by one 
 motive power, can turn out one thousand pills per minute, and is not liable 
 to get out of order. A brief description of this valuable instrument is 
 given in Am. Jour. Pharm., 1869, p. 63, from Editor, Chemist, and Drug- 
 gist, London, 1868. 
 
 Several substances are used for covering pills to prevent them from 
 adhering to each other; as powdered elm-bark, powdered orris or liquor- 
 ice-roots, lycopodium, cairbonate of magnesia, starch, etc.; and these 
 powders are also used during the formation of the pill to prevent them 
 from sticking to the fingers or to the apparatus on which they are made. 
 
1116 Pharmacy. 
 
 The powders more ordinarily used are liquorice, lycopodium, and elm ; 
 carbonate of magnesia can only be used in those instances where it oc- 
 casions no decomposition with one or more of the active constitaenta 
 of the pill. 
 
 In order to cover the taste and odor of pills many plans have been 
 devised ; formerly they were covered with gold or silver leaf, but this 
 is a very objectionable method, as pills thus prepared frequentlj pass 
 through the bowels without being dissolved. Another and a very excel- 
 lent mode is to dip each pill in a melted solution of pure glue ; but this 
 plan is tedious and requires considerable time for the drying of the pills. 
 Collodion has been recommended as an agent for covering pills, but as 
 the collodion will not readily dissolve in the stomach, its employment 
 would be improper. Sugar is frequently used, combined with gum 
 Arabic, and sometimes starch is likewise added, the- proportions of each 
 article being the same ; the pills to be dipped in a thin syrup, and then 
 rolled in the mixture. This process is most applicable to disagreeably 
 odorous substances, as castor, asafetida, valerian, etc., which are com- 
 pletely masked by it. When the gelatin is previously colored with 
 carmine, the pills resemble hawthorn berries. 
 
 M. Calloud treats of the subject of enveloping medicinal substances 
 in a covering to prevent unpleasant taste, in Journal de Pharmacie, 
 XXIII., 301. After having tried gum, starch, and sugar without satis- 
 faction, owing to the hygroscopic tendency of the sugar and gum in 
 moist air or with ^ moist mass, and their tendency to crack when very 
 dry, he had recourse to the dried mucilage of flaxseed prepared with 
 sugar, with success. His method is : take of flaxseed one part, white 
 sugar three parts, spring water a suflcient quantity. A thick mucilage 
 is obtained by carefully boiling the seeds, the sugar is added, and the 
 whole of the moisture evaporated by careful desiccation. This mixture 
 is but very slightly hygroscopic, may be reduced to fine powder, and 
 employed for covering pills. This operation is effected extemporane- 
 ously with great facility. The pills, slightly moistened, are rolled in 
 the mucilaginous powder, by which they are coated with a layer of the 
 compound. He has used this chiefly for carbonate of iron pills, but it 
 ■may be applied to other kinds. 
 
 M. Calloud suggests another process applicable in certain cases, which 
 is the use of butter of cacao as a covering for pills, where, owing to gas- 
 tric irritation, the unmasked pills will cause disagreeable symptoms. 
 The process is very simple ; the prepared pills are thrown into melted 
 butter of cacao, then removed with a perforated skimmer, and finally 
 rolled in finely powdered sugar, or what is better, sugar of milk. He also 
 prepares a powder, in which the pills, previously dampened externally 
 with water, are agitated until sufficiently coated ; it is prepared by 
 mixing a clear mucilage of tragacanth, (made of tragacanth one 
 part, water two parts) with sugar of milk twenty parts ; spreading 
 this thinly upon plates, and when thoroughly dried pulverize it. 
 
 Blanchard's method consists, as improved by Baildon, of a solution 
 of balsam tolu one drachm, in chloroform three drachms. Some of this 
 is placed in a suitable box, the pills agitated in it, then turned upon a 
 slab, and so arranged that they do not touch each other. In about 
 twenty minutes they are dry and non-adhesive, and present a finished 
 appearance. It not only conceals any unpleasant taste or smell, but it 
 prevents the pills from becoming too hard. — Am. Jour. Pharm., XXIX.. 
 p. 350. 
 
 Mr. H. C. Archibald describes the method pursued by manufacturers 
 
PiLULiB. 1117 
 
 in sugar-coating pills and granules, in Am. Jour. Pharm., 1867, p. 199; 
 and in the same Journal, 1867, p. 12, Prof. B. Parrish makes known an 
 entirely new process for preparing sugar-coated pills, but which is only 
 applicable on a large scale. 
 
 Pills are much better preserved in small glass bottles than in the 
 common wood or pasteboard boxes,, and should always be dispensed in 
 glass by the apothecary. As it is not always convenient to make a 
 large amount of pill mass into pills at one time, the balance may be kept, 
 in a bladder, which should be moistened occasionally with some of the 
 same kind of liquid the mass was made up with, or with some aromatic 
 oil. 
 
 PiluljE Aconiti Composit.^. Compound Pills of Aconite. (Zusam- 
 mengesetzte Eisenhut Pillen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Extract of Aconite half a drachm ; Extract of 
 Stramonium four grains ; Valerianate of Quinia one scruple. Mix thor- 
 oughly together, form a pill mass, and divide into sixty pills. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These pills are very efficacious in febrile and 
 inflammatory complaints, where nervous irritability, restlessness, or 
 wakefulness is present, also in nervous headache, and other nervous 
 affections. The dose is one pill every two, three, or four hours, accord- 
 ing to the urgency of the symptoms, and the effect caused by the use 
 of the pills. — J. K. 
 
 Pih7Lj5! Aloes CompositjE. Compound Pills of Aloes. Anti-Dyspep- 
 tic Pills. (Zusammengesetzte Aloe Pillen.) ' 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Extracts of Boneset, Mandrake, and Ginseng, 
 each, two drachms; Aloes, in powder, eight drachms; Gamboge, Castile 
 Soap, of each, in powder, /owr drachms ; Capsicum and Lobelia Seed, of 
 each, in powder, one drachm; Oil of Cloves two minims. Mix the Ex- 
 Ij'acts together, then add the Soap, beating it up well in a mortar, and 
 finally thoroughly beat and work in the powders, and when the whole 
 is well incorporated, add the Oil of Cloves. Divide the mass into pills 
 of four grains each. — T. V. M. 
 
 This pill is, by many, considered superior to the one originally given 
 in Beach's American Practice, of which the following is the formula : 
 Take of Socotrine Aloes, in powder, four ounces; Castile Soap, Colo- 
 cynth, Gamboge, of each, two ounces; Extract of Gentian four ounces; 
 Oil of CloveSj two drachms. Mix as above. Dose same as above. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This pill is cathartic in doses of frqm two to 
 four pills. It has been found very useful in dyspepsia, constipation, 
 jaundice, amenorrhea, and in all ordinary cases where cathartics are 
 required. 
 
 PiLUL.ffi! AssAFffiTiDJE CoMPOsiT.ai. OompouTid PHls of Asafetida. (Zu- 
 sammengesetzte Stinkasand Pillen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Asafetida, Opium, Carbonate of Ammonia, 
 each, one drachm. Mix the Asafetida and Opium together by means of 
 a gentle heat, and while soft add the Ammonia. Divide the mass into 
 seventy-five pills. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This pill is useful in many nervous and hys- 
 terical cases. Bach pill contains four-fifths of a grain of opium. The 
 dose is one or two pills, according to the severity of the case. 
 
 PiLUL.ffi: BAPTisi.a! Composite. Compound Pills of Wild Indigo. (Zu- 
 sammengesetzte Baptisien Pillen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Extract of Leptandra four grains ; Eesin of 
 Podophyllum eight grains ; Sanguinarina one grain ; Alcoholic Extract 
 
1118 Pharmacy. 
 
 of Wild-Indigo Eoot, a Sufficient quantity to form a pill mass. Mix 
 thoroughly together, and divide into sixteen pills. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These pills are cholagogue, laxative, and anti- 
 septic; they are especially useful in typhoid fevers, and in all typhoid, 
 conditions, where it is required to keep the bowels regular. The dose 
 is one pill, to be repeated every two, three, or four hours until a mild 
 operation is produced ; to be given daily, or every other day. — J. K. 
 • Pilule Cambogi^ CoMPOsiTiE. ' Compound Pills of Gamboge. (Zu- 
 sammengesetzte G-ummigutt Pillen.) 
 
 Preparation.-^Take of Gamboge and Scammony, each, in powder, 
 twelve grains ; Elaterium two grains ; Croton Oil eight minims ; Extract 
 of HyoBcyamus a sufficient quantity. Mix together and divide into 
 twelve pills. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a quick and certain cathartic, useful in 
 dropsy, obstinate constipation, etc' The dose is one pill, repeated 
 every hour or two, till it operates. It is contra-indicated when inflam- 
 mation of any of the abdominal viscera is present. 
 
 PiLUL.^! CAMPH0R.ffi Oompositje. Compound Pills of Camphor. Chol- 
 era Pill. (Zusammengesetzte Kampfer Pillen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Camphor, Opium, Kino, of each, in powder, 
 thirty grains ; Capsicum five grains ; Conserve of Eoses a sufficient quan- 
 tity. Mix together and form a pill mass, and divide into thirty pills. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These pills were much employed in Asiatic 
 cholera, as a stimulant, antispasmodic, anodyne, and astringent, and 
 with much success. One pill to be given after each discharge from the 
 bowels, or oftener, if the urgency of the case requires it. Where pow- 
 ders are preferred, the conserve of roses may be omitted, and the mix- 
 ture be given in powder. 
 
 PiLUL.^E CiMiciFUG.® CompositjE. Compound Pills of Black Cohosh. 
 (Zusammengesetzte Schwarze Schlangenwurzel Pillen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the Alcoholic Extract of Black Cohosh, and 
 Scutellarine (page 758), each, one drachm ; Valerianate of Quinia half 
 a drachm. Mix thoroughly together, form into a pill mass, and divide 
 into sixty pills. 
 
 Properties and' Uses. — These pills will be found very useful in chorea, 
 and other derangements of the nervous system, also in fevers or other 
 diseases, attended with much restlessness or wakefulness, and in sev- 
 eral uterine affections. The dose is one pill every one, two, or three 
 hours, daily, according to the urgency of the symptoms. 
 
 PiLUL.a) Cathartics Composite. Compound Cathartic Pill. (Zu- 
 sammengesetzte Abfiihr Pillen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Extract of Leptandra, G-amboge,. Scammony, 
 each, in powder, one drachm; Eesin of Podophyllum, Castile Soap, 
 each, half a drachm. Triturate the powders thoroughly together, then 
 add the Soap; mix and beat the whole together till they are thoroughly 
 incorporated. Divide the mass into one hundred pills. — J. K. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a valuable pill in all cases where a 
 cathartic is required, as in constipation, torpor of the biliary appa- 
 ratus, hepatic disease, intermittent and remittent fevers, jaundice, etc. 
 One pill will generally be found sufficient for a dose, rarely two pills 
 will be required. 
 
 PiLUL.a: CopaibjE. Pills of Copaiba. (Copaiva Pillen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Copaiba and White Wax, of each, one drachm 
 Meit the Wax, mix in the Copaiba, and divide into thirty Bills. 
 
 These pills are frequently combined in other proportions, aud with 
 
Pilule. 1119 
 
 the addition of Cubebs. Thus : take of Copaiba one part ; White Wax 
 one part and a half; Cubebs, in powder, two parts. , Melt the Wax, add 
 the Copaiba and Cubebs, and divide into four-grain pills. This combi- 
 nation is suitable to warm climates. Another combination is : take of 
 Copaiba one part ; White Wax two parts ; Cubebs, in powder, three parts. 
 Prepare as above, and divide into four-grain pills. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These pills are useful in gonorrhea, and other 
 affections where the medicinal agents are indicated. The dose is two 
 to four pills, three times a day. 
 
 Copaiba is usually solidified into a pill mass by the use of the recently 
 calcined magnesia. The magnesia absorbs the oil of copaiba, and at 
 the same time forms with the acid of the copaiba a copaivate of mag- 
 nesia. The time required to effect the solidification of the copaiba will 
 be several hours, and the quantity of magnesia required will depend 
 upon the amount of copaivic acid present. Ordinarily, sixteen parts 
 of magnesia to one of copaiba will effect the solidification ; and the mass 
 should not be allowed to harden too much before it is divided into pills. 
 The addition of the magnesia does not materially increage the size of 
 the pill. 
 
 PiLULiE Copaiba Composite. Compound Pills -of Copaiba. (Zusam- 
 mengesetzte Copaiva Pill en.) 
 
 Preparation.— ^2ikQ of Solidified Copaiba one drachm; Ethereal Ex- 
 tract of Cubebs half a drachm ; Eesin of Podophyllum nine grains ; Gum 
 Myrrh one drachm; Alcoholic Extract of ifux Yomica fifteen grains. 
 Mix thoroughly together, and divide into three-grain pills. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These pills are useful in gonorrhea, gleet, stric- 
 ture, and chronic inflammation of the prostate. The dose is from two 
 to four pills, twice a day. For ordinary cases, the following prepara- 
 tion will be found beneficial : Take of Solidified Copaiba two drachms; 
 Ethereal Extract of Cubebs one drachm; Oil of Juniper a sufficient quan- 
 tity, not to impair the pilular consistency of the mass. Mix, and divide 
 into pills of four grains each. The dose is the same as above. 
 
 Pilule Oleoresina Eupatorii CompositjE. Compound Pills of Oleo- 
 resin of Queen of the Meadow. (Uupurpurin.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Oleo-resin of Eupatorium Purpureum (p. 352), 
 two scruples; Oleo-resin of Xanthoxylum one scruple; Strychnia one grain. 
 Mix thoroughly together, and divide into twenty pills. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a stimulating diuretic, and will be 
 found Tlseful in suppression of urine, torpor or paralysis of the kidneys 
 or bladder, rheumatism, hepatic torpor, derangements of the digestive 
 functions, etc. The dose is one pill, to be repeated three or four times 
 a day. — J. K. 
 
 Pilule Ferri Carbonatis. Pills of Carbonate of Iron. Yallet's 
 Ferruginous Pills. (Kohlensaure Bisen Pillen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of pure Protosulphate of Iron sixteen parts; Crys- 
 tallized Carbonate of Soda nineteen parts ; Pure Honey nine parts; Syrup 
 a, sufficient quantity. Dissolve the Protosulphate in half a gallon of 
 Water at the temperature of 80° F., and the Carbonate of Soda in a 
 like quantity ; to each of these solutions add of Syrup four ounces, and 
 then mix them in a jar, which should, afterward, be entirely filled with 
 sweetened water, and the excess of the air prevented. After the pre- 
 cipitate has subsided, decant the supernatant fluid, and then wash il 
 with sweetened water, in the jar, until it is deprived of adhering sul- 
 phate of soda. After the carbonate is thus purified, throw the precipi- 
 tate on a flannel cloth, express forcibly, ajid then mix it with the honey 
 
1 L20 Phaemact. 
 
 This mixture should be reduced by evaporation in a water-bath, as 
 rapidly and carefully as possible to a pilular consistence. — Am. Jour. 
 Pharm., X., 273. The object of the saccharine matter in this mixture, 
 is to prevent the oxidizing action of the air on the protoxide of iron, 
 and by this means retaining the carbonic acid in combination with this 
 oxide. The sulphate of iron used should be pure. (See Ferri Garbonas 
 Saccharatum, p. 1119). The preparation should be of a proper pill-mass 
 consistence, dark olive color, of a sweet and strong chalybeate taste, 
 and entirely dissolved by acid. It contains about thirtj'- per cent, of 
 protoxide of iron. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This pill is a ferruginous tonic, and may be 
 employed in all cases where iron is required. It is especially valual)le 
 in anemia, atonic amenorrhea, chlorosis, and hysterical affections ; also 
 in the hectic fever of phthisis and chronic mucous catarrhs. It appears 
 to have the usual effects of iron on the blood, increasing its coloring 
 particles and rendering it of a more scarlet color. It may be divided 
 into three or five grain pills, of which from two to six may be given 
 three times a. day, and continued for several weeks, particularly if their 
 use is followed by an amelioration of the Symptoms of disease. 
 
 Pilule Perm Composite. Oompound Pills of Iron. Emmenagogue 
 Pills. (Zusammengesetzte Bisen Pillen.) ' 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Yallet's Protocarbonate of Iron one drachm ; 
 Resin of Podophyllum fifteen grains ; White turpentine half a drachm. 
 Mix well together, and divide into thirty pills. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This pill is used chiefly as an emmenagogue. 
 The dose is one pill every three or four hours. 
 
 Pilule Ferri Feeroctanureti Composite. Compound Pills of Fer- 
 rocyanuret of Iron. (Zusammengesetzte Blausaure Eisen Pillen.) 
 
 Preparation — ^^Take of Perrocyanuret of Iron , Sulphate of Quinia, and 
 Alcoholic Extract of Black Cohosh, each, two scruples. Mix, and divide 
 into forty pills. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These pills are tonic, alterative, and antiperi- 
 odic, and may be used in all diseases attended with periodicity, as in- 
 termittent fever, chorea, epilepsy, etc. They will be found an excellent 
 remedial agent. The dose is one pill, three or four times a day, or 
 oftener if required. — J. K. 
 
 PiLtJLJB Ferri Iodidi. Pills of Iodide of Iron. (lodeisen Pillen.) 
 
 Preparation. — ^Agitate Iodine one hundred and twenty-seven grains; 
 coarse Iron Wire half an ounce ; and Distilled Water seventy-five minims^ 
 in a strong-stoppered fluidounce vial, until the froth becomes white ; 
 then pour the fluid upon Powdered White Sugar two drachms, in a mor- 
 tar, triturate briskly, and add gradually Liquorice Powder half an 
 ounce, Powdered Tragacanth a drachm and a half, and Flour a drachm. 
 Divide the mass into 144 pills, each of which contains about a grain of 
 Iodide of Iron. — Leslie. 
 
 Or, — Take of Sulphate of Iron two hundred and forty-seven grains ; 
 Iodide of Potassium three hundred and twenty-four grains; Powdered 
 J ra,ga,ca.nth forty -six grains; Sugar one hundred and fifty -four grains; 
 Simple Syrup, Powdered Liquorice-root, each, a sufficient quantity. 
 Finely pulverize the Sulphate and Iodide, separately ; mix them, and 
 triturate in a mortar, gradually adding the Tragacanth, Sugar, and 
 Syrup, and as much of the Liquorice-root as may be necessary to form 
 the mass of a proper consistence. Divide into pills of two and a half 
 grains each, and keep them in closed vials and in a dry place. Each 
 pill contains over a grain of the Hydrated Iodide of Ivou.—Oalloui 
 
PiLUiii;. 1121 
 
 The salt of iron used i,n the latter process should be the crystallized 
 protosulphate. By the formula given the sulphuric acid unites with 
 the iodide of potassium, forming a sulphate of potassa, and the iodine 
 forms an iodide with the iron. Hydriodic acid is decomposed by the 
 oxygen of the air into water and iodine. The object of the sugar and 
 tragacanth is to prevent the atmospheric oxygen from decomposing the 
 pill. The pill contains sulphate of potassa, some iodide of potassium, 
 and iodide of iron ; it spoils by standing, parting with its iodine. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This pill possesses the same medicinal proper- 
 ties as the solution of iodide of iron, and may be given in the same 
 diseases. About a grain and a half of the iodide of iron enters into 
 each pill, one of which may be given for a dose, and repeated two or 
 three times a day. 
 
 In consequence of the intensely styptic taste of the solution of io- 
 dide of iron, as well as the disagreeable stain it imparts to the teeth 
 and lips, a serious inconvenience has arisen in its administration, and 
 many modes have been divised to divest it of these objections, as well as 
 of its tendency to change. Perhaps the best mode of preparing it is the 
 following ; Take of pure Iodine, Iron reduced by Hydrogen,. each, half 
 a drachm; Honey a sufficient quantity to give the consistency of thick 
 molasses. Triturate the Iodine as finely as possible, then add the Iron 
 and Honey, and continue the trituration until the articles are thorough- 
 ly mixed together, and fumes of Iodine cease to be disengaged, the mix- 
 ture assuming a greenish tinge. Then rub in finely powdered Extract 
 of Liquorice a sufficient quantity to make the mass. After the pills have 
 been made, for still further protection from atmospheric influence, they 
 may be coated with a solution of balsam tolu in chloroform. 
 
 PiLULJE Hyoscyami CoMPosiTiE. Compound Pills of Hyoscyamus. 
 (Znsammengesetzte Bilsenkraut Pillen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Extract of Hyoscyamus, Extract of Valerian, 
 each, two drachms; Extract of Aconite, Sulphate of Quinia, of each, one 
 drachm. Mix thoroughly together, and divide into pills of three grains 
 each. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These pills will be found advantageous in neu- 
 ralgia, rheumatism, chorea, dysmenorrhea, and many affections of a 
 similar character. The dose is one pill every two, three, or four hours, 
 according to circumstances. As the virtue of valerian resides in its 
 oil, it is probable the extract is nearly useless ; and one-half the quan- 
 tity of the oil of valerian, or valerianic acid, should be substituted for 
 the extract, and form a much more efficacious pill. — J. K. 
 
 PiLULiE Leonuri CoMPosiT.a!. Gomfound Pills of Motherwort. (Zn- 
 sammengesetzte Herzgespannkrau Pillen.), 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the Alcoholic Extracts of Motherwort and 
 Unicorn-root, each, two drachms ; Extract of Leptandra, Eesin of Cimi- 
 cifuga, of each, one drachm. Mix thoroughly together, form a pill 
 mass, and divide into sixty pills. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These pills are useful in many uterine affec- 
 tions, acting as a uterine tonic and alterative. One pill may be given 
 every one, two, or four hours, according to the urgency of the case. — 
 J. K. 
 
 PiLaL.iE Leptande.^ Composit.<b. Compound Pills of Leptandra. 
 (Zusammengesetzte Leptandra PillenJ 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Extract of Leptandra one drachm ; Eesin of 
 Podophyllum, half a drachm; Extract of Ehubarb a sufficient quantity. 
 
 71 
 
1122 Pharmacy. 
 
 Mix together and divide into sixty pills. Some prefer making these 
 pills with Extract of Dandelion, instead of Ehubarb. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a valuable cholagogue pill, very bene- 
 ficial in liver affections, obstinate constipation, or wherever catharsis 
 is required-. It will likewise be found useful in dysentery. The dose 
 is from one to three pills, once or twice a day. A, very useful and ef- 
 fectual pill, that will not occasion gastro-intestinal irritation, may be 
 made by thoroughly mixing together Eesin of Podophyllum thirty 
 grains; Extract of Leptandra sixty grains; Extract of Hyoscyamus 
 forty-five grains ; and dividing the mass into sixty pills. The Compound 
 Cathartic Fill of some of our practitioners is composed of Eesin of Pod- 
 ophyllum ^eew grains; dry Extract of Leptandra, Extract of Hyoscy- 
 amus, each, one drachm; mix, and divide into sixty pills. 
 
 Pilule PnYTOLACca) OoMPOsiT.a!. Compound Pills of Poke. (Zu- 
 eammengesetzte "Wanzenkraut Pillen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Extract of Poke two drachms; Alcoholic Ex- 
 tract of Stillingia one drachm; Extract of Stramonium eight grains. 
 Mix thoroughly together, form into a pill mass, and divide into sixty- 1 
 four pills.. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These pills will be found of value in osteoco- 
 pu8, or pains in the bones of a mercurial or syphilitic character, and 
 are also beneficial in rheumatism, syphilis, and scrofula. The dose is 
 one pill every two, three, or four hours, as the urgency of the case may 
 require. The Fluid Extract of Stillingia may be substituted for the 
 Alcoholic Extract, and Pulverized Poke-root added as an excipient.-^ 
 J. K. 
 
 Pilttljb Eesina Podophtlli Composite. Compound Pills of Resin 
 of Podophyllum. , , 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Eesin of Podophyllum, Scammony, Gamboge, 
 each, in powder, one drachm ; Castile Soap half a drachm. Triturate the 
 powders thoroughly together for about half an hour, then add the Soap ; 
 mix and beat the whole together till they are thoroughly incorporated. 
 Divide the mass into one hundred and twenty pills. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a most valuable pill for all diseases 
 where cathartics are required, and has cured many cases of hepatic 
 affections by a continued, use of them. The dose is one or two pills 
 every night. They have no tendency toward producing constipation, 
 but rather the reverse, and after using them for several days in suc- 
 cession, they will generally be found so active that it will be necessary 
 to omit them for a number of days before resuming their administra- 
 tion. They may be safely used in all ordinary cases where purgation 
 is desired ; they operate freely and thoroughly, and usually without 
 causing nausea, griping, or debility. 
 
 In consequence of the diflOiculty with which pure Scammony is ob- 
 tained in this country, many practitioners substitute for it, in these 
 pills. Extract of Apocynum, or Extract of Ehubarb, or Oleo-resin of 
 Iris, either of which will, probably, be found preferable to an impure 
 or counterfeit scammony. — J. K. A very useful pill for saturnine con- 
 stipation is the following : Take of Eesin of Podophyllum six grains, 
 Extract of Nux Yomica seven grains, Extract of Belladonna foinr grains 
 and a half; mix, and divide into ten pills. Dosc, two or three pills a 
 day, accompanied with sulphurous baths. — Van den Corput. 
 
 PiLULiB PoLTGONi CoMPosiTiE. Compouud PHls of Water-peppeT. 
 (Zasammengesetzte Knoterig Pillen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Dried Sulphate of Iron, and Eesin of Cimici- 
 
PlLULJB. 1123 
 
 fuga, each, cne drachm; Oleo-resin of Iris fifteen grains; Extract of 
 Water-pepper a sufficient quantity. Mix well together, and divide into 
 sixty pills. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These pills are emmenagogue, and exert an 
 especial influence on the female organs of generation. They have been 
 used with advantage in- chlorosis, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, uterine 
 leucorrhea, etc. The dose is one pill every two or three hours. — J. K. 
 
 PiLUL.a! Oleoresina Pteleje Oompositje. Compound Pills of Oleo- 
 resin of Ptelea. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Hydrochlorate of Berberin, Eesin of Cimicifuga, 
 Oleo-i-esin of Ptelea, Extract of Aletris, of each, half a drachm ; Alco- 
 holic Extract of Nux Vomica, four grains. Mix the articles thoroughly 
 togethsr, and divide into sixty pills. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These pills are very efScacious in dyspepsia,i 
 attended with distress after eating, flatulency, etc. They act upon the 
 mucous coat of the stomach, gradually i;e8toring it to a normal condi- 
 tion. I have employed them considerably, and prefer them to any 
 other remedy which I have ever used. If constipation be present, it 
 must be removed by rhubarb and potassa, resin of podophyllum, or 
 other proper agents.. The dbse is one pill three times a day, to be taken 
 about an hour after each meal, with the proper attention to diet and 
 regimen. — J. K. 
 
 Pilule Quini^ Sulphatis. Pills of Sulphate of Quinia. (Chinin 
 Pillen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Sulphate of Quinia one drachm ; Aromatic Sul- 
 phuric Aoid forty-five drops. Drop the Acid into thfe Quinia on a tile or 
 slab, and triturate with a spatula until it assumes a pilular consistence ; 
 then divide into sixty pills. [The same can be effected much more 
 readily by substituting a very small quantity of Tartaric Acid in solu- 
 tion for the Aromatic Sulphuric. — J. K.'] 
 
 History. — This method of forming Quinia into a pill mass was made 
 known by Mr. E. Parrish. The ingredients, when mixe'd, form a fluid, 
 which soon thickens into a, paste, and flnally becomes quite solid, and 
 so adhesive as to be readily divided and rolled into pills ; care must be 
 taken not to allow the mass to become too dry and brittle before divid- 
 ing it, as it is liable to do if allowed to remain too lofag. In this form a 
 portion of the disulphate betng conyerted into the soluble neutral sul- 
 phate, the preparation more nearly resembles the solutions in composi- 
 tion and is believed to be more certain and rapid in its action. When 
 it is desired to incorporate other substances in powder with the Quinia 
 thus prepared, a^ prussiate of iron, etc., they should be added to the 
 mass when it is just so soft that, upon their addition, it will immediately 
 assume the proper consistence. It is not, however, advisable to employ 
 this process when any considerable quantity of other ingredients are 
 prescribed with the quinia, unless a little syrup or honey is also added to 
 prevent the too rapid hardening and consequent crumbling of the mass. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — For the uses of these pills, see Sulphate of Quinia. 
 Each pill contains a grain of sulphate of quinia, and twelve are equiva- 
 lent to an ounce of good Peruvian bark. The above pill mass may be 
 made into five-grain pills if desired, which will not be found inconven- 
 iently large. 
 
 PiLUL.«! QuiNi.® CoMPOSiT.a!. Compound Pills of Quinia. (Zusam- 
 mengesetzte Chinin Pillen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Sulphate of Quinia, Extract of Cornus, and 
 Tartaric Acid, each, in powder, one drachm; Alcoholic Extract of Black 
 
1124 Pharmacy. 
 
 Cohosh a s-uffident quantity. Mix together and divide into four-grain 
 pills. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These pills are tonic and antiperiodic, and may 
 be employed in intermittent and remittent fevers, and in all diseases 
 attended with symptoms of periodicity. The addition of the tartaric 
 acid renders the quinia more readily soluble in the juices of the stomach. 
 The dose is one pill every one, two, or three hours, according to the se- 
 verity or urgency of the symptoms. — J. K. A Compound Quinine Pill 
 is employed by many practitioners, which is composed as follows : Take 
 of Sulphate of Quinia, Hydrochlorate of Berberina, each, one drachm ; 
 Eesin of Podophyllum ten grains ; Extract of Nux Vomica eight grains ; 
 mix, and divide into sixty pills. 
 
 PiLTJLiE Saponi Cqmposit.<e. Compound Pills of Soap. Diuretic Pills. 
 (Zusammengesetzte Seifen Pillen.) 
 
 Preparation. — ^Take of Oils of Spearmint, Juniper, and Sassafras, each, 
 one fluidrachm ; Castile Soap one drachm and a half. Beat the soap in ' 
 an iron mortar, gradually adding the Oils, and when the ingredients 
 are thoroughly incorporated, divide into eighteen pills. — Beach's Am. 
 Prac. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These pills are stimulant and diuretic, and are 
 very beneficial in gravel and all chronic urinary affections. The dose 
 is three pills three times a day, or one pill every hour through the day. 
 They were first recommended by the late Prof T. V. Morrow. 
 
 PiLULiE Taraxaci COMPOSITE. Compound Pills of Dandelion. (Zu- 
 sammengesetzte Lowenzahn Pillen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Bloodroot in powder, one drachm ; Eesin of 
 Podophyllum half a scruple ; Extract of Dandelion one drachm ; Oil of 
 Spearmint _/?iJe rninims. Mix the Powder with the Extract, add the Oil, 
 beat up thoroughly together, and divide into fifty pills. 
 
 Properties and Uses.— ^haxatiye, nauseant, and diuretic. They are of 
 much efficacy in jaundice, hepatic diseases, and affections of the kidneys. 
 The dose is one or two pills three times a day, suflScient to produce a 
 slight sensation of nausea. This pill is superior to the one made after 
 the old formula.— T. V. M. 
 
 PiLUL.® Valeriana CoMPOsiT.a}. Compound Pills of Valerian. (Zu- 
 sammengesetzte Baldrian Pillen.) 
 
 Preparation.— T^&^s.& of the Alcoholic Extract of Scullcap, and Extract 
 of Chamomile, each, two dracAms; Extract of Boneset, Sulphate" of Qui- 
 nia, of each, one drachm; Capsicum one scruple; Oil of Yalerian half a 
 drachm, by weight. Mix the articles together, beat them till thoroughly 
 incorporated, and divide into ninety pills. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These pills are tonic and nervine, and may be 
 used in all cases where such a combination of action is desired. The 
 dose is one pill every two or three hours. 
 
 PiLULiE viBURNi COMPOSITE. Compound Pills of High Cranberry. 
 (Zusammengesetzte Schneeball Pillen. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Alcoholic Extracts of High Cranberry, Blue 
 Cohosh, and Unicorn root, each, half a drachm; Extract of Partridge- 
 berry one drachm. Mix together and divide into forty pills. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These pills are of superior efficacy. in uterine 
 diseases, as amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, leucorrhea, etc. ; as a uterine 
 tonic in habitual miscarriages ; and may be given during pregnancy to 
 relieve cramps and many other unpleasant sensations occurring at that 
 period. The dose is one or two pills three times a day. — J. K. 
 
Plasma. 1125 
 
 PLASMA. 
 Plasmas. 
 
 In 1858, G. F. Schacht proposed glycerin as a substitute for oils and 
 fats in ointments, mixing the glycerin with starch, and terming the 
 compounds thus formed " Plasmas ; " this term we propose to employ 
 here for all solid or semi-solid preparations for external use, in which 
 glycerin forms an important hasis. ' These preparations are more costly 
 than the ordinary fatty ointments, but there are certain cases in which 
 these last irritate the parts to which they are applied, and consequently 
 aggravate the disorder for which they are used, which is not the case 
 with the plasmas, the glycerin being unirritating, not possessed of any 
 rancidity, nor of any irritating fatty acida, etc. Besides which it can 
 be removed at any time without the use of soap and friction, and its 
 application does not involve soiling and greasing the garments or bed- 
 clothing. [See Glyceroles.'] It has been found that in the preparation 
 of plasmas the glycerin employed should be pure, and the best starch 
 to use is that termed tons les mois. The formula of Mr. Schacht is to 
 take powdered Starch 70 grains. Glycerin 1 fluidounce ; mix the ingre- 
 dients and heat to 240° P., constantly stirring. If a large quantity, 
 (6 or 8 pounds) is to be prepared, he advises that the starch be tritu- 
 rated with one-twelfth of the glycerin, placing the remainder on the 
 fire, heating it to 260° P., and then stirring it thoroughly into the mix- 
 ture previously made. By this means much time is saved, as well as 
 labor, in stirring the mass. He states that the plasma does not mold 
 by keeping. 
 
 Other formulae besides that of Mr. Schacht's have been at various 
 times proposed to the profession, — thus, Mr. H. Seymour has offered 
 the following : 1. Take of Fuller's Earth half an ounce, Palm Oil two 
 drachms. 2. Take of Fuller's Earth ^a^anoMnce; Oil of Sweet Almonds 
 two fluidrachms ; "Water two fluidrachms ; Glycerin one fluidrachm. More 
 receutly Mr. T. B. Groves has proposed, a new basis for ointments, which 
 he calls Glycelosum. It is made by triturating together Almond Meal 
 (from oil-cake, or decorticated pressed sweet almonds) half an ounce, 
 Glycerin one ounce, Olive Oil three ounces. Mix by trituration in a mor- 
 tar. It forms a soft serai-gelatinous paste, which, when mixed gradu- 
 ally with water or a watery fluid, readily forms an emulsion. As it re- 
 mains unaffected by the ordinary temperatures of the body, its softness 
 is not an objection to its use, which, in fact, is an advantage, as it leaves 
 plenty of room for powdery admixtures of every kind. — Trans. Brit. 
 Conf., 1867. — Chem. and Drug., Sept. 14. 
 
 Plasma Acidi Oaebolioi. Plasma of Carbolic Acid. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Carbolic Acid six and four -fifth parts; Glycerin 
 twenty-seven aiid, one-fifth parts; Prepared Chalk, finely powdered, ninety- 
 four parts. Mix together the Carbolic Acid and Glycerin, and then add 
 the Chalk ; mix thoroughly by kneading, and enclose in closely stopped 
 jars. — Thos. E. Jenkins, Am. Jour. Pharm., 1869, p. 292. 
 
 History. — This gives a preparation possessing the proper consistence, 
 and preserving its properties unimpaired for, a long time, when kept in 
 closed jars. It ic offered as a substitute for Dr. Lister's preparation 
 made with putty, which dries very rapidly and becomes hard. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This plasma is used as a surgical dressing to 
 wounds, etc., effectually excluding the action of the air and other ex- 
 ternal agencies, and at the same time preventing any tendency to gan- 
 grene or putrefaction. 
 
1126 Phakmacy. 
 
 Plasma Cupei Sulphas. Plasma of Sulphate of Copper. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of finely' powdered Sulphate of Copper twenty 
 grains; Glycerin one Jluidounce ; finely powdered Starch seueMij/'g'miws. 
 Dissolve the Copper salt in the Grlycerin, then add the Starch, heat the 
 mixture to 240° P., constantly stirring, and continue the heat and stir- 
 ring until the consistence of a soft ointment is acquired.. Keep in 
 closely stopped jars. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms an excellent local application to 
 granulated lids, and in ftther ophthalmic affections; also as a stimu- 
 lant to chancres, ulcers, etc. 
 
 Plasma Petrolei. Plasma of Petroleum. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of finely powdered Starch seventy grains ; Petro- 
 leum one fluidrachm ; Grlycerin one fluidounce. Triturate the Starch and 
 Petroleum together till quite smooth, gradually add the Glycerin, and 
 heat to 240° P., constantly stirring. — Gr. F. Schacht. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is very valuable as a local application in 
 many cutaneous diseases, and in hemorrhoids. 
 
 Plasma Picis Liquics;. Plasma of Tar. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of finely powdered Starch two drachms; Glycerin, 
 purified Tar, each, six ourices. , Add the Glycerin, warm, to the Starch, 
 stir well together, heat to 240° F., gradually add the Tar, stir constantly 
 until thoroughly incorporated. ^ — Brady. 
 
 Properties and Cses.— This will be found useful as a local application 
 to wounds, ulcers, and in several forms of cutaneous disease. 
 
 Plasma Potassii Todidi. Plasma of Iodide of Potassium. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of finely powdered Starch one hundred and forty 
 grains; Gljcer'm two fluidounces ; lodjdeofPdtassinm. two drachms. Dis- 
 solve the Iodide of Potassium in the Glycerin, then add the Starch grad 
 nally, with trituration, and heat to 240° P., constantly stirring until it, 
 is of the proper consistence. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — A local application to scrofulous and other 
 tumors, several form,8 of cutaneous disease, and wherever the external 
 use of iodide of potassium is indicated. 
 
 Plasma Zinci Oxidi. Plasma of Oxide of Zinc. 
 
 ' Preparation. — Take of finely powdered Starch one hundred and forty 
 
 grams; Glycerin two fluidouncei ; Oxide of Zinc one dracHm. Triturate 
 
 the Starch and Oxide of Zinc together, gradually add the glycerin, 
 
 then heat to 240° P., constantly stirring until thoroughly incorporated. 
 
 Properties and Uses, — A local application for severe burns, and in cu- 
 tanebus diseases, as, herpes, eczema, pemphigus, chafes, chaps, etc. 
 
 POTASSA. (Kali.) 
 Preparations of Potassa. 
 
 PoTASSA. Potass.^;' Hydras. Caustic Potassa. Hydrate of Potassa. 
 (Aetzendes Kali.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Solution of Potassa one gallon. Evaporate it 
 over the fire in a clean iron vessel, until all ebullition ceases, and the 
 fused Hydrate of Potassa is left, which is to be poured into proper 
 molds." — Lond. 
 
 History. — The solution pf Potassa used in preparing, this caustic should 
 be one of recent manufacture, and the evaporation should be conducted 
 rapidly in an iron or silver vessel, as glass or earthenware are dissolved 
 by the potassa ; and in using an iron vessel, however clean it may 
 
POTASSA. 1127 
 
 be, a small portion of oxide of iron will be imparted to the caustic,; 
 but not in quantity suflScient to interefere with, its medicinal applica- 
 tions. The contact of all organic substances should be carefully avoid- 
 ed. The evaporation must be effected as speedily as possible, so as to 
 lessen the action of the carbonic acid of the atmosphere upon it. Ab- 
 sorption of carbonic acid will not take place so long as the temperature 
 is kept at the boiling-point ; but if the evaporation be in any way in- 
 terrupted, and the liquid allowed to cool, the potassa becomes quickly 
 carbonated. The molds into which the fused potassa is run should be 
 similar to those employed for making rods of nitrate of silver — iron 
 ani cylindrical. And, as the potassa acts upon white flint glass, it 
 should be kept in bottles of green glass having well-ground stoppers. 
 —C. 
 
 Potassa, as met with in the shops, is either in the form of fragments 
 of plates, or in cylindrical pencils of a dingy gray color, when impure, 
 white when pure, brittle with a fibrous fracture, an intensely corrosive 
 and alkaline taste, and an alkaline odor. • Sometimes it is tinged brown- 
 ish or bluish. It is exceedingly deliquescent, powerfully attracting 
 carbonic acid from the atmosphere, and when moist feels soapy. It ia 
 very soluble in water or alcohol, its aqueous solution having the char- 
 acters of liquor potassa. Acids combine with it, causing much heat, and 
 forming crystallizable salts. It fuses at a dull-red heat, and is volatil- 
 lized at a higher heat. It usually contains many impurities, as sesqui- 
 oxide of iron, silica, sulphate of potassa, alumina, etc., which do not 
 injure its value as a medicine. By dissolving it in alcohol, which does 
 not act upon these impurities, but takes up only the pure hydrated po- 
 tassa, filtering and evaporating to dryness, and then melting the dry 
 mass, a pure Hydrate of Potassa may be procured, white, hard, brittle, 
 and intensely caustic. This is called Alcoholic Potassa, and possesses the 
 same properties as the impure alkali. Solutions of the hydrosulphurets, 
 ferrocyanurets, and carbonates produce no precipitate with its solution. 
 Solutions of tartaric (in excess), perchloric, and carbazotic acids occasion 
 crystalline precipitates of the bitartrate, perchlorate, and carbazotate 
 of potassa, respectively. A solution of bichloride of platinum throws 
 down a yellow precipitate, which will distinguish it from soda and lithia. 
 Lastly, it communicates a violet tinge to the flame of alcohol. Officinal 
 potassa has the formula KO HO=56.2 ; the dry potassa is KO=590 or 
 47.26.— P. 
 
 Wohler gives a very elegant method for preparing chemically pure 
 Caustic Potassa : Two or three parts of sheet-copper, in clippings, and 
 one part of nitrftte of potassa are placed in alternate layers' in a copper 
 crucible, which is covered and exposed to moderate redness for half an 
 hour. The nitric acid is completely decomposed, and there remains a 
 mixture of Caustic Potassa and oxide of copper. When cold, the mass 
 is treated with water, the solution poured into a narrow cylindrical 
 vessel, the mouth of which can be closed by a ground-glass plate, and, 
 when perfectly clear, drawn off by a syphon, and evaporated if desired. 
 Not a trace of copper is dissolved. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Caustic Potassa is powerfully corrosive ; when 
 applied to soft animal textures,, it first attracts their water, and then 
 rapidly disorganizes them ; after which extensive inflammation ensues 
 around the part, previous to the separation of a deep slough. It has no 
 action as a poison, except what depends directly on the local injury oc- 
 casioned ; no direct influence being exerted through the medium of 
 absorption. Acids, as vinegar, lemon juice, etc., and the fixed oils, ar« 
 
1128 Pharmacy. 
 
 antidotes to its injurious action, producing with it harmless salts of 
 potassa or soapy solutions. — G. 
 
 It is administered internally only when in solution, as an antacid, 
 antilithic, and diuretic. Externally it is used in its solid state for 
 making caustic issues, opening abscesses, and destroying tumors, but 
 from its extreme deliquescence it is very apt to spread and act on parts 
 not desired. To obviate this the integuments around the parts to be 
 acted on should be protected by two or three layers of cloth, spread 
 with adhesive plaster, and perforated with a hole in the center, of the 
 necessary size. Then a rod of potassa, slightly moistened at the end, is 
 to be gently rubbed over that portion of the skin enibraced in the per- 
 foration of the plaster. It must be rubbed until the skin becomes dis- 
 colored, when an elm or bread-and-milk poultice must be applied. In 
 a few days the eschar will be detached. After the slough separates, the 
 retraction of the surrounding skin always makes the surface of the 
 issue much larger than the circle originally cauterized, the extent of 
 which must be regulated accordingly.— C. In applying the caustic, 
 wrap it with paper. We occasionally employ this caustic in the destruc- 
 tion of tumors, cancers, etc., and on the surface of unhealthy or malig- 
 nant ulcers. A very unscientific application of a solution of this 
 caustic, applied to the spine, has been recommended in the treatment 
 of tetanus. 
 
 PotassjE Acetas. Acetate of Potassa. (Bssigsaures Kali.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Carbonate of Potassa a pound ; Acetic Acid 
 twenty-six fluidounces ; Distilled Water twelve fluidounces. Add the Car- 
 bonate of Potassa to the Acid and Water till saturation takes place, and 
 filter. Evaporate the liquid in a sand-bath until the salt be dried, ap- 
 plying the heat cautiously." — Lond. The above measures are Imperial. 
 According to Christison, "the chief precautions to be attended to are, 
 that there shall be no excess of alkali, but rather the reverse, other- 
 wise the free alkali reacts on the acid of the salt when the solution is 
 much concentrated, and discoloration ensues ; and that the drying heat 
 shall be carefully regulated, not by the vapor-bath, the temperature of 
 which is too low for thorough desiccation, nor by the sand-bath, which 
 may easily raise the temperature too high — but, on the small scale, by 
 the muriate of lime bath, and on the large scale by steam under press- 
 ure." 
 
 History. — It was formerly the method in preparing this salt to neu- 
 tralize distilled vinegar with carbonate of potassa, and then evaporate ; 
 but by pursuing it, a salt of a reddish or brownish color would be ob- 
 tained, arising from the organic matter contained in tte vinegar, and 
 which required some trouble and dexterity in manipulation to remove. 
 By employing acetic acid or colorless pyroligneous acid, and a pure 
 carbonate, salt is obtained of sufiScient purity and whiteness for medi- 
 cal use. The process in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia simply saturates oflS- 
 cinal Acetic Acid with Bicarbonate of Potassa, instead of the Carbon- 
 ate, evaporating the solution to dryness upon a sand-bath. It is supposed 
 that by this process a purer salt can be obtained. 
 
 Acetate of Potassa prepared by the above process is a snow-white 
 mass, consisting of scales having a satiny luster, of a feeble odor of 
 acetic acid, a pungent, saline taste, neutral, and soapy to the touch. 
 As met with in the shops it has a foliaceous appearance, not unlike 
 spermaceti, which gave rise to its former name, foliated earth of tartar. 
 It quickly absorbs moisture from the air, and is exceedingly deliques- 
 cent, being changed into an oily-like fluid, and should therefore be 
 
POTASSA. 1129 
 
 kept in closely-stopped bottles. It is very soluble in water or alcohol, 
 the solutions having a neutral reaction. The aqueous solution soon 
 becomes covered with mildew, and the acetate is converted into carbon- 
 ate. Heat fuses it, and then decomposes it, giving off more or less de- 
 composed acetic acid, empyreumatic oil, etc., and finally yielding a black 
 residue, which is a mixture of carbonate of potassa and carbon. Many 
 vegetable juices contain this salt, from which is derived the carbonate 
 of potassa found in their ashes. Its formula is KO, C, II3 O3, or KO A 
 =98.2. 
 
 It is incompatible with the sulphates of soda and magnesia, tartaric 
 ajid, the stronger acids, earths and their salts, bichloride of mercury, 
 and some other metallic salts. Impurities are rarely present ; the most 
 probable are carbonate of potassa, sulphate of potassa, chloride of po- 
 tassium, alumina, lime, magnesia, iron, lead, copper, tin, which may 
 respectively be detected by hydrochloric acid, nitrate of baryta, acetate 
 of silver, ammonia, oxalate of ammonia, phosphate of ammonia, sulpho- 
 cyanuret of potassium, sulphuric acid, sulphuretted hydrogen, ferrocy- 
 anuret of potassium, and chloride of gold. — Witt. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Acetate of Potassa in the dose of two or three 
 drachms causes purging, which is occasionally attended with griping ; 
 and in dropsy, will often cause copious watery discharges by stool and 
 urine. In doses of from ten to thirty grains it causes diuresis, to which 
 effect is due its former name of Sal Biureticus. It has been used in 
 dropsy, to render the urine alkaline in uric-acid diathesis, and in other 
 cases where diuresis is indicated. It has. likewise been found beneficial 
 in acute rheumatism, acute vaginitis, gonorrhea, and in several obsti- 
 nate cutaneous affections, when given in doses to increase the urinary 
 discharge. It increases the metamorphosis of tissues, and thereby 
 augments the amount of both the aqueous and solid matters in the 
 urine. It is best given in water to which a little vinegar has been added. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Tinctura Ferri Acetatis. 
 
 PoTASsJB BiOARBONAS. Bicarbonate of Potassa. (Doppeltkohlen- 
 saures Kali.) 
 
 Preparation. — Bicarbonate of Potassa may be made by saturating an 
 aqueous solution of pure Carbonate of Potassa with Carbonic Acid 
 Gas, then filtering, and evaporating at a heat not to exceed 155° P., 
 setting the concentrated liquid aside that crystals may form. If the 
 Carbonate be pure, the Water distilled, and the Carbonic Acid Gas be 
 procured from a pure marble or calcareous spar, there will no necessity 
 for filtering, inasmuch as there will be no silica present to separate. 
 
 Bicarbonate of Potassa may be made by several other processes, 
 among which may be named the following cheap and easy method : 
 Place some purified Carbonate of Potassa in very shallow porcelain 
 dishes to the depth of one-third of an inch, and then add sufficient 
 water to moisten without liquefying it. Expose these dishes, in a wine 
 or beer cellar, close to barrels the contents of which are undergoing 
 fermentation ; every few days the mass is stirred, and in about a fort- 
 night tested by diluting with water, filtering, and adding sulphate of 
 magnesia to the solution. Should this cause a turbidness, the potash 
 must again be exposed to the atmosphere of carbonic acid ; but if it 
 remains unaffected, the vessel is emptied into a tarred porcelain evap- 
 orating dish, distilled water added to double the weight of carbonate 
 of potassa, and the dish warmed in a water-bath, which must never ex- 
 ceed 140° P. When the salt has entirely dissolved, it is quickly fil- 
 tered, and set aside to crystallize.— -TFift. Christison recommends a 
 
1130 Pharmacy. 
 
 quick, certain, and economical mode of preparing it. Sesquicarbonate 
 of ammonia, in very fine powder, is. to be well mixed wj.tli carbonate 
 of potassa, and then, with the addition of a very little water, triturated 
 briskly until a perfectly smooth, thick pulp is formed. Dry this pulp 
 by a gentle heat, not exceeding 130° or 140°, and continue the drying 
 until an ammoniacal odor ceases to be given off. By the drying, am- 
 monia is evolved, and its carbonic acid combines with the carbonate of 
 potassa, 80 that when the sesquicarbonate becomes wholly decomposed 
 and all its ammonia volatilized, a pure Bicarbonate of Potassa is left 
 behind, which may be reduced to a fine powder". 
 
 Bicarbonate of Potassa crystallizes in transparent, right-rhombic 
 prisms, usually truncated on the acute edges ; their primitive form is 
 the rectangular octaedre. It is odorless, of a mild, saline taste, and 
 has a very feeble alkaline reaction. Exposed to the air, it undergoes 
 no change. Cold water dissolves one-fourth its weight, and hot water 
 its own weight of the salt. At a red heat it loses, without fusing, half 
 its carbonic acid and water, simple carbonate of potassa remaining. 
 Alcohol does not dissolve it. Protracted boiling deconlposes the solu- 
 tion of carbonate of potassa, one equivalent of carbonic acid being ex- 
 pelled, and neutral carbonate remaining. It has no power of dissolv- 
 ing or disorganizing the animal textures. It is composed of two equiv- 
 alents of acid 44, one of base 47.2, and one of water 9=100.2 or 1250 
 (2C0,-|-K0+Aq).— a 
 
 Bicarbonate of Potassa is subject to adulterations with the sulphate 
 , of potassa, or chloride of potassium, from having employed an impure 
 carbonate in its preparation ; and of carbonate of potassa from some 
 defect in the process of making it. The sulphate a,nd chloride may be 
 detected by chloride of barium or nitrate of silver causing a white pre- 
 cipitate in its solution supersaturated by nitric acid. Carbonate of 
 potassa may be known by adding a solution of corrosive sublimate, 
 which will cause a brownish -red precipitate, if even the hundredth 
 part of the earbpnate be present ; a solution of the pure bicarbonate 
 in forty parts of water has no effect, or at most produces merely a 
 white haze. — 0. According to Chevallier, when any carbonate is pres- 
 ent in this salt, the solution, heated and then mixed with a little grape, 
 sugar (from starch) ' becomes changed to a brownish or yellow color. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Bicarbonate of Potassa is antacid, antiUthic, 
 and diuretic, is less irritating and unpleasant than the carbonate, and 
 may be used in larger doses. It is preferred as a general rule to the 
 carbonate, for which it may in nearly all cases be used as a substitute. 
 Dose, ten to twenty grains as an antacid and antilithic ; one to two 
 drachms, as a diuretic. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Bxtractum Ehei et Potassse Fluidum ; Pulvis Ehei Com- 
 positus ; Syrupus Ehei et Potassae. 
 
 Potass.^! Biohromas. Bichromate of Potassa. (Doppeltchromsaures 
 Kali.) 
 
 Preparation.r—Take of the neutral or yellow Chromate of Potassa, 
 any quantity ; Water a sufficient quantity. Dissolve the Chromate in the 
 Water, filter, warm the filtered solution, and while warm acidulate the 
 solution with Sulphuric Acid; then set the mixture aside for two or 
 three days, when beautiful orange-red crystals of Bichromate of Po- 
 tassa will be formed. 
 
 History. — The addition of sulphuric acid (or still better acetic acid) 
 to the warm filtered solution, as above explained, separa'^es half the 
 potassa, forming a sulphate or acetate of potassa, according to the acid 
 
POTASSA. 1131 
 
 need ; on cooling the Bichromate of Potassa is precipitated. The neu- 
 tral chromate of potassa is made by heating to redness one part of 
 native oxide of chromium and iron, commonly called Chromate of Iron, 
 with one-fourth part of nitrate of potassa, when chromic acid is geu- 
 erated and unites with the potassa of the nitrate. By adding water 
 the chromate of potassa is dissolved, and may be obtained from the so- 
 lution by evaporation and crystallization. 
 
 Bichrqmate of Potassa is made on the lai-ge scale by the decomposi- 
 tion of chromic iron ore. The chromic iron ore is heated in a reverber- 
 atory farnace with nitrate of potassa and quicklime, until decomposi- 
 tion of the ore has taken place. This mass is then lixiviated with 
 water, and the solution of chromate of lipie decomposed by the addi- 
 tion of carbonate of potassa, then acidulating the solution with sul- 
 phuric acid, and evaporating to form crystals. 
 
 Bichromate of Potassa forms in rectangular prisms, sometimes ter- 
 minated by four-sided pyramids, of an intense orange-red color, per-i 
 manent in the air, of a cooling, bitter, metallic taste, an acid reaction, 
 soluble in a little more .than nine and a half parts of cold water, in 
 considerably less boiling water, and not soluble in alcohol. Its specific 
 gravity is 1.9801. At a red heat it melts into a transparent red liquid, 
 and crystallizes on cooling. The crystals of Bichromate of Potassa 
 are anhydrous, and are composed of one atom of the alkali, and two 
 atoms of acid, KO 2 Cr 0,=148.6 or 1857.5. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Internally, this salt is a poison, though it has 
 been used as an alterative in venereal and scrofulous affections, in doses 
 of one-fifth or one-sixth of a grain, three or four times a day. Bxter • 
 nally it is a caustic, and its only therapeutical use should be as an ex- 
 ternal application ; it may be used in aqueous solution, from thirty to 
 sixty grains to the ounce of fluid, or in the state of powder. Its solu- 
 tion possesses very powerful antiseptic properties, and will be found 
 advantageous in cases of gangrene, dry mortification, etc. For other 
 uses, see Chromic Acid, p. 35. It is much used in calico printing, and in 
 preparing artificial valerianic acid from fusel oil. Paper impregnated 
 with a solution of it, and dried, forms excellent tinder. It is used 
 in the detection of sugar in urine and other fluids. (/See Saccharum, 
 p. 730. 
 
 Professor Eboli, of Lima, has found many of the alkaloids to give 
 very characteristic reactions with chromate of potassa and sulphuric 
 acid, and which may prove very useful in chemico-legal investigations. 
 One or two milligrammes of the alkaloid to be examined are placed on 
 a watch-glass, then five or six drops of diluted sulphuric acid (equal 
 weights of acid and water) are dropped on it, and a small piece of 
 chromate of potassa put into the liquid. Each of the following changes 
 of color occapies several hours : Morphia, first nickel-green, then copper- 
 green, at last a dirty dark-green. Sulphate of Morphia, nickel-green, cop- 
 per-green, dark -yellow. Acetate of Morphia, nickel-green, copper-green, 
 greenish-blue. Quinia, Scheele's green, beautifully green -yellow, dark- 
 green. Sulphate of Quinia, nickel-green, copper-green, dirty -yellow. 
 Ferrocyanuret of Quinia, dirty-green, leaf-green, dirty -yellow, chocolate- 
 color. Oinchonia, Scheele's green, copper-green, dirty dark-yellow. 
 Sulphate of Cinehonia, Scheele's green, green-yellow, dirty dark -yellow. 
 Veratria, dirty-green, bottle-green, nickel-green turbid, afterward clear, 
 copper-green turbid, at last dirty dark-yellow. Atropia, after several 
 minutes, nickel-green, yellow -green, dirty yellow-green, and a yellow- 
 ish precipitate soluble in ajcohol. Delphinia, dirty -green, clear, then 
 
1132 Phakmact. 
 
 turbid nickel-green, dirty-yellow. Lupulin, greenish-yellow turbid 
 dirty green-yellow. Codeia, Scheele's green, nickel-green, copper- 
 green, dirty dark -green. Daturia, copper-green, greenish-blue. Strych- 
 nia, intensely violet, almost black near the chromate, violet-yellow, 
 after two days blue. . Caffein and Napthalin, no reaction. Piperin, 
 greenish-yellow, nickel -green, dirty -green. Cantharidin must be heated 
 with concentrated sulphuric acid to near boiling, the fire removed, and 
 the chromate added, an effervescence takes place, after which a beau- 
 tiful green mass is found, which dissolves after several hours, and at 
 last turns a dirty leaf-green. N. B. — A solution of the chromate must 
 not be used, as these reactions take place so rapidly as to render it 
 impossible to observe the changes of color. 
 
 PotasSjB Bistjlphas. Bisulphate of Potassa. (Saures Schwefelsaures 
 Kali.) 
 
 Preparation.— Tsike of the residuum, in the preparation of pure Nitric 
 Acid two pounds ; commercial Sulphuric Acid seven fluidounces and one 
 fluidrachm ; Boiling Water six pints. Dissolve the Salt in the Water, 
 add the Sulphuric Acid, concentrate the solution, and set it aside to 
 cool and fornj crystals. — Ed. (The above measures are Imperial.) 
 
 History. — Nitrate of potash when acted upon by concentrated sul- 
 phuric acid is decomposed, its nitric acid is set free and passes over, 
 while the potassa combines with the sulphuric acid in the retort to 
 form Bisulphate of Potassa, which is the residuum ordered in the above 
 formula. This residuum being dissolved in water acidulated with sul- 
 phuric acid to prevent the formation of neutral sulphate and sesquisul- 
 phate, and filtered, or decanted when clear, evaporated, and then set 
 aside, gives crystals of the Bisulphate of Potassa. The Dublin College 
 has given another process, which also yields a pure bisulphate. It is as 
 follows : Take of Sulphate of Potassa, in powder, three ounces; pure Sul- 
 phuric Acid one fluidounce. Place the Acid and Salt in a small porcelain 
 capsule, and to this apply a heat capable of liquefying its contents, and 
 which should be continued until acid vapors cease to be given off. The 
 bisulphate, which concretes as it cools, should be 'reduced to a fine 
 powder, and preserved in a well-stopped bottle. 
 
 Bisulphate of Potassa, formerly called sal enixum, forms a white crys- 
 talline powder, or small oblique tabular four-sided prisms ; or when 
 obtained by extreme concentration and cooling, it forms an apparently 
 firm, fibrous mass. It is odorless, of a very acid taste, is permanent in 
 the air (but the concreted fibrous mass eflBloresces), and is soluble in 
 two parts of cold, and half a part of boiling water. It is not dissolved 
 by alcohol, which abstracts the second equivalent of acid, leaving the 
 neutral salt. Exposed to a moderate heat it fuses ; at a red heat it loses 
 . half its acid, and neutral sulphate of potassa remains. It is incompati- 
 ble with soda, and ammonia, the carbonates of these bases, earths and 
 earthy salts, most metals and their oxides, as well as some metallic 
 salts. Its formula is 2 S03+KO=127. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Bisulphate of Potassa is laxative and tonic, and 
 is very useful to keep the bowels regular during recovery from acute 
 attacks, as well as to improve the appetite. Conjoined with rhubarb it 
 covers the bitter taste of the latter without injuring its medicinal prop- 
 erties. Seventy-two grains, each, of the Bisulphate of Potassa, and 
 carbonate of soda, separately dissolved in two fluidounces of water, 
 form, when combined, a cheap effervescing purgative. Bisulphate of 
 Potassa may be taken in doses of from a scruple to two drachms, prop- 
 erly diluted. 
 
POTASSA. 1133 
 
 PotassjE Carbonas. Carbonate of Potassa. (Kohlensaures Kali. 
 Potasche.) 
 
 Preparation. — "Take of Impure Carbonate of Potassa fwo pounds; 
 Distilled Water a pint and a half. Imperial measure. Dissolve the salt 
 ■q the Water; and filter; pour the solution into a proper vessel, atid 
 evaporate till it becomes thick ; then stir it constantly with a spatula 
 vvhile it concretes. 
 
 '' Car^ionate of Potassa may be obtained more pure from crystals of 
 "bicarbonate of Potassa heated to redness." — Lond. 
 
 History. — Impare Carbonate of Potassa, or Pearl-ash, is usually oon- 
 Saminated with sulphate of potassa, chloride of potassium, silica, and 
 «mall quantities of hlu'nina, lime, magnesia, iron, manganese, copper, 
 chromium, soda, common salt, etc. The water dissolves, beside the car- 
 oonate, the sulphate of potzisss., chloride of sodium, any alkaline phos- 
 phates present, soda, and a paH of the silica; while most of the silica 
 partly combined with potassa, together with the other impurities, remain 
 behind. It must not pass unnoticed chat small traces of lime, magnesia, 
 iron, chromium, manganese, as well as alumina and copper, if present, 
 remain dissolved, and are partially, but not entirely separated on again 
 evaporating to dryness. Hot water is preferable to cold, as it acts on 
 the potassa more readily and completely. It is better to let the solution 
 stand for several days in a cool place, when aU the insoluble matter is 
 deposited, and if the sulphate of potassa is present in any quantity a 
 portion of it crystallizes out. The clear solution still contains most of 
 the sulphate of potassa, and all the chloride of potassium, together with 
 the silica, etc. To remove the greater part of the sulphate, the solution , 
 is evaporated to a pellicle, allowed to stand some days, and then strained. 
 The solution yet contains some sulphate of potassa, chloride of potas- 
 sium, and silica, which by evaporating to dryness, and dissolving in as 
 little cold water as possible, is partially removed. The solution should 
 be evaporated in an iron vessel, while wooden howls, spatulas, etc., are 
 to be avoided, as from the action of the salt on them it acquires a yellow 
 color. The salt thus obtained is not chemically pure, but sufficiently so 
 for most purposes. — Witt. The Dublin College recommend to reduce 
 the heat when the solution is evaporated nearly to dryness, and stir 
 constantly with an iron rod, until granular crystals are formed. The 
 salt should be kept in well-closed vials. 
 
 Carbonate of Potassa forms a snow-white, odorless, crystalline or 
 granular powder, opaque, of a nauseous, alkaline and caustic taste, 
 soapy to the touch when moist, and when exposed to the air it attracts 
 moisture, speedily deliquesces, and forms an oleaginous fluid, termed 
 by the early chemists oleum tartari per deliquum. It has an alkaline 
 reaction, is not dissolved by alcohol, but is readily soluble in water, 
 forming a colorless solution. It is fusible at a white heat without 
 change. It is known to be a carbonate by effervescing with strong 
 acids, and by a solution of it causing a white precipitate (soluble in 
 acetic acid) with lime water, or chloride of barium. It may be known 
 as a potassa by the tests for potassa named on page 1127. It may be 
 distinguished from the bicarbonate of potassa by the brick -red precipi- 
 tate occasioned when corrosive sublimate is added to it, while the bi- 
 carbonate forms a white precipitate at first, but subsequently becoming 
 brownish-red. If chloride of sodium be present this precipitate may be 
 prevented. 
 
 The impurities may be detected as follows: Water, by heating the 
 salt, when it loses in weight. If the solution be turbid, when diluted, 
 
1134 Phaemaot. 
 
 silica is present, and caustic pOtassa will almost entirely dissolve it ; silica 
 may also be detected by supersaturating the solution with hydrochloric 
 acid, evaporating, and igniting the residue ; the silicic acid is insoluble in 
 water. Chlorides may be detected by supersaturating the solution with 
 nitric acid, when nitrate of silver will give a white precipitate ; or, if 
 a sulphate be present, chloride of barium will give a white precipitate. 
 Carbonate of soda may be detected by exaetlj' saturating the solution 
 with acetic acid, then heat it to drive off carbonic acid, concentrate it 
 if necessary, ahd add a solution of neutral antimoniate of potassa; if 
 soda be present, a white granular precipitate of antitnoniate of soda is 
 formed. Cyanide of potassium may be detected by adding a somewhat 
 oxidized solution of protosulphate of iron, and then hydrochloric acid in 
 excess ; Prussian blue is formed. Iron, carbonate of lime, alumina, etc., 
 may be ascertained by the tests named under liquor potassa. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — All the Carbonates of Potassa are sufliciently 
 corrosive to be energetic poisons. They occasion destruction of the 
 mucous membranes of the fauces, (Esophagus, stomach, and sometimes 
 of the intestines — indicated at first by violent burning pain, prostration 
 and vomiting, which is sometimes bloody, and if death does not ensue 
 in consequence, in a few days, excessive emaciation follows, and con- 
 stant irritation of the stomach and bowels. The proper antidotes to 
 them are vinegar, lemon juice, or fixed oil. — C. 
 
 Medicinally, Carbonate of Potassa is antacid, antilithic and diuretic. 
 Useful in urinary affections, where the morbid secretion consists of 
 lithic acid, and the lithates, for which about thirty-five grains should 
 be given in the course of the day, in divided doses. Some prefer the 
 potassa carbonates to the soda, for antilithic purposes, on the supposi- 
 tion that they are more energetic solvents. It is sometimes used in 
 solution as an injection into the bladder for calculus. It has also been 
 employed to remove acidity of stomach, and to increase the urinary 
 dischai'ge in dropsical affections. It has also been found occasionally 
 available in jaundice. Mascagni has used it in peripneumonia, and 
 other inflammatory diseases, with benefit, especially in those forms 
 where there is a tendency to the deposition of false membranes. Com- 
 bined with cochineal, it has considerable reputation in the treatment 
 of pertussis. The Cochineal mixture is made as follows : Dissolve Car- 
 bonate of Potassa, twenty -grains, in a gill of water, add to it ten grains 
 of powdered cochineal, sweeten with loaf sugar, and give an infant a 
 teaspoonful four times a day ; to a child two or three years old, two 
 teaspoonfuls ; four years and upward, a tablespoonful or more. To this 
 preparation five to fifteen drops of tincture of belladonna is sometimes 
 added.^Bxternally, it has been used in the form of a solution to wounds, 
 as a collyrium in some affections of the cornea, as an injection in gonor- 
 rhea, and as an application to some obstinate cutaneous eruptions. Dose, 
 of the powder, in solution, from five to thirty grains. For externa) 
 use, half a pound to a pound is usually employed for a bath ; from six 
 to twelve grains to the fiuidounce of water, for a lotion ; and from ten 
 to sixty grains to an ounce of lard, for an ointment. 
 
 Off- Prep. — ^Bxtractum Spigelise et Sennse Fluidum ; Liquor Potassse , 
 Potassse Acetas ; Potassse Bicarbonas ; Potassae Sulphas ; Potassse Tar- 
 tras ; Potassii Bromidum; Potassii Cyanuretum ; Potassii lodidum ; Po- 
 tassii Sulphuretum. 
 
 PoTASSiE Carbonas Purus. Pure Carbonate of Potassa. Salt of Tar- 
 tar. (Eeines Kohlensaures Kali. Weinsteinsalz.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Pure Carbonate of Potassa may bo most readily ob- 
 
jPotassa. 1135 
 
 tained by heating crystallized Bicarbonate of Potassa to redness in a 
 crucible. 
 
 " It may also be made by dissolving Bitartrate. of Potassa in thirty 
 parts of Boiling Water, separating and washing the crystals which 
 form on cooling, heating these in a loosely-covered crucible to redness 
 so long as fumes are disengaged, breaking down the mass, and roast- 
 ing it in an open crucible for two hours, with occasional stirring, lixi- 
 viating the product with distilled water, filtering the solution thus ob- 
 tained, evaporating the solution to dryness, granulating the salt to- 
 ward the close by brisk agitation, and heating the granular salt nearly 
 to redness. The product of either of the above processes must be kept 
 in well-closed vessels." — Ed. 
 
 History. — Bicarbonate of Potassa is commonly a preparation free 
 from impurities, hence, a pure carbonate may be procured from it. 
 The heat employed drives off one equivalent of its carbonic acid to- 
 gether with its water of crystallization, and the pure carbonate re- 
 mains. This salt was formerly called Salt of Tartar, being procured 
 from bitartrate of potassa, but the greater part of the salt of Tartar at 
 present found in the shops is the carbonate of the preceding article 
 prepared from the impure carbonate of potassa. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Pure Carbonate of Potassa has the same medic- 
 inal actions as the carbonate, but being free from impurities, it is used 
 in making the common effervescent draught, or citrate of potassa. 
 Liquor Potassae Carbonatis, Solution of Carbonate of Potassa, is made 
 by dissolving twenty ounces of Carbonate of Potassa in Distilled Water 
 a pint, Imp. meas., and then filtering the solution. The sp. gr. is 1.473. 
 — Land. The dose is from ten to sixty drops, in a sufficient quantity 
 of water or mucilaginous fluid. 
 
 Pure Carbonate of Potassa may also be made as follows : Take of 
 Bitartrate of Potassa (Cream of Tartar) two pounds ; Nitrate of Potassa, 
 a pound. Eub them separately into powder, then mix and throw them 
 into a brass vessel, heated nearly to redness, that they may undergo 
 combustion. From the residue prepare the purest carbonate of potassa 
 in the manner directed for the carbonate. This mode is recommended 
 by Wicke, and Engelhardt, as unobjectionable,. and not occasioning the 
 production of cyanuret of potassium as was formerly supposed. (See 
 M. Bloch's method, Am. Jour. Pharm. XXVII., 266.) 
 
 Potass.^! Chloeas. Chlorate of Potassa. (Chlorsaures Kali.) 
 
 Preparation. — Make an aqueous solution of Caustic Potassa one equiv- 
 alent, with Water a sufficient quantity to contain ten and a quarter per 
 cent, of the Potassa; making the solution of specific gravity 1.110. 
 Mix this with Hydrate of Lime (Quick-lime) Jive and a half equivalents. 
 Apply heat, and slowly raise it to 122° P., and then saturate the solu- 
 tion with chlorine gas passed rapidly into it, and which will cause an- 
 elevation of the heat to nearly 194° P. Evaporate till the solution is 
 nearly dry, dissolve the product in water at 212° P., filter, and allow 
 the solution to crystallize. — F. C. Calvert. 
 
 History. — ^By former processes between forty -two and forty-four parts 
 of chlorate were obtained from one hundred parts of caustic potassa ; 
 Prof. Calvert's method furnishes from 258 to 260 parts, provided the 
 specific gravity of the solution be as above named. When chlorine gas 
 comes in contact with a solution of caustic potassa, or carbonate of po- 
 tassa, chloride of potassium, hypochlorite of potassa, and bicarbonate 
 of potassa are formed : as the chlorine increases the bicarbonate is de- 
 composed, carbonic acid is evolved, and more of the first two named 
 
1136 Pharmacy. 
 
 salts is produced. . By continuing the ctloriae gas, more hypochlorite 
 is produced, the chlorine abstracts the potassium free from the potassu,, 
 forming chloride of potassium, while the oxygen thus set free combinea 
 with some hypochlorite of potassa, and converts it into the chlorate 
 the greater part of which crystallizes. The residual liquid contains a 
 little chlorate, some free hypochlorous acid, and a considerable quan- 
 tity of hypochlorite of potassa, and chloride of potassium. — P. In Cal- 
 vert's process the oxygen contained in the lime reacting on the chlor- 
 ine (after a certain portion of it has formed with the lime, chloride of 
 calcium), changes it into chloric acid. This acid unites with the po- 
 tassa, forming the large amount of chlorate procured in this manner. 
 
 Pure Chlorate of Potassa forms white, permanent, transparent, moth- 
 er-of-pearl-like, oblique, four to six sided rhombic plates, which are 
 odorless, and have a cooling, saline taste, like that of niter. They are 
 luminous when rubbed in the dark. Heat fuses them, oxygen is 
 evolved, and chloride of potassium remains. When a small quantity is 
 in a fused state, if any substances in which manganese exists even in a 
 trace, is thrown upon it, it will impart a red or pink hue to the mass, 
 from the resulting potassic permanganate thereby formed. Triturated 
 with combustible substances, as phosphorus, carbon, and sulphur, also 
 with tannin. Chlorate of Potassa detonates, being highly dangerous, 
 even in small quantities. It dissolves in sixteen parts of water at ordi- 
 nary temperature ; in two parts at 212° P.; alcohol of 80 per cent, dis- 
 solves only the one hundred and twentieth part of it at 60° P., but 
 much more when boiling. Sulphuric acid gives it an orange-red color, 
 and evolves chlorous acid, which is yellow and powerfully explosive 
 when heated. Its solution is neutral. 
 
 When Chlorate of Potassa is contaminated with chloride of potas- 
 sium, nitrate of silver causes a white precipitate of chloride of silver ; 
 if chloride of calcium be present, the chlorate attracts moisture from 
 the air, and gives a white precipitate with oxalate of ammonia. A yel- 
 low color indicates iron, which is proved by ferrocyanuret of potassium. 
 The admixture of nitrate of potassa with it is known on heating a por- 
 tion for some time to redness, by its solution imparting a brown color 
 to turmeric paper. In reducing Chlorate of Potassa to powder by trit- 
 uration, a little water should be added, enough to cover the salt, in 
 order to prevent an explosion ; filter, and dry the powder. Its formula 
 is KO, CIO5; its equivalent weight 122.5, or 1531.25. , 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This salt seems to hold a position between hy- 
 drochlorate of ammonia and nitrate of potassa, and has been used in 
 malignant febrile diseases, and in cholera. It is diuretic, and is recog- 
 nized in the urine of those to whom it has been exhibited. It has been 
 eflScaciously employed in scorbutus, hepatic affections, in aphthous ul- 
 •cerations of the mouth, cancrum oris, mercurial salivation, abscesses, 
 boils, eruptions, ulcers, purpura hemorrhagica, etc. About twenty-five 
 grains are soluble in a fluidounce of water, and it may be given in 
 doses of from half a drachm to two drachms daily, or from two table- 
 spoonfuls of the solution to eight or ten ; in very large doses it purges. 
 Five grains well diluted is a fair ordinary dose for a child one year old. 
 Large doses should be given at meal -time, and in a large quantity of 
 broth or other fluid. M. Isambert considers it a sedative to the nerv- 
 ous system, and to the circulation ; a stimulant to the digestive organs 
 and kidneys ; and a stimulant and alterative to mucous tissues. If this 
 last be the case it must prove useful in leucorrhea, excoriations of the 
 OS uteri, chronic dysentery, nursing sore-mouth, some forms of chronic 
 
POTASSA. 1137 
 
 ophthalmiu, and gleet. Indeed, its solution used in injection has effected 
 cures of leucorrliea and gonorrhea. Applied in the form of powder 
 with starch, or oxide of bismuth, it causes pain. In gangrene and ul- 
 ceration of the mouth this salt removes the offensive odor, lessens 
 the discharge of saliva, and favors granulation. Externally it may- 
 be applied as a wash or injection in solution ; from six to fifteen grains 
 being dissolved in a fluidounce of water. It answers thus, in affections 
 of the mouth, aided by its internal administration. It has been given 
 in doses of 160 grains daily, producing hot skin, headache, quick, hard, 
 and full pulse, white tongue, and increase of urine. 
 
 Potass.^! SesquicarSonas. ? Sesquicarbonate of Potassa. ? Mild Veg- 
 etable Caustic. (Anderthall K-ohlensaures Kali.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Bicarbonate of Potassa one. pound; Water a 
 sufficient quantity. Dissolve the Bicarbonate in the .Water, strain, and 
 then evaporate by means of heat raised to a very few degrees above 
 the boiling point ; when sufficiently concentrated set aside to cool. Dry 
 the resulting mass by a gentle heat. 
 
 History. — This is the method at present pursued" in the preparation 
 of the Mild Vegetable Caustic. This preparation must, from its mode 
 of manufacture, be a very variable preparation in its composition, and 
 is not a true sesquicarbonate of potassa (the' existence of which salt is 
 doubtful), but rather a mixture of carbonate and bicarbonate of po- 
 tassa. 
 
 As prepared by the above process, this mild caustic is sold in the 
 form of a white powder, having a pungent but riot very powerful alka- 
 line odor, a sharp, strongly alkaline taste, is permanent in dry air, very 
 soluble in water, but insoluble in alcohol. It \s' incomjiatihle with the 
 same substances as the carbonate of potassa. 
 
 The above preparation differs very materially from the original Yege- 
 tahle Caustic, which was prepared by making a strong lye of hickory or 
 oak-wood ashes, and evaporating it in an iron kettle to dryness. This 
 formed an impure caustic potassa, of a dingy-gray or greenish color, 
 very caustic, but less so than the hydrate of potassa, very deliquescent, 
 and soluble in water. It is more severe in its action than the mild, 
 caustic, and has occasionally to be employed in cases where that exerts 
 but little or no beneficial influence. As it rapidly attracts moisture 
 from the atmosphere, it must, as soon as prepared, be placed in green 
 glass bottles with good corks or stoppers. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Each of these preparations is escharotic, but 
 does not, like the hydrate of potassa, destroy or decompose the healthy 
 tissues ; their action appears to be altogether exerted upon abnormal 
 growths and conditions of parts. They are employed as local applica- 
 tions to fistulas, cancers, fungous growths, indolent ulcers, unhealthy 
 conditions of mucous tissues', as in ophthalmic affections, diseases of the 
 Schneiderian membrane, of the mouth and throat, urethra, vaginal walls, 
 and cervix uteri. In solution, it has been injected into the uterus in 
 dysmenorrhea, uterine leucorrhea, etc., without any unpleasant symp- 
 toms arising. In these latter cases the milder caustic should be used, 
 commencing with a weak solution, and gradually increasing in strength, 
 until the maximum degree that can be used is obtained. Upon healthy 
 tissues these agents exert but very feeble action ; and in unhealthy cour 
 ditions they bring about a normal action without exciting an undue 
 degree of inflammation. They are agents of great value. 
 Potass^ Sulphas. Sulphate of Potassa. (Schwefelsaures Kali.) 
 Preparation. — Take of the residuum of the preparation of MtriC Acid 
 72 
 
1138 Pharmacy. 
 
 two pounds ; Boiling Water two gallons. Expel the excess of acid by 
 heating the salt in a crucible ; boil what remains in the Water nntii a 
 pellicle forms; filter the solution ; set it aside for crystallization. Pour 
 oif the liquor from the crystals and dry them, — -Lond. 
 
 History .^ As before observed, under Bisulphate of Potassa, tlie resid- 
 uum of the preparation of nitric acid is composed of bisulphate of 
 potassa, with probably some impurities. The heat drives off the excess 
 of acid, and when the salt is dissolved its impurities are removed by 
 filtration, and it is procured by evaporation and crystallization. 
 
 Sulphate of Potassa may also be procured by other processes, as by 
 the decomposition which ensues when carbonate of potassa and sul- 
 phate of magnesia react upon each other- during the preparatibn of car- 
 bonate of magnesia, etc. The excess of acid in the salt remaining after 
 the distillation of .nitric acid; may also be neutralized by slaked lime, 
 or white marble, instead of the heat as directed in the above formula ; 
 sulphate of lime is deposited, while the solution contains sulphate of 
 potassa, which may be procured by filtering, evaporating, and crystal- 
 lizing. This salt' also occurs in volcanic regions and in the juices of 
 plants; also in the blood and urine of man ; but the medicinal article is 
 always an artificial preparation. It has at different times been known 
 under the names of Sulphate of Kali, Vitriolated Tartar, Sal- Poly chr est, 
 Sal de Duohus, etc. 
 
 Neutral Sulphate of Potassa crystallizes in permanent, right-rhombic, 
 four or six sided prisms or pyramids ; they are transparent, colorless, 
 very hard, odorless, with a slightly bitter and somewhat pungent taste. 
 Cold water dissolves one-aixteenth, and boiling water rather more than 
 one-fifth its weight of the salt; the solution has a neutral reaction. It 
 is not dissolved by alcohol. When heated the salt decrepitates; a strong 
 red heat fuses it, but without change ; heated with carbonaceous matter 
 the sulphate is deoxidized, and sulphuret of potassium is formed. A 
 solution of Sulphate of Potassa slightly acidulated with nitric acid, 
 yields a white precipitate with chloride of barium, and a yellow one 
 with chloride of platinum. It is seldom adulterated, though it may con- 
 tain impurities from carelessness of preparation. Lime may be detected 
 by the solution forming a white precipitate with oxalate of ammonia: 
 alumina, by the white flocculent precipitate with ammonia, insoluble 
 in excess, but Soluble in caustic potassa ; if soluble in caustic ammonia 
 it is oxide of zinc, while if unaffected by either potassa or ammonia, 
 but dissolved by chloride of ammonium, it is magnesia. Should ammo- 
 nia cause a blue color in a solution of sulphate of potassa, copper is 
 present, and the solution, after the addition of "a few drops of hydro- 
 chloric acid, will give a blackish -brown precipitate with sulphuretted 
 hydrogen. If ammonia causes a yellowish or brownish precipitate, it 
 denotes iron. Nitrate of silver will form a white precipitate if hydro- 
 chloric acid be in the solution. If arsenic be present, sulphuretted hydro- 
 gen will cause a precipitate of sulphuret of arsenic, which, being mixed 
 with neutral oxalate of potassa, and heated in a narrow test-tube, forms 
 a metallic deposit of arsenic. — Witt. Sulphate of Potassa has the formula 
 KO SO3, and the equivalent weight 87, or 1087.5. 
 
 Froperties and Uses. — Sulphate of Potassa is a mild, unirritating 
 cathartic, in doses of from fifteen to thirty grains, when sufliciently 
 diluted with water. In one or two ounce doses, it acts as a powerful 
 irritant, and has given rise to fatal accidents. It has been used as an 
 aperient after delivery, in puerperal fever, to remove intestinal accu- 
 mulations in children, in dyspepsia, and in jaundice. Combined with 
 
POTASSA. 1139 
 
 five or ten grains of rhubarb, it is useful in hepatic disorders and hemor- 
 rhoids. 
 
 PoTASs^iE Sulphas cum Stjlphtjre. Sulphate of Potassa with Sulphur. 
 (Schwefelsaures Kali mit Schwefel.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Nitrate of Potassa, in powder, and of Sub- 
 limed Sulphur, equal weights. Mix them well together, and throw the 
 mixture, by small portions at a time, into a red-hot crucible. When 
 the deflagration is over, allow the salt to cool and place it in a glass 
 vessel well stopped. — Ed. 
 
 History. — When a mixture of sulphur and niter is thrown in small 
 quantities at a time into a heated crucible, the sulphur burns with a 
 blue flame, and becomes oxidized at the expense of the oxygen of the 
 nitric acid, and the resulting grayish-white compound consists princi- 
 pally of sulphate of potassa, mixed probably with some sulphite, but 
 its precise nature has not yet been ascertained. It*is much more solu- 
 ble than the sulphate of potassa ; and it crystallizes from a state of 
 solution in rhombic prisms, the primitive form of that salt. Both the 
 substance itself and its yellowish solution have a sulphurous odor, and 
 an acid reaction. Sulphuretted hydrogen is not obtained on the addi- 
 tion of an acid to it, nor is sulphuret of lead thrown down by the salts 
 of that metal. The salts of baryta cause a white precipitate insoluble 
 in nitric acid, so that sulphate of potassa is present. Bight parts of 
 cold water dissolve one of this compound. It was formerly called Sal 
 Polychrestum &laseri, Glaser's Sal Polychrest. — C. — P. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation is considered a mild cathar- 
 tic, resembling very much in its action, that of the sulphate of potassa. 
 It was formerly much in vogue as a purgative in dyspepsia, chronic 
 cutaneous eruptions, etc. The dose is from half a drachm to a drachm, 
 and generally given with some other gentle laxative, as bitartrate of 
 potassa. 
 
 Potass^ Tarteas. Tartrate of Potassa. Soluble Tartar. (Wein- 
 steinsaures Kali.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Bitartrate of Potassa three pounds ; Carbon- 
 ate of Potassa sixteen ounces, or a sufficiency ; Boiling Water six pints, 
 Imp. meas. Dissolve the Carbonate in the Water, add the Bitartrate 
 till the liquor is neutralized, boil and filter. Concentrate the liquor till 
 a pellicle forms on its surface, and then set it aside to cool and crystal- 
 lize. The residual liquor will yield more crystals by further concen- 
 tration and cooling." — Ed. 
 
 Sistory — Tartrate of Potassa, also known by the names of Soluble 
 Tartar, Sal Vegetabile, and Tartarized Kali, was known as early as the 
 seventeenth century. 2352 parts of cream of tartar require 865 parts of 
 carbonate of potassa, but as the cream of tartar of commerce always con- 
 tains some tartrate of lime, the proportion of cream of tartar must either 
 be increased, or the carbonate of potassa diminished, in order to obtain 
 a neutral salt. The cream of tartar must be add.ed in small portions on 
 account of the effervescence caused by the evolution of the carbonic 
 acid ; at first but little carbonic acid is given off, that liberated from 
 one portion of carbonate combining with another to form bicarbonate, 
 which in its turn becomes decomposed. The tartrate of lime in the 
 cream of tartar partially separates during the saturation, but a con- 
 siderable portion will be held in solution by the neutral salt, and may 
 be nearly got rid of by diluting considerably with water after the sat- 
 uration, and exposing the solution for several days to the cold. In or- 
 der to obtain it chemically pure, the cream of tartar purified by hy- 
 
1140 Pharmacy. 
 
 I 
 drpchloric acid must be used. The continued stirring during the neu 
 tralization is partly to assist the evolution of the carbonic acid, and 
 also to prevent the lime, when precipitated, from adhering to the bot- 
 tom of the pan. — Witt. The carbonate of soda, is first made into a 'so- 
 lution ; being more readily soluble than the cream of tartar. The fil- 
 tration separates any foreign substances, as tartrate of lime, and the 
 solution when concentrated by evaporation should be removed to a 
 warm iron vessel, lined with porcelain, for gradual crystallization. If 
 iron vessels be used, the metal will be acted upon and impart a dark 
 color to the salt. 
 
 Neutral Tartrate of Potassa forms fine white, transparent crystals 
 which are right-rhombic prisms, or derived six-sided prisms, termi- 
 nated by two converging planes. , It is neutral, odorless, of a slightly 
 bitter, saline taste, gradually absorbs moisture from the air, without any 
 great deliquescence, is soluble in its own weight of cool water, in half 
 its weight of boiling, and is very slightly soluble in alcohol. Its aque- 
 ous solution decomposes by keeping. Heated, it fuses, becomes black, 
 evolves the odor of caramel, gives off acid vapors, and yields a residue 
 of carbonate of potassa and charcoal. The crystals only should be 
 used in medicine. It seldom contains impurities, except accidental. If 
 it does not give a perfectly clear solution with water, tartrate of lime 
 is to be suspected ; the filtered liquid, which will still retain a portion 
 of the lime, gives in this case a precipitate with oxalate of ammonia ; 
 if when filtered from this, afresh precipitate is caused by phosphate of 
 ammonia, magnesia is present. If the residue after dissolving the salt 
 in water, is not entirely soluble in hydrochloric acid, silica is probably 
 present. Iron, if present, will color the solution red, when sulphocy- 
 anuret of potassium is added. Copper gives a reddish-brown color 
 with ferrocyanuret of potassium ; alumina may be detected by carbo- 
 nizing the tartar, boiling it with excess of diluted sulphuric acid, filter- 
 ing, and then supersaturating with ammonia, when a white flocculent 
 precipitate occurs, which being washed, dried and heated with solution 
 of cobalt on charcoal, acquires a blue color. Sulphuric acid, if pres- 
 ent, forms with nitrate of baryta, a precipitate insoluble in dilute ni- 
 tric acjd ; hydrochloric acid forms a precipitate with nitrate of silver, 
 also insoluble in dilute nitric acid. These tests may be also used in 
 the same manner to detect the impurities in bitartrate of potassa. The 
 formula of Tartrate of Potassa is 2K0 Cg H^ On, or 2K0 f ; its equiva- 
 lent 225. — Witt. It is incompatible with acids, acid fruits, lime, baryta, 
 strontia, magnesia and its sulphate, muriate of ammonia, sulphates of 
 soda, potassa, etc. — Coxe. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This salt is a gentle purgative and diuretic, 
 communicating alkaline properties to the urine. It has been employed 
 in dyspepsia, diarrhea, liver-complaint, in uric acid deposits, and some- 
 times as an adjunct to other more active purgatives, as infusion of 
 senna. It may be given in doses varying from a drachm or two to 
 half an ounce, or even an ounce, in sufficient water. 
 
 PoTAS^li Bbomidum. Bromide of Potassium. (Brom Kalium.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Bromine two ounces ; Carbonate of Potassa 
 two ounces and one drachm; Iron Pilings an ounce ; Distilled Water three 
 pints, Imp. meas. First add the Iron, and afterward the Bromine to a 
 pint and a half of the Distilled "Water, and after the reaction between 
 the Bromine and Iron, apply a gentle heat, and when a greenish color 
 occurs, gradually pour in the Carbonate of Potassa, dissolved in the 
 rest of the Distilled Water. Filter, and wash the residue with two 
 
POTASSA. 1141 
 
 pints of boiling distilled water, and filter again; mix the liquors which 
 have been procured by filtj-ation, and concentrate that crystals may 
 form.- — Lond. 
 
 History. — By the above operation, bromide of iron is produced in 
 solution (Br-(-Fe=Fe Br) ; this is afterward decomposed by carbonate of 
 potassa (which must be pure), by which proto-carbonate of Iron and 
 Bromide of Potassium are formed. Upon filtering, the Bromide of 
 Potassium in the solution is separated from the insoluble protocarbon- 
 ate, and by concentration and crystallization is procured in crystals. 
 
 Bromide of Potassium crystallizes in white cubes, and octohedra, of 
 a pearly luster ; it is permanent in the air, odorless, and of a sharp 
 saline afterward cooling taste, resembling ordinary salt. On heating 
 it decrepitates like salt, and fuses to a clear liquid without decomposi- 
 tion ; in a strong red heat, it volatilizes, although but slowly. It dis- 
 solves in four parts of cold, and in its own weight of boiling water ; is 
 soluble in two hundred parts of cold alcohol of eighty per cent., and in 
 sixteen parts of boiling ; the solutions have a neutral reaction.— Witt. 
 Acetate of lead, and the salts of protoxide of mercury, also occasion a 
 white precipitate. The commercial article frequently contains iodide 
 of potassium ; to recognize the iodide place some crystals of the sus- 
 pected bromide on a plate with some solution of starch, and carefully 
 add a minute portion of diluted nitric acid ; the blue iodide of starch 
 is produced. Lassaigne used chlorine instead of nitric acid. He states 
 that though bromide of iodine does not act on starch paper, yet that if 
 paper be exposed to the air, the wetted part becomes successively red, 
 violet, and blue ; the organic matter of the paper probably decompos- 
 ing the bromide of iodine and enabling the iodine to act on the starch. 
 Nitrate of silver may likewise aid us in determining the presence of 
 iodide of potassium ; the silver salt gives a precipitate with both the 
 bromide and iodide of potassium ; but the iodide of silver salt is insol- 
 uble in ammonia, but soluble in alcohol, while the bromide of silver salt is 
 soluble in ammonia, and difficultly so in alcohol. The alkaline reaction 
 of Bromide of Potassium is due to adhering carbonate of potassa, caused 
 either by the use of caustic potassa solution not free from the latter, or 
 an excess of the potassa solution ; under these circumstances the salt 
 becomes moist in the air, and effervesces with the acid. On the addi- 
 tion of hydrochloric acid the salt should not become colored, although 
 chloride of potassium and hydrobromic acid are formed ; if, however, 
 it instantly acquires a reddish color, bromate of potassa is present. The 
 bromic and hydrobromic acids, which are liberated at the same time, 
 become mutually decomposed, forming water and bromine, which latter 
 remains dissolved and occasions the color. Sulphuric acid is known by 
 the white precipitate it causes with chloride of barium. Bromide of 
 Potassium has the formula K Br, and the equivalent weight 119. — 
 
 E, Baudrimont gives the following very precise mode of detecting 
 the presence of chlorine in Bromide of "Potassium : We must first 
 assure ourselves that the sample of bromide to examine is free from 
 carbonate and iodide, because the presence of the last would, in a med- 
 ical point of view render the use of bromide contraindicated, and more- 
 over, a considerable proportion of iodide would impair the analysis. 
 This done, knowing that one gramme of Bromide of Potassium re- 
 quires 1 gramme .428 of nitrate of silver to completely precipitate it 
 ■ in the state of bromide of silver ; and knowing, on the othar hand, that 
 one gramme of chloride of potassium is exactly precipitated by 2.278 
 
1142 i'HARMACT. 
 
 of the same nitrate of silver, — we dissolve one gramme of the suspected 
 Bromide in 100 cubic centimeters of vrater. Of this we take 10 cubic 
 centimeters and entirely precipitate them by a solution of nitrate of 
 silver at the 100th, introduced into a burette graduated into tenths of 
 a cubic centimeter. If the Bromide be pure, to precipitate it will re- 
 quire 142 divisions of the burette. If it contains chloride, it will re- 
 quire more, and the extreme limit will be 227 divisions corresponding 
 to the pure chloride. The proportion of the silver salt used will be a 
 proportional method between these two quantities, according to the 
 relation of the chloride to the bromide. — Jour, de Pharm., 1868. 
 
 .Properties and Uses. — The effects of Bromide of Potassium on the sys- 
 tem appear to be similar to those of iodide of potassium, with the addi- 
 tion of a sedative influence upon irritable or excited conditions of the 
 nervous system. When given in small doses and continued daily for 
 several months it does not exert any injurious effect, and may be de- 
 tected in the urine by the application of starch, and a few drops of 
 chlorine, which imparts a yellow color. If the alimentary canal is in an 
 irritable condition its use is apt to produce diarrhea. It generally pro- 
 duces diuresis. It has been successfully used in enlarged spleen, and 
 liver, swelling of the lymphatic glands, scrofula, epilepsy, nervous de- 
 pression from masturbation, also nocturnal emissions, irritability of the 
 nervous centers, chordee, and in hypertrophy of the ventricles, It has 
 proved successful in pertussis ; and also in asthma in doses of 20 or 30 
 grains, repeated two or three times a day. Its continued use diminishes 
 sexual irritations, and is stated to have been advantageous in ovarian 
 enlargements and in derangements of the menstrual function. The 
 dose is from three to ten grains, three times a day, in pill or solution. 
 One or two scruples of the salt mixed with an ounce of lard, forms an 
 ointment useful in bronchocele, enlarged spleen, and scrofulous tumors ; 
 and .this should be conjoined with the internal use of iodine, or the 
 bromide. — P. — C. 
 
 PoTASsn Ctanuretum. Cyanuret of Potassium. (Blausaures Kali.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Eight ounces of Ferrocyanuret of Potassium (Yellow 
 Prussiate of Potash) are finely powdered, thoroughly dried with a gentle 
 heat, intimately mixed with three ounces of pure Carbonate of Potassa. 
 The mixture is thrown by spoonfuls into a red-hot Hessian or iron cru- 
 cible, allowed to remain in the fire until thoroughly fluid, and a glass 
 rod or iron spatula dipped into it and withdrawn becomes covered with 
 a clear liquid which on cooling solidifies to a white (not at all yellow) 
 mass. When thi* point is attairied, the crucible is removed from the 
 fire, over which it is held for a few minutes to allow the black particles 
 swimming in it to subside the more readily; the clear liquor is then 
 poured on a clean iron dish, broken into pieces so soon as it has solidi- 
 fied, and kept in well-closed vessels. The yield will be from six to six 
 an^ three-quarter ounces. 
 
 History. — Ferrocyanuret of potassium, deprived of its water of crys- 
 tallization, consists of 2 K Cy-f-Fe Cy. By fusing this with one equiv- 
 alent of carbonate of potassa, the oxygen of half the potassa combines 
 with half the cyanogen of the cyanuret of iron to form cyanic acid, which 
 with the other half of the potassa forms cyanate of pota8sa^KO-|-0y 
 O; the potassium liberated, with the other half of the cyanogen of the 
 cyanuret of iron, forms Cyanuret of Potassium; the iron separates in a 
 metallic state, as grayish-black flakes, and the carbonic acid is evolved., 
 As the cyanuret is apt to become oxidized by the absorption of oxygen, 
 a loose cover might be laid upon the crucible. The mixture must be 
 
POTASBA. U.i'3 
 
 added to the crucible by small quantities at a time, to allow of its being 
 covered by the fused portion, as all which adheres to the sides of the 
 crucible above this does not foym a pure product. It is necessary to 
 take care that no particles of iron remain floating in the mass previous 
 to pouring it out. If the carbonate of potassa, or ferrocyanurelf of po- 
 tassium used, is not thoroughly dry, ammonia is formed, and may be 
 detected by its odor. — Witt. Thecyanate of potassa, more or less of which 
 is generally present with the cyanide, may be got rid of by adding to the 
 mixture of the carbonate and ferrocyanide, before fusion, one eighth of its 
 weight of charcoal, which at a red heat reduces the potassic cyanate to 
 the form of cyanide ; the fused salt, when decanted from the iron, will then 
 have a black color, owing to the presence of particles of unconsumed char- 
 coal. If it is to be used in solution immediately, it may be dissolved in 
 water and filtered ; but if required in the solid form, it may be purified 
 by treatment with boiling alcohol, from which, after filtration, it crystal- 
 lizes on cooling. — W. A. Miller. The French codex gives the following 
 process : Pulverize Ferrocyanide of Potassium any quantity, and com- 
 pletely dry it in the stove ; then introduce it into a narrow crucible 
 which must be covered with its lid. At first heat the crucible moder- 
 ately, then gradually raise the temperature to redness, and keep it so 
 until there is no further disengagement of gas. The liquid matter is the 
 melted cyanide of potassium, which holds in suspension some carburet 
 of iron proceeding from the decomposition of the original salt. To 
 separate this carburet, effect the filtration through a wire sieve ar- 
 ranged above a second crucible placed in a heated furnace. Upon 
 cooling the cyanide of potassium assumes a kind of white enamel with 
 a crystalline structure. The impurities occupy the bottom of the cruci- 
 ble ; all parts not absolutely ^hite must be rejected. The cyanide should 
 be preserved in vessels closed with the greatest care and in somewhat 
 large fragments. Several other processes are pursued for the prepara- 
 tion of this salt. 
 
 Cyanuret of Potassium made as above, is in solid white lumps of a 
 crystalline fracture, odorless, but possessing a strong, alkaline taste, 
 with a flavor resembling that of peach-kernels ; it changes reddened lit- 
 mus-paper to its original blue. In the air it deliquesces, evolving hy- 
 drocyanic acid and carbonate of ammonia, while carbonate of potassa 
 forms the residue. The acid is from the cyanuret, and the ammonia 
 from the decomposition of the cyanate of potassa. It is dissolved by 
 water, and by boiling alcohol from which it precipitates almost entirely 
 on cooling. Heated, it fuses unchanged if kept from the action of the 
 air, otherwise it attracts oxygen and is converted into cyanate of po- 
 tassa. It is readily acted upon by acids, undergoing decomposition, 
 and evolving hydrocyanic acid. It is very subject to decomposition, 
 which, however, occurs gradually; and as its puritj'^ and quantity of 
 acid is"apt to vary, great care is required in its administration. As 
 prepared by the above formula the cyanuret of potassium is eontami 
 nated with more or less carbonate of potassa. For a method of estimat 
 ing the purity of Cyanuret of Potassium, see Am. Jour. Pharm., XXYIII., 
 555. The formula of this salt, when pure, is K Cy; its equivalent 65.2, 
 or 812.5. The pure salt is obtained in the form of a snow-white crys- 
 talline powder, and can only be made by direct combinations of pure 
 hydrocyanic acid, and pure potassa. The formula of the salt as made 
 by the above process is, according to Wittstein, 7 K Cy+3 (KO-f- 
 'Jy O.) 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This salt ranks in activity as a poison, next to 
 
1144 ' Pharmacy. 
 
 hydrocyanic acid. Medicinally, it has been preferred to hydrocyanic 
 acid, on account of its not so readily becoming decomposed, and being 
 more constant in its strength. It is used in all instances where hydro- 
 cyanic acid is indicated, in the dose of about one-eighth of a grain, and 
 should* be given in a tablespoonful of pure water, or diluted aromatic 
 syrup. Great care must be employed in using it. A very excellent 
 cough preparation is made of Solution of Conium three fluidounces, 
 Tincture of Cyanuret of Potassium six fluidrachms, Tincture of Opium 
 four fluidrachms; mix. The dose is a teaspoonful four times a day. 
 The Solution of Conium is made by rubbing Inspissated Juice of Co- 
 nium five drachms with six ounces of Tincture of Tolu, half a pint of 
 Madeira Wine, and half a pint of pure water. The tincture of Cyan- 
 uret of Potassium by dissolving four or five grains of the salt in six 
 fluidrachms of alcohol. Externally, it has been eflScaciously used in 
 neuralgia, sciatica, rheumatism, etc., being applied to the part on lint 
 or linen, in the proportion of eight grains of the cyanuret to two fluid- 
 ounces of distilled water; keeping the part constantly moistened with it. 
 The dark spots produced by nitrate of silver on the conjunctiva, are 
 obliterated by dropping the solution of the cyanuret into the eye on 
 each alternate day. — Ghithrie. Hydrocyanic acid for medical purposes, 
 may, according to Dr. Clark, be prepared by agitating together in a 
 stout vial closed by a cork, 24 grains of cyanide of potassium, 56 grains 
 of crystals of tartaric acid, and 1 ounce of water. The precipitate of 
 bitartrate of potassa is separated by filtration. The liquid contains 10 
 grains of hydrocyanic acid, or rather more than 2 per cent. 
 PoTAssii loDiDUM. Iodide of Potassium. (lod Elalium.) 
 Preparation. — " Take of Iodine (dry) five ounces ; Pine Iron "Wire three 
 ounces ; Water four pints, Imp. measure ; Ijrj Carbonate of Potassa two 
 ounces and six drachms. With the Water, Iodine, and Iron Wire prepare 
 solution of iodide of iron as directed for Ferri lodidum. Add immedi- 
 ately, while it is hot, the Carbonate of Potassa previously dissolved in a 
 few ounces of water, stir carefully, filter the product and wash the 
 powder on the filter with a little water. Concentrate the liquor at a 
 temperature short of ebullition till a dry salt be obtained ; which is to 
 be purified from a little red oxide of iron and other impurities by dis- 
 solvingit in less than its own weight of boiling water, or still better, 
 by boiling it in twice its weight of rectified spirit, filtering the solution, 
 and setting it aside to crystallize. More crystals will be obtained by 
 concentrating and cooling the residual liquor." — JSd. 
 
 Wittstein prefers the following process to any other : " To freshly pre- 
 pared solution of caustic potassa, sp. gr. 1.333, in a cylindrical glass 
 vessel, dry iodine is added, with constant stirring, and without the ap- 
 plication of heat, until the solution acquires a brownish-yellow color, 
 and retains it when allowed to stand some hours. To four parts of caus- 
 tic potassa of the above sp. gr. three parts of iodine will be requisite. 
 The solution and any precipitate that may have formed, are now 
 poured into a porcelain dish, evaporated to dryness, finely powdered, 
 then intimately mixed with one-twelfth its weight of finely powdered 
 wood charcoal, and the mixture thrown by spoonfuls into a red-hot iron 
 crucible ; the heat is continued for a quarter of an hour, and the cruci- 
 ble emptied into some iron vessel. The cooled mass and the portions 
 adhering to the crucible are treated with their weight of water in a 
 porcelain dish, and the solution aided by heat ; the liquid is then filtered 
 and evaporated slowly to crystallization, which is repeated with the 
 mother-liquors, until they are reduced to a small quantity. The crys- 
 
POTASBA. 1145 
 
 tals are drained fron? the mother -liquor in a funnel, thoroughly dried 
 on a flat dish, and kept in a well-closed bottle. Three parts of iodine 
 yield nearly four parts of the iodide. The last of the mother-liquor 
 generally reacting strongly alkaline, is treated; if of sufScieut quantity, 
 ivith ateohol of 80 per cent., which leaves the carbonate of potassa." 
 
 History. — 3540 paris of potassa, or 13,615 of liquor potassa, sp. gr. 
 1.333, require 9516 parts of iodine ; or four parts of solution require , 
 nearly three parts of iodine,' and as a slight excess of the latter is requi- 
 site, three parts are necessary. The potassa must be freshly prepared 
 and pure. Six equivalents of iodine acting upoa six of potassa, gives 
 rise to the formation of one equivalent of iodate of potassa (KO-I--IO5) 
 and five equivalents of Iodide of Potassium (5 KI). In order to facili- 
 tate the decomposition of the iodate into Iodide of Potassium, the 
 mixture, toward the latter part of the first evaporation, is mixed with 
 charcoal, and subsequently submitted to a low red heat. Solution and 
 filtration then separates the Iodide of Potassium from the other 
 matters, and it may be obtained by concentration and crystallization. 
 — Witt. The process of Wittstein is the one upon which, with a few un- 
 important modifications, those of the U. S. and Brit. Pharmacopoeias 
 appear to have been based. There are several other methods by which 
 this salt is prepared. 
 
 Iodide of Potassium crystallizes in semi-opaque cubes, or octohe- 
 drons, belonging to the regular system. It is odorless, and of a pun- 
 gent Saline, afterward slightly bitter taste. In a dry atmosphere it 
 remains unchanged; but in damp air the crystals gradually become 
 yellow and moist, from the carbonic acid and water in the air acting 
 on them, causing the formation of carbonate of potassa and hydriodic 
 acid, the latter of which is agaip decomposed by the oxygen of the air 
 into water and iodine. If a slight excess of iodine be present, the salt 
 has a pale yellowish tint. If it contain a small portion of carbonate of 
 potassa, it gradually attracts moisture from the air, becoming entirely 
 liquid. At a red heat the salt fuses without decomposing, although 
 slight traces of it volatilize. It requires three-fourths its weight of cold, 
 and one-half of hot water for its solution. Alcohol of 80 per cent, dis- 
 solves in the cold one-seventh, when heated one-fifth its weight ; the 
 solutions must not render turmeric paper brown. — Witt. Its aqueous 
 solution dissolves iodine, forming a dark reddish -brown fluid. A solu- 
 tion of bichloride of mercury ,added to a solution of pure Iodide of 
 Potassium, causes a vermillion red precipitate of biniodide of mercury, 
 soluble in excess of Iodide of Potassium. Acetate of lead produces a 
 yellow precipitate of iodide of lead. Calomel or protonitrate of mer- 
 cury causes a grayish or a greenish-yellow precipitate of protiodide of 
 mercury.? Bichloride of platinum produces a brownish -red biniodide 
 of platinum. Nitrate of silver precipitates a pale-yellow iodide of 
 silver. Sulphuric acid added to Iodide of Potassium, and heat applied, 
 violet-colored vapors are evolved. An infusion of starch has no effect 
 on a solution of pure Iodide of Potassium, but if a few drops of nitric 
 acid, or a mixture of chlorine and nitric acid be added, blue iodide of 
 starch is formed, which is decolorized by caustic alkali, or by boiling. 
 —P. 
 
 Iodide of Potassium is often rendered impure by the presence of 
 several foreign substances. Carbonate of potassa may be detected by 
 lime-water rendering the solution milky; by its destroying the color 
 of tincture of iodine, which is not affected by the pure salt; and by al- 
 cohol, which does not dissolve the carbonate, but does the pure iodide 
 
1146 Pharmacy. 
 
 Sulphate of potassa is known by giving a white precipitate with chloride 
 of barium, insoluble in nitric acid. lodate of potassa is insoluble in al- 
 cohol ; if tart'aric acid be added to the solution of iodide, crystals of 
 bitartrate of potash are deposited, and if the iodide be pure, the litjuid 
 becomes quickly yellow by the oxygen of the atmosphere acting-^on the 
 hydriodic acid which is thus generated ; but if iodate of potassa be also 
 present, hydriodic a,nd iodic acids are disengaged, and a quantity 'of 
 tree iodine is at once developed. lodate of potassa may also be known 
 by hydrochloric acid causing a brown color instantly. Chloride of so- 
 dium or potassium gives a white precipitate with nitrate of silver, which 
 is readily soluble in caustic ammonia. Iodide of Potassium is often 
 iijcorrectly called Hydriodate of Potash; the crystals contain no water 
 of crystallization. Its formula is KI, and its equivalent weight 165.36 
 or 2067. — P. — Witt. Mr. W. Oopney proposes as a test for the presence 
 of carbonate AuA. iodate of potash, recently and carefully prepared syrup 
 of protiodide of iron ; upon adding a drop of this to a sample of the 
 suspected iodide dissolved in distilled water, a pale-blue precipitate is 
 caused if carbonate of potassa be present, and a red one if iodate be 
 the impurity. Bromide of Potassium when present with the Iodide 
 may be detected by its difficult solubility in alcohol, and by the undis- 
 solved portion being soluble in ammonia. Or, a little of. the suspected 
 salt may be dissolved in distilled water, then add solution of nitrate of 
 silver, and recover it by aqua ammonia ; the iodide remains undissolved, 
 and by its weight we can determine the proportion of bromide present. 
 M. Personne gives the following excellent method ; into a solution of 
 the suspected iodide, throw an excess of sulphate of copper and ft)llow 
 with a current of sulphurous acid; then filter. The /iodide of copper 
 which precipitates gives the proportion of iodine. Place a portion of 
 the supernatant liquid in a tube with a little chlorine water, which sepa- 
 rates the bromide, if any is present, and becomes colored yellow. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^In very large doses Iodide of Potassium is an 
 irritant, though Dr. Elliotson states that six drachms may be given daily 
 arid continued for many weeks, without inconvenience. In small doses 
 it is diuretic and alterative. Iodine has been detected in the\urine a few 
 minutes after the exhibition of the iodide.* A drachm of the iodide 
 taken in divided doses has caused vomiting, colicky pains, slight diar- 
 rhea, frequency of pulse, and slight exhaustion ; and Dr. Laurie has 
 known small doses to produce serious and even fatal results in certain 
 constitutions. Mercurial salivation is frequently occasioned by the ad- 
 ministration of tliis salt to persons who had been subject to mercurial 
 treatment at some prior time. In some constitutions Iodide of Potassium 
 produces certain symptoms termed iodism, as " violent vomiting and 
 purging, with fever ; great thirst ; palpitation ; rapid and extreme ema- 
 ciation ; cramps, and small and frequent pulse, occasionally with dry 
 cough, and terminating in death." — P. Usually, the unpleasant symp- 
 toms occasioned by the use of Iodide of Potassium gradually pass away 
 upon ceasing its use. 
 
 Iodide of Potassium is usually given in all cases where iodine is in- 
 dicated, being less irritating in its action ; it appears to be more espe- 
 cially useful in goitre, strumous enlargement of the glands, strumous 
 sores, and eruptions, strumous ophthalmia, syphilitic affections, mam- 
 mary tumors, enlargement of the liver, amenorrhea, leucorrhea, mercu- 
 
 *Iodide of Potassium, or iodine, may be detected in urine, by first adding starch to the 
 suspected urine, then a few drons of nitric acid, or, solution of chlorine; the blue Iodide 
 of starch will be precipitated. 
 
POTASSA. 1147 
 
 rio-syphilitic sore-throat, mercurial cachexy, and, indeed, all tuberoulai 
 a'ifections of serous tissues. It is extensively employed in the above 
 forms of disease, alone or in combination with the Compound Syrup of 
 Stillingia, in the proportion of four drachms of the Salt to a pint, of the 
 Syrup. When taken for a length of time, and especially if used in 
 rather large doses, it will excite ptyalism, and frequently an affection of 
 the mucous membranes of the air passages, very much resembling a 
 cold in the head. The dose of it is from two to ten grains ; it should 
 always be given in solution and well diluted, and should also be pre- 
 scribed in the simplest possible form, on account of its numerous chem- 
 ical relations with other bodies, many of which decompose it, and form 
 insoluble iodides. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Liquor lodinii Compositus ; Pilulse Perri lodidi ; Tinctura 
 lodinii Composita ; Unguentum lodinii Compositum. 
 
 PoTASsii Sttlphuretum. Sulphur et of Potassium. Hepar. Liver of 
 Sulphur. (Schwefelkalium. Schwefelleber.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Sulphur one ownce; pure Carbonate of Potassa 
 four ounces. Triturate them well together, and heat them in a covered 
 crucible till they form a uniform fused mass ; which, when cold, is to be 
 broken up into fragments and kept in well-closed vessels." — Ed. There 
 is an unnecessary excess of alkali used in the above process. The prep- 
 aration may be made equally as well with one half the quantity of Car- 
 bonate of Potassa named. 
 
 History.- — If carbonate of potassa and sulphur are heated in the pro- 
 portion to form the tersulphuret, two equivalents of potassa give their 
 oxygen to two equivalents of sulphur ; the hyposulphurous acid thus 
 formed, combines with one equivalent of potassa to form hyposulphite 
 of potassa, the two equivalents of potassium with six equivalents of sul- 
 phur, form tersulphuret of potassium, and carbonic acid is evolved, 
 causing the puffing up. 2595 parts of pure carbonate of potassa require 
 1600 parts of sulphur. On account of the puffing up caused by the evo- 
 lution of carbonic acid, capacious vessels must be used ; for small quan- 
 tities glass flasks are most convenient, and on the large scale cast-iron 
 vessels. As soon as the mass becomes quietly fluid, it is well, previous 
 to removing from the fire, to try if it is perfectly soluble, free from 
 uncombined sulphur ; for this purpose a small portion may be with- 
 drawn and dissolved in water, and then it can be noticed whether there 
 is any precipitate. If the precaution is taken that it does not ignite, 
 when a glass flask is used, little or no sulphuric acid will be formed ; 
 if, however, wide open vessels are employed, this can scarcely be pre- 
 vented, and the hyposulphite of potassa, by absorbing oxygen, becomes 
 partially or entirely converted into sulphate of potassa, and the excess 
 of sulphur is evolved as sulphurous acid. It is also possible that sul- 
 philfe of potassa may be formed, and according to the length of time it 
 burns, a variable quantity of hyposulphite, sulphite, and sulphate of 
 potassa will be formed in the preparation. Sulphuret of Potassium, 
 through combustion, undergoes the same change into sulphite and sul- 
 phate of potassa as the hyposulphite of potassa does. Consequently, 
 Liver of Sulphur, although made of pure materials, should, when con- 
 taining much sulphate, be rejected as faulty. This is, however, seldom 
 done, as in employing open vessels, the._ contamination can scarcely be 
 avoided. 
 
 The formation of sulphate of potassa is least when the wet method is 
 employed. A portion which, on testing, is found to be perfectly com- 
 bined, gives, when evaporated until it becomes brittle on cooling, a liver 
 
1148 Phaemaot. 
 
 containing one-seventh its weight of water, wiiich may be removed b^ 
 heating it until it commences to fuse. — TVitt. 
 
 The wet method referred to by Wittstein is, to place in a vessel one 
 part of sulphur, and two parts, each, of carbonate of potassa and water; 
 heat to boiling, and continue it so long as the mixture puffs up. When 
 on withdrawing a portion and mixing with water it ceases to give a 
 precipitate of sulphur, the heat is raised until the mass is not only 
 brittle on cooling, but forms a limpid fluid in the vessel, which is then 
 withdrawn from the fire and the contents poured into another vessel, 
 the surface of which has been rubbed with oil. If this, when treated 
 with water, still gives off sulphur, half a part of water must be added 
 and again boiled. 
 
 Sulpharet of Potassium is a yellow, solid; brittle, deliquescent mass, 
 with a tinge of green ; when quite dry it is nearly odorless, of a bitter, 
 strongly alkaline, and disagreeable taste. When damp its smell is 
 very offensive, similar to that of rotten eggs, and which is due to de- 
 composition of this substance during which sulphuretted hydrogen is 
 evolved, while sulphur separates. In the air, it gradually absorbs oxy- 
 gen, and undergoes- a series of changes, which end in the formation of 
 sulphate of potassa and free sulphur. It is dissolved by water with the 
 greatest facility, but requires a larger quantity for its solution when it 
 contains much sulphate of potassa ; the solution is yellow and fetid. Al- 
 cohol of 80 per cent, dissolves the Sulphuret pf Potassium from the Liv- 
 er of Sulphur, leaving the hyposulphite, sulphite, and sulphate of po- 
 tassa undissolved, all the chloride of potassium (or at least most of it), the 
 carbonate of potassa, and other impurities, will be found in the residue. 
 The aqueous and alcoholic solutions have a strongly alkaline reaction. 
 A white deposit in the aqueous solution, unaltered by a large quantity 
 of water, denotes the presence of silica or alumina; a black or gray 
 one is probably iron; a yellow one free sulphur. Carbonate of potassa 
 is detected by the addition of lime-water, which renders the solution 
 turbid. If the Liver of Sulphur, when treated with dilute sulphuric 
 acid, effervesces without evolving any sulphuretted hydrogen, it must 
 be thrown away as useless. — Witt. The formula of tersulphide of po- 
 tassium is KS3:=87 ; but as Liver of Sulphur varies according to the 
 temperature employed in its preparation, coutainingmoreor less sulphate 
 of potassa, its formula will vary accordingly, being 2 or 3 KSj-t-KO, 
 SO3. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In large doses it is an energetic, narcotico- 
 acrid poison, causing acrid taste, vomiting, mortal faintness, and con- 
 vulsions, with an emission of the odor of sulphuretted hydrogen. In 
 small doses, from two to ten grains in solution, or in pill with soap or 
 liquorice, and repeated three or four times a day, it acts as a general 
 stimulant, increasing the frequency of the pulse as well as the lieat 
 of the body, and promoting the different secretions, especially those of; 
 the mucous membranes. It is likewise antacid, alterative, and anti- 
 spasmodic, and has been used in hooping-cough, chronic rheumatism, 
 asthma, obstinate diseases of the skin, painters' colic, gout, etc. — P. 
 Externally it has been very eflScacious in chronic diseases of the skin, 
 as eczema, scabies, lepra, pityriasis, etc., in which it is used in the form 
 of ointment, wash, or bath. Half a drachm of the sulphuret to an 
 ounce of lard, forms an ointment; the same quantity to a fluidounce of 
 water, forms a wash or lotion. One part of the sulphuret to one thou- 
 sand of water, forms a bath. 
 
PUL VERES. 1149 
 
 PIILVBEBS. (Pulver.) ■ 
 
 Powders. 
 
 Medicines which have no nauseous or unpleasant taste, no acrid or 
 destructive action, which are not deliquescent, and which can be given 
 in not too bulky doses, are usually more advantageously administered in 
 fine powder. When an article is reduced to powder, it has a much greater 
 . surface exposed to the influence of light and of the atmosphere than 
 when in the crude, aggregate mass ; and as most, if not all powders, 
 are more or less injured by the action of these agents, it is always bet- 
 ter to keep them in well-closed tin cans, or in well-stopped bottles, 
 which are covered externally with a coat of black paint, varnish, or 
 black paper, etc. They should occasionally be emptied from the ves- 
 sels containing them and bo exposed to a moderate ^leat in a dark 
 place, in order to remove any moisture that may have collected in 
 them, and then be replaced in their vessels. Were druggists to pursue 
 this rule, they would find it very advantageous in many respects. Some 
 agents, notwithstanding even these precautions, become damp or lose 
 their virtues rapidly when in the state of powder ; such should be pul- 
 verized in small quantities at a time, and only as they are required. 
 As a general rule, the finer the powder, or the longer it is triturated, 
 the more active it becomes. And in the various preparations of the 
 alkaloids and resinoids, care must be takep, in all instances, to triturate 
 for at least nearly half an hour, which renders them much more ener- 
 getic and effectual in their results. M. Dorvault thinks that the oper- 
 ation of pulverization effects an actual change in the chemical and 
 therapeutical properties of many agents. Sugar is less soluble in water, 
 and less sweet, when long pulverized or triturated, and, he inquires, is 
 this to be referred to an altered electrical condition of the sugar, as the 
 phosphorescence developed during the act of pulverization in the dark 
 would lead us to suppose ? Gum Arabic, powdered, has not the same 
 taste, nor the same solubility as when in the entire state. If a given 
 quantity of water may be made to dissolve forty parts of arsenious acid 
 in the vitreous state, the same quantity of water can be made to dis- 
 solve only fourteen parts after pulverization. — (Annals of Pharmacy, 
 May, 1852.) Changes of this kind may ensue from the action of light, 
 the oxygen of the atmosphere, its nitrogen, or its electricity, et6., upon 
 matter reduced to such a state of fineness that nearly eyery part of it 
 is exposed to the peculiar agent which effects these changes. 
 
 When but one article is reduced to powder, it is termed a simple pow- 
 der, when several articles in powder are rubbed up together, the mix- 
 ture is termed a compound poicder. As the substances entering into the 
 formation of a compound powder, may be of various textures and den- 
 sities, it is generally preferable to reduce eaqh; separately, to a powder, 
 and then mix and triturate them together thoroughly. Some articles, 
 however, require the intervention of another before they can be reduced 
 to powder, as camphor, which is pulverized by the addition of a few 
 drops of alcohol ; others again, are powdered with facility by the aid 
 of a harder substance. Medicines that contain considerable fixed oil, 
 or which are deliquescent, should never be prescribed in the form of 
 powders, more especially when they are to be retained for any length 
 of time, as the former may injure the powder in consequence of ran- 
 cidity, while the latter may render it damp, moldy, and inert. Arti- 
 cles which are incompatible should never be united together, unless the 
 decomposing compound is required. When volatile or deliquescent^ sub- 
 
1150 Pharmacy. 
 
 stances are prescribed in powers, as camphor, carbonate of ammonia 
 or earboriate of potassa, they should be divided in waxed papers, and 
 inclosed in tin-foil, a tin box, or a wide-mouthed vial before delivering 
 them. The paper used for powders of ordinary character, should be very 
 smooth, or glazed, to prevent the powder from adhering to it, and suft 
 ficiently soft and yielding to be opened and closed readily, without 
 springing, so as to throw out any portion of the powder. Some apoth- 
 ecaries fold up their powders in foolscap paper, and these, when Opened 
 by the patient, in consequence of their stiffness, spill or throw out 
 ii very material proportion of the medicine. When a powder is pre- 
 scribed in bulk, leaving it to the patient to apportion the dose, unless 
 otherwise desired, it should always be put into a wide-mouthed vial. 
 
 The old absurd and unscientific style of combining eight or ten arti- 
 cles in one preparation is fortunately becoming unpopular, and though 
 a few preparations of the kind are retained, yet the major amount of our 
 present compounds consist of but two or three,- and rarely exceeding 
 four substances ; in the former, the articles were too frequently thrown 
 together without any guide or rule, or any regard to compatibilities, 
 and though benefit might be derived from these heterogeneous mix- 
 tures, it was always difficult to ascertain upon which article or articles 
 the effect depended, or whether it was owing to a third agent, the re- 
 sult of decomposition. 
 
 In preparing powders, it will be best to dry the article, beat it in an 
 iron or brass mortar for a time, then sift it through a fine sieve ; again 
 beat the coarser parts in a mortar for a short time, sift again ; and so 
 continue alternately pulverizing and sifting until the whole is reduced 
 to fine powder. The same course should be pursued in triturating. 
 When very active articles, such as strychnia, chloride of gold, atropia, 
 etc., are to be given in the form of powders^ — gunn, sugar, sugar of milk, 
 starch, or marsh-mallow should be triturated with them, in order to 
 facilitate their reduction to minute division. 
 
 The usual vehicle for taking the lighter powders is an agreeable, 
 thin liquid, as water, gruel, milk, etc. Heavy powders require a more 
 consistent vehicle, as syrup, molasses, thick mucilage, etc.; always bear- 
 ing in mind whether the vehicle be compatible with the active ingre- 
 dients of the powder. 
 
 PuLvis AscLEPi^ CoMPOsiTus. Compound Powder of Pleurisy Boot. 
 (Zusammengesetztes Asclepias Pulver.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Pleurisy Eoot, Spearmint, and Sumach Ber- 
 ries, each, in powder, two ounces; Bayberry Bark and Skunk Cabbage, 
 each, in powder, one ounce; Pulverized Ginger half an ounce. Mix 
 them. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Very useful diaphoretic in coughs, colds, and 
 as a drink in febrile diseases. Two drachms of the powder may be in- 
 fused in half a pint of boiling water, sweetened, and drank in wine- 
 glassful doses, every hour or two. Or in common colds, the half pint 
 of warm infusion may be taken at a draught, and repeated in an hour 
 if necessary. — W. S. M. 
 
 PuLVis Camphors Compositus. Compound Powder of Camphor. (Zu- 
 sammengesetztes Kampfer Pulver.) 
 
 Preparation.^-I&k^ of Tannic Acid, Kino, Camphor, each, in powder, 
 one scruple ; Opium, in powder, half a scruple. Mix well together, and 
 divide into twenty powders. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These powders are stimulant, antispasmodic, 
 anodyne and astringent, and have proved highly successful in the treat- 
 
, PULVERES. 1151 
 
 inent of Asiatic cholera, cholerine, and severe cholera- morbus. They 
 speedily cheek the discharges, and relieve the pains or cramps. The 
 dose is one powder, to be given after each discharge from the bowels, 
 or oftener if the urgency of the case require it. The powders may be 
 given in molasses, quince syrup, or blackberry jelly. Where more 
 stimulus is required, one or two grains of capsicum may be added to 
 each dose. — J. K. 
 
 PuLVis Carbonis Ligni Composittjs. Compound Powder of Charcoal. 
 (Zusammengesetztes Holzkohlen Pulver.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Charcoal two OMWces;,Ehubarb, in powder, one 
 mince ; Bicarbonate of Soda half an ounce. Mix together. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation will be found very beneficial 
 in dyspepsia, attended with acidity of the stomach^loss of appetite, consti- 
 pation or diarrhea, and distress of the stomach after eating. It will prove 
 useful in all derangements of the digestive functions where acidity of 
 the stomach is present. The dose is a teaspoonful in water or Indian- 
 meal gruel, three or four times a day. If cream of tartar, one ounce, 
 be substituted for the bicarbonate of soda, it will form an excellent 
 laxative powder for piles. — J. K. 
 
 Pttlvis Ctpripedii Compositus. Corfipound Powder of Yellow Ladies' 
 Slipper. Nerve Powder. (Zusammengesetztes Prauensehuh Pulver.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Yellow Ladies'-slipper Eoot, Pleurisy Eoot, 
 Skunk-Oabbage Eoot, and Scullcap, each, in powder, one ounce. Mix 
 them. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This powder is useful to allay irritability or 
 excitability of the nervous system, to relieve spasms, and to produce 
 sleep in restless, wakeful, or excited conditions. "When acidity of the 
 stomach is present, it is common to add bicarbonate of soda, an ounce. 
 The dose is from half a drachm to a drachm three times a day, or as 
 required ; it is usually administered in tea or water. — J. K. 
 
 PuLVis Hydrastis Compositus. Compound Powder of Golden Seal. 
 (Zusammengesetztes Gelbwurz Pulver.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Golden Seal, Blue Cohosh, and Helonias, each, 
 in powder, half an ounce. Mix together. 
 
 Properties and CTses.— This powder is tonic and antispasmodic. It 
 will be found very efficient in dyspepsia, chronic inflamination of the 
 mucous membrane of the stomach, and will afford much relief in eases 
 of distress of the stomach after eating, and in aphthous inflammations 
 of the mouth. It may also be administered to prevent a relapse, in 
 bilious colic. The dose is from half a drachm to a drachm, three or 
 four times a day, in water, tea or wine, as the case may require. — 
 J.K. 
 
 Pttlvis IPECAOTJANH.ai Compositus. Compound Powder of Ipecacuanha. 
 (Zusammengesetztes Brechwurzel Pulver.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Pleurisy Eoot, Blood Eoot, Ipecacuanha, M- 
 trate of Potassa, each, in powder, one drachm. Mix them. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This powder has both diuretic and diaphoretic 
 effects upon the system ; it is useful in febrile, and inflammatory dis- 
 eases, and especially in cases where, from idiosyncrasy or other causes, 
 opium is inadmissible. The dose is five or ten grains every hour or 
 two. 
 
 PuLVis IPEOACUANH.ffi ET Opii Compositus. Convpound Powder of 
 Ipecacuanha and Opium. Diaphoretic Powder. (Zusammengesetztes 
 Brechwurzel und Opium Pulver.) 
 
 Preparation.— Take of Opium, in powder, ten grains ; Camphor, in 
 
1152 Pharmacy. 
 
 ■powder, two scruples; Ipecacuanha, in powder, one scruple; Bitartrate 
 of Potassa, eight scruples. Mix them. — Bench's Am. Prac. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This powder is an excellent anodyne and dia- 
 phoretic, and is, perhaps, superior to any other preparation in its dia- 
 phoretic effects upon the system. It is of great efflcacj' in all febrile 
 and inflammatory diseases, diarrhea, dysentery, cholera-morbus, gout, 
 rheumatism, after-pains, all cases of nervous irritability or excitement, 
 and wherever an anodyne conjoined with a diaphoretic is indicated. 
 It favors perspiration without augmenting the heat of the body. The 
 above is the original formula, but practitioners vary in preparing it 
 according to their favorite views; thus some omit the cream of tartar 
 and substitute nitrate of potassa, or bicarbonate of soda, while others 
 omit the opium,, substituting in its place lactucarium, or twice the 
 quantity of oleo-resin of cypripedium rendered dry by the addition of 
 magnesia. Dose, three to five grains every three or four hours in feb- 
 rile or inflammatory diseases ; and in some cases, ten grains, ^three times 
 a day. Its action may be materially promoted as a diaphoretic by 
 warm drinks, such as catnip, balm, or sage tea, lemonade, etc., whicli 
 however, should not be given immediately after the administration of 
 the powder, lest vomiting be provoked. In rheumatism', pneumonia, 
 cerebral affections, hepatic disease, etc!, it is' frequently combined with 
 small doses of resin of podophj'llum. 
 
 In preparing the powder, the camphor must first be reduced to pow- 
 der by trituration with a few drops of alcohol, then add a small portion 
 of the Bitartrate of Potassa, continue the trituration until the camphor 
 has been still further divided, add the opium iil powder, then the ipe- 
 cacuanha, and lastly, the remainder of the bitartrate, and triturate all 
 together for fifteen or twenty minutes. 
 
 PuLvis jALAP.ffii CoMPOsiTus. Gompound Powder of Jalap. Antibilious 
 Physic. (Zusammengesetztes lalappe Pulver.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Alexandria Senna, in powder, two ounces; Jalap, 
 m powder, one ounce ; Cloves or Gringer, in powder, one drachm. Mix 
 them. — Beach's Am. Prac. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms an excellent purgative, useful in 
 nearly all cases where such action is required. It acts with mildness 
 and efficacy, infiuenciAg the whole alimentary tract, cleansing it of all 
 abnormal accumulations, and stimulating the whole biliary apparatus 
 to healthy action. It may be given to either sex, and at all ages; and 
 is used, in all febrile, inflammatory, or chronic diseases, being contra-in- 
 dicated in severe gastric or intestinal inflammation, and requires to be 
 used cautiously and in moderate doses, during pregnancy, menorrhagia, 
 and certain other diseases. Dose, one drachm, put into a gill of boil- 
 ing water, and allowed to stand till cold, then swfeeten if desired, stir, 
 and drink the whole contents. Milk, wine, cider, lemonade, or coffee, 
 etc., may be substituted, in proper cases, for the water. In febrile 
 diseases its utility will be much increased by adding about ten grains 
 of bitartrate of potassa to each dose. 
 
 PuLvis LEPTANDR.a! CoMPOsiTtTS. Compound Powder of Leptandra. 
 (Zusammengesetetes Leptandra Pulver.) 
 
 PreparqMon. — Take of dried Alcoholic Extract of Leptandra, in pow- 
 per, one drachm; Eesin of Podophyllum, in powder, half a drachm; 
 Sugar of Milk, five drachms. Mix, and triturate well together. 
 
 Properties and Uses.— This preparation is a cholagogue cathartic, of 
 immense benefit in epidemic dysentery, in doses of eight grains, re- 
 
PULVERES. ■ 1153 
 
 peated every hour or two, until it operates freely ; after which it may 
 be given two or three times a day. It may likewise be used with ad- 
 vantage in typhoid, remittent, and intermittent fevers, with or without 
 the addition of sulphate of quinia, also in all hiliary derangements. The 
 addition of three grains of Santonin to each dose, and given twice a day, 
 forms an admirable anthelmintic. — J. K. 
 
 PuLvis Lobelia Compositus. Compound Powder of Lobelia. Emetic 
 Powder. (Zusammengesetztes Lobelien Pulver.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Lobelia, in powder, six drachms; Blood Eoot 
 and Skunk Cabbage, in powder, each, three draohms ; .Ipecacuanha, four 
 drachms ; Capsicum, in powder, one drachm. Mix them. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms an excellent emetic, and may be 
 used in all cases where an emetic is indicated ; it vomits easily and 
 promptly, without causing cramps, or excessive prostration. The dose 
 is two drachms, one-fourth of which (half a drachm) must be given 
 every fifteen minutes, in an infusion of boneset. Warm boneset drank 
 freely during the time of taking it, will very much facilitate its opera- 
 tion ; and it will also be found that, in many cases, temperate water (at 
 60°) will be equally as effective in assisting the induction of emesis as 
 the infusion, and much more agreeable. — J. M. 
 
 PuLVis Mykicje Compositus. Compound Powderof Bayberry. Cephalic 
 Powder. (Zusammengesetztes Wachsgagel Pulver.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Bayberry Bark and Blood Eoot, each, in pow- 
 der, one drachm. Mix them. — Beach's Am. Prac. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This powder is used either alone or combined 
 with an equfil part of common snuff, as a snuff in catarrh, headache, 
 .polypus, etc. In obstinate affections of the nasal mucous membrane, it is 
 frequently combined with sesquicarbonate of potassa one or two draohms, 
 and golden-seal, half an ounce; or, with finely powdered muriate of 
 ammonia one drachm. 
 
 PuLvis Nigrum. Black Powder. Emmenagogue Powder. (Schwarzes 
 Pulver.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Flowers of Sulphur, Myrrh, Steel Filings, 
 .Loaf Sugar, each, in fine powder, one ounce; White Wine, half a. pint. 
 Mix together, aijd by means of .a gentle heat, evaporate till nearly dry. 
 Pulverize the mass when cold,, and keep it in well-stopped bottles. — 
 Beach's Am. Prac. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This not very scientific compound has been used 
 with much success in the treatment of primary or idiopathic amenor- 
 rhea, chlorosis, etc. The dose is half a drachm, to be repeated three 
 times a day ; it may be taken in syrup, or molasses, or in the form of 
 pills. It will also be found an excellent remedy in several forms of 
 cutaneous disease. 
 
 PuLvis PoDOPHTLLi CoMPOsiTus. Gompound Powder of Mandrake. 
 (Zusammengesetztes Entenfuss Pulver.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Blue Flag, Mandrake, Bitter Root, Swamp 
 Milkweed, each, in powder, one ounce; Blood Eoot, half an ounce. Mix 
 together. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This powder is cathartic and alterative, and is 
 very valuable in cases of obstinate constipation, hepatic derangements, 
 dyspepsia, worms, and in scrofulous, rheumatic, and syphilitic affec- 
 tions. The dose is half a drachm or a drachm, repeated three times a 
 day. It may be administered in water or tea. — J. K. 
 
 PuLVis Quinia Compositus. Gompound Powder of Quinia. (Zusam- 
 mengesetztes Chinin Pulver.) 
 73 
 
1154" Pharmacy. 
 
 Preparation.— Take of Sulphate of Quinia, Ferrocyanuret of Iron,- 
 each, one drachm. Mix thoroughly together. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This powder is tonic, febrifuge, and antiperi 
 odic. It is much employed by American practitioners in febrile and 
 inflammatory diseases, and in all diseases in which there is the least 
 tendency to periodicity. As a tonic it is either used alone, or frequently 
 in combination with other tonics, as hydrochlorate of berberin, etc. 
 The dose is from three to six grains of the powder, repeated two, three 
 or four times a day according to symptoms. It was introduced to the 
 profession as an ageiit in the above diseases, by the late Prof I. G. Jones, 
 of Columbus, Ohio. 
 
 PuLVis Eesina Podophtlli Compositus. Compound Powder of Resin 
 of Podophyllum. Hydragogue Powder. 
 
 Preparation. — -Take of Eesin of Podophyllum /owr grains; Bitartrate 
 of Potassa three drachms. Mix intimately together. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is an active hydragogue, and is frequently 
 employed in dropsy, obstructed menstruation, etc. Dose, one scruple ; 
 administered every two hours, until it operates sufficiently. The addi- 
 tion of about one or two grains of Capsicum to each dose, will render 
 it much more speedy in its operation.* 
 
 PcLVis Ehei Compositus. Compound Powder of Rhubarb. Neutral- 
 izing Powder. (Zusammengesetztes Ehabarber Pulver.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Ehubarb, Bicarbonate of Potassa, and Pepper- 
 mint Leaves, each, in powder, one ounce. Mix together. — Beach's Am. 
 Prac. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This powder is an invaluable remedy in diar- 
 rhea, cholera-morbus, dysentery, summer-complaint of children, acidity 
 of stomach, heartburn, and as a mild cathartic during pregnancy. The 
 dose is from half a drachm to two drachms, every one, two, or three 
 hours, as may be required. (See Syrup of Rhubarb and Potassa.) 
 
 PuLViB SpiGBLi.ffi Compositus. Compound Powder of Spigelia. King's 
 Mitozoic Powder. (Zusammengesetztes Spigelien Wurzel Pulver.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Pink Eoot, Bitter Eoot, Swamp Milkweed, 
 Mandrake, each, in very fine powder, two ounces; Balmony, in very 
 fine powder, /owr ounces. Mix intimately together. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a very bitter, but certain remedy for 
 any kind of worms that may exist in the human alimentary canal. It 
 not only destroys the worms, but also removes the morbid mucous 
 secretion in which they abound, and which is so favorable to their pro- 
 duction. The dose for a child a year old is from five to eight grains, 
 in a teaspoonful of molasses or syrup ; for an adult from ten to twenty 
 grains in half a tablespoonful of molasses. The dose is to be repeated 
 every hour or two until it operates freely, after which repeat the dose 
 only three times a day for several days in succession. "When worms 
 are present, the stools produced by this powder will be mucous or 
 slimy, often whitish, containing particles resembling the external 
 
 * A preparation termed Sweet's Red Powder is considerably employed by many practi- 
 tioners ; It causes emesis as well as catharsis, and, as an alterative, is reputed of consider- 
 able efficacy in many chronic diseases. It is prepared as ;follows : Take of Mandrake root, 
 in fine powder, ^»e onmces ; Bloodroot, in fine powder, one ounce. Place the powders In a 
 percolator and thoroughly exhaust with alcohol. Evaporate the tincture obtained to the 
 consistence of molasses, and, while hot, add to it, finely powdered White Sugar Hocouneet, 
 Croton Oil, to which a little salt of tartar has been added to neutralize the acrid principle, 
 one drachm, and Oil of Cloves half a drachm. Mix thoroughly together, spread on glass or 
 on a plate to dry, finely powder, and bottle. The dose is from five to thirty grains. 
 
 Probably this powder might be prepared as follows : To six ounces of finely powdered 
 White Sugar, add one drachm of Croton OU, prepared as above, and half a drachm of 
 Oil of Cloves ; mix, triturate thoroughly together, and, continuing the trituration, add grad 
 ually eight scruples of Beslu of Podophyllum, and forty -six grains of Sangulnarina. 
 
QuiNiA. 1155 
 
 integument of the entozoa, or the appearance of worms cut up. Ae 
 infusion of this powder, to which a small portion of Tincture of Asa- 
 fffitida has been added, forms an excellent injection for the removal of 
 ascarides or thread -worms ; it may be repeated whenever desired. 
 {See Compound Fluid Extract of Spigelia, page 1006.) 
 
 PuLVis Stypticus. Styptic Powder. (Blutstillendes Pulver.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Sulphate of Iron, in powder, two ounces; Alum, 
 in powder, one ounce. Mix them, and calcine by a red heat, as named 
 for Eed or Styptic Powder, under the head of Sesquioxide of Iron, 
 which see. When cold, pulverize the mass, and keep it in well-stopped 
 bottles. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This powder is styptic, and is frequently em- 
 ployed in the treatment of external hemorrhages, and bleeding piles, 
 either alone, or in combination with stramonium-ointment, poke-oipt- 
 ment, oil of fireweed, etc. Given internally, in doses of three grains, 
 combined with capsicum one grain, it has proved effectual in passive 
 hemorrhages from the lungs and uterus. 
 
 PuLVis Xanthoxtli Oompositus. Compound powder of Xanthoxylum. 
 (Zusammengesetztes Xanthoxylin Pulver.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Oleo-resin of Prickly Ash Bark, Hydrocblo- 
 rate of Berberin, and Sulphate of Quinia, each, one drachm; Sugar of 
 Milk a sufficient quantity. Mix together, adding just enough Sugar Of 
 Milk to form the mass into a powder, and then divide into sixty powders. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a most valuable stimulating tonic and 
 alterative, and may be employed in g,ll cases requiring such actions — 
 as in debility of the digestive functions, dyspepsja, convalescence from 
 fevers, diarrhea, and dysentery, hepatic torpor, periodical headache, 
 scrofula, and other chronic diseases accompanied with excessive debili- 
 ty. The dose is one powder, to -be repeated three or four times a day ; 
 it may be given in water, milk, molassss, syrup, or wine, as symptoms 
 may indicate. One powder contains a grain, each, of the three medici- 
 nal agents entering into its composition. — J. K. 
 
 QUINIA. (Chinin.) 
 Salts of Quinia. 
 
 Qninia is one of our most valuable remedies, and is obtained from 
 the Yellow Peruvian-bark ; the pure Quinia is seldom used ; but its 
 salts are more generally employed, especially those a description of 
 which immediately follows. The Acetate, Carbolate, Ferrocyanate, Ni- 
 trate, Muriate, Hydrobromate, Lactate, Citrate, Iodide, and Phosphate, 
 have also been employed and recommended ; but none of them has yet 
 gained a standard reputation. 
 
 To prepare the Ferrocyanate of Quinia, place in a very small quantity 
 of water one drachm of snlphate of quinia, aind three drachms of fer- 
 rocyanuret of potassium; boil themixture; an oily, greenish-yellow 
 matter subsides, from which the supernatant fluid must be decanted; 
 wash the oily precipitate with distilled #ater, then add to it strong 
 alcohol and dissolve by a heat of 100° P., filter as soon as all is dis- 
 solved, and evaporate the filtrate. It forms a more or less dark-green 
 salt, or, if allowed to evaporate spontaneously, a straw colored, and is 
 readily decomposed by heat. A solution of tannic acid, or infusion of 
 galls, added to a solution of qninia, precipitates Tannate of Quinia, 
 which must be washed with distilled water and dried. Tannate of 
 Quinia is insoluble in water, soluble in dilute acids, and much less bit- 
 
1156 Pharmacy. 
 
 ter than the other quinia salts ; it is very efficacious, and its adminis- 
 tration should be at once followed by some acidulous draught, as, lem- 
 onade, etc., in order to insure its solution in the stomach. Carboldte of 
 Quinia is prepared by dissolving tioelve parts of carbolic acid and twenty 
 •parts of quinia, in sixty parts of stronger alcohol ; the solution is then 
 filtered, distilled, and evaporated to the consistence of turpentine, when 
 some extract of acorus, or gentian, and some pulverized cinnamon may 
 be added to it, to form it into a ^..11 mass. This maybe made into pills 
 containing each one grain of carbolic acid, and six-tenths of a grain 
 of quinia, of which from three to six pills may be gi'V6n daily, in puer- 
 peral diseases, furunculi, carbuncles, typhous conditions, and pyaemia. — 
 Braun. It is found that the irritating properties of carbolic acid are 
 much diminished when in combination with bases ; and even when 
 combined with a base as weak as ' quinia, it can be given in much 
 larger relative doses than when administered in its isolated form. — 
 Jahrbucher der Gessamten Med., Aug., 1867. Hijdrobr ornate of Quinia 
 may be prepared by passing a current of sulphuretted hydrogen 
 through water holding bromine in solution, filter, and, with the aid of 
 heat, saturate the hydrobromic acid thus Obtained with recently made 
 quinia, in jelly form. After complete neutralization, filter; upon cool- 
 ing a very fine quantity of silky, mamillated crystals is obtained. 
 This salt may be administered in neuralgia of congestive form, with 
 tendency to congestions of the brain, and especially' to fema'l'es during 
 the menstrual period. Its dose is from 4 to 6 grailis, in pill form, given 
 six hours before the expected ■ paroxysm ; or one grain every hour 
 The other salts above, named may be procurfifd by adding quinia to the 
 diluted acids, respectively. Concentrating, crystallizing, washing, and 
 drying. Their doses, respectively, are the same as th'ose of the sulphate 
 of quinia. The Iodide of Quinia is obtained by adding a Solution of 
 twenty-four parts of Iodide of Potassiuta in eight of Water, by drops, 
 to a strong- Solution of twenty parts of Bistilphate of Quinia. Wash 
 the precipitate quickly, and dry it in the shade. It is tonic, alterative, 
 and resolvent, and has been found of efficacy in scrofulous enlargement 
 of the glands, in doses of from half a grain to two grains. Or it may 
 be made by decomposing a Solution of one equivalent of Muriate of 
 Quinia with a Solution of four equivalents of Iodide of Potassium. 
 When dry. Iodine of Quinia thus prepared, has the properties -of a 
 resin, is easily reduced to a white, inodorous powder, extremely bitter, 
 iind permanent in the air. It is very soluble in water, alcohol, or 
 ether, forming clear and colorless solutions, which deposit the Iodide 
 of Quinia on evaporation. Concentrated sulphuric and nitric acids, 
 and chlorine, decompose it instantly, with elimination of iodine. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Perri et Quinise Citras ; Perri et Quinise Tartras ;' QuinisB 
 Murias ; Quinise Sulphas ; Quinia Valerianas. 
 
 QuiNi.a! Sulphas. Sulphate of Quinia. (Schwefelsaures Chinin.)* 
 
 "A remarkable compound of Iodine and sulphate of quinia (Cio Ho. N. O4 1., H, SO. 
 5H2 Oo) has beto described by Dr^W. B. Herapath, of England, -and which Is termed 
 liercmathUe, or, iodide of sulphate of qwlnia. It may be obtained by dissolving the acid 
 snlpliateof quinia In concentrated acetic add, and adding to the heated liquid an alco- 
 holic solution of iodine, drop by drop. After standing for a few hours, the salt is deposited 
 In large, flat rectangular plates, which when seen by reflected light are of a brilliant green 
 color, with a metallic luster, lilie the wing-cases of the blistering beetle. "Whein viewed by 
 transmitted light they appear to be of a pale olive tint, but the light so transmitted is 
 perfectly polarized ; so that if a; second plate cross the first at right angles, the whole of 
 the light is as completely arrested by the overlapping portions, as it'would be by two 
 overlapping plates of tourmaline, the axes of which cross each other at right angles. 
 —Miller. For the preparation and optical properties of this compound, see, London 
 Pharm. Jfywr., March, 1^, or, Am. Jowr. Fharm., May, 1858, pp. 246-251, and Am. Jour. Pharm. 
 1853, 136-138, and 1854, pp. 18-28. 
 
QuiNiA. 1157 
 
 Preparation. — Coarsely powdered Yellow Calisaya Bark five pounds. 
 are digested for one day, at a gentle heat, in a leaden vessel, with twen- 
 ty pounds of Water, acidulated with Concentrated Sulphuric Acid thir- 
 teen fluidrachms ; then strain the liquid ir a linen bag, strongly press 
 the residue, and treat it a second time with Water fifteen pounds, acid- 
 ulated with Concentrated Sulphuric Acid nine fluidrachms, strain again, 
 and press ; treat the third time -w\t\\ fifteen pounds of pure Water. The 
 vario.us infusions ar6 to be mixed and boiled down to five pounds, al- 
 lowed to rest quietly for some days, filtered, and supersaturated with a 
 solution of Caustic Soda. When the Soda solution no longer causes a 
 turbidnesS, the precipitate is allowed to subside, collected on a filter, 
 washed with cold water and dried. The dried mass is finely powdered, 
 digested with ten times its weight of Alcohol of 90 per cent., with a 
 gentle heat, for one day, filtered, and the residue well washed with al- 
 <.'ohol ; sufficient Sulphuric Acid is now added to give a faintly acid re- 
 action to the alcoholic solution, then add one-fourth its weight of water, 
 and distill off the alcohol. The residual aqueous solution, which con- 
 tains a mass of fine crystals, is poured into a porcelain dish, and the 
 retort rinsed with water ; the dish is warmed on a sand-bath as long 
 as its coptents smell of alcohol ; it is then set aside in a cool place for 
 a few days, the crystalline mass which forms is tben thrown on a cloth, 
 and the colored liquor removed by pressure. The yellow crystals are 
 formed into a magma with water, again pressed, warmed with a large 
 quantity of water, and caustic soda solution added until a strong alkaline 
 reaction is obtained ; after digesting some hours, the yellow precipitate 
 is thrown on a filter, washed, dried, dissolved in alcohol of 90 per cent., 
 the solution filtered, sulphuric added as before, then water, and the 
 spirit distilled off, the residual mass freed from mother-liquor by press- 
 ure, and dried. If not yet white, the sa.me treatment \rith caustic, 
 floda, etc., must be repeated, when it will be obtained quite pure. 
 
 History. — In this process the Yellow Calisaya Bark is employed in 
 preference, on account of its containing a greater amount of quinia 
 than the other barks, and holding it in combination with less cinchonia. 
 As found in the bark, the quinia is united with kinic acid, and perhaps 
 some coloring matter ; the compound is slightly soluble in boiling water, 
 but readily so in dilute acids ; the solutions yield to soda a precipitate 
 of the alkaloids (quinia and cinchonia) combined with some of the 
 tannic acid (more or less decomposed) named quinia red, the greater 
 part of this latter substance remains in the alkaline solution. Strong 
 alcohol takes up the alkaloid (together with the greater part of the 
 adhering coloring matter), with which the sulphuric acid forms a sul- 
 phate. After removing the alcohol, the greater part of the quinia (as 
 a basic sulphate) crystallizes; the sulphate of cinchonia, with most of 
 the coloring matter and a little Sulphate of Quinia, remains in the 
 molher-liquor. The further treatment effects the entire purification 
 of the salt. The yield varies, ranging between one and three per cent, 
 of the bark used. 
 
 The mother-liquors are mixed, treated with excess of soda, and the ' 
 precipitation (impure quinia and cinchonia) reserved for the next 
 preparation of quinia; or it is precipitated with caustic amnionia, the 
 resinous mass (a combination of quinia-red, tannic acid, resin, etc.) 
 well washed with water, dried, and used as Ghinoidin. 
 
 In general the alkaloid is thrown down with lime instead of soda 
 when, of course, hydrochloric acid must be substituted for sulphuric, 
 this entails a slight loss, the quinia being somewhat soluble in lime- 
 
1108- Phaemact. 
 
 water as well as in caustic potagsa and aipmonia ; soda possesses the 
 advantage of abstracting the coloring matter better than the othei 
 alkalies, and not dissolving any of the alkaloid. — Witt. 
 
 In the same manner, Sulphate of Quinia may be procured from the 
 dark and pale barks ; but, with the exception of the Calisaya, all th^e 
 other varieties will afford a large proportion of Sulphate of Cinchpnia, 
 held in solution by the mother-waters after the crystallization of the 
 quinia. ■ ■ 
 
 Mr. B. Herring has proposed a process for making Sulphate of Qijiinia 
 without alcohol. The value of this process is greater in England, where 
 the excise duty on alcohol is so enormous as to make it an important 
 object to avoid its use in manufacturing. The powdered cinchona- 
 bark is boiled with a solution of caustic soda, and then pressed and 
 washed. with water until the whole of the coloring matter of the bark 
 has been removed. The bark after this treatment retains the greater 
 part of the alkaloids in a free state. The blood-red alkaline decoction 
 and the washings contain a little of the alkaloids, and are subsequently 
 treated. The bark is next boiled in dilute sulphuric acid, until com- 
 pletely exhausted of the alkaloids. The acid decoction is concentrated, 
 filtered, and precipitated with caustic soda. The precipitated alkaloids 
 are next combined with sulphuric acid and the sulphates of quinia, 
 quinidin, and cinchonia, separated from each other by repeated crys- 
 tallization; and the quinia salt, previous to its last crystallization, is 
 decolorized with pure animal charcoal. 
 
 To obtain the portion of alkaloids held in solution in the colored 
 alkaline liquors, they are treated with muriatic acid in excess, filtered, 
 and precipitated with hydrate of lime. This precipitate, after being 
 washedj pressed, dried, and powdered, is treated with benzole, which 
 dissolves the alkaloids. The benzolic solution is then agitated with 
 diluted sulphuric acid, tQ remove the alkaloids, and the supernatant 
 benzole separated by decantation. The alkaloids are then precipitated 
 from the acid solution with caustic soda, and treated as previously 
 noted to separate the quinia salt. — Am. Jour. Pharm., XXVI., 10.* 
 
 Pure Sulphate of Quinia is a white, light salt, consisting of delicate, 
 satiny needles, intermixed, and belonging to the oblique rhombic sj's- 
 tem. It is odorless, and of an intensely bitter taste ; when heated it 
 readily fuses, giving off eight equivalents of water, and retaining two, 
 and emitting a phosphorescent light ; at a higher temperature it be- 
 comes red, and burns without a residue. It slightly effloresces in the 
 air ; is soluble in 740 parts of water at 60° — 30 parts at 212° — and 80 
 parts of cold alcohol sp. gr. 0.850. The solutions have a neutral reac- 
 tion, and the boiling solution deposits crystals on cooling. A slight 
 addition of acid assists its solubility in water to a great degree ; it has 
 the property of giving a blue tinge (fluorescence) to the surface of 
 water. The salt used in medicine is a disulphate of quinia. "A neu- 
 tral sulphate, sometimes incorrectly called Bisulphate or Supersulphate 
 of Quinia, is obtained by adding to a concentrated boiling solution of 
 .the disulphate, as much sulphuric keid as enters into its constitution, 
 that is, one equivalent. On concentrating the solution, rhombic prisms 
 
 » M. Lebaigue has recently given a new process for preparing sulphate of quinia, based 
 apon the process for preparing alizarine. Char pulverized cinchona (previously mois- 
 tened with a very small quantity of water) by means of concentrated sulphuric acid, being 
 careful to avoid too high an elevation of temperature. Let it rest for twenty-four hours, 
 then add gradually, in small portions at a time, slaked lime. The powder resulting from 
 this mixture is exhausted, bjr an appropriate solvent. Benzine furnishes a solution of 
 colorless quinia which, agitated with water acidulated with sulphuric acid, gives a sul 
 phate of quinia almost entirely white. 
 
QuiNiA 1159 
 
 are formed, consisting of one equivalent of base, one of acid, and eight 
 of water, and which are soluble in their own water of crystallization at 
 212°, and in ten parts of water at 60°." — C. The ofScinal or disulphate 
 of quinia, or, as it is commonly termed by medical men, Sulphate of 
 ^Quinia, consists of two equivalents of quinia, one of sulphuric acid, 
 and eight of water, its formula is (C40 B.^ N^ OX 2 H^ S Oj , 7 H^ 0^=746 
 +126. 
 
 Sulphate of Quinia is incompatible with infusion of galls, acetates, 
 lime-water, soda, potassa, ammonia, etc. The London College gives 
 the following tests of the purity of Sulphate of Quinia : " It is dissolved 
 by water, especially when mixed with an acid. Quinia is thrown down 
 by ammonia; the liquor being evaporated ought not to taste of sugar. 
 One hundred parts of the salt lose eight or ten parts of water by a 
 gentle heat ; a high heat destroys it. Chlorine being first added to it, 
 and afterward ammonia, it becomes green." Vogel's test is, to place 
 pure Sulphate of Quinia in a test tube, with water, so that the greater 
 part of the cry^stals remain undissolved ; some drops of this fluid, after 
 having shaken it, are placed in a watch-glass, and so much concen- 
 trated, and freshly prepared chlorine water, free from muriatic acid 
 added, that a clear, somewhat yellowish solution results. When into 
 this chlorinated quinia solution some finely powdered ferrocyanuret of 
 potassium is introduced, it acquires a bright rose-red color. The rose- 
 red color passes over soon, and particularly rapidly, if still more of the 
 powdered ferrocyanuret be added, into a deep dark-red, which, after 
 several hours, gradually becomes converted into green ; a solution of 
 cinchonia is not thus acted upon. 
 
 The high price of Sulphate of Quinia has led to various adulterations; 
 those referred to in the following statement of chemical reactions are 
 the most common. * Cinchonia is known by shaking the salt with five 
 parts of water and one part of ammonia, filtering, washing the precipi- 
 tate, and agitating it with ether, when, this alkaloid will cause the solu- 
 tion to be turbid. The ammonia decomposes the salt and throws down 
 quinia and cinchonia, the former being soluble, and the latter insoluble 
 in ether ; the precipitate must of course be first freed by washing, from 
 the sulphate of ammonia formed, as this is also insoluble in ether. Or, 
 it may be detected, by precipitating a solution of the suspected quinia 
 in water, by potassa ; collect the precipitate, and boil it in alcohol. 
 The quinia remains in the mother-liquor, while, as the liquid cools, the 
 cinchonia crystallizes in short rhombic prisms or pearly scales — forms 
 which are never assumed by Sulphate of Quinia. f Salicin is detected 
 by the blood-red solution it forms with cold concentrated sulphuric 
 acid, with which starch, sugar, stearine, or other organic matters are, on 
 the other hand, colored brown or black. Yeratria and jpjperm, pro- 
 duce the same reaction as salicin, but the presence of salicin may be 
 
 * Liebig's test Is probably one of the best proposed for detecting the presence of cinchonia : 
 place 15 grains of sulphate, or other salt of quinia suspected to be impure, in a test tube 
 with three fluidrachms of washed ether, and then add thirty drops of a solution of caus- 
 tic ammonia. Briskly agitate the mixture and then allow it to stand ; it separates into 
 two layers, the upper one consisting of an ethereal solution of quinia, the lower one of an 
 aqueous solution of sulphate of ammonia; If any cinchonia be present it will float upon 
 this lower watery layer, as It is Insoluble in ether. Stoddart recommends, as a test for the 
 purity of quinia from qulnidia, cinchonia, and clnchonldia, to dissolve, in a test tube, 6 
 grammes of the suspected article in 5 grammes of sulphuric acid and 3 grammes of water : 
 to this is added 7.5 grammes of ether, 18 grammes of alcohol, and 2 grammes of an 8 p. c. 
 solution of caustic soda. When well shaken and allowed to rest for 12 hours, the mixture 
 will deposit all the contaminating alkaloids, leaving the quinia in solution. The qulnidia 
 torms an oily layer at the bottom of the liquid. 
 
 t M. Parrott states that while concentrated sulphuric acid detects only 3 per cent, of sali- 
 cin in quinia, a few drops of chromic acid will detect ii per cent., by also giving a red 
 color wlien salicin is present. 
 
1160 Pharmacy. 
 
 verified by adding to the salt a small portion of bichromate of potassa 
 and sulphuric acid, and heating, when, if salicin be present, the peculiai 
 odor of hydruret of salicyle or oil of meadow-sweet will be i)erceptible. 
 Sugar imparts a sweet taste to water, especially after the quinia has been 
 precipitated by carbonate of potassa ; starch and stearine remain dis 
 solved by diluted sulphuric acid, the' former gives a blue color with 
 iodine, the latter fuses to an oil in hot water. Gypsum, chalk, magnesia, 
 sulphate of soda, and phosphate of lime are known by their insolubility in 
 alcohol; and on heating with the blow-pipe the quinia is burned and 
 dissipated, while the earthy matters are left. Borax also remains on 
 heating the salt to redness; and' forms with alcohol a solution burning 
 with a green flame. Arsenic may be detected by Marsh's apparatus.. 
 Or arsenic may be detected by adding the Sulphate of Quinia to water, 
 agitating it, and passing sulphuretted hydrogen into it; a yellow color 
 is produced if arsenic be present ; if a few drops of concentrated hy- 
 drochloric acid be added to this a yellow precipitate will take place. 
 This precipitate is soluble in aqua ammonia, forming a- clear solution,, 
 and yields metallic arsenic when dried and heated with either soda-flux 
 or potasBa-flux. — Witt. — P. Christison gives the following convenient 
 test for determining the purity of Sulphate of Quinia: " Twenty parts 
 of boiling water acidulated with sulphuric acid, dissolve it entirely and' 
 without any floating oily globules appearing, if there be no fatty matter 
 present ; the solution, when. cold, does not become blue with tincture of 
 iodine if free of starch ; it does not precipitate with oxalic acid if free' 
 of lime ; and when treated with solution of baryta so long as a pre- 
 cipitate forms, which precipitate is a mixture of quinia and sulphate of 
 baryta; the liquid has not a sweet taste, if free of sugar or mannite." 
 Ammoniacal salts are recognized by the ammoniacal odor evolved by the' 
 action of caustic potassa. Quinidin is an alkaloid obtained from cin- 
 chona, and with which Sulphate of Quinia is often adulterated. (^See- 
 page 249. See also Am. Jour. Pharm., XXV., 161.) 
 
 To distinguish Sulphate of Quinia from quinidin the following tests 
 have been given : Sulphate of Quinia dissolved in an aqueous solution 
 of chlorine, and a few drops of ammonia added, furnishes a deep green- 
 color characteristic of quinia. Sulphate of quinidin, treated in the same 
 manner, remains colorless if free from quinia. Sulphate of Quinia dis- 
 solved in acetic acid, a few drops of tincture of iodine added, the mix- 
 ture heated and allowed to cool, furnishes a beautiful emerald-green 
 crystalline compound, Herapath's sulphate of iodo-quinia. Sulphate 
 of quinidin treated in the same manner furnishes a brown precipitate. — 
 Hd. N. Kent. Quinia separates from its hydro-alcoholic solution in the 
 form of a syrup-like liquid, which preserves its transparency on drying 
 in the air. Quinidin separates from its hydro-alcoholic solutions in the 
 form of anhydrous, rectangular or rhomboidal prisms. Quinia is soluble 
 in every proportion in cold ether and absolute alcohol, and almost in 
 every proportion of alcohol at 90°; quinidin requires 140 to 150 parts 
 of cold ether, ,45 parts of absolute alcohol, and 105 parts of alcohol of 
 90° to dissolve it. Crystallized Sulphate of Quinia (Liebig's bibasie, 
 Eegnault's neutral) is soluble in 57 parts of cold absolute alcohol, arid 
 in 63 parts of alcohol at 90° ; the corresponding sulphate of quinidin is 
 soluble in 30 to 32 parts of absolute alcohol, and in 7 parts of ahjohol at 
 90°. Sulphate of Quinia is soluble in 265 parts of cold, and in 24 parts' 
 of boiling water ; sulphate of quinidin is soluble in 73 parts of cold, and 
 in 4.20 of boiling water. Oxalate of quinia is insoluble in water; oxa- 
 late of quinidin is very soluble, and crystallizes readily on evaporating, 
 
, QUINIA. 1161 
 
 and cooling.- — Am. Jour. PJilarm., XXV., 454. Mix extra light ether and 
 aqua ammonia, of each a drachm, in a vial, and add six grains of the 
 suspected quinia, shaking the whole well together. The quinidin, if 
 any be present, will remain undissolved in the form of a powder, more 
 or less crystalline. 
 
 ' Properties and Uses. — Sulphate of Quinia is febrifuge, tonic, and anti- 
 periodic. Small doses, frequently repeated, strengthen the pulse, in- 
 crease muscular force, and invigorate the tone of the nervous system. 
 In some persons it induces headache, sickness, or irregular action of 
 the bowels; which effects are generally obviated by combining it with 
 morphia, extract of stramonium, or both ; and these effects will be al- 
 most certain to follow if gastro-enteritic irritation pre-exists. Large 
 doses, as one scruple, or half a drachm, produce many unpleasant symp- 
 toms, and ought never to be used; among these may be named sickness 
 and pain at the 'stomach, giddiness, flushed' countenance, palpitation, a 
 sense of distension in the head, intense weighty headache, ringing in 
 the ears, vomiting, numbness in the feet, deafness, blindness, and delir- 
 ium. The evil results following large doses, or the injudicious admin- 
 istration of quinia, has caused many physicians to reject it 'altogether, 
 in their practice. This is wrong. Quinia is a safe and very superior 
 remedy, in proper hands. As well might we reject all active and use- 
 ful agents, because, when improperly used, they produce deleterious 
 consequences. It must also be remembered, that many of the symp- 
 toms following the use of quinia, are the legitimate results of disease 
 itself, as an enlarged spleen, a deranged condition of the nervous sys- 
 tem, etc., pr ara the deplorable consequences of a combined mercurial 
 treatment, which has been and still continues to be a fashionable prac- 
 tice in many portions of this section of country. No sensible or well 
 educated physician will ever object to the proper employment of the 
 pure Sulphate of Quinia. 
 
 With many patients,' the beneficial influence of this agent will not be 
 observed until cinchonism has been produced, known by giddiness, a 
 buzzing or ringing in the ears, slight headache, etc. ; while with others 
 it produces good effects independent of the production of these symp- 
 toms. When taken internally it is absorbed, and may be detected in 
 the sweat and urine.* 
 
 Sulphate of Quinia in American practice is used in all febrile diseases, 
 without regard to the violence of the fever, or the degree of congestive 
 enlargem ent of the liver or spleen ; it is usually given during the inter- 
 missions or remissions, and in doses sufiScient to affect the head, each 
 day ; when for that day its administration is omitted ; but should there 
 be no apparent remissions, it is then given daily to produce the same 
 influence upon the head, without, as before said, regard to the violence 
 of the fever, etc. Previous to its administration, however, any symp- 
 toms of irritability, wakefulness, or restlessness, must first be subdued. 
 It is frequently given in these cases, as well as in many other forms of 
 disease, in combination with ferrocyanuret of iron ; which was first in- 
 troduced to the profession, as a safe and efficacious remedy in this class 
 
 * By means of the following test-fluid Quinia may be detected in the urine, even to the 
 one hundred thousandth of a grain ; mix together pure acetic acid three fluldrachms, rec- 
 tified alcohol one fluidrachm, dilute sulphuric acid six drops. Place a drop of this test fiuld 
 upon a glass slide with one drop of the urine to be examined,— give them time to mix 
 thoroughly, — then add a very minute drop of an alcoholic solution of iodine. A yellow 
 or cinnamon colored compound of iodine and quinine is first formed, and finally the 
 beautiful rosettes or crystals of sulphate of lodo-quinine (/ierapa(M(e) ; no heat is required. 
 Under th^ microscope, with the selenite plate, and a Nlcol's prism beneath, these crystals 
 assume the two complimentary colors of the selenite stage, — red and green, if the pink 
 f tage is employed, — blue and yellow, if the blue selenite is used. 
 
1162 Phaemact. 
 
 of maladies, by Prof. I. G. Jones. In typhus and typhoid fever, it will 
 be found of much service, in conjunction with small doses of extract of 
 leptandra, or resin of podophyllum, sufficient to produce a daily alvine 
 evacuation. In febrile relapses, acute rheumatism, neuralgia, dyspep- 
 sia, debility, convalescence from most acute and chronic diseases, dys- 
 entery, and in all epidemic diseases, and every disease characterized by 
 periodicity, it may be given with every expectation of success. Com- 
 bined with morphia, I have used it successfully in epilepsy, delirium 
 tremens, and the convulsive diseases of intemperate persons. In dys- 
 menorrhea, in conjunction with extract of stramonium or belladonna, 
 and resin of black cohosh, it proves almost a specific. It is generally 
 contra-indicated during the presence of gastric inflammation, or unu- 
 sual irritation of the stomach ; though the addition of morphia, in such 
 cases, will sometimes prevent any hurtful consequences. 
 
 As a tonic. Sulphate of.Quinia will be found useftil' in all diseases 
 connected with an enfeebled state of the system, and especially in the 
 debility resulting from exhausting diseases ; in chlorosis, and in anemic 
 conditions it should be given in union with chalybeates. , Externally, 
 Sulphate of Quinia, in solution, has formed a valuable application to 
 indolent ulcers, buboes, chancres, and chronic mucous inflammations. 
 The dose of it internally, is from half a grain to three grains, repeated 
 every one, two, three, or four hours, as the urgency of the case may \ 
 require. Large doses are improper. 
 
 A solution of Sulphate of Quinia may be made by adding twenty 
 grains of the salt to one fluidrachm of elixir of vitriol, and when dis- 
 solved, add two fluidounces of water. The dose of this solution is 
 twenty drops every hour, in about half an ounce of water, or syrup of 
 ginger. Another solution may be made by dissolving Sulphate of 
 Quinia, tartaric acid, of each, twenty grains, in two fluidounces of 
 water. The dose is as above. The acetate, nitrate, phosphate, ferrocy- 
 anate, citrate, and muriate of quinia, possess similar proj)erties, but are 
 not usually preferred in practice. 
 
 Off. Prep. — PilulsB Quinise Sulphatis; Pilulse Quinise Oompositse; 
 PilulsB Yalerianee Oompositse ; Pulvis Quinise Compositus; Pulvis Xan- 
 thoxylini Compositus ; Tinctura Quiniae Composita. 
 
 QuiNiiE Yalerianas. Valerianate of Quinia. (Baldriansaures Chinin.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Muriate' of Quinia seven drachms (Dublin 
 Weight) ; Valerianate of Soda one hundred and twenty-four grains ; Dis- 
 tilled Water sixteen fluidounces. Dissolve the Valerianate of Soda in 
 two ounces of the Water, and the Muriate of Quinia in the remainder, 
 and, the temperature of each solution being raised to 120°, but not 
 higher, let them be mixed, and let the mixture be set by for twenty- 
 four hours, when the Valerianate of Quinia will have become a mass 
 of silky acicular crystals. Let these be pressed between folds of blot- 
 ting-paper, and dried without the application of artificial heat. — Sub. 
 
 History. — In this process a double decomposition takes place between 
 the two salts, producing a solution of chloride of sodium, and crystals 
 of Valerianate of Quinia. This salt may also be made by either of the 
 following methods : Add a slight excess of Valerianic Acid to a Con- 
 centrated Solution of Quinia, in strong Alcohol ; dilute the solution 
 with twice its weight of Water, stir the mixture accurately, and evapo- 
 rate at a temperature not exceeding 122° F. After the evaporation of 
 the Alcohol, the Valerianate appears in fine crystals, sometimes isolated, 
 at others grouped together, and which increase from day to day. Or 
 it may be procured by double decomposition of Sulphate of Quinia and 
 
Eesin^. 1163 
 
 Valerianate of Lime, each dissolved in weak Alcohol, and then evapo- 
 rated. 
 
 Wittstein directs one part of pure valerianic acid (the terhydrate) to 
 be dissolved in a flask with 180 parts of water ; three parts of recently 
 prepared and moist quinia is to be added; the mixture heated nearly to 
 boiling, filtered while hot, and the filtrate set aside for a few days to 
 crystallize. After which the crystals are to be separated from the 
 mother-liquor, the latter evaporated, but at a temperature under 120° F., 
 and the salt dried with a very gentle heat. 
 
 Valerianate of Quinia crystallizes in colorless rhombohedral tables 
 of a mother-of-pearl-like luster, or else in stellated groups of opaque 
 needles, with a repulsive, valerianic acid odor, and a bitter taste after- 
 ward, reminding one of valerian. Warmed it becomes tough, readily 
 fuses to a colorless liquid, and giving off water is converted into a hy- 
 drate. Heated more strongly it gives off white vapors, ignites, and 
 burns without leaving a residue. It dissolves in 110 parts of cold, and 
 40 parts of boiling water ; in 6 parts of cold, and in an equal weight 
 of boiling alcohol of sp. gr. 0.863 ; in ether it is readily soluble. All 
 the solutions have a neutral reaction. — Witt. , A spurious valerianate 
 has been met with, made by adding a few drops of oil of valerian to 
 disulphate of quinia. This dissolves in about 30 parts of boiling water, 
 depositing crystals of the disulphate on cooling. A thin film of oil 
 will be seen on the surface of the water. 
 
 Froperties and Uses. — Valerianate of Quinia is tonic, febrifuge, and 
 sedative, and may be employed similarly with the tartrate of quinia 
 and morphia. It was highlyrecommended by the late Prof I. G. Jones 
 in hemicrania, and in febrile or other diseases, to relieve restlessness, 
 wakefulness, and nervous irritability. The dose is from half a grain to 
 two grains, every one, two, three, or four hours, accordihg to the nature 
 of the case. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Pilulse Oimicifugse Compositse. 
 
 EBSm^. 
 Eesins. 
 
 Eesins, sometimes termed resinoids, are a class of agents obtained from 
 medicinal plants or roots, etc., by precipitation from their alcoholic 
 tinctures, either by means of water alone, or aided by distillation. 
 Those at present in use are generallj^ impure, and contain one or more, 
 but not all, of the therapeutical virtues of the plants from which they 
 are had. 'N.'B. — The "Strong Tincture" of the different resins, referred 
 t() in their Preparation, is usually made by exhausting any quantity 
 desired of the root, or bark, etc., of the crude agent, by percolation with 
 strong alcohol, and then evaporating by distillation (or spontaneously) 
 to the consistence of a thick fluid extract.* 
 
 *Iii the previous editions of this work, not knowing any thing concerning the " con- 
 centrated remedies" manufactured by parties outside of this city, nor indeed whether 
 such manufactured them at all, I recommended to the Eclectic profession, as reliable manu- 
 facturers, several firms of this city. However, it affords me great pleasure to learn that 
 reliable reraiedles of this kind are manufactured elsewhere, and it is but justice to state 
 that they may be had of manufacturers In Philadelphia, St. Louis, Chicago, etc. A great 
 deal of farrago and falsehood in relation to the concentrated agents have lately been pub- 
 lished to the profession by Interested Iniposters, pseudo-chemists, hirelings, etc., for the 
 purposes of deception and imposition. The statements are unworthy of any reply, and 
 he must be truly an ignorant physician who permits himself to be misled by them. The ' 
 attempts made to force manufactured articles upon the profession without acquainting 
 them with the principles or mode of manufacture, are altogether worthy of nostrum -mon- 
 
1164 Pharmacy. 
 
 Eesina Caulophylli. JResin of Gaulophyllum: Ccmlhphyllin. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Strong Tincture of Blue Cohosh root, one 'pint , 
 Water one gallon. Mix the Tincture and the Water together, allow the 
 mixture to stand for twenty-four hours, or until there is no further 
 precipitate, collect the precipitate on a filter, and then allow it to dry in 
 a ffuDderately warm place. 
 
 History. — As Blue Cohosh root contains but very little resin, this 
 preparation is not deserving the name of resin ; but as it has been 
 heretofore considered the resinous principle of the root, I give it a 
 place for the present, among the resins. Mr. W% S, Merrell, who first 
 manufactured this article, informed me that he prepared it by precipi- 
 tation from the saturated tincture, using, however, as small a quantity 
 of water as possible, to prevent waste, as the precipitate is partly solu- 
 ble in water. As obtained by the preceding process, it has a light 
 brown color, a peculiar, not unpleasant odor, and a sweetish, slightly 
 bitter taste, with some degree of pungency. It is insoluble in acetic 
 acid, partially soluble in water, more so in alcohol, the addition of solu- 
 tion of ammonia rendering it completely soluble in either menstruum, 
 and giving a dark-red , wine-colored solution. Its aqueous solution 
 is also rendered perfect by the addition of liquor potassa, nitric, or 
 muriatic acids. Mr. A. B. Bbert found it to consist of two resins, both 
 soluble in alcohol, but one only of them soluble in ether, and an ex- 
 tractive body analogous to saponin, which, when shaken with water, 
 produced a very thick and persistent froth, was freely soluble in alcohol 
 and in alkaline solutions, and the aqueous solution of which reddened 
 litmus. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 1864, p. 206. 
 
 The following is the process pursued for obtaining Eesiu of Caulo- 
 phyllum by the late Dr. P. D. Hill ; this gentleman had no desire to 
 foist upon the profession any remedies, the process for obtaining which 
 he kept secret, and whenever I called upon him for information con- 
 cerning his mode of manufacturing the so-called concentrated remedies, 
 he never hesitated to promptly and cheerfully give it; "Exhaust the 
 root of canlophyllum, and obtain a thick fluid-extract, in the same man- 
 ner as recommended for obtaining resin of podophyllum ; that is, by 
 making an alcoholic tincture, then percolating and distilling. The 
 product thus obtained is added to twice its volume of a saturated 
 aqueous solution of alum, and placed aside to rest for three or four 
 days ; then place it on a filter-cloth, and allow the water to filter through ; 
 wash the product two or three times with fresh water, and let the resid- 
 uum dry in the open air. When dry it readily forms a powder of a light- 
 grayish color." 
 
 The N. Y. Journal of Organic and Medical Chemistry, vol. I, p. 12, 
 states that this resin maj^ be obtained by treating the root of Caulo,- 
 phyllum with distilled water, and obtaining an aqueous solution by 
 percolation. This solution is to be decolorized by animal charcoal, 
 then evaporated in vacuo, and precipitated with an infusion of nut-gallsj 
 or, what is still better, 96 per cent, alcohol. A white precipitate is 
 obtained, which cau be dried on filter-cloth, and powdered. The prop- 
 erties of the impure resin thus obtained are similar to those detailed above, 
 being soluble in water, partly so in alcohol, and possessing similar thera- 
 
 gers and charlatans, and will be frowned down by every honorable and pure-minded indi- 
 vidual. The concentrated agents are now being tested by the liberal physicians of Great 
 Britain, and I hope they will not judge of their therapeutical value by any Improper sam- 
 iples that may be palmed upon them. Many articles now prepared as concentrated agents, 
 are merely dried aqueous or alcoholic solutions, and in many instances are vastly inferloi 
 to the crude articles from which they are prepared. 
 
Ebsin^. 1165 
 
 peutic influences; yet it is there termed an alkaloid. It is to be re- 
 gretted that in our eagerness to discover concentrated medicinal prin- 
 ciples and their therapeutic advantages, but little attention has been 
 bestowed upon their chemical relations, or the many gross impositions 
 which have been practiced in this department of pharmacy by unprin- 
 cipled individuals. 
 
 Dr. T. L. A. Greve states in relation to this agent : " Caulophjdlin 
 is the name given by our pharmaceutists to the dried and powdered 
 alcoholic extract of Blue Cohosh root. It can hardly be termed a resin- 
 oid, as the root contains but little if any resin, nor would it be proper 
 to name it the active principle in the sense that this term is applied to 
 strychnia, santonin, and other proximate principles of a definite chemi- 
 cal constitution ; it is simply a concentrated medicine, representing the 
 medicinal activityof the crude drug in a condensed and convenient form." 
 It will be seen from these remarks, coming from a reliable source, that 
 the article now prepared for the profession as " Caulophyllin," is simply' 
 the dry alcoholic extract of the root. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^Resin of Caulophyllum appears to exert a direct 
 influence upon the uterus, acting as an alterative, uterine tonic, and 
 parturient, according to the periods in which it is employed. In the 
 more common unhealthy conditions of this organ and its -appendages, 
 known as amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, passive menorrhagia, leucorrhea, 
 congested cervix, etc., it is equal to if not surpassing the resin of black 
 cohosh. A combination of equal parts of resins of blue and black co- 
 hosh, and carbonate of ammonia, will be found especially valuable, not 
 only in the above-named affections, but likewise in ei>ilepsy, hysteria, 
 rheumatism, and dropsy, in which diseases it has been recommended as 
 an antispasmodic. This resin may also be advantageously combined with 
 alcoholic extract of aletris, oleo-resins of aselej)ias, senecio, etc., in many 
 forms Of disease of the female generative organs. It has been spoken 
 of as a parturient, but we have no knowledge of its influence as such — 
 though we are aware that the root from which it is prepared does exert 
 a partlirient effect; which property, if retained by the preparation now 
 under consideration, will, no doubt, render it valuable to the accoucheur. 
 Added to resin of podophyllum, or other active purgatives, it prevents 
 tormina, and is, probably, the best agent that can be employed for this 
 purpose. I have found it of decided benefit in severe after-pains, neu- 
 ralgic dysmenorrhea, and in several derangements of the menstrual func- 
 tion. 
 
 The ordinary dose of the article is from one-fourth of a grain to one 
 grain, two, three, or four times a day. As a parturient it should be 
 given in doses of from two to four grains, and repeated at intervals of 
 from fifteen to thirtj' or sixty minutes, after actual labor has commenced. 
 In one case, reported where labor had lasted five days, the patient much 
 enfeebled, and the labor complicated with artificial pains, this agent was 
 given in two-grain doses every half-hour; but three doses were given, 
 labor having commenced soon after the second was taken, and termi- 
 nated successfully in one hour and forty minutes from the time the first 
 powder was given. Eesin of Caulophyllum may be advantageously 
 combined with extract of dioscorea in bilious colic and flatulence. With 
 resin of podophyllum and muriate of ammonia, it forms an excellent 
 combination for some nephritic diseases, accompanied with pains of a 
 spasmodic character. 
 
 Eesina Cimicifttg.®. Besin of Black Cohosh. Cimicifugin. Macrotin ■ 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Strong Tincture of Black Cohosh root, one pint 
 
1166 Pharmacy. 
 
 Water one gallon. Mix the Tincture and the Water together, allow th€ 
 mixture to stand for twenty-four hours, or, until there is no further pre- 
 cipitate, collect the precipitate on a filter, wash it with water, and then 
 allow it to dry in a moderately warm place, or, the Alcohol may first 
 be removed by distillation, or, by evaporation over a water-bath, and 
 the resin then be allowed to precipitate. 
 
 History. — This valuable and useful remedy I have used with much 
 success in my practice since 1835, and had the honor of calling the at- 
 tention of practitioners to it in 1844, and again in the Western Medi- 
 cal Eeformer of 1846 ; but it was not received into general use among 
 practitioners until its preparation on a large scale by Mr. W. S. Merrell. 
 iiesin of Cimicifuga is a dark -brown or yellow substance, lighter colored 
 after pulverization, of a faint narcotic odor, a slightly' bitter, feebly 
 nauseous taste, and soluble in alcohol. 
 
 , Prof. B. S. Wayne, of Cincinnati, one of our most thorough chemists, 
 has made a preparation from the tincture of the root, which appears to 
 possess all its medicinal virtues in a concentrated form. The saturated 
 tincture of the root is allowed to evaporate spontaneously, when there 
 is deposited a solid mass ; the remaining fluid is poured from this, the 
 mass is dissolved in alcohol, slowly' evaporated to the consistence of a 
 fluid extract, and is then placed in thin layers on glass and allowed to 
 dry. It has the peculiar smell and taste of the root. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The Eesin of Black Cohosh possesses alterative, 
 nervine, and antiperiodic properties, without having the narcotic virtues 
 of the root, which are to be had in the alcoholic or the ethereal extract. 
 It also appears to exert a peculiar influence upon the uterus, 'on which 
 account it has been termed a " uterine, tonic." Prof. T. V. Morrow, 
 during his life, expressed himself as having made an extensive use of 
 this preparation in various affections peculiar to the female sex, and 
 with great success.* This Eesin has been employed advantageously 
 in intermittent fever, periodic diseases, leueorrhea, amenorrhea, dys- 
 menorrhea, menorrhagia, threatened abortion, sterility, rheumatism, 
 scrofulous affections, and in prolapsus uteri not accompanied ■Jrith an 
 inflammatory condition of .that organ or of its ligaments. It has also 
 been successfully used in dyspepsia, chronic gonorrhea, gleet, etc., and 
 its tincture has been found an excellent local application in chronic 
 
 * " My experience in the use of the resin of black cohosh has demonstrated to my mind 
 that there is a slight difference In the modus operandi of this form of the medicine, when 
 compared with the usual forms in which the Cimicifuga Kacemosa has been used. That 
 difference principally consists in the increased liability of the latter to produce a heavy, 
 dull, and aching sensation in the forehead, in connection with a feeling of dizziness, while 
 the former appears to manifest a greater tendency to produce aching, and somewhat pain- 
 ful sensations in the joints and limbs generally. I have usually given the resin of black 
 cohosh in the form of pills, prepared by adding a small quantity of pulverized Castile soap, 
 enough to make the mass properly adhesive, and forming it into pills of the ordinary size, 
 and giving one every three hours during the day, in all the various cases above mentioned, 
 whenever they have come under my care, since I commenced its use. In nearly all these 
 oases, it has proved singularly beneficial, thus aflTording the gratifying evidence th at it will 
 soon become one of the most popular and valuable articles of the Materia Medica." — T. V. M, 
 
 Another Professor, in speaking of resin of black cohosh, remarks : " This medicine is, in 
 its elTeots, essentially the same as the Cimicifuga. It is particularly useful in chronic rheu- 
 matic affections, and in female diseases. In leueorrhea and dysmenorrhea, as well a« 
 menorrhagia, it is invaluable. It should be used, in order to get its best efifects, to the ex- 
 tent of producing its specific constitutional symptoms,?, e., a peculiar dizziness, fullness 
 and dull aching of the head, and more or less aching in the joints. This effect should be 
 produced every day (slightly) during the treatment, until the disease is removed. By this 
 treatment, and the use of hip-baths, leueorrhea will often be cured in a week or ten days, 
 without any other remedy.''^ 
 
 " It is also a very useful agent in the treatment of small-pox, in which itshould be given 
 during the whole course of the disease. It seems to divest it of its malignant character 
 I have never lost a case of sraall-pox where this medicine was used thoroughly from the 
 , beginning ; and during the winter of 1849 and 1850, 1 treated from fifty to one hundred 
 cases, some of which were of the most severe confluent kind. The dose is from one-fourth 
 of a grain to one grain, to be given once in three or four hours until the proper symptoms 
 of the medicine appear." 
 
Kesin^. 1167 
 
 conjunctivitis. It may likewise be advantageoasly combined with other 
 uterine tonics and alteratives; as, exti-act of aletris, resin of eaulophyl- 
 lum, oleo-resins of senecio, or asclepias, etc. ; with extract of dioscorea 
 it often improves the action of this agent in flatulency, and in bilious 
 colic, rendering its influence more prompt and certain, in certain obsti- 
 nate cases. Made into a pill with equal parts of extracts of dioscorea 
 and cramp bark, it will be found highly beneficial in flatulency, bilious 
 colic, cramps of pregnant women, painful dysmenorrhea, spasmodic af- 
 fections, borborygmi, and in cholera-morbus, to remove the cramps. 
 As a parturient it is inferior to the powdered root, or to the resin of 
 caulophyllum. In all pulmonary, rheumatic, and dyspeptic affections, 
 where there is a want of tone in the nervous system, it will prove a 
 most valuable medicine, especially as an adjunct of other remedies. Its 
 usual dose is from half a grain to three grains, and, in some cases, even 
 to six grains, repeated three times a day. 
 
 The preparation obtained by Prof. Wayne's process, appears to pos- 
 sess more of the active properties of the root than the ordinary resin, 
 and may be used in all cases where the root or its saturated tincture is, 
 indicated, in doses varying from one-fourth of a grain to a grain. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Pilulffi Leonurii Composite ; Pilulse Polygon! Compositae. 
 
 Eesina Jalap^s!. Besin of Jalap. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Strong Tincture of Jalap one pint ; "Water one 
 gallon. Mix the Tincture and the Water together, allow the mixture to 
 stand for twenty-four hours, or until there is no further precipitate, 
 collect the precipitate on a filter, wash it with water, and then allow it 
 to dry in a moderately warm place. Or, the alcohol may first be re- 
 moved by distillation, or evaporation over a vapor-bath, and the resin 
 then be allowed to precipitate. 
 
 History. — This resin is dark-brown, brittle, and of ready pulveriza- 
 tion. It is not pure, however, but is applijcable for all practical pur- 
 poses ; . when pure it is light-colored, and much more active. It con- 
 sists of a hard and a soft resin, each of which possesses purgative • 
 properties. The resin may be obtained pure and white, by placing a 
 layer of powdered animal charcoal in the lower part of the percolator, 
 and at the same time mixing the powdered jalap root with its weight 
 of the same article, previous to placing it in the percolator, — when pre- 
 paring the Strong Tincture. G. A. Kaiser states that concentrated sul- 
 phuric acid dissolves Eesin of Jalap, precipitating, on standing, a 
 soft glutinous substance of a brown color, in which respect it diffeirs 
 from all other known resins. — Chem. G-az., 1845. Eesin of Jalap is sol- 
 uble in alcohol, and insoluble in ether or oil of turpentine. It is fre- 
 quently adulterated with other resins. If resin of guaiacum is present, 
 a solution of chloride of lime, or of soda will occasion a green color. 
 Scammony resin is soluble in ether, which will lead to its detection. 
 Aloes may be detected by its bitterness, as well as by its reactions. 
 Eesin of Jalap is pure when no precipitate occurs on the addition of 
 sulphuric or hydrochloric acid to its solution in an alkaline liquid. — A. 
 Buchner. 
 
 If the Strong Tincture of Jalap be slowly evaporated in a water-bath 
 to the consistence of a pilular extract, adding from the beginning,, small 
 portions of carbonate of potassa, every time the resin begins to sepa- 
 rate from the liquid, a beautiful, reddish-brown, alkaline extract is ob- 
 tained, having none of the nauseous irritating sensation peculiar to 
 jalap, and being less irritating in its action as a cathartic. This may 
 be given in pill form in doses of from three to six or nine grains, as 
 
1168 Pharmacy. 
 
 often as required ; or 1 part of the alkaline extract may be added tc 
 8 parts of syrup of ginger, of which the dose is half a fluidrachm to a 
 fluidrachm. — JS. Durand. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Jalap owes its cathartic powers to its resin ; 
 while its mucilage or gum has been reputed diuretic. The dose of-the 
 resin prepared as stated above, is from one to six or eight grains : it is 
 apt to occasion much pain and griping,which may be frequently obviated 
 by trituration with Castile soap, resin of caulophyllura, or loaf-sugar 
 
 Eesina Podophylli. Besin of Mandrake, or, of Fodojphyllum. Podo- ' 
 phyllin. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Strong Tincture of Mandrake-root one pint; 
 Water, acidulated with eighteen fluidrachms of Hydrochloric Acid, one 
 gallon. Mix the Tincture and the acidulated Water together, allow the 
 mixture to stand for twenty -four hours, or until there is no further 
 precipitate, collect the precipitate on a filter, wash it with water, and 
 then allow it to dry in a warm place not exceeding 80° or 85° F. Or, 
 the Alcohol may first be removed by evaporation in a warm bath, and 
 the resin then be allowed to precipitate. 
 
 This Eesin has also been obtained by precipitation without heat, by 
 adding a solution of alum to a saturated tincture of the root, but: by 
 this process all the resin is not obtained. 
 
 History. — The above process is the best one for the preparation ot 
 this resin, and is that of the late firm of P. D. Hill, of this city, and 
 still pursued by their successor, Mr. H. H. Hill.* This valuable agent 
 I had the honor of introducing to the profession twenty-six years since. 
 In 1835, 1 was first led to an examination of the resinous principle of 
 this plant, as well as of the Iris,- Cimicifuga, Aletris, and several other 
 T»lants, in consequence of some information given to me by Professor 
 Tully, of Yale College, New Haven, Conn., relative to the resinous 
 constituent of the Cimicifuga Eacemosa. And since August, 1835, I 
 have prepared and used, more or less in my practice, in the treatment 
 of various forms of disease, the Eesins of Podophyllum, Iris, Cimicifu- 
 ga, Alcoholic Extract of Aletris, and several other medicinal plants. 
 In July, 1844, I first called public attention to the Eesins of Podophyl- 
 lum and Iris, in the New York Philosophical Medical Journal, Yol. I., 
 No. 7, pages 157-161, in which I recommended the Mandrake resin in 
 combination with an alkali, for hepatic diseases, scrofula, dropsy, .leu- 
 eorrhea, syphilisi gonorrhea, gleet, obstructed menstruation, etc., but of 
 which it appears but little notice was taken by the profession. In 
 April, 1846, I again called the attention of the profession to this, as 
 
 " 1 am indebted to the late F. D. Hill & Co., of this city (A. D. 1852), for the following 
 process of manufacturing Besln of Podophyllum, as pursued by them ; these gentlemen, 
 in common with all liberal physicians, were desirous of elevating our school of roedicine 
 by all honorable means, and one among these m^eans is opposition to all secret remedies 
 or preparations; and for the prompt and cheerful manner in whicli they furnished any 
 information requested of them, they deserve the thanks of tlie profession : " Exhaust 
 coarsely powdered Mandrake-root with alcohol, by percolation. Place the Saturated 
 tincture in a still, and distill off the alcohol, the residue will be a dark fluid of the con- 
 sistence of molasses ; -sometimes it is thicker, and when this is the case add asTnall por- 
 tion of it to some water, and if it does not form a yellow -whitish precipitate a small 
 quantity of alcohol must be added to it, or enough to cause the llghi precipitate. Then 
 warm the thick residual fluid, and slowly pour it into three times its volume of cold 
 water, which must be constantly agitated during the process. If poured in too fast, or 
 without agitation, the fluid will fall to the bottom unchanged. Allow it to stand for twen- 
 ty-four hours ; at which time nearly all the Resin of Podophyllum will be precipitated, 
 the addition of a sufficient quantity of muriatic acid will precipitate the remainder. The 
 precipitated Resin of Podophyllum of a whitish-yellow color, is now to be removed and 
 placed on a linen filter, and washed several times with water, to remove any remaining 
 acid, gum, etc., after which it is to beplaced in thin layers on paper, and dried in a room or 
 a temperature, between 65° and 90° F.,or if in summer at the natural atmospheric tem- 
 
 gerature. It becomes a shade or two darker by drying in this manner, but if artificial heat 
 e employed to hasten the process, or a higher temperature, the resin becomes quite dark." 
 
Resins. 1169 
 
 well as many othea- concentrated preparations, in the "Western Medical 
 Eeformer, Vol. V., 'No. 12, pages 175-178. Now, as dates are the only 
 reliable source of correct information in such matters, unless some one 
 can show an earlier notice of these articles, and of their practical util- 
 ity, than the above, their claims will naturally be considered doubtful. 
 The credit of first preparing Resin of Podophyllum, and other concen- 
 trated preparations, for the use of the profession generally, it being 
 part of his avocation, belongs to Mr. W. S. Merrill, druggist and chem- 
 ist, of Cincinnati; who first manufactured it in June, 1847, since which 
 it has become an indispensable and higblyimportant American remedy, 
 and is used by all classes of physicians, being generally preferred to 
 mercurials by those who have fairly tested it. (See College Journal., 
 1857, p. 557.) 
 
 Resin of Podophyllum varies, in color according to its mode of pre- 
 cipitation, being, when precipitated by heat, dark -brown ; and when by 
 acid, a light brownish-yellow, or greenish-olive if by alum ; which 
 colors may be due to the presence of more or less of the berberina con- 
 tained in the mandrake-root. It is insoluble in water, oil of turpen- 
 tine, dilute nitric acid, and dilute alkalies. It appeal's to be composed 
 of two resins, one of which is soluble in alcohol only, the other in alco- 
 hol or ether. " The resin insoluble in ether is stated to possess very fee- 
 ble medicinal activity, if any. From the presence of gum, or perhaps 
 'from an oxidation of the resin (an example of wbicb may be witnessed 
 in the pine-gum), soon after its preparation, a portion of Podophyllum 
 Resin ceases to be dissolved by .alcohol. It has no alkaline noracid re- 
 action, but forms a saponaceous compound with the alkalies. From 3 
 to 6 per cent, of resin is obtained from the mandrake'foot. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — It possesses the properties of the root in a 
 superior degree ; from four to eight grains operate as an active emeto- 
 cathartic, with griping, nausea, prostration, and watery stools; from 
 two to four grains, as a drastic cathartic, with nausea and griping ; 
 from one-half a grain to two grains generally operates as an active 
 cathartic, leaving the bowels in a soluble condition ; in very small 
 doses, it is gently aperient and alterative. We make use of this agent 
 in those cases where mercurials are used by a certain class of practi- 
 tioners, and find the result to be vastly in our favor; it fulfills all the 
 indications for which mercurials are recommended and used. The action 
 of Resin of Podophyllum is very much increased by long tritura- 
 tion with four or five times its weight of loaf-sugar or sugar of milk 
 (lactin). In doses of half a grain, or a grain, it is one of our most 
 valuable cholagogue cathartics, operating mildly yet eflFectually, arous- 
 ing the whole biliary and digestive apparatus to a normal action, and 
 which is very persistent in its character.* It likewise exerts a favor- 
 able influence on the cutaneous functions, producing and maintaining a 
 constant moisture on the skin. In doses of from one-eighth to one-half 
 of a grain, or rather in sufficient doses not to purge, it acts as a power- 
 ful alterative, and will induce ptyalism in some persons, and is very 
 useful in scrofulous and syphilitic diseases, hepatic affections, dysmen- 
 orrhea, rheumatism, gonorrhea, and recent disease of the prostate. It 
 produces a powerful and lasting impression on the glandular system 
 and secretory organs, unequaled by any other article. It has likewise 
 
 * The action of this Resin in affections of the liver has been doubted or denied by some 
 practitioners, but, as we think, on erroneous grounds, judging from the beneficial results 
 following its use in these affections,»whether those results be due to direct infiuence upon 
 the liver, or to an indirect one. Certainly, its efTeots In this class of diseases, are superior 
 to those of the so-termed cholagogue mercurials. 
 
 74 
 
1170 Phahmact. 
 
 been found to act as an eramenagogue, and majs also be safely and 
 beneficially administ.ered in jaundice, dropsies, dysentery, diarrhea, 
 bilious, remittent, and intermittent fevers, puerperal fever, typhoid 
 fever, phrenitis, and all glandular enlargements ; and in congestive 
 fever it will produce evacuations from the bowels, when mercurials 
 and all other agents fail. There is not a better eholagogue preparation 
 known in medicine than the combination of Eesin of Podophyllum and 
 Extract of Leptandra, in the proportion of one part of the former to 
 eight parts of the latter, the dose being one or two grains ; in very ob- 
 stinate cases of hepatic torpor and congestion of the portal circle, forty 
 parts of Hydrochlorate of Ammonia may be advantageously added, of 
 which the dose is six or seven grains, repeated as required. It is supe- 
 rior to mercurials or any other preparation of the. kind, has an extensive 
 range of application, combines certainty and permanency of action, and 
 is less liable to eifect harm, even in the hands of ignorant or injudi- 
 cious practitioners, than any other known remedy of equal power and 
 energy. In urethral stricture and recent disease of the prostate, the 
 following pill has cured -several cases : Take of Eesin of Podophyllum 
 and oleo- resin of iris, of each, four grains, alcoholic extract of bella- 
 donna five grains, strychnia a grain or a grain and a half, conserve 
 of roses, a sufficient quantity to make a pill mass. Divide into twenty 
 pills, of which one may be given for a dose, and repeated three times 
 a, day, using in combination with it active diuretic infusions. Eesin of 
 Podophyllum should never be given, except in very fine powder, or 
 which is still better, thoroughly triturated with loaf-sugar, sugar of 
 milk, ginger, or some soluble extract. Five grains well triturated with 
 sugar of milk, .will make ten or -fifteen active cathartic doses. When 
 used alone, it is very apt to produce irritation and pain of the stomach, 
 but hyoscyamus, Castile soap, alkalies, or ginger added to it deprive it 
 of most of its irritating and nauseating tendency and disposition to 
 gripe. Eesin of •Caulophyllum combined with it, materially lessens its 
 painful and disagreeable effects. Care should always be taken to pro- 
 portion the dose of Eesin of Podophyllum to the susceptibilities and 
 condition of the patient, as in some cases half a grain will prove a' vig- 
 orous emeto-cathartic, while in others it would require twice that 
 amount. When it operates too actively, the administration of alkaline 
 solutions with aromatics internally, and in severe cases by enema, will 
 check it. 
 
 It is much to be regretted that persons can be found so lost to all 
 honor and moral principle as to endeavor to force upon the profession 
 worthless and unreliable concentrated agents, even after these agents 
 have been publicly exposed, for the mere purpose of pecuniary gain; 
 yet, unfortunately, such is the fact, but it is still more to be regretted 
 that persons, actuated by motives of interest and ambition, looking 
 only to their own personal aggrandizement, who are ignorant of the 
 first principles of science, and, therefore, incompetent as judges, and 
 who do not hesitate to deceive and misrepresent, should receive the 
 confidence and fellowship of honorable men.* 
 
 »In the following quotations I have changed the names, " podophylldh," etc., to those 
 now more commonly and more correctly employed. A liberal physician says of Resin 
 of PodophyUum : " As a eholagogue cathartic, it probaMy has no equal in the Materia 
 Medica. Its operation is stow, mild, and certain. It produces a specific action on the liver, 
 arousing it to aetiouj and producing free ' bilious evacuations,' rather of a hydragogue 
 character, but is not liable to produce Intestinal irritation, unless given in unnecessarily 
 large doses. It usually takes from six to eight hours for it to operate as a cathaHic, unless 
 combined with cream of tartar or some other articl« by which its action will be hastened. 
 As a cathartic In all bUlary derangements not attended by intestinal irritation, it is a 
 superior remedy. In bilious fevers, either remittent or intermittent, as well as in aouta 
 
Soda. 1171 
 
 Off. JVep.^-Pilulse BaptisisB Compositae; Pilulse Perri Compositse; 
 Pilulse Leptandrse Compositse ; Pilulse Eesina Podophylli Compositse ; 
 Pulvis Leptandrse Compositus ; Pulvis Eesina Podophylli Compositus. 
 
 SODA. (Sodasalz.) 
 Salts of Soda. 
 
 SoDiE BioARBONAS. Bicarbonate of Soda. (Doppeltkohlensaures Na- 
 tron.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Pill a glass jar with fragments of marble, the jar be- 
 ing open at the bottom and tubulated at the top ; olose the bottom in 
 such a way as to keep in the marble without preventing the free pas- 
 sage of a fluid ; connect the tubulature closely, by a bent tube and 
 corks, with an empty bottle, and this in like manner with another 
 bottle filled with one part of Carbonate of Soda, and two parts of 
 Dried Carbonate of Soda, well triturated together ; and let the tube 
 be long enough to reach the bottom of the bottle. Before closing the 
 last cork closely, immerse the jar to the top in diluted muriatic acid 
 contained in any convenient vessel ; when the whole apparatus is thus 
 filled with carbonic acid gas, secure the last cork tightly, and let the 
 
 action go on till next morning, or till gas is no longer absorbed by the 
 
 • 
 
 hepatitis or bilious-pneumonia, it not nnfrequently arrests the disease at the first prescrip- 
 tion, if given in a proper manner, or it so far modifies the attack, that the case becomes 
 mild and manageable. In chronic hepatic deraneem.ents, with dyspepsia, it is a most 
 valuable remedy. Its range of application is perhaps more extensive than any other 
 cathartic medicine, except what Is claimed by the old school for mercury. Resin of Podo- 
 phyllum is a regulator of all the secretions as far as any one remedy can be. It is indicated 
 in all cases -where, according to ' the books,' mercury is indicated, and while in any and 
 every case it will do all the good that mercury can be presumed to do. It is entirely free 
 from any of the objections to that article. The dose varies from one-fourth to one-half a 
 grain, repeated once in two or three hours. The best mode of using it is to triturate it 
 thoroughly with ten times its weight of pure white sugar, or sugar of milk, and give from 
 one to five grains of the trituration at a dose once in two or three hours, until the proper 
 eflfect is produced. It will usually operate in about six hours, sometimes in less. If it is 
 desirable to have an operation sooner, add twenty or thirty grains of cream of tartar and 
 one-fourth of a grain of capsicum to each dose. This is not apt to nauseate when first 
 given ; but if the stomach be much deranged or bilious, it will be pretty sure to vomit, 
 though not excessively, about the time its cathartic effect commences. If given alone, 
 however. It is quite sure to operate as an emeto-cathartic, unless the doses be very small, 
 and the intervals between them longer than three hours. As an aperient or alterative, 
 ftom one-sixth to one-fourth of a grain given evening and morning, or three times a day, 
 'will generally be suffloieut. It is better, however, in all cases, to triturate it as before 
 directed, and give the dose accordingly. A combination of one part Kesiu of Podophyllum 
 and ten parts extract of leptandra, triturated with ten parts of sugar, is an excellent alter- 
 ative in dyspepsia, hepatitis, etc. As a remedy in puerperal fever, I consider the Resin of 
 Podophyllum almost a specific. I prescribe it in one-fourth to one-half grain doses with 
 half a drachm of cream of tartar, to be repeated every two hours until it produces free 
 purging, and in no instance have 1 had any trouble with the case after its operation." 
 
 The late Prof. T. V. Morrow makes the following remarks: "Perhaps np medicine has 
 been Introduced to the notice of the medical profession, for the last one hundred years, 
 which promises to be of so much value as the Resin of Podophyllum. An experience 
 somewhat extensive in the use of this agent in the treatment of a.great variety of cases 
 of disease during the last six months, has fully convinced the writer of its immense value 
 as a remedial agent— more especially as a purgative and alterative. To prepare it properly 
 for use, it should be finely pulverized, and given in doses of from one and a half to three 
 grains, to an adult, mixed in a little simple syrup or sweetened water— say in one-half a 
 tablespoonful or about two teaspoonfuls. In doses of this size it will operate with great 
 efficiency and certainty as . a purgative, in from four to eight hours, producing several 
 pretty copious and moderately consistent discharges, which are very, frequently charged to 
 a considerable extent with bile. In some instances a longer ,period willelapse before its 
 operation will commence, and in nearly every case it leaves the bowels in a gently lax 
 condition, perhaps for two or three days after its operation Is over. It operates with much 
 energy and efllciency, without harshness, seldom producing griping: but it occasionally 
 nroduces nausea, and, in full doses, may cause vomiting, but in small doses, seldom pro- 
 iSuces these effects. Some practitioners who have used the Resin of Podophyllum, say 
 it will operate quite satisfactorily as a purgative, in doses of one grain. This Is one. of 
 the cathartics which, during its operation, seems to exercise a powerfully controlling influ- 
 ence over the condition of the cutaneous tissue, as well as the action of the heart and 
 arteries, producing, in many instances, a moderately copious perspiration, which often 
 continues, to a greater or less extent, during the whole period of its operation. This is 
 more especially true when it causes nausea and vomiting. Bat when these effects do take 
 place, the patients never experience that death-like and powerful depressing sickness, 
 which not unlrpquently results from the operation of the powdered root of the Podophyl- 
 
1172 Pharmact. 
 
 salt. Eemove the damp salt whicli is formed, and dry it, either in the 
 air without heat, or at a temperature not above 120° F." — Ed. 
 
 In this process, monocarbonate of soda is exposed to the action of 
 carbonic acid gas; the gas is rapidly absorbed under development of 
 heat, ahd the soda becomes moist, owing to the evolution of part of the 
 water of crystallization. Henry and G-uibourt prepare it by dissolv- 
 ing six parts of crystallized, carbonate of soda in four parts of water, 
 to this sesquicarbonate of ammonia two parts are added, heat applied 
 to. drive off the ammonia, not over 100° P., and the solution is then 
 set aside to crystallize. There are several other methods of preparing, 
 this salt, which it is unnecessary to relate here. 
 
 Bicarbonate of Soda, according to its mode of preparation, is in 
 small, white, opaque, irregular scales, or in minute, colorless, indis- 
 tinct crystals, or, when prepared by the above formula, in white, ag- 
 gregated masses of granules, opaque and of a crystalline character. 
 It is permanent in the air, and possesses a saline, feebly alkaline, not 
 unpleasant taste. It is soluble in thirteen parts of temperate water, 
 and in much less at 212°, from the latter of which it is obtained in mi- 
 nute, hard, white grains, composed of radiated fibers, as it slowly cools. 
 When its solution ds heated a little above 120°, carbonic acid gradually 
 passes off from the salt, which becomes converted into sesquicarbonate 
 at 212°. At a red heat it is converted into an anhydrous carbonate, 
 
 lum Peltatum, wlien given in full doses. I have found the Resin of Podophyllum quite a, 
 popular and convenient purgative, the dose being so remarkably small that no one objects 
 taking it on account of its unpleasant and inconvenient size. 
 
 " In the treatment of the various kinds of intermittent, remittent, and continued 
 forms of fever, I have had frequent opportunities to test its value during the past sum- 
 mer and fall. With one single dose, of from two to three grains, of this medicine, I have 
 frequently arrested the progress of a severe attack of bilious remittent fever, requir- 
 ing nothing further to complete the cure, except som.e gentle tonic and restorative medi- 
 cine, and a proper avoidance of the exciting causes. The same remarks apply with equal 
 truth to the intermitting forms of fever, as well as to some of the continued. Xn every 
 variety of case, which is characterized by much hepatic torpor and congestion of the por- 
 tal circle, it has manifested a superior controlling power, appearing to arouse the torpid 
 energies of the liver, and restoring very promptly its lost functions. 
 
 " But in no class of cases has this medicine manifested a higlier degree of value, so fai 
 as I have been able to observe its effects, than in those cases marked by strong determi- 
 nation of blood to the brain, producing either congestion or incipient indammatlou of 
 that organ. In several oases of this description, in the treatment of which I have wit- 
 nessed Its effects, I was agreeably surprised to find every trace of congestion eradicated 
 by one or two thorough operations of this article. It seemed to exercise a more com- 
 pletely controlling influence over this pathological condition than any medicine I have 
 ever known used for the same purpose. Of course. In these oases it was used In moder- 
 ately full doses, and its operations continued for a considerable length of time. In oases 
 of puerperal fever. In their Incipient stage, it has manifested itself as amediciue of supe- 
 rior value, arresting them at once, when administered in full doses, and even as a oom- 
 mon purgative dose after confinement, no medicine has exercised a happier Influence. 
 I have availed myself of its use under these circumstances, in numerous instances, with 
 the most beneflclal and satisfactory results. In a case of dropsy of the serous cavities, 
 as well as cellular texture of the whole body, the Resin of Podophyllum was adminis- 
 tered in doses of one-half a grain, in conjunction with half a teaspoonful of cremor 
 tartar, every two hours, until it prodnoed a half dozen or more copious Vatery discharges 
 from the bowels, and repeated it two or three days afterward, till the same effects took 
 place ; it soon relieved the patient completely of the dropsical effusion ! ! From its effects 
 In this case, I should be led to entertain a favorable opinion of its powers in all cases of 
 dropsy. 
 
 " I have used the Resin of Podophyllum In numerous oases of cholera infantum, and 
 other attacks of summer-complaint In children, -with very satisfactory results. In these 
 cases, however, it was given in very small doses. To a child three years old, it was given 
 in doses of from one-fourth to half of a grain, once in six or eight hours for thirty-six to 
 forty-eight hours, and it scarcely ever failed to afford decided advantage, more especially ' 
 in those cases in which there was frequent hepatic torpor, in connection with a determi- 
 nation of blood to the head. The results of my experience in the use of this article as a 
 remedial agent, on the whole, are such as to leave no doubt on my mind that it is des- 
 tined soon to occupy a conspicuous place among the most valuable remedies of the Ma- 
 teria Medica, with a very extended range of applloa,tion In the treatment of disease. As 
 an alterative. It has demonstrated its value beyond all doubt in numerous cases in which 
 it has been used during the past summer and fall, especially in that class of oases in the 
 treatment of which the routine practitioners of the orthodox school regard the mercurial 
 preparations as of Indispensable importance. Indeed, it promises to' be more than a sub- 
 stitute for the mercurials, in all those oases in which these medicines have proved of any 
 substantial value, without their liability to produce injurious effects on the constitution 
 of patients." 
 
Soda. 1173 
 
 its water of crystallization, and an equivalent of carbonic acid being ' 
 expelled. Bicarbonate of Soda consists of one equivalent of soda 31. 3^ 
 two of acid 44.24, and one of water 9=84.54. — C. Its formula is 'Na 
 O 2 CO, HO; its equivalent weight 84, or 1050. 
 
 Bicarbonate of Soda is seldom adulterated, its principal impurity- 
 being the result of faulty preparation; in consequence of which, prob- 
 ably arising from imperfect saturation with carbonic acid, a greater or 
 less proportion of carbonate of Soda is found with it. The presence 
 of the carbonate may be known by the decided alkaline and disagree- 
 able taste imparted ; by the solution giving a white precipitate with 
 sulphate of magnesia; and by a solution in forty parts of water, giv- 
 ing a reddish-brown precipitate, with corrosive sublimate, even if only 
 one per cent, of tbe carbonate be present; this test causes a slight 
 milkiness only with the pure bicarbonate. — G. When quite pure, a 
 moderately dilute solution of bicarbonate of potassa occasions no pre- 
 cipitate with bichloride of platinum, perchloric acid, or tartaric acid, 
 by which its freedom from potassa is demonstrated. When supersatu- 
 rated with pure nitric acid, it gives no precipitate with either chloride 
 of barium or nitrate of silver, when sulphates and chlorides are ab- 
 sent. Bicarbonate of Soda may be distinguished from the monocar- 
 bonate, by its not reddening turmeric, by its not producing a red pre- 
 cipitate with corrosive sublimate, nor a white one with the sulphate 
 of magnesia of the shops, and by the quantity of carbonic acid gas it 
 evolves on the addition of sulphuric acid. — P. 
 
 Bicarbonate of soda is incompatible with acids, acidulous salts, lime- 
 water, muriate of ammonia, and earthy and metallic salts. Sulphate 
 of magnesia does not decompose it. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Bicarbonate of Soda possesses properties similar 
 to tbe bicarbonate of potassa, though less actively diuretic ; it also re- 
 sembles the carbonate of soda in its action, but is much less irritating, 
 and milder to the taste. It is an excellent antacid, and has been used 
 in urinary diseases attended with uric acid formations ; but its use 
 should not be continued too long after the removal of these formations, 
 else deposits of the phosphates will occur. The bicarbonate is, how- 
 ever, less apt to produce this result than the carbonate of soda, more 
 especially when it is administered in carbonic acid water. It has also 
 been recommended as a remedy in croup, and cynanche trachealis, and 
 to diminish the saccharine matter of diabetic urine. In inflammatory 
 diseases it is supposed to remove any abnormal increase of fibrin in the 
 blood, and thus aid in effecting a solution of the disease. The dose of 
 Bicarbonate of Soda is from five to forty grains in a glass of common 
 soda or carbonated water ; the dose for children in proportion. Soda 
 Powders, or Effervescing Powders, are prepared by placing in one paper 
 Tartaric Acid twenty -five grains ; and in another Bicarbonate of Soda 
 thirty grains. When to be used, they are dissolved in separate portions 
 of water, to which some aromatic syrup may be added, and then mixed. 
 Effervescence immediately ensues, during which the liquid is to be 
 drank. It forms a cooling and slightly laxative draught, which is 
 very agreeable and invigorating, especially to persons with fever. The 
 effervescence is occasioned by the escape of carbonic acid, which is set 
 free from the bicarbonate by the tartaric acid, which unites with the 
 soda, forming a tartrate of soda. 
 
 The Yeast, or Baking Powders, which are now sold so extensivelj' 
 throughout the country, are composed of 54.7 parts of crystallized 
 bitartrate of potassa, in powder; 22.7 parts 'of soda-salseratus, a salt 
 
1174 ■ Pharmacy. 
 
 between the carbonate and bicarbonate, as regards its proportion of 
 carbonic acid ; and 22.7 part's of starch, of which corn starch is the 
 best. A good baking powder may be made of two and a half parts of 
 pure bitartrate of potassa, and one part, each, of Bicarbonate of Soda 
 and starch. 
 
 SoDiE Carbonas Bxsiccatus. Dried Carbonate of Soda. (Zerfallenes' 
 Kohlensaures Ifatron.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Carbonate of Soda a convenient quantity, heat 
 it in a shallow vessel till it is dry, then heat it to redness in a crucible, 
 and when cold reduce it to a powder." — Ed. 
 
 History. — Carbonate of Soda consists of one equivalent of base, one 
 of acid, and ten of water; at a moderate heat it fuses in its water of 
 crystallization ; and a higher temperature drives off all the water, 
 leaving a white, opaque, anhydrous carbonate. A full red heat fuses 
 the anhydrous salt. The anhydrous carbonate tastes much more alka- 
 line and acrid than the crystal ; it is readily pulverized. Its formula 
 is IfaO-fCOj; and its equivalent weight 53.3. — G. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Dried or Anhydrous Carbonate of Soda pos- 
 sesses properties similar to the crystallized carbonate. It is antacid- 
 and antilithic, and is useful in urinary affections with excess of uric 
 acid. It may be given in powder, or in pill, with extracts, soap, etc. 
 The dose is from five grains to a scruple, rather less than the carbonate, 
 on account of its loss of water of crystallization. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Sodse Bicarbonas. 
 
 Sodje et Potass.^ Tartras. Tartrate of Potassa and Soda. Tar- 
 tarized Soda. Rochelle Salt. ("Weinsteinsaures Kali ITatron. Seignette 
 Salz.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Bitartrate of Potassa, in powder, sixteen 
 ounces; Carbonate of Soda twelve ounces ; Boiling water /owr ^infe (Imp. 
 meas.). Dissolve the Carbonate in the Water, add the Bitartrate to neu- 
 tralization ; boil and filter. Concentrate the liquor till a pellicle forms 
 on its surface, and then set it aside to cool and crystallize. The resid- 
 ual liquor will yield more crystals by further concentration and cool- 
 ing."— ^(^. 
 
 The U. S. Pharm. employ the same weights, Troy, and five pints of 
 water; in other respects the process is the same. 
 
 History. — This salt was first made known in 1672 by Seignette, an 
 apothecary at Eoehelle; but the mode of preparing it was not made 
 known until in 1731 by Boulduc and Geoffroy. The soda of the crys- 
 tallized carbonate, in the above process, neutralizes the second equiva- 
 lent of acid in the cream of Tartar, and the carbonic acid is given off. 
 The tartrate and soda thus formed, gives with the tartrate of potassa 
 which remains, and a portion of water, a very soluble crystallizable 
 double salt, the potassio-tartrate of soda. 2352 parts of cream of tar- 
 tar require 1790 parts of crystallized -soda for their saturation ; these 
 relative weights vary according to the state of purity of the cream of 
 tartar, which frequently contains tartrate of lime, while the carbonate 
 of soda may contain sulphate of soda. By crystallization, these foreign 
 salts are removed. If the cream of tartar contains much racemic acid, 
 a considerable loss of crystallized potassio-tartrate of soda will result, 
 and the mixture will contain a large quantity of syrupy mother-liquor ; 
 for the racemic acid forms with difSculty a double salt of potassa and 
 soda. 
 
 Tartrate of Potassa and Soda forms beautiful, transparent, right- 
 rhombic, six and twelve sided prisms, often of a considerable size, and 
 
Soda. 1175 
 
 frequently produced in halves. It is odorless, of a mild, siiline, cooling 
 taste, and is unalterable in the air at ordinary temperatures; but 
 slightly efBloresces when the air is very dry. At a moderate tempera- 
 ture it fuses in its water of crystallization, again becoming solid ; if the 
 heat is increased it again fuses with decomposition, leaving a mixture 
 of carbonate of soda, and potassa amd charcoal. It is soluble in two 
 and a half parts of cold water, and in scarcely its weight of boiling ; 
 the solution has a neutral reaction. Alcohol takes up only traces of it. 
 — Witt. Sulphuric acid, added to the aqueous solution, causes a pre- 
 cipitate of small crystals of bitartrate of potassa ; perchloric acid pre- 
 cipitates perchlorate of potassa ; bichloride of platinum gives a yellow 
 precipitate. Chloride of barium, or a weak solution of nitrate of sil'trer, 
 occasion no precipitates unless sulphates or chlorides are present. It 
 is incompatible with acetates of lead, soluble baryta, and lime salts, 
 many acids, and salts containing, excess of acid. Its formula is (K0-|- 
 f)+(]SraO-f f)+8H0 ; its equivalent is 28a. 
 
 Properties, and Uses. — Tartrate of Potassa and Soda isia mild, laxative, 
 cooling salt, rather more agreeable than most neutral salts, and adapted 
 for irritable or fastidious stomachs. Its dose is from two drachms to 
 an ounce, dissolved in eight or ten parts of water. When given in the 
 form of dilute solution, and so as not to excite purging, it becomes ab- 
 sorbed, and produces alkalinity of the urine ; consequently, its use 
 should be avoided in phosphatic urine. Two drachms of Tartrate of 
 Potassa and Soda added to two scruples of Bicarbonate of Soda, and 
 put up in one (blue) paper, and thirty -five grains of Tartaric Acid 
 placed in the other (white) paper, forms the gentle laxative known as 
 Seidlitz Powder. Dissolve the contents of each paper, separately, in 
 half a tumbler of water, mix the two solutions, and drink immediately, 
 while it is eflFervescing. The necessity for using two papers may be 
 obviated, and a very satisfactory preparation obtained, by mixing two 
 parts of bitartrate of soda with one part of bicarbonate of soda ; the 
 mixture keeps well even in paper, ,and effervesces briskly when mixed 
 with water. 
 
 SoD^ Phosphas. Phosphate of Soda. (Phosphorsaures Natron.) 
 
 Preparation. — "Take of Bones, burnt to whiteness, iew |)OM?irfs; Sul- 
 phuric Acid two pints and four fluidounces, Imp. meas. ; Carbonate of Soda 
 a sufficiency:. Pulverize the bones, and mix them with tbe acid ; add grad- 
 ually six pints of boiling water, and strain through strong linen ; pass 
 more boiling water through the mass on the filter till it comes away 
 nearly tasteless. Let the impurities subside in the united liquors, pour 
 off the clear fluid, and concentrate to six pints. Let the impurities 
 again settle ; and to the clear liquor, which is to be poured off and 
 heated to ebullition, add Carbonate of Soda, previously dissolved in 
 boiling water, until the acid is completely neutralized. Set the solu- 
 tion aside to cool and crystallize. More crystals will be obtained by 
 successively evaporating, adding a little Carbonate of Soda till the liquid 
 exerts a feeble alkaline reaction on reddened litmus-paper, and then 
 allowing it to cool. Preserve, tbe crystals in well-closed vessels." — 
 Ed. The TJ. S. Pharm. gives a process differing in no essential point 
 from the preceding. 
 
 History. — Bones are composed chiefly of carbonate of lime, gelatin, 
 and phosphate of lime, and when burnt at a full red-heat, the gelatin 
 is decomposed, its carbon becomes gradually consumed, and a white 
 substance called bone-phosphate is left, consisting of phosphate of lime 
 and a small proportion of carbonate, etc. When this bone-phosphate 
 
1176 Phaemact. 
 
 is well pulverized and subjected to the action of sulphuric acid'the car- 
 bonic acid of the lime or bone-phosphate is set free with effervescence, 
 and the carbonate of lime- is thus decomposed. The phosphoric acid 
 of the most of the phosphate of lime is also liberated by the action of 
 the sulphuric acid, and all the lime detached from the two salts (the 
 carbonate and phosphate) unites with the sulphuric acid, forming an 
 insoluble sulphate of lime. The liberated phosphoric acid unites with 
 that part of the phosphate of lime which has not been decomposed, and 
 forms with it a solution of the superphosphate of lime. Boiling water 
 is now added for the purpose of cleansing the sulphate of lime from any 
 Superphosphate, and then the fluid is strained ; the sulphate, which re- 
 mains on the strainer, is further washed to free it of all superphosphate," 
 which imparts an acid taste to the water. The washings and strained 
 solution of the superphosphate of lime are now added together, and 
 upon resting for a time until cool, a deposit ensues of sulphate of lime, 
 from which the fluid may be separated by simply pouring it off. By 
 concentrating th|is fluid more sulphate of lime is precipitated, which 
 is separated as in the former instance. The clear, concentrated solu- 
 tion is now exposed to the boiling point, and a solution of carbonate of 
 spda in boiling water added until the acid character of the solution of 
 superphosphate is neutralized. The carbonic acid is set free, and the 
 soda is converted into a tribasie Phosphate of Soda by its combination 
 with the surplus phosphoric acid of the solution, while the neutral phos- 
 phate of lime is deposited. The solution of the tribasie phosphate is 
 separated from the lime salt by filtration, and by concentration and 
 cooling the crystals form. 
 
 Wittsteita says that, for analytical purposes, it is better to add to pure 
 phosphoric acid solution, in a porcelain dish, pure crystallized carbonate 
 of soda as long as it causes lan effervescence, and until the acid reaction 
 is exchanged for an alkaline one. Seven parts of acid, sp. gr. 1.160, 
 requires six parts of soda. It is placed in the cool to crystallize, the 
 crystals separated, spread on filtering-paper to dry, and kept in a cool 
 place. The mother-liquor, on evaporation, yields fresh quantities of 
 crystals. The product will equal in weight the phosphoric acid used. 
 Phosphate of Soda (basic) crystallizes in colorless, transparent, oblique, 
 rhombic prisms and tables, which are odorless, and- of an agreeable, 
 cooling, saline taste, with a feeble alkaline reaction. It efB.oresces in 
 the air, and much more readily in warm air, becoming opaque. When 
 heated, the crystals undergo the watery fusion, and the dried salt has 
 the formula 2 NaO+HO+PjOoi if this is heated to redness the basic 
 atom of water is driven off, the salt fusing to a clear mass, which is 
 ■ opaque on cooling. The fused salt is stochiometrically a neutral one, 
 the so-csdled pyro-phosphate of soda ; the great difference between which 
 and the ordinary basic Phosphate of Soda, is, that it gives with nitrate 
 of silver a white precipitate (2 AgO +1*206), while the latter gives a 
 yellow one (3 AgO+PaOj). Phosphate of Soda is soluble in four parts 
 of temperate, and two of boiling water ; it is nearly insoluble in alcohol. 
 If on supersaturation with hydrochloric acid, effervescence ensues, it 
 contains carbonate of soda ; a yellow precipitate caused by passing 
 sulphuretted hydrogen through the hydrochloric acid solution, and which 
 is readily soluble in carbonate of ammonia, indicates arsenious acid, 
 which arises from the employment of either sulphuric acid or phos- 
 phorus containing arsenic. If properly prepared, however, the phos- 
 phoric acid from the superphosphate of lime can not contain arsenic, as 
 with the basic phosphate of lime the arsenious acid is precipitated as a 
 
Soda. 1177 
 
 lime salt. Sulphate of soda is detected in the solution acidified with 
 nitric acid, by nitrate of baryta ; chloride of sodium by nitrate of silver ; 
 lime is detected by neutral oxalate of potassa, and after separating the 
 lime, ammonia will determine the presence of magnesia. If magnesia 
 is suspected, the lime must not be thrown down by oxalate of ammonia, 
 for the magnesia would immediately precipitate as ammouio-phosphate 
 of magnesia. Hydrosulphate of ammonia must cause no change ; a 
 blacji precipitate with it indicates iron or copper; the former metal 
 will give a bluish precipitate with tannic acid. — Witt. 
 
 Phosphate of Soda is incompatible with magnesia, mineral acids, sol- 
 uble lime salts, and some solutions of metallic salts. It contains 62.6 
 parts of soda, 71.4 of phosphoric acid, and 225 of water. Its formula 
 is 2 NaO HO PO5+24 HO ; its equivalent weight 359, or 4487.5. 
 
 If a solution of Phosphate of Soda be evaporated at 90°, the salt 
 crystallizes with only fifteen instead of twenty-five equivalents of 
 water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Phosphate of Soda, formerly known as Sub- 
 phosphate of Soda, is a mild, saline cathartic, well adapted to febrile and 
 inflammatory diseases, and for children and others whose stomachs are 
 delicate or irritable. The dose is from six to twelve drachms in broth, 
 soup, or Indian-meal gruel. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Ferri Phosphas. 
 
 SoDJE Valerianas. Valerianate of Soda. (Baldriansaures ITatron.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Bichromate of Potassa, in powder, nine 
 ounces ; Fusel Oil four Jiuidounces ; Commercial Oil of Vitriol six fluid- 
 ounces and a half ; "Water half a gallon ; Solution of Caustic Soda one 
 pint, or as much as is sufficient. Dilute the oil of Yitriol with ten fluid- 
 ounces of "Water, and dissolve the Bichromate of Potassa in the re- 
 mainder of the water, with the aid of heat. "When both the solutions 
 have cooled down to nearly the temperature of the atmosphere, place 
 them in a matrass, and having added the Fusel Oil, mix well by repeat- 
 ed shaking until the temperature of the mixture, which at first rises to 
 150°, has fallen to 80° or 90°. The matrass having been now con- 
 nected with a condenser, heat is to be applied so as to distill over about 
 half a gallon of liquid. Let this, when exactly saturated with Solution 
 of Caustic Soda, be separated from a little oil that floats upon its sur- 
 face, and evaporated down until the escape of aqueous vapor, hav- 
 ing entirely ceased, the residual salt is partially liquefied. Now with- 
 draw the heat, and when the Valerianate of Soda has concreted it is, 
 while still warm, to be divided into fragments, and preserved in a well- 
 stopped bottle." — Dub. The process given in the U. S. Pharm., is sub- 
 stantially the same as the preceding. 
 
 History. — The above weights are Avoirdupois, and the measures 
 are Imperial, according to the Dublin College. Fusel Oil, or Amylic 
 Alcohol, when oxidized so as to lose two equivalents of hydrogen, is 
 transformed into valerianic acid and water. In the above process 
 the oxygen is derived from the chromic acid of the Bichromate of 
 Potassa. "When this salt is acted on by sulphuric acid the products 
 are — oxygen, which is eliminated, water, and potassio-sulphate of chro- 
 mium. The valerianic acid being volatile, distills over, and is neutral- 
 ized by caustic soda. The solution of Valerianate of Soda is then to 
 be evaporated to dryness, and the residual salt partially liquefied to 
 obtain it in the anhydrous state. — P. 
 
 The addition of the mixture of sulphuric acid and fusel oil must be 
 very carefully made and in small quantities, otherwise so powerful a 
 
1178 Phaemaot. 
 
 reaction ensues, that without any application of fire, and before the 
 whole of the mixture is in the retort, so much heat is evolved as to 
 cause it to boil. On the first distillate is commonly a thin oily layer, 
 which consists of oxidized fusel oil, or more properly speaking, vale- 
 rianate of oxide of amyle=€!io Hh O-f-Cm Hj O3. — Witt. Valerianate 
 of Soda, Na Ya, crystallizes with diflS.culty, but may be obtained in 
 a cauliflower-like mass. It begins to fuse at 268°, and on cooling 
 forms a white solid mass, which has a greasy or soapy feel. Its odor 
 is like valerianic acid ; its taste sweet but nauseous. It is deliquescent, 
 and soluble in alcohol or water. — P. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Valerianate of Soda is not used as a medicine, 
 but for the preparation of the valerianaites of iron, quinia, etc., by 
 double decomposion of the soda salt with salts of the respective bases. 
 It might be used with advantage in nervous and irritable habits, at- 
 tended with acidity of the stomach. 
 
 Off. Prep. — QuinisB Valerianas. 
 
 SALICIN. (Salicin.) 
 
 Salicin. 
 
 The Active Principle of the Willow. 
 
 Preparation. — Several processes are given for the preparation of Sal- 
 icin. Merck obtained 502 grains from 32 ounces of the bark of Salix 
 Melix, by the following mode : "Willow bark in small pieces was ex- 
 hausted by boiling with water ; the decoction concentrated, and, while 
 boiling, litharge was added until the liquid was nearly colorless. The 
 dissolved oxide of lead was removed first by sulphuric acid, afterward 
 by sulphuret of barium, and, after the separation of sulphuret of 
 lead, evaporated, when the Salicin was obtained in crystals. It was 
 afterward purified by repeated solution and crystallization. The 
 oxide of lead removed gum, tannic acid, and extractive from the solu- 
 tion, which would impede the crystallization of the Salicin, and also, 
 combined with the Salicin, forming a salt which was decomposed by 
 the sulphuric acid and sulphuret of barium. — Turner's Chemistry, 7th 
 ed., p. 816. 
 
 According to Christison, Brdman obtained five drachms of Salicin 
 from sixteen ounces of the bark of Salix Pentandra,-&B follows : the bark 
 is left for twenty-four hours to macerate in milk of lime; consisting 
 of two oances of lime in four quarts of water; after which the mixture 
 is boiled for half an hour. This step is repeated twice with the resi- 
 due. The decoctions being cleared by subsidence, and concentrated 
 to a quart, the remaining liquid is digested with eight ounces of ivory 
 black, filtered, and evaporated to dryness. The extract, in powdeir, is 
 then exhausted with spirit containing 28 per cent, of alcohol, the spirit 
 is distilled off, and the crystals which subsequently form are purified 
 by a second crystallization after being treated with ivory black. 
 
 Fisher and Tyson's plan is as follows : Boil willow bark with caustic 
 lime in water ; then filter the decoction, and add sulphate of zinc as 
 long as any precipitate is produced. Again filter the liquid, evaporate 
 to the consistence of an extract, and treat this with alcohol. Careful- 
 ly evaporate the tincture thus made, when Salicin will form in crystals; 
 these may be purified by washing with a saturated solution of the same 
 principle in cold water. 
 
 History. — Salicin, Cjs H,,, Ou=286, crystallizes in silky needles and 
 
Sanguinarina 1179 
 
 laminse. It is white, very bitter, odorless, neutral to vegetable colors, 
 ftisible at 230° P., and combustible at a higher temperature. It is sol- 
 uble in seventeen parts of water, at 66°, and in evei'y proportion in 
 boiling water. It is soluble in alcohol, but not in ether or the vol- 
 atile oils. Concentrated sulphuric acid reddens it, forming rutilin, or 
 sulpho-rufio acid. Three parts, each, of-Salicin and bichromate of po- 
 tassa, and twenty -four parts of water, dissolved together, to which are 
 to be added oil of vitriol, four and a half parts in twelve^of water, will 
 when heat is applied, yield a volatile, almost colorless oil, having the 
 odor of the flowers of meadow sweet, or heliotrope, with a sharp, burn- 
 ing taste, leaving a white spot upon the tongue, and not easily soluble 
 in water ; this is salicylous acid, Cu He O4, of specific gravity 1.1731, 
 and if it be heated with an excess of hydrate of potassa, salicylic acid 
 Ci4 II5 Og is obtained under evolution of hydrogen gas. Chlorine con- 
 verts Salicin into grape sugar and saligenin ; the same result accurs 
 by the fermentation of Salicin. Saligenin, C^ Hg O4, boiled with a di- 
 luted acid, or heated beyond its melting point, is changed into a white, 
 tasteles8,insoluble resinous powder named Saliretin, C^ H^ Oj. Salicin 
 must be regarded as a colligated body derived from saligenin and grape 
 sugar ; when salicin is submitted to the action of chemical agents, the 
 saligenin is the constituent which is first affected, and the sugar remains 
 free or in combination, — but if the reaction be violent, the sugar is also 
 affected, as in the production of formic acid when salicin is oxidized 
 by chromic acid. — Miller. 
 
 Salicin rotates to the left a ray of plane polarized light. If a small 
 portion be placed in the center of a glass slide, and this be held over 
 an alcohol lamp, removing it and immediately pressing upon it a thin 
 glass cover as soon as fusion of the Salicin commences, it will exhibit 
 a most gorgeous display of colors under the polarizing apparatus. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Salicin is tonic, antiperiodic, and febrifuge ; 
 and may be used as a substitute for quinia, to which, however, it is 
 slightly inferior. It is, however, less likely to irritate the stomach 
 and excite the nervous system, for which jaroperties it may be admin- 
 istered in cases where cinchonism would be produced by the exhibition 
 of quinia. It is often employed to adulterate quinia with, and may be 
 detected by sulphuric acid, which will turn the Salicin red, even in 
 minute quantity. The dose of Salicin is from two to ten grains, to be 
 repeated three or fQur times a day; three doses of six grains each, 
 have been known to cut short intermittent fevers in one day. In its 
 passage through the system, Salicin undergoes oxidation, and is con- 
 verted into salicylous acid, which is found in the urine ; its presence is 
 detected by a persalt of iron, which strikes an intense violet color with 
 urine containing it. Salicylous acid, and salicylite of potassa in four- 
 grain doses, have been found useful sedatives in acute maladies, acting 
 without causing any primary excitement. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Salicin ; Quinise et Salicinise Tartras. 
 
 SANGUINAEINA. 
 
 Sanguinarina. 
 
 The Alkaloid Principle of Bloodroot. 
 
 Preparation.— Digest six ounces of finely powdered Bloodroot in twelve 
 ounces of diluted Muriatic or Acetic Acid ; at the expiration of ten days, 
 filter, and add to the filtered tincture two and a half ounces of Aqua 
 
1180 Pharmacy. 
 
 Ammonia, and pour the mixture into a vessel containing two pints of 
 distilled water ; filter and collect the brown matter which subsides, - 
 and carefully wash it with a small quantity of distilled water, and re- 
 move the coloring by means of animal charcoal. Then treat it with 
 boiling alcohol, which dissolves the Sanguinarina, and cautiously evap- 
 orate. 
 
 Dr. T. L. A. Greve, of this city, who is engaged in the manufacture 
 of " concentrated remedies," and is well acquainted with the various 
 methods in use for obtaining them, makes the following statement : 
 " An impure alkaloid obtained from the root of Sanguinaria Can., is 
 met with in the shops, called Sanguinarina ; it is obtained by adding 
 aqua ammonia to the liquor from which the resin (Sanguinarin) has 
 been precipitated. It is then separated from the liquid by straining 
 or filtering, washing the mass on the filter with water, then drying and 
 powdering it. It may also be procured by treating ground Bloodroot 
 with water acidulated with sulphuric acid, and then pretipitating with 
 aqua ammonia, as above named." 
 
 Prof. E. S. Wayne recommends the following mode of obtaining sul- 
 phate of Sanguinarina, which is Dr. Shiel's process : Exhaust Blood- 
 root, in coarse powder, in a percolator, with dilute sulphuric acid, and 
 then add ammonia; a deep purple precipitate occurs, which must be 
 washed with water upon the filter, dried, and treated with ether, 
 which dissolves out the Sanguinarina. Treat this solution with an- 
 imal charcoal, and the alkaloid is obtained as a sulphate of a bright 
 vermilion color, on the addition of a solution of sulphuric acid in , 
 ether. — Am. Jour. Pharm., CXXY., p. 521. 
 
 Dr. T. L. A. Greve prepares the Sulphate of Sanguinarina as fol- 
 lows: "To a saturated solution of Sanguinarina in ether, add a mix- 
 ture of sulphuric acid' (one part) and ether (eight parts) in small 
 quantities at a time, as long as it produces a precipitate. Separate 
 the precipitate by filtration, wash it with ether, dry, and pulverize. 
 In place of dissolving the alkaloid in ether the Bloodroot may be 
 treated with ether, and the acid be afterward added to the ethereal 
 tincture. The muriate and nitrate of Sanguinarina may be obtained in 
 the same manner, substituting muriatic or nitric acid for the sulphuric. 
 
 History. — Pure Sanguinarina is a white or pearl-gray body, having 
 a bitter taste with some acrimony, is hardly dissolved by water, but 
 -readily by ether or alcohol, and possesses well-marked alkaline char- 
 acters, rendering turmeric paper brown or red, and forming red colored 
 salts with the acids. Scheele gives its formula as C3, H^ Nog. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Same as the bloodroot. One grain of this al- 
 kaloid may be thoroughly triturated with twenty or thirty grains of 
 sugar of milk, and divided into ten or thirty doses, according to the 
 effect desired. A very excellent cough preparation may be made; com- 
 posed of hydrochlorate of ammonia two drachms, • extract of liquorice 
 two drachms, extract of hyoscyamus half -a drachm, syrup of tolu one 
 fiuidounce, water six fluidounces, acetate or sulphate of sanguinarina 
 one or two grains ; mix. The dose is a tablespoonful, repeating it three 
 or four times a day. On account of its great activity, Sanguinarina ia 
 not much used in practice, the Sanguinarin ? being preferred. 
 
Sanguinaein. ? 1183 
 
 SANG-UmAEIN. ? 
 
 Sanguinarin. ? 
 
 The Alka-resinoid Principle of Bloodroot. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of coarsely pulverized Bloodroot, any quantity, 
 Alcohol a sufficient quantity to make a saturated tincture. When 
 made, filter the tincture and add distilled water equal in quantity to 
 that of the alcohol; distill off the alcohol, and allow the residue to rest 
 for several days, or until precipitation ceases. Eeniove the supernatant 
 liquid, wash the precipitate in a fresh supply of distilled water, dry 
 it carefully by a moderate heat, and pulverize for use. As thus pre- 
 pared it is said to consist of a portion of the alkaloid Sanguinarina in 
 combination with the resinoid Sanguinarin, and is generally sold and 
 used under the improper name of Sanguinarin. 
 
 History. — As thus prepared, Sanguinarin is of a deep reddish -brown 
 color, a peculiar odor, of a bitterish, rather nauseous taste, followed by 
 a sense of pungency in the fauces, which is persistent, soluble in boil- 
 ing alcohol, insoluble in water, and does not coalesce, unless it is heated 
 or exposed to moisture. It is fusible, forming a black shining mass, and 
 is also inflammable. It is partially soluble in alkaline solutions, acetio 
 acid, and ether. (See Sanguinarine, p. 1260.) 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This article is stated to be an elegant and val- 
 uable, as well as important medical agent. It is said to possess prop- 
 erties similar to Bloodroot, and to act as a tonic, hepatic, and altera- 
 tive. It is reputed to have the following influences: One or two 
 grains, repeated every two hours, diminishes the velocity of the pulse 
 in from eight ' to twelve hours ; after which it only requires a small ' 
 dose two or three times a day, to maintain its influence ; and in ef- 
 fecting this sedative action on the arterial system, it does not produce 
 any unfavorable cerebral results. It may be employed with advan- 
 tage in the treatment of pulmonary diseases, influenza, whooping- 
 cough, rheumatism, jaundice, etc. In combination with extract of 
 leptandra and resin of podophyllum it forms a medicine, which for 
 safety and efficacy in the treatment of hepatic diseases is stated to be 
 superior to any other remedies yet known in medicine ; the combina- 
 tion may be formed into pills with extract of rhubarb, alcoholic ex- 
 tract of cimicifuga, or of bitter root. Combined with equal parts of 
 resin of caulophyllum and alcoholic extract of cimicifuga, it will be 
 found very efficacious in amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, and other func- 
 tional disorders of the female generative system. It may also be used 
 as a sternutatory, and as a local application to indolent ulcers. When 
 used alone it should be triturated with sugar, sugar of milk, or some 
 other article. As a tonic, the dose is from one-fourth of a grain to a 
 grain, three or four times a day ; as a hepatic and alterative, from one- 
 half of a grain to two grains. It may be proper for me to state here 
 that I consider the resin of Sailguinaria nearly, if not quite, devoid 
 of medicinal principles, and that all the effects stated, as above, to 
 have occurred from its administration, are entirely owing to its con- 
 taining a greater or less amount of the alkaloid. Consequently, it 
 would be better, both in a therapeutical and economical view, to dis- 
 pense with this resin altogether, and employ the Sanguinarina only. 
 
1182 Pharmacy. 
 
 STEYCHNIA. (Strychnin.) 
 Strychnia. 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of !N'ux Vomica, rasped, or in powder, one pound, 
 Water one gallon and a half; Commercial Oil of Vitriol half a Jluidounce ; 
 Slaked Lime one ounce; Eectified Spirit one quart; Dilute Sulphuric 
 Acid, Solution of Ammonia, of each, a sufficient quantity ; prepared 
 Animal Charcoal half an ounce. Macerate the Nux Vomica for twenty- 
 four hours with half a gallon of the Water, acidulated with two flui- 
 drachras of the Acid, and, having boiled for half an hour, decant. Boil 
 the residuum with a second half-gallon of the Water, acidulated with 
 one fluidrachm of the Acid ; decant, and repeat this process with the 
 remaining Water and Acid, the undissolved matter being finally sub- 
 mitted to strong expression. The decanted and expressed liquors having 
 been passed through a filter, and then evaporated to the consistence 
 of a syrup, let this be boiled with the Eectified Spirit for twenty min- 
 utes, the Lime being added in successive portions during the ebullition, 
 until the solution becomes decidedly alkaline. Filter through paper, 
 and having drawn off by distillation the whole of the Spirit, let the 
 residuum be dissolved in the Dilute Sulphuric Acid, and to the result- 
 ing liquid, after having been cleared by filtration, add the Solution of 
 Ammonia in slight excess, and let the precipitate which forms be col- 
 lected upon a paper filter, dried, and then dissolved in a minimum of 
 boiling Eectified Spirit. Into this solution introduce the Animal Char- 
 coal, digest for twenty minutes, then filter, and allow the residual 
 liquor to cool, when the Strychnia will separate in crystals." — Bub. 
 The above weights are Avoirdupois, and the measures Imperial. 
 
 History. — In this process, the nux vomica must be rasped or reduced 
 to powder, in order that it may be more readilj^ and thoroughly acted 
 upon. By digesting this powder in water acidulated with sulphuric 
 acid, the sulphates of strychnia and brucia are bbtained. Eectified 
 spirit is added to these infusions, when filtered and concentrated, for 
 the purpose of keeping the strychnia in a soluble condition, while the 
 lime decomposes the sulphates, and, by uniting with their sulphuric 
 acid, forms sulphate of lime. The solution is again freed from foreign 
 matters by filtration, the rectified spirit removed by distillation, and 
 ' sulphuric acid added to the residue; the sulphates of brucia and strych- 
 nia formed are decomposed by ammonia, the precipitated strychnia 
 is dissolved in boiling spirit, treated with animal charcoal to decolor- 
 ize it, and then allowed to crystallize in a cool place. The strychnia 
 is deposited in crystals, the brucia remains in solution. As brucia, to 
 some extent, remains with the strychnia, the latter should be purified l^y 
 two or three solutions in boiling alcohol, and subsequent crystallizations. 
 For a mode of preparing strychnia without alcohol, by J. Horsley, see 
 Am. Jour. Pharm., XXVIIL, 553, also Thwaite's and Herapath's patent 
 for ditto, Am. Jour. Pharm., XXVL, 455. 
 
 Strychnia crystallizes in elongated, oblique, colorless octaedres, or 
 four-sided pointed prisms, which are odorless, and of an insupportably 
 bitter taste, so intense as to be communicated to water containing only 
 an 80,000th part of it. In the air, at the ordinary temperature, or at 
 a gentle heat, it undergoes no change; but strongly heated it fuses to 
 a pale-yellow liquid, gives off white vapors, becomes brown, and burns 
 with a clear fiame, leaving a carbonaceous residue, which is entirely 
 consumed by continued heating. Water at 50° dissolves only about 
 one-sixth thousandth part of it (g-gVyt'i -^0' ^^^ '^^^ twenty-five hun- 
 
Strychnia. 1183 
 
 dredth at 212°. Alcohol of 80 pr. ct. dissolves at 60° only the one 
 hundred and twentieth part of it, and at 212°, one-tenth of it. It is 
 moderately soluble in fixed and volatile oils ; and insoluble in absolute 
 alcohol, caustic alkalies, and' ether. One part of strychnia is soluble in 
 about 1000 parts of bisulphuret of carbon, 350 of ether, 250 of benzole, 
 100 of alcohol, 30 of Dutch oil, and in ten parts of chloroform ; hence, 
 this last is its best solvent. 'Tartar emetic greatly increases the solu- 
 bility of strychnia in water. It forms salts with acids, which are 
 generally crystallizable ; and it is alkaline in its reactions. Its formula, 
 according to Eegnault, in the anhydrous state is C42 Hjj N^ O4 =Er ; its 
 equivalent weight is 334. Leibig and G-erhardt define its composition 
 to be C^H^iO, ISTj. 
 
 The tests for strychnia are the following : Chlorine water dissolves 
 strychnia, but not completely ; ammonia added to the solution causes a 
 dense, white flocculent precipitate, which, on standing, acquires a rose 
 color. Strychnia is alkaline, combustible, intensely bitter, insoluble to 
 any extent in water, ether, or alcohol, and soluble in dilute acids. Pure 
 strychnia is unchanged by nitric acid in the cold, and gives on heating 
 a greenish-yellow color, which yields a white turbidnesa on the addition 
 of protoohloride of tin. Owing to the presence of brucia and yellow 
 coloring matter, commercial strychnia forms a red liquid with ilitric 
 acid, which afterward becomes yellow; if this red liquid.be concen- 
 trated and then potassa be added, an orange precipitate ensues, which 
 dissolves in an excess of water. Strychnia dissolved in acetic acid, is 
 freely precipitated by each of the following agents ; the 1000th part of 
 a grain of strychnia may be placed on a slip of glass, then dissolved in 
 a small drop of acetic acid, and finally touched with a little of the re- 
 agent previously dissolved in water, — bichloride of mercury occasions 
 a white precipitate, which is composed of plumose tufts and acicular 
 radiating crystals. Chloride of platinum and chloride of gold will pro- 
 duce pale-yellow crystals, which first appear as small nodules made up 
 of myriads of minute particles ; these soon give place to short prisms 
 arranged in circular groups, or to long, needle-like prisms radiating 
 from a center; here and there the prisms are so large as to loolj; like 
 thin rectangular tables. Carbazotic acid will occasion a pale-yellow 
 precipitate of very delicate needles, aranged in tufts or in radii ; or else 
 as feathery crystals much serrated at the edges. Iodide of potassium 
 will produce a rich amber-yellow or reddish-brown precipitate, com- 
 posed of minute prisms, grouped in rosettes and in macles. Chloride 
 of iron, perchloric acid, iodine, tannic acid, tincture of galls, ammonia, 
 potassa, soda, and their carbonates, each, produces a precipitate. 
 
 When strychnia is brought under the influence of nascent oxygen, 
 it instantly acquires a deep rich blue color, which speedily passes into 
 purple, violet, crimson, orange, and yellow. Any thing which gives 
 out oxygen when mixed with sulphuric acid has the power of striking 
 the characteristic tints with strychnia ; hence it is that iodic acid, 
 iodate of potassa, peroxide of barium, red prussiate of potassa, and 
 even the positive pole of a galvanic battery, will develop the tints. As 
 one experiment, place the strychnia on a clean white plate, then touch 
 it with a small drop of concentrated sulphuric acid ; stir it about with 
 a glass rod, so as to mix the strychnia very perfectly with the acid ; 
 allow it to remain in this state for a few minutes, and, if the strychnia 
 be pure, there will be no discoloration. Then cautiously add the re- 
 agent — namely, the bichromate of potassa, peroxide of lead, or perox- 
 ide of manganese^— taking care not to add too miich of it ; in fact, it is 
 
1184 Pharmacy. 
 
 best done by dropping the powder into the oil of vitriol and strychnia 
 from the point of a penknife. Lastly, either incline the plate so that 
 acid may gently flow over the powder, or else stir the powder about 
 with the point of a rod. The violet color will be observed. 
 
 The galvanic test is as follows : Place a drop of a solution of strych- 
 nia (say one part in 10 or 20,000 parts of water) into a slight cup-shaped 
 depression made in a piece of platinum foil. Allow the fluid to evapo- 
 rate, and when dry moisten the spot with a little concentrated sulphu- 
 ric acid. Connect the foil with a positive pole of the single cell of 
 Grove's or Smee's battery, and then touch the acid with the platinum 
 terminal of the negative pole. In an instant the violet color will flash 
 out, and on removing the pole from the acid, the tint will remain. 
 
 Dr. Marshall Hall's physiological test is as follows: The thousandth 
 of a grain of strychnia dissolved by the aid of a little acid in a drop or 
 two of water, and injected into the abdominal cavity of a frog, will 
 speedily produce the tetanic effects wiiich are so characteristic of the 
 poison ; and the same quantity dropped into its mouth will also act 
 after the lapse of half an hour or more. The above is by Dr. H. Leth- 
 erby, of London, and is extracted from No. 34, 1857, p. 313, of Braith- 
 waite's Eetrospect, to which number of that journal the reader is re- 
 ferred for much interesting matter on this subject. 
 
 Eiekher, who has for the, past twelve or thirteen years experimented 
 upon the influence of putrefactive decomposition on the forensic de- 
 termination of Strychnia, finds that the alkaloid can readily be deter- 
 mined in the heart, lung, and liver of a steer, after it had been kept for 
 eleven years in loosely-covered jars, under the roof of a house. — N. Jahr. 
 Ph. XXIX, 1. 
 
 Eodgers and Girdwood give the following method of detecting strych- 
 nia in the blood, urine, various tissues and organs of the body: The 
 part of the body to be operated upon is digested with dilute hydro- 
 chloric acid, one to ten, until it is apparently fluid ; the liquid is then 
 filtered and evaporated to dryness over a water -bath, treated with alco- 
 hol as long as any thing. is dissolved, and this tincture is filtered and 
 evaporated as before, and the residue treated with water and filtered, 
 this aqueous solution must now be rendered alkaline by ammonia, and 
 agitated in a long bottle or tube, with about half an ounce of chloro- 
 form ; after subsidence, the chloroform is drawn off by means of a pipette, 
 transferred to an evaporating basin, and the chloroform evaporated over 
 a water-bath ; the residue must then be moistened with concentrated 
 sulphuric acid, and exposed for some hours to the temperature of a water- 
 bath, by which proceeding all organic matter except the strychnia is 
 destroyed. The charred mass is then treated with water, and the solu- 
 tion filtered to separate the carbon ; excess of ammonia is now added, 
 and the solution again agitated with about one drachm of chloroform ; 
 if on evaporating a small portion of this chloroform solution, and treat- 
 ing the residue with concentrated sulphuric acid, any charring takes 
 place, the preceding process musi be repeated, when the last chloroform, 
 solution will afford the strychnia suflSciently pure for conclusive test- 
 ing. For this purpose a small quantity is taken up in a capillary tube, 
 and allowed to evaporate on the smallest spot possible of a warm porce- 
 lain capsule, by adding successive drops until the whole is evaporated 
 on the spot. If the quantity is large, say from ^A-j^th of a grain to a 
 larger quantity, moisten the spot, when the capsule is quite coldj with 
 concentrated sulphuric acid, and then adding a minute fragmelit of 
 bichromate of potassa. If, however, the quantity is very small, no color 
 
Strychnia. 1185 
 
 will be perceived by this mode of testing, then the sulphuric acid ren- 
 dered slightly yellow by chromic acid, will be found useful.* The 
 presence of Strychnia may be detected in very minute quantities, in 
 ' complicated organic liquids, by rendering them alkaline with potash, 
 and agitating thoroughly with a few drachms of chloroform; the chlo- 
 roform dissolves the strychnia, and leaves it in the solid form on evapo- 
 ration; from this residue it may be extracted by dilute hydrochloric 
 acid; and it may afterward be submitted to the usual tests. — W. A. 
 Miller. For much valuable matter in relation to strychnia, see Am. 
 Jour. Pharm., XXVI., 471 ; XXVIII., 257 and 458; XXIX., 267 and 355 ; 
 also in Dr. T. Gr. Wormley's excellent work on the Micro-chemistry of 
 Poisons. 
 
 Strychnia is liable to adulterations. Brucia is best detected by the 
 red color it imparts to dilute nitric acid, becoming yellow on warming ; 
 protochloride of tin then causes a purple-violet color aiid precipitate. 
 Lime, magnesia, and other mineral powders, are left behind on boiling 
 with alcohol or chloroform, or heating to redness. 
 
 Beucia.— C„H:^]Sr20„Leibig;orC46H:26]Sr2 08,4H20j=+2=394+72,Eeg- 
 nault ; was discovered by Pelletier and Caventou in 181 9. It exists in the 
 bark and seeds of nux vomica, and in St. Ignatius' bean. It is usually 
 obtained from false angustura bark, by digesting the bark in water, add- 
 ing oxalic acid to the decoctions, evaporating the liquid to the consist- 
 ence of an extract, and digesting this extract in alcohol at 32° ; oxalate 
 of Brucia remains ; decompose this by boiling with magnesia and water, 
 then dissolving the Brucia in boiling alcohol, and obtaining in crystals 
 as the solution cools. — Thenard. 
 
 Brucia slowly crystallizes in colorless, transparent, oblique, four-sided 
 prisms, or by rapid evaporation in pearly scales. It is odorless, in- 
 tensely and persistently bitter, unalterable in the air, and fusible a little 
 above 212° F. It is soluble in alcohol, in 850 parts of cold water, and 
 500 parts of boiling, sparingly soluble in volatile oils, and insoluble in 
 ether and the fixed oils. — P. — C.f 
 
 In chlorine water the Brucia entirely dissolves, beitig decomposed, 
 assuming a rose color, which ammonia converts to a dirty -yellow. Nitric 
 acid dissolves it, also with decomposition, forming a deep rose color, 
 which on warming becomes yellow, and if protochloride of tin is now 
 added a purple-violet color and precipitate is formed. The presence 
 of strychnia is known when the alkaloid dissolved in alcohol is treated 
 with an alcoholic solution of indigotic acid, and to the yellow precipitate, 
 after subsidence and decantation, is added acetic acid. If entirely soluble 
 in this menstruum, the Brucia is free from strychnia, but a residue de- 
 notes strychnia. — Witt. 
 
 When strychnia is dissolved in a solution of bichromate of potassa, 
 
 * To detect the presence of strychnia In the blood, urine or tissues, M. Oloetta removes 
 the albumen they may contain, precipitates by the subacetate of lead. Alters, treats by sul- 
 phuretted hydrogen, filters anew, and evaporates the filtered liquid to dryness. The resi- 
 due thus obtained is placed for twenty-four hours in contact with ammonia, then the . 
 liquor is agitated with double its volume of chloroform, and evaporated ; the residue is dis- 
 solved in two cubic centimetres of water acidulated with pure nitric acid ; then filter, put 
 the liquid into a watch-glass, and add a drop or two of solution of bichromate of potash. 
 After several days, crystals of chromate of strychnia will be deposited, visible to the naked 
 eye, which will allow us to recognize the chemical characters of the strychnia. One-twen- 
 tieth of a grain of strychnia has thus been detected in 650 cubic centimetres (22 fluidounces) 
 of urine. — Union Medieale, 1868. 
 
 t Draggendorf recommends benzine as preferable to amylie alcohol, fbr dissolving strych- 
 nia andf brucia ; these alkaloids readily dissolve in it without their odor being affected to 
 the same degree as when amylie alcohol is employed. 100 parts of benzine dissolve 0.60 of 
 strychnia, and 1.66 of brucia ; while 100 parts ot amylie alccmol dissolve only 0..55 of strych- 
 nia. The sulphates of these alkaloids are insoluble in benzine.— CTiem. Centralblatt, ISSI, p. 
 271. - 
 
 75/ 
 
1186 Pharmacy. 
 
 it forms a chromate of strychnia, which when touched with a glass, rod 
 dipped in sulphuric acid, becomes changed to a deep purple, and then 
 to a violet and red. Chromate of Brucia, similarly prepared and acted 
 on, shows only an orange-red color ; the latter salt is also more soluble 
 than the former. Dr. Fuss considers Brucia to be a compound of strych- 
 nia and a yellow resin, and Prof. Erdmann has confirmed his state- 
 ments. 
 
 The Citrate of Strychnia may be made by dissolving with a gentle heat 
 in a suflScient quantity of distilled water, one hundred and'ninety-two 
 grains of dried citric acid, and then adding three hundred and forty- 
 six grains of pure strychnia. By a gentle evaporation the citrate may 
 be obtained in crystals. It is an acid salt, and its constitution is (Cu H5 
 OJi+Hj) +(0443221^204). That is, one equivalent of the strychnia has 
 displaced one equivalent of the external hydrogen of the citric acid. 
 • As it is a tribasic acid, there are still two equivalents of external hy- 
 drogen to be displaced, ere the acid be entirely neutralized. The dose 
 is from one-tenth to one-twentieth of a grain, to be given cautiously 
 till the desired effect is produced. 
 
 The Tartrate of Strychnia may be obtained by dissolving a sufllcient 
 quantity of distilled water, one hundred and fifty -six grains of tartaric 
 acid, and then adding three hundred and forty-six grains of strychnia, 
 and evaporating as above. It is also an acid salt with the composition 
 indicated by the formula ( Cs H4 Oi(,+'!E)+(C44 Hjj Nj O4). The dose is 
 the same as the citrate. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Nux vomica and strychnia act chiefly, if riot 
 solely, by stimulating the spinal chord and medulla oblongata, and 
 without affecting the functions of the brain. The slightest observable 
 effects from small doses are twitches of the muscles of the arms and 
 legs, occurring especially during sleep, accompanied with restlessness, 
 some anxiety, acceleration of the pulse, and generally slight perspira- 
 tion. Sometimes the action of the bowels is increased, and the dis- 
 charge of urine is either augmented or discharged more frequently; 
 it likewise promotes the venereal appetite. Large doses occasion very 
 violent starting of the muscles: even a tendency to lockjaw, suc- 
 ceeded by stiffness, weariness, pain or rending in the limbs. In their 
 highest degree, these effects amount to violent tetanic spasms, occur- 
 ring in frequent fits, with brief intervals of repose, acute sensibility, 
 and dreadful alarm. Through whatever form or texture strychnia is 
 introduced into the body, it exerts this action more or less,, operating 
 with an energy proportioned to the activity of absorption where it is 
 applied. It is supposed to be a cumulative poison like mercury or dig- 
 italis ; nor does its activity diminish under the influence of habit, as 
 with opium. M. Duclos states that under the influence of positive 
 electricity the symptoms of poisoning by strychnia increase, while 
 they lessen or cease altogether when negative electricity is applied. 
 As some patients are powerfully affected by the smallest doses of this 
 agent, too much caution can not be employed in its administration. I 
 would observe here, that thirteen, years ago, a favorite Newfoundland 
 bitch, with three pups about two months old, were poisoned by some 
 evil-minded person, by strychnia placed on meat. One of the pups 
 died in the convulsed condition common to the influence of strychnia ; 
 the others were attacked with spasmodic twitchings which continued 
 to increase. Prom some cause the bitch vomited up her meat, a por- 
 tion of which was eaten by two chickens about six or eight weeks old. 
 To the bitch and the remaining two pups I gave about a gill of sweet 
 
Strychnia. 1187 
 
 oil to each, followed by about four grains of camphor to the mother, 
 and two grains to the pups, in some bread; they recovered and were 
 doing well. Of the chickens, one was apparently dying, lying on the 
 ground, wings outspread, mouth open, and with frequent spasmodic 
 jerks; the other trembled and spasmodically staggered around like an 
 intoxicated person ; to each of these I gave about a grain of camphor 
 in butter, and fastened them up, and in an hour they- had both fully 
 recovered. I mention these facts that further inquiries may be made 
 as regards the antidotal power of camphor in poisoning by sti^ychnia. 
 To determine whether strychnia was the poison administered, the 
 meat vomited by the dogs was carefully examined, and strychnia 
 found present. Both dogs and chickens were actively purged. Since 
 the above occurrence, tannin oil, freely given, and camphor, have 
 been found excellent antidotes to strychnia, also the tinctures of iodine, 
 and bromine, and chlorine. Dr. John Bartlett strongly recommends 
 a solution of common salt as an antidote to strychnia poisoning, 
 from the invariable success attending its use with poisoned dogs. — 
 A. B. dr., XI., 1868. Folker, in the Lancet, 1867, July ISTo., relates an 
 instance where a healthy man had taken over two grains of strychnia, 
 who was saved by the use of chloroform, internally and externally, 
 aided by repeated small doses of tincture of aconite. In American 
 Med. Becord, 1867, is a case related where a young man, residing at 
 Chardon, O., who had poisoned himself with three grains of crystal- 
 lized strychnia, was saved by the internal use of camphor, and inha- 
 lations of chloroform, continued for several hours. The Medical Times 
 and G-azette, 1868, May, No., also relates a case where a little girl, four 
 years of age, had taken strychnia by mistake, and was saved by being 
 kept under the anaesthetic influence of chloroform for a couple of hours. 
 The Med. and Surg. Beport of Philadelphia, 1867, relates a case where 
 three and a half grains of strychnia had been swallowed, and in twenty- 
 four hours the person was saved by the administration, every five, ten, 
 and fifteen minutes, of half teaspoonful doses of tincture of* Cannabis 
 Indica. J. Eosenthal, from the results of experiments made upon dif- 
 ferent animals, and having observed that artificial respiration caused 
 the convulsions, arising from the influence of strychnia, to cease, and 
 even saved the animals from dying, is strongly inclined to believe that, 
 if any method can be devised by which artificial respiration can be main- 
 tained for a long time, all persons poisoned by strychnia can be saved, 
 if too long a time has not been allowed to elapse from its ingestion. 
 
 The alcoholic extract of nux vomica and strychnia are more gen- 
 erally employed in medicine ; and the action of the former is owing 
 to the strychnia it contains. Strychnia is used in hemiplegia, para- 
 plegia, partial paralysis of particular joints or muscles, and of the 
 bladder. The paralyzed muscles are always first affected if they are 
 thrown into spasms at all. If the remedy is to succeed, improvement 
 begins speedily. It must not be used in recent cases of palsy, or 
 while general reaction prevails; neither when signs exist either of local 
 irritation in the brain or spinal chord, or of determination of blood 
 to the head. It has been likewise used in neuralgia, epilepsy, ague, 
 amenorrhea, dysentery, rheumatism, syphilitic osteocopa, and obstinate 
 constipation. In the treatment of gleet, urethral .stricture, and recent 
 enlargement of the prostate, I have found it a superior remedy, used 
 internally and locally. In dyspepsia, when there is a want of appe 
 tite, constipation, and a sensation of epigastric weight after eating, 1 
 have found the combination of one grain of the alcoholic extract of 
 
1188 Pharmacy. 
 
 nux vomica, well triturated with forty grains of oleo-resin of ptelea 
 and divided into twenty pills, an excellent remedy ; likewise in dys- 
 pepsia connected with impotence, caused by masturbation or venereal 
 diseases; the dose is one pill, repeated three times a day. Strychnia 
 will also be found advantageous in many uterine diseases, prolapsus 
 uteri, etc. The dose of strychnia is from one-twentieth of a grain to- 
 one-tenth, two, or three times a day; it may be rendered more soluble 
 in alcohol or water, by the addition of a few drops of an acid, as the 
 acetic, muriatic, nitric, or sulphuric. Its best form of administration 
 is that of pill. Prof. A. J. Howe has found the following powder to 
 produce an anodyne influence in cases of cancer of the uterus and 
 other severe diseases, attended with extreme pains : talje of sulphate 
 of morphia five grains, sulphate of quinia ten grains, strychnia one 
 grain, liquorice powder twenty grains; mix thoroughly together, and 
 divide into twenty powders — one of which may be taken every four or 
 six hours, according to the urgency of the symptoms. Dr. Alexander 
 rieming recommends the following solution of Strychnia for internal 
 use, as being much safer and more eflS.cacious than the Galenical prep- 
 arations of nux vomica: "Take of Strychnia four grains; Distilled 
 Water ten fluidrachms ; dissolve the strychnia thoroughly, with the help 
 of a few drops of dilute muriatic acid, and then add alcohol a sufficient 
 quantity to make the whole measure twenty fluidrachms. This is of uni- 
 form strength, passes readily into the circulation, and the dose can be 
 apportioned with accuracy. The commencing dose is ten minims, and 
 contains one-thirtieth of a grain of strychnia. It should be given on 
 an empty stomach, and diluted with water to insure its prompt and 
 easy absorption. As a tonic, the dose is five minims, two or three 
 times a day." He also states that " strj'chnia should never be given in 
 pill form, because it is hard of solution in the weak acids of the 
 stomach, and several pills may remain unchanged and accumulate 
 there or in the bowels. A change in the secretions may then dissolve 
 and transport them all simultaneously into the blood, and give rise to 
 alarming tetanic symptoms; this is commonly the correct explanation 
 of the so-called cumulative action of strychnia— the sudden solution 
 and absorption of hard pills accumulated in the stomach or bowels." 
 
 Brucia exerts an influence upon the system very similiar to that 
 occasioned by strychnia, but is less energetic; its dose is from one- 
 eighth of a grain to half a grain, three or four times a day. In the 
 administration of brucia and strychnia, or any of their salts, great cau- 
 tion must be observed, and the patient carefully watched during their use. 
 According to Prof. Brown -Sequard, Strychnia and Brucia have similar 
 effects. Strychnia increases the quantity of the blood in the spinal 
 chord, and hence is not useful when there is a congestion of the 
 chord ; it localizes its action entirely upon the sensitive nerves ; it is 
 injurious in epilepsy and paralysis arising from lesions of the enceph- 
 alon, or congestion of the spinal chord ; it is useless in chorea and 
 paralysis agitans ; but, in small doses, is useful in slight paralysis, due 
 to white softening of the spinal chord, and in all cases of functional 
 derangement from want of nervous power. It should be employed in 
 paraplegia without irritation or without increase of the vital proper- 
 ties of the spinal chord, as in cases of reflex paraplegia, and white or 
 non-inflammatory softening of the chord. It should be avoided in 
 paralysis with symptoms of congestion, myelitis, or spinal meningitis. 
 It is more useful in paraplegia than in hemiplegia. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Pilulse Oleoresina Eupatorii Compositse. 
 
SUPPOSITORIA. I 1189 
 
 suppositoeta: 
 
 Suppositories. 
 
 Suppositories are globular, conical, or cylindrical solid bodies de- 
 ■signed for introduction into the urethra, rectum, or vagina, in order to 
 effect a therapeutical influence upon the parts adjacent, or upon the 
 general system. In a few instances they are prepared of articles not 
 readily liquefying at the animal temperature of the parts, but, gener- 
 ally, they should be slowly fusible at this temperature. The quantity 
 of the active medicinal agent in each suppository, should, as a general 
 rule, be about three times its dose for internal administration ; however, 
 with certain articles, or for certain results, more or less of this quan- 
 tity will occasionally be required, according to the circumstances. 
 Heretofore, when suppositories have been ordered by the physician, they 
 were prepared by pouring the partially cooled mass, of which they 
 were composed, into paper cones, the paper not being removed until 
 the suppository became thoroughly hardened. The only advantage 
 this method .possesses is the readiness with which the cones may be 
 made, and of any size required. The objections to it are the length 
 of time required to finish the suppository, and the uncertainty of hav- 
 ing the external surface clear, regular, and polished, in every instance. 
 In the preparation of suppositories, two things are especially required ; 
 1st, a composition which will permit the active ingredients to be so regu- 
 larly diffused that each suppository will contain an equal quantityof 
 the medicinal agent ; the composition w;hen cold must be firm, smooth, 
 not liable to crack or split, must not adhere to the mold, and must be 
 readily fusible at the temperature of the body ; 2d, a mold which with 
 as little extra manipulation as possible will give smooth suppositories, of 
 uniform size, shape, and weight, which will permit of their being made 
 -with as little loss of time as possible, and from which the suppository 
 jan be promptly removed. 
 
 For the first purpose, cacao butter (^Oleum TTieobromce) is generally 
 preferred by pharmaceutists, being used alone, especially when em- 
 ployed in cold seasons ; or, in warm seasons, with the addition of one- 
 fifth or one-eighth of wax or spermaceti. Spermaceti is usually pre- 
 ferred to wax, on account of its congealing with greater rapidity. Bul- 
 lock & Crenshaw prefer, during warm weather, the addition of from 
 one-sixteenth to the one-twentieth of paraflSne. Mr. W. B. Chapman 
 prefers one-eighth of Japan Wax.* The amount of these articles to be 
 added, will depend entirely upon the season and the temperature, as 
 well as upon the latitude ; thus, in summer, more of the hardening 
 
 '■'Japan Wax. Insect White Wax of China. This wax is said to be obtained in Japan 
 from the Hhus •Succedanea, and other trees, being produced, as is supposed, by an insect 
 ■which feeds upon the tree, Ooceus Sinensis.— Westwood. Huber states 'that the insect has 
 the power of transmuting sugar into wax, which latter is, in fact, a secretion. It is said, 
 however, that the Japanese make candles from the oil of the seeds of the Rhus Sv/icedanea ; 
 and Nees von Essenbeck states that the wax from this tree completely resembles the Japan- 
 ese wax found in commerce. Japanese wax greatly resembles white beeswax, but is less 
 white and more yellowish, with a more tender and fi'iable consistence, and a crystalline 
 appearance. It occurs in circular cakes of from four to four and a half inches in diameter, 
 nearly an inch thick, flat on one side, and rounded off on the other, as if cast in a small 
 fiaucer, and is also met with in large square blocks or cases weighing from 100 to 150 pounds. 
 Its fusing point varies, from ll.S° to 120° F., and when melted, it will unite with beeswax, 
 lard, etc., and more perfectly incorporates with cacao butter than either spermaceti or 
 ■^ax. it iias araucid like taste and odor; is far more soluble in alcohol than beeswax, and, 
 unlike this last, it is saponified by caustic alkalies. Its formula is given as Cios Hmg O4. Il- 
 ls said to be adulterated sometimes with water, samples containing from 15 to 20, and even 
 30 per cent, of this fluid. When thus adulterated the wax loses its transparent and shin- 
 ing appearance, becomes opaque, white, and very brittle. The water may be separated by 
 simple fusion, or by fusion in water acidulated with sulphuric acid, when the presence 
 of an alkali in the water of falsification is suspected. 
 
1190 Pharmacy. 
 
 body will be required in ]Jew Orleans than in Boston ; while in winter 
 less ofi it will be required in the latter city than in the former. The 
 quantity will necessarily have to be determined by experiment, in the 
 different latitudes. In this latitude one-fourth of spermaceti ip added 
 during the hot summer months, and one-sixth during the winter ; or 
 one-eighth of Japan wax in winter, and one-sixth or one-fourth in sum- 
 mer. But, it must be remembered that there are certain medicinal 
 agents that contribute to the hardening of the caeoa butter, as, mosi 
 dry vegetable or mineral powders, especially iodides of lead and of cad- 
 mium, carbonate of lead, oxide of zinc, etc., in which instances no hard- 
 ening aid is required. 
 
 For the second purpose, various plans and instruments have been pro- 
 posed, for a knowledge of some of which the reader is referred to Am. 
 Jour. Phdrm., 1852, p. 211 ; 1861, pp. 5, and 202 ; 1867, p. 121 ; 1868, pp. 
 52, and 223 ; 1869, p. 53 ; — ^to Proceedings Am. Pharm. Assoc, 1865, p. 65 ; 
 1866, p. 155 ; 1867, p. 167 ; 1868, p. Ill ; and to Parrish's Pharmacy. 
 The only instrument, however, as far as I have been able to ascer- 
 tain, that answers all the requirements above referred to, is one manu- 
 factured by Mr. W. B. Chapman, a pharmaceutist, of this city, and 
 presented before the Am. Pharm. Assoc, at their meeting in Chicago, 
 1869. It consists of a rectangular block of a composition metal, in 
 which are carefully formed eight, ten, or twelve molds of conical shape, 
 and over which is fitted a plate or cap of the same metal, having in it 
 an orifice over the center of each mold, through which orifice the fused 
 material is to be poured, and which, upon being removed after the sup- 
 positories have sufficiently congealed, leaves a small nipple or projection 
 at the center of the base of the suppository, which projection fits an 
 adjuster, also prepared by Mr. C. He manufactures three sizes, two 
 for the rectum, one giving suppositories of fifteen or twenty grains, 
 each, for children, the other of thirty or forty grains, each, for adults^ 
 likewise, one for the vagina, giving suppositories of about 120 grains, 
 each. The weight of the suppositories will of course depend upon that 
 of the medicinal agent added to the cacao butter, — hence there will 
 always be a variation in weight of a few grains in the different kinds 
 of suppositories. 
 
 Mr. Chapman's process is as follows : 1. Melt the cacao butter and 
 Japan wax together, and then thoroughly incorporate the medicinal 
 articles with it, either by rubbing them together in a mortar, or, by 
 first triturating the medicinal extract, powder, or tincture, etci, with 
 part of the melted butter upon a warm slab, adding, if necessary, as 
 little as possible alcohol, oil, glycerin, or water, etc., q. s., to aid in ob- 
 taining a thorough incorporation of the materials ; and, when well in- 
 corporated, triturate this with the remainder of the melted liquid in a 
 mortar, continuing the ti-ituration until the mass becomes quite thick, 
 but not so thick, however,, as to prevent it from flowing readily into 
 the molds. 2. The metallic block, before the melted mass is poured 
 into the molds, must previously be set upon a lump of ice, and rest 
 there until it has reached the dew-point, as manifested by the thin 
 layer of moisture upon its external surface (sometimes called sweating) ; 
 then, and not till then, the mixture must be poured into the molds, as 
 cool as may be without interfering with its flowing, and allowed to re- 
 main in until all the suppositories are hard and movable in the molds. 
 3. When the suppositories are sufficiently congealed, which requires 
 two or three minutes, very seldom exceeding five, pressure with the 
 pulp of the thumb upon each suppository, will cause it to move in the 
 
SUPPOSITOEIA. 1191 
 
 mold, at the same time imparting a snapping or cracking sensation, — 
 then the block may be turned upside down, and the suppositories will 
 fall out. If the suppositories are allowed to remain in the mold for too 
 long a time, they are liable to split or crack. An ordinary prescription 
 may thus be put up in fifteen minutes. Half a gross of any one kind 
 of suppository may be made in an hour by the use of these molds. 
 
 Whers suppositories are prepared in advance by the pharmaceutist, 
 they should always be kept in a cool place ; and when passed over the 
 counter, the person who receives them should be cautioned against 
 placing the box or bottle containing them in the pocket, or in or near any 
 place of too high a temperature; directions should likewise be given to 
 keep them in a cool place until they are wanted for use, and then to 
 handle them quickly. 
 
 Suppositories which contain a cavity from the base to a point near 
 the apex, into which the active ingredient is placed, and the aperture 
 then closed at base, have been recommended by some parties, but such 
 are entirely unfit for use, as the medicinal substance, not being equally 
 diffused throughout, instead of acting gradually and for a length of 
 time, does not act at all until the material of which the suppository is 
 made becomes liquefied, and then it acts suddenly and powerfully, per- 
 haps irritating the parts to a considerable extent, and effecting more 
 injury than benefit. 
 
 Many formula have been given for suppositories, thus, for the vagina 
 in gonorrhea, to three ounces of the butter of cacao mixture, add one 
 of the following, as may be preferred, mix the articles thoroughly 
 together, as stated above, and form into twelve suppositories; 1. R. 
 Sulphate of Morphia six grains, solution of Persulphate of Iron gne 
 hundred and forty-four grains. — 2. R. Powdered Alum three drachms, 
 Tannin two drachms, Extract of Opium twelve grains. — 3. R. Com- 
 pound Iodine Ointment six drachms, Acetate of Morphia six grains.— 
 4. B . Muriate of Morphia six grains. Solution of Chloride of Zinc one 
 hundred and twenty minims. — 5. R. Chlorate of Potassa three drachms. 
 Powdered Alum forty-five grains. — 6. R. Nitrate of Bismuth four 
 drachms. Solution of Nitrate of Strychnia (Strychnia one-half to one 
 grain. Acid Mt. two drops. Water one fluidrachm), one fluidrachm. Eec- 
 tal suppositories, especially, should not be steadily used for any length 
 of time, as they are apt to produce unhealthy influences upon the rec- 
 tum and neighboring tissues ; after using them for eight or ten days, 
 they should .be omitted for a few days, then resumed, and so on alter- 
 nately. 
 
 SupposiTORiA AciDi TANNict. Swppositories of Tannic Acid. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Tannic Acid thirty grains. Prepared Butter of 
 Cacao * six and a half drachms ; mix together, as above stated, and form 
 into twelve suppositories. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These suppositories contain, each, two and a 
 half grains of Tannic Acid, aad will be found useful in piles, rectal 
 prolapsus, diarrhea firom rectal irritation, etc. In leucorrhea, and 
 epithelial abrasion of the vagina, from four to six grains of Tannic 
 Acid may be added to each suppository of one hundred and twenty 
 grains. 
 
 StiPPOSiTORiA AssAF^TiD.a;. Suppositories of Asafetida. 
 
 * By ' Prepared Butter of Cacao " Is meant the butter melted with or without the addi- 
 tion of Japan wax, etc., as may be required at the time when the suppositoi-les are pre- 
 pared. The preparation and formation of the mass Into suppositories is designed to be 
 upon the plan of Mr. W. B. Chapman, above referred to. 
 
1192 Pharmact, 
 
 Frepardtion. — Take of Ethereal Fluid Extract of Asafetida * sia: 
 drachms, Prepared Butter of Cacao six and a half drachms. Place the 
 Ethereal Eluid Extract in a capsule over a water-bath, and expel the 
 ether by a gentle heat, which occurs in about five minutes ; then add 
 the Cacao Butter to the residuum, and melt together ; stir together for 
 a few minutes, and pour into molds, forming twelve suppositories. The 
 dense orange-colored resin remaining in the capsule, may be thrown 
 away, as the melted butter has removed its volatile odorous principle. 
 This resinous deposit may, probably, be avoided by first melting the 
 butter, then adding the fluid extract, and stirring constantly till the 
 ether is driven off. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Bach of these suppositories contains the medic- 
 inal virtue of about five grains of the gum, and may be used in all 
 cases where the gum -resin can not be taken by mouth. — B.F. Fairthorne. 
 
 SupposiTOBiA Ateopi^. Suppositorics of Atropia. 
 
 Preparation.— Take of Atropia (or Sulphate of Atropia) one-fifth of 
 a grain; Prepared Butter of Cacao six and a half drachms; mix together, 
 as above stated, and form into twelve suppositories. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Each suppository contains -^^ grain of Atropia, 
 and will be found, useful in chronic inflammation of the neck of the 
 bladder, irritation of the prostate gland and seminal vesicles, painful 
 and spasmodic vaginal affections, etc. They are to be introduced into 
 ■ the rectum, one or two in the course of twenty-four hours. Introduced 
 into the vagina they will relieve the pain in dysmenorrhea. 
 
 SupposiTORiA MoRPHi.a!. Suppository of Morphia. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Sulphate of Morphia four grains, Prepared 
 Butter of Cacao six and a half drachms ; mix together, as above stated, 
 and form into twelve suppositories. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Each suppository contains one-third of a grain 
 of Sulphate of Morphia, and may be used in painful tenesmus, and all 
 other affections in which this agent is indicated. If nine grains of 
 Opium, in fine powder, be substituted for the Morphia salt, then each 
 suppository will contain three-fourths of a grain of Opium. A few 
 grains of perchloride of iron to each of these suppositories, will render 
 them valuable in chronic dysentery, and ulceration of the rectum. 
 
 SupposiTORiA Potass^ Chloras Composita. Compound Suppositories 
 of Chlorate of Potassa. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of finely powdered Chlorate of Potassa three 
 drachms; finely powdered Alum one drachm ; Prepared Butter of Cacao 
 three ounces. Mix the articles together, as above stated, and form into 
 twelve suppositories. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Each of these suppositories contains fifteen 
 grains of Chlorate of Potassa, and five grains of Alum ; they are 
 designed for introduction into the vagina in vaginal leucorrhea, and 
 epithelial abrasion of the vaginal walls. 
 
 SupposiTORiA PoTASsjE loDiDi OoMPOSiTA. Compound Suppositovies 
 of Iodide of Potassium. 
 
 Preparation. — ^^Take of Iodide of Potassium, in powder, ninety-six 
 grains ; Extract of Conium Maculatum thirty-six grains ; Prepared Butter 
 of Cacao six and a half drachms. Mix together, as above stated, and 
 form into twelve suppositories. 
 
 * The Ethereal Fluid Extract of Asafetida Is prepared as follows : Take one ounce of Asa- 
 fetida, thirty drachms of Strong Ether, three drachms of Water. Cut the gum Into pieces 
 the size of peas, put into a bottle with the Ether and Water, agitate occasionally for two 
 or three days, and then strain the fluid through thin muslin. The ether containing the 
 resin and volatile oil, alone passes. 
 
Strum. 1193 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Bach suppository contaiBs eight grains of 
 Iodide of Potassium, and three grains of the Conium Extract ; they are 
 designed for introd^iction into the rectum in cases of chronic gleet, and 
 in the enlarged prostate following gonorrhea. They will also be found 
 useful in the early period of hemorrhoids. 
 
 SupposiTORiA ZiNOi StTLPHAS OoMPOsiTA. Compouud Suppositories of 
 Sulphate of Zinc. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of finely powdered Sulphate of Zinc thirty-six 
 grains; finely powdered Alum two drachms ; Prepared Butter of Cacao 
 three ounces. Mix together, as above stated^ and form into twelve sup- 
 positories. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Bach suppository contains three grains of Sul- 
 phate of Zinc, and ten grains of alum ; they are designed iov the vagina 
 in cases of vaginal leucorrhea, epithelial abrasion of the vaginal walls, 
 excoriation of the os uteri, etc. 
 
 SYEUPI. (Syrupe.) 
 Syrups. — Zuckersdfte. 
 
 Syrups are liquid officinal medicines, of a viscid consistence, produced 
 by the concentrated solution of sugar alone, or sugar mixed with honey, 
 in water, wine, or vinegar. Syrups are either simple or medicated ; sim- 
 ple syrup is where the solution of the sugar is made with water only ; it 
 forms the basis of a great many medicated syrups. 
 
 Medicated syrups are those in which one or more medical agents enter 
 into the solution, and are commonly prepared by incorporating sugar 
 with vegetable, aqueous or spirituous solutions, expressed juices, etc. 
 When the active principles' of the ingredients used are dissipated or 
 decomposed by boiling water, or where they are not readily taken up by 
 water, they are frequently dissolved by alcohol, sp. gr. 0.935, the alco- 
 hol being retained or evaporated subsequently, as may be required ; 
 sometimes a tincture of the medicinal agent or agents is added to sim- 
 ple syrup, and the alcohol removed by gentle heat or spontaneous evap- 
 oration. The stability of a syrup depends mainly on its composition 
 and consistence, the temperature, aijd the amount of its exposure to the 
 air j and no ingredients should be admitted into its composition except 
 the active principle required and simple syrup. As most syrups are used 
 in chronic diseases during the absence of febrile or active inflammatory 
 symptoms, the addition of the alcoholic tincture is not objectionable, 
 unless it be in large proportion ; but syrups prepared for febrile or in- 
 flammatory difficulties should be entirely free from any spirituous liquor 
 whatever. 
 
 The best and most economical plan in making syrups, is to employ 
 only refined sugar, as it saves the trouble of subsequent clarification, 
 beside being less liable to undergo change. The quantity of sugar re- 
 quired, by weight, is double that of liquid ; if it be in too small pro- 
 portion, the syrup will be apt to ferment ; if in too large, crystals of 
 sugar will be deposited. The heat employed should be adapted to the 
 character of the active principle ; if it be volatile, a gentle heat is re- 
 quired, as well as in cases where a high temperature would decompose 
 it. If it be not injured by heat, concentration should be conducted 
 with a brisk fire, and effected as rapidly as possible, as in many in- 
 stances a long continued heat will impair its efficiency. The proper 
 degree of concentration- is 30° Baume's saccharometer, when boiling, 
 
1194 Phaemact. 
 
 and 34° when cold ; or specific gravity when boiling 1.264, and when 
 cold about 1.317. After the syrup has cooled, if a pellicle forms upon 
 its surface, it has been concentrated too much. Syrups which contain 
 no volatile principle or one not injured by heat, ra4y frequently be re- 
 turned to their original character, after having undergone vinous fer- 
 mentation, by again boiling them to expel the alcohol and carbonic 
 acid, and properly concentrating them ; and a syrup thus recovered is 
 less apt to meet with subsequent change, on account of the fermenting 
 principles having been decreased or disorganized. Yarious means 
 have been devised for the preservation of syrups ; a little sulphate of 
 potassa, chlorate of potassa, bisulphate of lime, or sugar of milk, have 
 been recommended for this purpose. One fluidrachm of Hoffman's 
 Anodyne to the pint of syrup will effectually check a tendency to fer- 
 mentation. The maintenance of a syrup in a i;egular degree of tem- 
 perature, say 55° to 60°, will tend very much to lessen its liability to 
 ferment. As a general rule, syrups intended to be kept should be bot- 
 tled while hot, securely corked and sealed, and after cooling should be 
 shaken, that the moisture condensed on the cork may be mixed with 
 the syrup, and not form a diluted layer at the surface. — Mohr and Bed- 
 wood. 
 
 Most of the medical syrups should be prepared on the same princi- 
 ples as the fluid extracts, only they are of weaker strength. Alcohol 
 should not be retained in their composition, or, at least, in very minute 
 proportion, for, as they are administered in larger doses, the presence 
 of spirit in them would be more appreciable and injurious. Nearly all 
 the compounds that have been proposed for syrups, such as the Altera- 
 tive, Scrofulous, Stillingia, and Pulmonary syrups, comprise substances 
 whose medical principles are imperfectly soluble in water, and should 
 therefore be acted on by alcohol. These preparations are made with the 
 same apparatus, and by the same process as the fluid extracts, thus re- 
 taining most perfectly all the aroma and volatile essences of the ingre- 
 dients. Physicians and apothecaries who have not such apparatus may 
 substitute the process laid down under the formula for Compound 
 Syrup of Aralia, which see. 
 
 In all these preparations, the principle should be adopted of confining 
 the boiling and evaporation to the weaker portion of the solution, so 
 that those delicate principles which are evaporated or decomposed by 
 heat may be submitted to its action as little as possible.* 
 
 * There have been Introduced to the profession certain syrups, which have been highly 
 reoominended in phthisis and tuberculous afifections. They may be very excellent medi- 
 cines, but, as yet, I have seen no decided results from their use, and consider them as of 
 more benefit to the manufacturing chemists than to patients. As some may wish to pre- 
 pare and test them, I give the formulae for preparing them : . 
 
 Syrup of Hyvophoaphite of iime.— Dissolve Hypophosphlte of Lime an ounce in Water m'n« 
 and a half flmdownees ; filter, add White Sugar twelve ounces; dissolve by aid of heat, and 
 add Fluid Extract of Vanilla half a Jluidounee, The dose varies from a teaspoonful to a 
 tablespoonful three times a day. A teaspoonful is equivalent to 3J£grains of the lime-salt. 
 
 Compound Syrup of SypopTiospMtes.—Flace into a large mortar Hypophosphlte of Lime 
 25Sgrains; Hypophosphlte of Soda 192 grates; and Hypophosphlte of Potassa 128 grains; 
 add to them Hypophosphorous Acid (solution, q. s.,) or 240 grains ; mix, then add moist 
 H.vpophospbite of Iron 69 flrains/ and triturate until auuiform smooth mixture results. 
 Now pour in Boiling Wat-er fou/r jiuidounces ; and) after trituration, decant the clear liquid 
 from the undissolved portion to a filter, and add more Boiling Vi''ater until it is dissolved, 
 and the filtered liquid amounts to eight fiuidounces. To this solution, while still warm, 
 add the Syrup of vanlUa^reviously acidulated with a few drops of solution of hypophos- 
 phorous acid, and mix. Bach teaspoonful of this syrup contains 2 grains of the lime-salt, 
 1% grains of the soda salt, 1 grain of the potash salt, and % grain of the iron salt, with a 
 little free hypophosphorous acid. 
 
 Prof. W. Procter, jr., makes the following remarks on the Hypophosphltes : 
 
 " The recent researches of Dr. Churchill into the therapeutic character and value Of the 
 hypophosphltes in tuberculosis, some account of which will be found at page 143 of this 
 number, have attracted much attention from physicians, and many inquiries have been 
 made after these salts ; and it is believed that a notice of the processes for preparing them, 
 and some formula for their prescription will be acceptable to the readers of the Journal 
 
Byrcpi. 1195 
 
 Syrupits (Syrtjptjs Simplex). Syrup (Simple Syrup). (Binfacher 
 Syrup.) 
 
 Freparation.^-Take of Eeflned Sugar, in powder, seventy-two Troy 
 ounces ; Distilled . Water Jive pints and eight fluidounces-; Dissolve the 
 Sugar in the water with the aid of a steam or water heat. The sp. gr. 
 of this syrup is 1.317. 
 
 History. — Simple Syrup, when properly made, is quite sweet, nearly 
 odorless, transparent, and colorless, of the consistence of molasses, and 
 having the specific gravity 1.317, or 34° Baume's thermometer. Ee- 
 fined sugar should always be used, else the syrup is apt to become tur- 
 bid. If necessary, it is easily clarified, by beating to a froth the white 
 of an egg with three or four ounces of water, mixing it with the syr- 
 up, and boiling the mixture for a few seconds, until the albumen coag- 
 ulates; and enveloping all heterogenous matters, it forms a scum, which 
 may be easily taken ofi', or separated by filtration.- — Goxe. — Dune. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Simple Syrup is nutritious and demulcent, it is 
 employed in various mixtures, pills, medicated syrups, and extempo- 
 raneous prescriptions. 
 
 Off. Prep. — rPilulffi Perri Oompositse ; Syrupus Acidi Citrici ; Syrupus 
 Ferri lodidi ; Syrupus Ferri Phosphatis ; Syrupus Ipecacuanha ; Syr- 
 upus Tolutanus. 
 
 especially, as from their hitherto unimportant position amongpharmaoentloal ohettiloals 
 no mention is made of them in works most accessible. The salts which have been used 
 are those of lime, soda, potassa and ammonia. In the sequel a notice is given of these, 
 of the hypophosphlte of sesquloxide of iron, and of hypophosphorous acid. 
 
 The hypophosphites, according to Gmelin, are mostly crystallizable. They dan not exist 
 without a certain proportion of water, which is equally true of the acid Itself, which, in its 
 most concentrated form, contains three equivalents of water, one of which is replaceable by 
 bases. When heated till decomposed, these salts emit phosphuretted hydrogen. They are 
 permanent in the air as regards oxidation ; but wheta heated in solution, especially if 
 free alkali is present, they are decomposed into phosphates and hydrogen gas. Thej' are 
 nearly all soluble in water, and several of them in alcohol, and readily reduce the solu- 
 ble salts of silver and gold. 
 
 HypophosphUe of Idme is the most important of these salts, as It not only, by oxidation 
 In the economy; will afford phosphate of lime in the nascent state, if needed, but its re- 
 actions with the carbonates of the alkalies give a ready means of obtaining the alkaline 
 hypophosphites. When phosphorous is boiled with milk of lime it gradually disappears, 
 with evolution of spontaneously-inflammable phosphuretted hydrogen, which explodes 
 as, it reaches the atjnosphere with the formation of water and phosphoric acid. When' 
 the strong odor of phosphuretted hydrogen ceases to be given off, the liquid contains, 
 beside the excess of lime, nearly half of the phosphorus, as phosphate of lime, and the 
 remainder, deducting the considerable portion which has escaped into the air as phosphu- 
 retted hydrogen, as hypophosphlte of lime. According to Wnrtz, more than one equiva- 
 lent of water is decomposed, and the phosphuretted hydrogen is accompanied by free 
 hydrogen. If this be true, the source of the super-oxidation oT so much of the phosphorus 
 is traceable to the resulting oxygen ; but Rose is of the opinion that this oxygen is de- 
 rived from the atmospheric air in contact with the boiling liquid. When the process is 
 conducted in a flask, it requires a constant ebullition of the liquid to prevent the explosion 
 consequent upon the entrance of the atmospheric air. To avoid this result, it has been 
 found safer to employ a deep, open vessel. The constant evolution of gas and vapor, 
 which keeps a froth on the surface, excludes the atmosphere in a great degree, so that the 
 yield is not much diminished, while the safety and easiness of the process is greatly in- 
 creased. The process should be conducted under a hood with a strong draught, or in the 
 open air, to avoid the disagreeable fumes which are evolved. 
 
 Take of Lime, recently burned 4 lbs. av. 
 
 Phosphorus 1 lb. " 
 
 Water 5 fealls. 
 
 Slake the lime with a gallon of the water, put the remainder in a deep boiler, and as 
 soon as it boils, add the slaked lime, and mix to a uniform milk. The phosphorus is now 
 added, and the boiling is kept up constantly, adding hot water from time to time, so as to 
 preserve the measure as nearly as may be, until it is all oxidized and combined, and the 
 strong odor of the gas has disappeared. The mixture froths much, and but little of the 
 phosphorus reaches the surface. Then filter the solution through close muslin, wash out 
 that portion retained by the calcareous residue with water, and evaporate the filtrate till 
 reduced to six pints. Tne concentrated liquid should now be reflltered to remove a portion 
 of the carbonate of lime which has resulted from the action of the air on the lime in solu- 
 tion, and again evaporated till a pellicle forms, when it may be crystallized by standing In 
 the drying-room, or the heat may be continued with stirring till the salt granulates, when 
 it should be Introduced into bottles. 
 
 Hypophosphlte of Lime is a white salt, with a pearly, margarin-like luster ^aud crystal- 
 lizes in flattened prisms. Its composition, according to Wurtz, is CaO+2HO PO the water 
 being essential to the salt. It is soluble in six parts of cold water, and in not much less of 
 ooiling water ; it is soluble slightly in diluted alcohol, but insoluble in alcohol, sp. gr. .835. 
 
1196 ' Pharmacy. 
 
 Struptjs Acidi Citeici. Syrup of Citric Add. Lemon Syrup. (Cit- 
 ronen Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Dissolve a drachm of Citric Acid in Simple Syrup apint, 
 and flavor witt two or three drops of Oil of Lemon. • 
 
 History. — This syrup is prepared with less trouble than Lemon Syrup, 
 and can be preserved much better, but its taste is less agreeable. Tar- 
 taric acid is sometimes used instead of citric, but the syrup thus made 
 is more apt to spoil, and also to offend the stomach. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This syrup added to water, or to carbonic acid 
 water, forms an agreeable cooling beverage for persons laboring: under 
 febrile complaints, and in certain states of the system. Prom a flui- 
 drachm to half a fluidounce may be added to half a pint of the fluid in 
 which it is to be taken. 
 
 Steijpus ^theris. Syrup of Ether. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Refined Sugar, eighteen ounces ; Distilled Water 
 one pint ; Alcohol, of 90°, thirteen fiuidrachms ; Pure 'Ether five fluidrachnis. 
 Introduce all the articles into a close-stoppered flask, agitate together, 
 until the Sugar is dissolved, and keep in the flask well closed. 
 
 This process furnishes a syrup of a fixed composition, not disturbed 
 by variations of temperature, and holding a sufficient amount of ether 
 in solution, which is not readily lost by evaporation. ' 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This syrup will be found an agreeable form of 
 
 Hypophosphite 0/ Soda is prepared by doable decomposition between hypophosphlte of 
 lime and crystallized carbonate of soda. 
 
 Take of Hypopbospbite of Lime 6 oz. 
 
 Crystallized Carbonate of Soda 10 oz. 
 
 Water a sufHpient quantity. 
 
 Dissolve the hypophosphlte In four pints of water, and the carbonate in a pint and a 
 half, mix the solutions, pour the mixture on a filter and lixiviate the precipitate of car- 
 bonate of lime, after draining with water, till the filtrate measures six pints. Evaporate 
 this liquid carefully till a pellicle forms, and then stir constantly, continuing the heat till 
 it granulates. In this state the salt is pure enough for medical use ; but if desired in crys- 
 tals, treat the granulated salt with alcohol sp. gr. 835, evaporate the solution till syrupy, 
 and set it by in a warm place to crystallize. , 
 
 Hypophosphlte of soda crystallizes in rectangular tables with a pearly luster, is quite 
 soluble in water and in ordinary alcohol, and deliquesces when exposed to the air. Its 
 composition is NO-t-2 HO PO. 
 
 Hypophosphlte of Potassa is prepared by the same process as that given above for the 
 soda salt, substituting S'/i ounces of granulated carbonate of potassa, in place of 10 ounces of 
 crystallized carbonate of soda, and using a half pint instead of a pint and a half of water 
 to dissolve it. 
 
 Hypophosphlte of potassa is a white, opaque, deliquescent salt, very soluble in water 
 and alcohol. Its greater tendency to absorb moisture renders It less eligible for prescrip- 
 tion than the soda salt. Its composition is K0+2H0 PO. 
 
 Hypophosphite of Ammonia is prepared from hypophosphlte of lime and sulphate or car- 
 bonate of ammonia. 
 
 Take of Hypophosphite of Lime 6 oz. 
 
 Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia (translucent) 7.23 oz. 
 
 Water a sufllcient quantity. 
 
 Dissolve the lime-salt in four pints of water, and the ammonia salt in two pints of water, 
 mix the solutions, drain the resulting carbonate of lime, and wash out the retained solu- 
 tion with water. The filtrate should then be evaporated carefully to dryness, then dis- 
 solved in alcohol, filtered, evaporated, and crystallized. 
 
 This salt is deliquescent in the air, very soluble in alcohol and water, and when carefully 
 heated evolves ammonia, and leaves hydrated hydrophospborous acid. The composition 
 of this salt Is NH3-1-2 HO PO. 
 
 Hypophosphite of Sesquioxide of Jron.— This salt may be obtained In the form of a white 
 gelatinous hydrate, by precipitating a solution of hypophosphite of soda or ammonia with 
 one of sesquisulphate of iron. The precipitate should be well washed with water and dried 
 at a moderate temperature. It is necessary to avoid using a hypophosphite containing 
 any alkaline carbonate, or the precipitate will be contaminated with free sesquioxide. 
 Thus prepared this salt is a white, amorphous, tasteless powder, like the pyrophosphate, 
 soluble in hydrochloric acid and in free hypophosphorous acid. 
 
 Hypophosphorous Acid.— So far as we are aware, this acid has not been employed, in a 
 free state,by Dr. Churchill, but it is highly probable that It may come into use, should the 
 favorable results claimed for its salts be substantiated by new observations. Any claims 
 which phosphoric acid may possess as an agent to supply the waste of phosphorus and 
 ^ihosphates In the human econom-" wHi be more than equaled by this acid. Hypophos- 
 
Sybupi. 1197 
 
 adrairiistering ether in all cases where it is indicated. The dose is from 
 half a teaspoonfu] to two or three teaspoonfuls. 
 
 Syrupus Allii. Syrup of Garlic. (Knoblauch Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation,. — Take of the recent Bulb of Garlic, bruised, /owr ounces; 
 and macerate them for seven days in Water fourteen fluidounces ; and 
 Acetic Acid, sp. gr. 1.04, tioo fluidounces ; then express, strain, add White 
 Sugar two pounds, and agitate to form a syrup. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^This syrup is useful in cough and chronic catar- 
 rhal affections of infants, acting also as a mild stimulant to the nerves; 
 to a child under a year old, a fluidi-achm may be given for a dose. The 
 active principle of garlic is more readily taken up by vinegar than 
 water. A syrup of onions is often prepared extemporaneously for 
 coughs, by slicing one or two onions, and laying the slices upon each 
 other with sugar between ; this is set by the fire in a saucer or glass 
 vessel, and kept there until the juice of the onion and the sugar have, 
 by the aid of the heat, formed a syrup in a vessel. It may be given 
 freely. 
 
 Syrupus Arali^ Compositus. Compound Syrup of Aralia. (Zusam- 
 mengesetzter Aralien Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the Boots of Small Spikenard, Yellow Dock, 
 Burdock, and ground Guaiacum-wood, each, ten ounces; Bark of the 
 Eoot of Sassafras, of Southern Prickly-Ash, Blder-Plowers, Blue Flag- 
 
 phite of baryta Is the salt which Is most eligible for the preparation of this aeld, but it Is 
 more convenient to prepare It from the llnae-salt, viz. : 
 
 Take of Hypophosphlte of Lime ^ 480 grains. 
 
 Crystallized Oxalic Acid 350 grains. 
 
 Distilled "Water 9 fluidounces. 
 
 Dissolve the hypophosphlte of lime in six ounces of the water and the add in the re- 
 mainder, with the aid of heat, mix the solutions, pour the mixture on a jvhite paper filter, 
 and when the liquid has passed, add distilled water carefully, till it measures ten fluid- 
 ounces, and evaporate this to 8}^ fluidounces. 
 
 The solution thus prepared contains about ten per cent, of terhydrated hypophospho- 
 rous acid {HO+2 HO PO) a teaspoonful representing 6 grains of the acid, which contains 
 2^ grains of phosphorus. The dose of this acid solution will probably vary from ten 
 minims to the teaspoonful. 
 
 It is proposed to give several forms in which the hypophosphites may be conveniently 
 administered, and a few hints to the physician in reference to prescribing them. 
 
 The soluble salts of mercury and silver are reduced by contact with the hypophosphites. 
 All soluble phosphates and carbonates are incompatible with the lime-salt, and should 
 not be associated with it in prescriptions, if phosphate of lime is indicated in the case. 
 The Iron-salt, when dissolved by excess of acid, is colored black by gallotannic acid and 
 drugs containing it, but is not blackened by the tannin of cinchona, catechu, and kramerla ; 
 hence any preparation containing it may be associated with Peruvian bark. The hypo- 
 phosphites of soda, potassa, and ammonia are more or less deliquescent, and when pre- 
 scribed in powder it should be with proper precautions to avoid moisture, as by association 
 with considerable excess of sugar of milk. The lime-salt may be mixed with either this 
 sugar or ordinary sugar. None of these salts are soluble in cod-liver oil ; and if given with 
 it, they should be dissolved in syrup, and mixed by agitation. Where lactln and glycerin 
 are indicated in the treatment of phthisis or dyspepsia, any of these salts may be very 
 elegantly associated In the form of syrup.— .dm. Jour. jPharm., Sd series, VI., pp. 118—122, 
 and 227. 
 
 Hypophosphite of Quinia. — Into a porcelain capsule of suflicient capacity place Hx ounces 
 and two drachms of Sulphate of Quinia, to which add Distilled Water two pints, and Hypo- 
 phosphorous Acid two drachms. Heat to 200° F., and make a perfect magma of the sul- 
 phate of quinia/ and water, then add a solution of hypophosphite of baryta, until a per- 
 fect decomposition is produced. Great care must be taken to have no excess of baryta 
 salt; better have a slight excess of quinia. While warm, the solution of hypophosphlte of 
 quinia is filtered off from the sulphate of baryta, and allowed to crystallize. The sulphate 
 of baryta is then washed, and the washings added to the mother-water of the first crystal- 
 lization, and evaporated with great care to avoid coloration, when other crystals may be 
 obtained ; drain and dry the crystals on a cloth stretcher. 
 
 In 100 parts of this salt there are of quinia 83 parts, hypophosphorous acid 10.09, water of 
 combination 2.30, and water of crystallization 4.60, giving the formula C40 Hji Nj O4, PO, HO 
 +2 Aq. It is extremely light and feathery, decidedly bitter, and is soluble in ao parts of water 
 at 60° F.— Pro/. J. Lawrence Smith, M. £>., Am. Jour. JPharm., XXXII, 410. 
 
 Properties and Uses.— This is an excellent tonic and alterative to the nerve and brain 
 tissue, and may be used in phthisis, scrofula, cachexy, excessive debility from over-men- 
 tal exertions, sexual excesses, in convalescence from exhausting diseases, in remittent 
 fever attacking enfeebled subjects, etc. The dose is from half a grain to a grain three oi 
 tour limes a day. 
 
1198 Pharmacy. 
 
 root, of each, eight ounces. 1. Grind and mix the articles together, place 
 the whole four pounds and a half in a convenient vessel, cover them 
 with Alcohol of 76 per cent., and macerate for two days. Then trans- 
 fer the whole to a common displacement apparatus or percolator, ana 
 gradually add Alcohol until two pints have been obtained, which retain 
 and set aside.' 2. Then continue the percolation with water, and of 
 the second solution reserve eo much as contains a sensible amount of 
 spirit, and distill or evaporate the Alcohol from it. 3. Continue the 
 displacement, by Water, until the solution obtained is almost tasteless, 
 and boil down this weaker infusion till it begins to thicken, or until, 
 when added to the balance remaining of the second portion, after the 
 evaporation of the alcohol, it will make twelve pints. 4. To these two 
 flolutions combined, add sixteen pounds of Eefined Sugar, and, by heat, 
 dissolve — carefully removing the scum which arises as it comes to the 
 point of boiling. Then, if it exceeds that quantity, evaporate the syrup 
 with constant stirring, to fourteen pints, remove from the fire, and when 
 nearly cold, add the two pints of tincture first obtained, and make two 
 gallons of syrup. Each pint will contain the virtues of four ounces of 
 the ingredients. It may be flavored with Essence of "Wintergreen, Sas- 
 safras, or Prickly- Ash Berries, et(i. 
 
 In the early editions of this work, this preparation was termed " Com- 
 pound Syrup of Sarsaparilla," Syrupus Sarsaparillo^ Oompositus. On . 
 account of the difficulty met with among druggists in filling orders for 
 Compound Syrup of Sarsaparilla, when it is not indicated to them what 
 syrup of this name is required (as there are several), I have deemed it 
 best to change the name, that no such difficulty may occur hereafter. 
 This article has also been termed Alterative Syrup, but it is much supe- 
 rior to the compound formerly known by this name. In the present 
 case I have substituted the root^ of Aralia ISTudicaulis for the Honduras 
 Sarsaparilla of the fbrmer formula, as it is considered by physicians to 
 be the more active agent ; those, however, who prefer the Honduras 
 Sarsaparilla, will, of course, retain it in their preparation of this syrup. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a valuable syrup, which may be 
 used in all cases where an alterative is indicated ; in chronic hepatitis, 
 rheumatism, syphilis, scrofula, cutaneous diseases, ulcers, white swellings, 
 rickets, necrosis, and every taint of the system. Some physicians add 
 an ounce of the iodide of potassium to every pint of syrup. The dose 
 is from a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful, three or four times a day, in 
 about a gill of water. 
 
 Strupus Assafcetida. Syrup of Asafetida. (Stinkasand Sjo-up.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Asafetida an ounce; Boiling Water a pint; 
 Sugar two pounds. Triturate the Asafetida in a mortar with a portion 
 of the Boiling Water until a uniform paste is formed, then gradually 
 add the remainder of the Water, strain and add the Sugar, dissolving 
 it with a gentle heat. — B. Petty, Am. Jour. Pharm., XXIV., 319. 
 
 History. — Good asafetida contains nearly six per cent, of volatile oil, 
 which would be dissipated were much heat employed in the solution of 
 the sugar. The object of employing boiling water instead of cold, is 
 to have more of the gum-resin taken up, and which is permanently 
 dissolved or suspended by the sugar. This syrup is nearly white when 
 first made, but gradually assumes a pinkish tinge ; it is quite perma.- 
 nent, keeping for several months without any material change, and has 
 the advantage of being entirely free from alcohol, which is often objec- 
 tionable. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is an excellent form for the administra 
 
Syrupi. 1199 
 
 tion of asafelida, being prompt in its action, and not so stimulating as 
 the tincture. The dose is one or two tablespoonfuls, repeated three or 
 four times a day. If used in enema, two to four fluidounces may be 
 injected into the rectum at one time. Other antispasmodics may be 
 combined with it, as fluid extracts of black' cohosh, blue cohosh, ladies'- 
 slipper root, scullcap, valerian, etc., according to indications. 
 
 Strupus Ceanothi CoMPOsiTws. Compound Syrup of Red-root. (Zu- 
 sammengesetzter Ceanothus Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the Tops and Leaves of Ceanothus Americanus, 
 of the Bark of the Eoot of Ceanothus Americanus, and Herb Lactuca 
 Elongata, each, one pound; Eoot of Cimicifuga Eacemosa half a pound; 
 Eoot of Asclepias Tuberosa, and Asarum Canadense, each, four ounces; 
 Lobelia Herb, and Eoot of Sanguinaria Canadensis, each, two ounces. 
 Proceed as with Compound Syrup of Aralia, until one and a half gallons 
 of tincture, and one and a half gallons of decoction are obtained. To the 
 latter add one gallon of good sugar-house Molasses, and clarify with 
 eggs. Then add the- tincture to the warm decoction, and make four 
 gallons of syrup. — Dr. James Cooper. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This syrup has been found very valuable in 
 coughs, pulmonary and hepatic affections. , The dose is from one flui- 
 drachm to half a fluidounce, three or four times a day. In smaller 
 doses, frequently repeated, it forms an excellent expectorant. 
 
 Syeupus Cinnamomi. Syrup of Cinnamon. (Zimmt Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Tincture of Cinnamon four fluidounces ; Water 
 three pints; Eefined Sugar seven pounds and a half; Essence of Cinna- 
 mon (^Tincture of the Oil) four fluidrachms. Mix the Tincture with three 
 pounds of the Sugar in a shallow dish, and evaporate the Alcohol with 
 the aid of a gentle heat, or allow it to evaporate spontaneously ; then 
 add the remainder of the Sugar, and dissolve it in two pints and a half 
 of the Water. With the remaining half-pint of Water, beat up the 
 whites-of two Eggs, add it to the Syrup, boil for 'one or two minutes,' 
 Strain through a Canton-flannel bag, and when nearly cool add the 
 Essence of Cinnamon. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This syrup is a warm aromatic stomachic, car- 
 minative, and astringent. It is chiefly used as an adjuvant to other 
 less pleasant medicines, especially in the treatment of diarrhea, dysen- 
 tery, hemorrhages, and where astringents are indicated. It may be 
 given in doses of one or two fluidrachms. 
 
 Stetjpus Cochleari^ Compositus. Compound Syrup of Horseradish. 
 (Zusammengestzter Meerrethy Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the recent Eoot of Horseradish, grated, two 
 ounces; Boneset, Leaves and Tops, one ounce; Canada Snakeroot half 
 an ounce; Boiling Water, Diluted Acetic Acid, of each, a sufficient quan- 
 tity ; Eefined ^ug&r two pounds. Infuse the Boneset and Canada Snake- 
 root in half a pint of the Boiling Water, and express with strong 
 pressure, adding Boiling Water to the mass until half a pint of infusion 
 is obtained ; then add the Sugar, and dissolve by gentle heat. 
 
 Add the Horseradish to Dilute Acetic Acid, half a pint ; let it stand 
 for two days, and then express, adding Dilute Acetic Acid to the mass 
 until half a pint of the Acetous Solution is obtained. Add this to the 
 above syrup, and agitate until all the Sugar is dissolved. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms an eflScient preparation for obstinate 
 colds, catarrhs, hoarseness, and chronic irritation of the throat and 
 fauces. The dose is froiji one to four fluidrachms, every two or three 
 hours. The following compound, known as ^^ Cough or Vegetable Elixir" 
 
1200 Pharmacy. 
 
 has been found a most beneficial agent in chronic ijulmonary affec 
 tions, cough, etc. To one gallon of good cider vinegar, add half a 
 pound, each, of balsam of Tolu and gum Arabic, dissolve by heat, and 
 add of refined sugar six pounds ; when all is dissolved, remove from the 
 fire, and add of tincture of opium, eighteen fluidounees. The dose of 
 this is a teaspoonful three, four, or five times a day, or whenever the 
 cough is severe. Sometimes molasses may be substituted for the sugar, 
 or honey. 
 
 Syrupus CoprE.a!. Coffee Syrup: (Kaffee Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Coffee, roasted and ground, one pound; Simple 
 Syrup eight pounds; Boiling Water a sufficient quantity. Treat the Cof- 
 fee by displacement in a proper apparatus, with the Boiling "Water, 
 until two pounds of liquor have passed ; put the syrup on the fire, and 
 evaporate until it loses two pounds, then add the infusion of Coffee and 
 strain. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Two tablespoonfuls of this syrup to a cup of 
 boiling water or milk will make a cup of goo4 coffee. It is much 
 used in soda water and mineral waters, in which it may be less concen- 
 trated, and be diluted with simple syrup: — Am. Jour. Fharm.^ XXVIII., 
 372. 
 
 Strupus Cortdalis Compositus. Compound Syrup of Turkey-corn. 
 (Zusammengesetzter Corydalis Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the Eoot of Turkey-corn, coarsely bruised, two 
 pounds; the Leaves of Twin-leaf one pound; Blue Flag-root one ^OMWii; 
 Sheep-Laurel Leaves half a pound. 1. Mix the articles together; place 
 the whole four pounds and a half in a convenient vessel, cover them 
 with Alcohol of 76 per cent., and macerate for three days. Then trans- 
 fer the whole to a displacement apparatus, and gradually add Alcohol 
 until two pints and four fluidounees of the Alcoholic Tincture have 
 been obtained, which retain and set aside. 2. Then continue the per- 
 colation with Water, and of 'this second Solution reserve so much as 
 contains a sensible amount of Spirit, and distill or evaporate the Alco- 
 hol from it. 3. Continue the displacement by Water, until the Solution 
 obtained is almost tasteless, and boil down this weaker infusion until, 
 when added to the second Solution after the evaporation of its Alcohol, 
 it will make thirteen pints and a half. 4. To these two Solutions 
 combined, add eighteen pounds of Eeflned Sugar, and dissolve it by 
 heat, carefully removing any scum which arises as it comes to the 
 point of boiling ; and if it exceeds fifteen pints and twelve fluidounees, 
 evaporate to that quantity with constant stirring. Then remove from 
 the fixe, and when nearly cold add the two pints and four fluidounees 
 of Alcoholic Tincture first obtained and set aside, and make eighteen 
 pints of syrup. It may also be flavored with some agreeable aromatic 
 essence, as Sassafras, Wintergreen, Prickly-Ash Berries, etc. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a valuable alterative syrup, and is used 
 with much success in syphilis, scrofula, liver affections, and rheumatism. 
 The iodide of potassium may be added to it, in the same manner as usu- 
 ally pursued with the Compound Syrup of Stillingia, to which this is 
 by no means second. The dose is a fluidrachm, three or four times a 
 day, in half a gill of water. — J. K. 
 
 Some thirty years since, a half-breed Indian, called Ben Smith, in 
 the State of New York, made a syrup, which gained considerable rep- 
 utation as a remedy in syphilitic diseases, and which sold rapidly for 
 three dollars per bottle ; the following is the formula for its prepara- 
 tion : Take of Indian Hemp {Apocyn. Cann.), Virginia SarsapariJla, 
 
Syrupi. 1201 
 
 Inner Bark of "White Pine, each one pound; Mezereon four ounces; 
 Sheep Laurel half a pound; Water four gallons; Sugar eight pounds. 
 Place the Plants in the water, boil for a few minutes, and then gradu- 
 ally evaporate, until about two gallons of decoction are left, then strain, 
 and add the Sugar. To each quart bottle of this Syrup he added forty 
 drops of Nitric Acid, and twenty grains of Tartar Emetic dissolved in a 
 sufficient quantity of Spirits. The dose was a wineglassful three times 
 a day. I have never been able to ascertain the true botanical character 
 of the Virginia Sarsaparilla. This syrup has been found as efBcacious 
 in syphilis, when prepared without the tartar emetic. 
 
 Strttpus Ferri Iodidi. Syrup of Iodide of Iron. Solution of Iodide 
 of Iron. (lodeisen Auflosung. lodeisen Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — "Take of Iodine, dry, two hundred grains; fine Iron 
 Wire, recently cleaned, one hundred grains ; White Sugar, in powder, 
 four ounces and a half; Distilled Water six fluidounces, Imp. meas. Boil 
 the Iodine, Iron, and Water together in a glass matrass, at first gently 
 to avoid the expulsion of Iodine vapor, afterward briskly, until about 
 two fluidounces of liquid remain. Filter this quickly, while hot, into 
 a matrass containing the Sugar; dissolve the Sugar with a gentle heat; 
 and add Distilled Water, if necessary, to make up six fluidounces. 
 Twelve minims contain one grain of Iodide of Iron." — Ed. 
 
 The addition of glycerin has been proposed to protect this salt in the 
 earlier stages of the process. Dr. H. Thayer gives the following for- 
 mula : Take of Iodine one ounce; Iron Wire half an ounce; Glycerin 
 one fluidrachm ; Distilled Water q. s. ; White Sugar six ounces. Add the 
 Glycerin to two fluidounces of Distilled Water contained in a suitable 
 vessel, then add the Iodine and Iron. Agitate the vessel until reaction 
 has taken place, and the solution acquires the proper greenish tint. 
 Then filter and finish the process as above, making twenty fluidounces 
 of solution. — Am. Jour. Fharm., XiX., 5. 
 
 By this process, the Solution of Iodide of Iron is preserved to a great 
 extent from decomposition by the addition of saccharine matter. In 
 order to have a sufficiently strong solution containing the requisite 
 amount of iodide of iron, the iodine should he dry. As the iron may be 
 changed into the sesquioxide during filtration, by the action of atmos- 
 pheric air, the excess of this metal ordered will tend to prevent such 
 change. If the solution be made correctly, after its completion each 
 fluidrachm will represent seven and one-fourth grains of the dry 
 iodide. 
 
 In forming the solution, the iron is rapidly oxidated at the expense 
 of the water, the hydrogen of which unites with the iodine to form 
 hydriodic acid. This unites with the iron, forming a hydriodate of 
 protoxide of iron, or according to some chemists, a solution of protio- 
 dide of iron. This solution, however, as with all solutions in which 
 iron is united with one equivalent of oxygen or chlorine, is exceedingly 
 subject to decomposition by exposure to air and light, in which the 
 oxide of iron passes into a sesquioxide, forming a solution of the hy 
 driodate of sesquioxide of iron. To obviate this tendency to sesqui- 
 oxidation, M.. Frederking of Eiga; and Professor Procter, of Philadel- 
 phia, proposed the addition of saccharine matter, which they found to 
 exert a protective action, and which fact has since been amply con- 
 firmed by many eminent chemists. Hence, the sugar is added to pro- 
 tect the solution of iodide of protoxide of iron from becoming converted 
 into one of the sesquioxide. 
 
 Upon standing for a length of time, or exposed to the action of light 
 76 
 
1202 Pharmacy. 
 
 or air, syrup of iodide of iron gradually undergoes decomposition, arid 
 becomes more or less colored. To obviate this action, various means 
 have been suggested and tried. Dt-. B. E. Squibb has found from fifteen 
 to twenty miniins of a solution of fifteen to twenty grains of hyposul- 
 phite of soda in a fluidounce of water, to restore the color of syrup of 
 iodide of iron, when the color had not become darker than brown 
 sherry wine. Syrup thus restored is not so apt to change again. — Am. 
 Jour. Pharm., 1868, p. 99. Prof F. P. Mayer had previously recom- 
 mended the same thing for preserving aqueous solutions of iodide of 
 iron. — Proceedings Am. Pharm. Ass., 1859, p. 371. Mr. Thos. B. G-roves 
 considers phosphoric acid as the only acid to be relied on for the preser- 
 vation of syrup of iodide of iron ; he adds diluted phosphoric acid half 
 a fluidounce to each thirty-one fluidounces of the syrup. The syrup 
 must be completely cooled before the acid is added. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 
 1868, p. 265. 
 
 Solution of Iodide of Iron is a pale yellowish-g^een, clear fluid, desti- 
 tute of any precipitate. If the addition of starch changes it to a blue 
 color, it is not perfect, but holds free iodine. Sulphuric acid added to 
 it changes it to a brown color, with evolution of vapors on the applica- 
 tion of heat of a violet color. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The medical properties are the same as men- 
 tioned under the head of Iodide of Iron; the dose is from ten to forty 
 drops, three times a day. It should be well diluted with water, and 
 care should be taken not to allow it to act on the teeth, by washing the 
 mouth immediately after taking a dose. 
 
 Strupus Perri Ptrophosphatis. Syrup of Pyrophosphate of Iron. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of (soluble) Pyrophosphate of Iron, in' scales, one 
 hundred and fifty grains; Distilled Water four Jluidrachms ; Syrup thirty- 
 seven fluidounces. Dissolve the Pyrophosphate of Iron in the Distilled 
 Water, filter, and mix the solution with the Syrup. One or two flui- 
 drachms of the tincture of some aromatic oil should be added to it. 
 ' Properties and Uses. — This forms a pleasant preparation for the ad- 
 ministration of this salt of iron, in all eases where it is indicated. (See 
 Ferri Pyrophosphas.) One fluidrachm contains two grains of the pyrophos- 
 phate. Its dose is from one to three teaspoonfuls, repeated two or three 
 times per day. When required it may be added to many other tonio 
 and alterative syrups. 
 
 Stetjpus Ipjicaotjanhjb. Syrup of Ipecacuanha. (Brechwurzel Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Ipecacuanha, in powder, eight ounces Troy; 
 Alcohol, sp. gr. 0.835, Syrup, of each, a sufficient quantity. Add the Ipe- 
 cacuanha to twelve fluidounces of the Alcohol, aiid allow it to stand for 
 twelve hours ; then add sufficient Alcohol to make the mixture of the 
 consistence of Syrup, and introduce the whole into a suitable displacer, 
 in which it gradually settles down as the Alcohol percolates, a piece of 
 muslin is laid on the surface, and when it has settled down uniformly, 
 more Alcohol is added until the filtered liquid measures half a gallon, 
 reserving the first half-pint that comes through ; distill and evaporate 
 the remainder to eight fluidounces, and then add the reserved half-pint. 
 This forms a Fluid Extract of Ipecacuanha, of which two fluidounces 
 represent one ounce Troy, of the root. 
 
 To fifteen fluidounces of Syrup add one fluidounce of the above Fluid 
 Extract of Ipecacuanha. 
 
 History. — Owing to the presence probably of gum and coloring matter, 
 the Syrup of Ipecacuanha, as generally prepared by diluted alcohol, is 
 very liable to fermentation ; but made according to the above formula 
 
, Syeupi. 1203 
 
 of Mr. Joseph Laidley, it contains but little, if any alcohol, possesses 
 all the medicinal virtues of the drug, and keeps as well as simple syrup; 
 without fermenting. When the ayrup is added to the fluid extract, 
 Hhould it not be perfectly clear, it may be rendered so by mixing with 
 water the white of one egg, adding it to the syrup, boiling for a few 
 minutes and straining. Syrup of Ipecacuanha may also be prepared 
 with diluted acetic acid, in the same manner as Syrup of Seneka, on 
 page 1209. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This Syrup is rcmetic and expectorant; it is 
 used principally among children. As an emetic the dose for an adult 
 is one or two fluidounces ; for a child one or two years old, one or two 
 fluidrachms — to be repeated every ten or twenty minutes till it operates! 
 When used as an expectorant, an adult may take one or two fluidrachms; 
 a child, from five to twenty minims. 
 
 Mr. A. G. Dunn prepares a " Saccharated Alcoholic Extract of Ipecac- 
 uanha," which he considers superior to any other preparation of the 
 drug; it is made as follows : Bruise the Eoot of Ipecacuanha /owr OMWces, 
 to a coarse powder, and macerate for thirty days in Diluted Alcohol 
 sixfeen fluidounces, shaking it occasionally ; then filter and express. The 
 tincture thus formed is to be evaporated to two fluidounces, and then 
 mixed with Eefined Sugar, eight ounces ; lastly, triturate in a stone, 
 mortar until it is entirely dry! This preparation has the peculiar odor 
 and taste of Ipecacuanha, is of a brownish -yellow color, is soluble in 
 water, alcohol, ether, mucilage of gum Arabic, etc., is of uniform 
 strength, and agreeable to take. The dose is the same as the powdered 
 root. 
 
 A very good syrup for ordinary cases of dysentery, is made as fol- 
 lows : Take of Ipecacuanha Eoot, bruised, one ounce; Cold Water a suf- 
 ficient quantity. Digest the bruised root, with suflJcient cold water to 
 cover it, for twelve hours ; then place in a percolator and displace eight 
 fluidounces. Then place Eefined Sugar, in powder, one ounce, in the 
 percolator and over the Ipecacuanha, and pour on the filtered liquor to 
 again percolate through, until the Sugar is dissolved. The dose is a 
 fluidrachm or two in about two fluidounces of water, repeating it every 
 two or three hours. 
 
 Strupus Liquidambae. Syrup of Sweet-gum. (Amber Einde Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Sweet-gum Bark, in coarse powder,,/?^ ounces ; 
 Eefined Sugar two pounds; Water a sufficient quantity. Moisten the bark 
 thoroughly with water, let it stand for twenty-four hours in a close 
 vessel, then transfer it to a percolator, and pour water gradually on it 
 until a pint of filtered liquor is obtained. To this add the sugar in a 
 bottle, and agitate occasionally until it is dissolved. — Dr. C. W. Wright. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a pleasant medicine, which is not apt to 
 be ejected from an irritable stomach. It is very useful in bowel com- 
 plaints of children, diarrhea, chronic cough, and chronic mucous affec- 
 tions generally. The dose for an adult is a fiuidounce, three or four 
 times a day ; and in diarrhea, to be repeated. after each evacuation from 
 the bowels when they recur too frequently. Probably the sweet-gum, 
 or resinous exudation, dissolved in alcohol, or made into an emulsion, 
 and then added to syrup, would answer a still better purpose. 
 
 Stkupus LoBELi.a!. Syrup of Lobelia. (Lobelien Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Vinegar of Lobelia one pint ; Sugar two pounds. 
 Dissolve with the aid of heat, not to exceed 180°, and continue the heat 
 for three hours, removing any scum which may form and strain while 
 hot. 
 
1204 Pharmacy. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a pleasant expectorant syrup, and 
 notwithstanding the volatile proj^erties of lobelia are dissipated by heat_ 
 this syrup will be found suflSciently. active for practical purposes; the 
 long-continued digestion removes the peculiar, disagreeable taste of the 
 lobelia. It will be found very useful in infantile cases of catarrh, per- 
 tussis, croup, pectoral diseases, to produce emesis, and to bring the 
 system under the relaxing influence of lobelia. The dose is from one 
 fluidrachm to half a fluidounce. — N. T. Isgrigg. 
 
 Syrupus Makrubii Compositus. Compound Syrup of Hoarhound. 
 (Zusammengesetzter weisze Andorn Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the bark of Eed-root, roots of Elecampane, 
 Spikenard, and Comfrey, Bark of Wild Cherry, and Leaves and Tops 
 o{ 'Koavhonnd, eiLch, one pound ; Bloodvoot half a pound. 1. Grind ajnd 
 mix the articles together ; place the whole six and a half pounds in a 
 convenient vessel, cover them with Alcohol of 76 per cent., and macerate 
 for three days. Then transfer the whole to a displacement apparatus, 
 and gradually add Alcohol, until three pints of the Alcoholic Tincture 
 have been obtained, which retain and set aside. 2. Then continue the 
 percolation with Water, and of this second solution reserve so much as 
 contains a sensible amount of Spirit, and distill or evaporate the Alco- 
 hol from it. 3. Continue the displacement by Water, until the solu- 
 tion obtained is almost tasteless, and boil down this weaker infusion 
 until, when added to the second solution after the evaporation of its 
 Alcohol, it will make eighteen pints. 4. To these two solutions com- 
 bined, add twenty-four pounds of Eefined Sugar, and dissolve it by heat, 
 carefully removing any scum which arises as it comes to the point of 
 boiling ; and if it exceeds twenty-one pints, evaporate to that quantity 
 with constant stirring. Then remove from the fire, and when nearly 
 cold, add the three pints of Alcoholic* Tincture first obtained and set 
 aside, and make three gallons of syrup. Each pint will contain the 
 virtues of four ounces of the ingredients. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In the earlier Dispensatories, this article was 
 called " Syrupus Aralice Gompositus," Compound Syrup of Spikenard, 
 but in consequence of the great improvement in the formula, and from 
 the fact that this name has been now bestowed upon another prepara-' 
 tion, the name of the article under consideration has been changed to 
 avoid confusion. This is an elegant remedy for obstinate coughs of 
 long standing, and pulmonary affections generally. It has been called 
 "Pulmonary Balsam," but is superior to the preparation bearing this 
 name in past years. It is often employed advantageously in pulmonary 
 and bronchial difficulties, combined with one-fourth part of Fluid Ex- 
 tract of Queen's Eoot. The dose of the syrup is half a fluidounce three 
 or four times a day. 
 
 Prof E. S. Newton highly lauds the Compound Syrup of Helianthus 
 {Syrupus JSelianthi Gompositus) in chronic affections of the lungs, larynx, 
 bronchi, etc., as an efficacious preparation for relieving cough, diminish- 
 ing abnormal mucous secretion, and imparting tone and healthful vigor 
 to the mucous tissues of the air passages ; it is prepared as follows : 
 Take of bruised or ground Sunflower Seed eight ounces ; White Sugar 
 twenty-three ounces; Scheidam Schnapps, or good Holland Gin, two pints; 
 Absolute Alcohol, Ether, Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Place the 
 SunflQwer Seed in a bottle, cover them with Ether, tightly close the 
 bottle, and allow them to macerate, at a temperature not to exceed 90° 
 F., for fourteen days, frequently agitating. Decant the Ether, and also 
 obtain as much of it as can be had by strong expression of the seeds, 
 
Syrupi. 1205 
 
 and set it aside in a well-closed vessel. Bruise the cake formed by ex 
 pressing the seeds, place it in a steam percolator, and pass vapor of 
 the Alcohol through it until the filtrate passes colorless. Mix the ethe- 
 real and alcoholic tinctures, and remove the ether and alcohol by evapo- 
 ration, or by distillation, as may be preferred, which leaves an oily sub- 
 stance. Through the seeds remaining in the percolator pass steam, 
 until eighteen fluidounces of infusion are obtained; reduce this by 
 evaporation to eight fluidounces, add the Sugar to form a syrup by aid 
 cf heat, carefully skimming, and filter through clean sand. When this 
 syrup is cqld, add to it the Scheidam Schnapps (or Gin), and the oil 
 procured from the ethereal and alcoholic tinctures. The dose varies 
 from a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful, three, four, or more times per 
 day, or whenever cough is severe. Where it is desired to obtain a diu- 
 retic effect, half an ounce, each, of the Oils of Juniper and of Stillingia 
 may be added to the above. 
 
 SYRTJPtrs MiTOHELL.ai CoMPOsiTTJS. Gompound Syrup of Partridge- 
 berry. (Zusammengesetzter Mitchellen Beeren Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Partridgeberry one pound; Helonias Eoot, 
 High-Cranberry Bark,' Blue-Cohosh Eoot, each, four ounces. Grind, 
 and mix the articles together ; place the whole pound and three-quar- 
 ters in a convenient vessel, cover them with fourth-proof Brandy, and 
 macerate for three days. Then transfer the whole to a displacement 
 apparatus, and gradually add Brandy, until three pints of spirituous 
 tincture have been obtained, which reserve. Then continue the dis- 
 placement with Water until the liquid passes tasteless; add to this two 
 pounds of Eefined Sugar, and evaporate by a gentle heat to five pints; 
 remove from the fire, add the reserved three pints of Spirituous Tinct- 
 ure, and flavor with Essence of Sassafras. Strictly speaking, this is not 
 a syrup, but a sweetened Infusion, yet I place it here, as being nearly 
 in its appropriate class. It is often termed Mother's Cordial, but is su- 
 perior to the article to which this name was formerly applied. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation is a uterine tonic and antispas- 
 modic. It may be used.in all cases where the functions of the internal 
 reproductive organs are deranged, as in amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, 
 menorrhagia, leucorrhea, and to overcome the tendency to habitual 
 abortion. The dose is from two to four fluidounces, three times a day. 
 Pregnant females, especially those of a delicate, or nervous system, will 
 find it an advantage to take one or two doses daily, for several weeks 
 previous to parturition, as by the energy it imparts to the uterine 
 nervous system, the labor will be very much facilitated, beside which 
 it frequently removes the cramps to which some females are liable during 
 the latter weeks of utero-gestation. The medicine appears to exert a spe- 
 cific influence on the uterus. — J. K. 
 
 A preparation called the " Parturient Balm" has also been used and 
 recommended in the above diseases, but I have found it to be of less 
 eflScacy; however, as some practitioners employ it, I introduce the 
 formula for its preparation at this place : Take of Blue-Cohosh Eoot, 
 Spikenard Eoot, Qa.ch, four pounds ; Black-Cohosh Eoot, Partridgeberry 
 Herb, Queen-of-the-Meadow Eoot, each, two pounds; Ladies'-Slipper 
 Root, Comfrey Eoot, each, one pound. Proceed to make a syrup, similar 
 to the directions given for the Compound Syrup of Aralia, reserving 
 eight pints of the strongest tincture first obtained, using sixty-four 
 pounds of refined sugar, and making eight gallons of syrup. The dose 
 of this is from a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful three or four times a 
 day. 
 
1206 Phaemacy. 
 
 Strupus Phytolacca Compositus. Compound Syrup of Poke. (Zu- 
 sammengesetzter Kermesbeer Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Poke-root, and Bark of American Ivy {Ampel- 
 opsU Quinq.), each, coarsely bruised, one pound; Black-Cohosh Eoot, 
 coarsely bruised, and Sheep-Laurel Leaves, each, half a pound. 1. Mix 
 the articles together; place the whole three pounds in a convenient 
 vessel, cover them with Alcohol of 76 per cent., and macerate for three 
 days. Then transfer the whole to a displacement apparatus, and gradu- 
 ally add alcohol until one pint and a half of the Alcoholic Tincture 
 passes, which retain and set aside. 2. Then continue the percolation 
 with water, and of this second solution reserve so much as contains a 
 sensible amount of spirit, and distill or evaporate the Alcohol from it. 
 3. Continue the displacement by Water, until the solution obtained is 
 almost tasteless, and boil down this weaker infusion until, when added 
 to the second solution after the evaporation of its Alcohol, it will make 
 nine pints. 4. To these two solutions, combined, add twelve pounds 
 of Eefined Sugar, and dissolve it by heat, carefully removing any scum 
 which arises as it comes to the point of boiling, and if it exceeds ten 
 pints and a half, evaporate to that quantity with constant stirring. 
 Then remove from the fire, and when nearly cold, add the pint and- a 
 half of Alcoholic Tincture first obtained and set aside, and make one 
 gallon and a half of syrup. Flavor with some aromatic essence, as 
 Sassafras, Wintergreen, etc. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This syriip is an excellent alterative and anti- 
 syphilic, and is beneficial in syphilis, scrofula, and rheumatism. If re- 
 quired. Iodide of Potassium may be added to it, as in the instance of 
 Compound Syrup of Stillingia. The dose is a teaspoonful three or four 
 times a day^ in half a gill of water. — J. K. 
 
 Syrupus Piois Liqtjid.«i. Syrup of Tar. 
 
 Preparation.'— Take of strained Tar one ounce; Eefined Sugar, in 
 powder twelve ounces ; Carbonate of Magnesia, rubbed to powder on a. 
 sieve, three ounces ; Alcohol, two Jluidounces ; Water, a sufficient quantity. 
 Triturate the Tar in a mortar of sufficient capacity, with one ounce of 
 the Sugar, and then with the Carbonate of Magnesia gradually added, 
 until the whole is reduced to a uniform pulverulent mixture. Mix the 
 Alcohol with six fluidounees of Water, and gradually add four fluid- 
 ounces of this liquid to the Tar mixture, with constant trituration, con- 
 tinued for fifteen or twenty minutes ; then strain with strong expres- 
 sion, and set the liquid aside. Return the residue to the mortar and 
 again triturate, first with one ounce of the Sugar, and then with the 
 remaining four fluidounees of the Alcohol and Water mixture, gradu- 
 ally added as before ; finally strain, strongly express, and add the ex- 
 pressed liquids together. Triturate the dregs, and reduce them to a 
 smooth and uniform condition, and pack firmly in a glass percolator 
 adjusted to the neck of a graduated bottle containing the remainder of 
 the sugar'; pour upon the dregs thus packed, the expressed liquid pre 
 viously obtained, and when it has all disappeared from the surface, con- 
 tinue the percolation with water until the whole measures one pint. 
 Agitate occasionally until the sugar is dissolved, and strain if neces- 
 sary. This yields a very excellent and efBcient syrup, possessing the 
 full medicinal virtues of the tar. If strained tar can not be procured, 
 crude tar may be used, first dissolving it in a small quantity of ether, 
 straining, and allowing the ether to evaporate spontaneously. — J. B. 
 Moore. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a very useful remedy in the treat- 
 
Strtjpi. 1207 
 
 ment of chronic pulmonary and bronchial affections, and also acts as 
 a diuretic in certain maladies of the bladder and kidneys. The dose is 
 from a dessert to a tablespoonful, repeated three or four times a day. 
 
 SrauPTis Pruni ViEGiNiAN.aE. Syrup of Wild-Cherry Bark. (Wilde 
 Kirschenrinde Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Wild-Cherry Bark, in rather coarse powder, 
 five ounces ; moisten it thoroughly with a sufficient quantity of Water, 
 and then introduce it, rather closely packed, into a displacement ap- 
 paratus, and gradually add water until a pint of percolate has passed. 
 Place this in a well-stopped bottle, add to it sugar twenty-eight Troy 
 ounces, and form a syrup by agitation. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a handsome tonic and sedative syrup, 
 which may be used in all cases where wild-cherry bark is indicated or 
 desired. It may be given in doses of half a fluidounce. 
 
 Strtjpus Ehei et Potass^ Compositus. Compound Syrup of Rhubarb 
 and Potassa. (Zusammengesetzter Ehabarber Syrup niit Potasche.) 
 
 Preparation. — Takei of best India Ehubarb, in coarse powder, -and 
 Bicarbonate of Potassa, each, one pound ; Gmnaxnon, Golden Seal, of 
 each, half a pound; Eefined Sugar six pounds; Fourth -proof Brandy 
 two gallons; Oil of Peppermint two fluidrachms. Macerate the Ehubarb,. 
 Potassa, Cinnamon, and Golden Seal, in the Brandy for two days, then 
 express the tincture with strong pressure, and add to it the Oil of Pep- 
 permint, previously dissolved in a little Alcohol. Break up the cake 
 or compressed residue from the press, and place it in a displacement 
 apparatus, arid gradually add Warm Water, until the strength of the 
 articles is exhausted. Evaporate this solution to eight pints, and while 
 the liquor is still hot dissolve in it the Sugar. Continue the evapora- 
 tion, if necessary, until when added to the tincture first obtained, it 
 will make three gallons, and mix the two solutions together. Strictly 
 speaking, this is not a syrup, but a sweetened tincture. — W. S. M. 
 
 Dr. Hill has kindly furnished me with the formula by which he pre- 
 pares this syrup, and which many physicians prefer on account of its 
 pleasantness and efficacy. It is as follows : Take of best India Ehubarb, 
 in coarse powder, and pure Carbonate of Potassa, each, two ounces; 
 Golden Seal, Cinnamon, each, one ounce; Eefined Sugar four pounds; 
 Brandy 07ie gallon ; Oil of Peppermint, twenty minims. Macerate the 
 Ehubarb, Golden Seal, and Cinnamon, in half a gallon of the Brandy 
 for six hours, with a gentle heat ; then transfer the mass to a percolator 
 and displace with the remaining half-gallon of Brandy. The remaining 
 strength, if there be any, can be obtained by adding Water until the 
 liquor comes off tasteless. To this add the Carbonate qf Potassa, Sugar, 
 and Oil of Peppermint, this last having been previously rubbed with a 
 sufficient quantity of the Sugar to absorb it, and mix the two liquors. 
 The whole of the active properties of the ingredients may be obtained 
 with more certainty by using Alcohol seventy-six per cent., instead of 
 Brandy, owing to the great want of uniformity in the quality of the 
 latter. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This syrup is an agreeable laxative, antacid, 
 and tonic. It is sometimes called Neutralising Cordial, but is much 
 superior to the preparation having this name in past years. It may be 
 used in cases of obstinate constipation, acidity of stomach, dyspepsia, 
 and as a laxative in pregnancy, and where piles are present. It is one 
 of the principal remedies employed by physicians in diarrhea, dysen- 
 tery, cholera-morbus, cholera-infantum, and in the same diseases as the 
 sompound powder of rhubarb. The dose for an adult is a tablespoon- 
 
1208 Pharmacy. 
 
 ful, every half hour, hour, or two hours, according to the urgency of 
 the symptoms ; for a child, in proportion to its age. 
 
 Strupus Eumecis Compositus. Compound Syrup of Yellowdoch. (Zu- 
 sammengesetzter Ampfer Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation — Take of Yellowdock-root two pounds ; Bark of the Eoot 
 of False Bittersweet one pound; Bark of American Ivy (Ampelopsis 
 Quinq.), and Pigwort (Seroph. Mariland.), each, half a pound; Eefined 
 Sugar sixteen pounds. 1. Grind and mix the drugs together, place the 
 whole four pounds in a convenient vessel, cover them with Alcohol of 
 seventy-six per cent., and macerate for two days. Then transfer the 
 whole to a common displacement apparatus, and gradually add Alcohol, 
 until two pints have been obtained, which retain and set aside. 2. Then 
 continue the percolation with Water, and of the second solution reserve 
 so much as contains a sensible amount of Spirit, and distill or evaporate 
 the Alcohol from it. 3. Continue the displacement, by Water, until 
 the solution obtained is almost tasteless, and boil down this weaker in- 
 fusion till it begins to thicken, or until, when added to the balance 
 remaining of the second portion, after the evaporation of th^ Alcohol, 
 it will make twelve pints. 4. To these two solutions combined, add the 
 Sugar, and dissolve by heat, carefully removing the scum which arises 
 as it comes to the point of boiling. Then if it exceeds fourteen pints, 
 evaporate to that quantity with constant stirring ; remove from the fire, 
 and when nearly cold, add the two pints of Alcoholic Tincture first 
 obtained and set aside, and make two gallons of syrup. Bach pint will 
 contain the virtues of four ounces of the ingredients. It may be 
 flavored with some aromatic essence. This syrup is sometimes called 
 Scrofulous Syrup, but is superior to the article formerly known by this 
 name. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This syrup is alterative and antiscrofulous, and 
 is extensively and successfully used in the treatment of scrofula, all 
 scrofulous affections, and many cutaneous diseases. Iodide of potassium 
 is frequently added to it, in the proportion of an ounce to the pint of 
 syrup. The dose is from one to four fluidrachms, three times a day, in 
 about a gill of water ; or when the iodide is added, one or two flui- 
 drachms, in water. 
 
 Strupits SANGUiNARi.a]. Syrup of Bloodroot. (Blutwurzul Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Bloodroot, in coarse powder, eight ounces; 
 Acetic Acid four Jiuidounces ; Water five pints ; Eefined Sugar two pounds 
 Troy. Macerate the Bloodroot for three days, in two fluidounces of the 
 Acetic Acid, and a pint of the Water; then transfer to a percolator, and 
 displace with the remainder of the Acetic Acid mixed with the balance 
 of the Water. Evaporate by means of a water-bath, to eighteen fluid- 
 ounces, add the Sugar, and form a syrup. 
 
 History. — By the above process, carefully conducted, the root will be 
 exhausted, and a syrup of a deep ruby color obtained, opaque in quan- 
 tity but transparent in thin strata, having a strongly acrid and bitter- 
 ish taste. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This syrup may be used in all cases where 
 Bloodroot is applicable, in doses of from ten to sixty drops. An excel- 
 lent cough mixture is composed of equal parts of Syrup of Squill, Syrup 
 of Balsam of Tolu, Syrup of Ipecacuanha, Syrup of Bloodroot, and Pare^ 
 goric ; the dose of which is a teaspoonful whenever the cough is trouble- 
 some. Syrups of Wild-Cherry bark, Bloodroot, Balsam of Tolu, and 
 Fluid Extract of Stillingia, combined in equal proportions, have been 
 found very useful in chronic bronchial and catarrhal affections. Prof 
 
Syrupi. 1209 
 
 B. S. Wayne has, for. several years past, prejjared a good expectorant 
 by dissolving one grain of sulphate of sanguinarina in one fluidounce 
 of simple syrup ; the dose is half a fluidrachm, three or four times a 
 , day. It may be added as a valuable adjuvant to other expectorants. 
 
 Syeupus Scill.^. Syrup of Squill. (Meerzwiebel Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — "Take of Vinegar of Squill eight fluidounces ; Eefined 
 Sugar, in powder, one Troy pound. Dissolve the Sugar in Vinegar of 
 Squill with the aid of a steam or water heat." — Dub. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Syrup of Squill is used as an expectorant in 
 coughs and catarrhs, and as an emetic in affections of the air-passages 
 in infants. It is frequently given in. combination with tincture of lo- 
 belia, and other emetic or expectorant agents. A fluidrachm is the 
 usual dose. ' 
 
 Syeupus Senegje. Syrup of Seneka. (Senega Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Seneka, in moderately fine powder, four Troy 
 ounces ; Eefined BvLg&r. fourteen and a half Troy ounces ; Distilled Water 
 two pints or a sufficient quantity ; Alcohol eight fluidounces. Moisten the 
 Seneka with two fluidounces of Water, and allow it to rest for two or 
 three hours ; then pack tightly in a conical percolator, pour on Water 
 until the infusion begins to pass, when stop the operation for twenty- 
 four hours, after which, resume displacement, and continue until two 
 pints have passed, or until the root is exhausted. Evaporate the 
 percolate carefully on a water-bath to two fluidounces, and while still 
 warm, gradually stir in the Alcohol. Transfer the mixture to a bottle 
 and shake occasionally for several hours, filter, distill to two fluid- 
 ounces, add two fluidounces of Water, and evaporate again to two 
 fluidounces. Then add sufficient Water to make the whole measure 
 eight fluidounces, filter, and if not perfectly clear, refilter until the 
 liquid passes perfectly clear. Pour the filtrate on the Sugar, contained 
 in a porcelain dish, and form a syrup. 
 
 History. — These directions, carefully followed, will insure a handsome 
 product. The heat used in this process should be moderate, and the 
 filtrate must be perfectly clear before being added to the sugar, or the 
 syrup will become more or less turbid. The alcohol is economized in 
 this process, and may be entirely recovered by . distillation. The 
 process is that of Mr. 0. L. Diehl, of Louisville, Ky. — Proceedings Am. 
 Pharm. Assoc, 1867, p. 342. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a stimulating expectorant, which is 
 often very useful in affections of the chest, etc. It is frequently com- 
 bined with syrup of squill, tincture of lobelia, syrup of sanguinaria, 
 etc. Its dose is one or two fiuidrachms. 
 
 A syrup for coughs and catarrhal affections, known as Jackson's Syrup, 
 is a very popular preparation in this city ; as simplified by our princi- 
 pal druggists, its formula is : Take of Syrup of Seneka five fiuidrachms ; 
 Syrup of Ipecacuanha two and a half fiuidrachms ; ■ Syrup of Ehubarb 
 five fluidounces ; Muriate of Morphia _/i/iteen grains ; Simple Syrup nine- 
 teen fluidounces ; Oil of Sassafras half a fluidrachm ; mix together. The 
 dose is a fluidrachm or two, three or four times a day. 
 
 Syrupus SiiLLiNGiiB. Syrup of Queen's Boot. (Stillingie Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Queen's Eoot threepounds ; Prickly-Ash Berries 
 one pound and a half ; Eefined Sugar eighteen pounds. 1- Grind, and mix 
 the articles together ; place the whole four pounds and a half in a con- 
 venient vessel, cover them with Alcohol of 76 per cent., and macerate 
 for three days. Then transfer the whole to a displacement apparatus, 
 and gradually add Alcohol, until five pints of the Alcoholic Tinctui-e 
 
1210 Pharmaot. 
 
 have been obtained, which retain and set aside. 2. Then continue the 
 percolation with Water, until the liquor passes almost tasteless, add the 
 Sugar to it, and evaporate by gentle heat until thirteen pints are ob- 
 tained ; to which add the reserved five pints of Alcoholic Tincture, and 
 make eighteen pints of Syrup. It may be flayored with Essence of 
 Sassafras, if required. • 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This has been found highly beneficial in 
 bronchial and laryngeal affections, also in obstipate cases of rheuma- 
 tism, and wherever a stimulating alterative is required. The dose is 
 from a fluidrachm to half a fluidounce, three, four, or five times a day, 
 according to th« urgency of the symptoms. It should be taken in 
 water. 
 
 Strupus STiLLiNGi.a: CoMPOSiTus. OompQund Syrup of Queen's Boot. 
 (Zusammengesetzter Stillingie Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Queen's Eoot, and Eoot of Turkey-corn, each, 
 two pounds; Blue Flag-root, Elder Flowers, and Pipsissewa Leaves, each, 
 one pourid; Coriander, and Prickly- Ash Berries, each, half a pound. 1. 
 Grind, and mix the articles together ; place the whole eight pounds in 
 a convenient vessel, cover them with alcohol of -76 per cent., and mac: 
 erate for three days. Then transfer the whole to a displacement 
 apparatus, and gradually add alcohol until four pints of the Alcoholic 
 Tincture have been obtained, which retain and set aside. 2. Then con- 
 tinue the percolation with Water, and of this second solution reserve 
 so much as contains a sensible amount of Spirit, and distill or evaporate 
 the Alcohol from it. 3. Continue the displacement by Water, until the 
 solution obtained is almost tasteless, and boil down this weaker infu- 
 sion until, when added to the second solution after the evaporation of 
 its Alcohol, it will make twenty-four pints. 4. To these two solutions 
 combined, add twenty four pounds of Eefined Sugar, and dissolve it by 
 heat, carefully removing any scum which arises as it comes to the point 
 of boiling ; and if it exceeds twenty-eight pints, evaporate to that 
 quantity, with constant stirring. Then remove from the fire, and when 
 nearly cold add the four pints of reserved Alcoholic Tincture, and make 
 four gallons of syrup, each pint of which will be equal to four ounces of 
 the ingredients in medicinal virtue. — -J. K. 
 
 Mr. Grlenn, Druggist, St. Louis, Mo., has favored me with his formula 
 for a Compound Syrup of Stillingia, which is very much liked by all 
 physicians who have used it in their practice, being a prompt and effi- 
 cient alterative. Take of Stillingia four pounds ; Tellow-Doek Eoot, - 
 Pipsissewa, each, two pounds ; Blue-Flalg one pound and a half; Coriander, 
 Corydalis, Prickly- Ash Berries, each, one pound ; Bloodroot half a pound ; 
 Sugar thirty four pounds. Make seven gallons of syrup in the way 
 described above. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a most powerful and effective alterative, 
 and is extensively used by many practitioners in all syphilitic, scrof- 
 ulous, osseous, mercurial, hepatic, and glandular diseases, or in every 
 case where an alterative is indicated. It is most commonly given with 
 an ounce of Iodide of Potassium a4ded to each pint of the syrup* 
 The dose is a fiuidrachm, three or four times a day, in half a gill of 
 water; but where the Iodide is omitted, the dose is from a fluidrachm 
 to a fluidounce, three or four times a day, also in water. 
 
 Syettpus Tolutanus. Syrup Tolu. (Tolu Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Balsam Of Tolu, Carbonate of Magnesia, each, 
 half an ounce ; Alcohol one fluidounce ; Eefined Sugar two and a half 
 pounds ; Water a sufficient quantity. Triturate the Balsam oF.Tolu and 
 
Soda Syrups. 1211 
 
 Carbonate of Magnesia together, with one ounce of the Sugar, gradually 
 adding the Alcohol, and then Water enough to make the whole meas- 
 ure twelve fluidounqes. Filter, add Water enough to make a pint of 
 filtrate, to which add the rest of the Sugar, and dissolve by a very 
 gentle heat. If required, strain the syrup, while hot, through a damp 
 cotton-flannel bag. — Prof. Procter. This forms a beautiful, clear syrup, 
 free from turbidness, possessing a decided taste of the balsam, with 
 most of its medicinal virtues. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This syrup is used in coughs, and to give a 
 pleasant taste to medicines ; the dose is from half a fluidrachm to two, 
 or even four fluidrachms. 
 
 Sybupus Zingibeeis. Syrup of Ginger. (Ingwer Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Jamaica Ginger, in a uniform coarse powder, 
 four ounces; Water, Deodorized Alcohol, each, a sufficient quantity; 
 Carbonate of Magnesia one ounce; Eefined Sugar twenty pounds. Pack 
 the G-inger in a displacer, and slowly pour on it the Alcohol, until 
 eight fluidounces of tincture have passed ; evaporate this spontaneously, 
 or at 120° P., until it is reduced to three' fluidounces. Triturate it 
 with the Carbonate of Magnesia and two ounces of the Sugar, gradually 
 adding Water two pints. Filter, add Water enough to make eight pints 
 of filtrate, to which add the rest of the Sugar, in a covered vessel, and 
 dissolve by a very gentle heat. If necessary, strain the syrup, while 
 hot, through a damp cotton-flannel bag. — Prof. Procter. This forms a 
 beautiful, clear syrup, free from turbidness, possessing a decided taste 
 of the ginger, with most of its medicinal virtues. 
 
 Properties and, Uses. — Syrup of Ginger is used as a remedy in bowel 
 complaints of children, and as a stimulating aromatic addition to 
 various medicinal preparations. The dose is from half a fluidrachm to 
 two, three, or four fluidrachms. 
 
 SODA SYEUPS. (Syrupe fur Brausewasser.) 
 
 As inost druggists retail soda and mineral waters, it may be of 
 service to give a few formulte for the preparation of the syrups with 
 which they are flavored. 
 
 For Lemon Syrup, see Syrup of Citric Acid; see Ginger Syrup; also, 
 Vanilla Syrup under Fluid Extract of Vanilla ; see Coffee Syrup ; see 
 Wild Cherry Syrup, and Sarsaparilla Syrup, in their appropriate 
 places. 
 
 Cream Syrup. (Eahm Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Dissolve in one gallon of fresh sweet Cream, without 
 heat, Powdered Sugar fourteen pounds, avoirdupois. If the cream be 
 removed from the milk, add more sugar. Bottle this immediately, and 
 keep upon ice ; it will preserve well for from three to eight days. It 
 is never used alone, but with various fruit syrups. 
 
 Nectar Cream. (Eahm Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Mix Cream Syrup six parts, with Vanilla Syrup three 
 parts, and Sherry- wine. Pine-apple, and Lemon Syrups, of each, one 
 part. To this mixture, a little Cochineal may be added to color it. 
 
 Almond Cream Syrup. (Mandel Eahm Syrup.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of fresh Jordan Sweet Almonds twelve pounds, 
 avoir.; M-il^ four gallons; Sugar sixty pounds, avoir. Blanch the Al- 
 monds, beat them into a paste with some of the Milk and the Sugar ; 
 mix this paste with the rest of the Milk, press, and strain ; dissolve 
 the remainder of the Sugar in the mixture by means of a water-bath 
 
1212 Pharmacy. 
 
 This is used for the same purposes as Cream Syrup, and is more uni- 
 form, and keeps better. 
 
 For Fruit Syrups, as Easptaerry, Blackberry, Strawberry, Pine-Applo, 
 etc., see Parrish's Practical Pharmacy. , 
 
 TINCTUEtE. (Tinkturen. 
 Tinctures.* 
 
 Tinctures are officinal preparations, obtained by subjecting certain 
 medicinal articles to the action of alcohol, ether, etc., for the purpose 
 of extracting their active principles. Some are prepared by simple 
 maceration, or displacement, others require certain degrees of tempera- 
 ture. When alcohol, or diluted alcohol, is employed as a solvent, the 
 preparation is termed simply a Tincture ; though sometimes a small 
 portion of acid or alkali is added to facilitate its solvent action. Oc- 
 casionally, spirit of ammonia or ether are employed as the solvents, 
 furnishing Ammoniated tinctures, and Ethereal tinctures. Tinctures are 
 also prepared by means of gin, brandy, wine, etc., as the solvent; the 
 former are termed Spirituous tinctures, and those with wine, Vinous 
 tinctures, or Medicatkd Wines. When the principle to be dissolved is 
 insoluble in water, rectified spirit (alcohol of sp. gr. 0.835), is preferred 
 as the menstruum ; when it is soluble in both alcohol and water, 
 diluted or proof-spirit is preferred ; but these tinctures are liable to 
 decomposition after a certain length of time, from acetous fermenta- 
 tion, which may be best guarded against by keeping the bottles contain- 
 ing them full, well closed, and at a low temperature.— TF. Bastick. The 
 former is applicable to resins, volatile oils, oleo-resins, camphor, etc., 
 and in which the addition of water would diminish or entirely prevent 
 the solvent power of the alcohol. The latter is proper where the arti- 
 cles contain gum-resins, tannic. acid, extractive, saline matters, etc. A 
 Simple Tincture contains the active principles of a single substance ; 
 a Compound Tincture contains the active principles of several articles. 
 A Saturated Tincture is made by adding to the menstruum as much of 
 a drug as it will take up; most of the tinctures named in this work 
 are saturated. Essential or Concentrated Tinctures, are mere Alcoholic 
 Fluid Extracts. 
 
 In making tinctures, it must be observed, that the virtues of recent 
 vegetable matters are very imperfectly extracted by spirituous men- 
 strua. They must, therefore, be previously carefully dried, and as we 
 can not assist the solution by means of heat, we must facilitate it, by 
 reducing the solvend to a state of as minute mechanical division as 
 possible. — Coxe. There are, however, some exceptions to this rule, as 
 for instance, where the powder, by agglutination, presents an obstacle 
 to the action of the solvent ; in this case the substance to be acted on 
 should be sliced, coarsely powdered, or, if finely powdered, be mixed 
 with sand or other insoluble grains. When, in a compound tincture, 
 some of the agents are more soluble than the others, in order to prevent 
 the solvent from holding too much of one article, and thereby dimin- 
 
 * Dr. A. B. Harrington, Maquoketa, Iowa, has just sent me the following formula, as 
 being that of the nostrum called " Kennedy's Medical Disoovery" : Take of the recently 
 dried herb Sneezewort (Selenium autumnale), iu coarse powder, one ounce ; Bitter-root ' 
 (Apoeynum cann.), in coarse powder, half an ounce ; mix them, add Boiling Water haZf a 
 pint, Proof Spirit «em flwidounces, bruised Liquoi-ifle Root half an ounce ; let the whole mac- 
 erate for forty-eight hours, then strain, add /o«r ounces of White Sugar to the strained 
 fluid, and one fluidounae of Tincture of Gaultherla. The dose is from one to two teaspoon- 
 luls every four or six hours.' 
 
TilsTCTUu^. I 1213 
 
 ishing its capability of dissolving the others, it is advised to place 
 those articles in first which are of the most difficult solution, and adding 
 the others from time to time according to their solubility, the most 
 soluble articles being the last added. 
 
 Tinctures are prepared by percolation, or by maceration and diges- 
 tion. When by percolation or displacement, the tincture is speedily 
 made, and is usually very active, but it does not answer where any 
 large quantity of tincture is required, unless skillfully executed by 
 pex'sons experienced in the proper method of conducting it. When 
 prepared by maceration, the ingredients are placed (in a coarse or fine 
 powder as required) in a well-stopped glass vessel along with the men- 
 struum. This is allowed to stand, in some cases seven, in others four- 
 teen days, frequently shaking the mixture during this time. They 
 should then be filtered, and expressed if necessary, in order to procure 
 all the liquid. Some operators allow the dregs to remain, on the sup- 
 position that it contributes to preserve the uniformity of strength, and 
 prevent any precipitation that might otherwise ensue; but this is an 
 error. 
 
 Dr. H. Burton, in the Lond. Med. Gaz., Aug., 1844, gives a process for 
 preparing tinctures, in which maceration and filtration are simulta- 
 neously conducted, the solid being loosely packed in a bag, which is 
 suspended just under the surface of the solvent, so that all parts of it 
 are immersed, and a space left between its lowermost end and the 
 bottom of the macerating vessel. In this process no shaking or stir- 
 ring is requisite ; as soon as the spirit begins to act on the solid, a 
 colored tincture will be seen to gravitate through the colorless and 
 lighter spirit by which it is surrounded. In proportion to the rapidity 
 with which the heavier tincture gravitates, a corresponding bulk of 
 lighter spirit ascends, and is carried or forced into contact with the 
 solid suspended at its surface. Thus, in a short time, a descending and 
 ascending current will be established throughout the fluid, and will 
 continue to move as long as the solid contains any soluble extract, or 
 until the solvent has become saturated, and incapable of dissolving an 
 additional quantity. 
 
 The expressed juiceS of plants are said to keep exceedingly well, by 
 allowing them to stand till all foreign matters have subsided, then 
 decant the clear juice, add half its weight of alcohol to it, allow this to 
 stand for twenty-four hours, and then filter. Keep in well-stopped 
 bottles in a cool and dark place. These are termed Alcoolatures or 'pre- 
 served juices. 
 
 The action of light, as well as of air, has a deleterious influence upon 
 tinctures, and, notwithstanding the custom of keeping them in clear 
 bottles, it would be a much better plan to have the bottles containing 
 them painted or varnished black. In order to preserve them from 
 evaporation, and thereby maintaining a uniform degree of strength, 
 and also from decomposition or deterioration, all tinctures should be 
 kept in bottles well closed with accurately fitting stoppers, and in a 
 cool place. 
 
 Tinctures are generally prepared either by maceration, or by dis- 
 placement : 
 
 1. By Maceration. — The article or articles should be reduced to a 
 powder of a proper degree of fineness, or, where this can not be done, 
 should be sliced or bruised, and then be placed in alcohol or diluted 
 alcohol, as may be required, and allowed to macerate in a close glass 
 bottle, usually for fourteen days, with occasional agitation ; after which 
 
121'J: ^ Pharmacy. 
 
 they are expressed, if necessary, and the tincture filtered through 
 paper. 
 
 2. By Displacement. — The article or articles should be reduced to a 
 powder of a proper degree of fineness, or, where this can not be done, 
 should be sliced, bruised, or rasped, etc. ; they are. then to be first 
 covered with the, menstruum with which the tincture is to be made, 
 and allowed to stand still until they are moistened throughout, and 
 which generally requires from twenty-four to thirty-six hours; the 
 whole is then transferred to a displacement apparatus, and the men- 
 struum gradually poured on, and allowed to percolate or filter until the 
 requisite amount has passed. The preparation of Tinctures by Dis- 
 placement or Percolation is, with a few exceptions, the method now 
 generally pursued \)j all pharmaceutists of this country, and the results 
 have been found in all instances eqiial, and in many instances, superior, 
 to the mode by Maceration, which is now only employed by those who 
 are not thoroughly skilled in the percolating process. In this edition, 
 with the exception of a few tinctures, it has been left to the pharmaceu- 
 tist to prepare them by maceration or percolation, according to his 
 skill. By Eectified Spirit named in some, of the formula is meant Al- 
 cohol of sp. gr. 0.835. 
 
 N. B. — The reduction of articles to a proper degree of fineness, as 
 stated above, must not be forgotten in the preparation of tinctures, as 
 this point is not always named in the formula for the Preparation of the 
 officinal tinctures hereafter described. 
 
 TiNCTURA AooNiTi PoLiORUM. Tinctuve of Acouite Lsaves.' (Bisenhut- 
 Kraut Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the recently dried Leaves of Aconite, finely 
 powdered, two ounces; Diluted Alcohol one pint or a sufficient quantity. 
 Form into a tincture by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on 
 pp. 1213-14, and make one pint of Tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tincture of Aconite Leaves possesses all the 
 properties of Aeonitum Napellus, and may be used w:henever the drug 
 is indicated, in doses of from ten to thirty drops. It should not be 
 confounded with the tincture of the root, which is a much more power- 
 ful preparation. 
 
 TiNCTURA AcoNiTi Eadicis. Tincture of Aconite Boot. (Bisenhut- 
 wurzel Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of finely powdered Aconite Eoot six ounces; 
 Dilute Alcohol one pint or a sufficient quantity. Form into a tincture 
 by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make 
 one pint of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a much stronger preparation than the 
 tincture of the leaves, and care should be employed not to use the two 
 tinctures indiscriminately. It may be used for the same purpose, but 
 in smaller doses, commencing with three drops in a teaspoonful of 
 water, and gradually increasing it to ten or twelve drops. 
 
 TiNCTURA Aloes. Tincture of Aloes. (Aloe Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of finely powdered Socotrine Aloes one ounce ; 
 Extract of Liquorice three ounces; Distilled "Water a pint and a half; 
 Rectified Spirit half a pint. Macerate for fourteen days, and filter." — 
 Lond. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a cathartic and tonic, but is seldom used 
 on account of its disagreeable taste, aloes being preferred in the pill 
 form. As a cathartic, the dose is from half a fiuidounce to a fluidounoe 
 
TiiMCTUR^. 1215 
 
 and a half. As a local application, on lint, it has been found useful in 
 old sores, ulcers, wounds, etc. 
 
 TiNCTURA Aloes et MYRRH.aE. Tincture of Aloes and Myrrh. Elixir 
 Proprietatis. (Aloe und Myrrhen Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Aloes, in fine -powder, four ounces; Saffron, iii 
 fine powder, two ounces; Tincture of Myrrh two pints. Macerate' for 
 fourteen days and filter. — Zond. The "U. S. Pharm. have reduced the 
 quantity of Saffron to nearly one-half, and, consequently, prepare a 
 less beautiful tincture, though probably fully as efficient. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture is emmenagogue and cathartic; it 
 has been beneficially employed in anemic and other abnormal condi- 
 tions of the female system, connected with derangement of the men- 
 strual secretion, and with constipation. It will likewise be found useful 
 as a stimulating laxative, in cold, sluggish states of the system, un- 
 connected with any menstrual difficulty. The dose is one or two flui- 
 drachms. 
 
 TiNOTTJRA Aralijb SpinosjE. Tincture of Prickly Elder. (Dornige 
 Aralien Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Prickly -Elder Bark, in fine powder, three ounces; 
 Diluted Alcohol one pint, or a sufficient quantity. Form into a tincture by 
 Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make 
 one pint of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses.- — This tiicture is tonic, stimulant, and alterative ; 
 and is efficacious in chronic rheumatism, pulmonary affections, colic, 
 flatulence, cholera-morbus, and Asiatic cholera. It is useful in syphilis, 
 in combination with the tincture of Turkey-corn. During the preva- 
 lence of cholera in 1849-50-51, it was added to emetic and cathartic 
 medicines, for the purpose of preventing any tendency toward excessive 
 discharges from the bowels. It also serves as a local stimulating appli- 
 cation, when properly diluted with strong infusion of golden-seal, in 
 cases of chronic ophthalmia. The dose is from ten to sixty drops, three 
 or four times a day. 
 
 TiNCTURA Arnica. Tincture of Leopard' s-bane. (Wohlverlei Tink- 
 tur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Arnica-flowers two ounces; Diluted Alcohol a 
 pint, or a sufficient quantity. Form into a tincture by Maceration or 
 Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make one pint of tinc- 
 ture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture is principally used as a lo6al appli- 
 cation to sprains, bruises, wounds, etc. ; but it may also be used inter- 
 nally in all cases where arnica would be applicable. The dose is from 
 ten to thirty drops. 
 
 TiNCTURA AsAPCETiDA. Tinctwc of Asofctida. {Stinkasand Tink- 
 tur.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Asafetida, in small fragments, five ounces ; 
 Rectified Spirit two pints. Macerate for fourteen days, and filter." — 
 Lond. The TJ. S. Pharm. use but four ounces of the gum resin, instead 
 of five. 
 
 Properties and Z7ses.-^This tincture has all the efficacy of asafetida 
 The dose is from thirty to sixty drops. Added to water, the resin sep 
 arates, and the solution becomes whitish. 
 
 Off. Prep. — Enema Asafoetida Composita. 
 
 TiNCTURA AsAFCETiD^ CoMPOsiTA. Compound Tincture of Asafetida 
 (Zusammengesetztes Stinkasand Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Asafetida, Lupulin, Stramonium Seed8,bruised, 
 
1216 Pharmacy. 
 
 Y^lerian Eoot, in fine powder, each, one ounce; Alcohol three pints. 
 Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture is used principally in epilepsy, 
 though it will be found useful in hysteria, chorea, and other derange- 
 ments of the nervous system. The dose is a fluidrachm, repeated every 
 two or three hours, in severe cases ; and in ordinary cases, three times 
 a day, to be taken in water, tea, or wine. — J. K. 
 
 TiNOTURA BELLADONNiE. Tincture of Belladonna. (Tollkirschenblat- 
 ter Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of recently dried Belladonna Leaves, finely pow- 
 dered, ^100 ounces ; Diluted Alcohol one pint, or a sufficient quantity. Form 
 into a tincture by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 
 1213-14, making one pint of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture possesses all the virtues of bella- 
 donna, when prepared from the leaves, recently dried. The dose is 
 from five to thirty drops. The imported leaves are of such uncertain 
 strength, that a tincture made fi-om the alcoholic extract would be more 
 trustworthy. 
 
 TiNCTURA Benzoini Oomposita. Compound Tincture of Benzoin. (Zu- 
 sammengesetztes Benzoe Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — " Take of Benzoin, in coarse powder, three ounces and 
 a half ; Purified Storax two ounces and a half ; Balsam of Tolu one 
 ounce ; Aloes, in powder, five drachms ; Eectified Spirit two pints, Impe- 
 rial measure. Macerate for fourteen days, and then filter." — Lond. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation has been known under various 
 names, as Balsamum Traumaticum, Jesuits' Drops, Wound Balsam, the Com- 
 mander's Balsam, Friar's Balsam, etc. It is used as an expectorant in old 
 coughs and catarrhs, and as a stimulating application to obstinate ulcers. 
 Internally, the dose is from half a fluidrachm to one or two fluidrachms. 
 Turlington's Balsam, a well known remedy, is composed of. Benzoin six 
 ounces; liiquidStorsix. two ounces; Soootrine Aloee half an ounce; Peru- 
 vian Balsam one ounce; Myrrh half an ounce; Angelica-root two 
 drachms; Balsam of Tolu two ounces ; Extract of Liquorice two ounces; 
 Alcohol four pints. Mix, digest for ten days, and strain. — Jour, of 
 Phila. Coll. of Pharm., V., 28. It is an improper application to fresh 
 wounds. 
 
 TiNCTijRA Cacti. Tinefure of Cactus Grandiflora. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the fresh flowers and stems of Cactus Grandi- 
 flora, cut into small pieces, four troy ounces ; Alcohol, 95 per cent., one 
 pint. Mix together, and macerate for fourteen days, frequently agitat- 
 ing; then filter, with expression. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Used in the diseases named under Cactus 
 Grrandiflora. The dose is from three to ten drops, three times a day, 
 in water ; or, two fluidrachms may be added to three fluidounces of 
 water, of which the dose is a teaspoonful, three or four times a day. 
 
 TiNCTURA Camphors. Tincture of Camphor. (Kampher Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Dissolve Camphor two ounces, in Alcohol one pint. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture is stimulant and antispasmodic. It 
 is used externally as a stimulant and anodyne in sprains, bruises, chil- 
 blains, paralysis, and chronic rheumatism. Internally it is used for 
 various purposes, in commencing diarrhea, in flatulency, nausea, griping 
 pains, and wherever a stimulating or antispasmodic action is required. 
 The dose is from ten to sixty drops, in mucilage or syrup, or merely 
 added to water or gruel. 
 
TinctuejE. 1217 
 
 TiNOTTTRA Cannabis Indicjb. Tincture of India Hemp. (Indischen 
 Eanf Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Purified Extract of India Hemp forty-five 
 grains; Alcohol one fluidounce. Dissolve the Extract in the Alcohol, and 
 filter. — Dub. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a powerful sedative narcotic, which 
 has been used in neuralgia, cholera, and other symptoms where the 
 India Hemp has been recommended, with much success. The dose is 
 five drops, gradually increased to twenty or forty, according to its in- 
 fluence. The fluid extract is, however, more frequently employed than 
 the simple tincture. 
 
 Tinctura Cantharidis. Tincture of 8pardsh-flies. (Spanische Pliegen 
 Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Spanish -flies, in coarse powder, half an ounce; 
 Diluted Alcohol one pint, or a sufficient quantity. Form into a tincture 
 by Maceration, or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make 
 one pint of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is the best form for the administration of 
 Caatharides, in chronic gonorrhea, gleet, amenorrhea, and some urinary 
 derangements. Externally, it is sometimes used as a rubefacient, but 
 care should be taken to avoid its vesicating action. The dose is from 
 ten to sixty drops, every three or four hours. 
 
 Tinctura Capsici. Tincture of Cayenne Pepper. (Cayennepfeffer 
 Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Cayenne Pepper, in fine powder, half an ounce ; 
 Diluted Alcohol one pint, or a sufficient quantity. Form into a tincture 
 by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make 
 one pint of tiacture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tincture of Cayenne Pepper is a useful and 
 permanent stimulant, and may be administered in depressed states of 
 the system with torpor of the stomach, as with inebriates, and in ty- 
 phoid stages of febrile diseases ; also to prevent the nausea which oil 
 . of turpentine is apt to occasion. It is also useful in gangrenous sore- 
 throat, and to remove relaxation of the uvula, applied to the part on a 
 camel's-hair pencil, or as a gargle ; for this purpose it may be diluted, 
 if required, with mucilage of elm-bark ; it is also an excellent appli- 
 cation to the eye in cases of chronic ophthalmia. It is frequently ap- 
 plied locally, with advantage, in cases of swellings, rheumatic pains, 
 partial paralysis, atrophied muscles, etc. The dose is from ten to sixty 
 drops in water, three, four, or five times a day, according to the urgency 
 of the case. 
 
 Tinctura Cardamomi. Tincture of Cardamom. (Kardamomen Tink- 
 tur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of finely powdered Cardamom two ounces; Diluted 
 Alcohol one pint, or a sufficient quantity. — JEd. Form into a tincture by 
 Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make 
 one pint of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture is aromatic and carminative ; and 
 is useful in mild colic, flatulency, nausea, gastric debility, etc ; it is also 
 advantageously added as a pleasant aromatic to several mixtures, tinc- 
 tures, infusions, etc. The dose is a fluidrachm or two. 
 
 Tinctura Cardamomi Composita. Compound Tincture of Cardamom. 
 (Zusammengesetzte Kardamomen Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Cardamom-seeds, Cinnamon, in fine powder, 
 each, four drachms; Caraway, in fine powder, two drachms; Cochineal, 
 77 
 
1218 fHARMACY. 
 
 in fine powder, a drachm ; Clarified Honey, one and a half ounces ; Di- 
 luted Alcohol two pints, or, a sufficient quantity. Form into a tincture 
 by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make 
 two pints of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a very pleasant aromatic tincture, and 
 is used for the same purpose as the tincture of cardamom, and in the 
 same doses. 
 
 TiNCTtJRA Castorei. Tinctufe of Castor. (Bibergeil Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Castor ten, drachms ; Alcohol one pint. Form 
 into a tincture by Maceration, as explained on page 1213, and make one 
 pint of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture should always be prepared from 
 the Eussian castor, if possible; its properties are the same as the castor 
 in substance,, and may be given in doses of from twenty minims to two 
 fluidrachms. 
 
 TiNCTTjEA Castorei Ammoniata. Ammoniated Tincture of Castor. 
 (Ammoniakatisthe Bibergeil Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Castor two ounces and a half; Asafetida, in 
 small fragments, ten drachms; Spirit of Ammonia two pints (Imperial 
 measure). Digest for seven days in a well -closed vessel; strain, and 
 strongly express the residuum, and filter. — Ed. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is antispasmodic and stimulant, useful in 
 various affections of the nervous system, hysteria, spasmodic affections 
 of the stomach, etc. Inflammation contra-indicates its use. It may be 
 given in doses of from half a fluidrachm to two fluidrachms. 
 
 TiNCTTJRA Catechu. Tincture of Catechu. (Catechu Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Catechu, in moderately fine powder, three ounces 
 and a half; Cinnamon, in fine powder, two ounces and a half; Diluted 
 Alcohol tivo pints (Imp. meas.), or, a sufficient quantity. — Ed. Form into 
 a tincture by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, 
 and make two pints of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms an astringent tincture, useful in 
 chronic diarrhea, dysentery, etc. The dose is from half a fluidrachm 
 to three fluidrachms ; it may be administered in some mucilage, sweet- 
 ened water, or Port wine. On long keeping, it is apt to gelatinize, and 
 thus becomes inert. 
 
 TiNOTURA Catjlophtlli Composita. Compound Tincture of Blue Co.- 
 hosh. (Zusammengesetzte Stammblatt Tinktur.) 
 
 ■ Preparation. — Take of Blue-Cohosh Eoot, in fine powder, two ounces ; 
 Ergot, "Water -pepper, in fine powder, each, one ounce ; Oil of Savin half 
 a fluidounce; Alcohol one pint and a hcdf or, a sufficient quantity. Add 
 the powders to the Alcohol, and form into tincture by Maceration or 
 Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, to which add, lastly, the Oil 
 of Savin ; the whole making one pint and a half of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms an emmenagogue tincture, very 
 useful in amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, and other uterine affections. The 
 dose is from fifteen drops to a fluidrachm two or three times a day. 
 
 TiNCTURA CiMiciFua.«:. Tincture of Black Cohosh. (Wanzenkraut- 
 wurzel Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Black-Cohosh Eoot, in fine powder, four Troy 
 ounces ; Alcohol one pint, or, a sufficient quantity. Form into a tinctuis 
 by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make 
 one pint of tincture. The addition of water to the Alcohol (diluted 
 Alcohol) in forming this tincture, as pursued by some pharmacists, 
 gives a less active preparation. 
 
' TlNCTUE^. 1219' 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture may be used wherever Black Co- 
 hosh is indicated, as in pulmonary, rheumatic, scrofulous, uterine, oph- 
 thalmic and neuralgic affections. The dose is ten drops gradually in- 
 creased to one fluidrachm ; if it affects the head or nervous system, the 
 dose may be diminished. — J. K. 
 
 TiNCTURA CiMiciPUGJE CoMPOsiTA. Compound Tincture of .Black Co- 
 hosh. (Zusammengesetzte Wanzenkrautwurzel Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the Tincture of Black Gohoah four fluidounces ; 
 Tincture of Bloodroot, tico duidounces ; Tincture of Poke-root one fluid- 
 ounce. Mix together. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This s a valuable alterative and expectorant, 
 and appears to exert a speciflv' ■ influence on the lungs, rendering the 
 breathing easy, diminishing the frequency of the pulse, and the general 
 excitability of the system. Tt is ised in pulmonary affections, hemop- 
 tysis, hepatic diseases, dyspepsia, -aryngitis, etc. The dose is from ten 
 drops to a fluidrachm every two oi three hours, according to, the indi- 
 cations. A very slight degrne of nuusea produced and maintained by 
 it, will be found to result in the most decided benefit. — J. K. 
 
 TiNCTURA CiNCHON.a!. Tincture of Ji'eruvian-bark. (China Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Cinchona Bark (Calisaya) six and a half ounces; 
 Diluted Alcohol two pints, or a sufficient juantity. Form into a tinct- 
 ire by Maceration or Displacenient, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and 
 jaake two pints of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tinciure is commonly used as an adjuvant 
 to other preparations of bark or quinia. It may be given in doses 
 varying from a fluidrachm to half a fluidounce. However, it is seldom 
 used alone. 
 
 TiNCTURA CiNCHONjE CoMPOsiTA. Compound . Tincture of Peruvian- 
 bark. (Zusammengesetzte China Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Calisaya Bark, in fine powder, four ounces; 
 Bitter Orange-peel three ounces; Virginia Snakeroot, in moderately fine 
 powder, six drachm^; Saffron, in coarse powder, two drachms ; Cochineal, 
 in fine powder, a drachm ; good French Brandy twenty fluidounces, or, a 
 sufficient quantity. — Land. Form it into a tincture by Maceration or 
 Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make twenty fluidounces 
 of tincture. 
 
 History. — This tincture is generally known as Suxham's Tincture of 
 
 Bark. It is commonly prepared with diluted alcohol, instead of brandy, 
 
 but I have introduced brandy as the solvent, more especially on account 
 
 .of the preparation made from it, called Ferrated Tincture of Peruvian 
 
 Bark. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture is an efS.cient stomachic bitters, 
 and may be used wherever a mild tonic of this character is desired. 
 The dose is two or three fluidrachms, or more. 
 
 TiNCTURA CiNCH0N.a! Feerata. Ferrated Tincture of Peruvian-bark. 
 (Bisenhaltige China Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the Compound Tincture of Peruvian-bark one 
 pint; Hydrated Sesquioxide of Iron, recently precipitated, half an ounce; 
 Ammonio-citrate of Iroh two hundred and fifty-six grains. To the Com- 
 pound Tincture add the Hydrated Sesquioxide, and digest until all the 
 Cincho-tannin, whether pure, oxidized, or combined, is completely eli- 
 minated. Then filter' and wash the tannate and excess of oxide with 
 Boiling Alcohol to remove any trace of Alkaloid which may have been 
 precipitated with the tannin ; this alcoholic solution may be evaporated 
 to dryness, the product dissolved in a little "Water, acidulated with 
 
1220 Pharmacy. 
 
 ' Citric Acid, and added to the filtered liquor along with the Ammonio>- 
 citrate of Iron . 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms an exceedingly agreeable and ener- 
 getic invigorative, admirably adapted in the cases of weak and languid 
 habits of children and females, where the body is in a pallid or flaccid 
 state, and very susceptible of fatigue or morbid action. It does not 
 solely depend on the quinia and iron it contains for its value as a cura- 
 tive agent ; the grateful and by no means inefficient adjuvants, the 
 orange-peel, snakeroot, and other proximate principles of cinchona, 
 independent of quinia, are by no means to be overlooked, and can not 
 be replaced by salts of quinia and iron alone, however scientific their 
 artificial combinations may appear. Bach fluidonnce contains sixteen 
 grains of ammonio-citrate of iron. The dose is one or two fluidrachms 
 three or four times a day. — Saml. Simes. 
 
 TiNCTURA CiNNAMOMi. Tincture of Cinnamon. (Zimmt Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Cinnamon, finely powdered, three ounces and a 
 half; Diluted Alcohol two pints, or a sufficient quantity. Form into a 
 tincture by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, 
 and make two pints of tincture. . 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tincture of Cinnamon is an aromatic astrin- 
 gent, and may be used in chronic diarrhea, menorrhagia, uterine 
 hemorrhage, and as an adjunct to other astringent solutions. One, two, 
 or four fluidrachms, as required, may be administered for a dose, ir 
 sweetened or mucilaginous liquid. 
 
 TiNoTURA CiNNAMOMi CoMPosiTA. Gompound Tincture of Cinnamon 
 (Zusammengesetzte Zimmt Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Cinnamon, finely powdered, an ounce ; Carda- 
 mom, Prickly-Ash Berries, Ginger, finely powdered, of each, three 
 drachma ; Diluted Alcohol two pints, or a sufficient quantity. Form into 
 a tincture by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, 
 and make two pints of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a very warm and agreeable aromatic 
 tincture, beneficial in fiatulence, debility, or spasm of the stomach, and 
 chronic diarrhea. The dose is a fluidrachm or two in sweetened 
 water. 
 
 TiNCTURA Cocci Cacti. Tincture of Cochineal. (Cochenille Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Cochineal, in fine powder, two and a half 
 ounces ; Diluted Alcohol one pint. — Br. Pharm. Form into a tincture by 
 Maceration, as explained on p. 1213, and make one pint of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses This tincture is calmative and antispasmodic, 
 
 and may be given in pertussis, asthma, hysteria, and nervous diseases, 
 in doses of from twenty drops to a fluidrachm. It is also employed for 
 coloring various fluid mixtures. 
 
 TiNCTURA CoLCHici Seminis. Tincture of Colchicum Seed. (Herbst- 
 zeitlosensaamen Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Colchicum Seed, in fine powder, two ounces; 
 Diluted Alcohol one pint, or a sufficient quantity. — JEd. Form into a 
 tincture by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, 
 and make one pint of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture may be used wherever colchicum 
 is inculcated. It is also employed as an external application in gouty, 
 neuralgic, and rheumatic pains. The dose is fr6m thirty drops to one 
 or two fluidrachms. 
 
 TiNCTURA CoLCHioi CoMPOsiTA. Compound Tincture of Colchicum- 
 (Zusammengesetzte Herbstzeitlosensaamen Tinktur.) 
 
Tincture. 1221 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Goichicum Seed, in fine powder, two ounces, 
 Black-Cohosh Boot, in fine powder, three ounces; Diluted Alcohol two 
 pints, or a sufficient quantity. Form into a tincture by Maceration or 
 Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make two pints of tinct- 
 ure ; or, it may be made by adding together equal parts of the Tincture 
 of Colchicum Seed, and Black-Cohosh Eoot. 
 
 Properties arid Uses. — This forms an excellent agent in inflammatory 
 rheumatism and gout, and has proved a superior remedy in phlegmasia 
 dolens, or the swelled leg of parturient women. The dose is from ten 
 to sixty drops, or more, as circumstances indicate, every one, two, three, 
 or four hours. Iodide of potassium, fifteen grains to the ounce of tinctr 
 lire, may frequently be added with advantage. — J. K. 
 
 TiNCTURA CoLOMB.®. Tincturc of Colombo. (Columbowurzel Tink- 
 tur.) 
 
 Preparation.— Take of Colombo, in fine powder, four ounces ; Diluted 
 Alcohol two pints, or a sufficient quantity. Form into a tincture by 
 Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make two 
 pints of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture forms a bitter tonic; it may be 
 added to liquid tonic preparations, whenever it is required to slightly 
 augment their tonic action. The dose is from one to four fluidrachms. 
 
 TiNCTTJRA CoEYDALis. Tincturc of, Turkey-corn. (Corydalis Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the Eoot of Turkey-corn, in fine powder, three 
 ounces ; Diluted Alcohol one pint, or a sufficient quantity. Form into a 
 tincture by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, 
 and make one pint of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms an efficient alterative-tonic, useful 
 in all cases where simple tonics are indicated, and highly beneficial in 
 syphilitic and scrofulous affections. The dose is from twenty drops to 
 two fluidrachms, three or four times a day. 
 
 TiNCTURA CoETDALis CoMPOsiTA. Oompound Tincturc of Corydalis. 
 Scudder's Alterative. (Zusammengesetzte Corydalis Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the Boots of Turkey-corn, Yellow Dock, Bark 
 of Tag Alder, and Leaves and Boots of Figwort, each, in flne powder, one 
 Troy ounce; Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Form into a tincture by Dis- 
 placement, as explained on page 1214, and after ten fluidounces have 
 percolated through, add Water, a •sufficient quantity, until nineteen fluid- 
 ounces of tincture have been obtained. 
 
 To Mandrake Boot in fine powder, one Troy ounce, add Boiling Water 
 four fluidounces, and allow it to macerate in a hot place for two hours; 
 then express, or obtain four fluidounces of infusion, by percolation, to 
 which add White Sugar, tour Troy ounces. To the syrup thus prepared, 
 add the preceding tincture, and make twenty-four fluidounces of the 
 preparation. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is an excellent alterative, prepared accord- 
 ing to Prof. Seudder's formula ; he believes that water extracts more of 
 the alterative properties of Mandrake than Alcohol. It has been em- 
 ployed with advantage in scrofula, syphilis, cutaneous diseases, hepatic 
 affections, in glandular affections where there is a tendency to hyper- 
 trophy and suppuration, and in all cases where an alterative is required. 
 The dose is from a fluidrachm to half a fluidounce, three or four times 
 a day. 
 
 TiNCTUEA Digitalis. Tincture of Foxglove. (Fingerhut Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the Leaves of Digitalis, recently dried, in mode- 
 rately fine powder, four ounces ; Diluted Alcohol two pints, or, a sufficient 
 
1222 Pharmact. 
 
 quantity. — Ed. Form into' a tincture, by Maceration or Displacement, as 
 explained on pp. 1213-14, and make two pints of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation possesses the virtues of Pox- 
 glove, and affords an excellent mode of exhibiting that narcotic. The 
 dose is from five to twenty drops, two Or three times a d,ay, and in- 
 creased, if required, with much care. 
 
 TiNOTURA BRGOTiE. Tincture of Ergot- (Mutterkorn Tinktur.) 
 
 F,reparation. — Take! of Ergot of Eye, in coarse po-waer, eight _ ounces ; 
 Diluted Alcohol twenty fluidounces, or, a sufficient quantity. — Dub. Form 
 into a; tincture by Maceration or Displacement,, as explained on pp. 
 1213-14, and make twenty fluidounces of tincture, 
 i ' Properties and Uses. — This tincture may be used in all cases where 
 the action of ergot is indicated or desired. The dose is one or two flui- 
 drachms. 
 
 TiNOTTJRA Ferri Acetatis. Tiucture of Acetate of Iron. (Bssigsaure 
 Eisen Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Sulphate of Iron eight ounces ; Distilled Water 
 half a pint; Pure Sulphuric Acid six fluidrachms ; Pure Nitric Acid 
 half a fluidounce ; Acetate of Potassa eight ounces; Eectifled Spirit half 
 a gallon. (The above weights are avoirdupois, and the measures Impe- 
 rial.) To nine fluidounces of the Water add the Sulphuric Acid, and 
 in the mixture, with the aid of heat, dissolve the Sulphate of Iron. Add 
 next the Nitric Acid, first diluted with the remaining fluidounce of 
 water, and evaporate the resulting solution to the consistence of a thick 
 syrup. Dissolve this in one quart (two pints, Imp. meas.), and the Ace- 
 tate of Potassa in tlie remainder of the Spirit, and, having mixed the 
 solutions and shaken the mixture repeatedly in a large bottle, let the 
 whole be thrown upon a calico filter. When any further liquid ceases 
 to trickle through, subject the filter, with its contents, to expression, 
 and having cleared the turbid tincture thus procured by filtration 
 through paper, let it be added to that already obtained. The specific 
 gravity of this tincture is 0.891. — Duh. 
 
 History. — By the mutual action of sulphate of iron, sulphuric acid, 
 and nitric acid, a solution of the sulphate of the sesquioxide of iron is 
 obtained. This is decomposed by the acetate of potassa, the products 
 being acetate of the peroxide of iron, and sulphate of potassa; the 
 former remains in the liquid, the latter is precipitated. It is a trans 
 parent, claret-colored tincture, having a strong chalybeate taste. — P. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is tonic, and astringent, and besides its 
 internal administration as a chalybeate, it forms an excellent vaginal 
 enema for leucorrhea, when properly diluted with water. The dose of 
 it is from ten dropp to a fluidrachm, given in a sufficient quantity of 
 water. 
 
 Tinctura Perri Chloridi. Tincture of Chloride of Iron. Tinctwe 
 of Muriate of Iron. (Salzsaure Bisen Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — ^As the tincture, according to the usual formula, is apt 
 to vary in strength and other properties, various modes have been tried 
 to prepare an unchangeable tincture. Mr. W. S. Thompson, of Balti- 
 more, Md,, gives the following ^s of invariable strength, maximum 
 therapeutic power, and insensibility to change: Place in a flask or other 
 convenient vessel, six ounces, Troy, of Sesquioxide of Iron prepared from 
 Subcarbonate heated to redness, then add one pini of Muriatic Acid, and 
 let it stand for six or seven hours, with occasional agitation. Then gently 
 heat by a sand-bath, adding portions bf acid from time to time, until 
 aU the oxide has been dissolved. When cool, add Alcohol, sufficient tc 
 
Tincturje. 1223 
 
 make the whole measure four pints, and filter. It forms a clear tinct- 
 ure, a fluidounce of which represents 45 grains of sesquioxide. He also . 
 gives another formula, which forms a more elegant and exact compound, 
 but involves much care and labor in the . practical details of its opera- 
 tion. It is : Take of pure crystallized Protosulphate of Iron five and 
 one-fourth ounces, Troy; Muriatic Acid a sufficient quantity ; Commercial 
 Alcohol, 95 per cent., half a pint. Convert the Protosulphate of Iron 
 into sesquioxide, in the manner directed on page, 1021 or according to 
 U. S. Pharmacopoeia. Having carefully washed it, allow it to settle for 
 at least twenty -four hours, then draw off, with a syphon, as much of 
 the water as possible, place the Oxide in a glass or porcelain dish, and 
 gradually add Muriatic Acid until the whole of the oxide is dissolved. 
 The solution at this stage has a ruby -red color. Next apply heat to 
 the dish, and continue the addition of Acid until the liquid assumes a 
 reddish-brown color, care being'taken not to add an excess; then evapo- 
 rate the solution to eight fluidounces, pour in the Alcohol, and filter. 
 This tincture is weaker in alcohol than that commonly prepared, and 
 yields 45 grains of dry sesquioxide to the fluidounce. — Am. Jour. Pharni., 
 XXIX., 300. In the same journal, p. 289, is another formula for this 
 tincture, which is uniform and permanent, proposed by Dr. B. E. Squibbs, 
 U. S. Navy, and which has been adopted by the U. S. Pharmacopceia ; 
 it is as follows : Take of Iron Filings or card teeth three and a half Troy 
 ounces ; Muriatic Acid, sp. gr. 1.16, one pint ; Alcohol three pints ; Nitric 
 Acid, sp. gr. 1.42, Distilled "Water, a sufficient quantity. (The quantity 
 of Nitric Acid will be about seven fluidounces, and Water about nine 
 fluidounces.) 
 
 Into a flask capable of holding two pints place the Iron Pilings, and 
 add of the Muriatic Acid ten and a half fluidounces, and thirteen flui- 
 drachms of the Distilled "Water. "When the spontaneous reaction has 
 subsided, boil gently for four hours, add three and one-quarter fluid- 
 ounces of the Distilled Water, heat again to boiling, and strain oflP the 
 hot solution. Wash the flask and residue with one and a half fluid- 
 ounces of Distilled Water, and rinse the strainer through with the 
 washings, receiving them into the original solution. To the strained 
 solution, in a flask, add the remainder of the Muriatic Acid, and heat 
 the mixture. Then add, by small portions, the Nitric Acid until it falls 
 into the hot mixture without effervescence, boil for half an hour, and 
 set aside to cool. When cold make up the measure to one pint with Dis- 
 tilled Water, and add the solution to the Alcohol. The yield of finished 
 tincture will be nearly four pints, of a sp.gr. 0.992. 
 
 Mr. James W. Mill finds the following formula to be successful, and 
 recommends it to the profession : Take of Subcarbonate of Iron six 
 Troy ounces; chemically pure Hydrochloric Acid, sp. gr. 1,16, twenty- 
 three Troy ounces ; Stronger Alcohol, Nitric Acid, each, a sufficient quan- 
 tity. Introduce the Subcarbonate of Iron into a quart flask, add the 
 Hydrochloric Acid, and having allowed the mixture to stand for a few 
 hours, apply heat, and hoil for a few seconds, then add suflSeient Nitric 
 Acid (more or less, according to the quantity of protochloride present, 
 usually about half a fluidrachm) to sesquichloridize the small quantity 
 of protochloride present, or till the solution ceases to give either a blue 
 or green coloration with ferricyanide of potassium. When the solu- 
 tion has cooled, add to it suflS-cient Stronger Alcohol to make the measure 
 up to eight fluidounces. This tincture is permanent, of sp. gr. 0.995, 
 and yields about 29.88 grains of sesquioxide of iron to the fluidounce 
 — Pharmacist, June. 1869. 
 
1224 Phakmact. 
 
 History. — This tincture has a deep reddish-brown color, an ethereal 
 , smell) and an extremely styptic taste. It stains white paper yellow. 
 It has an acid and styptic taste, and an odor of hydrochloric ether. Its 
 reaction is acid. On exposure to the air, a small deposit of sesquiox- 
 ide of iron may take place, slightly diminishing the strength of the 
 tincture, but a small quantity of hydrochloric acid added will redis- 
 solvethis deposit. "When the tincture is evaporated, a dark orange- 
 colored sesquioxide is obtained, which is hardly crystallizable, deli- 
 quescent, and is composed of three equivalents of chlorine, and two of 
 iron. It is incompatible with vegetable astringent infusions, gum Arabic 
 solution, alkalies and their carbonates. Its sp. gr. is about 0,992, and, 
 when decomposed by Potassa, a fluidounce yields nearly 3D grains of 
 sesquioxide of iron. — P. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This chalybeate tincture is tonic, diuretic, and 
 astringent. It is very useful in anemia, erysipelas, chlorosis, scrofula, 
 chronic gonorrhea, gleet, retention of urine from spasmodic stricture, 
 leucorrhea, passive hemorrhages from the urinary organs, and in diar- 
 rhea during the low stage of fevers. I have found it especially bene- 
 ficial in this last-named difficulty. The dose is from ten to thirty drops, 
 two or three times a day, diluted with a sufficient quantity of water. 
 In doses of from ten to twenty drops, in water, and repeated every two 
 hours, the tincture of Chloride of Iron has been found a valuable agent 
 in the treatment of erysipelas, usually effecting a cure in from two to 
 six days, and during the employment of which, the only local applica- 
 tions necessary are starch powder, and cotton-wadding. The bowels- 
 to be kept open. Externally, it has proved useful in destroying vene- 
 real warts, and is one of the best applications that can be applied to 
 a venereal chancre ; in this last, it should be applied by means of a 
 feather ; and a piece of lint moistened with it, should be kept in con- 
 stant contact with the surface of the ulcer. As an application to chancre, 
 it is the only one that I have made fbr the last twenty-eight years (ex- 
 cept the nitric acid during its pustular stage), and is, in my opinion, 
 decidedly the best local remedy for this kind of ulcer that can be used. 
 Occasionally it causes severe pain, when it should be diluted with as 
 little water as possible; but in the majority of instances, after the first 
 or second application, patients hardly notice it. It keeps the chancre 
 clean, its surface soft, and changes the poisonous character of the virus', 
 so that its absorption is followed by no bad result. As the chancre 
 soon becomes so changed, by the use of this tincture, that it is frequently 
 difficult to detect it from the healthy surrounding integuments, the 
 practitioner must be careful not to be misled by this appearance and 
 cease his internal treatment too soon. I have used this tincture, as 
 above named, since the year 1836, and, as far as I know, am the first 
 one in the profession who employed it in this manner, or made its value 
 known in the above disease. 
 
 The Perchloride or Sesquichloride of Iron, in concentrated solution, has 
 been proposed in the treatment of aneurism and varicose veins ; a few 
 drops are injected into the artery or vein, the blood in which for a short 
 distance around becomes converted, in a few minutes, into a solid clot. 
 I have no doubt but that perchloride of iron, applied loog^lly, and 
 taken internally in connection with the inspissated juice of conium 
 maculatum, would prove beneficial in cancer ; it is certainly worthy a 
 trial. 
 
TincturjE. 1225 
 
 TiNCTTJBA Gelsemini. TinctuTe of Yellow Jessamine* (Gelseminen 
 Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation.— Take of the fresh Boot of Yellow Jessamine, cut into 
 small pieces, four Troy ounces; Diluted Alcohol one pint. Macerate for 
 fourteen days, express and filter. This forms a saturated tincture of a 
 beautiful violet-tint; it has a peculiar odor, somewhat resembling that 
 of new honey, and a faint, peculiar, not unpleasant taste. 
 
 Properties .and Uses. — This tincture possesses the active propertief 
 of the root, and may be given as a febrifuge in intermittent, remittent 
 typhus, typhoid, and many other fevers; it is likewise beneficial ir 
 neuralgia, nervous headache, toothache, etc. And combined with tinct- 
 ure of cimicifuga, or tincture of colchicum, it proves decidedly efSca- 
 cious in rheumatism and gout. In rigidity of the os uteri, puerperal 
 convulsions, puerperal peritonitis, and painful dysmenorrhea, I consider 
 this among the best agents in the Materia Medica. I have employed 
 it in all these variouS conditions, and with the most marked success. 
 It is, in most cases, preferable to lobelia as a relaxant, as it does not 
 occasion any nausea or vomiting. To one young lady laboring under 
 a most agonizing dysmenorrhea, I administered a teaspoonful of the 
 tincture every half-hour for four hours, before it produced its in- 
 fluence upon her ; after which, smaller doses sufficed to maintain its 
 effect, and she suffered no further pain during the menstruation. 
 While it produces a relaxation of the rigid os uteri, it seems to exert 
 an influence on the uterine contractility, promoting this action of 
 the organ. However, I have only noticed this latter effect in a few 
 instances ; further investigations are required before we can place any 
 reliance on this therapeutical action fi-om its administration during 
 parturition. The dose of the tincture of gelseminum is from ten drops 
 to a fluidrachm, according to circumstances, and the urgency of the 
 case. The effects of an over-dose may be removed by holding aqua 
 ammonia to the nostrils, with the internal administration of stimulants. 
 
 TiNCTCRA Gentian.^; Composita. Compound Tincture of Gentian. 
 (Zusammengesetzte Enzian Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Gentian, Colombo, Swamp Milkweed, Ehu- 
 barb, Prickly-Ash Berries, Sassafras, each, one ounce; Good French 
 
 * Prof. T. G. Wormley, M. D., of Columbus, O.j has recently detected an acid and an alka- 
 loid in a fluid extract of gelseminum. The acid, gelseminio acid, crystallizes in groups or 
 tufts of delicate needles, colorless, odorless, nearly tasteless, forming sparingly soluble salts 
 with bases, except the alkaline, which are freely soluble and orystallizable. The pure acid 
 is soluble in chloroform, ether, but sparingly In water. Conoentl'ated nitric acid dissolves 
 and gives a yellow or yellowish red color to it, which becomes blood-red upon the addition 
 of excess of ammonia, so that one-flfty-thousandth of a grain can be detected. Sulphuric 
 acid also dissolves it, giving a yellow, or reddish-brown color, which becomes dark choco- 
 late under a moderate heat. Hydrochloric acid has little or no action upon it. Alkalies 
 impart fluorescent properties to it, even in the smallest proportion. It becomes dissi- 
 pated by heat. Its solution forms a yellow amorphous precipitate with acetate of lead ; a 
 yellow filmy precipitate with corrosive sublimate ; a brownish-yellow with nitrate of 
 silver, which gradually becomes black, and is then insoluble in nitric acid ; a brownish- 
 red with sulphate of copper, which becomes partly granular and crystalline ; a deep green 
 with chloride of gold, which becomes bluish, and appears black by reflected light ; a dirty 
 amorphous yellow precipitate with bichloride of platinum, insoluble in accetic acid, and 
 which becomes granular : and a copious reddish-brown deposit, insoluble in acetic acid, 
 with iodine in solution of loaide of potassium, which becomes dark-green. 
 
 The alkaloid, geUemenine, or gelseminia, is a very active and powerful poison. It is color- 
 less, odorless, of an intensely persistent bitter taste, has strongly basic properties, com- 
 pletely neutralizes the most powerful acids, forming salts, the sulphate, nitrate, chloride, 
 and acetate of which are freely soluble in water. It requires, several hundred times its 
 weight of water to dissolve it, but is freely soluble in chloroform or ether. Concentrated 
 sulphuric acid forms a reddish colored solution with it; nitric acid green or greenish-yel- 
 low; and hydrochloric acid faintly yellow. Somewhat below 212° F., it fuses to a color- 
 less viscid liquid, which, on cooling, forms a transparent vitreous mass ; at a higher tem- 
 perature it gives oflT white fumes and becomes dissipated. Alkalies precipitate it white 
 from its solutions ; carbazotic acid gives a yellow precipitate ; chloride of gold a yellow 
 difficultly soluble in acetic acid ; bichloride of platinum a light yellow ; ferricyanide of 
 potassium a greenish ; and corrosive sublimate a white precipitate. For method of pro 
 curing, and further particulars, see Am. Jow. JPharm., 1870, p. 1. 
 
1226 Pharmacy. 
 
 Brandy four pints, or a sufficient quantity. Form into a tincture by 
 Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make 
 four pints of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a mild aperient, stimulant, and tonic, and 
 is especially adapted to children with debilitated stomachs, or disordered 
 condition of the digestive organs, after the administration of anthelmin- 
 tics for the renaoval of worms, and during convalescence from exhaust ■ 
 ing diseases, as summer-complaint, diarrhea, dysentery, fevers, etc. The 
 dose is from ten drops to a teaspoonful three or four times a day, in 
 sweetened water. — J. K. 
 
 TiNCTURA GuAiAci. Tincturc of Cruaiacum. (Guajak Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of G-uaiacum-resin, seven ounces; Alcohol two pints, 
 Imperial measure. Digest for fourteen days, and then filter. — Ed. 
 
 Properties and Uses.— This tincture is used in gout, rheumatism, 
 dysentery, amenorrhea, and dysmenorrhea ; the dose is from one to 
 three fluidrachms, three or four times a day, given in mucilage, milk, 
 or sweetened water. Dewees' Tincture of Gruaiacum (Tinctura Guaiaci 
 Alkalina), recommended in suppression of the menses and dysmenor- 
 rhea, is made as follows : Take of the best Guaiac, in powder,/oMr ounces; 
 Carbonate of Soda or of Potassa, one drachm and a half; Pimento, in 
 powder, an ounce; Diluted Alcohol a pound. Digest for a few days. 
 Dose, a teaspoonful three times a day, to be gradually increased, if 
 necessary. — Dewees' on Diseases of Females, 1826, p. 81. 
 
 Tinctura Guaiaci Aromatica. Aromatic Tincture of Guaiacum. 
 Greenhow's Cholera Mixture. (Aromatische Guajak Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Guaiacum, Cloves, and Cinnamon, each, in mod- 
 erately fine powder, one ounce ; Brandy two pints. Macerate for fourteen 
 days and filter. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture is an excellent aromatic stimulant, 
 astringent, and diaphoretic. It was extensively used in Cincinnati, by 
 practitioners, during the cholera of 1849-50-51, and with excellent 
 effect. The late Prof. T. V. Morrow, considered it as one of the best 
 agents in the treatment of that disease. The dose is from a teaspoon- 
 ful to a tablespoonful, in sweetened water;, every fifteen or twenty min- 
 utes, until relief is obtained. The addition of an ounce of Prickly-Ash 
 Berries to this tincture will materially enhance its efficacy. 
 
 Tinctura Hydrastis. Tincture of Golden Seal. (Gelbwurzel Tink- 
 tur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Golden -Seal Eoot, in moderately fine powder, 
 three ounces ; Diluted Alcohol one pint, or a sufficient quantity. Porm 
 into a tincture by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 
 1213-14, and make one pint of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture is tonic, and will be found benefi- 
 cial in chronic gastric affections, hepatic diseases, chronic diarrhea, and 
 general debility. Diluted and applied locally, it forms an efficacious 
 remedy in leucorrhea, and ophthalmia. The dose is from ten to sixty 
 drops, two or three times a day, in water. « 
 
 Tinctura Hydrastis Composita. Compound Tincture of Golden Seal. 
 (Zusammengesetzte Gelbwurzel Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Golden-Seal Eoot, Lobelia Seed, each, in mod- 
 erately fine powder, two ounces; Diluted Alcohol one pint, or a sufficient 
 quantity. Form into a tincture by Maceration or Displacement, as ex- 
 plained on pp. 1213-14, and make one pint of tincture. Or it may be 
 made by adding together equal parts of the tinctures of Golden Seal, 
 and Lobelia. 
 
TincturjE. 1227 
 
 Properties and Uses.— This is a valuable local application to diseased 
 mucous surfaces. It is highly recommended in chronic catarrh, to be 
 snuffed up into the nostrils, or applied by means of a camel's-hair pen- 
 cil ; it is also useful in chronic ophthalmic diseases, diluted with water, 
 
 TiNCTURA Htosctami. Tincture of Henbane. (Bilsenkraut Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Henbane Leaves, dried, in fine powder, fou7 
 ounces; Diluted Alcohol two pints, or a sufficient quantity. — Land, 1826. 
 Form into a tincture by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 
 1213-14, and make two pints of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture is sedative and soporific, and is 
 frequently used in cases where opium does not agree, or where its con- 
 stipating effects are not desired. Sometimes the Tincture of Henbane 
 purges ; when this is the case, a small portion of laudanum may be 
 added to it. The dose is from half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm. 
 
 TiNCTUEA Htpebici. Tincture of St. John' s-wort. (lohanniskraut 
 Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the Blossoms of St. John 's-wort (recent) five 
 ounces ; Alcohol one pint. Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture may be used to fulfill the indica- 
 tions of the plant, but its principal use is as a local application to 
 wounds, bruises, ulcers, swellings, tumors, ecchymosi8,etc. ■ The dose in- 
 ternally is from half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm. As a local applica- 
 tion, it is equal to Arnica. 
 
 TiNCTUKA Ignati^ Amar^e. Tincturc of 'St. Ignatius' -bean. (Ignatius 
 Bohnen Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of St. Ignatius' -bean /owr ownces, Troy; Alcohol, 
 Water, of each, a sufficient quantity. Eeduce the Beans to a coarse pow- 
 der by mill or pestle, moisten the powder with two fluidounces of Water, 
 and in any suitable bottle, cork it, and heat by a water-bath till the 
 powder is swollen ; then j)our on half a pint of Alcohol, and digest for 
 three hours by the same means ; throw the contents of the bottle on a 
 percolator and slowly displace with Alcohol until a pint of tincture is 
 obtained. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Administered in nervous affections, and wherever 
 the tincture is indicated. The dose is five or ten drops three times a 
 day. — Prof. W. Procter, Jr. ' 
 
 TiNCTURA loDiNii. Tincturc of Iodine. (lod Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Dissolve Iodine a drachm in Alcohol two fluidounces. 
 
 The Tincture of Iodine should be placed in closely -stopped vi-als. 
 It is inferior to the Compound Tincture of Iodine, on account of being 
 decomposed by the action of light, or of air, giving rise to hydriodic 
 acid, free iodine, etc. ; beside it is more apt to irritate the stomach, from 
 the deposition of solid iodine when the tincture is taken in water. It 
 should not be prepared in large quantities. In preparing the tincture, 
 the iodine should be well dried. It has a deep-brown color, becomes 
 gradually decomposed on standing, or on the addition of water. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation is seldom administered inter- 
 nally, on account of the tendency to deposition of iodine, and consequent 
 irritation produced by the crude iodine. When given, the dose is ten 
 drops, gradually increased to thirty, two or three times a day, to be ad- 
 ministered in water sweetened with loaf-sugar, or wine. Thirty drops 
 are about equal to one grain of iodine. Its principal use is externally, 
 in cutaneous scrofula, erysipelatous diseases, pernio, eczema, pityriasis, 
 and other diseases of the skin, acute rheumatism, ulcers, etc. It may 
 be applied by means of a camel's-hair pencil. 
 
1228 ' Pharmacy. 
 
 TiNCTURA loDiNii CoMPOsiTA. Compound Tincture of Iodine. (Zusam 
 mengesetzte lod Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Iodine an ounce ; Iodide of Potassium two 
 ounces ; Eectified Spirit two pints. Macerate till they be dissolved, and 
 filter. The filtering ordered in this formula is unnecessary, and may 
 be dispensed with. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture may be used internally for all the 
 purposes to which iodine is applicable. Unlike the tincture of iodine, 
 it is not decomposed when water is added to it. The dose is five drops. 
 three times a day, gradually increased to thirty if required. 
 
 TiNCTURA Iridis. tincture of Blue Flag. (Bunte Iriswurzel Tink- 
 tur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Blue-Flag Eoot, in fine powder, three ounces ; 
 Alcohol a pint., or a sufficient quantity. Form into a tincture by Macer- 
 ation or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make a pint 
 of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The Tincture of Blue Flag possesses the same 
 alterative and cathartic properties as the root, and may be used in all 
 cases' as a substitute for the powder, in doses of from ten to sixty drops, 
 according to the effect desired, two or three times a day. Six flui- 
 drachms, each, of the Tinctures of Blue Flag and Mandrake roots, 
 with two fluidrachms of a saturated tincture of JSTux Vomica, form an 
 eflScacious remedy in obstinate constipation, hepatic torpor, derange- 
 ments of the spleen, sick headache, want of appetite, syphilitic afffections, 
 gleet, recent stricture of the urethra, impotency from masturbation, 
 recent disease of the prostate, etc. The mixture may be given in doses 
 of from ten to fifteen drops, in water, two or three times a day. 
 
 TiNOTURA Kalmue. Tincturc of Sheep Laurel. (Kalmie Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Sheep Laurel Leaves, in coarse powder, three 
 ounces ; Diluted Alcohol one pint, or a sufficient quantity. Form into 
 a tincture by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, 
 and make a pint of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation is sedative and alterative, 
 and may be successfully used in jaundice, syphilitic diseases, palpita- 
 tion of the heart, neuralgia of the eye, et;c., in doses of ten drops, 
 carefully and gradually increased to thirty. In obstinate syphilitic 
 affections, I frequently add a portion of this tincture to the compound 
 syrup of stillingia, with marked advantage. Externally, the tincture 
 is beneficial in itch, and some other cutaneous affections. 
 
 TiNCTURA Kino. Tincture of Kino. (Kino Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Kino, in fine powder, three ounces; Diluted 
 Alcohol two pints, or a sufficient quantity. Form into a tincture by 
 Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make two 
 pints of tincture. When made by Displacement, the Kino should be 
 mixed with its weight of dry sand previous to placing it "in the perco- 
 lator.' 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tincture of Kino is astringent, and is princi- 
 pally used in diarrhea, cholera-morbus, cholera, etc", in doses of one or 
 two fluidrachms ; it is frequently added to astringent mixtures. It is 
 very liable to gelatinize on standing, and lose its astringency, 
 especially if exposed to the action of the atmosphere; hence it should 
 be made frequently, in small quantities at a time, say, half a pint, and 
 be kept in well-closed bottles. 
 
 TiNCTURA Krameri^. Tincture of Rhatany. (Eatanhia Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Ehatany-root, finely powdered, two ounces and 
 
Tincture. 1229 
 
 a half ; Diluted Alcohol one pint, or, a sufficient quantity. Form into a 
 tincture by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14; 
 and make one pint of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is useful in chronic diarrhea, and other 
 cases where an astringent is required. Tt likewise forms an excellent 
 local application to the gums, where they are tender, spongy, and 
 bleed. The dose is one or two fluidraehms in sweetened water, or wine, 
 if not contra-indicated, three or four times a day. 
 
 TiNCTrRA Laricis Composita. Tinctura Pinus Pendulve Compos- 
 ITA. Compound Tincture of Tamarac. (Zusammengesetzte Kieferrinden 
 Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Tamarac Bark, Juniper Berries, of each, in fine 
 powder, six ounces; Prickly- Ash Bark, in fine powder, four ounces; 
 Wild-Cherry Bark, Seneca Snake-root, of each, in fine powder, three 
 ounces; Tansy,- coarsely powdered, one ounce; "Whisky five pints; 
 Molasses a pint and a half; Hydro -alcoholic Extract of Mandrake an 
 ounce and a half; Water a sufflcient quantity. Let the medicinal Herbs, 
 Boots, and Barks, be mixed together. To the mixture add three pints 
 of the Whisky, and let them stand twenty-four hours; then place the 
 whole in a vapor displacement apparatus, and force through the articles 
 the steam, or vapor of the additional Whisky, two pints, after which 
 the steam from Water sufficient to make the whole amount of tinct- 
 ure equal to twenty-four pints. To this add the Molasses, and the 
 Hydro-alcoholic Extract of Mandrake ; which last miist be thoroughly 
 dissolved. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Although not properly a tincture, yet to avoid 
 a new class of pharmaceutic agents, bitters, I place this compound 
 among the tinctures. It is an improvement upon the old preparation 
 called Bone's Bitters, and is now generally preferred by physicians. It 
 possesses nearly four times the strength of that heretofore made, and 
 consequently must be taken in a much smaller dose, a desideratum 
 with all medicines containing alcohol. The whisky and juniper berries 
 are less expensive, and more readily obtainable than the pure Holland 
 gin recommended in the original, and likewise render the preparation ■ 
 more actively diuretic; and the substitution of the extract of mandrake 
 for the bitter, and to many patients, unbearable taste of aloes, renders 
 it much more valuable as a cholagogue, alterative, and aperient. It 
 forms an excellent alterative tonic and 9,perient for dyspeptic affections, 
 menstrual derangement, hepatic torpor, constipation, urinary difficul- 
 ties, etc. The dose is half a fluidounce, three times a day, about an 
 hour previous to each meal. 
 
 TiNCTURA Lavandula Composita. Compound Spirit of Lavender. 
 (Zusammengesetzte Lavandel Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take Oil of Lavender three fluidraehms ; Oil of Anise 
 one drachm and a half ; Cloves, in powder, one ounce ; Mace, in powder, 
 three drachms ; Bed Saunders, in powder, itwo ownces ; Brandy four fluid- 
 ounces ; Jamaica Bum one gallon. Macerate for fourteen days, express, 
 and filter through paper. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is far superior to, and makes a much more 
 agreeable compound than the formula of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. It 
 forms a delightful preparation, which is much employed as a remedy 
 for flatulence, hysteria, gastric uneasiness, nausea, and general languor 
 or faintness. It is also used as an adjuvant and corrigent of other 
 medicines. The dose is from thirty drops to a fluid rachm or two 
 given in sweetened water, or on sugar. — J. K. 
 
1230 Pharmacy. 
 
 TiNCTURA LEPTANDRiB. Tiucture of Black-root. (Leptandra Tink- 
 tur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Black-root, in moderately fine powder, three 
 ounces ; Diluted Alcohol one pint, Or a sufficient quantity. Form into a 
 tincture by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, 
 and make one pint of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation is aperient and cholagogue, 
 and is employed in various derangements of the biliary organs ; , it is 
 also added to medicine for summer-complaint, chronic-diarrhea, remit- 
 tent fever, etc. The dose is from half a fluidrachm to two fluidrachms, 
 two or three times a day. 
 
 TiNCTURA Lobelia. Tincture of Lobelia. (Lobelien Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the recently dried Leaves and Tops of Lobelia 
 two ounces; Diluted' Alcohol one pint, or a sufficient quantity. Form into 
 a tincture by Maceration or Displacement, as explained- on pp. 1213-14, 
 and make one pint of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture possesses the same properties as 
 Lobelia; the dose is from thirty to sixty drops as a nauseant; and half 
 a fluidounce, or more, as an emetic. A tincture prepared of equal parts 
 of vinegar and alcohol, instead of diluted alcohol, is preferable to the 
 above, in cases where it is not to be kept for a length of time. Exter- 
 nally, the Tincture of Lobelia is beneficial as a local application in 
 erysipelas, tetter, and similar cutaneous eruptions, stings of insects, and 
 in the poisoning by rhus, having been successfully used by our practi- 
 tioners in these affections, for more than thirty years past. 
 
 TiNCTiTRA LobelijB Composita. Gompound Tincture of Lobelia. Br. 
 J. King's Expectorant Tincture. (Zusammengesetzte Lobelien Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Lobelia (herb), Bloodroot, Skunk-Cabbage 
 Eoot, Wild-Ginger Eoot, and Pleurisy-root; each, in moderately fine 
 powder, one ounce: Water (or Vinegar) one pint ; Alcohol three pints, or 
 a sufficient quttntity. Form a tincture by Maceration or Displacement, 
 as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make four pints of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture forms an excellent emetic for 
 children and infants, and maybe safely used in croup, whooping-cough, 
 bronchitis, asthma, convulsions, and in all cases where an emetic is 
 required. It will likewise be found beneficial as an expectorant, or 
 nauseant in coughs, pleuritic affections, asthma, pertussis, and when- 
 ever expectorants are indicated. It is a most valuable compound. 
 
 In croup, for children one year old, give half a tablespoonful in a 
 tablespoonful of molasses, and repeat it every fifteen minutes, until it 
 vomits ; after which, a teaspoonful may be given every hour or two, 
 as required — the vomit to be repeated two or three times a day. A 
 child from two to six months old, may take from half to a teaspoonful 
 for a dose ; less than two months old, from fifteen to twenty -five drops, 
 to be repeated every ten minutes, if vomiting is required. Children 
 from three to six years old, may take a tablespoonful, in molasses or 
 warm water, every ten minutes, until it vomits. Warm boneset or 
 thoroughwort tea, ought always to be given in order to facilitate its 
 operation as an emetic. 
 
 For cough, asthma, etc., to promote expectoration and remove 
 tightness across the chest; and in all ordinary cases where an expecto- 
 rant is required, adults may take one or two teaspoonfuls in half a 
 wineglassful of slippery-elm tea, three to five times a day, or as often 
 as required. Children from one year old to ten, may take from half to 
 a teaspoonful in the same manner ; and for those "less than one year, 
 
Tincture. 1231 
 
 from ten to thirty drops. Should the above doses vomit, they should 
 be lessened, except when vomiting is desired, i The stomach and bowels 
 must be kept regular in all eases, by gentle medicines. 
 
 TiNOTUEA liOBMid-^ ET Capsici Composita. Compound Tincture of 
 Lobelia and Capsicum. Antispasmodic Tincture. (Zusammengesetzte 
 Lobelien und Oayennepfeffer Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Lobelia, Capsicum, and Skunk-Cabbage Eoot, 
 each, in moderately fine powder, ttco ounces; Diluted Alcohol two 
 pints., or a sufficient quantity. Form into a tincture by Maceration and 
 Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make two pints of 
 tincture ; or, it may be made by combining together equal parts of the 
 saturated tinctures of Lobelia, Capsicum, and Skunk-Cabbage Eoot. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture is a powerful antispasmodic and 
 relaxant, and will be found highly efficacious in cramps, spasms, con- 
 vulsions, tetanus, ets. The dose is from half, a teaspoonful to a tea- 
 spoonful, every ten or twenty minutes, or as often as the urgency of the 
 case requires. 
 
 In hysteria, convulsions, and tetanus, in which swallowing is difl3.cult, 
 H may be poured into the corner of the mouth, and repeated as often 
 as necessary ; it will find its way into the stomach ; generally, the 
 effect is almost instantaneous. This valuable preparation should 
 always be in the possession of every physician. In rigidity of the os 
 uteri, a teaspoonful administered by mouth, or by enema into the rec- 
 tum, and repeated in fifteen or twenty minutes, will be found to pro- 
 duce a state of softness and dilatability without the necessity of using 
 the lancet, so highly recommended by a certain class of practitioners, 
 in such cases. 
 
 TiNOTURA Ltjpttlini. Tincture of Lupulin. (Lupulin Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Lupulin five ounces; Alcohol two pints. Macer- 
 ate for ft)urteen days and filter through paper. — Duh. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Luplin is the active principle of hops, acid as 
 the quantity of it varies in different specimens of hops, a tincture of 
 it is decidedly preferable to one made of hops. It may be employed 
 with advantage in coughs, after-pains, and in all cases where opium is 
 inadmissible. The dose is one or two fiuidrachms in mucilage or sweet- 
 ened fluid of some kind. 
 
 TiNOTURA Menth.^! YiBiDis. Tincture of Spearmint. Spirits of Mint. 
 (G-rilne Miinzen Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the fresh Herb of Spearmint a sufficient quan- 
 tity to fill a glass jar, a^d cover with good Holland Gin. Macerate for 
 seven days, express,' and Ulter. — Beach's Am. Prac. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture is diuretic and stimulant. It 
 may be beneficially employed in strangury, retention of urine, gravel, 
 and various chronic nephritic diseases. The dose is from two to four 
 ounces, three times a day ; but in severe and painful cases it may be 
 repeated every half hour or hour until relief is obtained. Externally, 
 it forms an excellent application to hemorrhoids when in a state of in- 
 flammation ; cotton must be moistened with it, and applied to the part. 
 
 TiNOTURA MxRRH-a;. Tincture of Myrrh. (Myrrhen Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Myrrh, in rather fine powder, three ounces; 
 Alcohol, two pints, or a sufficient quantity. "Form into a tincture by 
 Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make 
 two pints of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tincture of Myrrh is used as a stimulating 
 application to obstinate, fetid ulcers, and to promote the exfoliation 
 
1232 ~ ' Phaemact. 
 
 of carious bones. ^ — Coxe. It is also useful as a wash, either alone or 
 diluted with water; in ulceration of the mouth and throat, spongy and 
 bleeding gums, etc. Internally, it has been used in chronic cough, 
 catarrh, etc., as a stimulating expectorant ; also as an emmenagogiie. 
 The dose is from half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm. 
 
 TiNCTTTRA MTERH.ai CoMPosiTA. Compound Tinctuve of Mynh. (Zu- 
 sammengesetzte Myrrhen Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Myrrh, 'in rather fine powder, eight ounces; 
 Capsicum, in fine powder, two ounces ; Alcohol one gallon, or a sufficient 
 quantity. Form into a tincture by Maceration or Displacement, as 
 explained on pp. 1213-14, and make one gallon of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation, frequently termed Sot Drops, 
 from its resemblance to a compound of similar composition formerly in 
 use, is rarely employed internally. Occasionally, however, it is used 
 in cases of nausea, gastric distress, especially after a hearty meal, 
 flatulence, etc., in doses of from half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm, in 
 sweetened water. Its internal employment is contra-indicated when 
 inflammation is present. Its principal use is externally, when it proves 
 an excellent local application to sprains, bruises, fresh wounds, cuts, 
 rheumatism, offensive ulcers, etc. 
 
 TiNCTURA Ntjois Vomica.' Tincture of Nux Vomica. (Krahenaugen 
 Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of N"ux Vomica, rasped, two ounces; Alcohol eight 
 fluidounces, or a sufficient quantity. — Dub. Form into a tincture by 
 Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make 
 eight fluidounces of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture possesses the properties of the 
 nux vomica, but as the seeds vary in their quantity of active matter, 
 it is an inferior preparation to the tincture of strychnia or alcoholic 
 extract of nux vomica. Its extreme bitterness is a great objection to 
 its employment. It is occasionallj- employed in doses of from five to 
 ten or twenty drops, and as an external application in local paralytic 
 affections. 
 
 TiNCTURA Olei Anisi. Tincturc of Oil of Anise. Essence of Anise. 
 (Anis Essenz.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Oil of Anise one fluidounce ; Stronger Alcohol 
 eleven fluidounces. Mix with agitation. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation is aromatic, antispasmodic, 
 and carminative, and may be employed in flatulency, cough, cramp of 
 the stomach, and to flavor other preparations. The dose is from twenty 
 to sixty drops for an adult, in sweetened water. The following forms- 
 a very pleasant preparation for cough : Take of Aqua Ammonia, Tinct- 
 ure of Opium, each, one fluidounce ; Essence of Anise, half a fluidounce. 
 Mix. Dose from twenty to sixty drops. 
 
 TiNOTURA Olei Oartji. Tincture of Oil of Caraway. Essence of Car- 
 away. (Kiimmel Essenz.) 
 
 Preparation.— Take of Oil of Caraway one fluidounce ; Stronger Al- 
 cohol eleven fluidounces. Mix with agitation. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is aromatic, carminative, and antispas- 
 modic. It may be used in flatulency, nausea, etc., and to flavor mix- 
 tures. The dose is from twenty to sixty drops in sweetened water. 
 
 TiNCTURA Olei Cinnamomi. Tincture of Oil of Cinnamon. Essence 
 of Cinnamon. (Zimmt Essenz.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Oil of Cinnamon one fluidounce; Stronger Al- 
 cohol eleven fluidounces. Mix with agitation. 
 
TiNOTUK^. 1233 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture possesses the stimulant and 
 aromatic properties of cinnamon, and may be beneficially employed in 
 menorrhagia and uterine hemorrhage, in which a teasp'oonful may be 
 taken in a wineglass of sweetened water, every five, ten, or thirty 
 minutes, according to the urgency of the symptoms,, 
 
 TiNCTURA Olei Mentha Piperita. Tincture of Oil of Peppermint. 
 Essence of Peppermint. (Pfetfermiinz Essenz.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Oil of Peppermint one fluidounce ; Stronger 
 Alcohol eleven fiuidounces. Mix with agitation. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tincture of Oil of Peppermint, more commonly 
 known aa Essence of Peppermint, is carminative and antispasmodic. It 
 may be used in nausea, colic, flatulency, cramp or gripings of the 
 bowels, etc. The dose is from ten to thirty drops on sugar, or in 
 sweetened water. 
 
 TiNOTTJRA Olei Menth^ Viridis. Tincture of Oil of Spearmint. 
 Essence of Spearmint. (Griine Miinse Essenz.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Oil of Spearmint one fluidounce ; Stronger Al- 
 cohol eleven fiuidounces. Mix with agitation. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation is antispasmodic, carminative, 
 and diuretic, and may be employed similarly to the essence of pepper- 
 mint. The dose is from twenty to forty drops, on sugar, or mi:^ed with 
 sweetened water. 
 
 TiNCTURA Olei Sassafras. Tincture of Oil of Sassafras. Essence of 
 Sassafras. (Sassafrass Essenz.) ' 
 
 Preparation. — Take 0/ Oil of Sassafras one fluidounce ; Stronger Al- 
 cohol eleven fluidounces. Mix with agitation. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture is stimulant, carminative, diuretic, 
 and alterative. Its principal use is to flavor syrups and other fluid 
 preparations. The dose is from ten to thirty drops on sugar, or mixed 
 with sweetened water. 
 
 1^. B. — The usual proportions in the U. S. Pharm., for the preceding 
 essences, are one fluidounce of the Oil used, dissolved in fifteen fiuidounces 
 of Stronger Alcohol. 
 
 TiNCTTJRA Opii. Tincturc of Opium. Laudanum. (Opium Tinktur,) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of good Turkey Opium, dried, twelve hundred 
 grains. Eeduce the Opium to a coarse powder, and add gradually to 
 it in the mortar. Water one pint, stirring all the time with a pestle in 
 order to reduce it to a uniform paste or magma. Then put the whole 
 into a bottle of sufl&cient capacity, and add to it Alcohol one pint. 
 Agitate well, let it stand for forty-eight hours, then place it into a per- 
 colator or on a filter, and add sufficient Alcohol to it until the resulting 
 tincture amounts to two pints. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture, occasionally termed Tinctura 
 Thebaica, possesses the medicinal virtues of opium, and may be used 
 in all cases where the drug is indicated, in doses of from five to thirty 
 drops. Thirteen minims are equal to a fraction more than one grain 
 of Opium, which is about the strength of that made according to the 
 formula of U. S. Pharm. 
 
 If Diluted Acetic Acid be employed in the above formula instead of 
 Water, it will form a much better tincture, and one less liable to vary 
 in strength — Tinctura Opii Aoetata, or Acetated Tincture of Opium, 
 and which may be given in the same doses as above. 
 
 The following is offered to the profession by Eugene Dupuy, Phar- 
 maceutist, of New York, as a substitute for McMunn's Elixir of Opium 
 (a trial of six years has been accorded to it, and none of the unpleasant 
 ■78 
 
1234 ' Pharmacy. 
 
 effects attributed to Laudanum have as yet attended its administration) : 
 Take of Opium, ten drachms, make it into a thin pulp with a sufficient 
 quantity of water ; then allow the mixture to stand in a cool place forty- 
 eight hours ; after which transfer it into an elongated glass funnel con- 
 taining filtering paper, and add a superstratum of "Water equivalent to 
 the bulk of the whole mass. When twelve ounces of liquid have filtered, 
 add to the filtered solution Alcohol, 95 per cent., four ounces. The solu- 
 tion is an Aqueous Solution of Opium, nearly free from narcotina, pre- 
 served by alcohol, and contains about two-thirds of the substance of 
 the Opium — the residue consisting chiefly of resin, narcotina, caout- 
 chouc, ligneous matter, etc. 
 
 For a similar purpose, the following mode of preparation is recom- 
 mended in the American Journal of Pharmacy : 
 
 Macerate ten drachms (Troj) of Opium, in half a pint of "Water, for 
 two days, and express ; subject the dregs to two successive macerations, 
 using six fluidounces of "Water each time, with expression; mix and strain 
 the, liquors, evaporate them to two fluidounces, and agitate the liquid 
 with Ether four fluidounces, several times during half an hour. Then 
 separate the Ether by means of a funnel, evaporate the solution of 
 Opium to dryness, dissolve the extract in half a pint of Cold Water', 
 pour the solution on a filter and after it has passed wash the filter with 
 sufficient water to make twelve fluidounces of filtered solution, to which 
 add four fluidounces of Alcohol. 
 
 By this process the ether removes all that the water has dissolved of 
 the thebaina, the meconin, a part of the codeia, the odorous principle, 
 meconate of narcotine, and fatty matter. The evaporation to dryness, 
 and resolution in water, removes the ethereal odor, and separates a 
 portion of acid, resin, and extractive. Sydenham's laudanum, on page 
 614, is the Tinctura .Opii Crocata, or Saffronised Tincture of Opium 
 of the Prussian Pharmacopoeia. Mr. J. B. Moore, gives another for- 
 mula for the preparation of this tincture, in Am. Jour., Fharm., 1869, p. 
 406 ; but which possesses no peculiar advantages over the one above, 
 first named. 
 
 Tinctura Opii Camphokata. Camphorated Tincture of Opium. Pare- 
 goric Elixir. (G-ekampherte Opium Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation.— T!ake of Opium, sliced, or in powder, Benzoic Acid, 
 each, three scruples; Camphor two scruples; Oil of Anise one fluidrachm ; 
 Diluted Alcohol two pints. Form into a tincture by Maceration as ex- 
 pla,ined on page 1213. Two fluidraehms of this tincture is equivalent 
 to about half a grain of opium. In the "U. S. Pharm., Honey is also 
 added, say about two ounces, which is only designed to render it more 
 pleasant to the taste. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a very valuable and useful opiate, which 
 is efficacious in allaying troublesome cough, nausea, whooping-cough, 
 slight gastric and intestinal pains ; to cause sleep, and palliate diarrhea. 
 The dose for an adult, is one to two fluidraehms ; for an infant, from 
 five to ten or twenty drops.* 
 
 <• The nostrums known by the names ot Sateman'a Drops and QoOfrey's Cordial, two very 
 dangerous articles in the hands of nurses and many non-professional persons, are gener- 
 ally prepared as follows : Batemam's Pectoral Drops.— Take powdered Opium, powdered 
 Catechu, Camphor, Bed Saunders, rasped, each, two drachms ; Odlof Anise Tialf a fluidrachm; 
 Diluted Alcohol fau/r pints. Mix and macerate for twelve or fourteen days. Two flui- 
 draehms are equivalent to about half ^grain of Opium. €fodfrey's CordiaJ.— Dissolve Car- 
 bonate of Potassa six drachms, in Water six pints and a half'; add Sugar-house Molasses 
 finer pints, and gently heat them to form a solution, removing any scum which floats upon 
 the surface. Bemove from the Are and add Laudanum sixflMidounces, Alcohol eight flvM- 
 ounces, in which has been dissolved one fluidrachm of Oil of Sassafras. A, fluidrachm of 
 this Ooidlal is equivalent to somewhat more than one-fourth of a grain oit opium. 
 
Tincture. - 1236 
 
 TiNCTTJRA Phytolacca. Tincture of Poke. (Kermesbeer Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of recently dried Poke root, in fine powder, three 
 ounces ; Diluted Alcohol one pint, or a sufficient quantity. Form into a 
 tincture by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, 
 and make one pint of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture possesses the, alterative, anti-her- 
 petic, and emeto-cathartic properties of the root, and may be used in 
 all cases where that is indicated, as in rheumatism, scrofula, syphilis, 
 etc. The dose is from ten drops to a fluidrachm, which may be 
 repeated three times per day. 
 
 TiNCTURA PoDOPHTLLi. Tincture of Mandrake. (Bntenfuss Tink- 
 tur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Mandrake-root, in fine powder, three ounces; 
 Alcohol one pint, or a sufficient quantity. Form into a tincture by 
 Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make 
 one pint of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture possesses the alterative, cholagogue, 
 piirgative, and other properties of the root, and may be used wherever 
 that is indicated. The dose is from ten to sixty drops. 
 
 TlNCTURA PoLTGONi. Tincturc of Water-pepper. (Knoterig Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Water-pepper, the fresh herb, a sufficient 
 quantity to fill a quart jar; then add Holland Gin, or Proof-spirit, as 
 much as can be held in the jar. Macerate for seven days, express and 
 filter. 
 
 This tincture may likewise b^ made from the dried herb, in powder, 
 six ounces to one pint and a half of Proof-spirit, and macerating for 
 fourteen days ; or by percolation, as explained on page 1214. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture has been used with efficacy in 
 amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, suppressed lochial discharge, and in 
 moderate menorrhagia. The dose is a teaspoonful three or four times 
 a day. 
 
 TiNOTURA Pulsatillas!. Tincture of Pulsatilla. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the recent herb Pulsatilla, cut into small 
 pieces, eight ounces ; Absolute Alcohol one pint, or a sufficient quantity. 
 Form into a tincture by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on 
 pp. 1213-14, and make one pint of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — For these, see page 684. One fluidrachm of 
 this tincture may be added to four fluidounces of Water ; the dose of 
 which is a teaspoonful, to be repeated three or four times a day. 
 
 TlNCTURA QuiNiJE OoMPOsiTA. Compound Juncture of Quinia. Ague 
 Bitters. (Zusammengesetzte Chinin Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Tafce of Quinia thirty grains; Cream of Tartar one 
 ounce; Cloves, in powder, one ounce; Diluted Alcohol one pint. 
 Macerate for twenty -four hours, and filter. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture is febrifuge, antiperiodic, and 
 tonic, and is used in intermittent and remittent fevers, and other 
 diseases attended with symptoms of a periodical character. In inter- 
 mittent fever, the dose for an adult is half a fluidounce every hour 
 during the intermission, until two or three hours previous to the return 
 of the next expected chill, when the dose should be given every half 
 hour.' The dose for children is one or two fluidrachms. — T. V. M. 
 f ^ 
 
 The coroner of Nottingham states, that " Gtodfrey's Cordial Is given to children to a great 
 extent ; and he has no doubt whatever that many infants are yearly destroyed in that 
 borough, but who, dying gradually, never come under his notice oflacially." There eau 
 be no doubt of the truth of this assertion. At all events we can s^ positively that sncli 
 instances occur elsewhere.— iJiwiffJison's Am. Med. Lib. and InteU., Jan. 1840, p. 299. 
 
1236 Pharmacy. 
 
 TiNCTUEA Ehei. Tincture of Rhubarb. (Ehabarber Tiuktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Ehubarb, in fine powder, three ounces and a 
 half; Cardamom Seeds, in fine powder, half an ounce; Diluted Alcohol 
 two pints, or a sufficient quantity. Form into a tincture by Maceration 
 or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make two pints of 
 tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture is purgative, stomachic, and tonic. 
 It is principally used in flatulent colic, dyspepsia, constipation, and in 
 low forms of fever. The dose, as a purgative, is from half a fluidounce 
 to a fluidounce; as a stomachic, one, two, or three fluidrachms. 
 
 TiNCTUEA Ehei Composita. Compound Tincture of Rhubarb. (Zusam- 
 mengesetzte Ehabarber Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Ehubarb, in fine powder, four ounces ; Bitter- 
 root, Grolden Seal, Gentian, Prickly-Ash Berries, each, in fine powder, 
 two ounces ; Sassafras, Cardamom Seeds, each, in fine powder, one 
 ounce ; Diluted Alcohol five pints, or a sufficient quantity. Form into 
 a tincture by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, 
 and make five pints of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Compound Tincture of Ehubarb is laxative, 
 tonic, and stomachic ; it is especially useful in debilitated conditions of 
 the digestive organs, hepatic torpor, dj'spepsia, constipation, and to 
 restore the tone of the bowels aft^r the removal of worms, after diar- 
 rheas, dysenteries, etc. The dose is from half a fluidounce to a fluid- 
 ounce, two or three times a day in sweetened water, or sufficient to 
 procure one, bat not over two alvine evacuations daily. — J. K. 
 
 TiNCTUEA Sanquinaeije. Tiucture of Bloodroot. (Blutwurzel Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Bloodroot, in fine powder, six ounces; Diluted 
 Alcohol two pints, or a sufficient quantity. Form into a tincture by 
 Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make* 
 two pints of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In the dose of two to four fluidrachms, this 
 tincture will prove emetic ; and from ten to sixty drops will act as a 
 nauseant, expectorant, stimulant, and alterative. 
 
 TiNCTUEA SanguinarijB Acetata Composita. Compound Acetated 
 Tincture of Bloodroot. Acetous Emetic Tincture. (Zusammengesetzte 
 Bssighalttge Blutwurzel Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation — Take of Bloodroot, Lobelia, Skunk-Cabbage Eoot, each, 
 in fine powder, two ounces; Distilled Yinegar two pints, or a sufficient 
 quantity ; Alcohol two fluidounces. Place the drugs in the Vinegar, and 
 form into a tincture by Maceration or Displacement, ■ as explained on 
 pp. 1213-14, and make two pints of tincture, to which add the Alcohol. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation is much used by physicians 
 as an emetic and expectorant, in all cases where such agents are 
 required. As an emetic, the dose is from one to four fluidrachms, in 
 some sweetened aromatic infusion, to be repeated every ten or fifteen 
 minutes until vomiting is produced ; as an expectorant the dose is from 
 twenty to sixty drops, every hour or two. It also forms a useful 
 external application to erysipelas, tetter, and other forms of cutaneous 
 disease. 
 
 TiNCTUEA SANQuiNAEi.«i CoMPOsiTA. Compound Tincturc of Bloodroot. 
 Emetic Tincture. (Zusammengesetzte Blutwurzel Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Bloodroot, Lobelia, Skunk-Cabbage Eoot, each, 
 in fine powder, too ounces; Diluted Alcohol two pints, or a sufficient 
 quantity. Form into a tincture by Maceration or Displacement, as 
 explained on pp. 1213-14, and make two pints of tincture. 
 
Tincture. 1237 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture is used for the same purposes, in 
 the same mariDer and dose, as the preceding one. 
 
 TiNCTUEA Senn^s! Composita. Compound Tincture of Senna. Elixir 
 Salutis. ' (Zusammengesetzte Sennesblatter Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Alexandria Senna two ounces; Jalap, in fine 
 powder, one ounce; Fennel or Coriander Seeds half an ounce; Eaisins, 
 deprived of their seeds, three ounces ; Best French Brandy, or Diluted 
 Alcohol, two pints, or a sufficient quantity. Form into a tincture by 
 Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make 
 twc pints of tincture. — Ed.—Lond. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is an excellent purgative, especially for 
 children, as it acts mildly and pleasantly ; it is also useful in cases of 
 constipation attended with flatulence. The dose for an adult is from 
 half a fluidounce to a fluidounce; for a child a year old, afluidrachm. 
 It may be given in a little sweetened water. 
 
 TiNOTURA Serpentaei^ Composita. Compound Tincture of Virginia 
 Snakeroot. Sudorific Tincture. (Zusammengesetzte Yirginische Schlan- 
 genwurzel Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation.— Take of Virginia Snakeroot, Ipecacuanha, each, in line 
 powder, Saflron, Camphor, and Opium, each, in moderately coarse 
 powder, two ounces; Holland Gin, or Diluted Alcohol, six pints. Mac- 
 erate for fourteen days, express, and filter through -pa^er.— Beach's 
 Am. Prac. This tincture may also be made by percolation. See page 
 1214. 
 
 The above is the original, and undoubtedly the best form of prepar- 
 ing this tincture, yet some physicians are opposed to the Opium, and 
 substitute in its place Ladies' -slipper Eoot eight ounces. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a powerful sudorific, and is used in all 
 cases where a copious perspiration is required, or where it is desired to 
 lessen pain, allay nervous excitability, procure sleep, and keep up a 
 determination to the skin. One teaspoonful in some warm herb tea, 
 repeated every hour, aided by warm infusions and bathing the feet, 
 will soon produce copious diaphoresis. In pleurisy, a much larger dose 
 may be given. In other cases it may be given in doses of from ten to 
 sixty drops. It will be found beneficial in after-pains, painful dys- 
 menorrhea, amenorrhea from recent exposure to cold, cramp in the 
 stomach, hysteria, in all fevers and infiammatory diseases, etc. Forty- 
 eight minims of this tincture are equivalent to one grain of opium, as 
 well as one grain of camphor, etc. 
 
 TiNCTURA Staphisagrije. Tincturc of Stavesacre. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the seeds of Stavesacre, in fine powder, five 
 ounces; Absolute Alcohol eight fluidounces, or a sufficient quantity. Form 
 into a tincture by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213- 
 14, and make half a pint of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — For these, see page 329. One fluidrachm of 
 this tincture, may be added to three or four fluidounces of water; the 
 dose of which is a teaspoonful ; to be repeated three or four times a 
 day. 
 
 TiNCTiTRA STiLLiNGiiE. Tincturc of Queen's Root. (Stillingie Tink- 
 tur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the recent Queen's Eoot, cut into small pieces 
 and bruised, three ounces; Diluted Alcohol one pint, or a sufficient 
 quantity. Form into a tincture by Maceration, as explained on page 
 1213, and make one pint of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture possesses the virtues of the root, 
 
1238 Pharmacy.i 
 
 and may be used as a substitue for it in scrofulous, syphilitic, and rheu 
 matic diseases. It is likewise beneficial in laryngeal, bronchial, and all 
 pulmonary affections. . The dose is from ten to thirty, or even sixty 
 drops, to be administered in sweetened water. It may likewise be 
 advantageously added to alterative syrups or tinctures. 
 
 TiNCTURA Stramonii. Tincture of Stramonium. (Stechapfelsaamen 
 Tinktur.) ,. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Stramonium Seed, in fine powder, two ounces; 
 Diluted Alcohol one pint, or a sufficient quantity. Form into a tincture 
 by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make 
 one pint of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation may be administered where- 
 ever stramonium is indicated. The dose is from five to forty drops, 
 repeated every three or four hours, gradually increasing it, if neces- 
 sary. 
 
 TiNCTURA StrtchnijE Composita. Compound Tincture of Strychnia. 
 (Zusammengesetzte Strychnin Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Strychnia, in crystals, sixteen grains ; Distilled 
 Water, Alcohol, each, seven fluidounces and a half; Acetic Acid, Com- 
 pound Tincture of Cardamom, each, half a fluidounce. Dissolve the 
 Strychnia in the Alcohol and Acetic Acid mixed together, and then 
 add the remaining articles. , 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture is useful in impaired spinal 
 energy, or spinal exhaustion, whether the result of excessive study, 
 muscular effort, sexual indulgence, masturbation, etc. ; it is likewise 
 eflScacious in paralysis, constipation, debility of the generative organs, 
 malarious diseases, chronic splenitis, and recent diseases of the prostate 
 gland. It is contra-indicated in irritation of the spinal nerve. Two 
 nuidrachms of the tincture contain one-eighth of a grain of strychnia. 
 The dose is from ten to thirty drops, three times a day. 
 
 TiNCTURA Stmplocarpi. Tincture of Skunk- Cabbage. (Symplocar- 
 pus Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of recently dried Skunk-Cabbage Hoot, in fine 
 powder, three ounces ; Diluted Alcohol one pint, or a sufficient quantity. — • 
 Beach's Am. Prac. Form into a tincture by Maceration or Displace- 
 ment, as explained on pp. 1213-14, and make one pint of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tincture of Skunk-Cabbage is antispasmodic, 
 and will be found useful in asthma, pertussis, hysteria, and other spas- 
 modic affections ; it is also beneficial in irritable or excitable condi- 
 tions of the nervous system. The dose is from a fluidrachm to half a 
 fluidounce repeated as often as required. 
 
 TiNCTURA ToLUTANA. Tiucturc of Tolu. (Tola Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparjition. — Take of Balsam of Tolu one ounce and a half; Alcohol 
 one pint. Digest until the Balsam is Dissolved, and filter. — Bd. 
 
 Properties and Uses.- — This tincture possesses the properties of balsam 
 of tolu, and may be used in cough, and chronic catarrhal diseases ; also 
 as an adjunct to cough and expectorant compounds. The dose is from 
 half a fluidrachm to one or two fluidrachms. 
 
 TiNCTURA ToxicoDENDRi. Tincture of Poison Oak. (Giftsumacb 
 Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of fresh Leaves of Poison Oak four ounces ; Alco- 
 hol three fluidounces. Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter 
 under cover. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture may be used for all the purposes 
 for which the Poison Oak is given, in the dose of from three to ten 
 
Tincture. 1239 
 
 drops, in water. It is stated to have been found valuable in epilepsy. 
 It sliould be kept in vials well stopped, as its active principle becomes 
 dissipated on exposure. It must be used with great care. 
 
 TiNCTtTRA VALEEiAN.a! AmmoiJiata. Ammonioted Tincture of Valerian. 
 (Ammoniakalische Baldrian Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Valerian, in fine powder, two ounces; Aromatic 
 Spirit of Ammonia one pint, or a sufficient quantity. Ma/cerate for four- 
 teen days, express, and filter through paper. Or, prepare by Displace- 
 ment, as explained on page 1214. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms an excellent antispasmodic in hys- 
 terical and nervous attacks, especially when attended with gastric 
 acidity : the dose is a fluidrachm or two, in mucilage, milk, or some 
 sweetened fiuid. 
 
 The Aromatic Spirit of Ammonia QSpiritus Ammonice Aromaticus), 
 is antacid, stimulant, and aromatic ; and isused insick headache, hys- 
 teria, flatulent colic, fainting, etc., in doses of from thirty to sixty drops, 
 or more, in sweetened water. It is made as follows : Take of Muriate 
 of Ammonia y?w ourices ; Carbonate of Potassa eight ounces; Cinnamon, 
 Cloves, each, bruised, two drachms; Lemon Peel four ounces; Alcohol, 
 Water, each, five pints. Mix them, and distill off seven pints and a 
 half.— Land. 
 
 The Brit. Pharm. gives the following formula for this Spirit, (in 
 avoirdupois weight, and Imp. measure) : " Take of Carbonate of Ammo- 
 nia eigfk ounces; Strong Solution of AmnxoTiia four fluidounces ; Volatile 
 Oil of Nutmeg four fluidrachms ; Oil of Lemon six fiuidrachms ; Recti- 
 fied Spirits six pints ; Water three pints. Mix, and distill seven pints 
 of sp. gr. 0.870." In the U. S. Pharm. the spirit is made as a mere 
 solution and not by distillation. Prof Eedwood regards preparations 
 of this character greatly improved by distillation, more especially when 
 they contain volatile oils that are prone to oxidation. — Pharm-. Jour, 
 and Trans., VIII. 
 
 TiNCTTJEA Veeatri Viridis. 'I^notuTe of American Bellebore. (Grline 
 Niefswurz Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the fresh Eoots of American Hellebore, 
 gathered soon after the decay of the leaves in autumn, eight ounces. 
 Slice them transversely, and macerate for two weeks in Diluted Alcohol 
 one pint. Express, filter, and keep in well-stopped bottles. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — For these, see page 853. 
 
 TiNCTTJRA ViBURNi CoMPOsiTA. Compound Tincture of High- Cranberry 
 Bark. (Schneeball Einde Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of High-Cranberry Bark, in fine powder, t}m 
 ounces; Lobelia Seed, Skunk-Cabbage Seed, in fine powder, one ounce; 
 Stramonium Seed, bruised, Capsicum, Bloodroot, each, in fine powder, 
 half an ounce ; Alcohol four pints, or a sufficient qumriity. Form into a 
 tincture by Maceration or Displacement, ae explained on pp. 1213-14, 
 and make four pints of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture is stimulant and antispasmodic, 
 and will be found efficacious in asthma, hysteria, and all nervous and 
 spasmodic diseases. I have effected many cures of asthma (uxiGompli- 
 cated)' with this remedy. The dose is from twenty to sixty drops, three 
 times a day ; or, during a paroxysm, as often as required. — J. K. 
 
 TiNCTURA Xanthoxtli. Tinctiire of Prickly-Ash Berries. (Stachel 
 Bsche Beeren Tinktur,) 
 
 Preparation.— TlaVe of Prickly-Ash Berries, in- fine powder, eight 
 ounces; Diluted Alcohol two pints, or a sufficient quantity. Form into 
 
1240 Phaemacy. 
 
 a tincture by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on pp. 1213-14. 
 and make two pints of tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This tincture possesses all the virtues of the 
 berries. {See Priekly-Ash Barries, p^ 872, Part I.) In cholera, the dose 
 is from half a fluidounce to a fluidoance, repeated as often as required ; 
 in ordinary cases, from one to four fluidrachms, given in water. Prob- 
 ably a tincture of the oil of the berries will effect the same results. 
 
 TiNCTURA ZiNGiBERis. Tmcture of Ginger. (Ihgwer Tinktur.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Ginger, in fine powder, four ounces ; Alcohol 
 one pint, or a sufficient quantity. — Bub. Form into a tincture by Macer- 
 ation or Displacement, as explained en pp. 1213-14, and make one pint 
 of tincture. ^ 
 
 Good Jamaica Ginger is required in preparing this tincture. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tincture of Ginger is an aromatic carminative, 
 and may be added to tonic, purgative, and aromatic preparations with 
 advantage. It may be used in flatulency, torpor of the digestive organs, 
 and in debilitated conditions of the alimentary canal. The dose is 
 from ten to sixty drops in sweetened water, milk, wine, or mucilage, 
 as the indications will allow. Its chief use is in the preparation of 
 syrup of ginger. 
 
 TEOCHISCI. (Schluckktigelchen.) ' 
 Troches. 
 
 Troches or, lozenges are medicinal substances in powder, which are 
 formed into solid cakes, by the aid of sugar and gum. These cakes are 
 circular, flat, a line or so in thickness, and about half an inch in diame- 
 ter. They are usually intended for gradual solution while retained in 
 the mouth, and form a very pleasant mode of exhibiting many useful 
 remedies. Gum Arabic and tragacanth are both employed, but the 
 latter is preferred on account of the greater cohesiveness of its gum. 
 In preparing troches, the best tragacanth should be selected, and 
 placed in suflScient cold water to form a mucilage of the consistence 
 of paste ; this mast be strained previous to using it. The medicinal 
 powders having been well incorporated with the sugar, are by. means 
 of a sufficient quantity of the mucilage of tragacanth, worked into 
 a soft dough, upon a plate of marble or porcelain. After all have been 
 duly incorporated, the thick paste or dough is rolled out on the marble 
 plate, its adhesion to the roller being prevented by sprinkling over it 
 from time to time, some powdered starch, or a powder of starch and 
 sugar. Uniformity of thickness is effected by the use of a frame of 
 wood or iron, which is placed upon the marble plate, and upon which 
 the extremities of the roller move during the process of rolling. The 
 rolled out or extended layer of dough is now sprinkled with some of 
 the powdered starch, and the troches are cut of the required shape and 
 size by means of a tin-plate punch. The troches are then placed on a 
 sieve, and dried in a drying room or closet, after which the superfluous 
 powder is removed by means of the sieve, and the troches placed in 
 well-covered bottles. — Mohr and Eedwood's Pharmacy. 
 
 " Lozenges are frequently composed of extract of liquorice and gum 
 Arabic with sugar, which renders them quite tough, so as to become 
 unmanageable by long standing. In such cases the best mode is to 
 thoroughly mix the articles together, and then add the sugar, in the 
 form of a dense syrup, made with but two-thirds of the usual quantity 
 of water required for simple symp, mix it quickly, and while yet 
 
Tkochisci. 1241 
 
 warm, roll the mass into long cylinders, and when nearly dry, cut them 
 of the required size." — W. Procter, jr. 
 
 Trochisci Acidi Tartarioi.' Troches of Tartaric Acid. (Weinstein- 
 B.'iure Schluckkiigelchen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Tartaric Acid a drachm ; Eefined Sugar four 
 ounces; Oil of Lemons ten minims; Mucilage of Tragacanth a sufficient 
 quantity. Pulverize the Sugar and Acid, add the Ou, mix them thor- 
 oughly, and with the Mucilage heat them into a proper mass for making 
 lozenges of ten grains each. — Ed. 
 
 Troches of Citric Acid, are made in the same manner, substituting 
 Citric Acid for the Tartaric. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These lozenges are cooling and demulcent, use- 
 ful in coughs, colds, slight febrile attacks, etc. They must not be used 
 too freely, as they will disorder and oppress the stomach. 
 
 Trochisci Oapsigi. Troches of Capsicum. (Cayennepfeffer Schluck- 
 kiigelchen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Capsicum, in powder, half an ounce ; Sugar six 
 ounces; Mucilage of Gum Tragacanth a sufficient quantity. Mix the 
 Sugar and Capsicum thoroughly together, and with the Mucilage beat 
 them into a proper mass for making two hundred and forty lozenges. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These troches will be found useful in dryness 
 and irritation of the throat, relaxed uvula, and in all cases where cap- 
 sicum is indicated. Bach troche contains one grain of Capsicum. 
 
 Trochisci Capsici et Ijobslim. Troches of Capsicum and Lobelia. 
 (Cayennepfeffer und Lobelien Schluckkugelchen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take, of Capsicum, in powder, ha.lf an ounce; Oil of 
 Lobelia twenty-four minims ; Sugar six ounces ; Mucilage of Tragacanth 
 a sufficient quantity. Mix the Sugar and Capsicum thoroughly toge'fher, 
 add the Oil, and with the Mucilage beat them linto a proper mass for 
 making two hundred and forty lozenges. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These troches are stimulant and expectorant, 
 and may be employed wherever such a combination is desired. Each 
 troche contains one grain of capsicum, and one-tenth of a minim of oil 
 of Lobelia. 
 
 Trochisci Crotonis. Troches of Croton Oil. (Croton Oel Schluck- 
 kiigelchen.) 
 
 Preparation.— 'T&ke of Croton Oil five minims ; Starch one scruple , 
 Sugar one drachm ; Chocolate two drachms. Mix the Oil with the solid 
 ingredients in powder, and add a HuflS.cient quantity of "Water to form 
 a mass of proper consistence, for thirty lozenges. , 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These lozenges are cathartic ; each lozenge con- 
 tains one-sixth of a minim of croton oil. 
 
 Trochisci DioscoRE.a!. Troches -of Dioscorea. (Dioseorea Schluck- 
 kiigelchen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Extract of Dioscorea one ounce; Ginger half 
 an ounce; Oil of Peppermint twenty-four minims; Sugar six ounces; 
 Mucilage of Tragacanth a sufficient quantity. Mix the Sugar, Extract 
 of Dioscorea, and Ginger thoroughly together, add the Oil, and with 
 the Mucilage beat them into a proper mass for making two hundred 
 and forty lozenges. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These troches are useful in cases of colic, flatu- 
 lency, borborygmi, and to cure as well as prevent a return of bilious 
 coUc. Each troche contains two grains of extract of dioscorea. — J. K. 
 
 Trochisci Glycyrrhiz^ et Opii. Troches of Liquorice and Opium. 
 Wistar's Cough Lozenges. (Lakriteen und Opium Schluckkugelchen.) 
 
1242 Pharmacy. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Powdered Opium one drachm; powdered Li- 
 quorice three ounces; powdered Grum Arabic two ounces and a half; 
 powdered White Sugar two ounces. Triturate these thoroughly to- 
 gether, with Oil of Anise twenty minims., and finally add a sufficient 
 quantity of water to form a mass of the proper consistence. Divide 
 into troches of five or six grains each. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These lozenges are a soothing and lenitive prep-; 
 aration for catarrhs and tickling coughs, in cases where opium is not 
 contra-indicated. Ten lozenges contain one grain of opium. 
 
 Trochisci Gltctrrhiz^ Composita. Oompound Troches of Liquorice. 
 (Zusammengesetzte Lakritzen Schluckkiigelchen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Muriate of Ammonia, in powder, one drachm 
 and a half; Muriate of Morpha six grains ; G-um Arabic, Sugar, Extract 
 of Liquorice, each, in powder, seven drachms; Oil of Sassafras thirty 
 minima; Oil of Stillingia twenty minims ; Tincture of Balsam of Tolu 
 three fluidrachms. Mix the powders thoroughly together, then add the 
 Oils and Tincture, and with Water form them into a mass, to be divided 
 into one hundred and eighty troches. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — ^These troches are very valuable in cough, irri- 
 tation or tickling of the throat, laryngitis, and bronchitis, in which 
 affections they are unrivaled. Bach troche contains the one-twentieth 
 of a grain of morphia. — J. K. 
 
 Trochisci Ipecaouanhje. Troches of Ipecacuanha. (Brechwurzel 
 Schluckkiigelchen .) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Ipecacuanha, in powder, one drachm ; 'Eleoam- 
 pane, in powder, one ounce; Sugar, in powder, ten ounces. Triturate 
 these powders thoroughly together, with Oil of Anise half a fluidrachni, 
 and then combine them with Mucilage of Tragacanth a sufficient quantity 
 to form a mass of proper consistence. Divide into troches of ten or 
 twelve grains each. • 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Thesetroches are expectorant, and will be found 
 valuable in coughs, catarrhs, etc. Four lozenges contain about one 
 grain of ipecacuanha.. 
 
 Trochisci MAONESiiE. Troches of Magnesia. (Magnesia Schluekku- 
 gelchen. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Magnesia three ounces; powdered White Sugar, 
 one pound; Gingei-, in powder, a drachm. Triturate the powders thor- 
 oughly together, and then combine them with Mucilage of Tragacanth 
 a sufficient quantity to form a mass of proper consistence. Divide into 
 troches of eight or ten grains each. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These are antacid and laxative, and may be used 
 in cases of gastric acidity, and costiveness. 
 
 Trochisci Mentha Piperitje. Troches of Peppermint. (Pfeffermiing 
 Schluckkiigelchen .) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Oil of Peppermint half a fluidounce; finely 
 powdered White Sugar four pounds. Triturate the Oil and Sugar thor- 
 oughly together, and then add Mucilage of Tragacanth in sufficient 
 quantity to form a mass of proper consistence. Divide into troches of 
 eight or ten grains each. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These are carminative and antispasmodic, and 
 will be found useful in sick stomach, slight pains in the stomach or 
 bowels, flatulency, and griping from purgative medicines. If eaten 
 too freely, they cause derangement of the stomach. 
 
 Trochisci EESiNiB Podophtlli.' Troches of Besin of Podophyllum. 
 (Podophylli Schluckkiigelchen.) 
 
Trochisci. 1243 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Eesin of Podophyllum one scruple; Extract of 
 ■' Leptandra four scruples; Oil of Sassafras a fluidrachm; Sugar six ounces , 
 Mucilage of Tragacanth a sufficierit quantity. Eub the Sugar, Eesin of 
 Podophyllum, and Extract of Leptandra together until they are thor- 
 oughly mixed, then add the Oil, and with the Mucilage beat them into 
 a proper mass for four hundred and eighty lozenges. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Cholagogue, alterative, and purga-tive. Patients 
 laboring under constipation, hepatic torpor, dysentery, or other diseases 
 in which the above combination is desired or indicated, may use 
 several of these troches a day, according to the effects which they 
 produce. Bach troche contains one twenty-fourth of a grain of resin 
 of podophyllum, and one-fifth of a grain of extract of leptandra ; in 
 ordinary cases, twelve troches used per day, will maintain regularity 
 of the bowels. If it be desired to have these lozenges more active, two ■ 
 or three scruples of resin of podophyllum may be added for the same 
 number. 
 
 Trochisci Potass^ Chloras. Troches of Chlorate of Potassa. (Chlor- 
 kalium Sehluckkligelchen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Chlorate of Potassa, in very fine powder, two 
 ounces; Sugar, in very fine powder, six ounces ; Gum Arabic, in very fine 
 powder, one ounce ; Syrup a sufficient quantity. Mix the powders thor- 
 oughly together, and then form a mass of proper consistence by the 
 addition of Syrup. Divide- into ten- grain lozenges. — E. S. Wayne. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These lozenges are useful in sore mouth and 
 throat, laryngitis, chronic gastritis, mercurial sore'mouth, nurse's sore 
 mouth, etc. 
 
 Trochisoi Ehei et Potass^. Troches of Rhubarb and Potassa. 
 (Ehabarber und Potasche Sehluckkligelchen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Ehubarb, in powder, two ounces; Bicarbonate 
 of Potassa one ounce; Oil of Peppermint a fluidrachm; Sugar twelve 
 ounces; Mucilage of Tragacanth a sufficient quantity. Eub the Ehubarb, 
 Sugar, and Potassa thoroughly together, then add the Oil, and with 
 the Mucilage beat them into a proper mass for five hundred lozenges. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These troches may be used by persons subject 
 to or laboring under diarrhea, dysentery, cholera-morbus, acidity of 
 stomach, heartburn, etc. They will also prove tonic in small quantity. 
 From six to twelve may be used daily. Each troche contains nearly 
 two grains of rhubarb. 
 
 Trochisci Santonini Composita. Compound Troches of Santonin. 
 (Zusammengesetzte Santonin Schluckkugelchen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Santonin twenty -five grains; Eesin of Jalap ten 
 grains; Gum Arabic, in powder, thirty grains; pure Chocolate sixty 
 grains; White Sugar one hundred and sixty grains; Water a sufficient 
 quantity (about 15 minims). Eub the Santonin, Eesin of Jalap, Gum 
 Arabic, Chocolate, and Sugar together until they are thoroughly mixed, 
 then add enough Water to form a mass of proper consistence. Divide 
 into sixty-four pills or troches, and coat with Sugar. Gamboge or 
 Eesin of Podophyllum may be substituted for the Eesin of Jalap. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These are useful as a vermifuge. For a child 
 from three to six years of age, from two to four may be used daily, as 
 long as required. Said to be similar to the formula of Fouger'a, of 'New 
 York. 
 
 Trochisci Sod^ Bicarbonatis. Troches of Bicarbonate of Soda. 
 (Doppeltkohlensaure Schluckkltigelchen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Bicarbonate of Soda three ounces ; Ginger, in 
 
1244 ' PHARM^cr. 
 
 powder, a drachm ; powdered "White Sugar one pound. Triturate these 
 articles ihoroughly together, and then combine them with Mucilage of 
 Tragacanth a sufficient quantity to form a mass of proper consistence. 
 Divide into troches of ten or twelve grains each. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These are antacid, and will be found useful in 
 heartburn, especially during pregnancy, in acid stomach, and in urine 
 containing excess of uric acid. 
 
 Teoohisoi Stilling.*! Composita. Compound Troches of Stillingia. 
 (Zusammengesetzte Stillingie Schluckkiigelchen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Oil of Stillingia one fluidrachm ; Oil of Prickly. 
 Ash Berries, Oil of Sassafras, each, four fluidrachms ; Sugar ten ounces; 
 Mucilage of Gum Tragacanth a sufficient quantity. Eub the Oils with 
 the Sugar until they are thoroughly mixed ; then with the Mucilage 
 form them into a mass to be divided into four hundred and eighty 
 lozenges. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These troches form a very agreeable remedy 
 for rheumatic, syphilitic, scrofulous, bronchial, and laryngeal affections, 
 and may be used somewhat freely by patients thus afflicted. Bight 
 lozenges contain one minim of oil of stillingia, and the quantity used 
 per day must be regulated according to their influence on the stomach 
 and bowels. They will likewise be found beneficial in chronic afl'ec- 
 tions of the mucous membranes. — J. K. 
 
 Trochisci Zinqiberis. Troches of Ginger. (Ingwer Schluckkiigel- 
 chen.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of good Jamaica G-inger, in powder, one ounce; 
 Sugar seven ounces ; Mucilage of Tragacanth a sufficient quantity. Mix 
 the Sugar and Ginger thoroughly together ; then with the Mucilage 
 form them into a mass to be divided into lozenges of fifteen grains 
 each. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These form a grateful cordial stimulant, and 
 may be used in cases of flatulence, debility of the stomach, etc. 
 
 UNGUBNTA. (Salben.) 
 
 Ointments. 
 
 Ointments are fatty matters, in which are incorporated certain medi- 
 cines, and are designed for external use ; their consistence is somewhat 
 like that of good lard, and not being softened by warm weather, so that 
 they can be well rubbed upon the skin. They are most commonly 
 prepared with lard, which should be entirely free from salt or ran- 
 cidity; sometimes fresh butter is employed. Lard may be prepared 
 for this purpose, by melting it in twice its quantity of boiling water, 
 stirring the, mixture constantly ; then setting it aside to cool, and sepa- 
 rating the lard when it has solidified. — Bub. This forms prepared 
 lard — (Adeps Suillus Prceparatus.) Substances entering into the forma- 
 tion of ointments, and which are not soluble in the fatty matter, should 
 be reduced to a very fine powder previous to incorporation with it; or 
 if they are dissolved in alcohol or water, as hard extracts, etc., they 
 may be first softened by trituration with a small quantity of one of 
 these solvents. When ointments are long kept they are very apt to 
 become rancid, hence it is usually preferable to make up only small 
 portions at a time, or whenever required for use. Either benzoic acid, 
 or poplar buds, if not objectionable, or incompatible with the ointment, 
 
Unguenta. 124£ 
 
 will, when added to it, prevent in a great degree the disposition to 
 rancidity. About one drachm of tincture of benzoin to each pound of 
 lard has been found to answer a much better purpose than benzoic acid 
 in the preservation of this fat from rancidity.- The greasy odor of oint- 
 ments may be removed by triturating each ounce of ointment with ten 
 drops of sweet spirits of niter ; it also prevents and removes rancidity 
 in oils, and when the oil is heated to remove the niter, it becomes clear 
 and bright. According to Dr. C. W. Wright, fats and fixed oils may 
 be preserved free from rancidity and disagreeable odor, for a long time, 
 by melting them with powdered slippery-elm, in the proportion o'f one 
 drachm of the bark to a pound of the fat ; after ten or fifteen minutes' 
 application of heat, the fat must be strained off. The elm-bark com- 
 municates an odor to the fat that is scarcely distinguishable from that 
 of the kernel of the hickory nut. Wild states that rancidity in butter 
 may be removed by kneading the butter>first with fresh milk and then 
 with pure water ; the butter is rendered as fresh and pure in flavor as 
 when l-ecently made. Prof B. S. Wayne recommends paraffin as a substi- 
 tute for lard ; it might be added to lard, if some third body could be found 
 which would prevent their separation on cooling, or it could be used 
 alone. ' 
 
 M. L. Hermite proposes as a substitute for the oleaginous and glycer- 
 inic solutions of the alkaloids, solutions of these bases in oleic acid. 
 He objects to the oils from their incapability of dissolving the alkaloids, 
 and to the glycerin from its not possessing unctuous properties. Oleic 
 acids triturated with the alkaloids, dissolve them and their salts per- 
 fectly, and may then be perfumed. Oleate of Morphia. — A grain and a 
 half of powdered morphia, an ounce of pure oleic acid, and six drops 
 of essence of bergamot. Oleate of Quinia. — A drachm of powdered 
 sulphate of -quinia to ten drachms of aromatized oleic acid ; dissolved 
 bj' the aid of a gentle heat. Oleate of Veratria. — Six grains of pow- 
 dered veratria dissolved in an ounce of oleic acid. Oleate of Atropia, 
 or of Strychnia. — Three to fifteen grains of atropia, or strychnia, 
 dissolved in ten drachms of oleic acid. — (See page 74:6.) These oleates 
 will serve for the preparation of ointments, solidifying them with stearic 
 acid (such as used for candles), or a mixture of stearic and margaric 
 acids ; these acids will also dissolve the vegetable bases when heated. 
 Thus: Oleic Ointment of Quinia.- — Take of sulphate of quinia a drachm, 
 oleic acid seven drachms and a half, stearic acid (of candles) two and 
 a half drachms ; fuse and dissolve. Oleic Ointment of Yeratria. — Take 
 of veratria six grains, oleic acid six drachms, stearic acid two drachms ; 
 mix and dissolve, etc. Oleic acid is also a good solvent for resinous 
 matters and the volatile oils. — Am. Jour. Pharm., XXVII., 72. 
 
 Unguentum Acidi Muriatici. Ointment of Muriatic Acid. (Salz- 
 saure Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation.-. — Take of Muriatic Acid one fluidrachm ; Spermaceti Oint- 
 ment one ounce. Mix together in a glass or porcelain mortar. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This ointment is used in scald-head, to be applied 
 night and morning, after the scabs have been removed by a poultice. — 
 Corrigan. 
 
 Unguentum Aoidi Nitrioi. Ointment of Nitric Acid. (Saltpetersaure 
 Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Olive Oil one ounce ; Prepared Lard two drachms; 
 Nitric Acid ten minims. Melt the Oil and Lard together in a glass 
 vessel, and when they begin to congeal, add the acid, stirring the mix- 
 ture constantly with a glass rod until it stiffens. — Duh. 
 
1246 ' Pharmacy. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This ointment is used in syphilitic ulcers, erup. 
 tive affections, and fistula in ano. 
 
 Unguentum Acibi Sulphurici. Ointment of Sulphuric Acid. (Schwe- 
 felsaure Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Sulphuric Acid one fluidrachm ; Prepared Lard 
 one ounce. Mix together in a glass or porcelain mortar. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Used in ringworm, itch, and other cutaneous 
 diseases, also in rheumatism and neuralgia. — Brugnatelli. 
 
 Unguentum Aoidi Tannici. Ointment of Tannic Acid. (Tannin 
 Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Tannic Acid one drachm; Lard two ounces; 
 Triturate them well together, in a glass or porcelain mortar. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Astringent and antiseptic. Useful in piles, 
 ulcers, some forms of cutaneous disease, and where such indications 
 are required. — Beral. • 
 
 Unguentum Aconiti. Ointment of Aconite. (Bisenhut Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Alcoholic Extract of Aconite one drachm; Lard 
 two drachms. Soften the extract with a small quantity of Alcohol, if 
 necessary, and mix with the Lard. {See Stramonium Ointment.) 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This ointment is used in violent neuralgic and 
 rheumatic pains. — Turnhull. The Brit. Pharm. give an Unguentum 
 Aconitise (Ointment of Aconitia), made by dissolving eight grains of 
 Aconitia in half a fluidrachm of Eectified Spirit, and then triturating it 
 thoroughly with one ounce (avoird.) of Prepared Lard. These oint- 
 ments must not be applied to wounds, ulcers, cuts, or abrasions, etc. 
 
 Unguentum Alkalinum. Alkaline Ointment. (Alkalische Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Carbonate of Soda two drachms ; Tincture of 
 Opium one fluidrachm ; Lard one ounce. Eub together in a porcelain or 
 Wedgewood mortar. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is used in several forms of cutaneous 
 disease, as lichen, lepra, psoriasis, ichthyosis, porrigo favosa, etc. — 
 Souberain. 
 
 Unguentum Alkalinum Camphoratum. Camphorated Alkaline Oint- 
 ment. (Alkalische Kampher Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Carbonate of Potassa one scruple ; Camphor six 
 grains ; Lard seven drachms. Eub together in a mortar. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This ointment is used in sycosis, and several 
 forms of cutaneous disease. — Oazenave. 
 
 Unguentum Ammoniacale. Ammoniacal Ointment. Pommade de 
 Gondret. (Ammoniakalische Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Lard six drachms; Suet four drachms ; Almond 
 Oil two drachms ; Stronger Solution of Ammonia twelve fluidrachms. Melt 
 the Lard, Suet, and Oil together, then add the Ammonia, and shake 
 the whole together in a close bottle. 
 
 Pro-perties and Uses. — This preparation is rubefacient, and vesicant ; 
 to prociire its vesicating influence, it must be covered with a compress 
 after inunction. 
 
 Unguentum Aqu^ Eosjb. Ointment of Rose Water. Cold Cream. 
 (Eosenwasser Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Spermaceti half an ounce ; GHyoerin four flui- 
 drachms ; Oil of Almonds two fluidounces ; White Wax a drachm; Oil of 
 Eoses three drops. Melt together, by means of a water-bath, the Sper- 
 maceti, Oil of Almonds, and Wax ; then add the G-lycerin, in which the 
 Oil of Eoses has been placed, and stir constantly until cold. The 
 
Unguenta. 1247 
 
 Glycerin will only unite mechanically with the other articles.— J 
 Laidley. ^ , 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a delightful cooling ointment, much 
 employed as an application to irritated, chapped, and abraded surfaces, 
 as chapped lips, hands, etc. It was formerly made of White Wax one 
 part; Spevui'doeti four parts ; Eose-water eight parts ; Oil of Almonds 
 sixteen parts; but on account of its tendency to decomposition and 
 I'anpidity, the preceding formula is preferred. 
 
 TJNQUENrTjM BaptisijB. Ointment of Wild Indigo. (Baptisien Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation.— -Take of Wild-Indigo Boot, in coarse powder, twenty 
 pounds ; Fresh Butter ten pounds ; Beeswax three pounds ; Tallow one 
 pound and a half; Diluted Alcohol a sufflcient quantity. Macerate the 
 Eoot in Diluted Alcohol for forty -eight hours ; then transfer it to a per- 
 colator, and gradually pour upon it Diluted Alcohol until the liquid 
 passes nearly tasteless. Add the filtered liquor to the other ingredients, 
 and carefully digest with heat, until the Alcohol and Water have 
 evaporated ; then strain the mixture.— Beach's Am. Prac. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This ointment is cleansing, detergent, discu- 
 tient, antiseptic, etc. It is useful in many cutaneous affections, 
 erysipelas, scrofulous, gangrenous, and all.other forms of ulcer, piles, etc. 
 
 TTnquentum Belladonn.^. Ointment of Belladonna. (Belladonna 
 Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of soft Extract of Belladonna two drachms ; Lard, 
 ■or Simple Cerate, one ounce. Mix them. — Lond. {See Stramonium Oint- 
 ment.') 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms an anodyne application, and may 
 be advantageously applied in local neuralgia, to painful joints, to dilate 
 the pupil, and also the os uteri, and to the denuded spine in violent 
 tetanus, delirium -tremens, and puerperal convulsions. 
 
 The Unguentum Atropice (Atropin Salbe), fpr similar purposes, is made 
 by triturating Atropia eight grains, first with Alcohol half a fiuid,rachm, 
 and then with Prepared Lard one ounce. It must be used with caution, 
 and not be applied on abraded surfaces. 
 
 Unguentum Benzoini. Ointment of Benzoin. Benzoated Lard. 
 (Benzoe Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Benzoiij, in coarse powder, one ounce; Fresh 
 Lard one pound. Heat together for two or three hours in a water-bath, 
 and then strain. — Deschamps. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms an excellent basis for ointments, as 
 benzoin resists rancidity, and the decomposition of metallic salts and 
 •oxides. Poplar buds have the same effect. 
 
 Unguentum Cantharidis. Ointment of Spanish-flies. (Spanisch 
 Fliege'n Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of finely powdered Spanish-flies, Olive Oil, each, 
 three ounces; Oil of Turpentine one fiuidounce and a half; Yellow 
 Wax, Eesin, each, two ounces ; Mix the Flies, Olive Oil, and Turpentine, 
 place them in a vessel on a water-bath, and continue the heat until the 
 Turpentine has nearly evaporated, stirring the mixture occasionally 
 Then add the Wax and Eesin previously melted together, and heat 
 till the articles are thoroughly incorporated ; remove from the bath, and 
 stir till cold. — W. Procter, jr. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is used not for the purpose of causing 
 vesication, but as a stimulating dressing to blisters, whenever such is 
 desirable. 
 
 Unguentum Cetacei. Spermaceti Ointment. (Wallrath Salbe.) 
 
1248 ' Pharmacy. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Spermaceti six drachms; White Wax tivo 
 drachms; Olive Oil three fluidounces. Melt the articles together over a 
 slow fire, and stir them constantly until cold. — Lond. The British 
 Fharm. give the following proportions, Spermaceti yzue drachms ; White 
 Wax two drachms; and Almond Oil two fluidounces. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a mild emollient ointment, employed as 
 a dressing for excoriations, wounds, vesicated surfaces, etc. Owing to 
 its disposition to rancidity, but a small quantity should be prepared at 
 a time. 
 
 XJnguentum Cocouli. Ointment of Cocculus Indicus. (Kokkelskiirner 
 Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the kernels of Cocculus Indicus one ounce; 
 Prepared Lard five ounces. Beat the kernels well in a mortar, first 
 alone, .and then with a little of the Prepared Lard ; and then gradually 
 add the rest of the Lard. — PJd. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This ointment is employed in the treatment of 
 itch, and porrigo scutulata, as well as an application to destroy lice. 
 An ointment composed of pierotoxin one grain, lard forty-eight grains, 
 is used for similar purposes. 
 
 Unqttentum Conii. Ointment of Poison Hemlock. (Canadische 
 Kiefferrinden Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Fresh Hemlock Leaves, Lard, each, one pound; 
 Wax two ounces; Spirits one pint. Slowly simmer together, until the 
 Leaves become crisp, and then express through linen. — Lond. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a mild anodyne. Useful as an applica- 
 tion to foul, painful and cancerous sores, to glandular and scirrhous 
 enlargements, and to painful hemorrhoids. — P. 
 
 The addition of one drachm of the Extract to one ounce of Lard, makes 
 a more eflScient preparation, as the heat employed in the preparation 
 of the first formula, probably, impairs the virtues of the hemlock. 
 
 XJnguentum Creasoti. Ointment of Greasote. (Kreosot Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Creosote half a fluidrachm ; Lard one ounce. 
 Rub them together. — Lond. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This ointment is used in some cutaneous dis- 
 eases, porrigo of the scalp, and as an antiseptic and stimulant to indo- 
 lent or gangrenous ulcers ; and is an- invaluable application to burns, 
 when diluted by the addition of lard two ounces. 
 
 Unguentum Cucumis. Ointment of Cucumber. (Gurken Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of G-reen Cucumbers (suitable for table' use) 
 seven pounds ; Pure White Lard twenty four ounces ; Selected Veal Suet, 
 cut in pieces, fifteen ounces. The unpared Cucumbers, after being 
 washed, are to be reduced to a pulp by grating, and the juice expressed 
 and strained. The Suet is to be heated over a salt-water bath, until 
 the fat is fused out from the membranes ; then add the Lard, and when 
 liquefied, strain the mixture through muslin into a wide-mouthed 
 earthen vessel capable of holding a gallon, and stir it until it commen- 
 ces to thicken, when one-third of the Cucumber -juice is to be added 
 and beaten witb the ointment, by means of a wooden spatala, until its 
 odor has been almost wholly extracted, and which will require several 
 hours. Then allow it to stand until the fluid separates, which must be 
 removed by decantation, and add another third of the juice. This 
 must be beaten in like manner until exhausted, then decanted, and 
 finally the last third added, and similarly treated. The jar is then to 
 be closely covered and placed in a water-bath, where it must remain an 
 hour, or until the fatty matter entirely separates from the exhausted 
 
Unguenta. 1249 
 
 juice. The green albuminous coagulum which floats upon the surface 
 is then to be siiimmed ofi', and the jar put aside in a cool place, that the 
 ointment may solidify. The crude ointment is then to be carefully 
 separated from the watery liquid on which it floats, melted by a gentle 
 heat, and strained — a part into a jar and closely sealed for keeping — 
 the remainder into a mortar, and triturated with a little rose-water, 
 until it is very white and creamy, for present use. It is usual to keep 
 this ointment in glass jars without allowing any unfilled interstices, 
 and to cover it with rose-water to prevent the access of air. Thus pre- 
 pared Cucumber Ointment readily keeps from season to season. — W. 
 Procter, jr. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms an emollient application, very useful 
 for chapped lips and hands, irritated and excoriated surfaces, etc. 
 
 TJngtjentum Fuliginis. Ointment of Wood-Soot. (Glanzruss Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Wood-soot, in very fine powder, half an ounce ; 
 Lard two ounces. Triturate them together. — Souberain. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Applied on cotton batting this ointment is very 
 useful in burns and erysipelatous inflammations ; and is also beneficial 
 in tinea-capitis and several cutaneous diseases. 
 
 Unguentum Gall^s;. Ointment of Galls. (Gallapfel Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation, — Take of Galls, in powder, one ounce; Simple Ointment 
 seven ounces. Triturate them together. — Dub. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This ointment is useful in falling of the bowels, 
 external hemorrhoidal swellings, and foul, obstinate ulcers. When 
 the piles are irritable, half a drachm of pulverized opium may be ad- 
 vantageously added. 
 
 Ungtientum loDiNii CoMPOsiTUM. Gompound Ointment of lodine. (Zu- 
 sammengesetzte lod Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of lodine one drachm; Iodide of Potassium two 
 drachms; Lard four ounces; Alcohol two fluidrachms. Triturate the 
 lodine and Iodide with the Alcohol, add gradually the Lard, and make 
 an ointment. — Lond. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation is used as a local application, 
 in bronchocele, scrofulous, and other chronic glandular enlargements, 
 and in opacities of the cornea ; it is undoubtedly absorbed, and thus 
 effects its influence ; the discoloration of the skin occasioned by its use 
 gradually disappears. Applied twice a day to enlarged tonsils, by 
 means of a camel's hair pencil, it has caused the enlargement to dis- 
 appear in the course of two months. It is better to prepare it only as 
 it is required for use. 
 
 Unguentum IPECAOtJANH.a!. Ointment of Ipecacuanha. (Brechwurzel 
 Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Ipecacuanha, in powder, two drachma; Olive 
 Oil two fluidrachms ; Lard half an ounce. Mix together. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Eubbed on the skin for a few minutes, once or 
 twice a day, this ointment produces an eruption. It is used as a 
 counter-irritant in diseases of the throat, and in pulmonary affections 
 is applied to the chest. When it is desired to make it more active, 
 Croton Oil a fluidrachm and a half inay be added to the formula. If 
 rubbed on the surface for twenty or thirty minutes at a time, repeated 
 three or four times a day, and covered with flannel after each applica- 
 tion, it will produce vesicles in thirty-six hours. 
 
 Unguentum Mezeeei. Ointment of Mezereon. (Seidelbast Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take Extract qf Mezereon half a drachm ; Alcohol half 
 a fluidounce; White Wax half an ounce ; Lard four and a half ounces. 
 79 
 
1250 Pharmacy. 
 
 Dissolve the Extract in the Alcohol, then add the Wax and Lard, pre- 
 viously melted together, and continue the heat to evaporate the Alco- 
 hol ; strain while hot, and keep stirring till cold. — Guibourt. 
 
 Properties and Us^s. — This is an irritant, and is applied to obstinate 
 ulcers, wounds, etc., to excite suppuration; sometimes it is used to keep 
 up the difecharge from vesicated surfaces. 
 
 Unguentum Mtrics:. - Ointment of Bayberry. (Wachsgagel Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Bayberry Tallow, White Turpentine, each, 
 two ounces; Olive Oil one ounce. Melt together and strain. — -BeacKt 
 Am. Prac. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms an excellent application to scrofu- 
 lous ulcers, and indolent ulcers generally. 
 
 Unguentum MxRiCffi CoMPOsiTUM. Oompound Ointment of Bayberry. 
 (Zusammengesetzte Wachsgagel Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Bayberry Tallow, Sweet G-um, each, one ounce ; 
 Suet two ounces. Melt together and strain. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This ointment is very advantageous in scrofu- 
 lous ulcers, tinea- capitis, porrigo scutulata, itch, salt-rheum, and sev- 
 eral other forms of cutaneous diseases ; also in itch, piles, and fistulous 
 ulcers. In fistula and some cutaneous diseases the addition of three or 
 four drachms of sulphate of zinc, in powder, will be found beneficial. — 
 J. K. 
 
 Unguentum Phytolacca. Ointment of Poke. (Kermesbeer Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the Leaves of Poke, collected just before the 
 ripening of the berries, four pounds ; Lard one pound; Spirits one pint; 
 Wax two ounces. Mix, and slowly simmer together until the Leaves are 
 crisp, and then express through Linen. 
 
 An ointment is sometimes made by mixing one drachm and a half of 
 the Powdered Poke Leaves or Eoot, or of the Extract of Poke, with one 
 ounce of Lard. (See Stramonium Ointment.) 
 
 Properties and ZJses.-^— This is used as an application to ulcers, porrigo, 
 tinea-capitis, and other cutaneous affections, and as a discutient to vari- 
 ous tumors. 
 
 Unguentum Picis Liquids. Ointment of Tar. (Theer Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Tar, Suet, each, four ounces. Melt them 
 together and squeeze through a linen cloth. — Lond. . 
 
 Properties, and CTses.— This is a stimulating ointment. It is used 
 principally in tinea-capitis, and ringworm of the scalp ; being kept 
 constantly applied to the part by means of a cap. It has also been 
 efficacious in some other cutaneous diseases. 
 
 Unguentum Piperis Nigri. Ointment of Black Pepper. (Schwarze 
 Pfeffer Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Prepared Lard a pound ; Soot four ounces ; Tar 
 one pint; Black Pepper, in powder, four ounces. Melt the Lard and Tar 
 together, then add the Suet and Pepper. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is used in tinea-capitis, in the same man- 
 ner as the preceding Ointment. 
 
 Unguentum PlumbiCompositum. Compound Lead Ointment. Mayer' i 
 Ointment. (Zusammengesetzte Bleisalbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Olive Oil two pounds and a half; White Tur- 
 pentine half a pound; Beeswax, Unsalted Butter, each, four ounces ; Bed 
 Lead one pound ; Honey twelve ounces ; Powdered Camphor half apound. 
 Melt the Olive Oil, White . Turpentine, Beeswax, and Butter together, 
 and strain ; then heat them to nearly the boiling point, and gradually 
 add the Bed Lead, stirring the mixture constantly until it becomes black 
 
XJnguenta., 1251 . 
 
 •oi; brown. Then remove from the fire, and when it becomes somewhat 
 cool, add to it the Honey and Camphor, previously mixed together. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a very beneficial ointment for all 
 kinds of ulcers, cuts, wounds, and several cutaneous diseases. It is of 
 a more solid consistence than ointments are generally. It is highly 
 prized by the German population, who have held it for a long time as 
 a secret among themselves. The pi'ofession are indebted to Mr. Jos. 
 P. Mayer, of Cincinnati, for a knowledge of it. 
 
 Unguentum PoTASsii Cyanubeti. Ointment of Cyanuret of Potas- 
 sium. (Blausaure Kali Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Cyanuret of Potassium twelve grains; Oil ot 
 Almonds two drachms; Cold Cream two minces. Triturate together. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is used as an application to the sound skin 
 in neuralgia. — Gazenave. 
 
 UNGUENTtiM PoTAssii SuLPHURETi. 'Ointment of Sulphuret of Potas- 
 sium. (Sehwefelsaure Kali Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation.— Take of Sulphuret of Potassium three drachms ; Carbo- 
 nate of Soda three drachms; Lard three ounces. Triturate thoroughly 
 together. — Alibert. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This ointment is useful in ringworm, itch, and 
 other forms of cutaneous disease. 
 
 Unguentxtm ScROPHTrLARi.ffli. Ointment of Figwort. (Skrofelkraut 
 Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of fresh Figwort Leaves two pounds; Lard one 
 found ; Tallow half a -pound. Boil together until the leaves are crisp, 
 and then strain with expression ; or, it may be made from the Extract, 
 the same as explained under Stramonium Ointment. 
 
 Properties and C/ses.— This ointment is useful in piles, painful tumors, 
 ulcers, and cutaneous diseases ; Dr. W. Stokes considers it a specific in 
 gangrenous pemphigus. 
 
 Unguentum Simplex. Simple Ointment. Ointment of White Wax. 
 (Einfache Sable. Wachs Salbe.) 
 
 Prepamiion.-B-Take of White Wax an ounce ; Benzoated Lard four 
 ounces. Melt together and Strain. — Duh. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is an emollient ointment, employed as a 
 mild and cooling dressing to ulcers, excoriations, blisters, etc. It enters 
 into the formation of several ointments. , 
 
 TJNGUENTaM Stramonii. Ointment of Stramonium. (Stechapfel Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation.— T&k& of Extract of Stramonium one drachm ; Alcohol a 
 Huidounce ; White Wax half an ounce ; Lard four and a half ounces. Dis- 
 solve the Extract in the Alcohol, then add the Wax and Lard, previ- 
 ously melted together, and continue the heat to evaporate the Alcohol ; 
 strain while hot, and keep stirring till cold. 
 
 This ointment may likewise be made as follows, but the preparation 
 is inferior to that made according to the formula just given : Take of 
 fresh Stramonium Leaves, cut in pieces, one pound; Lard one pound; 
 Yellow Wax three ounces. Boil together until the Leaves become crisp, 
 and then strain with expression. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms an anodyne ointment, which will be 
 found serviceable in irritable ulcers, burns, scalds, irritable cutaneous 
 diseases, painful hemorrhoids, and as a discutient to indolent tumors. 
 
 TJnguentum Stramonii Compositum. Compound Ointment of Stra- 
 monium. Discutient Ointment. (Zusammengesetzte Stechapfel Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the Bark of the Boot of Bittersweet, Stra- 
 monium Leaves, Cicuta Leaves, Deadly !N'ightshade, Yellow- Dock 
 
1252 Pharmacy. 
 
 Eoot, each, two ounces ; Lard one pound; Venice Turpentine two ounces ; 
 Spirits a sufficient quantity. Bruise the Eoots and Leaves, cover them 
 with Spirits, and allow them to digest with a moderate heat for four 
 hours, then- add the Lard, and continue the heat until the Leaves are 
 crisped. Lastly, strain and express through linen, add the Turpentine, 
 and stir constantly till cold. — Beach's Am. Prac. 
 
 This ointment may likewise be made by mixing together two ounces 
 each, of the Ointments of the articles prepared separately, and the 
 Venice Turpentine. The Ointments to be prepared as follows : those 
 of the Tellow-Dock Eoot, and Bittersweet Bark, to be made by beat- 
 ing each separate article in the recent state, with Latd, after the 
 manner for preparing Cucumber Ointment; the remaining Ointments, 
 each to be prepared from the extracts of the several articles, after the 
 manner for preparing Stramonium Ointment. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This ointment is useful to discuss tumors of 
 various kinds ; it must be well rubbed on the parts two or three times 
 a day, covering them with cotton, held in place by a bandage, after 
 each inunction. 
 
 TJnguentum Strtchnijb. Ointment of Strychnia. (Strychnin Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Strychnia twenty grains; Oleic Acid two 
 drachmas (or a sufficient quantity to dissolve the strychnia) ; Simple 
 Ointment six drachms. Triturate the Strychnia with the Oleic Acid, 
 and then add the Lard. > 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a powerful local application, which 
 may be employed whenever the external use of strychnia is indicated. 
 A small portion to be applied upon the desired part with friction, two 
 or three times a day. it must be employed with care, not permitting 
 it to come in contact with abraded or ulcerated surfaces, wounds, etc. 
 
 Unguentum Sulphuris. Ointment of Sulphur. (Schwefel Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Sulphur /owr ounces; Lard half a pound; Oil 
 of Bergamot twenty minims. Mix them. — Lond. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Sulphur ointment is considered a certain cure 
 for the itch. It must be applied over the whole surface of the body 
 every night, until cured ; it usually cures in four or five days ; after 
 which the body should be thoroughly washed with soap and water. It 
 will also be found useful in tinea-capitis, crusta-lactea, and several 
 other cutaneous diseases. 
 
 Unguentum Sulphuris Compositum. Compound Ointment of Sulphur 
 (Zusammengesetzte Schwefel Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Sulphur half a pound; White Hellebore, in 
 powder^ one ounce ; Nitrate of Potassa a drachm ; Soft Soap half a pound; 
 Poke Ointment a pound and a half; Oil of Bergamot two fluidrachms. 
 Mix the articles thoroughly together. — Lond. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This ointment is more irritating than the simple 
 sulphur ointment; but, notwithstanding, it will be found eflSeacious in 
 the treatment of itch, especially when it proves very obstinate and un- 
 yielding to the milder treatment. 
 
 Unguentum Tabaci. Ointment of Tobacco. (Taback Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation.— Hake of Extract of Tobacco one drachm ; Alcohol a 
 fluidounce ; Yellow Wax half an ounce ; Lard four and a half ounces. 
 Dissolve the Extract in the Alcohol, then add the Wax and Lard, pre- 
 viously melted together, and continue the heat to evaporate the Alcohol ; 
 strain while hot, and keep stirring till cold. The Extract of Tobacco 
 must be prepared in the same manner as the Extract of Belladonna f 
 or the ointment may be prepared by taking the fresh Leaves of 
 
Unguenta. 1253 
 
 Tobacco two pounds ; Lard half a pound; Spirits half a pint; and "Wax 
 one ounce, and proceeding in tiie same manner as explained for Oint- 
 ment of Poke, on page 1250. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Tobacco ointment forms an anodyne application, 
 useful in various affections of the skin, piles, scald-head, irritable swell- 
 ings, painful ulcers, etc. Some caution is necessary not to use it too 
 freely, lest it produce its constitutional narcotic effects. An ointment 
 ' made from the dried leaves is of but little value ; one made by rubbing 
 twenty drops of the empj^reumatic oil of tobacco with an ounce of simple 
 ointment, forms an active preparation. 
 
 Ungubntum Yeeatei Albi. Ointment of White Hellebore. (Wcisse 
 Nieswurzel Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation.— Take of Veratrum Album, the Eoot, in powder, two 
 ounces; Lard eight ounces; Oil of Lemon twenty minims. Mix them 
 together. — Lond. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This ointment, being more agreeable than sul- 
 phur ointment, is sometimes employed in itch with benefit; but it should 
 be cautiously applied to children. The substitution of poke ointment 
 for the lard, will render it still more certain and effective. 
 
 Unguentum Yeratri^. Ointment of Veratria. (Yeratrin Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Yeratria ten or twenty grains; Lard an ounce. 
 Triturate the Yeratria in a little Olive Oil, and then add the Lard. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a powerful local stimulant, very 
 useful in neuralgia, amaurosis, and paralysis. It must be employed 
 with care, not permitting it to come in contact with abraded or ulcer- 
 ated surfaces, wounds, etc^ 
 
 TJNGUENTtTM ZiNci OxiDi. Ointment of Oxide of Zinc. (Zink Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Oxide of Zinc an ounce; Benzoated Lard six 
 ounces. Mix them well together. — Lond. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a mild astringent ointment, useful 
 in porrigo,- impetigo, and other diseases of the skin, attended with pro- 
 fuse discharges ; after extensive burns, blisters, sinapisms, etc. ; to 
 painful ulcers with excessive secretion, and to the eye when affected 
 with chronic inflammation, etc. — P. Five or ten grains of benzoic acid 
 added to an ounce of the ointment prevents it from becoming rancid. 
 Mr. D. Kemp recornmends the following formula, as giving a consistent 
 alid durable ointment, without requiring any unusual means to preserve 
 it: Take of Prepared Lard, Pure Olive Oil, each, two ounces; White 
 Wax, Spermaceti, Oxide of Zinc, each, one ounce. Melt the fats, oil, etc., 
 in a water-bath at a low heat, strain into a very warm mortar, and, just 
 before cooling, add the Zinc, and continue the stirring very briskly till 
 cold. 
 
 Unguentum Zinci Oxidi Compositum. Compound Ointment of Oxide 
 of Zinc. (Zusammengesetzte Zink Salbe.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Olive Oil two pounds; Spermaceti twelve ounces ; 
 White Wax four ounces ; Oxide of Zinc seven ounces; Benzoic Acid two 
 drachms; Sulphate of MorTphia forty -eight grains; Oil of Eoses twenty 
 minims. Eub together in a mortar, until no specks are seen, the Oxide 
 of Zinc, Benzoic Acid, Sulphate of Morphia, and Oil of Eoses. Melt 
 the Olive Oil, Wax, and Spermaceti together, and add the above tritu- 
 rated mass to it, stirring constantly till nearly cold. — W. S. M. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a mild stimulating and astringent 
 preparation, which is exceedingly useful in acute and chronic ophthal- 
 mia, opacities of the cornea, nebula, granulations of the lids, etc. It If 
 
1254 Pharmacy. 
 
 likewise useful iu many cutaneous diseases, and may be advantageously 
 employed as a dressing to wounds and indolent ulcers. 
 
 The Mild Zinc Ointment, which has been so favorably received by the 
 profession, was introduced by Prof E. S. ISTewton ; it is similar to the 
 above, varying only in the quantity of certain of the ingredients ; thus, 
 he uses White Wax nine ounces ; Oxide of Zinc /owr ounces; Sulphate ol 
 Morphia too rfmcAms, instead of the quantities named in the above for- 
 mula. In other respects the formula is the same. It forms an excel- 
 lent soothing and anodyne application in cases of painful and irritable 
 ulcers, burns, sCalds, and wherever such an agent is indicated. 
 
 The Compound Ointment of Zinc is somewhat similar to a prepara- 
 tion which has been extensively sold under the name of "Pettit's 
 Ophthalmic Balsam or Mye Salve" and the formula of which is as follows : 
 Take of White Precipitate </iree ounces; Oxide Of Zinc four ounces ; 
 Benzoic Acid two drachms; Sulphate of Morphia forty -eight grains; Oil 
 of Eosemary twenty drops. Eub these thoroughly together, in a mortar, 
 until they are well incorporated, .and then add them gradually to a 
 warm compound made by melting together Olive Oil two pounds; 
 Spermaceti twelve ounces ; White Wax four ounces ; stirring constantly 
 till cold. 
 
 A preparation of a similar character, known as Brown or Ophthalmic 
 Ointment, has enjoyed considerable reputation in the Bast, in the treat- 
 ment of ophthalmic diseases ; it is composed of Eed Precipitate two and 
 a half drachms-; Oxide of Zinc one drachm; Presh Butter three ounces ; 
 White Wax half an ounce; Camphor, dissolved in Olive Oil, one 
 drachm. Mix. It is a French preparation. 
 
 UifGUENTniii ZiNCi SuLPHATis. Ointmejvt,of Sulphoteof Zinc. (Schwe- 
 felsaure Zink Salbe.) 
 
 I Preparation. — Take of Sulphate of Zinc one scruple ; Fresh Butter two 
 drachms. Triturate together. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This Ointment is very beneficial in .eruptions 
 
 of the skin, fungous growths, gangrenous and indolent ulcers, fistula, 
 
 hemorrhoids, ulcerations of the cornea, etc. If it acts too severely it 
 
 , may be rendered milder by the addition of butter in necessary 
 
 quantity. 
 
 . ■ « 
 
 VBEATEIA. (Veratrin.) 
 
 Yeratria. 
 
 Preparation. — Cevadilla Seeds are freed as much as possible from the 
 hulls, finely powdered, the powder digested by a gentle heat in a tin or 
 copper still, with three times its weight of Alcohol 70-80 per cent, for 
 one day ; when cool, this is to be strained, the residue pressed and treated 
 twice again with the same quantity of alcohol. The tinctures are al- 
 lowed to subside, the bottoms filtered, one-sixth their weight of water 
 added, the alcohol distilled oif, a considerable quantity of animal char- 
 coal added to the residue, which is then evaporated with a gentle heat 
 to dryness. The dry mass is finely powdered, treated in a fiask with 
 three times its weight of water which contains dilute sulphuric acid, 
 equaling in weight one-hundredth that of the seeds with the hulls, — di- 
 gested for one day at a gentle heat, allowed to remain in the cold for 
 one day, then strained, twice again digested with acidified water, and, 
 after filtering, the acid liquors are precipitated with excess of carbonate 
 of soda. The precipitate is allowed to subside completely, and after 
 decanting, the supernatant liquor thrown on a filter, and washed with 
 
Veeatria. 1255 
 
 cold water until this runs off colorless. While still moist it is treated 
 with a large amount of water, dilute sulphuric acid added by dvops unti 
 entirely dissolved, then digested with purified animal charcoal, thrown 
 down with ammonia, the precipitate washed and dried with a very gentle 
 heat. The product from thirteen pounds of seeds from hulls, will be 
 five or six drachms. 
 
 History. — Yeratria exists in the seeds combined with an acid. Alco- 
 hol dissolves it together with resin and extractive matter. After sepa- 
 rating the alcohol the residue is evaporated to dryness to render the 
 resin perfectly insoluble; the charcoal facilitates the next digestion. 
 Dilute sulphuric acid dissolves the veratria with some extractive mat- 
 ter and a trace of resin. The alkaloid is thrown down by carbonate 
 of soda, and with it the coloring matter; to remove the latter a second 
 solution in acidified water and digestion with animal charcoal is neces- 
 sary, and ammonia then precipitates the veratria entirely pure. It must 
 be dried at a gentle heat, otherwise it agglutinates. — Witt. 
 
 Mr. Jas. Beatson, of the U. S. Naval Laboratory, N. T., has given 
 the following process for procuring veratria, which he considers superior 
 to any other in use : Seventy -three' pounds (avoirdupois) of sabadilla 
 were rubbed upon a coarse wire sieve, which separated the seed from 
 the capsules, and reduced to a coarse powder, in Swift's drug mill. 
 Finding that a portion of the veratria was still retained with the mem- 
 branous follicle, he also passed the capsules through the mill, which, 
 from their elasticity, were but coarsely comminuted ; the finer portions 
 he separated with a coarse sieve, and mixed with the ground seeds, 
 moistened with alcohol, and allowed them to stand for twelve hours. 
 He then introduced them into a displacement apparatus, and exhausted 
 them thoroughly with rectified alcohol, in. the' following manner: Into 
 the displacement apparatus he introduced thirty gallons of rectified 
 alcohol, and when a quantity had percolated sufficient to fill his still, 
 he commenced distillation, — returning the recovered alcohol into the 
 displacement apparatus and continuing the percolation and distillation, 
 until the seeds were thoroughly exhausted — collected all the alcohol he 
 could from the exhausted seeds, and continued the distillation until the 
 tincture, in the bottom of the still, was of a syrupy consistence ; poured 
 this, while hot, into eight times its volume of cold water, threw the whole 
 upon a calico filter, and washed with cold water, until the wasljings 
 ceased to indicate the presence of veratria; mixed the washings with ■ 
 what passed first through the filter, and added liquor ammonise in ex- 
 cess (about four pounds) which precipitated the veratria with a little of 
 the coloring matter. Washed the precipitate with cold water, which 
 removed the greater portion of the coloring matter. Dried with a very 
 gentle heat, and when the moisture was completely expelled, eleven and 
 a quarter ounces of pure veratria werts obtained, with but a faint shade 
 of coloring matter. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 5XVI., 5, 1854. 
 
 Pure veratria is a tolerably white, light, amorphous powder, formed 
 of small prismatic crystals, of an excessively sharp, burning taste, in- 
 odorous, but its dust causes an intense sneezing and burning sensation 
 in the nose. Commercial veratria is pulverulent, odorless, of a grayish 
 or brownish white, and a bitter, acrid-taste. At 240° F., veratria fuses 
 to a yellow liquid, becoming brown at a higher temperature, and giving 
 off white vapors, it then ignites and leaves a coal-like residue which 
 must be entirely combustible. Upon solidifying after fusion it forms a 
 transparent yellowish mass. It is insoluble in water, and in alkaline 
 solutions, sparingly soluble in ether, and soluble in three parts of cold 
 
1256 Phaemaoy. 
 
 alcohol of 80 per cent., and in two parts of boiling. One part is scarcely 
 dissolved in fifty parts of ether. It possesses alkaline properties, and 
 forms salts with the acids which are of difficult crystallization. Both 
 the sulphate and hydrochlorate of veratria are solnble in water. Vera- 
 tria is alkaline in its reaction, combustible, fusible, soluble in alcohol, 
 and gives an intense red color with sulphuric acid, and a yellow color 
 with nitric acid. Veratria, dissolved in dilute acetic acid, produces a 
 whitish precipitate of tannate of veratria, with tincture of nut-galls or 
 tannic acid; and a white one, hydrated veratria, with ammonia. — F. 
 Lime and other mineral admixtures are detected by the residue on 
 burning ; and organic substances by the large carbonaceous residue. 
 Its formula is Oei H52 Nj Oje ; its equivalent weight 592. 
 
 Properties and iTses. ^-Veratria (or its salts) is a powerful irritant 
 poison, causing, when swallowed, violent vomiting, profuse diarrhea, 
 Btupor, and convulsions; taken into the nostrils in minute quantity, it 
 occasions severe coryza and excessive sneezing. In medicinal doses it 
 produces a feeling of warmth in the stomach and bowels, which extends 
 to the chest and extremities. When applied externally, in small pro- 
 portion mixed with lard, it excites a singular sense of heat and prickling 
 in the part, without redness or vesication ; and sometimes it gives rise 
 to headache, nausea, griping, slight diarrhea, and depression of the ac- 
 tion of the heart. Its use internally is followed by constipation ; occa- 
 eionally by copious bilious evacuations. It does not act as a narcotic. 
 
 "Veratria has been recommended internally in nervous palpitation, 
 palsy, epileptic convulsions, pertussis, gouty, rheumatic, and neuralgic 
 affections, dropsy, etc., but its efficacy in these affections is not well es- 
 tablished. The dose is from the twelfth to the sixth of a grain three 
 times a day, in pill form.' One grain of Veratria may be mixed with 
 twelve grains each of liquorice powder and extract of hyoscyamus, and 
 made into twelve pills ; one of these may be given every three hours. 
 It is best used in the form of a salt," as the acetate, tartrate, citrate, or 
 sulphate. 
 
 Veratria is more frequently used as a local application, than as an 
 internal remedy. It is formed into an ointment, liniment, or tincture, 
 in the proportion of from five to forty grains of veratria to the ounce 
 of lard, or oil, etc., a small portion of which is to be rubbed on the af- 
 fected part for ten or twenty minutes each time, repeating the applica- 
 tion twice a day. Not over three or four grains must be used in a day, 
 and in ordinary cases only one or two grains. If the skin is tender or 
 irritated, still less must be used; and if there be a cut or abrasion, it 
 most not be used at all. It is applied externally in the above-named 
 forms of disease. (See Mixtures, page 1067, and Ointments, page 1244.) 
 
 VESTA MEDICATA. (Medicinisphe Weine.) 
 Medicated Wines. 
 
 By medicated wines we mean the tinctures of those medicinal agents 
 which are insoluble in water, or which do not require as stimulant a 
 solvent as rectified or proof-spirit, but which are capable of yielding 
 their virtues to wine, either pure or diluted. As a general thing vinous 
 tinctures are much inferior to alcoholic, on account of their tendency 
 to become decomposed, and the uncertainty of their strength, and should, 
 therefore, be made without heat, in limited quantities at a time, and 
 kept cool in well-closed bottles. Bitters and cordials have, heretofore. 
 
Vina Medicata. 1257 
 
 been among the prominent medical agents peculiar to American prac- 
 tice, a few of which are yet retained, and some of which we have placed, 
 ander the present head in order to avoid the introduction of a new class 
 of pharmaceutical preparations ; yet, from the consequences following 
 a course of treatment by bitters, viz.: the cultivation of a taste or ap- 
 petite for alcoholic stimulus, it is to he hoped, that even these will 
 eventually be dispensed with for means and preparations fully as effi- 
 cacious, and without the evil results which sometimes occur from their 
 use. 
 
 Wines owe their solvent properties to the alcohol which they contain, 
 as well as to the acid which they usually hold in greater or less pro- 
 portion ; and in the selection of them for medical purposes, the purest 
 qualities only should be chosen ; those most commonly employed are 
 Sherry, Madeira, and Teneriffe. Sherry wine is preferable to all others 
 in preparing medicated wines, as being less liable to change or decom- 
 position; Native wine forms an elegant medicated wine, when the article 
 is to be used immediately ; but if the compound be allowed to stand 
 any time, fermentation and decomposition takes place. Medicated 
 wines, like tinctures, may be prepared by Maceration or by Displace- 
 ment. 
 
 1. By Maceration. — The powdered article or articles are placed in 
 wine, and are allowed to macerate in a close glass bottle, usually for 
 fourteen days, with occasional agitation; after which the articles are 
 expressed, if necessary, and filtered through paper, or a fine muslin 
 cloth. 
 
 2., By Displacement. — The powdered article or articles, are first covered 
 with wine, and allowed to stand until they are moistened throughout, 
 and which generally requires from twenty -four to thirty-six hours ; the 
 whole is then transferred to a displacement apparatus, and wine grad- 
 ually poured on, and allowed to percolate' or filter until the requisite 
 amount has passed. 
 
 ViNUM Cinchona Aromatictjm. Aromatic Wine of Cinchona. (Aro- 
 matischer China Wein.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of powdered Red Peruvian Bark four ounces; 
 Coriander, bruised, one .drachm; Cinnamon Bark, in powder, two 
 drachms; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Macerate the articles in 
 Alcohol (about a pint), then place in a percolator, and exhaust with 
 Diluted Alcohol. Evaporate to expel the Alcohol, and filter to separate, 
 the resin, which will give about half a pint of liquid. To this, add 
 Sherry or Madeira Wine sufficient to make the whole amount to half a 
 gallon ; White Sugar half a pound ; Tartaric Acid one drachm. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a pleasant aromatic tonic, and may be 
 used in all cases where a tonic and gentle stimulating action is desired, 
 in doses of from one to four fluidounces, three or four times a day. 
 Catawba wine may be substituted for the Sherry or Madeira, when the 
 compound is to be immediately administered. 
 
 YiNTJM CoLCHioi Eadicis. Wine of Colchicum Boot. (Herbstzeitlosen 
 Wnrzel Wein.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Colchicum Eoot, in fine powder, ^ew ounces; 
 Sherry Wine one pint, or a sufficient quantity. Form into a medicated 
 wine by Maceration or Displacement, as explained above, and make 
 one pint of the preparation. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The want of uniformity of strength in the col- 
 chicum bulb brought to this countj-y, requires it to be used in large 
 amount, as compared with its menstruum, in order to secure an efficient 
 
1258 Pharmacy. 
 
 vinous solution of it. "Wine of Oolchicum Eoot has been used in goijt, 
 gouty rheumatism, and neuralgia. Its effects will be much more decided 
 in many instances, by associating it with a solution of sulphate of mor- 
 phia, and exhibiting it in conjunction with magnesia or its sulphate. 
 Over-doses may occasion serious results. The dose is ftom five minims 
 to sixty, every three or four hours, or oftener when the symptoms are 
 urgent, continuing its use until its peculiar effects have manifested 
 themselves. 
 
 YiNTjM CoLCHioi Seminis. Wine of Oolchicum Seed. (Herbstzeitlosen 
 Saamen Wein.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of good Oolchicum Seed, in powder, two ounces; 
 . Sherry Wine twelve fluidounces. Form into a medicated wine by Macer- 
 ation, as explained on page 1257, and make twelve fluidounces of the 
 preparation. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Oolchicum seed are not so apt to deteriorate as 
 the bulb, and preserve their activity unchanged for a much longer 
 period ; consequently they do not require to be used so largely, in pro- 
 portion to their menstruum, as the bulb. This medicated wine may be 
 employed for the same purposes as the wine of the bulb, or the tincture 
 of the seed. In over-doses, it is capable of producing death. The dose 
 varies from half a fluidrachm to one or two fluidrachms. The seeds 
 should always be bruised to obtain their full medicinal activity. 
 
 YiNUM Ergot.*!. Wine of Ergot. (Mutterkorn Wein.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of finely powdered Ergot one ounce; Sherry Wine 
 eight fluidounces, or a sufficient quantity. Form a medicated wine by 
 Maceration or Displacement, as explained on page 1257, and make eight 
 fluidounces of the preparation. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This may be used during labor, as a parturient, 
 , in doses of two or three fluidrachms ; in other instances it may be given 
 in doses of one^or two fluidrachms, three or four times a day, and grad- 
 ually increased if desirable. 
 
 ViNUM Helleboeii Oompositum. Compound Wine of Hellebore. (Zu- 
 sammengesetzter Schwarze Nilszwurzel Wein.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Black Hellebore, in coarse powder. Logwood 
 chips or raspings, Helonias Eoot, in powder, each, two ounces; Sherry 
 Wine one pint and a half, or a sufficient quantity. Form into a medicated 
 wine by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on page 1257, and 
 make one pint and a half of the preparation. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation is tonic and cathartic, exerting 
 a direct influence on the female reproductive organs. It has proved 
 serviceable in menstrual derangements, as amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, 
 and some painful uterine affections. The dose varies from half a fluid- 
 ounce to one or two fluidounces, every three or four hours. 
 
 ViNUM Hydrastis Oompositum. Compound Wine of Golden-Seal. 
 Wine Bitters. (Zusammengesetzter G-elbwurzel Wein.) 
 
 Preparation.— Tsike of Golden-Seal Eoot, Tulip-Tree Bark, Bitter- 
 root, each, in fine powder, one drachm; Prickly-Ash Berries. Sassafras 
 Bark, Oapsicum, each, in fine powder, half a drachm; Sherry Wine <Are« 
 •pints, or a sufficient quantity. Form into a medicated wine by Macera- 
 tion or Displacement, as explained on page 1257, and make three pints 
 of the preparation. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is useful in dyspepsia, and in all cases 
 where tonics are required, with gentle stimulation'. The dose is from 
 half a fluidounce to one or two fluidounces, every three or four hours. 
 
 ViNtTM Ipecacuanha. Wine of Ipecacuanha. (Brechwnrzel Wein.) 
 
Vina Medioata. 1259 
 
 I » 
 
 I Preparation. — Take of the Eoot of Ipecacuanha, in fine powder, two 
 ounces; Spanish "White-wine (Sherry) two pints, or a sufficient quantity. — 
 Ed- — JDunc. Form into a medicated wine by Maceration or Displace- 
 ment, as explained on page 1257, and make two pints of the prepara- 
 tion. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This wine contains all the medicinal qualities 
 of the drug, and as an emetic is sometimes preferred in infantile cases. 
 An adult may take a fluidounce for a dose, when vomiting is required ; 
 a child a year or two old may take a fl.uidrachm, repeating it every ten 
 or twenty minutes until it vomits. From ten to thirty minims have an 
 expectorant and diaphoretic effect, if repeated at regular intervals of 
 every one or two hours. 
 
 ViNUM PHTTOLA00-i5E CoMPOsiTUM. Gompound Wine of Poke. Rheu- 
 rriMic Liquid. (Zusammengesetzter Kermesbeer "\Tein.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Inspissated Juice of Poke Berries, White Tur- 
 pentine, each, four ounces ; Sherry or Native Wine two gallons. Macer-' 
 ate for fourteen days, with occasional agitation, and filter. — Beach's 
 Am. Prac- 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is an excellent preparation for chronic 
 rheumatism, chronic gonorrhea, syphilitic pains, etc. The dose is from 
 half a fluidounce to a fluidounce, two or three times a day. 
 
 ViNUM Sambuci. Wine of Elder. Hydragogue Tincture. (Flieder 
 Wein.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Elder Bark, Parsley -root, each , in coarse powder, 
 an ounce; Sherry Wine a pint, or a sufficient quantity. Form into a 
 medicated wine by Maceration or Displacement, as explained on page 
 1257, and make one pint of the preparation. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Wine of Elder is useful in dropsical diseases, 
 especially ascites, and dropsy supervening upon scarlatina or other 
 exanthematous diseases. Dose, two fluidounces, three or four times a 
 day. This preparation may be made for immediate use by digesting t^o 
 articles with heat for an hour. 
 
 ViNUM Stmphtti Composittjm. Gompound Wine of Gomfrey. (Zusam- 
 mengesetzter Beinwurz Wein.) 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Gomfrey Eoot, Solomon 's-Seal Eoot, Helonias 
 Eoot, each, in coarse powder, one ounce; Chamomile Flowers, Colombo 
 Eoot, Gentian Eoot, Cardamom Seeds, Sassafras Bark, each, in coarse 
 powder, half an ounce; Sherry Wine four pints ; Boiling Water a suffi- 
 cient quantity. Place the Herbs in a vessel, cover with Boiling Water, 
 and let the compound macerate for twenty-four hours, keeping it 
 closely covered ; then add the Sherry Wine. Macerate for fourteen 
 days, express, and filter. 
 
 •Malaga Wine, or Metheglin, which are sometimes used in this prepa- 
 ration, are inferior to Sherry Wine, and more liable to decomposition. 
 The addition of Sugar to this Wine of Comfrey, is very apt to disagree 
 with many persons, and thus destroy its efficacy. This, preparation is 
 sometimes called Restorative Wine Bitters, but is much superior to the 
 article formerly known by this name. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is a most valuable tonic in all diseases 
 peculiar to females, especially leucorrhea, amenorrhea, weakness of the 
 back, etc. The dose is from half a fluidounce to two fluidounces, three 
 or four times a day. 
 
 The following is from Mr. T. A. Greve, who has kindly furnished it 
 to me for publication in the present work ; having been received at toe 
 
1260 Pharmacy. 
 
 late a period to give it its proper place, I have necessarily to place' it 
 at this part of the book in the present edition : 
 
 Sanguinarine. — This article, as formerly prepared, was merely the 
 dried and powdered alcoholic extract of Bloodroot. Eecently, however, 
 a more efficient and elegant preparation, of definite medicinal strength, 
 has been sold — a Nitrate of the Alkaloids of Sanguinaria. It is obtained 
 by exhausting Bloodroot with Water acidulated with Sulphuric Acid, 
 and adding to the fluid obtained a sufficient quantity of Nitric Acid, or 
 Nitrate of Potassa, to precipitate the alkaloids, but combined in the 
 form of Nitrates. This precipitate, after having been thoroughly 
 washed with water, is dried and pulverized. It forms a powder of 
 brick color, almost entirely soluble in water, of an acrid taste, and a 
 slight odor like that peculiar to the root, is employed as an expectorant, 
 and likewise used in all cases where the root is indicated, in doses of 
 from one-eighth to one-fourth of a grain. 
 
 Mr. E. Scheffer, of Louisville, Ky., has been experimenting recently 
 upon the preparations of- Pepsin, and has ascertained that the several 
 " Wines " and Elixirs of Pepsin," contain no Pepsin at all. He gives 
 the following process for preparing a Liquid Pepsin, one flnidounce of 
 which is equal in strength to one hundred grains of Boudault's French 
 Pepsin, and to 540 grains of Houghton's dry Pepsin ; make a mixture 
 of one pound of Glycerin, one pint of Water, and one and a half ounces 
 of pure Hydrochloric Acid. Into this, place one pound and a half of 
 Mucous Membrane of Hog's Stomach, and let it macerate for thirty-six 
 hours. Then put the mass on a strainer, and, when the liquid has 
 drained off, again macerate the Membrane with three gills of Water for 
 two or three hours, and drain off as before; repeat this with smaller 
 quantities of Water until two and a half pints of liquid are obtained. 
 Let the resulting liquid stand for a few days, and filter ; a clear light- 
 straw-colored liquid is obtained, possessing a faint, rather disagreeable 
 odor, which may be disguised by some aromatic. One fluidrachm of 
 this Liquid Pepsin, is equal tp twelve and a half grains of Boudault's 
 Pepsin. A vial of it kept for five weeks in a warm place, lost its odor, 
 and became lighter colored, but had lost none of its strength. The 
 mucous membrane must be taken from fresh, well cleaned hog's stomach, ( 
 and be finely cut or chopped. — Am. Jour. Pharm., 1870, p. 97. 
 
PART in. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 OBSOLESCENT AND OBJECTIONABLE MEDICINES. 
 
 Under this head will be included those minerals which have for many 
 years past been the principal remedial agents used by the old school 
 practitioners, but which, in consequence of the great uncertainty of 
 their action, and the permanently deleterious effects they frequently 
 produce in the system, are rarely, if ever, employed by the new (Ameri- 
 can) school physicians; indeed, the order of Surgeon General Hammond, 
 U. S. A., a few years since, forbidding the use of some of them in the 
 army, confirms the views and statements relative thereto which have 
 for so many years been made public by the new school physicians ; and 
 the manner in which he was subsequently persecuted for his bold and 
 truthful stand on this matter, conclusively proves that dignified, all- 
 scientific old school, still contains illiberal and prejudiced minds who 
 fear an exposure of the truth, are opposed to freedom of thought and 
 speech, and, in the science of medicine, would enslave the minds of all 
 even in this land of freedom. A brief reference to these agents is all 
 that is considered necessary in the present work. It may be^roper to 
 state, however, that among the agents which have been referred to under 
 this head, several have been recently introduced into the practice of 
 medicine ; some of which are equally as objectionable 'as those of older 
 date, and which may be known by the asterisk (*) prefixed to their 
 Latin names. 
 
 Antimonium. Antimony. (Antimon.) — This metal when pure is of 
 i lustrous silvery white appearance, with a fibrous texture, melting at 
 ?40°, and having the specific gravity 6.7, the equivalent weight 129, 
 and symbol Sb.— from its ancient name Stibium. This metal is not 
 employed in medicine, though it forms the basis of several remedial 
 agents, as follows: 
 
 *Antimonii Oxydum. Oxide or Teroxide of Antimony. (Antimon 
 
1262 ' Appendix. 
 
 0?yd.) — Formed by dissolving the Sulphuret of Antimony one ounce in 
 Hydrochloric Acid four fluidounces, by means of heat ; boiling the solu- 
 tion for half an hour, then pouring it into a pint and a half of Water ; 
 washing the precipitate first with cold water, and then with a. weak so- 
 lution of carbonate of soda to free it from acid, and then drying it over 
 a vapor-bath. It forms a white powder which is permanent in the air, 
 becomes yellow by heat, but if heated in the open air, it absorbs oxy- 
 gen and becomes converted into antimonious acid (Sb O4); the yellow 
 fluid which it forms when fused, concretes by cooling into a crystalliae 
 mass. When pure it is wholly soluble in hydrochloric acid. Its form- 
 ula is Sb O3, and its equivalent weight 153. This article is generally 
 employed in the preparation of the various medicinal salts of antimony. 
 It has been occasionally used as a sedative in doses of from one to ten 
 grains, though its action is uncertain, being sometimes inert, and again 
 causing violent emesis. 
 
 Antimonii et PoTASSiE Tartras. Tartrate of Antimony and Potassa. 
 Tartar Emetic. (Weinsteinsaures Antimon Ox^dkali. Brechweinstein.) 
 — This preparation is made in various ways, the readiest one of which 
 is to boil together four parts of the Oxide of Antimony, and five parts 
 of Bitartrate of Potassa, in thirty-four' parts of Distilled Water; filter 
 the liquor, concentrate, and crystallize by slow cooling. Tartar-emetic 
 crystallizes in colorless, transparent, right-rhombic octohedra, which 
 are odorless, of a feebly sweetish taste, becoming afterward styptic and 
 nauseously metallic, and slightly efflorescent. They dissolve in four- 
 teen parts of cold and two of boiling wa,ter, the solution giving an acid 
 reaction ; alcohol does not dissolve them. When heated they become 
 black, are decomposed, and are converted into metallic antimony. They 
 contain one equivalent, each, of teroxide of antimony, potassa, and tar- 
 taric acid, and three equivalents of water ; their formula is KO Sb O3 
 T 3 HO, and equivalent weight 359. , Tartar -emetic is incompatible with 
 the concentrated acids, the metallic oxides of the second class and their 
 carbonates, the hydrosulphates, soaps, gallic acid, and most of the bit- 
 ter and astringent vegetable substances, as Peruvian-bark, rhubarb, etc. 
 If oxalate of ammonia be added to an aqueous solution it causes a white 
 precipitate if lime be present; ferrocyanuret of potassium causes a brown 
 precipitate if copper be present, — a blue one if iron ; and the presence 
 of copper may be rendered certain if, on treating the solution with 
 liquor ammonia, a permanent blue solution is formed;^ — and of iron 
 when sulphocyanuret of potassium causes a red color. If sulphates or 
 sulphuric acid be present, chloride of barium will give a white precipi- 
 tate ; and nitrate of silver when hydrochloric acid or hydrochlorates are 
 the impurities. Arsenic may be detected by the usual tests ; it is, how- 
 ever, rarely present. 
 
 Tartar-emetic has been much used as an emetic in doses of from one 
 to four grains dissolved in a tumblerful of warm water, of which one or 
 two tablespoonfuls are to be given every five or ten minutes, until vomit- 
 ing is produced, aiding its operation by frequent draughts of warm water. 
 It has likewise been employed as a nauseant and diaphoretic in febrile 
 and inflammatorj- diseases, especially of the thoracic organs ; the dose 
 varying from one-fourth of a grain to a grain, every one, two, or four 
 hours. One or two grains in a pint or two of water will generally act 
 as a purgative. In doses of four grains gradually increased to one or 
 even two scruples during the twenty -four hours, Easori, Laennec, Bal- 
 four, and others have considered it very useful in acute inflammations, 
 as, peripneumonia, hepatitis, jaundice, etc. It is thus said to exert a 
 
Obsolescent Medicines. 1263 
 
 eedfctive or contra -stimulant effect, and can only be advantageously ad- 
 ministered in this way, provided the first doses do not produce vomit 
 ing nor superpurgation, and the stomach be in that state termed toler- 
 ance. Some practitioners pretend to have cured many chronic diseases 
 by the administration of minute doses of tartar-emetic, repeated three 
 or four times daily. ' 
 
 Applied to the skin, tartar-emetic produces a pustulous eruption of a 
 peculiar character, accompanied with a more or less intense inflamma- 
 tion. It is often used in the form of liniment, ointment, or plaster, in 
 this way, as a counter-irritant in many painful, deep-seated, and chronic 
 maladies. A drachm of tartar-emetic to four drachms of lard for an 
 ointment, or, dissolved in a fluidounce and a half of water as a wash. 
 liTot unfrequently the external application of tartar-emetic gives rise to 
 obstinate ulcers, sometimes of a gangrenous character, and in some cases 
 severe and fatal constitutional disorder has resulted. 
 
 Taken internally, in large quantities, tartar-emetic acts as a violent 
 poison, and may produce a very lively inflammation of the intestinal 
 canal, as manifested by excessive vomiting, hypercath arsis, tenesmus, 
 great heat and pain in the gastric region, colicky symptoms, oppressed 
 breathing, cold surface, and gradual loss of the senses and vital powers. 
 The antidotes are infusions of geranium maculatum and convallaria 
 multiflora, solution of tannic acid, or other vegetable astringent and 
 mucilaginous infusions, aided by preparations of ojDium to check the ex- 
 cessive evacuations ; together with the usual means for combating in- 
 flamjnatory symptoms. 
 
 ViNUM Antimonii. Antimonial Wine. (Brechwein.) — This prepara- 
 tion is made by dissolving thirty-two grains of Tartar-emetic in one pint 
 of Sherry "Wine. One fluidounce contains two grains of tartar-emetic. 
 This preparation is used among children as a substitute for the aqueous 
 solutions of the tartrate of antimony and potassa. Ten to thirty drops, 
 repeated as often as required, act as a diaphoretic or expectorant ; when 
 it is desired to produce vomiting in children, the dose is from twenty to 
 sixty minims, repeated every ten or fifteen minutes, until the desired 
 effect is produced. 
 
 Antimonii TEEStiLPHUKETUM. Tersulphuret, or Sesquisulphuret of Anti- 
 mony, Sb 83=1177. (Schwarzes Schwefel-antimon Schwefel Spiess- 
 glanz.) — This is known in commerce by the name of crude antimony, 
 and is in masses formed of shining crystalline needles, of a bluish-gray 
 color, staining paper black, tasteless, and of the specific gravity 4.5. It 
 is insoluble in water, soluble in hydrochloric acid with evolution of sul- 
 phurous acid, fuses readily, and when reduced to a very fine powder by 
 levigation and elutriation forms the prepared sulphuret of antimony of 
 the Dublin Pharmacopoeia. It is composed of one equivalent of anti- 
 mony, and three equivalents of sulphur, and is called by some, the crys- 
 tallized tersulphuret of Antimony. It was formerly used as an emetic ; 
 but is now out of use, though occasionally used in the prepared form, as 
 an alterative and diaphoretic in gout, rheumatism, cutaneous diseases, 
 scrofulous engorgements, and old venereal affections. Its dose is from 
 half a scruple to a drachi]^, in pill-form or mucilage. 
 
 Antimonii Tersulphueetum Amorphum. Amorphous Tersulphuret of 
 Antimony. (Gestaltloses Dreifach ^chwefel-antimon.) — There are two 
 varieties of this substance, one known as, a, mineral kermes, the other as, 
 h, the precipitated sulphuret of antimony. 
 
 a. Kermes mineral (Gefalltes Schwefel-antimon Kermes), is prepared 
 by the dry process, heating in a crucible two parts of the Tersulphuret 
 
1264 Appendix. 
 
 of Antimony, and onepart of common Potassa; pulverize the mass tlius 
 obtained, and boil it with ten or twelve parts of water — filter the liquor, 
 while boiling, and the kermes precipitates on cooling. In the humid 
 way it is prepared by boiling for half an hour onejpart of finely powdered 
 Sulphuret of Antimony, 22.5 parts of Crystallized Carbonate of Soda, 
 and 250 of water ; kermes precipitates likewise on cooling. The last 
 mode gives a finer article, preferred to that by the former process. It 
 is a reddish-brown powder with a tinge of purple, of a velvety appear- 
 ance, light, inodorous, of a slowly developed metallic taste, and insoluble 
 in water or alcohol. Exposed* to air or light, it loses its red color and 
 velvety aspect. It is completely soluble in hydrosulphuret Of ammonia. 
 Heated to a red heat with charcoal, it is converted into metallic anti- 
 mony. In doses of from six to ten grains, kermes mineral is an emetic, 
 but its action is uncertain. In smaller doses, say from one-fourth of 
 a grain to a grain or two, in mucilage, it is a stimulant expectorant, 
 nauseant, and diaphoretic, and is occasionally employed in the last stage 
 of peripneumonia, in chronic catarrhs, humid asthma, cutaneous 
 diseases, gout, rheumatism, etc. It is seldom used in this country, 
 except among German practitioners. 
 
 b. Precipitated Sulphuret of Antimony (Antimonii Sulphuretum Pr»- 
 cipitatum,) (Dritthalbschwefelantimon Goldsehwefel), called also 
 " oxysulphuret of antimony." This salt is prepared by boiling one part 
 of Sulphuret of Antimony with eighteen parts of Solution of Caustic 
 Potassa, for an hour; straining the hot liquid through a double linen 
 cloth, and dropping into it Diluted Sulphuric Acid, eleven parts. 
 "Wash away the sulphate of potassa with warm water; dry the brown 
 antimoniated sulphur, and rub it into fine powder. It is a golden red, 
 odorless, tasteless substance, permanent in the air, but decomposed by 
 the action of both light and air, insoluble in water, soluble in boiling 
 liquor potassa, and slightly so in liquor ammonia, and is dissolved 
 almost wholly in hot concentrated hydrochloric acid, and the splution 
 becomes milky with water. It is composed of one equivalent of ter- 
 oxide of antimony, five of tersulphuret of antimony, and sixteen- of 
 water. It has been used as an alterative in chronic affections of the 
 skin, rheumatism, secondary venereal, and chronic hepatitis ; it is one 
 of the constituents of Plummer's alterative pill. The dose is from one 
 to three grains every six hours ; when over five grains, the dose will 
 be apt to occasion emesis. This is also known as the Pentasulphuret 
 of Antimony, Sb S5=209, or Golden Sulphuret of Antimony, when 
 deprived of its water. 
 
 PuLvis Antimonii Compositus. Compound Powder of Antimony. 
 James' Powder. — -(Zusammengesetztes Antimonial Pulver. James' Pul- 
 ver.) — This nostrum was first prepared by Dr. James, who died in 1776. 
 It is prepared by calcining, in an iron crucible, one part of Tersulphuret 
 of Antimony, and two parts of Horn Shavings, stirring constantly until 
 vapors cease to rise. Then rub the residue to powder, put it in a cru- 
 cible with a perforated cover, and raise it gradually to red heat, which 
 must be maintained for two hours. Eeduce the product, when cold, to 
 fine powder. It forms a white, grity, odorless, tasteless powder, par- 
 tially soluble in boiling water, and which solution gives an orange-yellow 
 precipitate with sulphuretted hydrogen. It possesses the general 
 properties of the antimonials according to the doses in which it is 
 administered, and like them is very uncertain in its operation. It is 
 principally used as a sedative and diaphoretic in febrile diseases, in 
 
Obsolescent Medicines. 1265 
 
 doses of from one to four grains, in powder or bolus, repeating them 
 every three or four hours as may be required. 
 
 Antimonii Terchloeidum, Terchloride of 'Antimony, Sb Cl3=235.5. 
 (Antimonchlorid. Spiessglanzbutter.) — This preparation has also been 
 known by the names, muriate of antimony, sesquichloride of antimony, oil 
 or butter of antimony, etc. The pure article is not used in medicine ; it 
 may be procured by placing in a glass retort three parts of pure metallic 
 antimony, and eight parts of perchloride of mercury, and gradually 
 heating it; the butter of antimony sublimes and condenses in the neck 
 of the retort. It is white, thick, unctuous, semi-transparent, inodorous, 
 and of a very caustic taste. It is decomposed by water ; attracts moist- 
 ure from the air and becomes yellow; melts below 212° P., volatilizes 
 a little above this temperature, forming on cooling tetrahedral prisms. 
 According to Souberain,it may be made by dissolving with the aid of 
 gentle heat one part of Sulphuret of Antimony in five parts of Muriatic 
 Acid ; let it stand, decant off the clear liquid, evaporate, and thefl distill 
 almost to dryness. Preserve it in bottles having well-ground glass 
 stoppers. This article is used only as a caustic to fungous growths, 
 poisonous bites of reptiles or animals, etc. Having first carefully re- 
 moved the blood, which decomposes it, apply the caustic liquid to the 
 wound or tumor by means of a camel's-hair pencil, or on a dossil of 
 lint. 
 
 *Arqenti Chloeidum. Chloride of Silver. Ag Cl:=143.5. (Silver 
 Chlorid. Hornsilber.) — This salt may be prepared by adding to a solu- 
 tion of nitrate of silver, an excess either of hydrochloric acid, or a 
 solution of common salt. Wash the white precipitate, collect it on a 
 filter, and dry it in the dark, at a gentle heat. When found native, 
 this salt has been called horn silver. It is soluble in 3072 parts of water, 
 soluble in ammonia, and gradually acquires a purple color on exposure 
 to the air. At 500° F. it fuses, and on cooling forms a gray semitrans- 
 parent mass, called lunA cornea, from its resemblance to horn. It is not 
 decomposed by the acids or pure alkalies, but is by the alkaline car- 
 bonates. Its specific gravity is 5.129; that of the native chloride .is 
 5.552. This salt has been recently recommended by Dr. Perry in 
 epileptic disease, chronic affections of the bowels, and as a substitute 
 in many diseases for the nitrate of silver, in doses of two or three grains 
 every three or four hours. 
 
 Aegenti Oyanueetum. Oyanuret or Cyanide of Silver. (Cyansilber.) — 
 This is prepared by adding an excess either of cyanuret of potassium, 
 or of hydrocyanic acid to a solution of nitrate of silver. Collect the 
 precipitate on a filter, wash it well, and dry it. It is a white powder, 
 devoid of taste, is not dissolved by water, soda or potassa, but is by 
 ammonia, and is used for the preparation of hydrocyanic acid. 
 
 * Aegenti Iodidum. Iodide of Silver. (lodsiber Silber jodid.) — This 
 is prepared by adding a solution of iodide of potassium to a solution of 
 nitrate of silver ; wash the precipitated iodide of silver, and dry it by 
 a gentle heat. The powder is of a greenish-yellow color, insoluble in 
 water, very slightly soluble in ammonia, and easily decomposed when 
 heated with potassa. It fuses at a low red heat, and assumes a reddish 
 color. Dr. Ohas. Patterson, of Dublin, has found it to act in various 
 diseases as a substitute for nitrate of silver, producing its therapeuti- 
 cal influences without discoloring the skin. The dose for an adult is 
 a grain or two, in pill, every three or four hours. 
 
 * Aegenti OxTDTTM. Oxide of 'Silver. Ag 0^116. (Silberoxyd.) — 
 To a solution of nitrate of silver add a solution of caustic potassa, as 
 
 80 
 
1266 Appendix. 
 
 long as any precipitate falls ; collect the brown precipitate on a filter, 
 wash it well, and dry it at a heat of 'about 180° ¥. Oxide of silver 
 has a grayish-brown color, becoming darker when dried ; it vis almost 
 tasteless, and has the specific gravity 7.143. "When exposed to the 
 direct rays of the sun it gives out oxygen gas, and is converted into a 
 black powder. It is insoluble in the fixed alkalies, readily soluble in 
 caustic ammonia, and very slightly soluble in water. With caustic 
 ammonia it forms a black fulminating powder, on which account the 
 experimenter should be careful about using ammonia with it, or foi 
 preparing it, as it is always attended with danger. Oxide of silver has 
 been employed in neuralgic and irritable conditiomsof the stomach and 
 bowels, in dyspepsia, water-brash, chronic diarrhea and dysentery, 
 epilepsy, etc. In uterine diseases, attended with great irritability and 
 augmented discharges, it has been found especially beneficial, as in 
 hysteralgia, monorrhagia, dysmenorrhea, and leucorrhea. Its use has 
 occasioned salivation. The dose is from half a grain to two grains, two 
 or three times a day, in the form of a pill or powder. Pereira states 
 that its long continued use will occasion a permanent discoloration of 
 the skin. A drachm of the oxide to an ounce of lard forms an oint 
 ment which has been used in irritable ulcers, both syphilitic and non 
 syphilitic, in sore nipples, and in gonorrhea applied to the urethra by 
 means of a bougie. 
 
 Arsenicum. Arsenic. (Arsenik.) — This is a metal of bluish white 
 color, not unlike that of steel, with a great deal of brilliancy. It is 
 odorless, but when heated emits a strong odor of garlic. It is the 
 softest of all the metallic bodies, and is very brittle and easily reduced 
 to powder. Its specific gravity is 5.75, its symbol As, and its equiva- 
 lent weight 75. At 365° P. it sublimes without melting. It may be 
 kept under water without alteration ; but when exposed to the open air, 
 it soon loses its luster, and often becomes black and falls into powder. 
 It combines with two proportions of oxygen, forming compounds 
 which possess acid properties ; namely, arsenious acid and arsenic acid, 
 the latter being found in combination with bases, forming arseniates. 
 Its several medicinal preparations are the following : 
 
 AciDiJM Arseniosum. Arsenious Acid. As 03^=99. (Arsenige Saure.)— 
 This is generally known by the names, arsenic, white arsenic, and white 
 oxide of arsenic. It is prepared by roasting the ore of arsenical cobalt, 
 or of arsenical iron ; coarsely pulverized, this acid volatilizes and con- 
 denses on the inside of the tube or chimney. A second sublimation 
 purifies it. It is a white, brittle, compact, transparent substance, of a 
 ■glassy appearance, inodorous, nearly tasteless, and soluble in thirteen 
 parts of boiling, and eighty of cold water, the solutions being acid in 
 their reactions; alcohol and oils dissolve a small quantity of it; thrown 
 upon burning coals, it volatilizes with a thick white smoke of a garlicky 
 odor ; and heated with charcoal and a little fixed alkali, it is decom- 
 posed, and the metallic arsenic is sublimed. By age, arsenious acid 
 slowly becomes opaque. The specific gravity of the transparent acid 
 is 3.73; of the opaque 3.69. It is incompatible with lime-water, hydro- 
 sulphate of potassa, and decoction of barks generally. 
 
 Taken internally, arsenious acid is a most violent poison, producing 
 in over-doses, nausea, vomiting, burning pain of the throat and stomach, 
 soon extending over the whole abdomen. Although, under certain 
 circumstances, a large amount of arsenious acid has been swallowed 
 without any very serious effects, yet* as a general rule, it is considered 
 that death may be produced by one or two grains of it taken at a dose. 
 
Obsolescent Medicines. 1267 
 
 A. larger quantity may cause vomiting so quickly as to expel it from 
 the stomach before its deleterious action fairly commences ; and a dis- 
 tension of the stomach with food has prevented it from proving fatal. 
 Yet there is much uncertainty in these matters, as experience has dem- 
 onstrated. When emesis is caused bj- its poisonous action, the mat- 
 ters vomited may be bilious or tinged with blood, occasionally there 
 will be no pain or vomiting. There is very apt to be a sense of heat, 
 dryness, and constriction of the throat, with incessant thirst and great 
 diffli/ulty of swallowing. When the bowels are inflamed the abdomen 
 is tense and hard, with loose, bloody stools, tenesmus, heat, and excori- 
 Btioii of the anus. The urine may be diminished or suppressed; pulse 
 quick, small, feeble, and irregular; heart beating irregularly with pal- 
 pitation ; breathing laborious and often painful ; tongue dry and furred ; 
 with frequently tremblings, cramps, and delirium previous to death ; 
 occasionally dark spots or an eruption on the surface will be present. . 
 The symptoms are by no means uniform, and will vary with different 
 individuals; there may be faintness, or actual syncope, convulsions, 
 paralysis, great prostration, coma, etc. In some cases death may ensue, 
 without any severe or well-marked symptoms. When arsenic is taken 
 in small doses, continued for a long period, but acting as a slow poison, 
 there will be " a gradual sinking of the powers of life, without any vio- 
 lent symptom ; a namel,ess feeling of illness, failure of the strength, an 
 aversion to food and drink, and all the other enjoyments of life." 
 Among the many symptoms which have been observed in such cases, 
 the following are the principal ; flatulence, heat or pain in the stomach 
 and bowels, loss of appetite, thirst, nausea, vomiting, purging, or a loose 
 condition of the bowels, with griping ; the tongue furred, mouth and 
 throat dry and constricted, and^sometimes salivation. The pulse will 
 be quick, small, and often irregular ; a dry cough, with oppressed res- 
 piration ; wasting of the body; very irritable stomach, immediately 
 rejecting any thing thrown into it. Headache, giddiness, wakefulness ; 
 irritation of the conjunctiva, the patient frequently complaining of a 
 feeling like a hair or cobweb in the eye, with redness, swelling or prick- 
 ing of this organ ; the limbs painful, feeble, trembling, subject to numb 
 sensations, cramps, or convulsions. An eruption on the surface, falling 
 off of the hair and nails ; swelling of the face sind feet, and gradual sink- 
 ing of the patient, with consciousness ' perfect to the> last, or perhaps 
 coma, or delirium. , Arsenic, whether taken internally or absorbed from 
 its -external application to a wound, almost always occasions gastritis 
 or gastro-enteritis. Beside the stomach and bowels, it also appears 
 to exert a specific influence over other parts of the system, as the 
 ■heart, nerves, Itings, skin, etc., causing irritation, inflammation, and 
 gangrene, as may be observed by an inspection of these organs after 
 death. 
 
 In the treatment of cases of poisoning by arsenic, the first thing to 
 be done is to remove as much.of the poison from the stomach as possi- 
 ble, either by employing the stomach-pump, or producing vomiting by 
 tickling the throat and fauces with a feather or the finger, and emetic 
 doses of sulphate of zinc, or sulphate of copper. E'one of the nauseating 
 emetics must be used, as lobelia, ipecacuanha, etc., as they do not act 
 with sufficient promptness, and favor absorption of the poison by their 
 prolonged nausea previous to vomiting. To sheathe the stomach, and 
 at the same time diminish the solubility of the arsenious acid, demul- 
 cents (as milk, white of egg, mucilage, sweet oil, syrup, etc.), and 
 lime-water may be used freely : these likewise promote vomiting. 
 
1268 Appendix. 
 
 If it is supposed that any of the poison has entered the intestines, the 
 best purgative for its expulsion is castor-oil. 
 
 Antidotes should be administered as soon as they can be had; several 
 have been named, as charcoal, and light calcined magnesia, swallowed 
 in large quantities. But the best antidote is, the recently made, pulpy, 
 hydrated sesquioxide of iron, prepared by precipitation with ammonia. 
 It should be given to an adult in tablespoonful doses every three or 
 four minutes, until the severe symptoms have ceased. Dr. Maclagan 
 observes that " as far as chemical evidence goes, at least twelve parts 
 of oxide, prepared by ammonia, and moist, are required for each part 
 of arsenic." The oxide of iron may, however, be given in much larger 
 amount, as it is completely free from any deleterious action ; and the 
 sooner it is given after the 'poison has been swallowed, the more prompt 
 and certain will be its effects. It forms with the poison an innocuous 
 salt, the subarseniate of protoxide of iron. 
 
 Any inflammatory symptoms which may be present, excessive pain, 
 or great prostration, must be treated on general principles; and great 
 care should be observed during convalescence, which is apt to be very 
 tedious, to keep the patients upon fluids only, of a nutritious character, 
 permitting no solids, until all danger of gastro-enteritis has passed. 
 
 As a medicine, arsenious acid has been administered internally as a 
 febrifuge in intermittent fevers apd other periodical diseases ; in lepra, 
 psoriasis, pityriasis, eczema, impetigo, ichthyosis, elephantiasis, and 
 other chronic cutaneous diseases ; in chorea, neuralgia, cancer, epilepsy, 
 and tetanus ; in chronic rheumatism, especially z2 a syphilitic charac- 
 ter, venereal nodes, syphilis, and secondary syphilis. But its use is 
 attended with great danger ; and its administration must be at once 
 stopped when it produces swelling of the face and eyelids, with irrita- 
 tion of the conjunctiva, and disorder of the digestive organs. The dose 
 of arsenious acid is l-8th, 1-16, or l-20th of a grain, two or three times 
 a day, made into pills with crumb of bread. .Fowler's Solution, which 
 is a solution of Arsenite of Potassa, is made by placing in a glass vessel 
 pure Arsenious Acid, broken in pieces, Carbonate of Potassa, each, 
 sixty-four grains, with Distilled Water half a pint ; boil until they are 
 dissolved; when cool, add Compound Spirit of Lavender four flui- 
 drachms, and sufficient Distilled "Water to make the whole measure a 
 pint. ' The dose is three drops, three times a day, gradually increased 
 to five or even ten drops. Pearson's Arsenical Solution is made by dis- 
 solving one grain of the arsenite of soda in a fluidounce of distilled 
 water; the dose is from ten to twenty drops, three times a day. All 
 these preparations are employed for similar purposes. Eecently, a 
 new solution of arsenic has been used — " Liquor Arsenici Chloridi," 
 Solution of Chloride of Arsenic, or De Valangin's Solutio Solventis Min- 
 eralis ; to Distilled Water one fluidounce, add Hydrochloric Acid one 
 fluidrachm and a. half,, and Arsenious Acid, in small pieces, half a 
 drachm. Boil until the Arsenic is dissolved, then add Distilled Water 
 a sufficient quantity to make the whole measure a pint. The dose is 
 from three to ten drops, three times a day, beginning with the smallest 
 dose, and gradually increasing. Asiatic Pills are composed, each, of 
 l-16th grain of arsenious acid, half a grain of powdered black pepper, 
 and sufficient mucilage of gum Arabic to form a pill. 
 
 Applied externally, arsenious acid is a powerful caustic, used in the 
 treatment of cancerous ulcers, lupus or noli me tangere, epithelial can- 
 cer, onychia maligna and chancres ; but its application requires the 
 greatest caution, on account of fatal accidents which might occur 
 
Obsolescent Medicines. 1269 
 
 from its absorption, as well as from the erysipelatous inflammation 
 it is apt to occasion. It has been applied in various forms, thus: 1. 
 Arsenious acid, sublimed sulphur, of each, one drachm, spermaceti 
 cerate one ounce ; to be applied on lint, for twenty-four hours, and 
 then to be removed, — when the slough comes away, dress the ulcer 
 with simple ointment. 2. Arsenious acid two grains, spermaceti oint- 
 ment one ounce. 3. Arsenical Paste. Bousselot's. Arsenious acid one 
 part ; red sulphuret of mercury sixteen parts ; powdered dragon's blood 
 eight parts ; applied over the ulcer. The French Codex prescribes eight 
 parts instead of one of arsenic. Various other forms, both for the in- 
 ternal and external use of arsenious acid, have been recommended by 
 members of the profession. 
 
 There are various tests for the detection of arsenic, which Vill now 
 be briefly explained. First, when in a solid form or powder. 1. Heat 
 a small portion of the article on the point of a penknife in the flame of 
 a spirit-lamp — if it be arsenious acid a white smoke is produced, and 
 the powder disappears. As corrosive sublimate, oxalic acid, hydro- 
 chlorate of ammonia, etc., volatilize with a white smoke when heated, 
 the better plan will be to place the suspected powder in a test tube 
 of narrow bore, with a little boracic acid (to counteract the influence 
 of earthy or alkaline bases which prevent a portion of the arsenious 
 acid from rising in vapor). Heat the tube, and examine the sublimate 
 obtained, by a magnifying glass, if arsenious acid be present sparkling 
 crystals of regular octohedron form will be seen. 
 
 2. Arsenious acid or an arsenite evolves a garlicky odor when heated 
 on a piece of red hot charcoal, with scarcely any visible vapor for an 
 infih or two from the coal, when a dense, white, odorless smoke is ob- 
 served.' Other agents, as phosphorus, etc, evolve a similar odor, and 
 therefore, taken alone, this is not a reliable test. \ 
 
 3. Mix the suspected article with recently ignited but cold charcoal, 
 or still better with a mixture of charcoal and carbonate of soda, place 
 it in a reduction tube (a comnaon cylindrical glass tube will answer), 
 and apply the heat of a spirit-lamp, the arsenious acid if present, is 
 deoxidized, and metallic arsenic sublimes and condenses into a cooler 
 portion of the tube, where it forms a metallic crust, which is very i 
 smooth and brilliant on its outer surface, and crystalline and grayish- 
 white on its inner surface. In this experiment the heat should be ap- 
 plied gradually at first, and care be taken not to g6t any of the powder 
 on the sides of the tube while introducing it within. To still further 
 determine the character of the crust, it may bfe converted, by sublima- 
 tion up and down the tube, into octohedral crystals of arsenious acid, 
 which are soluble in distilled water, and give the reactions hereafter 
 named. If the tube be filed and separated, at the portion where the 
 crust is situated, it may be determined from any other crust by its crys- 
 talline texture, iron-gray color, and shiny appearance under examina- 
 tion with a magnifying lens ; also by its solution in distilled water and 
 behavior with the tests now about to be named. 
 
 Second, when in solution with distilled water. 1. An aqueous solution 
 of arsenious acid has a feeble taste; a faintly acid reaction on litmus; 
 and yields shining, octohedral crystals by evaporation on a glass plate, 
 which, when heated, as before stated, sublimes into metallic arsenic. 
 
 2. A weak solution of ammonio-sulphate of copper when added to a 
 solution of arsenious acid, produces a pale-green precipitate of arsenite 
 of copper, which is soluble in nitric acid and ammonia. (This test may 
 be made by cautiously adding to a solution of sulphate of copper just 
 
1270 Appendix. 
 
 enough ammonia to redissolve the oxide of copper whioln its additiou 
 first throws down.) The presence of astringents will prevent the green 
 precipitate from being formed. Some yellow colored or other organic 
 iuids will also give a green color, when thus treated, even though no 
 arsenious acid be present. 
 
 3. If a solution of aramonio-nitrate of silver be added to a solution 
 of arsenious acid, a yellow precipitate of arsenite of silver occurs, 
 which is soluble in nitric acid, in solution of ammonia, and in solution 
 of nitrate of ammonia. (This test may be made by gradually adding 
 a few drops of aquae ammonia to a solution of nitrate of silver, so that 
 the oxide of silver which the alkali at first throws down may be nearly, 
 but not entirely dissolved.) The presence of much organic matter, or 
 of free acids impedes the action of this test, the latter may be obviated 
 by neutralization with an alkali. If common salt be presenc in the 
 suspected solution this test will cause a white precipitate, which, should 
 the liquid itself be yellow, may, through this medium, be mistaken for 
 a yellow precipitate. 
 
 4. If a current of hydrosulphuric acid gas (sulphuretted hydrogen) 
 be passed through a solution of arsenious acid, a yellow precipitate of 
 tersulphuret of arsenic is produced. The zinc and acid used in pre- 
 paring the gas should be pure and not contaminated with arsenic, as 
 otherwise the experiment will fail. The yellow precipitate is insoluble 
 in hydrochloric acid, readily soluble in aqua ammonia, forming a 
 colorless, very limpid fluid, and, when dried and heated with soda or 
 potassa flux it yields metallic arsenic. 
 
 5. If arsenious acid be dissolved in nitric or nitro-hydrochloric acid, 
 it forms arsenic acid, which may be obtained by careful evaporation 
 to dryness. Nitrate of silver produces a red color (arseniate of Silver) 
 with arsenic acid. In cases where it is a matter of life or death, all 
 the foregoing tests should be applied for the detection of arsenic, as no 
 one or two of them are considered sufiBciently reliable. There are cer- 
 tain other tests, however, which should not be omitted when they are 
 applicable, as they are of importance, as — 
 
 1. Marsh's Test. — Mix a ^mall portion of the suspected liquid with a 
 mixture of one part oi pure sulphuric acid, and seven or eight parts of 
 distilled water, and pour the mixture over some pieces ot pure zinc pre- 
 viously introduced into a two-ounce wide-mouthed vial, and immedi- 
 ately close the vial with a cork perforated by a glass tube or J)ipe-stem. 
 Bubbles of air at once appear. If no arsenious acid be present, 
 hydrogen gas is evolved ; but if the liquor holds arsenious acid in solu- 
 tion, the gas evolved will be arseniuretted hydrogen, and maybe known 
 by its garlicky odor ; by burning with a bluish-white flame and the 
 evolution of a white smoke; by its flame depositing on a cold plate of 
 glass or porcelain held over its upper part, a black spot or ring sur- 
 rounded by a larger white ring of arsenious acid ; by metallic arsenic 
 being deposited within a glass tube heated to redness, through which 
 the gas has passed ; and by metallic silver being precipitated when the 
 arseniuretted hydrogen is passed through a solution of nitrate of silver, 
 free nitric and arsenious acids remaining in the solution. Hydro- 
 chloric acid may be cautiously added to the solution to convert the 
 excess of nitrate of silver, into the insoluble white chloride of silver. 
 Then filter and test the liquid for arsenious acid ; or evaporate tc 
 dryness, which gives arsenic acid, with which a solution of nitrate of 
 silver yields a brick-red color or precipitate. 
 
 N". B.— Care must be taken not to apply a lighted taper to the jet of 
 
Obsolescent Medicines. 1271 
 
 gas before the air is expelled from the vial, or an explosion maybe the 
 result. 
 
 The difSculty of detecting arsenic in organic liquids by Marsh's test 
 arises from the great frothing which chokes up the jet. According to 
 Danger and Plandin this may be obviated by placing the organic 
 matter containing the arsenic in a porcelain capsule, adding one-sixth 
 its weight of sulphuric acid, and heat until vapors of sulphuric acid 
 appear. The matter is first dissolved, but during the concentration 
 it is charred. The liquor is to be constantly stirred with a glass rod. 
 The carbonization is effected withgut any swelling or frothing, and is 
 to be continued until the charcoal is friable and almost di*y. A small 
 quantity of concentrated nitric acid, or nitromuriatic acid, is to be 
 added, by means of a pipette, when the capsule is cold. This converts 
 the arsenious acid into the more soluble arsenic acid. The mixture is 
 then to be evaporated to dryness, treated with boiling water, and the 
 limpid liquor introduced into Marsh's apparatus, or the vial above re- 
 ferred to, in which it never froths. 
 
 According to Blondlot, when poisoned organic substances have been 
 left to putrefy, some sulphuret of arsenic is formed at the expense of 
 the sulphuretted hydrogen, and this escapes detection by Marsh's ap- 
 paratus. Sulphuret of arsenic also forms when the suspected matters 
 are carbonized by the action of sulphuric acid after the process of 
 Danger and I'landin. The arsenic may be extracted by washing the 
 carbonized mass with ammonia, which dissolves the sulphuret. Then 
 the sulphuret may be converted into arsenic acid by the action of 
 nitric acid, and the solution thus obtained be dried by evaporation, 
 dissolved in boiling water, and tested by Marsh's process. 
 
 2. JReinsch's Test. — If an aqueous solution of arsenious acid be boiled 
 for ten or twenty minutes with pure hydrochloric acid (one-tenth the 
 volume of the arsenical solution, Christison ; orxe-sixth, T^ayZor), and fine 
 copper gauze, or- thin copper wire, the latter acquires an iron-gray 
 metallic coating of arsenic. If now, the coated copper be washed, dried, 
 cut into small pieces, and then heated in a glass tube or reduction tube 
 by the .flame of a spirit-lamp, the metallic arsenic is volatilized, and 
 sometimes yields a metallic ring ; but in general it becomes oxidized, 
 and yields a sublimate of minute octohedral crystals. If the coating 
 on the copper be sufficiently thick, it may be scraped off the copper, 
 and heated alone in the tube. The arsenious acid thus obtained in the 
 tube should be dissolved in water and tested with sulphuretted hydro- 
 gen, ammonio-nitrate of silver, etc., as heretofore explained, or it may 
 be tried by iSarsh's process. 
 
 When the arsenious acid is contained in organic substances, as 
 stomach, liver, etc., these must be cut into small pieces, and boiled in 
 water acidulated with hydrochloric acid, until all the tissues are dis- 
 solved, or broken down into fine flakes or grains. Filter through 
 calico, heat again to the boiling point, and proceed by Eeinsoh's process, 
 as previously described. 
 
 ]Sr. B. — In Marsh's process, it must be remembered that antimony will 
 produce a crust somewhat resembling the arsenical ; and in Eeinsch's 
 process, antimony, bismuth, etc., will stain or coat copper so as to deceive 
 the experimenter ; hence the necessity for carefully testing the crusts 
 obtained, by the preceding tests for arsenious acid. The apparatus in 
 all these experiments must be perfectly clean, and the chemicals used 
 pure and free, especially from arsenic. (See Taylor on Poisons, Ohristi- 
 son on Poisons, and Taylor's Medical Jurisprudence.) In using Eeinsch'g 
 
1272 Appendix. 
 
 lest great care should be taken in ascertaining the purity of the copper, 
 as arsenic is present in most copper ; that obtained by galvanic precip- 
 itation should alone be used. 
 
 * LiQUoa Arsenioi et Hydrargyei Iodidi. Solution of Iodide of 
 Arsenic and Mercury. Donovan's Solution. (lod arsenic und lodqueck- 
 silber Plussigkeit. Donovans' Losung.) — Triturate thirty-five grains 
 of iodide of arsenic, and thirty -five grains of biniodide of mercury with 
 two fluidrachms of distilled water, until they combine and dissolve ; 
 then add distilled water, enough to make the whole measure half a pint, 
 and filter. This is said to be useful in lupus, lepra, diseases of the scalp, 
 psoriasis, impetigo, venereal eruptions, and other obstinate cutaneous 
 affections, in doses of from ten to thirty drops two or three times a day, 
 
 * Arsenioi Iodidum. Iodide of Arsenic. (Arsenjodid.) — Gently heat 
 in a tubulated retort placed in a sand-bath, a mixture of one part finely 
 pulverized metallic arsenic and five parts of iodine ; the iodide is after- 
 ward to be resublimed to separate the excess of arsenic. This forms an 
 orange-red volatile solid, which is dissolved by water, and is a power- 
 ful preparation, combining the effects of arsenious acid and iodine, and 
 requiring great caution in its use. Said to be useful in secondary 
 syphilis, lupus, lepra, and other obstinate affections of the skin. In- 
 ternally, its dose is one-tenth of a grain, three times a day, in form of 
 pill, gradually increasing to one-third of a grain. Biett's ointment for 
 cutaneous disease is made of one part of the iodide to one hundred and 
 iainety-two parts of lard, of which one drachm may be used at a time. 
 The solution 'may be made extemporaneously by mixing together one 
 part of compound solution of iodine and four parts of Fowler's solution, 
 of which the dose is from three to six drops. 
 
 * Ammonias; Arsenias. Arseniate of Ammonia. (Arsenigsaures Am- 
 monium Oxyd.) — This salt may be prepared by adding ammonia to 
 a concentrated solution of arsenic till a precipitate appears. This pre- 
 cipitate is dissolved by heat, and the liquid being set aside, deposits 
 large crystals of arseniate of ammonia. — T. Biett has recommended, 
 in obstinate cutaneous affections, in doses of from fifteen to twenty 
 drops, in the course of every twenty-four hours, a solution made by 
 dissolving one grain of the arseniate in distilled water one fluidounce. 
 
 * QuiNi^ Arsenias. Arseniate of Quinia. (Arsenigsaures Chinin.) — 
 In a glass vessel place arsenic acid one drachm and a half, quinia five 
 drachms, distilled water six fluidounces ; boil till all is dissolved, filter, 
 and allow to crystallize spontaneously. Tp purify, redissolve and again 
 crystallize. This is recommended by Bourieres, in fever and ague, and 
 oth'er periodical diseases; also used in obstinate cutanedus affections. 
 Its dose is one-fifth of a grain, two, three, or four times a day. Dr. 
 Eingdon prepares an arsenite of quinia for similar purposes, thus : Place 
 sixteen grains of arsenious acid, eight grains of carbonate of potassa, 
 and one fiuidounce of distilled water in a glass vessel : boil till all is 
 dissolved, adding water to keep the quantity of the solution at o,ne 
 fluidounce. To two and a half drachms of the solution add twenty 
 grains of sulphate of quinia, previously dissolved in distilled water by 
 boiling. The arsenite of quinia precipitates in the form of a white, 
 amorphous substance, which must be well washed and dried. Alcohol 
 dissolves it but not water. Its dose is one-fourth of a grain every six 
 hours, gradually increased to one-third of a grain every three or four 
 hours. — Prov. Med. and Surg. Jour., Aug., 1847. 
 
 * Perri Arsenias. Arseniate of Iron. (Arsenigsaures Bisenoxydul.)— 
 To a solution of sulphate of iron, add a solution of arseniate of potassa 
 
Obsolescent Medicines. 1273 
 
 (or soda) as long as a white precipitate falls. "Wash the precipitated 
 arseniate of iron on a filter and dry it. It is tasteless and insoluble in 
 water, but easily soluble in nitric or muriatic acid. Carmichael "apijlied 
 this as a caustic to cancerous ulcers in the following form : Take of 
 arseniate of iron one part, phosphate of iron four parts, spermaceti 
 cerate twelve parts ; triturate together. Biett has used it in herpetic, 
 scrofulous, and cancerous affections, in doses of one-sixteenth of a grain, 
 once or twice a day, in pill form, thus : Take of arseniate of iron three 
 grains, powdered marsh-mallow half a drachm, extract of hops two 
 drachms, simple syrup a sufficient quantity; beat well together and 
 divide into forty-eight pills. 
 
 Barium. Ba:=69. (Barium.) — Barium is the metallic basis of the 
 alkaline earth baryta. It is a solid metal of a silvery color, melts at a 
 temperature below redness, and is not volatilized by a heat capable of 
 melting plate glass, but at that temperature it acts violently upon the 
 glass, probably decomposing its alkali. Exposed to the air it rapidly 
 tarnishes, absorbs oxygen, and is converted into baryta or barytes. It 
 sinks rapidly in water, decomposes it with great rapidity, hj'drogen 
 being evolved, and is converted into baryta. "When strongly pressed 
 it becomes flat, and appears to be both ductile and malleable. 
 
 Baryta, Barytes (Baryt. Schwererde), also called heavy earth, "terra 
 ponderosa," is the protoxide of barium, and is formed when barium has 
 been put into water. It was discovered in 1774 by Scheele. It may be 
 procured from the native sulphate of baryta or ponderous spar, by mix- 
 ing this in very fine powder with one-eighth its weight of powdered 
 charcoal, keeping it at a red heat for some time in a crucible ; dissolv- 
 ing the sulphuret of baryta thus formed in nitric acid, filtering the 
 solution which is a nitrate of baryta, sulphur being deposited, and 
 slowly evaporating the filtered liquid till it crystallizes. Place the 
 crystals of nitrate of baryta in a crucible, and drive off the nitric acid 
 by a strong heat gradually applied. Baryta is a grayish-white, porous 
 body, having an acrid alkaline taste, no smell, an alkaline reaction, 
 and when taken into the stomach proves a most violent poison. Its 
 formula is Ba 0, equivalent weight 77, and sp. gr. 4.73. In the air it 
 attracts moisture, swells with heat, and falls to a white powder. It 
 slakes with water like quicklime, forming a hydrate ; and water dis- 
 solves .05 parts its weight of baryta, forming the test for sulphuric and 
 carbonic acids, known by the name of baryta water. It forms several 
 salts used in medicine and pharmacy. 
 
 Baryta Cakbonas. Carbonate of Baryta. (Kohlensaure Schwererde.) 
 — Also called Witherite after Withering, who first found it native in 1783,, 
 though previously examined by Bergmann. It is found in Hungary, 
 Sicily, Siberia, Neuberg in Stiria, etc., but occurs in considerable quan- 
 tity in veins along with lead ore iri different parts of England. It may 
 be prepared artificially by exposing baryta water to the air, or by pass- 
 ing carbonic acid gas into it ; in either case the carbonate precipitates 
 in the state of a white powder. The native carbonate occurs in masses, 
 stalactitic, and crystallized in six-sided prisms formed by the intersec- 
 tion of three primary right-rhombic prisms. It is poisonous, has no 
 sensible taste, and, when native has the sp. gr. 4.331 ; when artificial it 
 scarcely exceeds 3.763. Cold water dissolves j^j part, and boiling 
 water -^^-^ part of this salt; it is unalterable in the air, and when ex- 
 posed to a blowpipe heat it fuses, evolving much light, losing carbonic 
 acid, and presenting the appearance of white enamel. It is dissolved 
 by the mineral acids with effervescence. One equivalent of carbonic 
 
1 274 Appendix. ' 
 
 acid, and one of baryta, enter into its 6ompo8ition, Ba O COj=99. Its 
 principal use is in the preparation of chloride of barium. 
 
 Baryta Nitras. Nitrate of Baryta. (Salpetersaure Schwererde.) — 
 This salt was formed immediately after the discovery of baryta, and 
 may be prepared by dissolving native carbonate of baryta in nitric 
 acid ; or by decomposing sulphuret of baryta by means of nitric acid, 
 filtering, evaporating, and crystallizing. It crystallizes in transparent 
 permanent octahedra and tetrahedra, is odorless, of a pungent, and 
 slightly bitter taste, soluble in fourteen parts of water at 60°. P., in 
 three parts of boiling water, and slightly soluble in alcohol. - Heat 
 fuses it, with decrepitation ; a strong heat drives off the nitric acid, and 
 leaves pure baryta. Fire-work makers use it to communicate a green 
 tinge to flame. It is employed in chemistry and pharmacy, in solution 
 as a test for sulphuric acid and sulphates, instead of the chloride of 
 barium, when it is considered desirable to avoid the presence of a 
 metallic chloride. The solution is made by dissolving one grain of the 
 nitrate in twenty parts of distilled water, and keeping the solution in 
 well-closed bottles. 
 
 Baryta Sulphas. Sulphate of Baryta. (Schwefelsaure Schwererde.) 
 — This salt was discovered by Scheele in 1744 ; its nature was first ascer- 
 tained by Assessor G-ahn. It occurs in considerable quantity, chiefly 
 in veins, and very frequently accompanies galena and gray copper ore ; 
 it is also frequently prepared artificially. It often occurs in right- 
 rhombic prisms. Its color is white or flesh-red ; it is brittle, commonly 
 in plates, of sp. gr. 4.41 to 4.67, odorless, tasteless, is not easily fused, 
 is insoluble in nitric acid, and requires 43,000 times its weight of water 
 at 60° F. to dissolve it. Heated suddenly it decrepitates; a violent 
 heat, equal to 35° Wedgewood is required to melt it, when it is con- 
 verted into a white opaque globule. Ignited in powder with charcoal 
 it becomes changed into sulphuret of barium, evolving sulphuretted 
 hydrogen on the addition of hydrochloric acid, and forming a solution 
 of chloride of barium. It is composed of one equivalent each of sul- 
 phuric acid, and baryta Ba O S03^177. The several salts of baryta 
 are generally prepared from it. 
 
 Barii Chloridum. Chloride of Barium. (Salzsaure Schwererde.) — 
 This salt is easily obtained by dissolving carbonate of baryta in diluted 
 hydrochloric acid, evaporating the solution, so that on cooling crystals 
 may form. Or it may be prepared by mixing powdered sulphate of 
 baryta with one-fourth its weight of charcoal, heating the mixture in 
 a covered crucible for three hours at a low white heat ; powdering the 
 product, stirring it well with fifteen parts of water, boiling, filtei-ing, 
 and adding to the filtered liquor hydrochloric acid in small portions at 
 a time until effervescence ceases, and the solution is neutral to test 
 paper; again filter, evaporate, and set aside to form crystals. In this 
 latter process be careful not to inhale any of the sulphuretted hydrogen 
 gas which escapes on the addition of the hydrochloric acid. Chloride 
 of barium forms transparent right-rhombic tabular crystals, gener- 
 ally flattened at the corners, odorless, of an unpleasant, sharp, amarous 
 taste, permanent in the air, soluble in two and a half parts of cold 
 and one and a half of boiling water, insoluble in strong alcohol, and of 
 sp. gr. 3.097. "When heated they lose their water of crystallization, 
 and at a red heat fuse to a clear liquid. If the salt attracts m'oisture 
 from the air it contains chloride of calcium ; this is proved by shaking 
 the finely-powdered salt with absolute alcohol, which dissolves any 
 .-.hloride of calcium or strontium present, filtering, evaporating the fil- 
 
Obsolescent Medicines. 1275 
 
 trate, treating the residue with water, and then with dilute sulphuric 
 acid ; a precipitate denotes strontium, this is filtered ofi, and after satu- 
 rating the filtrate with ammonia, oxalate of ammonia is added, and 
 any turbidity caused by it is due to lime. The solution of chloride of 
 barium must be so thoroughly precipitated by sulphuric acid as to yield 
 no residue on evaporation ; should there be a permanent one on heat- 
 ing, it is due to impui-ities. A blue precipitate with ferrocyanuret of 
 potassium denotes iron; with ammonia a white precipitate, disappear- 
 ing on the addition of sal ammoniac from magnesia, the chloride of 
 which, like that of calcium deliquesces in the air, and may also be a 
 cause of the moisture of the chloride of barium. A blue color caused 
 by the ammonia arises from copper. Chloride of barium is incompatible 
 with the alkaline and metallic sulphates and nitrates, the phosphates 
 and carbonates. It is composed of one equivalent of barium, one of 
 chlorine, and two of water, Ba C1=104.5+HO,=18=122.5. 
 
 In large doses this salt is a violent poison, affecting the nervous sys- 
 tem chiefly. In small doses it is said to be useful in scrofula, dropsy, 
 scirrhous affections, bronchocele, etc. It is used in solution, both ex- 
 ternally and internally, one part of the chloride being dissolved in eight 
 parts of distilled water, and administered in doses of ten drops, two or 
 three times a day, gradually and carefully increased until nausea or 
 giddiness is experienced. It has been used as a lotion in herpetic erup- 
 tions, and a collyrium in scrofulous ophthalmia, but its external use 
 must be conducted with caution, as it is easily absorbed. When taken 
 in poisonous doses, its antidotes are the sulphates, as sulphate of mag- 
 nesia with a free use of well or spring water, and evacuating the stom- 
 ach as soon as possible; together with other treatment indicated by the 
 symptoms present.- 
 
 Chloride of barium, in solution, is employed as a test for sulphuric 
 acid or the sulphates in solution, with which it forms a white insoluble 
 precipitate of sulphate of baryta. 
 
 *Barii Iodidum. Iodide of Barium. (lodbarium.) — This salt may 
 be obtained by dissolving carbonate of baryta in hydriodic acid ; or, 
 by Magendie's formula : Take iodine 100 parts, iron filings 30 parts, 
 water a sufficient quantity; form an iodide of iron, to which add a so-* 
 lution of baryta one part, in distilled water 20 parts, and continue it 
 as long as a precipitate occurs ; heat for a few seconds, filter the solu- 
 tion, concentrate by evaporation, and crystallize. It ci'ystallizes in fine, 
 acicular prisnis, which are very soluble in water, and but feebly deli- 
 quescent. "When long exposed to the air, a portion of the hydriodic 
 acid is decomposed and dissipated, carbonate of baryta is formed, and 
 hydriodate of baryta colored by iodine may be dissolved by water. It 
 is a violent poison, requiring great caution in its use. Jahn recom- 
 mends it as a powerful alterative, resolvent, and liquefacient, in scrofu- 
 lous enlargements, hypertrophy, etc. The dose is one-eighth of a grain, 
 very cautiously increased to one grain, three times daily, dissolved in 
 distilled water. As an application to scrofulous tumors Biett recom- 
 mends an ointment, made by triturating two grains of the iodide of 
 barium with half an ounce of lard ; applied by friction. 
 
 Cadmium. Cd^64. (Cadmium.) — This metal was discovered by 
 Stromeyer and Hermann about the year 1818. It usually occurs asso- 
 ciated with the oxide of zinc, from which it has to be separated. Cad- 
 mium has a white color, with a slight bluish-gray tinge, is soft, very 
 malleable, crystallizes in regular octohedrons, is vei-y fusible, melting 
 before it becomes red hot, and at a temperature somewhat higher than 
 
1276 Appendix. 
 
 the boiling point of mercury, it is volatile, collecting in drops and 
 crystallizing as it cools. One or two of its salts have been used in 
 medicine. 
 
 *Cadmii loDiDUM. Iodide of Cadmium,. (lodcadmiura.) — Cadmium 
 combines readily with iodine, either by heating the two substances to- 
 gether, or by boiling them in water till a solution is obtained. By evapo- 
 rating this solution the iodide of cadmium crystallizes in six-sided 
 prisms. They are white, with a pearly luster, transparent, permanent 
 in the air, and melt very easily. Strongly heated, the iodine is driven 
 off. They are soluble in water and alcohol, from which solutions they 
 are precipitated by the alkaline carbonates, furnishing carbonate of 
 cadmium. With starch and chlorine they give a blue color, and with 
 sulphuretted hydrogen, a yellow precipitate. They consist of one equiv- 
 alent, each, of iodine and cadmium, Cd 1=190. Iodide of cadmium 
 has been used as a substitute for iodide of lead, in external applications. 
 It is said to produce the same beneficial effects as the latter agent, with- 
 out any of its deleterious effects. It may be dissolved in glycerin, and 
 applied by friction, in order to produce any effect. An ointment has 
 been found very useful in chilblains, some forms of cutaneous disease, 
 chronic inflammatory affections of the joints, various forms of nodes, 
 scrofulous tumors, etc., composed of one part of iodide of cadmium to 
 eight parts of lard. 
 
 * Cadmii Sulphas. Sulphate of Cadmium. (Schwefelsaures Cadmium 
 Oxyd.) — This salt may be obtained by dissolving carbonate of cadmium 
 in dilute sulphuric acid, and evaporating the neutral liquid so that it 
 may crystallize; or, by dissolving seven parts of cadmium in a mix- 
 ture of six and a half parts of sulphuric acid, fifteen parts of water 
 and a small portion of nitric acid. Evaporate the solution to dryness, 
 dissolve the residuum in distilled water, filter, and evaporate to form 
 crystals. This salt crystallizes in large transparent rectangular prisms, 
 similar in appearance to sulphate of zinc. They are very soluble in 
 water, effloresce strongly when exposed to the air, lose their water of 
 crystallization at a low heat without fusing, and at a strong red heat 
 are changed into tabular crystals of subsulphate of cadmium, which are 
 not very soluble in water. Their taste is astringent. Their formula is 
 Cd O SO3T=104. The effects of sulphate of cadmium on the system are 
 said to resemble those of sulphate of zinc, but ten times more active. 
 Internallj'^, half a grain has produced a copious flow of saliva, nausea, 
 vomiting, and pain. It has been recommended as an irritant and astrin- 
 gent topical application in affections of the «ye, specks and opacities 
 of the cornea, etc. As an application in chronic ophthalmia, from half 
 a grain to four grains may be dissolved in a fluidounce of water ; in 
 otorrhea the solution may be made of double the above strength. In 
 specks on the cornea, an ointment has been used, composed of one or 
 two grains of the sulphate to four scruples of prepared lard. 
 
 I CuPRtiM. Copper. (Kupfer.) — This metal appears to have been 
 known even before the time of Moses. It exists abundantly in different 
 parts of the earth, and is found in a great variety of states, but princi- 
 pally in the form of copper pyrites, and gray copper ore. Pure copper is 
 a reddish, brilliant, ductile, and malleable metal, of a nauseous, styptic 
 taste, a peculiar disagreeable odor, harder than silver, fusing at 1996° 
 F., and on cooling crystallizing in regular octohedrons and cubec It is 
 combustible, is readily oxidated on exposure to the air, has the specific 
 gravity 8.86 to 8.94, and the symbol Cu^32. It affords several medic- 
 
Obsolescent Medicines. ' 1277 
 
 iual agents ; the subacetate of copper, and the sulphate have already 
 been treated upon. 
 
 CuPRi Ammonio-Sulphas. AmmonicB Cupro- Sulphas. Ammoniated 
 Copper. Oupro-sulphate of Ammonia. (Basisch Schwefelsaures Kupfer- 
 oxyd Ammoniak.) — This salt is prepared by rubbing together until 
 effervescence has ceased, one ounce of sulphate of copper -with an ounce 
 and a half of sesquicarbonate of ammonia ; then roll up the residue in 
 bibulous paper, and place it on a porous brick. When dry, let it be in- 
 closed in a well-stopped bottle. Cupro-sulphate of ammonia forms 
 eithar a deep blue erysta,lline powder, or similarly colored long fiat 
 prisms and needles, having an odor of ammonia, and a nauseous, me- 
 tallic taste. It dissolves in one and a half parts of cold water, but is' 
 decomposed in a large quantity, a pale blue powder, subsulphate of 
 copper, being precipitated ; excess of ammonia will prevent this. Ex- 
 posed to the air, it loses ,it8 ammonia, leaving a green powder, which, 
 being carefully heated, leaves a white residual powder remaining, the 
 neutral sulphate of copper. Acids, arsenic, lime-water, and the fixed 
 alkalies, form precipitates with a solution of the cupro-sulphate of am- 
 monia. It is composed of two equivalents of ammonia, and one, each, 
 of oxide of copper, sulphuric acid, and water, NH3 Cu O-f-NHj HO 
 803^123. It is said to be a tonic, and has been used in chorea, hys- 
 teria, epilepsy, spasmodic asthma, and cramp of the stomach, in doses 
 of from half a grain, two or three times a day, cautiously increased to 
 five grains. It is generally given in pill form, with crumb of bread and 
 carbonate of ammonia. In solution (a drachm of the salt to a fluidounce 
 of water) it has been used as an application to indolent ulcers to stimu- 
 late them ; and still further diluted, to the eye, to remove slight specks 
 on the cornea. In large doses it produces vomiting, purging, weakness, 
 tremblings, and paralysis; the antidotes are the same as named for 
 poisoning by sulphate of copper. 
 
 * CuPRi Chloridtjm. Chloride of Copper. (Kupferchlorid Salsaures 
 Kupferoxyd.) — This may be procured by mixing together seven parts 
 of powdered Chloride of Potassium, and eleven and- a half parts of Sul- 
 phate of Copper ; adding to the mixture, gradually, twelve parts of boil- ■ 
 ing Water, filtering when cool, evaporating the filtrate to form crystals, 
 and drying them on bibulous paper. The salt is deposited in rectangu- 
 lar prisms of a fine grass-green color. It is exceedingly acrid and 
 caustic, has the specific gravity 1.67, is very soluble in water, attracts 
 moisture from the air, forming an oily liquid, fuses at a moderate heat, 
 becoming solid when cold, and consists of one equivalent each of copper 
 and chlorine, and three of water. In doses of from two to ten grains 
 it is said to b^ useful in epilepsy, in the form of pill or solution. The 
 solution may be used externally for the same purpose as that of the 
 nitrate of copper. 
 
 * CuPEi NiTRAS. Nitrate of Copper. (Salpetersaures Kupferoxyd.) — 
 Dissolve small pieces of metallic copper in nitric acid, specific gravity 
 1.20, until the metal is no longer acted upon ; allow the 'solution to 
 settle, decant or filter, and slowly evaporate on a sand-bath to dryness. 
 Nitrate of copper forms either a pale blue crystalline powder, or deep 
 blue rhombic prisms, of specific gravity 2.174, a feeble nitric acid odor, 
 a nauseous, pungent, metallic taste, and an acid reaction. They deli- 
 quesce in the air, are very caustic, corroding the skin with great energy, 
 are sojlufcle in water or alcohol, and fuse when heated, parting with water 
 and nitric acid, and leaving a green basic salt, which still further heated 
 becomes pure oxide of copper. This salt has been used as a caustic to 
 
1278 ' Appendix. 
 
 ulcers of various parts, aa well as of the tongue and throat ; the ulcer 
 must first be dried, then apply the caustic, and then cover the part with 
 sweet oil.— Braithwaite's Retrospect, XXV., 201. 
 
 Hydrargyrum. Mercury, or Quicksilver. (Quecksilber.) — Mercury 
 often occurs in a native state, but it is met with more abundantly in 
 the form of cinnabar, or sulphuret of mercury ; it is also met with in 
 combination with silver. The process for obtaining pure mercury from 
 its sulphuret is very simple ; the cinnabar ore is mixed with half its 
 weight of lime, and then distilled iu iron retorts. Mercury distills over, 
 and the sulphuret of lime remains in the retort. At Almadin, in Spain, 
 the ore is roasted, by which the sulphur is converted into sulphurous 
 acid, and the mercury is volatilized. Mercury is a heavy, fluid metal, 
 
 * odorless, tasteless, of a whitish color, like tin or silver, and quite bril- 
 liant. Its symbol is Hg, its equivalent weight 100, and its specific 
 gravity 13.568. It freezes and becomes solid at 38° 66', crystallizing in 
 needles and regular octohedrons, being malleable, ductile, and tenacious, 
 and having the specific gravity 14.391. It boils at 660° F., and pro- 
 duces an invisible elastic oxidized vapor, having the specific gravity 
 6:976. It is not altered by being kept under water, but its surface be 
 comes gradually tarnished when exposed to the action of the air, be- 
 coming covered with a black oxide. It is slightlj- volatile even at the 
 ordinary temperature; nitric acid dissolves it at 60° F. ; concentrated 
 sulphuric acid only when heated ; while hydrochloric acid does not act 
 upon it. Mercury combines with bromine, chlorine, iodine, oxygen, 
 lead, phospborus, sulphur, bismuth, arsenic, etc., forming compounds, 
 some of which have been used in medical practice. Gold, silver, tin, 
 cadmium, etc., combine with it when cold, forming alloj-s called amal- 
 gams. Mercury does not decompose water ; but if boiled in this liquid 
 it absorbs sJ^^th of its weight, however, without becoming heavier, for 
 water dissolves a small quantity of it, and thus acquires medicinal prop- 
 erties. Triturated with fat, or agitated for a great length of time with 
 water, it is divided to such a degree as to lose its metallic luster, and 
 then forms a blackish powder, which is this metal in a state of great 
 
 " division. Mercury in combination with other substances may be de- 
 tected by dissolving the substance in nitric acid ; in the solution place 
 a piece of bright copper, and after some time remove it, and rub it with 
 clean paper, when, if mercury be present, a silvery stain will be found 
 on the copper, which is removed by heat, and may be collected in a 
 minute globule of quicksilver if the volatilization be conducted in a 
 small glass tube. A globule of mercury moved gently along a sheet of 
 paper, leaves no stain or trail. If a strong solution of iodide of potas- 
 sium be added to a minute portion of any of the salte of mercury, 
 placed on a clean bright plate of copper, the mercury is immediately 
 deposited in the metallic state, appearing as a silvery stain on the cop- 
 per, which can not be mistaken, as no other metal is deposited by the 
 same means. The solution of mercury previous to the application of 
 the test, must be concentrated by evaporation. — A. Morgan. Pharm. 
 Jour, and Trans., XI., 372. 
 
 In the metallic state mercury is inert as a medicine, except when in 
 a state of minute division ; but its oxides and compound preparations 
 possess active properties. Almost all the mercurial preparations act in 
 the same way, possessing sialagogue, deobstruent, alterative, etc., prop- 
 erties, the character and degree of which are frequently diminished or 
 augmented by the peculiar agents in combination with it. When long 
 continued, and, in many instances, a few doses with some very suscep- 
 
Obsolescent Medicines. 1279 
 
 tible constitutions, induces a succession of very serious symptoms, as 
 emaciation, general debility, cedema, tremor of the limbs, diseased liver, 
 pain in the bones, caries, palsy, ulcerations of the pharynx and other 
 parts, gangrenous ulceration of the mouth and face, and a sort of scor- 
 butic marasmus. It likewise occasionally produces a febrile condition 
 of the system, profuse perspiration, several forms of cutaneous disease, 
 as eczema, herpes, inflammation or congestion of the eye, fauces, or peri- 
 toneum, nodes, enlargement of the inguinal, axillary, mesenteric, paro- 
 tid, pancreatic, etc., glands, together with various painful and nervous 
 attacks. It was introduced into the medical profession by that notori 
 ous quack of former years, Paracelsus. Mercury in minute division. 
 and many of its different preparations have been, and are still used in 
 medicine, in the treatment of various forms of disease, and which will 
 be referred to hereafter. Its modus operandi is not positively known. 
 
 . In the bodies of persons, who, during life had employed mercury or 
 some of its preparations, either internally or externally, metallic mer- 
 cury has been found, as in the bones, brain, pleura, liver, cellular tissue, 
 lungs, kidneys, etc. It has also been detected in the secretions of 
 patients who were under its influence, as in the perspiration, urine, 
 saliva, bile, gastro-intestinal secretions, and in the fluids of ulcers; when 
 in the blood, it is very difficult to be detected by the ordinary teste, the 
 most certain mode of procuring it, when present in this fluid, being by 
 destructive distillation. 
 
 The salivation and gangrenous inflammation of the mouth occasioned 
 by mercurials are best overcome by astringent infusions, both taken 
 internally and used as a gargle, and the administration of chlorate of 
 potassa. Its constitutional effects are best remedied by vegetable alter- 
 atives with iodide of potassium, tonics, attention to the excretions, 
 malic acid, exercise, etc. ; though it is rarely the case that a perfect 
 recovery of health ensues where the system has suffered considerably 
 from the effects of the mineral. 
 
 Htdrargtri Acetas. Acetate of Mercury. (Essigsaures Quecksilber 
 Oxydul.) — It forms in rectangular tables and plates, having their angles 
 frequently truncated. They are white, but become black on exposure 
 to light, are inodorous, of an acrid, metallic taste, and almost insoluble 
 in water or alcohol. Heat decomposes it. It consists of one equivalent, 
 each, of suboxide of mercury and acetic acid, Hgj O A=259. It has 
 been occasionally used in syphilitic affections in doses of from one to 
 five grains. One or two grains dissolved in water, has been used as a 
 wash in obstinate cutaneous affections. This salt is seldom used. 
 
 Hydkakgtri Amido-Chloridum. Amido-Chloride of Mercury. (Queck- 
 silber Chlorid. amid Quecksilber Weisser Praecipitat.) — This salt has 
 also received the names of Ammoniated Mercury, Ammonio- Chloride of 
 Mercury, White Precipitate, White Oxide of Mercury, etc. It is prepared 
 by dissolving one part of Bichloride of Mercury in thirty parts of pure 
 Water, in an earthen dish (if hot water has been used, the solution 
 must be allowed to cool perfectly), and caustic Solution of Ammonia 
 added so long as a precipitate is caused. One and a third parts of am- 
 moniacal solutipn, sp. gr. 0.960, effect this entirely. After standing 
 twenty -four hours, pour off the liquor, collect the precipitate, and dry 
 it. The precipitate, previous to drying, is to be washed until the wash- 
 ings are free from taste; continued washing decomposes the salt. If 
 the salt were not washed at all, it would not be injured in its properties, 
 as the muriate of ammonia, to remove which the washing is designed 
 is present only in trifling amount. Amido-chloride of mercury is a 
 
1280 Appendix. 
 
 snoV-white, inodorous mass, possessing a nauseous metallic taste. It 
 is ifisoluble in alcohol, in about 600 parts of water, and readily soluble 
 in sulphuric nitric, and hydrochloric acids. Heat volatilizes it without 
 fusing, forming ammonia, nitrogen, calomel, and water. Fixed alkalies 
 and alkaline earths cause the evolution of half its ammonia, and color 
 it yellow. Caustic ammonia does not alter it. When lime is added to 
 it, heat does not entirely volatilize it. It is composed of two equiva- 
 lents, each, of mercury and hydrogen, and one equivalent, each, of 
 chlorine and nitrogen, Hg Cl+NH^ Hg=Hg 01, Hg Ad=:251.5. White 
 precipitate is used externally only, in herpes, impetigo, porrigo, and 
 other affections of the skin, and in ophthalmia tarsi. One part of the salt 
 to tWiclve parts of lard, or simple cerate, forms an ointment for applica- 
 tion in the above-named maladies. 
 
 * Htdraeqtri Bokas. Borate of Mercury. (Boraxsaures Quecksilber 
 Oxydul.) — Eub together eleven parts of the Subehloride of Mercury and 
 thirteen parts of Borate of Soda for about fifteen minutes, then add small 
 quantities of water from time to time, continuing the trituration through- 
 out ; then filter, wash the precipitate till the washings are tasteless, and 
 dry. Eecommended as a substitute for calomel, in doses of two grains 
 daily, increasing gradually. 
 
 *Htdraegthi Bromidum. Brornide of Mercury. (Quecksilber 
 Bromiir.) — To a weak solution of protonitrate of mercury add a solu- 
 tion of bromide of potassium so long as a precipitate falls ; filter, wash, 
 and dry by a gentle heat. It forms a white powder resembling calomel, 
 consisting of one equivalent of bromine, and two equivalents of mercury. 
 This is given for the same purpose as the iodide of mercury, in doses 
 of one grain per day, gradually increased. A bibromide of Mercury is 
 made by mixing together equal parts of mercury and bromine ; sublime 
 the white powder formed by the mixture. It is white, soluble in water, 
 alcohol, or ether ; its solution gives a red or yellow precipitate with 
 alkalies ; and nitric or sulphuric acid decomposes it with evolution of 
 vapors of bromine. It consists of one equivalent, each, of mercury and 
 bromine. It is a powerful poison, and has been recommended in syph- 
 ilis, lepra, etc., in doses of one-twentielth of a grain, gradually increased 
 to one-fourth. It may be given in pill, or dissolved in ether. 
 
 Hydrargyrum Ctim Oreta. Mercury with Chalk. (Quecksilber mit 
 Kreide.) — This is prepared by triturating together three parts of Mer- 
 cury, &nd. Jive parts of Prepared Chalk, continuing the trituration until 
 the mercurial globules are no longer visible. In this preparation the 
 mercury becomes minutely divided, with, perhaps, a conversion of some 
 of it into a mercurial protoxide. It forms a powder of a gray color, 
 which effervesces when dilute acetic acid is added to it, forming a solu- 
 tion of lime, which may be detected by the usual tests for this substance ; 
 the insoluble precipitate is dissolved by dilute nitric acid, and consists 
 principally of mercury. This salt is used as a laxative, cholagogue, and 
 alterative, though it produces all the deleterious constitutional effects 
 of mercury, by continued use. It has been used in biliary derange- 
 ments, strumous diseases, syphilis in infants, diarrhea, etc. The dose 
 for an adult is from five to ten or twenty grains, one or two times daily ; 
 to children from one to three grains. It may be given alone, in powder, 
 or in combination with rhubarb, carbonate of soda, or other compatible 
 agents. Hydrargyrum cum Magnesia. (Quecksilber mit Magnesia.) — 
 Mercury with Magnesia, is used in the same doses and for the same-pur- 
 poses as the preceding compound. It is prepared by triturating together, 
 
Obsolescent Medicines. 1281 
 
 the same as in the above, one part of mercury, with two parts of carbon- 
 ate of magnesia. 
 
 Hydeargyri Cyanttretum. Cyanuret of Mercury. ("Cyan Queck- 
 silber.) — This is best prepared by dissolving in sixteen parts of "Water, 
 in a glass flask, two parts of crystallized Ferrocyanuret of Potassium, 
 and then adding three parts of dry Persulphate of Mercury. Boil for 
 half an hour in a sand-bath, filter, and evaporate to dryness, stirring 
 constantly. Powder the dried mass, digest it with eight times its 
 weight of alcohol, 80 per ct;, for some hours, filter while hot, wash the 
 residue on the filter with hot alcohol, and set aside to crystallize. Col- 
 lect the crystals, evaporate the mother-liquor to dryness, and preserve 
 the whole in a well-closed bottle excluded from the light. This mode 
 forms a much purer ^alt than that ordinarily pursued with Prussian 
 blue and the red oxide of mercury. • Cyanuret of mercury forms white, 
 more or less transparent, four-sided prisms and pyramids, which 
 are odorless, but have a pungent, nauseous, metallic taste. Heated in 
 a closed glass tube, the crystals fly in pieces, and decompose into cyan- 
 ogen and mercury ; a black carbonaceous mass is also formed at the 
 same time, Paracyanogen. Water at 60° F. dissolves one-eleventh part 
 of its weight, of the salt; at 212° F., two-fifths its weight; alcohol of 80 
 pr. ct. dissolves one-twentieth its weight of the salt, and one-fifth wben 
 boiling. This salt is not decomposed by aqueous solutions of the oxy- 
 gen adds, nor by the aqueous solutions of .alkalies. Its formula is Hg 
 -l-Ca N=Hg Cy. It is a corrosive poison, but has been used in venereal 
 diseases, humid squamous tetters, porrigo, and other cutaneous diseases, 
 as ^ell as in some chronic inflammations. Its dose is from one-six- 
 teenth to one-eighth of a grain, in pill form, with opium and crumb of 
 bread. An ointment for external application in skin diseases, etc., may 
 be made by rubbing together cyanuret of mercury sixteen grains, with 
 lard oneounce, oil of lemon fifteen drops. 
 
 Hydrakgyri Diperniteas. Bibasic Nitrate of the Oxide of Mercury. 
 2 Hg !N"O5=i270. (Doppelt basisch Salpeter&aures Quecksilberoxyd.) 
 -r-Prepared by boiling mercury in strong nitric acid until the liquid, when 
 diluted with water, ceases to yield a white precipitate (calomel) on the 
 addition of a solution of common salt. Then concentrate until it has 
 the sp. gr. 3.47. This liquor has an acrid metallic taste, and colors the 
 skin, when exposed to light, purplish red. By evaporation, crystals of 
 the bibasic nitrate are formed, 2 Hg O 'SO;, 2 HO ; if the crystals be 
 washed with cold water as long as it gives an acid reaction, a heavy 
 yellow powder is obtained, which is the tribasie nitrate of the oxide of 
 mercury, 3 Hg O 'SOc, HO; this when boiled in water, yields a brick- 
 red powder, which is the sexbasic nitrate of the mercurial oxide, 6 Hg 
 O NO5. The bibasic nitrate of oxide of mercury is acrid and caustic, 
 more so than the nitrate ; and exerts an influence upOn the system 
 similar to that of corrosive sublimate, into which salt it becomes eon - 
 verted by the action of the alkaline chlorides in the alimentary canal. 
 It is now seldom used, except as an ointment, and acid wash. 
 
 Bmplastrum Hydraegyri, Plaster of Mercury. (Quecksilber Pflas- 
 ter.) — Melt together one ounce of Resin and nine fluidrachms of Olive 
 Oil ; when cool add Mercury three ounces, and triturate till its globules 
 disappear ; then add to the mixture, previously liquefied. Lead Plaster 
 six ounces, and mix the whole thoroughly. This plaster has been used 
 as a stimulating discutient to glandular swellings, syphilitic enlarge- 
 ments, etc., and to produce a mercurial therapeutical influence when 
 
 81 
 
1282 -Appendix. 
 
 applied locally, as over the liver or spleen, in chronic disease of these 
 organs. 
 
 Emplastetjm Ammoniac! cum HyDKARGTRO. Plaster of Ammonia with 
 Mercury. (Ammoniak Pflaster mit Quecksilber.) — Take of Ammoniac 
 Plaster /owr ounces, and mix it thoroughly with Mercurial Plaster eight 
 ounces, by means of a steam or water bath, stirring constantly until the 
 mixture stiffens on cooling. This is a more active preparation than the 
 preceding, and is used in the same cases. It frequently excites an 
 eczematous eruption, and has caused salivation. 
 
 * Hydrargtri et Quinije Chloridtjm. Chloride of Mercury and 
 Quinia. (Quecksilberchlorid und Chinin.) — Take one part of the Bichlo- 
 ride of Mercury, and three parts of Muriate of Quinia. Dissolve each, 
 separately, in the least possible quantity of water, mix the solutions, 
 'filter, and dry the precipitate by a gentle heat. This has been used in 
 obstinate cutaneous diseases, and in cases where it is desirable to pro- 
 duce the influence of quinia and mercury. The dose is from half a 
 grain to a grain, every four or six hours, in pill form with opium and 
 crumb of bread. 
 
 Hydrargtri ITitrico Oxidum. Nitric Oxide of Mercury. Red Pre- 
 cipitate. (Salpetersaures Quecksilberoxyd.) — This preparation, also 
 known as Mydrargyri Oxydum Bubrum, Peroxide or Bed Oxide of Mercury, 
 Deutoxide of Mercury, etc., is obtained by dissolving Mercury three pounds 
 in Nitric Acid eighteen fluidounces, Distilled Water two pints, with the 
 aid of a gentle heat. Boil down the liquor, and rub what remains to 
 powder. Put this into another very shallow vessel, and apply a grad- 
 ual heat until red vapors cease to rise, — Lond. In this instance nitrate 
 of mercury is first formed, and then decomposed by the aid of heat, 
 though a portion of nitrate remains ; to remove the whole of the nitrjc 
 acid would cause the mercury to sublime, from the amount of h-sat 
 necessary. 
 
 Wittstein recommends to digest Mercury one fart, in a glass bo*tle, 
 on a sand -bath, with three parts of Diluted Nitric Acid, sp. gr. 1.20, 
 until the Mercury is all dissolved. Pour the solution into a porcelain 
 dish, and evaporate with continued stirring over an open fire, to dry- 
 ness. Mix the dried yellowish-white mass with as' much mercury as 
 has been dissolved, then return it to the dish, and with continuous 
 stirring, heat it over an open fire, at first gently, and then rather 
 strongly until no more brownish-yellow fumes are evolved and the 
 powder has a grayish -black appearance, which becomes red on cooling. 
 The last traces of nitric acid are driven off with difSculty, and at the 
 risk of reducing a portion of the oxide ; consequently, in order to re- 
 move any traces of acid present, it is better when the powder has been 
 heated to the point above mentioned, to allow it to cool, mix it with 
 crystallized carbonate of soda, one-tenth the weight of the mercury 
 employed, boil the whole with a measured quantity of water for half 
 an hour, filter, wash the precipitate with warm water until all tho 
 alkali is removed, dry with a gentle heat, and keep in closely-stopped 
 bottles excluded from the light. The yield is rather more than the 
 weight of the mercury employed. 
 
 Eed precipitate forms in masses or powder consisting of small scales 
 of a bright orange-red color, forming a powder of a light yello-^' color 
 when it contains water, or of a yellow-red, or brick -red color when it 
 is anhydrous, inodorous, and of a caustic, metallic taste. Water dis- 
 solves traces of it, alcohol none ; nitric and hydrochloric acids dissolve 
 it readily. It is decomposed by light and heat. When heated it be- 
 
Obsolescent Medicines. 1283 
 
 comes black, but on cooling resumes its original red color ; heated 
 strongly it separates into oxygen which is given off, and mercury. It 
 is frequently adulterated with oxide of lead, powdered brick, etc., which 
 may be known by heating a portion of the oxide in a small retort or 
 porcelain crucible; if pure the mercurial oxide is wholly volatilized ; 
 if any adulterations are present, these remain in the retort. Any con- 
 tamination with nitric acid (as the basic salt) may he generally detected 
 from the appearance of yellow grains, or the red vapors when heated ; 
 but the most certain test is to boil a portion of it with a solution of 
 Boda, filtering, supersaturating the filtrate with sulphuric acid and 
 adding a drop of solution of indigo,- the blue color of which will be 
 destroyed on warming, if nitric acid be present. When red precipitate 
 is dissolved in nitric acid, nitrate of silver does not afi'ect it, unless a 
 chloride be present. This salt is composed of one atom of mercury and 
 one of oxygen, Hg 0=10.8. 
 
 JRed precipitate is a powerful irritant, and when taken internally, 
 even in small doses, readily excites vomiting and purging ; large doses 
 cause gastro-enteritis. It is rarely employed internally on account of 
 these dangerous effects, though it has been recommended in syphilitic 
 diseases in conjunction with extract of conium, opium, or morphia, etc. 
 The dose of it is from Jg- to J of a grain, combined with half a grain of 
 opium, in pill form, to be repeated once or twice a day. It is princi- 
 pally used externally, as an escharotic and stimulant, to reduce fungous 
 fleshy excrescences, to chancres, to excite certain syphilitic ulcerations, 
 and indolent ulcers generally, and principally to reduce chronic oph- 
 thalmia, maintained by the ulceration of the free margin of the eyelids. 
 One part of the finely levigated powder of red precipitate, mixed with 
 eight parts of simple ointment, forms a stimulating application to ulcers, 
 chronic ophthalmia, some diseases of the skin, etc. Mackenzie recom- 
 mends one part of the powdered red precipitate to be triturated with 
 eight parts of white sugar, a portion of which may be blown into the 
 eye, through a quill, in opacity of the cornea. In syphilitic ulceration 
 of the throat, uvula, tonsils, etc., the following has been recommended 
 as a fumigation : Mix together Eed Precipitate two drachms, Frankin- 
 cense, Myrrh, each, two scruples, Camphor sixteen grains. Throw a 
 portion of this on a hot shovel, and inhale the vapor. It must be 
 remembered that it is capable of being absorbed, and of producing very 
 serious accidents. 
 
 Htdrargtki Perohloridum. Perchloride of Mercury. Corrosive 
 Sublimate. Also known by the names. Bichloride of Mercury, Chloride 
 of Mercury, Corrosive Muriate of Mercury, Oxymuriate of Mercury, etc., 
 (Quecksilberchlorid. Quecksilber Sublimat.) — There are several ways 
 by which this poison may be made, as follows : 
 
 1. Mix two parts of dry Neutral Persulphate of Mercury in a porce- 
 lain mortar, intimately with one part of powdered and well-dried Chlo- 
 ride of Sodium (common salt) ; shake the mixture into a glass flask, 
 which should only be one-fourth part filled, and sublime. The flask should 
 be placed in an iron dish containing a very thin layer of sand, then sur- 
 rounded with sand to half its depth, the whole put on a ring furnace, 
 and heat applied. To prevent the glass from cracking, the fire must 
 not be strong at first, but gradually increased. The heat must not be 
 too great, otherwise a considerable portion of the sublimed salt would 
 fuse and fall back again, and thus rather retard than facilitate the 
 process. When no more white stellated groups of crystals appear on 
 the surface of the powder at the bottom of the flask, the latter is with- 
 
1284 Appendix. 
 
 drawn from the sand, cracked by touching with a wet sponge, and whec 
 cold the sublimate in the upper portion of the flask is separated from 
 the glass and kept in vessels excluded from light. The jiroduct is one 
 and three-fourths parts. Instead of a glass flask, an iron pot lined with 
 olay, and an earthen head placed over it may be used. 
 
 2. Mercury six parts, Hydrochloric Acid, sp. gr. 1.130, and Nitric 
 Acid, sp. gr. 1.20, are mixed in a plain retort, the latter is placed in a 
 sand-bath, a receiver attached without luting, and kept cool while the 
 distillation is carried on to dryness. (The acids need not be chemi- 
 cally pure, but should they contain sulphuric acid, a little common 
 salt must be added.) When no more moisture forms in the neck of the 
 retort, the receiver is exchanged for a dry one, the retort is buried as 
 deeply as possible in the sand, and the heat continued until the salt is 
 driven to the upper portion, and into the neck of it. The retort is then 
 withdrawn from the sand, a wet cloth applied to the bottom, when cold, 
 the contents separated from the glass, and the product, which will be 
 about eight parts, kept in a bottle excluded from the light. 
 
 3. Boil down Mercury two pounds with Sulphuric Acid twenty-one and 
 a half fiuidounces (Imperial measure) until the bipersulphate of mercury 
 remains dry; rub this when it is cold with Chloride of Sodium onepound 
 and a half, in an earthen mortar ; then sublime with a heat gradually 
 raised. 
 
 4. Thomson says the best and most simple process, is to dissolve the 
 red oxide of mercury (red precipitate) in hydrochloric acid ; the solu- 
 tion takes place readily, and without the disengagement of any gas ; 
 and the salt crystallizes spontaneously. 
 
 Perchloride of mercury, when obtained by sublimation, forms in beau- 
 tiful white semi-transparent masses, composed of very small prismatic 
 needles. By evaporation, it yields cubes or rhomboidal prisms, or more 
 commonly quadrangular prisms with their sides alternately narrow, and 
 terminated by dihedral summits. It is odorless, has an extremely acrid, 
 nauseous, and metallic taste which is very persistent, is unalterable in 
 the air, and has the sp. gr. 5.14 to 5.42. It is soluble in sixteen parts 
 of cold, and in three of boiling water, in two and a half parts of cold 
 alcohol, and in three parts of ether ; all of which solutions have an acid 
 reaction. In the light it becomes reduced, first to protochloride, and 
 finally to the metallic state. When heated, it fuses, volatilizes without 
 being decomposed, and produces a white smoke of a penetrating smell. 
 If there is a white residue in the aqueous solution of this salt which is 
 blackened by ammonia or solution of potassa, calomel is present. Cor- 
 rosive sublimate consists of one equivalent, each, of mercury and chlo- 
 rine, Hg, C1^135.5. Its incompatibles are alkalies and their carbonates, 
 tartar-emetic, sulphuret of potassa, soaps, iron, copper, lead, metallic 
 mercury, vegetable substances containing tannic acid, etc. Takfen in; 
 ternally, corrosive sublimate acts as an active, caustic poison, produc- 
 ing in over-doses violent burning pain in the mouth, throat, esophagus, 
 and stomach ; diflSculty of swallowing ; sense of saffocation ; nausea, 
 violent vomiting increased by every thing taken into the stomach"; the 
 pain soon becomes diffused over the whole abdomen, which becomes 
 very sensitive to pressure ; violent purging, often of blood ; great anx- 
 iety ; flushed and even swollen countenance ; restlessness ; pulse quick, 
 small, and contracted ; cold sweats ; burning thirst ; short and laborious 
 breathing ; urine frequently suppressed ; and finally stupor, coma, con- 
 vulsive movements, partial paralysis, or paraplegia, and death. Some- 
 times before death ensues there may be profuse salivation, ulceration 
 
OBSOJ.ESCENT Medicines. 1285 
 
 of the modth,' fetor of the breath, and other secondtiry mercurial symp- 
 toms. On inspection after death the stomach and bowels will be found 
 excessively inflamed, sometimes patches of ulceration or gangrene. 
 
 In the treatment of cases of poisoning by corrosive sublimate, the 
 antidotes must be given promptly, without the least delay. Thus the 
 whites and yolks of eggs ; milk; or a mixture of wheat flour, oat-meal, 
 or barley-meal, and water ; these form a compound whose chemical 
 action on the tissues are slight when compared with that of the poison. 
 One egg is said to be required for every four grains of corrosive subli- 
 mate swallowed. The above, as well as mucilaginous draughts should 
 be given freely, until relief is afforded ; and as soon as possible the 
 stomach should be evacuated by the stomach-pump, and likewise be 
 well washed out. Chemical antidotes, or those which decompose the 
 poison, or form harmless compounds with it, should also be used, as a 
 mixture of two parts of very fine iron filings, and one of fine zinc filings, 
 which is said to reduce the corrosive sublimate to the metallic state; 
 or, the hydrated sulphuret of iron, which completely destroys the poison- 
 ous quality of the mercurial salt, if given within ten or fifteen minutes 
 after it has been swallowed. After the poisonous symptoms have been 
 overcome, any inflammation which may remain must be treated on 
 general principles. 
 
 As a therapeutical agent, corrosive sublimate has been employed as 
 an alterative in cutaneous, scrofulous, and rheumatic diseases, nervous 
 disorders, diseases of the bones, etc. In obstinate porrigo, acne, and 
 other eruptions on the face, it is said to have proved beneficial. It is 
 more generally administered in the treatment of syphilitic maladies. 
 It is frequently added to vegetable alterative syrups, or conjoined with 
 antimonials. Its dose is from one-sixteenth to one-eighth of a grain, made 
 into a pill with crumb of bread, and associated with some preparation 
 of opium, conium, or hyoscyamus, to prevent the nausea, griping, and 
 purging which frequently attend its use. A solution of Bichloride of 
 Mercury may be made by dissolving ten grains, each, of corrosive sub- 
 limate, and hydrochlorate of ammonia in a pint of water (Imperial 
 measure). Bach fluidounce contains half a grain of corrosive subli- 
 mate ; the dose of the solution varies from half a fiuidrachm to two or 
 three fluidrachms, taken in syrup or sweetened water. Hunter's Red 
 Drop is from Marryatt's Therapeutics, and is composed of ten grains 
 of corrosive sublimate dissolved in twelve drops of hydrochloric acid, 
 to which one fluidounce of compound spirits of lavender is added ; the 
 dose is from five to twenty drops in water or white-wine, or sufficient 
 not to purge the bowels. Antimonial wine may be substituted for the 
 compound spirits of lavender. 
 
 Externally, corrosive sublimate has been used alone, or in conjunc- 
 tion with arsenious acid, or chloride of zinc, as an application to 
 cancerous ulcers, obstinate and indolent ulcers, fistulous ulcers, chan- 
 cres. It maj'' be used in powder, solution, or ointment. The solu- 
 tion above named has been used as a wash in rosacea, scabies, lepra, 
 psoriasis, and other skin diseases, venereal ulcers, syphilitic affections, 
 of the eyes, and diluted, in obstinate gleet as an injection. From half 
 a grain to two grains of the mercurial salt rubbed up with an ounce of 
 lard, forms an ointment, which has been found effectual in the conta- 
 gious porrigo of the face and ■ scalp which spreads among children in 
 schools, as well as in other skin diseases. Yellow Wash (LotioFlava). 
 used as an application to venereal, scrofulous, and phagedenic ulcers, 
 is prepared by adding two or three grains of corrosive sublimate to a 
 
1286 Appendix. 
 
 fluiduunce of limewater. When employed, it should be well shaken, 
 and used in the turbid state. 
 
 There are several tests for the detection of corrosive sublimate, with 
 which the practitioner should be acquainted, as follows : — 1. Lime-water 
 produces with corrosive sublimate a lemon-yellow precipitate of the 
 hydrated red oxide of mercury. If the supernatant fluid be acidified 
 with nitric acid, and then nitrate of silver be added, a white precipi- 
 tate is obtained insoluble in excess of nitric acid. 
 
 2. Placed in a tube with an, alkaline carbonate, and heated by a 
 spirit-lamp, carbonic acid gas is evolved, and globules of mercury are 
 deposited on the sides of the tube. • 
 
 3. Caustic ammonia added to a solution of corrosive sublimate causes 
 a white precipitate of chloro-amidide of mercury. 
 
 4. When a solution of corrosive sublimate is treated by an Alkaline 
 Monocarbonate, a brick-red precipitate ensues ; an Alkaline Bicarbonate 
 causes opalescence, followed in a few minutes by a dark reddish pre- 
 cipitate ; Iodide of Potassium causes a scarlet precipitate, soluble in 
 excess, either of iodide of potassium or of corrosive sublimate ; Proto- 
 chloride of Tin, added in excess, causes at first a white precipitate of 
 calomel, and afterwards a grayish powder, composed of regnline 
 mercury in a finely divided condition ; Hydro-sulphuric Acid, in excess, 
 causes a black precipitate — if the mercurial solution be in excess, a 
 white precipitate — the former is a bisulphuret, and the latter a chloro- 
 sulphuret of mercury ; Ferrocyanuret of Potassium causes a white pre-, 
 cipitate of ferrocyanuret of mercury, which ultimately acquires a bluish 
 tinge. 
 
 5. The Galvanic Test. — Place a drop or two of the suspected solution 
 on a piece of gold, as a ring or a five-dollar piece, and then apply an 
 iron key (or any small piece of polished iron) so that it will touch both 
 the fluid and the gold at the same time ; a galvanic current is at once 
 established, the mercury attaches itself to the gold, or negative pole, 
 while chloride of iron is formed at the positive polfe on the piece of 
 iron. The mercury stain left on the gold may be removed by heat. 
 
 6. A slip of bright copper dipped into a solution of corrosive sub- 
 limate, previously acidulated with hydrochloric acid, acquires a coat 
 of metallic mercury. 
 
 7. In organic mixtures undecomposed corrosive sublimate may first be 
 sought for with ether — as ether dissolves the salt, and removes it from 
 its aqueous solution, upon the top of which it floats. The ethereal 
 solution yields the perchloride on evaporation, which may then be 
 tested in aqueous solution, by the above reagents. Should this method 
 fail, add protochloride of tin to the mixture as long as a slate-gray 
 precipitate is produced; dissolve the organic matter by boiling the 
 whole in liquor potassa, then wash the detached mercury, collect it, 
 and sublime. — G. 
 
 See Taylor on Poisons, Ghristison on Poisons, and Taylor's Medical 
 Jurisprudence. 
 
 Hydkargtei Pemodidum. Periodide of Mercury, also called Deutio- 
 dide of Mercury, Biniodide of Mercury, Bed Iodide of Mercury, Hydrar- 
 gyri lodidi Eubrum, etc. (QuecksiJberjodid. Eothes lodquecksilber.) — 
 This salt is obtained most pure and beautiful by dissolving -^ue parts 
 of Perchloride of Mercury in one hundred pai-ts of Water, and adding 
 to it, so long as a precipitate forms, a solution of Iodide of Potassium 
 in ten times its weight of water ; being careful that the precipitant is 
 not in excess — ^generally about six or seven parts will be sufficient 
 
Obsolescent Medicines., 1287 
 
 according to its purity. Allow the precipitate to subside, in a dark place, 
 wash it by repeated decantation, collect on a filter, dry by a very gentle 
 heat, and keep it in a well-closed bottle, fr^e from access of light. By 
 adding an excess of the precipitant, in this process, the periodide of 
 mercury is readily dissolved,' and in consequence is lost in washing j 
 but, a slight excess insures the absence of corrosive sublimate in the 
 product. Periodide of mercury is a tasteless, inodorous, brilliant scar- 
 let powder, having the specific gravity 6.2 to 6.3. Heated in a test 
 tube it becomes yellow, fuses to a brownish -yellow liquid, and sublimes 
 to a yellow crystalline mass, which acquir^es a red color partially on 
 cooling, and entirely, either more or less gradually. It is dimorphous, 
 its color and crystalline form varying with its temperature. Water 
 dissolves only a trace of it. Alcohol, of 80 per cent., dissolves one 
 one-hundred and twentieth of the salt in the cold, and one-twelfth at 
 the boiling point. The hot saturated solution deposits yellow scales 
 on cooling, which gradually become red. It is also soluble in nitric 
 and hydrophloric acids, especially on heating, with the evolution of 
 hydriodic acid and free iodine ; the solution contains, according to the 
 duration of the action, besides the iodide, variable quantities of per- 
 chloride and pernitrate ; and, on cooling, deposits a portion of the 
 periodide in a crystalline state. Iodide of potassium dissolves it with 
 tha greatest readiness, and thus quickly separates it from red lead, cin- 
 nabar, or substances having a similar appearance. If it be contami- 
 nated by persulphuret of mercury a mixture of sulphuret and iodide of 
 potassium is obtained when it is fused with caustic potassa in a glass 
 tube; and sulphur may be detected by the sulphuretted hydrogen odor 
 evolved on the addition of a mineral acid. It consists of one equiva- 
 lent, each, of mercury and iodine, Hg, I.:=226. 
 
 Periodide of mercury is an active poison, nearly as powerful as cor- 
 rosive sublimate. In doses of one-sixteenth of a grain, carefully 
 augmented to one-fourth of a grain, it has been employed in syphilitic 
 and scrofulous affections. It may be administered in pill form i with , 
 crumb of bread and syrup ; or dissolved in alcohol or ether, twenty 
 grains to the fluidounce and a half of the menstruum employed — the 
 dose of either is from five to twenty drops in distilled water. The 
 ethereal tincture is somewhat more powerful than the alcoholic. Ex- 
 ternally, a solution of it, six grains' to a fluidounce of distilled water, 
 has been used as a lotion to scrofulous and syphilitic ulcers, etc. An 
 ointment composed of two grains of periodide of mercury, two scruples 
 of cerate, and one scruple of almond oil, has been used in obstinate 
 ophthalmia tarsi, with thickening of the meibomian glands, opacity of 
 the cornea, obstinate venereal ulcers, chronic cutaneous diseases, etc. 
 A drachm, each, of periodide, lard, and olive oil, has becH successfully 
 employed as a caustic application to lupus. It. is to be used in very 
 small quantities at a time, being careful to place it only on a limited 
 amount of diseased surface, repeating its application about once in every 
 week, and extending its action from one part of the disease to another, 
 as the cure progresses. — Oazenave Ann. de Therap. A. D. 1852, 176. A 
 preparation has been recommended by Dr. Channing, called Solution of 
 lodo hydrargyrate of Potassiunij-whicii is said to be efficaciousin chronic 
 tuberculous affections, dyspepsia, chronic hepatitis and splenitis, ague- 
 cake, anasarca, ascites, scrofulous and syphilitic diseases, leucorrhea, 
 and menstrual derangements, some cutaneous affections, etc. It is pre- 
 pared by dissolving seven grains of iodide of potassium in two 
 fluidounces of distilled water, and then adding nine grains of periodide 
 
1288 Appendix. 
 
 of mercury. There will be about sixteen grains of the iodobydrargyrate 
 of potassium in this solution, with a slight excess of iodide of potassium. 
 The dose is two, three, or fiye drops repeated tbi-ee times a day ; it may 
 be given largely diluted with water, or in some vegetable alterative 
 syrup. 
 
 * Htdraegtri Pernitras Liquor. Solution of Pernitrate of Mercury. 
 (Salpetersauros Queeksilberaxydul Fliissigkeit.)— This solution is also 
 known as the Add Nitrate of Mercury. It is made by dissolving, with 
 the application of heat, " pure Mercury two ounces, avoirdupois, in a 
 mixture of pure Mtric Acid-one fiuidounve and a half, Imperial measure, 
 and Distilled Water one ounce and a half, avoirdupois ; evaporate the 
 solution to the bulk of two fluidounces and a half. Imperial measure."— 
 Dub. In the Parisian Codex, mercury four parts by weight are ordered 
 to be dissolved in nitric acid, sp. gr. 1.32, eight partsby weight, and 
 evaporate the solution to nine parts. This forms a thi<;k, heavy, very 
 caustic solution, which has been employed with some success in lupus, 
 ulcerated cervix uteri, obstinate lepra, psoriasis, porrigo, herpes exedens, 
 etc., syphilitic and scrofulous ulcers. It is applied by means of a camel's- 
 hair pencil to a surface not exceeding an inch in diameter, at any one 
 time, and over this a pledget of lint is applied, which has been previ-' 
 ously dampened with some of the solution. It whitens the part at once, 
 a kind of erysipelatous inflammation is induced in the neighboring parts, 
 and a scab of a yello\^ color forms and falls off in three, four, or five 
 days. In ulcerated cervix uteri, one application is said to have materi- 
 ally improved the character of the sore. As salivation has been caused 
 by a single application, Mialhe proposes to prevent absorption of the 
 mercury by washing the cauterized part immediately after the caustic 
 has been applied. — P. 
 
 Htdrargtri Persulphas. Persulphate of Mercury. Sulphate of the 
 Peroxide of Mercury. (Saures Schwefligsaures Quecksilberoxyd.) — This 
 salt is prepared by placing in a porcelain capsule, Quicksilver ten ounces, 
 avoirdupois, in six fluidounces (Imperial measure) of commercial Oil of 
 Vitriol; apply heat until effervescence ceases, and nothing remains but 
 a white and dry crystalline salt.— Dub. The salt is a white opaque 
 solid, which becomes orange-colored at a dull red heat, but white on 
 cooling ; at a full red heat it is decomposed. Water decomposes it, re- 
 solving it into turpeth mineral and a supersalt. It consists of one 
 equivalent, each, of mercurj'', oxygen, and sulphuric acid, Hg SOs= 
 148. It is not used as a medicine, but is employed in the manufacture 
 of calomel, corrosive sublimate, and subpulphate of mercury. 
 
 Htdrargtri Protonitras. Protonitrate of Mercury. Neutral Nitrate 
 of the Suboxide of Mercury. (Salpetersaures Quecksilberoxydul.) — This 
 salt is obtained by digesting excess of mercury in cold nitric acid until 
 the short prismatic crystals (Hg, ^"05=262) are formed. If these be 
 left in the solution, they are gradually dissolved and replaced by large 
 yellow transparent prisms of the sesquibasic nitrate of the suboxide, 
 while the acid liquor contains a soluble supernitrate. Protonitrate of 
 mercury maj' be distinguished from other nitrates by the white pre- 
 cipitate of calomel formed when it is rubbed with excess of chloride of 
 sodium, and water added afterward ; if the liquid be filtered, no corro- 
 sive sublimate can be detected in it, unless some peroxide of mercury 
 was along with the suboxide ; and if any greenish powder is formed, 
 basic nitrate of the suboxide was along with the neutral nitrate. Pro- 
 tonitrate of mercury, Hg^ 1^05=262, is rarely used as a medicine, on 
 account of'its tendency to decompose. An ounce of tb« salt dissolved 
 
Obsolescent Medicines. 1289 
 
 in half a pint of distilled water, acidulated with three and a half scru- 
 ples of nitric acid, and the solution made of sp. gr. I.IOG, has been used 
 as a mild caustic in venereal ulcerations and growths. Two parts of 
 the salt to fifty of the lard, forms an ointment which has been used in 
 lepra, psoriasis, etc. 
 
 fHTDRARGTRi Phosphas. Protophosphate of Mercury. (Phosphor- 
 saures Quecksilberoxyd.) — This salt is made by triturating eight parts 
 of dry Protonitrate of Mercury (Hg^ 0+]Sr05+2 HO), in a porcelain 
 mortar, with sixteen parts of distilled Water, in which is mixed one part 
 of Nitric Acid, sp. gr. 1.20; to this is added about sixty parts of pure 
 Water, and the whole gently warmed until dissolved, filtered if neces- 
 sary, the clear solution diluted with eight times its weight of pure Water, 
 and then treated with a solution of crystallized Phosphate of Soda so 
 long as a precipitate is formed. Wash this carefully with water until 
 it no longer gives an acid reaction, dry with a gentle heat, and keep in 
 a closed bottle excluded from the light. It is a white, fine, crystalline, 
 odorless, and tasteless powder, with the formula of 2 Hgj O-f-Pa Os- 
 Heated it fuses, evolving oxygen and metallic mercury, and leaving a 
 colorless glacial mass, which is the phosphoric acid with a trifling quan- 
 tity of mercury. It is insoluble in water, but completely dissolved in 
 nitric acid by the aid of heat. It has been highly spoken of as an effi- 
 cacious remedy in secondary syphilis, in doses of half a grain, or a 
 gtain in pill form. Phosphate of mercury four grains and a half, opium 
 three grains, tartar emetic half a grain, formed into nine pills, with a 
 sufficient quantity of conserve of roses, has been used with advantage*. 
 One pill to be taken every night and morning. 
 
 Hydrargtri Sttbchloridum. 8ubcMoride of Mercury. Calomel. 
 (Quecksilberchlortir; Verstisstes Quecksilber. Calomel.) — ^Also known 
 by the names, Protochloride of Mercury, Mercurius dulcis, Hydrargyri Ghlo- 
 ridum mite, etc. This salt is prepared by various processes. One by the 
 dry way, is as follow : Four parts of Perchloride of Mercury are reduced, 
 in a porcelain mortar, with a little spirit to keep down the dust, to a 
 fine powder ; three parts of Metallic Mercury are added to it, and the 
 trituration continued until no more mercury globules are visible. The 
 gray mixture is put into a flask, of which it should only fill one-third 
 part, and the flask placed in an iron disb containing a very thin layer 
 of sand, then surround it with sand to half its depth, the whole put on 
 a ring furnace and heat applied. For fear of the glass cracking, the 
 fire must not be strong at first, but gradually increased. As soon as 
 the sublimate condenses on the upper part of the flask, the mouth of 
 the latter is carefully closed, to prevent loss. Prom time to time the 
 covering is removed, the better to observe the process, and so sOon as 
 the bottom of the flask is empty, it is withdrawn from the sand, a wet 
 sponge or cloth applied, in order to crack it, and when thoroughly cool 
 the glass fragments separated from the sublimate, and the latter kept 
 in a bottle, away from the light. The yield will be nearly seven parts'. 
 
 By the moist way. — Eight parts of dry Protonitrate of Mercury (Hgj 
 04-N05--)-2 HO) are rubbed in a porcelain mortar, with sixteen parts 
 of pure W'ater, with which one part of Mtric Acid, sp. gr. 1.20, has been 
 mixed; to this abput sixty parts of Water are added gradually, the whole 
 gently warmed in a glass flask until entirely dissolved, filtered if neces- 
 sary, the solution diluted with eight tiyfies its weight of Water, and a 
 solution of common Salt added as long as a precipitate is formed ; 
 nearly two parts of salt will be requisite for this. The precipitate, 
 not exposed to the light more than necessary, is collected on a filter, 
 
1290 Appendix. 
 
 thoroughly washed with pure water until the water loses all acid reat) 
 tion, and a portion of it leaves no residue on evaporation, then dried 
 with a gentle heat an,d but slight exposure to light. It will weigh six 
 and a half parts. Hydrochlorate of ammonia will not serve for this 
 precipitation, as on account of its tendency to form, with perchlorida 
 of mercury, a readily-soluble double salt, it causes, even in the cold, a 
 partial decomposition of the precipitate into perchloride of mercury, 
 and metallic mercury. ^Neither will hydrochloric acid serve for the 
 precipitation, as the liberated nitric acid converts a portion of the pre- 
 cipitate into soluble perchloride and pernitrate of mercury. For some 
 improvements in the manufacture of calomel, see Am. Jour. Pharm., XY., 
 pp. 89, 93. 
 
 Sublimed calomel appears as a crystalline crust, consisting of four- 
 sided prisms, of a white color, with a tinge of yellow, which, on scratch- 
 ing or rubbing, acquire a pale yellow color ; the precipitated calomel is a 
 perfectly white, amorphous powder. It is odorless and tasteless ; heated, 
 it becomes yellow, and volatilizes without fusing, forming white fumes; 
 by repeated sublimations, it is partially decomposed into perchloride 
 of and metallic mercury. Exposed to the light, it undergoes a similar 
 decomposition, and acquires a gray color ; by protracted action of the 
 light, the perchloride decomposes, chlorine is evolved, and the mercury 
 with which it was combined remains as a gray powder. Its specific 
 gravity varies from 7.14 to 7.2. Cold water does not dissolve a trace 
 of calomel ; hot water decomposes it, but only in a slight degree, into 
 soluble chloride and metal; the water when filtered giving, with sul- 
 phuret of ammonia, a black precipitate. Alcohol behaves like water, 
 but exerts a still greater decomposing action at its boiling point. Boiled 
 for some time with hydrochloric acid, calomel dissolves, hydrogen being 
 evolved, and perchloride of mercury formed. When boiled with nitric 
 acid also, it entirely dissolves, nitric oxide is evolved, and forms in the 
 air, hyponitric acid. Calomel consists of two equivalents of mercury 
 and one of chlorine, IIg2Cl=235.5. 
 
 Calomel of a gray color contains free mercury. If cold water which 
 has been agitated with it some time gives, with sulphuret of ammo- 
 nium, a black precipitate, it contains corrosive sublimate. In testing 
 calomel for corrosive sublimate, it must not be treated with boiling 
 water. When pure, calomel placed in a glass tube, and heated by a 
 spirit-lamp, is completely volatilized, giving a white sublimate; any 
 residue is impurity. Water or alcohol which has been digested on it, 
 should occasion no precipitate or change of color, on the addition of 
 lime-water, caustic potassa, ammonia, nitrate of silver, or sulphuretted 
 hydrogen, and which indicates the absence of corrosive sublimate. 
 Calomel in powder may be known by its becoming black when am- 
 monia is added to it; if other matters are mixed with it, throw the 
 powder on water, the calomel will sink to the bottom, collect it on a 
 filter, wash, if necessary, and test with the ammonia. Pills may be 
 treated by dissolving them in water, washing the precipitate as above - 
 to remove coloring matter, and test the white insoluble powder with 
 ammonia. 
 
 Calomel is incompatible with the alkalies, lime-water, and sulphuret 
 of potassa, which blacken it, forming the suboxide or black oxide of 
 mercury, Hg^ O ; also with antimony, copper, iron, lead, etc. If calo- 
 mel be given at the same time with either common salt, nitromuriatic 
 acid, or the alkaline chlorides, it will be converted into corrosive 
 sublimate, and may give rise to serious, if not fatal results. It should 
 
Obsolescent Medicines. 1291 
 
 aever be given in connection with articles containing hydrocyanic acid_ 
 either in a free or latent condition, as it may be converted into the 
 bicyanuret of mercury, and the perchloride. 
 
 Internally, calomel acts as a purgative in doses of from two to five 
 grains ; on account of its uncertainty of action, it is usually given in 
 combination with other purgatives, as jalap, senna, scammony, colo- 
 cynth, etc. It is used as a purgative in torpid states of the bowels, in 
 torpor of the liver, deranged conditions of the biliary organs, jaundice, 
 some febrile disorders, worms, dropsy, and various disordered condi- 
 tions of the alimentary canal unaccompanied by inflammation. Large 
 doses of calomel, as one or two scruples every half hour or hour, are 
 said to act as a sedative and have been administered in yellow fever, 
 dysentery, Asiatic cholera, diseases of the liver, etc. As an alterative it 
 has been exhibited in chronic cutaneous diseases, glandular affections, 
 hepatitis, etc., in doses of from half a grain to a grain every day or two, 
 as circumstances may require, with occasional doses of castor-oil, or 
 some mild saline laxative to keep the bowels free. As a sialagogue, it 
 has been used in various forms of disease, as all febrile and inflamma- 
 tory, syphilis, chronic visceral diseases, etc., in doses of one, two, or 
 three grains, every three or four hours, usually combined with Dover's 
 powder, or some other opiate, when there is no condition of the nervous 
 system contra-indicating the use of narcotics. Calomel increases the 
 action of the secreting organs; when its use is continued for a long 
 time, according to the susceptibility of the patient's system, it produces 
 the constitutional effects of niercury. Sometimes it produces nausea, 
 griping, and great faintness. Large doses are always dangerous, as the 
 agent is very uncertain in its action at all times; I have known as 
 small dose as three grains cause phagedenic ulceration of the face and 
 jaw. This kind of ulceration is by no means uncommon among patients 
 under mercurial treatment. Combined with other remedies, calomel is 
 said to increase their effects — hence, those who use it have combined 
 it with antimonials to promote diaphoresis; and with squills to favor 
 diuresis in dropsical affections. Externally, it has been used as a snuff 
 combined with other substances, in nasal polypus, and diseases of the 
 Schneiderian membrane; and blown into the eye in chronic rheumatic 
 and scrofulous ophthalmia, and spots on the cornea. One part of calo- 
 mel to eight parts of lard, is said to form an excellent ointment in par- 
 rigo favosa, herpes, impetigo, lepra, psoriasis, and other chronic skin 
 diseases. One drachm of calomel added to a pint of lime-water forms 
 the Black Wash (Lotio Nigra), which is a favorite application, with 
 some physicians, to all syphilitic ulcers. Sometimes the wash is made 
 two or four times the strength of the above. 
 
 Htdrargtri Stjbiodidum. Subiodide of Mercury. (Quecksilberjodtir. 
 Grriines lodquecksilber.) — Also known as Protiodide of Mercury, Iodide 
 of Mercury, Green Iodide of Mercury, etc. There are several modes of 
 preparing this salt ; the London College orders of Mercury one ounce, 
 rubbed together with Iodine five drachms, gradually adding a small 
 quantity of Alcohol, until globules are no longer visible. Dry the 
 powder immediately, with a gentle heat, without the access of light, 
 and keep in a well-stopped black glass bottle. "Wittstein gives the 
 following formula : Bight parts of mercury are triturated, in a porce- 
 lain mortar, with a few drops of alcohol and five parts of iodine, until 
 the red colored mass which the mixture at first gives is converted into 
 a dark yellowish-green powder, exhibiting no trace of metallic globules 
 even under the magnifying glass. During the operation, the mortar 
 
1292 Appendix. 
 
 should be covered with a black cloth, to prevent cLe action of the light. 
 Sufficient alcohol is then added, constantly triturating, to convert it 
 into a thin paste: this is thrown on a filter, and, excluding the light, 
 washed with alcohol until, on passing otf, the latter no longer gives a 
 black precipitate or turbidness with sulphuret of ammonium ; the con- 
 tents of the filter dried with a very gentle heat, and kept in a bottle 
 away from the light. This is the better formulae, giving an article free 
 from the red iodide. 
 
 Subiodide of mercury is a dark greenish yellow, odorless and taste- 
 less powder, which is insoluble in water, or alcohol, and soluble in ether; 
 unalterable in the air, but decomposed by light, acquiring a gray ap- 
 pearance. Heated in a test tube it becomes at first reddish, separating 
 into periodide and metallic mercury, then yellowish, fusing to a brown 
 liquid, and finally volatilizing ; the iodine passes off first, and then the 
 mercury. Boiling hydrochloric acid dissolves it, but only slowly, the 
 solution containing perchloride and periodide of mercury. Subiodide 
 of mercury is quickly reddened by nitric acid, half of the mercury being 
 abstracted and forming pernitrate; on cooling, a portion of the perio- 
 dide formed separates as glittering scarlet scales. Iodide of potassium 
 decomposes it into periodide, which dissolves, and metallic mercury. 
 It is not soluble in a solution of chloride of sodium. Should the prep- 
 aration be of a yellow color, it contains some quantity of periodide, 
 and this is generally the case when prepared by the moist way, or pre- 
 cipitation. Small quantities of periodide are detected by agitating with 
 alcohol, which dissolves it; filtering and evaporating, when the residue 
 formed is red. Subiodide of mercury consists of two equivalents of 
 mercury, and one of iodine, Hgj 1^326. Iodide of mercury is a power- 
 ful irritant poison, but has been administered in small doses in sj'philis 
 and scrofula, especially when they occur in the same individual. The 
 dose is one grain per day, cautiously carrying it to three or four grains. 
 Children of six months old require one-sixteenth of a grain, gradually 
 increasing to half a grain. It may be given in pill form, conjoined with 
 some narcotic, as conium, opium, etc.; or, one part of the iodide may 
 be dissolved in forty-eight parts of ether, of which solution, twelve 
 drops contain about one-fourth of a grain. An ointment used as a 
 dressing for strumo-syphilitio ulcers, and as an application to sycosis, 
 lupus, rosacea, and other tubercular skin diseases, is made by triturat- 
 ing together six ounces of the subiodide of mercury, with a mixture of 
 white wax two ounces, lard six ounces. — Lond. 
 
 Htdrargyki Suboxtdum. Suboxide of Mercury. (Quecksilberoxy- 
 dul.) — Also called Protoxide, Gray, or Black Oxide of Mercury, Hydrar- 
 gyri Oxydum Nigrum, etc. This salt is prepared by treating one part 
 of finely divided Calomel (that prepared by precipitation is to be pre- 
 ferred) in a porcelain mortar, with one part of Solution of Caustic Po- 
 tassa, sp. gr. 1.233, which has previously been diluted with three parts 
 of Water ; after rubbing together for about half an hour, throw it on a 
 filter, protecting the residue as much as possible from the light, and 
 washing with cold water as long as the fluid passing from it exhibits an 
 alkaline reaction ; then dry at the ordinary temperature, and keep in 
 a vessel excluded from the light. An excess of potassa is necessary to 
 insure the entire decomposition of the subchloride of mercury; and 
 heat during the process must be carefully avoided, as it will cause the 
 protoxide to separate into peroxide and mercury. Nevertheless, with 
 every precaution, a small portion will decompose, and during the wash- 
 ing and drying the black color becomes tinged with green. It may 
 
Obsolescent Medicines. 1293 
 
 likewise be obtained by pouring, drop by drop, into a solution of caus- 
 tic potausa, one part of pure protonitrate of mercury dissolved iu six- 
 teen pai-ts of water, very slightly acidulated with nitric acid ; other- 
 wise the protonitrate would be transformed into a nitrate with an excess 
 of acid, and into an insoluble yellow subnitrate. A small excess of 
 alkali is required in this the same as in the preceding process. 
 
 Pure suboxide of mercury should be quite black, but from the pres- 
 ence of a little peroxide, it has generally a green tinge ; it is very heavy, 
 inodorous, without taste, insoluble in water, alcohol, or alkalies, but 
 readily soluble in dilute nitric acid, and acetic acid. It is readily de- 
 composed by light, becomes olive -colored, and is resolved into peroxide 
 and metal. Rubbed with dilute hydrochloric acid, it becomes converted 
 into a gray powder (a mixture of calomel and metal) while any oxide 
 present remains in solution, and yields with caustic potassa a yellow 
 solution. Heated in a tube it acquires at first a red color, from decom- 
 position into oxide and metal, it then becomes darker, separating into 
 oxygen and metal, and volatilizes without leavit^ a residue. Its purity 
 may be determined by this last experiment. If on agitating it in water, 
 the latter gives with nitrate of silver a white precipitate, chloride of 
 potassium is present. Its solution in dilute hydrochloric acid should 
 give no preci"pitate with either potassa, or oxalate of ammonia; if any 
 red oxide had been dissolved, the potassa would throw it down as a 
 reddish or yellowish hydrate ; if lime be present, the oxalate will give 
 a white precipitate. This salt consists of two equivalents of mercury, 
 and one of oxygen, Hg.^ 0^208. 
 
 It is one of the least irritating of the mercurial preparations, when 
 pure, and like them, produces constitutional eifects, especially when its 
 use is continued for a time. In doses of from one-fourth of a grain to 
 a grain per day, it acts as an alterative ; two or three grains repeated 
 every three or four hours will produce salivation. On account of its 
 varying composition, and tendency to operate severely, owing to the 
 presence of peroxide, it is seldom exhibited internally. One part of 
 the suboxide well rubbed up with three or four parts of lard, has been 
 used as a substitute for mercurial ointment. 
 
 Hydrargyri Substtlphas FLAvrs. Yellow Subsulphate of Mercury. 
 (Basisch Schwefelsaures Quecksilberoxyd. Mineralisches Turpeth.) — 
 Also known as the Subpersulphate of Mercury, Turpeth Mineral, Tribasie 
 Sulphate of the Oxide of Mercury, Hydrargyri Oxidum Sulphuricum, etc. 
 This preparation is obtained by triturating persulphate of mercury with 
 warm water ; the yellow powder resulting therefrom is to be well washed 
 with distilled water, and then dried. It forms a heavy, lemon-yellow, 
 inodorous and tasteless, or slightly acrid powder. It is soluble in 2000 
 parts of cold water, and in 600 parts of boiling water ; the solution is 
 colorless. Its specific gravity is 6.444. Heated in a tube,, sulphurous 
 acid is evolved, and globules of mercury sublimed. Boiled with caustic 
 soda or potassa, red precipitate is thrown down, while the solution con- 
 tains sulphate of potassa, which gives a white precipitate with chloride 
 of bariura. It consists of three equivalents of peroxide of mercury, and 
 one of sulphuric acid, 3 Hg O 803^364. It was once emploj^ed as an 
 emetic, in doses of from three to five grains, in cases of swelled testicle, 
 its nauseating and emetic action be;ng supposed to promote absorption; 
 it has also been recommended in cynanche trachealis. In doses of from 
 one-fourth of a grain to one-half of a grain per day, it has been given 
 as an alterative. One grain mixed with five or six grains of some mild 
 powder, has been used as an errhine in ophthalmic affections, chronic 
 
1294 Appendix. 
 
 catarrh, cerebral difficulties, etc. ; it excites sneezing. One part of lur 
 peth mineral triturated with one hundred or one hundred and twenty- 
 five parts of lard, forms an ointment which has been used, in frictions, 
 in cases of herpes, slightly inflammatory tetters. Like other mercurials, 
 this is apt to cause salivation ; and in improper doses acts as a poison. 
 It is seldom used at the present day. 
 
 Hydeargyri Sulphuretum. Sulphuret of Mercury. Also known as 
 crystallized or red sulphuret of mercury, cinnabar, Vermillion, minium, bisul- 
 phiiret of mercury, etc. (Eothes' Schwefelquecksilber. Cinnober.) — This 
 mercurial is found abundantly in nature, but in a state of impurity. 
 It is prepared by artificial means for commercial purposes, thus : Let 
 mercury, much divided by means of a chamois skin, fall into melted 
 sulphur, bruise the melted mixture, and sublime it once or twice with 
 a moderate heat. Wittstein recommends the following process : Place 
 twelve parts of solution of caustic potassa, sp. g. 1.333, in a cast-iron 
 vessel, and heat to the boiling point, and while constantly stirring add 
 powdered sulphur so long as it is dissolved (about four and a half parts 
 will be sufficient) ; the dark yellow solution must be decanted from 
 the excess of sulphur, and sufficient water be added to replace that 
 which has evaporated, and, if necessary, filter. When entirely cooled 
 pour the solution into a very strong bottle, which must be only four- 
 fifths filled, and add eight parts of mercury ; then close the bottle well 
 with a cork and bladder, and shake it continually until the whole of the 
 metal is converted into a bright red powder. As the arm would soon 
 become tired by the operation, it is advisable to employ some mechani- 
 cal power as a saw-ihill, etc., to keep the bottle in constant and 
 powerful motion : in this case the bottle should previously be well 
 packed with sawdust in a box to prevent its breaking. It is advisable 
 not to put more than one or two pounds of solution into one bottle, and 
 where a large quantity is being operated on to employ several bottles ; 
 the shaking should continue at least twenty -four hours. When the 
 mercury is transformed into a bright-red color, it is put into a dark 
 place, the supernatant yellow liquid poured off as much as possible, the 
 powder repeatedly washed, by decantation, with pure water, so long as 
 the latter acquires an alkaline reaction, separated from the heavy gray 
 particles with which it is alwaj's mixed, by allowing them to subside 
 first, the remainder collected on a filter, and dried with a gentle heat. 
 If the agitation, above referred to, be accompanied by heat, it gives a 
 preparation of an inferior color. 
 
 When prepared by the first process given above, cinnabar forms in 
 dark reddish-brown amorphous masses of different sizes, composed of 
 a great number of crystalline needles, disposed in parallel and contigu- 
 ous rows, and which furnish a powder of a beautiful scarlet-red color. 
 Prepared by the latter method, a fiery-red, soft, heavy powder is 
 obtained, distinguishable from that prepared by sublimation, both by 
 its bright color, and want of any crystalline appearance even when 
 Strongly magnified. Cinnabar is odorless, tasteless, insoluble in water, 
 alcohol, cold nitric acid, sp. gr. 1.2, cold hydrochloric acid, dilute sul- 
 phuric acid, and acetic acid. Hot nitric acid decomposes it, precipitating 
 a portion of the sulphur, and converting the other portion into sulphuric 
 a.cid, sulphate and nitrate of peroxide of mercury being formed ; fuming 
 nitric acid totally converts it into persulphate of mercury. Exposed 
 to the light it gradually acquires on the surface a gray tint, arising 
 from the separation of the mercury and sulphur, both of which in their 
 free state remain in admixture with the compound. Heated in a test 
 
Obsolescent Medicines. 1295 
 
 tube it acquires nearly a black color, and subliraet: without fusing, to 
 a shining iron-gray mass, becoming red on trituration ; any adultera- 
 tions in the cinnabar, as red lead, colcothar, dragon's blood, chalk, or 
 bric"k-du8t, remain behind. If this residue yields on charcoal before 
 the blowpipe a bead of lead,, red lead is present ; but if it under- 
 goes no change, either brick-dust or colcothar is present. If dragon's 
 blood be present, it will color alcohol in which the cinnabar has been 
 shaken. If the addition of a mineral acid causes effervescence, chalk 
 is present. If cinnabar be boiled with acetic acid, iodide of potassium 
 will give a yellow deposit of iodide of lead, if red lead be present ; and 
 sulphuretted hy'drogen a black precipitate. Cinnabar consists of one 
 equivalent, each, of mercury and sulphur, Hg S=116. 
 
 Cinnabar was formerly exhibited internally in diseases of. the skin, 
 gout, chronic rheumatism, and worms, in doses of from ten to twenty 
 grains, in pills, or incorporated in an electuary. It is at the present 
 day rarely used internally. In syphilitic ulcerations of the air- 
 passages, and in several chronic cutaneous diseases, it has been used as 
 a fumigating agent ; about half a drachm being placed upon an iron 
 plate heated to redness, and the vapors which are evolved being inhaled 
 or directed upon the diseased parts. Owing to the irritating nature of 
 the sulphurous vapor, the suboxide of mercury is preferred to cinnabar 
 for fumigation. 
 
 Htdrargtri Sttlphuretum' Nigrum. Black Sulphuret of Mercury. 
 Also known by the names Amorphous Sulphuret of Mercury, Ethiop's 
 Mineral, Hydrargyji Sulphuretum cum Sulphure, etc. (Schwarzes Schwe- 
 felquecksilber. Mineralischer Mohr.) — It is procured by rubbing 
 together, in a porcelain -mortar, equal parts of mercury and washed 
 flowers of sulphur (with the occasional addition of a few drops of 
 water to prevent any dust from ascending), until they form a grayish - 
 . black powder, and neither mercury nor sulphur is visible with a 
 magnifying glass ; the labor is greatly diminished by employing dilute 
 sulphuret of ammonia instead of water. Black sulphuret of mercury 
 is a heavy, somewhat grayish-black, inodorous, tasteless, insoluble, 
 amorphous powder, insoluble in water, hydrochloric acid; and dilute 
 nitric acid, the latter taking up at the most only small traces of uncom- 
 bined mercury. Heated in a test, tube, it first loses sulphur, which 
 deposits on the cool portion of the tube, and partly combines with the 
 oxygen of the air present, to sulphurous acid ; then sulphuret of 
 mercury sublimes, and deposits itself as an iron-gray mass, becoming 
 red when rubbed. If there is a residue either the mercury or sulphur 
 was impure, or charcoal may have been added ; animal charcoal may 
 also be detected by its not volatilizing by heat, as well as by the pres- 
 ence of phosphate of lime in the residue. Tersulphuret of antimony 
 may be deitected by boiling in hydrochloric acid, and adding nitrate 
 of silver, solution of potassa, and water, either of which causes a white 
 precipitate when the antimonial is present ; hydrosulphuret of ammonia 
 produces a reddish precipitate. The exact composition of the black 
 sulphuret of mercury is not positively determined. Wittstein gives as 
 its formula, Hg S+xS. 
 
 Ethiop's mineral was formerly employed as a diaphoretic, alterative, 
 and vermifuge ; in doses of from five grains to half a drachm, two or 
 three times a day, it has been used in scrofulous and skin diseases. It 
 acts very mildly, and as stated by Dr. Duncan may be continued for 
 a considerable length of time, in doses of several drachms, without 
 producing scarcely any sensible effect. It is seldom used, except in the 
 
1296 Appendix. 
 
 form of ointment as an application to itch, tetter, and some other cu- 
 taneous affections. 
 
 Pilule Htdrargtri. Mercurial Pills. Blue Pills. (Quecksilber 
 Pillen.) — These pills are made by triturating together too parts of Mer- 
 cury with three parts of confection of Eed Eoses, until the globules can 
 no longer be seen ; then add finely powdered Liquorice-root one fart, 
 and beat the whole together until incorporated. Three grains of this 
 pill contain one grain of mercury ; the mass is usually divided into pills 
 of five grains each. By trituration, mercury is reduced to a finely 
 divided state, and becomes intimately mixed with the confection and 
 liquorice powder. The confection of roses is preferre'3 in the prepara- 
 tion of this mass to any other article that has been used ; yet if sulphu- 
 ric acid has been added to the confection, as is sometimes done to 
 brighten its color, a very energetic subsulphate of mercury will be 
 formed. The mercury is most easily known to be completely extin- 
 guished, if no globules appear, on rubbing a very little of the mass with' 
 the point of the finger on a piece of paper, and it may also be examined 
 with a magnifying lens. These pills, or rather the mass in bulk, is pre- 
 pared by machinery ; for some practical remarks thereon see Am. Jour. 
 Pharm., XXIV., 204, and XVII., 151, 309. Blue pill is used as an altera- 
 tive, sialagogue, and purgative, and is said to be less irritating than the 
 other mercurials. It has been used in constipation, biliary derange- 
 ment, syphilitic diseases, and wherever it is desirable to bring the sys- 
 tem under the influence of mercury. As an alterative two 'or three 
 grains may be given daily, or on alternate days, bed-jbime being usually 
 preferred for their administration. As a purgative and cholagogue, the 
 dose is from one to three pills, to be taken on -going to bed ; when thus 
 given, it is customary to administer a dose of castor-oil, infusion of 
 senna, or other cathartic on the next morning, as recommended by Aber- 
 nethy. To cause salivation, from th^-ee to five grains taken in the 
 morning, and twice this quantity at bed-time, in conjunction with 
 opium to prevent purging, is usually pre.scribed. Blue pill is frequently 
 associated with other purgatives, as rhubarb, aloes, jalap, coloeynth, etc., 
 also with quinia, antimony, or other agents, according to the indications 
 to be fulfilled. 
 
 Unguenttjm Hydeaeqyri. Ointment of Mercury. (Quecksilber Salbe.) 
 — Triturate in a marble mortar, Mercury one pound with Mutton Suet 
 half an ounce, and a small quantity of Lard, until the globules entirely 
 , disappear, and can not be seen by a magnifying lens having a power of 
 five or six diameters ; then add of Lard a sufficient amount to make 
 with that which has already been used eleven ounces and a hailf^ and 
 mix thoroughly together. To promote the extinction of the niercury, 
 the addition of ether has been recommended. — Am. Jour. Pharm,... XVII., 
 80. Various other means have been proposed to facilitate the j>rccnps, 
 which it is unnecessary to name here ; and, indeed, it is doubtfn' 
 whether any of them are better than the one named above, which will 
 require a considerable length of time to perfect. It is not necessary to 
 triturate continually ; half an hour, or an hour at a time, and repeated 
 often, until the extinction of the mercury is effected, will be found to 
 answer. The ointment is of a bluish-gray color, of sp. gr. varying from 
 1.72 to 1.78, and requires a powerful microscope to render the mercurial 
 globules visible, which according to Ehrenberg are from one five-hun- 
 dredth to one one-thousandth of a line in diameter. The purity of the 
 ointment may be ascertained by its leaving no traces of ^lobules when 
 rubbed on paper ; by imparting a silver color to gold upon which it has 
 
Obsolescent Medicines. 1297 
 
 been rubbed, and which color is removed by heat ; by its color : its ap- 
 pearance under a lens having a power of five or six diameters, as well 
 as under a microscope of 300 or 350 diameters ; its specific gravity ; and 
 by the weight of the mercury remaining after the fatty matter has been 
 dissolved in ether or spirits of turpentine. 
 
 Mercurial ointment, to be of any service, must be applied by gentle 
 friction, continued for some time, at each application, in order to pro- 
 mote its absorption. When it is intended to produce the constitutional 
 effects of th« mercury, as in syphilitic diseases, those parts of the body 
 are selected in which the cuticle is thinnest, as the inside of the thighs 
 and legs, and under the arms. In liver complaints the inunctions are 
 made over the region of that organ. And in buboes, swellings of the 
 glands, etc., it is usually applied immediately over the affected parts. 
 About half a drachm or a drachm, rubbed in njght and morning, will 
 be suf&cient, and the person who applies the ointment should protect 
 his hands by enveloping them in some article through which the oint- 
 ment will not pass, as a soft, oiled, pig's bladder, turned inside out, 
 India-rubber gloves, etc. Or, a strip of muslin two or three inches wide 
 may be formed into a roll about an inch in diameter, one extremity of 
 which may be used to rub over the skin, as a substitute for the hand. 
 During the whole course of the inunction, the patient should wear the 
 same drawers night and day. The ointment'is sometimes used inter- 
 nally, in addition to its external application, and is said to promptly 
 excite salivation. It is often used in a milder form as a dressing to 
 ulcers, and in cutaneous diseases ; being, in such instances, diluted with 
 two, three, or four times its weight of lard, as may be desired. 
 
 Ungubntum Htdeaegtri Nitratis. Ointment of Nitrate of Mercury. 
 Mercurial Balsam. Yellow, or Citrine Ointment. (Gelbe Quecksilber 
 Salbe.) — This ointment is prepared by dissolving one ounce of Mercury 
 aided by a gentle heat, in a mixture of pure Nitric Acid one fluidounce 
 with Distilled Water half a fluidounce; when the mercury is dissolved, 
 add to it while hot, a melted mixture of prepared Lard two ounces, and 
 fresh Neat's-Foot Oil ten fluidounces. Increase the temperature of the 
 mixture until effervescence is produced, then remove from the heat, 
 and with a porcelain spoon or wooden spatula, stir constantly till cool. 
 As it is necessary to have a slight excess of acid in this mixture, in 
 order to prevent the fats from absorbing oxygen from the mercurial' 
 oxide, too great a beat must not be employed, as it not only drives off 
 acid vapors, but also reduces the mercury to the metallic state. A glass 
 or porcelain vessel should be used in making the ointment; and it 
 should be kept in glass or earthenware vessels excluded from the light. 
 When well prepared, this ointment has a fine golden-yellow color, the 
 consistence of butter, and a peculiar nitrous odor. It is very apt to 
 become gray when mixed with other ointments, in consequence of their 
 deoxidizing powers ; and to prevent this an additional quantity of 
 nitric acid should be added. The ointment should be spread with 
 wooden or ivory spatulas. When the citrine ointment gets too hard, 
 crumbling to powder, it should be softened by triturating with lard or 
 oil; for if melted with them, it very soon hardens again. 
 
 This ointment has been used in herpes, porrigo, and similar obstinate 
 cutaneous affections, in ophthalmia tarsi, and those slight excoriations 
 of the tarsi, attended with extreme itching, and in all the inflamma- 
 tions of the eyes attended by eruptive disorders of the hairy scalp or 
 face; it may be applied to the lids by means of a camel's hair pencil. 
 It is also used as a dressing to stimulate syphilitic, phagedenic, and 
 
 82 
 
1298 ' Appendix. , 
 
 obstinate ulcers. In ophthalmic affections it is frequently applioJ, 
 mixed with an equal weight of almond oil. A milder ointment of nitrate 
 of mercury is made by rubbing together one part of ointHient of 
 nitrateof mercury with seven parts; of lard ; it should be prepared only 
 as required. 
 
 Nickel (Nickel) is rather a scarce/mineral, and generally occurs in 
 combination with some other metals, from which it is difficult to sepa- 
 rate it, and for which several processes have been advised. When pure, 
 nickel is white, resembling silver, is softer than iron, has the specific 
 gravity 8.27 to 8.93, is malleable, attracted by the magnet, is not altered 
 by the action of the air or of water, is soon tarnished when moderately 
 heated, and forms an oxid,e. Its preparations are said to be poisonous. 
 The sulphate has been recommended. Mckel has the formula Ni, and 
 equivalent weight 2.9.5. 
 
 * NiccoLi Sulphas. Sulphate of Nickel. (Schwefelsaures Nickel.) — 
 According to Thomson, this salt is easily formed by dissolving carbon- 
 ate of nickel in dilute sulphuric acid, and concentrating the solution. 
 When the\solution contains an excess of acid the qrystals are rectangular 
 prisms, with square bases. When it is neutral, the crystals are usually 
 right-rhombic prisms, very nearly the same form as sulphate of zinc. 
 The color of the salt is a fine deep emerald-green, its taste is styptic, 
 slightly acrid, and persisitent. At 60° P., 100 parts of water dissolve 
 75.6 parts of these crystals,. Neither alcohol nor ether dissolves them. 
 Exposed to the air the rhombic prisons lose a little water, but not the 
 square prisms. When heated they swell up, but do not melt, and they 
 become yellow when the water is driven off., Th&ir formula is Ni 0-j- 
 80,^=77.5. Sulphate of nickel has been recommended by Prof. Simp- 
 son,, of Edinburgh, as a tonic, in doses of from half a grain to a grain, 
 repeated every four or five hours, and given in pill form. He has 
 found it quite efficient in periodical cephalalgia. — JBraithwaite's Metro- 
 s^ec<,-XXVII., 446. 
 
 Platinum. (Platina.) — This metal is found in several parts of the 
 globe, occurring in grains or in small plates, and often in combination 
 with other metals. It requires to pass through certain processes in 
 order to render it fit for practical purposes. It is white, somewhat 
 darker than silver, and not so bright, is' odorless, tasteless, ductile, 
 malleable, unalterable in air or water, oxidizing with difficulty, and of 
 specific gravity from 21.47 to 21.54. It is only fusible by the highest 
 heat that can be artificially produced. It has been drawn into wires 
 3-^^th of an inch in diameter. Its formula is Pt, and its equivalent 
 weight 99. Two salts of this metal have beea used in medicine. 
 
 Platinum black is prepared from the chloride of platinum. It is a 
 black powder, insoluble in nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, or water, but 
 readily dissolves in nitro-hydrochloric acid. Its most peculiar property 
 is that gf oxidizing alcohol, forming acetic acid. Placed under a bell- 
 glass with a small dish filled with alcohol, the latter after about a quarter 
 of an hour acquires a powerful acid reaction, and has a strong smell 
 of acetic acid. Platinum black condenses in its extremely fine pores a 
 considerable quantity of oxygen, and as this is trajHsferred to the 
 alcohol, the platinum black again condenses a fresh portion, keeping 
 up a constant supply ; the alcohol forms acetic acid and water. 
 
 Platini BioHLoaiDUM. Bichloride of Platinum, Nitromuriate of Plati- 
 num. (Platinchl'orid. Sabzsaures Platinoxyd.) — This salt is ptnepaired 
 by dissolving platinum in nitro-hydrochloric acid, and evaporating the 
 Rolution cautiously to drive off all excess of acid. A dark reddish- 
 
Obsolescent Medicines. 1299 
 
 brown, deliquescent, saline mass is obtained, which is soluble in water, 
 alcohol, or ether. Its formula is Pt 01.^=^170. .Bichloride of platinum 
 is a powerful caustic poison. In small doses it has been recommended 
 in secondary syphilis, in doses of an eighth or a fourth of a grain, 
 three or four times a day. It may be administered in aqueous solu- 
 tion, or in pill form. An ointment, composed of five grains of the 
 bichloride, ten grains of extract of belladonna, and one hundred and 
 sixty grains of lard, has been applied to indolent and syphilitic ulcers. 
 — Hmfer. 
 
 SoDii Platino-Bichloeidum. Platino- Bichloride of Sodium. Chloro- 
 platinate of Sodium. Muriate of Platinum and Soda. (Platinchloridna- 
 trium.) — This salt may be procured by dissolving 170 parts of pure 
 Bichloride of Platinum, and 58.5 of pure Chloride of Sodium, in separate 
 portions, of Distilled water. Mix the solutions, and cautiously evaporate 
 to crystallize. The crystals are red, soluble in water or alcohol, and 
 have the formula Na CI Pt CI2+6 HO. "When heated they lose their 
 water of crystallization, and become anhydrous, forming a yellow 
 powder Na CI Pt Cl2^228.5. This is recommended in syphilitic and 
 scrofulous diseases, in doses of an eighth of a grain to half a grain, 
 three times a day, in powder with starch, pill, or a mucilaginous solu- 
 tion. It is milder in its action than the bichloride of platinum. Half 
 a drachm of the soda salt of platinum dissolved in half a pint of de- 
 coction of poppies, has been, used as an injection in gonorrhea; or, two 
 grains to an ounce of oil or fat has also been used. 
 
 Plumbum. Lead. (Blei.) — This is a well-known metal, and is met 
 with in great abundance, in combination with sulphur, oxygen, arsenic. 
 Its most common ore is the sulphuret of lead, termed galena, Pla S, from 
 which it is extracted by roasting the sulphuret in a reverberatory fur- 
 nace, which drives off the greater part of the sulphur in the form of 
 sulphurous acid ; it is then smelted with coal and lime, the lead collected, 
 and cast into large ingots, called "pigs." Lead is of a bluish-white 
 color, and when newly melted is very bright, but soon tarnishes under 
 exposure to the air. It is almost tasteless, and emits a peculiar odor 
 on friction. It is one of the softest of the metals, is malleable but not 
 ductile, and has the specific gravity 11.35. It fuses at 612° P., and at 
 a very strong heat boils and evaporates. The fused metal crystallizes 
 on cooling slowly. Pure distilled water does not oxidize lead, but when 
 it is acted upon l)y water conjointly with atmospheric air, or carbonic 
 acid, a thin crust of basic carbonate is soon formed. Lead may be 
 detected in solution by sulphuretted hydrogen, which throws down a 
 black precipitate ; ferrocyanuret of potassium, which gives a white pre- 
 cipitate, and iodide of potassium, which causes a yellow precipitate. 
 Its formula is Pb=104. ■ Lead is a poison, and when taken internally 
 it is absorbed, and may be detected in the fluids and solids. When the 
 system is impregnated with lead, it is said to produce a leaden discolor- 
 ation of the gums, teeth, and mucous membrane of the mouth, a 
 peculiar lead taste and odor, jaundice, emaciatioji, and a feeble, irregular 
 state of the circulation, the pulse being often reduced to 40 or 45 beats 
 per minute. In large doses, or when continued for some time in small 
 doses, lead gives rise to certain ajbdominal pains, termed lead colic ; 
 sharp pains in the limbs, unaccompanied by either redness or swelling, 
 and which are increased by motion, and diminished by pressure, and 
 are fiequently accompanied, by hardness, and cramps in the affected 
 parts, and which condition is, term;ed lead arthralgia; lead paralysis, 
 which attacks the extremities, more commonly the superior, and which 
 
1300 Appendix. 
 
 appears to affect the extensor muscles principally, the hands being bent, 
 and the arms dangling by the side. There may also be a paralysis of 
 sensation. The brain may also become affected with what is termed 
 lead encephalopathy, manifested by furious or tranquil delirium, more 
 or less profound coma, or convulsions. In cases of chronic poisoning 
 by lead, the antidotal treatment is, to place the patient in a bath made 
 by dissolving sulphuret of potassium four ounces in thirty gallons of 
 warm water, which converts the lead on the surface to a black sul- 
 phuret, which must be removed by means of soap and water, and a 
 good stiff brush, and which should be repeated every few days until 
 the skin no longer becomes discolored by the sulphuretted bath. Inter- 
 nally, water acidulated with sulphliric acid should be drank ; or solu- 
 tions of the sulphates of soda, or magnesia, or alum. A decoction of 
 ground ivy (nepeta glechoma) may be drank freely ; or, water acid- 
 ulated with the juice of preserved barberries. Iodide of potassium 
 has been recommended, and is said to render the lead with which il 
 comes in contact more soluble, so that it can be more readily passed 
 from the system. The bowels must be kept regular by castor-oil, to 
 which croton oil may be added if necessary ; opiates may be given to 
 relieve pains and cramps ; tonics to improve the strength when there 
 is much debility ; and nux vomica or strychnia, with electro-magnetism 
 and frictions or shampooning, to overcome the paralysis. 
 
 Medicinally, the preparations of lead are rarely used internally, ex- 
 cept as sedatives and astringents in hemorrhages and dysenteries. The 
 acetate is more generally employed. Their internal use is very apt to 
 produce constipation, loss of appetite, indigestion, griping pains, etc. 
 They are more commonly used as topical applications in superficial in- 
 flammations, contusions, fractures, excoriations, etc., and some forms of 
 cutaneous disease. 
 
 Plumbi Oxtdum. Oxide of Lead. Semivitrified Oxide of Lead. 
 (Bleioxyd.) — "When lead is heated in the air so as to be converted into 
 vapor, it burns with a white light, and forms oxide of lead, which, when 
 thus obtained, is termed Flowers of Lead. If melted lead be exposed 
 to a current of air, it is rapidly oxidated and converted into the pro- 
 toxide of this metal; the oxidated skimmings are called Massicot. 
 These, when fused at a bright red heat, are separated from some inter- 
 mixed metallic lead ; the fused oxide forms, on solidifying, a brick -red 
 mass,_ which readily separates into crystalline scales, termed Litharge. 
 
 Oxid6 of lead is generally in crystalline scales, vyhich are shining, 
 " opaque, canary yellow or reddish, inodorous and tasteless. Its color 
 may be white, yellowish, or reddish, according to its mode of prepara- 
 tion. There are several forms of it — one, termed Massicot, which is 
 yellow ; another, semivitrified, termed litharge ; another, in small scales 
 of a yellowish or reddish color, called G-old or Silver Litharge. Oxide 
 of lead is fusible, volatile at a very high temperature, slightly soluble 
 in water, and forms salts called Plumbites, with alkalies and earths. 
 Exposed for some time to the air, it slightly attracts carbonic acid On 
 heating, it acquires a reddish color, becoming yellow again on cooling. 
 At a strong red heat it fuses to a yellow transparent liquid, and form- 
 ing when cold, a yellowish red, heavy, opaque mass, consisting of crys- 
 talline scales (litharge). By simply fusing oxide of lead, it is never 
 obtained in a transparent state on cooling ; this only occurs when it 
 contains silica. Litharge is not half fused, as .generally stated, but 
 thoroughly fused oxide of lead, as a glance at its formation, by volatil- 
 iBing lead from its alloys with silver or gold, readily proves. Nitric 
 
Obsolescent Medicines. 1301 
 
 and acetic acids dissolve oxide of lead, forming a colorless solution , if 
 the solution is accompanied with effervescence, Carbonic Acid, or a Car- 
 bonate, is present ; and a blue tint to the solution denotes Copper, 
 Traces of copper are detected on adding ferrooyanuret of potassium 
 to the solution from which nitrate of lead has been decomposed by sul- 
 phate of soda, if a chocolate-colored precipitate forms, it is present ; any 
 iron present should, previous to the addition of the ferrocyanuret, be 
 removed by ammonia. Iron is detected by the red color which sulpho- 
 cyanuret of potiissium forms with the nitrate, a solution of sulphocy- 
 anuret of iron being formed. If nitric acid leaves a portion of oxide 
 of lead undissolved, and of a dark-brown color, it is Peroxide, and in 
 this case the color of the oxide is a reddish-yellow, instead of a clear 
 yellow. A reddish-yellow appearance may also be the result of heat- 
 ing too strongly, that is, of incipient infusion, without any peroxide 
 being present. A white residue, on treating with nitric acid, may be 
 due to Oxide of Antimony, '■in commercial litharge ; this residue gives a 
 metallic bead when heated on charcoal and white fumes, with which 
 the latter becomes covered. Silica also remains undissolved, but is un^ ' 
 changed when heated on charcoal. Oxide of lead consists of one equiv- 
 alent, each, of lead and oxygen, Pb 0=112. It is sometimes employed, , 
 sprinkled on ulcers, etc., as an astringent and desiccative. It enters into 
 the composition of several plasters and ointments. When boiled with 
 cream of lime, it forms a plumbite of lime, which has been employed as 
 a hair-dye. 
 
 Pltjmbi Carbonas. Carbonate of Lead. Also termed Cerusse, White 
 Lead, Flake White, Magistery of Lead, etc. (Basisch Kohlensaures 
 Bleioxyd Bleiweisa.) — This is found in nature in small quantities, and 
 is prepared artificially by causing a current of carbonic acid gas to pass 
 through a certain quantity of solution of subacetate of lead. It is also 
 prepared by several other processes. Carbonate of lead is in very white 
 conic pieces or fine powder, inodorous, insipid, and of sp. gr. 6.07. 
 Water does not dissolve it unless by the aid of carbonic acid. Diluted 
 nitric acid dissolves it with efi'ervescence. Heated on charcoal by the 
 blowpipe, it yields globules of metallic lead, usually surrounded by a 
 small quantity of the yellow oxide. It is blackened by sulphuretted 
 hydrogen, and the hydrosulphurets. It is sometimes adulterated with 
 sulphates of lead, lime, or baryta, which may be detected by their insol- 
 ubility in nitric acid. If the carbonate be dissolved in diluted nitric 
 acid, the addition of sulphuretted hydrogen will precipitate the lead; 
 then boil and filter the solution, and if chalk be present, oxalate of am- 
 monia will cause a white precipitate. When carbonate of lead is pure, 
 it does not lose weight at 212° P. ; 68 grains are entirely dissolved in 
 150 minims of acetic acid diluted with a fluidounce of distilled water;. 
 and the solution is not entirely precipitated by a solution of 60 grains 
 of phosphate of soda. The neutral or monocarbonate consists of one 
 equivalent, each, of carbonic acid and oxide of lead. Pb O Co2^134. 
 The subcarbonates vary in their composition. The white lead of com- 
 merce contains hydrated oxide of lead in greater or less proportion. 
 Carbonate of lead is never used internally. It has been applied exter- 
 nally as an astringent and desiccative to excoriated surfaces, burns, 
 scalds, etc.; it may be dusted over the parts; applied in the form of 
 ointment, one part to eight of simple cerate ; or, as a lotion, one part 
 to three parts or more of linseed oil. Its absorption is said to be at- 
 tended with considerable danger. 
 
 *PLnMBi Chloridum. Chloride of Lead. Horn Lead. (Chlorblei 
 
1302 ' Appendix. 
 
 Salzsaures Bleioxyd. Hornblei.) — This preparation may be obtained by 
 dissolYing four parts of Acetate of Lead in twelve parts of Distilled Water 
 
 ■ and then adding pure Hydrochloric Acid, sp. gr. 1.130, as long as a 
 precipitate is caused (about three parts). Throw the precipitate on a 
 filter, wash it a few times with distilled water, and dry it with a gentle 
 heat; the yield will be about 2| parts. It is a white crystalline powder, 
 consisting of fine needles, odorless, of a sweetish astringent taste, and 
 permanent in the air. Heated it fuses, forming when cold a horny 
 semi-transparent mass (plumbum corneum), which at a higher temper- 
 ature is completely volatile without decomposition. Water at t;0° F., 
 dissolves one-thirtieth, and at 212° P., one-twentieth of this salt ; the 
 solution has an acid reaction. Alcohol does not dissolve it. If it con- 
 
 ' tains copper, it acquires a greenish tint on becoming moist in the air; 
 and ammonia causes a deep blue solution. Its aqueous solution causes 
 a white precipitate with nit:t'ate of silver, soluble in ammonia, but insol- 
 uble -in nitric acid. It consists of one equi^-alent, each, of lead and 
 chlorine, Pb 01=139.5. Chloride of lead is employed externally, as an 
 astrigent and caustic application. It combines with fibrin and albumen 
 forming insoluble compounds ; and when absorbed into the system it 
 produces the usual effects of the compounds of lead. When applied to 
 cancerous ulcerations, and in painful neuralgic affections, it is said to 
 allay pain and restrain morbid action, and also to allay inflammation. 
 It may be used in the form of lotion, one drachm of the chloride dis- 
 solved in a pint of water ; or, as an ointment, one part of the chloride 
 to eight parts of lard. 
 
 *Plumbi loDirM. Iodide of Lead. (Bleijodid. lodblei.) — Prepared 
 by dissolving one part of Nitrate of Lead, in twenty parts of Distilled 
 Water, and then mixed with a solution of one part of Iodide of Potas- 
 sium in eight parts of Water; allow the precipitate to subside, throw it 
 on a filter, wash it well with cold water, and dry with a gentle heat. 
 The product' will be one and two-fifth parts. Acetate of lead can not 
 be substituted for the nitrate, as the acetate of potassa that results is a 
 solvent of iodide of lead. Iodide of lead is an odorless, fine yellow 
 powder, without taste, soluble in 1,990 parts of cold, and 1,330 parts of 
 boiling water; the solutions are colorless, the hot one depositing as it 
 cools large brilliant golden scales ; 4,500 parts of cold alcohol, 80 per 
 cent., and rather less of hot alcohol, dissolve one part of iodide of lead, 
 forming pale straw-colored solutions ; the hot one depositing on cooling 
 excessively fine glistening scales. Ether acts on it like alcohol. When 
 heated it becomes reddish yellow, then darker, and finally fuses to a 
 dark brown liquid which gives off iodine, and on cooling forms a lemon- 
 yellow basic compound. It combines with the alkaline iodides, form- 
 ing iodo-plumbates. Iodide of lead should be kept excluded from light. 
 It is composed of one equivalent, each, of lead and iodine, Pb 1=230. 
 It has been used both internally and externally in the discussing of 
 scrofulous and syphilitic tumors, indolent ulcers, periostitis, etc. The 
 dose internally is half a grain, cautiously increased to three or four 
 grains, in pill form, with confection of roses. Externally, an ointment 
 may be used, composed of one part iodide of lead, and eight parts of 
 lard; to be- applied to the tumors by friction. It is liable to produce 
 the ordinary effects of the lead preparations, in consequence of which, 
 as an external application, iodide of cadmium has been preferred. 
 
 Plum Bi NiTRAS. Nitrate of Lead. (Salpetersaures Bleioxyd.) — This 
 salt may be obtained by dissolving Litharge, in fine powder, four ounces 
 and a half, in dilute Nitric Acid one pint, hj the aid of a sand-bath. 
 
Obsolescent Mjedicines. 1303 
 
 Filter, and set the liquor aside to crystallize, concentrate the residual 
 liquid to obtain more crystals. Dry the crystals on bibulous paper, in 
 a warm atmosphere, and preserve in a well-closed bottle. The crystals 
 are white, pearly, opaque, their shape being usually the regular octa- 
 hedron, sometimes the cube, cubo-octahedron, and the tetrahedron, or 
 various modifications of theise forms. If the liquor from which they 
 crystallize, instead of being neutral, contains an excess of acid, the 
 crystals are transparent and colorless. They have a sweet, austere 
 taste, are unalterable in the air, soluble in alcohol, and in 7.6 parts of 
 boiling water, and have the sp. gr. 4.068. When heated they decrepi- 
 tate loudly, emitting brilliant sparks. Triturated with sulphur in a 
 hot mortar, a feeble detonation is produced, and the lead is reduced to 
 the metallic state. Iron occasions no precipitate, though kept in the 
 solution of nitrate of lead. It is composed of one equivalent, each, of 
 nitric acid and oxide of lead, Pb JSf'Oj^lGG. titrate of lead forms a 
 precipitate with fibrin and albumen ; and decomposes the sulphates, 
 chlorides, and hydrosulphurets contained in animal fluids. It produces 
 the general effects of the soluble salts of lead upon the system. It is 
 rarely used internally, though recommended many years since in 
 asthma, epilepsy, and to check hemorrhages, in doses of one-fourth Of 
 a grain to a grain, in pill or solution. ExternaJly, a solution has been 
 employed as a topical application to wounds, ulcers, sore nipples, can- 
 cerous diseases, chapped hands, cutaneous affections, and phagedenic 
 ulcers ; also as an injection in offensive discharges from the vagina, 
 urethra, etc. When applied to sore nipples, these should always be 
 washed with warm water each time before the child is put to the breast. 
 From ten grains to a drachm of the nitrate dissolved in a fluidounce 
 of distilled water, according to the strength desired, has been used. 
 Nitrate of lead is Ukewise used as a disinfectant ; it completely destroys, 
 the unpleasant odor of animal and vegetable substances which are 
 evolving sulphuretted hydrogen, or hydrosulpliuret of ammonia. 
 Ledoyen's disinfecting fluid is a solution of eight drachms of iNitrate of 
 Lead in half a pint of distilled water. 
 
 *Pl0mbi SACfcHARAS. 'Sdccharate of Lead. (Bleisazehia^rat.) — This 
 salt is best obtained by saturating an aqaieous solution of saccharic acid 
 with freshly precipitated and moist carbonate of lead, added in small 
 successive portions; the first generally dissolve, but aifterward thesao- 
 chaTate falls in proportion as saturation ensues, in the form of a white 
 powder very sparingly soluble in boiling water. Its formula is Pb 
 Sac=208. Saccharic acid, fbrmed by the action of nitric acid on sugar, 
 exerts no greater action on phosphatic concretions than malic acid ; 
 and saccharate jof lead is inert ; but the acid saccharate of lead is an 
 active decomponent of phosphatic calculi, though mild in its action on 
 the living tissues. A n'Urosaccharate of lead has been proposed by Dr. 
 Hoskins, as a solvent for phosphatic calculi. It is prepared by dissolv- 
 ing a portion of powdered 'saccharate of lead in a •sufficient quantity of 
 nitric acid diluted with nineteen parts of water; filter the solution, 
 evaporate, and set aside to crystallize. Amber-colored crystals in the 
 form of regular hex'agonal plates or prisms were obtained. A solution 
 of this, formed by moistening one grain of the nitro-saccharate with 
 five drops of pure saccharic acid, and dissolving in a fluidounce of dis- 
 tilled water, used as an injection into the bladder, was found to act 
 rapidly on phosphatic calculi, without any irritating or injurious effects, 
 even when injected daily, and retained, each time, in the bladder for 
 half an hour. 
 
1304 Appendix. 
 
 * Plumbi Tannas. Tannate of Lead. (Gerbsaures Bleioxyd. Blei 
 tannat.)— This salt may be procured by adding a solution of tannic 
 acid to a solution of acetate of lead, until a precipitate is no longer 
 forined; collect the precipitate on a filter, wash and dry it. This has 
 been recommended as an application to excoriations, sloughing bed 
 sores, chronic ulcers of the feet, etc., it may be dusted on the parts; 
 applied in the form of liniment, composed of three ounces of the salt 
 moistened with two fluidrachms of alcohol, and applied while moist; 
 oi;, used in ointment, two parts of the tannate to five parts of lard. 
 
 Stannum. Tin. (Zinn.)^This metal is found in nature in the state 
 of an oxide, or of a sulphuret. The former is a peroxide, termed. iin 
 stone and wood tin, Sh Oj ; the latter is called tin pyrites, 2 Fe S Sn 83+ 
 2 Cua S Sn S2 , and is a rare mineral. When the oxide lis found in loose 
 grains, it is called stream tin, from which grain tin is obtained ty smelt- 
 ing the oxide with charcoal or culm in a reverberatory furnace. An- 
 other variety of the oxide, mine tin, when stamped, washed, roasted and 
 smelted with culm and limestone, yields block tin. There are other 
 kinds, as, Malacca tin in quadrangular pyramids with flattened bases, 
 and Banca tin in wedge-shaped pieces. Pure tin has a fine white, 
 silver-like color, very brilliant when fresh, a slightly disagreeable taste, 
 and emits a peculiar odor when rubbed. It is very malleable, and may 
 be beaten into leaves ^^^ of an inch thick, is flexible, producing a 
 crackling noise upon being bent, is sparingly ductile, melts at 442° F., 
 is volatilized at a white heat, and has sp. gr. varing from 7.178 to 7.299. 
 Exposed to the air it soon loses its luster, and becomes grayish -black. 
 It is almost wholly soluble in hydrochloric acid, forming a colorless 
 solution, which forms a dark purplish precipitate, called the purple of 
 Gassius, when chloride of gold is added to it; and a white precipitate 
 when liquor potassa is added to it, which is soluble in an excess of the 
 precipitant. Its formula is Sn=59. Tin is much used in the arts for 
 various purposes. In medicine it has been used as a vermifuge, in two 
 or three forms. It is not considered to be poisonous, though fats, acids, 
 etc., which have remained for some time in tin vessels, are said to have 
 caused colic and vomiting. The following are the preparations which 
 have been used : 
 
 Stanni Pulvis. Powder of Tin. Granulated Tin. (Geraspelte? 
 Zinn.) — " Melt tin in an iron vessel ; pour it into an earthenware mortal 
 heated a little above the melting point of the metal ; triturate brisklj 
 as the metal cools, ceasing as soon as a considerable portion is pul 
 verized; sift the product, and repeat the process with what remains ii. 
 the sieve." — ^d. Pereira states that melted tin shaken in a woodeL 
 box, the inside of which has been rubbed with chaJk, may be thug 
 reduced to powder. The powder thus procured, has been administered 
 for the expulsion of tape-worm and the lumbricoides, and has also 
 proved beneficial in epilepsy produced by worms. The dose is half an 
 ounce,. in syrup or molasses, repeated every morning before breakfast, 
 and, after it has thus been taken for several days in succession, an 
 active purgative should be given. Tin filings (stanni limatura) have 
 also been used. Powder of tin should not be administered when it 
 becomes oxidized. 
 
 Stanni Bisulphuretum. Bisulphuret of Tin. (Doppelt Schwefelzinn. 
 Musivgold.) — Also known by the names of Aurum Musivum, or Mosaic 
 Gold. It is obtained by placing a mixture of twelve parts Tin, seven 
 farts Sulphur, three parts Mercury, and three parts Sal Ammoniac in a 
 black lead crucible, to the top of which an aludel is luted, and exposing 
 
Obsolescent Medicines. 130^ 
 
 the whole to a strong heat for eight hours. The Mosaic gold sublimes. 
 The mercury facilitates the fusion of the tin and its combination with 
 sulpliur; the sal ammoniac keeps down the temperature, and thereby 
 prevents the conversion of the bisulphuret into pl-otosulphuret of tin 
 According to Pelletier it may also be prepared by heating together in 
 a retort, a mixture of equal parts of sulphur and oxide of tin. It is in 
 the form of light, golden yellow scales, which are insoluble in water or 
 alcohol, soluble in hot liquor potassa forming a green solution, soluble 
 and decomposed when boiled in nitro-hydrochloric acid, but is not 
 acted upon either by nitric or muriatic acids. Its sp. gr. is from 4.4 to 
 4.6, and its formula Sn 82=91. It forms a bronze powder much used in 
 the arts, especially by the manufacturers of paper-hangings. In medi- 
 cine, ten to twenty grains of the bisulphuret, as a dose, mixed with 
 honey, and repeated two or three times a day, have been used to 
 remove tape-worm. — P. 
 
 Stanni Chloeidum. Chloride of Tin. (Zinnchlovlir. Salzaures Zinn- 
 oxydul.) — Also known as Protochloride of Tin, Salt of Tin, etc. It may 
 be procured by dissolving Granulated Tin, one part, in boiling Hydro- 
 chloric Acid, sp. gr. 1.130, four parts, until no more action is perceptible 
 on the metal, then evaporating the solution so that it may crystallize. 
 The crystals (the hydrated chloride of tin Sn CI HO) are neutral, 
 colorless, and transparent ; by the aid of water they are decomposed 
 into the hydrochlorate of the chloride, which remains in solution, and 
 a white pulverulent oxiehloride which precipitates ; an excess of hydro- 
 chloric acid prevents this decomposition. The chemical characteristics 
 are named under tin. If ar&enic or antimony are present in tin or its 
 salts, they maybe detected by Marsh's apparatus. Thej' will mostly 
 be given off during the solution of the metal, by hydrochloric acid, as 
 arseniureted, and antimoniureted hydrogen ; any portion which is not 
 thus volatilized will form a blackish deposit in the liquid, and when 
 washed, dried, and heated on charcoal before the blowpipe, arsenic will 
 be detected by the garlic odor, and antimony by the white deposit and 
 metallic globules 00 the charcoal support. Sulphur, another frequent 
 impurity in tin, is also evolved in combination with hydrogen. Gopper, 
 when pure, is insoluble in hydrochloric acid, but dissolves when oxi- 
 dized by the action of air, and being taken up by excess of ammonia, 
 in precipitating the protoxide of tin, imparts to the supernatant liquor 
 a blue color. Iron is discovered by the deep red color with sulpho- 
 cyanuret of potassium, if the tin solution has been treated with aqua 
 regia to convert the iron into chloride. If lead is present, and not in 
 very small quantities, it crystallizes as chloride, in needles, from the 
 tin solution : a smaller quantity is detected by a solution of sulphate 
 of soda, which causes an almost insoluble precipitate of sulphate of 
 lead. 
 
 Chloride of tin has been used as a vermifuge against tape-worm ; as 
 an antispasmodic in epilepsy, chorea, and other spasmodic diseases ; as 
 a stimulant to paralyzed muscles in paraplegia ; as an antidote in 
 poisoning by corrosive sublimate; and as an external application in 
 chronic cutaneous diseases. Internally, the dose is from one-sixteenth 
 of a grain to half a grain, two or three times a day, in the form of 
 pills, or taken in the spirit of hydrochloric ether. Externally, it pos- 
 sesses astringent, irritant, and caustic properties, and after being 
 absorbed, acts powerfully on the skin, like the antimonials. It has 
 been used in solution, one-sixth of a grain to one grain in afluidounce 
 of distilled water. As a poison, it causes spasmodic movements of the 
 
1306 Appendix. 
 
 musoles of the extremities and of the face, and sometimes paralysis; 
 its antidotes are milk, and other albuminous substances. — P. 
 
 ZiNCUM. Zinc. (Zink.) — Zinc or spelter occurs in the mineral king- 
 dom in the form of oxide, red zinc, of sulphuret, blende or Mack jack, of 
 carbonate, calamine, of sulphate, white vitriol, of silicate, electric calamine^, 
 and aluminate, gahnite or automalite. It is more generally prepared 
 from the native sulphuret, or carbonate, by roasting these, to drive off 
 carbonic acid and water from the carbonate, or sulphur from the sul- 
 phuret ; then heating the resulting oxide with charcoal, to reduce the 
 metal, which is collected in a vessel of water, melted, and cast into 
 ingots. Zinc is of a brilliant white color, with a shade of blue, and is 
 of a lamellated and crystalline texture, having a peculiar taste and a 
 perceptible odor, when rubbed for some time between the fingers. It 
 is rather soft, tinges the fingers of a black color when rubbed upon 
 them, has a sp. gr. from 6.8 to 7.2, is tough, from 212° to 300° is ductile 
 and malleable, and at 400° is so brittle that it may be reduced to 
 powder. It fuses at 750° F., and if the heat be increased, it evaporates, 
 and may easily be distilled over in close vessels. 
 
 In the air, zinc gradually loses its luster, becoming covered with a 
 thin gray coating of oxide, of a similar nature to the scum which 
 forms on fusing ; if this last named scum be removed when the metal 
 is at a bright red heat, the latter ignites and burns with a clear, green- 
 ish-white flame to oxide. Zinc is readily soluble in dilute nitric and 
 hydrochloric acids; should the former leave a white residue which, 
 with carbonate of soda before the blowpipe, is reduced to a ductile 
 metallic bead, tin is present ; this metal is only oxidized, not dissolved 
 by nitric acid. If the same solution acquires a red color with sulpho- 
 cyanuret of potassium, iron is present ; a white precipitate with nitrate 
 of baryta is sulphur oxidized to sulphuric acid by the nitric acid. A 
 fetid gas evolved on dissolving in hydrochloric acid is due to carbon; 
 if the gas passed into acetiite of lead causes a blackening, it is due to 
 sulphur as sulphuretted oxygen ; while a metallic ring (when a pointed 
 tube is fixed to the evolution flask, the gas ignited, and a cold piece of 
 porcelain applied) arises from arsenic ; a garlic odor given off by zinc 
 when heated before the blowpipe on charcoal, is caused by this metal. 
 If sulphuretted hydrogen causes in a dilute acid solution of the chlo- 
 ride a y,ellow precipitate readily dissolved by concentrated hydrochloric 
 acid, it is cadmium only; a more or less brown one is lead ot copper. To 
 determine which of these it is, the sulphuretted hydrogen precipitate 
 is well washed and dissolved in dilute nitric acid, the sulphur filtered 
 off, water added, and then a solution of sulphate of soda, by which the 
 lead is thrown down as an insoluble sulphate; a trace of sulphate of 
 lead, if this metal is present, is also formed by the action of the nitric 
 acid on the sulphuret of lead ; this trace of sulphate remains in solu- 
 tion, and only precipitates on the subsequent dilution with water. The 
 liquid filtered from the sulphate of lead is then supersaturated with 
 carbonate of soda, a white precipitate ensuing is carbonate of cadmium, 
 which heated on 'charcoal before the blowpipe is reduced to a metallic 
 state, then volatilizes and forms a brown deposit on the charcoal. A 
 blue tint in the supernatant liquor denotes copper ; it is therefore to 
 be saturated with acetic acid, and a few drops of the ferrocyanuret 
 of potassium added, when a chocolate-colored turbidness confirms 
 it. "When manganese is present in such traces as not to be detected 
 by the ordinary reagents, the best method is to fuse the oxidized 
 metal in. a platinum crucible with carbonate of p&tassa, to which 
 
Obsolescent Medicines. 1307 
 
 it imparts a bluish tinge from the formation of manganate of 
 potassa. — Witt. 
 
 Pure zinc is soluble in dilute sulphuric acid, with the evplution of 
 hydrogen ^as. Ferrocyanuret of potassium added to this solution 
 forms a white precipitate, which will have a bluish shade if iron be 
 present ; if the liquid be neutral, hydrosulphuret of ammonia occasions 
 a white precipitate, which, however, will be more or less colored if 
 iron be present. Commercial zinc is never pure, but contains more 
 or less carbon, iron, lead, cadmium, etc., which may be known by the 
 scanty grayish-black residuum which remains after the zinc has been 
 dissolved in dilute sulphuric acid. The formula of zinc is Zn=32.5. 
 Metallic zinc is not used in medicine; several of its salts are, however, 
 some of which have already been described. 
 
 ZiNci AcETAS. Acetate of Zinc. (Essigsaures Zinkoxyd.) — This salt 
 may be procured by warming in a flask two parts of dry Carbonate of 
 Zinc, and then gradually adding concentrated acetic acid, sp. gr. 
 1.045, until it is entirely dissolved. Five parts of acid will be requi- 
 site. The solution is filtered while warm, and set in a cool place to 
 crystallize. After a day or two the liquor is poured off and evaporated 
 to further crystallization. The crystallized salt is spread on bibulous 
 paper, and dried at the ordinary temperature. The yield will be nearly 
 double that of the carbonate of zinc employed. Or it maybe obtained 
 by double decomposition of a solution of 287 grains of sulphate of zinc, 
 by a solution of 380 grains of crystallized acetate of lead; insoluble sul- 
 phate of lead is precipitated, while the solution contains acetate of zinc, 
 which may be obtained by filtering and crystallizing as in the previ- 
 ous process. About 183 grains of acetate of zinc will be procured. 
 Acetate of zinc crystallizes in white, oblique, rhombic tables of a con- 
 siderable size and silky luster, having a faint acetic odor, and a bitter, 
 saline, nauseous taste. It is slightly efflorescent, soluble in three parts 
 of water at 60° F. ; in half a part of water at 212° F. ; in thirty parts 
 of alcohol 80 pr. ct., at the ordinary temperature ; and in one part 
 when boiling. The solutions have an acid reaction. When heated it 
 fuses, loses water of crystallization, then blackens, giving off empyreu- 
 matic products; the zinc becomes reduced, but from access of the air 
 bursts into a bluish-white flame, and burns to oxide. Sulphuric acid 
 decomposes it, evolving the vapor of acetic acid. Its formula is Zn 
 G, Hs 03=91.5. 
 
 As an internal medicine acetate of zinc, in doses of one or two grains, 
 gradually increased, is said to be tonic and antispasmodic, and has 
 been used in the same cases in which the oxide or sulphate of zinc is 
 employed. In large doses it causes vomiting and purging. It is prin- 
 cipally used in solution as an astringent application in chronic ophthal- 
 mia, leucorrhea, gleet, and chronic gonorrhea. Two or more grains of 
 the acetate maybe dissolved in a fluidounoe of pure water and used as 
 a wash, or by injection. 
 
 ZiNci Ctanuretum. Gyanuret of Zinc. (Blausaures Zinkoxyd.) — To 
 a solution of one part of Sulphate of Zinc in ten parts of Distilled Water, 
 add Solution of Cyanuret of Potassium, in small quantities at a time, 
 so long as any precipitate occurs ; filter, wash the precipitate, and dry 
 it. It forms a white powder, insoluble in water or alcohol, consisting 
 of one equivalent, each, of zinc and cyanogen, Zn Cy=58.5. If a strong 
 mineral acid be added to it, it is decomposed, hydrocyanic acid being 
 developed, and a soluble salt of zinc obtained. This salt has been pro- 
 posed in Germany as a substitute for prussic acid. Dr. Henning, who 
 
1308 Appendix. s 
 
 has used it with much success, asserts that it is not only of service in 
 those cases in which hydrocyanic acid is commonly exhibited, but also 
 in verminous diseases of children. He gave it in one-grain doses, mixed 
 with pulverized jalap ; and in the nervous affection called cramp of the 
 stomach, he administered an anti-gastralgic powder, covypoBed of cyan- 
 uret of zinc three grains, calcined magnesia twenty-four grains, pow- 
 dered cinnamon twelve grains ; mix and divide into twelve powders, 
 of which the patient takes one every four hours. This salt has also 
 been recommended in St. Vitus' dance, epilepsy, and othei nervous and 
 spasmodic diseases. The dose is one-eighth of a grain, three times a 
 day, in pill or powder, cautiously increased to a grain. 
 
 ZiNGi Ferroctanuretum. Ferrocyanuret of Zinc. (Eisenblausaures 
 Zinkoxyd.) — Dissolve ferrocyanuret of potassium thirty parts in boiling 
 water, and gradually add to it a solution of sulphate of zinc forty parts 
 in boiling water; add these' solutions together while hot, and continue 
 dropping in the last named solution as long as it causes a precipitate ; 
 filter, wash the precipitate, and dry it. It forms a white powder. Its 
 action is similar to that of the cyanuret of zinc, and it is used in the 
 same diseases, in doses of one grain, gradually increased to three or 
 four grains. It may be given in powder with magnesia and cinnamon, 
 in pill form, or in solution with water. 
 
 ZiNCi loBiDUM. Iodide of Zinc. (lodzink.) — This salt may be niade 
 by placing two parts of Iodine, and one part of powdered Zinc in water, 
 heating the whole until the solution is colorless, evaporating to dryness, 
 and if crystals are desired, fusing the residuum, which forms beautiful 
 prismatic crystals of anhydrous iodide of zinc on cooling. Iodide of 
 zinc is generally used in the non-crystalline form, it is soluble in water, 
 deliquescent, and has a disagreeable, austere, metallic taste. When 
 heated in the open air, it is decomposed, the acid is driven off, and 
 oxide of zinc remains. Iodide of zinc may also be obtained by placing 
 two parts of zinc and seventeen parts of iodine in a matrass or flask, 
 and heating until they sublime ; in this way it is formed in white acicu- 
 lar crystals. 
 
 Internally, iodide of zinc has been used as a tonic in spasmodic affec- 
 tions occurring in patients of a strumous diathesis. It is usually admin- 
 istered in syrup, which preserves it from the action of the air. The 
 syrup may be prepared in the same manner as the iodide of iron. Dr. 
 A. T. Thompson recommends iodine four drachms, powdered zinc two 
 drachms, to be agitated in four fluidounces of distilled water, until the 
 solution is colorless; then filter, and add twelve fluidounces of syrup. 
 The dose of this is from ten to forty drops three times a day, in water. 
 Mr. A. B. Taylor recommends another formula for preparing this 
 medicinal syrup, in the Am. Jour. Pharm., 1852, p. 33. Externally, an 
 ointment (one part of the iodide to eight parts of lard) has-been recom- 
 mended as an application to tumors, by friction; a grain or two dis- 
 solved in a fluidounce of water has been used with Ijenefit in gonorrhea — 
 injecting a teaspoonful or two into the urethra two or three times a day. 
 Twenty or thirty grains dissolved in a fluidounce of water, has been 
 found useful in enlargement of the tonsils ; it must be applied by means 
 of a small probang, or camel's hair pencil, and after several days the 
 deliquescent iodine should be used instead, applying it by means of a 
 camel's hair pencil. — J. J. Boss. 
 
 ZiNCi Valerian^s. Valerianate of Zinc. (Baldriansaures Zink- 
 oxyd.) — One part of pure Valerianic Acid (the terhydrate) is dissolved 
 in a flask with ninety parts of Water, half a part of Carbonate of Zinc 
 
Obsolescent Medicines. 1309 
 
 freshly precipitated and io a moist state added, digested at a moderate 
 temperature for some hours in a sand-bath, then allowed to cool, fil- 
 tered, and evaporated to half. The salt which separates is st/ained 
 from the liquor while warm, and the latter evaporated lower. Dry the 
 anhydrous salt at a gentle heat ; it will weigh about on6 part. 
 
 The. hydrated salt is obtained when freshly precipitated and well 
 washed carbonate of zinc is made into a thin paste with water, pure 
 valerianic acid added, without more water, in the same proportion as 
 before, and the mass dried at a gentle heat. 
 
 Carbonate of zino, especially when freshly precipitated, is readily 
 dissolved by an aqueous solution of valerianic acid, valerianate of zinc 
 being formed, and carbonic acid evolved. 2134 parts of basic carbon- 
 ate of zinc, require 4500 parts of the terhydrated acid, the action is 
 promoted by a gentle heat, a strong heat is disadvantageous, as the salt 
 dissolves more readily in cold than hot water ; for this reason sufficient 
 water for its solution in the cold is employed ; it can be obtained in the 
 dry state only by evaporation,^ and of course is not thrown down from 
 a hot solution on cooling; for' the same reason it is better to separate 
 the crystals from the solution while warm. If, during evaporation, the 
 solution is allowed to boil, the salt adheres to the bottom of the dish, 
 instead of being obtained in a loose, finely-divided state. — Witt. 
 
 The Dublin Pharmacopoeia recommends the following process: Take 
 of valerianate of soda two and a half ounces (avoird.) and dissolve it 
 in distilled water one pint (Imperial measure). Also dissolve separately, 
 sulphate of zinc two ounces and seven drachms (avoird.) in one jjint, 
 (Imperial measure) of distilled water. Heat both solutions to 200° F., 
 mix them, and skim off the crystals which are produced. Then evapo- 
 rate the solution at a temperature not to exceed 200° F., until it is re- 
 duced to the bulk of four ounces, removing, as before, the crystals from 
 the surface, in proportion as they form, and placing them with those 
 already obtained. The salt thus procured is to be steeped for an hour 
 in as much cold water as is just sufficient to cover it, in order to remove 
 any adhering sulphate of soda, then transferred to a paper filter, on 
 which it is first to be drained, and then dried at a heat not exceeding 
 100° F. _ 
 
 Anhydrous valerianate of zinc, Zn Va, crystallizes in snow-white, 
 exceedingly light plates, of a mother-of-pearl luster, and resembling 
 boracic acid ; it has a faint valerianic acid smell, and a bitter, metallic 
 ■^aste, combined with that of valerian. When heated it fuses, gives off 
 thick white vapors, ignites, burns with a bluish-white fiame, leaving 
 pure oxide of zinc, mixed with a little metallic zinc, which burns, and 
 the heated particles of oxide impart the luminosity to the flames. It 
 dissolves in ninety jDarts of water at the ordinary temperature, and in 
 sixty parts of alcohol 80 per cent. ; the solutions have an acid reaction, 
 become turbid when warmed, and clear again on cooling. Cold ether 
 dissolves t^-J^, boiling ether ^th its weight. 
 
 The hydrated salt is not different in appearance from the antiydrous; 
 its formula is Zn Va+12 HO. At 212° F., it loses its water of crys- 
 tallization, or 44 pr. ct. in weight. It is soluble in 44 parts of cold 
 water. 
 
 Butyrate of zinc has been fraudulently sold for the valerianate ; it 
 may be detected by adding sulphuric acid to the salt, and distilling the 
 mixture to separate the volatile acid. If this be butyric acid, it im^ 
 mediately causes a bluish-white precipitate when added to a concen- 
 trated solution of acetate of copper; whereas, valerianic acid causes no ' 
 
1310 Appendix. 
 
 precipitate ; but, on shaking it with the solution, it gives rise to some 
 oily drops of anhydrous valerianate of copper. This may be distin- 
 guished by its odor, and by its yielding acetic ether (also recognized by 
 its odor), when mixed with a little proof-spirit and one-fourth of the 
 volume of oil of vitriol. (Larocque and Huraut, Chemical Gazette, IT., 
 302.) 
 
 Valerianate of zinc has been employed as an antispasmodic in neu- 
 ralgia, chorea, epilepsy, nervous headache, hysteria, and other nervous 
 diseases. The dose of it is from one to three grains, two or three times 
 a day, in pill form, or in solution. By some practitioners it is said to 
 have produced no beneficial results. As a topical astringent and seda- 
 tive, a collyrium composed of from two to four grains of the salt, in one 
 or two fluidounces of distilled water, has been employed in chro ' ic 
 conjunctivitis. 
 
1311 
 
 EXPLANATION 
 
 or THE 
 
 PRINCIPAL ABBREVIATIONS 
 
 OOOTJRBINO IN 
 
 PHARMACEUTICAL FORMULJl. 
 
 I 
 
 B. Beoipe — Take. 
 
 F. S. A. Fiat secundum aiitew — Let it be made or prepared according to tha 
 rules of the art. 
 
 M. Misce — Mix. 
 
 M. S. D. Misce, signa, da — Mix the medicine, and deliver it afterward, with the 
 requisite instruction, to the patient (or nurse) in writing. ' 
 
 M. F. P. Misce flat pulyis — Mix to form a powder. 
 
 M. F. Mixt. Misce fiat mixtura — Mix to form a liquid mixture. 
 
 M. F. Pil. Misce fiant pilulse — Mix to form pills. 
 
 Div. Divide — Divide. 
 
 Sol. Solve — Dissolve. ^ 
 
 Fasc. j. Fasciculus — An armful. 
 
 Man. j. Manipulus. — A handful, a gripe. 
 
 Pugil. j. Pugillus or Pugillum — A pinch. 
 
 Cyat. j. Cyathus — A glassful. 
 
 Cochl. j. Cochlear or Cochleare — A spoonful. 
 
 Gutt. Gutta — Drop. 
 
 No. 1, 2, 3, etc. The number of pieces or parts, etc., written j, y, iy, It, v, i. 
 
 Ana, or as. Of each. 
 
 P. Ae. Partes sequales — Equal parts. 
 
 Q. S. Quantum sufficit — As much as will suffice. 
 
 Q. L. Quantum libet — As much as you like. 
 
 Q. v.. Quantum volueris — As much as you like. 
 
 R). Libra — A pound. 
 
 3. Uncia — An ounce. 
 
 3. Drachma — A drachm or dram. 
 
 9. Scrupulus — A scruple. 
 
 Gr. Granum — A grain. 
 
 Pil. Pilula— A pili 
 
 Pot. Potio — A potion, 
 
 Pulv. Pulvis — A powder. Pulvis faotuB, powdefsd. 
 
 Tine. Tinctura — A tincture. 
 
 Ext. Extractum — An extract. 
 
 Chart. Chartula, — A small paper. 
 
 Collyr. Oollyrium — An eye-water. 
 
1812 Appendix. 
 
 Collutor. Collutorium — a mouth wash. 
 Cong. CongiuB — A gallon. 
 0. Oct. Octarius — A pint, 
 fg. Fluiduncia — A fluidounce. 
 f3. Fluidraohma — A fluidrachm. 
 m. or Min. Minimum — A minim. 
 Decoct. Decoction — A decoction. 
 Garg. Gargarisma — A gargle. 
 Hsnst. Haustus — A draught, 
 lafns. Infusum — An infusion. 
 Mass. Massa — A mass. 
 Mist. Mistura — A mixture. 
 Ss. Semis — A half. 
 Zz. Zingiber — Ginger. 
 
 A VOCABULARY 
 
 OF THE WORDS MOST FREQUENTLY OCCUEEmG IN THE PEESCRIPTIOire 
 
 OF PHYSICIANS. 
 
 A, aa, or ana, of each ingredient; more properly expressed by the genitive case 
 
 plural (singulorum) of each; for instance: 
 
 ^. — Aquse cinnamon, tinct. rhei. aa 3ijj means. 
 
 Take of cinnamon-water, and tincture of rhubarb, of each two drachms. 
 Abdom., Abdomen, the belly. Gen. — inis, of the belly. Dat. — ihi, to the belly. 
 Abs. febr., Absente febre, while the fever is off. 
 Ace, Accurate (adverb) accurately. Accurate pensi. Ace. pen., weighed with the 
 
 utmost exactness. Accurate misceantur. Ace. mis., mix very completely. 
 Acid., Aciditas, sharpness. Ad. grat. acid. Ad gratam aciditatem, make it just 
 
 acid enough to be palatable, and not too sour. To an agreeable sourness. 
 Acm., Acme, the height of the fever or any other disease. 
 Ad, to. Ad duas vices, at twice taking. 
 Add., Adde, add., let it or them be added. Addantur, let there be added. Addendni, 
 
 to be added. Addendo, adding. 
 Ad. Lib., Ad libitum. At pleasure, as you like. 
 
 Ad. reoid. prsec, Ad recidivium preecavendum. To prevent a relapse. 
 Admov., Admoveatur, let there be applied — antur, plural, when more than one i* to 
 
 be applied. 
 Adst. feb., Adstante febre, while the fever is on. 
 .^ger, a sick person, a patient, .^gra, a female patient. 
 Agg. feb., Aggrediente febre, when the fever is coming on. 
 Aggresaus, an attack. Aggressus febris, the attack of a ferer.. 
 Agit. vas., Agitato vasfe, shaking the vial 
 Albus, white. Alb., or Album 
 Aliquant., Aliquantillum, a very iKtie. 
 Aliquot, some. Aliquoties, sometimes. 
 Alt., Alter, altera, alterum, the other 
 Altern., Alternus, alternate. Altern. hor., Alternis horiB, OTtry aeoond honr. Alton 
 
 dieb., Alternis diebus, every alternate day. 
 
Abbreviations in Pharmaceutical Formula. 1313 
 
 Aluta, leather. Extende super alutam moUem, E, S. A. M., spread on soft leather, or 
 
 A. M. e! S. 
 Alv., AItus, the belly, the bowels. Adstrictft alvo, when costive. 
 Amp., Ampins, large. Cooh. amp. Coohleare amplum, a tablespoonftil. 
 Antfe, before. Ut antfe, as before. 
 
 A. M., Antemeridianus, in the forenoon; any time before twelve o'clock at noon. 
 Apparatus, any sort of a preparation, instruments, or, in short, everything that is 
 
 requisite to be had in readiness for performing any sort of operation. Also, the 
 
 more delicate term for a bladder and pipe for clysters. 
 Aper., Aperiena, opening, gently purging. 
 Applic, Applicetur, let there be applied. 
 Aq., Aqua, water. Aquse, of water. Aq. bull., Aqua bulliens, Aq. ferv.. Aqua 
 
 fervens, boiling water. Aq. dest., Aqua destillata, distilled water. Aq. font.. Aqua 
 
 fontana, spring water. Aq. marin.. Aqua marina, sea or salt water. Aq. niv., aqua 
 
 nivea, snow water. Aq. pluv.. Aqua pluvialis, rain water. Aq. pnr.. Aqua purai 
 
 pure water. 
 Armatus, armed. Fistula armata, an apparatus for clysters; a pipe and bladder. 
 Auris, the ear. Auri, to the ear. Aures, ears. Auribus, to the ears. 
 Ant, or. 
 
 Bacc, BaccsB, berries. 
 Bain, mar., Balneum marise, a salt water bath. Bain, tep., Balneum tepidnm, a 
 
 warm bath. Bain, vap.. Balneum vaporis, a vapor bath. Bain, frigid., Balneum 
 
 frigida, a cold bath. Bain, tep.. Balneum tepida, lukewarm bath. Bain. caU 
 
 Balneum calida, hot bath. Bain, ar., Balneum arena, sand bath. 
 Ben., Ben%, well. Benfe misceatur, B. M., let it be well mixed. 
 Bib., Bibat, let him drink. 
 
 Bidu., Biduum, two days. 0. B. V. T., Omnibidub vel tridub, every two or three dayt. 
 Bih., Biborium, the space of two hours. Om. bih., Omni bihorio, every two hours. 
 Bis, twice; bis, terve, twice or thrice. 
 Bis. ind.. Bis in dies, twice a day. 
 Bol, Bolus, a ball, a pill, a morsel, a dose. 
 
 BuUio, to boil: bulliens, boiling. Aq, bull., Aqun buUientia, of boiling water. 
 Bull., BuUiant, let them boil. 
 Calef., Calefactus, made warm. 
 Cap., Capiat, let (the patient) take. Capt. coehl. i^ magn., three tablespoonftila to 
 
 be taken. 
 Cat., Cataplasm, a poultice. 
 Cath., Catharticus, purging, cathartic. 
 Caut., Caut^, cautiously. 
 Cerevisia, beer. Cerevisia Londinensis, porter. Cerevisia Lagenaria, bottled porter 
 
 or stout. 
 Chart., Gbarta, paper. Charta ceerulea, blue paper. Ohartola, a little piece of paper. 
 
 Cola trans chartam, filter through paper. 
 Cib., Cibus, food. 
 
 Circa, about. Circiter, about. , 
 
 Cit., Citb, soon, quickly. Oitissim^ (the superlative degree.) as quick as possible. 
 ClausuB, clausa, clausum, covered. Vase clause, in a covered vessel. 
 Col, coch.. Cochleare, a spoonful. Gochlearia, spoonfuls. Coch. magnum, amplum, a 
 
 tablespoonful. Co. infantulorum, coch. modicum, child's spoonful, a dessertspoon. 
 
 ful. Co. parvum, a teaspoonful. 
 Coctio, a boiling. Sub. fin. coct.. Sub finem coctionis, toward the end of the boiUng; 
 
 when almost boiled. 
 
1314 Appendix. 
 
 Cserulens, blue. Charta oseral., blue paiper. Unguentum c^Tuleum, merimrial oint- 
 ment. 
 Col., Cola, (imperat. of Colo), strain, to filter. 
 Colatus, strained, filteted. Colato li(5[iiori, to the strained liquor. 
 Colatura, a straining. Colaturse, to the strained liquor. 
 Colatus, let be strained. Oolentur, let them be strained. 
 Gollum, a neck. 
 Comp., CompositttB, com'pouitd. 
 Conf., Confectio, confection. 
 Cons., Conserva, conserve. 
 Consp., Conspergo, to sprinkle. Consp. puly. cinnam., «prinkle with (or roll in) 
 
 powdered cinnamon; usually applied to pills. 
 Cont., Oontinuo, to continue. Cont. rem., Continnantur remedia, go on with the 
 
 same medicine as last prescribed. 
 Contundo, to bruise. Contus., ContiiBus, bruised. 
 Contusio, a bruise, a contusion. 
 
 Coquo, to boil. Coq., Ooque, boil. Coque fpartim, boil a little while. 
 Ooquantur, let them be boiled. 
 
 Cor, the heart. Scrob. cord., Scrobiculus cordis, the pit of the stomaoh. 
 Cort., Cortex, the bark. 
 Coxa, CoSendix, the hip. 
 Cras, to-morrow; c. m., eras mane, early to-morrow momilig; C. M. S., eras mane 
 
 sumendus, tb be ta,ken early to-morrow morning. C. N, Cras nocte, to-mori?ow 
 
 night. 
 Crastinus (adj.), of tftimorro-fr. In usum crastinum, for to-JnOrrow's use. 
 Cribrum, a sieye. _ Trans cribrum, through a sieve. 
 Cii\j., Gujus, of which. Cuj. cap., or sum., Cujus capia^ or sumat, of wUoh (the patient 
 
 is to) ta'ke. 
 Cum, with. 
 Cyath., Cyathus, a cup. Cyath. vin., Cyathus vinariiig, a wineglass. Cyath. theati 
 
 a teacupful. 
 D. Dos-., ©cfsis, a dose. 
 
 Da, give. Detur, dentur (plural), let be given. 
 De, of. De quo, or quii, of which. De die, in a day. 
 DeSiUi^atus, ^il%. Dei'aut. pil., Deaurentur pilulge, let the pills be gUt. 
 Debilitas, weakness. 
 Decern, ten. Decimus, the tenth. 
 Debitus, due. Ad. deb. spiss. Ad. debitam spissitudinem, to a proper degree of 
 
 thickness, as to consistence. 
 Dec, Decanta, p6ur off. 
 Decoct., Decoctlo, decoction. 
 
 Decubitus, lying down. Horg, decubitus, at bedtime. 
 Deglutio, to swallow. Deglutiatur, is swallowed — etur, let be swallowed. 
 Dein, deinde, then; afterward. 
 Dejectio, a depositing, or putting down, also a going to stool; as, poBtduasdejectionrt 
 
 alVi, after two motions. 
 Dejitio, to deposit. Donee alvus bis dejiciat, until the patient shall have had two 
 
 sttiols. 
 Dfeti, Detur, let ifbe given. 
 
 Dexter, the right. Manus deztra, the right hand. Anri dextro, to the right ear. 
 IKtstUS,'8|fbl£en of, Said. 
 
Abbueviations in Pharmaceutical Formula. 1315 
 
 Dies, a day. Die, iu a day; as bis die, twice <a day. Diebus, in days; as, tertiis 
 
 diebus, every third day. Alternis diebus, every alternate day. 
 Dil., Dllutum, diluted. 
 
 Dim., Dimidium, the half. Dimidius, a, um (adjectlTe), half. 
 D. P., Directione propria, with its proper direction. 
 Diu, a long time. Tere din, rub for a long time. 
 Diut., Diuturuus, lonig-Gontiuned. iDluturn^ trituratione, D. trit. by long contimned 
 
 rubbing, or grinding in the mortar. Diuturna coctione, by long boiling. 
 Div., Divido, divide. 
 
 Dolor, pain. Dolores, pains. Doloris, of the pain. 
 Dolens, pained. Parti dolenti, to the pained part. 
 Donee, until. Donee liquescat, till it melts. Donee, alv. bis. dej., Donee »1tiib Wa 
 
 dejiciat, until the bowels have been twice moved. 
 Dr., Drm., Drachma, a drachm. 
 Dum, whilst. 
 
 Durante dolore, while the pain continues. Dnr. doL 
 Eadem, eandem, the same. Eodem, in the same. 
 EfFund., EfFunde, pour out. 
 Effervescentia, the effervescence. 
 Bffervescet, effervesces. 
 
 Ejusdem, of the same, the genitive case of idem. 
 Elect., Electuarium, an electuary. 
 Emp., Emplastrum, a plaster. 
 Enema, a clyster. Enemata, clysters. 
 Erit, shall be. 
 
 Evanesce, evanui, to disappear. Evan., Evanuerit, shall have diBappeaied. 
 Exhib., exhibe., Ezhibeatur, give. ExhibenduB, to be giTen. 
 Extendo, to extend, also to spread. Ext. sup. alut., Extende super alntam, ipresd 
 
 it on leather. 
 Exten., Extensus, a, um, spread. 
 Ex., Ext. Extractum, an extract. 
 F., Ft., Fiat, let there be made. 
 
 Fac, make. Fac iu pilulas xij, make into twelve pills. 
 Farina, flour. Farina seminis lini, linseed meaL 
 Febris,a fever. Febre durante, while the fever is on. 
 Femur, a thigh. 
 
 Femoribus, to the thighs. Femoribus internis, to the inner sides of thetUghi. 
 Fervens, boiling. Pervidus, fervida, hot. 
 Pervsniis, of boiling, ^aq.ferventis, take of bpiling water. 
 Filt., Filtra, filter. 
 
 Finis, the conclusion. Sub finem ooctioni8,'when almost boiled enonch. 
 Fiat, make (the singular number). Fiant, make (plural). 
 Flo., Flora., Flores, flowers. 
 F., Fl., Fluidum. Fluid, liquid. 
 Fontana, fountain. Aqua fontana, spring water. 
 Formula, prescription. 
 Fotus, a fomentation, 
 Fruct., Fructus, fruit. 
 Frust., Frustillation, in small pieces. 
 Fuerit, shall have been; as, donee alviis BolntB Awrit, 'Until • awtitn U (« 
 
 have been) procured. 
 Crarg., Gargarisma, a gargle. 
 
1316 Appendix. 
 
 Gelatiaa, jelly. 6elatina ribesiorum, currant jelly. Qelatina quovis, any sort of jelly 
 
 Globulus, a little ball. Globuli Gascoigni, Gascoign's ball. Don. glob, evan., Donee 
 globuli evanuerint, until the globules (of quicksilver) totally disappear (so thai 
 they can not be seen even with a microscope). 
 
 Grad., Gradatim, by slow degrees. 
 
 Gx., Grana, grains. 
 
 Gratus, grata, gratum, agreeable, pleasant. Ad gratum aciditatem, so as to make it 
 pleasantly acid without being too sour. In quovis grato vehiculo, in any agreea- 
 ble vehicle. 
 
 Gutta, a drop. Gtt., Guttse, drops. Guttas, drops. • 
 
 Guttatim, drop by drop. 
 
 Hac, this. Hao nocte, this night. Hanc, this. Sumat hanc, let him take this. 
 
 Hactenus, hitherto, heretofore, up to the present day. 
 
 Harum, of these. Harum pilularum sumat tres, of these pills let him or her take 
 three. 
 
 Haust., Haustus, a draught. 
 
 Hebdomada, a week. 
 
 Heri, yesterday. Ut heri, as yesterday. 
 
 Hesternus, of yesterday. Hesterna nocte, last night. 
 
 Hirud., Hirudo, a leech. Hirudines, leeches. 
 
 His, in these, to these. His adde, add to these. 
 
 Hora, an hour. Horse, of an hour. Horse (plural), hours. 
 
 H. S. (horS, somni), at the hour of rest. 
 
 H. S. S. (horl, somni sumendns), to be taken at bedtime. Hor& deonbitnB, at the honi 
 of going to rest, bedtime. 
 
 Horfi vespertinS, in the evening. 
 
 Horse unius spatio, in the space of one hour. 
 
 Horas J, horse quadrante, quarter of an hour. 
 
 Horis intermediis, at intermediate hours, when two medicines are to be taken. Horig 
 intermediis, means that one is to be given exactly at midtime from the other: sup- 
 pose a draught is ordered (to be taken every six hours), and a powder horis inter- 
 mediis, that is, every six hours intermediately, then a draught will be taken at six 
 o'clock and at twelve, and a powder at three and at nine. 
 
 Htgusmodi, of this sort, like these. 
 
 H. P. N., Haustus purgans noster, a formula of purging draught made according to 
 a practitioner's own private Pharmacopoeia, and is prepared so as to keep a long 
 time without spoiling, that we may not have the trouble of preparing it every time 
 a draught is wanted. Mitt. H. P. N. gij ad ij Vices 0. M. S. Mitte Hanstns pur- 
 gantis nostri ancias duas ad dua^ Vices eras mane sumendus; send two ounces of oui 
 purging draught, to be taken to-morrow morning, at twice, that is half at first, 
 and the remaining half in an hour if the first does not operate. 
 
 Iduneus, proper, appropriate. 
 
 Idem, eadem, the same. Ejusdem, of the same, the genitive oaie of Idem. 
 
 Imponatur (sing.), let there be put on — nantur (plural). 
 
 Impr., Imprimis, first. 
 
 In, in. In die, in a day. 
 
 Ind., Indies (an adverb), every day, daily, from day to d»y. 
 
 Jndicaverit, shows, indicates. 
 
 InfuB. panis tostus, toast bread water. ■-- • 
 
 Infus., Infusio, infusum, an inftiaioa. 
 
 Infunde, infundatur, infuse 
 
 Inter, between. 
 
Abbreviations in Pharmaceutical Formulae;. 1317 
 
 Inject., Injectio, injection. 
 
 Injiciatur, throw in, throw up. Injiciatur enema, let a olyster be administend. 
 
 Injiciendus, injiciendum, to be administered. 
 
 Inquietude, restlessness. XTngeute inquietudine, if restless. 
 
 Instar (an adverb), as big as. Sumat molem instar nncii moschatiBi the bigneaa of • 
 
 nutmeg to be taken. 
 Intermedius, intermediate. 
 Internis, the inner side. 
 
 Jam, already. Jampridem, jamdudum, some time ago, heretofote. 
 Jugulum; the throat. 
 
 JuBculum, broth. Jusculum ovillum, mutton broth. Jus. bovinnm, beef tML 
 Juxta, nea? to. 
 
 liac, milk. Lactis, of milk. Lacte, in milk. 
 Lsey., Lsevigatus, levigated. 
 Lana, flannel. Lana nova, new flannel. 
 Languor, faintness, lowness. In lang., In languoribue, in the fainting fits, whaa 
 
 low and faint. 
 Latiis, the side. Lateris, of the side. Lateri, to the side. Latus dolens, the pained 
 
 side. Lateri dolenti, to the pained side. 
 Latus, lata, latum (adjective), broad. 
 Leotus, a bed. In lecto,"in bed. 
 Liber, a book. 
 
 Libet (a verb impersonal), it pleases. Ad libitum, just as you please. 
 Libra, a pound. Libris, libras, pounds. 
 Linteum, lint; also linen. 
 
 Liquesco, to liquefy, to melt. Doneo liquescat, till it melts. 
 Liquid., Liquidusj liquid. Sedes liquidsB, loose stools. In quoyia liquido, in ttaj 
 
 liquid. 
 Liq., Liquor, liquor. 
 
 Londinensis, of London. Pharmacopceia Londinensis, the London Dispensatory. 
 Lot., Lotio, lotion. 
 Lumborum, of the loins. 
 Mac, Macera, macerate. 
 
 Mag., Magnus, magna, magnum, large. Magnum cochleare, a tablespoonfU. 
 Major, greater, larger. Cochlearia duo majora, two tablespoonfuls. 
 Malleolus, the ankle. Malleolus internus, the inner ankle. 
 Man%, in the morning. Man^ primo; valde mamj, very early in the morning. 
 Manus, a hand. Manu calefacta, with a warm hand. 
 
 Mass., Massa, a mass. M. P., Massa pilularis, a mass fit for forming into pilla. 
 Matutinus, in the morning or forenoon. 
 Maximfe, chiefly. 
 
 Maximus, the greatest. Maxima curft, with the greatest care. 
 Medioc, Mediocris, middle-sized. Filulse mediocris, middle-sized pills. Cochleare 
 
 mediocre, a desertspoonful, a papspoonful, or a child's spoonful. Mediocris alao 
 
 means indifferent, as to quality. 
 Medius, middle. Media nocte, in the middle of the night. 
 Melior, melius, better. 
 Mic. pan., Mica panis, crumb of bread. 
 Minatur, minaretur, threatens. Minante, threatening. 
 Minimus, very small Coch. min., Ooohleare minimum, a teaepooaAd. 
 
1318 Appendix. 
 
 Minutum,* a minute. 
 
 M., Misce, mix. Bene misoeatur, let it be well mixed. 
 
 Mitte, send. 
 
 Mitt., MjttatuT (singular), let it be sent. Mi^ttantur (plural), let them be Mat. 
 
 Mittatur sanguis, take blood away; i. e., bleed the patient. 
 
 Mist., Mistura, mixtura, a mixture. 
 
 Mitigatio, mitigation, alleviation. Donee dolor Is mitigatio sit, until the pain is 
 
 easier. 
 Mitigatus, a, um, mitigated, lessened. 
 Modicus, middle-sized. 
 
 Modus, a manner. Modo praescripio, in the manner directed. 
 Moles, a mass, a lump, a piece. Sumat molem instar nuois mosohatse, let him (or 
 
 her) take the bigness or size of a nutmeg. 
 Mollis, molle, soft. 
 Molestus, troublesome. Molester, to trouble, to be troublesome. Molestante dolore, 
 
 when the pain is troublesome. Molestante tussi, when the ooagh is troublesome. 
 Mora, delay. Sine mora, without delay. 
 Mob, moris, manner.^ More solito, in the usual manner; also, in the same manner 
 
 as I am in the habit of prescribing it to other people. 
 Morta., Mortarium, a mortar. Mortario aheneo, in the brass mortar. Mortario 
 
 marmoreo, in the marble mortar. Mort. vitreo, in the glass mortar. Mort. lapi- 
 
 des, in the stone mortar. 
 Mucil., mucilago, mucilage. 
 Narthecium, a gallipot. 
 Nates, the buttocks, 
 
 Ne, lest, also, do not; as ne tradas sine nummo, N. T. S. N., do not delirer the medi- 
 cine without the money'. 
 Nee, Necnon, also. 
 Nig., Niger, nigra, nigrum, black. 
 Ni, nisi, unless. 
 Nihil, nothing, 
 Nisus, an endeavor, an attempt, a straining, a motion, a straining to 7omit, or go to 
 
 stool. 
 Nim., Nimis, nimium, too much. 
 N., Nocte, at night. Noctes, nights. N. man., Nocte maneque, night and morning. 
 
 Alt. noct., Alternis noctibus, every second night. 
 Nodulus, a little knot. Nodulo ligati, tied up in a piece of clean rag. 
 Nomen, nominis, a name. Signetur nomine proprio, S. N, P., write ito common 
 
 name upon the label. 
 Non., NonuB, the ninth. 
 Nov., novem, nine. 
 
 Novis., Novissimfe, very lately, the last of all. 
 Novus, nova, novum, new. 
 Nuper, lately. Nuperrime, very lately. 
 Nucha, the nape of the neck. Nuchse, to the nape. 
 N. M.. Nux moschata, a. nutmeg. Sumat magnitudinem nucis mosohatge, take the 
 
 bigness of a nutmeg. 
 
 4' The word minutum, for a minute, is very barbarous Latin ; we believe there la no sach word ; bnt 
 the right Latin for a minnte, Sexagesima pars horas, is as long and tiresome to write u " Semlvlt- 
 reous oxide of lead," for the simple word " Litharge." — Qr\ffUh. 
 
Abbreviations IN Pharmaceutical FormiiljE. 
 
 1319 
 
 Nnmeri. Nambers. 
 
 1. or j. unus, una, uuum, one. 
 
 uniuB, of one. 
 
 2. ij. duo, dusB, two. 
 
 duorum, of two. 
 duobus, in two, to two. 
 8. iij. tres, tria, three. 
 
 tribus. in three, to three, 
 trium, of three, 
 ter, three times, 
 
 4. iv. quatuor, four. 
 
 quartus, a, um, fourth, 
 quater, four times. 
 
 5. T. quinque, five. 
 
 quintus, fifth. 
 
 6. TJ. sex, six. 
 
 sextus, sixth. 
 
 9. 
 
 10. 
 
 11. 
 12. 
 20. 
 24. 
 
 or vij. septem, aeyen. 
 
 Septimus, seyeuth. 
 septimana, or 
 7 mana, a week, 
 viij. ooto, eight. 
 
 octayus, eighth, 
 iz. noyem, nine, 
 nonus, ninth. 
 X. decern, ten. 
 
 decimus, tenth. 
 xj. undeeim, eleyen. 
 xij. duodeoimj twelve. 
 XX. viginti, twenty, 
 xxiy. yiginti quatuor, 
 twenty-fonr. 
 
 Obst., Obstante, hindering, preventing. 
 Ooc, Ocoasio, occasion, opportunity. 
 
 0. Oct., Octarius, a pint. 
 Octo, eight. 
 
 Octavus, eighth. Octava quaque horft, every eighth hour. 
 
 01. Lini, S. I., Oleum lini sine ignii, cold drawn linseed oil. 
 0. 0. 0., Oleum olivse optimum, best olive oil. 
 
 Olim, some time ago. 
 
 Olla, a pot, a gallipot. 
 
 Omnis, all. Omni mane, every morning. Omni hora, every hour. Omni bihorio, 
 every two hours. Omni noote, every night. Omnil- horfi, Omni quadrante horn, 
 every quarter of an hour. Tere omnia, rub all together. Omn. alt. hor., omnibus 
 alternis horis, every other hour. 
 
 Omnino, quite, wholly, entirely. 
 
 Optimfe, very well, as well as possible. 
 
 Opt., Optimus, ma, mum, best. 
 
 Opus, need, occasion. Si opus sit, or fuerit, if it be, necessary. 
 
 Ovil. jusc, Ovillum jusculum, mutton broth. 
 
 Ovum, an egg. Vitell. ovi, the yelk of an egg. Ovorum, of eggs. 
 
 Panis biscoctus, biscuit. Panis nauticus, sea biscuit. Panis tostus, toast bread. 
 Infus. panis tostus, toast-bread water. Panis triticus, wheat bread. 
 
 Pannus, a rag. Pannus linteus, a linen rag. Pannus laneus, Pannus 6 lanft. a piece 
 of flannel. 
 
 Paroxysmus, a paroxysm, a fit, a convulsion fit. 
 
 Pars, a part. Partes, parts. Parti dolenti, to the pained part. 
 
 Part, aff.. Partem affectam, to the part afiected. 
 
 P. M., Partes sequales, equal parts. 
 
 Partitus, parted. Partitus vicibus means, that you are not to give a medicine all at 
 once but divide the dose according to the directions most commonly previously, 
 given; for example, if a purging or emetic draught, half or a third (as the case 
 may be), to be taken at first, and the other half or third at a certain distance of 
 time, if the former quantity be not found sufficient to produce the desired effisot. 
 
 Pary., Parvus, little. Coch. parv., Oochleare paFvam, a teaspooufUl. 
 
 Parum, a little. Parumper, a little. 
 
1320 Appendix. 
 
 Panoulum, pauxillum, paululum, a little. 
 
 Pect., Pectus, th^ breast. Pectoris, of the breast. 
 
 Pediluvium, a bath for the feet. 
 
 Per, by, or through. 
 
 Perg., Pergo, to go on with. Perg. in us. med., Pergat in usu medioinarnm, oontinue 
 
 the medicines as before. 
 Peractua ) completed, perfected, quite done, gone through with; as, 
 
 Peractg operatione emetici, after the emetic has quite done 
 
 Perf., Perfectus, j operating. 
 
 Perfric, Perfricetur, let it be rubbed. Perfricandus, to be rubbed. 
 
 Pensus, weighed. Accurate penai, weighed exactly. 
 
 Perpetuus, perpetual. Fiat perpetuum, keep it open (when it refers to a blister). 
 
 Pluvialis, also pluviatalis aqua, rain water. 
 
 Ph., Pharmacopoeia, a Pharmacopoeia, or Dispensatory. 
 
 Ph. D., Pharmacopoeia Dublinensis, Dublin Pharmacopoeia. 
 
 Ph. E., Pharmacopoeia Edinensis, Edinbnrg Pharmacopoeia. 
 
 Ph. L., Pharmacopoeia Londinensis, London Pharmacopoeia. 
 
 Ph. U. 8., Pharmacopoeia, United States Pharmacopoeia. 
 
 Pil., Pilulse, pills. 
 
 Pollex, the thumb. Pollex pedis, the great toe. 
 
 Pomeridianus, postmeridianus, in the evening or afternoon, time of the day. 
 
 P. R. N., Fro re nat^ occasionally, according as circumstances may ocour, aooMding 
 as the symptoms may require. 
 
 Poculum, a cup. 
 
 Pomum, an apple. Pomi, of an apple. 
 
 Pond, behind. Pond., Pondere, by weight. 
 
 Porro, moreover. 
 
 Post, after. Postea, then, afterward. 
 
 P. M., Post meridiem, afternoon, in the afternoon, after twelve o'olook at nooa. 
 
 Post, sing. sed. lig.. Post singulas sedes liquidas, after every loose stool. 
 
 Pot., Potus, drink, beverage of any kind. 
 
 Postul., Fostulet, postulent, may require, demand. 
 
 Praec, Fraacipue, especially. 
 
 Prssp., Preeparatus, prepared. Pr., Preparatio, preparation, or prescription. 
 
 Pmparo, to prepare. Frsep., Preeparentur, let them be prepared. 
 
 Prim., Primus, ma, mum, the first. Primo, first of all. Primo mane, very early In 
 the morning. 
 
 Prior, prius, the former, the first. 
 
 Prius., Priusquam, before that. 
 
 Pro, for. Pro re nata, P. B. N., occasionally, according to the nature of the case, 
 etc. Pro ratione, according to, or in proportion to; as pro ratione atatiB, accord- 
 ing to the age of the patient, pro rat. set. 
 
 Pro. pot. ord.. Pro potu ordinario, for a common drink. 
 
 Prop., Proprius, a, um, proper. S. N. P., Signetnr nomine proprio, mark it with it! 
 proper direction. 
 
 Prox. luc., Proxima luce, the day before. 
 
 Pruritus, an itching. Pruriens, itching. Dolichos pruriens, oowhage. 
 
 Psora, the itch. 
 
 Pug., Fugillus, a handful. 
 
 Pulp., Puipa, the pulp. 
 
 Pulv., Pulvis, a powder. Pulveres, poirders. Pulveribus, in powd«m. 
 
 Pulvis Bubtilissimus, the very finest powder. Pulv. subt. 
 
Abbreviations in Phakmaceutical FoEMULiE. 1321 
 
 Pur., Purificatiig, a, um, purified. 
 
 Pyx., Pyxis, pyxidis, a pill-box, or lozenge-box. 
 
 Quae, Quacum, with which. 
 
 Quad., Quadrans, quadrantis, quadrante, quarter. Omni qnadrante lutn^ tTM7 
 
 quarter of an hour. 
 Quadrupllcata, four times as much. 
 
 Quamp., Quamprimum, as soon as possible, without the least delay. 
 Quartus, a, um, the fourth. 
 
 Qu&qua, every. Quaq., Quaque, every one. Qu&vis (foem.), with anjr. 
 Quater, four times. Quatuor, four. Quarta pars, a fourth part. 
 
 que, (at the end of any Latin word), and. 
 
 Quern, quam quod, which (the accusative case). 
 
 Qui, quae, quod, which (the nominative case). 
 
 Quib., Quibus, to which, with which. 
 
 Quibusdam, to or with some. Cum guttis quibusdam, with a few diopc 
 
 Quilibet, quaelibet, quodlibet, gen. Cujuslibet, abl. Quolibet, any. 
 
 Quiescat, goes to rest, is easier. 
 
 Quinq., Quinque, five. Quintns, a, um, the fifth. Quinquies, five timM. 
 
 Quinquina (cinchona), Peruvian Bark. 
 
 Quisq., Quisque, every one. 
 
 Q. P., Quantem placet, as much as you please. 
 
 Q. Q. H., Quaque quarta hora, every four hours; or Quadrihoris. 
 
 Q. S. — q. s.. Quantum sufficiat, as much as may be sufficient. 
 
 Quor., Quorum, quarum, of which. Quos, quas, which. Quocum, qnaeniB, wltk 
 
 which. Quovis, with any. 
 Kad., Radix, the root. 
 Ras., Rasurse, shavings. 
 Ratio, a, reason, also a proportion. Pro ratione aetatis, according to the age of the 
 
 patient. Pro ratione doloris, according to the urgency of the pain. 
 Raucedo, hoarseness. 
 
 Recipe, take. Recipe (taken substantively), a prescription. 
 Red., Redactus, reduced. 
 Regio, a region (an anatomical term for certain parts of the body); as, regie epigaa- 
 
 trica, the epigastric region; regie lumborum, the region of the loins; appl. emplastr. 
 
 regioai umbilicali, to the umbilical region, or parts in the neighborhood of the 
 
 navel. Reg. hep., Regio hepatis, region of the liver. 
 Redigo, to reduce. Red., Redige, reduce. Redigetur, may be reduced. 
 Red., Redigatur, let it be reduced. Redig. in pulv., Redigitur in pulTerum, let it b* 
 
 reduced to powder. 
 Redactus, a, um, reduced. In pulv. redact., reduced to powder, 
 Refr., Refrixerit — pi. int. — the subjunctive future of refrigesoo, to cool. 
 Reliq., Reliquus, a, um, the rest, the remaining part. 
 Rem., Remedium, a remedy. Cent, rem., Gontinuandur remedia, go on with the 
 
 same remedies as before. 
 Repet., Repetatnr, let be repeated, repeat. 
 Repet., Repetendus, to be repeated. 
 Resp., Respondeo, responderit, shall have answered. Donee alvna ad aedet ^ Tel i^ 
 
 responderit, until two or three stools shall have been procnred. 
 Retin., Retinendus, retained. 
 
 Ribes, currants. Gelatina ribesioTium, currant jellj. 
 Ruber, rubra, rubrum, red. 
 Rubus idseus, raspberry. 
 
1322 Appendix. 
 
 Retinendus, to be retained, or kept. 
 
 S. v. B., spiritus yinosus rectificatus, rectified spirit of wine, aloohoL 
 
 S. v., Ten., or tenuis, proof spirit. 
 
 Saooh. alb., Saooharum album, white sugar. 
 
 Ssepe, often; sspius, oftener; ssepissime, very often. 
 
 SaL, Salt. 
 
 Salt., Saltern, at leaKt^ 
 
 Sang., Sanguis, blood, — inis, of blood. Sang, miss.. Sanguinis missoia, blood-tottiBg 
 
 Saph. Ten., Saphena vena, the ankle vein. 
 
 Scapula, the shoulder blade. Iut9r scapulus, between the shoulders. 
 
 Scil., Scilicet, to wit, namely. 
 
 Scrob. cord., Scrobiculus cordis, the pit of the stomach. 
 
 Sec, SecunduB, a, um (adjectiye), second. 
 
 S., Secundum (preposition), according to. 
 
 S. A., Secundum artem, according to art; that is, you are te use your own isgenatty 
 
 to do it in the most proper and scientific way. 
 Sed, but. 
 
 Sedes, a stool^plural, stools. 
 Sem., Semen, seed. 
 
 Ss., Semi, or semis, half. Semibora, half an hour. Semidrachma, half a draohm. 
 Sesq., Sesqui, one and a half; as sesqhr., sesquihora, an hour and a ha:f. Besqui- 
 
 nuncia, or sescuncia, an ounce and a half. Sesquidrachma, a drachm and a half. 
 
 Kemember well to attend to the difference between these two words, for many 
 
 young men, by not knowing that sesqui means one and a half, but confounding it 
 
 with semi, have made bad mistakes. 
 Semper, always. 
 Semel, once. 
 Septem, seven. 
 
 Sept., Septimana^ a week, seven days. Septimus, seventh. 
 Seq., Sequens, following. Seq. luce, sequens luce, the following day. 
 Serum lactis, whey. In sero lactis vinoso, in wine whey. 
 Serum is also the watery part of the blood which separates from tlie red part, or 
 
 crasaameutum, on standing until cold. 
 Serv., Serva, keep or preserve. 
 Sex, Bi:^. Sextus, Sixth. 
 Si, if. Sive, or, whether. 
 Si N. v., Si non valet, if it does not answer. 
 $.. O. S., Si op.. sit., Si opus sit, if tl^ere be occasion. 
 Si V. P., Si vir. perm.. Si vires permittant, if the strength allow. 
 Signatura, a label or direction. 
 
 Sig., Signetur, let it be marked, directed, written upon. 
 
 S. N. P., Signetur nomine proprip, mark it with the name it is usually known by. 
 Simul, togCitlier-;: as, (erantur simul, \et them be rubbed together. Simnl ao, at the 
 
 same time that. 
 Sine, without. Sine mora, without delay. 
 Singultus, hiccup. 
 
 Singulus, a, un(, ea,ch; in. singulis, in ea,cli; Siitg., singuloram, of each. 
 Sin., Sinister, tra, trum, the li^ft, Aur. sin., Auri sinistro, to the left ear. 
 Sitis, thirst; si sitiat, if thirsty. 
 Soli., Solitus, accustomed. 
 Bolus, alone; only. 
 
Abbreviations in Pharmaceutical Formula. 1323 
 
 us, a, urn, dissolved, also loosened; as, donee alvus soluta fuerit, until a stool if 
 
 procured. Solu., Solutio, solution. 
 Solve, dissolve. 
 
 Som., Somnus, sleep. Hora somni, at bed-time. 
 Spii^a, tJjtQ »pine, the backbouej also, a thorn. 
 
 Spt., Spiritus, spirit. Spt. rect., Spiritus reotificatus, rectified spirits, aloohoL 
 Spissus, thick. Spissitudo, thickness of consistence. 
 Sq., Squaqa,. a scale. 
 Statim, directly, immediately. 
 St., Stent, let them stand. St., Stet, let it stand. 
 Sternutatoriuft pulvis, sneezing powder, snuff. 
 Stupa, tow. 
 Sub, subter, under. Sub fin. coct., Sub finem coctionis, when the boiling is almost 
 
 finished. Sub, prefixed to a word, implies diminution, or a process not completed; 
 
 also, in many words has the same signification as the termination ish in English 
 
 words, as subniger, blackish, not quite black. Subtepidus, lukewarm. For its 
 
 meaning when applied to terms of chemistry, as subcarbonas, submurias, the pupil 
 
 muflt study his chemical nomenclature. 
 Subactus, a, um, subdued, dissolved. 
 
 Subitus, a, urn, Subitaneus, sudden. Subito (adv.), suddenly. 
 Subtep., Subtepidus, a little warm, lukewarm. 
 Subige, dissolve it, make it unite. Subdue quicksilver with lard or balsam of 
 
 sulphur. 
 Subinde, frequently, now and then. 
 Subt., Subtilis, subtle, reduced to fine powder. Pulv. subtilissimus, the very finest 
 
 powder. 
 Suoc, Succus, juice. 
 Sttoe. pom. ferment., cider. 
 Sumat, let him take. Sum., Sumatur, sumantur, let it be taken, take. Sum., Sumen- 
 
 dus, to be taken. 
 Sum. tal., Sumat talem, let the patient take one like this. 
 Sudor, sweet. 
 Superbibo, to drink after taking anything; as, chamomile tea or warm water after 
 
 an emetic; or a cup of water, or any liquid medicine, to wash down a dose of any 
 
 sort of pills. 
 Superinfundo, to pour upon. 
 Supra, above. Supradiotus, above mentioned. 
 Syncope, a fainting fit. 
 Syr., Syrupus, syrup. 
 Tabel., Tabellse, tabulss, lozenges. 
 
 Talis, such. Sumat talem, let him take such a one as thit. 
 Tailns, the ankle. 
 Tam, ao. Tameo, yet. 
 Tactus, the touch. 
 Taenia, the tapeworm. • 
 
 Tempus, temporis, time. 
 Tempora, the temples. Temporibus, to the temples. Temp, dext., Tempori dextio, 
 
 to the right temple. Tempori sinistro, to the left temple. 
 Temperies, temperamentum, temperament, degree of heat. 
 Tenacitus, tenacity. Ad debitam tenacitatem, of a proper degree of tenaoitjr oi 
 
 consistence. 
 
1324 Appendix. 
 
 Teneo, to hold. Tenendus, to be held. 
 
 Tennis, weak, thin, small, slender. 
 
 Tepef., Tepefactus, warmed, made warm. 
 
 Ter, three times, thrice. Ter quaterve, three or four times. 
 
 Teres, teretis, round, taper; also, teres is a name for the long and imind worb inftm 
 
 ing the human body, qu. d. vermis teres. 
 Tergum, the back. A tergo, behind. 
 Tero, to rub. Tere (imperative), rub. Terendus, to be rubbed. Terantur, let them 
 
 be rubbed. 
 Tertius, tertia, tertium, the third. 
 
 Testacea, the prepared powders made of oyster shells, egg shells, orabs' olairs, eto. 
 Thorax, the chest. Thoracis, of the chest. 
 Thus, frankincense. 
 Tinea capitis, scald head. 
 Torref., Torrefactus, toasted. 
 Tres, tria, three; tribus, in three, to three. 
 Triduum, three days. 
 Trituratio, a grinding. Trituiatus, triturated, ground. Tritus, ground. Tritnratm 
 
 ezactissima minutes decern, Trit. ex. min. dec, T. E. M. D., triturate exactly ten 
 
 minutes. Trituratur intime commisceantur, Trit. int. com., triturate intimately or 
 
 accurately together. Trit., Tritura, triturate. 
 T. 0., Tincturfc '^pii, what is commonly called Laudanum. 
 T. 0. C, Tinotura Opii Camphorata, Camphorated Tincture of Opium, formerly 
 
 called Paregoric Elixir. This tincture is now called, by the London College, in the 
 
 late reform of the Pharmacopoeia, edit. 1809, Tinotura Camphorsa Composita. 
 Trans, through. Cola trans chartam, filter through filtering paper. . 
 Tussis, a cough. Tuss mol., Tussi molestante, when the cough is troublesome. 
 Ultimue, ultima, um, the last. TTlt. pr., UltimtS prsescript, which waa lait 
 
 prescribed, 
 tfmbilicus, the navel. 
 Uni (an adverb), together. 
 
 Uncia, an ounce. Unciam cum semisse, an ounce and a half. 
 Undecim, eleven. 
 
 Unus, una, unum, one, D nius, of one. TJni, to one, 
 Urg. tuss., Urgente tussi, when the cough is troublesome. 
 Urgeo, to urge, to oppress, to be troublesome, or painfal. 
 
 Usus, use. Pergat in usu remediorum, continue the use of the medioine as belbTC. 
 Csque ad, up to, as far as. 
 Ct, as, that, so that; in the same manner as. 
 Utend., Utendus, to be used. 
 Utatur, let him make use of. 
 Uterque, utraque, utrumque, both. Utriusque, of both. TTtrique, to both, to eitbit. 
 
 Admoveantur hirundines ij tempori utrique, apply two leeches to each temple. 
 Utriuslibet, of whichever of the two, or more, the patient likes best. 
 Vacc, Vacoinatio, the act of inoculating for the cowpock. 
 Variolas vaccinas, the cowpock. 
 Vaccinum lac, cow's milk. 
 Valde, very, very much. 
 
 Valeo, to avail; si non valeat, if it does not answer. 
 Variolffi, the small-pox. 
 
Abbreviations in Pharmaceutical PoRMULiE 1325 
 
 Varicella, t)ie chicken-pox. 
 
 Vas, a vessel. Vasis, of a vessel. Vase olauso, in a covered vessel. Agitato vaae, 
 
 shaking the vessel. 
 Ve, vel, or; either: -ve is never at the beginning but the end of a word. 
 Vertebrae, the joints of the neck, back or loins; the vertebree altogether form that 
 
 column of bones which is called the spine. 
 Verus, true, real, genuine. 
 Vena, vein. Vena saphena, the ankle vein. 
 V^Tifesectio, bleeding. Fiat venaesectio, bleed him. 
 Vent., Ventrioulus, the stomach. 
 '^ S., Venaes., venaesectio, bloodletting. 
 V S. B., Venaesectio brachii, bleeding in the arm. Fiat venaesectio in venft saphenai 
 
 bleed the patient in the ankle vein, — or it may be understood, to bleed whererer 
 
 you can find the best vein, at the top of the foot, to get blood firom. 
 Vesp., Vsspere, in the evening. 
 
 Vespertmus, in the evening; as, hori vi'a, vespertina, at six o'clock in the evening. 
 Vehiculum, a vehicle; that is, whatever liquid, or any other eatable or drinkable we 
 
 take a medicine in, as barley water, whey, jelly, or panada, etc. 
 Viginti, twenty. Vicesimus, vigesimus, the twentieth, 
 yinosus, vinarius, of wine. Cyathus vinarius, a wineglass, 
 yices, turns; ad duas vices sumendus, to be taken at twice: that ia, half to betaken 
 
 at first, and the other half in some time after. 
 Vioibus partitis. See Partitus, in P. 
 7 ice, in the room of. Vix, scarcely, hardly. Ut vix sentiatur, ao that it can loaroely 
 
 be perceivable. 
 Vitellus, the yelk of an egg. 
 
 V. 0. S., Vitelli Ovi Solutum, dissolved in the yelk of an egg. 
 Vitrum, a glass. Vitreus, made of glass. 
 
 Vires, strength; si vires pprmittant, if the strength will bear it. 
 Vomitio, a, vomiting. Vomitione urgente, when the vomiting ia troablweaa. 
 Vultus, the countenance. 
 
 COMPARISON OF THE 
 
 DIFFEBBNT 
 
 THERMOMETRIC SCALES- 
 
 The Thermometer always used in this country ia that of Fahrenheit ; it 
 is also used in parts of Germany. 
 
 In this instrument the range between the freezing and boiling points of 
 water is divided into 180°, and as the greatest possible degree of cold was 
 supposed to be that produced by mixing snow and salt together, it was 
 made the zero. Hence, the freezing point became 32°, and the boiling 
 point 212°. 
 
1326 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 Tlie Centigrade thermometer places the zero at the freezing point of 
 water, and divides tlie range between the freezing and boiling points into 
 100°. This scale has long been used in Sweden, under the title of 
 Celsius's thermometer, and is generally adopted on the Continent. 
 
 Keaumur's thermometer, which was formerly used in France, divides 
 the space between the freezing and boiling points of water into 80°, and 
 places the zero at the freezing point. It is now little employed. 
 
 Le Lisle's thermometer is used in Russia. The graduation begins at 
 the boiling point, and increases toward the freezing point. The boiling 
 point is marked 0°, and the freezing point 160°. 
 
 To convert the degrees of Centigrade into those of Fahrenheit, mul- 
 tiply by 9, divide by five, and add 32. 
 
 To convert the degrees of Centigrade into those of Reaumur, multi- 
 ply by 4, and divide by 5. 
 
 To convert l!he degrees of Fahrenheit into those of Centigrade, deduct 
 32, multiply by 6, and divide by 9. 
 
 To convert the degrees of Fahrenheit into those of Reaumur, deduct 
 32, divide by 9, and multiply by 4. 
 
 To convert the degrees of Reaumur into those of Centigrade, multi- 
 ply by 5, and divide by 4. 
 
 To convert the degrees of Reaumur into those of Fahrenheit, multi 
 ply by 9, divide by 4, and add 32. 
 
 TABLE OF PROPORTIONATB DOSES FOR DIFFERENT AftES. 
 
 Under ^ year, 
 " 1 " 
 
 1-I5th 
 l-12th 
 
 OAUBIUS' TABI^E. 
 
 of a full dose. 
 
 Examples. 
 
 or 4 graina. 
 6 " 
 
 " 2 
 
 
 I -8th 
 
 
 
 ii 
 
 n " 
 
 " 3 
 
 
 l-6th 
 
 * << 
 
 
 it 
 
 10 " 
 
 " 4 
 
 
 l-6th 
 
 
 
 tt t 
 
 12 " 
 
 " 7 
 
 
 l-3d 
 
 
 
 tt 
 
 20 " 
 
 " 14 
 
 
 1-half 
 
 
 
 tt 
 
 30 " 
 
 " 20 
 
 
 2-3ds 
 
 
 
 tt 
 
 40 " 
 
 " 21 
 
 " the full dose 
 
 
 
 
 1 drachm. 
 
 " 63 
 
 " 77 
 
 
 ll-12ths " 
 5-6th8 " 
 
 
 tt 
 tt 
 
 ' 66 grains. 
 60 " 
 
 "■ 100 
 
 
 2-3ds 
 
 it 
 
 
 tt 
 
 40 " 
 
 The following is the more simple rule of Dr. Young : 
 
 "For children under 12 years, the dose of most medicines must L 
 
 diminished in the proportion of the age to the age increased by 1 2 
 
 2 
 Thus, at 2 yeeirs, the dose will be l-7th of that for adults, viz: 
 
 =^-' At 21 the full dose may be given." 
 
 8+W 
 
Tables of Wjsiuuts anh MEAtCKEs. 
 
 1327 
 
 To the above rule there are certain exceptions; thus castor-oil requires 
 to be given in larger proportionate doses, while opium and narcotioa 
 generally should be administered in smaller proportionate quantities. 
 
 Sex, temperament, and idiosyncrasy have also a modifying effect upon the 
 dose, and they should always be kept in view in the administration ol 
 medicines. Females usually require smaller doses than males ; and per- 
 sons of sanguine temperament bear depletory medicines better than the 
 phlegmatic. 
 
 TABLES OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 
 
 apothecaries' weight. {Ed.) 
 
 
 PoimdB. Ounces. Drachms. Scmples. 
 
 Ondns. 
 
 ft 1 = 12 ■= 96 = 288 
 
 = 5760 
 
 g 1 = 8 = 24 
 
 = 480 
 
 3 1 = 3 
 
 = 60 
 
 9 1 
 
 = gr-20 
 
 AVOIKDUPOIS WEIGHT. 
 
 
 Foimds. Oimc«. Drachms. Troy Oiaina. 
 
 ft 1 = 16 = 256 = 
 
 7000 
 
 gl = 16 = 
 
 437.5 
 
 3l = 
 
 27.3437 
 
 IaBLSS fob OONVEBTINQ APOTHECAEIES' (Troy) WEIGHT INTO AVOIft- 
 
 DUP0I8 WEIGHT. 
 
 
 ATOIBDUHUS. 
 
 APOTHKCABT. 
 
 AvoniDinNtig. 
 
 lb 
 
 
 & 
 
 OZ. 
 
 gr. 
 
 S> 
 
 
 lb 
 
 OZ. 
 
 gr. 
 
 1 
 
 := 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 72.5 
 
 17 
 
 = 
 
 13 
 
 15 
 
 359.5 
 
 2 
 
 = 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 145 
 
 18 
 
 = 
 
 14 
 
 12 
 
 430 
 
 3 
 
 = 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 217.5 
 
 19 
 
 — 
 
 15 
 
 10 
 
 65 
 
 4 
 
 = 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 290 
 
 20 
 
 z= 
 
 16 
 
 7 
 
 137.5 
 
 5 
 
 = 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 362.5 
 
 30 
 
 — 
 
 24 
 
 10 
 
 425 
 
 6 
 
 = 
 
 4 
 
 14 
 
 435 
 
 40 
 
 = 
 
 32 
 
 14 
 
 275 
 
 7 
 
 — 
 
 5 
 
 12 
 
 70 
 
 50 
 
 ^— 
 
 41 
 
 2 
 
 125 
 
 8 
 
 = 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 142.5 
 
 60 
 
 =: 
 
 49 
 
 5 
 
 412.5 
 
 9 
 
 = 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 215 
 
 70 
 
 •7T 
 
 57 
 
 9 
 
 262.5 
 
 10 
 
 =: 
 
 8 
 
 3 
 
 287.5 
 
 80 
 
 = 
 
 65 
 
 13 
 
 112.5 
 
 11 
 
 = 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 360 
 
 90 
 
 := 
 
 74 
 
 
 
 400 
 
 12 
 
 — T 
 
 9 
 
 13 
 
 432.5 
 
 100 
 
 = 
 
 82 
 
 4 
 
 250 
 
 13 
 
 = 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 
 67.5 
 
 200 
 
 
 
 164 
 
 9 
 
 62.5 
 
 14 
 
 = 
 
 11 
 
 8 
 
 140 
 
 300 
 
 = 
 
 246 
 
 13 
 
 312.5 
 
 15 
 
 ^= 
 
 12 
 
 5 
 
 212.5 
 
 400 
 
 = 
 
 293 
 
 2 
 
 125 
 
 16 
 
 =: 
 
 13 
 
 2 
 
 285 
 
 500 
 
 = 
 
 411 
 
 6 
 
 375 
 
132 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ArOTRICART. 
 
 AT0IEDTJP0I8. 
 
 APOTHEOAKT. 
 
 ATOIBDinOn. 
 
 
 
 
 oc 
 
 OZ. 
 
 
 gr. 
 
 OZ. 
 
 
 OZ. 
 
 gr. 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 = 1 
 
 
 42.5 
 
 7 
 
 r-T 
 
 7 
 
 297.5 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 = 2 
 
 
 85 
 
 8 
 
 — 
 
 8 
 
 340 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 = 3 
 
 127.5 
 
 9 
 
 = 
 
 9 
 
 382.5 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 = 4 
 
 170 
 
 10 
 
 = 
 
 10 
 
 425 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 = 5 
 
 212.5 
 
 11 
 
 — 
 
 12 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 = 6 
 
 255 
 
 12 
 
 = 
 
 13 
 
 72.5 
 
 
 
 TABLES 
 
 FOR 
 
 OONYEETINQ 
 
 AVOIRDUPOIS WEIGHT INTO APOTHEOARIEB' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (.Troy), 
 
 , WEIGHT. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ATOIBDUPOIS. 
 
 APOTBEOABT. 
 
 ATOIEDUFOIB. 
 
 APOTHIOAST. 
 
 A 
 
 
 S) 
 
 OK. 
 
 dr. 
 
 gr. 
 
 m 
 
 
 A 
 
 OZ. 
 
 dr. 
 
 gr. 
 
 1 
 
 = 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 40 
 
 17 
 
 = 
 
 20 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 20 
 
 2 
 
 = 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 20 
 
 18 
 
 ^ 
 
 21 
 
 10 
 
 4 
 
 00 
 
 3 
 
 = 
 
 3 
 
 '7 
 
 6 
 
 00 
 
 19 
 
 = 
 
 23 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 4 
 
 = 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 20 
 
 40 
 
 20 
 
 = 
 
 24 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 20 
 
 6 
 
 = 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 20 
 
 30 
 
 = 
 
 36 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 00 
 
 6 
 
 — 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 00 
 
 40 
 
 — 
 
 48 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 40 
 
 7 
 
 = 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 50 
 
 ^ 
 
 60 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 20 
 
 8 
 
 -~* 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 5 
 
 20 
 
 60 
 
 = 
 
 72 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 00 
 
 9 
 
 = 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 
 2 
 
 00 
 
 70 
 
 = 
 
 85 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 40 
 
 10 
 
 = 
 
 12 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 40 
 
 80 
 
 = 
 
 97 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 20 
 
 11 
 
 -^ 
 
 13 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 20 
 
 90 
 
 = 
 
 109 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 00 
 
 12 
 
 = 
 
 14 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 00 
 
 100 
 
 ^= 
 
 121 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 40 
 
 13 
 
 = 
 
 16 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 40 
 
 200 
 
 = 
 
 243 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 20 
 
 14 
 
 ^ 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 20 
 
 300 
 
 =r 
 
 364 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 00 
 
 15 
 
 ;= 
 
 18 
 
 2" 
 
 6 
 
 00 
 
 400 
 
 = 
 
 486 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 40 
 
 16 
 
 = 
 
 19 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 40 
 
 500 
 
 = 
 
 607 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 WINE 
 
 MEASURE 
 
 1. (^Apothecaries') 
 
 
 
 
 OalL PInta. Flnldomi. Flnldr. 
 
 Scr. 
 
 Minims. Troy grains. 
 
 Oab. loch. 
 
 
 Lltrai. 
 
 1 
 
 . 8 
 
 mm 
 
 128 — 1021 - 
 
 - 3072 — 
 
 61440 — 
 
 B8317.7980 — 
 
 231 
 
 — 
 
 8.78618 
 
 
 Ol 
 
 _ 
 
 16 - 128 - 
 
 - 384 — 
 
 7680 — 
 
 7289.7250 — 
 
 28.876 
 
 — 
 
 0.473144 
 
 
 
 f ; 
 
 51 - 
 
 8 - 
 
 ■ SA — 
 
 480 — 
 
 466.6076 — 
 
 1.8047 
 
 — < 
 
 0.029671 
 
 
 
 
 '31 - 
 
 3 — 
 
 60 — 
 
 60.9600 = 
 
 0.2266 
 
 — 
 
 0.00369 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 91 - 
 
 20 — 
 rr) 1 - 
 
 18.9840 — 
 0.9492 — 
 
 0.0762 
 0.00878 
 
 _ 1 
 
 0.000132 
 0.0000611 
 
 IMPEKTAL MEASURES. 
 
 lUPERIAL MEASURE. {Lmd. Phar. 1836.) 
 Gallon. Flnta. Flalhoimces. Fluidracbms. Minims. 
 
 Cong. 1 = 8 = 160 = 1280 
 
 01 = 20 = 160 
 
 fg 1 = 8 
 
 fsi 
 
 Imp. Graini. 
 
 = 76800 = 70000 
 
 = 9600 = 8750 
 
 = 4^0 = 437.5 
 
 = 60 = 54.7 
 
 tn 1 = 0.91 
 
Tabi,es of Weights and Measures. 1329 
 
 The Imperial gallon contains {en pounds avoirdupois' weight of distilled 
 water, at 62° F., the barometer being at 30 inches ; from which are calcu- 
 lated the following weights and measures : 
 
 IMPERIAL AVOIRDUPOIS WEIGHT. 
 
 Troy Grains. Gabio Inches of Water. 
 
 16 drachms (cbr.) = 1 ounce = 437^ = 1.7329625 
 
 16 ounces (o».) = 1 pound = 7000 = 27.7274 
 
 14 pounds Qh.) — 1 stone = 8000 .= 388.1836 
 
 28 pounds {lb.) = 1 quarter z= 00 = 776.3672 
 
 4 quarters (jr.) = 1 hundredweight = 00 = 3105.4688 
 20 hn'dw't(cwi!.) =1 ton = 00 =62109.376 
 
 IMPERIAL MEASURES OF OAPAOITT. 
 Cubic Inches. 
 
 1 gill = = 8.6648125= 5 oz. of water. 
 4 gills = 1 pint = 34.65925 = IJ lb. " 
 
 2 pints = 1 quart = 69.3185 = 2| lb. " 
 4 quarts = 1 gallon = 277.274 = 10 lb. " 
 2 gallons = 1 peck = 554.548 = 20 lb. « 
 4 peeks = 1 bushel = 2218.192 = 80 lb. " 
 8 bushels = 1 quarter = 17745.530 = 640 lb. « 
 
 The Imperial gallon is equal to 277.274 cubic inches of distilled water ; 
 or ten pounds Avoirdupois ; or twelve pounds one ounce, sixteen penay- 
 weights and sixteen grains, Troy. The Wine, or Apothecaries' gallon is 
 equal to 231 cubic inch«sof distilled water; op eight pounds, five omuees, 
 six and one-fourth drachms Avoirdupois ; or, ten pounds one ounce, nine 
 pennyweights and twenty-two grains, Troy. 
 
 TABLE f OR CONYERTINO AFOTHEOAAT OR WINE HEASURE INTO IMPSRIAI.. 
 
 Apotlipcary. 
 
 
 Imperial. 
 
 Apothecary. 
 
 Imperial. 
 
 1000 
 
 zzr: 
 
 833.11 
 
 6000 = 
 
 4998.67 
 
 2000 
 
 = 
 
 1666.22 
 
 7000* = 
 
 5831.78 
 
 3000 
 
 = . 
 
 2499.33 
 
 8000 = 
 
 6664.89 
 
 4000 
 
 — 
 
 3332.44 
 
 9000 = 
 
 7498.00 
 
 5000 = 4165.56 10000 = 8331.11 
 
 Suppose we desire to know how many Imperial gallons are equal to 
 9643 Apothecary. 
 
1330 
 
 Apothecary. 
 
 9000 
 
 600 
 
 40 
 
 3 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 " Imperial. 
 
 = 7498.00 
 = 499.867 
 = 33.3244 
 = 2.49933 
 
 9643 
 
 8033.69073 
 
 TABLE FOB CONVERTING IMPERIAL MEASURE INTO APOTHBOABT. 
 Imperiftl. Apothecary. Imperial. Apothecary. 
 
 1 
 
 ^= 
 
 1.2 
 
 10 
 
 = 
 
 12 
 
 2 
 
 = 
 
 2.4 
 
 20 
 
 = 
 
 24 
 
 3 
 
 r= 
 
 3.6 
 
 30 
 
 ::::: 
 
 36 
 
 4 
 
 s= 
 
 4.8 
 
 40 
 
 = 
 
 48 
 
 5 
 
 ' ^= 
 
 6.0 
 
 50 
 
 — 
 
 60 
 
 6 
 
 = 
 
 7.2 
 
 60 
 
 ■~~ 
 
 72 
 
 7 
 
 1=: 
 
 8.4 
 
 70 
 
 == 
 
 84 
 
 8 • 
 
 =:: 
 
 9.6 
 
 80 
 
 =s 
 
 96 
 
 9 
 
 •^— 
 
 10.8 
 
 90 
 
 — — 
 
 108 
 
 Imperial Measdbe may also be converted into Wine or ApotheoMy 
 measure, by multiplying the quantity given by the decimals 1.20032; or 
 by the fractions J, which will give the answer nearly ; thus — 
 
 Reduce two pints Imperial measure to Wine measure : . 
 
 2x1.20032=2.20064 pints; or 2xf=2f pints Wine measure, nearly. 
 
 Apothecaky Measure may also be converted into Imperial measure 
 by multiplying the quantity given, by the decimals .83311 ; or by the 
 fractions |, which will give the answer nearly ; thus — 
 
 Reduce 63 gallons Wine measure to Imperial measure : 
 
 63 X. 8331 1=52.486 gallons; or 63x|=52^ Imperial gallons, nearly 
 FRENCH DECIMAL WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 
 
 MEASURES AND WEIQHTS. 
 
 English Troy Oraliu. 
 
 Milligramme (1000th of agramme) = .0154 
 
 Centigramme (100th of a gramme) ^ .1543 
 
 Decigramme (10th of a gramme) = 1.5434 
 
 Gramme (unit of weight) ^ 15.4340 lb. oz, dr. gr. 
 
 Decagramme (10 grammes) = 154.3402= 2 34.34 
 
 Hectogramme (100 grammes) = 1543.4023= 3 1 43.4 
 
 Kilogramme (1000 grammes) =15434.0234= 2 8 1 14.02 
 
 Myriagramme (10,000 grammes) =154340.2344= 26 9 4 20.23 
 
Tables of Weights and Measures. 
 
 1331 
 
 N. B. — In the Edinburgli New Dispensatory, 1830, fron. which these 
 tables are taken, the gramme is given as 15.4440 Troy grains, but upon 
 investigation it has been found to be only 15.4340 grains, hence I have 
 made the correction as above, and made the calculations accordingly. 
 
 'me. 
 
 1 
 
 Troy eraiuB. 
 
 = 15.434 
 
 Seca- 
 grsmiiu 
 
 1 
 
 Troy 
 ). Dra*ma. Gr*8. 
 
 = 2 34.44 
 
 Beeto- 
 granmii 
 
 1 
 
 1. Troy Onncei. 
 
 = 3.2165 
 
 2 
 
 = 30.868 
 
 2 
 
 = 5 
 
 8.68 
 
 2 
 
 = 6.4330 
 
 3 
 
 = 46.302 
 
 3 
 
 = 7 
 
 43.02 
 
 3 
 
 = 9.6495 
 
 4 
 
 = 61.736 
 
 4 
 
 = 10 
 
 17.36 
 
 4 
 
 = 12.8660 
 
 5 
 
 = 77.170 
 
 5 
 
 = 12 
 
 51.7 
 
 5 
 
 = 16.0826 
 
 6 
 
 = 92.604 
 
 6 
 
 = 15 
 
 26.04 
 
 6 
 
 = 19.2990 
 
 7 
 
 = 108.038 
 
 7 
 
 = 18 
 
 0.38 
 
 7 
 
 = 22.5165 
 
 8 
 
 = 123.472 
 
 8 
 
 = 20 
 
 34.72 
 
 8 
 
 = 25.7330 
 
 9 
 
 = 138.906 
 
 9 
 
 = 23 
 
 9.06 
 
 9 
 
 = 28.9496 
 
 HXASUBEB OF LENGTH. 
 
 The metre being at 32° and the foot at 62° 
 
 Millimetre (1000th of a mdtre) = 
 Centimetre (100th of a metre) = 
 Decimetre (10th of a metre) ^ 
 Metre (unit of length) = 
 
 Decametre (10 metres) ^ 
 
 English Inches. 
 
 .03937 
 .39371 
 3.93710 
 39.37100 = 
 393.71000 = 
 
 mi's. fur. yds. ft. 
 1 
 10 2 
 
 ins. 
 3.37 
 9.71 
 
 Hectometre (100 metres) = 3937.10000 =0 109 1 1.10 
 
 Kilometre (1000 metres) = 39371.00000 =0 4 213 1 11.00 
 
 Myriamdtre (10,000 metres) = 393710.00000 =6 1 166 1 2.00 
 
 HEASUKES or OAPAdTT. 
 
 Millitre (1000 of a litre or cubic centimetre)= 
 Centilitre (100th of a litre)= 
 
 Decilitre (10th of a litre): 
 
 Litre (cubic decimetre and unit of capacity): 
 Decalitre (10 litres): 
 
 Hectolitre (100 litres)= 
 
 Kilolitre . (1000 litres or cubic metre): 
 Myrialitre (10,000 litres)= 
 
 Xng. Cnb. In. Apotb'cy. 
 
 = .06103= 16.3 tn. 
 
 : .61028= 2.705 fl.dr 
 
 = 6.10280= 3.381 fl. oz. 
 
 = 61.02800= 2.113 oot. 
 
 = 610.28000= 2.642 galls. 
 
 Imperial. 
 
 : 6102.80000=22.01 galls. 
 : 61028.00000=27.61 bush. 
 =610280.00000=34.39 qrs. 
 
1332 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 APOTHECARY MEASURE. 
 
 1 litre = 
 
 2 " = 
 
 3 " = 
 
 4 " = 
 
 5 « = 
 
 6 " = 
 
 7 « = 
 
 8 « = 
 
 9 « = 
 
 2.11353 pinte. 
 
 4.22706 " 
 
 6.34059 « 
 
 8.45412 " 
 
 10.56765 " 
 
 12.68118 " 
 
 14.79471 « 
 
 16.90824 « 
 
 19.02177 « 
 
 APPROXIMATE MEASUREMENTS. 
 
 A teacup commonly contains about three and a half or four fluidoanoeg 
 of an inftision, decoction, or mixture ; a wineglass commonly contains 
 about one and a half or two fluidounces ; a tablespoon about three and 
 a half or four fluidrachms ; and a teaspoon about fifty minims or one 
 fluidrachm. But these are very uncertain methods of measuring, especi- 
 ally where accuracy is required. 
 
 Drops are frequently supposed to be equal to minims, but this is not the 
 case ; a drop of some fluid substances will exceed a minim, while that of 
 others will fall considerably below it. The same fluid may vary in the- 
 sixe of its drops, according to the size or form of tlie edge of the vessel 
 from which it is dropped. That fluids v-ary in the number of drops 
 required to make a fluidrachm, will be seen by the following table by Mr. 
 E. Durand, of Philadelphia : 
 
 Acetic aoid (ci^tallizable) « 
 
 Acid hydrocyanic (aq. solution) 
 
 Add muriatic .'. 
 
 Acid nitric ......^ „ 
 
 Acid nitric diluted ( 1 to 7) 
 
 Acid gulphnric 
 
 Acid sulplinric dilnted (1 to 7) 
 
 Alcohol, dilnted 
 
 Alcoliol, rectified.... „. 
 
 Arsenite of potassa (aolntionof ) 
 
 Ether, aolpharic 
 
 Oil of Wormaeeed, peppermint, anJee, 
 olive, clone, nreetalmonda, etc 
 
 
 S'P 
 11. 
 
 
 m 
 
 40 
 
 10 
 
 15 
 
 26.6 
 
 18 
 
 22.2 
 
 28 
 
 14.2 
 
 17 
 
 23.6 
 
 30 
 
 ia.3 
 
 17 
 
 23.6 
 
 40 
 
 10 
 
 46 
 
 8.6 
 
 19 
 
 21 
 
 60 
 
 8 
 
 40 
 
 10 
 
 Tincture of. opium, TalerlaD, assafoetidih 
 guai^, digitalis, cantharides, etc. 
 
 Tincture of muriate of iron , 
 
 Vinegar, distilled _ 
 
 Vinegar of colchicum, of opium (black 
 drop) of squill.. «.««, 
 
 Water, distilled 
 
 Water of. ammonia (strong) 
 
 Water of ammonia (weak) 
 
 Wine, Teneriffe 
 
 Wine, antimouial 
 
 Wine of cnlfihfoum 
 
 Wine of opium 
 
 —Jour. PhO. CM. Pftorm. I. j>» 169. 
 
 h 
 
 10 
 0.1 
 21 
 
 16.3 
 
 26.6 
 
 22.2 
 
 26.6 
 
 16.3 
 
 16.« 
 
 16 
 
 I6.» 
 
Appendix. 
 
 1333 
 
 Table for reducing American Wine or Apothecaries' measures to French 
 
 fluid measures. 
 
 Mumis. 
 
 MlLLILll'litS. 
 
 Pints. 
 
 
 LlTBG& 
 
 i 
 
 equal to 
 
 062 
 
 124 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 20 
 
 30 
 
 40 
 
 50 
 
 60 
 
 70 
 
 80 
 
 90 
 
 100 
 
 200 
 
 300 
 
 400 
 
 500 
 
 600 
 
 700 
 
 800 
 
 900 
 
 1,000 
 
 2,000 
 
 3,000 
 
 4,000 
 
 5,000 
 
 6,000 
 
 7,000 
 
 8,000 
 
 9.000 
 
 10,000 
 
 equal to 
 
 II 
 
 4731 
 
 9463 
 
 8 
 
 II 
 
 185 
 
 (1 
 
 14194 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 247 
 
 II 
 
 1 8925 
 
 f) 
 
 It 
 
 307 
 
 If 
 
 2 3657 
 
 (I 
 
 II 
 
 369 
 
 11 
 
 2 8388 
 
 7 
 
 ii 
 
 431 
 
 II 
 
 
 8 
 
 u 
 
 II 
 
 .; 493 
 
 554 
 
 II 
 
 3.7851 
 
 <» 
 
 11 
 
 4.2620 
 
 to 
 
 11 
 
 616 
 
 11 
 
 4 7314 
 
 «0 
 
 (( 
 
 1.232 
 
 11 
 
 9.4628 
 
 30 
 
 II 
 
 1.848 
 
 II 
 
 141943 
 
 40 
 
 11 
 
 2.464 
 
 » 
 
 18.9257 
 
 ftO 
 
 11 
 
 3.079 
 
 u 
 
 23 6572 
 
 £1 
 
 1 
 
 (raohms. 
 
 equal to 
 
 11 
 
 3.696 
 
 7.392 
 
 II 
 
 28.3886 
 
 33.1200 
 
 9, 
 
 11 
 
 37.8515 
 
 3 
 
 11 
 
 11089 
 
 11 
 
 42 6208 
 
 4 
 
 i> 
 
 14.785 
 
 II 
 
 47.3144 
 
 5 
 
 1. 
 
 18 482 
 
 II 
 
 94 6288 
 
 5 
 
 .1 
 
 22.178 
 
 11 
 
 141.9432 
 
 7 
 
 11 
 
 28 874 
 
 11 
 
 189.2576 
 
 f fl 
 
 unces. 
 
 equal to 
 
 11 
 
 Centilitres. 
 
 2.9571 
 
 5 9143 
 
 11 
 
 236.5721 
 
 1 
 
 11 
 
 283.8865 
 
 9, 
 
 .1 
 11 
 
 331.2009 
 
 3 
 
 II 
 
 8 8714 
 
 378.5154 
 
 4 
 
 II 
 
 118286 
 
 (1 
 
 426.2083 
 
 ft 
 
 II 
 
 14 7857 
 
 11 
 
 473.1443 
 
 fi 
 
 11 
 
 17 7428 
 
 11 
 
 946.28869 
 
 7 
 
 11 
 
 20 7000 
 
 11 
 
 1419.43299 
 
 8 
 
 II 
 
 23 6572 
 
 11 
 
 1892.57664 
 
 q 
 
 II 
 
 26 6142 
 
 11 
 
 2365.72172 
 
 10 
 
 It 
 
 29 5714 
 
 11 
 
 2838.86538 
 
 n 
 
 II 
 
 32 5285 
 
 II 
 
 3312.00969 
 
 1? 
 
 II 
 
 35 4856 
 
 11 
 
 3785.15475 
 
 13 
 
 u 
 
 38 4428 
 
 .1 
 
 4262.08354 
 
 14 
 
 II 
 
 41 3999 
 
 II 
 
 4731.44272 
 
 15 
 
 11 
 
 44 3609 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 EXAMPLE. 
 
 How many Litres are there in 12372 pints, 10 ounces, 5 drams, and 
 3 minims? 
 
 Oz. Dr'ms. Min's. 
 
 Pints. 
 
 10000 
 
 2000 
 
 300 
 
 70 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 3 = 
 
 Litres. 
 
 4731.44272 
 
 946.28869 
 
 141.94329 
 
 33.12009 
 
 .94630 
 
 .29571 
 
 .01848 
 
 .00018 
 
 12372 
 
 10 
 
 5854.05546 
 
1334 Appenbix. 
 
 Table for reducing American to French measures of length. 
 
 Inch. 
 
 MiLUMETKES. 
 
 10000 
 8000 
 8000 
 70.00 
 
 ttooo 
 
 1 
 6000 
 
 1000 
 
 SOOO 
 
 2000 
 
 1000 
 
 ft 
 t 
 
 I 
 
 equal to 00254 
 
 00282 
 
 .00317 
 
 " 00362 
 
 " 00423 
 
 " 00507 
 
 00634 
 
 .00846 
 
 " 01269 
 
 " 02539 
 
 " 02822 
 
 " 03175 
 
 " 03628 
 
 " 04238 
 
 05079 
 
 " 06349 
 
 " 08466 
 
 " 1269 
 
 2539 
 
 2673 
 
 " 2822 
 
 2988 
 
 " 3175 
 
 " 3386 
 
 3628 
 
 ' 3907 
 
 " 4233 
 
 " 4618 
 
 5079 
 
 •' 5644 
 
 6349 
 
 7257 
 
 " 8466 
 
 » 1.0159 
 
 1.2699 
 
 " 1.6933 
 
 " 2.5399 
 
 5.0799 
 
 " 6.3498 
 
 ' 12.6998 
 
 Centimetres. 
 
 1 equal to 2.539 
 
 S " 5.079 
 
 3 " 7.619 
 
 Inch. 
 
 Ceniimetbes. 
 
 4 equal to 10.159 
 
 5 " 12699 
 
 6 " 15,239 
 
 7 " 17.779 
 
 8 " 20.319 
 
 9 « 22.859 
 
 10 « 25.399 
 
 20 « 50.799 
 
 30 • ..» 76.198 
 
 40 « 101.598 
 
 50 « 126.997 
 
 60 " 152.397 
 
 70 « 177.796 
 
 80 " 203.196 
 
 90 « 228.595 
 
 100 " 253.997 
 
 200 " 507.990 
 
 300 " 761.986 
 
 400 « .„ 1015.981 
 
 500 " 1269.977 
 
 600 " 1523.972 
 
 700 " 1777.967 
 
 800 " 2031.963 
 
 900 " 2285.958 
 
 1000 « 2539.979 
 
 2000 " 5079.908 
 
 3000 " 7619.862 
 
 4000 « 10159.816 
 
 5000 « 12699.770 
 
 6000 " 15239.724 
 
 7000 " 17779.678 
 
 8000 " 20319.632 
 
 9000 " 22859.586 
 
 10,000 " 25399,794 
 
 20,000 " 50799.081 
 
 30,000 '• 76198.621 
 
 40,000 " 101598.163 
 
 50,000 " 126997.704 
 
 60,000 " 152397.245 
 
 70,000 " 177796.786 
 
 80,000 " .203196.326 
 
 90,000 " i!28595.867 
 
 100,000 " 253997.947 
 
 EXAMPLE. 
 
 How many Gentimetres are there in 4632^ Inches? 
 
 Inches. Centimetres. 
 
 4000 =:: 10159.816 
 
 600 = 1523,972 
 
 30 = 76.198 
 
 2 = 5.079 
 
 ^'5 = .0846 
 
 4632,«5 
 
 11765.1496 
 
Appendix. 
 
 1335 
 
 Table for reducing Troy American to French Weights. 
 
 GaAiMs. 
 
 MlLUORAUMEB. 
 
 Gbains. 
 
 
 
 
 06479 
 
 20 e 
 
 30 
 
 40 
 
 50 
 
 60 
 
 70 
 
 80 
 
 90 
 
 100 
 
 200 
 
 300 
 
 400 
 
 500 
 
 600 
 
 700 
 
 800 
 
 900 
 
 1000 
 
 2000 
 
 3000 
 
 4000 
 
 5000 
 
 6000 
 
 7000 
 
 8000 
 
 9000 
 
 10,000 
 
 20,000 
 
 30,000 
 
 40,000 
 
 50,000 
 
 60,000 
 
 70,000 
 
 80,000 
 
 90,000 
 
 100,000 
 
 qnalto 
 
 11 
 
 II 
 
 1.2958 
 
 
 07199 
 
 1.9437 
 
 °i^ " 
 
 08099 
 
 2.5916 
 
 'i" " 
 
 09256 
 
 u 
 
 3.2395 
 
 ^1° u 
 
 10799 
 
 II 
 
 3.8875 
 
 1 it 
 
 12958 
 
 4.5354 
 
 X 
 
 16198 
 
 II 
 
 5.1833 ■ 
 
 *?° 11 
 
 21597 
 
 11 
 
 5.8313 
 
 'l* II 
 
 32395 
 
 II 
 
 6.4791 
 
 •¥** 11 
 
 64791 
 
 II 
 
 12.9583 
 
 J," « 
 
 6820 
 
 II 
 
 19.4375 
 
 A •' 
 
 7199 
 
 It 
 
 25.9167 
 
 !^ " 
 
 7623 
 
 II 
 
 32.3959 
 
 $ « 
 
 8099 
 
 li 
 
 38.8751 
 
 JU " 
 
 8632 
 
 II 
 
 45.3543 
 
 Y 
 
 9256 
 
 II 
 
 51.8335 
 
 t " 
 
 9968 
 
 II 
 
 58.3137 
 
 X " 
 
 1.0799 
 
 II 
 
 64.7919 
 
 S " 
 
 1.1780 
 
 II 
 
 129.5838 
 
 % " ...... 
 
 12958 
 
 II 
 
 194.3757 
 
 A " 
 
 1.4398 
 
 II 
 
 259.1676 
 
 S " .... 
 
 1.6198 
 
 11 
 
 323.9595 
 
 t " 
 
 1.8512 
 
 II 
 
 388.7514 
 
 JW « 
 
 2.1597 
 
 II 
 
 453.5433 
 
 ^ « 
 
 2.5916 
 
 11 
 
 518.3352 
 
 j£ t< 
 
 3.2395 
 
 11 
 
 583.1371 
 
 J* u " 
 
 4.3194 
 
 II 
 
 647.9192 
 
 JT II 
 
 6 4791 
 
 II 
 
 1295.8383844 
 
 1 " 
 
 12.9583 
 
 11 
 
 1943.7575766 
 
 I 
 
 161979 
 
 11 
 
 2591.6767688 
 
 I « 
 
 32.3959 
 
 11 
 
 3239.5959610 
 
 1 « :::::: 
 
 64.7919 
 
 II 
 
 3887.5151532 
 
 2 « 
 
 129.5838 
 
 II 
 
 .4535.4343454 
 
 3 " 
 
 1943757 
 
 II 
 
 5183.3535376 
 
 4 " 
 
 259.1676 
 
 11 
 
 .5831.2727298 
 
 5 " . ... 
 
 323 9595 
 
 11 
 
 6479.19192221 
 
 6 " 
 
 7 « 
 
 .- 388.7514 
 
 .453.5433 
 
 
 
 a " 
 
 518.3352 
 
 
 9 " 
 
 583.1371 
 
 
 10 " 
 
 .6479192 
 
 
 
 
 EXAMPLE. 
 
 How many Grammes are in 198.753 ^ Troy grains ? 
 
 Grains. 
 
 100,000 
 
 90,000 
 
 8,000 
 
 700 
 
 60 
 
 3 
 
 ^ 
 
 198,7533^ 
 
 GlrammeB. 
 6479.192 
 5831.371 
 518.3352 
 45.3543 
 3.2395 
 .1943757 
 .0012958 
 
 12877.6876715 
 
1336 Appendix. 
 
 To Galeulate for Fractions between those given in the Table. 
 
 Thus, how many milligrammes are there in ji^ of a grain ? "We sub- 
 tract A,grain=1.4398, from A grain=1.6198, which leaves .1800. But 
 as there are five st^s between ^^ and ^, we divide this .1800 by 5, 
 which gives for each step .0360. Multiply this by 3 to give the three 
 steps required to add to ^ to make it ^, which gives .1080. Subtract 
 this from ^ grain=:1.6198, and we have -^ grain=:1.5118 milli- 
 grammes. 
 
 A similar course is requiried for the hundredths; thus how many 
 milligrammes are in the ^ -f a grain. 
 
 ^ grains = .21597 
 
 ihs grains = .16198 
 
 100 steps = .05399 -;- 100 and 
 
 1 step = .000539 X 36 and 
 
 36 steps = .0019404 subtract 
 
 this from tJt = -21597 
 
 .00194, and we have 
 
 til graina s 21403 miUigrsmmati 
 
Appendix. 
 
 1337 
 
 Table to aid in facilitating the conversion of ^French Weights and 
 
 Measures into American. 
 
 
 GRAMMES; OR. 
 CUBIC CENTIMETRES. 
 
 METRES. 
 
 LITRES. 
 BiBtillBd Water. 
 
 ARE. 
 
 STERE. 
 Solid. 
 
 O'it 
 
 Trqy Gr's. 
 
 Cuh. In 
 
 MiQimB. 
 
 Eng. Inches. 
 
 Tr 
 
 oy oz. 
 
 A.p. Fta. 
 
 Cub. In. 
 
 Square Yds. 
 
 Cubic F't. 
 
 I 
 
 15.43402 
 
 .061028 
 
 16.2319 
 
 39.3707904; 
 
 32.104j 
 
 2.1136 
 
 61.028 
 
 119.60327 
 
 35.31668 
 
 2 
 
 30.86804 
 
 .12205(1 
 
 32.4638 
 
 78.7415808 
 
 64.208 
 
 4.227P 
 
 122.0661 
 
 ^9.20664 
 
 70.63316 
 
 3 
 
 46.30207 
 
 .183084 
 
 48.6967 
 
 118.1123712 
 
 96.312 
 
 6.3408 
 
 183.064 
 
 ''368.80981 
 
 105.94974 
 
 4 
 
 61-73609 
 
 '.244112 
 
 64.9276 
 
 157;48316le 
 
 128.«1'6 
 
 8.4641 
 
 244.112 
 
 478.41809 
 
 141.26633 
 
 ■6 
 
 77.17012 
 
 .305140 
 
 81.169a 
 
 196.853962 
 
 160.S20 
 
 10.6476 
 
 305.140 
 
 698.01636 
 
 176.68291 
 
 « 
 
 92.60414 
 
 .366168 
 
 97.3914 
 
 236.224742 
 
 192.624 
 
 12.6811 
 
 366.168 
 
 717.61963 
 
 211.89948 
 
 7 
 
 108.0^813 
 
 .427196 
 
 113.6233 
 
 276.596632 
 
 224.728 
 
 14:7947 
 
 427.196 
 
 837.2229() 
 
 247.21607 
 
 8 
 
 123.47218 
 
 , .488224 
 
 129.8662 
 
 314.966323 
 
 266.832 
 
 16.9082 
 
 488.224 
 
 966.182618 
 
 282.63266 
 
 9 
 
 138.90621 
 
 .849262 
 
 M6;0871 
 
 364.337113 
 
 288.936 
 
 19.02x7 
 
 649.262 
 
 1076.42946 
 
 317.84928 
 
 10 
 
 154.34023 
 
 .-610286 
 
 162.81901 
 
 393.707904 
 
 321.040 
 
 21.135 
 
 , 610.280 
 
 1196.03272 
 
 363.16582 
 
 20 
 
 308,68046 
 
 1.22066 
 
 324.6380 
 
 787.416808 
 
 642.08 ' 
 
 42.270 
 
 1220.66 ' 
 
 2392.0664 
 
 706.33164 
 
 30 
 
 463.02070 
 
 1.83084 
 
 486.9'i70 
 
 1181.123712 
 
 963.12 
 
 63.406 
 
 1830.84 ' 
 
 3688.0981 
 
 1069.49746 
 
 « 
 
 617.36093 
 
 2.44112 
 
 649.2T«0 
 
 1574.831616 
 
 1284.16 ■ 
 
 84.641 ' 
 
 2441.12 
 
 4784.1309 
 
 1412.66328 
 
 SO 
 
 771.70117 
 
 3.05140 
 
 8u.5asd 
 
 1968.63952 
 
 1605.20 
 
 106.470 
 
 3061.40 
 
 6980.1636 
 
 1766.82910 
 
 60 
 
 926.04140 
 
 3.66168 
 
 973.9140 
 
 2362.24742 
 
 1926.24 
 
 12P.811 
 
 3661.68 
 
 7176.1963 
 
 2118.99492 
 
 70 
 
 1080.38164 
 
 4.27196 
 
 1136.2330 
 
 2766.96532 
 
 2247.28 
 
 147.947 
 
 4271.96 
 
 8372.2290 
 
 2472.16074 
 
 80 
 
 1234.72187 
 
 4.88224 
 
 1298.6620 
 
 3149.66323 
 
 2568.32 
 
 169.082 
 
 4882.24 
 
 9568.2618 
 
 2825.32666 
 
 90 
 
 1389.06211 
 
 6.49262 
 
 1460.8710 
 
 3643.37113 
 
 2889.36 
 
 190.217 
 
 6492.62 
 
 10764.2945 
 
 3178.49238 
 
 lod 
 
 1543.40234 
 
 6.1028 
 
 1623.1900 
 
 3937.07904 
 
 3210.40 
 
 211.363 
 
 6102.80 
 
 11960.3272 
 
 3631.66820 
 
 200 
 
 3086.80468 
 
 12.2066 
 
 3246.380 
 
 7874.16808 
 
 6420.8 
 
 422.70 
 
 12206.6 
 
 23920.6546 
 
 7063.3164 
 
 300 
 
 4630.20703 
 
 18.3084 
 
 4869.670 
 
 11811.23712 
 
 9631.2 
 
 634.05 
 
 18303.4 
 
 36880.9818 
 
 10694.974C 
 
 400 
 
 6173.60937 
 
 24.4112 
 
 6492.760 
 
 • 
 
 8116.960 
 
 15748.31616 
 
 12841.6 
 
 846.41 
 
 24411.2 
 
 47841.3091 
 
 14126.6328 
 
 eoo 
 
 7717.01172 
 
 30.6140 
 
 19685.39520 
 
 16052.0 
 
 1054.76 
 
 30614.0 
 
 69801.6364 
 
 17668.2910 
 
 600 
 
 9260.41406 
 
 36.6168 
 
 9739.140 
 
 23622.47424 
 
 19262.4 
 
 1268.11 
 
 36616.8 
 
 71761.9636 
 
 21189.9M1 
 
 700 
 
 10803.81640 
 
 42.7196 
 
 11362.330 
 
 27559.66328 
 
 22472.8 
 
 1479.47 
 
 42719.6 
 
 83722.2909 
 
 24721.6074 
 
 800 
 
 12347.21875 
 
 48.8224 
 
 12986.520 
 
 31496.63232 
 
 25683.2 
 
 1690.82 
 
 48822.4 
 
 96682.6182 
 
 
 900 
 
 13890.62110 
 
 S4.9252 
 
 14608.710 
 
 36433.71136 
 
 28893.6 
 
 1902.17 
 
 54925.2 
 
 107642.9466 
 
 31784.9238 
 
 tfOO 
 
 16434. 02.S45 
 
 61.028 
 
 16231.900 
 
 39370.79040 
 
 32104.0 
 
 2113.63 
 
 61028.0 
 
 119603.2728 
 
 36316.6820 
 
 
 Myria. 
 
 Kilo. 
 
 Hecfco 
 
 Deca, 
 
 Unit 
 
 DecL 
 
 Centi. 
 
 Milli 
 
 
 C 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 • 
 
 
 
 
 
 0* 
 
 
133S Appendix. 
 
 EXPLANATION. 
 
 1. The fignres in the first column, under Unit, have reference to Gram- 
 mes, Metres, Litres, etc., and for convenience have been carried out by 
 tens and hundreds, to 1,000 ; thus, 1 Gramme=15.43402 Troy Grains ; 8 
 Litres=:488.224 Cubic Inches ; 60 Are8=7176.1963 Square Yards, etc. 
 But in determining the ditferent denominations of French weights or 
 measures, above or below the Unit as, -ffeciogrammes. Centilitres, etc., 
 we must confine ourselves to the first ten lines of the table. 
 
 2. In the line below the table, Unit is represented by a dot, and the 
 prefixes to the units of French weights and measures are represented 
 by one or more ciphers ; those on the right of the Unit signifying that 
 as mauy whole numbers contained in the answers to the Unit column as 
 there are ciphers representing the prefix or given denomination of 
 French weight or measure, must be cut off and placed tq the right 
 among the decimals ; and those on the left signifying that as many 
 decimals contained in the answer to the Unit column as there are ciphers 
 representing the prefix or given denomination of French weight or 
 measure, must be cut off and placed to the left among the whole num- 
 bers, — in order to convert these answers into those required for the 
 given I'rencn weight or measure. — A few examples will more clearly 
 illustrate : 
 
 Ex. 1 How many pints are there in six Kilolitres ? 
 
 Find six in the Unit column, and trace along the line until the col- 
 umn of pints under Litres is reached ; we now have the answer to the 
 Unit column, that 6 Litres=12.6811 pints. In the lower table the pre- 
 fix Kilo will be found on the left of Unit, and is represented by three 
 ciphers; therefore, to convert the above answer into that for Kilolitres, 
 we cut off three of its decimals and place them to the left among the 
 whole numbers; then 6 Kilolitres::=12681.1 Pint». 
 
 Ex. 2. How many Troy Grains in eight Centigrammes ? 
 
 Find eight in the Unit column, and trace along the line until the col- 
 umn of Troy Grains under Grammes is reached; we now have the 
 answer to the Unit column, that 8 Grammes=123.47218 Troy Grains. 
 In the lower table the prefix Genti will be found on the right of Unit, 
 and is represented by two ciphers ; therefore, to convert the above 
 answer into that for Centigrammes, we cut off two of its whole numbers 
 and place them to the right among the decimals ; then 8 Centigrammes 
 =1.2347 Troy Grains. 
 
 Ex. 3. How many Cubic Inches are there in one Millilitre ? 
 
 By the process above explained, we find 1 Litre=61.028 Cnbio 
 Inches, three whole numbers of which must be cut off and placed to 
 the right among the decimals, in order to obtain the desired answer. 
 But there are not enough whole numbers for this purpose, therefore, the 
 deficiency must be made up by prefixing the necessary amount of ci- 
 
AppJiNDlX. 1339 
 
 phers to the whole numbers, and which in this instance is only one ; 
 then 1 Millilitre= .06102 Cubic Inches. 
 
 Ex. 4. In 1268 Steree bow many solid Cubic Feet? 
 1000 StereB=35316.5820 solid Cubic Feet. 
 200 " = 7063.3164 " 
 
 60 " = 2118.9949 ' " 
 
 8 " = 282.5326 
 
 ilns.— 1268 " =44781.4259 " 
 
 N. B. By a somewhat reversed process, American Weights and meas- 
 ures may be converted into French, by means of the above Table, 
 Thus, in 642 Inches how many Centimetres ? 
 
 393.7079 Inche8=1000 Centimetres. 
 236.2247 " = 600 " 
 
 11.8112 " = 30 " 
 
 .2360 " = .6 " 
 
 .0196 " = .05 " 
 
 641.9994 " =1630.66 « =16.3065 Metres. 
 
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 ^ 
 
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 D 
 
 
 ll 
 
 ^ 
 
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 f 3 
 
 J 
 
 
 D 
 
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 r- 
 
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Appendix. 1341 
 
 DIRECTIONS. 
 
 § 1. The first five divisions of the foregoing Table contain fractional 
 parts of a Millimetre, Milligramme, Millilitre, Miliare and Millistere, 
 arranged as follows : a, the first column of figures in each of these five 
 divisions contains the parts of a Millimetre, Milligramme, etc., in frac- 
 tions ; 6, the second column contains the same, but represented in deci- 
 mals; c, the third column gives the unit dots and decimal ciphers which 
 must be prefixed to the answers or figures opposite to them in the sixth 
 to the fifteenth division. — The answers are in the divisions from the sixth 
 to the fifteenth, inclusive. 
 
 § 2. In reducing parts of a Millilitre to Troy Grains and Minims ; 
 parts of a Miliare to Square Inches; and parts of a Millistere to Cubic 
 Inches, (as seen in the 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th divisions), for every 
 cipher found in the third column (c) of the first five divisions, and op- 
 posite the given fractional part of the Millilitre, Miliare, or Millistere, as 
 represented in the first column (a) of one of the first five divisions, the 
 whole figures in the answer thereto must be advanced one step to the 
 right, — the whole figure on the left of the decimal dot or unit being 
 carried over to the right side of it among the decimal figures ; and when 
 all the whole figures have been thus cut off to four decimals, ciphers 
 must be prefixed to them as the decimals decrease in value, as described 
 in the preceding section, in order to give the true decimal value to the 
 answer. Thus : 
 
 1 Millitre is equal to 15.434 Troy Grains and 16.2319 Minims. 
 
 ^ " " 1.5434 " " 1.62319 " 
 
 ^5 " " .15434 " " .16231 " 
 
 ^ " " .01543 " " .01623 " 
 
 ^^l^^ " " .00154 " " .00162 
 
 § 3. Parts of an inch may be obtained by prefixing an additional 
 cipher to the decimals ascertained for a line, the iiffth of an inch ; 
 thus .05 Millimetre=.0197 lines (-^ inch)=.00197 inch. 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 Ex. 1. What part of a line (-^ inch) is ^ or .06 millimetre ? 
 
 In one of the first five divisions of the table find ^ or .06, and by tracing the 
 line along until we come under Millimetres, in the division headed " Line -j^j 
 inch " we find the figures 2838, to which must be prefixed the decimal cipher in 
 the third column of the division, opposite /j. The answer, therefore, will be 
 .02838 of a line ^ inch.— But suppose we substitute jjj^ or .0006 millimetres for 
 the ^ or .06, the figures will be the same as in the preceding instance, requiring, 
 however, to be prefixed by the .three decimal ciphers opposite 3^, and then 
 the answer will be .0002838 of a line ^^ i>ioh. 
 
 Ex. 2. What part of a Cubic Inch is ^ millilitre ? 
 
1342 Appendix. 
 
 Find .4 or f , follow the line along to Millilitre under the division of Millitrea 
 and in the column of Cubic Inches; the answer will be .024411 Cubic Inches. 
 Ex. 3. How many Troy Grains are in .17643 Milligrammes ? 
 
 .1 
 
 or 
 
 tV 
 
 Milligrammes= .00164 
 
 Troy Grains. 
 
 .07 
 
 II 
 
 ^h 
 
 II 
 
 = .00108 
 
 u 
 
 .006 
 
 11 
 
 Tiv 
 
 11 
 
 =.0000926 
 
 u 
 
 .0004 
 
 " 
 
 ss\o 
 
 " 
 
 =..00000617 
 
 c 
 
 .00003 
 
 II 
 
 ioJ'aoa 
 
 11 
 
 = .000000468 
 
 a 
 
 Ans. .17643 " ^s^^j^ " =.002719238 Troy Gi»iiifc 
 
 To Divide Medicines into Fractions of a Grain. 
 
 1. Divide one grain of Strychnia into doses of if ths each. 
 
 Take of Starch (or other inert or insoluble powder) twenty-four 
 grains, Strychnia one grain; mix, and triturate thoroughly together, 
 and then weigh out sixteen grains of the mixture, which will be equal 
 to iiths of the grain of Strychnia. — Or, for a solution, take of Distilled 
 Water forty-nine minims, Nitric, or Phosphoric Acid one minim. Strych- 
 nia one grain ; mix. When the Strychnia is dissolved, thirty -two min- 
 ims of the solution will be equal to f§ths or ifths of a grain of the 
 alkaloid. 
 
 2. Eequired a dose of Aconitina, ^ths of a grain. 
 
 Take of Starch (or other inert powder) fourteen grains, Aconitina one 
 grain ; mix, and triturate thoroughly together. Eight grains of the 
 mixture will equal Aths of a grain of Aconitina.— -Or, for a tincture, 
 take of Alcohol thirty minims, Aconitina one grain; mix, and dissolve 
 the alkaloid. Sixteen minims of the solution will be equal to ^ths or 
 ^ths of a grain of Aconitina. — Or, for a solution, take of Distilled 
 Water one hundred and fifty minims, Aconitina one grain ; mix. Eighty 
 minims of this solution is equal to i^ths or j^ths of a grain of the 
 alkaloid. 
 
 3. Eequired ^ths of a grain of Chloride of Gold and Soda to add to 
 a fluidounce of Water. 
 
 Take of Chloride of Gold and Soda one grain, Starch (or finely -pow 
 dered pumice-stone, sand, or emery, etc.) fifteen grains; mix, triturate 
 well together, and then weigh out seven grains, equal to ^ths of the 
 Gold Salt, and add it to the water, which will dissolve this salt but not 
 the emery, or pumice, etc. 
 
 N. B. The balance of the triturated medicine, not employed, should 
 be kept for fiiture use in a small vial, with the proportions of medicine 
 and inert powder labeled upon it. — In all cases where solutions oi 
 tinctures are to be made, and it is not desirable to have other matters 
 to enter therein, triturate with some insoluble material, and when the 
 solution is made, filter. Powdered emery, pumice-stone, sand, etc., 
 may be used when the article is to be dissolved in water: and, if in 
 
Appendix. 1343 
 
 alcohol or ether, powdered starch, gum arable, tragacanth, or sugar of 
 milk, etc. 
 
 Dissolve lO-i^ grains of Atropia in one pint of Alcohol. 
 
 First, weigh out ten grains of Atropia and add it to the Alcohol. 
 
 Second, triturate one grain of Atropia with fourteen grains of pow- 
 dered pumice-stone, and of this mixture, add four grains to, the Alco- 
 aol, making 10^ grains of Atropia that haye been added to the fluid 
 Filter, if required. 
 
1344 
 
 APPJSNDIX. 
 
 Table for determining what quantity of medicine, at a given dose, i» 
 
 NUMBER OP PILLS OB 
 
 SIZE OF DOSE. 
 
 Grains. 
 ^ 
 
 A 
 
 ^ 
 
 1 
 
 sn 
 
 IEEE 
 
 iV 
 
 A 
 
 iV 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 T 
 
 i 
 
 I:::::::::::; 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4..... 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 15 
 
 20 
 
 25 ..... 
 
 30 
 
 40 
 
 60 
 
 8. 
 
 Dr.Gr. 
 
 2 
 TT 
 
 i 
 
 8 
 2 
 
 i 
 8 
 
 f 
 1^ 
 
 }i 
 I' 
 
 21 
 
 I' 
 
 I' 
 
 I' 
 
 16 
 24 
 32 
 40 
 48 
 4 
 1 20 
 
 36 
 
 
 40 
 
 20 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 10. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 i 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 li 
 
 li 
 
 2 
 
 2J 
 
 34 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 6* 
 
 7i 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 20 
 30 
 40 
 50 
 
 
 20 
 40 
 
 
 30 
 20 
 10 
 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 12. 15 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 1* 
 
 It 
 2 
 
 I' 
 4 
 
 ? 
 
 9 
 
 9f 
 12 
 24 
 36 
 48 
 1 
 1 12 
 
 1 36 
 
 2 
 
 2 24 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 8 
 
 12 
 
 Dr. Gr, 
 
 i 
 
 ^ 
 
 14 
 
 24 
 
 3 
 
 3f 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 74 
 9 
 10 
 
 114 
 12 
 15 
 30 
 45 
 1 
 1 15 
 
 30 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 45 
 
 6 15 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 16. 
 
 Dr. 
 
 Gr. 
 
 A 
 41 
 
 1^ 
 
 lA 
 
 14 
 
 If 
 
 2 
 
 2t 
 
 f 
 
 54 
 6S 
 8 
 
 9| 
 10* 
 12 
 124 
 16* 
 32 
 48 
 
 4 
 20 
 36 
 
 8 
 40 
 12 
 
 
 20 
 40 
 
 
 
 10 40 
 16 00 
 
 18. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 .1^ 
 II 
 it 
 
 3 
 
 44 
 6 
 
 ? 
 If. 
 
 13J 
 14| 
 18 
 36 
 54 
 12 
 30 
 
 1 48 
 
 2 24 
 
 
 36 
 30 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 
 20. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 ■E 
 
 4 
 
 i 
 
 4 
 1^ 
 11 
 
 14 
 If 
 
 2 
 
 24 
 
 34 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6f 
 
 8 
 10 
 12 
 134 
 15 
 16 
 20 
 40 
 
 
 20 
 40 
 
 
 40 
 
 3 20 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 40 
 8 20 
 
 10 
 13 20 
 20 
 
 24. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 f 
 
 14 
 
 ? 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 12 
 
 14§ 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 194 
 
 24 
 
 48 
 
 12 
 
 36 
 
 
 
 24 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 4 48 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 10 
 12 
 16 
 24 
 
 EXAMPLE. 
 
 1. How much will it require to make 48 pills or powders, of Podo 
 phylin at J gralin dose, — Quinia at ^ grain dose, — Citrate of Iron ^at 1 
 grain dose, — and Oimicifugin at 1 grain dose? 
 
 Ans. — Podophyllin, (dose J grain,)=grains, 12. 
 Quinia, (dose J grain,)=:grain8, 24 
 
 Citrate of Iron, (dose 1 grain,)=grain8, 48. 
 Cimicifiigin, (dose 1 grain,)=grain8. 48. 
 
Appendix. 
 
 1845 
 
 required to enter into the formation of a definite numier of Pills or Powders 
 
 POWDERS REQUIRED 
 
 25. 
 
 30. 
 
 36. 
 
 40. 
 
 48. 
 
 50. 
 
 60. 
 
 80. 
 
 90. 
 
 100. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gh-. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr, 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Qt. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 A 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 t 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 H 
 
 li 
 
 H 
 
 i 
 
 f 
 
 a 
 
 # 
 
 a 
 
 1 
 
 1* 
 
 If 
 
 It 
 
 2 
 
 1^ 
 
 f 
 
 A 
 
 1 
 
 i| 
 
 li 
 
 H 
 
 2 
 
 2i 
 
 2J 
 
 f 
 
 1 
 
 u 
 
 1* 
 
 
 If 
 
 2 
 
 2f 
 
 3 
 
 H 
 
 1 
 
 1^ 
 
 m 
 
 If 
 
 Iff 
 
 2 
 
 2f 
 
 H 
 
 ?* 
 
 4 
 
 li 
 
 li 
 
 If 
 
 2 
 
 2* 
 
 2J 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 4i 
 
 5 
 
 h\ 
 
 H 
 
 ii 
 
 2i 
 
 3 
 
 3J 
 
 3f 
 
 5 
 
 5| 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 2 
 
 2f 
 
 2J 
 
 H 
 
 3i 
 
 4 
 
 5J 
 
 6 
 
 ■ 6t 
 
 2A 
 
 2i 
 
 2i 
 
 H 
 
 4 
 
 ^ 
 
 5 
 
 6t 
 
 ^ 
 
 8i 
 
 2J 
 
 3 
 
 3| 
 
 4 
 
 H 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 H 
 
 3| 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 6J 
 
 7* 
 
 10 
 
 llj 
 
 12J 
 
 ^ 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 6| 
 
 8 
 
 8i 
 
 10 
 
 13i 
 
 15 
 
 ' 16t 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 ^i 
 
 8 
 
 9f 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 6i 
 
 7J 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 12i 
 
 15 
 
 20 
 
 22* 
 
 25 
 
 8* 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 13J 
 
 16 
 
 16i 
 
 20 
 
 26f 
 
 30 
 
 m 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 14| 
 
 16 
 
 19* 
 
 20 
 
 24 
 
 32 
 
 36 
 
 40 
 
 12i 
 
 15 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 24 
 
 25 
 
 30 
 
 40 
 
 45 
 
 50- 
 
 15 
 
 18 
 
 213 
 
 24 
 
 28| 
 
 30 
 
 36 
 
 48 
 
 54 
 
 I 10 
 
 ■m 
 
 20 
 
 24^ 
 
 26| 
 
 32 
 
 33i 
 
 40 
 
 53J 
 
 1 
 
 1 6§ 
 
 18| 
 
 22i 
 
 27 
 
 30 
 
 36 
 
 37J 
 
 45 
 
 1 
 
 1 7i 
 
 1 15 
 
 20 
 
 24 
 
 28| 
 
 32 
 
 38f 
 
 40 
 
 48 
 
 1 4 
 
 1 12 
 
 1 20 
 
 25 
 
 30 
 
 36 
 
 40 
 
 48 
 
 50 
 
 1 
 
 1 20 
 
 1 30 
 
 1 40 
 
 50 
 
 1 
 
 1 12 
 
 1 20 
 
 1 36 
 
 1 40 
 
 ? 
 
 2 40 
 
 3 
 
 3 20 
 
 1 15 
 
 1 30 
 
 . 1 48 
 
 2 
 
 2 24 
 
 2 30 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 4 30 
 
 5 
 
 1 40 
 
 2 
 
 2 24 
 
 2 40 
 
 3 12 
 
 3 20 
 
 4 
 
 5 20 
 
 6 
 
 6 40 
 
 2 5 
 
 2 30 
 
 3 
 
 3 20 
 
 4 
 
 i 10 
 
 5 
 
 6 40 
 
 7 30 
 
 8 20 
 
 2 30 
 
 3 
 
 3 36 
 
 4 
 
 4 48 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 3 20 
 
 4 
 
 4 48 
 
 5 20 
 
 6 24 
 
 6 40 
 
 8 
 
 10 40 
 
 12 
 
 13 20 
 
 4 10 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 6 40 
 
 8 
 
 8 20 
 
 10 
 
 13 20 
 
 15 
 
 16 40 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 12 
 
 8 
 
 9 86 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 6 15 
 
 7 30 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 12 30 
 
 15 
 
 20 
 
 22 30 
 
 25 
 
 8 20 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 13 20 
 
 16 
 
 16 40 
 
 20 
 
 26 40 
 
 30 
 
 33 20 
 
 10 25 
 
 12 30 
 
 15 
 
 16 40 
 
 20 
 
 20 50 
 
 25 
 
 33 20 
 
 37 30 
 
 41 40 
 
 12 30 
 
 15 
 
 18 
 
 20 00 
 
 24 
 
 25 
 
 30 
 
 40 
 
 45 
 
 50 
 
 16 40 
 
 20 
 
 24 
 
 26 40 
 
 32 
 
 38 20 
 
 40 
 
 53 20 
 
 60 
 
 66 40 
 
 25 
 
 30 
 
 36 
 
 40 
 
 48 
 
 50 
 
 60 
 
 80 
 
 90 
 
 100 
 
 2. How many doses will 3 grains of Strychnia make, at ^ grain, 
 for a dose ? Ans. 60. 
 
 Trace along the line from ^, the size of the dose, until 3 grains ia 
 reached, and on looking at the top of the column in which it is placed, 
 the answer 60 will be found. 
 85 
 
Table for determining the quantity of a medicinal agent required 
 
 to enter into a definite amount of fluid, which is to be administered 
 in certain doses, each dose holding a given quantity of said agent. 
 
 JST. B. This Table I have given in our usual weights and measures, 
 and not in the metrical. I have it already made out in metrical 
 weights and measures, as well as the other Tables, which will be given 
 hereajfter, when the profession is better prepared for them. The metri- 
 cal tables herein given will enable any one to convert our American 
 weights and measures into them, and vice versa. 
 
 QUANTITY OP MEDICINE REQUIRED IN FLUID 
 
 SIZE OP DOSE. 
 
 3 1- 
 
 3 4. 
 
 3 8- 
 
 1 Pint. 
 
 3 20. 
 
 3 24. 
 
 3 30. 
 
 2 Pints. 
 
 Dose. 
 
 Dr.Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 /Minims. 5 
 
 If 
 
 6f 
 
 12* 
 
 25| 
 
 32 
 
 38| 
 
 48 
 
 51J 
 
 / " 10 
 
 1 
 
 3* 
 
 6f 
 
 12| 
 
 16 
 
 19i 
 
 24 
 
 25f 
 
 1 " 15 
 
 A 
 
 2A 
 
 4A 
 
 8A 
 
 10| 
 
 12f 
 
 16 
 
 17A 
 
 Grn. \ " 20 
 
 f 
 
 If 
 
 3i 
 
 6f 
 
 8 
 
 9f 
 
 12 
 
 121 
 
 JDrao'm. i 
 
 h 
 
 
 2A 
 
 4A 
 
 5^ 
 
 6f 
 
 8 
 
 8A 
 
 \ " 1 
 
 A 
 
 lA 
 
 2A 
 
 2| 
 
 H 
 
 4 
 
 4A 
 
 A J " 2 
 
 A 
 
 A 
 
 A 
 
 lA 
 
 ^ 
 
 If 
 
 2 
 
 2A 
 
 / Oun8e. J 
 
 ^ 
 
 A 
 
 A 
 
 A 
 
 ^ 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 lA 
 
 1 " 1 
 
 sV 
 
 A 
 
 A 
 
 A 
 
 -1 
 
 f 
 
 J 
 
 
 \ " 2 
 
 
 ife 
 
 A 
 
 A 
 
 ^ 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 /Minims. 5 
 
 2| 
 
 9f 
 
 19i 
 
 38| 
 
 48 
 
 571 
 
 72 
 
 38| 
 
 / " 10 
 
 H 
 
 4f 
 
 9| 
 
 m 
 
 24 
 
 28* 
 
 36 
 
 1 " 15 
 
 f 
 
 H 
 
 6f 
 
 12| 
 
 16 
 
 19J 
 
 24 
 
 25| 
 
 Gni.\ " 20 
 
 
 2f 
 
 4| 
 
 9| 
 
 12 
 
 14f 
 
 18 
 
 191 
 
 JDrao'm. i 
 
 1 
 
 If 
 
 3i 
 
 6f 
 
 8 
 
 9| 
 
 12 
 
 124 
 
 \ " ^ 
 
 i 
 
 
 If 
 
 3J 
 
 , 4 
 
 
 6 
 
 6$ 
 
 ^ L " ? 
 
 A 
 
 1 
 
 
 if 
 
 2 
 
 2f 
 
 3 
 
 3^ 
 
 1 Ounce, i 
 
 ^ 
 
 * 
 
 f 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 u 
 
 li 
 
 If 
 
 1 " 1 
 
 1 
 
 ^ 
 
 * 
 
 f 
 
 J 
 
 1 
 
 f 
 
 1 
 
 \ " 2 
 
 
 A 
 
 A 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 A 
 
 1 
 
 f 
 
 /Minims. 5 
 
 ?* 
 
 12| 
 
 25f 
 
 5H 
 
 1 4 
 
 1 16f 
 
 1 36 
 
 1 42^ 
 
 / " 10 
 
 If 
 
 6| 
 
 11 
 
 25f 
 
 32 
 
 38f 
 
 48 
 
 51- 
 
 1 " 15 
 
 lA 
 
 4A 
 
 l4 
 
 21J 
 
 25f 
 
 32 
 
 34A 
 
 ern.\ " 20 
 
 i 
 
 3* 
 
 6| 
 
 121 
 
 16 
 
 19| 
 
 24 
 
 254 
 
 JDrao'm. ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 2A 
 
 4A 
 
 4 
 
 lOf 
 
 12| 
 
 16 
 
 17A 
 
 \ " 1 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 
 4^ 
 
 5i 
 
 6§ 
 
 8 
 
 8A 
 
 ^ i/v " ? 
 
 A 
 
 A 
 
 'A 
 
 
 2f 
 
 3* 
 
 4 
 
 4A 
 
 f Ounce J 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 A 
 
 IJL 
 
 1 
 
 1^ 
 
 2 
 
 2A 
 
 1 " 1 
 
 A 
 
 
 A 
 
 A 
 
 ■ 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 ^A 
 
 \ " 2 
 
 « 
 
 
 A 
 
 A 
 
 ■ 
 
 ^ 
 
 i 
 1346 
 
 A 
 
Appendix. 
 
 1347 
 
 QUANTITY OP MEDICINE REQUIRED IN FLUID 
 
 (continued.) 
 
 SIZE OF DOSE. 
 
 3 1- 
 
 3 4. 
 
 3 8. 
 
 1 Pint. 
 
 3 20. 
 
 3 24. 
 
 3 30. 
 
 2 Pints. 
 
 Dose. * 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 /Minims. 5 
 
 3|| 
 
 ,15^ 
 
 30if 
 
 1 14* 
 
 1 16f 
 
 1 32A 
 
 1 55i 
 
 2- 2|| 
 
 / " 10 
 
 
 "^a 
 
 ISA 
 
 304f 
 
 38f 
 
 46A 
 
 57f 
 
 1 IJI 
 
 1 ■' 15 
 
 1^ 
 
 5A 
 
 lOA 
 
 2041 
 
 2Sf 
 
 304f 
 
 
 40f| 
 
 Grn.V " 20 
 
 ft 
 
 3f^ 
 
 ^E 
 
 ISA 
 
 194 
 
 23A 
 
 ■'iSj 
 
 30^1 
 
 JDrac'm. \ 
 
 41 
 
 2M 
 
 5A 
 
 ^5* 
 
 12* 
 
 ISA 
 
 1«4 
 
 20i4 
 
 \ " 1 
 
 A 
 
 lA 
 
 2M 
 
 
 6r 
 
 7^ 
 
 9f 
 
 , lOA 
 
 A j " 2 
 
 A 
 
 if 
 
 lA 
 
 24f 
 
 3r 
 
 3f4 
 
 44 
 
 5A 
 
 / Ounce. J 
 
 A 
 
 A 
 
 M 
 
 lA 
 
 If 
 
 Iff 
 
 
 1 ■" 1 
 
 A 
 
 A 
 
 A 
 
 4f 
 
 T 
 
 M 
 
 14 
 
 lA 
 
 \ " 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 A 
 
 A 
 
 f 
 
 if 
 
 f 
 
 if 
 
 /Minims. 5 
 
 H 
 
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Appendix. 
 
 QUANTITY OF MEDICINE REQUIRED IN FLUID 
 
 {continued.) 
 
 SIZE OF DOSE. 
 
 3 !■ 
 
 g4. 
 
 S 8. 
 
 1 Pint. 
 
 3 20. 
 
 3 24. 
 
 3 30. 
 
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 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
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Appendix. 
 
 1349 
 
 QUANTITY OP MEDICINE REQUIRED IN FLUID 
 
 
 
 
 (continued.) 
 
 
 
 
 
 SIZE OF DOSE. 
 
 5 1- 
 
 3 4. 
 
 3 8- 
 
 1 Pint. 
 
 3 20. 
 
 3 24. 
 
 3 30. 
 
 2 Pints. 
 
 Dose. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
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 32 
 
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 2 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
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1350 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 QUANTITY OP MEDICINE REQUIRED IN FLUID 
 
 (continued.) 
 
 SIZE OP DOSE. 
 
 3 1- 
 
 3 4- 
 
 3 8- 
 
 1 Pint. 
 
 3 20. 
 
 3 24. 
 
 3 30. 
 
 2 Pints, 
 
 Dose. 
 
 Dr. Grr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 /Minims. 5 
 
 1 12 
 
 4 48 
 
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 19 12 
 
 24 
 
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 36 
 
 38 24 
 
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 36 
 
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 12 
 
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 18 
 
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 24 
 
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 8 
 
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 12 
 
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 18 
 
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 6 
 
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 9 
 
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 12 
 
 48 
 
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 4 
 
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 6 
 
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 24 
 
 48 
 
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 2 
 
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 3 
 
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 24 
 
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 9 
 
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 12 
 
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 Gbn, \ " 20 
 
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 16 
 
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 32 
 
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 16 
 
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 Grn.\ " 20 
 
 24 
 
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 16 
 
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 8 
 
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 8 
 
 16 
 
 20 
 
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 30 
 
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 2 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 15 
 
 16 
 
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 3 12 
 
 12 48 
 
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 64 
 
 76 48 
 
 96 
 
 102 24 
 
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 32 
 
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 32 
 
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 48 
 
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 32 
 
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 16 
 
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 16 
 
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 2 
 
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 \ " 1 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 
 32 
 
 40 
 
 48 
 
 1 
 
 1 4 
 
 \. " 2 
 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 
 20 
 
 24 
 
 30 
 
 32 
 
 /Minims. 5 
 
 4 48 
 
 19 12 
 
 38 24 
 
 76 48 
 
 96 
 
 115 12 
 
 144 
 
 153 36 
 
 / " 10 
 
 2 24 
 
 9 36 
 
 19 12 
 
 38 24 
 
 48 
 
 57 36 
 
 72 
 
 76 48 
 
 I " 15 
 
 1 36 
 
 6 24 
 
 12 48 
 
 25 36 
 
 32 
 
 38 24 
 
 48 
 
 51 12 
 
 am. \ " 20 
 
 1 12 
 
 4 48 
 
 9 36 
 
 19 12 
 
 24 
 
 28 48 
 
 36 
 
 38 2i 
 
 JDrac'm. J 
 
 48 
 
 3 12 
 
 6 24 
 
 12 48 
 
 16 
 
 19 12 
 
 24 
 
 25 3» 
 12 iS 
 
 •\ " 1 
 
 24 
 
 1 36 
 
 3 12 
 
 6 24 
 
 8 
 
 9 36 
 
 12 
 
 3 ' " 2 
 
 12 
 
 48 
 
 1 36 
 
 3 12 
 
 4 
 
 4 48 
 
 6 
 
 6 24 
 
 /Ounce, i 
 
 6 
 
 24 
 
 48 
 
 1 36 
 
 2 
 
 2 24 
 
 3 
 
 3 12 
 
 I " 1 
 
 3 
 
 12 
 
 24 
 
 48 
 
 1 
 
 1 12 
 
 1 30 
 
 1 36 
 
 \ " 2 
 
 
 6 
 
 12 
 
 24 
 
 30 
 
 36 
 
 45 
 
 48 
 
Appendix. 
 
 1351 
 
 QUANTITY OP MEDICINE REQUIRED IN FLUID 
 
 (continued.) 
 
 SIZE OF DOSE. 
 
 3 1- 
 
 3 4. 
 
 3 8. 
 
 1 Pint. 
 
 3 20. 
 
 3 24. 
 
 3 
 
 30. 
 
 2 Pints. 
 
 Dose. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Or. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. 
 
 Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 /Minims. 5 
 
 6 24 
 
 25 36 
 
 51 12 
 
 102 24 
 
 128 
 
 153 36 
 
 192 
 
 
 
 204 48 
 
 / " 10 
 
 3 12 
 
 12 48 
 
 25 36 
 
 51 12 
 
 64 
 
 76 48 
 
 96 
 
 
 
 102 24 
 
 1 " 15 
 
 2 8 
 
 8 32 
 
 17 4 
 
 34 8 
 
 42 40 
 
 51 12 
 
 64 
 
 
 
 68 16 
 
 &rn. \ " 20 
 
 1 36 
 
 6 24 
 
 12 48 
 
 25 36 
 
 32 
 
 38 24 
 
 48 
 
 
 
 51 12 
 
 JDrac'm. i 
 
 1 4 
 
 4 16 
 
 8 32 
 
 17 4 
 
 21 20 
 
 25 36 
 
 32 
 
 
 
 34 8 
 
 \ " 1 
 
 32 
 
 2 8 
 
 4 16 
 
 8 32 
 
 10 40 
 
 12 48 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 17 4 
 
 4 ) " 2 
 
 16 
 
 1 4 
 
 2 8 
 
 4 16 
 
 5 20 
 
 6 24 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 8 32 
 
 / Ounce, i 
 
 8 
 
 32 
 
 1 4 
 
 2 8 
 
 2 40 
 
 3 12 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 4 16 
 
 1 " 1 
 
 4 
 
 16 
 
 32 
 
 1 4 
 
 1 20 
 
 1 36 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 2 8 
 
 \ " 2 
 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 
 32 
 
 40 
 
 48 
 
 • 1 
 
 
 
 1 4 
 
 /Minims. 5 
 
 8 
 
 32 
 
 64 
 
 128 
 
 160 
 
 192 
 
 240 
 
 
 
 256 
 
 / " 10 
 
 4 
 
 16 
 
 32 
 
 64 
 
 80 
 
 96 
 
 120 
 
 
 
 128 
 
 1 ■ " 15 
 
 2 40 
 
 10 40 
 
 21 20 
 
 42 40 
 
 53 20 
 
 64 0. 
 
 80 
 
 
 
 85 20 
 
 Gm. \ " 20 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 
 32 
 
 40 
 
 48 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 64 
 
 JDrao'm. J 
 
 1 20 
 
 5 20 
 
 10 40 
 
 21 20 
 
 26 40 
 
 32 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 42 40 
 
 \ " ^ 
 
 40 
 
 2 40 
 
 5 20 
 
 10 40 
 
 13 20 
 
 16 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 21 20 
 
 5 I " 2 
 
 20 
 
 1 20 
 
 2 40 
 
 5 20 
 
 6 40 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 10 40 
 
 /Ounce, i 
 
 10 
 
 40 
 
 1 20 
 
 2 40 
 
 3 20 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 ■5 20 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 20 
 
 40 
 
 1 20 
 
 1 40 
 
 2 
 
 2 30 
 
 2 40 
 
 \ " 2 
 
 
 10 
 
 20 
 
 40 
 
 50 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 15 
 
 1 20 
 
 /Minims. 5 
 
 9 36 
 
 38 24 
 
 76 48 
 
 153 36 
 
 192 
 
 230 24 
 
 288 
 
 
 
 307 12 
 
 / " 10 
 
 4 48 
 
 19 12 
 
 38 24 
 
 76 48 
 
 96 
 
 115 12 
 
 144 
 
 
 
 153 36 
 
 1 " 15 
 
 3 12 
 
 12 48 
 
 25 36 
 
 51 12 
 
 64 
 
 76 48 
 
 96 
 
 
 
 102 24 
 
 GTn.\ " 20 
 
 2 24 
 
 9 36 
 
 19 12 
 
 38 24 
 
 48 
 
 57 36 
 
 72 
 
 
 
 76 48 
 
 JDrac'm. i 
 
 1 36 
 
 6 24 
 
 12 48 
 
 25 36 
 
 32 
 
 38 24 
 
 48 
 
 
 
 61 12 
 
 \ " 1 
 
 48 
 
 3 12 
 
 6 24 
 
 12 48 
 
 16 
 
 19 12 
 
 24 
 
 
 
 25 36 
 
 6 J " 2 
 
 24 
 
 1 36 
 
 3 12 
 
 6 24 
 
 8 
 
 9 36 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 12 48 
 
 I Ounce, i 
 
 12 
 
 48 
 
 1 36 
 
 3 12 
 
 4 
 
 4 48 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 6 24 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 24 
 
 48 
 
 1 36 
 
 2 
 
 2 24 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 3 12 
 
 \ " 2 
 
 
 12 
 
 24 
 
 48 
 
 1 
 
 1 12- 
 
 1 
 
 30 
 
 1 36 
 
 /Minims. 5 
 
 12 48 
 
 51 12 
 
 102 24 
 
 204 48 
 
 256 
 
 307 12 
 
 384 
 
 
 
 409 36 
 
 / " 10 
 
 6 24 
 
 25 36 
 
 51 12 
 
 102 24 
 
 128 
 
 153 36 
 
 192 
 
 
 
 204 48 
 
 1 " 15 
 
 4 16 
 
 17 4 
 
 34 8 
 
 68 16 
 
 85 20 
 
 102 24 
 
 128 
 
 
 
 136 32 
 
 Qnm.\ " 20 
 
 3 12 
 
 12 48 
 
 25 36 
 
 51 12 
 
 64 
 
 76 48 
 
 96 
 
 
 
 102 24 
 
 JDrac'm. i 
 
 2 8 
 
 8 32 
 
 17 4 
 
 34 8 
 
 42 40 
 
 51 12 
 
 64 
 
 
 
 68 16 
 
 \ " 1 
 
 1 4 
 
 4 16 
 
 8 32 
 
 17 4 
 
 21 20 
 
 25 36 
 
 32 
 
 
 
 34 8 
 
 8 J " 2 
 
 32 
 
 2 8 
 
 4 16 
 
 8 32 
 
 10 40 
 
 12 48 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 17 4 
 
 /Ounce, i 
 
 16 
 
 1 4 
 
 2 8 
 
 4 16 
 
 5 20 
 
 6 24 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 8 32 
 
 1 " 1 
 
 8 
 
 32 
 
 1 4 
 
 2 8 
 
 2 40 
 
 3 12 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 4 16 
 
 \ " 2 
 
 
 16 
 
 32 
 
 1 4 
 
 1 20 
 
 1 36 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 2 8 
 
 /Minims. 5 
 
 16 
 
 64 
 
 128 
 
 256 
 
 320 
 
 384 
 
 480 
 
 
 
 512 
 
 / " 10 
 
 8 
 
 32 
 
 64 
 
 128 
 
 160 
 
 192 
 
 240 
 
 
 
 256 
 
 1 " 15 
 
 5 20 
 
 21 20 
 
 42 40 
 
 85 20 
 
 106 40 
 
 128 
 
 160 
 
 
 
 170 40 
 
 (}rn. \ " 20 
 
 4 
 
 16 
 
 32 
 
 64 
 
 80 
 
 96 
 
 120 
 
 
 
 128 
 
 JDrac'm. J 
 
 2 40 
 
 10 40 
 
 21 20 
 
 42 40 
 
 53 20 
 
 64 
 
 80 
 
 
 
 85 20 
 
 \ " 1 
 
 1 20 
 
 5 20 
 
 10 40 
 
 21 20 
 
 26 40 
 
 32 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 42 40 
 
 10 i " 2 
 
 40 
 
 2 40 
 
 5 20 
 
 10 40 
 
 13 20 
 
 16 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 21 20 
 
 lOuncfe, i 
 
 20 
 
 1 20 
 
 2 40 
 
 5 20 
 
 6 40 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 10 40 
 
 \ " 1 
 
 10 
 
 40 
 
 1 20 
 
 2 40 
 
 3 20 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 5 20 
 
 \ « 2 
 
 
 20 
 
 40 
 
 1 20 
 
 1 40 
 
 2 
 
 2 80 
 
 2 40 
 
1352 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 QUANTITY OF MEDICINE REQUIRED IN FLUID 
 
 (C»NTINUBD.) 
 
 SIZE OF DOSE. 
 
 5 1- 
 
 3 4. 
 
 3 8. 
 
 1 Pint. 
 
 3 20. 
 
 3 24. 
 
 3 
 
 30. 
 
 2 Pints. 
 
 D08G. 
 
 Dr.Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. 
 
 Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 /Minims. 5 
 
 19 12 
 
 76 48 
 
 153 36 
 
 307 12 
 
 384 
 
 460 48 
 
 576 
 
 
 
 614 24 
 
 / " 10 
 
 9 36 
 
 38 24 
 
 76 48 
 
 153 36 
 
 192 
 
 230 24 
 
 288 
 
 
 
 307 12 
 
 1 " 15 
 
 6 24 
 
 25 36 
 
 51 12 
 
 102 24 
 
 128 
 
 153 36 
 
 192 
 
 
 
 204 48 
 
 Grn. \ "20 
 
 4 48 
 
 19 12 
 
 38 24 
 
 76 48 
 
 96 
 
 115 12 
 
 144 
 
 
 
 153 36 
 
 JDrac'm. i 
 
 3 12 
 
 12 48 
 
 25 36 
 
 51 12 
 
 64 
 
 76 48 
 
 96 
 
 
 
 102 24 
 
 \ " 1 
 
 1 36 
 
 6 24 
 
 12 48 
 
 25 36 
 
 32 
 
 38 24 
 
 48 
 
 
 
 51 12 
 
 12 ) " 2 
 
 48 
 
 3 12 
 
 6 24 
 
 12 48 
 
 16 
 
 19 12 
 
 24 
 
 
 
 25 36 
 
 /Ounce. J 
 
 24 
 
 1 36 
 
 3 12 
 
 6 24 
 
 8 
 
 9 36 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 12 48 
 
 I " 1 
 
 12 
 
 48 
 
 1 36 
 
 3 12 
 
 4 
 
 4 48 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 6 24 
 
 \ " 2 
 
 
 24 
 
 48 
 
 1 36 
 
 2 
 
 2 24 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 3 12 
 
 /Minims. 10 
 
 12 
 
 48 
 
 96 
 
 192 
 
 240 
 
 288 
 
 360 
 
 
 
 384 
 
 / " 15 
 
 8 
 
 32 
 
 64 
 
 128 
 
 160 
 
 192 
 
 240 
 
 ,0 
 
 256 
 
 ft™ \ " .20 
 
 6 
 
 24 
 
 48 
 
 96 
 
 120 
 
 144 
 
 180 
 
 
 
 192 
 
 4 
 
 16 
 
 32 
 
 64 
 
 80 
 
 96 
 
 120 
 
 
 
 128 
 
 1 " ^ 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 
 32 
 
 40 
 
 48 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 64 
 
 ^^ /Ounce. J 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 8 U 
 
 16 
 
 20 
 
 24 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 32 
 
 30 
 
 2 
 
 4 U 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 " 1 
 
 15 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 30 
 
 8 
 
 \ " 2 
 
 
 30 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 2 30 
 
 3 
 
 3 45 
 
 4 
 
 /Minims. 10 
 
 16 
 
 64 
 
 128 
 
 256 
 
 320 
 
 384 
 
 480 
 
 
 
 512 
 
 / " 15 
 
 10 40 
 
 42 40 
 
 85 20 
 
 170 40 
 
 213 20 ' 
 
 256 
 
 320 
 
 
 
 341 20 
 
 »- Dral'm.'? 
 
 8 
 
 32 
 
 64 
 
 128 
 
 160 
 
 192 
 
 240 
 
 
 
 256 
 
 5 20 
 
 21 20 
 
 42 40' 
 
 85 20 
 
 106 40 
 
 128 
 
 160 
 
 
 
 170 40 
 
 1 " ^ 
 
 2 40 
 
 10 40 
 
 21 20 
 
 42 40 
 
 53 20 
 
 64 
 
 80 
 
 
 
 85 20 
 
 ^° /Ounce. J 
 
 1 20 
 
 5 20 
 
 10 40 
 
 21 20 
 
 26 40 
 
 32 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 42 40 
 
 40 
 
 2 40 
 
 5 20 
 
 10 40 
 
 13 20 
 
 16 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 21 20 
 
 " 1 
 
 20 
 
 1 20 
 
 2 40 
 
 5 20 
 
 6 40 
 
 8 .0 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 10 40 
 
 \ " 2 
 
 
 40 
 
 1 20 
 
 2 40 
 
 3 20 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 5 20 
 
 /Minims. 15 
 
 13 20 
 
 53 20 
 
 106 40 
 
 213 20 
 
 266 40 
 
 320 
 
 400 
 
 
 
 426 40 
 
 / " 20 
 
 10 
 
 40 
 
 80 
 
 160 
 
 200 
 
 240 
 
 300 
 
 
 
 320 
 
 Ghrn.\Brac'm. J 
 
 6 40 
 
 26 40 
 
 53 20 
 
 106 40 
 
 133 20 
 
 160 
 
 200 
 
 
 
 213 20 
 
 1 " 1 
 
 3 20 
 
 13 20 
 
 26 40 
 
 53 20 
 
 66 40 
 
 80 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 106 40 
 
 \ " 2 
 
 1 40 
 
 6 40 
 
 13 20 
 
 26 40 
 
 33 20 
 
 40 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 53 20 
 
 25, /Ounce, J 
 
 50 
 
 3 20 
 
 6 40 
 
 13 20 
 
 16 40 
 
 20 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 26 40 
 
 1 " 1 
 
 25 
 
 1 40 
 
 3 20 
 
 6 40 
 
 8 20 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 30 
 
 13 20 
 
 \ " 2 
 
 
 50 
 
 1 40 
 
 3 20 
 
 4 10 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 15 
 
 6 40 
 
 /Minims. 15 
 
 16 
 
 64 
 
 128 
 
 256 
 
 320 
 
 384 
 
 480 
 
 
 
 512 
 
 " 20 
 
 12 
 
 48 
 
 96 
 
 192 
 
 240 
 
 288 
 
 360 
 
 
 
 384 
 
 Grn. XDrac'm, i 
 
 8 
 
 32 
 
 64 
 
 128 
 
 160 
 
 192 
 
 240 
 
 
 
 256 
 
 " 1 
 
 4 n 
 
 16 
 
 32 
 
 64 
 
 80 
 
 96 
 
 120 
 
 
 
 128 
 
 ) " 2 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 
 32 
 
 40 
 
 48 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 64 
 
 30 /Ounce, i 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 
 20 
 
 24 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 32 
 
 \ " 1 
 
 30 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 \ " 2 
 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 30 
 
 8 
 
 Minims. 20 
 
 16 
 
 64 
 
 128 
 
 256 
 
 320 
 
 384 
 
 480 
 
 
 
 512 
 
 /Drao'm. J 
 
 10 40 
 
 42 40 
 
 85 20 
 
 170 40 
 
 213 20 
 
 256 
 
 320 
 
 
 
 341 20 
 
 Gh-n. \ " 1 
 
 5 20 
 
 21 20 
 
 42 40 
 
 85 20 
 
 106 40 
 
 128 
 
 160 
 
 
 
 170 41 
 
 7 " 2 
 
 2 40 
 
 10 40 
 
 21 20 
 
 42 40 
 
 53 20 
 
 64 
 
 80 
 
 
 
 85 20 
 
 40 1 Ounce. J 
 ( " 1 
 
 1 20 
 
 5 20 
 
 10 40 
 
 21 20 
 
 26 40 
 
 32 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 42 40 
 
 40 
 
 2 40 
 
 5 20 
 
 10 40 
 
 13 20 
 
 16 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 21 20 
 
 . « 2 
 
 
 1 20 
 
 2 40 
 
 5 20 
 
 6 40 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 10 40 
 
Appendix. 
 
 135;; 
 
 QUANTITY OP MEDICINE REQUIRED IN FLUID 
 
 (continued.) 
 
 SIZE OF DOSE. 
 
 3 1- 
 
 5 4. 
 
 3 8. 
 
 1 Pint. 
 
 3 20. 
 
 3 24. 
 
 3 30. 
 
 2 Pints. 
 
 Dose. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 Dr. Gr. 
 
 /Drac'm. ^ 
 
 16 
 
 64 
 
 128 
 
 256 
 
 320 
 
 384 
 
 480 -0 
 
 512 
 
 1 " 1 
 Grn, \ „ ^ 
 
 8 
 
 32 
 
 64 
 
 128 
 
 160 
 
 192 
 
 240 
 
 256 
 
 4 
 
 16 
 
 32 
 
 64 
 
 80 
 
 96 
 
 120 
 
 128 
 
 (■^ Ounce, i 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 
 32 
 
 40 
 
 48 
 
 60 
 
 64 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 
 20 
 
 24 
 
 30 
 
 32 
 
 \ " 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 15 
 
 . 16 
 
 EXPLANATION. 
 
 The preceding tables are designed to facilitate the determination of 
 how much medicine, in a given dose, must be added to a required quan- 
 tity of fluid, so that this fluid may be prescribed in doses of a certain 
 amount. 1. The given dose of the medicine will be found in the first col- 
 umn, at the left of the brackets, or, in other words, the quantity of the 
 medicinal agent required to be taken with each dose of the mixture or 
 solution into which it enters ; 2, the dose of the fluid solution of this 
 medicine will be found in the first column, inclosed within the brackets, 
 or, in other words, the sise of the dose of the mixture or solution pre- 
 scribed ; 3, the quantity of fluid required or prescribed to form the so- 
 lution, will be found at the heads of the other columns ; and, 4, the 
 quantity of medicine vjhich must he added to the required or prescribed 
 amount of fluid, will be found in the column under 'the head of such 
 amount. Thus : 
 
 1. It is desired to give four fluidounces of liquid to a patient, to be 
 taken in half fluidrachm doses, each dose to contain Strychnia -^ grain, 
 Quinia \ grain. Morphia ^ grain. How much of each of these alkaloids 
 must be added to the four fluidounces prescribed? — As already ex- 
 plained, find the given dose of the Strychnia -j'g grain, and, opposite to 
 it, inclosed within the bracket, find the dose of the fluid solution, viz., 
 half a fluidrachm ; from which follow out the line until the column 
 under four fluidounces has been reached, when it will be found that 
 2y2^ grains of Strychnia will be required. Again, find the given dose 
 of the Quinia grain \, and inclosed within its bracket also find the 
 dose of the fluid solution, viz., half a fluidrachm; from this, trace along 
 the line as before, and in the column under four fluidounces, the quan- 
 tity of fluid prescribed, will be found the required amount of Quinia, 
 viz., 32 grains. For the Morphia, find the given dose, grain ^, then 
 the half fluidrachm inclosed in its bracket, and tracing along, as 
 before, the quantity of this alkaloid required will be found, 8 grains. 
 
 2. It is desired to prescribe two ounces of fluid to be taken in doses 
 often minims, each dos,e to contain one-fiftieth of a grain of Atropine; 
 
1354 Appendix. 
 
 how much A tropine must be contained in the two fluidounces ? — As j<j 
 grain is not in the tables, find 25 grain, and on the ten minims lino 
 under four fluidounces will be found 7^| grains, or the quantity re- 
 quired were the given dose of Atropine '^-g for four fluidounces ; one- 
 half of whi^h will be the amount of Atropine, at ^'^ grain dose, for two 
 fluidounces, viz., 3|^ grains, and one-half of this again will be the 
 quantity of Atropine at ^\ grain dose for two fluidounces, viz., 1||. 
 
 3. It is desired to add two grains of Veratria to a fluid, to be admin- 
 istered in twenty minim doses, each dose to contain -^-g grain of Veratria 
 How much of the fluid will be required for the two grains ? — Find th© 
 given dose, -^^ grain, and the dose of the fluid, 20 minims ; follow this 
 line until the amount nearest to two grains is found, which in 
 the present instance will be 3§^ grains, in the column under four 
 fluidounces ; 3|i grains is 1|J grains more than 2 grains, or an excess 
 of forty -six ^j'^ grains^46 doses. By the following table it will be seen 
 that four ounces contain 96 doses of 20 minims each ; subtract from this 
 the excess of 46 doses, and 50 doses remains for the two grains, and as 
 each dose is to consist of 20 minims of the solution, 50 doses will= 
 1000 minim8=:16 drachms and 40 minims of fluid. The same result 
 may be obtained, as follows : One dose is to contain -^^ grain, therefore 
 two grains will give fifty t^Hxb or 50 doses, which being multiplied by 
 the number of minims required for each dose, 20, will give 1000 min- 
 ims=16 drachms, 40 minims. 
 
 4. How much fluid will be required for 12 grains of Morphia ; the 
 fluid to be given in 20 minim doses, each containing ^ grain of Mor- 
 phia? Ans. — 1 ounce. 
 
 5. I have one ounce of Iodide of Ammonium which I desire to give in 
 solution in doses of a teaspoonful containing two grains each ; how 
 much water will the ounce of Iodide require ? 
 
 Find the given dose of the Iodide, i. e., 2 grains, and the line con- 
 taining the dose of the fluid, i. e., one drachm ; follow this line along 
 until the column containing one ounce or eight drachms are found, and 
 at the top of this column will be found the required answer, viz., 30 
 ounces of fluid. 
 
Afpbndix. 
 
 1355 
 
 Table for determining the number of doses there are in a definite amount 
 of fluid medicine, when given in a certain dose. 
 
 NUMBER OP DOSES IN 
 
 SIZE OP dose; 
 
 3 1- 
 
 3 4- 
 
 3 8. 
 
 1 Pint. 
 
 3 20. 
 
 'S 24. 
 
 g 80. 
 
 2 Finta. 
 
 Minims. 5 
 
 96 
 
 384 
 
 768 
 
 1536 
 
 1920 
 
 2304 
 
 2880 
 
 3072 
 
 " 10 
 
 48 
 
 192 
 
 384 
 
 768 
 
 960 
 
 1152 
 
 1440 
 
 1536 
 
 " 15 
 
 32 
 
 128 
 
 256 
 
 512 
 
 640 
 
 768 
 
 960 
 
 1024 
 
 " 20 
 
 24 
 
 96 
 
 192 
 
 384 
 
 480 
 
 576 
 
 720 
 
 768 
 
 Drao'm. i 
 
 16 
 
 64 
 
 128 
 
 256 
 
 320 
 
 384 
 
 480 
 
 512 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 32 
 
 64 
 
 128 
 
 160 
 
 192 
 
 240 
 
 256 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 16 
 
 32 
 
 64 
 
 80 
 
 96 
 
 120 
 
 128 
 
 Ounce, i 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 
 32 
 
 40 
 
 48. 
 
 60 
 
 64 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 
 20 
 
 24 
 
 30 
 
 32 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 15 
 
 16 
 
 How many doses of 15 minims each, are there in 24 ounces of fluid? 
 
 By following the dose, (15 minims,) in the first line, along until the 
 column under 24 ounces is reached, the answer will be found, viz., 768 
 doses. 
 
 Sow many drachm doses are there in 30 ounces of fluid ? Ans. 240 
 
1356 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 Table for determining how much fluid medicine must be given to a patient 
 to last for a definite length of time, when taken in a certain dose, which is 
 to be repeated three times every day. 
 
 Thus, 8 drops of a fluid repeated 3 times a day, will require 1^ ounces to lait 
 a month. The small figures to the right of the drachms signify minims. 
 N. B. A drop here is considered equal to a minim. 
 
 . V 
 
 a, 5" 
 
 §• 
 
 CO 
 
 I' 
 
 K 
 
 Quantity required 
 one month 
 
 
 ■I- 
 
 £•3 
 3 
 
 IS 
 Is 
 
 ft 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 rl 
 
 
 (P 
 
 i 3* 
 
 
 
 if 
 
 
 ? 
 
 u 
 
 Pt. 
 
 Oz. Dr. 
 
 Pt. Oz. Dr. 
 
 Pt. Oz. Dr. 
 
 Pt. Oz Dr. 
 
 Pt. Oz. Dr, 
 
 Pt. Oz. Dp. 
 
 3 drops, 
 
 2.aa 
 
 4.30 
 
 6.45 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 3.„ 
 
 15.,o 
 
 4 " 
 
 3 
 
 6. 
 
 9 
 
 1 4 
 
 1 7 
 
 2 2 
 
 5 " 
 
 3.4. 
 
 7.30 
 
 1 3.,« 
 
 1 7 
 
 2 2.,5 
 
 2 6.,, 
 
 6 « 
 
 4..0 
 
 1 1. 
 
 1 5.30 
 
 2 2 
 
 2 6.80 
 
 3 3 
 
 7 " 
 
 5-1. 
 
 121,0 
 
 1 7.4a 
 
 2 5 
 
 3 2.,s 
 
 3 7.,, 
 
 8 " 
 
 6 
 
 1 4* 
 
 2 2 
 
 3 
 
 3 6 
 
 4 4 
 
 9 " 
 
 6.46 
 
 15.8. 
 
 2 4„ 
 
 3 3 
 
 4 1.4, 
 
 5 0.,, 
 
 10 « 
 
 7.80 
 
 1 7 
 
 2 6.80 
 
 3 6 
 
 4 5.30 
 
 5 5 
 
 12 « 
 
 1 1 
 
 2 2 
 
 3 3 
 
 44 
 
 5 5 
 
 6 6 
 
 15 " 
 
 13.„ 
 
 2 6.30 
 
 4 1.45 
 
 5 5 
 
 7 0.„ 
 
 8 3.,o 
 
 18 » 
 
 1 5-80 
 
 3 3 
 
 5 0.30 
 
 6 6 
 
 8 3.30 
 
 10 1 
 
 20 " 
 
 17 
 
 3 5 
 
 5 5 
 
 7 4 
 
 9 3 
 
 11 2 
 
 25 " 
 
 2 2.,, 
 
 4 5.30 
 
 7 0.„ 
 
 9 3 
 
 11 5.,, 
 
 14 0... 
 
 30 or } dr. 
 
 2 6.,o 
 
 55 
 
 8 3.30 
 
 112 
 
 14 0.30 
 
 1 7 
 
 40 " 1 " 
 
 3 6 
 
 7 4 
 
 11 2 
 
 15 
 
 1 2 6 
 
 1 64 
 
 60" 1 " 
 
 5 5 
 
 11 2 
 
 1 7 
 
 1 6 4 
 
 1 12 1 
 
 2 16 
 
 2 " 
 
 11 2 
 
 1 6 4 
 
 2 1 6 
 
 2 13 
 
 3 8 2 
 
 4 3 4 
 
 4 " 1 
 
 6 4 
 
 2 13 
 
 4 3 4 
 
 5 10 
 
 6 16 4 
 
 8 7 
 
 1 oz. 2 
 
 13 
 
 5 10 
 
 8 7 
 
 11 4 
 
 14 1 
 
 16 14 
 
 2 "5 
 
 10 
 
 11 4 
 
 16 14 
 
 22 8 
 
 28 2 
 
 33 12 
 
 4 " 11 
 
 4 
 
 22 8 
 
 33 12 
 
 45 
 
 56 4 
 
 67 8 
 
Appendix. 1367 
 
 EXAMPLE. 
 
 It is desired to give a patient enough fluid to last six weeks, to be 
 taken in teaspoonful. doses three times a day, each dose to contain 1 
 grain of quinia and J grain of morphia. What quantity of fluid must 
 be given, and what proportions of quinia and morphia must it contain? 
 
 By the above table, a teaspoonful or drachm dose given three times 
 a day, will require 1 pint and 7 drachms of fluid to last for six weeks. 
 Now, hy referring to table J, on a line with the given dose, 1 grain, it . 
 will be found that for drachm doses 1 pint will require 2 drachms g,nd 
 8 grains of the medicine, while 8 drachms or 1 ounce will require 8 
 grains, making two drachms and 16 grains ; but as only 7 drachms are 
 required, or 1 drachm less than the ounce, the amount of the dose for 
 the superfluous drachm, which contains one grain, must be deducted, 
 making 2 drachms and 15 grains of quinia. Again, by referring to the 
 given dose, J grain, in same table, and following the line of drachm 
 doses, it will be found that one pint will require 42f grains, while 8 
 drachms will require 2^ grains, making in all 45J grains ; from which 
 deduct the superfluous drachm which contains J grain, and the result 
 will be 45 grains of morphia. 
 
TABT.Ei=! OF PpRCTTTr GRAVITIES. 
 
 1359 
 
 TABLES OF SPLCIFIC GRAVITIES, ETC. 
 
 Relation between Specific Gravities, and Degrees of Baumi's Hydrometer 
 for Liquids heavier than Water. 
 
 Sp. Gr. 
 
 Baomi 
 
 Sp. Gr. 
 
 1.152 
 
 Baumfi. 
 
 = 19 
 
 Sp. Gr. 
 
 Baumd. 
 
 Sp. Gv. 
 
 Baum£. 
 
 1.000 
 
 = 
 
 1.359 
 
 = 38 
 
 1.656 
 
 = 67 
 
 1.007 
 
 1 
 
 1.161 
 
 20 
 
 1.372 
 
 39 
 
 1.676 
 
 58 
 
 1.014 
 
 2 
 
 1.171 
 
 21 
 
 1.384 
 
 40 
 
 1.696 
 
 69 
 
 1.022 
 
 3 
 
 1.180 
 
 22 
 
 1.398 
 
 41 
 
 1.714 
 
 60 
 
 1.029 
 
 4 
 
 1.190 
 
 23 
 
 1.412 
 
 42 
 
 1.736 
 
 61 
 
 1.036 
 
 6 
 
 1.199 
 
 24 
 
 1,426 
 
 43 
 
 1.768 
 
 62 
 
 1.044 
 
 6 
 
 1.210 
 
 26 
 
 1.440 
 
 44 
 
 1.779 
 
 63 
 
 1.062 
 
 7 
 
 1.221 
 
 26 
 
 1.464 
 
 46 
 
 1.801 
 
 G4 
 
 1.060 
 
 8 
 
 1.231 
 
 27 
 
 1.470 
 
 46 
 
 1.823 
 
 66 
 
 1.067 
 
 9 
 
 1.242 
 
 28 
 
 1.486 
 
 47 
 
 1.847 
 
 66 
 
 1.076 
 
 10 
 
 1.262 
 
 29 
 
 1.501 
 
 48 
 
 1.872 
 
 67 
 
 1.083 
 
 11 
 
 1.264 
 
 30 
 
 1.626 
 
 49 . 
 
 1.897 
 
 68 
 
 1.091 
 
 12 
 
 1.276 
 
 31 
 
 1.532 
 
 60 
 
 1.921 
 
 69 
 
 1.100 
 
 13 
 
 1.286 
 
 32 
 
 1.549 
 
 61 
 
 1.946 
 
 70 
 
 1.108 
 
 14 
 
 1.298 
 
 33 
 
 1.566 
 
 62 
 
 1.974 
 
 71 
 
 1.116 
 
 15 
 
 1.309 
 
 34 
 
 1.683 
 
 63 
 
 2.002 
 
 72 
 
 1.126 
 
 16 
 
 1.321 
 
 36 
 
 1.601 
 
 64 
 
 2.031 
 
 73 
 
 1.134 
 
 17 
 
 1.334 
 
 36 
 
 1.618 
 
 65 
 
 2.069 
 
 74 
 
 1.143 
 
 18 
 
 1.346 
 
 37 
 
 1.637 
 
 66 
 
 2.087 
 
 76 
 
 Relation between Specific Gravities, and Degrees of Baumi's Hydrometer 
 for Liquids lighter than Water. 
 
 Sp. Gr. 
 
 Baum6. 
 
 Sp. Gr. 
 
 Baurn^. 
 
 Sp. Gr. 
 
 Bauin^. 
 
 Sp. Gr. 
 
 Baum£. 
 
 1.000 
 
 = 10 
 
 0.918 
 
 = 23 
 
 0.849 
 
 = 36 
 
 0.789 
 
 = 49 
 
 0.993 
 
 11 
 
 0.913 
 
 24 
 
 0.844 
 
 37 
 
 0.786 
 
 60 
 
 0.986 
 
 12 
 
 0.907 
 
 25 
 
 0.839 
 
 38 
 
 0.781 
 
 61 
 
 0.980 
 
 13 
 
 0.901 
 
 26 
 
 0.834 
 
 39 
 
 0.777 
 
 62 
 
 0.973 
 
 14 
 
 0.896 
 
 27 
 
 0.830 
 
 40 
 
 0.773 
 
 63 
 
 0.967 
 
 16 
 
 0.890 
 
 28 
 
 0.826 
 
 41 
 
 0.768 
 
 64 
 
 0.960 
 
 16 
 
 0.886 
 
 29 
 
 0.820 
 
 42 
 
 0.764 
 
 66 
 
 0.964 
 
 17 
 
 0.880 
 
 30 
 
 0.816 
 
 43 
 
 0.760 
 
 66 
 
 0.948 
 
 18 
 
 0.874 
 
 31 
 
 0.811 
 
 44 
 
 0.767 
 
 67 
 
 0.942 
 
 19 
 
 0.869 
 
 32 
 
 0.807 
 
 46 
 
 0.763 
 
 68 
 
 0.936 
 
 20 
 
 0.864 
 
 33 
 
 0.802 
 
 46 
 
 0.749 
 
 59 
 
 0.930 
 
 21 
 
 0.869 
 
 34 
 
 0.798 
 
 47 
 
 0.746 
 
 60 
 
 0.924 
 
 22 
 
 0.864 
 
 35 
 
 0.794 
 
 48 
 
 
 
1360 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 HYDROMETRIdAL EQUIVALENTS. 
 
 
 100 p&rts 
 
 contain of 
 
 • 
 
 1000 parts 
 
 
 
 
 Per Cent of 
 
 
 Alcohol 
 
 
 contain of 
 
 
 
 
 Alcohol.! 
 
 gp. Op. at 
 
 Sp. Gtr. 
 
 Water. 
 
 Standard 
 
 Sikes. 
 
 Baum^. 
 
 Cartier. 
 
 Sp. Or. 798 
 
 W Fah. 
 
 798. 
 
 
 Alo. Sp. 
 
 
 
 
 by volume. 
 
 
 By Weight. 
 
 Gr. 825. 
 
 
 
 
 Gay 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Xiussac. 
 
 796 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 
 
 46.6 
 
 43.48 
 
 100 
 
 797 
 
 99.5 
 
 .6 
 
 
 
 
 
 99.75 
 
 798 
 
 99 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 46 
 
 43.06 
 
 99.50 
 
 799 
 
 98.67 
 
 1.33 
 
 
 
 
 
 99.25 
 
 800 
 
 98.33 
 
 1.67 
 
 
 
 
 
 99 
 
 801 
 
 98 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 98.76 
 
 802 
 
 97.67 
 
 2.33 
 
 
 
 46 
 
 42.14 
 
 98.50 
 
 803 
 
 97.33 
 
 2.67 
 
 
 
 
 42 
 
 90.28 
 
 804 
 
 97 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 98.15 
 
 806 
 
 96.67 
 
 3.33 
 
 
 
 
 
 98 
 
 806 
 
 96.33 
 
 3.67 
 
 
 
 
 
 97.80 
 
 806.5 
 
 96.17 
 
 3.83 
 
 
 
 44 
 
 41.21 
 
 97.70 
 
 807 
 
 96 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 97.60 
 
 '808 
 
 95.5 
 
 4.5 
 
 
 
 
 41 
 
 97.40 
 
 809 
 
 95 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 97.29 
 
 809.5 
 
 94.89 
 
 5.10 
 
 
 
 
 
 97.10 
 
 810 
 
 94.67 
 
 5.33 
 
 
 
 
 
 97 
 
 811 
 
 94.33 
 
 5.67 
 
 
 
 43 
 
 40.34 
 
 96.75 
 
 812 
 
 94 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 96.60 
 
 813 
 
 93.67 
 
 6.33 
 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 96.25 
 
 814 
 
 93.33 
 
 6.67 
 
 
 
 
 
 96 
 
 815 
 
 93 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 96.76 
 
 816 
 
 92.5 
 
 7.5 
 
 
 
 42 
 
 39.40 
 
 96.50 
 
 817 
 
 92 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 95.26 
 
 818 
 
 91.67 
 
 8.33 
 
 
 
 
 
 95 
 
 818.6 
 
 91.5 
 
 8.5 
 
 
 
 
 39 
 
 94.90 
 
 819 
 
 91.33 
 
 8.67 
 
 V 
 
 
 
 
 94.75 
 
 820 
 
 91 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 94.50 
 
 821 
 
 90.5 
 
 9.6 
 
 
 
 41 
 
 38.46 
 
 94.26 
 
 822 
 
 90 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 94 
 
 823 
 
 89.67 
 
 10.33 
 
 
 
 
 38 
 
 93.76 
 
 824 
 
 89.33 
 
 10.67 
 
 
 
 
 
 93.50 
 
 825 
 
 89 
 
 11 
 
 1000 
 
 63 0. P. 
 
 40 
 
 37.56 
 
 93.26 
 
 826 
 
 88.6 
 
 11.6 
 
 993 
 
 62 
 
 
 
 93 
 
 827 
 
 88 
 
 12 
 
 988.6 
 
 61.6 
 
 
 37 
 
 92.6 
 
 828 
 
 87.67 
 
 12.33 
 
 984 
 
 61 
 
 39.6 
 
 
 92.3 
 
 829 
 
 87.33 
 
 12.67 
 
 979.5 
 
 60.6 
 
 39 
 
 36.63 
 
 92 
 
 830 
 
 87 
 
 13 
 
 975 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 91.7 
 
 831 
 
 86 5 
 
 13.5 
 
 970.6 
 
 69.6 
 
 38.6 
 
 36.17 
 
 91.36 
 
 832 
 
 86 
 
 14 
 
 966 
 
 69 
 
 
 36 
 
 91 
 
 833 
 
 86.67 
 
 14.33 
 
 961.5 
 
 58.3 
 
 
 
 90.66 
 
 834 
 
 86.33 
 
 14.67 
 
 957 
 
 68 
 
 38 
 
 36.72 
 
 90.3 
 
 836 
 
 86 
 
 16 
 
 953 
 
 67.6 
 
 
 
 90 
 
 836 
 
 84,67 
 
 15.33 
 
 949 
 
 67 
 
 37.6 
 
 36.26 
 
 89.7 
 
 837 
 
 84.33 
 
 15.67 
 
 944.6 
 
 56.5 
 
 
 
 89.36 
 
 837.6 
 
 84.25 
 
 16.76 
 
 942.6 
 
 66.3 
 
 
 36 
 
 89.20 
 
ABLES OF Specific Gravities. 
 
 1361 
 
 tp. Or. at 
 
 60° Fah, 
 
 1 
 
 100 parte 
 
 Alcohol 
 
 Sp. Gr. 
 
 796. 
 
 ByW 
 
 contain of 
 Water. 
 
 sight. 
 
 1000 parts 
 contain of 
 Standard 
 Ale. Sp. 
 Gr. 825. 
 
 Sikea. 
 
 Batmrf. 
 
 CarUer. 
 
 Per Cent. eC 
 
 AlcohoL 
 
 Sp. Or. 796 
 
 by Tolume. 
 
 Gay 
 
 Lnssao. 
 
 838 
 
 84 
 
 16 
 
 940 
 
 66 0. P. 
 
 
 
 89 
 
 839 
 
 83.5 
 
 16.5 
 
 936 
 
 55.6 
 
 37 
 
 34.80 
 
 88.76 
 
 840 
 
 83 
 
 17 
 
 932 
 
 66 
 
 
 
 88.5 
 
 841 
 
 82.67 
 
 17.33 
 
 928 
 
 64.5 
 
 36.6 
 
 
 88.26 
 
 842 
 
 82.33 
 
 17.67 
 
 924 
 
 64 
 
 
 34.94 
 
 88 
 
 843 
 
 82 
 
 18 
 
 920 
 
 63.6 
 
 
 34 
 
 87.66 
 
 844 
 
 81.67 
 
 18.33 
 
 916 
 
 63 
 
 36 
 
 33.88 
 
 87.3 
 
 845 
 
 81.33 
 
 18.67 
 
 912 
 
 62.5 
 
 
 
 87 
 
 846 
 
 81 
 
 19 
 
 908 
 
 62 
 
 
 
 86.7 
 
 847 
 
 80.5 
 
 19.5 
 
 903 
 
 51 
 
 36.6 
 
 33.42 
 
 86.36 
 
 848 
 
 80, 
 
 20 
 
 898 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 86 
 
 849 
 
 ' 79.67 
 
 20.33 
 
 893 
 
 49.5 
 
 
 
 86.66 
 
 850 
 
 79.33 
 
 20.67 
 
 888 
 
 49 
 
 35 
 
 33 
 
 86.3 
 
 851 
 
 79 
 
 21 
 
 883 
 
 48.5 
 
 
 
 85 
 
 852 
 
 78.5 
 
 21.6 
 
 878 
 
 48 
 
 34.6 
 
 32.43 
 
 84.7 
 
 853 
 
 78 
 
 22 . 
 
 873 
 
 47.5 
 
 
 
 84.36 
 
 854 
 
 77.5 
 
 22.5 
 
 868 
 
 47 
 
 
 
 84 
 
 865 
 
 77 
 
 23 
 
 862.5 
 
 46.6 
 
 34 
 
 32.04 
 
 83.66 
 
 856 
 
 76.5 
 
 23.5 
 
 867 
 
 46 
 
 
 
 83.3 i: 
 
 857 
 
 76 
 
 24 
 
 853 
 
 45.5 
 
 33.5 
 
 31.68 
 
 83 
 
 858 
 
 75.67 
 
 24.33 
 
 849 
 
 45 
 
 
 
 82.7 
 
 859 
 
 75.33 
 
 24.67 
 
 844.6 
 
 45 
 
 
 
 82.36 
 
 860 
 
 75 
 
 26 • 
 
 840 
 
 45 
 
 33 
 
 31.13 
 
 82 
 
 861 
 
 74.67 
 
 25.33 
 
 836.6 
 
 44.5 
 
 
 31 
 
 81.7 
 
 862 
 
 74.33 
 
 26.67 
 
 833 
 
 44 
 
 
 
 81.3 
 
 862.5 
 
 74.16 
 
 26.84 
 
 830.6 
 
 43.76 
 
 32.6 
 
 30.76 
 
 81 
 
 363 
 
 74 
 
 26 
 
 828 
 
 43.5 
 
 
 
 80.8 
 
 864 
 
 73.5 
 
 26.5 
 
 823 
 
 43 
 
 
 
 80.3 
 
 865 
 
 73 
 
 27 
 
 818 
 
 42.6 
 
 32 
 
 30.21 
 
 79.96 
 
 866 
 
 72.5 
 
 27.6 
 
 813 
 
 42 
 
 
 
 79.6 
 
 867 
 
 72 
 
 28 
 
 810 
 
 41 
 
 
 
 79.3 
 
 867.5 
 
 71.83 
 
 28.17 
 
 808.6 
 
 40.5 
 
 31.6 
 
 29.78 
 
 79.18 
 
 868 
 
 71.67 
 
 28.33 
 
 807 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 79 
 
 869 
 
 71.33 
 
 2867 
 
 802.6 
 
 39.5 
 
 
 
 78.66 
 
 870 
 
 71 
 
 29 
 
 798 
 
 39 
 
 31 
 
 29.29 
 
 78.3 
 
 871 
 
 70.5 
 
 29.6 
 
 792.6 
 
 38.5 
 
 
 
 78 
 
 872 
 
 70 
 
 30 
 
 787 
 
 38 
 
 
 29 
 
 77.7 
 
 873 
 
 69.5 
 
 30.5 ' 
 
 781.6 
 
 37 
 
 30.6 
 
 28.83 
 
 77.36 
 
 874 
 
 69 
 
 31 
 
 776 
 
 36 
 
 
 
 77 
 
 875 
 
 68.67 
 
 31.33 
 
 772 
 
 35 
 
 
 
 76.6 
 
 876 
 
 68.33 
 
 31.67 
 
 768 
 
 34 
 
 SO 
 
 28.38 
 
 76 
 
 877 
 
 68 
 
 32 
 
 762.6 
 
 33 
 
 
 
 76.66 
 
 877.5 
 
 67.75 
 
 32.25 
 
 759.25 
 
 32.5 
 
 
 28 
 
 76.6 
 
 878 
 
 67.6 
 
 32.6 
 
 ,757 
 
 32 
 
 
 
 76.3 
 
 878.6 
 
 67.26 
 
 32.76 
 
 753.75 
 
 31.6 
 
 29.6 
 
 27.91 
 
 76 
 
 879 
 
 67 
 
 33 
 
 751.5 
 
 31 
 
 
 
 74.8 
 
 880 
 
 66.5 
 
 33.6 
 
 746 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 74.3 
 
 881 
 
 66 
 
 86 
 
 34 
 
 742 
 
 29.fi 
 
 29 
 
 27.44 
 
 74 
 
Appendix. 
 
 te. Qr. at 
 •S^Fali. 
 
 100 parts contain of 
 Alcohol 1 
 Sp. fir. Water. 
 796. 1 
 By Weight. 
 
 1000 parts 
 contain of 
 Standard 
 Ale. Sp. 
 Gr. 825. 
 
 Sikee. 
 
 Baumi. 
 
 Cartler. 
 
 I- 
 
 Per Cent, of 
 
 Alcohol. 
 
 gpi Qr. 79S 
 
 by volume. 
 
 Gay 
 
 Lussai!. 
 
 882 
 
 65.5 
 
 34.6 
 
 738 
 
 29 0. P. 
 
 
 
 73.7 
 
 883 
 
 65 
 
 35 
 
 733.5 
 
 28.6 
 
 
 27 
 
 73.35 
 
 883.5 
 
 64.83 
 
 36.17 
 
 731.26 
 
 28.26 
 
 28.6 
 
 26.99 
 
 73.17 
 
 884 
 
 64.67 
 
 36.33 
 
 729 
 
 28 
 
 
 
 73 
 
 885 
 
 64.33 
 
 35.67 
 
 724 
 
 27.6 
 
 
 
 72.5 
 
 886 
 
 64 
 
 36 
 
 719 
 
 •27 
 
 28 
 
 26.63 
 
 72 
 
 887 
 
 63.67 
 
 36.33 
 
 714 
 
 26 
 
 
 
 71.6 
 
 888 
 
 63.33 
 
 36.67 
 
 709 
 
 26 
 
 
 
 71 
 
 889 
 
 63 
 
 37 
 
 704 
 
 24.6 
 
 27.6 
 
 26.07 
 
 70.66 
 
 890 
 
 62.5 
 
 37.6 
 
 699 
 
 24 
 
 
 
 70.3 
 
 891 
 
 62 
 
 38 
 
 694 
 
 23 
 
 
 
 69.8 
 
 892 
 
 61.5 
 
 38.5 
 
 689 
 
 22 
 
 87 
 
 26.61 
 
 69.3 
 
 893 
 
 61 
 
 39 
 
 644.6 
 
 21 
 
 
 
 69 
 
 894 
 
 60.67 
 
 39.33 
 
 680 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 68.7 
 
 895 
 
 60.33 
 
 39.67 
 
 675.6 
 
 19.6 
 
 
 
 68.36 
 
 895.5 
 
 60.16 
 
 39.84 
 
 673.26 
 
 19.26 
 
 26.5 
 
 26.16 
 
 68.17 
 
 896 
 
 60 
 
 40 
 
 671 
 
 19 
 
 
 26 
 
 68 
 
 897 
 
 59.6 
 
 40.5 
 
 666.6 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 67.66 
 
 898 
 
 59 
 
 41 
 
 662 
 
 17 
 
 26 
 
 24.69 
 
 67.3 
 
 899 
 
 58.5 
 
 41.5 
 
 656.5 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 67 
 
 900 
 
 58 
 
 42 
 
 649 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 66.7 
 
 900.5 
 
 67.76 
 
 42.25 
 
 647 
 
 14.76 
 
 26.6 
 
 24.23 
 
 66.52 
 
 901 
 
 57.5 
 
 42.5 
 
 645 
 
 14.6 
 
 
 
 66.36 
 
 901.5 
 
 57.25 
 
 42.75 
 
 643 
 
 14.26 
 
 
 24 
 
 66.17 
 
 902 
 
 67 
 
 43 
 
 641 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 66 
 
 903 
 
 56.5 
 
 43.6 
 
 636 
 
 13 
 
 25 
 
 23.77 
 
 66.6 
 
 904 
 
 66 
 
 44 
 
 631 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 65 
 
 905 
 
 55.5 
 
 44.6 
 
 626 
 
 11.6 
 
 
 
 64.6 
 
 906 
 
 56 
 
 46 
 
 621 
 
 11 
 
 24.6 
 
 23.31 
 
 64 
 
 907 
 
 54.6 
 
 45.6 
 
 616.6 
 
 10.5 
 
 
 
 63.6t) 
 
 908 
 
 54 
 
 46 
 
 612 
 
 10 
 
 
 23 
 
 63.3 
 
 909 
 
 53.6 
 
 46.6 
 
 607 
 
 9 
 
 24 
 
 22.86 
 
 62.66 
 
 910 
 
 53 
 
 47 
 
 602 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 62.3 
 
 911 
 
 62.6 
 
 47.6 
 
 696.6 
 
 7.6 
 
 
 
 61.9 
 
 912 
 
 52 
 
 48 
 
 591 
 
 7 
 
 23.6 
 
 22.39 
 
 61.6 
 
 913 
 
 61.67 
 
 48.33 
 
 686 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 61 
 
 914 
 
 61.33 
 
 48.67 
 
 681 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 60.6 
 
 915 
 
 61.5 
 
 49 
 
 576 
 
 4 
 
 28 
 
 21.94 
 
 60 
 
 916 
 
 50.6 
 
 49.5 
 
 571 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 59.6 
 
 917 
 
 60 
 
 50 
 
 660.5 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 59.3 
 
 918 
 
 49.67 
 
 50.33 
 
 562 
 
 1 
 
 22.6 
 
 21.48 
 
 59 
 
 919 
 
 49.33 
 
 60.67 
 
 654 
 
 .6 
 
 
 
 58.6 
 
 920 
 
 49 
 
 61 
 
 550 
 
 Proof 
 
 
 
 68 
 
 921 
 
 48.5 
 
 61.5 
 
 646 
 
 lU. P. 
 
 22 
 
 21.02 
 
 67.6 
 
 922 
 
 48 
 
 62 
 
 540 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 67 
 
 923 
 
 47.5 
 
 52.6 
 
 636.6 
 
 3 
 
 21.6 
 
 20.66 
 
 66.6 
 
 924 
 
 47 
 
 63 
 
 631 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 56 
 
 9S6 
 
 46.6 
 
 53.6 
 
 626 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 65.6 
 
Tables of Spbcific Gravities. 
 
 1363 
 
 Sp^OrrBt 
 aO° Faihv 
 
 ' 100 parts 
 Alcohol 
 Sp. Gr. 
 
 ■ 796. 
 Bj'W 
 
 contain of 
 
 Water, 
 sight. 
 
 1000 parts 
 
 contain of 
 
 ' Standard 
 
 Ale. Sp. 
 
 Gr. 825. 
 
 Sikes. 
 
 Baumt. 
 
 Cartier. 
 
 Percent. s( 
 
 Sp. at. T9S 
 
 ^Tolnmai 
 
 Gay 
 
 Lusaao. 
 
 926 
 
 46 
 
 64 
 
 521 
 
 6 U. P. 
 
 21 
 
 20.10 
 
 66 
 
 927 
 
 46.5 
 
 64.5 
 
 515.6 
 
 6.6 
 
 
 
 54.5 
 
 928 
 
 45 
 
 56 
 
 510 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 64 
 
 929 
 
 44.5 
 
 65.5 
 
 605 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 63.6 
 
 929.6 
 
 44.25 
 
 55.75 
 
 602.6 
 
 8.6 
 
 20.6 
 
 19.64 
 
 53.26 
 
 930 
 
 44 
 
 56 
 
 600 
 
 . 9 
 
 
 
 63 
 
 931 
 
 43.67 
 
 66.33 
 
 495.6 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 62.6 
 
 932 
 
 43.33 
 
 66.67 
 
 489 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 62 
 
 933 
 
 43 
 
 57 
 
 484 
 
 12 
 
 20 
 
 19.18 
 
 61.6 
 
 934 
 
 42.5 
 
 57.6 
 
 479 
 
 13 
 
 
 19 
 
 61 
 
 936 
 
 42 
 
 58 
 
 472.6 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 60.6 
 
 936 
 
 41.5 
 
 58.5 
 
 468 
 
 16 
 
 19.6 
 
 18.72 
 
 60 
 
 937 
 
 41 
 
 59 
 
 462 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 49.6 
 
 938 
 
 40.6 
 
 59.6 
 
 466 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 49 
 
 939 
 
 40 
 
 60 
 
 460 
 
 18 
 
 19 
 
 18.26 
 
 48.6 
 
 940 
 
 39.5 
 
 60.6 
 
 444 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 48 
 
 940.5 
 
 39.26 
 
 60.75 
 
 441 
 
 19.6 
 
 
 18 
 
 47.63 
 
 941 
 
 39 
 
 61 
 
 438 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 47.26 
 
 942 
 
 38.6 
 
 61.6 
 
 432 
 
 21 
 
 18.6 
 
 17.80 
 
 46.6 
 
 943 
 
 38 
 
 62 
 
 426.6 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 46.5 
 
 944 
 
 37.6 
 
 62.6 
 
 421 
 
 23 
 
 
 
 45 
 
 946 
 
 37 
 
 63 
 
 416. 
 
 23.6 
 
 18 
 
 17.36 
 
 44.76 
 
 946 
 
 36.6 
 
 63.6 
 
 411 
 
 24 
 
 
 
 44 
 
 947 
 
 36 
 
 64 
 
 399 
 
 26 
 
 
 17 
 
 43.6 
 
 948 
 
 35.5 
 
 64.6 
 
 397 
 
 26 
 
 17.6 
 
 16.89 
 
 43 
 
 949 
 
 36 
 
 65 
 
 389.6 
 
 27 
 
 
 
 42.26 
 
 960 
 
 34.5 
 
 65.6 
 
 382 
 
 28 
 
 
 
 41.6 
 
 961 
 
 34 
 
 66 
 
 376 
 
 29.6 
 
 17 
 
 16.43 
 
 40 
 
 962 
 
 33.5 
 
 66.5 
 
 370 
 
 31 
 
 
 
 40.6 
 
 953 
 
 33 
 
 67 
 
 364 
 
 32.6 
 
 
 
 39.76 
 
 954 
 
 32.5 
 
 67.6 
 
 368 
 
 34 
 
 
 
 39 
 
 965 
 
 32 
 
 68 
 
 352 
 
 35 
 
 16.6 
 
 16.3 
 
 38.6 
 
 966 
 
 31.6 
 
 68.5 
 
 346 
 
 36 
 
 
 16 
 
 38 
 
 957 
 
 31 
 
 69 
 
 339.5 
 
 37.£ 
 
 
 
 37.26 
 
 968 
 
 30 
 
 70 
 
 333 
 
 39 
 
 
 
 36.6 
 
 959 
 
 29.6 
 
 70.6 
 
 32r4 
 
 40.6 
 
 16 
 
 16.61 
 
 36.76 
 
 960 
 
 29 
 
 71 
 
 316 
 
 42 
 
 
 
 36 
 
 961 
 
 28.5 
 
 71.5 
 
 307.5 
 
 43.6 
 
 
 
 34.6 
 
 962 
 
 28 
 
 72 
 
 300 
 
 45 
 
 16.6 
 
 16 
 
 34 
 
 963 
 
 27 
 
 73 
 
 292.6 
 
 46.6 
 
 
 
 33 
 
 964 
 
 26.5 
 
 73.6 
 
 286 
 
 48 
 
 
 
 32 
 
 966 
 
 26 
 
 74 
 
 277.6 
 
 49.6 
 
 16 
 
 14.69 
 
 31 
 
 fl66 
 
 25.5 
 
 74.6 
 
 270 
 
 61 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 967 
 
 25 
 
 76 
 
 261.6 
 
 62.6 
 
 
 
 29 
 
 968 
 
 24 
 
 76 
 
 263 
 
 64 
 
 
 
 28 
 
 968.6 
 
 23.76 
 
 76.26 
 
 
 
 14.6 
 
 14.13 
 
 27.6 
 
 969 
 
 23.6 
 
 76.6 
 
 244.6 
 
 66.6 
 
 
 
 27 
 
 970 
 
 23 
 
 77 
 
 236 
 
 67 
 
 
 
 26 
 
1364 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 8b. at. at 
 MO Ml. 
 
 lOOpartd 
 
 Alcohol 
 
 8p. Qt. 
 
 J96 
 
 ByW 
 
 contain of 
 Water. 
 Bight. 
 
 1000 parte 
 
 contain of 
 
 Standard 
 
 Ale, Sp. 
 
 Gr. 885. 
 
 Sikea. 
 
 Baumi 
 
 OarUer. 
 
 Per oenb of 
 
 AIcohoL 
 
 Sp. Gr. TM 
 
 byTolniM, 
 
 Qay 
 
 Lnasui 
 
 971 
 
 22.5 
 
 77.6 
 
 227 
 
 58.6U.P. 
 
 
 
 26 
 
 972 
 
 22 
 
 78 
 
 218 
 
 60 
 
 14 
 
 13.67 
 
 24 
 
 973 
 
 21 
 
 79 
 
 209 
 
 62 
 
 
 
 23 
 
 974 
 
 20 
 
 80 
 
 200 
 
 64 
 
 
 
 22 
 
 976 
 
 19 
 
 81 
 
 195 
 
 66 
 
 13.6 
 
 13.21 
 
 21 
 
 976 
 
 18.5 
 
 81.6 
 
 190.5 
 
 68 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 977 
 
 18 
 
 82 
 
 183.6 
 
 70 
 
 
 
 19 
 
 978 
 
 17 
 
 83 
 
 175 
 
 72 
 
 13 
 
 12.76 
 
 18 
 
 979 
 
 16 
 
 84 
 
 163 
 
 73.6 
 
 
 
 17 
 
 980 
 
 15.6 
 
 84.5 
 
 160 
 
 76 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 981 
 
 16 
 
 86 
 
 143 
 
 76 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 982 
 
 14 
 
 86 
 
 136 
 
 77 
 
 12.6 
 
 12.30 
 
 14 
 
 983 
 
 13.5 
 
 86.5 
 
 128 
 
 78.6 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 984 
 
 13 
 
 87 
 
 120 
 
 80 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 985 
 
 12.5 
 
 87.6 
 
 112 
 
 81 
 
 
 
 11.25 
 
 986 
 
 12 
 
 88 
 
 106 
 
 82 
 
 12 
 
 11.84 
 
 10.6 
 
 987 
 
 11 
 
 ' 89 
 
 98 
 
 83.6 
 
 • 
 
 
 9.76 
 
 988 
 
 10 
 
 90 
 
 90 
 
 86 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 989 
 
 9 
 
 91 
 
 82 
 
 87 
 
 11.6 
 
 11.38 
 
 8 
 
 990 
 
 8 
 
 92 
 
 76 
 
 89 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 991 
 
 7 
 
 93 
 
 67.5 
 
 90.6 
 
 
 
 6.6 
 
 992 
 
 6 
 
 94 
 
 60 
 
 92 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 993 
 
 6.6 
 
 94.5 
 
 52.5 
 
 93.6 
 
 11 
 
 10.92 
 
 6 
 
 994 
 
 6 
 
 96 
 
 46 
 
 96 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 995 
 
 4 
 
 96 
 
 37.6 
 
 95.6 
 
 
 
 3.6 
 
 996 
 
 3.6 
 
 96.5 
 
 30 
 
 96 
 
 10.6 
 
 10.46 
 
 3 
 
 997 
 
 3 
 
 97 
 
 22.5 
 
 97 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 998 
 
 2 
 
 98 
 
 16 
 
 98 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 999 
 
 1 
 
 99 
 
 7.6 
 
 99 
 
 
 
 .5 
 
 1000 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 Table of the QuatUUyofLiquidMuriaticAcidofsp.gr. UZ, of Muriatic Aoid 
 Qas, and of Chlorine, in lOO parts of Liquid Acid of different densities. 
 
 Sp. Or. 
 
 Liquid 
 
 Add of 
 
 Sp. gr. l.S. 
 
 Acid Gas. 
 
 Chlorine. 
 
 Sp. Gr. ■ 
 
 1.1102 
 
 Liquid 
 
 Acid of 
 
 Sp. gr. 1.2. 
 
 Acid Gas. 
 
 Chlorine. 
 
 1.2000 
 
 100 
 
 40.777 
 
 39.676 
 
 66 
 
 21.822 
 
 22.426 
 
 1.1910 
 
 95 
 
 38.738 
 
 37.692 
 
 1.1000 
 
 50 
 
 20.388 
 
 19.837 
 
 1.1822 
 
 90 
 
 36.700 
 
 35.707 
 
 1.0899 
 
 46 
 
 88.348 
 
 17.864 
 
 1.1721 
 
 86 
 
 34.660 
 
 33.724 
 
 1.0798 
 
 40 
 
 16.310 
 
 15.870 
 
 1.1701, 
 
 84 
 
 34.252 
 
 33.328 
 
 1.0697 
 
 35 
 
 14.271 
 
 13.887 
 
 1.1620 
 
 80 
 
 32.621 
 
 31.746 
 
 1.0697 
 
 30 
 
 12.233 
 
 11.903 
 
 1.1599 
 
 79 
 
 32.913 
 
 31.343 
 
 1.0497 
 
 25 
 
 10.194 
 
 9.919 
 
 1.1616 
 
 76 
 
 30.682 
 
 29.757 
 
 1.0397 
 
 20 
 
 8.165 
 
 7.936 
 
 1.1410 
 
 70 
 
 28.544 
 
 27.772 
 
 1.0298 
 
 16 
 
 6.116 
 
 6.961 
 
 1.1308 
 
 66 
 
 26.604 
 
 26.789 
 
 1.0200 
 
 10 
 
 4.078 
 
 3.968 
 
 1.1206. 
 
 60 
 
 24.466 
 
 23.806 
 
 1.0100 
 
 6 
 
 2.039 
 
 1.984 
 
Tables op Specific Gravities. 
 
 1365 
 
 of Anhydrous and of Liquid Sulphuric Acid contained in 
 Mixtures of Oil of Vitriol and Water at different Denniiies. ( Vre.) 
 
 
 Liq. Acid 
 
 
 
 
 
 Specific 
 
 Sp. Gr. 
 
 Dry Acid in 
 
 Specific 
 
 Uq. Acid 
 
 Dry Add in 
 
 GraTity. 
 
 1.8485 
 in 100. 
 
 100 
 
 Gravity. 
 
 in 100. 
 
 100. 
 
 1.8485 
 
 100 
 
 81.54 
 
 1.3884 
 
 50 
 
 40.77 
 
 1.8475 
 
 99 
 
 80.72 
 
 1.3788 
 
 49 
 
 39.96 
 
 1.8460 
 
 98 
 
 79.90 
 
 1.3697 
 
 48 
 
 39.14 
 
 1.8439 
 
 97 
 
 79.09 
 
 1.3612 
 
 47 
 
 38.32 
 
 1.8410 
 
 96 
 
 78.28 
 
 1.3530 
 
 46 
 
 37.51 
 
 1.8376 
 
 95 
 
 77.46 
 
 1.3440 
 
 45 
 
 36.69 
 
 1.8336 
 
 94 
 
 76.65 
 
 1.3345 
 
 44 
 
 35.88 
 
 1.8290 
 
 93 
 
 75.83 
 
 1.3255 
 
 43 
 
 35.06 
 
 1.8233 
 
 92 
 
 75.02 . 
 
 1.3165 
 
 42 
 
 34.26 
 
 1.8179 
 
 91 
 
 74.20 
 
 1.3080 
 
 41 
 
 33.43 
 
 1.8115 
 
 90 
 
 73.39 
 
 1.2999 
 
 40 
 
 32.61 
 
 1.8043 
 
 89 
 
 72.57 
 
 1.2913 ■ 
 
 39 
 
 31.80 
 
 1.7962 
 
 88 
 
 71.75 
 
 1.2826 
 
 38 
 
 30.98 
 
 l.'r870 
 
 87 
 
 70.94 
 
 1.2740 
 
 37 
 
 30.17 
 
 1.7774 
 
 86 
 
 70.12 
 
 1.2654 
 
 36 
 
 29.36 
 
 1.7673 
 
 85 
 
 69.31 
 
 1.2572 
 
 35 
 
 28.54 
 
 1.7570 
 
 84 
 
 68.49 
 
 1.2490 
 
 34 
 
 27.72 
 
 1.7465 
 
 83 
 
 67.68 
 
 1.2409 
 
 33 
 
 26.91 
 
 1.7360 
 
 82 
 
 66.86 
 
 1.2334 
 
 32 
 
 26.09 
 
 1.7245 
 
 81 
 
 66.05 
 
 1.2260 
 
 31 
 
 25.28 
 
 1.7100 
 
 80 
 
 65.23 
 
 1.2184 
 
 30 
 
 24.46 
 
 1.6993 
 
 79 
 
 64.42 
 
 1.2108 
 
 29 
 
 23.66 
 
 1.6870 
 
 78 
 
 63.60 
 
 1.2032 
 
 28 
 
 22.83 
 
 1.6750 
 
 77 
 
 62.78 
 
 1.1956 
 
 27 
 
 22.01 
 
 1.6630 
 
 76 
 
 61.97 
 
 1.1876 
 
 26 
 
 21.20 
 
 1.6520 
 
 75 
 
 61.15 
 
 1.1792 
 
 25 
 
 20.38 
 
 1.6415 
 
 74 
 
 60.34 
 
 1.1706 
 
 24 
 
 19.67 
 
 1.6321 
 
 73 
 
 59.52 
 
 1.1626 
 
 23 
 
 18.75 
 
 1.6204 
 
 72' 
 
 58.71 
 
 1.1549 
 
 22 
 
 17.94 
 
 1.6090 
 
 71 
 
 57.89 
 
 1.1480 
 
 21 
 
 17.12 
 
 1.5975 
 
 70 
 
 57.08 
 
 1.1410 
 
 20 
 
 16.31 
 
 1.5868 
 
 69 
 
 56.26 
 
 1.1330 
 
 19 
 
 15.49 
 
 1.5760 
 
 68 
 
 55.45 
 
 1.1246 
 
 18 
 
 14.68 
 
 1.5648 
 
 67 
 
 54.63 
 
 1.1165 
 
 17 
 
 13.86 
 
 V 1.5503 
 
 66 
 
 53.82 
 
 1.1090 - 
 
 16 
 
 13.05 
 
 1.5390 
 
 65 
 
 53.00 
 
 1.1019 
 
 15 
 
 12.23 
 
 L5280 
 
 64 
 
 52.18 
 
 1.0953 
 
 14 
 
 11.41 
 
 1.5170 
 
 63 
 
 51.37 
 
 1.0887 
 
 13 
 
 10.60 
 
 1.5066 
 
 62 
 
 50.55 
 
 1.0809 
 
 12 
 
 9.78 
 
 1.4960 
 
 61 
 
 49.74 
 
 1.0743 
 
 11 
 
 8.97 
 
 1.4860 
 
 60 
 
 48.92 
 
 1.0682 
 
 10 
 
 8.16 
 
 1.4760 
 
 59 
 
 48.11 
 
 1.0614 
 
 9 
 
 7.34 
 
 1.4660 
 
 58 
 
 47.29 
 
 1.0544 
 
 8 
 
 6.52 
 
 ■ 1.4560 
 
 57, 
 
 46.48 
 
 1.0477 
 
 7 
 
 5.71 
 
 1.4460 
 
 56 
 
 45.66 
 
 1.0405 
 
 6 
 
 4.89 
 
 1.4360 
 
 55 
 
 44.85 
 
 1.0336 
 
 5 
 
 4.08 
 
 1.4265 
 
 54 
 
 44.03 
 
 1.0268 
 
 4 
 
 3.26 
 
 '1.4170 
 
 53 
 
 4&.22 
 
 1.0206 
 
 3 
 
 2.446 
 
 1.4073 
 
 52 
 
 42.40 
 
 1.0140 
 
 2 
 
 1.63 
 
 1.3977 
 
 51 
 
 41.58 
 
 1.0074 
 
 1 
 
 0.8164 
 
1366 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 Quantities of Anhydrous and of Liquid Nitric Acid contained m i&K 
 tures of Nitric Acid and Water at different Densities. {Ure.^ 
 
 
 Uq. ArM 
 
 
 
 
 
 Specific 
 
 Sp. Gr. 
 
 Dry Acid in 
 
 Specific 
 
 Liq. Acid 
 
 Dry Acid in 
 
 GraTity. 
 
 l.S in 
 
 100. 
 
 100. 
 
 Gravity. 
 
 in 100. 
 
 100. 
 
 1.5000 
 
 100 
 
 79.700 
 
 1.2947 
 
 50 
 
 39.850 
 
 1.4980 
 
 99 
 
 78.903 
 
 1.2887 
 
 49 
 
 39.053 
 
 1.4960 
 
 98 
 
 78.106 
 
 1.2826 
 
 48 
 
 38.256 
 
 1.4940 
 
 97 
 
 77.309 
 
 1.2765 
 
 47 
 
 37.459 
 
 1.4910 
 
 96 
 
 76.512 
 
 1.2705 
 
 46 
 
 36.662 
 
 1.4880 
 
 95 
 
 75.715 
 
 1.2644 
 
 45 
 
 35.865 
 
 1.4850 
 
 94 
 
 74.918 
 
 1.2583 
 
 44 
 
 35.068 
 
 1.4820 
 
 93 
 
 74.121 
 
 1.2523 
 
 43 
 
 34.271 
 
 14790 
 
 92 
 
 73.324 
 
 1.2462 
 
 42 
 
 33.474 
 
 1.4760 
 
 91 
 
 72.527 
 
 1.2402 
 
 41 
 
 32.677 
 
 1.4730 
 
 90 
 
 71.730 
 
 ! 1.2341 
 
 40 
 
 31.880 
 
 1.4700 
 
 89 
 
 . 70.933 
 
 1.2277 
 
 39 
 
 31.083 
 
 1.4670 
 
 88 
 
 70.136 
 
 1.2212 
 
 38 
 
 30.286 
 
 1.4640 
 
 87 
 
 69.339 
 
 1.2148 
 
 37 
 
 29.489 
 
 1.4600 
 
 86 
 
 68.542 
 
 1.2084 
 
 36 
 
 28.692 
 
 1.4570 
 
 85 
 
 67.745 
 
 1.2019 
 
 35 
 
 27.895 
 
 1.4530 
 
 84 
 
 66.948 
 
 1.1958 
 
 34 
 
 27.098 
 
 1.4500 
 
 83 
 
 66.135 
 
 1.1895 
 
 33 
 
 26.301 
 
 1.4460 
 
 82 
 
 65.354 
 
 1.1833 
 
 32 
 
 25.504 
 
 1.4424 
 
 81 
 
 64.557 
 
 1.1770 
 
 31 
 
 24.707 
 
 1.4385 
 
 80 
 
 63.760 
 
 1.1709 
 
 30 
 
 23.900 
 
 1.4346 
 
 79 
 
 62.963 
 
 , 1.1648 
 
 29 
 
 23.113 
 
 1.4306 
 
 78 
 
 62.166 
 
 1.1587 
 
 28 
 
 22.316 
 
 1.4269 
 
 77 
 
 61.369 
 
 1.1426 
 
 27 
 
 21.519 
 
 1.4228 
 
 76 
 
 60-572 
 
 1.1465 
 
 26 
 
 20.722 
 
 1.4189 
 
 75 
 
 59.775 
 
 1.1403 
 
 25 
 
 19.925 
 
 1.4147 
 
 74 
 
 58.978 
 
 • 1.1345 
 
 24 
 
 19.128 
 
 1.4107 
 
 73 
 
 58.181 
 
 1.1286 
 
 23 
 
 18.331 
 
 1.4065 
 
 72 
 
 57.384 
 
 1.1227 
 
 22 
 
 17.534 
 
 1.4023 
 
 71 
 
 56.587 
 
 1.1168 
 
 21 
 
 16.737 
 
 . 1.3978 
 
 70 
 
 55.790 
 
 1.1109 
 
 20 
 
 15.940 
 
 1.3945 
 
 69 
 
 54.993 
 
 1.1051 
 
 19 
 
 15.143 
 
 1.3882 
 
 68 
 
 54.196 
 
 1.0993 
 
 18 
 
 14.346 
 
 1.3833 
 
 67 
 
 53.399 
 
 1.0935 
 
 17 
 
 13.549 
 
 1.3783 
 
 66 
 
 52.602 
 
 1.0878 
 
 16 
 
 12.752 
 
 1.3732 
 
 65 
 
 51.805 
 
 1.0821 
 
 15 
 
 11.955 
 
 1.3681 
 
 64 
 
 51.068 
 
 1.0764 
 
 14 
 
 11.158 
 
 1.3630 
 
 63 
 
 50.211 
 
 1 1.0708 
 
 13 
 
 10.361 
 
 1.3579 
 
 62 
 
 49.414 
 
 1.0651 
 
 12 
 
 9.564 
 
 1.3529 
 
 61 
 
 48.617 
 
 1.0595 
 
 11 
 
 8.767 
 
 1,3477 
 
 60 
 
 47.820 
 
 1 1.0540 
 
 10 
 
 7.970 
 
 1.3427 
 
 59 
 
 47.023 
 
 ' 1.0485 
 
 9 
 
 7.173 
 
 1.3376 
 
 58 
 
 46.226 
 
 1.0430 
 
 8 
 
 6.376 
 
 1.3323 
 
 57 
 
 45.429 
 
 1.0375 
 
 7 
 
 5.579 
 
 1.3270 
 
 56 
 
 44.632 
 
 1.0320 
 
 6 
 
 4.782 
 
 1.3216 
 
 55 
 
 43.835 
 
 1.0267 
 
 5 
 
 3.985 
 
 1.3163 
 
 54 
 
 43.038 
 
 1.0212 
 
 4 
 
 3.188 
 
 1.3110 
 
 53 
 
 42.241 
 
 1.0159 
 
 3 
 
 2.391 
 
 L3056 
 
 52 
 
 41.444 
 
 1.0106 
 
 2 
 
 1.594 
 
 L3001 
 
 51 
 
 40.647 
 
 1 
 
 1.0053 
 
 1 
 
 0.797 
 
Tables of Specific Gkaviiies. 
 
 1367 
 
 Vtdue and Atomic Composition of Hydrochloric Acid at D^erent 
 
 D AVT. 
 
 THOMSON. 
 
 (Temp. 40° Bar. 30.) j 
 
 , 
 
 - 
 
 
 Speeiflc Qiavity. 
 
 100 grains contain of 
 Hydroc. Acid Gaa. 
 
 Spedflo GraTity. 
 
 Real Acid in 100 of 
 Liquid. 
 
 AtomB of Wat« 
 to 1 of Add. 
 
 1.21 
 
 42.43 
 
 1.203 
 
 40.66 
 
 6 
 
 1.20 
 
 40.80 
 
 1.179 
 
 37.00 
 
 7 
 
 1.19 
 
 38.38 
 
 1.162 
 
 33.96 
 
 8 
 
 1.18 
 
 36.36 
 
 1.149 
 
 31.36 
 
 9 
 
 1.17 
 
 34.34 
 
 1.139 
 
 29.13 
 
 10 
 
 1.16 
 
 32.32 
 
 1.128 
 
 27.21 
 
 11 
 
 1.16 
 
 30.30 
 
 1.119 
 
 26.62 
 
 12 
 
 1.14 
 
 28.28 
 
 1.112 
 
 24.03 
 
 13 
 
 1.13 
 
 26.26 
 
 1.106 
 
 22.70 
 
 14 
 
 1.12 
 
 24.24 
 
 1.100 
 
 21.61 
 
 16 
 
 1.11 
 
 22.30 
 
 1.096 
 
 20.44 
 
 16 
 
 1.10 
 
 20.20 
 
 1.090 
 
 19.47 
 
 17 
 
 1.09 
 
 18.18 
 
 1.086 
 
 18.69 
 
 18 
 
 1.08 
 
 16.16 
 
 1.082 
 
 17.79 
 
 19 
 
 1.07 
 
 14.14 
 
 1.087 
 
 17.06 
 
 SO 
 
 1.06 
 
 12.12 
 
 
 
 
 1.06 
 
 10.10 
 
 
 
 
 1.04 
 
 8.08 
 
 
 
 
 ^ I.e.'? 
 
 6.06 
 
 
 
 
 1.02 
 
 4.04 
 
 
 
 
 1.01 
 
 2.02 
 
 
 
 
 Spec^ Gravity of 
 
 Aceiic Add at 
 
 different 
 
 degrees of Dilution. 
 
 THOMSON. 
 
 Atoms of 
 Adil. 
 
 Atoms of 
 Water. 
 
 
 
 Spedflo GntTitr 
 at 60". 
 
 1 + 
 
 1 
 
 1 + 
 
 8 
 
 1 + 
 
 3 
 
 1 + 
 
 4 
 
 1 + 
 
 6 
 
 1 + 
 
 6 
 
 1 + 
 
 7 
 
 1 + 
 
 8 
 
 1 + 
 
 9 
 
 1 + 
 
 10 
 
 1.06296 
 1.07060 
 1.07084 
 1.07132 
 1.06820 
 1.06708 
 1.06349 
 1.06974 
 1.06794 
 1.06439 
 
1368 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 
 Ammmda 
 
 in Soltitions 
 
 Strength 
 
 s of Solutixmt of Ammonia 
 
 of diff^ent Specific 
 
 OravUies. 
 
 of different Spec^ic Gravities, and 
 
 
 
 
 their respective boiling pairUs, 
 
 
 DATT. 
 
 
 DALTON. 
 
 
 
 
 Speoiflo 
 
 Grs. of Am- 
 
 Boiling 
 
 Vol.ofGaa 
 
 lOOlpiU'te 
 
 
 of Ammonia. 
 
 Gravity. 
 
 monia in 100 
 
 Point. 
 
 in one ToL 
 
 apedfloarsTU?, 
 
 
 
 
 grs. of liquid. 
 
 
 of liquid. 
 
 8760 
 
 contain 
 
 32.60 
 
 860 
 
 36.3 
 
 26 
 
 494 
 
 8876 
 
 
 29.26 
 
 860 
 
 32.6 
 
 38 
 
 466 
 
 9000 
 
 
 26.00 
 
 870 
 
 29.9 
 
 50 
 
 419 
 
 9064 
 
 
 26.37 
 
 880 
 
 27.3 
 
 62 
 
 382 
 
 9166 
 
 
 22.07 
 
 890 
 
 24.7 
 
 74 
 
 346 
 
 9266 
 
 
 19.64 
 
 900 
 
 22.2 
 
 86 
 
 311 
 
 9326 
 
 
 17.62 
 
 910 
 
 19.8 
 
 98 
 
 277 
 
 9386 
 
 
 16.88 
 
 920 
 
 17.4 
 
 100 
 
 244 
 
 9436 
 
 
 14.63 
 
 930 
 
 16.1 
 
 122 
 
 211 
 
 9476 
 
 
 13.46 
 
 940 
 
 12.8 
 
 134 
 
 180 
 
 9613 
 
 
 12.40 
 
 960 
 
 10.6 
 
 146 
 
 147 
 
 9646 
 
 
 11.66 
 
 960 
 
 8.3 
 
 168 
 
 116 
 
 9673 
 
 
 10.82 
 
 970 
 
 6.2 
 
 173 
 
 87 
 
 9697 
 
 
 10.17 
 
 980 
 
 4.1 
 
 187 
 
 67 
 
 9619 
 
 
 9.60 
 
 990 
 
 2.0 
 
 196 
 
 28 
 
 9612 
 
 
 9.60 
 
 
 
 
 
 Quantity of Anhydrous 
 
 Potassa con- 
 
 Quantities of Anhydrous Soda eon- 
 
 tained in Solutions 
 
 of different 
 
 tained in 
 
 Solutions 
 
 of deferent 
 
 Specific OravUies. 
 
 
 Specific Gravities. 
 
 
 DALTON. 
 
 
 DALTON. 
 
 
 
 ^^ 
 
 Fotaaea 
 
 BolUng poinU 
 
 Specific 
 
 Dry Soda 
 
 BoUlngPolnb 
 
 Qimitj. 
 
 Per cent. 
 
 
 Cfravity. 
 
 per cent. :< 
 
 ,:' :.fi 
 
 1.68 
 
 61.2 
 
 329» 
 
 1.86 
 
 63.6 
 
 600' 
 
 1.60 
 
 46.7 
 
 290 
 
 1.72 
 
 63.8 
 
 400 
 
 1.62 
 
 42.9 
 
 276 
 
 1.63 
 
 46.6 
 
 300 
 
 1.47 
 
 39.6 
 
 266 
 
 1.66 
 
 41.2 
 
 280 
 
 1.44 
 
 . 36.8 
 
 266 
 
 1.60 
 
 36.8 
 
 ■ 266 
 
 1.42 
 
 34.4 
 
 246 
 
 1.47 
 
 34.0 
 
 266 
 
 1.39 
 
 .32.4 
 
 240 
 
 1.44 
 
 31.0 
 
 248 
 
 1.36 
 
 29.4 
 
 234 
 
 1.40 
 
 29.0 
 
 242 
 
 1.33 
 
 26.3 
 
 229 
 
 1.36 
 
 26.0 
 
 236 
 
 1.28 
 
 23.4 
 
 224 
 
 1.32 
 
 23.0 
 
 228 
 
 1.23 
 
 19.6 
 
 220 
 
 1.29 
 
 19.0 
 
 224 
 
 1.19 
 
 16.2 
 
 218 
 
 1.23 
 
 16.0 
 
 230 
 
 1.16 
 
 13.0 
 
 216 
 
 1.18 
 
 13.0 
 
 217 
 
 1.11 
 
 9.6 
 
 214 
 
 1.12 
 
 9.0 
 
 214 
 
 1.06 
 
 4.7 
 
 SIS 
 
 1.06 
 
 4.7 
 
 213 
 
Tables of Specific Gravities. 1369 
 
 SPECIFIC GRAVITIES OF SOME OF THE PREPARATIONS ORDERED IB 
 THE PHARIACOPCEIAS. 
 
 The London Phtirmacopoeia directs the Specific Gravity to be taken at a temperatnn of 6Q** fMte 
 The Edinburgh, Dublin and V. S. Pharmaoopodaa, at W Viia. 
 
 Sp.GT. 
 
 Acetum Destillatum Edin. 1.006 
 
 Dublin 1.005 
 
 Acidum Aceticum London 1.048 
 
 U. S. (1.063 
 ^ to 
 
 Edin. ^1.068 
 
 Dublin 1.074 
 
 Dilutum Dublin 1.005 
 
 Hydrochioriouin London, U. S. 1.160 
 
 Edin. 1.170 
 
 Dublin 1.160 
 
 Dilutum Edin. 1.050 
 
 U. S. 1.046 
 
 '■ — Dublin 1.080 
 
 , Hydrocyanioum Dublin 998 
 
 Nitricum London, U. S. 1.500 
 
 Edin. 1.500 
 
 Dilutum London U. S. 1.080 
 
 Edin. 1.077 
 
 Dublin 1.280 
 
 Phosphoricum Dilutum . . . London 1.064 
 
 Sulphuricum London, U. S. 1.845 
 
 Edin. 1.845 
 
 Dublin 1.845 
 
 Sulphuricum venale Dublin 1.850 
 
 Sulpburicum Dilutum .... London 1.110 
 
 Edin. U. S. 1.090 
 
 Dublin 1.084 
 
 -Either Nitrosus . Dublin 0.900 
 
 Sulphuricus London, U. 8. 0.750 
 
 Edin. 0.735 
 
 Dublin 0.766 
 
 Alcohol London 0.815 
 
 U.S. 0.835 
 
 Edin. 0.796 
 
 Dublin 0.810 
 
 Dilutum U. S. 0.935 
 
 Aqua Destillata L. B. D. 1.000 
 
 Ammoniae Edin. 0.960 
 
 Dublin 0.950 
 
 Acetatis Edin. 1.011 
 
 Dublin 1.011 
 
 AmmoniEB Carbonatis Dublin 1.090 
 
 Barytae Muriatis Dublin 1.230 
 
 Calcis Muriatis Dublin 1.202 
 
 Potass* Edin. 1.072 
 
 Dublin 1.080 
 
 Carbonatis Dublin 1.320 
 
 Potassii Sulphureti Dublin 1.117 
 
 Sodse Carbonatis Dublin 1.024 
 
1370 Appendix, 
 
 Sp. Or. 
 
 Liquor Ammonis Liondon 0.960 
 
 Fortior London, U. S. 0.382 
 
 Plumbi Diacetatis London 1.260 
 
 Potassae London 1.063 
 
 Carbonatis London 1.473 
 
 Oleum .ffithereum London 1.05 
 
 ■ U.S. 1.096 
 
 Spiritus .iBthereus Nitrosus Dublin 0.850 
 
 jEtheris Nitrici London, U. 8. 0.834 
 
 Edin. 0.847 
 
 Sulpliurici Edin. 0.809 
 
 Ammonise London 0.860 
 
 U. 8. 0.831 
 
 AromaticuB London 0.914 
 
 Foetidus London 0.861 
 
 Eectificatus London 0.838 
 
 Edin. 0.838 
 
 ' . Dublin 0.840 
 
 Tenuior London 0.920 
 
 Edin. 0.912 
 
 Dublin 0.919 
 
 Tinctura Ferri Sesquichloiidi L<;ndon O.i 
 
 FORMULAE FOR COOLING OR FREEZING MIXTURES. 
 (mb. walkbb.) 
 
 frioormo mixtures, without ice. 
 
 Degmaf 
 
 Mixtures. Parte. Thermometer ainka. sold 
 
 Ifroduoed* 
 
 Muriate of Ammonia, .... 5} 
 
 Nitrate of Potassa, 5> From -|- 50° to -|- 10°— 40 
 
 Water, 16^ 
 
 Muriate of Ammonia, .... 5 1 
 
 Nitrate of Potassa, 5 I t, , -^o ^ , jo ao 
 
 Sulphate of SodC g prom + 50° to + 4° - 46 
 
 Water 16j 
 
 Nitrate of Ammonia, . . . . } J p^om + 50° to + 4° - 46 
 
 Sulphate of Soda, 3J _ , _„„ „^ -. 
 
 Diluted Nitric Acid ^\ ¥Tom + 5(P t^-SQP^eO 
 
 Sulphate of Soda, 6 ") 
 
 Nitrate of. Ammonia, .... 4 I _ , -„„ . ^na «ft 
 Nitrate, of Potassa, . ... g f ^'°"' + ^0° to — 10° - 60 
 
 Diluted Nitric Acid, . . , , 4] 
 
 Nitrate of Ammonia, 
 
 Carbonate of Soda 1^ From + 50° to — 7° — 57 
 
 Water 
 
Tables of Specific Gravities. 137] 
 
 tit- » Degree of 
 
 mixtures. Parts. Thermometer sinks. cold 
 
 produoal 
 
 Sulphate of Soda, 6i 
 
 Nitrate of Ammonia, .... 6> Prom + 50o to 14°— M 
 
 Diluted Nitric Acid, 4) 
 
 miuSitrioA^d. : : : : ; ?}From + 50Oto-12o-(a 
 
 Piiosphate of Soda, 9^ 
 
 Nitrate of Ammonia, . . . . 6> Prom + 50° to — 21° — 71 
 Diluted Nitric Acid, 4) 
 
 Muriatic' A«i^^ '. '. '. '. i §^- + 50° to- 3°-B8 
 
 Sulphate of Soda, 8> 
 
 Muriatic Aoid, 5^ 
 
 sutSctld.'^: : : : : : J^rom+eooto- 3°-68 
 
 Snow or pounded Ice, 
 Salt , 
 
 FBIOOBIPIC MIXTCKES, WIIH ICE. 
 
 to— 60 
 
 Snow or pounded Ice, .... i 
 
 Common Salt, 2> 
 
 Muriate of Ammonia, . . . . iN 
 
 a 
 
 Snow or pounded Ice 24 "] 
 
 Common Salt, 10 I >» 
 
 Muriate of Ammonia, .... 5 [ '^ 
 
 Nitrate of Potassa, 5 J Q 
 
 Snow or pounded Ice, .... 12) 
 
 Common Salt 5> 
 
 Nitrate of Ammonia, .... 5) 
 
 p 
 
 to — 12° 
 
 to — 18° 
 
 to — 26° 
 
 tedSulpkuricici;!.: : : : §}Prom + 32°to-23°-66 
 
 ^°°"",icid, : : : : : : : gFrom+32°to-a7o-69 
 
 NltriUoid,: : : : : If From + 32°to-30°-6a 
 
 Muriatic . 
 
 Snow, . 
 Diluted 
 
 tedeo'fCalciui.: ! '. ! ! g From + 32° to - 40c ^ 78 
 Cr;sT6hlorideofCai;>iuii,: ! ! | From + 32° to- 50°- M 
 
 s°°w. • ■ ';;;;;; f[ From +82° to— 51° -a* 
 
1372 Aptendit. 
 
 combination or frigokific mixtukes. 
 
 Mixtures. Parts. Thermometer sinks. eold 
 
 prodncrt* 
 
 Phosphate of Soda, 5) 
 
 Nitrate of Ammonia, 3> From 0°to — 34° — 84 
 
 Diluted Nitric Acid, 4) 
 
 Phosphate of Soda, 3) 
 
 Nitrate of Ammonia, 2V Prom — 34° to — 50° — 16 
 
 Diluted Mixed Acids 4) 
 
 ^"w'l'a'i I ■• ■ <i:'- \ -A ■ II From 10° to — 56° -46 
 Diluted Bulphuno or Nitnc Acid, . aj 
 
 SSdNitri^icii : : : : : 2}^— o'to-46°-46 
 
 ?.TT'j"a", i '■ \ -a' ' ' ■ 1^ Prom — 20° to — 60° -40 
 Diluted Sulphuno Acid, , . . Ij 
 
 Chrrldeofdalcium.: i ! i ! !( From + 20° to -48° -68 
 cZrideof6aldui,; \ \ '. '. If P-m + 10° to - 54° = 64 
 Chloride of Calcium, 3j """ 
 
 Cry St. Chloride of Calcium,. . . 2) 
 
 ^T'nvi" J 'tn{-' ' ' ■ H From — 40° to— 73° — 38 
 Clyst. Chlonde of Calcium, . . . o) 
 
 ^^w'jq"! i ■ \ -a ' ' ' ' ikl Prom— 68° to — 91° — 28 
 Diluted Sulphunc Acid, .... 10^ 
 
 EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE 
 
 Dei^rees 
 twlow Zero. 
 
 Greatest artificial cold produced by the evaporation of a mixture of 
 
 solid carbonic acid and ether, in vacuo, by Paraday, IBC 
 
 Ditto, in the open air, by Thilorier 135 
 
 Solid compound of alcohol and carbonic acid fuses, 131 
 
 Ghreatest artificial cold produced by Walker, 91 
 
 Strongest nitric acid freezes 55 
 
 Sulphuric ether congeals, 47 
 
 Liquid Ammonia freezes, 46 
 
 Mercury freezes, 39 
 
 Proof spirit and brandy freeze 7 
 
Tables of Specific Gravities. 1373 
 
 I 
 
 DeKreep 
 aboTe Zero 
 
 Solution of 1 salt in 3 water, freezes, 4 
 
 Solution of 1 salt in 4 water, freezes, 7 
 
 Mixture of 1 alcohol 3 water, freezes 7 
 
 Solution of salammoniae in 4 water, & 
 
 Oil of turpentine freezes 16 
 
 Strong wines freeze, 20 
 
 Fluoric acid freezes, 23 
 
 Oils of bergamot and cinnamon, 23 
 
 Vinegar freezes, 28 
 
 Milk freezes, 30 
 
 Ice melts, 32 
 
 Olive oil freezes, 36 
 
 Glacial acetic acid solidifies, 36 
 
 Medium temperature of the surface of the globe, 50 
 
 Medium temperature of England, 52 
 
 Oil of aniseed freezes, , ^ 64 
 
 Lard melts, from 90 to 97 
 
 Heat of human bio. d, 98 
 
 Phosphorus melts 99 
 
 Stearine from hogs' lard melts, 109 
 
 Spermaceti melts, 112 
 
 Tallow melts, (Thomson,) 92 
 
 (Nicholson,) 127 
 
 Dees' wax melts, 142 
 
 Ambergris melts, (La Grange,) 145 
 
 Potassium melts, ( ownes,) 150 
 
 (Deniell,) 136 
 
 Bleached wax melts, (Nicholson,) 155 
 
 Sodium perfectly fluid, 200 
 
 Iodine fuses, (Gay Lussac,) 210 
 
 (Pownes,) 225 
 
 Sulphur fuses 226 
 
 Camphor fuses, -. 303 
 
 Tin fuses 442 
 
 Bismuth fuses 476 
 
 Lead fuses 594 
 
 Zinc fuses, 700 
 
 Antimony fuses, 809 
 
 Red heat, (Daniell,) 980 
 
 Heat of common fire, (Daniell,) 1140 
 
 Brass fuses, (Daniell,) 1869 
 
 Silver fuses, (Daniell,) 2233 
 
 Iron fuses, 3479 
 
 TK.MPEKATURES AT WHICH CERTAIN SOLIDS AND LIQUIDS ARE VOLATILIZED. 
 
 Liquid sulphurous acid boils, (anhydrous,) 14 
 
 Ether boils 98 
 
 Fuming sulphurous acid boils, (aofeijon,) 113 
 
1374 Appendix. 
 
 Degroea 
 
 aboTe Zero 
 
 ' Bisiilphuret of carbon boils, 126 
 
 Liquid ammonia boils, 14£) 
 
 Pjnroligneous spirit boils 150 
 
 Aloobol boils; 176 
 
 (Black,) 174 
 
 sp. gr. 0.800, (Henry,) 172 
 
 Water boils 212 
 
 Phosphorus distils, (Pelletier,) 219 
 
 Water saturated with sea salt boils, 225 
 
 Nitric acid boils, (sp. gr. 1. 5,) 187 
 
 White oxide of arsenic sublimes, 283 
 
 Oil of turpentine boils, (TJre,) ._.... 304 
 
 Petroleum boils, (Ure,) 316 
 
 Metallic arsenic sublimes, 540 
 
 Phosphorus boils in close vessels.. 554 
 
 Sulphur boils, , 570 
 
 Sulphuric acid boils, (Dalton,). 590 
 
 (Black,) 546 
 
 (Pownes,) 620 
 
 Linseed oil boils, 600 
 
 Mercury boils, 602 
 
 BOILING POINTS OF SATUEATED SOLUTIONS. 
 
 Desr 
 
 Alum 220 
 
 Muriate of ammonia, 236 
 
 Oxalate of ammonia 218 
 
 Tartrate of ammonia, 230 
 
 Chloride of barium,. 222 
 
 Nitrate of baryta, 214 
 
 Acetate of copper, 214 
 
 Sulphate of copper 216 
 
 Acetate of lead, 212 
 
 Chloride of calcium, 220 
 
 Bichloride of mercury, 214 
 
 Bicyanide of mercury, 214 
 
 Sulphate of nickel, 235 
 
 Chlorate of potass, 218 
 
 Nitrate of potass, 238 
 
 Quadroxalate of potass 220 
 
 Acetate of soda, 256 
 
 Nitrate of soda, , 246 
 
 Biborate of soda 222 
 
 Carbonate of soda, 220 
 
 Phosphate of soda,. 222 
 
 Nitrate of strontia, 224 
 
 Sulphate of zinc, ?X, 
 
 Boracic acid, 218 
 
Tables of fei'BciFic Gravities 1375 
 
 TEMPKRATUKES TO BE OBSEKVED i:> CERTAIN PHARMACEUTICAL OPERATIONS. 
 
 In tho fermentation of saccharine solutions, the highest temperature should 
 not exceed 86°. (Thomson.) 
 
 The lowest temperature at which they will ferment is 38°. (Thomson.) 
 
 The process of acetous fermentation is best conducted at a temperature of 
 »bove 86°. 
 
 The temperature requisite to coagulate albumen varies with the state of dilu- 
 tion. If the quantity of albumen be so great that the liquid has a slimy 
 aspect, a heat of 145? to 150° suffices, but in a very dilute condition, boiling is 
 required. (Pownes.) 
 
 In the London and U. S. Pharmacopoeias: 
 
 #hen a boiling heat is directed, a temperature is meant of 212°,' F. 
 
 When a gentle heat is directed, a temperature is meant of from 90° to 100°. 
 
 The specific gravities of substances ordered in the London Pharmacopoeia, 
 ai8 to be taken at a temperature of 62°. 
 
 A water-bath is that by which any substance, contained in a proper vessel, 
 is exposed either to hot water, or the vapor of boiling water. A sand-bath ia 
 made of sand, to be gradually heated, in which anything is placed contained in 
 a proper vessel. 
 
 Syrups ai'e to be kept in a place where the temperature never exceeds 55o. 
 
 Vegetables, shortly after they have been gathered,, those excepted which 
 ought to be fresh, are to be' lightly strewed, and dried as quickly as possible, 
 with a gentle heat (90° to 100°); keep them afterward in proper vessels, 
 excluded from the access of light and moisture. 
 
 In the Dublin Pharmacopoeia,: 
 
 By the term superior heat, is meant some degree between 200'' and 212°. 
 
 When a medium heat is directed, a temperature is meant between 100° and 
 200<^. 
 
 When an inferior heat is directed, a temperature is meant between 90° and 
 100°. 
 
 In the process of digestion, an inferior heat is to be applied, uiiless it should 
 be otherwise directed. In the process of maceration, a heat should be applied 
 between 60° and 90°. 
 
 In the Dublin, Edinburgh, and U. S. Pharmacopoeias: 
 
 Whenever mention occurs of the specific gravity of any body, its tempera- 
 ture is supposed to be at 60°. 
 
1376 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 CHEMICAL ELEMENTS, WITH THEIR SYMBOLS AND EaUIVALENTS. 
 
 Symbol. EquiTalent 
 
 Almiiinium, Al. Phillips, 10 
 
 ■ Graham, 18.72 
 Antimony, (Stibium,) Sb Phillips, 65 
 
 Graham, 129.24 
 Arsenic, As Phillips, 88 
 
 Graham, 75.34 
 
 Barium, Ba : 68 
 
 Bismuth, Bi 72 
 
 Boron, B Phillips, 20 
 
 Graham, 10.9] 
 
 Bromine, Br. ■ 78 
 
 Cadmium, Cd. 56 
 
 Caloium, Ca 20 
 
 Carbon, C • 6 
 
 Cerium, Ce 48 
 
 Chlorine, CI 86 
 
 Chromium, Cr 28 
 
 Cobalt, Co 80 
 
 Columbium, i .j, ^gg 
 
 Tantalum, ) 
 Copper, (Cuprum,) Cu 32 
 
 Fluorine, K 18 
 
 Glucinium, Q Phillips, 16 
 
 Graham, 26.54 
 
 Gold, (Aurum,) Au ' 200 
 
 Hydrogen, H i 
 
 Iodine 1 126 
 
 Iridium, Ir 98 
 
 Iron, (Ferrum,) •••• ' Fe 28 
 
 Latanium, La — 
 
 Lead, cPluitibum,) Pb ■■■■: 104 
 
 Lithium, L 8 
 
 Magnesium, Mg. 12 
 
 Manganese,- Mn- ■ 28 
 
 Mercury, (Hydrargymm,) Hg Phillips, 202 
 
 Graham, 101.48 
 
 Molybdenum, Mo 48 
 
 Nickel, Ni 28 
 
 Nitrogen or Azote, N 14 
 
 Osmium, Os 100 
 
 Oxygen, O. 3 
 
 Palladium, Pd 64 
 
 Phosphorus, •• -- P- Phillips, 16 
 
 Graham, 31.44 
 
 Platinum, PI 68 
 
 Potassium, (Kalium,) K 40 
 
 Ehodium, ■••■• E- 52 
 
 Selenium, Be 40 
 
 SHioiumorl a: (Phillips, 8 
 
 Silicon, 1 ■ ■■■ IGraham, 22.22 
 
 Silver, (Aigentnm,) Ag. 108 
 
 Sodium, (NatriuraJ) ' Na- 24 
 
 Strontium, Sr 44 
 
 Sulphur, 8 16 
 
 Tellurium, Te Phillips, Si 
 
 Grahr u, 64.2fi 
 
 Thorium, Th ■■•■• 60 
 
 Tin. I Stannum,) Sn • 58 
 
 Titanium, Ti ■ 24 
 
 Tungsten, (Wolftam,) W 100 
 
 Tranium, U. 217 
 
 Vanadium, V 88 
 
 yttrium, T 82 
 
 Zinc, Zn. 82 
 
 ZiToonium, Zr Phillips, 82 
 
 Graham, 88.61 
 
Tables of Specific Gravities. 
 
 1377 
 
 THE SOLUBILITY OF SALTS. 
 
 Name of Salt. 
 
 Sp. Qr. 
 
 Solubility in 100 parts WatoT. 
 
 at Boiling point, 
 
 Solubility in 100 parts . 
 hoi. 
 
 at Boiling 
 
 ALUMINA. 
 
 Acetate of 
 
 Arseniate of 
 
 Borate of 
 
 Caraphorate of. 
 
 Lactate of. , . 
 
 Muriate of. 
 
 Nitrate of 
 
 Oxalate of 
 
 Phosphate of 
 
 SelenJAte of. ........ 
 
 Sulphate of. 
 
 Sulphate of, and Potash 
 Sulphate of, and Soda.. . 
 
 Sulphite of 
 
 Tartrate of 
 
 Tartrate of, and Potash. 
 
 Tungstate of. 
 
 Urate and Lithate of. . . . 
 
 3.9 to 
 
 3.97 
 
 1.245 
 
 1.645 
 
 1.71 
 1.6 
 
 AMMONIA. 
 
 Acetate of 
 
 Arseniate of 
 
 Binarseniate of. 
 
 Arsenite of 
 
 Benzoate of 
 
 Boletate of 
 
 Borate of 
 
 Camphorate of 
 
 Carbonate of (Sesqui) . 
 
 Chlorate of 
 
 Chromate of 
 
 Citrate of 
 
 Ferrocyanide of 
 
 Formate of 
 
 Hydriodate of (or lo-J 
 dide of AmiDonium)^ 
 
 Hydrocyanate of 
 
 Hydrosulphuret of . . . . 
 
 Hypophosphite of 
 
 Hyposulphite of 
 
 lodate of 
 
 Lactate of 
 
 Meconate of 
 
 Moiybdate of 
 
 M uriate of (or ChlorideJ 
 of Ammoniam) J 
 
 Nitrate of. 
 
 Oxalate of. 
 
 Phosphate of. . . . 
 Biphosphate of. 
 Phosphite of. . . . 
 Purpurate of. . . . 
 Pyrolithate of. . . 
 
 »7 
 
 1..52 
 
 1.58 
 
 1.583 
 
 1.8 
 
 Undetermined 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Uucrystallizable 
 
 0.05 
 
 Uncrystallizable 
 
 V^ery soluble . . . . 
 
 Very soluble. .. . 
 
 Uncrystallizable., 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 50 
 
 5.4 
 
 100 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Uncrystallizable. 
 
 Uncrystallizable 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 100 at 54>^o 
 
 100 
 9J91 
 
 133.33 
 
 Very soluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 UncrystallicBble 
 
 Sohible 
 
 38 
 
 fi 
 
 33 (Ore) 
 
 20 (.Brande) 
 
 Very soluble 
 
 Very soluble 
 
 Dimcultly crystaUicaUe 
 
 Very soluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Very soluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Very deliquescent 
 
 Soluble and deliqaeacent 
 
 Very soluble 
 
 Sparingly soluble 
 
 Uncrystallizable 
 
 66 
 
 Soluble 
 
 36 
 
 50 
 
 4.5 
 
 25 {Brande) 
 
 Less soluble 
 
 Very soluble 
 
 0066 
 
 Soluble 
 
 100 
 
 100 
 40.84 
 
 much 
 
 991 
 
 BewmyMiliilib 
 
 •4U 
 
 (7.5 at 80O) \b) .! 
 4.76 do f |.g( .1 
 1.6 do S St^ i 
 
 7 
 
 900 
 
 ,872 
 
 ,834 
 
 19.16 
 
Appendix. 
 
 Name of Salt. 
 
 Sp. Gr. 
 
 at 60° 
 
 Solubility in 100 partB Water. 
 
 at Boiling point. 
 
 Solubility in 100 parta Aloo. 
 hoi. 
 
 at 600 
 
 at Boiling point. 
 
 Succinate of... 
 Sulphate of.... 
 Sulphite of. . . 
 Tartrate of. . . 
 Tuugstate of.. 
 
 ANTIMONY. 
 
 6.7 
 
 Acetate of.. 
 
 Benzoate of. . ; 
 
 Tartrate of 
 
 Fotassio- tartrate of.. 
 
 9,83 
 
 Acetate of. 
 
 Arseniate of.. 
 Benzoate of. . . 
 Carbonate of.. 
 Chloride of. . . 
 
 Nitrate of 
 
 Phosphate of. 
 Sulphate of. . . 
 
 BABTtA. 
 
 Acetate of 
 
 Antimoniate of. 
 
 Antimonite of 
 
 Arseniate of 
 
 Ajtaenite of 
 
 Benzoate of 
 
 Borate of 
 
 Camphorate of. 
 
 Carbonate of. , 
 
 Chlorate of , 
 
 Chromate of 
 
 Citrate of 
 
 Ferrocyanuret of 
 
 Hydriodate of (or Io-> 
 dide of Barium).. . .) 
 
 Hydrosulpburet of. 
 
 Hypophosphite of 
 
 lodate of 
 
 Lactate of 
 
 Lithate of 
 
 1.838' 
 
 4.331 
 
 Muriate of (or Chlo- 
 ride of Bariumi 
 hydrous) 
 
 3hlo-) 
 
 Muriate of (or Chloride) 
 of Barium) Oryst. ( 
 
 ITitrate of. 
 
 Oxalate of.... 
 Phosphate of. 
 
 2.825 
 
 2.83 
 
 2.9 
 
 Very soluble 
 Very soluble 
 50 {Brande) 
 100 (Ure) 
 60.03 
 Soluble 
 
 100 
 304.7 
 
 2.91 
 
 Soluble (Ute) 
 Soluble (Ure) 
 Very soluble (Brande) 
 7 50 
 
 Soluble 
 Insoluble 
 
 Sblublej 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Deliquescent 
 
 Decomposed 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Decomposed 
 
 Sparinglj 
 
 5 at 50° 
 
 10 at 212" 
 96 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Slightly • 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Difficultly 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Very sparingly 
 
 Very sparingly 
 
 Very nearly insoluble 
 
 Very sparinigly 
 Difficultly soluble 
 0005 01 
 
 Very soluble 
 
 11 
 
 Very soluble 
 .33 
 
 Soluble 
 Insoluble 
 
 36.8 
 
 43 (Brande) 
 
 i 8.18 at 58.9° 
 J35.18 at 214.970 
 
 Nearly insoluble 
 Insoluble 
 
 50 
 1.6 
 
 68.5 
 
 78 
 
 1 at 80O 
 
 0.89 
 
 ('13 
 
 0.00 
 
 n.66at80°.. 
 
 043 
 
 0.32 
 
 0.06 
 
 0.25 
 
 .900 
 
 .848 
 .834 
 
 .817 
 
 .900 
 .848 
 .834 
 
Solubility of Salts. 
 
 1379 
 
 Name of Salt. 
 
 Sp. Gr. 
 
 \ 
 Solubility in 100 parts Water. 
 
 SolubUll? in 100 paita AIc» 
 hoi. 
 
 
 at 60^ at Boiling point. 
 
 at 60° at Boiling foint 
 
 BARYTA. 
 
 
 0.25 
 .006 .03 
 Insoluble 
 Insoluble 
 Slightly 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sulphate of 
 
 Sulphite of 
 
 4.3 
 1.694 
 
 
 Tartrate of 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ COBALT. 
 
 7.834 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Scarcely 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 .026 (Ore.) 
 
 Very soluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 
 Acetate of 
 
 
 AntimoDiate of 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nitrate of. 
 
 
 100 at 64^ 
 
 Oxalate of 
 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 4 (Brands) 
 
 Sulphate of 
 
 
 
 Tartrate of 
 
 
 Soluble 
 
 
 
 
 
 COPPEE. 
 
 8.895 
 1.78 
 
 (Ore) 30 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Slightly 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Soluble ' 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 12 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 
 Acetate of. ., 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Beiizoate of 
 
 
 
 Borate of 
 
 
 
 Carbonate of. . * • • 
 
 
 
 Chlorate of 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Citrate of , 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Fluoride ©f 
 
 
 
 
 1.815 
 
 
 HvDosuluhite of 
 
 
 Muriate, or Chloride of.. 
 
 
 
 100 at nc- 
 
 Dichloride of 
 
 Nearly insolaUe 
 
 Deliquescent 
 
 Soluble 1 
 
 Soluble? 
 
 Soluble ? 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 25 50 
 
 Insolubte 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 66.6 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Less soluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 
 Nitrate of. 
 
 2.174 
 
 
 Oxalate of ....■•, 
 
 
 and Aixtmonia 
 and Potassa 
 and Soda 
 FhosDhate of.. ......... 
 
 'i.4158 
 
 
 Subnitrate of. ........ . 
 
 
 Sulphate of. 
 
 2.20 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sulphate of and Potassa 
 and Ammonia 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 T^rtrat"*" of and Dotassa.. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 GOLD. 
 
 19.361 
 
 Soluble 
 Soluble 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1380 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 Nime of Salt. 
 
 Acetate (Frot.) 
 
 Acetate (Per .) 
 
 Aatimoniate of. 
 
 Arseniate of (Prot.) . 
 Arsenip.te of (Per.)... 
 
 Beuzoate of. 
 
 Borate of. 
 
 Citrate (Proto) 
 
 Citrate (Bi proto). . . 
 
 Citrate (Per.) 
 
 Ferrocyanide (Prus-J 
 
 sian Blue) ) 
 
 Fluoride of 
 
 Gallate of Peroxide of. . 
 
 Hyposulphite of. 
 
 Lactate of Protox. of . . 
 Molybdate of Protox of. 
 
 Protochloride of. 
 
 Perchloride of. 
 
 Nitrate of Protoxide of. 
 Nitrate of Peroxide of.. 
 Oxalate of Protoxide of... 
 Oxalate of Peroxide at. 
 
 Phosphate of 
 
 Phosphate of Peroxide of 
 
 Superphosphate of 
 
 Succinate of Peroxide of 
 
 Sulphate of (Oryst.) 
 
 Sulphate of (diy) 
 
 Persulphate of. 
 
 Hyposulphite of. 
 
 Persulphate of and Po- J 
 
 Persulphate of and/ 
 
 Ammonia ) 
 
 Tartrate (Proto.) of. 
 
 Tartrate (Per.) of 
 
 Tartrate of and Potassa. 
 
 Acetate (Cryst.)... . 
 Acetate (Anhyd.). 
 
 Diacetate of. 
 
 Antimoniate of. . . 
 
 Arseniate of. 
 
 Benzoate of 
 
 Borate of. 
 
 Carbonate of. 
 
 Citrate of 
 
 Chlorate of 
 
 Chloride of , 
 
 Chloride of (fused).. 
 
 Chromate of 
 
 Ferrocyanuret of... . , 
 
 Gallate of 
 
 Iodide of. 
 
 Hyposulphite of... 
 Lactate of. 
 
 8p. Or. 
 
 7.788 
 1.368 
 
 2.6 
 
 1.880 
 S.64 
 
 11.35 
 
 3.345 
 2.57 
 
 (6.4 to 
 ) 6.75 
 
 1.823 
 
 5.13 
 
 6. 
 
 aolubilitjr in lOO jwita Water. 
 
 at 60" 
 
 at BciicQg p<^t. 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Uncrystalliiable 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 liisoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Sparingly soluble 
 
 (Very soluble and UD- 
 
 I crystallizable 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Scarcely 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Very soluble..! 
 
 Uncrystallizable 
 
 Very soluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Scarcely 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Nearly Insoluble 
 
 Nearly insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 76.238 (Brande) 333.3 
 
 Uncrystallizable . 
 Uncrystallizable 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 0.25 (Dumas) 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Uncrystallizable. 
 
 S7 (Bostock) 
 
 39 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 > Insoluble 
 
 Nearly insoluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 3.33 (Brande) 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 0.08 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Soluble (Urt.) 
 
 Sdlnbmiy In VW put* Ako- 
 IwL 
 
 itW 
 
 ■tBoUiiig point 
 
 lOOatlTfC 
 
 SolnU* 
 
 Salable 
 
 13.5 (Brawfa) 
 Solnbla 
 
 4J 
 
 OJ 
 
Solubility ojf Salts. 
 
 1381 
 
 Name of Salt. 
 
 Sp. Gr. 
 
 Solubility in 100 parts Water. 
 
 Solubility in 100 parts Alec 
 hoU 
 
 
 dt 60° at Boiling pcdnt. 
 
 at 80° stBoUingfClnt. 
 
 LEAD. 
 
 11.35 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Scarcely 
 
 [nsoluble 
 
 13 
 ^Scarcely at 60°, bnt 
 I much more so at 212° 
 
 [nsoluble 
 
 [nsoluble 
 
 [nsoluble 
 
 [nsoluble 
 
 Not absolutely insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Almost insoluble 
 
 Insoluble (Berzeliut) 
 
 
 
 
 Malate of , . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Phfjspliite of. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 LIME. 
 
 2.3908 
 1.005 
 
 (Kirumn) 
 
 Soluble 
 
 
 
 ■2.4 at 80°.... ■< 4r.900 
 
 4.12, L4v-8^ 
 
 4.75 tl1-83l 
 
 .4.88 J 5' 1.817 
 
 Aiitiinoniate of.. .•..•■. 
 
 Insoluble 
 Insoluble 
 Diffici.lUy soluble 
 Sparingly soluble 
 Very difficultly 
 Insoluble 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Borate of. ....■•■....■■ 
 
 
 
 Carbonate of (Anhyd.)... 
 Chlorate of 
 
 2.7 
 
 SoluUa 
 
 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Nearly insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 JSolubilitynearlyeqhal 
 
 I at all temperatures. 
 40.65 (Brande) 150 
 Very soluble 
 20 100 
 Deliquescent i 
 66 1.53 
 Insoluble 
 
 f 200 at 32° 
 J 400 at 60° 
 
 1 almost any quantity St 
 
 2^" 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Almost insoluble 
 
 Difficultly soluble 
 
 301 at 50° 
 
 
 
 
 Fluoride 
 
 3.15 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 '. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Molvbdate of 
 
 
 
 Muriate (or Chloride 
 of Calcium) 
 
 1.76 
 1.62 
 
 161.66 
 
 Oxalate of 
 
 Phnfinhate of - . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Subphosphate of 
 
 3. 
 
 
 Sulphate of. 
 
 
 
 Sulnhite of 
 
 
 12.5 
 (Nearly insoluble at 60° 
 } but .16 at 212'' 
 
 lasoluble 
 
 
 
 1.9009 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 LITHIA. 
 
 
 Deliquescent 
 Slightly soluble 
 Soluble 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Borate of 
 
 
 
 
L382 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 Name of Salt. 
 
 8p. Gr. 
 
 Solubility in 100 jiarts Water. 
 
 Solubility in 100 partB Alo» 
 hoL 
 
 
 at 60° at Boiling point. 
 
 at 60° at Boiling paiut 
 
 LITHIA. 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Iiifloluble 
 
 Chloride of Lithium.. . . 
 
 
 Very deliquescent 
 
 Very soluble 
 
 Very difficultly soluble 
 
 Very deliquescent 
 
 Very deliquescent 
 
 Less soluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Easily soluble 
 
 Easily soluble 
 
 Easily soluble 
 
 
 
 
 
 Citrate of 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Phosphate of. • ■ , . ..... 
 
 
 
 SulDnate of 
 
 
 
 Tartrate of 
 
 
 
 and Fotassa. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 MAGNESIA 
 
 2.3 
 1.378 
 
 Very soluble 
 Deliquescent 
 Difficultly soluble 
 Soluble 
 Insoluble 
 Very slightly 
 Very soluble 
 
 200 (Brande) 
 
 Very soluble 
 
 Difficultly soluble 
 
 S-.luble 
 
 3.56 (^Brande) 
 
 6.66 8.35 
 
 100 
 
 
 Acetate of ■ . . . 
 
 
 
 
 Arsenite of 
 
 
 
 Benzoate of. 
 
 
 
 Borate of .....w.. 
 
 2.566 
 
 
 Chlorate of .' 
 
 
 
 Chloride of Magneeium 
 Chromate of 
 
 1.6 
 
 f50 .547 
 50 at 80^) ap.gr.) .817 
 
 [21.25 ) Sp't«.^ .900 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Malate of ■.. . 
 
 
 . 
 
 Molvbdate of 
 
 
 
 
 1.736 
 
 CKearly insoluble in 
 i pure alcohol 11 sp. 
 } gr. .SiQ 
 
 Oxalate of 
 
 Nearly insoluble 
 
 6.66 
 
 Sparingly soluble 
 
 Uncrystallizable 
 
 33.192 73 57 
 
 Phosphate of 
 
 1.55 
 
 
 and Amnion ia 
 
 
 Suiohate of Cdrv ) ... 
 
 
 
 Sulphate of (cryst.) 
 
 and ammonia 
 
 1.76 
 1.696 
 
 68.042 150.71 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 33.3 
 
 5 
 
 Difficultly soluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 1 at W (JEiraan) 
 
 
 
 
 Sulphite of 
 
 1.38 
 
 
 and Ammonia 
 Tartrate of 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 MANGANESE. 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 Acetate of. 
 
 Soluble 
 
 
 
 Siiluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Moderately soluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Deliquescent (Brande) 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 
 
 
 
 Antimoniate of 
 
 
 
 Arseniate of. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Solubla 
 
 Oxalate of 
 
 
 Insoluble 
 Nearly insoluble 
 
 
 Phosphate of 
 
 
 
Solubility OF Salts. 
 
 1383 
 
 Name of Salt. 
 
 Sp. Gr, 
 
 i 
 
 Solubility in 100 parts Water. 
 
 Solubility In 100 paiti Ak» 
 taol 
 
 
 It 60? at Boiling point. 
 
 ateoo at Boiling point 
 
 HANQANESE. 
 
 
 1 (Vre) 
 Si (U<fe.) 
 Si) (Brande) 
 Jeliquescent 
 insoluble ' 
 [nsoluble 
 
 
 
 
 
 2.877 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 MERCUET. 
 
 13.568 
 
 ).16 (Braconnot) 
 
 Readily soluble 
 
 tnsoluble 
 
 [nsoluble 
 
 [nsoluble 
 
 6.25 (Brandt) 33.3 
 
 
 Acetate of (Prot.) * . 
 
 
 Acetate of (Per .) 
 
 Ai'seaiate of 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Borate of 
 
 2.66 
 
 5.2 
 (Hasen- 
 fratz) 
 
 6.5 
 Qraham 
 
 7.176 
 
 
 Bichloride of 
 
 4S.6 864 
 
 
 r 10.74 at 50° 
 Spt's. sp.gr. .618 
 
 
 .00833 at 212° (_Dumas) 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 54 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Very sparingly 
 (Soluble and decom- 
 \ posed by e&cess. 
 
 Do. do. 
 
 S6hrcely 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 0.20 0.33 
 
 Decomposed 
 
 .005 0.33 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 
 
 Citrate of. 
 
 
 
 Bicyauuret of 
 
 
 
 Fluoride of 
 
 
 
 Molvbdate of 
 
 
 
 Ifitrate (Prot.)... 
 
 
 
 Nitrate f Per.1 
 
 
 
 Oxalate of (Proto.) 
 
 Oxalate of (Per )....... 
 
 4.98 
 
 
 Sulphate of (Proto.). . . . 
 
 
 
 Sulphate of (Per.) 
 
 
 
 Sulphate of (Sub.) 
 
 Tartrate of 
 
 6.444 
 
 
 and Fotassa 
 
 
 
 NICKEL. 
 
 8.666 
 
 Very soluble 
 
 Soluble (Efre) 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Soluble in hot water 
 
 SO . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chloride of 
 
 
 
 Nitrate of Protox 
 
 
 SolaUa 
 
 and Ammonia 
 Osialate of .*...... ^ . i . 
 
 
 Bijluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 iS'early insoluble 
 
 33.3 185.71 
 
 25 
 
 11.1 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Very Soluble 
 
 
 PlinRTillatrf* of . ..!.. 
 
 
 
 ^iilrthate of. >• ■ 
 
 
 
 
 and Ammonia 
 and Potassa . . 
 
 
 
 and Iron 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 PLATiiSB&'.'" 
 
 33.000 
 
 Soluble 1 
 
 
 Protochloride of 
 
 Perchloride of. 
 
 Protochloride of 
 
 and Ammonium 
 and Potassium.... 
 
 (Easily soluble, alao u 
 \ Ether 
 
 Soluble < 
 
 Soluble ... J . 
 
 Soluble....; 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 
 Unttiy^talluable 
 
 Veiysolnbb 
 
 
 
1384 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 Name of Salt. 
 
 Sp. Gr. 
 
 Solubility in 100 parts Water. 
 
 Solubility In 100 parts Aloo 
 hoi. 
 
 at Boiling point. 
 
 at 60° 
 
 at Boiling point 
 
 23.000 
 
 Bichloride of i 
 
 and Ammonium} 
 and Potassium... 
 
 and Sodium 
 
 and Barium 
 
 Protonitrate of 
 
 Pemitrate of. 
 
 Frotosulphate of. 
 
 Persulphate of 
 
 Very sparingly 
 
 Very sparingly 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Soluble 
 Soluble 
 Soluble 
 Soluble 
 
 Very soluble. . . . 
 
 Soluble 
 
 (Very soluble, alao in 
 ( Ether 
 
 1.706 
 
 Acetate of. 
 
 Ammonio-oxalate of. . . 
 Ammonio-sulphate of. . 
 Ammonio-tartiate of. . . 
 
 Antimoniate of. 
 
 Antimonite of.... ...... 
 
 Arseniate of. 
 
 Binarseniate of. 
 
 Arsenite of 
 
 Benzoate of 
 
 Bibenzoate of 
 
 Borate of....< 
 
 Oamphorate of 
 
 Carbonate of 
 
 Bicarbonate of. 
 
 Chlorate of 
 
 Ohromate 
 
 Bichromate 
 
 Citrate of , 
 
 Columbate of 
 
 Ferrocyauide of 
 
 Iodide of Potassium. . . 
 
 lodate of 
 
 Molybdate of 
 
 3.6 
 
 2.085 
 
 2.6 
 1.98 
 
 1.83 
 
 Chloride of Potassium, 
 
 Nitrate of. 
 
 1.98 
 
 2.073 
 
 Oxalate of. 
 
 Binozalate of 
 
 Qnadroxalate of.... 
 
 Phosphate of 
 
 Diphosphate of. . . . 
 Biphosphate of.. . . 
 Hypophosphite of. 
 
 3.85 
 
 Hyposulphate of. ... . 
 
 Hyposulphite of...... 
 
 and Silver 
 Succinate of , 
 
 Sulphate of.. 
 
 Biiqlphate of 
 
 3.67 
 
 100 
 
 Soluble 
 13 
 
 Very soluble 
 Slightly 
 Soluble 
 TTncrystallizable . 
 
 18.86 at 40O 
 
 Uncrystallizable 
 
 Very soluble 
 
 10 
 
 Soluble 
 
 1 
 
 100 
 
 25 
 
 6.03 
 
 48 
 
 10 
 
 .soo 
 
 3.76 
 InsoluUa 
 
 25 
 
 83 
 
 60 at 188VO 
 
 extremely 
 
 much more 
 
 InsolaU* 
 
 Very soluble 
 
 Uncrystallizable 
 
 33.3 100 
 
 143 at 65° {G. Lussac) 
 
 7.14 (Brande) 
 
 Soluble 
 
 (29.21 at 66.83° ) 
 J59.26at229.280J 
 
 29.31 at 64°, 
 '236.45 at 207° 
 2R5. at 238°' 
 :50 (Ure) 
 30 (Brande) 
 
 (Brande) (tfrelOO) 
 
 66.66 
 
 Difficultly soluble 
 
 Soluble in hot water 
 
 Very soluble 
 
 Very deliquescent 
 
 (DifBcultly sol. at 60° 
 
 \ readily at 212 
 
 Deliquescent 
 
 Difficultly 
 
 Very soluble 
 
 il0.57at 540 
 
 26.33 at 214C 
 
 50 at 40° 
 
 !00 at 320O 
 
 Sparingly 
 
 '2.083 
 4.62 at 80O. 
 
 1.66 
 
 0.38 
 
 liV 
 
 .900 
 .813 
 ,834 
 
 53.76at80Oi s.gr 
 )1 { ofSp 
 
 2.083 
 
 (.900 
 J.873 
 
 9.91 
 
 Very BolnU* 
 
Solubility op Salts. 
 
 1385 
 
 Name of Salt. 
 
 Sulphite of \ 
 
 Tartrate of 
 
 Bitartrate of 
 
 Tartrovinate of. . . 
 
 Tungstate of. 
 
 Nitro-tuagstate of. 
 
 Acetate of 
 
 Arseniate of 
 
 Arsenite of 
 
 Borate of 
 
 Chlorate of 
 
 Chroinatc of 
 
 Citrate of 
 
 Molybdate of 
 
 Ciiloride of (Fuaed).... 
 
 Nitrate of (Cryst.) 
 
 Oxalate of. 
 
 Phosphate of 
 
 Succinate of '. 
 
 Sulphate of. 
 
 Sulphite of 
 
 Hyposulphite of 
 
 and Potassa 
 
 Tartrate of 
 
 and Potassa. 
 
 1.586 
 1.556 
 1.95 
 
 10.474 
 
 5.45 
 3.521 
 
 7.3 
 
 Acetate of 
 
 Arseniate of. 
 
 Binarseniate of 
 
 and Potassa. 
 
 Benzoate of. 
 
 Biborate of 
 
 Carbonate of 
 
 Bicarbonate of > . . 
 
 Chlorate of >...'..; 
 
 Chromate of 
 
 Citrate of.. . 1 
 
 Iodide of Sodium ...... 
 
 lodate of 
 
 Holybdate of 
 
 Muriate of (or Chloride) 
 of Sodium) ) 
 
 Nitrate of. 
 
 Oxalate of. 
 
 Phosphate of 
 
 and ammonia 
 Biphosphate of 
 
 2.1 
 1.76 
 
 1.740 
 1.62 
 
 Solubility in 100 parts Water. 
 
 SolubiUtiy In ItO parte Alc» 
 hoi. 
 
 at Boiliug point. 
 
 at 60° 
 
 100 
 
 100 
 
 1.05 6.66 
 
 10 any quantity 
 
 Uncrystallizable 
 
 (Ure) 5 
 
 Very difficultly soluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Difficultly soluble 
 
 25 (Chenecix) 
 
 Very slightly 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 100 300 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 1.15 
 
 Very little soluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Difficultly soluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 1.986 
 
 at BoOlng point 
 
 0.41C 
 3.91 
 
 35 
 
 aO (7%oni«0n.) 
 
 J25 {Ure.) 
 Soluble 
 Soluble 
 Very soluble 
 8.033 ■ 
 50 
 7.6 
 
 33.3... 
 
 Very soluble 
 
 100 or more {Brande) 
 
 173 
 
 7.3.. , 
 
 150 
 
 50 
 100 
 
 1.33 
 1.50 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Equally soluble at all) 
 temperatures.(Berz.)$ 
 33.3 at 60o» n„^„ 
 100 at 123"J ^""" 
 50 at 60° Berzel. 
 73 at 32°) Gay 
 173 at212°4 Lussac 
 ■ 80 at 3201 
 22.7 at 50O 1 
 55 at 610 f^""^" 
 ^218.5 at 246oJ 
 Sparingly soluble 
 
 T 
 
 Soluble 
 Very soluble 
 
 50 
 
 Sol. in BD. net. 
 Sparingly 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 (5.8at80C'l ap.gr) i 
 
 J3.6 J oH I 
 
 (0.5 ) Sp'te-i .1 
 
 900 
 873 
 
 .834 
 
 958 
 0.5at80O) g.„. (!g00 
 
 6 J of J872 
 
 1.38 ) 8pta. (.834 
 
Appendix. 
 
 Name of Salt 
 
 Sp. Or. 
 
 Solubility in 100 parts Water. 
 
 SolubiUty in 100 parti Aloo- 
 hoL 
 
 
 at 60° at BoiUug point! 
 
 ateO° at Boiling miiit 
 
 SODA. 
 
 
 Verv soluble 
 
 
 HvDotiliosDhite of 
 
 Very solubl* 
 
 
 
 Soluble 
 ( 48.28 at 64° 
 5322.12 at 91° 
 (16.73 at 64°) ^ 
 J50.65at 91o> ^^^ 
 K65at2I7oi ^*'" 
 
 41.6 91 
 
 50 
 
 Soluble 
 
 25 
 
 Sulphate of (cryst.) 
 
 Sulnliate of Tdrvl 
 
 1.44 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 
 
 
 Sulphate of & Ammonia 
 
 '2.95" 
 
 
 
 
 Tartrate of 
 
 1.980 
 
 56.37 (Thmiuon)..:... 
 20 
 
 Soluble 
 
 25 50 
 
 Insdlnble 
 
 and Potassa 
 
 Sol. insp. rectbotspa- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 STRONTIA. 
 
 
 0.625 at 60°) ,„„, 
 5. at 212° \ '■^"^ 
 
 2 50 
 
 Very soluble 
 
 Sparingly soluble 
 
 Sparingly soluble 
 
 0.76 
 
 0.0651 at 212° 
 
 
 Hydrate of. 
 
 
 Acetate of. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Arsenite of. 
 
 
 
 Borate of 
 
 
 
 
 3.66 
 
 
 Chlorate of 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Chloride of Strontium. . 
 
 2.83 
 
 50.. 
 
 Insoluble (Brande) 
 
 Soluble 
 
 25 
 
 Soluble 
 
 25 
 
 113 
 0.53 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Very soluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 0.026 at 212° 
 
 20 (Gay Lussae) 
 
 22.22 66.66 
 
 0.67 at 170 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Citrate of 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Iodide of Strontium. . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Kitrate of 
 
 
 
 Oxalate of. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Phosphite of. 
 
 
 
 Hypophosphite of. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sulphate of. 
 
 
 
 Hyposulphite of. 
 
 
 InaolaUe 
 
 
 
 
 Tartrate of 
 
 1.837 
 
 
 TIN. 
 
 7.3 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Uncrystallizable 
 
 Scarcely 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Crystallizable 
 
 Uncrystallizable 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Very soluble 
 
 
 Acetate of.... . 
 
 
 
 
 
 Borate of 
 
 
 
 Nitrate Proto. of 
 
 
 
 Nitrate Per. of. 
 
 
 
 Oxalate of 
 
 
 
 Phosphate of. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sulphate Proto. of 
 
 
 
 Sulphate Per. of 
 
 
 
 Tartrate of 
 
 
 
 and Potassa 
 
 
 
Solubility of Salts. 
 
 1387 
 
 Name of Bolt. 
 
 Sp. Gr. 
 
 SolubiliCy in 100 parts Water. 
 
 Solubilil? in 100 parts Mat, 
 
 
 at 60 » at Boiling pdnt. 
 
 ■teoo at Boiling point. 
 
 ZINC. 
 
 6.861 
 
 , to 7.2 
 
 Very soluble 
 Very sparingly 
 Insoluble 
 Sparingly 
 Scarcely 
 Very soluble 
 
 Very soluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Difficultly soluble 
 
 2 (Ure) 
 
 Deliquescent 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Nearly insoluble 
 
 Uncrvstallizable 
 
 Soluble 
 
 140 {Dumas J \ 
 
 8181 at 220° 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chlorate of 
 
 
 
 
 1.537 
 
 100at54)^o 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2.0 
 
 
 MolybdHte of 
 
 1 
 
 Oxalate of. 
 
 
 
 Phosphate of. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sulphate of. 
 
 1.98 
 
 
 Sulphite of 
 
 Insoluble 
 
 Hyposulphite of 
 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Sulphate of and Nickel, 
 
 
 33.33 
 
 Difficultly soluble 
 
 Soluble 
 
 
 Tartrate of 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sparingly solnbU 
 
 Trisulphate of 
 
 
 Soluble 
 
 
 
 
 ILUBILITY OF ACIDS, BASES. ETC. 
 
 Arsenious - 
 
 Vitreous , 
 Opake. . . 
 
 Benzoic ... . .t. . .. . 
 
 Boracic... ; 
 
 Citric 
 
 Gallic 
 
 Oxalic (Oryst.) 
 
 Succinic (Cryst.).. . 
 
 Tartaric 
 
 Brucia. .. . 
 Ciochonli. 
 Morphia . . 
 'luiuia . 
 
 Strychnia.. 
 Oamphor. . 
 Sugar Pur.. 
 
 3.7385 
 3.699 
 
 1.0345 
 
 1.6 
 
 0.9887 
 1.5tol.6 
 
 1.78 (Graham) 9.68 
 2.9 (Graham) 11.47 
 
 .50 
 3.9 33.3 
 
 133.33 200 
 
 5 33.33 
 
 11.5 
 
 4 33.33 
 
 150 (Brande) 200 
 
 .1177 0.2 
 
 Insoluble 0.04 
 
 Nearly insoluble 1 
 Feaiiy insoluble 0.5 
 0.04 (Graham) 0.15 
 
 0.229 
 
 200 
 
 20 at 1760 (Henry) 
 Soluble 
 
 74 at 166° 
 Soluble 
 
 75 at 1700 
 U^ at ITflo 
 
A TABLE 
 
 EXHIBITING THE COMPOSITION OF THE 
 
 PRINCIPAL NATURAL MINERAL WATERS 
 
 OP 
 
 EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 I. Cabbonated Watebs, owe their qualities to carbonic acid gas, which 
 gives them more or less of an acidulous taste, a briskness, a sparkling prop- 
 erty, and an acid reaction. They are cooling, refreshing, and exhilarating, 
 and frequently relieve nausea. They usually hold in solution the proto- 
 carbonate of iron, or the carbonates of one or more of the alkaline earths. 
 Carbonated waters are contra indicated in acute diseases, and in plethoric 
 persons. 
 
 Seltz oe Seltzeb. — {Germany. ~) 
 
 In 2.75 litres of water, or about 5 pints. 
 Carbonic Acid cub. in. 60 
 
 Chloride of Sodium grains. 109.5 
 
 Carbonate of Magnesia 29 
 
 Carbonate of Soda 24 
 
 Carbonate of Lime 17 
 
 Total.. 
 
 179.5 
 
 [Bekomann. 
 Water charged with five times its toI- 
 nme of carbonic acid, 650; subcarbonate 
 of soda, 0.2; carbonate of magnesia, 0.1; 
 and chloride of sodium 1.2, forms an 
 artificial Seltzer mineral water. 
 
 Ptbmont. — ( Germomy.') 
 
 In 10,000 parts. 
 
 Carbonic Acid parts 4.08 
 
 Sulphuric Acid 9.83 
 
 Hydrochloric Acid 0.99 
 
 Soda 1.29 
 
 Lime 8.56 
 
 Magnesia 1.98 
 
 Oxide of Iron 0.86 
 
 Silica 0.68 
 
 Total 
 
 1388 
 
 , 27.72 
 
 With traces of phosphoric acid, potash, 
 strontian, and manganese. [Stbvvk. 
 
 Spa. — (Belgium.) 
 
 In 10,000 
 
 Carbonic Acid parts 
 
 Sulphuric Acid 
 
 Hydrochloric Acid 
 
 Soda 
 
 Lime 
 
 Oxide of Iron. 
 Silica 
 
 parts. 
 6.63 
 0.51 
 0.33 
 0.92 
 0.74 
 0.72 
 7.90 
 0.68 
 
 Total 18.43 
 
 With traces of phosphoric acid, potash, 
 and manganese. [Stkcvk. 
 
 Mont d'Oe. — (IVcmce.) 
 Four springs, St. Marguerites, the tem- 
 perature of which is 50° to 54° F.; the 
 Grand Bath, 110° F.; Cesar's Baths, 118° 
 P.; La Magdelaine, 108° F. 
 
 La Magdelaine Spring. 
 In 26 litres of water, nearly 66 wine pints. 
 
 Carbonic Acid grains 65 
 
 Carbonate of Soda 200 
 
Composition of Mineral Waters. 
 
 1389 
 
 Carbonate of Lime 138 
 
 Carbonate of Magnesia 47 
 
 Chloride of Sodium 147 
 
 Sulpliateof Soda 50 
 
 Alumina 89 
 
 Silica SO 
 
 Oxide of Iron 4 
 
 Total 720 
 
 [Bertrand. 
 The other springs contain the same 
 substances, but the properties differ 
 slightly. Water charged with five times 
 Its Tulume of carbonic acid, 20 ounces; 
 carbonate of soda two scruples; chloride 
 of sodium one scruple; sulphate of iron 
 one grain, form an artificial water of 
 Mont d' Or. 
 
 Vichy. — (^France.') 
 Temperature of the different springs, 
 varies from 75° to 115° F . 
 
 In 1,000 grammes of water. 
 
 Water 992.552 
 
 Carbonic Acid 933 
 
 Carbonate of Soda 4.971 
 
 Carbonate of Lime 349 
 
 Carbonate of Magnesia 084 
 
 Carbonate of Iron...;. 012' 
 
 Chloride of Sodium 570 
 
 Sulphate of Soda 472 
 
 Silica 073 
 
 Vegeto-animal matter a trace. 
 
 [LONGCHAMPS. 
 
 Water containing twice its volume of 
 carbonic acid, 650; subcarbonate of soda 
 1.6; chloride of sodium 0.2; sulphate of 
 soda 0.8 ; subcarbonate of magnesia 
 0.025; chloride of iron 0.0125, forms an 
 artificial Vichy water. 
 
 Sweet Springs. — ( Virginia.') 
 
 According to Rouelle, these springs are 
 at the temperature of 78° F., and con- 
 tain in a pint, beside carbonic acid, — 
 from 6 to 8 grains, each, of sulphate of 
 lime, sulphate of magnesia, chloride of 
 lime, and chloride of sodium; from 9 to 12 
 grains, each, of carbonate of lime, car- 
 bonate of magnesia, and siliceous earth; 
 and from J to J grain of iron. 
 
 II. SuLPHURETED "WATERS, are impregnated with sulphurated hydro- 
 cen, in consequence of which they have an odor resembling that of rotten 
 eggs. They are useful in chronic rheumatism, syphilis and many skin 
 diseases. They react upon many metallic salts, causing black precipitates. 
 
 Aix La Chapelle. — {Germany.') 
 
 There are three springs, the tempera- 
 ture of which varies from 110° to 143° F. 
 In 1,000 grammes of water. 
 
 Sulphureted Hydrogen cub. in. 20 
 
 Carbonic Acid " " 28 
 
 Nitrogen " " 61 
 
 Chloride of Sodium grammes 2.96 
 
 Carbonate of Soda 54 
 
 Sulphate of Soda 26 
 
 Carbonate of Lime 13 
 
 Silica " 07 
 
 Total 3.96 
 
 Water containing its own volume of 
 sulphureted hydrogen, 130; chloride of 
 sodium 0.15; sulphate of magnesia 0.05, 
 forms an artificial Aix La Chapelle water. 
 
 Haerowgate Old Well. — {Eng.) 
 
 In one gaUon. 
 Sulphyireted Hydrogen. ...cub. in. 18.716 
 
 Carbonic Acid 9.529 
 
 Nitrogen, and Carb'd Hydrogen... 5.800 
 
 Total... 29.045 
 
 Chloride of Sodium grain» 760 
 
 Chloride of Lime 82 
 
 Carbonate of Magnesia 8 
 
 Loss 5 
 
 Total 805 
 
 [SCUDAMOEE, GaROEN. 
 
 The Sulphur Springs of Virginia have 
 been examined by Prof. W. B. Rogers, 
 from whose analyses the following tables 
 have been formed- 
 
1390 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 White Sulphur. — ( Virginia.') 
 
 Temperature 02° F. 
 
 lu a quart. 
 
 Nitrogen cub. in. 0.888 
 
 Snlphureted Hydrogen 0.625 
 
 Carbonic Acid 0.5 
 
 Oxygen 0.362 
 
 Total 2.375 
 
 Sulphate of Lime 15.488 
 
 Sulphate of Magnesia 11.176 
 
 Carbonate of Lime 2.3 
 
 Chloride of Calcium 0.408 
 
 „'hloride of Sodium 0.36 
 
 Oxide of Iron a minute amount. 
 
 Loss 0.82 
 
 Total 30.552 
 
 Red Sulphur. — ( Virginia.) 
 
 Temperature 55° F. 
 
 In a quart. 
 
 Carbonic Acid cub. in. 2.22 
 
 Sulphureteid Hydrogen 1.16 
 
 Nitrogen 1.09 
 
 Sulphate of Lime, 
 Sulphate of Magnesia, 
 Sulphate of Soda, 
 Carbonate of Lime, 
 Chloride of Sodium, 
 
 Equal parts o-f 
 
 each; ornear- 
 
 ► ly .4 grain of 
 
 each to a 
 
 cu-bio inch. 
 
 Salt Sulphur. — {Virginia^ 
 
 Temperature 48° to 57° F. 
 
 In a quart. 
 
 Carbonic Acid cub. in.' 3.291 
 
 Nitrogen 1.18 
 
 Sulphureted Hydrogen 0.63 to 0.86 
 
 Oxygen 0.14 
 
 Sulphate of Lime grains 21.44 
 
 Sulphate of Soda 5.639 
 
 Sulphate of Magnesia 4.591 
 
 Carbonate of Lime 2.588 
 
 Carbonate of Magnesia 0.832 
 
 Chloride of Magnesium 0.064 
 
 Chloride of Sodium 0.392 
 
 Chloride of Calcium.... 0.012 
 
 Peroxide of Iron, from Protosulph. 0.022 
 Nitrogenized organic matter,mix- 
 
 ed with Sulphur, about 2.333 
 
 Earthy Phosphates ) 
 
 Iodine ^ ...a trace of each. 
 
 Wap.m Springs — ( Virginia.) 
 Temperature, 98° to 99° F. 
 
 In a quart. 
 
 Nitrogen cubic inches, 0.8125 
 
 Carbonic Acid 0.25 
 
 Sulphureted Hydrogen 0.0625 
 
 Sulphate of Magnesia... grains, 2.496 
 
 Sulphate of Lime 1.3665 
 
 Carbonate of Lime 1.072 
 
 Chloride of Lime 0.992 
 
 Soda a trace. 
 
 Total 5.9265 
 
 Blue Sulphur. — ( Virginia.) 
 Qualitative Analysis. ' 
 
 Sulphureted Hydrogen, 
 Carbonic Acid, 
 Nitrogen, 
 Oxygen, 
 
 Sulphates of Magnesia, Lime and Soda; 
 Carbonates of Magnesia and Lime; 
 Chlorides of Magnesium, Calcium and 
 
 Sodium ; 
 Protosulphate of Iron, 
 Hydrosulph. of Soda and Magnesia; 
 Sulphur, Iodine and Organic substances 
 
 Sharon Springs. — {New York.) 
 
 White Sulphur. 
 Temperature, 46° to 50° F. 
 
 In a quart. 
 Sulphuret Hydrogen, cubic inch., 5.125 
 
 Sulphate of Lime grains, 21.35 
 
 Sulphate of Magnesia 8.5 
 
 Bicarbonate of Magnesia 6.0 , 
 
 Hydrosulph. Magnesia and Lime, 0.76 
 Chloride of Sodium and Magne- 
 sium 0.675 
 
 Total 37.275 
 
 Magnesia. Springs. 
 
 In a quart 
 Sulphureted Hydrogen, cubic in., 0.8325 
 
 Sulphate of Lime grains, 19.0 
 
 Sulphate of Magnesia 6.675 
 
 Bicarbonate of Magnesia 7.625 
 
 Hydrosulph. Magnesia and Lime, 0.125 
 Chloride of Sodium and Magne- 
 sium 0.76 
 
 Total 33,176 
 
CoiirosiTioN OF Mineral Waters. 
 
 1391 
 
 III. Chalybeate Waters, contain iron as their active principle, and 
 in considerable proportion ; they have a styptic taste, and become purplish- 
 black with tannic or gallic acids. When the water contains protosalts of iron, 
 the addition of ferrocyanuret of potassium causes a white precipitate, which 
 on exposure to the air becomes blue ; when the sesquisalts of iron are con- 
 tained in the water, ferrocyanuret of potassium gives a blue precipitate, and 
 snlphocyanuret of potassium, a red one. Chalybeate waters are divided 
 into carhoThated and sulpjiureted ; the former being brisk, sparkling, and 
 acidulous, the latter containing sulphates. They are of service in anemia, 
 chlorosis, and in cases of great debility, not attended with plethora, fever, 
 or inflammation. Their use blackens the stools. 
 
 TuNBRiDGE Wells. — (England.) 
 
 In a quart. 
 
 Chloride of Sodium grains, 0.615 
 
 Oxide of Iron. 0.555 
 
 Sulphate of Lime 0.3525 
 
 Chloride of Calcium 0.0975 
 
 Chloride of Magnesium 0.0725 
 
 Carbonate of Lime 0.0675 
 
 Manganese, Silica, etc 0.11 
 
 Loss 0.0325 
 
 Total 1.9025 
 
 [SCCDAMOEB. 
 
 Brighton. — QMigland.) 
 
 In a quart. 
 Carbonic Acid ....cubic inches, 5.00 
 
 Sulphate of Lime grains 8.18 
 
 Sulphate of Iron 3.60 
 
 Chloride of Sodium 3.06 
 
 Chloride of Magnesium 1.50 
 
 Silica 0.28 
 
 Loss 0.38 
 
 Total . 
 
 , 17.00 
 
 [Marcet. 
 
 Cheltenham. — (England.') 
 
 OhalyheaU Spring- 
 Temperature, 52° to 53° F. 
 
 In a quart. 
 Carbonic Acid cubic inches, 5.00 
 
 Chloride of Sodium 82.60 
 
 Sulphate of Soda 45.40 
 
 Sulphate of Lime 5.00 
 
 Oxide of Iron 1.60 
 
 Sulphate of Magnesia 1.20 
 
 Carbonate of Soda 1.00 
 
 Bedford. — (Permsyhania.) 
 
 Temperature, 56° to 58° F. 
 
 In a quart, 
 Carllonio Acid cubic inches, 18.50 
 
 Sulphate of Magnesia grains, 20.00 
 
 Sulphate of Lime 8.76 
 
 Chloride of Sodium 2.50 
 
 Chloride of Calcium 0.75 
 
 Carbonate of Lime 2.00 
 
 Carbonate of Iron 1.25 
 
 Loss 75 
 
 Total. 
 
 136.80 
 
 i Bbande and Farkes. 
 
 Total 81.00 
 
 [Dr. W. Chvrcb. 
 
 According to J. Cheston Morris, in 
 the Med. Examiner, June, 1852, water 
 from this spring yields, when evapo- 
 rated at 240°, the following proportions 
 of solid matter: 
 
 Sulphate of Lime 0880-J- 
 
 Sulphate of Magnesia 0310-^ 
 
 Sulphate of Soda 023875 
 
 Carbonate of Lime 016561-j^ 
 
 Sulphates of Alumina and 
 
 Iron , 010 
 
 Chloride of Sodium ,0027 
 
 Free Sulphuric Acid 001 
 
 Organic matter and Silica ,,., traces, 
 
 Schooley's Mottntain. — {N. J.) 
 
 Temperature, 50° F. 
 
 In a quart. 
 
 Chloride of Lime grains, 4.80 
 
 Carbonate of Lime 15.98 
 
 Carbonate of Iron 4.00 
 
 Sulphate of Lime 1,80 
 
 Carbonate of Magnesia 0,80 
 
1392 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 Chloride of Magueaium 1.00 
 
 Chloride of Sodium 0.86 
 
 SUica 1.60 
 
 Extractive 1.84 
 
 Loss _ 0.82 
 
 Total 33.00 
 
 [De. W. J. McNeven. 
 
 Balston Spa. — (New York.) 
 
 Temperature, 50° to 54° P. 
 
 In a quart. 
 
 Chloride of Sodium grains, 35.93(325 
 
 Carbonate of Lime 10.85175 
 
 Bicarbonate of Magnesia 9.775 
 
 Bicarbonate of Soda 3.165 
 
 Carbonate of Iron 1.4875 
 
 Iodide of Sodium 325 
 
 Silica 25 
 
 Spa . — ( Germamy.') 
 Temperature, 50" F. 
 
 la 231 cubic InchM 
 Carbonic acid .cubic inches, 262.0C 
 
 Carbonate of Lime grains, 9.87 
 
 Oxide of Iron 5.24 
 
 Carbonate of Magnesia 1.80 
 
 Carbonate of Soda 2.27 
 
 Chloride of Sodium 1.6 
 
 Sulphate of Soda 0.99 
 
 Silica 2.2o 
 
 Alumina 0.29 
 
 Total . 
 
 24.32 
 
 [Jones. 
 Water charged with five times its vol- 
 ume of carbonic acid, 650; subcarbonate 
 of soda, 0.1; carbonate of magnesia, 0.2; 
 carbonate of iron, 9.05; chloride of so- 
 dium, 9.05; forms an artificial Spa water. 
 
 Total 61.78750 
 
 [Steel. 
 
 IV. Saline Waters owe their medicinal activity to their saline ingre- 
 dients, as various salts of soda, magnesia, lime, potassa, etc.; and the sul- 
 phates, chlorides and carbonates are the most common. They usually 
 contain small portions of iron and carbonic acid, and occasionally iodine or 
 bromine. They are divided into Salt, Calcareous, Alkaline and Siliceous 
 Waters. 
 
 Plombieees. — (i^orace.) 
 Temperature, 90° to 145° F, 
 
 In a quart. 
 
 Sulphate of Soda grains, 4.66 
 
 Carbonate of Soda 4.32 
 
 Chloride of Sodium 2.50 
 
 Carbonateof Lime 1.00 
 
 Silica 2.66 
 
 Organic matter 3.00 
 
 Total. 
 
 18.14 
 
 [Vauqublin. 
 
 Carlsbad. — (^Bohemia.') 
 
 Temperature, 165° F. 
 
 In a quart. 
 
 Sulphate of Soda grains, 83.02 
 
 Carbonate of Soda 23.52 
 
 Chloride of Sodium 10.66 
 
 Carbonate of Lime 8.30 
 
 Total 125.50 
 
 [Besqmann. 
 Benelius found a trace of Lithia. 
 
 Water containing twice its volume of 
 oarbonic acid, one gallon; sulphate of 
 soda, 382 grains; carbonate nf soda, 94 
 grains; chloride of sodium, 43 grains; 
 carbonate of lime, 83 grains, forms an 
 artificial Carlsbad water. 
 
 Seidlitz. — (Bohemia.) 
 
 Temperature, 59° F. 
 
 In a quart. 
 
 Sulphate of Magnesia grains, 360.00 
 
 Sulphate of Soda 12.00 
 
 Sulphate of Lime 10.00 
 
 Carbonate of Magnesia 5.00 
 
 Carbonate of Lime 1.60 
 
 Chloride of Magnesium 9.00 
 
 Total 397.60 
 
 Water containing three times its vol- 
 ume of carbonic acid, 650; sulphate of 
 magnesia, 8; chloride of magnesium, 1; 
 forms a weak artificial Seidlitz water; a 
 stronger one may be made by doubling 
 the quantity of the salts. 
 
Composition of Mineral ' 'V^ateks. 
 
 1393 
 
 Cheltenham. — (Bngland.) 
 
 Temperature, 52° to 53° F. 
 Saline Spring. 
 
 In a quart. 
 
 Sulphate of Magnesia .grains, 22 
 
 Chloride of Sodium 100 
 
 Sulphate of Soda 30 
 
 Sulphate of Lime 9 
 
 Total ."... 161 
 
 [Parkes and Brande. 
 
 Bath. — {Englamd.) 
 
 Temperature, 112° to 116° F. 
 
 In a qnart. 
 
 Sulphate of Lime grains, 19.75 
 
 Sulphate of Soda 4.08 
 
 Chloride of Sodium 2.95 
 
 Chloride of Magnesium 3.07 
 
 Carbonate of Lime 1,96 
 
 Sulphate of Potassa 0.97, 
 
 Carbonate of Iron 0.196 
 
 Silica 0.701 
 
 Carbonate of Magnesia 0.078 
 
 Oxide of Manganese and Iodine, a trace. 
 
 Total 34.43 
 
 Hot Springs. — ( Virginia^ 
 
 Temperature, 96° to 107° F. 
 ; ; A qualitative analysis has found in 
 these springs, Nitrogen, Carbonates of 
 Magnesia, Iron and Lime, and Sulphates 
 of Magnesia, Lime and Soda. 
 
 Saratoga. — (JVew York!) 
 There are several springs in Sara- 
 toga, among which may be named the 
 Congress, Iodine, Pavilion, and TJftion; 
 the following tables have been formed 
 from the analyses of Prof. Cummons, 
 Br. J. R. Chilton, and Dr. Steel: 
 Congress Spring. 
 
 In a qnart. 
 
 Carbonic Acid cubic inch., 77.75 
 
 Common Air 1-75 
 
 Chloride of Sodium grains, 96.25 
 
 Carbonate of Lime 24.525 
 
 Bicarbonate of Magnesia 23.927 
 
 Bicarbonate of ^da 2.2455 
 
 Carbonate of Iron 1.269 
 
 Iodide of Sodium 0,9 
 
 Silica 0.375 
 
 Bromide of Potassium a trace. 
 
 Total 149.4915 
 
 Iodine Spring, 
 
 In a. quart. 
 
 Carbonic Acid cub. in. 84 
 
 Common Air 1 
 
 Chloride of Sodium grains 46.75 
 
 Carbonate of Magnesia 18.75 
 
 Carbonate of Lime 6.5 
 
 Carbonate of Soda 0.5 
 
 Carbonate of Iron 0.25 
 
 Iodine 0.875 
 
 Total 73.625 
 
 Pavilion Spring. 
 
 In a quart. 
 
 Carbonic Acid l.cub. in. 89.7625 
 
 Common Air. 1.2575 
 
 Chloride of Sodium... grains 46.92 
 
 Carbonate of Magnesia 14.23 
 
 Carbonate of Lime 13.21 
 
 Carbonate of Soda 1.28 
 
 Carbonate of Iron 0.8776 
 
 Iodide of Sodium 0.6475 
 
 Sulphate of Soda 0.87 
 
 Silica 0.29 
 
 Alumina 0.105 
 
 Phosphate of Lime 0.0475 
 
 Bromide of Potassium a trace. 
 
 Total ....: 77.9275 
 
 Union ^ring. 
 
 In a quart. 
 
 Carbonic Acid cub. in. 78,54 
 
 Common Air 1,155 
 
 Chloride of Sodium grains 60.905 
 
 Carbonate of Magnesia 21.06625 
 
 Carbonate of Lime 10.4 
 
 Carbonate of Soda 3.2 
 
 Carbonate of Iron 1.363 
 
 Iodide of Sodium 0.9 
 
 Silica and Alumina 0.8925 
 
 Bromide of Potassium a trace. 
 
 Total 98.22675 
 
 Sea Wateb. 
 The proportions of the contents of sea 
 water, as found by Schweitzer, who anal- 
 
1394 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 yzed the water of the English Channel, 
 are about as follows: — 
 
 Water parts 29235.424-(- 
 
 Chloride of Sodium 895.72 -(- 
 
 Chloride of Potassium 23.48 -\- 
 
 Chloride of Magnesium.. 
 Bromide of Magnesium.. 
 Sulphate of Magnesia,... 
 
 Sulphate of Lime 
 
 Carbonate of Lime 
 
 111.12 + 
 
 0.878+ 
 68.81 
 42.6 -f- 
 
 1.0 
 
 V. Acidulous Waters are not so frequently met with as the preceding, 
 from which they are distinguished by holding in solution a free acid, other 
 than the carbonic. The following table is prepared from an analysis of a 
 sulphuric acid spring, by Dr. J. R. Chilton : 
 
 Oak Orchard Springs. — (JSf. Y.) 
 
 In a quart. 
 
 Free Sulphuric Acid grains 20.74 
 
 Sulphate of Lime 9.90 
 
 Protosulphate of Iron 8.58 
 
 Sulphate of Alumina..... 2.42 
 
 Sulphate of Magnesia 2X)7 
 
 Organic Matters 0.82 
 
 Silica 0.26 
 
 Total 39.79 
 
 Free sulphuric acid is stated, likewise 
 to exist in the Alum Spring of Virginia. 
 
 VI. Siliceous Waters. As already remarked, these are a division of 
 the Saline Waters, which are occasionally met with. The boiling springs 
 of Geyser, in Iceland, belong to this division, according to the following 
 analysis by Black. The silica is held in solution by the soda. — Edin. Phil. 
 Trans. III. 95. 
 
 Solid Contents In a quart. 
 
 Soda 1.39 
 
 Alumina 0.70 
 
 Silica , 7.875 
 
 Muriate of Soda 3.605 
 
 Sulphate of Soda 2.1425 
 
 Total.: 15.7125 
 
 In addition to the above, the foil owing qualitative analyses have' been 
 recently made ; 
 
 Sulphur Spring. (Nashville, Term.) 
 
 Sulphureted Hydrogen, 
 Carbonic Acid, 
 Hydrochloric Acid, 
 Sulphuric Acid, 
 Magnesia as a Sulphate, 
 Soda, as a Hydrocblorate. 
 
 [Peop. Bowbn, 
 
 Sam's Creek Spring. — (,Dcmdson 
 
 Coimty.') 
 Sulphureted Hydrogen, 
 Carbonic Aoid. 
 
 Sulphate of Lime, 
 Hydrocblorate of Soda. 
 
 [Pkof. Teoost. 
 
 Ttree's Springs. — (^Davidson Co.) 
 
 Sulphureted Hydrogen, 
 
 Carbonic Aoid, 
 
 Sulphate of Lime, 
 
 Sulphate of Magnesia, 
 
 Carbonate of Lime, 
 
 Hydrocblorate of Soda. 
 
 [Pbof. Tkoosi. 
 
Composition of Mineral Waters. 
 
 1395 
 
 Shelby Chalybeate Spring. 
 {Nashville,') 
 
 Temperature of spring, 61°, while the 
 air was 90°. 
 Carbonio Aoid, free, 
 Carbonate of Iron, 
 Carbonate of Magnesia, 
 Carbonate of Lime, 
 Chloride of Sodium, 
 Sulphate of Magnesia. 
 
 [Richard 0. Citbbbt. 
 
 Bayley's 8pRiNG.-(/'torence, Ala.') 
 
 Carbonic Aoid, 824 cabic inches in a 
 
 gallon, 
 Carbonate of Magnesia, 
 Carbonate of Soda, 
 Carbonate of Iron, 
 Carbonate of Potassa, according to Prof. 
 
 Tuomey, 
 Iodine, at least 3 grains to the gallon. 
 Chloride of Sodium. 
 
 [RlOBABD 0. CVBBET. 
 
 These last springs, at Florence, are noted for their efficacy in soroAiloiu 
 and dropsical diseases. 
 
Appendix. 
 SHOW COLORS FOR DRUGGISTS' SHOP WINDOWS. 
 
 BLUB. 
 
 No. 1. — Snlpbate of copper f j, sulphurio acid gsB, water gx. 
 
 No. 2. — Ammonio-sulpliate of copper, ammonio-nitrate of nickel (see 
 No. 5) and water. 
 
 No. 3. — Prussian blue gr. x, oxalic acid, gr. xx, water Ix'vj. 
 
 No. 4. — Dissolve nickel in diluted sulphuric acid, add ammonia in. 
 ezcess, and dilute with water. 
 
 No. 5. — Dissolve nickel in diluted nitric acid, add ammonia in excess, 
 and dilute with water. 
 
 No. 6. — To the green color made by formula No. 8 under that color 
 add sufficient aqua ammonia to make it blue. 
 
 No. 7. — Dissolve sulphate of indigo in water. 
 
 GEEEN. 
 
 No. 1. — Sulphate of copper |ij, chloride of sodium giv, water gxx.* 
 
 No. 2. — Dissolve §j of nickel in |vj of nitric acid, and add Ov of water. 
 
 No. 3. — Dissolve nickel in dilute sulphuric acid, and dilute with water. 
 
 No. 4. — Dissolve sulphate of copper in water, and add bichromate of 
 potassa until the required color is produced. 
 
 No. 5. — Dissolve ammonio-sulphate of copper in water, and add bichro- 
 mate of potassa until the required color is produced. 
 
 No. 6. — Dissolve sulphate of copper in water, and add nitric acid until 
 the required color is produced. 
 
 No. 7. — Dissolve distilled verdigris with acetic acid, a-nd dilute with 
 water. 
 
 No. 8. — Dissolve a copper cent in nitric acid, and add enough of the 
 solution to water or proof-spirit to give it the right shade. 
 
 No. 9. — Add distilled water and sulphate of copper to a strong decoction 
 of turmeric. 
 
 LILAC. 
 
 No. 1. — Dissolve zaffre (impure oxide of cobalt) in hydrochloric acid, 
 filter and add carbonate of ammonia in excess; to this add ammonio- 
 sulphate of copper until the required color is produced. 
 
 No. 2. — Dissolve zaffre in hydrochloric acid, filter, and add carbonate 
 of ammonia in excess ; to this add ammonio-nitrate of nickel (see Blue, 
 No. 5) until the required tint is produced. 
 
 ORANGE. 
 
 No. 1. — Dissolve bichromate of potassa in water until the reqaired tint 
 is produced. 
 
Show Cdlors fob DatraGisTs' Windows. 1397 
 
 No. 2. — The same as the last, but adding some oil of vitriol, or hydro- 
 chloric acid. 
 
 PINK. 
 
 No. 1. — Dissolve |ij of zaffre in |vj of hydrochloric acid, filter, add 
 solution of carbonate of ammonia in excess ; then add fgj of liquor 
 jscitassae, and dilute vrith vrater to produce the required color. 
 
 No. 2. — Nitrate of cobalt may be used, with carbonate of ammonia, in 
 the same way as the last. 
 
 PURPLE. 
 
 No. 1. — Sulphate of copper §j, carbonate of ammonia §J8S, water Oijaa. 
 
 No. 2. — The last color, with a small quantity of the Pink No. 1. 
 
 No. 3. — Dissolve permanganate of potassa in water. 
 
 No. 4. — Dissolve verdigris two drachms, and aqua-ammonia four fluid- 
 ounces, in a pint and a half of water. 
 
 No. 5. — Acetate of lead one ounce, powdered cochineal one scruple, 
 water a sufficient quantity, until the required tint is produced, 
 
 YELLOW. 
 
 No. 1. — Bichromate of potassa 3vj, carbonate of potassa giv, water Jz^. 
 
 No. 2. — Add a sufficient quantity of tincture of iodine to alcohol <w 
 proof-spirit to make a bright straw-color. 
 
 No. 3. — Dissolve iron in hydrochloric acid, and dilute with water. 
 
 No. 4. — Dissolve Indian-yellow in water. 
 
 No. 5. — Pour boiling water on powdered turmeric, and filter. A amall 
 quantity of any alkaline solution converts it into a hrown color. 
 
 VIOLET. 
 
 Ammonio-Sulphate of copper, diluted with water, and enough of tha 
 pink color No. 1 to produce the required tint. 
 
 RED. 
 
 No. 1. — Macerate powdered cochineal in spirit of hartshorn, and dilate 
 it with water. 
 
 No. 2. — Dissolve carmine in solution of ammonia, and dilute it with 
 water. 
 
 No. 3. — Wash the best madder two or three times with cold water, then 
 macerate it in solution of carbonate of ammonia, filter the solution, and 
 dilute it with water. 
 
 No. 4. — Dissolve madder lake in solution of carbonate of ammonia. 
 
 jjo. 5. — Add a sufficient quantity of tincture of iodine to alcohol or 
 proof-spirit, to produce the desired color. Should it fade renew the color 
 by adding more tincture of iodine. 
 
1398 Appendix. 
 
 No, 6. — Dissolve carmine in water to which a little chloride of tin baa 
 been added. 
 
 No. 7. — To a solution of sal ammoniac add a sufficient quantity at 
 eochineal. 
 
 No. 8. — Boil a red beet in water, dilute it to the required tint, and 
 brighten it with a little acetic acid. 
 
 N. B. — Alcohol answers better for colors than water or proof-spirit, as 
 there is seldom any precipitate or decomposition ; beside, as it does not 
 freeze in winter, there is no breaking of the show-bottles, which is apt to 
 ensue when water is used. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 AbbreTiationSjtable of 1311 
 
 AbelmoBchus esculen- 
 
 tus 18 
 
 Abelmosohus moBoha^ 
 
 tus 13 
 
 Abies Americana 476 
 
 balsamea 14 
 
 canadensis 15 
 
 excelsa 16 
 
 larix 18, 687 
 
 nigra 18 
 
 picea 16 
 
 resina 17 
 
 Absinthine 135 
 
 Absolute Alcohol...... 74 
 
 Acacia 19 
 
 Arabica „... 19 
 
 catechu 21 
 
 vera 19 
 
 Aceta 909 
 
 Aoetate of ammonia, 
 
 solution of 1056 
 
 Aoetate of iron 1009 
 
 of lead 652 
 
 ofmercury. 1279 
 
 ofmorphia 1075 
 
 of mofpihia, solu- 
 tion of 1076 
 
 ofoxideofethyle. 920 
 
 of potassa 1128 
 
 ofquinia 1155 
 
 ofsoda 782 
 
 of zinc 1307 
 
 Aeetatedtinct.of blood- 
 root compound, 1236 
 
 Acetated tincture of 
 
 opium 1283 
 
 Acetic acid 27 
 
 acidjCamphorated, 29 
 
 acid, diluted 910 
 
 acid, glacial 28 
 
 ether 920 
 
 Acetous emetic tinct- 
 ure 1236 
 
 Acetum 23 
 
 Britannicum 23 
 
 destillatum 23, 910 
 
 Acetum Gallicum 23 
 
 lobelisB 911 
 
 sanguinarise 9ll 
 
 scillsB 912 
 
 Achillea millefolium.. 25 
 
 Achillea ptarmica 27 
 
 Achilleio acid 26 
 
 Achilleine 26 
 
 Acid, acetic 27 
 
 acetic diluted 910 
 
 achilleio 26 
 
 aliemotiic 110 
 
 aromatic sulphuric 54 
 
 arsenious 1266 
 
 benzoic 80 
 
 oalnphorated acet- 
 ic „... 29 
 
 oarbaz.otic ■ 81 
 
 carbolic 32 
 
 carbonic 927 
 
 carthamic 190 
 
 cafyophyllic 1091 
 
 cathartic 196 
 
 cerotic 206 
 
 cetraric 210 
 
 chelidonic 2ll 
 
 chromic 35 
 
 chrysophanic 704 
 
 cinnamic 289, 540, 1092 
 
 citric 86 
 
 copaivic 292 
 
 orotonic 582 
 
 cyano-hydrite 41 
 
 diluted acetic 910 
 
 diluted phospho*- 
 
 ic &1 
 
 diliited Sult>huri<j, 57 
 
 elaidic 570 
 
 eugenic 1091 
 
 fefric 861 
 
 gallic 87 
 
 gainbogio 376 
 
 gelseminic 1226 
 
 glacial acetic 28 
 
 glacial phosphor- 
 ic 52 
 
 guaiacic 403, 404 
 
 hetoidesmic 42 1 
 
 hydriodio .39,448 
 
 Aoid, hydrochlorie 40 
 
 hydrocyanic 41 
 
 hydrosulphurio... 1038 
 
 hyperiodic 448 
 
 hypophosphorous 1196 
 
 iodic 448 
 
 iodous 448 
 
 itaconic 828 
 
 kinio 246 
 
 lactic 44 
 
 lactucic '.. 474 
 
 meoonic 610 
 
 metagallic 89 
 
 mimmotanuic 22 
 
 muriatic 40 
 
 mift-iatic diluted.. 41 
 
 myristicio 538 
 
 myronic 774 
 
 nitrate of mercury 1288 
 
 nitric 45 
 
 nitric diluted 47 
 
 nitro-hydroohlor- 
 
 ic 48 
 
 nitro-inuriatic ... 48 
 
 opianic 606 
 
 oxalic 49 
 
 palmic 573 
 
 paratartaric 63 
 
 parillinic 779 
 
 pectic 327 
 
 phenic 32 
 
 phosphorio,dilut'd 51 
 phosphoric, gla- 
 cial 52 
 
 picric 82 
 
 picrotoxic 107 
 
 polygalic 659 
 
 pfussic 41 
 
 pyrogallic 38 
 
 pj'roligneous 29 
 
 quercitric 692 
 
 racemic 68 
 
 rhabarbic 704 
 
 sabadillic 851 
 
 smilasperic 421 
 
 succinic 816 
 
 sulphuric 55 
 
 sulphuric,aromat- 
 
 ic 64 
 
 n.q99\ 
 
1400 
 
 Index. 
 
 Aoid, Bulpburic diluted 67 
 
 sulphurous 57 
 
 tannic 59 
 
 tartaric 62 
 
 thymic 831 
 
 Talerianio..., 846 
 
 Acidum aceticum 27 
 
 aceticum dilutum 910 
 aceticum empy- 
 
 reumaticum..,, 29 
 
 araeniosiim 1266 
 
 benzoicum 30 
 
 carbazoticum. ...'.. 81 
 
 carbolicum 32 
 
 chromicum 85 
 
 oitrioum 36 
 
 gallicum 37 
 
 hydriodioum di- 
 lutum 89 
 
 hydrochloricum... . 40 
 
 hydrocyanioum ... 41 
 
 lacticum 44 
 
 nitricum 46 
 
 nitro-hydrochlo- 
 
 ricum 48 
 
 oxalicum 49 
 
 phosphoricum di- 
 lutum 51 
 
 pyroligneum 29 
 
 Bulphuricum 56 
 
 Bulphuricum aro- 
 
 maticum 64 
 
 Bulphuricum dilu- 
 tum 57 
 
 , BulphuroBum 57 
 
 tanuicum 69 
 
 tartaricum 62 
 
 yalerianioum 846 
 
 Aconelline 66 
 
 Aconite 63 
 
 and chloroform 
 
 liniment 1050 
 
 liniment 1049 
 
 plaster 955 
 
 Aconitina 66 
 
 Aconitum napellus. ... 63 
 
 paniculatum 63 
 
 Acorus calamus 66 
 
 Acteea alba 67 
 
 rubra 67 
 
 spicata 67 
 
 Adder's tongue 846 
 
 violet 399 
 
 Adeps 68 
 
 suillus preparatuB 68 
 
 Adhesive plaster 960 
 
 and strengthening 
 
 plaster 641, 960 
 
 Adiantum pedatum... 69 
 
 .^rugo 814 
 
 ^sculin 70 
 
 .Sisculus glabra 70 
 
 hippocastanum.... 69 
 
 iBther aceticus 920 
 
 hydriodicus 921 
 
 Atherea 912 
 
 .^thiops martis 1025 
 
 African kino 468 
 
 Agaric 71 
 
 larch 71 
 
 white 71 
 
 of the oak 71 
 
 Agave Americana 72 
 
 Virginica 72 
 
 Agrimonia Eupatoria. 73 
 
 Agrimony 73 
 
 Ague bitters 1235 
 
 root 78 
 
 Air-bath, hot 802 
 
 Air, fixed 927 
 
 Ajuga ohamsepitys 73 
 
 Albany beech drops... 296 
 
 Albumen 693 
 
 ovi 593 
 
 vegetable 837 
 
 Alcohol 74 
 
 absolute 74 
 
 amylic 77 
 
 amylicum 77 
 
 diluted 74 
 
 dilutum 74 
 
 methylio 805 
 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 aconite 968 
 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 belladonna 970 
 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 black cohosh.... 971 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 blackroot 979 
 
 Alcohplic extract of 
 
 bloodroot.: 987 
 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 blue cohosh 970 
 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 blue flag 978 
 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 butternut 978 
 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 chamomile 968 
 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 cramp bark 988 
 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 elecampane 977 
 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 henbane 977 
 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 high cranberry 988 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 Indian hemp... 969 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 motherwort 979 
 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 nux vomica 984 
 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 pleurisy root... 969 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 poison hemlock. 972 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 poke 984 
 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 queen's root..... 987 
 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 St. ' Ignatius' 
 
 bean 978 
 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 scullcap 987 
 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 shrubby trefoil 986 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 stramonium 987 
 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 turkey corn 973 
 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 unicorn root. ... 968 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 wild cherry 986 
 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 wild indigo 969 
 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 
 yellow dock 986 
 
 Alcoholic extract of 
 yellow ladies' 
 
 slipper 978 
 
 Alcoholic potassa 1127 
 
 Aldehyd 23 
 
 Alder black 677 
 
 common 82 
 
 leaved dogwoott... 297 
 
 smooth 82 
 
 spotted 411 
 
 tag 82 
 
 Aleppo scammony 289 
 
 Aletridin 79, 968 
 
 Aletrin 79, 968 
 
 Aletris farinosa 78 
 
 Alexandria senna 195 
 
 Alisma plantago 79 
 
 Alkaline ointment... 1246 
 ointment, campho- 
 rated 1246 
 
 Alkaline'wash 1063 
 
 Allium cepa 81 
 
 sativum 80 
 
 Allspice 542 
 
 wild 157 
 
 Almond 101 
 
 cream syrup 1211 
 
 cutting 616 
 
 oil soap 749 
 
 Almonds, bitter 101 
 
 saponaceous 
 
 cream of 749 
 
 sweet 101 
 
 Alnuine... 82 
 
 Alnus rubra 82 
 
 serrulata 82 
 
 Aloe, American 72 
 
 false 72 
 
 Socotrina 83 
 
 Spicata 82 
 
 spiked 82 
 
 vulgaris 83 
 
 Aloes .82 
 
 Barbadoes 88 
 
 Cape 83 
 
 Aloesin 85 
 
 Aloine 85 
 
Index. 
 
 1401 
 
 Alpiniacardamomum. 86 
 
 Alsine media 809 
 
 Alterative syrup 1198 
 
 Althaea oflBoinalia 87 
 
 rosea 88 
 
 ATum 89 
 
 burnt 90 
 
 dried 90 
 
 iron 91 
 
 root 385, 422 
 
 whey 90 
 
 Alumen •-. 89 
 
 exsiccatum 90 
 
 ustum 90 
 
 Alumina and ammo- 
 nia, sulphate of 89 
 Alumina and potassa, 
 
 sulphate of...... 89 
 
 Aluminium 89 
 
 Amaranth 92 
 
 Amaranthus hypo- 
 
 chondriacus 92 
 
 Amber 815 
 
 oil of 816 
 
 oil of, rectified.... 1106 
 
 varnish 816 
 
 Ambrosia artemisiaefo- 
 
 lia 93 
 
 elatior 93 
 
 triflda 92 
 
 Ambrosine 93 
 
 American agave 72 
 
 Aloe 72 
 
 anemone 110 
 
 broomrape 589 
 
 centaury 726 
 
 coifee-bean 407 
 
 Colombo 366 
 
 foxglove 387 
 
 gentian 383 
 
 Greek- valerian... 657 
 
 hellebore 852 
 
 holly 442 
 
 ipecacuanha 366 
 
 ivy 100 
 
 larch 475 
 
 mezereon 337 
 
 poplar 665 
 
 Pulsatilla 110 
 
 sanicle 422 
 
 sarsaparilla 124 
 
 senna 193 
 
 valerian 319 
 
 Amidin 105 
 
 Amido-chlorideof mer- 
 cury 1279 
 
 Ammonia 95, 922 
 
 benzoate of 922 
 
 carbonate of. 96 
 
 chloro-hydrate of, 98 
 hypophosphite of, 
 
 ■^^ ^ 1196 
 
 muriate of 98 
 
 phosphate of 922 
 
 preparations of... 922 
 gesquicarbonate of 96 
 
 Ammonia solution of.. 928 
 stronger solution 
 
 of 930 
 
 succinate of. 1032 
 
 valerianate of..... 923 
 
 water of 928 
 
 Ammoniac, gum. 93 
 
 Ammoniacal oint- 
 ment 930, 1246 
 
 Ammoniacum 93 
 
 Ammonise acetatis li- 
 quor 1055 
 
 Benzoas 922 
 
 arsenias 1272 
 
 carbonas 96 
 
 hydrochloras 98 
 
 - liquor 928 
 
 liquor fortior 930 
 
 murias 98 
 
 phosphas 922 
 
 valerianas 923 
 
 Ammoniated copper... 1277 
 
 mercury 1279 
 
 tincture of castor 1218 
 tincture of vale- 
 rian 1239 
 
 Ammonio-citrate of 
 
 iron 1014 
 
 Ammonio-ferric alum. 91 
 Ammonium,bromideof 924 
 
 bromidum 924 
 
 iodide of 925 
 
 iodidum 925 
 
 sulphide of. 924 
 
 Amorphous soft sul- 
 phur 817 
 
 Amorphous tersulphu- 
 
 ret of antimony 1263 
 Ampelopsis quinque- 
 
 folia 100 
 
 Amygdala amara 101 
 
 dulcis 101 
 
 Amygdalae oleum 101 
 
 Amygdalin 101 
 
 Amygdaline soap 749 
 
 Amygdalus communis 101 
 
 Persica 102 
 
 Amyle, hydra ted oxide 
 
 of 77 
 
 Amylic alcohol 77 
 
 Amylin 105 
 
 Amylum 103 
 
 Anacyclus pyrethrum 105 
 
 Anagallis arvensis.... 106 
 
 Anamirta cocoulus.... 106 
 
 Andira inermis 108 
 
 retusa 109 
 
 Andromeda angustifo- 
 
 lia 109 
 
 arborea 109 
 
 mariana 109 
 
 nitida 109 
 
 ovalifolia 109 
 
 polyfolia 109 
 
 pulverulenta 109 
 
 speciosa 109 
 
 Anemone cylindrioa... 110 
 
 Ludoviciana 110 
 
 meadow 110 
 
 nemorosa 109 
 
 patens 110 
 
 pratensis 110, 683 
 
 Pulsatilla 110 
 
 wood 109 
 
 Anemonine 110 
 
 Angelica archangelica 111 
 
 atropurpurea Ill 
 
 lucida ill 
 
 purple Ill 
 
 tree 125 
 
 triquinati Ill 
 
 Angola weed 714 
 
 Angosturin 373 
 
 Angustura 372 
 
 false ., 373 
 
 Anhydrous alcohol.... 74 
 
 Anilin ;.. 619 
 
 sulphate of 620 
 
 Animal charcoal 186 
 
 Anise 639 
 
 Aniseed, star 640 
 
 Anodyne liniment 1053 
 
 liquor, Hoffman's 75 
 
 pomade 1050 
 
 Antennaria dioicum... 112 
 margaritaceum, 
 
 111, 399 
 plantaginenm .... 112 
 
 Anthemis cotula 517 
 
 nobilis 112 
 
 pyrethrum 105 
 
 Anthoxantum odora- 
 
 tum' 832 
 
 Antibacchanalian 
 
 elixir 689 
 
 Antibilious physic 1152 
 
 Antidyspeptic pills... 1117 
 
 Anti-emetic drops 186 
 
 Antimonial wine 1263 
 
 Antimonii et potasses 
 
 tartras 1262 
 
 Antimonii oxydum.... 1261 
 sulphuretum prsB- 
 
 cipitatum 1264 
 
 terchloridum 1266 
 
 tersulphuretum... 1263 
 tersulphuretum 
 
 amorphum 1268 
 
 Antimonium 1261 
 
 Antimony 1261 
 
 amorphous tersul- 
 
 phuretof 1263 
 
 and potassa, tar- 
 trate of. 1262 
 
 compound powder 
 
 of 1264 
 
 golden sulphuret 
 
 of 1264 
 
 oxide of. 1261 
 
 pentasulphuret of 1264 
 precipitated sul- 
 phuret of. 1264 
 
1402 
 
 Index. 
 
 Antimony sesquisul- 
 
 phuret of. 1263 
 
 teroUoride of. 1265 
 
 teroxide of 1261 
 
 tersulphuret of.... 1263 
 
 Autispasmodic clyster 963 
 
 tincture 1231 
 
 Apiol 623 
 
 Apis mellifica 205 
 
 Apium petroselinum... 622 
 
 Apocynin 114 
 
 Apocynum audrosn- 
 
 mifolium 113 
 
 cannabinum 114 
 
 Apomorphia 609 
 
 Appendix 1261 
 
 Apple 689 
 
 Peru 323 
 
 Aqua , 116 
 
 acidi carbonici... 927 
 
 ammonise 928 
 
 fortior 930 
 
 amygdalae amarse 931 
 
 oalcis 931 
 
 camphorse 932 
 
 cMorinii 932 
 
 cinnamomi 934 
 
 ereasoti 305 
 
 destillata 934 
 
 ex lacu 117 
 
 ex palude 117 
 
 fluTialis. 117 
 
 foeniculi 935 
 
 fontana 117 
 
 fortis. 45 
 
 florum aurantii... 936 
 hedeomffi pulegio- 
 
 des 936 
 
 menthss piperitss. 935 
 
 menthse viridis... 936 
 
 nivalis 116 
 
 phosphorica 629 
 
 piois liquidse 935 
 
 pimentsB 935 
 
 pluvia 116 
 
 puteana 117 
 
 regia 48 
 
 rossB 936 
 
 sambuci 936 
 
 sapphirina 315 
 
 Aquse medicata 926 
 
 Arabin 146 
 
 Aralia hispida 124 
 
 nudicaulis 124 
 
 racemosa 124 
 
 spinosa 125, 873 
 
 Arbor vitse 830 
 
 Arbutin 128 
 
 Arbutus uva ursi 126 
 
 Archil , 715 
 
 Arctium lappa. 126 
 
 Arotostaphylos uva 
 
 ursi 126 
 
 Aretuvin 128 
 
 Areca catechu 22 
 
 Argel 195 
 
 Argenti chloridum 1265 
 
 oyanuretum 1265 
 
 iodidum 1265 
 
 nitras 128 
 
 oxydum 1265 
 
 Aricina ; 247 
 
 Aristolochia hastata... 132 
 
 hirsuta 132 
 
 reticulata 132 
 
 sagittaria 132 
 
 serpeutaria 132 
 
 tomentosa 132 
 
 Armenian cement 440 
 
 Arnica, fluid extract of 135 
 
 glycerole of. 135 
 
 montana 133 
 
 plaster 955 
 
 Arnicina 134 
 
 Aromatic extract ■> 969 
 
 Aromatic fluid extract 
 
 of cinchona 992 
 
 Aromatic spirit of am- 
 monia 1239 
 
 Aromatic sulph. acid.. 54 
 Aromatic tincture of 
 
 guaiacum 1226 
 
 Aromatic wine of cin- 
 chona 1257 
 
 Aromatic vinegar, 
 
 Henry's 29 
 
 Arrowro'ot 514 
 
 plant 514 
 
 Arrow-wood 859 
 
 Indian ; 349 
 
 Arseniate of ammonia 1272 
 
 ofiron 1272 
 
 ofquinia 1272 
 
 Arsenic 1266 
 
 iodide of 1272 
 
 Arsenical paste 1269 
 
 solut'n,Pearson8's 1268 
 
 Arsenici iodidum 1272 
 
 Arsenicum 1266 
 
 Arsenious acid 1266 
 
 Artanthe elongata 642 
 
 Artemisia abrotanum. 136 
 
 absinthium 135 
 
 santonica 136 
 
 vulgaiis 186 
 
 Artichoke, garden 317 
 
 Jerusalem 318 
 
 Artificial camphor..l72, 576 
 
 kino ; 470 
 
 musk 533 
 
 sea-water 794 
 
 seltzer-water 927 
 
 serum 595 
 
 tannin 696 
 
 Arum triphyllum 138 
 
 Asagra officinalis 861 
 
 Asarabacca 139 
 
 Asafoetida 147 
 
 Asarin 140 
 
 Asarite 140 
 
 Asarum camphor 140 
 
 Canadenae 140 
 
 Asarum EuropsBum... 13a 
 
 Asclepias alba 142 
 
 cornuti 141 
 
 flesh-colored 142 
 
 glabra 142 
 
 incarnata 142 
 
 pseudosarsa 420 
 
 pulchra 142 
 
 syriaca ,... 141 
 
 tuberosa 142 
 
 Asclepidin , 143 
 
 Asolepione 141 
 
 Ascletine 143 
 
 Ash, black 367 
 
 blue 368 
 
 flowering.... 586 
 
 white 367 
 
 prickly 871 
 
 Asiatic pills 1268 
 
 Asparagin.. 144 
 
 Asparagus 144 
 
 officinalis 144 
 
 Aspen... 666 
 
 Asphaltum... 621 
 
 Aspidium filix maS.... 144 
 
 Aster sestivus... 149 
 
 cordifolius 149 
 
 punieeus 149 
 
 silver 799 
 
 Astragalus CreticuB.. 146 
 
 gummifer 146 
 
 strobuliferus 146 
 
 tragacautha 146 
 
 verus 146 
 
 Atropa belladonna.... 150 
 
 Atropia 937 
 
 lotion 1063 
 
 sulphate of. 938 
 
 valerianate of...., 938 
 
 Aurine 33 
 
 Auro-terchloride of 
 
 sodium....... ... 791 
 
 Avenasativa , .^. 152 
 
 Avense farina ... 152 
 
 A vena, European 388 
 
 water 387 
 
 white 387 
 
 purple 387 
 
 Axungia 68 
 
 Azotic acid 45 
 
 B 
 
 Baking powder 1173 
 
 Balm 521 
 
 of Gilead 14, 664 
 
 Balmony 212 
 
 Balm, parturient 1205 
 
 Balneum maris facti- 
 
 tium 794 
 
 Balsam, Canada 14 
 
 glycerin.... .396 
 
 groundsel 768 
 
 of copaiba 291 
 
 of fir 14 
 
 of Peru 539 
 
 ofTolu 541 
 
Index. 
 
 1403 
 
 Balsam, Pettit's oph- 
 thalmic 1254 
 
 poplar 664 
 
 pulmonary 1204 
 
 spruce 14 
 
 styptic 578 
 
 Turlington's 1216 
 
 weed 444 
 
 white 399 
 
 Balsamito 540 
 
 Balsamodendron myr- 
 
 rha 153 
 
 Bamboo brier 778 
 
 Baneberry 67 
 
 Baptisia alba 166 
 
 tinctofia 154 
 
 Baptisin 165 
 
 Barbadoes aloes 83 
 
 petroleum 617 
 
 tar 617 
 
 Barberry 159 
 
 Barii chloridum 1274 
 
 iodidum 1275 
 
 Barilla 786 
 
 Barium 1273 
 
 chloride of 1274 
 
 iodide of 1275 
 
 Bark, cabbage tree.... 108 
 
 pale 233, 246 
 
 Peruvian 229 
 
 pitaya 233 
 
 red 233, 240, 246 
 
 yellow 233, 246 
 
 Barks, Carthagena.... 233 
 
 Barley 426 
 
 Barosma crenata 156 
 
 crenulata 156 
 
 serratifola 156 
 
 Baryta 1273 
 
 carbonate of. 1273 
 
 nitrate of. 1274 
 
 sulphate of 1274 
 
 Barytse carbonas 1273 
 
 nitras 1274 
 
 sulphas 1274 
 
 Basilicon ointment.... 949 
 
 Bastard saffron 189 
 
 Bateman's drops 1234 
 
 •Bath, cold 119 
 
 foot 123 
 
 head 123 
 
 hip 122 
 
 hot 120 
 
 hot air 802 
 
 lime 170 
 
 plunge 123 
 
 shallow 123 
 
 shower 128 
 
 sitz 122 
 
 spirit vapor 802 
 
 yapor 120 
 
 warm » 120 
 
 Bayberry 536 
 
 plaster 956 
 
 wax 635 
 
 Beadtree 520 
 
 Beau, calabar 680 
 
 Bean of St. Ignatius... 441 
 
 Bearberry 126 
 
 Bear's-bed 663 
 
 foot 418 
 
 oil 573 
 
 Beaver tree 507 
 
 Bebeerin 545 
 
 Bebeeru 544 
 
 Beech drops 589 
 
 Albany 296 
 
 Beefs gall , 358 
 
 Beef-marrow soap 749 
 
 Beggar's lice 318 
 
 tick 161 
 
 Belladonna 150 
 
 plaster ■ 956 
 
 plaster,compound 966 
 
 Bellwort 844 
 
 Benjamin bush 157 
 
 Benne 769 
 
 Benzoate of Ammonia 922 
 Benzoated lard. ...68, 
 
 1245, 1247 
 
 Benzoic acid 30 
 
 Benzoin 158 
 
 odoriferum 157 
 
 Benzoinum 158 
 
 Benzole 618 
 
 Benzoyle hydride 101 
 
 Berberina 207, 940 
 
 hydrochlorate of.. 942 
 
 iodide of 945 
 
 muriate of 942 
 
 sulphate of 944 
 
 Berberis vulgaris 159 
 
 Beth root 883 
 
 Betula lenta 160 
 
 Bibasic nitrate of mer- 
 cury 1281 
 
 Bicarbonate of potassa 1120 
 
 ofsoda 1171 
 
 of soda, troches of 1243 
 Bichloride of mercury 1283 
 
 of platinum 1298 
 
 Bichromate of potassa 1180 
 Bidens bipinnata...... 161 
 
 connata 161 
 
 frondosa 161 
 
 tripartita 161 
 
 Big-leaved ivy 465 
 
 Bignonia sempervi- 
 
 rens 378 
 
 Bilberry 846 
 
 Bimeconateofmorphia 1079 
 Biniodide of mercury 1286 
 Binitrosulphide of iron 221 
 Bin-oxalate of potassa 596 
 Binoxideof manganese 610 
 
 Birch, black 160 
 
 cherry 160 
 
 sweet 160 
 
 mahogany 160 
 
 Bird's nest 530 
 
 Birth-root 833 
 
 Bismuth 162 
 
 Bismuthi subnitras... 162 
 
 Bismuth, tannate of... 164 
 
 trisnitrate of. 162 
 
 valerianate of..... 164 
 
 white oxide of..... 162 
 
 Bisulphate of potassa. 1132 
 
 Bisulphide of iodine... 819 
 
 Bisulphite of lime 170 
 
 of soda 790 
 
 Bisulphuret of tin 1304 
 
 Bi tartrate of potassa.. 667 
 
 Bitter-almond water.. 931 
 
 almonds 101 
 
 almonds, oil of.... 101 
 
 candy tuft 439 
 
 cassava 459 
 
 cucumber 309 
 
 polygala 658 
 
 root 113 
 
 quassia 637 
 
 Bitters, ague 1236 
 
 Bone's 1229 
 
 wine 1258 
 
 restorative wine.. 1259 
 
 Bittersweet 794 
 
 climbing 200 
 
 false 200 
 
 Bitterweed 92 
 
 Black alder 677 
 
 ash 367 
 
 berry 719 
 
 berry, low 719 
 
 birch 160 
 
 cherry 160 
 
 cohosh 227 
 
 currant 712 
 
 currant, wild 712 
 
 drop 614 
 
 haw 859 
 
 hellebore 417 
 
 larch 475 
 
 liniment 1052 
 
 locust 713 
 
 mustard 772 
 
 oak 691 
 
 oxide of iron, 861, 1024 
 
 oxide of mercury 1292 
 
 pepper 645 
 
 pitch 649 
 
 powder 1153 
 
 pursely 355 
 
 root 479 
 
 rosin 696 
 
 salve 958 
 
 Sampson 722 
 
 snakeroot 227, 745 
 
 spruce 18 
 
 sulphuret of mer- 
 cury 1295 
 
 tea 828 
 
 walnut 461 
 
 wash 1291 
 
 whortleberry 846 
 
 willow 737 
 
 Bladder fuous 369 
 
 Blancard's pills 1020 
 
1404 
 
 Index. 
 
 Blazing star 482 
 
 Blessed thistle 201 
 
 Bloodroot 741 
 
 yinegar of. 911 
 
 Blooming spurge 353 
 
 Blood wort, striped 423 
 
 Blue ash 368 
 
 hells 657 
 
 cohosh 198 
 
 flag 456 
 
 fringed gentian... 384 
 
 gentian 383 
 
 lobelia 494 
 
 pills 1296 
 
 Prussian 1016 
 
 verdigris 314 
 
 violet 860 
 
 vitriol 314 
 
 whortleberry 845 
 
 Blunt-leaved dock 728 
 
 Bog-bean 625 
 
 Boletus fomentarius... 71 
 
 ignarius 71 
 
 laricis 71 
 
 Bone's bitters 1229 
 
 Bone phosphate of lime 945 
 
 Boneset 350 
 
 Borate of mercury 1280 
 
 of soda 783 
 
 Borax 783 
 
 lotion 1064 
 
 lotion with mor- 
 phia 1064 
 
 Bordeaux turpen- 
 tine 575, 641 
 
 Boro-tartrate of potas- 
 
 sa 668, 784 
 
 Boswellia serrata 583 
 
 thurifera 583 
 
 Botany Bay kino 469 
 
 Bougies 950 
 
 Bouncing Bet 750 
 
 Bowman's root 115, 353, 389 
 
 Box ;... 165 
 
 Boxberry 377 
 
 Box, dwarf. 166 
 
 Boxwood 298 
 
 Brake, buckhorn 591 
 
 rock 662,681 
 
 root 662 
 
 winter 682 
 
 Bran 838 
 
 Brandy, domestic 75 
 
 mixture. 1070 
 
 Brayera anthelmiu- 
 
 tica 164 
 
 Brazilian sarsaparilla 777 
 
 Brimstone, horse 817 
 
 Bristle-stem sarsapa- 
 rilla 124 
 
 British gum 104 
 
 oil 622 
 
 vinegar 28 
 
 Broad-leaved dogwood 297 
 
 Bromated a.loine 86 
 
 Bromide of ammonium 924 
 
 Bromide of mercury... 1280 
 
 of potassium 1140 
 
 Bronchial elixir 1007 
 
 Brooklime 857 
 
 Broom, common 321 
 
 pine 640 
 
 Broomrape, American 589 
 
 Brown gum-tree 469 
 
 ointment 1254 
 
 Brucea ferruginea.... 373 
 
 Bruoia 1185 
 
 Buohu.. 156 
 
 Buokbean 525 
 
 Buckeye 70 
 
 Buckhorn brake 591 
 
 Buckthorn 697 
 
 Buckwheat 662 
 
 Bugle ; 74 
 
 Bugleweed 494 
 
 Burdock 126 
 
 Burgundy pitch 16 
 
 Burned deer's horn... 297 
 
 Burning bush 349 
 
 Burnt alum 90 
 
 sponge 808 
 
 Bush honeysuckle,.... 330 
 
 whortleberry 845 
 
 Bushy gerardi a 887 
 
 Butea frondosa 468 
 
 Butter of antimony... 1265 
 
 of cacao 579 
 
 of cacao prepared 1191 
 
 of zinc 875 
 
 Buttercup 695 
 
 Butterfly weed 142 
 
 Butternut 460 
 
 Butterweed 343 
 
 Button bush 205 
 
 snakeroot 345, 481 
 
 Bnxina 166 
 
 Buxus sempervirens... 165 
 
 suffruticosa 166 
 
 c 
 
 Cabbage, meadow 821 
 
 skunk 820 
 
 tree bark 108 
 
 Cacao butter 579 
 
 butter, prepared.. 1191 
 
 Cactus grandiflorus... 166 
 
 Cadmii iodidum 1276 
 
 sulphas 1276 
 
 Cadmium 1275 
 
 iodide of 1276 
 
 sulphate of 1276 
 
 Caducous poly gala.... 660 
 
 Caffein 272 
 
 citrate of 275 
 
 Cahinca 215 
 
 Calabar bean 630 
 
 Calamine 874 
 
 cerate 948 
 
 Calamus 66 
 
 draco 743 
 
 Calcined deer's horn.. 297 
 
 magnesia 496 
 
 Calcis phosphas pne- 
 
 cipitata 915 
 
 Calendula officinalis... 168 
 
 Calendulin 168 
 
 Calico bush 466 
 
 Calisaya bark 234 
 
 Callitriche autumnalis 169 
 
 heterophylla 169 
 
 terrestris 169 
 
 verna 169 
 
 Calomel 1289 
 
 Calx 169, 945 
 
 Camphene 172, 577 
 
 Camphor 171 
 
 artificial 172, 57B 
 
 asarum 140 
 
 ball 949 
 
 cold cream 949 
 
 ice 949 
 
 liniment 1051 
 
 water 932 
 
 Camphora 171 
 
 Camphogene 172 
 
 Camphorated acetic 
 
 acid 29 
 
 Camphorated alkaline 
 
 ointment 1246 
 
 Camphorated mixture 
 
 of oils 1069 
 
 Camphorated soap lin- 
 iment 1053 
 
 Camphorated tincture 
 
 of opium 1234 
 
 Canada balsam 14 
 
 fleabane 343 
 
 pitch 15 
 
 snakeroot 140 
 
 thistle 260 
 
 turpentine 14, 575 
 
 Cancer root 589 
 
 weed 739 
 
 wintergreen 878 
 
 Candytuft, bitter 439 
 
 Cane, sugar 727 
 
 Canella 174 
 
 alba 174 
 
 Canker-lettuce 688 
 
 Canna.... 175 
 
 edulis.. 175 
 
 starch 175 
 
 Cannabis Indioa 175 
 
 sativa 175 
 
 Cantharidal collodion. 281 
 
 Cantharides 177 
 
 cerate of 955 
 
 Cantharidin 178 
 
 Cantharis atrata 181 
 
 cinerea 181 
 
 marginata 181 
 
 ofScinalis 178 
 
 vesicatoria 177 
 
 vittata..". 180 
 
 Caoutchouc 181 
 
 vulcanized IS.*? 
 
 Caoiitchoucine 182 
 
 Cape aloes 83 
 
Index. 
 
 1405 
 
 Oapsicin 185 
 
 Capsicum annum 184 
 
 bacoatum 185 
 
 frutescens 185 
 
 minimum 185 
 
 oil of, ethereal.... 186 
 
 troches of. 1241 
 
 and lobelia, troch- 
 es of- 1241 
 
 Capsules of gelatin... 391 
 Caraocas sarsaparilla 778 
 
 Caraway 190 
 
 Carbazotic acid 31 
 
 Carbo animalis 186 
 
 ligni... 188 
 
 Carbolate of iodine.... 458 
 
 of quinia 1156 
 
 of soda 35 
 
 Carbolic acid 32 
 
 plaster 954 
 
 Carbonate of ammonia 96 
 
 of baryta 1273 
 
 of iron, precipita- 
 ted 1031 
 
 of iron,sacoharine 1009 
 
 of lead 1301 
 
 of lime 305, 516 
 
 of magnesia 498 
 
 ofpotassa 1133 
 
 of potassa, pure.. 1134 
 of potassa, solu- 
 
 tionof 1135 
 
 of soda 785 
 
 of soda, dried 1174 
 
 of zinc 874 
 
 Carbonic acid 927 
 
 acid water 927 
 
 Cardamom 86 
 
 Carmine ; 269 
 
 Carolina pink 799 
 
 Carotin 327 
 
 Carpenter's square.... 757 
 Carpinus Americana.. 592 
 
 Carrageen 225 
 
 Carrageenin 225 
 
 Carrot cataplasm 946 
 
 wild 326 
 
 Carthagena barks 233 
 
 Carthamic acid 190 
 
 Carthamine 190 
 
 Carthamus tinetorius. 189 
 
 Carum carui 190 
 
 Carvacrol 1090 
 
 Carvene 1090 
 
 Caryophyllic acid 1091 
 
 Caryophyllin 191 
 
 Caryophyllus aromati- 
 
 cus 191 
 
 Cascarilla 308 
 
 Cascarillin 309 
 
 Cassava 458 
 
 Cassia acutifolia 193 
 
 chamsBcrista 193 
 
 dwarf. 193 
 
 elongata 193 
 
 fistula 192 
 
 Ca,ssia lanceolata 194 
 
 Marilandica 193 
 
 obovata 193 
 
 purging 192 
 
 Cassina 443 
 
 Cassiue 196 
 
 Castile soap... 748 
 
 Castillon's powders... 736 
 
 Castor 197 
 
 Castor oil 572 
 
 Castoreum 197 
 
 Castorin 197 
 
 Cataplasm, carrot 946 
 
 charcoal 946 
 
 cranberry 947 
 
 elm 947 
 
 flaxseed 946 
 
 lobelia 947 
 
 poke-root 636, 947 
 
 stramonium 947 
 
 yeast 846 
 
 Cataplasma carbonis.. 946 
 
 dauci 946 
 
 fermenti 946 
 
 lini 946 
 
 lobelisB 947 
 
 oxyoocoi 947 
 
 phytolaccse 947 
 
 stramonii 947 
 
 ulmi 947 
 
 Cataplasmata. 946 
 
 Cataplasms 946 
 
 Catechin 22 
 
 Catechu 21 
 
 Catgut 826 
 
 Cathartic acid 195 
 
 Cathartic clyster 963 
 
 Cathartin 193, 698 
 
 Catmint 546 
 
 Catnip. 546 
 
 Cattail .flag 840 
 
 Caulophyllin 1164 
 
 Caulophyllum thalic- 
 
 troides 198 
 
 Caustic iodine 451 
 
 lunar 128 
 
 of Filhos 170 
 
 potassa 1126 
 
 vegetable 1137 
 
 Vienna 170 
 
 Cayenne pepper 184 
 
 Ceanothine 199 
 
 Ceanothus Americanus 199 
 
 Cedar apples 465 
 
 false white 830 
 
 oil of. 1097 
 
 red 464 
 
 Celandine, great 211 
 
 Celastrus scandens... 200 
 
 Cement, Armenian... 440 
 
 diamond 440 
 
 French 184 
 
 Gements...l84, 407, 441, 649 
 
 Oentaurea Benedicta. 201 
 
 Centaury, American.. 726 
 
 ground 657 
 
 Century plant 72 
 
 Cephaelis ipecacu- 
 anha 201 
 
 Cephalanthus occiden- 
 
 talis 206 
 
 Cephalic powder 1153 
 
 Cera alba 205 
 
 flava 205 
 
 Cerain 206 
 
 Cerasus serotina 678 
 
 Virginiaua 678 
 
 Cerata 948 
 
 Cerate, calamine 948 
 
 oroton oil 949 
 
 of cantharides. ... 955 
 
 paraffin 950 
 
 resin 949 
 
 savine 949 
 
 simple 950 
 
 spermaceti 948 
 
 Turner's 948 
 
 Cerates 948 
 
 Ceratum calaminse.... 948 
 
 cetaoei 948 
 
 crotonis 949 
 
 resinse 949 
 
 sabinsB 949 
 
 simplex 650 
 
 Cerei 950 
 
 Cereoli 950 
 
 Cerevisisa fermentum. 207 
 
 Ceriu 206 
 
 Cetaoeum 208 
 
 Cetin 209 
 
 Cetraria Islandioa 210 
 
 Cetrarin 210 
 
 Cevadilla 850 
 
 Chalk 305 
 
 prepared 305 
 
 Chamsellrlum luteam. 418 
 
 Chamomile 112 
 
 German 113 
 
 Koman 112 
 
 Spanish 105 
 
 wild .113,518 
 
 Champagne, imita- 
 tion 867, 870 
 
 Charcoal 188 
 
 animal 186 
 
 cataplasm 946 
 
 Cheokerberry. : 377, 526 
 
 Chelerythrine 211 
 
 Chelidonic acid 211 
 
 Chelidonin 212 
 
 Chelidonium majus.... 211 
 
 Chelidoxanthin 212 
 
 Chelone glabra 212 
 
 Chenopodium ambro- 
 
 soides 214 
 
 anthelminticum .. 213 
 
 botrys.... 214 
 
 Cherry birch 160 
 
 ground 629 
 
 wild 678 
 
 winter 630 
 
 Chiau turpentine. ..575, 641 
 
1406 
 
 Index. 
 
 CHckweed 809 
 
 red 106 
 
 water 169 
 
 Chicory 226 
 
 Chimaphila maculata. 215 
 
 umbellata 214 
 
 China root 778 
 
 CMnoidin 247 1157 
 
 Chiocoooa raoemosa... 215 
 ChionanthusVirginica 216 
 
 Chloral, hydrate of.... 882 
 
 Chlorate of potassa.... 1135 
 
 Chloric ether 224 
 
 Chloride of barium.... 1274 
 
 of copper 1277 
 
 of gold and soda.. 791 
 
 of iron 1010 
 
 of iron, tincture 
 
 of 1222 
 
 of lead 1301 
 
 ofmercury 1283 
 
 of mercury and 
 
 quinia 1282 
 
 of platinum 1298 
 
 of silver 1265 
 
 of sodium 792 
 
 of tin 1305 
 
 of zinc 875 
 
 Chlorinated soda, solu- 
 tion of 1062 
 
 Chlorine water 932 
 
 Chloroform 216 
 
 gelatinized 224 
 
 julep 224 
 
 liniment 224 
 
 Chjoroformum 216 
 
 Chloro-hydrate of am- 
 monia 98 
 
 Chocolate 579 
 
 root 388 
 
 Choice dielytra 300 
 
 Cholera mixture, 
 
 Greenhow's 1226 
 
 Cholera pills 1118 
 
 Chondrin 390 
 
 Chondrus orispus 225 
 
 Christmas rose 417 
 
 Ch!romic acid 35 
 
 Chrysanthemum leu- 
 
 canthemum 481 
 
 parthenium 687 
 
 ChrySophanio acid 704 
 
 Chrysopsis argentea... 799 
 
 graminifolia 799 
 
 Chulariose 728 
 
 Churrus 176 
 
 Ciohorium endlvia 226 
 
 intybus 226 
 
 Cicily, sweet 590 
 
 Cicuta maculata 286 
 
 Cider 690 
 
 Cimicifuga racemosa.. 227 
 
 resin of. 1165 
 
 Cimioifugin 227, 1165 
 
 Cinchona 229 
 
 amygdalifolia 236 
 
 Cinchona Boliviana.... 235 
 
 calisaya 234 
 
 condamiuea 236 
 
 cordifolia 244 
 
 glandulifera 233 
 
 hirsuta 233 
 
 Josephiana 234 
 
 lanoeolata 233 
 
 lancifolia 246 
 
 maorocalyx 233 
 
 miorantha 239 
 
 nitida 233 
 
 oblongifolia 240 
 
 ovalifolia 233 
 
 ovata 235, 240 
 
 pubescens 246 
 
 purpurea 246 
 
 red, soluble 247 
 
 insoluble 247 
 
 rotundifolia 239 
 
 sorobiculata 235 
 
 Cinchonia 249 
 
 kinate of. 247 
 
 sulphate of. 249 
 
 Cinchonicin 247 
 
 Oinchonidin 249 
 
 Cinohovatine .'.... 247 
 
 Cinnabar 1294 
 
 Cinnamic acid 259,540, 1092 
 
 Cinnamomine 260 
 
 Cinnamomum aromati- 
 
 cum 259 
 
 oulilawan 260 
 
 Loureirii 260 
 
 nitidum 260 
 
 tamala... 260 
 
 Zeylanicum 259 
 
 Cinnamon 259 
 
 colored fern 591 
 
 water 934 
 
 Cinnamyle 1092 
 
 Cinquefoil 675 
 
 Cirsium arvense .... 260 
 
 Cissampelos glaberri- 
 
 ma 262 
 
 Cissampelos pareira... 261 
 
 Cissampelin 261 
 
 Cistus Canadensis 415 
 
 Citrate of caffein 275 
 
 of iron 1010 
 
 of iron and ammo- 
 nia 1014 
 
 of iron and quinia 1014 
 of iron and strych- 
 nia 1015 
 
 of iron and zinc. 1016 
 of magnesia, solu- 
 tion of 1059 
 
 of potassa, solu- 
 tion of. 1061 
 
 of quinia 1155 
 
 of quinia and iron 
 with strychnia. 1015 
 
 of strychnia 1186 
 
 Citric acid 36 
 
 syrup of 1196 
 
 Citric acid, trodies of. 124) 
 
 Citrine ointment 1297 
 
 Citrus acida 263 
 
 aurantium 262 
 
 bigaradia 262 
 
 limetta 263 
 
 limonum 263 
 
 vulgaris 262 
 
 Claret wine 863 
 
 Clarification 901 
 
 Clarified honey 519 
 
 Cleavers 374 
 
 Clematis dioica 265 
 
 viorna 265 
 
 Virginiana 265 
 
 vitalba 265 
 
 Climbing bittersweet. 200 
 
 staff-tree 200 
 
 Clover, red 832 
 
 white melilot 832 
 
 winter 526 
 
 yellow melilot.... 882 
 
 Cloves 191 
 
 Clyster, antispasmodic 963 
 
 cathartic 963 
 
 of aloes, com- 
 pound 963 
 
 of asafetida, com- 
 pound 963 
 
 of black cohosh, 
 
 compound 963 
 
 of lobelia, com- 
 pound 963 
 
 ofopium 964 
 
 of senna, com- 
 pound 964 
 
 of turpentine, 
 
 compound 964 
 
 of prickly-ash.... 964 
 
 Clysters 961 
 
 Cnicin 201 
 
 Cnious arvensis 260 
 
 benediotus 201 
 
 Cnidium Canadense... 766 
 
 palustre 765 
 
 Coakum 6S4 
 
 Cobweb 826 
 
 Coca 347 
 
 Cooash 149 
 
 Coccoloba uvifera 469 
 
 Cocoulus Indious 106 
 
 palmatus 266 
 
 Coccus cacti 268 
 
 Cochineal.... 268 
 
 mixture 1134 
 
 Coohlearia armoracia 270 
 
 officinalis 271 
 
 Cockleburr 73 
 
 Cocoa butter 579 
 
 Codeia 607 
 
 Cod-liver oil 563 
 
 Coffea Arabica 271 
 
 Coffee 271 
 
 bean, American... 407 
 
 wild 834 
 
 syrup 1200 
 
Index. 
 
 1407 
 
 Cchosh, black 227 
 
 blue 198 
 
 red 67 
 
 white 67 
 
 Colchioia 277 
 
 Colohioum 276 
 
 antumnale 276 
 
 Coloothar 1026 
 
 Cold bath 119 
 
 cream 949, 1246 
 
 Colic root 78, 335 
 
 Collection and preser- ' 
 
 Tation of plants 887 
 Gollinsonia Canaden- 
 sis 278 
 
 cordata 279 
 
 ovata 279 
 
 scabra 279 
 
 verna 279 
 
 Collodion 279 
 
 cantharidal 281 
 
 Colcooyuth 309 
 
 Colocynthin 310 
 
 Cologne 1103 
 
 Colombo 266 
 
 Colombin 267 
 
 Colophony 290, 696 
 
 Coltsfoot 140, 839 
 
 tail 343 
 
 Columbo, American. ... 366 
 
 Comb flower 722 
 
 Comfrey 820 
 
 wild 318 
 
 Common alder 82 
 
 brake 681 
 
 broom 321 
 
 fennel 364 
 
 liniment 1050 
 
 mallow 510 
 
 nettle 842 
 
 polypody 662 
 
 salt 792 
 
 silk-weed 141 
 
 silk-weed, fluid 
 
 extract of. 141 
 
 soap..., 748 
 
 strengthening 
 
 plaster S56 
 
 water 116 
 
 winter cherry 630 
 
 Compass weed 771 
 
 Compound acetated 
 tincture of 
 
 bloodroot _ 1236 
 
 Compound cajeput lini- 
 ment 1051 
 
 mixture 1067 
 
 Compound "capsicum 
 
 liniment 1052 
 
 plaster 956 
 
 Compound cathartic 
 
 pills 1118, 1122 
 
 Compound clyster of 
 
 aloes 963 
 
 of asafetida 963 
 
 of black cohosh... 963 
 
 Compound clyster of 
 
 lobelia 963 
 
 of senna 964 
 
 of turpentine 964 
 
 Compound copaiba 
 
 mixture 1068 
 
 Compound, diuretic... 1047 
 Compound electuary 
 
 of senna 951 
 
 Compound ethereal lo- 
 tion 1064 
 
 Compound extract of 
 
 colooynth 971 
 
 Compound fluid ex- 
 tract of gentian 996 
 
 of lobelia 998 
 
 of sarsaparilia.... 1002 
 
 ofspigelia 1006 
 
 of tephrosia 827 
 
 Compound glycerin so- 
 lution of iodine 1043 
 
 of pepsin. 1043 
 
 Compound infusion of 
 
 cranesbill 1047 
 
 of golden seal 1048' 
 
 of parsley 1047 
 
 of sage 1048 
 
 of trailing arbutus 1047 
 Compound lead oint- 
 ment 1250 
 
 Compound liniment of 
 
 aconitina 1050 
 
 of ammonia 1051 
 
 of camphor 1051 
 
 of oil of amber.... 1054 
 
 of oils 1052 
 
 of petroleum 1053 
 
 of stillingia 1054 
 
 of turpentine 1054 
 
 Compound liquorice 
 
 mixture 1069 
 
 Compound lobelia lo- 
 tion 1065 
 
 Compound lotion of 
 
 golden-seal 1064 
 
 of zinc 1066 
 
 Compound mixture of 
 
 bloodroot 1070 
 
 of camphor 1067 
 
 of oils 1069 
 
 Compound myrrh 
 
 lotion 1065 
 
 Compound ointment 
 
 ofbayberry 1250 
 
 of iodine 1249 
 
 of lead 1250 
 
 of stramonium.... 1251 
 
 of sulphur 1252 
 
 of oxide of zinc .. . 1253. 
 Compound pills of aco- 
 nite 1117 
 
 of aloes 1117 
 
 of asafetida 1117 
 
 of black cohosh... 1118 
 
 of camphor 1118 
 
 of copaiba 1119 
 
 Compound pills of 
 
 dandelion Il24 
 
 of eupurpurin 1119 
 
 of ferrooyanuret 
 
 of iron 1120 
 
 of gamboge 1118 
 
 of high cranberry 1124 
 
 of hyoscyamus.... 1121 
 
 of iron 1120 
 
 of leptandra 1121 
 
 of motherwort 1121 
 
 of oleoresin of 
 
 ptelea 1123 
 
 of oleoresin of 
 qneen of the 
 
 meadow 1119 
 
 of poke 1122 
 
 ofquinia 1123 
 
 of resin of podo- 
 phyllum 1122 
 
 of soap 1124 
 
 of water-pepper... 1122 
 
 of wild indigo 1117 
 
 of valerian 1124 
 
 Compound plaster of 
 
 belladonna 956 
 
 Compound powder of 
 
 antimony 1264 
 
 ofbayberry 1153 
 
 of camphor 1150 
 
 of charcoal 1151 
 
 of golden-seal 1151 
 
 of ipecacuanha... 1151 
 of ipecacuanha 
 
 and opium 1151 
 
 of jalap 1152 
 
 of leptandra 1152 
 
 of lobelia 1153 
 
 of mandrake ,. 1153 
 
 of pleurisy-root... 1150 
 
 ofquinia. 1153 
 
 of resin of podo- 
 phyllum 1154 
 
 of rhubarb 1154 
 
 ofspigelia 1154 
 
 of xanthoxylum... 1155 
 of yellow ladies' 
 
 slipper 1151 
 
 Compound resin plas- 
 ter 960 
 
 Compound soda lo- 
 tion 1066 
 
 Compound solution of 
 
 iodine 1058 
 
 Compound spirit of 
 
 lavender 1229 
 
 Compound supposi- 
 tories of chlo- 
 rate of potassa. 1192 
 of iodide of potas- 
 sium 1192 
 
 of sulphate of 
 
 zinc 1193 
 
 Compound syrup of 
 
 aralia i 1197 
 
 ofhoarhound 1204 
 
1408 
 
 Index. 
 
 Compound syrup 
 
 of horseradish 1199 
 
 of hypophosphites 1194 
 of partridgeberry 1205 
 
 of poke 1206 
 
 of queen's-root.... 1210 
 
 of red-root 1199 
 
 of rhubarb and 
 
 potassa 1207 
 
 of sarsaparilla... 1198 
 
 of spikenard 1204 
 
 of sunflower 1204 
 
 of turkey-corn.... 1200 
 of yellow dock.... 1208 
 
 Compound tar plaster 957 
 
 Compound tincture of 
 
 asafetida 1215 
 
 of benzoin 1216 
 
 of black cohosh... 1219 
 
 of blue cohosh 1218 
 
 of bloodroot 1236 
 
 of camphor 1062 
 
 of cardamom 1217 
 
 of cinnamon 1220 
 
 of oolchicum 1220 
 
 of corydalis 1221 
 
 of gentian 1225 
 
 of golden-Seal 1226 
 
 of high cranberry 
 
 bark 1239 
 
 of iodine 1228 
 
 of lobelia 1230 
 
 of lobelia and cap- 
 sicum 1231 
 
 of myrrh 1232 
 
 of Peruvian bark. 1219 
 
 of quinia 1235 
 
 of rhubarb 1236 
 
 of senna 1237 
 
 of strychnia 1238 
 
 of tamarac 1229 
 
 of Virginia snake- 
 root 1237 
 
 Compound tonic mix- 
 ture 1067 
 
 Compound troches of 
 
 liquorice 1242 
 
 of queen's-root.... 1244 
 of santonin 1243 
 
 Compound wine of 
 
 comfrey 1259 
 
 of golden-seal 1258 
 
 of hellebore 1258 
 
 of poke 1259 
 
 Compound wormseed 
 
 mixture 1068 
 
 Comptonia aspleni- 
 
 folia 282 
 
 Concentrated lini- 
 ment 1052 
 
 Concentrated tincture 
 
 of capsicum 186 
 
 of poke 999 
 
 tinctures 989 
 
 Gone-disk sunflower 721 
 
 Confectio rosee 951 
 
 Confectio sennse 951 
 
 sennsB composita. 951 
 
 Confection of roses.... 951 
 
 of senna 961 
 
 of senna, com- 
 pound 951 
 
 Confectiones 951 
 
 Confections 951 
 
 Conhydrine 284 
 
 Oonia 283 
 
 Conium maculatum... 283 
 
 mixture 285 
 
 Conserve of roses 951 
 
 Conserves 951 
 
 Contrayerva 338 
 
 Convallaria multiflora. 286 
 
 racemosa. 286 
 
 Convolvulus pandura- 
 
 tus 287 
 
 scammonia 288 
 
 Cool weed 843 
 
 Cooling lotion 1066 
 
 wash 1064 
 
 Copaiba 291 
 
 Copaifera Beyrichii... 291 
 
 bijuga 291 
 
 cordifolia 291 
 
 coriacea 291 
 
 Guianeusis 291 
 
 Jacquini 291 
 
 Jussieui 291 
 
 Langsdorffi 291 
 
 laxa 291 
 
 Martii 291 
 
 multijuga 291 
 
 nitida 291 
 
 oblongifolia 291 
 
 ofScinalis 291 
 
 Sellowii 291 
 
 Copaivic acid 292 
 
 Copper 1276 
 
 ammoniated 1277 
 
 chloride of 1277 
 
 crystallized ace- 
 tate of 314 
 
 diacetate of. 313 
 
 neutral acetate of 314 
 
 nitrate of. 1277 
 
 subacetate of 313 
 
 sulphate of 314 
 
 Copperas 1033 
 
 Coptis trifolia 294 
 
 Coral-root 295 
 
 Corallorhiza innata... 295 
 
 multiflora 295 
 
 odontorhiza 295 
 
 verna 295 
 
 Wistariana 296 
 
 Cordial, Godfrey's 1234 
 
 mother's 1205 
 
 neutralizing 1207 
 
 Coriander 296 
 
 Coriandrum sativum.. 296 
 
 Corn, crow 78 
 
 Indian ....' • 873 
 
 spirit oil 77 
 
 Corn, squirrel 300 
 
 turkey 300 
 
 Gornine 299 
 
 Cornu cervinse ustum. 297 
 
 Cornus circinata 297 
 
 Florida 298 
 
 Cornus gericea 299 
 
 Corrosive sublimate... 1283 
 
 Corsican moss 368 
 
 Corydallia 800 
 
 Corydallis cueuUaria. 300 
 
 formosa ; 300 
 
 Cossoo 164 
 
 Cotarnin 606 
 
 Cotton 400 
 
 gun 279 
 
 Couch grass 839 
 
 Cough drops 1069, 1070 
 
 mixture 285, 1199, 1208 
 
 Cowhage 534 
 
 Cowparsnep 422 
 
 Crampbark 858 
 
 Cranberry, high 858 
 
 cataplasm 947 
 
 upland..... 126 
 
 Cranesbill 385 
 
 Crawley 296 
 
 Cream, cold 1246 
 
 of tartar 667 
 
 of tartar, solu- 
 ble 668, 784 
 
 whey 669 
 
 syrup ;... 1211 
 
 Creasote 302 
 
 water 305 
 
 Creasotum 302 
 
 Greta preparata 305 
 
 Crocus martis astrin- 
 
 gens 1025 
 
 Crocus sativus 306 
 
 Croton Eleuteria 308 
 
 oil 581 
 
 oil cerate 949 
 
 oil liniment...683, 1052 
 
 oil, troches of... 583 
 
 pavana 582 
 
 tiglium 581 
 
 Grotonic acid 582 
 
 Crow corn 78 
 
 Crowfoot 386, 695 
 
 Cfyptopia 612 
 
 Crystal mineral 670 
 
 Crystallized foliated 
 
 earth of tartar. 782 
 
 Crystals of tartar 667 
 
 of Venus 314 
 
 Crystallized acetate of 
 
 copper 314 
 
 ffirugo .„ 314 
 
 Cubebin 644 
 
 Cubebs 643 
 
 Cuckolds 161 
 
 Cucumber 312 
 
 bitter 309 
 
 ointment 124S 
 
 squirting 627 
 
Index 
 
 1409 
 
 Cucumber tree 507 
 
 wild 527 
 
 OuoumiB citrullus 311 
 
 oolocynthis 309 
 
 melo 312 
 
 sativus... 312 
 
 Cuourbita citrullus 311 
 
 lagenaria 312 
 
 pepo 311 
 
 Cudbear 715 
 
 Culver's physic 479 
 
 Cumin seed 312 
 
 Cuminum cyminum... 312 
 
 Cunila mariana 313 
 
 Cupping, dry 411 
 
 Cupri ammonio-sul- 
 
 phas 1277 
 
 chloridum 1277 
 
 nitras 1277 
 
 subacetas 813 
 
 sulphas 314 
 
 Cupro-sulphate of am- 
 monia 1277 
 
 Cuprum 1276 
 
 Curcuma angustifolia 514 
 
 longa 316 
 
 Curcumin 316 
 
 Currants, blaot 712 
 
 red 712 
 
 wild black 712 
 
 Cursed thistle 260 
 
 Cusparin 378 
 
 Custard apple 843 
 
 Cutch 21 
 
 Cutting-almond 616 
 
 Cyano-hydric acid 41 
 
 Cyanuret of mercury. 1281 
 
 of potassium 1142 
 
 of silver 1265 
 
 of zinc 1307 
 
 Cydonia vulgaris 317 
 
 Cydonin 317 
 
 Cynauchum Monspeli- 
 
 acum 289 
 
 oleaefolium 195 
 
 Cynara scolymus 317 
 
 Cynoglossum amplexi- 
 
 caule 318 
 
 Morrisoni 818 
 
 ofScinale 318 
 
 Cypripedium acaule... 819 
 
 arietinum 320 
 
 candidum 319 
 
 parviflorum 319 
 
 pubescens 319 
 
 speotabile 319 
 
 Cypripedin 321, 1109 
 
 Cysticine 408 
 
 Cytisus sooparius 821 
 
 D 
 
 Daisy, ox-eye 481 
 
 Dandelion.... 824 
 
 Daphne gnidium 322 
 
 laureola 322 
 
 mezereum 822 
 
 89 
 
 Daphnin 323 
 
 Dasystomapedicularia 387 
 Datura stramonium... 323 
 
 tatula 824 
 
 Daturia 324 
 
 Daucus carota.. 326 
 
 Dead tongue 553 
 
 Deadly nightshade 150, 797 
 
 Decantation 899 
 
 Decocta 951 
 
 Decoctions 904, 951 
 
 Decodon verticillatum 496 
 
 Deerberry 377, 526 
 
 Deer's horn, burned... 297 
 
 Delphinia 328 
 
 Delphinium consolida 327 
 
 staph! sagria 327 
 
 Determination of spe- 
 cific gravities... 893 
 
 Devil's bit 418,481 
 
 shoestring 826 
 
 Dewberry 719 
 
 Dewees' tincture of 
 
 guaiacum 1226 
 
 Dextrine 104 
 
 Dhak-tree kino 468 
 
 Diacetate of copper... 813 
 
 Diachylon 958 
 
 Diamond cement 440 
 
 Diaphoretic powder... 1151 
 
 Diastase 105, 427 
 
 Dicentra Canadensis . 300 
 
 cticullaria 800 
 
 Dielytra eximia 800 
 
 Diervilla Canadensis.. 830 
 
 trifida 830 
 
 Digestion 904 
 
 Digitalin 882 
 
 Digitalis purpurea 331 
 
 Diluted acetic acid.... 910 
 
 alcohol 74 
 
 hydriodic acid.... 39 
 hydrocyanic acid 41 
 
 muriatic acid 41 
 
 nitric acid 47 
 
 nitromuriatic acid 49 
 phosphoric acid... 51 
 sulphuric acid.... 57 
 
 Dioscorea villosa 336 
 
 troches of 1241 
 
 Dioscorein..., 973 
 
 Diosma crenata 166 
 
 Diospyros Virginiana 336 
 
 Dirca palustris 387 
 
 Discutient ointment... 1251 
 Dispensing of medi- 
 cines ./ 906 
 
 Displacement, method 
 
 of 905,1214 
 
 Distillation,apparatu8 
 
 for 903 
 
 Distilled oils 567, 1080 
 
 vinegar 23, 25, 910 
 
 water...., 116,984 
 
 Dittany 313 
 
 mountain 813 
 
 Diuretic "ompound.... 1047 
 
 drops 1068 
 
 pills 1124 
 
 Division, mechanical.. 895 
 
 Dock, blunt-leaved.... 728 
 
 great water 723 
 
 water 723 
 
 yellow 723 
 
 Dogfennel 518 
 
 Dogrose 716 
 
 Dogsbane 114 
 
 Dog's-grass 839 
 
 Dog's-tooth violet 346 
 
 Dogwood 298 
 
 alder-leaved 297 
 
 broad-leaved 297 
 
 pond. 206 
 
 round-leaved 297 
 
 swamp 299 
 
 Domestic brandy 75 
 
 gin 75 
 
 Donovan's solution.... 1272 
 
 Dorema ammoniacum. 93 
 
 Dorstenia Brasiliensis 338 
 
 contrayerva 338 
 
 Houstonia 338 
 
 Double spruce 18 
 
 tansy 823 
 
 Douche 121 
 
 Dow's physic 49 
 
 Draconin 744 
 
 Dracontiumfoetidus... 820 
 
 Dragon root 138 
 
 Dragon' s-blood 743 
 
 claw 295 
 
 Dried alum 90 
 
 carbonate of soda 1174 
 
 sulphate of iron... 1037 
 
 Drimys Chilensis 340 
 
 Drimys Winteri 839 
 
 Drooping starwort 418 
 
 Drosera rotundifolia.. 839 
 
 Dry cupping 411 
 
 Drying oils 555 
 
 Dnlcarin 796 
 
 Dupasquier's paste.... 1020 
 
 Dwale 150 
 
 Dwarf box 166 
 
 cassia 198 
 
 elder 124 
 
 nettle 842 
 
 sumach 708 
 
 Dyer's oak 698 
 
 saffron 189 
 
 Dysentery weed 318 
 
 E 
 
 Eau de Luce 1107 
 
 Eau sedative.Baspairs 174 
 
 East India rhubarb... 702 
 
 Ecbalium elaterium ... 527 
 Echinospermum Vir- 
 
 ginicum 318 
 
 Egg 592 
 
 Elaidic acid 570 
 
 Elaidin 566, 570 
 
1410 
 
 Index. 
 
 Bla!3tic, gum 181 
 
 Elaterin 528 
 
 Elaterium 527 
 
 Elatine 93 
 
 Elder 739 
 
 dwarf 124 
 
 European 789 
 
 flowers 739 
 
 flower water 936 
 
 prickly 125 
 
 wild 124 
 
 Elecampane 444 
 
 Electuary, lenitive.... 951 
 
 of senna 951 
 
 of senna com- 
 pound 961 
 
 Eleoptene 1086 
 
 Elettaria cardamo- 
 
 mum 87 
 
 Elixir, antibacohan- 
 
 alian 639 
 
 Elixir of opium, sub- 
 stitute for Mc- 
 
 Munn's 1233 
 
 of yalerianate of 
 
 ammonia 924 
 
 of vitriol 54 
 
 paregoric 1234 
 
 proprietatis 1215 
 
 salutis 1237 
 
 vegetable 1199 
 
 Elm cataplasm 947 
 
 slippery 840 
 
 mucilage of. 841 
 
 Emetia 203 
 
 Emetic powder 1153 
 
 tincture 1236 
 
 tincture, acetous. 1236 
 
 Emetine 203 
 
 Emmenagogue pills... 1120 
 
 powder 1153 
 
 Emplastra 952 
 
 Emplastrum aoidi oar- 
 
 bolici ,.• 954 
 
 aconitum 965 
 
 ammoniaci cum 
 
 hydrargyro 1282 
 
 arnic«e .~ 955 
 
 belladonnss 956 
 
 belladonnsB com- 
 
 positum 956 
 
 capsici composi- 
 
 tum 966 
 
 hydrargyri 1281 
 
 myricas 956 
 
 picis oompositum 967 
 
 plumbi 958 
 
 plumbi oxidi 
 
 rubrum 958 
 
 reeinffi 960 
 
 reslnee composi- 
 
 tum 960 
 
 saponis 961 
 
 EmulBin 101 
 
 Enema aloes compos- 
 
 ita 963 
 
 Enema asafcetidse com- 
 
 posita 963 
 
 catharticum 963 
 
 oimioifugae com- 
 
 posita 963 
 
 lobelisB composita 963 
 
 opii 964 
 
 sennse compos- 
 ita 964 
 
 terebinthiuSB com- 
 posita 964 
 
 xanthoxyli 964 
 
 Enemata 961 
 
 Entozoic powder, 
 
 , King's 1154 
 
 Epigsea xepens 340 
 
 Epilobium angustifo- 
 
 lium 341 
 
 palnstre 341 
 
 spicatum 341 
 
 Epiphegus America- 
 
 nus 689 
 
 Virginiana 589 
 
 Epsom salts 503 
 
 Equisetumhyemale.... 342 
 
 IsBvigatum 842 
 
 robustum 342 
 
 Erechtbites hieraoifo- 
 
 Uus 342 
 
 Erect knot-gras 662 
 
 Ergot 759 
 
 oil of. 763 
 
 sugar of 728 
 
 Ergotin 762 
 
 Erigerou annuum 344 
 
 Canadense 343 
 
 heterophyllum ... 344 
 
 Pbiladelphicum .. 344 
 
 purpureum 345 
 
 strigosum 845 
 
 Eryngium aquaticum. 345 
 
 Eryngo, water 345 
 
 Erysimum officinale... 776 
 Erythronium America- 
 
 num 346 
 
 Erythroretin 704 
 
 Erythroxylon coca 347 
 
 Bserine 632 
 
 Essence of anise 1232 
 
 of caraway., 1232 
 
 of cinnamon 1232 
 
 of peppermint 1233 
 
 of sassafras 1238 
 
 of spearmint 1238 
 
 of spruce 17 
 
 Essential oils 557, 1080 
 
 salt of lemons.... 595 
 
 tinctures 989 
 
 Ethal 209 
 
 Ether 918 
 
 acetic 920 
 
 chloric 224 
 
 ethylic 913 
 
 hydriodic 921 
 
 pyroligneous 805 
 
 spirit of nitrous.. 803 
 
 Ethereal extract of 
 
 asafetida 1192 
 
 of black pepper.. 1111 
 
 of capsicum 1109 
 
 of fern 1109 
 
 of lupulin 1110 
 
 Ethereal oil of capsi- 
 cum 186 
 
 of lupulin 431 
 
 of xanthoxylum... 872 
 
 Ethers 912 
 
 Ethiops mineral 1296 
 
 Bthylej acetate of ox- 
 ide of. 920 
 
 hydrate of oxide 
 
 of ;. 74 
 
 iodid* of 452, 921 
 
 oxide of 913 
 
 Ethylic alcohol 74 
 
 ether 913 
 
 Eucalyptus manni- 
 
 fera 469, 587 
 
 resinifera 469 
 
 Eugenic acid 1091 
 
 Eugenin 191, 1091 
 
 Euonymine 849 
 
 Buonymus America- 
 
 nus 349 
 
 atropurpureus ... 849 
 
 Eupatorine 352 
 
 Eupatorium aromati- 
 
 cum 350 
 
 hyssopifolium .... 353 
 
 leucolepsis 353 
 
 perfoliatum 350 
 
 purpureum 351 
 
 teucrifolium 353 
 
 verbensefolium.... 353 
 Euphorbia corollata... 853 
 
 hypericifolia 355 
 
 ipecacuanha 856 
 
 maculata 355 
 
 prostata 855 
 
 Euphorbium 357 
 
 Euphorbon 857 
 
 Euphrasia officinalis.. 358 
 
 Eupurpurin 862 
 
 European avens 388 
 
 elder 739 
 
 goldenrod 799 
 
 holly 443 
 
 pennyroyal 418 
 
 walnut 461 
 
 Evaporating lotion.... 1064 
 Expectorant tincture. 
 
 King's 1230 
 
 Explanation of abbre- 
 viations 1311 
 
 Expression 901 
 
 Extract, aromatic 969 
 
 fluid neutralizing 1001 
 Extract of aconite, al- 
 coholic 968 
 
 of antibiliouB 
 
 physic, fluid.... 1004 
 of arnica, fluid... 135 
 
Index. 
 
 1411 
 
 Extract of asafetida, 
 
 ethereal fluid .. 1192 
 of bayberi'y bark. 988 
 of belladonna, al- 
 coholic .; 970 
 
 of bittersweet 974 
 
 of black cohosh, 
 
 fluid 991 
 
 of black cohosh, ' 
 
 alooholid 971 
 
 of blackroot, fluid 998 
 of blackroot, alco- 
 holic 979 
 
 of bloodroot, alco- 
 holic 987 
 
 of blue cohosh, al- 
 coholic 970 
 
 of blue flag, fluid. 997 
 of blue flag, alco- 
 holic 978 
 
 of boneset 975 
 
 of buchu, fluid.... 990 
 
 of burdock 969 
 
 of butternut, al- 
 coholic 978 
 
 of chamoihile, al- 
 coholic 968 
 
 of chamomile, 
 
 fluid 990 
 
 of cischona, fluid 992 
 of cinchona, aro- 
 matic fluid 992 
 
 of colocynth 971 
 
 of colocynth, com- 
 pound 971 
 
 of common silk- 
 weed 141 
 
 of cotton bark 976 
 
 of cramp bark, al- 
 coholic 988 
 
 of cubebs, fluid... 994 
 
 of dandelion 988 
 
 of dandelion, fluid 1007 
 
 of dioscorea 978 
 
 ofdogwood 972 
 
 of dogwood, fluid. 998 
 of elecampane, 
 
 alcoholio 977 
 
 of entozoio pow- 
 der, fluid 1006 
 
 of ergot 766 
 
 of ergot, fluid 996 
 
 of false bitter- 
 sweet, fluid 991 
 
 of gentian 975 
 
 of gentian, fluid... 996 
 of gentian, fluid 
 
 compound 996 
 
 of geranium....... 976 
 
 of golden-seal, hy- 
 
 droaleoholic .... 977 
 
 of henbane, alco- 
 holic 977 
 
 of henbane, fluid. 997 
 •of high cranberry, 
 
 alcoholic 988 
 
 Extract of hydran- 
 gea, fluid 997 
 
 of Indian hemp, 
 
 alcoholic 969 
 
 fluid .; 991 
 
 purified 970 
 
 of ipecacuanha, 
 saccharated al- 
 coholic 1203 
 
 of jalap 978 
 
 of life-root, fluid.. 1003 
 
 of liquorice 397 ; 
 
 of liquorice, fluid 997 
 of lobelia, fluid... 998 
 of lobelia, fluid 
 
 eompoupd 998 
 
 of logwood 976 
 
 oflupulin 982 
 
 of lupulin, fluid... 999 
 of mandrake........ 985 
 
 of motherwort, al- 
 coholic 979 
 
 of nux Tomica, al- 
 coholic 984 
 
 of opium 984 
 
 of pa^tridgteberry 983 
 of pleurisy-root, 
 
 alcoholio 969 
 
 of poison-hem- 
 lock, alcoholic. 972 
 of poison-hem- 
 lock, fluid 993 
 
 of poke, alco- 
 holic 984 
 
 of f)oke, fluid 999 
 
 of prickly-ash, 
 
 fluid , 1009 
 
 of queen's root, 
 
 fluid 1007 
 
 of queen's root, al- 
 coholic 987 
 
 of rhatany 979 
 
 of rhubarb 986 
 
 of rhubarb, fluid. 1001 
 of rhubarb and po- 
 tass, fluid 1001 
 
 of St. Ignatius'- 
 
 hean, alcoholic 978 
 of sarsaparilla, 
 
 fluid, comJ)Ound 1002 
 
 of sarin, fluid 949 
 
 of scammony 290 
 
 of scullcap, fluid.. 1002 
 of scullpap, alco- 
 holic- 987 
 
 of seneka, fluid... 1003 
 of senna, fluid.... 1008 
 of senna and jalap, . 
 
 fluid 1004 
 
 of senna and rhu- 
 barb, fluid 1004 
 
 of shrubby trefoil, 
 
 alcoholio 986 
 
 of spigelia, fluid.. 1006 
 of 'spigelia and 
 senna, fluid 1006 
 
 Extract of spigelia, 
 
 compound fluid 1006 
 
 of stramonium, al 
 coholic 987 
 
 of sumach, fluid.. 1002 
 
 of tephrosia, com- 
 pound fluid 827 
 
 of trailing arbu- 
 tus, fluid 994 
 
 of turkey-corn, al- 
 coholic 973 
 
 of unicorn-root, » 
 alcoholic 968 
 
 of UTa ursi, fluid. 1008 
 
 of valerian, fluid. 1008 
 
 of vanilla, fluid 
 
 849, 1008 
 
 of Virginia snake- 
 root, fluid 1005 
 
 of water-pepper.. 985 
 
 of water-pepper, 
 fluid 999 
 
 of water-plantain, 
 hydroalcoholie. 985 
 
 of wild-cherry, al- , 
 coholic 986 
 
 of wild-cherry, 
 
 fluid..... 1000 
 
 of wild indigo, al- 
 coholic. 969 
 
 of yellow-dock, al- 
 coholic . 936 
 
 of yellow ladies'- 
 slipper, fluid... 994 
 
 of yellow ladies'- 
 slipper, alco- 
 holic 973 
 
 Extracta 965 
 
 fluida '989 
 
 Extracts 965 
 
 fluid 989 
 
 Extractum acouiti al- 
 
 coholicum 968 
 
 aletris alcoholi- 
 oum 968 
 
 anthemidis alco- 
 holicum 968 
 
 anthemidis fluid- 
 um 990 
 
 apocyni al6ohol- 
 icum 969 
 
 arctii 969 
 
 aromatici 969 
 
 asclepisB alcoholi- 
 • cum 969 
 
 bap&sise, alcoholi- 
 cum 969 
 
 belladonnas alco- 
 holicum 970 
 
 buchu fluidum.... 990 
 
 cannabis fluidum 991 
 
 cannabis purifl- 
 catum 970 
 
 caulophjUi aloo- 
 holicum „ 970 
 
 celastri fluidum... 991 
 
1412 
 
 Index. 
 
 Extractumclmicifugae 
 
 fluidum 991 
 
 cimicifugsa alco- 
 
 holioum 971 
 
 oinchonea fluidum 992 
 oinchonEs fluidum 
 
 aromaticum 992 
 
 ooloeynthidis 971 
 
 colooynthidis com- 
 
 positum 971 
 
 conil alcoholicum 972 
 
 . oonii fluidum^ 998 
 
 cornus FloridsB... 972 
 cornus Florida, 
 
 fluidum 998 
 
 oorydalis alco- 
 holicum 978 
 
 oubebsB fluidum... 994 
 oypripedii fluidum 994 
 cypripedii alcohol- 
 icum 973 
 
 dioscoresB 978 
 
 dulcamaras 974 
 
 ■ epigsese fluidum... 994 
 
 ergotse fluidum... 995 
 
 eupatorii 975 
 
 gentianee 975 
 
 gentianss fluidum 996 
 gentianse fluidum 
 
 compositum 996 
 
 geranii 975 
 
 glyoyrrhizsB 397 
 
 glycyrrhizae fluid- 
 um 997 
 
 gossypii 976 
 
 hsematoxyli 976 
 
 helenii alcoholi- 
 cum 977 
 
 . hydrangese fluid- 
 um 997 
 
 hydraatis hydro- 
 
 alcoholicum 977 
 
 hyoscyami alco- 
 holicum. 977 
 
 hyoscyami fluid- 
 um... 997 
 
 Ignatiaa amaree 
 
 alcoholicum 978 
 
 iridis fluidum 997 
 
 iridis alcoholicum 978 
 
 jalapse 978 
 
 juglandis alcohol- 
 icum 978 
 
 krameris» 979 
 
 leonuri alcohol-. 
 
 i icum 979 
 
 leptandrse fluid- 
 um 998 
 
 leptandrse alco- 
 holicum 979 
 
 lobeliee fluidum... 998 
 lobelise fluidum 
 
 compositum 998 
 
 lupulinse 982 
 
 lupulinsa fluidum 999 
 
 Mitchellai 983 
 
 Extractum myricae ... 988 
 nucis vomicae al- 
 coholicum 984 
 
 opii....^ 984 
 
 phytollaccK alco- 
 holicum 984 
 
 phytolaocae fluid- 
 um 999 
 
 plantaginis oorda- 
 tse hydroalco- 
 
 holicum 985 
 
 podophylli 985 
 
 polygoni 985 
 
 polygoni fluidum. 999 
 pruni Virginianae 
 
 alcoholicum 986 
 
 pruni Virginianae 
 
 fluidum 1000 
 
 pteleae alcoholi- 
 cum 986 
 
 rhei 986 
 
 rhei fluidum 1001 
 
 rhei et potassae 
 
 fluidum 1001 
 
 rhus fluidum 1002 
 
 rumecis alcoholi- 
 cum '. 986 
 
 sanguinariae alco- 
 holicum 987 
 
 sarsaparillae fluid- 
 um compositum 1002 
 Scutellariae fluid- 
 um 1002 
 
 Scutellariae alco- 
 holicum 987 
 
 senecii fluidum... 1003 
 senegae fluidum... 1003 
 sennae fluiduiri... 1003 
 sendee et jalapae 
 
 fluidum 1004 
 
 sennae et rhei 
 
 fluidum 1004 
 
 gerpentarise fluid- 
 um 1005 
 
 spi^elia composit- 
 um fluidum .... 1006 
 spigelia fluidum., 1006 
 spigeliae et sennae 
 
 fluidum 1006 
 
 stillingiae fluidum 1007 
 stillingise alcohol- 
 icum 987 
 
 stramonii alcohol- 
 icum 987 
 
 taraxaoi 988 
 
 taraxaci fluidum.. 1007 
 UT8B ursi fluidum. 1008 
 Valerianae fluidum 1008 
 'vanillae fluidum 
 
 849, 1008 
 yiburni alcoholi- 
 cum 988 
 
 xanthoxyli fluid- 
 
 » um 1009 
 
 Byebright 855, 858 
 
 Bye-salYc, Pettit's 1254 
 
 F 
 
 Factitious scammony.. 28il 
 Fahnestook's vermi- 
 fuge... 1068 
 
 False aloe 72 
 
 angustura 873 
 
 bittersweet 200 
 
 grape 100 
 
 gromwell 584 
 
 sarsaparilla.. ...... 124 
 
 sunflower 414 
 
 unicorn-root.. .k... 418 
 
 valerian 767 
 
 white cedar 830 
 
 wintergreen 688 
 
 Farkleberry 845 
 
 Fat oils 555 
 
 Fel bovinum 358 
 
 Female fern 662 
 
 regulator 767 
 
 Fennel 364 
 
 dog 518 
 
 sweet 864 
 
 water .552, 935 
 
 Fern, cinnamon-color- 
 ed 591 
 
 female 662 
 
 male 144 
 
 root 662 
 
 royal flowering... 591 
 
 , sweet 282 
 
 winter 682 
 
 Ferrated tincture of 
 
 Peruvian bark. 1219 
 
 Ferri acetas 1009 
 
 acetatis, tinctura 1222 
 ammonio-citras... 1014 
 
 arsenias 1272 
 
 carbonas saccba- 
 
 ratum 1009 
 
 chloridi, tinctura. 1222 
 
 chloridum 1010 
 
 citras 1013 
 
 et ammoniae cit- 
 ras 1014 
 
 et ammoniae sul- 
 phas 91 
 
 et quiniss citras... 1014 
 et quiniae citras 
 
 cum strychniBB. 1015 
 et quiniae strych- 
 
 niae que citras. 1015 
 et quiniae tartras. 1016 
 et strychnies ci- 
 tras 1016 
 
 et zinci citras... 1016 
 ferrocyanuretum. 1016 
 
 iodidum 1018 
 
 lacfas , 1020 
 
 oiidum hydra- 
 turn 1021 
 
 oxidum nigrum... 1024 
 
 perchloridum 1010 
 
 peroxydum 1025 
 
 phosphas 1026 
 
Index. 
 
 1413 
 
 Ferii puWis 1029 
 
 pyrophosphas 1028 
 
 redaotum 1029 
 
 sesquichloratum.. 1010 
 
 sesquioxidum 1025 
 
 Bubcarbonas 1081 
 
 suocinas 1082 
 
 sulphas 1083 
 
 sulphas exsicoa- 
 
 tum 1037 
 
 sulphas granula- 
 
 tum 1035 
 
 sulphuretum 1037 
 
 tannas 1039 
 
 valerianas 1040 
 
 Ferric acid 361 
 
 citrate of ammo- 
 nia 1014 
 
 Ferrocyanuret of iron 1016 
 
 of potassium 674 
 
 of quinia 1155 
 
 of zinc 1308 
 
 Ferro-tartrate of qui- 
 
 nia 1016 
 
 ferrum 360, 1009 
 
 Ferula asafoetida 147 
 
 FeTer-bush 157 
 
 Fever-few 687 
 
 Fever-root 834 
 
 Fever-weed 387 
 
 Fever-wood.! , 157 
 
 Fibrin, vegetable 837 
 
 Ficus oarica 363 
 
 elastica 181 
 
 Fig 363 
 
 Figwort 757 
 
 Filix mas 144 
 
 Filtration 900 
 
 by displacement 
 
 905, 1214 
 Fine-leaved water 
 
 hemlock 552 
 
 Fir-balsam 14 
 
 Fir, Norway spruce... 16 
 
 Fireweed 342 
 
 Firing 363 
 
 Five-finger 675 
 
 Five-flowered gentian 384 
 
 Five-leaf 100 
 
 Fit-plant 530 
 
 Fixed air 927 
 
 oil 555 
 
 Flag, blue 456 
 
 cat-tail 840 
 
 sweet 66 
 
 Flake white 1301 
 
 Flaxseed 484 
 
 cataplasm 946 
 
 Fleabane, Canada 343 
 
 ■ Philadelphia , 344 
 
 various leaved.... 344 
 Flesh-colored asole- 
 
 pias 142 
 
 Flies, potato 181 
 
 Spanish 177 
 
 Flixweed 776 
 
 Florentine orris 458 
 
 Flowers of lead 1300 
 
 ' of sulphur 816 
 
 of zinc 874, 877 
 
 Flowering ash 586 
 
 cornel 298 
 
 raspberry 721 
 
 Fluid extract) of anti- 
 bilious physic. 1004 
 
 of arnica 185 
 
 of asafoetida, ethe- 
 real 1192 
 
 of black cohosh... 991 
 
 of black-root 998 
 
 of blue-flag 997 
 
 ofbuohu... 990 
 
 of chamomile 990 
 
 of cinchona 992 
 
 of cinchona, aro- 
 matic 992 
 
 of common silk- 
 weed 141 
 
 of cubebs 994 
 
 of dandelion 1007 
 
 of dogwood 993 
 
 of entozoic pow- 
 der 1006 
 
 of ergot 995 
 
 of false bitter- 
 sweet 991 
 
 of gentian 996 
 
 of gentian, com- 
 pound 996 
 
 of henbane 997 
 
 of hydrangea 997 
 
 of Indian hemp... 991 
 
 of liferoot 1003 
 
 »of liquorice 997 
 
 of lobelia 998 
 
 of lobelia, com- 
 pound 998 
 
 of lupulin 999 
 
 of poison hem- 
 lock 993 
 
 of poke 999 
 
 of prickly-ash 1009 
 
 of queen's root.... 1007 
 
 of rhubarb,. 1001 
 
 of rhubarb and 
 
 potassa 1001 
 
 of sarsaparilla 
 
 compound 1002 
 
 of savin 949 
 
 ofscullcap 1002 
 
 of seneka 1008 
 
 of senna 1008 
 
 of senna and 
 
 jalap 1004 
 
 of senna and rhu- 
 barb 1004 
 
 of spigelia 1006 
 
 of spigelia and 
 
 senna 1006 
 
 of spigelia, com- 
 pound 1006 
 
 of sumach 1002 
 
 Fluid extract of te- 
 phrosia, com- 
 
 poiind 827 
 
 of trailing arbu- 
 tus 994 
 
 ofuvaursi 1008 
 
 of valerian 1008 
 
 of vanilla 849, 1008 
 
 of Virginia snake- 
 root 1005 
 
 of water-pepper... 999 
 of wild cherry.... 1000 
 of yellow ladles'- 
 
 slipper 994 
 
 extracts 989 
 
 neutralizing ex- 
 tract 1001 
 
 preparation's 904 
 
 Fly-trap 762 
 
 Fceniculum duloe 364 
 
 officinale 864 
 
 vulgare 364 
 
 Foliated earth of tar- 
 tar 782, 1128 
 
 Foot-bath 128 
 
 Formyl, terchloride of 216 
 
 teriodide of. 452 
 
 Fowlers's solution.... 1268 
 
 Foxglove 381 
 
 \merican 387 
 
 Fragaria Canadensis.. 365 
 
 grandiflora 865 
 
 vesca 365 
 
 Virginiana 365 
 
 Frankincense 17, 583 
 
 Frasera Carolinensis.. 366 
 
 Walteri , 866 
 
 Fraxinus acuminata.. 367 
 
 Americana 367 
 
 excelsior 587 
 
 polygamic 868 
 
 quadrangulaia.... '368 
 
 sambucifolia 867 
 
 French cement... 184 
 
 rose 716 
 
 vinegar 23 
 
 Friar's balsam 1216 
 
 Friiige tree....; 216 
 
 Fringed polygala 658 
 
 Frog lily 552 
 
 Frost plant 415 
 
 weed 415 
 
 Fruit sugar 728 
 
 Fucus helminthocor- 
 
 ton 368 
 
 vesioulosus 369 
 
 Fuligo ligni 369 
 
 splendens 369 
 
 FuHgokali 370 
 
 Fumaria officinalis.... 371 
 
 Fumitory 371 
 
 Furfuras tritici 838 
 
 Fusel oil 77 
 
 a 
 
 Gtiduin 565 
 
1414 
 
 Index. 
 
 Gaduus morrbua 563 
 
 Galbanum 371 
 
 Galipea ofEloinalis, 872 
 
 Oalium aparine 374 
 
 aaprellum 374 
 
 tinctorium 875 
 
 trifidum 374 
 
 verum 374 
 
 Gall, beefs 858 
 
 ox 358 
 
 Gallic acid 37 
 
 Gallqtannic acid 59 
 
 Galls 693 
 
 Gambir or Gambeer... 21 
 
 Gamboge 375 
 
 Gatnbogia 375 
 
 Gambogic acid 376 
 
 Garcinia oambogia.... 375 
 
 Garden artichoke 317 
 
 balsam 444 
 
 endive 226 
 
 marygold 168 
 
 nightsbade 797 
 
 sorrel 595 
 
 Garget 634 
 
 Garlic ; 80 
 
 Gas, hydrosulphuric 
 
 acid 1038 
 
 Gaultheria hispidula.. 378 
 
 procumbens 377 
 
 Gayfeather , 481 
 
 Gelatin, capsules of... 391 
 Gelatinized chloro- 
 form 224 
 
 Gelseminia 1225 
 
 Gelseminic acid 1225 
 
 Gelseminum nitidum.. 378 
 
 sempervirens 378 
 
 Gentian 382 
 
 blue 383 
 
 blue-fringed 384 
 
 five-flowered 384 
 
 horse 834 
 
 marsh 384 
 
 ochroleucouB 384 
 
 soapvirort 384 
 
 straw-colored 384 
 
 yellowish-white... 384 
 
 Gentiana Catesbei 383 
 
 orinita 384 
 
 lutea 382 
 
 ochroleuca 384 
 
 pneumonanthe ... 884 
 
 quinqueflora 884 
 
 saponaria 384 
 
 Gentianin 383 
 
 Geofl^roya inermis 108 
 
 Geraniin 975 
 
 Geranium 385 
 
 • maeulatum 385 
 
 Bobertianum 386 
 
 spotted 385 
 
 Gerardia pedicularla., 387 
 
 German chamomile.... 118 
 
 Germander 74 
 
 Geum rivale 387 
 
 Geum urbanum 888 
 
 Virginianum 887 
 
 Giant Solomon's seal.. 286 
 
 whortleberry 845 
 
 Gigartina helmintho- 
 
 corton 368 
 
 Gill over the ground... 547 
 Gillenia stipulacea... 889 
 
 trifoliata 388 
 
 Gillenin 389 
 
 Gille's sugar-plums.... 1020 
 
 Gin, domestic 75 
 
 Ginger 880 
 
 beer 882 
 
 ethereal ext. of... 882 
 
 Indian 140 
 
 oil of 881 
 
 syrup of 1211 
 
 tincture of 1240 
 
 troches of 1244 
 
 wild 140 
 
 wine 882 
 
 Gingerine 882 
 
 Ginseng. 596 
 
 Glacial acetic acid.... 28 
 phosphoric acid.. 52 
 
 Glauber's salt 789 
 
 Glecoma hederacea.... 547 
 
 Globe flower 205 
 
 Glonoine 894 
 
 Glucose 728 
 
 Glue 890 
 
 liquid 47, 390 
 
 marine 184 
 
 Gluten 837 
 
 Glycerin 391 
 
 balsam 896 
 
 jelly 396 
 
 lotion 10R4 
 
 ointment 396 
 
 paste 396 
 
 Glycerina 391, 1041 
 
 Glyceriuated tar...650, 1048 
 Glycerin mixture of 
 
 bismuth 1042 
 
 Glycerin solution of 
 
 aloes 1041 
 
 of atropia 1041 
 
 of borax 1042 
 
 of bromide of 
 
 potassium 1044 
 
 of carbolic acid... 1042 
 of chlorate of 
 
 potassa 1044 
 
 of chloroform 1042 
 
 of gallic acid 1042 
 
 of iodine, com- 
 pound 1043 
 
 of kino 1043 
 
 of pepsin, com- 
 pound 1043 
 
 of sulphate of 
 
 quinia 1044 
 
 of sulphate of 
 quinia with 
 strychnia 1044 
 
 Glycerin solution of 
 
 sulphite of soda... 1044 
 
 of tannic acid... 1045 
 
 of tar 1043 
 
 Glyoerinum aloes. 1041 
 
 argentum pitratis 1041 
 
 atropia 1041 
 
 bismuthi 1042 
 
 boracis 1042 
 
 carbolicum 1042 
 
 chloroformi 1042 
 
 gallicum 1042 
 
 iodinii composi- 
 
 tum J. 1043 
 
 . kino 1043 
 
 pepsini composi- 
 
 tum 1043 
 
 piois liquida 1043 
 
 potassii bromi- 
 
 dum 1044 
 
 potass99 chloras... 1044 
 
 quinise sulphas... 1044 
 quinise sulphas 
 
 cum strychnisB. 1044 
 
 sodSB sulphi s 1044 
 
 tan'nicum 1045 
 
 Glyoerole of aloes... 1041 
 
 I of arnica 135< 
 
 of atropia 1041 
 
 of bismuth 1042 
 
 of borax 1042 
 
 of bromide of 
 
 potassium 1044 
 
 of carbolic acid... 1042 
 of chlorate of 
 
 potassa 1044 
 
 of chloroform 1042 
 
 of gallic acid 1042 
 
 of iodine 1043 
 
 of kino 1048 
 
 ofquinia 1044 
 
 of quinia and 
 
 strychnia 1044 
 
 of tannic acid... 1045 
 
 of tar 104S 
 
 Glyceroles ..- 1041, 106S 
 
 Glycyrrhiza glabra.... 397 
 
 lepidota 398 
 
 Glycyrrhizin 897 
 
 Guaphalium margari- 
 
 tacea 399 
 
 polycephalum ... 399 
 
 Goat's rue 826 
 
 Godfrey's cordial 1234 
 
 Golden-rod, European 799 
 
 hard leaf 799 
 
 rigid 799 
 
 smooth, three-rib- 
 bed 799 
 
 sweet-scented .... 798. 
 
 Golden-seal 432 
 
 Golden senecio 767 
 
 Bulphuret of anti- 
 mony ..„ 1264 
 
 tinctijre 16 
 
 Goldthread 294 
 
Index. 
 
 1415 
 
 (Jombo 13 
 
 Gondret' 8 amm oniacal 
 
 ointment.. ..930, 1246 
 
 Goodyera pubesoens... 399 
 
 repens 399 
 
 Goosegrass 874 
 
 GossypiumBarbadense 400 
 
 herbaoeum 400 
 
 Gourd 812 
 
 Grainoil 77 
 
 Granulated sulphate 
 
 of iron 1035 
 
 tin 1304 
 
 Grape 862 
 
 false 100 
 
 sugar 728 
 
 Gravel-weed, 330, 340, 584 
 
 root 351 
 
 Great celandine 211 
 
 rag weed 92 
 
 stinging nettle... 842 
 
 water dock 723 
 
 Greek valerian 657 
 
 valerian, Ameri- 
 can 657 
 
 Green salve 956 
 
 tea 827 
 
 verdigris 314 
 
 vitriol 1083 
 
 Greenhow's cholera 
 
 mixture.......... 1226 
 
 Groats 153 
 
 Ground centaury 657 
 
 cherry 629 
 
 holly 214 
 
 ivy 547 
 
 laurel 340 
 
 lily 833 
 
 moss 663 
 
 pine 78 
 
 raspberry 482 
 
 squirrel-pea 459 
 
 Gruel, oat-meal 153 
 
 Guelder-rose tree 858 
 
 Guaiac 403 
 
 Guaiaci resina 403 
 
 Guaiacio acid 403, 404 
 
 Guaiacin 403, 404 
 
 Guaiacum 401 
 
 arboreum 402 
 
 officinale 401 
 
 sanctum 402 
 
 Gum ammoniac 93 
 
 Arabic 19 
 
 Arabic, mucilage 
 
 of.. 21 
 
 British 104 
 
 elastic 181 
 
 hemlock 15 
 
 mezquite 20 
 
 sweet « 488 
 
 Gun cotton 279 
 
 Gunjah 175 
 
 Gunpowder 405 
 
 T ttta peioha 405 
 
 ,i\ition of 406 
 
 Gymnocladus Cana- 
 densis 407 
 
 EL 
 
 Hackmetack 476 
 
 Hsemastasis. 411 
 
 Hsematin 409 
 
 HsBmatoxylin,., 409 
 
 Haematoxylon Campe- 
 
 chianum 409 
 
 HeemoSpasis 411 
 
 Hsemospaiatic medica- 
 tion 411 
 
 Hsemostatio, Pagliai'i's 159 
 
 Haircap moss 663 
 
 Hairwash 574 
 
 Hamamelis Virginica 411 
 
 Hardback 278, 801 
 
 Hardleaf golden-rod.. 799 
 
 Hardwater 116 
 
 Hastate knotgrass 661 
 
 Hawkweed 423 
 
 veiny-leaved 428 
 
 Hazelwort 139 
 
 Head-bath 123 
 
 Heal-all 278, 757 
 
 Heart-leaved plantain 651 
 
 Heart liverleaf. 42 1 
 
 Hebradendron oambo- 
 
 gioides 375 
 
 Hedeomapulegiodes... 413 
 
 Hedera Helix 414 
 
 Hederia 414 
 
 Hedge mustard 776 
 
 Hedysajum Alhagi... 587 
 
 HelJenin ^.... 445 
 
 Heleuium autumnale. 414 
 Helianthemum Cana- 
 
 dense 415 
 
 oorymbosum 416 
 
 Helianthus anuuus 318, 416 
 
 tuberosus 318 
 
 Hellebore, American.. 852 
 
 black 417 
 
 white 849 
 
 swamp 852 
 
 Helleborine 418 
 
 Helleborus foetidus.... 418 
 
 niger 417 
 
 orientalis 417 
 
 Helonias 418 
 
 buUata 420 
 
 dioica 418 
 
 officinalis 850 
 
 Hematin 409 
 
 Hematoxylin 409 
 
 Hemidesmic acid 421 
 
 Henfidesmus Indicus.. 420 
 
 Hemlock dropwort 553 
 
 fine-leaved water 552 
 
 fir 14 
 
 gum 15 
 
 oil of. 15 
 
 parsley 766 
 
 poison 283 
 
 spruce 15 
 
 Hemlock water 288 
 
 Hemp 175 
 
 Indian 114 
 
 white Indian 142 
 
 tincture of 177 
 
 Henbane 434 
 
 yellow 629 
 
 Henry's aromatic vin- 
 egar 29 
 
 Hepar 1147 
 
 Hepatica acutiloba.... 421 
 
 AmeHcana 421 
 
 triloba 421 
 
 Hera'oleum lanatum... 422 
 
 Herb Christopher 67 
 
 Robert 386 
 
 Herpetic wash 1065 
 
 Heuchera Americana. 422 
 
 caulescens 423 
 
 pubescens 423 
 
 Hevea Guianensis 181 
 
 Hibiscus abelmoschus 13 
 
 esculentus 18 
 
 marsh 88 
 
 moscheutos 88 
 
 palustris 88 
 
 Hieraoium venosum... 428 
 
 Hierochloa borealis... 833 
 
 High angelica Ill 
 
 cranberry 858 , 
 
 Hip-bath 122 
 
 tree 715 
 
 Hircin 770 
 
 Hirudo decora 425 
 
 me.dicinalis 424 
 
 officinalis 424 
 
 Hoarhound 516 
 
 water 494. 
 
 wild 358 
 
 Hoary pea 826 
 
 Hoffman's Anodyne... 75 
 
 Hogweed 93 
 
 Holly, American 442 
 
 European 443 
 
 ground 214 
 
 Hollyhock 88 
 
 Holy thistle 201 
 
 Honduras sarsaparilla 778 
 
 Honey. 518 
 
 clarified 519 
 
 Honeysuckle bush 830 
 
 Hoodwort 758 
 
 Hop hornbeam 592 
 
 Hope's mixture 48 
 
 Hops 429 
 
 Hordein 427 
 
 Hordeum distichon.... 426 
 
 vuXgare..: 426 
 
 Horse brimstone 817 
 
 Horsecane 92 
 
 Horsechestnut 69 
 
 oil of. 70 
 
 Horsefly weed 154 
 
 Horse gentian SHi 
 
 HoTsemint 529 
 
 Horseradish 270 
 
1416 
 
 Index. 
 
 Boraetail 342 
 
 iorseweed 92, 278, 343 
 
 lot-air bath 802 
 
 ifotbath 120 
 
 drops 1232 
 
 Hound's tongue 318 
 
 Houseleek 767 
 
 Huckleberry 845 
 
 Humulus lupulus 429 
 
 Huun's drops 1067 
 
 Hundred-leayed rose.. 716 
 Hunter's red drop... 1285 
 
 Huntsman's cup 762 
 
 Hydragogue powder.. 1154 
 
 tincture 1259 
 
 Hydrangea 431 
 
 arborescens 431 
 
 wild 431 
 
 vulgaris 431 
 
 Hydrargyri aoetas.... 1279 
 amido-chloridum. 1279 
 
 boras 1280 
 
 Dromidum 1280 
 
 thloridum mite... 1289 
 
 }um creta 1280 
 
 cum magnesia.... 1280 
 
 oyanuretum 1281 
 
 dipernitras 1281 
 
 emplastrum 1281 
 
 et quinisB chlori- 
 
 dum 1282 
 
 iodidi rubrum.... 1286 
 nitrioooxydum... 1282 
 ozydum nigrum . 1292 
 oxydum rubrum.. 1282 
 oxydum sulphuri- 
 
 cum 1293 
 
 perchloridum 1283 
 
 periodidum 1286 
 
 pernitras liquor ... 1288 
 
 persulphas 1288 
 
 protonitras 1288 
 
 phosphas 1289 
 
 Bubchloridum 1289 
 
 subiodidum 1291 
 
 aubozydum 1292 
 
 subsulphas flavus 1293 
 
 sulphuretum 1294 
 
 sulphuvetum cum 
 
 sulphure 1295 
 
 sulphuretum ni- 
 grum 1295 
 
 Hydrargyrum 1278 
 
 Hydraatin, iodide of 945 
 
 muriate of 942 
 
 aulphateof 944 
 
 Hydrastina 942 
 
 Hydrastis Canadensis 432 
 Hydrate of chloral.... 882 
 
 of lime 170 
 
 of oxide of ethyle 74 
 
 of potaaaa... 1126 
 
 of starch 104 
 
 Bydrated oxide of 
 
 amyle 77 
 
 oxide of iron 1021 
 
 Hydrated oxide of 
 
 methyle 805 
 
 oxide of phenyle. 38 
 peroxide of iron 
 
 361, 1021 
 sesquioxide of 
 
 iron 361, 1021 
 
 Hydriodate of morphia 1078 
 
 of potassa 1146 
 
 Hydriodio acid 39, 448 
 
 ether 921 
 
 Hydroalcoholic extract 
 
 of golden-seal.. 977 
 ' of water plantain 985 
 Hydrochlorate of am- 
 monia 98 
 
 of berberina 942 
 
 of morphia 1076 
 
 of zinc 875 
 
 Hydrochloric acid 40 
 
 Hydrocyanic acid 41 
 
 Hydrogen, sulphureted 1038 
 Hydrosulphuric acid 
 
 gas 1038 
 
 Hyoscyamia 435 
 
 Hyosoyamus niger 434 
 
 Hypericum perforat- 
 um 437 
 
 Hyperiodio acid 448 
 
 ^pophosphite of am- 
 monia 1196 
 
 of lime 1195 
 
 of potassa 1196 
 
 of quinia 1197 
 
 of' sesquioxide of 
 
 iron 1196 
 
 of soda , 1196 
 
 Hypophosphorous acid 1196 
 Hyposulphite of soda. 787 
 
 Hyssop 438 
 
 prairie 686 
 
 wild 855 
 
 Hyssopus officinalis... 438 
 
 I 
 
 Iberis amara 439 
 
 Ice plant 580 
 
 Ice Tine 261 
 
 Iceland moss 210 
 
 Ichthyocolla 439 
 
 Ictodes foetidus 820 
 
 Igasurin 813 
 
 Ignatius amara 441 
 
 bean 441 
 
 Ilex aquifolium 448 
 
 opaca 442 
 
 Tomitoria.< 448 
 
 Ilioin '442 
 
 lUicium anisatum 640 
 
 Imitation champagne 
 
 867, 870 
 
 Impatiens balsamina. 444 
 
 fulra 444 
 
 pallida 444 
 
 Impure acetic acid 29 
 
 carbonate of zinc 874 
 
 Indelible ink 180 
 
 India senna 195 
 
 Indian arrow wood... 349 
 
 corn 873 
 
 cup-plant 771 
 
 ginger 140 
 
 hemp... 114 
 
 hemp, white 142 
 
 physic 388 
 
 pipe 530 
 
 posy 399 
 
 rubber 181 
 
 sarsaparilla 420 
 
 tobacco 491 
 
 turnip 138 
 
 Indigo prairie 156 
 
 wild 154 
 
 Infusa 1045 
 
 Infusion of cranesbill, 
 
 compound 1047 
 
 of goldenseal, 
 
 compound 1048 
 
 of parsley, com- 
 pound 1047 
 
 of aage, compound 1048 
 of trailing arbu- . 
 tus, compound. 1047 
 
 Infusions 904, 906, 1045 
 
 Infusum apii composi- 
 
 tum 1047 
 
 epigsese composi- 
 
 tum 1047 
 
 geranii composi- 
 
 tum 1047 
 
 hydrastis composi- 
 
 tum.... 1048 
 
 salyiae composi- 
 
 tum 1048 
 
 Injections 961 
 
 Ink 36,719 
 
 indelible 130 
 
 red 269,410 
 
 root 808 
 
 Inosit 728 
 
 Insoluble cinchona red 247 
 Inspissated extracts.. 965 
 
 Inapissation 965 
 
 Inula heleuium 444 
 
 InuUn '. 445 
 
 Iodic acid 448 
 
 Iodide of ammonium.. 925 
 
 of arsenic... 1272 
 
 of barium.. 1275 
 
 of berberina 945 
 
 of cadmium.. 1276 
 
 of ethyle .452, 921 
 
 of iron 1018 
 
 of iron, solution 
 
 of 1201 
 
 of lead 1302 
 
 of mercury 1291 
 
 ofmorphia 1079 
 
 of potaaaium 1144 
 
 of quinia 1156 
 
 of silver 1265 
 
 of sulphur 819 
 
Index. 
 
 1417 
 
 >dide of line 1308 
 
 •dine 446 
 
 bisulphide of .... 819 
 
 carbolate of. 453 
 
 caustic 451 
 
 coitapound solution 
 
 of 1058 
 
 compound oint- 
 ment of. 1249 
 
 compound tinct- 
 ure of 1228 
 
 pill 451,808 
 
 tincture of 1227 
 
 lodinium 446 
 
 Iodized oil of juniper. 448 
 
 Iodoform 452 
 
 lodous acid 448 
 
 Ipecacuanha 201 
 
 American 856 
 
 linimentof 204 
 
 saccharated alco- 
 holic extract of 1203 
 
 yrup of 204 
 
 spurge 856 
 
 troches of. 1242 
 
 wild 356, 834 
 
 Ipomsea jalapa 453 
 
 Iridin 1110 
 
 Iris Florentina 458 
 
 lacustris 458 
 
 versicolor 456 
 
 Virginica 458 
 
 Irish Moss 225 
 
 Iron 360 
 
 acetate of. 1009 
 
 alum 91 
 
 ammonio-citrate 
 
 of 1014 
 
 dnd ammonia, ci- 
 trate of..... 1014 
 
 and ammonia, sul- 
 phate of 91 
 
 and quinia, citrate 
 
 of 1014 
 
 and quinia, tar- 
 trate of. 1016 
 
 and strychnia, ci- 
 trate of. 1015 
 
 and zinc, citrate 
 
 of 1016 
 
 arseniate of. 1272 
 
 binitrosulphide 
 
 of 221 
 
 black oxide of 
 
 361, 1024 
 
 by hydrogen 1029 
 
 chloride of 1010 
 
 citrate of. 1013 
 
 dried sulphate of 1037 
 ferrocyanuret of.. 1016 
 
 filings 362 
 
 granulated sul- 
 phate of. 1035 
 
 ' ydrated oxide of 1021 
 ivdrated peroxide 
 f 1021 
 
 Iron, hydrated sesqui- 
 
 oxide of 361, 1021 
 
 hypophosphite of, 
 
 sesquioxide 1196 
 
 iodide of 1018 
 
 lactate of. 1020 
 
 lactate of protox- 
 ide of. 1020 
 
 magnetic oxide of 861 
 perchloride of 
 
 1010, 1224 
 
 peroxide of. 1025 
 
 persulphate of.... 1036 
 
 phosphate of 1026 
 
 powder of. 1029 
 
 precipitated car- 
 bonate of. 1031 
 
 preparations of... 1009 
 
 protoxide of. 361 
 
 prussiate of. 1016 
 
 pyrophosphate of 1028 
 
 red oxide of. 1025 
 
 reduced 1029 
 
 saccharine carbo- 
 nate of. 1009 
 
 sesquioxide of, 
 
 361, 1025 
 solution of iodide 
 
 of 1201 
 
 solution of nitrate 
 
 of 1057 
 
 solution of perni- 
 
 trate of. 1057 
 
 solution of terni- 
 trate of sesqui- 
 oxide of 1057 
 
 solution of tersul- 
 
 phate of 1023 
 
 stearate of 1037 
 
 subcarbonate of... 1031 
 succinate of per^ 
 
 oxide of. 1082 
 
 sulphate of 1033 
 
 sulphate of protox- 
 ide of. 1033 
 
 Bulphuret of. 1087 
 
 syrup of protoni- 
 
 trate of 1057 
 
 tannate of 1039 
 
 teroxide of 861 
 
 tincture of ace- 
 
 - tateof 1222 
 
 tincture of chlor- 
 ide of. 1222 
 
 tincture of muri- 
 ate of. 1222 
 
 valerianate of.... 1040 
 
 Iron weed 856 
 
 Iron wood .'.... 592 
 
 Irritating plaster 957 
 
 Isinglass 439 
 
 Isonadra gutta 405 
 
 Ivory black 186 
 
 Ivy 414, 465 
 
 American 100 
 
 big-leaved 465 
 
 Ivy, ground 547 
 
 poison 709 
 
 J 
 
 Jack in the pulpit 188 
 
 Jackson's syrup 1209 
 
 Jacob's ladder 657 
 
 Jalap 453 
 
 resin of. 456, 1167 
 
 wild 287 
 
 Jamaica kino 469 
 
 pepper 542 
 
 sarsaparilla 777 
 
 James' powder 1264 
 
 Jamestown weed...... 823 
 
 Janipha manihot 458 
 
 Japan wax 1189 
 
 Jatropha curcas 682 
 
 manihot 458 
 
 Jeffersonia diphylla... 459 
 
 Jelly, glycerin 396 
 
 vegetable 327 
 
 Jerusalem artichoke... 318 
 
 oak 213 
 
 Jessamine, white 880 
 
 wild 378 
 
 yellow 378 
 
 Jewel weed 444 
 
 Job's-tears, wild 584 
 
 Joepye 351 
 
 Juglandin..... 462 
 
 Juglans cinerea 460 
 
 nigra 461 
 
 regia.. 461 
 
 Juniper 462, 
 
 iodized oil of 448 
 
 Juniperus communis.. 462 
 
 sabina 463 
 
 Virginiana '464 
 
 Justice's weed 353 
 
 K 
 
 Kali tartarized 1139 
 
 Ealmiaangustifolia... 467 
 
 glauca 467 
 
 latifolia 465 
 
 Kameela 508 
 
 Kelp 369,447, 786 
 
 Kentucky coffee-tree.. 408 
 
 Kermes' mineral 1263 
 
 Kidney liver-leaf 421 
 
 Kinateof cinchonia... 247 
 
 of quinia 247 
 
 King's expectorant 
 
 tincture 1230 
 
 Kino 467 
 
 African 468 
 
 Botany bay 469 
 
 dhak-tree 468 
 
 Jamaica 469 
 
 South American.. 469 
 
 Kinovic acid 255 
 
 Knotgrass, erect 662 
 
 Knotweed, spotted 661 
 
 Koussine 165 
 
 Kousso I'U 
 
 Krameria triandri* , '.* 
 
1418 
 
 Index. 
 
 L 
 
 Labarraque's disin- 
 fecting fluid.... 1062 
 
 Labrador tea ' 477 
 
 Iiachnanthes ,472 
 
 tinctoria 472 
 
 Lacmus 714 
 
 Lactate of iron 1020 
 
 of lime 1021 
 
 of protoxide of 
 
 iron 1020 
 
 of quinia 1155 
 
 Lactic acid 44 
 
 Laotin 733 
 
 Lactinated prepara- 
 tions 1048 
 
 Lactuca altissima 478 
 
 elongata 473 
 
 sativa 472 
 
 scariola 473 
 
 virosa 472 
 
 Lactucarium 473 
 
 Lactucic acid 474 
 
 Laotucin 473 
 
 Ladies'-slipper 444 
 
 slipper, showy.... 319 
 slipper, stemless.. 319 
 slipper, white 
 
 flowered 319 
 
 slipper, yellow... 319 
 
 thumb 661 
 
 Lake water 117 
 
 Lambkill 465 
 
 Lapis caliminaris 874 
 
 Lappa major 126 
 
 minor 126 
 
 Larch..'. 18 
 
 agaric 71 
 
 American 475 
 
 black 475 
 
 Lard 68 
 
 benzoated 69, 1245 
 
 prepared 68, 1244 
 
 u&Tge flowering 
 
 spurge 353 
 
 Large spotted spurge.. 355 
 
 Larix Americana 475 
 
 oedrus 587 
 
 Europoea 18, 641 
 
 Larkspur 327 
 
 Laudanum 1233 
 
 Rousseau's 614 
 
 Sydenham's 614 
 
 Laurel 465 
 
 ground 340 
 
 mountain 466 
 
 narrow-leaved.... 467 
 
 sheep 465 
 
 spurge 322 
 
 swamp 467 
 
 Laurus benzoin........ 157 
 
 camphora 171 
 
 einnamomum 259 
 
 sassafras 475 
 
 Lavandula spica, 477, 1099 
 
 Lavandula vera 477 
 
 Lavender 477 
 
 sea...., 808 
 
 Lead 1299 
 
 acetate of. 652 
 
 carbonate of. 1301 
 
 chloride of 1301 
 
 flowers of. 1300 
 
 horn 1301 
 
 iodide of 1302 
 
 magistery of 1301 
 
 nitrate of. 1302 
 
 nitro-saccharate 
 
 of 1303 
 
 oxide of / 1300 
 
 plaster 958 
 
 red 654 
 
 red oxide of. 654 
 
 saccharate of. 1303 
 
 semivitrified ox- 
 ide of. 1300 
 
 sugar of 652 
 
 superacetate of... 652 
 
 tanuate of. 1304 
 
 white 1301 
 
 Leather flower 265 
 
 Leather wood 337 
 
 Lecanora tartarea 714 
 
 Ledoyen's disinfect- 
 ing fluid 1303 
 
 Ledum latifolium 477 
 
 palustre 478 
 
 Leech 424 
 
 Lemon 263 
 
 syrup 1196 
 
 wild 655 
 
 Lemonade powder 37 
 
 Lentive electuary 951 
 
 Lentisk 648 
 
 Leontice thalictroides 198 
 Leontodon taraxacum 824 
 
 Leonurus cardiaca 478 
 
 Leopard's bane 133 
 
 Leptandra 479 
 
 Virginioa 479 
 
 Leptandrin 979 
 
 Letheon 919 
 
 Lettuce 472 
 
 canker 688 
 
 opium 473 
 
 strong-scented.... 472 
 
 wild 472 
 
 Leucanthemum vul- 
 
 gare 481 
 
 Lever wood 592 
 
 Levigation 897 
 
 Liatris cyliudracea.... 482 
 
 graminifolia 482 
 
 odoratissima 482 
 
 scariosa 482 
 
 spicata 481 
 
 squarrosa 482 
 
 Lichenln 210 
 
 Life everlasting, pearl- 
 flowered Ill, 399 
 
 sweet scented 399 
 
 Life-root 767 
 
 Lignum colubrinum... 812 
 Ligustrum vulgare.... 482 
 
 Lilium candidum 483 
 
 Lily, ground 833 
 
 meadow 483 
 
 white 483 
 
 white pond 651 
 
 . yellow pond 552 
 
 Lime 169 
 
 bath 170 
 
 bisulphite of 170 
 
 bonephosphate of 945 
 carbonate of.. .305, 516 
 
 hydrate of 170 
 
 hypophosphite of 1195 
 
 lactate of...... 1021 
 
 linimentof 1051 
 
 milk of. 169 
 
 precipitated phos- 
 phate of. 945 
 
 sacdharate of. 738 
 
 water. 931 
 
 Limes 263 
 
 Lini oleum 485 
 
 Liniment, aconite 1049 
 
 aconite and chlo- 
 roform 1060 
 
 anodyne 1053 
 
 black 1052 
 
 ca.mphor 1051 
 
 camphorated soap 1053 
 
 chloraform 224 
 
 common 1050 
 
 compound, of am- 
 monia 1051 
 
 compound eajeput 1051 
 compound, of cam- 
 phor 1051 
 
 compound capsi- 
 cum 1052 
 
 compound, of oil 
 
 of amber..- 1054 
 
 compound, of oils 1052 
 oompoj.nd, of pe- 
 troleum... 1053 
 
 compound, of stll- 
 
 Ungia 1054 
 
 compound, of tur- 
 pentine . 1054 
 
 concentrated 1052 
 
 croton oil 583, 1052 
 
 of aoonitina, com- 
 pound... 1050 
 
 of ammonia 1060 
 
 of ipecacuanha... 204 
 
 of lime 1051 
 
 of oils 1052 
 
 of opium 1053 
 
 rheumatic 1052 
 
 soap 1053 
 
 white 1054 
 
 verdigris 1050 
 
 volatile 1050 
 
 Linimenta 1049 
 
 Liniments 104* 
 
Index. 
 
 1419 
 
 tanimentum aconiti.,. 1049 
 aconitiua comjjos- 
 
 itum 1050 
 
 aconiti et chloro- 
 
 formi 1050 
 
 aconiti radiois.... 1049 
 
 ssruginis 1050 
 
 ammonise 1050 
 
 ammonise composi- 
 
 tum 1051 
 
 cajuputi composi- 
 
 tum 1051 
 
 calois 1051 
 
 camphorae 1051 
 
 camphoras compos- 
 
 itum 1051 
 
 capsici composi- 
 
 tum 1052 
 
 crotonis 1 1052 
 
 nigrum.. 1052 
 
 olei 1052 
 
 olei compositum.. 1052 
 
 opii 1053 
 
 petrolei com- 
 positum 1053 
 
 saponis 1058 
 
 saponis oampko- 
 
 ratum 1053 
 
 stillingise com- 
 positum 1054 
 
 succini composi- 
 tum 1054 
 
 terebinthinse com- 
 positum 1054 
 
 Lmseed oil 485 
 
 Linum usitatissimum. 484 
 
 Lion's foot 543 
 
 Lip salve 948 
 
 Liquidambar orientale 486 
 liiquidambar styraci- 
 
 flua 488 
 
 J iquidglue... 47, 390 
 
 • pepsin 1260 
 
 physio, white 49 
 
 rheumatic 1259 
 
 storax 487 
 
 Liquids from solids, 
 
 separation of... 899 
 Liquor acidi carbolici. 1055 
 
 ammoniae 928 
 
 ammonise acetatis 1055 
 ammonias fortior.. 930 
 arsenici chloridi.. 1268 
 arsenici et hydrar- 
 
 gyri iodidi 1272 
 
 atropise 1056 
 
 bismuthi 163 
 
 bismuthi et am- 
 monias citras... 164 
 
 oalcis 931 
 
 calcis sulphuret- 
 
 um 1056 
 
 ohlori 932 
 
 ferri iodidi 1201 
 
 ferri nitratis 1057 
 
 ferri perchloridi.. 1058 
 
 Liquor ferri tersul- 
 
 phas 1023,1058 
 
 iodini compositus 1058 
 magnesias citratis 1059 
 morphias acetatis. 1076 
 morphias hydro- 
 
 ohloras 1077 
 
 morphiae sulpha- 
 
 tis 1078 
 
 potassaB 1059 
 
 potassse carbona- 
 
 tis 1185 
 
 potassEe citratis.. 1061 
 potassse perman- 
 
 ganatis 1062 
 
 sodse chlorinatae.. 1062 
 stryohniae nitra- 
 tis 1063 
 
 Liquorice 397 
 
 and opium, tro- 
 ches of 398, 1241 
 
 compound troches 
 
 of 1242 
 
 Liquors 1055 
 
 Liquores 1055 
 
 Liriodendrin 490 
 
 Liriodendron tulipi- 
 
 fera 489 
 
 Litharge 1300 
 
 plaster 958 
 
 Lithospermum pul- 
 
 chrum 683 
 
 ' Virginianum 584 
 
 Litmus 713 
 
 Liver of sulphur 1147 
 
 Liverleaf, heart 421 
 
 kidney 421 
 
 Liverwort 421 
 
 Lixiviation 904 
 
 Lobelia 491 
 
 blue 494 
 
 cardinalis 494 
 
 cataplasm 947 
 
 inflata 491 
 
 Kalmii 494 
 
 oil of. 492 
 
 red 494 
 
 syphilitica 494 
 
 vinegar of. 911 
 
 Lobelina 491 
 
 Locust 712 
 
 black 713 
 
 yellow 713 
 
 Logwood 409 
 
 London paste 170 
 
 Long-leaved pine 640 
 
 Long pepper 645 
 
 Loose strife .y 495 
 
 Lotio aetheris oom^ 
 
 posita 1064 
 
 alkalina 1063 
 
 ammoniae hydro- 
 
 chloras 100, 1064 
 
 boracis 1064 
 
 boracis cum mor- 
 phise 1064 
 
 Lotio flava 1285 
 
 glycerini 1064 
 
 hydrastis mm- 
 
 posita 1065 
 
 hydrastis et aco- 
 niti 1065 
 
 juglandis 1065 
 
 loheliae composita 1065 
 myrrhsecomposita 1065 
 
 nigra 1291 
 
 refrigerans 1066 
 
 sassafras 1066 
 
 sodii composita... 1060 
 zinci composita... 1066 
 
 Lotion atropia., 1063 
 
 borax 1064 
 
 borax, with mor- 
 phia 10G4 
 
 cooling 1066 
 
 compound ethe- 
 real 1064 
 
 compound lobelia 1065 
 compound myrrh. 1065 
 compound, of gold- 
 en-seal 1064 
 
 compound soda... 1066 
 compound zinc... 1066 
 
 evaporating 1064 
 
 glycerin 1064 
 
 hydrochlorate, of 
 
 ammonia 100, 1064 
 
 morphia 1063 
 
 of golden-seal and 
 
 aconite 1065 
 
 sassafras 1066 
 
 strychnia 1063 
 
 veratria 1063 
 
 walnut 1065 
 
 Lotiones 1063 
 
 Lotions 1063 
 
 Lousewort 387 
 
 Low blackberry 92, 719 
 
 Low mallow 510 
 
 Lovely bleeding 92 
 
 Lozenges 1240 
 
 Wistar's 1241 
 
 Lunar caustic 128 
 
 Lungwort 683 
 
 Virginian 683 
 
 Lupulin 429 
 
 ethereal oil of..... 431 
 
 extract of. 982 
 
 Lupulite 430 
 
 Lycoperdon proteus... 225 
 Lycopersicou esculen- 
 
 tum 795 
 
 Lyoopus Europaeus.... 495 
 
 Virginicus 494 
 
 Lyre-leaved sage 739 
 
 Lythrum salicaria 495 
 
 verticillatum 496 
 
 Lytta vesicatoria 178 
 
 M 
 
 537 
 
 Maoeration 904, 1213 
 
1420 
 
 Index. 
 
 Mackenzie's syrup... 488 
 
 Maenitin 227, 1165 
 
 Macrotys racemosa.... 227 
 
 Mad-dog weed 79, 758 
 
 Madder 718 
 
 Madeira wine 864 
 
 Magistery of bismuth 163 
 
 Magnesia > 496 
 
 calcined 496 
 
 carbonate of 498 
 
 solution of citrate 
 
 of 1059 
 
 sulphate of 503 
 
 sulphite of 504 
 
 troches of. 1242 
 
 usta 49i6 
 
 Magnesias carbonas... 498 
 
 sulphas 503 
 
 sulphis 504 
 
 Magnetic oxide of iron 
 
 361, 1024 
 
 Magnolia 507 
 
 acuminata 507 
 
 glauca 507 
 
 sweet 507 
 
 tripetala 507 
 
 umbrella 507 
 
 Mahogany birch 160 
 
 Maidenhair 69 
 
 Male fern 144 
 
 Mallotus Phillippinen- 
 
 sis 508 
 
 Mallow, common 510 
 
 low 510 
 
 marsh 87 
 
 Malva rotundifolia... 510 
 
 sylrestris 510 
 
 Man-in-the-ground ... 287 
 
 Mandioca 458 
 
 Mandrake 655 
 
 Manganese 510 
 
 oxides of 510, 511 
 
 protochloride of... 512 
 
 ' sulphate of 612 
 
 Manganesii, binoxi- 
 
 ' dum 510 
 
 chloridum 512 
 
 sulphas 512 
 
 Manna 586 
 
 Mannite 587 
 
 Maple, vine 522 
 
 Maranta allouya 514 
 
 arundinaoea 514 
 
 Indioa 514 
 
 nobilis 514 
 
 Marchantia polymor- 
 
 pha 421 
 
 Marble, white 516 
 
 Margarate of glycerin 69 
 
 Margaric acid 69, 746 
 
 Margarin...69, 556, 570, 746 
 
 Marine glue 184 
 
 Marloram, sweet 585 
 
 'wild 585 
 
 Marmor album '516 
 
 Marr^bium vulgare... 516 
 
 Marsh epilobium 841 
 
 gentian 384 
 
 hibiscus 88 
 
 rosemary 808 
 
 parsley 766 
 
 smallage 765 
 
 tea 478 
 
 trefoil 525 
 
 water 117 
 
 Marshmallow 87 
 
 Maruta cotula 517 
 
 Mary gold, garden 168 
 
 Massicot 1300 
 
 Masterwort Ill, 422 
 
 Mastich 648 
 
 Masticin 649 
 
 Materia Medica 13 
 
 Maticin 643 
 
 Matico 642 
 
 Matricaria chamo- 
 
 milla 113 
 
 parthenium ....112, 687 
 
 May-apple 655 
 
 flower 340 
 
 weed 517 
 
 Mayer's ointment 1250 
 
 MoMunn's elixir of 
 
 opium 1233 
 
 Meadow anemone 110 
 
 cabbage 821 
 
 lily 483 
 
 saffron 276, 
 
 sage 739 
 
 scabish 149 
 
 Meadowsweet 801 
 
 Mealy starwort 78 
 
 tree 859 
 
 Measures and weights 891 
 
 Mecca oil 617 
 
 Sleohameck 287 
 
 Mechanical di-vision... 895 
 
 Meconic acid 610 
 
 Meconin 609 
 
 Medical discovery, 
 
 Kennedy's 1212 
 
 Medicated waters 926 
 
 wines 1256 
 
 Medicines, preserva- 
 tion of 887 
 
 Mel 518 
 
 .Sigypticum 1050 
 
 despumatum 519 
 
 Melaleuca oajuputi.... 1088 
 
 Melanthium dioioum.. 418 
 
 Melia azedarach 520 
 
 Melilot clover 832 
 
 Melilotus ofiBcinalis... 832 
 
 Melissa officinalis 521 
 
 Melissine 207 
 
 Meloe vesicatorius 178 
 
 Menisperine 523 
 
 Menispermin 107 
 
 Menispermum Caua- 
 
 dense 522 
 
 cooculus 106 
 
 Mentha piperita '>23 
 
 Mentha pulegium 418 
 
 viridis 524 
 
 Menyanthes trifoliata 525 
 
 Menyanthin 525 
 
 Mercurial balsam 1297 
 
 pills 1296 
 
 Mercurius dulcis 1289 
 
 Mercury 1278 
 
 acetate of. 1279 
 
 acid nitrate of.... 1288 
 amido-chloride of 1279 
 
 ammoniated 1279 
 
 ammonio-chloride 
 
 of 1279 
 
 amorphous sulphu- 
 
 ret of 1295 
 
 and quinia, chlo- 
 ride of 1282 
 
 bibasic nitrate of 1281 
 
 bichloride of 1288 
 
 biniodide of. 1286 
 
 bisulphuret of..... 1294 
 black oxide of.... 1292 
 black sulphuret of 1295 
 
 borate of 1280 
 
 bromide of 1280 
 
 chloride of 1283 
 
 cyanuret of. 1281 
 
 deutiodide of 1286 
 
 deutoxide of. 1282 
 
 gray oxide of. 1292 
 
 green iodide of... 1291 
 
 iodide of 1291 
 
 neutral nitrate of 1288 
 nitric oxide of..... 1282 
 
 ointment of.. 1296 
 
 ointment of ni- 
 trate of. 1297 
 
 oxymuriate of.... 1283 
 perohloride of..... 1283 
 
 periodide of., 1286 
 
 peroxide of 1282 
 
 persulphate of.... 1288 ' 
 
 phosphate of. 1289 
 
 plaster of. 1281 
 
 protiodide of 1291 
 
 protochloride of... 1289 
 protonitrate of.... 1288 
 protophosphate of 1289 
 protoxide of...;.... 1292 
 
 red iodide of 1286 
 
 red oxide of 1282 
 
 red sulphuret of.. 1294 
 subchloride of..... 1289 
 subiodide of........ 1291 
 
 suboxide of 1292 
 
 subpersulphate of 1293 
 
 sulphate of 1288 
 
 sulphuret of. 1294 
 
 tribasi'c sulphate 
 
 of 1293 
 
 white oxide of 1279 
 
 with chalk 1280 
 
 with magnesia.... 1280 
 
 yellowsulphate of 1293 
 
 Mertensia Virginica.. 683 
 
Index. 
 
 1421 
 
 Mesembryanthernum 
 
 orystallinum ... 531 
 
 Metamorphia 608 
 
 Metagallic acid 39 
 
 Method of displace- 
 ment 905, 1214 
 
 Methyle 805 
 
 Methylie alooLol 805 
 
 Mezereon 322 
 
 American 337 
 
 Mezquite 20 
 
 Mild volatile alkali... 96 
 Mild zinc ointment ... 1254 
 
 ftlilfoil 25 
 
 Milk of lime 169 
 
 pursley 355 
 
 sugar of. 733 
 
 Milk-weed 114, 141, 363 
 
 swamp 142 
 
 Mimulua moschatus... 533 
 Mindererus, spirit of.. 1055 
 
 Mineral, crystal 670 
 
 tar 621 
 
 water 927 
 
 waters 116, 119, 123 
 
 Minium..: 654 
 
 Mint, spirits of 1231 
 
 Mistletoe 861 
 
 Mistura alterantise 
 
 composita 1067 
 
 cajuputi com- 
 posita 1067 
 
 camphorse com- 
 posita 1067 
 
 chenopodii com- 
 posita 1068 
 
 copaibse compos- 
 ita 1068 
 
 formyli terchlo- 
 
 ridi 224 
 
 glycyrrhizsB com- 
 posita 1069 
 
 olei camphorata... 1069 
 olei composita.... 1069 
 sanguinariee com- 
 posita 1070 
 
 spiritus vini Gal- 
 
 lici 1070 
 
 Misturae 1067 
 
 Mitchella repens 526 
 
 Mixture, brandy 1070 
 
 cochineal 1134 
 
 compound oajeput 1067 
 compound of cam- 
 phor 1067 
 
 compound copaiba 1068 
 compound liquor- 
 ice 1069 
 
 compound tonic... 1067 
 compound worm- 
 seed 1068 
 
 conium ..., 285 
 
 cough 285, 1208 
 
 neutral 1061 
 
 of bloodroot, com- 
 pound 1070 
 
 Mixture, of oils, cam- 
 phorated 1069 
 
 of oils, compound 1069 
 
 worm 1068 
 
 Mixtures 1067 
 
 Mocha senna 195 
 
 Molasses 729 
 
 Momordica elaterium 627 
 
 Monarda didyma 530 
 
 punctata 629 
 
 squarrosa 630 
 
 Monardin 1101 
 
 Monkshood 63 
 
 Monotropa uniflora... 530 
 
 Moonseed 622 
 
 Moosewood 337 
 
 Morphia 1070 
 
 acetate of. < 1075 
 
 bimeconate of..... 1078 
 
 hydrioda''c of. 1078 
 
 hydrooh'.v ^.te of.. 1076 
 
 iodide of 1079 
 
 lotion 1063 
 
 muriate of 1076 
 
 nitrate of. 1078 
 
 phosphate of 1078 
 
 preparations of. . ).')70 
 solution of acetate 
 
 of 107'j 
 
 solution of muriate 
 
 of 1077 
 
 solution of sul- 
 
 . phate of 1078 
 
 sulphate of 1078 
 
 tartrate of 1078 
 
 valerianate of..... 1079 
 
 MorphisB acetas 1075 
 
 hydrochloras 1076 
 
 murias 1076 
 
 sulphas 1078 
 
 Mortars .' 896 
 
 Morus alba 532 
 
 nigra 532 
 
 rubra 631 
 
 M'oschus 532 
 
 Moss, Corsican 368 
 
 ground 663 
 
 hair-cap 663 
 
 Iceland 210 
 
 Irish 225 
 
 Tartarean 714 
 
 Mother of thyme 831 
 
 Mother's cordial 1206 
 
 Motherwort 478 
 
 Mounsey's Preston 
 
 salts 98 
 
 Mountain damson 771 
 
 dittany 313 
 
 laurel 466 
 
 pink 340 
 
 strawberry 365 
 
 tea 377 
 
 Mouth-root 294 
 
 Mucilage of gum Ara- 
 bic 21 
 
 of sassafras pith.. 476 
 
 Mucilage of slippery 
 
 elm 841 
 
 Mucuna pruriens 534 
 
 prurita 534 
 
 Mugwort 136 
 
 Mulberry, red 531 
 
 Mullein 855 
 
 Muriate of ammonia.. 98 
 
 of berberina 942 
 
 of gold and soda.. 791 
 
 of iron, tincture of 1222 
 
 ofmorphja 1076 
 
 of morphia, solu- 
 tion of 1077 
 
 of quinia 1165 
 
 of soda 792 
 
 of zinc 876 
 
 Muriatic acid 40 
 
 acid, diluted 41 
 
 Musk 632 
 
 artificial 533 
 
 Muskmelon 312 
 
 Mustard, black 772 
 
 hedge 776 
 
 paper 775 
 
 volatile oil of... . 773 
 
 white 772 
 
 Mutton tallow 770 
 
 Myosotis Virginica.;. 318 
 
 Myrica Carolinensis.. 536 
 
 cerifera 635 
 
 gale 536 
 
 Pennsylvauica... 536 
 
 Myricin 206,983 
 
 Myristioa fragrans... 536 
 
 mosohata 537 
 
 Myristicic acid 538 
 
 Myristibin..... 538 
 
 Myronate of potassa... 774 
 
 Myronic acid 774 
 
 Myrospermum Perui- 
 
 ferum 539 
 
 toluiferum 541 
 
 Myrosin 774 
 
 MyroxylonPeruiferam 539 
 
 Myrrh 153 
 
 Myrtle wax 635 
 
 Myrtus pimeuta 542 
 
 isr 
 
 Nabalus albus 64b 
 
 serpen taria 643 
 
 Napelline 66 
 
 Naphtha 618 
 
 wood 805 
 
 Narcein 609 
 
 Narcogenin 607 
 
 Narcotin 605 
 
 Narcotina 605 
 
 Narthex asafoetida.... 147 
 Narrow leaf Virginia 
 
 thyme 686 
 
 Narrow-leaved laurel 467 
 
 Native wine, i 864 
 
 Neat's-foot oil 562 
 
 Nectandra .- 545 
 
.422 
 
 Index. 
 
 Nectandra Rodisei 544 
 
 Nectar cream syrup... 1211 
 
 Nepeta oataria 546 
 
 citriodora 521 
 
 glechoma 547 
 
 Nephritic plant 616 
 
 Neroli, oil of 262 
 
 Nerve powder 1151 
 
 root 319 
 
 tincture 1108 
 
 Net-leaf plantain 399 
 
 Nettle, common 842 
 
 dwarf 842 
 
 great-stinging.... 842 
 
 leaved vervain... 856 
 
 stingless 842 
 
 Neutral acetate of cop- 
 per 314 
 
 mixture 1061 
 
 Neutralizing cordial.. 1207 
 
 extract, fluid 1001 
 
 powder 1154 
 
 New Jersey tea 199 
 
 Niccoli sulphas 1298, 
 
 Nickel 1298 
 
 sulphate of. 1298 
 
 Nicotia 549 
 
 Nicotiana tabacum.... 548 
 
 Nicotianin 550 
 
 Nicotina 549 
 
 Night-bloomingcereus 166 
 
 Nightshade, black 797 
 
 common 797 
 
 deadly 150, 797 
 
 garden 797 
 
 woody 794 
 
 Niter 669 
 
 sweet spirit of.... 803 
 
 Nitrate of baryta 1274 
 
 of copper 1277 
 
 of iron, solution 
 
 of 1057 
 
 of lead 1302 
 
 of mercury 1288 
 
 of morphia 1078 
 
 of potassa 669 
 
 of qilinia 1155 
 
 of silver 128 
 
 of soda 670 
 
 Nitric acid 45 
 
 diluted 47 
 
 Nitric oxide of mer- 
 cury 1282 
 
 Nitro-glycerine 394 
 
 Nitro-hydrochloric 
 
 acid 48 
 
 N'tfo-muriatic acid... 48 
 
 diluted 49 
 
 Nitro-prusside of sodi- 
 um 818 
 
 Nitro-saccharate of 
 
 lead 1303 
 
 Nitrous ether, spirit 
 
 of 808 
 
 Noah's ark 319 
 
 Norway pine 16 
 
 Norway spruce-fir.... 16 
 
 Nuphar ad vena ^52 
 
 Nuremberg plaster.... 958 
 
 Nutmeg 536 
 
 Nuttair B poly gala 657 
 
 Nux vomica 812 
 
 Nymphsea odorata 551 
 
 o 
 
 Oak, black 691 
 
 dyer's 693 
 
 Jerusalem 213 
 
 poison 709 
 
 red 691 
 
 white 691 
 
 Oat 152 
 
 Oatmeal 1.32 
 
 Ochroleucous gentian 384 
 
 (Enanthe crocata 553 
 
 phellandrium 552 
 
 (Ehothera biennis 554 
 
 Officinal directions.... 887 
 
 Oil, benne 769 
 
 British 622 
 
 castor 572 
 
 cod-liver 563 
 
 oroton 581 
 
 flaxseed 485 
 
 fusel 77 
 
 mecca 617 
 
 neat's-foot 562 
 
 olive 569 
 
 phosphorated 626 
 
 potato-spirit 77 
 
 rock 617 
 
 seneca ...., 617 
 
 vermifuge 1069 
 
 of almonds 101 
 
 of amber 816, 1106 
 
 of amber, rectified 1106 
 
 of anise 1086 
 
 of bergamot 1087 
 
 of bitter almonds 101 
 
 of black pepper.. 1111 
 
 of cajeput 1088 
 
 of capsieuin, ethe- 
 real 186 
 
 of caraway 1090 
 
 of cassia 1092 
 
 of cedar 1097 
 
 ofchamomile 1087 
 
 of cinnamon 1092 
 
 of cloves 1090 
 
 of copaiba 1094 
 
 of cubebs 1094 
 
 of ergot 763 
 
 of fennel 1096 
 
 offireweed 1095 
 
 offleabane 1095 
 
 of ginger 881 
 
 of hemlock 15 
 
 of horsechestnut.. 70 
 
 ofhorsemint 1101 
 
 of Juniper 1097 
 
 of Juniper, iodized 448 
 
 oflavender 1098 
 
 Oil of lemons 1098 
 
 of lobelia 495! 
 
 of lupuliu, ethereal 43J 
 of mustard, vola- 
 tile 773 
 
 of neroli 262 
 
 of origanum.: 1102 
 
 of pennyroyal 109" 
 
 of peppermint 1100 
 
 of pimento llOi 
 
 of rosemary 1 1 OB 
 
 of roses 1102 
 
 of rue 1104 
 
 of sassafras 1109 
 
 of savin 464, 110* 
 
 of spearmint 1101 
 
 of spike 477, 109if 
 
 of star-aniseed 
 
 640, 108? 
 
 of stillingia 810 
 
 of sweet almonds. 101 
 of sweet marjor- 
 am 585 
 
 of tansy 1107 
 
 of tar 649 
 
 oftheobromst 579 
 
 of thyme 831 
 
 of turpentine 575 
 
 of valerian 1108 
 
 of vitriol... 55 
 
 of winter-grefin... 1096 
 
 of wormseed 1091 
 
 of xanthoxylum.. 872 
 of xanthoxylum, 
 
 ethereal 872 
 
 Oil-nut 460 
 
 Oils 554 
 
 distilled 557, 1080 
 
 drying 555 
 
 essential 557, 1080 
 
 fat 555 
 
 fixed 555 
 
 volatile 557, 1080 
 
 Ointment, alkaline.... 1246 
 alkaline camphor- 
 ated 1246, 
 
 ammoniacal 1246 
 
 basilicon 949 
 
 brown 1254 
 
 citrine 1297 
 
 compound lead.... 1250 
 
 disoutient 1251 
 
 glycerin 396 
 
 Gondret's ammo- 
 niacal 930 
 
 Mayer's 1250 
 
 mild zinc 1254 
 
 of aconite 1246 
 
 of bayberry 1250 
 
 of bayberry, com- 
 pound 1250 
 
 of belladonna 1247 
 
 of benzoin 1247 
 
 of black pepper... 1250 
 of oooculus indi- 
 
 cus 1248 
 
Index. 
 
 1423 
 
 Ointiuiint of oreasote. 1248 
 
 of cuoumber 1248 
 
 of oyanuret of po- 
 tassium 1251 
 
 offigwort 1251 
 
 of galls 1249 
 
 of iodine, com- 
 pound 1249 
 
 of ipecacuanha.... 1249 
 
 of mercury 1296 
 
 ofmezereon 1249 
 
 of muriatic acid.. 1245 
 of nitrate of mer- 
 cury 1297 
 
 of nitric acid 1245 
 
 of oxide of zinc... 1253 
 of oxide of zinc, 
 
 compound 1253 
 
 of poison hemlock 1248 
 
 of poke 1250 
 
 of rose-water...... 1246 
 
 of savin 949 
 
 of Spanish flies... 1247 
 of stramonium.... 1251 
 of stramonium, 
 
 compound 1251 
 
 of strychnia 1252 
 
 ofsulphateof zinc 1254 
 
 of sulphur 1252 
 
 of sulphur, com- 
 pound 1252 
 
 of sulphuret of 
 
 potassium 1251 
 
 of sulphuric acid 1246 
 
 of tar 1250 
 
 of tannic acid 1246 
 
 of tobacco 1252 
 
 of veratria 1253 
 
 of white hellebore 1263 
 
 of white wax 1251 
 
 of wild indigo 1247 
 
 of wood-soot 1249 
 
 ophthalmic 1254 
 
 simple 1251 
 
 spermaceti 1247 
 
 Ointments 1244 
 
 Okra 13 
 
 Old field-balsam 899 
 
 man's beard 216 
 
 Olea 554 
 
 destillata 557 
 
 fixa 556 
 
 volatilia 557 
 
 Oleate of atropia: 1245 
 
 of glycerin 68 
 
 of morphia 1245 
 
 of quinia 1245 
 
 of strychnia 1245 
 
 of veratria 1246 
 
 Oleic acid 68, 746 
 
 Olein 68, 566, 670, 746 
 
 Oleo-resin of asclepias 143 
 of black pepper... 1111 
 
 of blue flag 1110 
 
 of capsicum 1109 
 
 of eypripedium... 1109 
 
 Oleo -resin of fern 1109 
 
 of iris 1110 
 
 of life root 1112 
 
 oflupulin 1110 
 
 of ptelea 1111 
 
 of prickly ash.... 1113 
 
 of senecio 1112 
 
 of wafer ash 1111 
 
 of xanthoxylum.. 1113 
 Oleo resina capaici.... 1109 
 
 oypripedii 1109 
 
 filicis 1109 
 
 iridis 1110 
 
 lupulinae 1110 
 
 piperis 1111 
 
 ptelese 1111 
 
 senecii 1112 
 
 xanthoxyli 1113 
 
 Oleoresinse 1108 
 
 Oleoresins 1108 
 
 Oleo-saccharum 730 
 
 Oleum amygdalse 101 
 
 anisi 1086 
 
 anthemidis 1087 
 
 badiani 640, 1087 
 
 bergamii 1087 
 
 bubulum 562 
 
 buxi 166 
 
 cajuputi 1088 
 
 cari 1090 
 
 carui 1090 
 
 caryophylli 1090 
 
 chenopodii 1091 
 
 cinnamomi 1092 
 
 copaibse 1094 
 
 cubebse 1094 
 
 erechthiti 1095 
 
 erigerontis 1096 
 
 fceniculi 1096 
 
 gaultherise 1096 
 
 hedeomse....' 1097 
 
 juniperi 1097 
 
 juniperi Virgini- 
 
 anas 1097 
 
 lavandulse 1098 
 
 limonis 1099 
 
 lini 485 
 
 menthsB piperitse. 1100 
 menthse viridis... 1101 
 
 monardse 1101 
 
 morrhuse 663 
 
 olivse 569 
 
 origani 1102 
 
 pimentse 1102 
 
 ricini 572 
 
 rosge 1102 
 
 rosmarini 1103 
 
 rutsB 1104 
 
 sabinse 464, 1104 
 
 sassafras 1106 
 
 succini 816, 1106 
 
 succini rectifica- 
 
 tum.. 1106 
 
 tanaceti 1107 
 
 tartari per deliqu- 
 um....' 1133 
 
 Oleum terebinthinsB... 575 
 
 theobromse 579 
 
 thymi 831 
 
 tiglii 581 
 
 vsilerianse HO'" 
 
 Olibanum 6f' 
 
 Olive oil mH 
 
 Olivin 570 
 
 One-berry 526 
 
 One-flowered broom- 
 rape i 589 
 
 Onion 81 
 
 Onoemodium Oarolini- 
 
 anum 585 
 
 hispidum 584 
 
 strigosum 585 
 
 Virginianum 584 
 
 Ophthalmia balsam, 
 
 Pettit's 1254 
 
 ointment 1254 
 
 Opianic acid 60( 
 
 Opianine 607 
 
 Opium 598 
 
 Opodeldoc 1053 
 
 Orange 262 
 
 Orange-flower water, 
 
 262, 936 
 
 Orange mineral 654 
 
 Orchil 715 
 
 Orchilla weed 713 
 
 Origanum 685 
 
 majorana 585 
 
 vulgare 586 
 
 Ornus Europsea 686 
 
 rotundifolia 587 
 
 Orobanche Americana o89 
 
 uniflora 589 
 
 Virginiana 689 
 
 Orris, Florentine 458 
 
 Oryza sat va 589 
 
 Osmorrhiia long"'sty- 
 
 lus 590 
 
 Osmunda,cinnan.omea 591 
 
 regalis 691 
 
 spectabilis 591 
 
 Ostrya Virginica 592 
 
 Otto of roses 1102 
 
 Ova-ova , 530 
 
 Ovum 592 
 
 Oxalic acid 49 
 
 Oxalis acetosella 595 
 
 striota 595 
 
 violacea 595 
 
 Ox balm 278 
 
 gall 368 
 
 Ox-eye daisy 481 
 
 Oxide of antimony 1261 
 
 of bismuth, white 162 
 
 ofethyle 913 
 
 ofglycyl 394 
 
 of lead, red 654 
 
 of silver 1265 
 
 of zinc 877 
 
 of manganese 510 
 
 Oxyhydrate of ethyle. 75 
 
 Ozonized water 174 
 
424 
 
 Index. 
 
 Pseouia offioinaliB 596 
 
 Fagliari's hssmostatio 159 
 
 Pale bark 232 
 
 touch-me-not 444 
 
 Palm soap 747 
 
 Palma Christi 572 
 
 Palmic acid 573 
 
 Palmin 573 
 
 Panax quinquefolium 596 
 
 Pansy 861 
 
 Papaver somniferum.. 597 
 
 Papaverina 611 
 
 Papaw 843 
 
 Pappoose-root 198 
 
 Paraffine 619 
 
 cerate ." 950 
 
 Paramorphia 608 
 
 Paratartaric acid 63 
 
 Paregoric elixir 1234 
 
 Pareira braya 261 
 
 Paricin 247, 250 
 
 Pariglin 779 
 
 Parilla, yellow. ..i 522 
 
 Parillinio acid 779 
 
 Parsley 622 
 
 liemlock 766 
 
 marsh 766 
 
 poison 283 
 
 Parthenium integrifo- 
 
 lium 616 
 
 . Partridge-berry 377, 526 
 
 pea 193 
 
 Parturient balm 1205 
 
 Pasque flower 683 
 
 Paste 147, 391, 396 
 
 Dupasquier's 1020 
 
 London 170 
 
 phosphorus 628 
 
 Vienna 170 
 
 Paul's betony 494 
 
 Pea, sensitive 193 
 
 wild turkey 300 
 
 Peach 102 
 
 Pear-leaf wintergreen 688 
 
 Pearl-ash 1133 
 
 Pearl-barley 427 
 
 Pearl-sago 736 
 
 Pearl-flowered life- 
 
 eyerlasting, 111, 399 
 
 Pearl, white 163 
 
 Pearson's arsenical so- 
 lution 1268 
 
 Pectin 327 
 
 Pellitory of Spain 105 
 
 Pelosin 261 
 
 Pennyroyal 413 
 
 European 413 
 
 water 936 
 
 Pentasulphuret of an- 
 timony 1264 
 
 Peony 596 
 
 Pepper, black 645 
 
 Cayenne , 184 
 
 Jamaica 542 
 
 repper, long j. 645 
 
 water 661 
 
 Peppermint 523 
 
 troches of. 1242 
 
 water 935 
 
 Pepsin, liquid 1260 
 
 Perchloride of iron 
 
 1010, 1224 
 
 of mercury 1283 
 
 Percolation 905, 1214 
 
 Periodide of mercury. 1286 
 
 Per'plooa Indica 420 
 
 Pei>nanganate of i po- 
 
 tassa 672 
 
 Pernitrate of iron, so- 
 lution of 1057 
 
 Peroxide of iron. ..361, 1025 
 
 Persimmon 386 
 
 Persulphate of iron... 1036 
 
 of mercury 1288 
 
 Peru, balsam of. 539 
 
 Peruvian-bark 229 
 
 Petroleum , 617 
 
 Barbadoes 617 
 
 Bangoon 618 
 
 Petroselinum sativum 622 
 
 Pettit's eye-salve 1254 
 
 ophthalmic bal- 
 sam 1254 
 
 Petty-morel 124 
 
 Peucedanummontanum 765 
 
 palustre 766 
 
 Phseroetin 704 
 
 Pharmacy 887 
 
 Phellandrine 553 
 
 Phellandrium aquati- 
 
 cum 562 
 
 Phenate of soda 35 
 
 Phenic acid 82 
 
 Phenol 83 
 
 sodique 35 
 
 Philadelphia fleabaue 344 
 
 Phloridzin 689 
 
 Phos phateofammonia 922 
 
 of iron 1026 
 
 ofmercury 1289 
 
 ofmorphia 1078 
 
 ofquinia 1155 
 
 of soda 1175 
 
 Phosphorated oil 626 
 
 Phosphoric acid, di- 
 luted 51 
 
 Phosphorus 624 
 
 paste 628 
 
 tincture of 627 
 
 water 629 
 
 Phosphuret of zinc... 628 
 
 Physaline 630 
 
 Physalis alkekengi... 630 
 
 viscosa 629 
 
 Physeter macrbcepha- 
 
 lus 208 
 
 Physic, antibilious 1152 
 
 white liquid 49 
 
 Physostigma venenos- 
 
 um 690 
 
 Physostigmine 631 
 
 Phytolacca decandra.. 634 
 
 Phytolaccin 636 
 
 Picraeua excelsa 63,7 
 
 Picric acid 32 
 
 Picroglyoion 796 
 
 Picrotoxic acid 107 
 
 Piorotoxin 107 
 
 Pigeon-berry 634 
 
 Pills 1114 
 
 antidyspeptic 1117 
 
 Asiatic 1268 
 
 Blancard's 1020 
 
 blue ,.. 1296 
 
 cholera 1118 
 
 compound cathar- 
 tic 1118,1122 
 
 diuretic 1124 
 
 emmenagogue 1 120 
 
 iodine 461, 808 
 
 mercurial 1296 
 
 of aconite, com- 
 pound 1117 
 
 of aloes, com- 
 pound iin 
 
 of asafetida, com- 
 pound Ill', 
 
 of black cohosh, 
 
 compound 1118 
 
 of camphor, com- 
 pound 1118 
 
 of carbonate of 
 
 iron lllf 
 
 of copaiba lllS 
 
 of copaiba, com- 
 pound 1119 
 
 of dandelion, com- 
 pound 11J4 
 
 of eupurpurin, 
 
 compound lllij 
 
 of ferro-cyanuret 
 of iron, com- 
 pound 11'4 
 
 of gamboge, com- 
 pound 1118 
 
 of high cranberry, 
 
 compound., 1124 
 
 of hyoscyamus, 
 
 compound 1121 
 
 of iodide of iron. 1120 
 of iron, compound 1120 
 of leptandra, com- 
 pound 1121 
 
 of motherwort, 
 
 compound 1121 
 
 of oleo-resin of 
 
 ptelea 1123 
 
 of oleo-resin of 
 queen of the 
 
 meadow 1119 
 
 of poke, compound 1122 
 of quinia, com- 
 pound 1123 
 
 of resin of podo- 
 phyllum, com- 
 pound 1122 
 
Pills of soap, com- 
 pound 1124 
 
 of sulphate of 
 quinia 1128 
 
 of valerian, com- 
 pound 1124 
 
 of water-pepper, 
 compound 1122 
 
 of wild indigo, 
 
 compound 1117 
 
 Vallet's ferrugin- 
 ous 1119 
 
 Klulee 1114 
 
 aconiti composi- 
 
 t8B 1117 
 
 aloes composites 1117 
 
 asafcetidse com- 
 positse 1117 
 
 baptlsise composi- 
 tfe 1117 
 
 cambogise composi- 
 tae 1118 
 
 camphorse compof 
 itsB 1118 
 
 catharticse com- 
 
 positse 1118 
 
 cimicifugse com- 
 positse 1118 
 
 copaibsB 1118 
 
 copaibse composi- 
 tse 1119 
 
 eupurpurini com- 
 positse 1119 
 
 ferri carbonatis... 1119 
 
 ferri composites... 1120 
 
 ferri ferro-cyanu- 
 reti compositas. 1120 
 
 ferri iodidi 1120 
 
 hydrargyri 1296 
 
 hyoscyami com- 
 
 positse 1121 
 
 leonuri composi- 
 
 tse 1121 
 
 leptandrae com- 
 
 positse 1121 
 
 oleo-resina eupa- 
 torii composites 1119 
 
 oleo-resina pteless 
 composites 1123 
 
 phytolaccsB com- 
 posites .-.. 1122 
 
 polygon! composi- 
 tse 1122 
 
 quiniss composites 1123 
 
 quinies sulphatis. 1123 
 
 resina podophylli 
 composites 1122 
 
 gaponi composites 1124 
 
 taraxaci composi- 
 tee 1124 
 
 Valerianae com- 
 posites 1124 
 
 viburnicomposites 1124 
 Pimento 542 
 
 water 935 
 
 Pimpernel, red 106 
 
 90 
 
 Index. 
 
 Pimpernel, scarlet 106 
 
 Fimpinella anisum... 639 
 
 Pine, broom 640 
 
 ground 73 
 
 long-leaved 640 
 
 Norway 16 
 
 silver 16 
 
 princes' 214 
 
 yellow pitch 640 
 
 apple strawberry 865 
 
 Fink, Carolina 799 
 
 root 799 
 
 mountain 340 
 
 winter 340 
 
 Pinus microcarpa 475 
 
 palustris 640 
 
 pendula 475 
 
 Piper' angustifolium... 642 
 
 cubeba 648 
 
 longum 645 
 
 nigrum 645 
 
 Piperin 647 
 
 Pipettes 899 
 
 Fipsissewa 214 
 
 Pistaohia lentisouB..., 648 
 
 Pitaya bark 233 
 
 Pitch, black 649 
 
 Burgundy 16 
 
 Canada 15 
 
 Pitch-pine, yellow 640 
 
 Pix liquida 649 
 
 nigra 649 
 
 Plantago cordata 651 
 
 major 651 
 
 Plantain 651 
 
 heart-leaved 651 
 
 net leaf. 399 
 
 water 79, 651 
 
 white 112 
 
 Plants, collecting of... 887 
 
 preservingof 887 
 
 Plasma acidi carbolioi 1125 
 
 cupri sulphas 1126 
 
 petrolei 1126 
 
 picis liquides 1126 
 
 potassii iodidi..., 1126 
 
 zinci oxidi 1126 
 
 Plasma of carbolic 
 
 acid 1125 
 
 of iodide of potas- 
 sium 1126 
 
 of oxide of zinc... 1126 
 
 of petroleum 1126 
 
 of sulphate of cop- 
 per 1126 
 
 of tar 1126 
 
 Plasmss 1125 
 
 Plasmas 1126 
 
 Plaster, aconite 955 
 
 arnica 956 
 
 adhesive 641, 960 
 
 bayberry 956 
 
 belladonna 956 
 
 carbolic acid 954 
 
 common strength- 
 ening 956 
 
 1425 
 
 Plaster, compound 
 
 capsicum 956 
 
 compound resin... 960 
 
 compound tar 957 
 
 irritating 957 
 
 lead 958 
 
 litharge 958 
 
 Nuremberg 958 
 
 of ammonia with 
 
 mercury :... 1282 
 
 of belladonna, 
 
 compound 956 
 
 of carbonate of 
 
 ammonia 98 
 
 ofmercury 1281 
 
 red oxide of lead 958 
 
 resin 960 
 
 sear-cloth 956 
 
 soap 961 
 
 Plasters 952 
 
 spreading of. 953 
 
 Platini, bichloridum.. 1298 
 
 Platino-bichloride of 1298 
 
 sodium 1299 
 
 Platinum 1298 
 
 bichloride of 1298 
 
 Pleurisy-root 1 42 
 
 Plum 679 
 
 Plumbi acetas 652 
 
 oarbonas 1301 
 
 chloridum 1801 
 
 iodidum 1302 
 
 nitras 1302 
 
 oxidi rubrum 654 
 
 oxydum 1800 
 
 saccharas 1303 
 
 tannas 1304 
 
 Plumbum 1299 
 
 Plunge-bath _.. 123 
 
 Podophyllin 1168 
 
 Podophyllum montan- 
 
 um 656 
 
 peltatum 666 
 
 Pointed cleavers 374 
 
 Poison ash 216 
 
 hemlock 288 
 
 ivy 709 
 
 oak 709 
 
 parsley 288 
 
 sumach 709 
 
 vine 380, 709 
 
 wood 709 
 
 Poke 634 
 
 root cataplasm 636, 947 
 Polemonium ooerule- 
 
 um 657 
 
 reptans 657 
 
 Polygala amara 658 
 
 Polygala, bitter 658 
 
 caducous 660 
 
 chamoebuxus 660 
 
 fastigiata 657 
 
 fringed 658 
 
 Nmallii..; 657 
 
 paucifolia 658 
 
 polygama 658 
 
1426 
 
 Index. 
 
 Polygala, rubella 658 
 
 sanguinea 657, 660 
 
 senega 659 
 
 Polygalic acid 659 
 
 Polygalin 660 
 
 Polygonatum multiflo- 
 
 rum 286 
 
 Polygonum arifolium. 662 
 
 erectum 662 
 
 fagopyrum 662 
 
 hydropiper 661 
 
 persicarla 661 
 
 punctatum 661 
 
 Polypod rock 662 
 
 Polypodium vulgare... 662 
 
 Polypode, common 662 
 
 Polyporus fomentarius 71 
 
 ignarius 71 
 
 officinalis 71 
 
 pinicola 71 
 
 Polytrichum juniper- 
 
 um 663 
 
 Pomegranate 684 
 
 Pommade de Gondret. 1246 
 
 Pond dogwood 205 
 
 lily, white 551 
 
 yellow 562 
 
 Poor man's weather- 
 glass 106 
 
 Poplar. 489 
 
 American 665 
 
 balsam 664 
 
 tacamahao 664 
 
 white 489, 665 
 
 yellow 489 
 
 Poppy 597 
 
 Poppies, syrup of 615 
 
 Populin 665 
 
 Popul'is balsamifera.. 664 
 
 Gandicaus '664 
 
 grandidentata.... 665 
 
 tremuloides 665 
 
 Porcelia triloba 843 
 
 Porphyroxin 611 
 
 Port wine 864 
 
 Potash, hydriodate of. 1146 
 
 Potassa 1126 
 
 acetate of. 1128 
 
 alcoholic 1127 
 
 and soda, tartrate 
 
 of 1174 
 
 bicarbonate of.... 1129 
 
 bichromate of 1130 
 
 binoxalate of 695 
 
 ' bisulphate of 1132 
 
 bitartrate of. 667 
 
 bo ro- tartrate of 668, 784 
 
 carbonate of. 1133 
 
 caustic 1126 
 
 chlorate of 1135 
 
 cum calce 170 
 
 hydrate of 1126 
 
 hypophosphite of 1196 
 
 myronate of 774 
 
 nitrate of. 669 
 
 permanganate of. 672 
 
 Potassa, preparations 
 
 of 1126 
 
 pure carbonate of 1184 
 quadroxalate of... 595 
 sesquicarbonate 
 
 of 1187 
 
 solution of 1059 
 
 solution of carbo- 
 nate of. 1135 
 
 solution of citrate 
 
 of 1061 
 
 sulphate of. 1137 
 
 sulphate of, with 
 
 sulphur 1139 
 
 sulphuret of 1147 
 
 tartrate of 1139 
 
 with lime 170 
 
 Fotassse acelas 1128 
 
 bicarbonas 1129 
 
 bichromas 1130 
 
 bisulphas 1182 
 
 bitartras 667 
 
 carbonas 1133 
 
 carbonas purus... 1134 
 
 chloras 1135 
 
 hydras 1126 
 
 nitras 669 
 
 permanganas 672 
 
 sesquicarbonas... 1187 
 
 sulphas 1187 
 
 sulphas cum sul- 
 
 phure ..1139 
 
 tartras 1139 
 
 Potassii bromidum. ... 1140 
 
 cyanuretum 1142 
 
 ferrocyanuretum. 674 
 
 iodidum 1144 
 
 sulphuretum 1147 
 
 Potassium 666 
 
 bromide of. 1140 
 
 cyanuret of. 1142 
 
 ferrocyanuret of. 674 
 
 iodide of. 1144 
 
 sulphuret of. 1147 
 
 Potato 795 
 
 fly 181 
 
 spirit, oil 77 
 
 wild 287 
 
 Potentilla CanadenBis 675 
 
 pumila 675 
 
 reptans 676 
 
 sarmentosa 676 
 
 simplex 676 
 
 tormentilla 676 
 
 Pothos foetidus 820 
 
 Poultices 946 
 
 Powder, antibilious... 1152 
 
 black 1158 
 
 cephalic 1153 
 
 diaphoretic 1151 
 
 emetic 1153 
 
 emmenagogue 1158 
 
 hydragogue 1154 
 
 King's entozoio... 1154 
 
 nerve 1151 
 
 neutralizing 1154 
 
 Powder, of bayberry, 
 
 compound 1158 
 
 of camphor, com- 
 pound 115C 
 
 of charcoal, com- 
 pound 1151 
 
 of golden-seal, 
 
 compound 1151 
 
 of ipecacuanha, 
 
 compound 1161 
 
 of ipecacuanha , 
 and opium, com- 
 pound. 1151 
 
 of iron 1029 
 
 of jalap, com- 
 pound 1152 
 
 of leptandra, com- 
 pound 1152 
 
 of lobelia, com- 
 pound 1153 
 
 of mandrake, com- 
 pound ; 1153 
 
 of pleurisy-root, 
 
 compound 1150 
 
 of quinia, com- 
 pound 1153 
 
 of resin of podo- 
 phyllum.. 1154 
 
 of rhubarb, com- 
 pound 1154 
 
 of spigelia 1154 
 
 of tin 1304 
 
 of xanthoxylum, 
 
 compound 115S 
 
 of yellow ladies'- 
 slipper, com- 
 pound 1151 
 
 red, Sweet's 1154 
 
 styptic ., 1026, 11.56 
 
 Powdering, methods 
 
 of 895 
 
 Powders 1149 
 
 baking 1173 
 
 seidlitz 1175 
 
 soda 1173 
 
 yeast 1173 
 
 Prairie dock 616 
 
 hyssop 686 
 
 indigo 156 
 
 senna 193 
 
 Precipitated carbonate 
 
 ofiron 1031 
 
 carbonate of zinc 874 
 phosphate of lime 945 
 sulphuret of anti- 
 
 'mony 1264 
 
 Frenanthes albus 543 
 
 serpentaria 543 
 
 Preparations, lactina- 
 
 ted 1048 
 
 of ammonia 922 
 
 of extracts 966 
 
 ofiron 1009 
 
 of lime 945 
 
 of morphia 1070 
 
 of potassa 1126 
 
Index. 
 
 1427 
 
 rrcpnrnt.icns. of 
 
 qulnia 1155 
 
 of soda 1171 
 
 Prepared butter of 
 
 cacao 1191 
 
 chalk 305 
 
 lard 68, 1244 
 
 Preservation of medi- 
 cines 887 
 
 Preserved vegetable 
 
 juices 965, 1213 
 
 Preston salts 98 
 
 Prickly ash 871 
 
 ash berries 871 
 
 ash, southern 125 
 
 elder 125 
 
 Pride of China 520 
 
 of India 520 
 
 Prideweed 348 
 
 Prince's feather 92 
 
 pine 214 
 
 Prinos verticillatus... 677 
 
 Prim 482 
 
 Primrose tree 554 
 
 Privet 482 
 
 Proof-spirit 74 
 
 Propylamin 607 
 
 Protiodide of mercury 1291 
 Protoohloride of man- 
 ganese 512 
 
 of mercury 1289 
 
 Protonitrate of mer- 
 cury 1288 
 
 Protophosphate of 
 
 mercury 1289 
 
 Protoxide of iron 861 
 
 Provins rose 716 
 
 Prunes 679 
 
 Prunin 679 
 
 Prunus domesticuB.... 679 
 
 Virginiana 678 
 
 Prussian blue 1016 
 
 Prussiate of iron 1016 
 
 Prussic acid 41 
 
 Pseudomorphia. 608 
 
 Ptelein 1111 
 
 Ptelea trifoliata 680 
 
 Pteris aquilina 681 
 
 atropurpurea 681 
 
 Pterocarpus erinaceus 468 
 
 marsupium 467 
 
 santalinus 682 
 
 Pterospora andromeda 296 
 
 Puccoon, red 741 
 
 Tellow 482 
 
 Puff-ball 225 
 
 Pulmonaria officinalis 683 
 
 Virginica 683 
 
 Pulmonary balsam.... 1204 
 
 Pulsatilla 683 
 
 American 110 
 
 nigricans 688 
 
 Nuttalliana 110 
 
 Pulveres • 1149 
 
 Pulverization of medi- 
 cines 895 
 
 Pulvisantimonii com- 
 
 positus 1264 
 
 asolepise composi- 
 
 tus 1150 
 
 camphorse compos- 
 
 itus 1150 
 
 carbo ligni oom- 
 
 positus 1151 
 
 oypripedii oom- 
 
 positus 1151 
 
 hydrastis compos- 
 
 itus 1151 
 
 ipecacuanhse com- 
 
 positus 1151 
 
 ipecacuanhse et 
 
 opii eompositus 1151 
 jalapiiB eompositus 1152 
 leptandrse eom- 
 positus 1152 
 
 lobelise eomposi- 
 tus 1158 
 
 myricBB eomposi- 
 tus 1153 
 
 nigrum.. 1153 
 
 nitratis 405 
 
 podophylli eom- 
 positus 1153 
 
 pyrius 405 
 
 quinise eomposi- 
 tus 1153 
 
 resina podophylli 
 
 eompositus 1154 
 
 rhei coippositus... 1164 
 spigelise eomposi- 
 tus 1154 
 
 styptious 1155 
 
 sympatheticus .... 315 
 xanthoxylini eom- 
 positus 1155 
 
 Pumpkin 311 
 
 Punica grauatum 684 
 
 Punicin 685 
 
 Pure carbonate of po- 
 
 tassa 1134 
 
 Prussian blue 1016 
 
 water 116 
 
 Purging agaric 71 
 
 cassia 192 
 
 Purified extract of 
 
 Indian hemp... 970 
 
 Purple angelica Ill 
 
 avens 387 
 
 cone-flower 722 
 
 stramonium 324 
 
 willow herb 495 
 
 Pnrsely, black 855 
 
 Pussy willow 787 
 
 Pycnanthemum 686 
 
 aristatum 686 
 
 incanum 687 
 
 pilosum 686 
 
 Virginicum 686 
 
 Pyrethrum carneum... 688 
 
 parthenium 687 
 
 roseum 688 
 
 Pyritic sulphur 816 
 
 Pyro-gallic acid 38 
 
 Pyroglycerin 394 
 
 Pyrola rotundifolia... 688 
 
 umbellata 214 
 
 Pyroligneous acid 29 
 
 ether 805 
 
 Pyrophospltate of iron 1028 
 
 of soda 1028, 1176 
 
 Pyroxilic spirit 805 
 
 Pyrus malus 689 
 
 Q 
 
 Quadroxalate of potas- 
 
 sa 595 
 
 Quassia 637 
 
 amara 637 
 
 excelsa 637 
 
 Quassin 638 
 
 Queen-of-the-meadow. 331 
 
 Queen's delight 810 
 
 root 810 
 
 root, troches of... 1244 
 
 Quercin 692 
 
 Quercitric acid 692 
 
 Queroitrin 692 
 
 Quercitron 691 
 
 Quercus alba 691 
 
 infectoria 693 
 
 rubra 691 
 
 tinctoria 691 
 
 Quicksilver 1278 
 
 Quince 317 
 
 Quinia 248, 1155 
 
 acetate of. 1155 
 
 and iron with 
 strychnia, ci- 
 trate of. 1015 
 
 arseniate of. 1272 
 
 carbolate of. 1156 
 
 citrate of. 1155 
 
 ferrocyanuret of.. 1155 
 ferro-citrate of... 1014 
 ferro-tartrate of.. 1016 
 hydrpbromate of. 1156 
 hypophosphite of. 1197 
 
 iodide of. 1156 
 
 kinate of. 247 
 
 lactate of. 1155 
 
 muriate of 1155 
 
 nitrate of. 1155 
 
 phosphate of 1156 
 
 preparations of... 1155 
 
 sulphate of 1156 
 
 tannate of 1156 
 
 valerianate of..... 11(')2 
 
 Quini8B arseniaa 1272 
 
 sulphas 1166 
 
 valerianas 1162 
 
 Quinicin 247 
 
 Quinidin 2^ 
 
 Quitch grass 839 
 
 H 
 
 Kaccoon-berry 655 
 
 Racemicacid 68 
 
 Bagged cup 773 
 
1428 
 
 Index. 
 
 Bagweed 93 
 
 great 92 
 
 Ragwort 767 
 
 Bain water 116 
 
 Baisin wine 870 
 
 Baisins. 869 
 
 Barn's liead 320 
 
 Bangoon petrpleum... 617 
 
 BanunculuB acris 695 
 
 balboBus 695 
 
 flammula 695 
 
 repens 695 
 
 sceleratus 695 
 
 Baspail's eau sedative 174 
 
 Baspberry 719 
 
 ground 432 
 
 rose-flowering.... 721 
 
 Battle-bush 154 
 
 Battle-root 227 
 
 Battlesnake-leaf 899 
 
 Battlesnake's mas- 
 ter 345,482 
 
 Rattlesnake-root 543 
 
 weed 423 
 
 violet 346,861 
 
 Rectified oil of amber 1106 
 
 spirit 74 
 
 Bed baneberry 67 
 
 bark 233, 240, 246 
 
 Carthagena 
 
 bark 233, 246 
 
 oedar 465 
 
 chickweed „ 106 
 
 clover 882 
 
 cockscomb 92 
 
 cohosh 67 
 
 currant 712 
 
 ink 269,410 
 
 lead 654 
 
 lobelia 494 
 
 mulberry 531 
 
 oak 691 
 
 osier 299 
 
 oxide of iron 1025 
 
 oxide of lead.'..... 654 
 oxide of lead plas- 
 ter 958 
 
 pepper 184 
 
 pimpernel 106 
 
 precipitate 1282 
 
 puccoon 741 
 
 raspberry 719 
 
 root 199,472 
 
 roses 716 
 
 j sandal-wood 682 
 
 Saunders 682 
 
 stalked aster 149 
 
 sunflower 722 
 
 willow 299 
 
 Beduced iron 1029 
 
 Beed mace 840 
 
 Refined liquorice 398 
 
 Besin 696 
 
 cerate 949 
 
 of black cohosh... 1165 
 of caulophyllum.. 1164 
 
 Resin of clmicifuga... 1165 
 
 of jalap 456, 1167 
 
 ofleptandra 979 
 
 of mandrake 1168 
 
 ofscammony 288 
 
 plaster 960 
 
 Besina 696 
 
 alba 696' 
 
 caulophylli 1164 
 
 cimicifugse 1166 
 
 flava 696 
 
 jalapse 456, 1167 
 
 podophylli 1168 
 
 Resinse 1163 
 
 Resinoids 1163 
 
 Resins 1163 
 
 Restorative wine bit- 
 ters 1259 
 
 Ehabarbic acid 704 
 
 Rhamnus catharticus. 697 
 
 Ehatany 470 
 
 Bheum australe 699 
 
 Capsicum 701 
 
 compactum 700 
 
 crassinervium.... 701 
 
 emodi 699 
 
 leucorrhizum 701 
 
 Moororaftianum.. 701 
 
 palmatum 698 
 
 Rhapontioum 700 
 
 speciforme 700 
 
 undultatum 700 
 
 Webbianum 699 
 
 Rheumatic drops 1052 
 
 liniment 1052 
 
 liquid 1259 
 
 tincture 1052 
 
 weed 149 
 
 Rheum atism-root 459 
 
 Rhigolene 622 
 
 Rhododendron chry san- 
 
 thum... 706 
 
 maximum 706 
 
 punctatum 706 
 
 yellow 706 
 
 Rhubarb 698 
 
 and potassa, tro- 
 ches of 1243 
 
 Chinese 702 
 
 Dutch-trimmed... 702 
 
 East Indian 702 
 
 European 702 
 
 French 703 
 
 Persian 701 
 
 Russian 701 
 
 Turkey 701 
 
 Rhus copallinum 708 
 
 glabrum 707 
 
 pumilum 709 
 
 radicans 709 
 
 toxicodendron.,.. 709 
 
 typhinum... 708 
 
 Venenata 709 
 
 vernix 709 
 
 Rhusine 708 
 
 Ribes floridum 712 
 
 Ribes nigrum 712 
 
 rubrum 712 
 
 Rice ■ 589 
 
 Rich weed ,.92, 278, 843 
 
 Rioini, oleum 572 
 
 Ricinus communis 572 
 
 Rigid golden-rod 799 
 
 River water 116 
 
 Robinia pseudo-acacia 712 
 
 Robin's rye 668 
 
 Bocella fusiformis 714 
 
 tinctoria 713 
 
 Boche's embrocation.. 1107 
 
 Rochelia Virginiana.. 318 
 
 Bochelle salt 1174 
 
 Rock brake 662, 681 
 
 oil 617 
 
 polypod 662 
 
 rose 415 
 
 salt 793 
 
 Roll sulphur..! 817 
 
 Roman chamomile 112 
 
 wormwood 93 
 
 Bos solis 339 
 
 Bosa canina 715 
 
 centifolia 716 
 
 Gallica 716 
 
 Rosse oleum 1102 
 
 Rose bay 341 
 
 Christmas 417 
 
 cold cream 949 
 
 colored silkweed.. 142 
 
 dog 715 
 
 flowering raspber- 
 ry 721 
 
 French 716 
 
 hundred-leaved... 716 
 
 Provins 716 
 
 red 716 
 
 Rosemary 717 
 
 marsh 808 
 
 Roses, oil of 1102 
 
 otto of 1102 
 
 Rosewater 936 
 
 Bosewillow 299 
 
 Eosin 576, 696 
 
 black 696 
 
 soap 749 
 
 weed 771 
 
 white 696 
 
 yellow 696 
 
 Bosmarinus ofScinalis 717 
 
 Round-leaved cornel.. 297 
 
 dogwood 297 
 
 pyrola 688 
 
 Rousseau's laudanum 614 
 
 Royal-flowering fern.. 591 
 
 Rubbing wet sheet 122 
 
 Bubia tinctorium 718 
 
 Rubus odoratus 721 
 
 strigosus 719 
 
 trivialis 719 
 
 villosus 719 
 
 Budbeckia laciniata.. 721 
 
 purpurea 722 
 
 Rue 72£ 
 
Index. 
 
 1429 
 
 fiumex acetosa 595, 722 
 
 aoetosella 595, 722 
 
 aquaticus 728 
 
 Britannica 723 
 
 crispus 723 
 
 obtusifolius 723 
 
 vesicarius 595 
 
 Rush, scouring 842 
 
 Russian rhubarb 701 
 
 Ruta grayeolens 725 
 
 Rutilin 1179 
 
 Bye 769 
 
 Robin's 663 
 
 smut 759 
 
 spurred 759 
 
 s 
 
 Sabadilla 
 
 Sabadillia 
 
 Sabadillic acid 
 
 Sabbatia angularis... 
 Saccharate of lead 
 
 of lime 
 
 Saocharated alcoholic 
 extract of ipe- 
 cacuanha 
 
 Sacoharifoex 
 
 syrupus empyreu- 
 
 maticus 
 
 Saccharine carbonate 
 of iron 
 
 carbonate of iron 
 
 and manganese 
 
 Saccharum commune. 
 
 lactis 
 
 non-purificatum . 
 
 officinarum 
 
 purum 
 
 Saturni 
 
 Saffiower 
 
 Saffron 
 
 bastard 
 
 dyer's 
 
 Sagapenum 
 
 850 
 851 
 851 
 726 
 1303 
 733 
 
 lyre-leaved . 
 
 meadow 
 
 wild 
 
 meal 
 
 palm 
 
 pearl 
 
 Sagueris Rumphii.. 
 Sagus inermis 
 
 laevis 
 
 Rumphii 
 
 St. Ignatius' -bean... 
 
 St. John's-wort 
 
 Sal aeratus 
 
 ammoniac 
 
 de duobus.. 
 
 diureticus 
 
 enixum 
 
 polychrest 
 
 prunelle 
 
 soda 
 
 1203 
 729 
 
 729 
 
 1009 
 
 518 
 729 
 733 
 729 
 727 
 729 
 652 
 189 
 306 
 189 
 189 
 734 
 788 
 739 
 739 
 789 
 735 
 785 
 785 
 736 
 785 
 735 
 735 
 785 
 441 
 437 
 1129 
 98 
 1138 
 1129 
 1132 
 1138 
 669 
 786 
 
 Sal vegeiabile 1189 
 
 Salicin 665, 1178 
 
 Saline wash 1066 
 
 Salix alba 736 
 
 Babylonica 737 
 
 caprea 737 
 
 nigra 737 
 
 pentandra 737 
 
 purpurea 737 
 
 Russelliana .' 737 
 
 Salseparin 779 
 
 Salt 792 
 
 Glauber's. 789 
 
 of sorrel.; 596 
 
 of tartar 1185 
 
 peter 669 
 
 rheum weed 212 
 
 Roohelle 1174 
 
 rock 793 
 
 Salts, Epsom 503 
 
 Salve, black 958 
 
 green 956 
 
 lip 948 
 
 Pettit's eye 1254 
 
 Salvia Bengalensis.... 738 
 
 horminum 738 
 
 lyrata... 739 
 
 officinalis 738 
 
 pomifera 738 
 
 sclarea 738 
 
 Sambucus Canadensis 789 
 
 nigra 739 
 
 Sampson's snake- 
 root 149, 884 
 
 Sandal wood, red 682 
 
 Sanguinaria Canaden- 
 sis 741 
 
 Sanguinarin 1180 
 
 Sanguinarina 1179 
 
 Sanguinarine 1260 
 
 Sanguis draconis 743 
 
 Sanicle 746 
 
 Sauicula Marilandica 745 
 
 Santalin 682 
 
 Santonin 136 
 
 brown or impure. 137 
 
 Sapo 746 
 
 amygdalinus 749 
 
 animalis 749 
 
 durus 748 
 
 mollis 748 
 
 terebinthinffi 749 
 
 vulgaris 748 
 
 Windsor 748 
 
 Saponaceous cream of 
 
 almonds 749 
 
 Saponaria officinalis.. 760 
 
 Saponin 198, 751 
 
 Sarracenia 752 
 
 Drummondii 752 
 
 flava 752 
 
 heterophylla 752 
 
 psy ttaoina 752 
 
 purpurea 762 
 
 rubra 752 
 
 variolaris 752 
 
 Sarsaparilla 522, 776 
 
 American 124 
 
 Brazilian 777 
 
 bristle-stem 124 
 
 Caraocas 778 
 
 false 124 
 
 Honduras 778 
 
 Indian 420 
 
 Jamaica 777 
 
 Vera Cruz 777 
 
 Sarsaparillin 779 
 
 Sassafras 476 
 
 lotion 1066 
 
 oil of. 1106 
 
 swamp 607 
 
 Satureja hortensis 753 
 
 montana 754 
 
 Saunders, red 682 
 
 Savin 463 
 
 cerate 949 
 
 fluid extract of... 949 
 
 Savory, summer 753 
 
 winter 764 
 
 Scabious 343 
 
 Scammony 288 
 
 extract of. 290 
 
 factitious 289 
 
 Scarlet berry 795 
 
 pimpernel 106 
 
 Scilla maritima 754 
 
 Scillitin 765 
 
 Scoke 634 
 
 Scoparin 321 
 
 Scouring rush 342' 
 
 Screw-pod mimosa 20 
 
 Scrofula weed 399 
 
 Scrofulous syrup 1208 
 
 Scrophularia lanceo- 
 
 lata 757 
 
 Marilandica 767 
 
 nodosa 7^7 
 
 Scudder's alterative... 1221 
 
 .ScuUcap 757 
 
 Scurvygrass 271 
 
 Scutellaria hyssopifo- 
 
 lia 758 
 
 integrifolia 768 
 
 lateriflora 757 
 
 Scutellarine 768 
 
 Scutelline 758 
 
 Sea-island cotton 
 
 plant 400 
 
 Sea lavender 808 
 
 Sea-side grape 469 
 
 Sea water 123 
 
 artificial 794 
 
 Seawrack....! 369 
 
 Sear-cloth plaster 966 
 
 Secale cereale 759 
 
 cornutum 759 
 
 Seidlitz powders 1175 
 
 Selinum Canadense .. 766 
 
 palustre 765 
 
 Sempervivum tector- 
 
 um 767 
 
 Seneca grass 833 
 
1430 
 
 Index. 
 
 Seneca Snakeroot 659 
 
 Senecio aureus 767 
 
 balsamitsB 768 
 
 golden 767 
 
 gracilis 768 
 
 hieracifolius 342 
 
 lanceolatus 708 
 
 obovatus 768 
 
 Seneoin 1112 
 
 Senecionine 1113 
 
 Senegiu 660 
 
 Seneka 659 
 
 oil 617 
 
 snakeroot 659 
 
 Senna .'. 193 
 
 Alexandria 195 
 
 American 193 
 
 and jalap, fluid 
 
 extract of 1004 
 
 India 195 
 
 Mocha 195 
 
 prairie 193 
 
 Tripoli 195 
 
 Sensitive pea 193 
 
 Separation of liquids 899 
 of solids from 
 
 liquids 899 
 
 Septfoil 676 
 
 Serum, artificial 595 
 
 Sesamum Indicum 769 
 
 orientale 769 
 
 Sesquinarbonate of 
 
 ammonia 96 
 
 of potassa 1137 
 
 ^esquioxide of 
 
 iron 361, 1025 
 
 of iron, hydra- 
 ted .361, 1021 
 
 of iron, hypophos- 
 
 phite of. 1196 
 
 Sesquisulphuret of an- 
 
 >■ timony 1263 
 
 Seven barks 431 
 
 Sevum 770 
 
 Shallow-bath 123 
 
 Shavegrass 342 
 
 Sheep laurel 465 
 
 sorrel 595, 722 
 
 tallovr 770 
 
 Shellac splints 806 
 
 Sherry wine 864 
 
 Shin leaf, 688 
 
 Shower-bath 123 
 
 Showy ladies-slipper. 319 
 
 Shrubby trefoil 680 
 
 Sickle grass 662 
 
 Sidesaddle flower 752 
 
 Signs and abbr^ia- 
 
 tions, table of.. 1311 
 
 Silkweed, common 141 
 
 rose-colored 142 
 
 swamp 142 
 
 Silky cornel 299 
 
 Silphiumgummiferum 771 
 
 laciniatum 771 
 
 perfoliatum 771 
 
 Silver aster 799 
 
 chloride of 1265 
 
 cyanide of 1265 
 
 iodide of 1265 
 
 leaf 810 
 
 nitrate of. 128 
 
 oxide of 1265 
 
 pine 16 
 
 Silver-fir 16 
 
 American 14 
 
 Simaruba 771 
 
 excelsa 637 
 
 officinalis 771 
 
 Simple cerate 950 
 
 ointment 1251 
 
 syrup 1195 
 
 Sinapis alba 772 
 
 nigra 772 
 
 Sinapisiu 774 
 
 Sipeerina 544 
 
 Siphonia elastica 181 
 
 Sisymbrium officinale 776 
 
 Sophia 776 
 
 Sitz-bath 122 
 
 Skunk cabbage 820 
 
 weed 821 
 
 Slippery-elm 840 
 
 Sloe 859 
 
 Small cleavers 374 
 
 spikenard 124 
 
 Smart-vireed 661 
 
 Smelling salts 98 
 
 Smilacin 779 
 
 Smilacina racemosa . . . 286 
 
 Smilasperic acid 421 
 
 Smilax China 778 
 
 medioa... 777 
 
 officinalis 776 
 
 papyracesB 777 
 
 sarsaparilla 777 
 
 syphilitica 777 
 
 Smooth alder 82 
 
 three-ribbed gold- 
 en-rod 799 
 
 Smut rye 759 
 
 Snakehead 212 
 
 Snakeroot 132 
 
 black 227, 745 
 
 button 345, 481 
 
 Canada 140 
 
 Sampson 149, 384 
 
 seneka..- 659 
 
 Virginia 132 
 
 white 350 
 
 Snakeweed. 132 
 
 Snakeweed 812 
 
 Snapping hazlenut.... 411 
 
 Sneezewort 27, 414 
 
 Snowball 858 
 
 wild 199 
 
 Snowberry 215 
 
 Snowdrop, yellow 346 
 
 Snow water 116 
 
 Soap 745 
 
 amygdaline.. 749 
 
 beef-marrow 749 
 
 , Castile 746 
 
 common 748 
 
 liniment 1058 
 
 liniment, campho- 
 rated 1053 
 
 palm 747 
 
 plaster 961 
 
 soft 748 
 
 Starkey's 749 
 
 tincture of 116 
 
 transparent 748 
 
 Windsor 748 
 
 Soapwort, 750 
 
 gentian 384 
 
 Soootrine aloes 83 
 
 Soda 1171 
 
 acetate of. 782 
 
 and potassa, tar- 
 trate of. 1174 
 
 asb 786 
 
 bicarbonate of.... 1171 
 
 bisulphite of 790 
 
 borate of 783 
 
 carbolate of. 35 
 
 carbonate of 785 
 
 dried carbonate of 1174 
 hypophosphite of 1196 
 hyposulphite of... 787 
 labarraque's 
 
 liquid 1062 
 
 muriate of 792 
 
 nitrate of. 670 
 
 phosphate of 1175 
 
 powders...- 1173 
 
 preparatioBs of... 1171 
 solution of chlori- 
 nated...: 1062 
 
 Bubphosphate of.. 1177 
 
 sulphate of 789 
 
 sulphite of 790 
 
 syrups 1211 
 
 tartarized 1174 
 
 valerianate of..... 1177 
 
 vitriolated 789 
 
 water 927 
 
 Sodffi acetas 782 
 
 bicarbonas 1171 
 
 bisulphis ,. 790 
 
 boras 783 
 
 carbonas 785 
 
 carbonas exsicca- 
 
 tus 1174 
 
 et potassffi tartras 1174 
 
 hyposulphis 787 
 
 murias 79J! 
 
 phosphas 1176 
 
 sulphas 789 
 
 sulphis 790 
 
 . valerianas 1177 
 
 Sodii auro-terchlori- 
 
 tum 791 
 
 chlorldum 792 
 
 platino-chlorid- 
 
 um 1299 
 
 Sodium 781 
 
 chloride of 792 
 
Index. 
 
 1431 
 
 Sodium, uitroprusside 
 
 of 818 
 
 Soft soap 748 
 
 water 116 
 
 Solanina 796 
 
 Solanum dulcamara... 794 
 
 lycopersioon 795 
 
 nigrum 797 
 
 tuberosum 795 
 
 Virgiaianum 797 
 
 Solenostemma argel... 195 
 
 Solidago gigautea 799 
 
 odora 798 
 
 rigida 799 
 
 virgaurea 799 
 
 Solids from liquids, 
 
 separation of... 899 
 
 Solomou's-geal 286 
 
 giant's 286 
 
 Soluble cinchona red.. 247 
 cream of tar- 
 tar 668, 784 
 
 tartar 1139 
 
 Solution of acetate of 
 
 ammonia 1055 
 
 acetateof morphia 1076 
 
 of ammonia 928 
 
 of ammonia, 
 
 stronger., 980 
 
 of atropia 1056 
 
 of bichloride of 
 
 mercury 1285 
 
 of bimecpnate of 
 
 morphia 1079 
 
 of carbolic acid... 1055 
 of carbonate of 
 
 potassa 1185 
 
 of chloride of 
 
 arsenic 1268 
 
 of 'chlorinated 
 
 soda 1062 
 
 of chlorine 982 
 
 of citrate of mag- 
 nesia 1059 
 
 of citrate of po- 
 tassa 1061 
 
 of conium 1144 
 
 of gutta perohft... 406 
 of hydrochlorate 
 
 of morphia 1077 
 
 of iodide of arsen- 
 ic and mercury 1272 
 of iodide of iron.. 1201 
 of iodine, com- 
 pound 1058 
 
 of iodo-hydrargy- 
 rate of potas- 
 sium 1287 
 
 of lime 931 
 
 of muriate of mor- 
 phia 1077 
 
 of nitrate of iron 1057 
 of nitrate of 
 
 strychnia 1063 
 
 of perchloride of 
 iron 1058 
 
 Solution of permanga- 
 nate of potassa 1062 
 of pernitrate of 
 
 iron 1067 
 
 of pernitrate of 
 
 mercury 1288 
 
 of potassa 1069 
 
 of strychnia 1188 
 
 of sulphuret of 
 
 lime 1056 
 
 of sulphate of 
 
 morphia 1078 
 
 of ternitrate of 
 
 iron.... 1057 
 
 of tersulphate of 
 
 iron 1028, 1058 
 
 of the impure hy- 
 ponitrite of ox- 
 ide of ethyle in 
 
 alcohol 803 
 
 Solutions 1055 
 
 Sonchus oleraoeug.,... 843 
 
 Soot 369 
 
 Sorrel 722 
 
 garden 595 
 
 salt of 695 
 
 sheep 595, 722 
 
 Sorrel-tree 109 
 
 Sorrel, wood 695 
 
 South American kino 469 
 
 saltpeter 670 
 
 Southern prickly-ash 126 
 
 wood 186 
 
 South-sea tea 443 
 
 Sow thistle 348 
 
 Spanish chamomile... 105 
 
 flies.. 177 
 
 needles 161 
 
 Spartein 321 
 
 Spattcrdock 652 
 
 Spearmint 524 
 
 water 935 
 
 Speckled jewels, 444 
 
 Specific gravity 893 
 
 gravity bottle 898 
 
 Speedwell 857 
 
 tall 479 
 
 Spermaceti 208 
 
 cerate 948 
 
 ointment 1247 
 
 Sploe-bush 157 
 
 Spice-wood 157 
 
 Spider's web 826 
 
 Spigelia and senna, 
 
 fluid extract of 1006 
 
 Marilandica 799 
 
 Spike, oil of. ., 477 
 
 Spiked aloe 82 
 
 Spikenard 124 
 
 small 124 
 
 Spindle-tree 349 
 
 Spirsea tomentosa 801 
 
 Spirit of ammonia, aro- 
 matic 1239 
 
 of lavender, com- 
 pound 1229 
 
 Spirit of mindererus. 1055 
 
 of niter, sweet..., 803 
 
 of nitrous ether., 803 
 
 of sea salt 40 
 
 of turpentine 575 
 
 of wine 74 
 
 proof. 74 
 
 pyroxilic 806 
 
 rectified 74 
 
 vapor-hath 802 
 
 weed 472 
 
 Spirits of mint 1231 
 
 Spiritus astheris ni- 
 
 trosi 803 
 
 ammonise aromat- 
 
 icus 1239 
 
 formyli terchlori- 
 
 di 224 
 
 pyroxilicus 806 
 
 Splints, shellac 806 
 
 Sponge 807 
 
 burnt....! 808 
 
 Spongia 807 
 
 officinalis 807 
 
 usta 808 
 
 Spongio-piline 946 
 
 Spoonwood 465 
 
 Spotted alder 411 
 
 geranium 385 
 
 knotweed 661 
 
 spurge 355 
 
 wintergreen 215 
 
 Spring water 117 
 
 Spruce beer 18 
 
 black 18 
 
 double.., 18 
 
 essence of. 18 
 
 fir, NQrwa.y 16 
 
 hemlock 15 
 
 Spunk 71 
 
 Spurge 366 
 
 blooming 358 
 
 ipecacuanha 356 
 
 large flowering... 363 
 
 large spotted 855 
 
 laurel... 322 
 
 olive 822 
 
 spotted 355 
 
 Spurred rye , 759 
 
 Square stalk 757 
 
 Squaw-mint 413 
 
 Squaw-root 198, 227. 
 
 vine 526 
 
 ■ weed 149, 767 
 
 Squill 754 
 
 syrup of 1209 
 
 vinegar of 912 
 
 Squirrel corn ^00 
 
 Squirting cucumber... 527 
 
 Stafi' vine 200 
 
 Stagger weed,., 300 
 
 Stalagmitis Cambogi- 
 
 oides 375 
 
 Stanni bisulphuretum 1304 
 
 chloridum 1305 
 
 pulvis 1304 
 
1432 
 
 Index. 
 
 Stalinum.... 1304 
 
 Staphisain 329 
 
 Star flower 149 
 
 Stargrass .• , 78 
 
 Staroli 103 
 
 canna 175 
 
 hydrate of 104 
 
 Starkey's Boap 749 
 
 Starwort, water 169 
 
 Statioe Caroliniana... 808 
 
 limouium 808 
 
 Stavesacre 327 
 
 Stearate of glycerin... 68 
 
 of iron 1037 
 
 Stearic acid 68, 745 
 
 Stearin .68, 745 
 
 Stearoptene 559, 1086 
 
 Steeple buah 801 
 
 Stellaria media 809 
 
 Stemless ladies'-slip- 
 
 per 319 
 
 Steplieusla elobgata... 642 
 
 Stickwort 73 
 
 Stillingia, oil of. 810 
 
 sylTatica 810 
 
 Stillingin 811 
 
 Stingless nettle 843 
 
 Stink-weed 323 
 
 Stouemint 313 
 
 Stone-root 278 
 
 Storax 486 
 
 liquid 487 
 
 Strambo carpa pubes- 
 
 cens 20 
 
 Stramonium 323 
 
 cataplasm 947 
 
 purple 324 
 
 Strasburg turpentine. 17 
 
 Strawberry 365 
 
 mountain 365 
 
 pineapple 365 
 
 wild..i 365 
 
 Straw-colored gentian 384 
 Strengthening plas- 
 ter 641, 956, 960 
 
 Striped bloodwort 423 
 
 Stronger water of am- 
 monia 930 
 
 Strong-soented lettuce 472 
 
 Strychnia 1182 
 
 citrate of. 1186 
 
 lotion 1063 
 
 solution of 1188 
 
 tartrate of 1186 
 
 Strychnoa niix Tomica 812 
 
 Styptic balsam 578 
 
 . powder 1026, 1155 
 
 Styrax benzoin 158 
 
 officinale 486 
 
 Subacetate of copper.. 313 
 Subcarbonate of iron. 1031 
 Subchloride of mercu- 
 ry 1289 
 
 Subiodide of mercury 1291 
 Suboxide of mercury.. 1292 
 Sublimed sulphur 816 
 
 Subnitrate of bismuth 162 
 
 Subphosphate of soda 1177 
 
 Succinate of ammonia > 1032 
 
 of iron 1032 
 
 Succinic acid 816 
 
 Succinum 815 
 
 Succory 226 
 
 wild 226 
 
 Sudorific tincture 1237 
 
 Suet 770 
 
 Sugar 727 
 
 brown 729 
 
 cane 727 
 
 grape 728 
 
 Sugar-house molasses 729 
 
 Sugar of ergot 728 
 
 oflead 652 
 
 of milk 783 
 
 purified 729 
 
 tests for 730 
 
 Sulphate of alumina 
 
 and ammonia... 89 
 of alumina and 
 
 potassa 89 
 
 ofanilin 620 
 
 of atropia 938 
 
 of baryta 1274 
 
 ofbebeerina 544 
 
 of berberina 944 
 
 of cadmium 1276 
 
 of cinchonia - 249 
 
 of copper 314 
 
 of iron 1083 
 
 of iron, dried 1037 
 
 of iron and am- 
 monia 91 
 
 of kali 1188 
 
 of magnesia.. 508 
 
 of manganese 612 
 
 of mercury 1288 
 
 of morphia 1078 
 
 of morphia, solu- 
 tion of 1078 
 
 of nickel 1298 
 
 of potassa 1137 
 
 of potassa with 
 
 sulphur 1139 
 
 of protoxide of 
 
 iron 1033 
 
 of quinia 1156 
 
 of soda 789 
 
 of zinc 878 
 
 Sulphide of ammoni- 
 um 924 
 
 Sulphite of magnesia. 504 
 
 of soda 790 
 
 Sulpho-sinapisin 774 
 
 Sulphur 816 
 
 flowers of. 816 
 
 iodide of 819 
 
 liver of 1147 
 
 lotum, 816 
 
 ointment of. 1252 
 
 ointment, com- 
 pound 1252 
 
 roll 817 
 
 Sulphur, soft amor- 
 phous 817 
 
 sublimatum 816 
 
 sublimed 816 
 
 vivum 817 
 
 Toloanic 816 
 
 washed 816 
 
 Sulphuret of iron 1037 
 
 of mercury 1294 
 
 of potassium 1147 
 
 Sulphuretted hydro- 
 gen 1038 
 
 Sulphuric acid 56 
 
 aromatic 64 
 
 diluted 57 
 
 Sulphurous acid 67 
 
 waters 123 
 
 Sumach 707 
 
 dwarf. 708 
 
 poison 709 
 
 velvet 708 
 
 Summer savory 763 
 
 Sun-dew 339 
 
 Sunflower 416 
 
 false 414 
 
 red 722 
 
 swamp 414 
 
 syrup 417 
 
 syrup, compound 1204 
 
 Superacetate of lead... 652 
 
 Suppositoria 1189 
 
 acidi tannic! 1191 
 
 asafoetidse, 1191 
 
 atropiee.. 1192 
 
 morphine 1192 
 
 potassse chloras 
 
 composita : 1192 
 
 potassse iodidi 
 
 composita 1192 
 
 zinci sulphas com- 
 posita 1193 
 
 Suppositories 1189 
 
 of asafetida 1191 
 
 ofatropin.. 1192 
 
 of chlorate of po- 
 tassa, compound 1192 
 of iodide of potas- 
 sium, compound 1192 
 
 of morphia 1192 
 
 of sulphate of zinc, 
 
 compound 1193 
 
 of tannic acid 1191 
 
 Surinam bark 109 
 
 Swallowort 355 
 
 Swamp beggar's-tiok.. 161 
 
 dogwood.. 299 
 
 hellebore 852 
 
 laurel 467 
 
 milkweed 142 
 
 sassafras 507 
 
 ■ silkweed 142 
 
 willow herb....341, 496 
 
 Sweet almonds 101 
 
 bay 507 
 
 birch 160 
 
 cassava 458 
 
Index. 
 
 1433 
 
 Sweet cicely 590 
 
 fennel... 364 
 
 fern 282 
 
 flag 66 
 
 gum 488 
 
 magnolia 507 
 
 marjoram 586 
 
 principle of oils.. 891 
 scented clover.... 882 
 scented golden- 
 rod 798 
 
 scented life-ever- 
 lasting 899 
 
 spirit of niter 803 
 
 violet 860 
 
 Sweet's red powder... 1154 
 Sydenham's laudanum 614 
 
 Symphytum officinale 820 
 
 Symplocarpus foetidus 820 
 
 Syringe tree 181 
 
 Syrup 1195 
 
 almond cream 1211 
 
 alterative 1198 
 
 coffee 1200 
 
 cream 1211 
 
 Jackson's 1209 
 
 lemon 1196 
 
 Mackenzie's 4'89 
 
 nectar cream 1211 
 
 of aralia, com- 
 pound 1197 
 
 of asafetida 1198 
 
 of bloodroot 1208 
 
 of citric acid 1196 
 
 of cinnamon 1199 
 
 of ether 1196 
 
 of garlic 1197 
 
 of ginger 1211 
 
 of honey.., 388 
 
 of hoarhound, 
 
 compound 1204 
 
 of horseradish, 
 
 compound 1199 
 
 of hypophosphite 
 
 of lime 1194 
 
 of hypophosphites, . 
 
 compound 1194 
 
 of iodide of iron.. 1201 
 of iodide of iron, 
 
 and manganese 518 
 of iodide of man- 
 ganese 518 
 
 of ipecacuanha 
 
 204, 1202 
 
 of lobelia 1208 
 
 of partridgeberry, 
 
 compound 1205 
 
 of poke, compound 1206 
 
 of poppies 615 
 
 of protoiiitrate of 
 
 iron 1057 
 
 of pyrophosphate 
 
 of iron 1027, 1202 
 
 of queen's-root ... 1209 
 of queen's-root, 
 
 compound 1210 
 
 Syrup of red-root, com- 
 
 pound 1199 
 
 of rhubarb and 
 potassa, com- 
 pound 1207 
 
 of sargaparilla, 
 compound , 1198 
 
 of seneka 1209 
 
 of spikenard, com- 
 pound 1204 
 
 of squill 1209 
 
 of sunflower...... 417 
 
 of sunflower, com- 
 pound 1204 
 
 of sweet gum 1208 
 
 of tar 1206 
 
 oftolu 1210 
 
 of turkey-corn, 
 
 compound 1200 
 
 of vanilla 1008 
 
 of wild-cherry 
 
 bark 1207 
 
 of yellow dock, 
 
 compound ...... 1208 
 
 scrofulous 1208 
 
 simple 1196 
 
 Syrupi 1193 
 
 Syrups 1198 
 
 soda, 1211 
 
 Syrupusl 1195 
 
 acidi citrici 1196 
 
 setheris 1196 
 
 allii 1197 
 
 aralise composi- 
 
 tus 1197 
 
 asafoetldse 1198 
 
 ceanothi composi- 
 tus 1199 
 
 cinnamomi 1199 
 
 cochlearise oom- 
 positus 1199 
 
 coffese 1200 
 
 oorydalis compos- 
 itus 1200 
 
 ferri iodidi 1201 
 
 ferri pyrophos- 
 
 phatis 1202 
 
 helianthi compos- 
 itus 1204 
 
 ipecacuanhas 1202 
 
 liquidambar. 1208 
 
 lobelise 1208 
 
 marrubii composi- 
 tus 1204 
 
 mitohellss compos. 
 itus 1205 
 
 phytolaccse com- 
 positus 1206 
 
 picis liquidsa 1206 
 
 pruni Virgin- 
 
 ianse 1207 
 
 rhei et potassse 
 compositus 1207 
 
 rumecis composi- 
 tus 1208 
 
 sanguinarise 1208 
 
 Syrupus sarsaparillm 
 
 compositus 1198 
 
 scillae 1209 
 
 senegoB 1209 
 
 simplex 1196 
 
 stillingise 1209 
 
 stillingise compos- 
 itus 1210 
 
 tolutanus 1210 
 
 zingiberis 1211 
 
 T 
 
 Tabaoum 548 
 
 Table for determining 
 the quantity of 
 medicine to en- 
 ter int« a cer- 
 tain amount of 
 fluid 1846 
 
 for determining 
 the quantity of 
 medicine to en- 
 ter into a cer- 
 tain number of 
 pills or powders 1844 
 
 for determining 
 how much fluid 
 must be given 
 to last for cer- 
 tain periods.... 1356 
 
 for determining 
 the number of 
 doses in certain 
 amounts of fluid 1355 
 
 for dividing medi- 
 cines into frac- 
 tions of a grain 1342 
 
 for reducing Am- 
 erican grains 
 to French gram- 
 mes 1385 
 
 for reducing Am. 
 to French mea- 
 sures of length 1834 
 
 for reducing Am. 
 wine measure 
 to French fluid 
 measure 1383 
 
 for reducing min- 
 ute fractions of 
 French weights 
 and measures to 
 American 1337, 1340 
 
 of chemical sym- 
 bols and equiv- 
 alents 1376 
 
 of doses for dif- 
 ferent ages 1326 
 
 of drops 1332 
 
 of effects of tem- 
 perature 1372 
 
 of formulsB for 
 freezing mix- 
 tures 1370 
 
 of French weights 
 and measures.. . 183C 
 
1434 
 
 Index. 
 
 Table of hydromelrioal 
 
 equivalents .... 1860 
 of Imperial meas- 
 ures 1328 
 
 of mineral waters 1388 
 of quantities of 
 ammonia, potas- 
 sa and soda, in 
 solutions of dif- 
 ferent specific 
 
 gravity 1868 
 
 of quantity of 
 muriatic acid, 
 
 etc „ 1364 
 
 of quantity of ni- 
 tric acid, etc... 1366 
 of quantity of sul- 
 phuric acid, eto. 1365 
 of show colors..... 1396 
 of signs and ab- 
 breviations 1811 
 
 of solubility of 
 
 salts 1377 
 
 of solubility of 
 acids, bases, 
 
 etc 1887 
 
 of specific gravi- 
 ties 1359, 1369 
 
 of specific gravity 
 
 of acetic acid... 1367 
 of specific gravity 
 
 of volatile oils. 562 
 of value of hydro- 
 chloric acid at 
 different den- 
 sities 1367 
 
 of weights and 
 
 measures 1327 
 
 to facilitate the 
 conversion of 
 French weights 
 and measures 
 into American 1337 
 
 Taoamahac 664 
 
 poplar 664 
 
 Tag alder 82 
 
 Tall ambrosia. 92 
 
 cone flower 721 
 
 speedwell 479 
 
 Tallow 770 
 
 Tamarac 475 
 
 Tamarind 822 
 
 TamariuduB ludica... 822 
 
 Tamaris Crallica 587 
 
 Tanacetum crispum... 828 
 
 vulgare 823 
 
 Tannate of bismuth... 164 
 
 of iron 1039 
 
 qflead 1304 
 
 of quinia.... 1156 
 
 Tannic acid 59 
 
 Tannin 59 
 
 artificial 696 
 
 Tansy 823 
 
 double 823 
 
 Tapioca 458 
 
 Tar 649 
 
 Barbadoes 617 
 
 glyeerinated ; 650 
 
 mineral 621 
 
 oil of. 649 
 
 plaster, compound 957 
 
 water 650, 935 
 
 Taraxacin'. 825 
 
 Taraxacum dens- 
 
 leonis 824 
 
 Tartar, cream of. 667 
 
 crystals of 667 
 
 emetic 1262 
 
 salt of 1135 
 
 soluble 1189 
 
 Tartarean moss ,714 
 
 Tartaric acid 62 
 
 troches of. 1241 
 
 Tartarized kali 1139 
 
 soda 1174 
 
 Tartrate of antimony 
 
 and potassa 1262 
 
 of iron and 
 
 quinia 1016 
 
 of morphia 1078 
 
 of potassa..... 1139 
 
 of potassa and 
 
 soda 1174 
 
 of 'Strychnia 1186 
 
 Tea 827 
 
 Teaberry 877 
 
 Tea, black 828 
 
 green 827 
 
 Labrador 477 
 
 marsh 478 
 
 mountain 377 
 
 New Jersey 199 
 
 South Sea 443 
 
 Tela araneEe 826 
 
 Teneriffe win, 864 
 
 Tephrosia onobry- 
 
 choides 826 
 
 Virginiana 826 
 
 Terchloride of anti- 
 mony 126S 
 
 of formyle 216 
 
 Terebinthina, Veneta. 575 
 Terebinthinae oleum... 575 
 Teriodide of formyle .. 452 
 Ternitrate of iron, so- 
 lution of 1057 
 
 Teroxide of antimony. 1261 
 
 of iron 361 
 
 Terra Japonica 21 
 
 Tersulphuret of anti- 
 mony 1263 
 
 Testa prseparata 306 
 
 Tests for sugar in 
 
 urine 730 
 
 Tetterwort 211 
 
 Thea Bohea 828 
 
 Chinensis 827 
 
 viridis 827 
 
 Thebain 608 
 
 Theine 829 
 
 Theobroma, oil of 579 
 
 Theobromine 580 
 
 Thermometers, com- 
 parative value 
 of the degrees 
 
 of. 1325 
 
 Thimbleweed 721 
 
 Thistle, blessed 201 
 
 Canada 260 
 
 cursed 260 
 
 holy 201 
 
 Thorn apple 323 
 
 Thoroughwort. 350 
 
 Thridace 474 
 
 Thxoat-root 888 
 
 Thiga cccidentalis..... 830 
 
 Thus 17 
 
 Thyme 831 
 
 mother of. 881 
 
 narrow leaf Vir- 
 ginia 686 
 
 wild 831 
 
 Thymene. 831 
 
 Thymic acid 831 
 
 Thymol 831 
 
 Thymus serpyllus 831 . 
 
 vulgaris 831 
 
 Tickweed 162, 413 
 
 Tiglii oleum 581 
 
 Tin 1304 
 
 bisulphuret of.... 1304 
 
 chloride of 1305 
 
 granulated 1304 
 
 powder of. 1304 
 
 protochloride of... 1306 
 
 salt of 1305 
 
 Tinctura aconiti folio- 
 rum 1214 
 
 aconiti radicis.... 1214 
 
 aloes 1214 
 
 aloes et myrrhse.. 1215 
 aralise spinosse... 1215 
 
 arnicse 1215 
 
 asafoetidse 1215 
 
 asafoetidae com- 
 
 posita 1215 
 
 belladonnse ........ 1216 
 
 benzoini compos- 
 
 ita 1216 
 
 cacti 1216 
 
 camphorse 1216 
 
 oamphorae coin- 
 
 posita 1052 
 
 cannabis Indies.. 1217 
 
 oantharidis 1217 
 
 capsici 1217 
 
 oapsici concen- 
 
 trata 186 
 
 oardamomi 1217 
 
 oardamomi oom- 
 
 posita..... 121 1 
 
 castorei 1218 
 
 castorei ammoni- 
 
 ata 1218 
 
 oatechu...^ 1218 
 
 oaulophylU com- 
 posita 1218 
 
Index. 
 
 1435 
 
 MncturaoimioifugEe... 1218 
 cimicifugae com- 
 
 posita 1219 
 
 oinohonse 1219 
 
 oiuchonse compos- 
 
 ita 1219 
 
 cinohonse ferrata 1219 
 
 cinnamomi 1220 
 
 cinnamomi com- 
 
 posita 1220 
 
 cocci cacti 1220 
 
 colchicicomposita 1220 
 colchici Beminis.. 1220 
 
 colombse 1221 
 
 corydalis 1221 
 
 copydalig oom- 
 
 posita 1221 
 
 digitalis 1221 
 
 ergotse 1222 
 
 ferri acetatis 1222 
 
 ferri chloridi 1222 
 
 gelsemini 1225 
 
 gentianse compoe- 
 
 ita 1225 
 
 guaiaci 1226 
 
 guaiaci alkaUna. 1226 
 guaiaci aromat- 
 
 ica 1226 
 
 hydrastis 1226 
 
 hydrastis compos- 
 
 ita 1226 
 
 hyosoyami 1227 
 
 hyperici 1227 
 
 Ignatise amai-Ee... 1227 
 
 iodini 1227 
 
 iodini oomposita. 1228 
 
 iridis 1228 
 
 kalmise 1228 
 
 kino 1228 
 
 kramerise 1228 
 
 lavaadulse oom- 
 posita 1229 
 
 laricis composita. 1229 
 
 leptandrse 1230 
 
 lobelise 1230 
 
 lobeliae composita 1230 
 lobelise et capsici 
 
 composita 1231 
 
 lupulini 1281 
 
 menthse viridis... 1281 
 
 myrrhse 1231 
 
 myrrhse composi- 
 ta.... 1282 
 
 nucis vomicae 1232 
 
 olei auisi 1232 
 
 olei carui 1232 
 
 olei cinnamomi ... 1282 
 olei menthse piper- 
 Use 1288 
 
 ^ olei menthae viri- 
 dis 1238 
 
 olei sassafras 1233 
 
 opii • 1233 
 
 opii acetata 1233 
 
 opii camphorata.. 1234 
 phytolaccse 1235 
 
 I Tinotura pinus pen- 
 dulse composita 1229 
 
 podophylli 1235 
 
 polygoni 1235 
 
 pulsatillse 1236 
 
 quinise composita 1235 
 
 rhei 1236 
 
 rhei composita.... 1236 
 
 sanguinarise 1236 
 
 sanguinarise ace- 
 tata composita. 1236 
 sanguinarise com- 
 posita 1236 
 
 sennsB oomposita. 1237 
 serpentarisB com- 
 posita 1237 
 
 staphisagria 1287 
 
 stillingiae 1237 
 
 stramouii 1238 
 
 Btryohnise com- 
 
 posita 1238 
 
 symplocarpi 1238 
 
 thebaica." 1233 
 
 tolutana 1238 
 
 toxicodendri 1288 
 
 valerianse ammo- 
 
 niata 1289 
 
 veratri viridis.... 1239 
 viburni composita 1239 
 
 xanthoxyli 1239 
 
 zingiberis 1240 
 
 Tincturse 1212 
 
 Tincture, acetous eme- 
 tic 1236 
 
 antispasmodic 1281 
 
 emetic 1236 
 
 golden 16 
 
 hydragogue 1259 
 
 King's expecto- 
 rant , 1230 
 
 of acetate of iron. 1222 
 of aconite leaves. 1214 
 of aconite root.... 1214 
 
 of aloes 1214 
 
 of aloes and myrrh 1215 
 of American hel- 
 lebore 1239 
 
 of arnica 1215 
 
 ofasafetida 1215 
 
 of asafetida, com- 
 pound 1215 
 
 of belladonna 1216 
 
 of benzoin, com- 
 pound 1216 
 
 of black cohosh... 1218 
 of black cohosh, 
 
 compound 1219 
 
 of black-root 1230 
 
 ofbloodroot 1236 
 
 of blood-root, com- 
 pound 1236 
 
 of bloodroot, com- 
 pound acetated 1236 
 of blue cohosh.... 199 
 of blue cohosh, 
 
 compound 1218 
 
 Tincture of blue flag... 1228 
 
 of cactus 1216 
 
 of camphor 1216 
 
 of camphor, com- 
 pound 1052 
 
 of cardamom 1217 
 
 of cardamom, 
 
 compound 1217 
 
 of castor 1218 
 
 of castor, am- 
 
 moniated 1218 
 
 of catechu 1218 
 
 of Cayenne pep- 
 per 1217 
 
 of chloride of iron 1222 
 
 of cinnamon 1220 
 
 of cinnamon, com- 
 pound 1220 
 
 of cochineal 1220 
 
 of colchicum, com- 
 pound 1220 
 
 of colchicum seed 1220 
 
 of Colombo 1221 
 
 of corydalis, com- 
 pound 1221 
 
 of cyanuret of po- 
 tassium 1144 
 
 of ergot 1222 
 
 of foxglove 1221 
 
 of gentian, com- 
 pound 1225 
 
 of ginger..., 1240 
 
 of golden-seal 1226 
 
 of golden-seal, 
 
 compound 1226 
 
 of guiacum 1226 
 
 of guaicum, aro- 
 matic 1226 
 
 of guaiacum, De- 
 wees' 1226 
 
 of hemp 177 
 
 ofhenbane 1227 
 
 of high cranberry 
 bark, compound 1239 
 
 ofhoiieybees 520 
 
 of India hemp.... 1217 
 
 of iodine 1227 
 
 of iodine, com- 
 pound 1228 
 
 of kino 1228 
 
 of leopard's bane 1215 
 
 of lobelia 1230 
 
 of lobelia and cap- 
 sicum, com- 
 pound 1231 
 
 of lobelia, com- 
 pound 1230 
 
 of lupulin 1231 
 
 of mandrake 1235 
 
 of muriate of iron 1222 
 
 of myrrh 1231 
 
 of myrrh, com- 
 pound 1232 
 
 of nux vomica.... 1232 
 
 of oil of anise 1232 
 
 of oil of caraway 1232 
 
1436 
 
 Index. 
 
 Tincture of oil of cin- 
 namon 1232 
 
 of oil of pepper- 
 mint 1233 
 
 of oil of sassafras 1233 
 of oil of spear- 
 mint 1233 
 
 of opium 1233 
 
 of opium, acetated 1233 
 of opium, campho- 
 rated 1234 
 
 of Peruvian-bark 1219 
 of Peruvian-bark 
 
 compound 1219 
 
 of Peruvian-bark, 
 
 ferrated 1219 
 
 of phosphorus 627 
 
 of poison oak 1238 
 
 of poke 1235 
 
 of prickly-ash 
 
 berries 1239 
 
 of prickly elder.. 1215 
 
 of Pulsatilla 1285 
 
 of queen' B-root.... 1237 
 of quinia, com- 
 pound 1235 
 
 ofrhatany 1228 
 
 of rhubarb 1236 
 
 of rhubarb, com- 
 pound 1236 
 
 of senna, com- 
 pound* 1237 
 
 of sheep laurel... 1228 
 of skunk cabbage 1238 
 
 of soap 116 
 
 of Spanish-flies... 1217 
 
 of spearmint 1231 
 
 ofstavesacre 1237 
 
 of stramonium.... 1238 
 of St. Ignatius'- 
 
 bean 1227 
 
 of St. John's wort 1227 
 of strychnia, com- 
 pound 1238 
 
 of tamarac, com- 
 pound 1229 
 
 of tolu 1238 
 
 of turkey corn.... 1221 
 of valerian, am- 
 
 moniated 1239 
 
 of Virginia snake- 
 root, compound 1237 
 of water-pepper... 1285 
 of yellow jessa- 
 mine 1225 
 
 sudorific 1237 
 
 Tinctures 1212 
 
 essential 989 
 
 Tinder 71 
 
 Tobacco 548 
 
 Indian 491 
 
 ointment 1252 
 
 wild 491 
 
 Tolene 542 
 
 Tolu, balsam of 541 
 
 Toluol 542 
 
 Tomato 795 
 
 Toothache bush 871 
 
 drops 1069 
 
 tree .' 125 
 
 Tormentil 676 
 
 Tormentilla erecta 676 
 
 officinalis 676 
 
 Torula cerevisise 207 
 
 Touch-me-not 444 
 
 Touchwood 71 
 
 Tous-les-mois 175 
 
 Tragacanth 146 
 
 Tragacanthin 146 
 
 Trailing arbutus 340 
 
 Transparent soap 748 
 
 Tree, primrose 564 
 
 Trifolium pratense.... 832 
 
 Trilline 833 
 
 Trillium erectum 833 
 
 erythrocarpum ... 833 
 
 grandiflorum 833 
 
 nivale t 883 
 
 pendulum 883 
 
 sessile 883 
 
 Triosteum angustifo- 
 
 lium 885 
 
 perfoliatum 884 
 
 Tripoli senna.... 195 
 
 Trisnitrate of bismuth 162 
 Tritioum hybernum.... 835 
 
 repens 839 
 
 Troches 1240 
 
 of bicarbonate of 
 
 soda 1243 
 
 of capsicum 1241 
 
 of capsicum and 
 
 lobelia 1241 
 
 of chlorate of po- 
 
 tassa 1243 
 
 of citric acid 1241 
 
 of croton oil 1241 
 
 of dioscorea 1241 
 
 of ginger 1244 
 
 of ipecacuanha... 1242 
 of liquorice and 
 
 opium 398, 1241 
 
 of liquorice, com- 
 pound 1242 
 
 of magnesia 1242 
 
 of peppermint.... 1242 
 of queen' s-root 
 
 compound 1244 
 
 of resin of podo- 
 phyllum 1242 
 
 of rhubarb and 
 
 potassa 1243 
 
 of santonin, com- 
 pound 1243 
 
 of stillingia, com- 
 pound 1244 
 
 of tartaric acid..." 1241 
 
 Troohisci 1240 
 
 acidi tartarici 1241 
 
 capsici 1241 
 
 oapsioi et lobelise 1241 
 crotonis 1241 
 
 TrochisoidloscoresB.... 1241 
 glycyrrhizse com- 
 
 posita 1242 
 
 glyoyrrhiza et 
 
 opii 398, 1241 
 
 ipecacuanhse 1242 
 
 magnesias... 1242 
 
 menthse piperitae. 1242 
 
 potassse chloras... 1243 
 
 resinae podophylli 1242 
 
 rhei et potassas... 1243 
 santonini compo- 
 
 sita 1243 
 
 sodae bicarbona- 
 
 tis 1243 
 
 stillingiae com- 
 
 posita 1244 
 
 lingiberis 1244 
 
 Trumpet-weed 351 
 
 Tuber-root 142 
 
 Tulip tree 489 
 
 Turkey corn 300 
 
 pea, wild 300 
 
 Turlington's balsam.. 1216 
 
 Turmeric 316 
 
 paper 316 
 
 root 316, 432 
 
 Turner's cerate 948 
 
 Turnip, Indian 138 
 
 Turpentine, Bor- 
 deaux 575, 641 
 
 Canada 14, 
 
 Chian 575, 641 
 
 European 575 
 
 oil of. 575 
 
 spirit of 575 
 
 Strasburgh 17 
 
 Venice 18, 575, 641 
 
 white 641 
 
 Turpeth mineral 1293 
 
 Turtle-bloom 212 
 
 Turtle-head 212 
 
 Tussilago farfara 889 
 
 Tutty 878 
 
 Twin-leaf. 459 
 
 Typha latifolia. 840 
 
 XJ 
 
 Ulmus fulva 840 
 
 Umbel 319 
 
 Umbrella tree 507 
 
 Uncaria gambir 22 
 
 Uncrystallizable 
 
 sugar 728 ■ 
 
 Unguenta , L244 
 
 Unguentum acidi mu- 
 
 riatici 1245 
 
 acidi nitrici 1245 
 
 acidi Bulphurici.. 124^ 
 
 acidi tannici 1246 
 
 aconiti 1246 
 
 alkalinum 1246 
 
 alkalinum cam- 
 
 phoratum., 1246 
 
 ammoniacale 124S 
 
 aquse rosae . .. 124B 
 
Index. 
 
 1437 
 
 Dnguentum atropias... 1247 
 
 baptisise 1247 
 
 belladonnfe 1247 
 
 benzoini 1247 
 
 cantliaridis 1247 
 
 oerae albse 1261 
 
 oetaoei 1247 
 
 oooculi 1248 
 
 conii 1248 
 
 creaeoti 1248 
 
 cucumis 1248 
 
 fuliginis 1249 
 
 gallge 1249 
 
 Eydrargyri 1296 
 
 hydrargyri nitra- 
 
 tis 1297 
 
 iodini composi- 
 
 tum 1249 
 
 ipecacuanhse 1249 
 
 mezerei 1249 
 
 myriose 1250 
 
 myricse compoai- 
 
 tum 1250 
 
 phytolaocse 1250 
 
 picis liquldse 1250 
 
 piperis nigri 1250 
 
 plumbi composi- 
 
 tum 1250 
 
 potassii cyanureti 1251 
 potassii sulphur- 
 ed 1251 
 
 resinse 949 
 
 resin* albse 949 
 
 sabinse 949 
 
 scrophularise 1251 
 
 simplex 1251 
 
 stramonii 1261 
 
 stramonii com- 
 
 positum 1251 
 
 strychnise T 1252 
 
 sulphuris 125% 
 
 sulphuris eom- 
 
 positum 1252 
 
 .sulphuris iodidi... 819 
 
 tabaoi 1252 
 
 Teratri albi 1253 
 
 veratrise 1253 
 
 zinci oxidi 1253 
 
 zinci oxidi com- 
 
 positum 1253 
 
 zinci sulphatis... 1254 
 
 [Jnkum 768 
 
 Unicorn-root 78 
 
 felse 418 
 
 Upland cranberry 126 
 
 Uraspermum Claytoni 590 
 
 Urceola elastica 181 
 
 Urine, tests for sugar 
 
 in 730 
 
 .Ursin 127 
 
 Urtiea dioica 842 
 
 pumila 848 
 
 urens 842 
 
 Ustilago madis 765 
 
 Uya passae ; 868 
 
 ursi 126 
 
 Uraria triloba 848 
 
 Uvularia perfoliata... 844 
 
 V 
 
 Vaccinium arboreum 
 
 846 
 
 oorymbosum 
 
 845 
 
 dumosum 
 
 845 
 
 frondosum 
 
 844 
 
 Penusylvauicum 
 
 845 
 
 resinosum 
 
 845 
 
 
 845 
 
 Valerian 
 
 845 
 
 American 
 
 819 
 
 American Greek 
 
 657 
 
 false 
 
 767 
 
 Greek 
 
 657 
 
 oil of. 
 
 1108 
 
 Valeriana officinalis.. 
 
 846 
 
 Valerianate of ammo- 
 
 
 nia 
 
 923 
 
 
 924 
 
 of atropia 
 
 938 
 
 
 164 
 1040 
 
 of iron 
 
 of morphia 
 
 1079 
 
 of quinia 
 
 1162 
 
 of soda 
 
 1177 
 
 of zinc 
 
 1308 
 
 Valerianic acid 
 
 846 
 
 Vallet's ferruginous 
 
 
 pills 
 
 1119 
 
 Vanilla 
 
 847 
 
 aromatica 
 
 847 
 
 fluid extract 
 
 
 of 849, 
 
 1009 
 
 grass 
 
 833 
 
 Vanillin 
 
 848 
 
 Vapor-bath 
 
 120 
 
 spirit 
 
 802 
 
 Variolaria dealbata... 
 
 714 
 
 Various-leaved flea- 
 
 
 bane 
 
 344 
 
 Vegetable albumen... 
 
 837 
 
 caustic 
 
 1137 
 
 charcoal 
 
 188 
 
 elixir 
 
 1199 
 
 fibrin 
 
 837 
 
 jelly 
 
 327 
 
 juices, pre- 
 
 
 served 965, 
 
 1213 
 
 Veiny-leaved hawk- 
 
 
 weed 
 
 423 
 
 Velvet-leaf. 
 
 261 
 
 sumach 
 
 708 
 
 Venice turpen- 
 
 
 tine 18, 575, 641 
 
 Vera Cruz sarsa- 
 
 
 parilla 
 
 777 
 
 Veratria 
 
 1264 
 
 lotion 
 
 1063 
 
 Veratrin 
 
 1254 
 
 Veratrum album 
 
 849 
 
 angustifolium .... 
 
 854 
 
 luteiiiu: 
 
 418 
 
 officinale 
 
 850 
 
 parviflorum 
 
 854 
 
 Veratrum sabadilla... 850 
 
 viride 862 
 
 Verbascum thapsus... 865 
 
 Verbena hastata 856 
 
 officinalis 856 
 
 sinuata 856 
 
 spuria 856 
 
 urticifolia 856 
 
 Verdigris 313 
 
 liniment 1050 
 
 Vermifuge, Fahne- 
 
 stock's 1068 
 
 oil 1069 
 
 Vermillion 1294 
 
 Vernonia fasciculata.. 86S 
 noveboracensis... 867 
 
 priealta 867 
 
 tomentosa 857 
 
 Veronica agrestis 867 
 
 anagallis 857 
 
 beccabunga 867 
 
 officinalis 857 
 
 peregrina 857 
 
 scutellata 867 
 
 Virginica 479 
 
 Vervain 855 
 
 nettle-leaved 856 
 
 Viburine 858, 988 
 
 Viburnum dentatum.. 859 
 
 opulus 858 
 
 oxycoccus 868 
 
 prunifplium 869 
 
 roseum 868 
 
 Vienna caustic or 
 
 paste 170 
 
 Vina medicata 1256 
 
 Vine-maple 622 
 
 Vinegar 23 
 
 British 23 
 
 distilled 23,25 
 
 French 23 
 
 Henry's aromatic 29 
 
 of bloodroot 911 
 
 of lobelia 911 
 
 of squill 912 
 
 Vinegars 909 
 
 Vinic alcohol 74 
 
 Vinum an timonii ....... 1263 
 
 cinchonse aromat- 
 
 icum 1257 
 
 colchici radicis... 1267 
 colchici seminis... 1258 
 
 ergotse 1258. 
 
 helleborii com- 
 
 positum 1258 
 
 hydrastis com- 
 
 positum 1258 
 
 ipecacuanhse 1258 
 
 phytolaccse com- 
 
 positum 1269 
 
 sambuci 1259 
 
 symphyti oomposi- 
 
 tum 1269 
 
 Viola odorata 860 
 
 ovata 861 
 
 pedata 860 
 
1438 
 
 Index. 
 
 Viola tricolor 861 
 
 Violet, adders 399 
 
 bloom 795 
 
 blue.... 860 
 
 dog's tooth 346 
 
 rattlesnake 346, 861 
 
 sweet 860 
 
 Violia 861 
 
 Virginia snakeroot... 132 
 thyme, narrow 
 
 leaf 686 
 
 Virginian creeper 100 
 
 lungwort 683 
 
 mouse ear 318 
 
 Virgin's bower 265 
 
 Viscum album 861 
 
 flaTescens 861 
 
 verticillatum 861 
 
 Vitellus ovi 594 
 
 Vitis TJnifera 862 
 
 Vitriol blue 314 
 
 elixir of 54 
 
 green 1033 
 
 oil of 55 
 
 white 878 
 
 Vitriolated soda 789 
 
 tartar 1138 
 
 Vocabulary of Latin 
 terms used in 
 
 medicine 1311 
 
 Volatile alkali, mild.. 96 
 
 liniment 1050 
 
 oils 557, 1080 
 
 oil of mustard.... 772 
 
 Volcanic sulphur 816 
 
 Vulcanized caout- 
 chouc 188 
 
 Wafer ash 680 
 
 Wahoo 349 
 
 Wake Robin 138, 833 
 
 Walnut, black 461 
 
 European 461 
 
 lotion 1065 
 
 white 460 
 
 Warm-bath 120 
 
 Warren's 'styptic bal- 
 sam 578 
 
 Wash, alkaline 1063 
 
 cooling 1064 
 
 herpetic 1065 
 
 saline 1066 
 
 Washed sulphur 816 
 
 Washes 1063 
 
 Water 116 
 
 artificial Seltzer.. 927 
 
 avens 387 
 
 bitter almond 931 
 
 camphor 982 
 
 carbonicaoid 927 
 
 chickweed 169 
 
 chlorine 932 
 
 cinnamon 984 
 
 creosote 305 
 
 distilled 116, 984 
 
 Water dock 723 
 
 dropwort 552 
 
 elder flower 936 
 
 eryngo 845 
 
 fennel .....552,935 
 
 hard 116 
 
 hemlock 286 
 
 hemlock, fine 
 
 leaved 552 
 
 hoarhound 494 
 
 lake 117 
 
 lime 931 
 
 marsh 117 
 
 melon 311 
 
 mineral 116,927 
 
 of ammonia 928 
 
 stronger 980 
 
 orange-flower. 262, 936 
 
 ozonized. 674 
 
 pennyroyal 936 
 
 pepper 661 
 
 peppermint 935 
 
 pimento 985 
 
 plantain 79, 651 
 
 rain 116 
 
 river 117 
 
 rose 936 
 
 sea 123 
 
 shamrock 525 
 
 snow 116 
 
 soda 927 
 
 soft 116 
 
 spearmint 985 
 
 spring 117 
 
 starwort 169 
 
 tar 650, 935 
 
 well 117 
 
 Waters, chalybeate.... 123 
 
 medicated 926 
 
 mineral '119, 123 
 
 sulphurous 123 
 
 Wax, b.ayberry 535 
 
 Waxberry 535 
 
 Wax, Japan 1189 
 
 myrtle 535 
 
 of Carnahuba 207 
 
 white 205 
 
 Wax-work 200 
 
 Wax, yellow 205 
 
 Web, spiders' 826 
 
 Weeping willow 737 
 
 Weights and meas- 
 ures 891 
 
 Well water 117 
 
 Wet-sheet packing.... 121 
 
 Wheat 835 
 
 Whey, cream of tartar 669 
 
 White agaric 71 
 
 ash 867 
 
 avens 387 
 
 balsam 399 
 
 bay 507 
 
 cohosh 67 
 
 clover 882 
 
 flowered ladies'" 
 
 slipper 319 
 
 White hellebore 849 
 
 Indian hemp 142 
 
 jessamine 380 
 
 lead 1301 
 
 leaf 801 
 
 lettuce 543 
 
 lily 483 
 
 liniment 1054 
 
 liquid physio 49 
 
 marble 516 
 
 melilot clover 832 
 
 mustard 772 
 
 oak 691 
 
 oxide of arsenic. 1266 
 
 oxide of bismuth.. 162 
 
 pepper 646 
 
 plantain 112 
 
 poison-vine 380 
 
 pond-lily 551 
 
 poplar 489, 665 
 
 precipitate 1279 
 
 rosin 696 
 
 snakeroot 350 
 
 turpentine 641 
 
 vitriol 878 
 
 walnut 460 
 
 wax 205 
 
 weed 481 
 
 willow 736 
 
 wood 489 
 
 Whortleberry, black.. 845 
 
 black blue 845 
 
 blue 844 
 
 bush 845 
 
 giant 845 
 
 Wioopy 337,341 
 
 Wild allspice... 157 
 
 basil 686 
 
 black (vurrants... 712 
 
 brier 715 
 
 • carrot -326 
 
 chamomile 113, 518 
 
 cherry 678 
 
 coffee 834 
 
 oomfrey 818 
 
 cranesbill 385 
 
 cucumber 527 
 
 elder 124 
 
 ginger 140 
 
 hemp 92 
 
 hoarhound 358 
 
 hydrangea 431 
 
 hyssop 855 
 
 indigo 154 
 
 ipecac 356,834 
 
 jalap 287 
 
 jessamine 378 
 
 Job's-tears 584 
 
 lemon 655 
 
 lettuce 472 
 
 marjoram 585 
 
 nard 189 
 
 potato 287 
 
 sage 739 
 
 sarsaparilla 124 
 
 senna 193 
 
Index. 
 
 1439 
 
 Wild sngwball 199 
 
 strawberry 365 
 
 succory 226 
 
 thyme" 831 
 
 tobacco 491 
 
 turkey-pea " 300 
 
 woodvine 100 
 
 yam 335 
 
 Willow .736 
 
 black 787 
 
 herb 341 
 
 herb, purple 495 
 
 herb, swamp. ..341, 496 
 
 pussy 787 
 
 red 299 
 
 rose 299 
 
 weeping 737 
 
 white 736 
 
 Wind flower 109 
 
 root 142 
 
 Windsor soap 748 
 
 Wine 862 
 
 antimonial 1268 
 
 bitters 1258 
 
 bitters, restora- 
 tive 1259 
 
 claret 863 
 
 Madeira 864 
 
 native 864 
 
 of cinchona, aro- 
 matic 1267 
 
 of oolchicum root 1257 
 of colchicum seed 1258 
 of oomfrey, com- 
 pound 1259 
 
 of elder 1259 
 
 of ergot 1258 
 
 of golden seal, 
 
 compound 1258 
 
 of hellebore, com- 
 pound 125& 
 
 of ipecacuanha... 1258 
 of poke, compound 1259 
 
 Port 864 
 
 raisin 870 
 
 Sherry 864 
 
 Teneriffe 864 
 
 Wines, medicated 1256 
 
 Wingseed 680 
 
 Wintera aromatioa.... 339 
 
 Winterberry 677 
 
 Winter bloom 411 
 
 brake 682 
 
 cherry 630 
 
 olover..... 626 
 
 Winter fern 682 
 
 Wintergreen 214,- 377 
 
 cancer 878 
 
 false 688 
 
 spotted 215 
 
 Winter pink 340 
 
 Winter's bark 389 
 
 Winter savory 754 
 
 Wistar's cough loz- 
 enges 1241 
 
 Witch hazel 411 
 
 Wolfs-bane 68 
 
 Wood anemone 109 
 
 naphtha 805 
 
 charcoal 188 
 
 soot 369 
 
 sorrel 595 
 
 Woodbine 100, 378 
 
 Woody nightshade 794 
 
 Worm mixture 1068 
 
 oil 1069 
 
 Wormseed 136, 213 
 
 Worm tea 801 
 
 Wormwood 135 
 
 Roman 93 
 
 Wurrus 509 
 
 X 
 
 Xanthorrhiia apiifolia 870 
 
 Xanthoxylin 1113 
 
 Xanthoxylum Ameri- 
 
 canum 871 
 
 ethereal oil of.... 872 
 
 fraxineum 871 
 
 fraxinifolium 871 
 
 oil of. 872 
 
 ramiflornm 871 
 
 tricarpum 871 
 
 Y 
 
 Yam root, wild 335 
 
 Yarrow 25 
 
 Yaw root 810 
 
 Yeast 207 
 
 cataplasm 946 
 
 powders 1173 
 
 Yellow bark 233, 246 
 
 bed straw 374 
 
 dock 723 
 
 ery thronittm 346 
 
 henbane 629 
 
 jessamine 378 
 
 ladies'-slipper 319 
 
 locust 713 
 
 melilot olover 832 
 
 Yellow moccasin 
 
 flower 319 
 
 ointment 1297 
 
 parilla 522 
 
 pitch-pine 640 
 
 pond-lily 552 
 
 poplar 489 
 
 puccoon 430 
 
 rhododendron .... 706 
 
 root 870 
 
 rosin 696 
 
 snowdrop 346 
 
 Bubsulphate of 
 
 mercury 1293 
 
 wash 1285 
 
 wax 205 
 
 wood 871 
 
 Yellowish-white gen- 
 tian 384 
 
 z 
 
 Zea mays 873 
 
 Zinc 1306 
 
 acetate of. 1307 
 
 butter of. 875 
 
 carbonate of. 874 
 
 chloride of 875 
 
 cyanuret of 1307 
 
 ferrocyanuret of. 1308 
 
 flowers of 874, 877 
 
 hydroohlorate 
 
 of 875 
 
 impure carbonate 
 
 of. 874 
 
 iodide of 1308 
 
 muriate of 875 
 
 oxide of. 877 
 
 precipitated car- 
 bonate of. 874 
 
 sulphate of........ 878 
 
 valerianate of.... 1308 
 
 Zinoi acetas 1307 
 
 carbonas 874 
 
 carbonas praeoipi- 
 
 tatus 874 
 
 chloridum 875 
 
 cyanuretum 1307 
 
 ferrocyanuretum. 1308 
 
 iodidum 1308 
 
 oxydum 877 
 
 phosphuretum .... 628 
 
 sulphas 878 
 
 valerianas 1308 
 
 Zincum 1306 
 
 Zingiber officinale 88C 
 
SUPPLEMEJSTT 
 
 TO THE 
 
 AMERICAN DISPENSATORY 
 
 JOHN KING, M.D., 
 
 ,i -i 
 
 AJNTi 
 
 « 
 
 JOHN U. LLOYD. 
 
 91 |. 
 
 I 
 
Entered accordJhg to Act of Congress, in the year 1880, by 
 
 WILSTACH, BALDWIN & CO., 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington 
 
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 
 
 Since the last issue of our American Dispemsatory, many new arti- 
 cles have been announced to the medical profession as possessing supe- 
 rior and valuable therapeutical virtues ; for various reasons, it has been 
 deemed the better pla/n, a.t the present time, to present a description,' 
 history, etc., of these articles, in the form of a Supplement. We have 
 always been desirous of rendering this work as thorough and accurate 
 as possible, but, heretofore, it has proven a very diflScult task to pro- 
 cure the best working formulse for many important preparations ; and 
 as it is highly imperative that in this respect, our work should stand 
 second to none of similar character, we have entered into a copartner- 
 ship- with Pi'ofessor JohnIJ. Lloyd, a. theoretical and practical chemist 
 and pharmacist, well known to the pharmacists of this country. Into 
 his hands we have placed the description of the various agents, their 
 chemical history, and their pharmacy, and this arrangement will coni- 
 tinue through subsequent editions. All matter furnished by him will 
 be indicated by the signature "L." affixed, while the letter '' K." will 
 terminate our own. 
 
 In closing, we would renew our thanks to the several gentlemen who 
 have kindly furnished us with new information and facts relative to 
 medicinal agents, to the various authors from whom we have culled 
 useful extracts, and especially would we acknowledge our high appre- 
 ciation of the compliment bestowed upon this work by the National 
 Eclectic Medical Association, at their Annual Convention held in Chi- 
 cago, June, 1879, in giving their sanction to our Dispensatory, and 
 accepting it as authority, — a compliment we shall endeavor to merit in 
 the corrections and reliability of future editions. 
 
 June,- 1880. JOHJST KING. 
 
 Professor John King, M. D. 
 
 Dear Sir: — According to our mutual understanding and agreement, 
 I herewith place in your possession the descriptions, etc., of the medi- 
 cinal agents, intended for the Supplement of the American Dispensa- 
 tory. The botanical accounts of the several plants were furnished by 
 mv brother, Mr. C. G. Lloyd, under whose directions the pen-drawings 
 of them were made, those of our indigenous plants being sljetched 
 from specimens in his herbarium. We take this opportunity to 
 
 (iii) 
 
iv Introductory Eesiarks. 
 
 acknowledge our indebtedness to the Librarian and assistants of tlie 
 Public and of the Mercantile Libraries of this city, for their kindness 
 and courtesy in placing at our disposal, the many works of said Insti- 
 tutions, pertaining to botany, chemistry, and pharmacy. We have 
 thought it best to refer, either in the text or by foot-notes, to original 
 or careful reprints (in English, when possible), of the important arti- 
 cles consulted, as much condensation was often necessary; and we are 
 confident that in many instances the reader will desire to refer to the 
 original treatises. In all cases it has been our aim, when possible, to 
 give due credit to investigators. 
 
 The illustrations are original, excepting Fig. 9, and were executed by 
 Mr. J. G. Knapp ; the desire, upon our part, being accuracy of delineation,, 
 ^nd an expression true to Nature, rather than artistic effect, and, with' 
 this view, superfluous shading of leaves has been avoided. 
 
 The chemical and pharmaceutical processes given, are, unless other- 
 wise stated, derived from personal experience in laboratory work and 
 exchange of views with careful pharmacists, — due credit being given in 
 Biich cases. The atomic weights are in accordance with Eoscoe and 
 Schorlemmer. The new notation is employed for chemical subjects. 
 That our work maybe acceptable to yourself, and be favorably received 
 by the Medical and Pharmaceutical public, is the sincere desire of my 
 
 brother, and of 
 
 Your Friend, 
 
 Cincinnati, June, 1880. J. U. LLOTD 
 
 Resolidixm passed by the National Eclectic Medical Association at their Annual Meeting- 
 in Cleveland, 0., June 19th, 1879 : 
 
 "Besolved, That this Association adopt The American Dispensatory 
 as its Standard Authority." 
 
 ALEXANDER WILDEE, M. D., Secretaky. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 MATERIA MEDICA. 
 
 ACIDUM CHEYSOPHANICUM. 
 
 Chrysophanio Acid. 
 Formula, CuHijOi; molecular weight, 241.42. 
 
 History. — Chrysophanic acid was discovered by Schrader, in 1819, in 
 the Parmelia parietina, Lin., a common wall lichen. He obtained it im- 
 pure, and named it "resinous yellow of wall lichens." It was found in 
 this lichen in 1843, and purified by Eochleder and Heldt, who gave it 
 the name chrysophanic acid, from its yellow color. {Ann. der Ghem. iind 
 Pharm. xlviii.) 
 
 Shortly after this, Schlossberger and Dopping decided the coloring 
 matter obtained from rhubarb to be identical. This coloring matter 
 had been known under the names of rheine, rheumine, rhabarberic 
 acid, rhubarb yellow, etc., names doubtless given to impure forms of 
 chrysophanic acid, eniodin, especially, being intimately associated with 
 it. Bach of these substances are dissolved by benzine, the chrysophanic 
 acid moi-e freely. 
 
 According to B. Bourgoin, chrysophanic acid is present, in small 
 amount, in senna leaves, and may be obtained by extracting crude ca- 
 thartin, with litliei-. It is, likewise found in yellow dock root, in small 
 amount, and a prolific source of it is araroha (Attfield). When pure, it 
 is in golden yellow needles, but considerable of that at present upon the 
 market is in the form of a brownish powder, frequently retaining a 
 strong- oilor of benzine, and total!}' unworthy the name of chrysophanic 
 acid 
 
 Chrysophanic acid is volatile at high temperatures, is soluble to a 
 slight extent in cold water, and a little more freely in hot. It dissolves 
 readily in alcohol, ether, benzine, and glacial acetic acids, to which it 
 
 (5) 
 
6 Materia Medica. 
 
 imparte a yellow color. Cold sulphuric acid dissolves it without de- 
 composition, and with formation of a red color, from which- solution 
 water precipitates it in yellow flakes. It dissolves in alkaline solutions, 
 with production of a beautiful red color, from which solution excess of 
 acids precipitates it, and the liquid becomes decolorized. It has but 
 little-taste, and no odor. Its fusing point is between 323° and 324° F. 
 
 According to an analysis, made by Grabe and Liebermann, the com- 
 pQsition is represented by the formula CiiHgOi, but more recent exam- 
 inations make it CisHmOi, (Liebermann and Seidhr,) an-d CiiHioO^. 
 
 It must be remembered that chrysophanic acid is found most inti- 
 mately associated with emodin, in rhubarb, and the presence of a small 
 amount of this substance, or of other impurity, will readily account for 
 the discrepancy in its composition. 
 
 Chrysophanic acid may be prepared from araroba, as follows : Mix 
 in a flask one part of araroba, in powder, with eight parts of benzine, 
 and bring to a boil ; filter while hot, and when the liquid ceases to pass, 
 return the undissolved matter to the flask, and add eight parts of ben- 
 zine ; boil, and filter, as before. Mix the filtrates, and evaporate to dry- 
 ness. Dissolve the yellowish powder in sixteen parts of boiling 
 alcohol, filter, and add to the filtrate thirty-two parts of cold distilled 
 water. Allow this to stand for twenty-four hours, then separate the 
 yellow precipitate, by means of a muslin strainer or filtering paper, 
 and dry by exposure to the atmosphere. 
 
 Prom rhubarb, chrysophanic acid may be obtained by exhausting 
 the coarsely-ground root with water, evaporating the solution to dry- 
 ness, extracting the residuum with boiling benzin'e, then evaporating 
 the benzine, and, finally, purifying the residue by solution in hot alco- 
 hol, and precipitation with water, the same as slated above, in procur- 
 ing it from araroba. Thus obtained, it contains emodin, but is pure 
 enough for all practical purposes. The yield from rhuBarb is small. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Chrysophanic acid has beep chiefly employed 
 as a local application in .certain cutaneous affections, as, mentagra, 
 eczema, tinea tonsurans, tinea circinata, psoriasis, acne rosacea, etc. It 
 is generally applied in the form of an ointment, consisting of from ten 
 to one hundred and twenty grains of the acid to one ounce of hot lard' 
 (360° F.), with which the acid must be thoroughly incorporated. The 
 parts affected having been carefully washed, to remove fatty substance, 
 and any existing scales (squamce) having been softened and carefully 
 removed, this ointment is to be well rubbed in upon the parts, two or 
 three times a day. The strength of the ointment, and the number of 
 applications per daj% will depend considerablj' upon the amount of irri- 
 tation occasioned, as it fi-equentlj' gives rise to more or less irritation, 
 or even inflammation, of the skin. When applied about the face and 
 head, care should be taken to protect the eyes from its irritant action. 
 Its use is often objected to by patients, on account not only of its stain- 
 ing the clothing and bed-clothes of a dull purple color, but likewise of 
 ii-. liiving a more or less dark purplish tint to the skin, and a yellow 
 color to the hair, with which it comes in contact. Mr. Balmano Squire, 
 of London, Eng., to whom we are indebted for a knowledge of this 
 agent, states that a careful use of bleaching powder will remove the 
 stains from clothing; and liquor potassa, considerably diluted with 
 water, will, it has been stated, discharge the discoloration of the skin 
 and hair. While rubbing it upon the parts, the fingers may be pro- 
 tected from discoloration by wearing india rubber finger-tips, or by 
 rubbing the stained parts with benzol. 
 
AOIDUM FoRMICtJM. '7 
 
 Internally, but little is satisfactorily known as to the effects of chryso- 
 phanic acid. In small doses, from four to eiglit g/raJris, it Jaas oticasioned 
 vomiting, and in doses of from ten to twenty grains, both voiipQitin,g stud 
 purging. The time of action varies from four to twenty-four hours 
 after it has been taken, and persists, in many eases, for two or three 
 days. Liquor potassa, taken subsequently to the doae of the acid, ap- 
 pears to increase its activity .-^K. 
 
 AOIDUM FOEMICUM. 
 
 FoKMic Acid. 
 Formula, HaCO^ = HCHOj ; molecular weight, 45.89. 
 
 Mistory. — This acid was fiirat obtained by the distiUaf.i^n of apts, by 
 Samuel Fisher (Lavoisier). Margraff examined it in 1749, and Ard- 
 wissan and Oehrn, of Lejpsic, in 1777, fairly establishing its identity as 
 a definite cor^pound. However, in 1802, Fo,U(rcroy a,nd Yauoj^ielin en- 
 deavored to prqve that it was a ijiixture oif OtCetie an,d ma.Uc a.cids ; bu,t 
 their opinions were refuted by Suersen and Gehlen. Be^'zelius, 1817, 
 first attempted to determine its composition (Annahof Pljilo^Qipky , ix, 
 p. 107), by burning formiate Qf lead and chlorate of potassium in a glass 
 tube, thus deciding that it contained oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon. 
 Formic acid is found in certain caterpillars, and, doubtless, the "bombec 
 acid" LavoJS(ier me;ntions aa being obtained from silk-worm larva that 
 are changing to chrysalis, was impure foj-mic a.cid. 
 
 The " spirit of m,9g:nanimity," of Hoffman, was made by e,xtr?icting 
 red ants with spirits of wine.' Recently, Mr. F. "Will h9,s shown that 
 the fluid ip, the hairs of a species of caterpillar, which causes ipflam.m^- 
 tion of the skin when handled, amd the poisonipg by the sting of son^e 
 insects, is due to the formic acid present/ It has also been demonstrated 
 that the stinging hairs of the nettle, Urtica urens and Urtica dioica, con- 
 tain this acid. 
 
 Formic acid is represented by the formula HCHOj, thus a molecule 
 contains the elements of water, HjO, and carbonic oxide, CO. It is a 
 strongly acid liquid, when concentrated capable of removing the cuti- 
 cle. It does not char when heated, even with sulphuric acid, but in the 
 latter case splits up into water and carbonic oxide. It dissolvreiS freely 
 in water and alcohol, and forms salts soluble in water. The salts of 
 gold, platinum, meircury, and silver are reduced when heated with 
 formic acid, and the metals deposited. Anhydrous formic acid crystal- 
 izes below 32° F., and, according to Attfield, boils at 221° F. 
 
 The experiments of Jardin show that the molecule of formic acid is 
 incapable of furnishing carbon assimilable to even the simplest cellular 
 organisms, and solutions of formiates remain perfectly clear many 
 months. 
 
 Foppiio acid derived its name from the fact that it was obtained by 
 distillation of red ants (^Formica rufa. Lin.) Doebereiner discovered, 
 in the early part of the present century, that it could be prepared arti- 
 ficially bj' the distillation of tartaric acid, water, sulphuric acid, and 
 black oixide of mangan-ese. At present, it is known that many organie 
 bodies yield this acid, when distilled with black oxide of manganese 
 and sulphuric acid, or with chlorinated lime, or with bichromate of po- 
 tassium ; but decidedly the best process we have tried is that based 
 
8 Materia Medica. 
 
 upon the principle discovered by Berthelot,i that oxalic acid and gly- 
 cerin will produce it, when heated together. Pour parts each of oxalic 
 acid and glycerin are to be mixed with one part of water, and a heat 
 of 212° P. applied twelve or fifteen hours, or until the acid is decom- 
 posed. The residuum is now to be mixed in a still with its bulk of 
 water, and distilled. It is then again mixed with the same quantity of 
 water, and distilled, the operation being repeated, if the formic acid re- 
 mains in amount to justifj'. The distillates are to be mixed, rjeuti-alized 
 with carbonate of lead, then evaporated to dryness, and distilled with 
 sulphuric acid, if desired pure; generally, however, the dilute acid is 
 preferable. 
 
 A process was suggested by the Professors Eogers, in 1847, in which 
 sugar was added to a solution of bichromate of potassium, and dis- 
 tilled, while siilphuric acid was slowly added. This requires great care, 
 however, as, according to our experience, if the acid is allowed to enter 
 too rapidly, the reaction becomes very violent, and may occasion disas- 
 trous effects. Besides, if distillation is conducted beyond a certain 
 point, sulphurous acid c'ontaminates the distillate. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Pormic acid is rarely employed in medicine ; it 
 was, at one time, used externally as a local irritant, in sluggish capillary 
 circulation, in certain painful affections, and in enfeebled or paralytic 
 conditions of the limbs. The German Piiarmacopceia has a "spirit of 
 ants" (_Spiritus Formicarum), used in chronic rheumatism, etc., in doses 
 of from ten drops to a fluidrachm, also as an external rubefacient. It is 
 made by macerating, for two days, one part of fresh red ants in one 
 and a half parts, each, of alcohol and water, and then distilling off two 
 parts. It forms a clear, acid fluid, yielding feathery crystals when 
 mixed with ^ part of subacetate of lead solution. Combined with 
 ammonia (formiate of ammonium), the salt formed has been tried in 
 chronic paralytic affections, and even in epilepsy, but without success; 
 . the dose is four, five, or six grains. — K. 
 
 ACIDUM HYDRIODICUM. 
 
 Hydriodic Acid. ' 
 
 Formula, HI ; molecular weight, 127.53. 
 
 History — This substance was discovered shortly after the detection of 
 iodine. The process for its preparation, recommended in Dana's Ghemr 
 ical Philosophy, 1825, by mixing moistened iodine with phosphorus, is 
 almost identical with that offered in some of the more recent works." A 
 solution of the gas was officinal in the TJ. S. Pharm., 1860, being made 
 from iodine, by decomposing sulphureted hydrogen with iodine in the 
 presence of water, thus : 2H2S -|- Ii^ 4III -(- Sj. This formula, accord- 
 ing to Naumann,'' can not yield an acid of greater specific gravity than 
 1.56. 
 
 It may be prepared in practice by mixing thirty grains of powdered 
 iodine with five fluidounces of distilled water, and then passing sulphu- 
 reted hydrogen through the mixture, until the iodine has disappeared; 
 saturate this liquid with iodine, and again decolorize, with sulphureted 
 
 ^Comptes Eendus, March, 1856. ^jjoscoe's Treatise on Chemistry, vol. 1, p. 160. 
 
AciDUM Hydrobromicum. 9 
 
 hydrogen. Repeat the operation until 480 grains of iodine have been 
 used. The liquid now contains mucii precipitated sulphur and some 
 free suiphureted hydrogen. Boil it gently, to drive oft' the latter im- 
 purity, then filter, and bring the filtrate to the. measure of six fluid- 
 ounces, by washing the filter with distilled water. If an attempt is made 
 to pass the suiphureted hydrogen through water mixed with all of tli,e 
 iodine, the first action will be attended by a deposition of sulphur ovur 
 the particles of iodine, thus protecting the enveloped particles from the 
 action of the gas. This objection is overcome bj' taking advantage of 
 the fact that iodine is soluble in a solution of hydriodic acid, and thus 
 we successively dissolve the iodine, and then pass suiphureted hydio- 
 gen through each solution. 
 
 Hydriodic acid is a colorless gas, possessing strong acid properties, 
 and a suffocating odor. It fumes when exposed to the atmosphere, and 
 has the sp. gr. (air= 1) of 4.3737. Gay-Lussac demonstrated it to be 
 composed of equal volumes of vapor of iodine and of hydrogen, by 
 aliowifig it to remain in contact with mercury, whereby all of the iodine 
 was absorbed, and the original volume reduced one-half. It is decom- 
 posed by heat, the iodine exhibiting itself as a violet vapor. Fara;day 
 discovered that at 32° F., under the pressure of four atmospheres, it 
 condenses into a colorless liquid. At — 67° F. it freezes to a clear, col- 
 orless, transparent mass, resembling ice. 
 
 Solution of hydriodic acid is the hydriodic acid of commerce. It 
 somewhat resembles hydrochloric acid, but is less stable. It can not be 
 kept for any length of time, as, by exposure to the air, oxygen unites 
 with the hydrogen, forming water, and the iodine is liberated, which, 
 dissolving in the solution, gives to it a brownish red color. As soon as 
 made, it should be securely sealed in small glass stoppered bottles, filled 
 to the stopper, and placed in a cool situation until used. — L. 
 
 Properties and CTses. -^Hydriodic acid has no efficient medicinal vir- 
 tue, as far as known. The diluted acid has been referred to on page 39 
 of American Dispensatory. — K. 
 
 ACIDUM HYDROBEOMICUM. 
 
 Hydrobromic Acid. 
 
 Formula, HBr ; molecular weight, 80.75. 
 
 Sistory.^This acid closely resembles hydriodic acid, and may be pre- 
 pared in similar ways. Hydrogen and bromine do not unite at ordinary 
 temperature, but the vapor of bromine will unite with hydro- 
 gen in a red-hot tube, containing finely-divided platinum ; equal vol- 
 umes combining to form hydrobromic acid (hydrogen bromide). It was 
 obtained shortly after Balard discovered bromine (1826), but attracted 
 little attention, excepting from experimental chemists, until within a 
 few years past. It was generally prepared by gently warming a mix- 
 ture of bromine, phosphorus, and water, or, bromine, phosphorus, water, 
 and bromide of potassium ; but either process is attended with dan- 
 ger. A very old process is by the reaction of sulphuric acid upon 
 bromide of potassium, whereby hydrobromic acid and sulphate of 
 potassium are produced ; the process is defective, however, as formerly 
 applied, from the fact that the distillate contained sulphurous acid and 
 
10 Materia Medica. 
 
 free sulphuric acid; but recent investigations of Dr. Squibb have shown 
 that this difiQculty may be overcome, and, upon Lbe authority of that 
 careful experimenter, we present the following mode, as condensed from 
 his process {Am. Jour. Pharm., March, 1878) ; Mix seven parts of sul- 
 phuric acid with one part of water, and allow the mixture to cool.' Dis- 
 solve six parts of bromide of potassium, in six parts of distilled water, by 
 means of heat, and pour into it the diluted sulphuric acid (observe the 
 precautions given in note ') : place the mixture aside, in a cool situa- 
 tion, for twenty-four hours, then decant the liquid into a vessel, and 
 transfer the crystalline mass to a funnel stopped witli cotton; pour 
 slowly upon it two parts of cold water, and allow it to drain into the 
 reserved solution in the vessel ; transfer this liquid to a retort connected 
 with a Liebig condenser, and carefully distil ten parts, or nearly to 
 dryness ; then add to the distillate two parts of distilled water. All 
 the foregoing proportions are by weight, and the product will i-epresent 
 about 34 per cent, of hydrobromic acid. 
 
 The following table, by Dr. C. E. A. Wright,^ will be of use in deter- 
 mining the percentage of hydrobromic acid in solutions of different 
 specific gravity : 
 
 Percentage of Specific gravity, 
 
 Hydrobromic Acid. at 15° C. (59° ¥.). 
 
 5 1.038 
 
 10 1.077 
 
 15 . 1.117 
 
 20 1.159 
 
 25 1.204 
 
 30 1.252 
 
 35 . 1.305 
 
 40 1.365 
 
 45 1.435 
 
 50 1.515 
 
 According to A. Bertrand,' phosphoric acid may be substituted for 
 sulphuric, when distilling with an alkaline bromide, thus overcoming 
 the liability of the product to contain sulphurous acid. The composi- 
 tion of hydrobromic acid is represented by the formula HBr ; the re- 
 action which takes place when made from phosphorus, bromine, and 
 water, being represented by the formula, P -|- 5Br-|- 4H20 = 5HBr -(- H3 
 PO4 ; that, when made from sulphuric acid and bromide of potassium, 
 by the formula, 2KBr + H^ SO, = 2HBr + K,SO,. 
 
 Hydrobromic acid is a colorless gas, fuming in the air, and irritating 
 to the lungs, when inhaled. It condenses to a Colorless liquid, at a tem- 
 perature of — 99° F., and solidifies, to an ice-like mass, at — 125° F.* Its 
 diffujSive power is that of hydrochloric and hydriodic acids (Graham). 
 Aqueous hydrobromic acid is colourless, and imparts an acid taste. If 
 very weak, it becomes stronger, or, if very strong, weaker, -by distilla- 
 tion, until the acid within the retort contains from 47 to 48 per cent, of 
 hydrobromic acid. Hydrobromic acid evaporates completely, no resid- 
 uum remaining; should sulphuric acid, be present, a white precipitate 
 
 'We advipe mixtures of sulphuric acid and water to be made by placing the water 
 in an evaporating ba.sin, and pouring the Rulphiiric acid, in a sinall stream, upon the 
 side of the vessel, just above the surface of the water, stirring the mixture gen- 
 tly.-L. . 
 
 2Chem. News, May 26th, 1871. 3Compt_ Rend., Ixxxii, p. 96. 
 
 *Faraday, Phil. Trans., 1845. 
 
ACIDUM SaLICYLICUM. , 11 
 
 will be formed, upon the addition of solution of chloride of bariuTi't. It 
 is incompatible with alkalies and alkaline carbonates, with whicli it 
 forms "bromides;" likewise, with plumbic, argentic, and mercurous 
 salts, ill solution, with which it forms precipitates of the corresponding 
 bromides. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Hydrobromic acid can not be administered in- 
 ternall}-, unless considerably diluted, on account of its powerfully cor- 
 rosive qualities. Drs. D. C. Wade and J. M. Fothergill have found it 
 efficacious in the headache that frequently follows the administi'ation 
 of quinine, as well as of ferruginous preparations. IC given after the 
 doses of the latter agents, it prevents tlie sensations of fullness and 
 pain, that are apt to be occasioned by them, esj)ecially with those la- 
 boring under cerebral anemia. Dr. Fothergill prepared this acid by 
 dissolving 1,297 grains of bromide of potassium in one pint of water, 
 and then adding 1,584J grains of tartaric acid ; bitartrate of potassium 
 is precipitated, and the hydrobromic acid remains, in a clear, colorless 
 fluid, the dose of which varies from half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm. 
 The diluted acid, as thus made, is an impure preparation, and prefer- 
 ence should be given to the acid produced according to the method of 
 Dr. Squibb, diluting it as required. 
 
 This acid has, also, been found useful in all forms of nervous excita- 
 bility, sometimes acting more efficaciously when in combination with 
 quinine, which it readily dissolves ; thus, the above forinula of Dr. 
 Fothergill will dissolve 480 grains of sulphate of quinia, forming a so- 
 lution of sulphate of quinia in hydrobromic acid, which may be given 
 in the same doses as stated for th,at diluted acid. In nervous exhaus- 
 tion from excessive use of tea, or alcoholic drinks, in hysterias from 
 ovarian derangement, in sleeplessness, in gastric irritability, in menor- 
 rhagia, and in the vomiting of pregnancy, it has been administered with 
 success. In association with quinine, and digitalis, it has been found of 
 service in enfeebled and excited conditions of the heart; with spirit of 
 chloroform and syruj) of squills, it forms a pleasant and efficacious mix- 
 ture, in all coughs. When considerable cerebral excitement exists from 
 physical or mental overwork, or, during febrile affections, its internal 
 administration will prove highly serviceable. Dr. B. Woakes, and oth- 
 ers, have derived gxeat benefit from its use, in eases of tinnitus aurium, 
 resulting from the use of quinine, and from congestion of the parts, es- 
 pecially, in those instances in which the tinnitus was of a pulsating, or 
 knocking, character ; doses of fifteen minims of the acid, in water, were 
 repeated every four hours. This acid appears to possess the therapeu- 
 tical virtues common to the bromides of potassium, and of sodium, al- 
 though less persistent in its action; and, unlike them, it possesses the 
 advantage of not occasioning the troublesome acneiform eruption, so 
 often following their administration. Epilepsy, so frequently improved 
 under the use of the alkaline bromides, is rendered worse by the ad- 
 ministration of hydrobromic acid. Hydrobromate of quinia has been 
 found a much better form, in solution, than the sulphate, for subcutane- 
 ous injection. — K. 
 
 ACIDUM SALICYLICUM. 
 
 Salicylic Acid. 
 
 Formula, HjCjH^Oa ; molecular weight, 137.67. 
 
 History. — In the year 1839, an article, from the pen of M. Pira, stated 
 
12 Materia Medica. 
 
 that by heating salicin, with mixtures of bichromate of potassium and 
 sulphuric acid, an oily product was obtained, vVhich he n&mQAhydruret 
 of salicyle (since known as salicylous acid). When this substance was 
 heated with caustic potash, the mass dissolved in water, and then 
 treated with excess of muriatic acid, a white substance crystallized, 
 which Pira named salicylic add. Soon afterward, Cahours and Ger- 
 hai-d obtained it, by decomposing wintergreen oil. 
 
 Kolbe and Lautermann' succeeded in preparing salicylic acid, by 
 passing carbonic acid gas through carbolic acid, at the same time, add- 
 ing fragments of metallic sodium. The residuum was dissolved in 
 water, and excess of hydrochloric aeid added, when impure salicylic 
 acid separated. Afterward, Kolbe found that by preparing dry carbo- 
 late of sodium, and heating it, to the temperature of 100° G., gradually 
 increased to 220° C. (not to exceed 250° C), while, at the same time, a 
 constant stream of carbonic acid gas is kept passing through theretoi-t, 
 phenol will distil over, and salicylate of sodium remain in the retort, 
 thus: 2(C6H50Na) + CO,:==CeH,0]Sra. COjNa + CeHsOH. 
 
 This preparation was very impure, however, and it was not until after 
 the year 1875 that, from this source, white salicylic acid became an ar- 
 ticle of commerce. Eautert, 1875, found that pure salicylic acid would 
 distil with a current of steam, thus enabling chemists to easily purify 
 Kolbe's dark-colored, or yellow, preparation, and Dr. Squibb recom- 
 mends this process in practice. At present, the bulk of the salicjdic 
 acid, found in commerce, is prepared from carbolic acid, by Kolbe's 
 process. Salicylic acid is, likewise, found in the leaves of wintergreen 
 (Gaultheria procumbens), and in allied plants.as a metliy 1-salicylie ether. 
 Cahours and Gerhard discovered it in the former, aboiii 1843. Cahours 
 also obtained it while distilling a mixture of indigo and hydrate of po- 
 tassium with sulphuric acid; and Delandes, by a somewlwit siuiilar 
 action, upon coumarin. Distilled oil of meadow sweet (Spiraia ulmaria) 
 readily yields it, as this oil is, mainly, salicylous acid {C^HePi)- Prof. 
 E. S. Wayne obtained salicylic acid, from an oil, distilled from buchu 
 leaves, and the writer (1877) from an oil, obtained by distillation from 
 senega root. (This oil proved to be identical, in character, with oil of 
 wintergreen.) 
 
 Salicylic acid separates trom concentrated solutions, when rapidly 
 cooled, in the form of small, crystalline tufts of minute acicular crys- 
 tals. It is inodorous, but the crude sd,licylie acid, in course of prepara- 
 tion, from wintergreen oil, possesses, from the presence of foreign mat- 
 ters, the peculiar odor of fresh willow bark, an odor "familiar to those 
 who have visited willow plantations, and have become impressed with 
 the exhalation from freshly-stripped willows. When pure, this acid 
 imparts, at first, a sweetish taste, which quicklj- becomes acrid and dis 
 agreeable. It sublimes, when gradually heated, but, according to Biel, 
 after sublimation, it has a tendency to spontaneously decompose into 
 carbolic acid and carbonic acid gas. When heated rapidly, to the 
 tempei-ature of 430° F., this decomposition ensues at once. 
 
 Salicylic acid is soluble in alcohol and ether, when cold, more readily 
 soluble when boiling. It dissolves, to a slight extent, in cold, but more 
 freely in boiling water, from which latter solution it crj'Stallizes upon 
 cooling. It unites with alkalies, to form salts, the sodium salicylate be- 
 ing considerably employed in medicine. With neutral ferric salts, solution 
 of salicylic acid strikes a rich, red color, and, on this account, it should 
 
 ^Ann. de Chem. et Pharm., cxiii. 
 
ACIDUM Salicylicum. 13 
 
 not be allowed to coiue ia contact with iron vessels, etc., which are 
 certain to discolor it. The dust of salicylic acid is in-itatiut;-, if in- 
 haled, exciting coughing and a sensation of suffocation. 
 
 In making solutions of salicylic acid, in water, phosphates or ace- 
 tates of the alkalies are often added, as salicylic acid is very soluble in 
 the.'io solutions. It is stated' that a compound of borax with salicylic 
 iicid, N"a (BO) 2C,H50s. may be formed, and, in practice, it is custom- 
 ary for physicians to add borax, when desiring to make an aqueous 
 solution of the acid. 
 
 To prepare salicylic acid, dissolve, in an evaporating dish, two and 
 one-half parts of white hydrate of potassium, by means of a similar 
 amount of distilled water, and raise the temperature of the solution to 
 180° F. ; then add, with constant stirring, three parts of oil of winter- 
 green (Craultheria procumbens). When effervescence ceases, pour the so- 
 lution into a mixture, composed of hydrochloric acid, four parts and 
 distilled water, ten parts; stir well, and allow the mixture to remain 
 in a cool place for twenty-four hours; then pour it upon a muslin 
 strainer, drain the crystalline magma, redissolve it in boiling water, 
 and crystallize by cooling ; or, dissolve the precipitate in alcohol, and 
 then reprecipitate, by the addition of water. Pure wintergreen oil 
 must be employed in this process, because, if adulterated, with sassa- 
 fras oil, as is often the case, much trouble will be experienced in puri- 
 fying the acid. 
 
 The salicylic acid of commerce is often very impure. Carbolic acid, 
 the most objectionable impurity to be expected in that made from this 
 acid, may be detected by nearly neutralizing the snspected acid with 
 soda solution, and then agitating the liquid with ether. Upon evapo- 
 rating the ethereal liquid, carbolic acid, if present, may be recognized, 
 by its odor (^Allen). 
 
 Cresotic acid, CsHjOa — , is a homologue of salicylic acid, and the 
 properties of commercial salicylic acid are said to be often considerably 
 modified by its presence. It is more soluble in boiling water, but, 
 likewise, produces the violet reaction with ferric chloride. 
 
 The foregoing impurities are only to be found in salicylic acid arti- 
 ficially prepared from cai-bolic acid. That made from wintergreen oil 
 may contain chloride of potassium, recognized by remaining insoluble, 
 when the acid is washed with excess of alcohol. For medicinal use, 
 the acid from wintergreen is often preferred by physicians. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses.— The therapeutical virtues of salicylic acid are 
 not satisfactorily determined ; while many physicians highly extol it, 
 as possessing certain valuable properties, as many others, on the other 
 hand, emphatically deny this, and attribute the results following its 
 employment, to other causes. According to MM. Chirone and Petrucci, 
 animals subjected to the daily ingestion of this acid, rapidly emaciate, 
 and lose much of their weight. With frogs, and mammifers, it always 
 diminishes the number of pulsations ; in targe doses, it elevates the 
 temperature of the body, and diminishes the number of respirations ; 
 in small doses, it lowers the temperature. According to others, its use 
 is apt to occasion, more or less deafness, tinnitus, pain in the forehead, 
 manual tremors, and accelerated respiration ; and very large doses in- 
 duce intense cephalalgia, tremors, excessive debility, hurried respira- 
 tion, some lesion of the kidneys, and tingling sensations in the extrem- 
 ities, and, in some instances, rapid collapse, and cerebral symptoms, 
 varying from those resembling cinchonism to nearly acute delirium. 
 H. Kohler states that it depresses the respiratory activity, and may. 
 
14 Materia Medica. 
 
 even, occasion death by asphyxia. Auger observes that its prolonged 
 use, in lai'ge doses, especially with women, is verj- apt to occasion nau- 
 sea, vomiting, pyrosfs, diarrhea, angina, tinnitus, and even deafness, 
 redness of the face, and slight congestion, and that, with inebriates, it 
 may determine a furious delirium. These results, he adds, maj^ some 
 times be prevented, or mitigated, by administering it in milk, or in un- 
 leavened bread with a cup of milk. Pye Smith has observed that tho 
 urine of a patient who has been taking salicylic acid,, gave the charac- 
 teristic saccharine reaction, with the copper test; while Muller and 
 others have found its soda salt to temporarily, or permanently, as the 
 ease maj' be, cause the diabetic sugar to completely disappear. M. 
 Gubler observes that, when the kidnejs are normlal, the use of salicylic 
 acid occasions diuresis, while, on the contrary, the urine is in dimin- 
 ished amount, and even albumen is present, in, more or less, considera- 
 ble quantity, when there is a lesion of these organs. M. Bucquoy cites 
 a case in which abortion, at the sixth month, followed the administra- 
 tion of this acid ; and he also inquires whether the raipid deaths of 
 certain patients, treated with this acid, and especially when the doses 
 were large, may not be due to uremia, occasioned by its use. One or 
 two writers have stated that the osseous system is affected by its use, 
 and I am aware of several instances in which caries of the teeth oc- 
 curred after a treatment with salicylic acid ; but whether due to this 
 acid is a question yet to be determined. Many of the serious symp- 
 toms following its employment have been attributed to an impure 
 preparation ; yet, as such symptoms have heen observed, it behooves 
 the medical practitioner, not only to be certain that he is employing the 
 pure acid, but, likewise, to be careful in its administration, and to 
 closely watch its effects, that he may be the better prepared to 
 promptly remove any undesirable symptoms that miij- arise therefrom. 
 The irritating action of this acid, upon the mucous membrane of the 
 mouth, pharynx, oesophagus, etc., is said to be due to impurities ; but 
 the pure acid will occasion a dryness of the mucous membrane, fol- 
 , lowed by slight burning and increased saliva. 
 
 By various investigators, it has been claimed that salicylic acid is an 
 antiseptic and germicide ; by others, that it is a disinfectant, a deodor- 
 izer, an astringent, and an antipyretic. Kohler and some others con- 
 sider it an antiseptic and germicide only when locally applied, because, 
 when taken internally, it becomes united with an alkali, loses its anti- 
 8e|5tic action, and produces effects similar to those following the inges- 
 tion of sodium salicylate. MM. See, Laborde, and others, state that 
 the good effects following its internal administration are entirely due 
 to its action as an analgesiant, and deny that it has any antiseptic, an- 
 tipyretic, or antiperiodic action, when thus employed. Prideaux speaks 
 hiii'lily of its efficacy in small-pox, when in combination with ammonia 
 and soda; his formula is a mixture of carbonate of ammonium, carbon- 
 ate of sodium, each five grains, salicylic acid, twenty grains, water, one 
 fluidounce ; the dose is one-half, or tlie whole, of this solution, given 
 every four or six hours. It is pleasant to the taste, unirritating to the 
 intestinal canal, and modifies the disease so as to arrest it in its second 
 and third stages, and also to prevent pitting, after recovery, in conse- 
 quence of the absence of ]5us formation. Sraithwaite' s Retrospect, January, 
 1878, p. 188, from Med. Exam. Letzerich states that upon the addition 
 of salicylic acid to the diphtheritic orga.iiisms in the urine of children 
 affected with severe di]-)htlieria, and wliit-ii consisted ot bacteria, micro 
 cocci, and protoplasmic masses, the b,;ctei-ia were destroyed, and the 
 
ACIDUM iSalioylicum. 15 
 
 corpuscles of the plasmic substance became dim, presented a double 
 margin, and, apparently contained air-bubbles. He considers it a pow- 
 erful anti-diphtheritic agent, and has successfully treated several cases 
 of the disease, using a solution of the acid as a gargle, and applying the 
 pulverized acid over the affected surface. Others, again, have derived 
 no benefit whatever from its employment in diphtheria. But it is 
 useless to continue these discordant statements, from which it will 
 readily be seen that even its acknowledged partisans are not agreed 
 as to its therapeutical virtues, and that our knowledge concerning iis 
 value is still very imperfect; and until more satisfactory information 
 concerning its action shall be had, it will be advisable to employ it with 
 great care and prudence, to closely watch its effects, and to at once sus- 
 pend its administration whenever any unexpected symptoms appear, 
 or when any doubt exists as to its influences upon the system, or any 
 of its organs. Salicylic acid, and its salts, appear in the urine in from, 
 twenty to thirty minutes after its ingestion, and may be known by the 
 violet color produced when a solution of perchloride of iron has been 
 added to this fluid, thus revealing the presence of salicyluric acid; also, 
 by its deviating to the left of the plane of polarization, from the pres- 
 ence of salicin. i 
 
 Salicylic acid, as well as its salts, as salicylate of sodium, of calcium,, 
 of lithium, of ammonium, of quinia, have, undoubtedly, been found of 
 great value in acute articular rheumatism, rapidly reducing the tem- 
 perature and the pulsations, and mitigating the pain, thus tending to 
 prevent serious complications, allowing the excretory organs to elim- 
 inate any nocuous substance, and lessening the intensity and duratipn 
 of' the disease. As with all remedies, failures may occur, chiefly owing 
 to the treatment with the acid not having been commenced until after 
 the existence of complications, or from want of perseverance in follow- 
 ing up the treatment, as, fi'om the rapid elimination of the acid from 
 the system, it requires to be frequently and persistently administered, in 
 order to be of any avail. The acid may be given in doses of from ten 
 to sixty grains, repeated two or three times a daj^ ; or, still better, in 
 doses of five to ten grains, repeated every hour or two. It has, like- 
 wise, been used in gout, to lessen pain, and favor the elimination of the 
 sodic biurate present in the blood in excess, but it should not be admin- 
 istered to gouty patients whose urine contains albumen ; though Dr. S. 
 J. Sharkey and some others doubt whether the medicine has any thing 
 to do with the pi-esence of albumen in the urine, as this substance is 
 encountered in the urine of rheumatic patients with high temperature; 
 still, it is better to obsei've caution until the matter is settled definitely. 
 In acute diseases, intermittents, etc., it has failed as frequently as it 
 has proved successful ; a-nd, indeed, doubts exist as to whether the suc- 
 cessful results can be attributed to its action. It has been proclaimed 
 useful in aphthse, thrush, lumbago, neuralgia, diabetes, hectic fever, etc.. 
 but further investigations are necessary before any reliance can lu- 
 placed upon its use in these affections. As the rule, the administration 
 of one of its salts is preferable to the pure acid, especially its sodium 
 salt, on account of its more perfect solubility, its milder action, and its 
 more agreeable taste. 
 
 When salicylic acid, or any of its salts, is found to disagree with tiie 
 slonijich, occasioning uneasiness, nausea, or other unpleasant feelings, 
 these may be prevented or mitigated by the administration of an ai'o- 
 matic tincture or infusion, with each dose. 
 
 As a local application, a spray of solution of salicylic acid has been 
 
lU Materia Medica. 
 
 found serviceable' in ozena, fetid bronchitis, aphthae, pulmonary gan- 
 grene, and other maladies attended with oflfensive odor. In diarrhea 
 and dysenterj', also in leucorrhea, used in injection, it has proven use- 
 ful, especially in removing fetor; in these cases it should be used in 
 solution considerably diluted, as a strong solution is apt to be quite 
 irritating. 
 
 In diseases due to, or attended with minute organizations (fungi), as, 
 diphtheria, parasitic cutaneous maladies, hay fever, coryza, etc., its appli- 
 cation in solution, or in dry powder, has been productive of benefit; in 
 uleers, suppurating wounds, and gangrene, it forms a very useful dress- 
 ing, though, probably, inferior to thymol, or carbolic acid. 
 
 The following formula have been given for the administration and 
 application of salicylic acid; the solutions, it will be observed, are 
 salicylates of the alkalies entering into them. 1. Salicylic acid 30 
 grains,' citrate of ammonium 40 to 45 grains, water 4 fluidounces; 
 mix. Or, salicylic acid 30 grains, citrate of ammonium 15 grains, rum 
 or brandy J a fluidounce, distilled water 2J fluidounces ; mix. The 
 dose is one or two tablespoonfuls. (A. Gasson). 2. Salicylic acid 
 180 grains, carbonate of ammonium 90 grains, water 6 fluidounces; 
 mix. Dose, a tablespoonful every three hours. (J. A, E. Stuart). 3. 
 Salicylic acid 60 grains, borax 30 grains, glycerin IJ fluidounces. Mix 
 the acid and borax with half an ounce of the glycerin, and heat until 
 solution is effected, then add the balance of the glycerin. For internal 
 and local application. 4. Salicylic acid 30 to 60 grains, white wax 60 
 grains, parafiin 120 grains, almond oil 2 drachms; mix, melt, and rub 
 up in a heated mortar. Spread on strips of muslin or fine linen. It is 
 an excellent antiseptic application, and also useful in eczema, roderjt 
 ulcer, etc. (Lister'). 5. Salicylic acid 10 grains, borax 6 grains, water 
 6 fluidounces ; mix, heat, and while the solution is hot, saturate clean 
 cotton with it, and allow it to dry. This cotton forms a valuable dress- 
 ing for surgical purposes. 6. Salicylic acid 10 drachms, pure olive oil 
 16 ounces ; mix, heat, and rub up in a heated mortar. Lint or cotton 
 saturated with this oily solution, forms a very satisfactory application 
 to burns, scalds, eczematous affections, etc. — K. 
 
 ADANSONIA DIGITATA. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Malvaceae. Tribe. — Bombaceas. The bark of Adansonia 
 Digitata, Linn. 
 
 Common Names. — Baobab, Monkey-bread tree. Sour -gourd tree. 
 
 Illustrations. — Bot. Mag., Plates 2791 and 2792. 
 
 Description. — Adansonia digitata is a large tree of the western coast 
 of Africa and Egypt, sometimes attaining huge dimensions, being often 
 twenty-five feet in diameter, although the height is not nearly so great 
 in proportion. It was formerly supposed to attain a great age, and 
 Adanson, a French botanist, in whose honor the tree was named, esti- 
 mated a tree on the islands of Cape de Verd to be over five thousand 
 years old, a point disputed by Benthan, who asserts that A. digitata is 
 of rapid growth and comparatively short lived. It is the Baobab tree 
 of travelers, and also known as Monkey-bread, Cream of Tartar tree, 
 and Sour-gourd tree. The local name is Gowik Chentz or Churee 
 Chentz. 
 
 The leaves are digitate, and consist of five acute elliptical leaflets, re- 
 
iEiHER Methyhcus. 17 
 
 sembling the leaves of our common buckeye. The flowers are very large 
 and suspended on long peduncles; the calyx not having the peculiar in- 
 volucre at its base which characterizes many genera of the Malvaceae. 
 The style is long, exserted from the staminal column, and bears a ten- 
 rayed stigma. The fruit, which is nearly a foot long, is divided into 
 ten cells filled with an agreeably acid pulp in which the seed are 
 Imbedded. 
 
 History. — The baobab tree belongs to the section Bombacese, of tlic nat- 
 ural order Malvaceae, by De Candolie considered suflSciently distinct to 
 form a separate natural order, which differs from Malveae (the typical 
 form of Malvaceae) in having the calyx imbricated in the bud, and the 
 staminiferous tube divided into five bundles at the apex ; whereas the 
 stamens of the Malveae are perfectly monadelphous. 
 
 The bark is the part employed, and, together with the leaves and 
 flowers of the tree, contains much mucilaginous matter. When fresh it 
 is about five-eighths of an inch in thickness, brown, with a rough 
 epidermis. A section shows the structure to consist of a mixture of 
 pitted wood cells devoid of general arrangement. The cut surface of a 
 tranverse section is mottled yellowish green, and reddish brown, uniting 
 with the woody fiber of the trunk. 
 
 The decoction of the bark decomposes rapidly, owing to the mucil- 
 aginous material present ; however, this may be prevented by the addi- 
 tion of alcohol, or, a small quantity of sulphuric acid. By treatment 
 with alcohol, subsequently evaporating, then digesting with litharge, and 
 extracting with ether; upon evaporating the ether, white needles of 
 an extremely bitter taste are obtained, named Adansonin. These' are 
 fusible, dissolve in six parts of cold, and three of boiling ether, are 
 soluble in alcohol, and but slightly so in water ; they are not precipitated 
 from their solution by alkalies, and chloride of iron imparts a greenish 
 tinge to the alcoholic solution. Their formula is C48H35O33 {Wittstein ) — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — According to M. Duchassaing, the bark of this 
 tree possesses febrifuge properties, and although devoid of bitterness, may 
 be beneficially substituted for cinchona ; since its introduction into our 
 markets, no satisfactory report has been made of its virtues in this respect. 
 The juice of the fruit is stated to be employed in its native country as a 
 remedy in putrid and pestilential fevers; and a decoct'on of the nut, in 
 dysentery. A decoction of the bark is of a reddish color, somewhat re- 
 sembling that of decoction of cinchona. Comp. Rend., xxvi, 1848, and 
 Jour, de Fharm., June, 1845. — K. 
 
 ^THER METHYLICUS. 
 
 Methyl Ether. 
 Formula (CB[3)20 ; molecular weight, 45.90. 
 
 Preparation. — This substance is produced by abstracting the elements 
 of water from methyl alcohol : 2CH4O— H^O = CzHeO. It is prepared by 
 heating a mixture of 1.3 parts of pure methylic alcohol and 2 parts of 
 sulphuric acid, in a flask, gradually raising the temperature to 140° 
 C. (284° F). The gas is washed by passing it through solution of caustic 
 soda ^ 
 
 History — Methyl ether, known also as methyl oxide or methoxylme- 
 thane, is a colorless gas, with an ethereal odor. It burns with a pale flame. 
 
 iChem. News, vol. 30. 
 92 
 
18 
 
 Materia Medica. 
 
 Its specific gravity is 1.617, uir being the standard, or 23, hydrogen being 
 the standard of unity. One great objection to it as a popular remedial 
 agent is the faet that it is gaseous at ordinary teinperatiires, Wuter dis- 
 solves thirty-three times its volume. Alcohol and mcthj'l alcohol dissolve 
 it more freely, while sulphuric acid, will dissolve six hundred times its 
 volume, with increase of temperature. lu the latter case, the gas is freely 
 liberated upon the addition of water. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This gas, taken up to saturation, by concentrated 
 ethylic ether, at a temperature of 32° F., forms the anesthetic fluid of Dr. 
 B. W. Eichardson, of England. — methyl-ethylic ether. As it is very vol- 
 atile and highly inflammable, it should be at once placed into well- secured 
 bottles, and kept in the cold. According to Dr. Richardson, it is a rapid 
 and perfectly safe anesthetic, and more closel)- approximates what a true 
 agent of this kind should be than any other yet presented to the profession. 
 A drachm or two inhaled, effects anesthesia quickly. It simply destroys 
 sensibility, without interfering with will, consciousness, or muscular 
 power, and without occasioning spasm, syncope, asphyxia, or any excita- 
 tion of the nerve centers. — Lancet, April 2, 1870. In qonsequence, how- 
 ever, of the instability of this preparation, and its by no means agreeable 
 odor, it has not come into general use as an anesthetic;— -K. 
 
 iETHYLENI BICHLORIDUM. 
 
 BicHLOBiDE OP Ethylene. 
 
 Formula, C2H4CI2; molecular weight, 98.68. 
 
 Preparation. — In 1795 four associated Dutch chemists discovered that 
 when one measure of alcohol was mixed with three of sulphuric acid, and 
 heat applied, a gas was evolved^ named by them defiant gas (now known 
 as ethylene or ethene), from its property of forming an oil-like liquid 
 with chlorine. This liquid, for many years recognized under the name 
 Dutch liquid, is ethene chloride, or bichloride of ethylene. 
 
 To prepare it, connect a thirty-two ounce chemical flask, A (.Fig. 1), 
 furnished with a safety-funnel, B, by means of glass tubes, with two 
 eight ounce wash bottles, C, C, one of which contains four flnidounces 
 of sulphuric acid, the other a like amount of solution of caustic potash. 
 The second is connected, by means of a glass tube, with a glass percolator, 
 
jSEthyleni Bichloridum. 19 
 
 D, covered with a sheet of rubber, through whicli the tube protrudes. The 
 exit of the percolator is loosely inserted into the mouth of the bottle, K, 
 which contains four fluidounces of distilled water. 
 
 Connect the sixteen ounce chemical flask, F, with an eight ounce wash 
 bottle, G, which contains four fluidounces of distilled water, and is con- 
 nected with the percolator, D, by means of the glass tube, H, protruding 
 through the rubber cover. Into the flask. A, place a mixture of alcohol 
 two fluidounces,- and sulphuric acid twelve fluidounces, and into the 
 flask, F, place one ounce of black oxide of manganese and six flu id - 
 ounces of muriatic acid, previously diluted with four fluidounces of 
 water. Apply heat now to the flask. A, by means of a spirit-lamp, and, 
 when the gas begins to flow, heat the flask, F, in like manner, and thus 
 pass both gases (ethene and chlorine) simultaneously into the percolator, 
 upon the sides of which an oily substance will form and trickle^ through 
 the exit into, and settle to the bottom of the distilled water. This is 
 impure bichloride of ethylene, and must be agitated with water, then 
 with sulphuric acid, and finally distilled. As the reaction progi-esses, the 
 contents of the flask. A, may be slowly replenished, through the safety 
 funnel, B, with a mixture of equal parts of sulphuric acid and alcohoiL 
 Finally, when the flow of gas ceases, or the reaction becomes irregular, 
 suspend the opei-ation, agitate the impure liquid collected in the bottlei, 
 
 E, with distilled water, then with sulphuric acid, and lastly distil it. 
 Bichloride of ethylene may also be prepared by the process of Limp- 
 
 richt (1856), who made it by passing oleflant gas through a retort half 
 filled with a mixture of two .parts of black oxide of manganese, three 
 parts of common salt, four parts water, and five of sulphuric acid. The 
 retort being gently heated at first with a single red-hot coal. 
 
 History. — Bichloride of ethylene is a mobile liquid, colorless, inflam- 
 mable, and possessed of a fragrant, ethereal odor, and a sweetish taste. 
 It is very soluble in alcohol and ether, and only slightly so in water. 'Its 
 specific gravity is 1.271 at 0° C. (32° F.), and its boiling point 85° C. 
 (185° F). Neither sulphuric acid nor hydrate of potassium affects it. 
 Bichloride of ethyl must not be confounded with solution of ethyl 
 chloride (CaHsCl), or the so-called hydrochloric ether,^ which is made by 
 passing dry hydrochloric acid gas into cold alcohol, and purifying the 
 product by distilling the contents of the retort, washing the gas with a 
 little tepid water, and condensing in a receiver surrounded with ice and 
 salt. Ethyl chloride, or chloreth9,ne, is a volatile, highly inflammable 
 liquid, boiling at 12°.5 C. (54°. 5 F.), and is, consequently, gaseous at 
 ordinary temperatures. Water dissolves 10 per cent, and alcohol, at 21° 
 C. dissolves 48.3 per cent, of its weight. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Bichloride of ethylene has been proposed as a 
 much safer anesthetic than chloroform, but it has not come into use on 
 account of the excessive irritation of the throat and fauces attending its 
 inhalation. It is occasionally used locally, in spray or otherwise, to allay 
 the sufferings in certain maladies, from pain, as in rheumatism, lumbago, 
 neuralgia, etc. 
 
 Ethyl chloride, or hydrochloric ether, is occasionally employed in 
 combination with an equal volume of alcohol, as a substitute for the com- 
 pound spirit of ether, in doses of from five to twenty drops diluted with 
 water, wine, etc. — K. 
 
 1 Chloric ether is a name once applied to mixtures of alcohol and from five to eighteen 
 per cent, of chloroform. Afterward, it was prepared by distilling chlorinated lime with 
 water and an excess of alcoliol. It is seldom mentioned at the present day, and has 
 properly become almost obsolete. — L. ^ 
 
20 Materia Medica. 
 
 AILANTHUS GLANDUL08A. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Simarubese. Tribe. — Simarubeffi. The inner bark of the- 
 tree and root. 
 
 Common Names. — Tree of Heaven, Ailanto. 
 
 Description. — Ailanthus is a large tree with blunt, clumsy branches, 
 ■which give to it an odd appearance after the leaves have fallen. The 
 leaves are oddly-pinnate, each consisting of from ten to twenty pa^r of 
 leaflets and a terminal one. The leaflets are about two inches long, ovate, 
 smooth,' acute, and have a few blunt glandular teeth at the base (hence, 
 the specific name, glandulosa). The flowers are small, green, and collected 
 in large terminal panicles. They are polygamous, or generaily dioecious. 
 The calyx consists of five united sef)als. The petals are five, small, 
 green, and longer than the sepals. The stamens are ten in the male 
 flowers, but fewer in the female. The pistil is surrounded at the base 
 by a disk, and consists of from three to five, one-ovuled, free carpels, 
 with united styles. The fruit is a flat, membranous samara, bearing a 
 seed in the middle, and somewhat resembling the fruit of the ash. 
 
 A. glandulosa is a native of China, where it is known as " Ailanto," 
 of which the German name " Gotterbaum " is said to be a translation. 
 " Tree of Heaven " is the name by which the tree is vulgarly known in 
 this country. It is in common cultivation as a shade tree throughout 
 Europe, and the United States, and has become naturalized in many 
 localities. It was formerly classified in the natural order, Butaceoe, but 
 is now placed in that of Simarubeee. It is allied to the genera. Quassia 
 and Simaruba, from which it differs in the fruit being a samara. 
 
 History. — This tree is of rapid growth, and easily accommodates itself 
 to any soil, thus being well adapted to cultivation ; but is is objectiona- 
 ble on account of a fetid odor which is mostly exhaled from the sterile 
 flowers. 
 
 The genus Ailanthus consists of three species, all large trees, and 
 natives of Asia, none of which, however, are cultivated in this coun- 
 try excepting the A. glandulosa. Another species, the A. imberiflora 
 is found in Australia. 
 
 The recent root is white, hard, and woody. It is covered with a 
 white fibrous bark, the outer part of which is gritty, brittle, and yel- 
 lowish, over which is a grey epidermis- The epidermis of the limbs and 
 growing sprouts is smooth, shiny and brown, or yellowish. It is studded 
 with numerous little eruptions which increase in size with age, until 
 when old, the bark is rough. Beneath this a green coloring matter is 
 found in young specimens, while the bark next to the wood is white. In 
 growing shoots the woody matter is thin, surrounding a yellowish 
 brown pith, which latter decreases in proportion with the growth of the 
 shrub. Both the root and shrub have an acid reaction when fresh, 
 ;ind exhale a disagreeable odor when broken. For medicinal purposes, 
 the bark of the small bushes and roots is to be preferred. Professor 
 Hetet, of Toulon, noticed the tree in the Journal de Pharmncie in 1859, 
 at which time it attracted attention in France, in consequence of its 
 leaves having been suggested as food for a species of silk worm. The 
 bark of the tree was experimented with, and attracted some attention 
 at that time as an emetocathartic and anthelmintic, but it seems to have 
 quickly fallen into disuse. 
 
 In the year 1875, Dr. H. L. True published an article in the E. M. 
 Journal, which revived, among the Eclectic practitionei'S of this country. 
 
AlLANTHUS GlANDULOSA. 21 
 
 an interest in the therapeutical uses of the bark, since which numerous 
 communications to medical journals have created a demand for it, and 
 which is supplied in abundance in most localities. 
 
 About twenty years ago M. Payen analyzed the bark and detected lig- 
 nin, chlorophylle, yellow coloring matter, pectin, bitter substance, aro- 
 matic resin, traces of volatile oil, nitrogenous matter, and some salts. 
 Afterward, (1861) Mr. Alonzo Lilly, Jr., made an examination, the result 
 of which differs considerably from the above, as, according to this gen- 
 tleman, the constituents are, starch, tannin, albumen, gum, sugar, oleo- 
 resin, and a trace of volatile oil, potash, phosphoric acid, sulphuric acid, 
 iron, lime, and magnesia. , 
 
 The bark has a nauseating bitter taste, and, when recent, a sickening 
 odor. Both the fi-esh and the carefully dried bark impart a deep green 
 color to alcohol, probably due to chlorophylle, the color gradually chang- 
 ing to yellowish brown by age, the action of light accelei-ating the 
 change. According to our experience, the bark contains a resinous 
 substance, which, with the volatile oil, is extracted by alcohol, which 
 a,gent will perfectly exhaust all the characteristic properties of either 
 the fresh or dry Ailanthus. 
 
 According to the experiments of M. Hetet, the purgative property 
 resides in the resin, while the volatile oil gives rise to the prostrating 
 and other ill effects produced on those exposed to the vapors of the 
 evaporating extract ; and, probably, to a similar hydrocarbon, may be 
 ascribed the sickening sensation experienced by many persons when in- 
 haling the atmosphere vitiated by the emanations from an Ailanthus tree 
 in blossom. Mr. Hetet's statement, that the resin is purgative has been 
 disputed, some even asserting that the resin is inert. — L. , 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The bark of Ailanthus has been employed by 
 Eoberts, Dugat, and others, both in the reeent and dried state, as a 
 remedy for dysentery and diari-hea, also in gonorrhea, leucorrhea, pro- 
 lapsus ani, etc. Piflj' grammes of the root-bark are infused for a short 
 time in seventy-five grammes of hot water, then strained, and when 
 -cold, administered in teaspoonful doses, night and morning. To lessen 
 the disagreeable impression following its use, as well as to mask its bit- 
 terness, it may be administered in sweetened orange-flower water, or in 
 soVne other aromatic. Professor Hetet, of the Toulon Naval School, 
 states in Jour, de Chirn. Med., December, 1859, that the leaves and bark, 
 in powder, or in the form of an aqueous, or of an alcoholic extract, will 
 remove tape-worm; but he found its action upon patients to be very 
 ■disagreeable and nausenting, somewhat like that occasioned by tobacco 
 upon young smokers. Dupuis has also found it useful as a tsenifuge. 
 Ill the September No. oflhc Eclectic Medical Journal for 1875, page 393, 
 Dr. H. L. True, of Ohio, states that from his observations the bark is 
 not poisonous, but produces votniting, great relaxation, and a death-like 
 sickness, which symptoms gradually pass away. He has successfully 
 employed a tincture of the root-bark in cardiac palpitation, obstinate 
 singultus, asthma, and epilepsy. The dose of the tincture is from five 
 to sixty dro25s, repeated as often as required, or, from two to four times 
 a. day. He considers the presence of these trees in malarial districts to 
 have a strong aption, similar to that of the Eucalyptus, in antagonizing 
 those influences that produce intermittents. — K. 
 
22 Materia Medioa. 
 
 AKAZGA. 
 Ikaja. — M'Boundou. The Eoot-Bark. 
 
 History. — According to MM. Pecholier and Saint-Pierre, of Prance, 
 this is a shrub of the family of Apocynacese, which, as with some other 
 plants of the same faraih' {Nerium Oleander, Inee, etc.), is a violent 
 poison. M. Touchard, in his thesis, 1864, entitled, "the river &ahon and 
 its maladies" states that it is a shi-ub attaining the height of about two 
 metres (6J feet), with a tap-root, of which the bark only is employed. 
 The leaves are opposite, acuminate, oblong, and from four inches to" a 
 foot in length ; their nervures presenting an arrangement somewhat 
 similar to those of the Melastomaceag. 
 
 The bark of this shrub is intensely bitter, and feebly aromatic, and 
 contains, according to Professor T. E. Praser, of Edinburgh, a crystal- 
 lizable alkaloid freelj- soluble in ether, chloroform, benzole, and bisul- 
 phide of carbon, which forms salts with acids, and which he has named 
 Akazgia. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — According to Pecholier and Saint-Pierre, the 
 bark of this shrub is employed in infusion among the Africans on the 
 Gabon as an ordeal liquid, under the name of M'Boundou. The bark is 
 macerated, and the infusion given to the accused to drink, followed by 
 certain proaeedings j and if the accused can successfully pass the ordeal, 
 he is deemed innocent of the charge against him. Its effect is to deter- 
 mine tetanic convulsions, with rapid deatb ; sometimes a profuse urina- 
 tion occurs, and the person gradually' returns to health and life. From 
 experiments on frogs, a dog, and rabbits, these gentlemen have concluded 
 that the Boundou contains a poisonous principle, soluble in water and in 
 alcohol, and which exerts an action upon the sensitive nervous system 
 analogous to that caused by nux vomica. Administered by the sl^om- 
 ach, or used endermically, this poison increases the number of inspir- 
 ations and cardiac pulsations, succeeded by a great diminution of these 
 movements, at the same time it causes an exaggeration of sensibility, 
 followed bj- tetanic convulsions, and, finally, insensibilitj-, paralysis, and 
 death. Its action upon the motor nervous system is only secondary, 
 and it does not affect the contractility of the muscular system. It is 
 not a poison to the heart which, on the contrary, continues to pulsate 
 for a long time after death. (Montpelier Medical). . This agent has not 
 yet been introduced into our therapeutics. — K. 
 
 ALKANNA. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Borraginacese. Tribe. — Borragese, D. C. The root of Alk- 
 anria tinctoria, Tausch. Syn. — Anchusa'tifictoria, Linn. Lithosper- 
 mum tinctoria. ' 
 
 Common Names. — Alkanet, Dyer's Bugloss. 
 
 Illustration. — Artus' Hand Atlas, Vol. II., page 438. 
 
 Description. — The plant is a weak, hairy herb, about a foot high, with 
 alternate, oblong, entire, bicuspid leaves. T\i& flowers are small, and dis- 
 posed in terminal racemes, usually in pairs, which unroll as the flowers 
 expand. The calyx is five-lobed, and the corollas funnel-shaped, with a 
 red tube about the length of the calyx-lobes, and a blue, five-parted 
 
Aletris Farinosa. 23 
 
 limb. The fruit consists of four distinct nutlets, wliich are contracted, 
 and not hollowed, at the base. 
 
 History. — The Alkanet plant is indigenous to, and cultivated in, the 
 Southern part of Europe. The roots of the cultivated plants are not so 
 rich in the red coloring matter as those grown in their native soil. The 
 genus Alkanna is closely related to Anchusa and Lithospermum, and 
 the roots of all three genera yield red coloring matters. Alkanet is also 
 known as Dyer's Bugloss. 
 
 Alkanet root contains a red coloring matter — Anchusin or Alkanet-red.. 
 To obtain it ( Wittstein) the root is exhausted with water to remove gum 
 and foreign coloring matters, then dried, ground, and percolated with 
 alcohol. The alcoholic tincture is acidulated with hydrochloric acid, 
 distilled, and evaporated to the consistence of a soft extract; this is 
 exhausted with ether, water added, and, after agitation, the lower liquid 
 separated. The ethereal solution is again washed with water, decanted, 
 and evaporated. Anchusin is dark, red-brown, brittle, neutral, volatile, 
 subliming in violet-red vapors. It is insoluble in water, soluble in 
 alcohol, more soluble in ether and oils. Sulphuric acid dissolves it with 
 amethyst color; solution of alkalies, with, blue. The other constituents 
 of the plant are imimportant. 
 
 Alkanet root, as obtained in this market, is often worm-eaten, and of 
 very inferior quality. It appears as fragments, mixed with entire roots 
 from six to twelve inches in length. They are dark purple externally, 
 lighter within, pliable and spongy. This root is largely employed by 
 manufacturers of pomades, hair oils, ointments, etc., for the purpose of 
 coloring theni. For these purposes, a solution of the Alkanet-red is made 
 by covering the crushed f-oot with castor-oil, macerating and straining; 
 the deep red coloring matter is thus obtained in solution, and this 
 solution is added to the oil or pomade until the desired shade is pro- 
 duced. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This root is rarely, if ever, employed thera- 
 peutically, though stated to possess emollient properties. Its chief use 
 among pharmacists is for coloring certain articles. — K. 
 
 ALBTEIS FAEINOSA. 
 
 Wat. Ord. — HsemodoracesBj The rhizome Of Aletris farinosa, Linn., 
 gathered after the plant has flowered. 
 
 Illustrations. — Strong's American Flora (exclusive of root), page 65, 
 and' our Plate I. 
 
 (See Am. Disp., 8th ed., p. 78.) 
 
 In consequence of the confusion that has existed in determining this 
 plant and its root, from those of the Chamselirium, and owing to some 
 errors in the description of Aletris, as given in American Dispensatory, 
 it has been deemed best to introduce, at this place, a more correct 
 account of it, in order to obviate any perplexity in future, — K. & L. 
 
 Description. — Aletris is a small herb found in most parts of the United 
 States. The common name is Star Grass, but the term False Unicorn is 
 sometimes used. The name Unicorn Hoot is more properly applied to 
 Chiiraaelirium (Helonias). Aletris is also known as Blazing Star. 
 
 The leaves are all radical and grass-like, from one-fourth to half an 
 inch wide and from two to four inches long. They are smooth, entire, 
 
24 Materia Medica. 
 
 acute, of a firm texture, and have from six to ten parallel and quite 
 prominent veins. The flowering stem is erect, from two to three feet 
 high, and arises from the center of the cluster of root leaves. It hiis 
 no stem-leaves, but at intervals of about two inches, there are verj' 
 small linear scales which may readily escape detection without a close 
 examination. , The Sitems are round and striate near the base, but a:ngular 
 above. The^ojcers are perfect and in slender, terminal, simple racemes. 
 They are on short pedicels, with small bracts at the base. The perianth is 
 cj-lindrical, urn-shaped; white, with a yellowish tinge at the apex; 
 wrinkled, rough and mealy outside, and six-cleft at the summit. The 
 stamens are six, small and included. The ovary is ovate, and tapers to a 
 slender style, which is trifld at the apex. The fruit is a dry, mnny- 
 seeded, acute pod, opening by three valves,' 
 
 ' Mistory. — The commercial drug, under this name, as found upon the 
 market, is generally the rhizome of Chaniffilirium. (See page 63.) 
 Strange as it may seem under these circumstances, the two roots have 
 no resemblance, are utterly unlike, and their appearance forbids ad- 
 mixture. We can not recall a single instance where Aletris farinosa 
 was adulterated with Chamselirium, and yet so universal has the substi- 
 tution of the last become, that Professor King, in describing the root 
 of Aletris (Am,. Disp., 8th ed., p. 78), has given a description of that of 
 Chamselirium, and Strong's American Mora figures the top of Aletris 
 with the rhizome of Chamselirium. In this connection, we invite atten- 
 tion to our exact engraving of the Aletris plant and root (plate I), and, 
 as a comparison, invite, attention to the engraving of Chamselirium 
 (Plate VI, opposite to page 64). 
 
 When dry, the root of Aletris farinosa is from one-half to one inch in 
 length, seldom longer. It is surrounded and completely hidden by an 
 intricate mass of fibers, remains of radical leaves and partly decayed 
 matter. The recent growth of yearly fibers are white, and fi'om two to 
 six, or even ten, inches in length. In texture, they are made up of a 
 hard, durable, brown, woody center, over which are several layers of 
 white, tissue-like material, that peel off by age and decay. Thus we find 
 the lower portion of the dry rhizome of Aletris farinosa covered by'amass 
 consisting of dead, brown, woody fibers of former years, from which the 
 paper -like envelope has separated, together with white, recent rootlets 
 from which the white, epidermis is still scaling; while intermixed, are 
 the chaff-like remains of the epidermis, in various stages of decom- 
 position. 
 
 The radical leaves spring directly from the upper part of the growing 
 end of the creeping rhizome. They contain numerous hard, round, 
 woody fibers running lengthwise with-the leaf, and from year to year, 
 as the succulent portions of the leaves decay, the fibers remain and hold 
 the fragments of mealy leaf-matter, and thus the upper, as well as lower, 
 portion of the primary root is perfectly concealed from view. 
 
 The dried root proper is about one-fourth of an inch in diameter just 
 beneath the leaves, and tapers from this point to nearly an eighth of 
 an inch ; very often the extreme end turns downward, and usually ter- 
 minates abruptly. The surface is rough, scaly, and thickly covered with 
 root fibers below, and leaf scars and leaf fibers above. Internally, it is 
 soft, spong3', white or slightly straw-colored, the central portion being 
 less firm than the outer. It is odorless, acrid to the taste, not bitter. 
 Chiimselirium, on the contrary, is very bitter. 
 
 Physicians should insure the identity of Aletris when purchasing. 
 There is no excuse for confusion, as the two plants (Aletris and Cham- 
 
PLATE I. 
 
 ALETRIS FABINOSA. 
 
Alstonia Constricta. 25 
 
 SBlirinm) are entirely different in appearance, the roots do not resemble 
 each other, and are, to the taste, utterly unlike; and while Chamselirium 
 has a peculiar and characteristic odor, the Aletris is odorless. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — See American Dispensatory, 8th ed., p. 79. This 
 root and its preparations are almost entirely employed in dyspeptic con- 
 ditions; while, in the abnormal conditions of the female i-eproductive 
 organs the Chamselirium is used. 
 
 ALSTONIA CONSTRICTA. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Apocynacese. Sub Ord. — Euapocynese. The bark of Al- 
 stonia Constricta, (F. Muell.) 
 
 Common Names. — Native Quinine 'of Australia, Australian Fever 
 Bark. 
 Illustkations. — Our Plate 11, Pig. A. a. 
 
 History.— The genus Alstonia comprises about twelve species, seven 
 of them being given in Bentham's Flora of Australia. They are milk 
 bearing shrubs or trees, with large, entire, generally whorled leaves, and 
 terminal cymes of white flowers. 
 
 Alstonia Constricta (F. Muell), is a lactescent, smooth tree, found 
 growing onl3- in Australia, and has large, opposite, entire oblong leaves 
 about four inches long, borne on slender leaf-stalks. The flowers are 
 small, white, numerous, and disposed in corymbose cymes. The calyx 
 is deeply five-parted and has ovate acute lobes. The corolla has a bell- 
 shaped tube, about twice the length of the calyx, and five equal spread- 
 ing lobes. The stamens are five, distinct and included. The pistil con- 
 sists of two carpels, with a single style. The fruit consists of a pair of 
 slender, smooth pods, from three ^o eight inches in length, and contain- 
 ing numerous, flat, pubescent seeds, the upper margins of which are 
 fringed with long hairs. 
 
 Jlistory. — The bark is used in Australia as an antiperiodic. As found 
 in commerce it ia in pieces varying in length from six inches to two feet, 
 from half an inch to three inches in thickness, and from two to four 
 inches in width. That from the young trees or bi'anches is often 
 curled, like cinnamon bark, until the edges meet, or even overlap. The 
 accurate description given by Mr. Charles Mohr in the Am. Jourh. 
 Fharm., August, 1879, is as follows : " The bark occurs in semicircular 
 pieces of various length, about 4 inches wide and from 1^ to 2 inches 
 and over in thickness, according to the more or less exuberant develop- 
 ment of the corky layers. The rough outer bark is furrowed by more 
 or loss broad and deep longitudinal fissures, presenting in the cross sec- 
 tion a margin correspondingly deeply indented by irregular more or 
 less wide and deep sinuosities. The exposed surface of the bark is of a 
 dingy gray -brown, and of an ochre'color where fresh layers of cork nre 
 exposed. This outer bark, forming far the largest part, shows in the 
 cross section a mottled yellow and brownish color, resulting from some- 
 what irregular concentric layers of a clear ochry-yellow, alternating 
 with bands of a deeper tint. It is of spongy texture, and friable. The 
 middle and inner layers about a quarter of an inch in thickness, are 
 compact and homogeneous in the cross sections of a yellow color, and 
 under the lens appearing punctate from the darker faces of the bast- 
 bundles; of a fibrous structure, hard and tough, and on the inner side 
 serrated by longitudinal ridges, caused by the impressions of the bast- 
 
26 . Materia Medica. 
 
 bundles upon the cambial layer. The powder of the bark is of a dingy 
 yellow, and possesses a faint not unpleasant odor, and a lasting purely 
 bitter taste. The active principles are contained chiefly in the middle 
 and inner bark." (See Plate II, Fig. a). 
 
 This bark is of a comparatively recent introduction, having been 
 shown for the first time in this country, at the Centennial Exposition 
 in the Australian department, where it was asserted, by its exhibitors, 
 to be a remedy for malarial fevers. A Cincinnati gentleman having 
 hud his attention strongly attracted towards these assertions, procured 
 a specimen of the bark, and, after investigation, having found it to pos- 
 sess therapeutical virtues, he ordered a supply from Australia, intend- 
 ing to introduce it as a proprietary medicine. Professor J. M. Scudder, 
 ;of Cincinnati, persuaded him, however, to give up his intention, and 
 allow it to come before the medical , profession under its true name, 
 Alstonia constricta, the positive identification of which,, Mr. Charles 
 Mohr effected through specimens sent to Sir. Joseph Hooker. 
 
 The chemical constituents have been investigated by several parties, 
 but the results do not agree. Alstonin is the name given in Wittstein's 
 Organic Constituents of Plants for an orange j'ellow, amorphous, alka- 
 loid, isolated by Mueller and Eummel. Mohr (1879), found a substance 
 agreeing with that of M. and E. in all respects, and announced the 
 probable presence of another proximate constituent ; but want of mate- 
 rial prevented a thorough examination'. Oberlin and Schlagdenhaussen 
 (1879)' report an analysis of the bark, and the isolation of two alka- 
 loids, one, Alstonin in crystalline tufts, bitter, colorless, soluble in alco- 
 hol, chloroform, benzine ; insoluble in cold, but somewhat in boiling 
 water; soluble in nitric, hydrochloric, and sulphuric, acids without 
 color, but which neutralizes acids, changes red litmus paper to blue, and 
 rthe acid solutions of which produce fluorescent (blue) liquids. The 
 other, " afetom'cme," is amorphous, and is obtained from the mother 
 liquor after the production of alstonin. It somewhat resembles alstonin, 
 but is not as soluble in boiling water, gives a red crimson color with 
 nitric acid, and greenish-brown with sulphuric and muriatic, and the 
 acid solutions are not fluorescent. All reports agree, however, that these 
 proximate principles exist in very small amount. There is certainly a 
 very bitter substance, resinous or otherwise, which is obtained by 
 tincturing the bark with alcohol. Doubtless either the batk in substance 
 or the tincture or fluid extract will be the medicinal preparations em- 
 ployed ; the most effectual being prepared from the inner bark. 
 
 Von Mueller appears to have been the first person who made known 
 the febrifuge properties of this bark, in 1870, in an address before the 
 Industrial Museum of Melbourne; in 1874, in a published statement - 
 relative to certain select plants, he again remarks that the bark of A. 
 constricta is aromatic, bitter, and regarded as valuable in ague; also as 
 a general tonic. It was subsequently referred to, as an antiperiodic, 
 in 1876, by Dr. A. Cathcart, of South Wales. Its introduction to the 
 Materia Medica of this country justly belongs to Professor J. M. Scud- 
 der, M. D., of Cincinnnti.— L. 
 
 Properties and Uses.— The inner bark of Alstonia constricta is said to 
 possess marked antiperiodic properties, while the outer bark is stated 
 to have been efficacious in curing certain forms of rheumatism. Fur- 
 ther trials are needed, however, before it can be ranked as a substitute 
 for quinia, or other of the cinchona alkaloids. And yet, as far as heard 
 
 iPAarm. Jour, and Trans., June, 1879, from " Jour, de Pharm. et de Chimie." 
 

 II II It. 
 
 *4 %l ^ *«!**** -^^/;» A,^- 
 
 A 
 
 ALSTOlSriA CONSTRICTA AND A- SCHOLARIS. 
 
AlSTUNIA iSoHOLARIS. . 27 
 
 * 
 
 from, it has proved as efficient as quinia in intermittents. Tlie writer 
 has used the bark in several cases with prompt and decided success;' 
 four of these cases were small children. The inner bai-k was given to 
 the patients, in a dose of from four to eight grains, an hour or two be- 
 fore the expected chill, repeating tiie dose two or three times, each time 
 anterior to the anticipated chill. Three doses were usually required ; 
 in one case, only one dose was given, and in two others four doses were 
 taken before the chills disappeared. The most marked influence was in 
 an obstinate case, tertian, invariably attended during the attacks wiih 
 gastric pain and irritability, and neuralgic painsinthesupei-ior extremi- 
 ties; the first dose afforded much relief, and since the third dose the 
 patient has been entirelj' free from any symptoms of the malady, and 
 has, for the first time in several years, passed an autumnal season with- 
 out any chills, while neighbors were suffering more or less severely from 
 them. Professor Locke has used it successfully in chronic intermittent, 
 but thinks it not so efficacious in the acute forms. Professor J. M. Scud- 
 ■der has also had considerable success with it. Dr. Kalb, of Henry, 111., 
 has cured six cases of fever and ague with it ; Dr. B. Bay, of Paris, 
 Ky., reports the successful use of it in intermittents where quinia had 
 failed. Dr. J. G. Sutton, of Genoa, O., Dr. C. Cramp, of Camden,, Ind., 
 and many others, have reported favorably as regards its antiperiodic 
 virtues. According to Dr. E. E. Kuntze, of New York city, this bark 
 possesses slightly narcotic, cerebro-stimulant, antiperiodic, febi'ifuge, 
 and tonic properties ; he has used it with success in several cases of in- 
 termittent fever, though, from its peculiar effects in certain cases, he is 
 rather inclined to consider its use contra-indicated in "patients of a 
 delicate and highly nervous organization." Among the patients with 
 whom it has acted favorably, it not only checks the ague, but appears 
 also to prevent its return, for the season, at least. The bark is very 
 bitter, and produces different effects with different parties ; among 
 these effects may be named a persistent disagreeable taste, more or less 
 nausea or a sense of disgust, dizziness, pain in the forehead and occiput, 
 tinnitus, weight in the epigastrium, etc. With many, the only apprej 
 ciable symptoms noticed, are the unpleasant taste left in the mouth and 
 fauces, and the prom.pt disappearance of the chills. The dose of the 
 bark, which should be well masticated, is from two to eight grains ; but 
 the more desirable form for administration and efficacy appears to be 
 the tincture, the dose of which will vary from ten to sixty minims every 
 hour or two, and which should be given on the days of the attack, 
 commencing several hours before the expected chill. This is certainly 
 an agent that should be thoroughly tested by the profession. — K. 
 
 ALSTONIA SCHOLAEIS. . 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Apocynacese. Sub. Ord. — Buapocynefe. The bark of 
 AlstoniaScholaris, R. Br. 
 
 Common Name. — Dita Bark. 
 
 Illustrations. — Bentley and Trimen, Med. Plants, P. 173, and our 
 Plate II, Fig. B.b. 
 
 Description. — Alstpnia scholarls, R.Br., Dita Bark, is found throughout 
 Tropical Eastern Asia and the Malayan Archipelago, (BenthanC). It 
 is a large tree with smooth entire thick leaves disposed in whorls. The 
 
28 Materia Medica. 
 
 * 
 
 flowers resemble those of A. constricta,\iVLt differ in having corollii tubes 
 about three times as long as the calyx, and shorter pubescent lobes. The 
 pods are slender and over a foot long. Don says it is a native' of the East 
 Indies and the Moluccas ; the bark, met with in commerce, comes from 
 the Phillippine and neighboring islands, and is the portion used in 
 medicine. The local name of the bark is satween. As a remedial agent 
 dita is 'old, having been mentioned, it is said, by Eheede (1678), and 
 Eumphius (1741). 
 
 History. — Dita hark (Plate II, Fig. B. b.), is about half an inch thick, 
 and is found in market in irregular sizes from one to two inches wide, 
 and three to six inches long. Externally it is of a mottled pinkish or 
 brownish and white color, rather smooth, but marked by shallow fissures 
 which are raised upon the edges and scarcely extend through the corky 
 layer. The cork, a very'thin layer, represented by the dark edge of 
 the section b of our engraving, is brown. Internally, the color of the 
 bark is light, slightly striated with yellowish layers or grains. In, tex- 
 ture, it is granular and brittle, resembling wild cherry bark from old 
 trees. The taste is slightly bitter, free from astringency, not unpleasant, 
 and may be compared to the after taste of wild cherry bark, and in 
 like manner the bark is gritty between the teeth. 
 
 According to Husemann, Scliarlee in 1863, published an article on 
 the preparation of an alkaloid which he named Alstonin. Grupp found 
 in it about two per cent, of a substance which possessed febrifuge powers, 
 and he named it " Ditain." It was prepared, according to Hildwein, in 
 a manner similar to that used in making quinine; it is not an alkaloid 
 bnt a mixture of substances as wsVs verified by Gorup-Besanez who 
 found it to contain a crystallizable substance possessing the properties of 
 an alkaloid. Gobst and Hesse (1875), separated the true alkaloid, dita- 
 min, from the bark, as a white amorphous powder, slightly bitter, soluble 
 in ether, chloroform, benzol, and alcohol, being alkaline in reaction 
 from the latter solution. It forms soluble salts, with dilute acids, which 
 are very bitter ; it dissolves with a reddish color, in sulphuric acid ; 
 and a yellow in nitric acid, turning dark green at first when heated, 
 then orange-red, with evolution of fumes of the same color. It was ob- 
 tained only in about 0.02 per cent, of the bark operated upon, and on 
 this account, can never be expected to come into general use as a febri- 
 fuge. In addition, they found oxalate of lime, fatty acid, and crystal- 
 lizable acid and likewise identified several fatty resinous substances, 
 naming them : 
 
 Echicaoutschin (CjsHioOj) 
 
 Echicerin (CjoH^sO,) 
 
 Echitin {C32H52O2' 
 
 Echitein [Ct^JiToOi 
 
 Echiretin {C,,Ti,fi^ 
 
 These substance's closely resemble resins obtained from other sources. 
 Doubtless, the bark, if employed in medicine, will be either used in sub- 
 stiinee or in the form of tincture' or fluid extract, as the proximate 
 principles can not become of much commercial importance. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Dita bark has been efficaciously employed in 
 malarial fever; it does not, however, appear to be as prompt nor iis 
 active in its influence as the Alston i a constricta bark, requiring to 
 be used in somewhat larger doges. Its alkaloid may prove more 
 efficient should it ever become more largely and less expensively pre- 
 pared. — K. 
 
Aluminii Sulphas. 29 
 
 ALUMINII SULPHAS. 
 
 StiLPHATE OF Aluminum. 
 Formula, AljSSOi ; moleculai- weight, 342.06. 
 Crystallized, AljSSOjlSH^O ; molecular weight, 665.34. 
 
 Description. — This salt is jDrepaved on a large scale from China clay, 
 by roasting the clay and then digesting it in dilute sulphuric acid, the 
 solution being jjermitted to stand until clear. It is then decanted from 
 the insoluble matter (silica and undecomposed alumina) and evaj)orated 
 until it thickens upon cooling. As thus prepared, it is often known as 
 concentrated alum, and is used mainlj' as a mordant, and also to give 
 weight to paper. The composition of anhydrous aluminum sulphate is 
 represented by Al^S (SOJ. The hydrated salt, A1,,H (SOJ + ISH^O, is 
 officinal in the United States Pharmacopceia, the process of which 
 forms precipitated trihydrate of aluminum (AIH3O3, or A]2(0Il)g), by the 
 decomposition of sulphate of aluminum and ammonium, by means of sod- 
 ium carbonate; sulphates of sodium and ammonium remaining in solu- 
 tion, and carbonic acid gas being evolved. It is intended that the precij)i- 
 tated aluminum hydrate be freed frohi soluble sulphates by washing, then 
 united with sulphuric acid, and the solution evaporated to dryness, 
 whereby crystallized aluminum sulphate, Al2(S04)8-f-18H20, is obtained. 
 Practically, it will be found that the water in which the salts (carbon- 
 ate .of sodium and the alum) are dissolved by the U. S. P. is insufficignt, 
 inasmuch as the solution of the alum may be troublesome to make, and 
 when obtained, the two solutions are so concentrated that the hydrate 
 is deposited in lumps, difficult, if not impossible, to free from contami- 
 nating sulphates by the subsequent process intended for washing. 
 
 The formula of the IT. S. P. has been referred to here, because we 
 think the process an objectionable one, and would present the following 
 as an improvement upon it (See Wew Remedies, August, 1879, p. 237): 
 
 Dissolve four troy ounces of alum, and the same amount of carbonate 
 of sodium, ench separately, in four pints of hot distilled water; pour 
 the alum solution, in a small stream with constant stirring, into the soda 
 solution in a capacious porcelain dish, and bring the mixture to a fair 
 boil. Then cool, and pour the mixture upon a muslin strainer ; when 
 drained, return the precipitate to the dish, and mix thoroughly with a 
 gallon of water, then strain, as before. Eepeat the operation ; then 
 almost dissolve the gelatiijous precipitate by means of diluted sulphuric 
 acid,' and filter the solution ; evaporate it upon a water bath, with stir- 
 ring, until a dry salt remains. 
 
 History. — Sulphate of aluminum, prepared as above, is a white 
 powder. It may contain traces of the sulphates of sodiun) and ammonium, 
 which, however, is not a serious objection, unless in larger amount than 
 is possible with the process we have given. It crystallizes with diffi- 
 culty, forming thin, six-sided crystals. The taste is sweetish and astrin- 
 gent. According to Berzelius, it is soluble in two parts of cold water 
 It melts on heating, in its water of crystallization, and then swells, like 
 alum, forming the anhydrous sulphate, Al2(S04)s. At a red heat, it de- 
 composes, the residue being alumina. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Sulphate of aluminum is employed as a local ap- 
 ])liciili(m in cases in which a stimulating, astringent, or antiseptic action 
 
 ■In case there is an excels of acid, it will be impossible to dry the .salt; therefore w- 
 advise the use of not more than one troy ounce of sulphuric acid, thus insuring come 
 plete saturation. The excess of aluminum hydrate will remain upon the filter. — L. 
 93 
 
30 Materia Medica. 
 
 is required. From four xo six pounds of the salt, dissolved in a gallon 
 of water, and the solution injected into the cadaver, in the usual way, 
 will preserve it, in the dissecting-room, fov from eighteen days to two 
 or three months, according to the temperature of the wenihor (_Gannal). 
 A solution consisting of from 75 to 240 grains of this salt in 3 fluid- 
 oun(^es of water, has been found exceedingly useful as a topical appli- 
 cation to old ulcers, and in leueorrhea with oi^^ensive discharge. A 
 satui-ated solution, and more especially when in combination with zinc 
 oxide, has been employed aS a stimulant or gentle caustic in tonsiilui'y 
 enlargements, polypus of the nose, affections of the uterine cervix, 
 mother's mark, obstinate^ ulcers, chronic catarrh, and in other chronic 
 diseased conditions of mucous tissues; it may be applied every day in 
 form of spray, or with a camel's-hair pencil. A " benzinated solution 
 of aluminum," diluted with from 25 to 64 times its weight of water, 
 forms an excellent application in chronic nasal discharges, in ulcerated 
 conditions of the os uteri, as well as in offensive vaginal discharges; it 
 tnay be used by injection, or in the form of spray.' This benzinated so- 
 lution is prepared by dissolving four ounces of aluminum sulphate in 
 eight fluidounces of water, then adding recently formed gelatinous alu- 
 mina to saturation, and finally adding eight drachms of coarsely pow- 
 dered benzoin, — the best article of benzoin, that in the form of whitish 
 tears, being used for this purpose. This solution is kept at a tempera- 
 ture of from 148° to 152° F., for six or seven hours, being stirred from 
 time to time, until, when filtered, it has attained the specific gravity 
 1.26. It is then set aside in a cool place for six or seven days, until 
 alum crystals are precipitated, and the solution has acquired a balsamic 
 odor, and taste, with astringency. — K. 
 
 AMMONII NITRAS. 
 
 Nitrate of Ammonium. 
 Formula, NHiNOa ; molecular weight, 79.90. 
 
 History. — Nitrate of ammonium has been known for a great many 
 years.' It is readily prepared by adding ammonia, or ammonium car- 
 bonate, to dilute nitric acid, and, when the mixture becomes neutral, 
 evaporating it slowly to crystallization. As found in the market, tor 
 the purpose of making nitrogen monoxide, it is in the form of a white 
 ' fibrous mass, in which ease it is prepared by quick boiling until a por- 
 tion will become solid when placed upon "a cold porcelain slab. The 
 mass is then allowed to cool, broken into fragments, and preserved, in 
 a cool 1 place. As thus prepared, it is known by the n-dme, fused nitrate 
 of ammonium. This salt was of little interest until the introduction of 
 nitrous oxide, when a demand for it was created. Ic crystallizes in 
 rhombic prisms, possesses a strongly saline taste, is very soluble in boil- 
 iiiy; water, and in iialf its weight of cold, and also in alcohol of sp. gr. 
 880. WWen ammonium nitrate and Dianganese dioxide in equal 
 amounts are heated tofiether, at the temperature of from 360° to 400° 
 F., pure nitrogen is evolved, but above 420° F., tcroxide of nitrogen 
 and oxygen accompany.^ 
 
 Dry aranioniacal gas is absorbed in large amount when passed over 
 
 'Discovered hy Glauber, and known as nitium Jhmmem. 
 '^Chem. News, Vol. xxxv. 
 
Ammonii Nitras. 31 
 
 ammonium nitrate, attended by liquefaction of the salt. At 0° C. (32° 
 F.) half the weight of the salt will be condensed.' When quickly raised 
 to a high temperature, dry nitrate oT iunmonium decomposes into nitro- 
 
 after Davy, in 1800,^ discovered its wonderful action when inhaled. 
 Then it became a curiosity, and as such under the ntime laughing gas, 
 remained until a recent period. At present it ,is in extensive use 
 throughout civilized countries for the purpose of producing temporary 
 insensibility. It is best to prepare it from fused nitrate of amuioniiiiu, 
 as at a certain temperature this substance splits up into water and nit- 
 rons oxide gas; NH4N03 = N20 -)- 2HjO. If the nitrate of ammonium 
 be free from chloride, no special precautions are necessary further than 
 ■washing the gas with warm water; but if, as is often the case, the am- 
 monium nitrate is impure, precautions must be taken to separate the 
 impurities. For this purpose the following process is recommended : 
 
 Into the !retort A (^Fig. 2) introduce fused nitrate of ammonium to 
 one-third its capacity. Connect this, by means of glass tubes, with 
 two wash bottles BE. The first bottle half filled with soljition of sul- 
 phate of iron, the second half filled with solution of caustic potash. 
 Connect the latter with the gas bgig, or with the pneumatic trough C, con- 
 taining warm water. Applj' heat to the retort, and, when the temper- 
 ature approaches 200° C. (392° F.), nicrous oxide gas will be abund- 
 antly disengaged. As the reaction progresses the temperature may be 
 cautiously increased. The traces of nitric oxide will be retained by 
 the solution of ferrous sulphate, and the free chlorine (if present), by 
 the solution of caustic potassium. 
 
 Nitrogen monoxide, or nitrous oxide, is a colorless gas, having a sweet 
 taste, and a pleasant odor. Its specific gravity is 1.52 {Colin), 1.6 (Dal- 
 ton). It is somewhat soluble in cold water, and more so in alcohol. 
 Wlien the gas is compressed by 30 atmospheres, at 0° C. (32 F.), it 
 liquefies to a colorless liquid. Wills has solidified it to a form resem- 
 bling snow.* The gas supports combustion, in consequence of its ready 
 decomposition with liberation of oxygen, which, in I'eality, is the com- 
 bining agent. It derived the name laughing gas, from the curious effect, 
 it produced upon the system when mixed with oxygen and inhaled. 
 At present, nitrous oxide gas may be obtained in our cities compressed 
 
 iP/m7. Trans , 1873. 
 
 -'Fhst called Dephlogisticated nitrous gas or Oxyd of Azot. Kerr in 1802 propcsed 
 •Oxv-:;zotic ga,s a.s " a very regular term." 
 
 ''fj/emenis of Chemistry, by Lavoisier, 1802, Vol. ii. 
 *J<mrn. Chem. Soc, 1S74. 
 
32 Materia Medica. 
 
 into cylinders, and ready for use, and for dental purposes it is exten- 
 sively employed in this form, and the dentist is thus saved the trouble of 
 its preparation. ^-L. 
 
 ' Properties and Uses — ^Nitrate of ammonium has rarely been employed 
 therapeutically. Dr. "Walter Coles (Am. Med. Times, November, I860, 
 pj 311) has advised its use as a tonic, and for the purpose of introducing 
 an increased quantity of oxygen into the system. It certainly has been 
 found beneficial in cases of excessive debility from suppurating ab- 
 scesses or ulcers, where the mucous tissues present a dark appearance, 
 and has, apparently, been of service in several diabetic patients. The 
 dose is from five to fifteen grains, repeated two or three times a day. — K. 
 
 AMMONII PICEAS. 
 
 PiCRATE OF AMMONirM. CaRBAZOTATE OP AMMONIUM. 
 
 Formula, NH4C6H2(N02)30 ; molecular weight, 245.58. 
 
 Preparation. — Add one part of picric acid to eight parts of distilled 
 water, and bring the mixture to the boiling point. Then, with con- 
 stant stirring, add aqua ammonia until in slight excess, and filter 
 through paper while hot. Mix the filtrate with eight parts of alcohol, 
 and, when cool, strain, and dry the precipitate upon blotting paper, by 
 exposure to the atmosphere. 
 
 The picric a,cid unites with ammonia in the foregoing operation, 
 forming a dark orange-colored solution (picric acid dissolves with lemon- 
 yellow color), from which the mechanicaf impurities are separated by 
 filtration through paper. Owing to the fact that picrate of ammonium 
 is almost insoluble ih alcohol and is soluble to a considerable extent in 
 water, the alcohol is added, thus precipitating a larger amount than 
 could be obtained by crystallization. Another advantage derived from 
 the use of alcohol, results from the fact that a common impurity in com- 
 mercial picric acid is a resinous substance produced by the action upon 
 carbolic acid of the acids employed in making the picric acid. This 
 resin is held in solution by the alcohol, but precipitates with the picric 
 acid if water only is used. 
 
 History. — Picrate of ammonium, obtained by the preceding formula, 
 is in the form of minute lemon or orange colored acicular crystals. It 
 is intensely bitter, and imparts, in solution, a permanent yellow color 
 to organic bodies, more particularly such as horn, the finger nails, hair, 
 etc. Solution of picrate of ammonium precipitates most of theeolutions 
 of alkaloidal salts, forming insoluble picrates of the alkaloids. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The therapeutical virtues of picrate of am- 
 monium are not well understood. Administered for some time, to cer- 
 tain animals, it has occasioned a yellow discoloration of the conjunctiva, 
 as well as of the urine, also diarrhea, leanness, flatulency, spasmodic 
 twitchings, etc. ; and the globules of the blood, both the red and the 
 white, become seriously changed in their character. With man, some- 
 what similar effects have been observed. At one time this agent was 
 highly extolled as an effective remedy for intermittent fever, and was 
 also suggested for the destruction of trichina in man, but no positive 
 or satisfactory results have been derived from its employment in these 
 cases. Its chief use at the present day is in the preparation of colors 
 for staining in histological investigations. — K. 
 
Ammonii Sulphas. 33 
 
 AMMONIl SULPHAS. 
 Sulphate of Ammonium. 
 Formula (NH4)2S04 ; molecular weight, 131.84. 
 
 History. — This salt was discovered by Libavius (.fioscoe tfc 8.), but was 
 first investigated carefully by Glauber.' It is found in certain volcanic 
 districts, but is made in immense amounts from ammoniacal gas liquor, 
 from which the ammonia is liberated by lime, and then conducted into 
 dilute sulphuric acid ; after which this solution of impure sulphate of 
 ammonium is strained, evaporated until the salt separates, and the impure 
 brown mass formed is afterward purified. .Sulphate of ammonium crys- 
 tallizes in long, transparent, six-sided crystals, which are isomorphoua. 
 with potassium sulphate, and have a strongly saline taste. They dis- 
 solve in their own weight of boiling water, and in two parts of cold ; in- 
 soluble in alcohol of less specific gravity than 0.850. Sulphate of am- 
 monium is made in large amounts in this country, and is mostly consumed 
 in the preparation of alum,^ aqua ammonia, and chloride of ammonium. 
 It also enters, into the composition of ammonio-ferric alum, and is used 
 to make other preparations of ammonium, such as iodide of ammonium, 
 and as a fertilizer. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses — Sulphate of ammonium has not been empldyed 
 as a therapeuticaL agent. — K. 
 
 AMYL NITEIS. 
 
 Nitrite op Amtl. 
 Formula, CsHuNOj) molecular weight, 116.78. 
 
 History. — Nitrite of am}'! was discovered by M. Balard, in 1844, who 
 gave an account of its chemical and physical properties. Chapman 
 and Smith,' and afterward Chapman,* investigated it carefully. Tanner 
 recommends that it be prepared by a process similar to that of Mr. 
 Eedwood for making nitrous ether. Maisch^ distils purified amyl-al- 
 cohol with nitric acid. In all cases the operation requires the utmost 
 care and attention, notwithstanding which by-products will be largely 
 produced which require careful elimination. . 
 
 Preparation. — The process of Professor Maiseh, as modified by him 
 from Balard's, is essentially as follows: Mix pure amyl-alcohol with 
 its bulk of nitric acid in a rather large glass retort and heat gradually 
 until the reaction commences, then remove the fire and allow the subse- 
 quent spontaneous distillation to proceed until the temperature reaches 
 100° C. (212° F.). This distillate only is reserved, as, above that tem- 
 perature, considerable nitrite of amyl, an,d ethyl-amj'lic ether are pro- 
 duced. The reserved distillate is agitated with solution of caustic potassa 
 in order to remove free acids. The decanted liquid is carefully distilled. 
 and those portions only that distil between the temperatures 96° C. (205° 
 F.-), and 100° C. (212° F.), are to be reserved. The yield is small. 
 
 Tanner mixes ten parts of amyl alcohol with one of sulphuric acid 
 
 ' It is mentioned in the early works on chemistry as ammoniacal vitrol, mtriolie sal- 
 ammoniac, and Glauber's sea-ete sal-ammoniac. 
 ^Tliere is little potash alum now in market. 
 ^Journ. Chem. Sac, 1866 and 1867. 
 
 *Pharm. Journ. and Trans., 1871. ^Am. Journ. Pharm., 1871, p. 147. 
 
 3 
 
S4 Materia Medica. 
 
 in a capacious glass retort containing some copper wire. One part of 
 nitric acid is added, having been previously diluted with its volume of 
 water. Heat is now applied, and distillation conducted until a tempera- 
 turei of 98° C. (208° P.), is reached ; the heat is then discontinued, and 
 when the ternperature of the liquid within the retort has Mien consid- 
 erably, another part of nitric acid is added through a safety funnel, and 
 distillation conducted as before. The operation is repeated until the 
 distillate rather more than equals the bulk of the amyl-alcohol employed. 
 This constitutes impure nitrite of ^myl, and may be purified by the 
 directions given in Mr. Maisch's pi'ocess. 
 
 Nitrite of amy 1 is an ethereal, yellowish fluid, of a not unpleasant 
 odor, and having the sp. gr, 0877. It is soluble in alcohol and ether, 
 but insoluble in water, and boils at 96° C. (205° F.). When much diluted 
 with ether and allowed to act upon sodium in excess, almost pure ni- 
 trogen is produced. If them'inYebe in large excess, monoxide of nitro- 
 gen (NjO), is evolved. It is converted by the oxidizing action of 
 chromic acid into nitric acid, valerianic acid, and valerianate of amyl^ 
 {Chapman and Smith'). The process is explained as follows: When 
 amyl-alcohol, C5H12O, or C5II11IIO, is acted upon by nitrous or nitric 
 acid, a complicated reaction ensues, resulting in the formation of sev- 
 eral compounds, among them, amyl nitrite, which has the composition 
 C,H„NO,.— L. 
 
 Properties and C/ses.— Nitrite of amyl was introduced to the profes- 
 sion as an anesthetic, in 1863, by' Dr. B. W. •Richardson, of England; 
 but. from many experiments that have subsequently been made, it ap- 
 pears that uneonscioutoess does not follow its inhalation until its full 
 effects have been experienced, and these effects are due to its absorption 
 by the various tissues of the system. The blood becomes blackish or 
 of a chocolate color, and the absorption of oxygen, as well as the pro- 
 duction of carbonic acid, are greatly lessened ; and, after a time, from 
 its continuous action, the blood presents a modification appreciable 
 with the spectroscope, and the hemoglobin loses its faculty of crystal- 
 lizing. From its action, vascular and mucous tissues present a dark 
 appearance, the number of pulsations diminish and then increase, the 
 capillaries dilate, arterial tension becomes greatly lessened, and the 
 temperature decreases. Bador and Goodhart, at Guy's Hospital, found 
 that three drops of the nitrite, on sugar, occasioned considerable dila- 
 tation of the retinal veins, and especially of the papilla of the optic 
 nerve, so as to leave no doubt as to the production of a cerebral hype- ' 
 remia. Nitrite of amyl likewise possesses a paralyzing influence on 
 both nerves and muscles. Its effects, however, do not appear to be the 
 same with all who inhale it ; some are affected by a very minute 
 amount of it, while others require large doses for inhalation, even to 
 forty drops. With some its action is succeeded by nausea; others, 
 again, will have their vision dimmed, or will be annoyed by a yellow 
 cloud in the field of vision, yellowish and green sparks or rings, and 
 ])i.'rsons around them will appear to be surrounded with a yellow or 
 dark tint. Occasionally, its inhalation is followed by pallor, great de- 
 pression and collapse. On these acciounts, great care and prudence 
 must be observed in its admiiiisi ration, and especially on the first occa- 
 sion of its inhalation. With some, repetition of the inhalations appears 
 to lessen its more serious effects ; but a too prolonged inhalation should 
 always be avoided, as it is apt to prove fatal. It should not be employed 
 in serious organic diseases of the heart, or of the brain. 
 
 The usual immediate effects from inhalation of the nitrite of amyl 
 
Amyl Nitris. 35 
 
 are those observed at first by Guthrie, viz.. flusliing of the face, throb- 
 bing of the carotids, and acceleration of tbe heart's action. Some pa- 
 tients, after its administration, complain of throbbing in the temples, 
 fluttering of the heart, and a death-like sensation of breathlessness; 
 others feel a tingling throughout the system, or cramp-like pains in the 
 extremities. Dr. Eichardson who introduced nitrite of amj-1 as a rem- 
 edial agent, considers it8,physioloa;ical action to be directly exerted on 
 the ganglionic nervous tract; that it paralyses so that the nervous sup- 
 ply over the extreme vascular system is impaired ; that this paralysis 
 of the nerves travels from the periphery inwards, diminishes rnuscular 
 contractility, followed by relaxation and dilatation of the capillaries. 
 This effect of the article, led Dr. R. to suggest it primarily as a remedy 
 for excessive' spasmodic action, as, in tetanus, angina pectoris, etc., in 
 which affections it has proved very successful. The action of the nitrite 
 is curative only so far as it controls the spasms present, — that is, it pre- 
 vents death, and thus allows time for recovery, either from the natural 
 powers of the patient's system, or from the employment of- the proper' 
 hygienical and therapeutical measures. The various maladies in which 
 it has been successfully employed, are, angina pectoris, tetanus, un- 
 complicated neuralgia, spasmodic asthma, spasms of the fibers of invol- 
 untary muscles, as, in intestinal colic, epilepsy, hystero-epilepsy, nervous 
 headache due to anemia, in which it acts promptly, chorea, syncope, 
 puerperal convulsions, spasmodic pains in some of the more important 
 organs of the trunk, trismus nascentium, and intermittent fever. While 
 its inhalation may cure certain of these affections, it must be borne in 
 mind, that, with many of them, a very prompt and material ameliora- 
 tion of the troublesome or painful symptoms are all that can be expected, 
 as, in epilepsy, eclampsia, hysteria, etc. 
 
 Chloroform contracts the capillary vascular system, and in several 
 serious cases of narcosis following the inhalation of chloroform, the 
 prompt employment of the nitrite of amy! as an antagonizing agent 
 has been successfully resorted to. In sea-sickness, the nitrite has been 
 used with much eflB^ciency. It has likewise been advised in the collapsed 
 stage of cholera, by Gamgee, and others, but, Dr. Brunton has stated, 
 from a doubt whether it dilates the pulmonary capillaries, which are 
 contracted in this disease, that he considers it should be used, if at all 
 in this disease, either internally or by subcutaneous injection, and not 
 by inhalation ; also in spasmodic asthma when the arterialization of the 
 blood is impaired. 
 
 In the employment of nitrite of amyl, it is highly important that a 
 pure article be had. When used in inhalation the dose is from two to 
 five drops,' w-hich are to be placed upon a folded linen or handkerchief, 
 and then immediately inhaled for from three to six minutes. The ar- 
 ticle is also put up by manufacturers in hermetically sealed glass teai-s, 
 ^nd called " pearls of nitrite of amyl." As the fluid is exceedingly 
 vcAatile, this is undoubtedly the best form in which to keep it; and 
 these pearls can be had, each one containing two, three, or five drops. 
 All that is necessary, being to place the pearl in the center of the hand- 
 kerchief, then crush it, and inhale the vapor, ■ Internally, it is rarely 
 employed in doses of from two to five drops in a small amount of 
 spirit; thus used, its action is very energetic and requires to be closely 
 watched. In poisoning by chloroform, and in the collapse of cholera, 
 two or three drops may be sub«utan«ously injected.— K. 
 
36 Materia Medica. 
 
 AMYLENUM. 
 
 Amylene. 
 
 Formula, CsHm; iholecular weight, 69.85. 
 
 History. — Amylene was discovered by Balard, in 1844, who obtained 
 it by distilling amyl-alcohol with zinc chloride. It was introdu.ced to 
 the medical profession by Dr. Snow, in a paper presented to the Medical 
 Society of London, January 10th, 1857. In the same year, M. Duroy 
 experimented with it carefully, obtaining but one and one-fourth ounces 
 of amylene from ten pints of amyl-alcohol. He also found that all the 
 specimens upon the market, at that time, were very impure. 
 
 It is obtained by distilling equal parts of amyl-alcohol and zinc 
 chloride, by which means amylene, amj-1-alcohol, and other substances 
 are obtained. It is to be purified by fractional distillation from chloride 
 of calciumj care being taken that the hydrocarbons of higher boiling- 
 point are rejected. Amylene is a thin colorless liquid, having a fragrant 
 odor, being, freely soluble in alcohol and ether, and almost wholly in- 
 soluble in water. It boils at 35° 0. (95° P.), and has the specific gravity 
 0.663 at 0° C. (32° r.). 
 
 The experiments of Duroy show that it is not colored, and does not 
 form valerianic acid when acted upon by caustic potassa. It burns with 
 a bright smoky flame. Sulphuric acid, previously diluted with half its 
 bulk of water, decomposes it into polymerides of little general interest, 
 one only, diamylene (CioHj,,), having been closely studied. Amylene is 
 known by modern chemists under the name isopentene. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Dr. Snow introduced this agent as an anaesthetic, 
 but a large amount of it is lost during inhalation, from not being ab- 
 sorbed, besides, death has occurred very suddenly from its use. The 
 French Academy of Medicine gave it a very careful investigation, and 
 rejected it as an uncertain and hazardous agent. It has, therefore, not 
 come into general use, as few physicians would care to replace chloro- 
 form or ether by so unsatisfactory an article. — K. 
 
 AJSTACAEDIUM. 
 
 M'at. Ord. — Anacardiaceie, liindley. (Terebinthacese, .ZMwi^..) Tribe. — • 
 Anacardiese. The nut of Anacardium occidentale, imn. 
 Common Name. — Cashew-nut. 
 Illustrations. — Strong's American Flora, p. 125. 
 
 The Cashew-nut is a small tree, native of the Bast 
 Fig. S. and West Indies and South America. The leaves are 
 
 § alternate, simple, entire, obtuse, and borne on shor'' 
 leaf-stalks. The flowers are veiy numerous, small^ 
 and fragrant ; they are produced in terminal loose 
 panicles. What is known as the "Cashew-apple" if 
 the enlarged juicy peduncle which bears- the nut. 
 When ripe, it is of a golden yellow color, obovate in 
 shape, and has a pleasant acrid flavor, but is some- 
 what astringent. It is much eaten lay the natives. 
 The Cashew-nut is attached and hangs from the end 
 of the Cashew- apple. It is kidney-shape, and about 
 an inch long. It consists of an edible kernel, sur- 
 Cashew-nut. rounded by two shells. The outer shell is smooth. 
 Natural size, and of a bright brown color. ' Between the two shells 
 
Anemopsis Califoenica. 37 
 
 there is a very caustic oily substance which produces troublesome sores 
 within the mouths of those who injudiciously attempt to crush the nut 
 between the teeth, in order to obtain the kernel. When fresh, the 
 kernel is pleasant to the taste, and is largely consumed by the natives. 
 Fig. 3 is a drawing, natural size, of Cashew-nut in our possession. 
 
 History — The Cashew-nut was first examined by Cadet, who found 
 in it gallic acid and an acrid resin. Afterward, De Mattos,^by a more 
 careful investigation, found, in addition, tannin, an extractive substance, 
 a gum resin, and some green coloring matter. But the most interestini;- 
 investigation was made by Stsedeler, in 1847, 1848,'' who examined the 
 viscid liquid contained between the two shells of the nut, having ex- 
 tracted it by means of ether. This liquid is fluid at 60° F., congeals at 
 50° F., is soluble in alcohol and ether, but insoluble in water, and is 
 acrid and caustic ; when placed upon the skin, it promptly produces 
 vesication. Stsedeler separated this liquid into two constituents, one of 
 which was an oily substance constituting about ten per cent., fluid at even 
 low temperatures, and forming the. vesicating part of the liquid, which 
 he named cardol, CjiHgoOj. This was associated with an acid substance, 
 white and crystalline when pure, capable of forming salts with bases, 
 some being crystalline, and others amorphous, and to which Stsedeler 
 gave the name anacardic acid. This acid is not vesicating. The tree fur- 
 nishes a gum in abundance (gomme d'acajou, Fr.), which is brittle, and 
 transparent, resembling gum acacia, with the exception of a slight astrin- 
 gency which it possesses. When the trunks of the trees are tappe4, a 
 milky juice exudes, which is white, when fresh, but turns black on ex- 
 posure, and, in India, is used as a varnish. It stains cotton or linen 
 deep black by exposure to air. The apple jn'elds a liquor by fermentai 
 tion, called " Cashew wine," which is said to be a wholesome drink. 
 The roasted nuts are edible, care being taken, however, that the fumes 
 from the roasting shell do not come into contact with the face, as 
 thereby painful blisters will be produced upon the exposed por- 
 tions. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The fresh juice of the rind is very acrid and 
 corrosive, producing redness, tumefaction, inflammation, and blisters, 
 on which account it has been employed in the West Indies for the 
 removal of warts, corns, ringworms, and as a stimulant to indolent 
 ulcers. Blisters formed by its application are apt to be very trouble- 
 some and annoying. The kernel, especially when roasted, is edible, 
 having a rather sweet and agreeable flavor. The bark of the tree was 
 used by Adanson, to cure himself of the peculiar fever of Senegal; it 
 has an agreeable taste, does not appear to affect the nervous system, has 
 a favorable influence upon digestion, and is very effective in its action, 
 having conquered the Senegal fever in cases in which the largest doses 
 of quinia proved unavailable. Comptes Rendus, xxvi, p. 254. — K. 
 
 ANEMOPSIS CALIFOENICA. 
 
 I^at. Ord. — Saururacese. The root of Anemopsis Californica, Hooker. 
 
 Common Name. — Yerba Mansa. 
 
 Description. — This is a perennial herb, native of wet places in South- 
 ern California and in the northern part of Mexico. The stem is erect, 
 
 ' ^Jmir. de Pharm., 1831. ^ Chem. Gazette, vol. vi. 
 
38 Materia Medica. 
 
 aDout a foot high, and bears a close terminal spike of flowers. Near 
 the middle of the stem is borne a large clasping leaf, from the axis of 
 which a few short, slender branches are produced. The leaves are 
 mostly in a radical cluster at the base of the stem ; they are from two 
 to four inches in length, one-half as broad, of a firm, leathery texture, 
 smooth and entire ; their outline is oblong, with a cordate base. The 
 leaf-stalks are about the length of the leaf, dilated at the base and pubes- 
 ,cent along the margin. The stem is remarkable for sending out from 
 its base, slender, unbranched stolons, from three to six feet long. These 
 stolons are of rapid growth, and produce, at intervals of about a foot, 
 roots and a cluster of leaves, which in another year become a separate 
 plant. The flowers are small, and borne' in a thick, dense spike (spadix), 
 about an inch, in length. At the base of the spadix are about six large, 
 J petaloid, involucre leaves in the same manner as the flowering dogwood, 
 which give to the entire inflorescence the appearance of a single termi- 
 nal flower. The flowers are small, and destitute of either corolla or 
 calyx, but are each subtended by a small colored bract. The stamens 
 are about six, with short filaments and borne on the ovary. The stig- 
 mas are generally three, spreading, and about as long as the stamens. 
 The ovary is one-celled, immersed in the spadix and consolidated with 
 it. The seeds are small, light brown, and attached to the parietal pla- 
 centae of the capsule. 
 
 History. — There is a pungent, disagreeable, somewhat aromatic odor,, 
 and a sharp, biting taste, imparted by all parts of the plant, when chewed, 
 followed by a sense of astringency. The, Indians of Southern Califor- 
 nia, Mexico; and Arizona, according to Dr. Palmer (Am. Journ. Pharm., 
 Dec. 1878), employ both the roots and leaves. Dr. Wm. H. George, of 
 California, first brought the drug to our notice, the roots being the part 
 employed. When dried, thej' are of a brown color, wrinkled, from one- 
 fourth of an inch to half an inch in diameter, and seem to grow mostly 
 horizontally near the surface of the ground. From four to ten fleshy 
 rootlets spring in a clump from one side of the root at the base of the 
 leaves, and run downward. A strange peculiarity of the lot of roots 
 examined by us, is, the presence of numerous grass stalks that pierce 
 and grow through them, sometimes appearing several inches from the 
 place of entrance. Internally, the root is pinkish ; and running length- 
 wise through it, about midway between the surface and the center, is 
 a ring of coarse fibrous medullary matter. The upper portion of the 
 root is not unfrequently brown and half decayed. The active princi- 
 ples of this root are freely extracted by alcohol ; they are, firstly, 
 about five per cent, of a volatile oil, which is heavier than water, is 
 soluble in ether, alcohol, chloroform, and disulphide of carbon, and 
 possesses the exact odor and taste of the plant. This oil turns blue 
 ■when agitated with hydrochloric acid. Secondly, a vegetable tannate, 
 which forms a black precipitate with ferrous sulphate. There is no al- 
 kiiloid. or other body present, worthy of notice. (Am. Journ. Pharm., 
 Jan., 1880).— L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This plant was introduced to the profession by 
 W. H. George, of California. He states that the natives esteem it a 
 panacea far excelling the Yerba Santa, and successfully employ it in 
 iill niiilarial fevers, in diarrhea, and in dysentery. (Eclectic Med. Journ., 
 1877, p. 238). In a letter to the writer he observes that the natives 
 frequently carry the root with them, chewing it and swallowing the juice, 
 and consider it a certain reraedj^ for cough and pulmonary affections. 
 They likewise employ a strong infusion of it as an efficacious local 
 
PLATE III, 
 
 APOCYNUM ANDROS^MIFOLIUM. 
 
ApOCYNUM ANDROSiEMIFOLIDM. 39 
 
 application to saddle and collar galls on horses. Di\ George considers 
 it a stimulant tonic, astringent, carminative, and antiemetic. He has suc- 
 cessfully employed it in gonorrhea with profuse discharge, and thinks it 
 equal to cubebs in this disease, and more pleasant to take. The wi-iter 
 has tried it in one case of gonorrhea, and in several cases of bronchial 
 cough, with favorable results. The dose of the fluid extract is from 
 ten to sixty minims, in syrup, repeated every three or four hours. — K. 
 
 APOCYNUM A]SrDEOS.^MIPOLIUM. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Apocynacese. Sub Orel. — Buapocynese. 
 
 The root of Apocj'num Aiulrosasmifolium (imn), gathered in autumn 
 after the leaves and fruit have matured. 
 
 Common Names. — Dog's-bane, Indian Hemp, Bitter Eoot. 
 
 Illustrations. — Bot. Mag.., 280 ; Rigel's Med., 36 ; our Plate III. 
 
 (See King's American Dispensatory, 8th ed., p. 113.) 
 
 Description. — Apocynum androssemifolium has a close resemblance to 
 A. cannabinum, but is found in more northern latitudes, being the more 
 common species in Canada and in the North-eastern States. The leaves 
 are oval, roundish, about three-fourths as wide as they are long, and end 
 in short mucronate points. They are smooth, lighter color on the under 
 surface, and are attached to the stem, at nearly a right angle, on 
 leaf-stalks about a quarter of an inch in length. The flowers are larger 
 than in Apocynum cannabinum, and are disposed in loose, terminal, 
 panicled cymes, extending beyond the leaves. The corolla is flesh-col- 
 ored, with spreading lobes, and more than twice the length of the calyx. 
 (See Plate III, drawn from a plant furnished by Mr. F. H. Hosford.) 
 
 History. — The root of this plant is rarely found in market. It bears 
 a general resemblance to that of Apocynum cannabinum, although its 
 distinguishing characteristics are well marked, and suflBciently distinct 
 to forbid confusion, and to prevent substitutions from being practiced 
 upon those who have compared the two roots. Apocynum andi-ossemi- 
 folium has a long running root. (Plate III.) When dry, it is contorted, 
 frequently having the woody remains of its stalks attached. It is 
 shriveled longitudinally, and often marked bj;^ transverse fractures, that 
 extend through the bark and show the white woody center. Occasion- 
 ally the bark scales off. The root breaks with difficulty, its central 
 part being woody. Externally, the bark is dark brown, white upon its 
 inner surface, and readily separates from the central or ligneous part 
 of the root ; it is very bitter. The central part of the root is smooth and 
 firm, bends before breaking, and usually requires considerable twisting 
 before the woody fibers give way. Attached to the root are rootlets, not 
 very plentiful, which bear a general resemblance to the main root,' their 
 central portion being woody and covered by a brown epidermis. The 
 confusion that has existed regarding the roots of Apocynum androsEemi- 
 folium and Apocynum cannabinum results from the general resemblance 
 of the plants, and from the fact that the names bitter root and Indian 
 hemp have been applied indiscriminately to both species by herb gath- 
 erers and country people. A. cannabinum is quite plentiful in localities 
 from which our (Cincinnati) market is supplied, while the A. androssemi- 
 folium is scarce. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — See King's American Dispensatory, p, 114, 
 
40 Materia Medica. 
 
 APOCrJSTUM CANNABINUM. 
 Nat. Ord. — Apoeynacese. Sub Orel. — Euapocynese. 
 The root of Apocyrium cannabinum, Linn. (Syn. — A. hypercifolium, 
 Ait.) gathered in autumn after the leaves and fruit have matured. 
 Common Navies. — Bitter Eoot, Indian Hemp. 
 Illustration. — Our Plate IV. 
 
 (See King's American Dispensatory, 8th ed., p. 114.) 
 
 Description. — This is an erect, branching plant, from two to four feet 
 high, which is found growing throughout the United States, on the 
 borders of fields and in other similar localities. The stem is covered 
 with a strong fibrous bark, wiiich is green when the plant grows in the 
 shade, and of a reddish-brown color when in sunnj' localities, in which 
 situations the plant is usually found. The fibrous bark was used by 
 the Indians, and on this account the name Indian hemp has been applied 
 to this plant; but it is a bad term, as it has led to much confusion, 
 from the fact that this is the common name for several other plants. 
 The plant should never be designated by this name. The entire plant 
 exudes a milky juice, when wounded. The leaves are opposite, and 
 attached to the stem at an acute angle. They exhibit considerable 
 diversity of shape in plants that grow in different localities, and form 
 several well-marked varieties ; presenting, in the different varieties, 
 modifications in outline from oblong to oval, with the bases of the 
 leaves acute or sub-cordate. The most common form has oblong-lance- 
 olate, veiny, entire leaves, on leaf-stalks, about a quarter of an inch 
 long, and end in a short, mucronate point. The flowers are small, 
 numerous, and in close, pedunclod, flat, cymes, which are shorter than 
 the lateral branches. The calyx is small, with five, narrow, sharp 
 lobes ; the corolla is five parted, with erect lobes, white or pale-red col- 
 or, and but a little longer than the calyx. The stamens are five, small, 
 distinct, and included. The pistil has two ovaries covered, by two 
 united, sessile, fleshy stigmas. The fruit, which is produced by only a 
 few of the flowers, consists of a pair of slender,, diverging pods, con- 
 taining numerous small seed, which ai-e furnished with a bunch of 
 silky white hair at the apex. (See Plate IV.) 
 
 History. — The root of the plant is gathered by diggers and thrown 
 upon the market under the names, bitter root, or Indian hemp. It is not 
 to them known as the true Apocynum cannabinum, few of the diggers 
 being aware that two species exist. Some writers have supposed that 
 the roots of A. cannabinum and A. androssemifolium are not to be dis- 
 tinguished from each other. Doubtless, such assertions have been made 
 after having compared the roots sold upon the market under the forego- 
 ing names, in which case they are usually identical, being, in almost 
 every instance, obtained from the Apocynum cannabinum. There is, 
 however, a marked diflPerence both in the external appearance and the 
 internal constitution of these two roots, and those who have compared 
 authentic specimens can distinguish the two at a glance. 
 
 The root of A. cannabinum, gathered in the autumn and dried, is 
 about one-third of an inch in diameter, wrinkled longitudinally, and 
 marked by occasional transverse fractures through the bark, which 
 show the white central portion. It consists of a bavk, externally 
 asligray in color, beneath which is a thin, brown, corky layer, and 
 witliin this, the inner bark, which is of a pule pink color. The remain- 
 der of the root is composed of wliite modullary matter, perforated by 
 
PLATE IV. 
 
 APOCYNUM CANNABINUM. 
 
Araroba. ' 41 
 
 numerous, longitudinal tubes, disposed more tliickly in concentric cir- 
 cles about the fortieth of an inch apart, or forming a single circle. 
 Radiating from the center, are delicate medullary rays. When gathered 
 in the spring, or in early summer, the center is pierced by a light pith, 
 or a small cavity. The root, whtii dry, is brittle, and snaps readily, 
 giving a clear smooth fracture. As found iu <inarket, there are few, if 
 any, fibers attached, although, when fresli, the root is plentifully sup- 
 plied with secondary roots; but as they are very brittle when dry, they 
 do not long remain attached. We call attention to iliv o.Kuct engraving 
 presented of the dry root, and also to a section of lIiu root magnified 
 (Plate IV), and suggest that a comparison be made between these and 
 those of Apocynum androsaemifolium (Plate III). The woody portion 
 of the root is slightly bitter ; the bark is extremely bitter and disa- 
 greeable. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — See King's American Dispensatory, 8th edition, 
 p. 115— K. 
 
 ARAROBA. 
 
 Common Names. — Goa powder, Bahia powder, Brazil powder, Ring- 
 worm powder, Ohrysatobine, Chrysarobin. 
 
 History. — As found in commerce, this agent is in the form of a pow- 
 der of different degrees of fineness, of a color ranging from light yellow 
 to dark chocolate. It resembles the partly-decayed matter occasionally 
 observed in cavities of old trees and stumps, and is often mixed with 
 irregular woody fragments. Dr. Payrer called attention to this' sub- 
 stance in the Med. Times and Gazette, October, 1875, but was unable to 
 give its origin, farther than that it reached Bombay through Groa on 
 the Malabar coast, thus acquiring the name goa powder by which it is 
 commonly known. Its source was kept secret for some time, and the 
 powder was sold at exorbitant prices. Recent investigations, however, 
 have fairly established that it is the partly -decayed matter of a South 
 American tree, and thus, curiously enough, by the way of distant In- 
 dia, where it had been long used, this product of the South American 
 forests was introduced to the medical profession. 
 
 Araroba is remarkable for sometimes yielding from eighty to eighty- 
 five per cent, of chrysophanic acid, as shown by Attfield, in 1875, and, 
 according to the same authority, the remainder of the powder examined 
 consists of seven per cent, of a glucoside and bitter matter, two of a 
 resinous substance, five and a half of a red woody fiber, and one-half 
 per cent, of ash. The ashes consist chiefly of silicate of aluminum and 
 sulphates of potassium and of sodium. We have examined several 
 specimens upon the market, and, in all cases, have obtained a much smal- 
 ler proportion of chrysophanic acid than stated by Mr. Attfield. There- 
 fore, we conclude, that he must have procured an unexceptionably rich 
 specimen of araroba, or else that which now reaches this country is 
 very inferior. 
 
 Araroba i-eadily yields chrysophanic acid to benzine. When heated 
 in a suitable vessel, a sublimate is obtained, which, doubtless, consists 
 largely of the aforementioned acid, as it is colored red by alkalies in 
 solution. Araroba is chiefly employed for the preparation of chryso- 
 phanic acid (see p. 5). Lieberraann and Siedler are authority for the 
 statement that chrysophanic acid does not exist ready formed in 
 94 
 
42 Materia Medica. 
 
 araroba, but is foi'med by oxidation of a natural constituent, to which 
 they give the formula CaoHjeO,, and the name Chrysarobin, (previously 
 applied to araroba). 
 
 Origin. — Mr. B. M. Holms suggested that a species of Ccesalpinia prob- 
 ably produced this powder, and, for some time, his conclusion was gen- 
 erally accepted, although not without reserve. Dr. J. M. de Aguiar, of 
 Bahia (1879), published an article in pamphlet form upon this subject,' 
 which tends to lighten the mystery that has heretofore surrounded its 
 source. Ete informs us that araroba is derived from a large intertropi- 
 cal tree, the ordinary height of which is eight}- or one hundred feet. 
 It belongs to the Leguminosse, and tribe of Dalbergiefe, resembling, in 
 some respects, Balbergia miscolobium (JBentK), and Andira fraxifolia 
 (Benth). After having given a careful botanical description, the author 
 concludes that the tree has been heretofore undescribed, and proposes 
 for it, the name Andira araroba (Aguiar), " since the drupaceous fruit, 
 panicled inflorescence, purple flowers, and other characters clearly point 
 to its being an Andira." 
 
 The araroba powder is obtained by cutting down the older trees, as 
 they yield it in greatest abundance, and then scraping the powder 
 from cavities found by splitting the trunk into longitudinal sections. 
 The tree contains an abundance of resin, by the oxidation of which, 
 Dr. de Aguiar believes, the araroba is produced. "When fresh, it is of 
 a pale primrose color, but, by age, changes to the color of rhubarb, 
 and, eventually, becomes dark-purple. The tree exists abundantly in 
 all the southern part of the province of Bahia, although the powder 
 now chiefly comes from Camamu and Taperoa. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses, — In the Indies this agent has been employed for 
 the removal of tsenia, solium, and in the treatment of certain cutaneous 
 maladies. Attfield, Payrer, Da Silva Lima, Squire, Hebra, Bernier, 
 Blanc, Thin, and many other medical men have successfully employed 
 this powder in the treatment of herpes circinatus, porrigo scutulata, 
 porrigo decalvans, sycosis, favus, psoriasis, eczema, lichen, acne, and 
 other diseases of the skin. The powder is mixed with vinegar or 
 lemon juice to form a thin pasty mass, or, is well incorporated with 
 glycerin or starch paste, and then applied over the eruption once or 
 twice a day, for from five to eight days successively, in which period of 
 time the cure is generally effected. Its application causes, after some 
 length of time, a temporary uneasy sensation in the part to which it 
 is applied, the eruption assumes a whitish appearance, and the sur- 
 rounding tegument presents the appearance as of a dark slain ; as the 
 cure progresses, the skin assumes its normal color. For internal use, it 
 may be taken in the form of pills, made by incorporating it with medic- 
 inal soap. For external application, it may be used as above stated, 
 by means of a small brush, or, a tincture of the powder may be painted 
 upon the affected partM. It may be also used in tlie form of an oint- 
 ment, confjisting of from fifteen to sixty grains of the powder, from fifteen 
 to thirty drops of acetic acid, all thoroughly mixed with an ounce of 
 benzoiiiuted lard. At the present time, however, chrysophanic acid 
 (which see) is used in preference to tlie goa powder — K. 
 
 ^Plmirm. Jmrn. and Trans., July, 1879. Also New Bemedies, Seiit., 1879. 
 
Berberis Aquifolium. 43 
 
 BARIUM DIOXIDE. 
 Peroxide op Barium. 
 ForTnula, Ba O,; molecular weight, 168.72. 
 
 Description.- — This preparation is formed when baryta (barium mon- 
 oxide BaO), is heated to redness in a current of dry oxygen. It 
 usually contains silica, lime, and iron oxide, which substances conse- 
 quently exist as impurities in peroxide of hydrogen prepared from 
 commercial barium dioxide. Therefore, aside from other considera- 
 tions, it is better to use hydrated' dio:xido of barium to prepare tiiis 
 compound. 
 
 Hydrated Dioxide of Barium, Ba O^ + SH^O, is made as follows : 
 Add powdered barium dioxide gradually to dilute hydrochloric acid, 
 until the acid is nearly neutralized; cool, filter, and add cautiously 
 baryta-water, until the silica and metallic oxides cease to separate and 
 the white hydrated barium dioxide appears ; then filter and add concen- 
 trated baryta-water until a precipitate ceases to form. Collect the pre- 
 cipitate upon a filtering-paper, wash with cold water and preserve iif 
 well corked bottles. It is used for the preparation of hydrogen dioxide, 
 but otherwise is not employed in medicine. — L. 
 
 bbrbeeis aquifolium. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Berberidacese. Tribe — Berberse. 
 
 The root of Berberis Aquifolium (Pursh).. Syn. — Mahonia Aquifo- 
 lium (Paxton'). 
 
 Common Name. — Mountain grape. 
 
 Illustration. — Pursh, Vol. I, Plate IV. £ot. Meg., 1425, 
 
 Description. — This is a tall shrub, native of the western section of the 
 United States. It grows from Colorado to the Pacific Ocean, and is es- 
 pecially abundant in Oregon and the northern part of California. The 
 stems are about six feet high, erect, and of rapid growth. The leaves are 
 alternate, and consist of three or four pairs of leaflets, and an odd one. 
 They are evergreen, coriaceous, bright and shining upon the upper sur- 
 face, and very ornamental; hence, the shrub is frequent in cultivation, 
 often under the improper name -'holly." The leaflets are smooth, ovate, 
 from two to three inches long, and one-half as wide. They are acute, 
 sessile, pinnately veined, and the margin is indented with from fifteen to 
 thirty repant spiny teeth. The lower pair of leaflets is from one to two 
 inclies distant from the base of the common petiole. Tho flowers are nu- 
 merous, small, yellowish-green, and appear in early spring, borne in 
 fascicled, terminal racemes. The caly.x lias nine distinct sepals, colored 
 like tiie petiils. and disposed in two I'ows, tho oater of which consists of 
 three sepals (bracts?). The petals are six, distinct, orbicular, and in 
 rows of three each. The stamens are also six, and opposite the petiil>< ; 
 they have irritable filaments, and extrorse anthers, opening, each by two 
 little valves, hinged at the top. The fruit, which is known as "Oregon 
 grape, ■' is a cluster of purple berries, each containing an agreeably acid 
 pulp, and from three to nine seeds. 
 
 History. — Berberis Aquifolium belongs to the section Mahonia of 
 the genus Berberis, which section is considered by some botanists a 
 
44 Materia Medica. 
 
 distinct genus. The following synopsis of the difference between tiie 
 two sub-genera is taken from " Berberidacea;.''^ 
 
 Mahonia has 
 Oddly, pinnately, compound leaves, with 
 no spine at the base but with spiny-; 
 toothed leaflets. 
 
 The petals are glandless. 
 
 The stamens have a tooth on each side of 
 the filament, near the top. 
 
 Berries three to nine-seeded. 
 
 The Berberis proper has 
 Simple leaves clustering in the axis of a 
 simple or three-parted spine. 
 
 The petals have two glands on the inside 
 of each, at the base. 
 
 The filaments have no teeth. 
 
 Berries two to three-seeded. 
 
 I The section "Mahonia" is represented in the Western United States 
 by six species, viz : — Berberis pinnata, Lag., a tali shrub with the general 
 appearance of B. Aquifolium, distinguished from it by the leaflets, 
 which are glaucous underneath, and the lower pair approximate to the 
 base of the petiole; Berberis repens, Lind., a small creeping plant, with 
 leaves often ternate, and leaflets nearly orbicular, and which has been 
 much confounded, and frequently described as Berberis Aquifolium. 
 Berberis nervpa, Fursh, a small erect shrub, with leaves often longer 
 than the stem — it appears to be more generally distributed than the 
 other species. The chief characteristics of this species are, the leaflets 
 are three-veined from an oblique base, the common petiole is jointed 
 " like a bamboo stem," and the flowers are in slender racemes. The 
 other two species, B. Fendleri and B. Fremonti, are of- rare occurrence. 
 
 Berberis Aquifolium and the other species long in use in domestic 
 practice throughout the West, were brought into general notice a few 
 years since by Dr. Bundy, of California. From an examination of the 
 drug, as thrown upon the market, we find the species are confounded, 
 several of them being generally sold as' B. Aquifolium. The B. nervosa 
 is more commonly met with in these sophistications, but we have like- 
 wise noticed B. repens in considerable amount. This confusion is, per- 
 haps, unimportant from a therapeutical point, as all the Mahonias are 
 bitter, and seem to contain berberin in nearly the same proportion. The 
 root of B. Aquifolium is from one-half of an inch to an inch in diameter, 
 often increasing to two and three inches at the base of the stem. It is 
 woody, yellow throughout, and very hard. The bark is deep yellow 
 beneath, and brown upon the surface. The presence of berberin ren- 
 ders both root and bark bitter. It also contains a white alkaloid, which 
 forms soluble salts with most acids, itself being insoluble in water, 
 soluble in hot alcohol, and slightly so in cold alcohol. The roots of the 
 other species of Mahonia are smaller ; the B. pinnata more nearly ap- 
 proaching the B. Aquifolium in size ; the B. repens is the smallest of any 
 of the known species. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses — This agent has been extolled as an alterative 
 and tonic, and has been recommended in syphilitic affections, salt- 
 rheum, pityriasis, psoriasis, and other cutaneous affections, as well as in 
 mahidies supposed ,to be due to some mal-condition of the blood. As 
 the plant contains considerable berberin, any efiicacj' it may possess in 
 influencing these diseases, is undoubtedly due to its action as a tonic. 
 Possibly, as with hydrastis, and otlier plants yielding berberin, it may 
 possess other and more valuable therapeutical constituents, but no satis"- 
 factoiy analysis of it has been made. As a tonic, it may be employed 
 
 1 A pamphlet by C. G. arid J. U. Lloyd, 1878. 
 
BOLDUS 
 
 45 
 
 as a synonym of Hydrastis, Colombo, berberis, etc., in dyspeptic condi- 
 tions, chronic mucous maladies, and in certain enfeebled conditions of 
 the system, etc. The dose of the fluid extract is fron< ten to twenty drops 
 every three or four hours. — K. 
 
 Fig. 4. 
 
 BOLDTFS. * 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Monimiacese. Tribe. — Hedycaryese, D.G. 
 
 The leaves of Peumus Boldus, Molina. (Syn. — Boldoafragrans, Gay.) 
 
 Common Name. — Boldo or Boldu. 
 
 Illustrations.— 5ot Eeg., Plate 57 : Bentley and Trimen, Med. Plants, 
 217 ; our Fig. 4. 
 
 Description. — Peumus Boldus^ is an evergreen fragrant shrub, from 
 fifteen to twenty feet high, and native of 
 the mountainous regions of Chili. The 
 leaves are opposite, coriaceous, and on leaf- 
 stalks about one quarter of an inch in 
 length. The flowers are in loose, terminal, 
 dioecious cymes, of about a dozen flowers 
 each, on slender, pubescent pedicels. The 
 petals are generally seven, strap-shape, and 
 about half an inch long; of a light-yellow 
 color, and somewhat twisted. The male 
 flower has numerous recurved stamens, with 
 slender filaments, which are hairy at the 
 base. The fruit is a small orange-green, 
 one-seeded drupe, which is aromatic and 
 edible. The leaves (Fig. 4), as found in 
 commerce, are thick, firm, of a light-green 
 color, and covered with numerous glandular 
 points on the upper surface. They are about 
 two inches long, two-thirds as wide, and 
 oval or elliptical in outline; have a rounded 
 base, and .a very obtuse apex. The edges 
 are entire, and slightly recurved. The 
 veins are pinnate, and prominent on the 
 under side of the leaves. The odor of the 
 leaves somewhat resembles thatof wormseed, and the taste is nauseating 
 and disagreeable. 
 
 History. — In 1782, Molina described this shrub, under the name 
 Peumus boldus : in 1794, Eiiiz and Paron described the same plant under 
 the name Ruizi.a fragrans ; in 1809, Jussieu classed the plant under the 
 name of Boldoa fragrans; finally, in 1869, M. H. Baillon presented :i 
 complete histoi-y of iho plant, under the name Peumus boldus, which 
 name it still retains. Boldo was introduced to the profession byDujar- 
 din, Baumctz, Mnd C. L. Verne, about 1872, and in the same year, E. 
 Bourgoin and C Verne obtained from the leaves a volatile oil, and an 
 alkaloid to which the name boldin, or boldina, was given. The plant 
 also contains essential oil, citric acid, lime, sugar, gum, tannin, and a- 
 
 Peumus Boldus. 
 Full lire of leaf. 
 
 ' Botanicul Register, t. 57, and Bentley and Trimen, Med. Plants, 217. 
 
46 Materia Medica. 
 
 quantity of thick, black, aromatic substances, probably due to oxida- 
 tion of the oil ; these constituents have no medicinal virtues. 
 
 The plant attracted but little attention until 1875, when Prof. Bentley 
 exhibited it before the Pharmaceutical Socictj' of Great Britain, and 
 Dr. Miller brought it before the Philadelphia Pharmaceutical meeting. 
 After this, some little demand was created for it, and even at ex- 
 orbitantly high prices, small amounts were sold in this country. At 
 present, the demand is limited, and the price is reasonable. The virtues 
 of the drug, whatever they may be, are evidently derived from the 
 essential oil and the alkaloid. 
 
 Boldin is obtained by extracting the leaves of the plant with alcohol, 
 distilling the alcohol, and exhausting the residuum with acidulated 
 water (acetic acid preferable), precipitating with ammonia, and purifying 
 by solution in ether. It is a tedious operation to obtain the pure alka- 
 loid. Boldin is crystallizable, soluble in alcohol, ether, chloroform and 
 benzine. The dilute acids dissolve it, from which solution, ammonia in 
 slight excess, precipitates the alkaloid as an amorphous mass. It is 
 sparingly soluble in water, to which it imparts a bitter taste, and gives 
 an alkaline reaction., Jfitric and sulphuric acids yield a red color when 
 boldin is added to them. The best agent to extract the medicinal prin- 
 ciples of the leaves is alcohol, and the addition of water to the men- 
 struum even in small amount is objectionable. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Boldowas sent from Chili as an efficacious agent 
 in hepatic diseases, but its effect appears to be that of a gentle diffusible 
 stimulant, probablj' useful to a certain extent in gastric debility, incipient 
 dyspepsia, anemic conditions, etc. In these cases the alcoholic solution 
 is undoubtedly the preferable one. A wine, elixir, and syrup, have also 
 been prepared, but they possess no advantages over the tincture, which 
 may be used in doses of from five to twenty drops in some agreeable 
 vehicle. One part of the leaves to five parts of alcohol, at sixty per cent., 
 f^rms a deep-red, bordering a little on green, bitter tincture. Boldin 
 may be given in closes of from one to five grains. The essential oil, in 
 doses of from three to five drops, in capsules, has been recommended in 
 subacute inflammations and catarrh of the urinary passages; but it cer- 
 tainly possesses no superior advantages over turpentine, copaiba, and 
 other resinous balsams. A very moderate use of the oil will, in a few 
 days, impart the strong odor of the leaves to the urine, which fluid will 
 redden under the action of dilute sulphuric acid. — K. 
 
 BRYONIA. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Cucurbitacese. Tribe. — Cucumerinese. 
 
 The root of Bryonia dioica, Jacq. (Syn. — B. alba, Hudson) and Bry- 
 onia alba, Linn. 
 
 Common Name. — Bryony. 
 
 Illfistrations. — Woodville's Med. Bot., Plate 187. 
 
 Description. — The species used in medicine are Bryonia dioica and 
 Bryonia alba. The genus to which they belong is a family of herba- 
 ceous vines, climbing by means of tendrils. The species, of which there 
 are about fifty, are ibund in most parts of the Old World. They are 
 distinguished from the allied plant.s of the natural order Cucurbitacese, 
 by having the flowers monoecious, or occasionally dioecious, the five sta- 
 .'mens united into three bundles, the /mi i^Iobuliir and berry-like. 
 
Bryonia. 47 
 
 Bryonia dioica belongs to the section of the genus Bryonia, with palt- 
 mately lobed leaves. It is common among thu hedges and in the borders 
 of woods in Europe, especiallj' in the calcareous soil of some parts of Eng- 
 land, where it is quite ornamental. The stem, which is a rough annual, 
 cliniDS to the height of several feet above hedges and undershrubs; the 
 leaves are cordate and five lobed, the terminal lobe being longer than the 
 others, and dissimilar. The flowers are of a light greenish-white color, 
 Avith darker green veins; thej' are perfectly dioecious in the young 
 plants, although both sexes are often found on older individuals. The 
 fruit is a bright scarlet berry with several flat seeds. 
 
 Bryonia alba, is a closely related plant, found in Central Europe, Swe- 
 den, and Denmark It has white flowers, regularlj* lobed leaves, and 
 black berries. These two species of Bryonia niust not be confounded 
 with "the black bryony {Tamus communis), a European plant of the natu- 
 ral order Dioscoreacese. 
 
 Bryonia has been used in medicine throughout sections of Europe for 
 a great many years, and occupies a conspicuous place in tb.e. London 
 Dispensatory, published 1653. It is vulgarly known as snakeweed, devil's 
 turnip, parsnip turnip, and bastard turnip. The root, the part employed, 
 is from two to four inches in diameter, and about two feet in length, 
 although occasionally larger. It is fleshy, and when wounded yields a 
 milky juice. Internally it resembles the root of Phytolacca decandra, 
 maintaining the similarity when. sliced and dried. 
 
 As found in our market, Bryonia is in slices, often worm-eaten, or even 
 decayed, and totally unfit for use. It is said that the purgative princi- 
 ple (Bvyonin), is stable, but, undoubtedly, even though this be the case, 
 it can not withstand the attacks of time and ravages of insects, for tinc- 
 tures prepared from inferior specimens will not give satisfaction. 
 
 In 1858, G. .P. Walz published an article upon the chemical composi- 
 tion of Bryonia alba (Archiv. der Pharm., cxlvi), the result being the 
 identification of two white crystallizable bodies, bryonin and bryonitin(?). 
 Bryonitin, however, is not mentioned in Wittstein's organic constituents 
 of plants. The root was extracted with alcohol and the alcohol evapo- 
 rated ; the extract obtained yielded to water the two (?) substances 
 named, together with extractive matters. Bryonitin (?) may be, accord- 
 ing to Walz, obtained by precipitating the aqueous extract with solution 
 of basic acetate of lead, decomposing the precipitate with sulphide of 
 hydrogen, filtering, evaporating the filtrate to dryness, then extracting 
 the residuum with ether, and purifying by means of animal charcoal, 
 and solution in boiling water, from which it crystallizes upon cooling. 
 Brj-onin, with impurities, remains in the residuum after extraction of 
 the aqueous extract with ether, and may be obtained by dissolving the 
 residuum in water, precipitating the coloring matter with acetate of 
 lead, the excess of which must be removed with sulphide of hydrogen ; 
 after filtration, neutralize the filtrate with carbonate of sodium; then 
 j)recipitate with tannic acid, dissolve the precipitate in alcohol, digest 
 with hydrate of lime, filter, digest with animal charcoal, again filter, 
 and evaporate. This process will also yield Bryonin, if followed with 
 the aqueous solution of the evaporated alcoholic extract of tl^e root. 
 Bryonin, OigHaoOig, is colorless, very bitter, soluble in water and alcohol, 
 and insoluble in ether ; when boiled with dilute sulphuric acid it assumes 
 a blueish tint, splits into sugar and two bodies named by Walz, bryoretin, 
 soluble in ether, and hydrobryoretin, insoluble in ether. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — 'I'heti-esh root is extremely irritating, occasion- 
 ing blisters, when bruised and kept in contact with the skin, and causing 
 
48 Materiai Medica. 
 
 serious gastro-intestinal inflammation when taken internally. A simi- 
 lar result follows the administration of large doses of the dried root. 
 This root appears to have been well known to the ancients, and was 
 used in various maladies. It has likewise been emploj-ed in more recent 
 times in convulsions due to the presence of worms in the intestine, as 
 a cathartic, in dropsy, and in cases of chronic inflammations, attended^ 
 with glandular enlargements, or serous effusions. It is chiefly used, at 
 the present day, as a remedy in chronic serous maladies, in glandular 
 enlargements, in scarlatina, to lessen the tendency to aural complicatfons 
 that may terminate in otorrhea and deafness; in chronic orchitis, in 
 chronic rheumatic aifections, and, in small doses, to overcome constipa- 
 tion, and regulate the bowels. As the root deterioi-ates by age, the bet- 
 ter form for therapeutical use is the tincture, or some alcoholic prepa- 
 ration. The dose will vary according to the strength of the preparation ; 
 of the ordinary tincture, it will be from one to three drops, repeated 
 every three, four, or five hours, as required. — K. 
 
 CALCII BROMIDUM. 
 Bromide op Calcium. 
 Formula, CaBrj ; molecular weight, 199.40. 
 
 Preparation. — This salt maj' be formed by the direct union of calcium 
 and bromine, and also -by decomposition of bromide of sulphur with 
 lime. In 1872, Mr. J. K. Mercein recommended that it be prepared 
 from hydrobromic acid and carbonate of calcium; hydrobromic acid 
 being first made by passing sulphide of hydrogen through bromine 
 beneath water, and then the carbonate of calcium to be subsequently 
 decomposed with this solution. Afterward, in the same year, Mr. George 
 MacDonald suggested that bromide of ammonium be decomposed with 
 caustic lime, but, owing to the fact that an excess of lime is necessary, 
 in practice, to decompose the last part of the ammonium bromide, and 
 that an excess of lime forms an oxybromide of calcium, we favor its prep- 
 aration from hydrobromic acid and carbonate of calcium, as follows : 
 
 Take any convenient quantity of solution of hydrobromic acid, 
 place it in a porcelain evaporating-dish capable of holding four times 
 the bulk, and then add carbonate of calcium, with stirring, as long as 
 effervescence continues, then warm it, filter, and evaporate the filtrate 
 to dryness. 
 
 History. — Bromide of calcium is a white granular powder. By 
 evaporation from its aqueous solution, silky needles form, which, ac- 
 cording to Watts, are a hydrated bromide. The dry salt is deliquescent 
 and very soluble in alcohol and water. In many respects it resembles 
 calcium iodide and calcium chloride. 
 
 The impurities more apt to be encountered in this salt, are, hydrate of 
 lime and a basic bromide (ox5'bromide). Either may be separated by 
 dissolving the salt in alcohol, and then filtering, as these impurities are 
 insoluble in alcohol. Other substances, such as chlorides, nitrates, 
 bromates. etc . are not likely to occur in any considerable amount. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The attention of the profession was directed to 
 bromide of calcium, in 1871, by Dr. W. A. Hammond, as a sedative and 
 hypnotic in certain nervous maladies, in lieu of- bromide of potassium 
 and other bromides. He has found it beneficial, acting promptly, in 
 cases of delirium, insomnia due to business anxieties, or intense mental 
 
Calcii Monosulphidum. 49 
 
 labor or excitement; in exhausted and irritable conditions of the 
 nervous syst'em, as indicated by headache, vertigo, wakefulness, etc., so 
 frequently observed among hysterical women; in epilepsy occurring in 
 very young infants, that resisted the bromide of potassium. Ho has 
 likewise derived advantage from its use in cerebral congestion, both the 
 active and passive forms, and in locomotor ataxia. It is much more 
 prompt in its action than the other bromides. Its dose is from fifteen to 
 thirty or more grains for an adult. He has given the following as iin 
 eligible formula: Take of bromide of calcium one ounce, syrup of lacto- 
 phosphate of calcium four fluidounces, mix. The dose of this solution 
 is a teaspoonful in a little water, to be repeated three times a day. 
 This bromide will be found useful in nearly all cases in which tlie 
 other alkaline bromides are indicated, in most instances acting more 
 promptly, with greater efficiency, and with less tendency to acneiform 
 eruptions. — K. 
 
 CALCII MONOSULPHIDUM. 
 
 MONOSULPHIDE 01' CaLCIUM. SuLPHIDe' OF CaLCIUM. 
 
 Formula, CaS ; molecular weight, 71.88. 
 
 Preparation. — This salt is usually called calcii sulphidum, orsulphuret 
 of lime, CaS. It is obtained by heating sulphate of calcium with pow- 
 dered charcoal ; by passing a mixture of carbon dioxide and the vapor 
 of carbon disulphide over incandescent lime (Schone); or, by calcining 
 calcium monoxide (lime) or calcium carbonate, with powdered sulphur. 
 In the latter case calcium sulphate is also formed. The following, from 
 Wittstein, produces an excellent-article : " Three parts of finely powdered 
 crystallized sulphate of lime (native gypsum), are intimately mixed with 
 one part of finely powdered wood charcoal, the mixture is well pressed 
 into an earthen or black lead crucible, covered with a thin layer of char- 
 coal powder, and then the cover luted, with the exception of a verj' small . 
 opening on the top; when the luting is dry, heat is applied, at first 
 gently, and afterward strongly, in a good wind-furnace for at least one 
 hour. When cooled, the crucible is removed from the fire, tlje upper 
 portion of its contents taken off, the remainder powdered in a mortar, 
 and kept in a well-closed vessel. The yield is nearly one and a half 
 parts." 
 
 History. — Pure calcium monosulphide forms a white-mass, almost in- 
 soluble in water, to which, however, it gives an alkaline reaction and 
 hepatic taste. As usually prepared, it inclines toward a gray or red 
 tint, from iron or manganese contained in the materials, or (gray) from 
 the presence of unconsumed charcoal. In moist air it is slowly decom- 
 posed, evolving sulphide of hydrogen. Upon adding it to dilute hydro- 
 chloric acid, sulphide of hydrogen is liberated, together with carbon 
 dioxide, if calcium carbonate be present. The final result of the action 
 of the atmosphere is complete decomposition of the calcium monosul- 
 phide, with formation of calcium carbonate (CaCOa), calcium sulphate 
 (CaS04), and free sulphur. It is essential, therefore, that the salt be 
 eithei- ti-eshly prepared, or else very carefully preserved in glass-stop- 
 pered bottles, which should be nearly filled — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Monosulphide of calcium, in order to be of ther-i- 
 apeutical value must possess the odor peculiar to sulphides, which is 
 very similar to that of rotten eggs. This remedy has been found effi- 
 
50 Materia Medica. 
 
 cacious in boils, carbuncles, suppurating scrofulous ulcers in the neck, 
 scrofulous sores, soreness of the throat with glandular enlargement, 
 occuring in measles or in scarlatina, enlarged testes, indolent buboes, 
 acne, mammary abscess, anal fistula, etc. Its influence on the suppura- 
 tive process, as stated by Professor S. Ringer, is as follows : A thin, 
 ■watery, unhealthy discharge, becomes, at first, more abundant, then 
 diminishes, and becomes thicker, and healther, like " laudable " pus, the 
 condition of the sore improving correspondingly, and its healing being 
 promoted. In some cases, any pain that exists is temporarily aggra- 
 vated, but, as the rule, it is speedily mitigated. The general health im- 
 proves, and the debility and malaise, so frequently attending these 
 maladies, promptly passes away. In cases where inflammation and 
 severe pain are present, he advises the smearing of the parts with a 
 mixture of equal parts of belladonna extract and glycerin, covering 
 this with a small poultice, at the same time protecting the surrounding 
 skin from the tendency of the poultice toward the production of a 
 fresh crop of boils, etc., by the application of a piece of leather with a 
 hole in it large enough to contain the boil or affected portion. The 
 dose varies from one-tenth grain to one-half grain, every two or three 
 hours, and the treatment requires to be continued for several weeks. 
 Ordinarily one-sixth of a grain rubbed up -with two or three grains of 
 sugar of milk, will be a sufficient dose. Dr. S. Sexton, of New York, 
 has derived much benefit from sulphide of calcium in cases of furuncu- 
 lar inflammation of the external meatus auditorius, when suppuration 
 was threatened, or had already occurred. Dr. Solomon, of Birmington 
 Hospital, England, has found the sulphide of calcium efficacious in cases 
 of chronic vascular keratitis (strumous), when accompanied with cold 
 extremities and other indications of impaired circulation ; he dissolves 
 one grain of this sulphide in half a pint- of water, and administers the 
 solution in doses of from one to four fluid rachms, repeated every two, 
 three, or four hours. In acute cases, he has found it injurious, and, in 
 patients of a sanguine temperament, it acts as a stimulant. In doses 
 of one-eighth of a grain rubbed up with three grains of sugar of milk, 
 and repeating the dose three or four times daily, this agent is reported 
 to have been successful in the treatment of diabetes ; but further experi- 
 ments are required before much confidence can be placed in this state- 
 ment. Larger doses of the monosulphide of calcium than those stated 
 above, are apt to derange the digestive functions ; with children they 
 should be less. — K. 
 
 CALCII SULPHIS. 
 
 Sulphite or Calcium. 
 Formula of Anhydrous Salt, CaSOj; molecular weight, 119.76. 
 
 Formula of Crystallized Salt, CaSOj -|- 2HjO ; molecular weight, 
 
 155.68. 
 
 Preparation. — Sulphite of calcium may be made by mixing a solution 
 of a normal sulphite with solution of a salt of calcium. Also, by mak- 
 ing a thick paste with slaked lime and water, spreading in thin layers, 
 and passing sulphurous acid gas over it until absorption of the" gas 
 ceases. This latter is the process employed upon a large scale. 
 
 History. — This salt is a white powder of a weak, sulphurous taste, and 
 is known in commerce as sulphite of lime. It is soluble in eight 
 
Camphora Monobromata. 51 
 
 hundred parts of Water, and freely soluble in soluticin of 8ui]ihurous auid, 
 without efferveseence. If eft'ervescenee ensues, eui-bonute of ealciuni is 
 present as an impurity. When the solution in sulphurous acid is ex- 
 posed to the atmosi^here, the acid escapes, and six-sided needles of the 
 composition CaS03 + 2Il20 separate. Sulphite of calcium is chiefly 
 consumed by* cider-makers, as the addition of a small amount retards or 
 checks vinous fei-mentation. For this purpose it is customary to per- 
 mit fermentation to progress until the cider is of the desired quality. 
 then to add to it sulphite of calciuni in the proportion of four or mIx 
 ounces to the cask of forty gallons of cider, then agitate well, periiiit 
 the turbid liquid to settle, and afterward, as desired, draw otF the 
 clear cider. The impurities that may be expected to exist in sulphite 
 of calcium are such as are contained in the lime from which it is pre- 
 pared, as, carbonate of calcium from, previous exposure of the slaked 
 lime to atmospheric action, and sulphate of calcium, both in varying 
 proportions. The latter substance is gradually produced when sulph,ite 
 of calcium is e^^posed to the atmosphere. 
 
 The solution of sulphite of calcium in sulphurous acid water is known 
 in commerce as bisulphite of lime and is produced bypassing sulphurous 
 acid into milk of lime. It is a clear liquid of a suffocating sulphurous 
 odor, and is said to be used by brewers for the purpose of giving sta- 
 bility tobeer (Boscoe and Schorlemmer), and is occasionally employed by 
 fruit preservers, in small proportion, for the purpose of preventing fer- 
 mentation in canned fruit. — L, 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Sulphite of calcium and " bisulphite of lime," 
 possess properties similar to other sulphurous acid preparations, being 
 disinfectant and antiseptic. They are mostly employed for the purpose 
 of checking fermentation in fluids liable to undergo such action. They 
 are rarely employed in medicine, except, occasionally, to disinfect and 
 stimulate obstinate ulcers of long standing. .For internal use, there 
 are several other sulphites before the profession, that are preferred. — K. 
 
 CAMPHOEA MONOBEOMATA. 
 Monobromated Camphor. 
 Formula, CioHisBrO ; molecular weight, 230.41. 
 
 History. — Camphor.unites directly with bromine in the cold without 
 evolution of gas, forming bibromide of camphor (CioHieOBrj), which 
 was discovered by Laurent in 1840. This compound is unstable, being 
 decomposed even by the atmosphere. In 1861, Th. Swarts found, that 
 when bibromide of camphor is heated in sealed tubes, decomposition 
 ensued, resulting in the formation of hydrobromic acid and a compound, 
 in which one atom of hydrogen of the camphor molecule is replaced 
 by an atom of bromine, thus, 0](,H,eOBr2 = CioHiBOBr -j- HBr. It was 
 also shown that camphor and bromine heated together for three hours 
 in sealed tubes, would accomplish the same result, and doubtless, in 
 this instance also, bibromide of camphor is first formed. In 1865, 
 W. H. Perkin, independent of former investigators, prepared mono- 
 bromated camphor while experimenting upon Laurent's bibromide of 
 camphor, and named it bromo-caraphor. Journ. Ghem. Soc, 1865. 
 
 Monobromated camphor was first experimented with, as a therapeu- 
 tical agent, by Professor Deneffe of Ghent. In 1872, an article in its 
 favor, appeared in the N. Y.Med. Journ., May, p. 522, from W. A. 
 
52 Materia Medica. 
 
 Hammond, M. D., and from this time numerous articles in the various 
 medical journals created a demand for it. ■ 
 
 Preparation.— The fact that sealed tubes were unnecessary lor the 
 practical preparation of the article, was shown by Professor Maisch, 
 in the Avi. Journ. Pharm., August, 1872. The writer recommends the 
 following process, which varies somewhat, in certain respecits, from that 
 by Professor Maisch,' as one which he has employed quite extensively 
 in laboratory work : Take of camphor, in small pieces, fit'tecu troy 
 ounces; cold bromine sixteen troy ounces. Place the camphor in a 
 tubulated retort, of not less than one-half gallon capacity, and connect 
 the exit, by means of a rubbei- tube, with a glass tube extending into 
 ammonia water ; then, through a funnel, pour upon the camphor four 
 troy ounces of the bromine. As soon as the temperature begins to rise, 
 stop the tubuluj'e of the retort, and occasionally agitate the contents. 
 The mixture will partially liquefy, and the temperature will increase 
 spontaneously, with evolution of gas, until about 160° P. is reached ; 
 from which point the heat must be continued by means of a steam or 
 water bath to 200° P. The flow of gas will now cease, and the stoj)per 
 of the retort must bd immediatelj- removed, in order to prevent the 
 ammonia being drawn into the retort by absorption of hydrobromic 
 acid and the contraction of the cooling gas. When the contents of the 
 retort have become cool, cautiously pour into it four troy oujices of the 
 bromine, care being taken that the contraction caused by the bromine 
 vapor coming into contact with the gas within the retort, followed by 
 subsequent expansion, does not throw a part of the bromine upon the 
 operator. Now repeat the preceding operation, and when the reaction 
 ceases, cool as before. In like manner, add the remainder of the bro- 
 mine in successive portions of four troy ounces, raising Uio temperature, 
 as in the previous instances, to 200° P., after each addition. Lastly re- 
 move the stopper, and permit the contents to cool to about 50° P., and 
 remain for twenty-four hours, when there will be a mass of crystals 
 formed. Invert the retort, and permit the thick liquid to drain from 
 the crystals; then pour upon them sixteen fluidounces of alcohol, and 
 dissolve by means of a gentle heat and agitation ; then decant the solu- 
 tion into an evaporating basin, and cool gradually, when crystals of 
 monobromated camphor will separate ; these should be purified by dis- 
 solving again and recrystallizing from their solution in sixteen fluid- 
 ounces of hot alcohol. The yield will about equal the weight of the 
 camphor employed. 
 
 Eeo^pitdlation. — When bromine is added to camphor without access 
 of air, combination ensues, with liberation of heat and formation of a 
 portion of bibromide of camphor. If the temperature be retained at 
 about 50° P., by means of ice, no decomposition of bibromide follows. 
 According to our experience, after the addition, each, of the first and 
 second portions of four ounces of bromine, in the foregoing process, 
 decomposition of the bibromide ensues when the temperature reaches 
 155° F, After the third and fourth respectively, at 110° P., attended 
 with evolution of hydrobromic acid and a gas insoluble in water. The 
 hydrobromic acid results, as before explained, from the decomposition 
 of bibromide of camphor, an atom of bromine replacing an atom of 
 the hj-drogen of the camphor molecule; the liberated hydrogen and 
 bromine atoms uniting to form a molecule of hydrobromic acid. By- 
 products are generated also by other reactions, so that the theoretical 
 amount of monobromated camphor is never obtained. It is not ad- 
 visable to permit the temperature, at any time during the reaction, to 
 
Capsella Bursa Pastorib. 53 
 
 exceed 200° F., as the reduction of the bibromide will have occurred at 
 this point, and when too great a heat is employed volatilization of the 
 contents of the retort ensues, and, to some extent, destructive decom- 
 position, with formation of a black oil (perhaps containing finely divided 
 carbon) difficult to remove from the crystals. The addition of water 
 (J. U. Lloyd, Am. Jour. Pharm., 1875), is objectionable. The hydro- 
 bromic acid forms bromide of ammonium with the ammonia water, and 
 this salt may be obtained by evaporating the solution of ammonia after 
 the reaction. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Monobromated camphor was first introduced to 
 the profession, as a sedative to the nervous sj'stem, by Prof Deneffe. 
 M. Bourneville, who experimented with it upon different animals, as 
 cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, and frogs, concluded from the results obtained 
 that this article diminished the number of pulsations and determined 
 a contraction of the auricular vessels ; that it diminished the number 
 of inspirations; reduced the temperature in a regular manner, and that 
 it possesses undeniable hypnotic properties, appearing to act principally 
 upon the cerebral system. Its continued use, at least with cats and 
 guinea pigs, determines a rapid emaciation. The diseases in which 
 it has been extolled as efficacious, are certain forms of mental alienation 
 with excitation, chorea, paralj'sis agitans, fevers, and acute diseases, 
 hysteria, delirium tremens, convulsions of children, especially when 
 due to dentition, insomnia, satyriasis, nymphomania, spasm of the 
 glottis, palpitation of the heart, pertussis, headache, and dyspnoea of 
 asthmatic or cswdiac origin. It is likewise stated to have proved bene- 
 ficial in spermatorrhea accompanied with great nervous excitability. 
 M. Lannelongue lias prescribed it with benefit in painful cystitis, when 
 the pain is not the result of any organic lesion, neuralgic cystitis. Also 
 in cystitis of the neck of the bladder, of congestive origin and asso- 
 ciated with a vascular lesion of the neck the result of various causes ; 
 if vesical catarrh be combined with the cystitis, its effects will be 
 nearly null. If the vesical catarrh be slight, even when a more or less 
 acute prostatitis is associated with the inflammation of the vesical neck, 
 its effects will be well marked. The dose of monobromated camphor is 
 from three to thirtj' grains per day, in form of pills, dragees, or elixir. 
 An elixir has been proposed as follows: Take of alcohol, ninety per 
 cent., four flnidounces, glycerin three flnidounces and three fluidrachms, 
 water two and one-half fluidounces; mix together, and then add mono- 
 bromated camphor forty-six grains. G-ently heat the mixture until the 
 camphor is dissolved. 
 
 While many experimenters have highlj- praised this agent as a suc- 
 cessful remedy in the affections above referred to, many others have 
 repudiated it as being much less efficacious than the alkaline bromides. 
 This discordance of opinions, together with its disagreeable taste, may 
 ]irevent its coming into general use. — K. 
 
 CAPSELLA BURSA PASTORIS. 
 Nnf. Ord. — CruciferaB. Tribe. — Lepidinese. 
 
 The dried plant of (/apsella Bursa-pastoris, Mcench. (Syn. — Thlaspi 
 Bursa-pastoris, Linn.) 
 
 Common Name. — Shepherd's Purse. 
 
 Ii.LUSTRATiON. — Our Plate, No. V. 
 
 Description. — This is an annual weed, native of Europe, but natural- 
 
54 Materia Medica. 
 
 izes in almost every country of tlie world. In the United States it has 
 become among the most common of yard weeds, growina; in all sections 
 of the country, and often forming large patches in waste grounds. It 
 ik especially luxuriant in the spring months, but the stem dies and the 
 weed entirely disappears by the middle of summer. The stem is erect, 
 striate, about twelve inches high, where the plants grow apart, but in 
 rich soil, where they are in patches, the stems are often over two feet 
 long and l-eclining, but the thickness is increased very little. The 
 branches are few, remote, and generally simple. The leaves are mostly 
 borne in a thick radical cluster, at the base of the stem, and recline on 
 the ground. They are from three to six inches long, and pinnatifid, 
 with from nine to fifteen acute wedge-shaped segments. The stem- 
 leaves are few, shorter than the internodes, and clasp, the stems at the 
 base of the branches. The lower stem leaves are sagitate and dentate, 
 the upper, linear, and entire. The flowers are ^mall, white, and borne 
 in terminal racemes, which elongate as the flowers expand. The sepals 
 and petals are four, and the stamens are six and tetradj'namous. The 
 fruit is a flat wedge-shaped pod, notched at the end, and divided by a 
 narrow partition, into two cells, which contain numerous minute oblong- 
 seed. 
 
 Lepidium Virginicum, Linn., pepper-grass, an allied weed found in 
 similar locations, has often been confounded with Capsella, and has been 
 lately figured for it in one of the medical journals. Pepper -grass has 
 an erect, much-branched stem, about a foot high. The leaves are numer- 
 ous and much more toothed than the stem leaves of Capsella. The 
 fruit is an orbicular, flattened pod, divided into two cells by a nara-ow 
 partition, and containing two rather large seeds. Pepper-grass has a 
 much sharper and pungent taste than Capsella. 
 
 Capsella Bursa Pastoris has been used in domestic medicine since an 
 early day. Culpepper refers to it in his English Physician, and the 
 article is copied almost verbatim in subsequent works, until Lewis' 
 (1761) Materia Medica cast discredit upon it as an astringent. Shep- 
 herd's j)urse has an herbaceous, unpleasant odor when fresh, if bruised, 
 and a pungent, biting taste which is lost by drying. The herb contains 
 a resin and a volatile oil ; the seeds yield proteinous substances, a fixad 
 oil, and a volatile oil said to be identical with the volatile oil of mustard. 
 But no satisfactory analysis has yet been made of its chemical con- 
 stituents. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Shepherd's purse appears to possess mild stimu- 
 lating, astringent, and diuretic properties, and the fresh herb is decidedly 
 more active than the ,dried. In urinary derangements, of renal or 
 cystic origin, and in hematuria, an infusion, and especially a tincture 
 of the herb, will be found very efficacious. It has likewise been used 
 with some success as an expectorant, and for the promotion of the cata- 
 menial flow in cases of simple amenorrhea. In bleeding piles, diarrhea, 
 and dysentery, it is stated to have been found beneficial. The dose of 
 ihe infusion is from two to four fluidounces; but its best form for ad- 
 ministration is a tincture or fluid extract of the herb ; the dose of the 
 tincture is one or two fluidrachms every two or three hours; of the 
 fluid extract, from twenty to sixty minims. The fresh herb, bruised 
 and applied locally, has been efficacious in ecchymosis the result of blows, 
 bruises, etc., and has been of service in rheumatic pains. — K. 
 
PLATIi: V. 
 
 CAP8ELLA BUESA PASTORIS. 
 
Carbonei Disulpi-iidum. 55 
 
 CARBONBI DISULPHIDUM. 
 DisuLPHiDE OF Carbon. Bisulphide op Carbon. 
 Formula, CS2 ; molecular weight, 75.93. 
 
 Preparation. — Carbon forms two compounds with sulphur, a disul- 
 phide and a monosulphide; the former alone is of use in medicine or 
 the ai'ts. The latter is a recent discovery, and is obtained by exposing 
 the disulphide in sealed tubes to the sun's rays. Lampadius, in 179(5, 
 discovered carbon disulphide accidentally, while heating iron pyrites 
 with charcoal, and, in 1802, Clement and Desormes obtained it by heat- 
 ing charcoal and sulphur. It is prepared upon a large scale by passing 
 the vapor of sulphur over red-hot charcoal, in which ease an impure 
 carbon disulphide distils and is collected in a cooled receiver beneath 
 water. This crude article is always impure, containing dissolved sul- 
 phur and several sulphur compounds, which impart an offensive odor to 
 the commercial article. 
 
 Purification. — Formerly, it was purified by repeated distillations 
 from oil or fat, but, at present, the impure carbon disulphide is at first 
 agitated with mercury until it ceases to blacken the bi'ight surface of 
 the metal, and then it is distilled from white wax; or, it is allowed to 
 remain a long time in contact with corrosive sublimate, or litharge, with 
 frequent agitation, and is then distilled from bleached wax. M. Yvon, 
 of Alfort, proposes the addition of copper turnings to the disulphide, 
 in order to deodorize it, stating that it is not necessary to agitate it; 
 the disulphide soon loses its ofifensive odor and gives out an ethereal 
 odor, free from all unpleasantness. 
 
 History. — Pure carbon disulphide is a colorless liquid, and possesses 
 sirong refractive and dispersive powers. Its odor is sweetish, ethereal, 
 somewhat resembling chloroform or anise oil. When of a penetrating, 
 alliaceous, fetid odor, it is not pure. Its taste is burning and somewhat 
 acrid. Its specific gravity at 0° C. (32° F.), is 1.292 (Thorpe), and boil- 
 iug point 46° C. (114°. 8 F.). According to Faraday, it does not solidify 
 at — 110° F. It is very inflammable, burning in the air with a bright- 
 blue flame, the resulting compounds being carbon dioxide and sulphur 
 dioxide. Its vapor, mixed with nitric oxide, burns with a bright-blue 
 flame, and when mixed with oxygen or atmospheric air, the mixture ex- 
 plodes with great violence when inflamed. It evaporates so rapidly in 
 Lhe open air as to determine the condensation and congelation of the 
 water contained in the air; when evaporated. in vacuo, a cold of — 60° C. 
 may be obtained. It freely dissolves such bodies as essential oils, sul- 
 phur, phosphorus, iodine, bromine, camphor, gutta-percha, caoutchouc, 
 fats, wax, etc., and alkaloids that are usually soluble in ether. It is 
 insoluble in water, but soluble in alcohol, ether, and fats; its alcoholic 
 solution becomes very readily changed, but if some essential oil of 
 mint be added to it, it prevents its decomposition, and lessens any un- 
 pleasant odor. Under the action of the solar rays it assumes a yellow 
 color. It is poisonous, and its vapor destroys small animals exposed to 
 its action. "When inhaled for some titne, even in very small amount, it 
 produces serious effects upon the nervous system. According to ZoUer, 
 meat is preserved in an atmosphere which contains its vapor. It is used 
 largely in various branches of the arts, as in india-rubber and woolen 
 factories; and recently, large quantities have been manufactured in 
 this vicinity (Cincinnati), for distillers, who, it is said, employ it to sep- 
 arate the corn oil from the ground grain before it has undergone fer- 
 95 
 
56 Materia Medica. 
 
 mentation. In Europe, carbon disulphide has been employed in the 
 process of the extraction of organic alkalies to eliminate the fats, resins, 
 chlorophylle, etc., present; to extract crotou oil, bay oil, butter of coco::, 
 butter of nutmegs, oil of male fern, oil of spruce-fir, etc.; to extract the 
 fat from wool, bones, etc.; to manufacture soluble spices; to purify 
 paraffin; to destroy certain noxious insects and animals; to preserve 
 meats, fruits, etc.; to extract sulphur from certain minerals; also in the 
 preparation of G-reek fire. It forms no solution with water, and advan- 
 tage has been taken of this fact to determine the amount of moisture in 
 commercial iodine. Berzelius found that it unites with metallic sul- 
 phides to form salts called thiocarbonates or sulphocarbonates, in reality- 
 salts of thiocarbonic acid, HjCSg, which is some times called sulphoear- 
 bonic acid. These salts have the composition of carbonates, with the 
 exception that the oxygen is replaced with sulphur. Carbon disulphide 
 combines with the derivative of alcohol triethylphosphine P(C2H5)3, to 
 form a solid which crystallizes in beautiful red crystals P(C2H5)^CS2. 
 Carbon disulphide, for medicinal use, should not possess a repulsive odor ; 
 the fetor of the commercial article, as we have said, is owing to its im- 
 purity. It should likewise be neutral to litmus paper, and should not 
 blacken mercui-y nor (Hoffman) precipitate a solution of plumbic ace- 
 tate when agitated with it. As frequent contact with air occasions 
 its deterioration, carbon disulphide, for medicinal use, should be placed 
 in small, well-stoppered bottles, and kept in a cool place; it should not 
 be handled nor poured out in the vicinity of flame. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Disulphide of carbon was first used as an anes- 
 thetic, in 1848, by M. Harald Taulow, of Christiana, Norway. Subse- 
 quently, Dr. Simpson, of Edinburg, confirmed the fact of its anesthetic 
 properties, and published his experiments to the profession. (Fharm. 
 Jour, vii, p. 517.) Its unpleasant odor, the disagreeable symptoms fol- 
 lowing its inhalation, as frequent pulsations, headache, vertigo, emesis, 
 and annoying visions, together with its brief anesthetic influence, have 
 proved objections to its becoming in general use. Inhalation of air 
 saturated with the vapor of the disulphide has been found injurious, as 
 observed in manufactories where it is employed for dissolving caout- 
 chouc. The symptoms resulting from such inhalation have been 
 described, by those medical men who have investigated this point, as 
 follows: Headache, vertigo, wakettilness, impairment of the mental 
 faculties, over-excitement of the nerves, neuralgic pains, cramps, blunt- 
 ness of the senses of touch, sight, and hearing, impotency, derangements 
 of the digestive functions, dyspnoea, palpitation, debility, emaciation, 
 and, occasionally, delirium. The period ot excitation will be manifested 
 in various ways, by vehement laughter, boisterous talking, rambling 
 singing, weeping, etc. Mansfield, Wurtz. and others, have advised its 
 internal use, in doses of two drops in milk, or in sweetened water, re- 
 peated evei'v two hours, as an emmenagogue ; it has also been proposed 
 as :i stimulant and sudorific in rheumatic and gouty affections, and in 
 certain cutaneous maladies, but the uncertainty of its effects, and the 
 serious symptoms apt to follow tlie ingestion 6f even a few drops, as 
 intense burning sensation in the mouth and fauces, sickness at stomach, 
 emesis, gastralgia, flatulency, and difficult micturition, will, undoubt- 
 edly, prevent its genersd use as an internal therapeutic agent. Dr. 
 J. T. Whittaker, has reported to have found its internal administration 
 of considerable efficacy in the treatment of carcinoma, and especially 
 that of the stomach ; he administered it in doses of two drops in alcohol 
 or almond oil, repeated every two or four hours. Although not curing 
 
Carbon El Disulphidium. 57 
 
 the disease, it pi-omptly mitigated the severe symptoms, improved the 
 health and strength, and prolonged the life of his patients. 
 
 Its application, externally, has been found of great value in certain 
 diseases. Its vapor, directed through a tube upon the eye, or upon the 
 outer surface of the drum-membrane, for a few seconds, or until a glow 
 ■of heat is experienced, acts as a stimulant and promotes absorption in 
 the parts; employed in this manner, it has proven efficacious in deaf- 
 ness due to deficient nerve power, lack of cerumen, in purulent dis- 
 oliarges from. the meatus auditorius, in tinnitus due to indurated ceru- 
 men with dryness of the canal, and in eczema of the ear ; also ini'hronic 
 inflammation of the conjunctiva, ulceration of the cornea, lachrymal 
 suppression, muscse, sclerotitis, and in scrofulous ophthalmia, phylo- 
 teiiular formations, etc. In neuralgia, lumbago, and other painful aifec- 
 tions, benefit will often follow the application of the disulphide, on 
 •cotton or on a compress, over the painful parts ; it should be allowed to 
 remain in contact until a sm'arting sensation is produced. When it occa- 
 sions pain, as will sometimes be the case, the vapor may be directed 
 upon the part, instead, and be continued until the smarting sensation is 
 'complained of. If the disulphide be sprayed upon the part, allowing it 
 to evaporate from time to time, before a renewal of the spray, in a few 
 minutes local anesthesia will result, pain will be relieved, and, if neces- 
 sary, deep incisions may be made without any pain being felt. In this 
 manner, it will likewise frequently be found useful in goitre, lupoid 
 growths, glandular enlargements, and indolent tumors. In many of 
 the maladies just refei-red to, the efficacy of the remedy may be in- 
 creased by the addition of iodine to the disulphide. 
 
 In atonic wounds and chronic ulcers, its local application has proven 
 very beneficial, as well as in ulcerations of a scrofulous or syphilitic 
 character. A camel's hair pencil, or a pledget of lint, moistened with 
 the fluid, is quickly and lightly passed over the surface of the wound 
 or ulcer, which may then, if necessary, be immediately covered with a 
 layer of finely pulverized subnitrate of bismuth or starch. This may 
 be repeated once every one, two, or three days, according to the degree 
 1)1' inactivity of the ulcer. Its, application is followed by intense jDain, 
 which, however, does not last longer than from twenty seconds to three 
 or four minutes. Applied to ulcers of the cervix uteri the pain con- 
 tinues but a few minutes, while that produced by other agents, as, for 
 instance, acid nitrate of mercury, frequently continues for many hours. 
 The pain gradually becomes less and less with each application, and as 
 the cicatrizing process becomes confirmed, it diminishes and disappears. 
 Dr. Dorring considers it by far the best local applidation known, at the 
 present day, for indolent ulcers. This fluid has also been applied in the 
 form of a liniment, composed of one part of the disulphide to four parts 
 of olive oil; also an ointment in parasitic cutaneous diseases, consist- 
 ing of one part of the disulphide to four or eight parts of lard. These 
 should be kept in well closed vessels. 
 
 Insects, frogs, lizards, ^dissected or not, and parts of animals, sus- 
 pended from hooks, or deposited upon perforated shelves, may be pre- 
 served indefinitely in a perfectly air-tight vessel containing five droyjs 
 of disulphide of carbon for every quart of air-capacity. Strawberries, 
 raspberries, cherries, beans, currants, cucumbers, peaches, radishes, etc., 
 may be completely preserved in the same way. the only change notice- 
 able being a fading of the color, and an exudation of juice from the 
 berries. A short exposure to the air on removing these articles from 
 the vessel, will ;i'ender them fit to eat, and with a flavor the same as 
 
58 Materia Medica. 
 
 when fresh. The preservative powers of this fluid are chiefly due to 
 its coagulation of albuminoids, and its lessening the quantity of free 
 water in the article presei'ved in it. — K. 
 
 CAEICA PAPAYA. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Passiflorese. Tribe. — Papayaeese. 
 Common Name. — Papaw, Pawpaw, Mamseiro. 
 Illustbations.— JSot Beg., Plate 459; Bat. Mag., 2898 and 2899. 
 
 Description. — Carica papaya is a tree indigenous to South Anierica,^ 
 where it is met with in its wild condition, as well as under cultivation, 
 and varies in height, according to its wild or cultivated state, from five 
 to thirty feet, and about a foot in diameter. (Bees' Cyclopaedia.) The 
 trunk or stem is simple, erect, without branches, and gradually tapers 
 from the base to the summit, where it terminates in a cluster of leaves, 
 after the manner of a palm ; its entire length is thickly covered with, 
 the scars of the fallen leaves. The leaves are large, alternate, ■_ close 
 together, palmately divided into from five to seven irregularly cut lobes,, 
 and are borne on leaf-stalks a foot or two in length, and which are 
 peltately attached. The flowers are dicEcious, rarely monoecious, and are 
 grouped at the top of the trunk ; the male flowers are borne on long 
 peduncled racemes ; the female flowers are solitary, and axillary on short 
 stalks, and consist of a small five-parted calyx, five twisted, pale yellow 
 petals and a large ovary, bearing five dilated, sub-sessile stigmas. The 
 ovary is globular, one-celled, and contains numerous ovules attached to 
 five parietal placentae. As the ovarj^ enlarges and develops, the leavea 
 gradually fall oif, and the fruit, when matured, appears suspended tO' 
 the highest part of the smooth trunk. — L. 
 
 History. — The Carica constitute a faniily of j^hanerogamous plants,. 
 which grow in the East Indies and in South America, either in a natural 
 state or cultivated. The following species have properties similar to 
 those of C. papaya: Carica spinosa (Well), a native of the provinces of 
 Pernambuco, Eio de Janeiro, etc.; and Carica dodecaphylla or jaracatia,. 
 a tree of high stature, with a trunk furnished with spines. When in- 
 cised,, this last gives a milky juice. Its fruit is smaller and longer than 
 that of the Carica papaya. 
 
 The Carica papaya is cultivated throughout the greater part of Brazil, 
 and its fruit beai-s some resemblance to that of the Cucurbitacese, 
 especially to the genua Cucumis. The fruit, when ripe, is yellow, ir- 
 regularly ovoid, with five rib-like projections; it is pulpy, enclosing 
 numerous blackish seeds, and has a rather agreeable, sweetish taste. 
 The root is said to have an odor resembling that of rotten cabbage. In 
 Brazil, the common nameof tlie plant is mamioeii'o, and the fruit is called 
 mamao. The juice or milk proceeding from the bark or fruit is the part 
 that has attracted attention. In 1850, Hoeferk stated that the juice was 
 milky, bitter, and possessed the property of an irritant poison, and 
 that, when mixed with water, it was used to soften tough meats, by 
 macerating them in the liquid. A. Pinto, A. Camara, and Martius have 
 repeated nearly the same thing; and Pinto also remarks that it is used 
 to render the skin of the hands soft, and to remove freckles from the 
 face. In 1875, Dr. Eoy, an English physician, instituted some experi- 
 ments with the milky juice, and found that it had the property of soft- 
 
Carica Papaya. 59 
 
 ening and dissolving meats ; a microscopic examination of the meats 
 thus dissolved showed a complete disintegration of the muscular fibers, 
 the fasciculi being dissociated, and the ultimate fasciculi in a Ikir way for 
 separation. The entire fluid mass was swarming with vibriones. Other 
 investigators have ai-rived at the same results. 
 
 The mi'lk oi mamoRiro, whether had from the bark or from the fruit, is 
 in so small an amount that a sufficient supply for instituting a regular 
 chemical analysis can not be procured ; the greatest quantity that has 
 been obtained from a large number of trees and fruit is in all about one 
 fluidounce. Another circumstance which antagonizes analysis and iiir 
 terferes with investigation of its physiological and therapeutical effects. 
 is the extraordinary rapidity with which it enters into fermentation, 
 and which commences a few seconds after its extraction. The seeds of 
 the fruit contain a resinous .acid, which is probably their active prin- 
 ciple ; Dr. T, Peckolt obtained it by treating the fresh seeds with boil- 
 ing alcohol and hydrate of lime, and then separating it by means of 
 hydrochloric acid. It forms a yellowish powder, possessing a pungent 
 taste. 
 
 The active principle or ferment of Carica papaya, a true vegeta- 
 lale pepsin, has been termed caricine. Mauriac obtained it (from the 
 leaves) by extracting the juice from those recently gathered and filter- 
 ing it. To the turbid and yellowish-green filtrate, double its volume of 
 absolute alcohol was added, and, gradually, a flocculent precij)itate of 
 caricine formed upon the filter, slightly greenish and amorphous. This 
 may be purified by new solutions and precipitations, and then carefully 
 drying at a temperature not to exceed 104° F. Caricine is obtained 
 from the leaves in the proportion of four parts to one hundred. It is 
 insoluble in alcohol, and perfectly soluble in distilled water. Nitric and 
 hydrochloric acids, bicarbonate of soda, or of potassa, and caustic 
 potash, have no action upon it. It may be employed as a solvent of 
 albuminoid materials in certain forms of dyspepsia, and as an anthel- 
 mintic. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Without entering into a description of the varied 
 experiments that have been made with this milk of carica, and con- 
 cerning which an excellent account is given by Dr. Moncorvo, of Eio 
 de Janeiro, in his translation of an article in the Portuguese language, 
 entitled, "Note on the Physiological and Therapeutical Action of Carica 
 papaya," by Dr. B. Mauriac, — we will simply refer to the conclusions 
 drawn therefrom. This substance exerts a real dissolving or digestive 
 action upon nitrogenized substances; this action is likewise obtained 
 with its aqueous solution, while its solution in alcohol appears to render 
 it wholly inert. It has no action upon feculent substances. Applied 
 upon the skin, it renders it softer and more smooth, and appears to de- 
 stroy the projections formed at certain points by a greater or less thick- 
 ening of the epidermis. Upon the skin deprived of its epidermis, and 
 upon the subcutaneous cellular tissue, it has an extremely irritating 
 action, provoking intense inflammation; and, in addition,' the formation 
 ■of abscesses, rapidly followed by a putrid infection when thirty grains 
 were hypodernucally injected, these symptoms being preceded by severe 
 pain, moanings, and great difiiculty of motion. Upon the digestive 
 mucous membrane it acts as a caustic and corrosive substance, its effects 
 being rapid, violent, and deep-seated, and occasioning energetic pur- 
 gation. According to Desjardins, boiling removes these corrosive ef- 
 fects, and it then proves the most active vermifuge of the Materia 
 Medica, in doses of a drachm or two mixed with an equal quantity of 
 
60 Materia Medica. 
 
 castor oil, a single dose being suflScient to cause the expulsion of an 
 astonishing number of the lunibricoids. The seeds possess an identical 
 property, ij,nd will probably be found i^referable for administration. 
 
 The chief property of the milk of the carica is its action upon food, 
 sindilar to that of pepsin, exercising, like this latter article, a digestive 
 influence upon albuminoid substances. But the difficulty of procuring 
 and preserving a sufficient amount of it. for therapeutical use, together 
 with its deeply irritating action, will prevent it from coming into use 
 as a remedy for dyspepsia or gastric affections. To overcome these 
 obstacles, Dr. Mauriac instituted a series of experiments with the leaves 
 of the tree, and found that a concentrated decoction of them exerted 
 upon albuminoid substances an action analogous to that of the milky 
 juice of the tree and of the green fruit, without any appreciable irrita- 
 tion of the gastric mucous membrane. This decoction must be admin- 
 istered in small doses. Dr. M., however, prefers caricine, the action of 
 which does not appear to be interfered with by an acid or neutral con- 
 dition of the stomach, and which, being more energetic than pepsin, 
 must be given in smaller doses, and in aqueous solution. — K. 
 
 CASTANBA. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Cupuliferse. 
 
 The leaves of Castanea vesca (Gcert), var. Americana {MieKoS), gath. 
 ered when mature and dried in the shade. (^Syn. — Castanea vesca, 
 Mich'x {Sylv.,\o]. Ill, p. 11.) Fagus Castanea, lAnn.^ 
 
 ■ 1 Common Name. — Chestnut. 
 
 Illustrations. — Flora of New York, Plate CXI. Mich'x Sylv., Vol. 
 Ill, Plate 104. Emerson's Trees of Mass., p. 187. 
 
 Description.— The chestnut is a large tree, originally a native of Asia 
 Minor, but introduced and extensively naturalized in the temperate 
 parts of Europe. The American tree (yar. C. Americana, Mich'x) 
 differs slightly from the European, in having smaller fruit, and leaves 
 aciite at the base. It is found from Maine to the Gulf States, being es- 
 peciallj' abundant in the Alleghany regions. 
 
 The powers of the chestnut, appear in June and July after the leaves 
 are full grown, and when all other forest trees have blossomed; they 
 are small, apetalous and monoecious. The sterile flowers are very nu- 
 merous, in long, erect, white, rigid aments, which emit an unpleasant 
 odof. The stamens are from eight to twenty, and have slender filaments. 
 The /ertife flowers are two or three, enclosed in a scaly involucre. The 
 fruit is a four-valved burr, armed on the outside with stiff, sharp bris- 
 tles, and lined on the inside with a soft, velvety pubescence. It encloses 
 three (or often, by abortion, one or two) edible nuts. The leaves are 
 alternate, lanceolate, and coarsely toothed, tapering to a slender point, 
 siiid are borne, on leaf-stalks about half an inch long; the veins are 
 jiarallel, rigid, and terminate in the mucronate points of the teeth. 
 
 An allied species, Oastanea pvmila, commonly called "chincapin," or 
 " eiiinquapin," is a shrub or small tree found in sterile places from Ohio 
 southward. The flowers, leaves, and fruit of tliis species bear a close 
 resemblance to those of tlio C. vesca. but are all smaller. The fruit en- 
 closes hut a single seed which is not flattened as are the seeds of 0. vesca. 
 
 Jlistory. — Chestnut leaves should be gathered in the fall, before frost, 
 and carefully dried in the shade. They arc of a greenish color, and 
 
Catalpa Bignonioides. 61 
 
 exhale a pleasant tea-like odor. At first, slightly astringent to the 
 taste, they become nuicilaginoiis and sweetish when chewed, leaving an 
 after taste verj- much resembling that of Solan'um Dulcamara. 
 
 The chief constituent of chestnut leaves is a mucilaginous substance 
 which is slowly extracted from the shreded leaves by means of cold 
 water, and more freely by hot, but which is insoluble in alcohol. Any 
 preparation of the leaves which does not contain this material will fail 
 to relieve the paroxysms of whooping cough, and, for this reason, bat 
 little alcohol is admissible in the fluid extract, and thus, undoubtedly, 
 the best preparation is freshly prepared infusion or decoction. Chest- 
 nut leaves also contain an astringent principle, and a sweet substance, 
 the other constituents seeming to be simply those found in most 
 plants. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Chestnut leaves appear to have been brought 
 into notice, as a therapeutical agent, by Mr. G. C. Close, in a statement 
 made before the Am. Pharm. Association in 1862. Subsequently, they 
 were employed by the late Dr. J. S. Unzicker, of Cincinnati, who valued 
 them highly in the treatment of whooping cough ; since which, most 
 favorable reports have been made bj' other medical gentlemen, as to 
 their value. These leaves have, thus far, been employed only in the 
 treatment of pertussis, in which malady they have proved remarkably 
 eflScacious; but their manner of action has not yet been determined. 
 It is very probable that they may be found useful in other irritable or 
 excitable conditions of the respiratory nerves. Dr. Unzicker employed 
 an infusion of the leaves, an ounce to a pint of boiling water, and ad- 
 ministered this in tablespoon ful, or small wineglassful, doses, repeated 
 several times a day. The fluid exti-act, when properly made, will be 
 found reliable ; its dose is from half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm, re- 
 peated three, four, or five times daily. Chestnut bark appears to pos- 
 sess astringent and tonic properties, and is used in some sections of 
 country as a popular remedy for fever and ague. — K. 
 
 CATALPA BIGNONIOIDES. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Bignoniacese. Tribe. — Tecomese. 
 
 The bark of Catalpa bignonioides, Walt. (_Syn. — Catalpa syringsefo- 
 lia, Si?ns. Bignonia Catalpa, Ziinn. Catalpa cordifolia, Nutt.) 
 
 Common Names. — Cigar tree, Catalpa tree, Indian Bean tree. 
 
 Illustrations. — Mich'x, F. Sylv., Vol. II, Plate 64. Bot. Mag., Plate 
 1094. 
 
 Description. — This tree is a native of the Southern United States, 
 but is cultivated as an ornamental tree and frequently naturalized in 
 the Northern States. It belongs to the natural order Bignoniacese and 
 is the only indigenous species of Catalpa, although others are found in 
 Asia and the West Indies. Its leaves are large, heart-shaped, opposite 
 or disposed in whorls of three. The flowers appear in June and July, 
 and are produced in large, showy, terminal, compound panicles. The 
 corollas are about an inch long, white, tinged with purple, and studded 
 with orange spots in the tubes. They are bell-shaped, with a swollen 
 tube, irregularly five-lobed and two lipped. The/rejf is a slender, two- 
 celled capsule, about a foot long, a quarter of an inch thick, arid hangs 
 suspended until sprihg. The seeds are numerous and winged. The 
 tree is called '' cigar tree," or '-bean tree," names derived from the 
 
62 Materia Medica. 
 
 Blender fruit. The bark of the trunk is scaly, brown, and from three 
 to six lines in thickness. That of the young limbs, is smooth, dark- 
 grayish, and spotted with lighter colored excrescences. The j'oung 
 bark, and the inner portion of the old, is bitter. Catalpa wood is very 
 durable, rivalling cedar. It is hard, grayish, and of coarse fiber. 
 
 History. — In 1870,' Eugene A. Rau, made an examination of the inner 
 bark of the tree, and found it to contain tannin, and a nauseating mat- 
 ter soluble in ether. "When this substance was boiled with water and 
 oxide of lead, and then filtered, a yellowish solution was obtained, free 
 from alkaloids, and very bitter. The precipitate that separated with 
 the oxide of lead, gave to boiling alcohol a crystallizable, white, neutral 
 substance, which possessed the nauseating bitter taste of the bark, and 
 was soluble in ether and chloroform. In addition to the above, an in- 
 sipid resin, and glucose, were obtained. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — It is stated that poisonous emanations issue 
 from this tree, but we have no knowledge of any serious effects result- 
 ing from an exposure thereto. The pods and seeds have been employed 
 in decoction, in chronic bronchial affections, spasmodic ftsthma, and 
 dyspnoea; six or eight ounces to a pint of water, and given in table- 
 spoonful doses, repeated every hour or two. The leaves, bruised, and 
 applied as a cataplasm, have been used in irritable scrofulous ulcers ; 
 they appear to possess aijodyne properties. The bark has been em- 
 ployed internally, in powder, or in decoction, in scrofulous maladies, 
 and as an anthelmintic. The juice of the leaves, as well as of the root, 
 has been beneficially employed as a local application in the several 
 forms of strumous ophthalmia, as well as in certain cutaneous affections. 
 From the statements that have been made as to the toxic propieriies of 
 this tree, and which have not yet been satisfactorily demonstrated, it 
 would be advisable to use some prudence and care in the internal ad- 
 ministration of any of its preparations. — K. 
 
 CATALYSIS. 
 
 Catalytic Action, or Decomposition bt Contact. 
 
 These terms were used by Berzelius to express the chemical change 
 ■which is induced in bodies by the presence of another bodj' that appar- 
 ently remains unaffected by the ensuing reaction. " Catalytic force " was 
 the term applied to the supposed cause of this change. Berzelius first 
 drew attention to this class of actions, and, afterward, the term " contact- 
 action " was used by Mitscherlich in the same sense, the substances 
 which produced the change being called " contact substances." Ex- 
 amples of the action referred to, are seen in the combination induced 
 between oxygen and hydrogen by finely-divided metallic platinum. 
 The decomposition of peroxide of hydrogen into water and oxygen, 
 wit!) almost explosive violence, in the presence of finely-divided plat- 
 inum, gold, silver, etc. The part taken by manganese diox-ide, in 
 effecting the evolution of oxygen from chlorate of potassium at a tem- 
 perature of 200° C. (392° P.), the manganese dioxide remaining unal- 
 tered ;^ while, to procure the oxygen from pure chlorate of potassium 
 
 ^Phil. Journ. Pharm. 
 
 2 Some chemists have supposed that this effect may be explained by a possibility that 
 the manganese dioxide, under the condition referred to, assumes a higher degree of 
 oxidation, and readily changes to a lower oxide, thus parting with a portion of its 
 oxygen. 
 
ClIAM^LIRIUM LUTEUM. 63 
 
 alone, requires a heat of 350° C. (662° P.), is also classed by many with 
 catalj'tic action. Other, somewhat similar, examples are found in both 
 the organic and inorganic kingdoms, as in the influence exerted by 
 excess of a body or reagent when the exact amount for combination 
 with the other body, or body acted upon, is not followed by chemical 
 change. This is sometimes designated as •'action of mass." Explana- 
 tions for the first class of these more or less obscure phenomena, wei'C 
 suggested by Berzelius as due to some modification of the electric state 
 of the bodies, induced by the apparently inert element. Liebig, Mercci', 
 Playfair, and otiiers, have given attention to the latter class, including 
 the fermentation produced by 3'east; but it is certainly diflScult to give 
 ^ satisfactory explanation of all the various phenomena. 
 
 Catalytic Iron. — Under this name, a preparation was lately (1875) 
 introduced into the European market by Dr. Wagner, without informa- 
 tion as to his process of preparation. The only light we have upon the 
 subject is derived from the article by Professor B. Scheffer, read at the 
 meeting of the Louisville College of Pharmacy, February, 1878. (See 
 Am. Journ. Pharm., March, 1878.) Professor Scheifer could not posi- 
 tively state that "Wagner's catalytic iron was made by this process, but, 
 as both preparations contain chlorine, and otherwise resemble, the in- 
 ference may be drawn that such is the case. 
 
 Professor Scheffer found that solution of ferric chloride carefully pre- 
 cipitated with ammonia water, until the supernatant liquid above the 
 precipitate is colorless, but still acid in reaction, will, if the precipitate 
 be washed repeatedly with pure water by decantation, at last arrive at 
 a point where it colors the wash-water yellowish, and settles very 
 slowly. If, now, the precipitate be transferred to a filter paper, drained, 
 then washed carefully with small portions of water, it assumes, after a 
 time, a dark, almost black color, shrinks in bulk, and changes to the 
 consistence of jelly. This- in thin layers, is of a deep garnet-red color, 
 is soluble in pure water, forming a deep red solution, and agrees in its 
 properties with those of Wagner's ''catalytic iron " solution. Professor 
 Scheffer analyzed several specimens prepared by the foregoing process, 
 and found in all cases the presence of chlorine. He fiavors the idea that 
 such preparations are solutions of ferric oxide held in solution by means 
 of ferric chloride, such being insoluble in saline solutions. We feelat 
 liberty to state, that Professor Scheffer holds the opinion that it is un- 
 necessary to draw upon an unknown force to explain the foregoing re- 
 action. The washing of the precipitate simply removes the ammonium 
 chloride until at a given point the precipitate dissolves.— L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — These are the same as named for dialysed iron, 
 under Dialysis, which see. — K. 
 
 CHAM^LIRIUM LUTEUM. 
 
 Nat: Ord. — Liliacese. Trifie^Melanthiese. (Melanthacese, 5r., Tribe, 
 Melanthiese.) 
 
 The rhizome of Chamselirium luteum. Gray. (Syn. — Helonias dioica, 
 Pursh Helonias lutea, Ait^ 
 
 Common Names. — Unicorn root, False Unicorn root, Blazing Star. 
 
 Illustration. — Our Plate VI. 
 
 (See American Dispensatory, 8th ed., p. 418.) 
 
 We have adopted Gray as authority in the name of this plant, there. 
 
64 Materia Medica. 
 
 fore the term Relonias clioica of former editions will be replaced to eon- 
 form with the generally accepted classification. The common name is 
 unicorn root, derived from the fact that the' rhizome resembles a horn. 
 Afterward this term was applied to Aletris farinosa, which is thus the 
 false unicorn. ' Chamselirinm is also known under the names, Drooping 
 Starwort, Devil's Bit, and in former editions of this work, and in other 
 books, AS false unicorn. 
 
 Description., — The Ch'amselirium (Plate VI) is an erect, slender herb, 
 about two feet high, and without branches. — The stem is smooth, round, 
 striate, and terminates in a long, slender spike of small -white flowers. 
 The lower leaves are obovate-spathulate, smooth, entire, alternate, and 
 exstipulate. They are clustered in at the base of the stem, gradually be- 
 coming smaller until the upper are reduced to scales. They are attached 
 at an acute angle to the stem. The radical leaves are obtuse, but those on 
 the upper part of the stem are acute; theveins are parallel, and run length- 
 • wise along the leaf, but are not prominent. The flowers are very small, 
 and the fertile and sterile are on different stems ; the fertile stems being 
 much more leafy than the sterile. The female flowers consist, each, of 
 six small, linear, white petals, a small, globular ovary, about the size 
 of a grain of hemp seed, with three linear stigmas about the length of 
 the ovary ; each one is succeeded by a dry, oblong capsule, opening by 
 three valves at the apex, and containing numerous minute seeds. The 
 sterile flowers are in spikes much longer than those of the fertile, and are 
 from four to six inches in length. They have six linear petals, and the 
 same number of stamens, which have unequal filaments about twice the 
 length of the petals ; the anthers are small and globular. The aspect 
 of the flowering stems of male and female plants of Chamselirium is very 
 different, and they would hardly be attributed to the same species by 
 one who has not closely examined them. 
 
 History. — The rhizome of this plant has long been confounded with, 
 and sold for, that of Aletris farinosa, and to such an extent that drug- 
 gists generally have concluded the two must bear a very close re- 
 semblance. This is a mistake, as there is scarcely any likeness be- 
 tween them. The impression as to their similarity of appearance was 
 Btrengthened by the Am. Dispensatory, p. 419, ,8th ed., viz : " There has 
 been, and still exists, much difficulty among druggists and herbrgather- 
 ers in determining the difTerence between the roots of Aletris farinosa 
 and Helonias dioica, as they greatly resemble each other,"ietc. With 
 the view of correcting previous mistakes, and setting right the history 
 , of the two plants, we have produced fac-simile drawings, natural size, 
 of both plants (Plates I and VI); and by a simple reference to our en- 
 gravings of Aletris farinosa and a comparison with that of Chamselirium, 
 it will- be obvious : — 
 
 1st. That the shape of the leaves and general appearance of the 
 plants are entirely different. 
 
 2d. The rhizomse are utterly unlike, and do not in the least resemble 
 each other. 
 
 It is to be regretted that so much confusion has existed with regard 
 to these rhizomse and the diflficulty must be ascribed to the common 
 names given them, and not to a resemblance. We have upon the market, 
 the rhizomse of Unicorn and False Unicorn, of Stargrass and Starwort, 
 Helonias dioica and Aletris farinosa, and the majority of dealers and 
 therapeutists are by no means decided as to the identity of either of 
 them. When ordered by their common names, the roots from one seo 
 tion of country will be the reverse of those from other sections ; and 
 
1 1.ATE VI. 
 
 CHAM^LIRIUM LUTEUM. 
 
Chloral. 65 
 
 when star grass or unicorn root is sold to a druggist, the dealer is un- 
 certain as to whether it will not be returned as "different from that 
 previously purchased." We trust that physicians and druggists will 
 endeavor to expunge in this, and in other cases, the many common 
 terms in use. Strict confbrmitj' to botanical names will assist in over- 
 coming this extended and serious evil. 
 
 The rhizomsB of Chamseiirium are irom half an inch to two inches 
 in length, and, when dry, average from one-fourth of an inch to half 
 an inch in diameter. Thej^ are mostly curved (horn shape), but some 
 are nearlj' straight ; usually premose (as though bitten off), but some- 
 times they are pointed. Externally, they are dark-brown, transversely 
 wrinkled, rough and uneven, showing the stem scars upon the upjjer 
 side. Around the entire rhizomge are fibrous rootlets, scattered above, 
 and thicker below. The fresh fibers are succulent, with the excep- 
 tion, however, of a hai-d, ligneous, thread-like center, which remains 
 from one season to another long after the soft external portion has de- 
 cayed. This gives rise to the appearance of pores or pin-holes upon 
 the surface of the root, through many of which the woody fibers still 
 pass, and extend, as fragments, from half an inch to two inches beyond 
 the surface, and internally, to the central part of the rhizorase. When 
 the fibers are entirely decayed, the small pin-like holes remain and are 
 often mistaken for worm-holes. Remains of radical leaves are occa- 
 sionally found attached to the upper end of the rhizomse, below which 
 will often be observed a bunch of dried fibers, and along the upper side 
 of the rhizomse may be seen the bases of several annual stems or stem 
 scars. Internally, the rhizomse are very hard, of a horn-like color 
 and texture, about one-third of the central portion being a little lighter, 
 and partly composed of fibrous matter, from the surface of which the 
 rootlets rise. The dried rhizomse exhale a peculiar, characteristic, not 
 unpleasant odor, more strongly developed when bi'uised, or rubbed be- ' 
 tween tiio fingers. The taste is very bitter, disagreeable and acrid. 
 The virtues are extracted by alcohol, and, when fresh, by alcohol or 
 boiling water. The rhizome contains a yellowish bitter principle, for 
 which the name chamcelirin has been proposed. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — See Am. Dispensatory, ed. 8th, p. 420. — K. 
 
 CHLORAL. 
 
 Formula, GfilfiB., or CCUCOH ; molecular weight, 147.01. 
 
 CHLORAL HYDRAS. 
 
 Hydrate of Chloral. 
 
 Formula, O2CI3H.A, or CCljOHH^O : molecular weight, 164.97. 
 
 History. — Chloral was discovered in the year 18.32, by Liebig,^ wlio 
 obtained it by passing chlorine through absolute alcohol. In 1845. 
 Stadler procured it by the action of nascent chlorine upon various or- 
 ganic substances, and also by the distillation of starch, binoxide of 
 manganese, and hydrochloric acid. It excited but little interest until 
 the year 1869,'' at which period hj-drate of chloral was introduced to 
 the medical profession by Dr. Oscar Liebreich, teacher of therapeutics 
 in the University of Berlin. Shortly afterward, in the same year. 
 
 ^Qmelm'i Chemistry, vol. ix. 'Pharm. Joum , 1869, p. 150. 
 
 5 
 
66 Materia Medica. 
 
 both Ml-. Hanbury and Dr. Richardson broiiaht specimens before the 
 English medical and therapeutical associations, and subsequently its 
 introduction to other countries soon followed. 
 
 The word Chloral is derived from the first syllables of chlorine and 
 alcohol. Chloral is a colorless fluid, oily in appearance, and of the 
 sp. gr. 1.518, at 32° F. (0° C). At ordinary temperatures it evolves a 
 pungent vapor that is very irritating to the eyes. It has a disagreeable 
 taste, is soluble in less than its weight of water, and in four times its 
 weight of chloroform. Chloral dissolves phosphorus, sulphur, bromine, 
 and iodine, the latter solution giving a very rich purple color. Heat 
 fucilitates their solution. Anhydrous metallic oxides have no action 
 upon it. It unites with water to form a hydrate. The formula for 
 chloral is C^ClgOH, and its modern name is Triehloraldehyde. It is 
 made b.y passing chlorine gas into anhydrous alcohol. 
 
 The reaction which produces chloral is generally considered as very 
 complex.' In practice, it is customary to first reduce the temperature 
 of the alcohol through which the chlorine passes, then, as the solution 
 ' thickens, to apply heat until hydrochloric acid gas ceases to be evolved 
 and chlorine appears, when the flow of chlorine is discontinued.'' The 
 crude chloral alcoholate, together with other incidental products of the 
 reaction, is now agitated with sulphuric acid, and then distilled ; it is 
 now purified, by again distilling it, from a small portion of quicklime, 
 being careful not to have an excess of lime, or the chloral will be de- 
 stroyed. , Chloral is decomposed by solutions of caustic alkalies, yield- 
 ing a formate of the base, and chloroform. It is not employed in 
 medicine, and is of interest only from the fact that it unites with one 
 equivalent of water to form chloral hydrate. 
 
 Chloral Hydrate, O2CI3H3O2, or C2CI3OHH2O, is prepared by mixing 
 chloral with the proper amount of water, and then pouring the solu- 
 " tion, in thin layers, into a porcelain or glass dish ; this is covered and 
 placed in a cool situation, Heat is liberated, and the liquid solidifies, 
 forming a mass of pure dazzling whiteness, composed of minute, trans- 
 parent, or semi-transparent ci-ystals, or crystalline plates of chloral hy- 
 drate. These have a sweet, ethereal odor, a greasy feeling when rubbed 
 between the fingers, and a pungent taste. According toVersmann, one 
 hundred parts of water dissolve three hundred and sixty parts of 
 chloral hydrate. 
 
 Chloral hydrate fuses, at about 58° C. (136° F.), boils at 95° C. (203° 
 F.), with partial decomposition into chloral and water, and readily dis- 
 tils at 120° C. (248° F.). It is soluble in very small quantities (less 
 than its weight) of water, and equally soluble in ether or alcohol; 
 soluble in four parts of cold chloroform ; but slightly soluble in carbon 
 disulphide. and in spirits of turpentine. Its alcoholic solution is neu- 
 tral, and, when the chloral is pure and recent, the aqueous solution is 
 also, but with the chloral of commerce the latter solution usually ex- 
 hibits a slight acid reaction. Chloral hydrate dissolves in glycerin, and 
 til is solution has the property of dissolving many alkaloids that are 
 
 'See Coviptes Rmdus, Ixxiv, for explanation by Wurtz and Vogt. 
 
 '■'When the therapeutical use of cliloral liyrlrate was first agitated in this country, 
 the writer was obliged to prepare the article in a limited way, until a supply could be 
 obtained from abroad. Few persons can realize, without actual experiment, the care 
 that is necessary, and the large amount of chlorine required for the production of even 
 a limited quantity of" this agent. It has been calculated that one pint of alcohol will 
 require at least 316 gallons, or 73,233 cubic inches of chlorine, and there will be formed 
 about 396 gallons or 91,542 cubic inches of hydrociiloric acid gas. — L. 
 
Uul.UKAL. 67 
 
 nearly or quite insoluble, in that menstruum (glycerin). -This property 
 of dissolving alkaloids insoluble in water, is also possessed by the 
 aqueous solution of chloral hj'drate, and both this and the solution of 
 chloral hydrate in glycerin, was recommended for the purpose by Mr. 
 Faithorne. By placing together molecular weights of camphor, and 
 chloral hydrate, a clear liquid results, which is decomposed by water 
 into the original substances This liquid was named camphorated choral, 
 luit is rarely used. 
 
 With aqueous solutions of the caustic alkalies, chloral hydrate is 
 oiitirely resolved into alkaline formates and chloroform. Thus, witli 
 liydrate of sodium, the reaction will be as follows: OjClgHaOj + ^ii 
 dH; = CHCl3 + ]SraCH02-f-H20. It was this property, which chloral 
 hydrate possesses, of producing chloroform when in contact with an 
 ulkali, that led Liebreich, in 1869, to reason that it might be used as a 
 remedial agent. In 1873, it was found that chloral hydrate would pre- 
 vent decompositipn of albuminous substances, such as milk, meat, and 
 animal matters generally,' and it is at present used in solution for in- 
 jecting anatomical subjects. Chloral hydrate solution rendered slightly 
 alkaline with carbonate of sodium, entirelj' jDrevents the coagulation 
 of blood {Ore). 
 
 Tests. — According to Meyer and Haffter, 165.5 grams of chloral hy- 
 drate neutralize 1,000 c.c. of normal sodium solution. Theoretically, 
 chloral hydrate should yield 72.2 per cent, of chloroform, when agitated 
 with slight excess of strong solution of caustic alkali ; but, practically, 
 the yield is generally between 70 and 72 per cent., often below 70 per 
 cent, with commercial chloral hydrate. Chloral hydrate should never 
 present a pink appearance, and should dissolve in concentrated sul- 
 phuric, hydrochloric, or nitric acids, with formation of colorless solu- 
 tions, and, with the latter acid, should not evolve red fumes. When 
 pressed between two pieces of filtering or blotting paper, chloral hydrate 
 should produce no stain. 
 
 When aqueous solution of chloral hydrate is acidulated with dilute 
 sulphuric acid, and the solution faintl}' tinged with a few drops of solu- 
 tion of permanganate of potassium, it should not decolorize in several 
 hours. If the solution becomes quickly colorless, the chloral hydrate 
 has partly decomposed. Physicians often, but erroneously, prescribe 
 chloral hydrate under the name "chloral.' 
 
 Antidote. — Dr. Liebreich announces strychnia to be an antidote to the 
 action of hydrate of chloral, basing his conclusions upon experiments 
 performed upon rabbits (Comptes Rendus, Feb., 1870). It must be re- 
 membered that this antidote is in itself a powerful poison, and cai-e 
 must be exercised in its administration. 
 
 Chlokal Alcoholate. — When chloral is mixed with one equivalent 
 of alcohol, white crystals of chloral alcoholate are formed, resembling, 
 in appearance, hydrate of chloral. They differ, however, in thera- 
 jjeutical action, and in being freely soluble in cold chloroform, carbon 
 disulphide, and turpentine, while less soluble in cold water than the 
 hydrate. When warmed with sulphuric acid, a reddish -brown, or brown 
 solution, is formed, and with nitric acid, red vapors are evolved {Hoff- 
 man). Chloral alcoholate yields 59 8 per cent, of chloroform. It is not 
 used in medicine, unless as an adulterant of chloral hydrate, and is of 
 interest simply from the relation it bears to this substance. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — In addition to what has been stated in American 
 
 1 CompteS Bendus, Feb., 1874, and Pharm. Journ. and Trans., 1876. 
 
68 Materia Meuica. 
 
 Dispensatory, 8th ed., p. 883-5, we will observe that, unless the chloral 
 hydrate is pure, it may not only fail in producing some of its beneficial 
 etfects, but it may likewise occasion serious symptoms; and it is by no 
 means improbable that the unexpected deutlis that have sometimes fol- 
 lowed its internal administration in medium doses were due to the im- 
 purity of the chloral employed. In all cases ol' sleeplessness, and more 
 .espeeiallj' when this condition is the result of brain exhaustion, from 
 previous mental or moral excitement, chloral is indicated, but it should ' 
 not be administered to persons greatlj' enfeebled, nor to those who 
 are subjects of anj- dyspnceic or cardiac affection. During parturition, 
 chloral hydrate, in doses of from fifteen to thirty grains, repeated every 
 half hour or hour, and continued no longer than is necessary to eff^ect the 
 desired result, is stated to have been useful in regulating uterine contrac- 
 tions, and lessening their severity, in favoring dilatation of the os, and in 
 soothing undue nervous and mental excitability. By those who have em- 
 ployed it in eclampsia, it is considered one of the best agents Jbr over- 
 coming the convulsions, although instances of failure have occasional ly 
 . occurred; in this malady, it is administered in doses of ten or fifteen 
 grains, repeated as required, every ten, fifteen, or twenty minutes; and 
 in severe cases, from thirty to sixty grains in solution may be em- 
 ployed as a rectal enema. In epilepsy, chorea, pertussis, and paralysis 
 agitans, although not effecting recovery, it greatly lessens the severity 
 of the pai-oxysms, as well as of muscular movements. One part of* 
 chloral hydrate dissolved in six parts of distilled water, and adminis- 
 tered in fluidrachm doses everj- half hour, has frequently pi'oved advan- 
 tageous in hemicrania, as well as in retention of urine ; in these cases,, 
 after sensations of relief have been experienced, the intervals between 
 the doses should be extended to every two hours, for the last three or 
 four periods of administration. 
 
 As a local application, chloral hydrate has proved serviceable in 
 several affections. Equal parts of chloral and distilled spirit of horse- 
 radish root, applied upon the affected parts by means of a soft sponge 
 probang, every day, or every other day, has proved efficacious in the 
 ulitis of pregnant women ; before applying it, the mouth should be 
 cleansed, andrany excess of tartar on the teeth be removed. It produces 
 a slight degree of pain, and leaves a superficial, whitish eschar, which 
 disappears after some hours. Finely-powdered chloral hydrate sprinkled 
 upon the surface of a Burgundy-pitch plaster, and this applied over 
 painful parts, has been found efficacious in lumbago, sciatica, pleuro- 
 dynia, and intercostal neuralgia. The plaster must be allowed to re- 
 main upon the part for one or two days, or until the skin beneath be- 
 comes covered with small vesicles filled with a limpid sei-osity; the 
 plaster is then removed, each vesicle opened with a needle, and the 
 whole covered with simple cerate spread upon a soft cloth. They be- 
 come speedily healed. In scald-head, baldness, dandruff {pityriasis), and 
 especially in obstinate, indolent ulcers, the local application, daily, of a 
 solution of chloral hydrate, ten or twenty grains in distilled water one 
 fluidounce, will.be found highly efficacious; some smarting may follow 
 each application. A weaker solution will be advantageous as a palli- 
 ative and antiseptic in ulcerated cancer of the breast, cancer of the 
 uterus, in suppurating cavities, diphtheritic and gangrenous surfaces, 
 also to remove the offensive odor in ozcena, as well as that which 
 emanates from the axillae and feet of certain persons. It may be applied 
 on lint, or be used as a wash, by injection or by spray. A solution of 
 chloral hydrate, thirty grains to the ounce of water, will often prove 
 
Clematis Vitalba. 69 
 
 serviceable as a local application, to painful bunions and chilblains. 
 One part of chloral to sixteen parts of carron oil, forms a mixture that 
 has acted promptly and efficaciously iu burns and scalds. 
 
 Chloral hydrate is not used in subcutaneous injection, as its action is 
 too irritating and apt to be followed by troublesome abscesses, and 
 should it be injected into the veins, its influence upon the heart and 
 lungs is of a dangerous nature. Internally, for an adult, its dose varies 
 from ten to thirty grains, to be repeated every one, two, or three hours, 
 as indicated ; children require much less, say, as many grains for a doso 
 as there are years of the child's age. It may be given in some aroma- 
 tized sj'rup, to conceal its taste. When used in enema, the saturated 
 solution should be mixed with some mucilaginous, albuminous, or ole- 
 aginous fluid. The poisonous or unpleasant symptoms following the use 
 of chloral are best treated by frictions, artificial heat to the body and 
 limbs, coffee, artificial respiration, faradization, and, in some cases, the 
 cold douche upon the head and dorsal vertebrae. — K. 
 
 CLEMATIS VITALBA. 
 
 Wild Clematis, Traveler's Joy. 
 
 (See American Dispensatory, 8th ed., p. 265.) 
 
 G-aube has extracted a principle from this plant, to which he has 
 given thS name clematine; it is alkaline, and forms a neutral compound 
 with sulphuric acid, which crystallizes in hexagonal needles. Besides 
 this principle, he has also detected an essential oil, to which it owes its 
 properties, resembling those of Daphne gnidium, tannin, mucilaginous 
 substances, and a small amount of earthy salts. 
 
 The seeds of .Clematis, given in infusion, have been found serviceable 
 in albuminaria, even when general anasarca, amblyopia, incipient 
 hypertrophy of the left ventricle, without valvular lesion, and which 
 condition is, as M. Traube has shown, always a result of abnormal con- 
 ditions of the kidneys, and other symptoms peculiar to this disease were 
 present. The effects of the remedy were quite prompt, a profuse' 
 diuresis, followed by a gradual diminution of albumen in the urine and 
 a rapid disappearance of the anasarca, and other symptoms. This in- 
 fusion has likewise proved efficacious in other serous affections due to 
 other maladies of the abdominal viscera {Prof. Sauveur). — K. 
 
 CONDUEANGO or CUNDUEANGO. 
 
 The Bark. 
 
 History. — This plant was introduced in 1871, in rather an ofiicial 
 manner, having been received by the State Department at Washington, 
 from the Minister ot Eucador. • The drug was accompanied by certifi 
 cates li-om two physicians of the province of Loja, attributing to the 
 bark great power to cure cancer, syphilis, etc. The statements were 
 supported by a letter from our Minister ai Eucador. An analysis of the 
 plant threw' but little light upon the subject, as substances common to 
 most plants were only found, thus: a little resin, coloring matters, gum, 
 glucose, mineral salts, etc. Shortly after it came into notice, a note 
 from Mr. Dan. C. Bobbins, of New York, to the editor of the Am. Journ. 
 of Pharm., stated that Mr. Wiehl, U. S. Consul at Guayaquil, bad 
 96 
 
70 Materia Medica. 
 
 favored him with specimens of the flowers, leaves, and fruit of the true 
 Condurango vine. It was stated that the name Condurango meant 
 " Eagle vine," and that there were some six varieties, three of whifh 
 ■were used in medicine, and were known in Spanish by names signify- 
 ing dog-killer, big fruit, and little fruit. The " dog-killer," which is 
 true Condurango, is a tropical climbing vine, seeking the highest trees 
 of the Cinchona region of South America. ^ 
 
 Doubtless, the market was supplied with barks of several species oi 
 climbing plants, and this eupplj- will not need replenishing for some 
 time to come, unless the demand becomes more active than at present, 
 for it is seldom prescribed. 
 
 The bark only is recommended for use. It is in thin pieces, of a 
 whitish or yellowish color, reminding one of the bark of ptelea root. 
 The taste is slightly bitter and aromatic. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This agent, at one time so highly lauded as a 
 positive remedy for cancer and syphilis, is rarely employed at the 
 present time , and should it even possess any valuable therapeutic 
 virtues, they are not likely to be ascertained for some time to come, as 
 the exaggerated statements and misrepresentations attending its intro- 
 duction have led the profession to regard it with suspicion and in- 
 , credulity. — K. 
 
 COBIAEIA MYRTIFOLIA, Linn. 
 
 Hat. Orrf.— Coriariacese. 
 
 The leaves of Coriaria Myrtifolia, Linn. (Syn. — Khus Coriaria, 
 Linn). 
 
 Common Name. — Myrtle-leaved Coriaria. 
 
 Description. — This ip a low unarmed shrub of the Mediterranean 
 regions. The leaves are opposite, entire, lanceolate, acute, short petiolate, 
 and prominently three-veined. T!ha flowers are small, inconspicuous, in 
 erect, terminal racemes. The sepals are five, and imbricated in the bud. 
 Petals five, fleshy, gl'and-like and shorter than the calj'x. The carpels 
 ai'e five, distinct, and each is furnished with a long, thick, exserted 
 Btigma, which protrudes from the bud, and forms the most conspicuous 
 part of the flower. Tho fruit is a small, black berry, not larger than a 
 common pea. , 
 
 Histori/.—The leaves contain a poisonous bittei- principle, which has 
 been investigated by Ribau, and wliich is named Coriamyrtin. It is ob- 
 tained by precipitating the aqueous extract of the leaves with subace- 
 tate of tead ; filtering, treating the filtrate with sulphide of hydrogen ; 
 filtering again, and evaporating the filtrate to a syrupy consistence, 
 f)-om which substanceether dissolves the coriamyrtin; it may subse- 
 quently be purified by recrystaltizatioti from alcohol. It is a neutral, 
 white body, very bitter, forming in from four to six-sided prisms, which 
 aie soluble in seventy parts of cold wafer, and slightly moi'e soluble in 
 boiling; are very soluble in boiling alcohol, and in fifty parts of cold ; 
 also soluble in ether, chloroform, and benzol, but only slightly so in 
 carbon disulphidc. Dilute acids split it into a substance resembling 
 sugar, and a resin. In addition to this principle, the leaves contain 
 tannin, and are' used for tanning leather, and dyeing black. They 
 have likewise been employed to adulterate senna. — a dange'rous fraud, as, 
 according to Dr. Masters, they have caused convulsions and subsequent 
 coma. The best distinctive character is the three prominent veins of 
 
CoTo Bark. 71 
 
 the leaves, while senna leav(5s huvo buL one. The fi-uit of this shrub 
 is poisonous, and proved fatal to some French soldiers at Catalonia, who 
 iito of it. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Both the leaves and berries are poisonous. M. 
 Ribau gave about three grains of the bitter principle to a large dog, 
 iind although it was immediately ejected, horrible convulsions occurred 
 in about twenty minutes, followed bj death in sevenly-five minutes; 
 one grain of this coriamyrtin killed rabbits, and the subcutaneous in- 
 jection of three-tenths of a grain killed ii rabbit in twenty-five minutes. 
 The symptoms following its administration to these animals were riipid 
 sucoussions of the head extending to all the limbs, clonic and tetanic 
 convulsions coming on in paroxysms ; contraction of the pupils, tris- 
 mus, and foaming at the moutli ; the animals died from asphyxia and 
 nervous exhaustion. Autopsy found the vessels goi-ged with brown 
 blood, coagulated in the cardiac cavities, the pulmonary artery, and 
 the inferior vena cava; brown patches on the lungs; injection of the 
 meninges; rapid cadaveric rigidity. No irritating action appeared 
 upon the digestive tube. In cases where children have accidentally 
 eaten the fruit, the symptoms have been a condition like that occasioned 
 by alcohol (drunkenness), aphasia, frothing, purplish countenance, 
 nausea, vomiting, convulsions, and death in fi-om fifteen to twenty 
 hours. The plant has not yet been employed in medicine. The New 
 Zealanders have a toot-poison, which is very destructive to human and 
 animal life, and which, it is stated, is urocured from Qoriara sarmentosa^ 
 {Forst).—K. ' 
 
 COTO BARK. 
 The bark of an undetermined South American tree. 
 
 Description. — Coto bark is exported from the interior of Bolivia, but 
 the tree from which it is derived is unknown.' In 1875, Dr. Wittstein 
 received a few pounds for chemical examination, with the statement 
 that it was produced by a species of Cinchona ; this was disproved, 
 however, by Harz; after -a microscopic examination. 
 
 Coto bark reaches us in pieces of from four to twelve inches in length, 
 two to four inches in width, and from half an inch to three-fourths of 
 an inch in thickness ; the outer or coricy portion is about the sixteenth 
 of an inch in thickness, dark-brown internally, rusty upon the inner 
 surface, and externally grayish-brown, or blotched with spots of white. 
 The surface is somewhat rough. Beneath the thin cork it is of a dark- 
 cinnamon color; fibrous upon its inner surface and intermixed with 
 some granular matter; but, toward the outer part, the granular mat- 
 ter increases in proportion until the reverse is true. Its fracture pre- 
 sents very numerous points of a golden yellow. The odor of the bark 
 is aromatic, especially when freshly broken, reminding one of mace, or 
 of a mixture of mace and cinnamon. The taste is spicy, to the writer 
 intermediate between that Of mace and allspice, finally becoming acrid 
 anil biting. The dust is irritating when inhaled. 
 
 Constituents. — Dr. Wittstein found this bark to contain : a very pale- 
 yellow aromatic volatile oil, of less density than water, and biting to 
 the taste; a volatile alkaloid resembling pi'opylamin, and two resins, 
 besides a tannin, formic, butyric, and acetic acids, etc. The first resin 
 
 'The bark of Palicurea densiflora (Mart), is known in Brazil under the name 
 Coto-coto. 
 
72 Materia Medica. 
 
 was soft, like pitch, yellowisii-brown, voiy soluble in ether, chloroform, 
 and alcohol; slightly soluble in benzine, and hardly soluble in disulphide 
 of carbon. Its solutions wore acid. The fixed alkalies and ammonia 
 dissolved it, and acids separated the resin from its alkaline solutions. 
 It was of a biting taste, of an aromatic odor, and constituted about 
 fourteen per cent, of the bark. The second was hard, dark -brown, brittle, 
 inodorous, tasteless, but imparted bitterness and acidity to its tincture, 
 was soluble in alkalies, but insoluble in ether, benzine, chloroform, and 
 disulphide of carbon, and was obtained to the extent of about ten per 
 cent. 
 
 Later, Jobst obtained a crystallizable body, cotoin, possessing the biting 
 tiiste peculiar to the bark, and which he supposed represented its medi- 
 cinal virtues. Aftei'ward, he found another crystalline body in another 
 sample of bark (since named Para-coto Bark), and named \t paracotoin. 
 Still further examinations by Jobst and Hesse, gave conflicting results. 
 and later researches by the same parties demonstrated that the discrep- 
 ancies were due to the fact that two barks are upon the market under 
 the name Coto, and only to the first, that examined by Wittstein, should 
 the term (Goto) be applied ; Paracoto bark being accepted as the name 
 of the second. 
 
 Goto Bark, according to the recent investigatlonsof Jobst and Hesse,' 
 contains Cotoin, which was obtained by the following process : Goarsely- 
 powdered Goto bark being placed in a percolator, was exhausted by 
 cold ether ; the percolate was placed in a vessel upon a water-bath, and 
 reduced to one-tenth of its volume, and then, while yet warm, was 
 transferred to a porcelain capsule and six parts of petroleum -ether 
 added to it, with agitation. A mild heat was now applied and con- 
 tinued until all ether had been removed. During this evaporation, 
 resin was largely deposited, leaving a clear liquid above. This liquid, 
 while warm, was poured off, and then set aside to crj'stallize. With 
 the formation of the crystals, a small amount of resin was precipitated j 
 in order to separate these, the liquid was stirred, and at the right mo- 
 ment, the resin having fallen to the bottom, the liquid containing the 
 crystals was poured upon a filter. The crystals collected upon the filter 
 wore purified by dissolving them in boiling water, and re-crystalliz- 
 ing them — repeating this process several times. Gotoin forms in square 
 prisms of a light yellowish-white color, having an intensely biting 
 taste. They are soluble in alcohol, ether, chloroform, carbon disulphide, 
 and boiling water, and nearly insoluble in cold water; are colored 
 brown-red when in alcoholic solution, by ferric chloride; have a burning, 
 acrid taste; melt at 266° F. (130° C.), and yield benzoic acid and by- 
 products when heated with either strong hydrochloric acid or potassium 
 hydrate. The composition of Gotoin is CjuHigOe- With bromine, it 
 forms tri.bromcotoin, C^jHisBrsOg, and with acetic anhydrid Triacetyl- 
 cotoin, C22Hi303(G2H302)3. The authors, in addition to cotoin dis- 
 ciivured in the mother liquor, after crystallization of cotoin, a bodj' 
 which crystallized in nearly white scales, having the composition C,4 
 HjjOn, iind which they named dicotoin. 
 
 Para-coto Bark resembles Goto bark in its general appearance, but 
 has a much weaker odor, and only a faintly pungent, acrid taste. It 
 reaches market under the name Coto, and is packed in exactly the same 
 manner, thus, it is said, rendering its substitution in commerce frequent. 
 The principal constituents are, paracotoin, which crystallizes from an 
 
 1 Liebeg's AnruUender Chemie, Vol. cix, pp. 17-96. 
 
UURARE. 73' 
 
 ot.horeal tincture of paracoto bark in 3-cllowis!i scales, and has the com- 
 jiosition CijHijOu. Solalioii of hydrate of potassium, or of sodium, con- 
 verts it into paracotoic acid, CigllijO,. Leucotin, a substance crystalliz- 
 ing in white prisms, is present in larger proportion, and is obtained by 
 agitating with glacial acetic acid, the crystalline mass resulting from 
 evaporation of the tincture of paracoto bark. The leucotin dissolves 
 in the acetic acid, and may be purified by recrystallization from hot 
 dilute alcohol. Its composition is, CajHs^Ou. Oxyleucotoin is obtained 
 from the alcoholic mother liquor, after separation of paracotoin, and 
 has the composition, CjjHjjO,.^. An agreeable volatile oil was also ob- 
 tained, by distillation of the bark with superheated steam, colorless, 
 specific gravity 0.9275, and separating into five distinct compounds by 
 means of fractional distillation, with boiling points ranging from 1G0° 
 C. (320° P.) to 242° C. _(467°.6 F.). In addition to the foregoing, several 
 other products were identified, and we refer the ^reader, if 'interested, 
 to the original article, or the abstracts published in the Am. Journ. 
 Pharm. and in New Remedies, January, 1880. In this country. Goto 
 bark, in substance, in tincture, or in fluid extract, is always used in 
 medicine. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Goto bark, in the form of powder, tincture, or 
 extract, has been successfully employed in diarrhea; M. von Gietl con- 
 siders it a specific in the several forms of diarrhea. Burkart and 
 Rieker have found it to possess extraordinary virtues in intestinal ca- 
 tarrh, diarrhea and dysentery. It has likewise been employed beoe- 
 ficiallj' in colic, dental nervous pains, in gout, and in rheumatism. The 
 tincture, made by percolating one part of the coarsely-powdered bark 
 with nine parts of alcohol, may be given in doses often drops, repeated 
 every two hours; the powder, in doses of half a grain, repeated four, 
 five, or six times a day. The effects of the tincture and the pow(|er 
 are, hovvever, very disagreeable, owing to the essential oil and the res- 
 inous principles present in them, producing a persistent, burning taste 
 in the mouth, with increased flow of saliva, a burning sensation in the 
 stomach, with eructations and vomiting, on which account the active 
 principle, cotoin, has been substituted, as it does not occasion these 
 unpleasant symptoms, and is fully as efBcacious. Gotoin is especially 
 useful. in case.i in which opium or its preparations are contra-indicated; 
 its dose is very small, thus: in four fluidounces of distilled water, dissolve 
 seven-tenths of a grain, or a grain and one-fifth, of cotoin, to this add 
 ten drops of alcohol, and one ounce of syrup. The dose is a table- 
 spoonful, every hour or two. — K. 
 
 CURAEE. 
 The poisonous preparation. Curare. 
 
 History. — Curare is a frightfully poisonous extract, prepared by tlio 
 savages of South America, for the purpose of poisoning the points of 
 tiieir arrows. It is known under various names, bearing a general 
 resemblance, snch as, vvoorari, woorara, curari, cururu, ourari, wow- 
 11,1'i. etc. 
 
 It i.s said to have been first brought to Europe by Sir Walter Raleigh. 
 It was mentioned by the Fathers d'Acunja and d'Artieda, who visited 
 the Amazoi! River in 1693.' In 1745 l)e la Gondamine brought the 
 
 'A'eJD Hemedies, 1877. 
 
74 Materia Medica. 
 
 poison to the notice of tlie French Academy. It was carefully de- 
 scribed by Waterton (1812),' together with a process of preparation, as 
 followed by the Miicoushi Indiaps. 
 
 Regarding its origin authorities disagree, but it is known that differ- 
 ent tribes vary the plants that enter into its composition, and thus 
 we have little reason to doubt the conflicting statements of travelers. 
 Waterton states that a vine called by the Macoushi Indians "Wourali," 
 is tlie poisonous agent; although, according to him, they add the fangs 
 of vipers, and plants that simply give bulk to the extract; Bancroft 
 (1769) obtained from the Accawan Indians, a receipt for making it 
 from native plants, under local names, and from one of these plants 
 (woorara) the extract seemed to derive its name. According to the 
 latest authoritj', Dr. Jobert, the Tecuna Indians, at Calderao (Brazil), 
 prepare curare from Strychnos Castelnoe (Weddell), Cocculus toxiferiis 
 (^Wedd^ll), J)'ide]phos cancrivora, a plant belonging to the Arum family 
 known as "Taja," a plant of local name "Toucan's tongue," and three 
 Piperacese of the genus Artanthe. These are extracted with water, 
 and evaporated to an extract. According to Jobert, the Strychnos Cas- 
 telnoe and the Taja are the most poisonous of the constituents.^ Doubt- 
 less the species of pepper are simply used as a preservative. 
 
 In appearance, curare seems to differ according to its origin and its age. 
 Sometimes, it is described as a syrup, into which the points of the 
 arrows are dipped ; again, it is met with of a hard resinous appearance. 
 It is, in reality, simply a vegetable extract, and may be expected to 
 vary as much as other extracts; and we know that time and mode of 
 preparation will change the general appearance of all solid exti'acts. 
 In quality also,' it is uncertain ; according to Blodgett (1878), the most 
 valuable article presented a glistening fracture, and was of a dark- 
 brown color. Doubtless those specimens which contain the largest pro- 
 portion of the extract from the species of Strychnos or of Cocculus toxi- 
 forus, are most poisonous. Although, in 1828, Roulin and Boussingault 
 announced the poisonous principle to be curarin, yet, for some years 
 afterward, it was believed by many that curare depended upon strych- 
 nia and brucia for its poisonous property, an opinion now considered 
 erroneous by the best authorities; and although Oberdorffer announced 
 that woorara, from three sources, yielded both strj'chnia and brucia, 
 and Wittstein announced both alkaloids to be present in woorara' from 
 Brazil, and in the wood of Strychnos toxifera (Schomb), it is generally 
 accepted, at the present day, that curare contains curarin, a very pois- 
 onous substance, resembling strychnia in some respects, but differing 
 quite markedly in others. 
 
 Curare is of a bitter taste, soluble in cold water to the extent of about 
 seventy-five per cent., which fluid also extracts the poisonous substance 
 known as curarin. 
 
 Curarin is an alkaloid, and was obtained by Eoulin and Boussingault 
 lis an amorphous yellowish substance : it has since been purified and 
 crystallized. It is colorless or white, of a bitter taste, deliquescent to a 
 certain extent in moist air. soluble in water, and in alcohol, less soluble 
 in chloroform, and insoluble in pure ether, benzol, oil of turpentine, < 
 and disulphide of carbon It has an alkaline reaction, and unites with 
 acids to form crystallizable salts. According to Sachs, it exists nat- 
 urally as a sulphate. II. miiy be separated from strychnia, if mixed 
 
 ' Waterton's Wanderings m South America. 
 
 ''New Remedies, April, 1878, irom Bulletin de Therapeutique. 
 
Curare. 75 
 
 with that alkaloid, bj- benzine, in which substance, according to Flucki- 
 ger, curarin is insoluble. 
 
 Antidotes. — Vella,' in 1861, decided that strychnia and the poisonous 
 principle of curare, antidoted each other, basing his assertions upon 
 actual experiments, in which large doses of both substances wqre admin- 
 istered to dogs without fatal effect, while afterward the same amount of 
 strychnia alone, resulted in death, ^ but caution must certainly be em- 
 ployed in the use of so powerful a poison, even in the way of an antidote, 
 In the N. Y. Med. Gazette, July, 1855, Drs. Brainard and Green* an- 
 nounce that a solution of iodine one part, iodide of potassium two parts, 
 and water forty-eight parts, acts as an antidote to the poison when the 
 antidote is injected under the skin, and neutralizes it when mixed with: 
 its solution. Extreme care must be employed both in handling and 
 administering so deadly a substance. It should by no means be per-' 
 mitted to come into contact with a cut, abrasion, or scratch; indeed, it 
 were safer never to handle it with the naked fingers; neither should 
 we attempt to pulverize the dry article, as its inhalation is danger- 
 ous. — L. . , ' , 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Curare, or woorara, produces its poisonous ef- 
 fects only when it has penetrated into the circulation, either by -means 
 of a wound, by rectal injection, or by inhalation (Pelouze and Bernard). 
 It is seldom toxic when, introduced into the stomach, although it would 
 be prudent to use some care in its internal administration, as fatal re- 
 sults are stated to have followed its ingestion in maximum doses, or when 
 taken up^n an empty stomach. The symptoms following its introduc- 
 tion into Che circulation are muscular paralysis (which, more or less 
 rapidly, becomes general), stupor, suspended respiration, sometimes 
 convulsions, and death, the heart continuing to act for some time a,fter 
 all other indications of life have disappeared. It is stated that ani- 
 mals have recovered from its effect, even at this stage, artificial respira- 
 tion having- been resorted to before the heart had wholly ceased its 
 action. The difference in the character, and in the rapidity of the 
 symptoms Observed in poisoning by this agent, is supposed to be due 
 to a difference in its composition, and to its more or less rapid expul- 
 sion through the urinary organs. The causes of the phenomena pro- 
 duced by it are not satisfactorily determined; they have been variously- 
 attributed to paralysis of the respiratory nerve centers, and of the mo- 
 tor nerves; to a primary and direct action upon the heart; to a pri- 
 mary influence upon the nerve terminations, 'etc. It has no effect upon ' 
 the pulse or physical temperature, and no perceptible change has been 
 observed in the character of the blood nor in that of the solid tex- 
 tures; hence, it can not be a blood poison. 
 
 The therapeutical employment of curare has been suggested in cer- 
 tain severe and obstinate spasmodic affections, as in epilepsy, chorea, 
 hydrophobia, and, more particularly, in tetanus. It is used by subcata- 
 neous injections of its filtered aqueous solution, thus: add curare, one 
 grain, to distilled water twenty-four minims; dissolve, let the solution 
 stand forty-eight hours, and filter; of this, from two minims (one- 
 
 ^Pharm Joum., 2d series, Vol. ii. 
 
 ^Mr. H. S. Wellcome exhibited, at the- meeting of the Am. Pharm. Assoc., held in 
 Indianapolis, Ind., 1879, arrows brought by himself from South America and poisoned 
 by the Indians with curare. These arrows have been dipped into a,poste (soft extract), 
 about one-half in inch (if each point being covered with the poisonous extract. Mr. 
 "Wellcome informed the writer that the natives could antidote the poison if treatment 
 was instituted at once, but that they refused to name the antidote. — L. 
 
76 Materia Medica. 
 
 twelfth grain) to six minims (one-fourth grain) may be used at one 
 injection, carefully repealing the injections until relaxation of the 
 muscles'has been effected. Curarin, dissolved in water, with a few 
 drops of sulphuric acid added, to facilitate its so-lution, is to bo used in 
 still smaller doses, — from the two hundred and tbrtieth part of a grain 
 to the one hundred and twentieth. It is doubtful whether this agent 
 will ever come into general use as a medicinal remedy ; at least, not so 
 long as other medicines are known upon which greater confidence can 
 be pfaced. The diversity of action, attributable, in some instances, to 
 its diifei'ence of composition, in others to its inertness, or to its highly 
 active qualities, render it an uncertain, as well as an unsafe, rem- 
 edy.— K. 
 
 eURCAS PURGANS. 
 Nat. Ord. — Euphorbiacese. Tribe. — 'Hippomanese, Muller. 
 
 The seeds of Curcas purgans, Adanson. {Syn. — Jatropba Curcas, 
 liinn.). 
 
 Common Name. — Purging nut ; Physic nut. 
 
 Description. — This is a large, thick-stemmed, lactiferous shrub, a 
 native of the Cape de Verd Islands (Pickering^, but cultivated as a hedge 
 plant, as well as for its oil, and has also been naturalized in the West 
 Indies, South America, and in most parts of the tropics. The plant 
 was formerly referred to Jatropba, from which it differs in having a 
 monopetalous corolla. The leaves are heart-shaped,, smooth, five-lobed, 
 and on leafstalks two or three inches long. The flowers are small, 
 green, monoecious and in axillary, stalked cymes. The corolla and calyx 
 are five-parted, and the male flowers- have ten stamens. The ovary is 
 three-lobed, three-celled, and has a three-parted style. The fruit is a 
 fleshy black berry,, and contains three seeds, about an inch in length. 
 The kernel is oily, inodorous,. sweetish to the taste, followed by acridity. 
 
 History. — The seeds are called purging nuts, nuces catbarticse Amer- 
 icaniB, Semina Eicini majoris. Semen Curcadis, Ficus infcrnalis, Nu- 
 ces Barbadenses, physic nut, etc' and affords an oil, upon pressure, 
 which is a drastic cathartic, and which has been used to adulterate 
 croton oil. This oil was examined by M. J. Bonis (1854),^ who obtained 
 it from the nuts, by pressure, to the amount of thirty-seven per cent. 
 It is white, has a density of 0.910 at 62° F: (16J° C), is almost insoluble 
 in alcohol, eas'ly saponified by soda, forming a white, hard soap. It is 
 decomposed by heat, yielding, among other products, sebacic acid. 
 When it is saponified by potash and the resulting soap is deeomposed by 
 muriatic acid, a mixture of fatty acids is produced, from which, by 
 pressure, from eighteen to twenty per cent, of a white, solid acid may 
 be separated. Thi^ is soluble in hot alcohol, from which, on cooling, it 
 is deposited in brilliant spangles. It fuses at 131° F. (55'° C), and sol- 
 idifies at 128 F. (53° C). From its close resemblance to cetic acid (as 
 it has the same chemical composition, CsoHjjOa + HO), Bouis named it 
 isocetic acid.' Besides the above, Bouis found another acid, which is 
 liquid at 13° F. (—10^° C.).— L. 
 
 ' Nm Memedies, 1878, from Zeitschrift des Oestere, Apoth. Vereins. 
 
 ' Comptes lUndus, xxxix. 
 
 ■Tsocetic acid also forms the glycerid of the solid part of castor oil.- 
 
Cyclamen. , 77 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The seeds of Purging or Barbadoes Nut, occasion 
 emetic^nd drastic cathartic effects, accompanied with a burning sensa- 
 tion in the fauces and stomach, and other unpleasant, and even serious, 
 sj-mptoms. However, if the seeds be entirely deprived of their enl- 
 brj'o, the emesis and other disagreeable sensations do not occur. The 
 juice of the leaves acts as a rubefacient, and has been suecessfullj' em- 
 ployed, in the countries where the shrub grows, as a local applicaiion 
 in rheumatic pains, in certain eruptive' affections, and in piles. The 
 oil, in the dose of ten or twelve minims, is a cathartic, somewhat re- 
 sembling croton oil in its action, though less severe. It may be used in 
 all cases where the employment of croton oil is indicated.— K. 
 
 CYCLAMEN. 
 
 JVat. Ord. — Primulacese. Tribe. — Primulese. The tuber of Cyclamen 
 hederifolium, Willd. (Syn. — ^Cyclamen Buropseum, Mill.) 
 
 Common iVhme.^Sow Bread. 
 
 Illustration. — Bat. Mag., Plate 1001. 
 
 Description. — Cyclamen hederifolium is a native of Italy and Sicily, 
 and is occasionally found' naturalized in the wet, clayey soil of England. 
 The leaves are all radical, on slender leaf-stalks; they are heart-shaped, 
 finely-toothed on the margin, and variegated with light and dark-green 
 color. The flowers are solitary and nodding, on long slender stalks; 
 they closely resemble the flowers of the American cowslip, Dodecatheon 
 Meadia. The corolla is monopetalous, with a very short tube, and a 
 large, reflexed, five-parted limb, which gives the flower an odd appear- 
 ance. The/r-Mi'^isa many-seeded, five-valved capsule. After flowering, 
 the slender fiower-stalk twists into a spiral curl, and, bending over, 
 ripens the seed-vessel on the surface of the ground. On account of the 
 graceful little flowers^ this and other species of Cyclamen, are often 
 found in cultivation. The tubers of C. Europseum (Linn.') and of C. 
 Persicum (Mill) are also used, and the various species have been em- 
 ployed in medicine from an early period. 
 
 History. — Pliny and Dioscorides advjsed the root as a curative agent 
 in numerous affections. It occupied a place in the Pharmacopoeia Lon- 
 ■donensis, 1653, under the name Artanitce cyelaminis, and in Lewis' Materia 
 Medica (1761), as Arthanita. It was officinal in Germany about one 
 hundred years ago. The root is an orbicular, flattened tuber, brown 
 externally, white within, with blackish radicles. It contains about 
 eighty per cent, of moisture, and one-half per cent, of ash. The con- 
 etituents are, saccharine matter, starch, gum, and cyclamin (M. de Luca), 
 which is the poisonous principle of the tuber. To obtain cyclamin, ex- 
 tract the bruised fresh root with water, evaporate to the consistence of 
 honej-, exhaust with hot alcohol, evaporate, and upon cooling, the 
 cyclamin will separate in small white crystals (Saladin); or the dried 
 and powdered tubers may be exhausted with alcohol ; filter this tincture, 
 evaporate to dryness, extract the residue with alcohol, and then permit 
 the solution, after filtration, to evaporate spontaneously in a cool, dark 
 place. Whitish amorphous aggregations of cyclamin will be deposited, 
 which may be purified by re-solution in hot alcohol, and subsequent 
 evaporation over sulphuric acid.' 
 
 ' Comptes Rendus, 1857. 
 
78 Materia Medica. 
 
 As obtained by M. de Luca, Cyclamin, CjoHaiOio, is white, amorphous, 
 opaque, inodorous, friable, neutral, and of an acrid taste. It absorbs 
 moisture in damp air, becomes gelatinous in a small quantity of cold 
 water, and dissolves in five hundred parts of this fluid, rendering the 
 liquid frothy, like soap-suds. In aqueous solution it is coagulated by a 
 temperature of from 140 to 170° F. (60 to 77° C.}, but the coagulated 
 matter redissoives after a few days. It readily dissolves in hot alcohol, 
 acetic acid, wood spirit, and glycerin, but is insoluble in chloroform, 
 ether, oils, and disulphide of carbon; tannin precipitates it from its so- 
 lutions. When heated upon platinum foil it is dissipated, with decom- 
 jiosition and without residue ; the action- of boiling dilute acids upon it 
 forms glucose, and a body called cyclamiretin. L. Mutschler concludes 
 that cj'clamin and saponin are identical, but we can scarcely accept the 
 assertion, inasmuch as the therapeutical action of the two bodies are so 
 different. Perhaps the tuber contains both saponin and cyclamin, to 
 the former of which may be ascribed the frothy property imparted to 
 water, and to the latter the poisonous action. Both cyclamin and the 
 juice of the tuber are poisonous to man and fish, .but the tubers are 
 sought for and eaten by hogs with impunity, thus giving rise to the 
 vulgar names applied to the plant, "sow bread," or "hog's bread." — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The root or tuber of cyclamen, in its recent state, 
 is a di-astic cathartic, for which purpose it has been long in use among 
 the peasantiiy of some parts of Europe ; its effects, however, are fre- 
 quently very severe, as violent emesis, hypercatharsis, intestinal inflam- 
 mation, cold sweats, tinnitus aurium, spasmodic movements, etc., which 
 some tinies result in death.' This severity of 'action is lessened by dry- 
 ing the tubers. In the dried state, eight or ten grains of the powder, 
 rubbed up with an equal quantity of starch or gum, will have a pur- 
 gative effect. Formerly, an ointment was prepared from the fresh tu- ' 
 bers, "ointment of arthanita," which was rubbed upon and around the 
 umbilicus of children, for the expulsion of worms; upon the abdomen 
 of adults to cause emesis, and upon the region over the bladder to in- 
 crease the urinary discharge. The Iresh tubers, bruised and formed 
 into a cataplasm, have been employed as a local stimulating application 
 to indolent scrofulous swellings, abscesses, etc. Cyclamin, one of the 
 active principles of this plant, has not been employed therapeutically; 
 administered to small animals, it has occasioned their death in a few 
 days, their blood being found filled with vibriones. — K. i 
 
 DIALYSIS. 
 Dialysis. 
 
 The name dialysis was applied, by Graham, to the act of separating 
 certain bodies when in solution, by taking advantage of the fact that 
 .some substances pass more readily than others through certain gelatin- 
 ous bodies. Those most diffusible, either crystallize or are closely re- 
 lated to crystalline classes, hence called crystalloids. The less diffusible 
 are those incapable of crystallizing, usually prone to assume the gelatin- 
 ous form, being distinguished as colloids. The principle of dialysis has, 
 occasionally, for some years, been applied in practice, as in separating 
 arsenious anhydrid, and other metallic poisons, from liquids containing 
 organic matter, also in the separation of the crystallizable constituents 
 of urine, as urea, etc. 
 
Ferrum Dialysa^um. 79 
 
 A layer of gelatin will serve'as a Uialyzer, but a septiini of auiinal 
 membrane, such as bladder, or a piece of parchment, is better adapted 
 to the purpose. The dialyzer is generally made by tying a sheet of 
 parchment over a wooden lioop, or over a glass or rubber cylinder, or 
 even over the wide open end of a funnel. The liquid to be dialyzed is 
 then placed inside the vessel thus made, and the whole arrangement is 
 permitted to float upon distilled water. In case the vessel is heavy, it 
 • is better to support it in such a manner that the surface of the liquid 
 within the dialyzer will be a little above the surface of the surrounding 
 w.iter. This is necessary to prevent an excessive inflow of watey, 
 which, in some cases, renders the liquid very dilute before dialysis has 
 progressed to any great extent. 
 
 "We have found a pig's or a beef's bladder to make a very convenient 
 and eff'fective dialyzer. To prepare it, trim off all the superfluous fat, 
 rejecting all the fleshy part of the neck of this organ ; then wash it 
 well in dilute ammonia water (one part "of solution of ammonia to five 
 of distilled water), and afterward rinse it well in water. The liquid to 
 be dialyzed is now placed within the bladder, then this is strongly tied, 
 and suspended in water. The inflow, or endosmosis, of water is more 
 rapid than the exosmosis, and the outward pressure is considerable; 
 therefore the precaution must be taken to thoroughly secure the oijen- 
 ing, otherwise the string will bo forced off'. The process of dialysis has 
 recently come into extensive u.se an a means of making the pharma- 
 ceutical preparation known as dialyzed iron. 
 
 FEREUM DIALYSATUM. 
 ' Dialyzed Iron. 
 
 The Paris Pharmaceutical Society (1876) adopted the following pro- 
 cess: To one hundred grams (three and one-half fluidounces) of solution 
 of ferric chloride, sp.gr. 1.245, thirty-five grams (one and one-fourth' 
 fluidounces) of ammonia water, sp. gr. 1.245, are slowly added, with con- 
 stant stirring, and as soon as a clear solution lias formed it is introduced 
 into the dialyzer; the surrounding water, during the process of dialyza- 
 tion, being frequently changed. When the contents of the dialyzer (as 
 maybe determined by testing a small portion fi-om time to time) cease 
 to precipitate a solution of nitrate of silver, and give no acid reaction, 
 the operation is suspended. A given amount of the liquid in the dial- 
 yzer is now evaporated to dryness, the calculation made, and water 
 added in such amount that one hundred grains of the solution shall 
 contain five grains of solid residue. 
 
 Dr. W. H. Pile recommends the addition of solution of carbonate of 
 sodium to the solution of chloride of iron, until a small portion of the 
 resulting precipitate remains undissolved, and then to proceed with the 
 dialysis. In this case, chloride of sodium passes through the septum. 
 We believe the process now in general favor is to add freshly preci]ii- 
 tated ferric hydrate to the solution of ferric chloride, until saturation 
 ensues, and then dialyze the resulting liquid. In all eases the results of 
 the operation are similar, and the solution within the dialyzer should, 
 after the completion of the process, be brought to the proper standard 
 by drying a given jportion, and then, as heretofore stated, adding dis- 
 tilled water in sufficient quantity to make one hundred parts by weight 
 of the solution to contain five psirts of the dry residue. 
 
 Eecapitulation. — When the foregoing basic solutions of oxychloride 
 of iron mixed, as they are, with solutions of ammonium or sodium 
 
80 Materia Medica. 
 
 chlorides, are placed in the dialyzer, the latter solutions pass through 
 the membrane almost free from ferric salt. This can be exempli- 
 fied by using glass vessels, when, throughout the distilled waterj 
 the descending currents of colorless denser solution will immediately 
 exhibit themselves, by reason of the manner in which the various media 
 refj'act the' rays of light. Finally, the liquid within the dialyzer will 
 be depleted of these ammonium or sodium salts to an extent sufficient 
 to render the lower liquid identical in (crystalloid) composition with 
 that within the dialyzer; then the process ceases. It will now be 
 neeessarj' to remove the water surrounding the dialyzer, and renew it 
 with fresh portions, and this operation must be repeated as often as will 
 be necessary. In practice, it will be noticed that rapidity of dialyzation 
 depends, to an extent, upon this comparative (crystalloid) composition 
 of the two liquids, and that in proportion as they approach each other 
 in composition, the process slackens ; therefore, frequent change of 
 water is beneficial, and considerable depth to the lower liquid advisable. 
 For this same reason, the process requires, toward its completion, a 
 much longer time, proportionally, to remove a given amount of solution 
 of crystalloids, for, although fresh distilled water may surround the 
 dialyzer, there will be nearly an equilibrium existing between the 
 crystalloids of the two fluids. From nine to fourteen days are generally 
 required to complete the operation, but the process is influenced by the 
 depth of the solution within the dialyzer, the extent of surface exposed, 
 and the quality of the membrane employed, as well as by the attention 
 given to a frequent change of the water in which the dialyzer floats. 
 The most rapid work is accomplished with a constantly changing water 
 below, and a thin stratum of liquid above, the membrane. 
 
 Properties. — Dialyzed iron has a deep-red color, and is miscible with 
 distilled water, glycerin, and syrup. Fixed organic acids, alkalies, and 
 salts, form with it a clear jelly. It is odorless and almost tasteless, 
 merely impartinga slight rough sensation to the tongue. In composition, 
 it is a very basic oxychloride, and, as found in the market, differs consid- 
 erably in constitution. It is not, as some have supposed, a neutral solu- 
 tion of oxide of iron. Specimens that are neutral to litmus paper, smd 
 that fail to show the presence of chlorine upon simply adding nitrate of 
 silver to the solution of iron will, as Professor Maiscli has shown, give 
 distinct precipitates, when a slight excess of ammonia water is previ- 
 ously added to the dialyzed iron, the mixture then filtered and the clear 
 filtrate tested with solution of nitrate of silver.^ 
 
 According to the analysis of Mr. Trimble {Am Journ. Pharm., 1878, 
 p. (51). six specimens of commercial dialyzed iron varied in composition 
 from Fe2Cle.llFe203 to FejCls.SlFejO.,. Neither specimen contained five 
 per cent, of solid matter, the highest being 4,831 per cent., the lowest 
 2.51-t per cent. The specific gravity of five per cent. dia]yz6d iron, 
 according to Dr. W. H. Pile, is 1.029. Mr. E. B. Shiittleworth {Canad: 
 Pharm. Journ., 1877), states, however, that it is 1.034 if the evaporation 
 of tlie solution tested has been conducted over an exposed water balh, 
 and 1.040 when the perfectly dry residue is five per t-ent. If calcined, 
 a residue of five per cent, indicates a solution of sp. gr. 1.046.° — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Dialyzed iron lia.s been presented to the uiedical 
 
 'For exhaustive articles upon the subject we refer the reader to Am. Journ. Pharm., 
 1877, 1878. 
 
 ^If the process of dialysis is carried to excess, the resultant solution is prone to 
 thicken. This is often_ observed in dialyzed iron where extra care has been takeni 
 that the process be carried to the utmost extent. — L. 
 
DiOSOOREA ViLLOSA. 81 
 
 profession as a roniody devoid of any styptic, disagreeable taste, pro- 
 ducing no heai't-buni, eructii lions, constipation, diarrhea, or gastric dis- 
 turbance, occasioning no blackening of the teeth, and being a ferric 
 solution in a form closely reseinbling that of the iron in the blood. It 
 has likewise been recommended as an antidote for jwisoningby arsenic, 
 fully as efficient as the hydrated sesquioxide of iron. Its dose is from 
 twenty to fifty drops daily, or from five to twelve drops repeated four 
 times a day; it may be dropped upon a lump of sugar, or be taken in 
 a little water, wine, or coff'ee. This preparation has been recommended 
 in all cases in which the administration of iron is indicated, but it has 
 not given general satisfaction among those who have employed it; and 
 from what has been gathered from those who have tested it as an arsen- 
 ical antidote, it certainly appears to be an uncertain and unreliable 
 remedy. Professor Depaire, of the University of Brussels (Journ. de 
 Medecine de Bruxelles. 1877) considers that this agent should be ranked 
 among the least active of the ferruginous preparations. Bouchardat, of 
 Paris, Prance, says: " Theoretically, dialyzed ii-on appears to me to be 
 the most untrustworthy of the ferruginous preparations in which the 
 ferric oxide occurs, and for two reasons : the iron called dialyzed, does 
 not pass through the dialyzer, it must then be illy adapted for absorp- 
 tion : under the influence of very small quantities of alkali, of alkaline 
 earths, of acids, of divers substances contained in the food, it becomes 
 converted into an insoluble compound." Physicians in Germany fre- 
 quently prescribe it as follows; Take of dialyzed iron, cinnamon 
 water, each, fifteen fluidrachrns, glycerin, alcohol, each, two and a half 
 fluidrachms; mix. The dose of this for an adult, is a dessert spoonful, 
 repeated three or four times a day. Bach spoonful contains 2.14 grams 
 (33 Tr. grains) of dialyzed oxide of iron, or 10 centigrams (1^ Tr. 
 grains) of dry oxide of iron. — K. 
 
 DIOSCOEEA VILLOSA. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — -DioscoresB. The rhizoma of Dioscorea villosa, Linn. 
 
 Common Name. — Wild Yam. 
 
 Illustration. — Our Plate VII — (rhizoma). 
 
 (See American Dispensatory, 8th ed., p. 335.) 
 
 Description. — This is an herbaceous, slender vine, found throughout 
 the United States, but more common in the central and southern por- 
 tions. The stem is a smooth green twiner, about the size of a goose- 
 quill, twining from the right to the left, over fences, bushes, etc. The 
 leaves are symmetrical and heart-shaped, gradually tapering to a sharp, 
 acuminate point, and are borne on leaf-stalks from two to four inclies 
 long. The lower leaves are in whorls of four or five, with intervals oi 
 from six inches to a foot between, while those upon the upper part of 
 the vine are irregularly alternate. The margins of the leaves are 
 entire and wavy in the larger leaves. The veins are generally nine, 
 quite prominent, and gradually diverge from the top of the leaf-stalk. 
 The under side of the leaves is clothed with a thick pubescence. The 
 flowers appear in June or July, are dioecious, very small, and greenish- 
 yellow. The male flowers are in compound loose spikes, wnth from 
 three to five slender branches ; the perianth is six parted, sessile, flat- 
 tened, and has, near the base, six minute stamens. The female flowers 
 
82 Materia Medica. 
 
 are placed at intervals of oue-foiu-Lh of an inch or half an inch apart, 
 in simple, drooping, axillary spikes, consisting, each, of from four to 
 eight flowers. The ovary is sessile, slender, about one-fourth of an inch 
 in length, bearing at the summit a six-jiarted, small perianth, and three 
 short styles. The female flowers are succeeded by dry, brown fruit, 
 which remain hanging among the limbs of shrubs in winter for some 
 time afterthe herbaceous stems of the plant have perished. They are 
 sharply threo-angled, and have three ceils, each cell bearing two (or 
 often, by abortion, one) flat membranous-winged seed. 
 
 DioscoREA YiLLOSA (Lin.); var. Glabra. — This appears to us to be a dis- 
 tinct variety, chiefly difl'eririg from the preceding in the entire dissimi- 
 larity of its rhizomse. The plant closely resembles the true wild yam in 
 its general shape, and in the structure of its leaves, flowers, and fruit. 
 The leaves, however, are entirely glabrous and are not covered with a 
 short pubescence underneath. This distinction we have invariably 
 found in every instance where we have examined the growing plants; 
 hence, the under surface of the leaf will readily determine the charac- 
 ter of the rhizoma. The two plants likewise appear to differ in their 
 manner of growth, the D. villosa often growing in dense clumps, while 
 the variety glabra is generally found isolated. From the specific name 
 given to this plant, by Linnseus, it is evident that he was possessed of 
 a specimen of the pubescent kind (or the true wild yam), and we have 
 ventured to apply the designation, war. glabra,^ to the variety distin- 
 guished by smooth leaves and knotty rhizomffi. 
 
 History. — The rhizoma of Dioscorea villosa is a favorite therapeutical 
 agent among our Eclectic physicians, who have advantageously used 
 it for more than forty years. It is known as wild yam and colic root. 
 The first specimens employed were from the Dioscorea villosa, with 
 pubescent leaves (Fig. 2, Plate VII), and is now known as the true wild 
 yam. About the year 1850, botanic druggists noticed tlie admixture, by 
 root-diggers, of the rhizomse represented by Fig. 1, Plate VII, and for a 
 considerable time rejected it as an adulteration. The diggers insisted, 
 however, that both " roots " were obtained from vines almost identical 
 in appearance (although they can distinguish between them), and 
 finally purchasers were compelled to accept them, more especially as the 
 - true rhizomse became very scarce. Mr. H. M. Merrell, of Cincinnati, 
 Ohio, to whom we are indebted for this information, states that- the first 
 heavy shipments of i^ejalse "wild yam root" to Eastern houses were 
 made about 1860, and which article purchasers refused to accept, but, 
 after some correspondence, coupled with the fact that the true wild 
 yam could not at that time be obtained, the parties concluded to' re- 
 ceive it. Since then, the two rhizomse have been sold indiscriminately, 
 although but little of the original driig is to be found in the market. 
 Eclectic i)hysician8 are aware of the difference between these rhizomse, 
 and refuse to use the "false" variety, insisting that it does not possess 
 the medieinal properties, and can not safely be'substituted for the "true." 
 Ill this connection, we invite attention to the accurate engravings of 
 each variety of the rhizomse in Plate VII. 
 
 The rhizoma of Dfosco?-m villosa (Plate VII, Fig. 2) appears in market 
 in slender contorted pieces from one-fourth of an inch to half an inch 
 
 'Works upon botanj recognize only Dioscorea villosa, but it lias become necessary 
 to cl.issify the two rluzoniEe of commerce. Considerable attention has been given to 
 the plants, and without an exception the form oi rhizoma was indicated by tlie pubes- 
 cence of the under surface of the leaf. I am, therefore, led to hold to the foregoing 
 distinctions until a better explanation is given. — C. G. L. 
 
PLATE VII. 
 
 DIOSCOREA VILLOSA. 
 
DuBOisiA HopwooDii. . 83 
 
 in diameter, and often two feet in length. It is oval, being flattened 
 above and below as it creeps in a horizontal position beneath the sur- 
 face of the ground. It seldom throws out branches, but, occasionally, 
 little protuberances project from its sides, being from one-eighth of an 
 inch to an incli in length, and about one-third as large, in diameter, as 
 the primary rhizoma. They are rounding at the extremity, and seem 
 to indicate an abortive attempt of the rhizoma to throw out branches ; 
 but they do not send up the vine, i Along the upper sideof the rhizoma are 
 stem-scars, which are about three-fourths of an inch apart. The epi- 
 dermis is brown, thin, and scales off, more or less, upon drying, espe- 
 cially when the rhizoma is gathered in the spring, but which is not the 
 case with a good quality of it, when dug in autumn. The internal 
 color of the dry rhizoma is whitish; or slightly straw-colored, when 
 gathered in the autumn, but it is often brown'when collected , early in 
 the season; there is no bark to it. Under a magnifying glass the 
 texture -of a broken rhizoma apj^ears mealy and perforated with 
 numerous woody bundles. Attached to the lower part of the rhizoma, 
 an abundance of strong, wiry-like fibers will be observed. Dioscorea 
 villosa has one of the firmest of rhizomse, it being very difficult to 
 powder or crush. It has no odor, and but little taste beyond a slight 
 acridity after prolonged chewing. The virtues appear to reside in an. 
 acrid resin, almost insoluble, in water, but readily extracted by alcohol. 
 The so-called dioscorein is not a definite principle of the rhizoma, but is 
 simply a dried solid extract, and to call it otherwise is a misnomer. 
 
 Dioscorea Villosa. — Var. glabra. 
 
 Description. — The rhizoma (Plate VII, Fig. 1) of this plant resembles 
 that of Collinsonia Canadensis more nearly than it does the true D. villosa. 
 It is found as a rough clump of a pound or more in weight when fresh, 
 thickly-branched, each branch shooting from the side of the main 
 rhizoma at an angle inclining backward and upward. The branches 
 almost touch each other, are as large as the rhizoma, and are from one 
 incli to three inches in length. Along their upper surface are numer- 
 ous cup-shaped stem-scars, which are about one-fourth of an inch or 
 one-third of an inch in diameter, and so thickly inserted as to intrude 
 upon each other.' The diameter of the rhizoma and of the ramifica- 
 tions, is from half an inch to three-fourths of an inch, and the length 
 seldom more than six inches. Internally, the rhizoma resembles that 
 of the true wild yam, while the lower portion is, in like manner, cov- 
 ered witli stout fibrous rootlets. The color is generally a very much 
 darker brown.— L. 
 
 Properties and Uses — See American Dispensatory, 8th ed., p. 336. — K. 
 
 DUBOISIA HOPWOODII, F. Muell. 
 
 PlTtlRY. 
 
 (See Duboisia Myoporoides.') 
 
 It has long been known that the natives of Central Australia use 
 the leaf of some shrub in order to invigorate themselves, after long 
 marches, or when they are desirous of undergoing great fatigue, as 
 during a battle. This leaf is used by the Australians in a manner 
 similai' to that of the Coca leaves by the South Americans. The 
 
 The vine of the true Dioscorea villosa, upon the contrary, springs from the main 
 97 
 
84 . Materia Medica. 
 
 source of the drug was unknown until 1877, when Baron von Mueller 
 announced that he had, at last, obtained the leaves. According to the 
 above authority, the Piturj' is Duboisia Hopwoodii (F. Muell), a shrub 
 found sparingly "from the Darling liiver and Barcooto to West Aus- 
 tralia." Staiger rei^orts the discovery of an alkaloid, piturin, suggested 
 by Wittstein as perhaps identical with duboisin. But little is known of 
 this shrub, as it grows in a country diflficiilt of access., Piturin is re- 
 ported to antagonize the action of muscarine on the heart, but not so 
 promptly as atropia. Dr. Bancroft states that this drug arrests the 
 respiration of animals, and thus causes their death. — L. 
 
 DUBOISIA. 
 
 Nat. Ord — Solanacese. Tribe. — Salpiglossidea, (Scrophularinese. Suh. 
 Ord. — Salpiglossidese, Benth.) 
 
 The leaves of Duboisia Myoporoides, B. Br. 
 
 Description. — This is a large shrub, found in Australia and ITew Cale- 
 donia. It has alternate, smooth, entire leaves, narrowed into a short 
 leaf-stalk, which is articulated to the branches. The powers are small, 
 white, and disposed in large terminal panicles. The calyx and corolla 
 are five-parted, with obtuse lobes. The stamens are didynamous, with 
 the rudiment of a fifth, and bear one-celled anthers. The fruit is a 
 small, black, two-celled berry, which contains a few reniform, rough 
 seeds. The genua Duboisia is intermediate between the Natural Orders 
 SolanacecB and Scrophulariacece, and was referred to the former by the 
 older authors; Bentham, in the Flora of Australia, c\asRes it with th^ 
 latter, but recent developments regarding a natui-al constituent (duboi. 
 sin) seem to indicate that its true place is among the Solanacese. 
 
 History. — The honor of introducing this drug to the profession be- 
 longs to Dr. J. Bancroft, of Brisbane, Australia, who presented the plant 
 to IBaron von Mueller for botanical identification, and who, at his sug- 
 gestion, experimented with it as a therapeutical agent, and presented 
 the first paper upon the subject to the Queensland Philosophical Society 
 of Australia, in October, 1877. Shortly afterward, he (Bancroft) sent 
 specimens of the plant to the Museum of the British Pharmaceutical 
 Society. In March, 1878, Mr. C. M. Holmes read a paper before this 
 society upon Duboisia Myoporoides, its botanical history, etc., and, nearly 
 at the same time, a coiiinmnication appeared in the London Lancet from 
 Drs. Rigner and Tweedie, detailing » line of experiments upon its thera- 
 peutical action, in which the previous report of Dr. Bancroft was corrob- 
 orated in every particular. Shortly afterward, Gerrard, of England, 
 and Petit, of France, almost simultaneously announced the discovery 
 of an alkaloid, since known as duboisin or duboisina. 
 
 DuBOiSTN. — Is a volatile alkaloid, and, according to Wittstein, will 
 probably be found identical with Piturin, an alkaloid found by Staiger 
 in Duboisia Hopwoodii. It may be prepared by extracting ten parts ot 
 the leaves of D. Myoporoides, with hot water acidulated with sulphuric 
 acid, evaporating this liquid to the consistence of syrup, then adding 
 charcoal, in powder, one-twentieth the weight of the leaves, and care- 
 fully evaporating to dryness. The mass, reduced to powder, is now to 
 be treated with twenty parts of hot alcohol; after cooling, one part ot 
 water is added, and the alcohol then removed by evaporation. To the 
 remaining liquid add ten parts of cold water ; permit the mii^ture tt. 
 
DuBoisiA. 85 
 
 stand for twcnly-foiu-. hours, and l-lieii filter. To Llic filtrate add an 
 excess of caustic potash, then distil. Saturate the distillate with sul- 
 phuric acid, and evaporate nearly to dryiK^ss. Agitate the residue well 
 with absolute alcohol, and filter, evaporate the alcohol from the filtrate, 
 pour the residuum into a glass stoppered bottle with a few pieces of caus- 
 tic potasii, and, after solution, add ether,- agitate, decant the ethereal 
 solution of duboisin^ and evaporate spontaneously in a dvy atfnosphere. 
 As thus obtained, duboisin is oily, straw-colored, lighter than water, 
 and of a strong odor, intermediate between that of cantharides and 
 that of nicotin. It is strongly alkaline, ami completely neutralizi's 
 acids; is soluble in water, alcohol, and ether, in all proportions, likewise 
 soluble in chloroform, benzol, and disulphide of carbon. According to 
 the experiments of Gerrard, the important distinctions', chemically, 
 between duboisin and atropin are as follows : 
 
 Duboisin is twice, or more times, as soluble in water. It will 
 neutralize a larger quantity of acids. When in contact with cold sul- 
 phuric acid, it produces a reddish-brown color, while atropin remains 
 unchanged When heated with sulphuric acid, duboisin gives an un- 
 pleasant odor, resembling that of butyric acid ; while atropin evolves a 
 pleasant aromatic odor. When boiled with hydrate of barium and 
 water, duboisin evolves an unpleasant odor; that of atropin is pleasant. 
 Duboisin turns the plane of polarization to the right; atropin appears 
 to have no influence upon the ray of polarized light. Duboisin has not 
 been crystallized. 
 
 The salt, sulphate of duboisin. is chiefly used in this countrj-, at pres- 
 ent. It is in the form of a soft gummy substance, of a pale-yellowish 
 color, and very hygroscopic. M. Petit prepares the sulphate of duboisin 
 as follows: Dissolve the extract of duboisia in the least possible quantity 
 of water, and add to this bicarbonate of potassium until a decided re- 
 action results. Agitate this with ether, which, by distillation, or evap- 
 oration, will leave the alkaloid under the form of a slightly-colored 
 varnish. It may be rendered very pure by dissolving it in diluted sul- 
 phuric acid, and repeating the treatment with bicarbonate of potassium 
 and ether. It is soluble in absolute alcohol, forming crystals, according 
 to M. Petit, when left to spontaneous evaporation. He likewise states 
 that the double chloride of gold and duboisin is readily obtained in 
 crystalline state, thus enabling its elementary analysis to be made.' — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The action of duboisia upon man and animals 
 is very similar to that occasioned by belladonna. Dogs and cats to 
 which it has been administered, almost immediately commence walk- 
 ing with difficulty, stumbling over the least obstacle, as though they 
 were blind, and falling asleep as soon as they are left at rest, having the 
 pupils largely dilated; these results also followed its introduction into 
 the system by hypodermic injection. Large doses internally, or bj- 
 subcutaneous injection, occasion large pupillary dilatation, dryness of the 
 mouth and throat, increase the nuniber of pulsations, and give rise to 
 general debility, vertigo, and cephalalgia; the results are the same with 
 man as with animals. The alkaloid, duboisin, produces similar effects. 
 The sulphate of this alkaloid, subcutaneouslj'' injected in large doses, 
 occasions a sort of intoxication, mental derangement, pupillary dilata- 
 
 1 Since writing the above, Prof. A. Ladenburg, of the University of Kiel, who has 
 been experimenting with the alkaloid.s, ha.s proved that duboisin and hyoseyamim are 
 actually identical, and that very probably daturine may also be included with them. 
 Bericht'e der Deuts. Chem. Gesell, 1880, p 257. — L. 
 
86 Materia Medica. 
 
 tion, inco-ordination of muscular motion, relaxation of the vesical and 
 anal sphincters, and an increased temperatui-e at first, succeeded by h 
 very marked diminution. 
 
 As an internal remedj-, neither the shrub nor its alkaloid have come 
 into general use, though it is probable that used in this manner it will 
 be found to possess properties similar to those of belladonna and its con- 
 geners. The alkaloid, duboisin, and its sulphate, are more commonly 
 employed in this country, principal!}- in ocular therapeutics; it hne- 
 been found by Drs. Wecker and Galezowski, of Paris, to be a prompt 
 and unirritating mydriatic, the mj'driasis being accompanied with par- 
 alysis of the ciliary muscle, and, consequentlj', an absolute loss of accom- 
 modation. The mydriasis produced does not appear to annoy the 
 patient, nor to last as long as when occasioned by atropia; nor does 
 the employment of the agent give rise to the intense conjunctival ir- 
 ritations [follicular conjunctivitis and eczema of the lids] so often fol- 
 lowing the application of atropia. It may be employed in all maladies 
 of the eyes, in which atropia is indicated ; being contra-indicated in 
 glaucomatous conditions, and in diseased conditions of the fundus. 
 From two to' four grains of the sulphate of duboisin are dissolved in 
 one fluidounce of water, and of this solution from two to five drops ma,y 
 be instilled into one or both eyes, as required ; the mydriatic effect com- 
 mences in a few minutes. The solution of the sulphate of duboisin has 
 likewise been successfully employed, by hypodermic injection, for check- 
 ing the pathological sweatings common to phthisis, etc., and also as an 
 antidote to poisoning by mushrooms, antagonizing the paralysing effect 
 of muscarine on the heart. The dose to be used will differ with various 
 individuals, from the one-sixtieth of a grain to the one-twentieth. — K. 
 
 EElODICTYON GLUTINOSUM. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Hydrophyllaceas. 
 
 The leaves of Eriodictyon giutinosum, Benth. (8yn. — B. Californi- 
 cum, Benth.; Wigandia Oalifornica, Hook, and Am.) 
 
 Common Names. — Yerba Santa, Mountain Balm, Consumptive'fe Weed. 
 
 Illustrations. — Hooker's Bot., Beech's Sun., Plate 88. 
 
 Description. — This plant is generally known as yerha santa (holy or 
 sacred herb). It is shrubby, from two to four feet high, and is found 
 growing in clumps, in dry situations throughout California,, and northern 
 Mexico, where it is very common in certain localities. The stem \n 
 smooth, branched usually from near the ground, and covered with a 
 peculiar glutinous resin, which exudes abundantlj'^ from all parts of the 
 plan(, excepting the under side of the leaves. The leaves {Fig. 5), are 
 thick, leathery, and evergreen, their upper .surface being, coated, some- 
 what like a varnish, with the aforementioned resin. They are alter- 
 nate, and attached bj' short petioles at an acute angle with the branch. 
 In shape they are narrowly elliptical, from two to five inches long, and 
 from half an inch to three-quarters of an inch in width. They are 
 acute, and taper to a short leaf-stalk at the base. The upper surface is 
 smooth, and dark-green in color (sometimes black when dry). The 
 under surface hag a large, prominent mid-rib, and a close network ot 
 veins, and is covered, between the veins, with a close, white tomentum, 
 which gives the surface a milky color. The margin of the leaf is 
 
Eriodlctvon Glutinosum. 
 
 87 
 
 dentule, with numerous uneqinil teeth, -which are undulate and blunt. 
 The flowers are blueish, and borne in terminal clusters, which consist of 
 from six to ten close, one-sided racemes, 
 that unroll as the flowers expand. 
 The calyx is hairy, about one-third 
 the length of the corolla, and deeply 
 five-parted, almost to the base. The 
 corolla is broadly tubular, about half 
 an inch long, and has five short, obtuse, 
 spreading lobes. The five stamens are 
 included in the corolla tube. The pis- 
 til consists of a free, ovate, hairy ova- 
 ry, and two slender, diverging styles, 
 with club-shaped stigmas. 
 
 History. — Briodictj'on was men- 
 tioned by Professor Maisch in March, 
 1875, at the meeting of the Phil. Col- 
 lege .of Pharm., a specimen of the 
 plant being at the same time presented. 
 The October K M. Journal (1875), con- 
 tained !in article from Dr. J. H. Bun- 
 dy, of California, upon " Yerba Santa." 
 This was followed by others, all speak- 
 ing of it as Yerba Santa. In Febriiary, 
 18»76, Professor J. M. Scudder received 
 specimens of the leaves from Dr. Bun- 
 dj', and immediately had them identi- 
 fied botanically; they proved to be 
 Eriodictyon glutinosum. Professor Scud- 
 der published the botanical name in 
 the E. M. Journal, March, 1876, since 
 which the plant has been generally 
 recognized. The leaves are employed 
 in medicine. Thej' are fragrant even 
 after long drying and exposure. Doubt- 
 less oxidation or other modifications 
 of the various resinous substances 
 continually develops this fragrant prin- 
 ciple, which seems not to be a vola- 
 tile oil. The taste is aromatic and 
 sweetish, eventually acrid to a slight 
 extent, but not bitter. The after-taste 
 is sweet, resembling dulcamara, and is accompanied by a flow of saliva. 
 
 The first article of interest regarding this plant, from a pharmaceu- 
 tical point, appeared in the Chicago Pharmacist. February, 1876, from 
 Mr. H. S. Wellcome. He gives a figure of the plant, and reports find- 
 ing several resinous bodies ;• but we are indebted to Mr. Charles Mohr 
 for a thorough chemical examination of the plant,' the result being us 
 follows ; 
 
 Matter e.rtracted by ether, 14.98 per cent. This consisted of "a bitter, 
 acrid, brittle resin. 8 per cent.; inert green coloring matter, caout- 
 chouc, wax in small quantity, and tannic acid in small quantity." 
 
 Eriodictyon Glutinosum, Benth, 
 Natural Size. 
 
 JRead at the meeting of the American Pharmaceutical Association, 1879, and pub- 
 lislied in tlie American Journal of Phaiinacy, November, 1879. 
 
88 Materia Medioa. 
 
 Matter extracted by alcohol, after action of ether, 10.79 per cent. This 
 consisted of "inert resinous matter, decolorized by animal charcoal; 
 a peculiar glucoside of the tannic acid series predominating in the 
 mass." 
 
 Matter extracted by water, after action of preceding menstruums, 18.42 
 percent. This consisted of "tannic acid, similar to that above men- 
 tioned, gum, brown extractive, inert substance, and a trace of sugar." 
 Wood fiber and ash, 43.31 per cent., and moisture 12.50 per cent. Upon 
 distilling ten pounds of the dried leaves with water, Mr. Mohr found 
 ihe distillate free from volatile alkaloid, but it contained a small amount 
 of an oily substance, of an aromatic odor and taste, but utterly unlike 
 that of the leaves. 
 
 We have prepared considerable amounts of the fluid extract of tliis 
 plant (dried), and strongly favor alcohol as the best agent for extract- 
 ing and permanently holding the proximate resinous principles in solu- 
 tion. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Briodictyon (or. Mountain balm) has been re- 
 commended in the treatment of laryngeal and bronchial affections, and 
 in chronic pulmonary difficulties generally. It has also been eulogized 
 in the treatnient of asthma and hay fever, in combination with Grindelia 
 robusta. That it possesses some efficacy in the treatment of chronic mu- 
 cous affections of the respiratory passages, is undoubtedly true ; but that 
 it deserves the high encomiums passed upon it in the treatment of 
 laryngo- bronchial and chronic pulmonary maladies, admits of great 
 doubt; at least, the writer has met with no success with it in anj- of 
 the above diseases that was superior, or even equal, to the results ob- 
 tained by some of our old and well-known remedial agents. It has 
 likewise been advised in the treatment of hemorrhoids, and in chronic 
 catarrh of the bladder. The article is generally employed in the form 
 of fluid extract, the dose of which varies from fifteen minims to a flui- 
 drachm, taken in a little syrup, and repeating the dose every three or 
 four hours. — K. 
 
 EEYTHEOPHLCEUM 
 
 Nat. Ord. — LeguminosEe. Sub Ord. — Cse&alpinese. Tribe. — Dimorph- 
 andrese. 
 
 The bark of E. Guineense, Don. {Syn. — E. judiciale. Proctor.) 
 
 Common Names. — Sassy bark, Mancona bark, Teli, Bondou, Bourane 
 des Floupes. 
 
 Illustration. — Am. Jour. Pharm., Vol. XXIII. 
 
 Description. — Sassy bark is obtained from a large forest tree of West- 
 ern Africa, and was first brought into notice by Prof Proctor (1851), 
 who referred it to the genus Erythrophlmum (Afzelius). and named it 
 E. judiciale. Upon subsequent examination, Lindley identified it as 
 the E. Guineense, G. Don. (Pillcea sauveolius, Cruill. and Perr). The 
 tree has a close resemblance, both in leaves and fruit, to the Gymno- 
 cladus Canadensis, or Coff'ee-nut tree of the United States. The leaves 
 are bi-pinnately compound, and have ovate, acute leaflets, which are 
 smooth, coriaceous, and alternate. The flowers are in dense, terminal, 
 compound racemes; they are regular, and have a five cleft calj-x, and 
 five petals, imbricated in the bud; the ten stamens, are distinct and 
 perfect. The fruit is a thick, leathery, brown legume, containing from^ 
 
Erythrophlceum. 89 
 
 three to five oblong, flat, iilbuminous seeds. The tree, when wounded, 
 yields a red juice (whence the generic name), which, like the bark, is 
 used by the natives as an ordeal, and as a poison for their arrows. The 
 bark occurs in flattened, or more or less curved, pieces, of various 
 sizes, of a reddish- brown color, somewhat similar to the color of hy- 
 drated peroxide of iron, and usually having an external corky cover- 
 ing, irregularly fissured; it is hard, friable, odorless, and astringent to 
 the taste. 
 
 History. — Prof. Proctor, Jr. (1851), examined the bark, but failed to 
 isolate the poisonous principle; he predicted its separation, and re- 
 marked that when found, it would " possess great activity," a prediction 
 since verified by N. Gallois and B. Hardy, who, in 1876, succeeded in 
 obtaining the alkaloid erythrophlcein and demonstrating, by experiment, 
 its fatal action upon animal life. 
 
 JSrythrophlcein is an organic base, and may be obtained by extracting 
 the bark with alcohol slightly acidulated with hydrochloric acid, evap- 
 orating the tincture to a small bulk, exhausting this, when cold, with 
 warm distilled water, evaporating the resulting solution, adding ammonia 
 (or sodium carbonate) to the residue until it has an alkaline reaction, 
 and then agitating the, mixture with acetic ether, frpm which the 
 alkaloid may be- obtained by evaporation. 
 
 Erythrophlcein is amorphous, transparent, hard (like gum), of a light- 
 yellow color, and soluble in water, acetic ether, alcohol, and amylie 
 alcohol ; only slightly soluble in ether benzine, and chloroform. It 
 forms salts with acids; is very poisonous, acting upon and paralyzing 
 heart. Curare, it is said, delays its effects. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Sassy bark furnishes a red decoction, which is 
 used by the natives on the western coast of Africa as an emeto-cathar- 
 tic, and as a test for the detection of criminals ; should it purge, the 
 person is considered guilty; but if it causes vomiting only, he is 
 deemed innocent. The action of the bark has been investigated by Dr. 
 T. Lauder Brunton and Walter Pye, Esq., in Philosophical Trans, of the 
 Royal Society, Vol. 167, pt. II, and by Santos, liebreich, and others. 
 Used hypodermically, it is stated, to produce vomiting, but no catharsis. 
 In large doses it occasions a progressive stupefaction, when administered 
 to animals, with complete muscular relaxation, paralysis of the heart's 
 action, and death. During the progress of these efi'eets, there may 
 •also be observed a period of restlessness succeeded by vomiting, quick- 
 ened and labored respiration, and finally convulsions. With man it is 
 said to produce vomiting, vertigo, muscular relaxation, gradual cessation 
 of the heart's movements, with dyspnea, convulsions, and death. The 
 cause of its effects appear, according to investigators, to be owing to 
 the fact that it contracts the blood-vessels, tlius occasioning an increased 
 blood pressure, resulting in the symptoms named. Therapeutically, it 
 has been found efficient in those affections in which an agent was indi- 
 cated, eombinins; narcotic, astringent, and cholagogue properties, as in 
 diarrhea, dj-sentery, passive hemorrhages, etc. It has likewise been 
 suggested in dropsy, due to obstruction of the mitral valves. A tinc- 
 ture of the bark is probably the best form for administration, in doses 
 of from two to five drops. Brunton and Pye consider the watery ex- 
 tract more powerful than the alcoholic. The powdered root is a violent 
 sternutatory. — K. , 
 
90 Materta Medica. 
 
 EUCALYPTUS GLOBULUS. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Myrtacese. Tribe. — LeptospermesB. 
 
 The mature leaves of Eucalyptus globulus, Labill. 
 
 Common Name. — Blue Gum tree. 
 
 Illustrations. — Bent, and Tri., Med. Plants, Plate 109; our Plate 
 VIII. 
 
 Description. — The genus, Eucalyptus, is noted as being an extensive 
 and almost exclusively Australian family of tl-ees ; for although one 
 hundred and thirty-four species are recorded by Bentham,^ as natives 
 of that continent, only two or three species are tbund to grow in any 
 other lands. The Eucalyptus trees are very numerous in their native 
 country, and constitute an important feature in every landscape. They 
 are sometimes shrubs, but generally trees, which often attain gigantic 
 size. Most of the species secrete a resinous substance, and hence are 
 known to the Australian colonists as "gum trees." The leaves, which 
 are always entire, are very variable in shape and position. In the 
 young trees they are always opposite and horizontal, but, in older trees, 
 they generally become alternate, and, by a peculiar twist of the leaf- 
 stalks, present the edges instead of the flat surfaces to the ground, thus 
 giving the Eucalyptus a strange appearance, diiferent from that of any 
 of our American "trees. The flowers of the Eucalyptus trees are gener- 
 ally in umbellate clusters. The calyx is partially adnate to the ovary, 
 and furnished in the bud with a conical lid or cap, covering the stamens, 
 but which, when the flower expands, separates from the lower part of 
 the calyx by a circular dehiscence, and falls off entire. There are no 
 petals, but the stamens are numerous, and are sometimes united into 
 four sets. The fruit, which is dry and enclosed in the hardened calyx, 
 contains three or four cells, and usually ripens but two or three seeds to 
 each cell. 
 
 The botanical history of the genus. Eucalyptus, is not yet thoroughly 
 studied out; the leaves of the same species are, at different stages of 
 their growth, extremely variable, and the species are so numerous and 
 so closely allied, that positive specific diflferences are very diflBcult to 
 find. The colonists classify them by the bark, which is either smooth, 
 rough, or sometimes scaly. 
 
 Eucalyptus Globulus. — This is one of the most valuable of Austral- 
 ian trees, on account of the timber, which is strong and durable. It is 
 a large tree, often exceeding two hundred feet in height, and known to 
 colonists as "blue gum," although this name is applied to at least six 
 other species. The Eucalyptus globulus is placed, by Bentham,' in the 
 series Normales, which have "perfect stamens with globular anther- 
 cells, opening longitudinally." The flowers are large, sessile, and pro- 
 duced in uxillarj' clusters of one to three. The mature leaves (Plate 
 VIII) are from six to twelve inches long, and borne on wrinkled, 
 twisted stalks, about an inch in length ; they are narrowly lanceolate 
 and falcate, with entire and thickened edges; they are obtuse or 
 cordate at the base, and gradually tapering at the apex to an acuminate 
 point. Their texture is very firm, so that the leaves retain their shape 
 ■without wrinkles when dried. The veins are confluent near the margin. 
 The entire leaf is thickly sprinkled with pellucid oil dots, and the sur- 
 face, when diy, with minute black specks. 
 
 ^ilora Australiensis. ''Flora AustraliensU. 
 
PLaIe VIII. 
 
 ETirALYPTUS GLOBULUS. 
 
Eucalyptus Globulus. 91 
 
 History. — The leaves of Eucalyptus globulus constitute, in Australia 
 and adjacent countries, the popular remedy against fevers, and especially 
 in obstinate paluatral fevers ; thej'are firm, coriaceous, and in the irreen 
 state resist the attacks of grasshoppers and locusts. They have a 
 strong, agreeable, aromatic odor, and a warm, bitterish and aromatic 
 ^ taste, which, as with peppermint leaves, is followed bj- a cool sensation 
 ' in the mouth. The leaves have been analyzed by Cloez, Faust, and 
 Homeyer, M. F. A. de Hartzen, and Prof. B. S. Wayne. According to 
 Cloez, they contain tannin in quite a large proportion, resinous matter, 
 and an essential oil. 
 
 Volatile Oil op Eucalyptus Globulus. — When the leaves are dis- 
 tilled with water, a fragrant, yellowish oil is obtained, which becomes 
 brown and resinous, from oxidation, when expTJsed to the atmosphere. 
 The flower buds yield this oil in great quantity, and even when dry are 
 found to contain numbers of large oil glands filled with oil. In 1870, 
 Cloez examined the oil, and decided its principal constituent to be a 
 higher homologue of camphor, boiling at 175° C. (347° F.),of the com- 
 position C12H20O ; he named it eucalyptol. Poehl found eucalyptol to 
 have the property of converting water, exposed to the influence of air 
 and sunlight, into hydrogen dioxide, or to change oxj-geii into ozone. 
 
 Faust and Homeyer, in 1874, found this substance to be a mixture of 
 terpens and cymol. Homeyer (1876). in experimenting with another 
 lot of oil, obtained results contrary to those given above. The oil, when 
 distilled, separated into two parts; one, the largest portion, boiling be- 
 low 186° C. (3^6.°8 F.); the other boiling .-ibove 200° C. (392° F.). It 
 is not by any means certain that these gentlemen experimented with 
 identical substances; indeed, the probabilities are to the contrary, inas- 
 much as portions of the oil are constantly undergoing more or less 
 chemical alteration. As summed up by Wright, "Eucalyptus oil ap- 
 pears to have a composition closely resembling that of oil of nutmeg, 
 viz.: consisting of two terpenes, cymeno, an oxidized body of the 
 formula CjoHiiO, with more or less resinous substances." Oil of Eucalyp- 
 tus globulus is of specific grav.ty 0.917 at 59° F., boils at 149°-177° C. 
 (300°-351° F.). As made by us, it has a ])leasant cajuput-like odor, a 
 cooling, mint-like taste, is thin and pale-yellow, and dissolves resins 
 readily, but does not dissolve gutta-percha. The oils of various species 
 of Eucalyptus differ in many respects. Of late years, the manufacture 
 of Eucalyptus oil has been established in Australia, and it is now an 
 article of commerce. 
 
 Other Constituents. — Eabuteau failed to discover a basic principle 
 after having freed an alcoh'olie extract of the leaves from oil, tannin, 
 and resin. H. Weber found a white cr3^stalline body, mixed with an 
 amorphous resinous mass, both of acid reaction; an acid yellow resin, 
 of bitter taste; an acid named eucaiyptic acid ; and a neutral, crystalliz- 
 able, bitter substance, soluble in ether and alcohol, and only slightly 
 soluble in water. Prof. E. S. Wayne obtained a crystallizable acid resin 
 capable of producing, with ferric chloride, a brown-red reaction — Ij. 
 
 Properties and t/ses.^Eucalyptus globulus has for a long time been 
 known as a remedy for intermittent fever among the natives of the 
 countries of its origin. It is stated that more than forty years ago the 
 eorviette, " La Favorite." beinc; in the vicinitj- of Botanj^ Bay, had her 
 crew nearly decimated by a pernicious fever, and that a perfect recovery 
 ensued among those remaining upon using an infusion of the leaves of 
 Eucalj-ptus ; the credit of this discovery is given' to Di-. Eydoux, and 
 M. de Salvy. Dr. Ramel, of Valencia, is said lo haye introduced the 
 
92 Materia Medica. 
 
 remedy into Europe, in a statement made to the Academy of Medicine,' 
 in 1866 ; since which period its therapeutical virtues have been exam- 
 ined by many investigators. The emanations from this tree have, it 
 has been reported, a strong antagonistic influence against those condi- 
 tions termed malarial, and, on this account, it has been cultivated in 
 various places in Europe where these conditions appear to have had a 
 permanent existence. 
 
 Notwithstanding the high encomiums passed upon this agent as an anti- 
 pjretic b}' the majority of those who have tested it, there are certain other 
 investigators who are less enthusiastic ; thus, Dr. Burdell, who tested its 
 efficacy in the fevers encountered in the marshy district of Sologne, 
 Frq,nce, states, that though eucalj'ptus has been sometimes found a feb- 
 rifuge nearly equal to quinine; at other times it has proven to be dis- 
 couragingly inefficacious. (Indeed, tiie same may be observed of quinine 
 and all other remedies.) He stales that Llie cures effected by it have 
 been more frequent in the hospital than in the palusLral localities, and 
 which maybe readily accounted for. Very often, as Chomel has shown, 
 persons attacked with intei-miltent fever are curo(,l in the hospital with- 
 out any medicines having been employed. Dr. Carlotti, of Ajaccio, 
 considers a quickly made decoction of the leaves to be of great value in 
 those cases of intermittent fever that do not yield to quinia ; he gives 
 the decoction in doses of from two to five fluidrachms. 
 
 Aside from its utility in intermittents, this agent has had other vir- 
 tues attributed to it, as follows : The leaves have been successfully used 
 as a tonic and gently stimulating stomachic, in atonic dyspepsia, and in 
 catarrh of the stomach ; also advised in mucous catarrhal affections gen- 
 erally; in psuedo- membranous laryngitis, and in chronic bronchitis, with 
 or without emph3'8ema ; it has likewise proved efiicacious in chronic ca- ' 
 tarrli of the bladder, where the urine is high colored, contains an abnormal 
 amount of mucus, or, perhaps, some purulent matter, and micturition is 
 attended with much pain. Eecently, it has been recommended as a 
 diuretic in the treatment of dropsy. Both the leaves and the oil are 
 excitants and deodorizers, and, as such, have been successfullj' employed 
 as local applications in bronchial affections with fetid expectoration, in 
 ozoena, in fetid or profuse mucous discharges, in vaginal leucorrhea, 
 gonorrheal discharges, indolent, fetid wounds or ulcers, in septicemia, 
 and in gangrene. M. Bucquoy has found it to exert a happy influence 
 in the treatment of pulmonary gangrene. M. Luton, and others, have 
 derived considerable benefit from it, when locally applied in cancerous 
 affections, in the form of a compress of lint moistened with the tincture. 
 It has likewise been advised to prevent p'utrefaction of organic sub- 
 stances, and to deodorize sick rooms, and aj)artment8 containing un- 
 healthy air. The leaves may, in some cases, be applied alone, dircctlj- 
 to the part, in form of cataplasm; or they may be combined with other 
 articles to form a poultice. The oil may be applied of full strength, or 
 diluted with some other agent. In throat and pulmonary maladies, a 
 tincture diluted, or a medicated water, may be inhaled in the form of 
 spray ; if the oil bo employed, it may be dropped on some cotton placed 
 in a small tube, from which the vapor maybe inhaled. Asa deodorizer, 
 the tincture or the oil may be sprinkled or sprayed upon the offensive 
 body, or the atmosphere of an apartment maybe frequently sprayed 
 with the same. 
 
 The oil (eucalyptol), in small doses, is a gentle stimulant; in large 
 doses, it occasions irritation of the throat and fauces, with increased 
 flow of saliva; cephala^ia, with extreme fatigue; frequency of the 
 
Ferri Bro.midum. 93 
 
 pulse; increased temperature; diminution of vascular tension ; gastric 
 irritability, and, not unfrequently, diarrhea, acceii-rated respiration, the 
 peculiar odor of the oil being exhaled with the breath ; and increase of 
 the urinary excretion. Its chief eliminatory organs appear to be the lungs 
 and kidneys, causing an increased elimination of urea. The dose of the 
 oil is from two to five drops, and it is more convenient to administer it 
 in capsules. One part of the oil combined with one hundred parts of 
 cod-liver oil has proved serviceable in phthisis; it removes the offensive 
 taste and odor of the fish oil. 
 
 The most agi'eeable and convenient form of administration is the 
 tincture, in doses often to twenty drops; or, the fluid extract, in doses 
 of six to ten drops, in syrup. The leaves made up into cigar^ or cigar- 
 ettes, and smoked, have been advised, to afford relief in bronchial catarrh, 
 asthma, and other affections of the i-espiratory organs ; the question has 
 been asked, may not the small amount of benefit that might be de- 
 rived from the minute proportion of oil remaining intact, be'mOre than 
 overcome, and even prove injurious, from the irritating action of the 
 smoke and of the erapyreumatic products? — K. 
 
 FEEHI BKOMIDUM. 
 Bromide op Iron. 
 Formula, FeBrj; molecular weight, 215.40. 
 
 Description. — Bromine combines directly with iron, to form bromide 
 of iron, represented by the above formula and molecular weight. When 
 the two elements are placed togethei', the chemical reaction is violent, 
 with evolution of heat, and large amounts of bromine are lost by evap- 
 oration. For this reason, precautions must be taken to control the re- 
 action. Theoretically, fifty -six parts of iron are sufficient for one hun- 
 dred and sixty parts of bromine; yet, in practice, it is advisable to use 
 a larger pro|)ortion of the formei'. The following process is practical, 
 and we recommend it to those who desire to prepare bromide of iron 
 in a small way; with a few modifications, it may be adapted to the 
 preparation of solution of bromide of iron in quantities sufiicient tor 
 the manufacture of bromide of potassium : 
 
 Into a chemical flask introduce two fluidounces of distilled water 
 and one troy ounce of clean coarse iron turnings, or iron wire, and sur- 
 round the flask with ice and water; now add half an ounce (troy) of 
 bromine, and agitate occasionally, until the solution has almost lost its 
 red color; to the solution, when cold, again add a like amount of bro- 
 mine, and, when the reaction is finished, add another half ounce (troy) 
 of bromine, and so continue successively until a total of two troy 
 ounces of bromine has been used ; after each addition, permit the reac- 
 tion to cease, and the liquid to cool. Now warm the flask, and, when the 
 solution has acquired a greenish color filter over ; wash the excess of 
 iron and the liberated carbon [the carbon is from the iron] with a little 
 distilled water, and filter into the former solution. Transfer this solu- 
 tion at once into a clean iron dish, placed upon a sand bath, and quickly 
 evaporate, until a portion, removed upon a glass rod, will solidify upon 
 cooling ; then remove the dry salt, immediately, into well-stoppered 
 bottles. 
 
 History. — When bromine is added to iron, surrounded by ice-water, 
 combination ensues without material loss of bromine, unless the pro- 
 
94 Materia Medica. 
 
 portions are in larger amounts than our formula directs, or unless the 
 mixture is permitted to become warmer than an ice-cold water-bath 
 will allow. When the reaction is completed with the first portion of 
 bromine, the solution of bromide of iron possesses the power of dis- 
 fiolving bromine, and, consequently, the following portions of bromine 
 are dissolved and diluted, thus modifying the chemical action. Solution 
 of bromide of iron absorbs oxygen with avidity and the most rapid 
 ovaporation will not entirely prevent it. Bromide of iron is of a gray- 
 ish black color, acquiring a rusty color upon exposure. 
 
 Syrup of Brojiide of Iron, lias of late come into some little demand, 
 and may be made by filtering the solution of bromide of iron, as pre- 
 pared by the preceding formula, into sixteen fluidounces of simple 
 syrup, and, after washing the paper and excess of iron and liberated 
 carbon with a little distilled water, adding enough simple syrup to the 
 mixture to make the whole measure twenty fluidounces. Several and 
 varying propositions have been suggested for this preparation, but the 
 strength we have adopted seems to be the best, as it produces a syrup 
 similar to the officinal syrup of iodide of iron, bromine being substi- 
 tuted for iodine. Syrup of bromide of iron has a greenish color when 
 recent, somewhat resembling, in appearance, that of sj'rup of iodide of 
 iron, and, like this preparation, it decomposes by age. Bach fluidounce 
 contains about sixty:five grains of bromide of iron. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses.- — Bromide of iron is an uncertain and poisonous 
 agent, and if employed at all internallj-, it should be with the greatest 
 caution. It is highly probable that the iron furnishes but a very 
 minute amount of any therajieutic value it may possess; and the con- 
 slant tendency to decomposition renders it an undesirable agent. It is 
 stated to have proved efficacious in scrofulous and tuberculous diseases, 
 in glandular enlargements, in some cutaneous affections, in muscular 
 hypertrophy, erysipelas, leucorrhea, spermatorrhea, bronchocele, ame- 
 norrhea, and even in phthisis. It is given internally in the form of 
 syrup, in doses of a half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm, and the solution 
 is also applied locally, by means of a camel's hair pencil, or a feather, 
 to the external maladies. Its virtues, if any, are undoubtedly due to 
 the bromine present; on this account, some other of the bromides that 
 may be safely administered should be employed when a bromide is in- 
 dicated ; and, should iron be also indicated, it can be given separately. 
 Bromide of iron is considerably employed in the manufacture of bro- 
 mide of potassium. — K. 
 
 G-ALANGA. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Zingiberacese. 
 
 The rhizomse of Alpinia offlcinarum, Hance. 
 
 Common Names. — Colic root. Bast India root, Galangal. ' 
 
 Illustration.— 5. and T. Med. Plants. No, 271. 
 
 Description.— The plant that yields galangal was described by Mr. 
 H. F. Hance, in the Journal of the Linncean Society, 1871. The plant 
 was obtained from Hainan, an island directly south of China, but it 
 also doubtless grows on the adjacent mainland, as the root is largely ex- 
 ported from Shanghai and other China ports. The stem is frou'i two to 
 four feet high, erect and bears a close resemblance to the common cul- 
 tivated Canna, or shot-plant. The parallel veined leaf-blades are about 
 a foot long, two to four inches wide, smooth, entire, and sharply acumi- 
 
Galanga. 05 
 
 iiute. They are attached at the base to a scarious margined sboiith, 
 which clasps the stem. The flowers are borne in a terminal dense spike ; 
 they consist of a short, tubular, superior calyx, a white corolla with 
 three lobes, a large ovate lobellum marked with red veins, a single 
 anther-bearing stamen and a pistil with an inferior ovary and a slen- 
 der style.' 
 
 History. — The galangal of commerce is known as Lesser Galangal ; 
 another variety, known as Greater Galangal, is rarely found in the 
 market. It is the product of Alpinia Galanga { Willd. ), nud grows in 
 Java. The name galangal is said to be derived from the Arabic Khan- 
 ^anjan, which, in turn, is perhaps the perversion of a Chinese word, sig- 
 nifying mild ginger. Galangal has long been an article of commerce with 
 Eastern Nations, and has been known in Northern Europe since the 
 twelfth century (Ilance). The rhizomse, as found in market, are' in 
 sections of from one inch to four inches in length, and of a reddish- 
 brown color, as though covered with rust. The cut ends are usually 
 rounding, while the edges expand outwardly and turn back. Bach 
 fragment has, generally, one or more short branches, and it is evicient 
 that the roots are taken from the ground in masses, and chopped into 
 pieces. Encircling them, at intervals of from one-eighth of an inch to 
 half an inch apart, are corrugated rings of a light color, consisting of 
 adhering bases of leaf-sheaths. The roots are stout, and break with a 
 granular fracture presenting a brownish-grey color, interspersed through- 
 out which are small ligneous fibers. These fibers project a short dis- 
 tance beyond one surface of the root, thus leaving depressions upon 
 the opposite side, resembling pin-holes; the center of the root, for 
 about from one-fourth to one-third of its diameter, consists of a bundle 
 of these fibers. Galangal reminds us of ginger, and imparts a pungent 
 taste and an aromatic odor, very similar to that article. In this coun- 
 try, galangal has not come into use among physicians, but is extensively 
 sold by street-corner venders under such names as " colic root," " the 
 wonderful Bast India root, etc.," and is asserted by them to be a cer- 
 tain cure for toothache, headache, etc. The constituents of galangal 
 are similar' to those of ginger. A volatile oil is obtained by distilling 
 the root with water, which, in appearance and smell, resembles cajuput 
 oil. It is soluble in alcohol, and is lighter than water. A soft resin, 
 having a pungent taste, is extracted by ether, and also a peculiar crys- 
 talline substance, named by Brandes, ka:mpherid, which is obtained by 
 evaporating the ethereal extract, then exhausting the residue with 
 alcohol, filtering, and evaporate the filtrate to crystallization. Thus 
 ksempherid is obtained in "light-yellowish lamellte, of mother-of-pearl 
 luster" (Wittstein). It is almost insoluble in water, soluble in twenty- 
 five parts of cold ether, and in fifty parts of cold alcohol ; is soluble in 
 caustic alkalies without change, and is decomposed by concentrated sul- 
 phuric acid. The other constituents are unimportant. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses — Galangal is a stimulating aromatic, and has 
 been successfully employed to aid the digestive process, preventing fer- 
 mentation and removing flatus. It will be found especially useful in 
 some forms of dyspepsia, preventing vomiting or sickness at stomach, 
 and facilitating digestion. It may be used in all cases in which a stim- 
 ulating aromatic is indicated. Its best form of administration is in 
 tincture, the dose of which is from half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm. 
 It is rarely prescribed at the present day. — K. 
 
 ^Bent. and Trimen. Med. Plants. 
 
96 Materia Medica. 
 
 GALBGA. 
 Nat. Ord. —Leguminosse. Suh. Ord. — Papilionaceas. Tribe. — Galegese. 
 The herb of Galega officinalis, Linn. 
 Common Name. — Goat's Ruu 
 
 Description. — This is an herbaceous, plant, native of Southern Europe. 
 It has an erect, perennial, glabrous stevi, about three feet higii, and is 
 found growing mostly in sandy soil. The leaves are alternate, oddly 
 ])innate, and furnished at the base with lanceolate stipules. The leaflets 
 are smooth, lanceolate, and terminate in a mucronate point. The 
 flowers appear in June and Julj-, are blue, and borne in loose, axillary 
 racemes longer than the leaves. The calyx has five narrow, equal lobes. 
 The corolla is papilionaceous with an obtuse keel. The stamens are 
 united into one set, the filament of the tenth, however, is distinct for 
 about one-half its length. The fruit is a dry, round, smooth, many- 
 seeded legume. 
 
 Tephrosia Virginiana (Pers.}, a plant formerly referred to the genus 
 Galega, is a native of the United States, and the root, which is slender 
 and very tough, is reputed to bean anthelmintic. We can not find that 
 either of the aforenamed plants have been examined chemically. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Galega has a disagreeably bitter taste, and, upon 
 being chewed, imparts a dark-yellowish color to the saliva. Various 
 properties were attributed to it in former times, in which it was con- 
 siderably employed as a vermifuge, as a stimulant to the nervous system, 
 as a diuretic, and tonic in typhoid conditions, and it is also stated to 
 have been of service in the plague, as well as to stimulate the lactiferous 
 vessels to an increased secretion during the period of lactation. It is 
 seldom, if ever, prescribed in practice. 
 
 Tephrosia is referred to in King's American Dispensatory, 8th edition, 
 p.' 826.— K. 
 
 GENISTA. 
 Nat. Ord. — Leguminosae. Sub. Ord. — Papilionacese. Tribe. — Genistese. 
 The young branches and leaves of Genista tinctoria, Linn. 
 Common Names. — Dyer's Green-weed, Wood-waxen. 
 
 Description.— Thi% plant is an erect shrub, about a foot high, and is a 
 native of Central Europe. It is quite common in poor soil throughout 
 England, and has been naturalized, and grows abundantly, in a few 
 localities of the Eastern United States. The stem is short, woojiy, and 
 sends up numerous erect branches. The leaves are simple, a character dis- 
 tinguishing the plant from most of the native leguminous plants. They 
 are narrowly lanceolate, acute, entire, sessile, alternate, and attached 
 to the stem at an acute angle. The flowers are numerous, bright-yellow, 
 and are borne in terminal, showy racemes. The calyx is twolipiJed, 
 with a deeply two-lobed upper, and a ihrce-lobed lower, lip. The co- 
 rolla is papilionaceous, and the ten stamens are united into a complete 
 tube at the base. The fruit is a flat, several-seeded pod. 
 
 History. — There arc throe Englisli species of Genista, two unarmed; 
 G. tinctoria, with smooth, anil G. pilosa,v,']lh hairy, leaves. The armed 
 species, G. anglica, has sharp, simple thorns. The leaves of G. purgans, 
 a native of Prance, are used as a cathartic. 
 
GenTIANA QuiNQUEt'LORA. 97 
 
 Little is known of the chemical history of the several species of Gen- 
 ista. Genista tinctoria has been in some little repute as a medicine 
 since the day of Culpepper. The flowei'S yield an inferior yellow dye. 
 The dried plant possesses scarcely any taste. It must not be confused 
 with "Broom tops," Seoparius. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Both the flowers and the seeds have been em- 
 ployed in medicine, in dropsical affections, and with considerable eflS- 
 cacy. Sixty grains of the powdered seeds, produce active catharsis, 
 and eveii emesis, and is the dose generally advised in dropsy. An in- 
 fusion of the flowers has been advantageously employed in gout and 
 rheumatism, and is also stated to have been successful in several cases 
 of albuminaria, in doses of two tablespoonsful every hour or two. 
 Probably, a tincture would be found more available, should the drug 
 again come into general use. In former years, this plant had an un- 
 merited reputation for the prevention, as well as the cure, of hydro- 
 phobia. — K. 
 
 GENTIANA QUINQUBFLORA. 
 Nat Ord. — Gentianacese. Sub Ord. — Gentianese. 
 The root of Gentianu quinqueflora, Lam. 
 Common Name. — Five-flowered gentian. 
 Illustration. — Bot. Mag., Plate 3,496. 
 
 Description. — This is an annual plant, found in wood-land pastures 
 and other open situations in the Eastern section of the United States. 
 The stem is smooth, erect, four-angled, and from one to two feet high. 
 The leaves are opposite, entire, sessile, slightly cordate, claspiijg the 
 stem at the base, and acute at the apex. Thej' are about an inch long, 
 and have from three to flve veins proceeding from the base. The 
 flowers, which appear late in summer, and open only in sunshine, are of 
 a bright-blue color, and erect. They are borne in loose panicles, in 
 axillary and terminal clusters of three to five, on pedicels shorter than 
 the flowers. The calyx is about one-quarter the length of the corolla, 
 and is deeply five-parted, having very narrow, linear lobes. The corolla 
 is smaller than in the other native species of Gentiana, being slightly 
 less than an inch in length. It is narrowly bell-shaped, and has five, 
 acute, short lobes. The stamens are five, and attached to the corolla 
 tubes ; they have versatile anthers, which are introrse when the flower 
 expands, but at length turn away from the pistil. '^h.Q pistil consists of 
 a one-celled ovary, supported on a slender stipe, and bears two distinct, 
 sessile stigmas. The fruit is a dry capsule, opening by two valves, and 
 filled with YQTj numerous small seeds. The plant above described is 
 the form of Gentiana quinqueflora occurring in the Eastern section of 
 the United States. A "Western variety (par. occidentalism Gray) differs, 
 in being more-robust, and in having the calyx-lobes half the length of 
 the corolla; it ocpurs in the prairies of Illinois, and throughout the 
 neighboring States, and southwardly. 
 
 History. — This plant was recently recommended as a substitute for 
 quinine, the root being emploj'ed. As found in the market, under the 
 above name, it is about the size of senega, has the general appearance 
 of this root, excepting the angled form and ridge. It has a smooth, 
 bark, which is light-yellow externally, and white within. It breaks 
 with a clear fracture and is hard and woody. The taste is very bitter, 
 98 
 
98 Materia Medica. 
 
 rCBembling the Apocynums rather than Gentiana Intea. It has never 
 been chemically examined. — L. 
 Properties arid Uses. — See King's Am. Disp., 8th ed., p. 384. 
 
 GEATIOLA. 
 
 Nat Ord. — Scrophulariaceae. Sub Ord. — Antirrhinideae. Tribe. — Gra- 
 tioleae. 
 
 The plant and root of Gratiola ofiicinaliB, Linn. 
 Common Name. — Hedge- hyssop. 
 
 Description. — The genus Gratiola is composed of small herbs less than 
 a foot high, and found growing in low, damp situations. They all pos- 
 sess bitter properties, and cattle refuse to eat them. They have opposite, 
 sessile leaves, and small, axillary ^oioers. The calyx is sub-equally five- 
 parted, and the corolla tubular and bilabiate. The stamens are two, and 
 there are often two or three sterile filaments. The fruit is a dry, many- 
 seeded, two-celled capsule opening by four valves. 
 
 Gratiola opficinaus (Innn.), is a native of Europe, and has a 
 smooth, four-angled stem, and lanceolate, three or five-nerved leaves. 
 Ihe corolla is pale -yellow^ and striped with light-purple. The calyx 
 lobes are often seven. This species has long been used as a medicine 
 in the south of Europe, and was mentioned by Lewis in his Materia 
 Medica (1761), under the names Gratiola centaurioides, Gratia dei, hedge- 
 byssop, and herb of grace. 
 
 Gratiola Virginica {Idnn.), is the most common indigenous species, 
 and is found in large patches in damp soil. It is a small, much -branched 
 plant, with an erect glutinous stem. The leaves are lanceolate, dentate, 
 and clasping. The flowers are very numerous, with small, white corollas 
 variegated with yellow, and pubescent in the throat. The other indig- 
 enous species of Gratiola, are mostly found in the Southern States. 
 
 History. — Nothing is known about the chemical constituents of the 
 indigenous species, but they are probably similar to those of G. officin- 
 alis. Vauquelin (1809) published an analysis of Gratiola officinalis, 
 having found in it a bitter resinous substance, an acid in combination 
 with lime and soda, believed by him to be malic or acetic acid, and 
 various earthy salts and principles common to plants. Marchand' 
 proved the resin of Vauquelin to be a compound, identifying tannic 
 abid and a white bitter crystallizable substance, to which the name gra- 
 tiolin was given. Afterward, Walz proved gratiolin to be a glucoside, and 
 obtained, in addition, another glucoside, gratiosolin, and an acid named 
 by him antirrhinic acid, to which the name gratioloic acid is now applied. 
 
 Gratiolin is one of the bitter principles of Gratiola ofiicinalis. It 
 is a white powder, crystallizing from alcohol in warty masses, and from 
 water in silky needles. It is soluble in 893 parts of cold water, and in 
 half the amount of boiling water, and is less soluble in ether. Alcohol 
 is its best solvent. It decomposes upon boiling with diluted sulphuric 
 acid, yielding sugar and other products. 
 
 Gratiosolin is a glucoside, amorphous, bright-red in mass, friable, 
 and of a bitter taste ; it is soluble in seven parts of cold, and five parts 
 of boiling, water; in about half the amount, respectively, of hot and 
 cold alcohol. Diluted acids and alkalies split it into sugar and another 
 
 KToum. de Chim. Med., 1845, p. 518. 
 
Grindelia. 99 
 
 product. The chemical constituents of Gratiola officinalis are of little 
 practical value, as the infusion, or tincture, or plant in substance, are 
 alone used in medicine. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Hedge-hyssop is rarely, if at all, used in this 
 •country. In Europe it has been employed as a hydragogue-cathartic in 
 the treatment of dropsical aflfections, in doses of from ten to thirty 
 grains of the powdered root. Its use is frequently followed by eniesis 
 and diuresis. In smaller doses, it has been advised in chronic aifections 
 of the liver, in jaundice, and also in certain melancholic forma of 
 insanity. It is an active agent, and should be administered with judg- 
 ment. An infusion of four drachms to a pint of boiling water, may be 
 given in half-fluidounce doses. Probably a tincture of the root might 
 be useful; but every indication for this agent can be fulfilled by one of 
 our indigenous plants, as podophyllum, iris, euphorbia, apocynum, 
 etc. — K. 
 
 GRINDELIA. 
 
 Nat. Ord. —Compositse. TnJe.— Asteroid ese. 
 
 The mature leaves and flower-heads of G. robusta (Nutt.), and G. 
 «quarrosa, Dimal. 
 
 Common Name. — Hardy Grindelia. 
 
 Description. — Grindelia robusta is an erect perennial plant, native of 
 California. It has a smooth, round, striate stem, much divided into 
 ascending branches, each of which ends in a large, yellow flower-head. 
 The lower leaves are obovate-spathulate, and tapering at the base ; the 
 upper are alternate, ascending, and have broad clasping bases. They 
 are of a firm, coriaceous texture, and a light-green color ; the margins 
 are coarsely toothed. Ihe flower-heads are large, nearly three-quarters 
 of an inch in diameter, and are solitary, terminating the branches. 
 The involucre is very resinous, and consists of many thick, imbricated 
 scales, with recurved tips. The receptacle is flat, pitted like a honey^ 
 <;omb, and destitute of scales. The ray-flowers are large, yellow, spread- 
 ing and arranged in a single series. They are pistillate and fertile. 
 The disk-flowers are very numerous and perfect. The achenia are 
 smooth, oblong, and slightly four-angled. The most distinguishing 
 character of the genus Grindelia is the pappus, which consists of three 
 or four very deciduous awns ; they are rigid, more or less curved, white, 
 very smooth, and, when magnified, have a waxy appearance. In the 
 G. robusta they are about half the length of the disk -flowers. A very 
 large variety {var. latifolia) of this species of Grindelia is frequent in 
 California and is often collected. It is much more robust in every par- 
 ticular, having heads over an inch in diameter. The upper stem-leaves 
 are about an inch broad, and the flower-heads are surrounded at the 
 base by a cluster of three or four leaves. 
 
 History. — This plant was brought to the notice of pharmacists and 
 the medical profession generally, b}- Mr. Jas. G. Steele, of San Fran- 
 cisco, California, through a paper presented to the American Pharma- 
 ceutical Association, in 1875, although Dr. C. A. Canfield, long pre- 
 viously, had noticed it in the Pacific Medical and Surgical Journal. The 
 dry plant contains a large amount of resin, and, when distilled with 
 water, yields a trifling amount of a- peculiar volatile oil, which, how- 
 ever, differs in odor from the plant. Its therapeutical properties un- 
 xloubtedly depend upon the resinous substances ; as the endeavors of the 
 
100 Materia Medica. 
 
 writer to obtain, from practitioners, a favorable report concerning a 
 tincture or an extract from it, but devoid of such principles, have failed. 
 Alcohol is the proper menstruum for extracting the characteristic prin- 
 ciples of the plant, and with alcohol, a black or dark-red fluid extract or 
 tincture can not be prepared. Grindelia robusta, as found upon the 
 market, is often mixed with other species of Grindelia, especially G. 
 squarrosa. — L. 
 
 Properties and, Uses. — Grindelia robusta has been found espectally 
 eflScacious in asthma, giving prompt relief, and effecting cures in cases 
 previously rebellious to medication. Occasionally, however, as is, in- 
 deed, the case with all therapeutical agents, it has failed, but the cir- 
 cumstances attending these failures have not yet been determined. 
 Farther investigations regarding its action in this disease, and the cause 
 of its occasional failure, are required. It has likewise been found 
 efficient in bronchial affections, in pertussis, and in some renal maladies. 
 The fluid extract is the preparation generally employed, the dose of 
 which is from ten to sixty minims, repeated three or four times a day, 
 as may be required. Children require doses of from five to fifteen or 
 twenty minims. — K. 
 
 GRINDELIA SQUAEEOSA. 
 
 Common Name.^— Scaly Grindelia. 
 
 Description. — Grindelia squarrosa has the general appearance of Grin- 
 delia robusta (see page 99), but is a smaller plant, and has lately been 
 considered a variety of this species. It is more widely distributed than 
 G. robusta, and is quite common on the plains, frbm the Rocky Moun- 
 tains west to the Pacific. The mode of growth is different in the two 
 species. In the Grindelia squarrosa, a perennial root-stalk sends up, from 
 its head, a cluster of from four to ten slender, erect, sub-parallel, and gen- 
 erally undivided brandies, from one to two feet high. The stem-leaves 
 are alternate, acute, sessile, and slightly clasping at the base, and ser- 
 rate on the margin. They are about an inch long, one-quarter as wide, 
 and are attached to the stem in an erect position. The scales of the 
 flower-heads are narrow, and have long, slender, recurved points 
 (whence the specific name). In other respects the flower-heads re- 
 semble those of the Grindelia robusta. but are smaller. The pappus of 
 the Grindelia squarrosa is slender and about the length of the disk- 
 flowers. Grindelia squarrosa was introduced as a remedial agent some 
 years after Mr. Steele brought G. robusta into notice. Its sensible 
 properties are exactly like those of G. robusta, and it is often found on 
 the market and substituted largely for G. robusta. — L, 
 
 Properties and Uses — Grindelia squarrosa has been highly eulogized 
 as an efficient remedj' in intermittent fever, and in other malarial 
 affections, also to remove the splenic enlargement which so frequently 
 follows those disorders. Why two plants so closely allied as the G. 
 robusta and the G. squarrosa, and possessing nearly ider^tical constitu- 
 ents, should ,give such discordant therapeutical results, is certainly 
 enigmatical. The fact is, that many physicians have a great proneness 
 to run after new remedies, especially when introduced under some preten- 
 tious name, and to place a marvellous credulity in the statements of 
 interested parties, who are incapable of deterinining accurate conclu- 
 sions as to the value of a remedy. The dose of the fluid extract of 
 Grindelia squarrosa is from fifteen minims to a fluidrachm, repeated 
 every three or four hours. As a local application, the fluid extract is 
 
GUAKANA. 101 
 
 Stated to be of value in the painful eczematous inflammation and ve- 
 sicular eruption resulting from contact with the poison vine or the poison 
 oak.-^K. 
 
 GTJAEANA. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Sapindacese. Sub. Ord. — Sapindese. 
 The prepared seeds of Paullinia Sorbilis, Martius. 
 Common Names. — Guarana, Uaranazeiro, XJabano. 
 Illustration. — Bent, and Tri. Med. Plants, Plate 67. 
 
 Description. — The genus Paullinia comprises about eighty species, 
 natives of tropical America, with a single African exception. The 
 Paullinia sorbilis is a climbing, shrubby vine, growing in Northern Bra- 
 zil, in moist, sandy locations. The flexible stem is very long, and takes 
 root readily, wherever it touches the ground, so that a single plant 
 often extends over considerable space. In the wild state the vine 
 attaches itself to large trees, and the fruit is diflScult to collect, and of 
 small yield; the vine is cultivated without support. The leaves are 
 alternate, stipulate, and consist each of five smooth leaflets; the leaflets 
 have the same shape and dentation as those of Ehus Toxicodendron, 
 and look very much like them. The flowers are small, numerous, and 
 disposed in erect, axillary, close panicles; the sepals are five; the petals 
 are four, and have each a large pubescent scale on the inside, near the 
 base; the stamens are eight, attached to a thick column. The pistil has 
 a three-lobed ovary, and a sessile, three-parted stigma. The fruit is 
 pear-shaped, and generally has a single brownish seed attached to the 
 base, and nearly filling the pericarp. 
 
 History. — This plant is of interest to the medical profession from the 
 fact that the drug known as Guarana is prepared from the seeds, as 
 follows : When half ripe, the seeds are removed from their capsules, 
 dried in the sun, then rubbed between the hands to separate a thin 
 skin (pericarp) ; they are now powdered coarsely upon a stone, or in a' 
 mortar, then moistened with a little water, or exposed to the dew, and 
 kneaded and rolled into cylindrical, oblong, or globular masses, these 
 are exposed to the sun, and dried until they are firm, and are then 
 subjected to the heat and smoke of a slow fire, thus changing the color 
 of their sui'faces to a dingy or dark-brown.^ Sometimes, it is said, the 
 'moistened magma of the coarsely -powdered seed is incorporated with 
 cocoa and tapioca before kneading and rolling. 
 
 Guarana was introduced into France in the year 1817, by a French ■ 
 officer, and .was described in the same year by Gassicourt, in the' Journal 
 de Pharmacie, the botanical source, however, being then unknown. It 
 was called "guarana," after the tribe of South American Indians 
 (Guai-anis) who prepared it, and, in 1826, Martius, after identifying the 
 plant, gave it the name Paullinia sorbilis, in allusion to the fact that 
 guarana is employed to produce a drink. 
 
 Guarana appears in our market, generally, in cylindrical sticks, from 
 six to twelve inches in length, and from an inch and a quarter to two 
 inches in diameter, rounding at the ends, and averaging from eight to 
 twenty ounces in weight. It is hard and brittle, externally brown, and 
 often very dark from the action of smoke in curing it. The surface is 
 ro\i_gh, showing projecting frg,gments of coarsely -broken seed. It breaks, 
 with a somewhat shiny, very irregular fracture, showing, upon either; 
 surface, depressions or cavities, made by partly protruding fragments of 
 
102 Materia Medica. 
 
 seed attached to the other surface. Throughout the roll are fissures 
 caused by contraction in drying; internally, it is a reddish-brown 
 conglomerate. There is a peculiar musty odor from the broken sur- 
 faces, contaminated with that Irom the smoke. Its taste is slightly 
 astringent and bitter, leaving a sweetish after-taste resembling that of 
 dulcamara. 
 
 Guarana has been analyzed several times; first by Theo. Martius, 
 who discovered cafifein (thein) in it, and named it giuiranin ; but the 
 fact of its identity with this substance (caffeiri) is due to the researches 
 of Deschastelus, who concluded that it existed in natural combination 
 as tannate of caffein. The researches of Jobst, Berthemot, and Stein- 
 hause agree that it contains cafl'ein ; the latter person (1856) having 
 found five per cent, of this substance in it ; and Mr. F. V. Greene (1877) 
 likewise obtained the same amount from it. As the tannic acid of 
 guarana exhibits a somewhat different behavior from other tannins, F. 
 V. Greene proposes to call it paullinitannic acid. Guarana also contains 
 some volatile oil, saponin, and other unimportant constituents. — L. 
 
 Properties and C/ses.— It is very probable that, from the tannin con- 
 tained in guarana, it has effected recovery from diarrhea, leucorrhea, 
 etc., of a very mild form ; but, as we have more prompt and efficacious 
 articles for these affections, in which this agent was at first so loudly 
 heralded, it is no longer employed therapeutically, except for the relief 
 of certain forms of headache. Like coffee and tea, it appears to be a 
 gentle excitant, and is serviceable in cases where the brain becomes 
 irritated or depressed bj- over mental exertion, and when there is a 
 sensation of fatigue or of exhaustion during very warm seasons; as it 
 has the same chemical composition as caffein, thein, and cocain, we find 
 it has likewise preciselj- the same physiological action. It is chiefly in 
 nervous headache, in the cephalalgia sometimes accompanying men- 
 struation, and that following a course of dissipation, in which the most 
 benefit is derived from it. Its use appears to be contra-indicated in 
 neuralgia, neuralgic headache, and chronic headache, and in ail cases 
 in which it is not desirable to excite the heart, increase arterial tension, 
 or increase the temperature. Its administration is often followed by 
 dysuria. The dose of guarana, in powder, is from ten grains to a 
 drachm, but this is an unpleasant and objectionable form of adminis- 
 tration. The fiuid extract is probablj' the most eligible preparation for 
 use; it may be given in doses of from half a teaspoonful to a teaspoon- 
 ful, in syrup or sweetened waiter, repeated three times a day. M. Gubler 
 states that guaranin possesses diuretic properties ; having tested it with 
 several patients; in doses of about seven and a half grains daily, it in- 
 creased the urine from twentj'-seven to sixty-seven and one hundred 
 and seven fluidounces in tiie course of iwerity-four hours. — K. 
 
 HYDROCOTYLE. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Umbelliferse. Tribe. — Hydrocotylea. 
 
 The entire plant of Hydrocotyle Asiatica, Linn. 
 
 Illustration.— 5. and T. Med. Plants, No. 117. 
 
 Description. — The genus Hydrocotyle is an extensive family, comprising 
 nearly one hundred species that are found throughout the temperate 
 world, consisting mostly of small, inconspicuous marsh herbs. The 
 generic characters are : flowers small, in sini]ilc umbels ; petals five, white, 
 
Hydrocotylk. 103 
 
 the points not inflexed ; calyx margin wanting ; fruit of two carpels which 
 are flattened laterally, five-ribbed, and not furnished with oil-tubes. 
 
 Hydrocotyle Asiatica is a low creeping plant, widely diffused over 
 the warmer parts of the world, and abundantly met with in India, 
 Cape of Good Hope, and Australia. The leaves are kidney-shaped, 
 crenate, and the petioles attached at the base of the leaf 
 
 In England the genus is represented by a single species, H. vulgaris, 
 which is found growing in most parts of Europe. The leaves of th is spe- 
 cies are nearly orbicular, and about the size of an English penny ; hence 
 the common name, "penny-wort." The name "sheep-rot," is some- 
 times applied, from the supposition that it causes the " rot" when eaten 
 by sheep. The leaf-stalks are attached to the leaf-blade near the center 
 of the under surface, a position comparatively rare among plants. 
 
 There are five American species of Hydrocotyle, all small herbs, 
 growing in swamps. H. umhellata and H. interrupta, have the leaves pel- 
 tate ; while in S. Americana, IT. ranunculoides, and S. repanda, the leaves 
 are attached to the leaf-stalks at the base of the blades. Hydrocotyle 
 Americana is the most common native species, and is found farther nortfai 
 than the others. It is a delicate slender plant, growing in damp, shady 
 places; the leaves are thin and smooth, and are borne on short leaf- 
 stalks; the minute white flowers are in close sessile umbels, in the axes 
 of the leaves. The Hydrocotyle vulgaris and the five American species 
 have properties probably similar to those of the H. Asiatica. 
 
 History. — In 1852, Dr. Boileau, of India, having been for many years 
 afflicted with leprosy, heard that an American plant called Chinchun- 
 chuUi, was of valued This plant was said to resemble the violet, and 
 while waiting for the arrival of a supply, the Doctor experimented with 
 Hydrocotyle Asiatica, and recovered; he subsequently used the remedy 
 with other lepers. His experience was published, the plant being called 
 hevilacqua. 
 
 In 1853 or 1854, M. Jules Lepine continued the subject in the Madras 
 Qasette,^ and confirmed the assertions of Dr. Boileau regarding its 
 efficacy in leprosy. Before this, however, the plant is said to have 
 occupied a place in the Indian Materia Medica. The composition of 
 the plant is not known, beyond the experiments of Lepine, who decided 
 that an oily substance, named by him vellarin, was the active medicinal 
 principal. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This plant should be ranked among the acro- 
 narcotic poisons, along with the (Enantha crocata, and the Cicutas. 
 Boileau, Lepine, and others, have found it useful as a remedy against 
 elephantiasis of the Greeks (leprosy). Devergie, Cazenave, Waring, 
 Hunter, etc., have derived benefit from it in chronic eczema and other 
 cutaneous maladies, in scrofula, secondary syphilis, ulcers, and chronic 
 rheumatism. As the root is very hygrometric, and is not well preserved 
 in powder, its better form for administration is in infusion, or sj-rup, 
 one ounce of the root to a pint of fluid, and which may be given in 
 doses of from half a fluidounce to a fluidounce, repeated three or four 
 times a day. An alcoholic extract may likewise be used in doses of from, 
 one-fourth of a grain to three-fourths of a grain. Notwithstanding the 
 favorable reports concerning the efficacy of this plant, it has fallen into 
 disuse, and is seldom employed at the present day. 
 
 The Hydrocotyle gummifera, growing in Brazil, and in the Antilles, has 
 been used in hepatic and renal affectons. — K. 
 
 ^Pharm. Jowm. and Trans., 1853 and 1854. 
 
104 Materia Medica. 
 
 HTDEOGBN DIOXIDE. 
 Peroxide of Hydrogen. Dioxide op Hydrogen. 
 Formula, HjOj; molecular weight, 31.94. 
 
 Preparation. — Dioxide of hydrogen was discovered in 1818, by M. 
 Thenard, and named oxygenated water. He prepared it by acting upon 
 barium dioxide (peroxide of barium), with dilute hydrochloric acid, 
 thus: Ba02-(-2HCl:=Hj02-|- BaClji and afterward separating the 
 barium chloride by the cautious addition of sulphate of silver. At the 
 present time it is made by decomposing hydrated barium dioxide with 
 sulphuric acid, as follows : Freshly prepared hydrated dioxide of barium 
 is gradually added to a coM Toixture of sulphuric acid and water (not 
 less than five of water to one of acid) until the mixture becomes very 
 slightly acid ; the sulphate of barium is then separated by filtration ; 
 the excess of sulphuric acid in the filtrate is now removed, by the cau- 
 tious addition of dilute baryta solution ; again filtered ; and the aqueous 
 solution of hydrogen dioxide concentrated in vacuo over sulphuric acid: 
 BaOjSHjO + HjSO^ = BaSO, + H,G, + 8H,0. 
 
 History. — Dibxide of hydrogen is produced when peroxide of potas- 
 sium, sodium, barium, strontium, or calcium, is digested in any acid 
 whixjh forms a soluble salt with the base (Watts). Clermont reported 
 finding it in the juices of a great variety of plants, but the experiments of 
 Bellucci failed to support him. Struve states that the combustion of 
 hydrogen in the atmosphere produces hydrogen dioxide, together with 
 ozone and ammonium nitrite. Struve and others report that it is often 
 present in the atmosphere, in rain-water, and in snow; Houzeau failed 
 in' his first attempt to find it in rain-water, but afterward discovered 
 it in snow, at Eouen {Compt. Behd. Ixx, 519.) 
 
 Hydrogen Dioxide, is a colorless, odorless, oily appearing liquid, of 
 specific gravity 1.452, and does not solidify at —30° C. (—22° F.) 
 (^Thenard); it evaporates in vacuo at ordinary temperatures, without 
 decomposition, and does not redden, but bleaches, litmus and turmeric 
 paper ; it has an astringent, bitter taste ; when applied to the skin it 
 first bleaches, and subsequently develops a white blister, accompanied 
 with violent itching, followed by painful irritation. It mixes in all pro- 
 portions with cold water, and when a solution, containing eight times 
 its volume of oxygen, is heated to 50° C. (122° F.), the oxygen begins to 
 be evolved, ebullition increases, and upon ceasing, water only remains. 
 Concentrated hydrogen dioxide evolves oxygen slowly at 20° C. (68° F.), 
 but if quickly heated to 100° C. (212° F.), the separation is violent, 
 and sometimes explosive {R. and S.). It is also decomposed with 
 almost explosive violence when in contact with finely-divided metals, 
 as gold, silver, and platinum, the metals remaining unaltered. The 
 oxides of these metals are decomposed by, and in turn decompose, 
 hydrogen dioxide ; the metals being reduced to a metallic state, and 
 free oxygen liberated ; thus we have a powerful oxidizing agent which 
 acts as a reducer; for hydrogen dioxide transforms many basic oxides 
 into peroxides. With solution of ferrocyanide of potassium it forms 
 ferricyanide of potassium ; with solution of ferrous sulphate it forms 
 ferric sulphate, etc. An aqueous solution of hydrogen dioxide, is used 
 to clean and bleach- old engravings and oil paintings, and, according to 
 Cameron, the popular colorless solution employed to change dark hair 
 to yellow is this substance. 
 
 Tests. — When a solution of ferrous sulphate is mixed with phenol, 
 
liABURNUM. 105 
 
 the addition of a stiaall amount of hydrogen dioxide, gives a green color ; 
 of a large amount, a dark green precipitate. According to Parnell, the 
 test will fail if the phenol be added after the admixture with hydrogen 
 dioxide, ^hen a solution containing dioxide of hydrogen is acidulated 
 with sulphuric acid, and then mixed with a little ether, the addition of 
 a few drops of solution of potassium chromate, will develop a blue 
 color (perchromic acid), and, upon agitation, the ether will dissolve it 
 and separate in a blue layer. Hydrogen dioxide liberates iodine fi-om 
 a solution of iodide of potassium and ferrous sulphate QSchonbein), :i 
 reaction so delicate, as to form the blue iodide of starch, when but onu 
 part of hj'(Jrogen dioxide is present in twenty-five million parts of 
 solution. — L. 
 
 Properties' and Uses. — This agent was introduced to the profession as 
 a therapeutical means, by Dr. B. W. Eichardson, of London, England 
 (1860). From experiments instituted by him, he found that certain 
 animal substances when brought into contact with a solution of per- 
 oxide of hydrogen, liberated its oxygen, as was the case with fibrin, 
 carbonic acid, etc. The presence of free oxygen in the system must 
 act as a stimulant, oxygenate the blood, and antagonize septic condi- 
 tions; he, therefore, recommended its employment, therapeutically, 
 in all cases marked by deficient oxidation ; as an antidote to various 
 poisons ; in low fevers, and in ail cases manifesting deficient oxidation ; 
 in diabetes, tetanus, and cancer. Subsequently, from a larger experience, 
 he advised it as useful in chronic rheumatism, in scrofulous tumors and 
 abscesses, in pertussis to mitigate the paroxysms, in the dyspnea at- 
 tending chronic bronchitis, and in poisoning by narcotics; He recom- 
 mended that the solution emplo}'ed should be charged with ten volumes 
 of oxygen, which could be readily determined by an estimate of the amount 
 of oxygen present in the peroxide of barium employed in its manu- 
 facture; and of this preparation the dose varies from one to four flui- 
 drachms, largely diluted with water, to be repeated three or four times 
 daily. As a topical stimulant and disinfectant, it has been found useful 
 in scrofulous, syphilitic, and other ulcers. Both the aqueous solution 
 and the ethereal solution {ozonic ether) have been employed internally, 
 and the various experimenters with this agent, since its introduction, 
 differ greatly in their views as to any therapeutical efiicacy it may pos- 
 sess. At the present time it is rarely used except as a test for blood 
 stains. — K. 
 
 LABURNUM. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Leguminosse Suti Ord.— Papilionacese. Tribe. — Genistese. 
 
 The seeds of Cytisus Laburnum, Linn. 
 
 Common Names. — Bean -trefoil, Golden chain. 
 
 Illustration —^oi. Mag., Plate 176. 
 
 Description. — Labui-num is hn unarmed shrub or small tree, native ,' 
 the mountainous portions of Southern 'Europe, and frequently fouhd in 
 cultivation, especially in Great Britain. The leaves are petiolate and 
 trifoliate, with, ovate lanceolate leaflets, pubescent underneath. The 
 golden-yellow powers, which appear from May to Juno, are very showy, 
 and are disposed in loose, pendulous i-acemes. The calyx is campanulate 
 and two-lipped; the upper lip is entire, the lower one three-toothed. 
 The corolla \s papilionaceous, with a large voxillum. The fruit is a 
 brown legume, containing many seeds, and is attenuate at the base. 
 
106 Materia Medica. 
 
 History. — The genus Cytisus is almost exclusively European, and 
 there is no indigenous species in the United Stiites. Cytisus Scoparius 
 {Link), or " common broom," a very abundant shrub in Great Britain, is 
 extensively used as a diuretic. 
 
 The ripe seeds of Laburnum yield an alkaloid, cytisin, which is crys- 
 tallizable, colorless, and deliquescent. It is strongly alkaline, ,an4 
 neutralizes acids. Its tafete is nauseously bitter, and it is soluble in 
 water and dilute alcohol, but not in ether; a few grains of it taken in- 
 ternally occasion very serious symptoms. The unripe seeds likewise 
 yield an alkaloid, tofiwrnm, which does not combine with acids, is soluble 
 in water, and less soluble in alcohol or ether. The seed8,_as well as 
 other parts of the tree, have been examined at several times, but the 
 results have not been very satisfactory. Thus, Chevallier and Lassaigne, 
 having first determined a bitter, amorphous principle, subsequently 
 discovered in the ripe seeds, cytisin or citysin. Dr. T. S. Gray subse- 
 quently obtained from the seeds and the bark three vegetable principles, 
 one an acid, laburnic acid, and the other two, bitter, neutral substances, 
 cystin and laburnin, each of them being soluble in water. While Huse- 
 mann and Mtirme discovered two alkaloids in the root, both said to be 
 poisonous; one, cytisin, they also procured from the ripe seeds, .and the 
 other, laburnin, from the unripe seeds. They are both crystallizable, 
 and while cytisin neutralizes the strongest acids, laburnin had only 
 been combined with the chlorides of gold and of platinum. Wittstein 
 recognizes only these two just described.' — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Administered to certain animals, as the dog, 
 cat, etc., even in small doses, M. Chevallier found it to occasion emesis, 
 muscular debility, increased pulse, accelerated respiration, somnolence, 
 spasms, and finally death. With man, according to Dr. T. S. Gray, 
 Popham, Clout, and others, the bark, the flowers, or the seeds, in 
 large doses, produce a sense of indisposition, drowsiness, followed by 
 vomiting, vertigo, cold sweats, dryness and constriction of the throat, 
 gastric pain, pallor, purging, accelerated respiration, strong contraction 
 of the features, dilatation of the pupils, muscular contractions, quick 
 and agitated pulse, and other symptoms of narcotism. Eecoverj' from 
 these symptoms occurs more or less speedily, and no case is recorded in 
 which death was the result. . In cases of poisoning by laburnum. Dr. 
 Gray has advised the use of charcoal, though, in many severe cases, 
 persons who have suffered severely from the symptoms named, have 
 promptly recovered without the aid of any antidote. Chevallier, who, 
 having taken six or eight grains of cytisin, found himself threatened 
 with severe symptoms, drank quite freely of lemonade, and thereby 
 checked their further progress. In medicinal doses. Dr. Gray recom- 
 mends the use of the active principles of laburnum in the treatment of 
 dyspepsia attended with vomitings of bile-matters and alternate attacks 
 of diarrhea and constipation, likewise to check the vomiting of chil- 
 dren who eject their food soon after its ingestion; to relieve bronchial 
 cough, and mitigate the severity of the paroxj-sms of pertussis, and 
 asthma, and to prevent the sympathetic vomitings of pregnancy ; how- 
 ever, these recommendations have not been supported by subsequent 
 trials. The dose of a decoction, of sp. gr. 1.034, is from two to thirty 
 minims ; of cytisin, from one eighth of a grain to two grains; of laburnin, 
 from two to ten grains. In caseof poisoning, the the better course to pur- 
 
 ^Organic Constituents of Pants, 
 
LiTHlI Benzoas. 107 
 
 sue is to remove the contents of the stomach as speedily as possible by 
 warm water, and then to administer diffusible stimulants. — K, 
 
 LITHII. 
 
 Lithium. 
 
 Symbol. — Li ; atomic weight, 7.01. 
 
 Lithium is the metallic basis of an alkaline oxide, lithia, and has not 
 yet been employed in medicine nor in the arts. The name, meaning 
 " stony," is derived from the Greek lithos, a stone. The alkali was dis- 
 covered by Arfwedson, in 1817; the element, by Bunsen and Matthiessen, 
 in 1855. Lithium is very widely distributed, but in small quantities. 
 The important minerals which contain it are, triphyline (a phosphate 
 of iron, manganese, and lithium), petalite (a silicate of aluminum, so- 
 dium and lithium), and spodumene, or triphane. Some mineral springs 
 are likewise found to contain it in considerable amount, notably one in 
 the Wheal Clifford mine, in Cornwall, England. Our Gettysburgh 
 Springs, Penn., and the Buffalo Lithia Springs, Mecklenburg Co., Va., 
 likewise contain it; and to it they undoubtedly owe their eflScacy, in 
 gout, rheumatism, and uric acid diathesis. For the process of, extrac- 
 tion, see any chemical technology. Lithium is much less oxidable, and 
 harder than either potassium or sodium, but is softer than lead. When 
 freshly cut it exhibits a silver-like surface, which tarnishes by exposure. 
 It melts at 180° C. (356° F.), is the lightest of all known solids, having 
 a sp. gr. of 0.5986, floats on benzine and on water, quickly oxidizing in 
 the latter case, but without fusing. Lithium is of interest to the medi- 
 cal profession from the fact that four compounds of it are employed in 
 medicine ; they are the carbonate, benzoate, bromide, and citratb ; the 
 first being employed in the production of the others. — 'L. 
 
 LITHII BENZOAS. 
 Benzoate of Lithium. 
 Formula, LiCjHsOj; molecular weight, 127.72. 
 
 Preparation. — This is a permanent white powder, very soluble in 
 water, and soluble in about ten parts of alcohol. To prepare it, add 
 carbonate of lithium to benzoic acid mixed with hot water, until efferves- 
 cence ceases and the acid is dissolved and saturated ; then filter, and 
 evaporate the filtrate to dryness upon a water-bath, thus: LijC03 + 
 2H0,HA = 2LiC,H5O, -fH^O+COj. The salt may be obtained in 
 permanent crystals, by evaporating the solution and setting the ciipaule 
 or vessel aside. The crj-stals are in the form of glistening, pearly 
 scales. In our own experience, thirty-two parts of benzoic acid mixed 
 with one hundred and twenty-eight parts of water, require eleven parts 
 of carbonate of lithium ; and the yield is, practically, about that of the 
 weight of the acid employed. The impurities to be expected are such 
 as accompany carbonate of lithium. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The emploj'ment of lithium compounds in medi- 
 cine is due to the fact that the urate of lithium is much more soluble 
 than the other alkaline urates. Benzoate of lithium was recommended 
 by E. B. Shuttleworth, as an agent, superior to other compounds of 
 
108 Materia Medica. 
 
 lithia in the treatment of gout, and certain disorders of the urinary, 
 organs, more especially when there is an excess of urates, or of uric 
 acid. It is a stable, non -deliquescent preparation, and consists of a 
 combination of two agents, each of which have been found valuable in 
 the treatment of certain forms of urinary diflSculties, as well as in 
 chronic inflammation of the neck of the bladder. It acts as a diuretic, 
 and is especially useful to prevent gouty paroxysms, by preventing the 
 formation and subsequent deposition of insoluble urates in the tissues, 
 to remove the tendency to excessive deposition of uric acid or urates 
 in the urine, and to render this fluid neutral or alkalinp. The dose is 
 froiyi. three to ten grains, dissolved in a tablespoonful of water, repeat- 
 ing the dose three or four times daily. — K. 
 
 LITHII BROMIDUM. 
 Bromide of Lithium. 
 Formula, LiBr; molecular weight, 86.76. 
 
 Preparation. — This salt may readily be prepared, as follows : To a 
 given amount of solution of hydrobromic acid, in a glass or porcelain 
 evaporaiing-basin, add gradually, with constant stirring, cai-bonate of 
 lithium until the acid is saturated and efl'ervescence ceases; then filter, 
 and evaporate the filtrate to dryness. The reaction is represented as 
 follows: 2HBr-(-Li2C03 = 2LiBr-|-H,0 + COj. 
 
 History. — Bromide of lithium is very deliquescent, and is soluble both 
 in alcohol and water. Owing to the low combining power of lithium, 
 its bromide contains about ninety-two per cent, of bromine, while the 
 potassium bromide contains nearly sixtj'-six per cent., and the sodium 
 bromide about seventy-eight per cent. Its taste is not so disagreeable 
 as that that of the potassium salt, but more so than that of the sodium, 
 or ammonium bromides. It is incompatible with solutions of the car- 
 bonates of the other alkali metals, forming, by decomposition, carbonate 
 of Lithium (LijCOs). — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — M. Eoubaud, having investigated the action of 
 this comjDOund, has arrived at the following conclusions: That it pos- 
 sesses the lithontriptic properties common to the lithia preparations; 
 that, like other bromides, it affects reflex sensibility, with energy, 
 and without that inconvenient action upon the heart usually following 
 the use of bromide of potassium ; and that it is useful as a sedative 
 and antilithic, in cases of uric acid diathesis accompanied by painful 
 phenomena, or complicating neuroses. E. Levy considers it to have 
 a beneficial effect, in gout, but less so than some of the other salts of 
 lithium, although its influence in diminishing the quantity of uric acid 
 is verj' small ; being very rich in bromine, it is more active than bromide 
 of potassium, having a marked sedative influence upon the cerebro- 
 .spinal axis, without affecting the heart. Dr. S. W. Mitchell has found 
 it to be a rapid and powerful soporific agent, more so than anj' of the 
 other bromides used in therapeutics, and has employed it advantageously 
 in the milder forms of epilepsy, in headache, insomnia, wakefulness 
 from mental or physical exertion, and in tinnitus auriuni, attended with 
 pain in the temporal region and sleeplessness. It has likewise been 
 found beneficial in certain cases of spermatorrhea, chronic irritability 
 of the neck of the bladder, and in irritable; uterus. The dose is from 
 three to ten grains, in solution, which should be repeated three or four 
 
LlTIIII C/AKBONAS. 109 
 
 times a day. Owing to its, extreme deliquescence, this salt should be 
 kept in aqueous or alcoholic solution. — K. 
 
 LITHII CAEBONAS. 
 Normal Carbonate of Lithium. 
 Formula, LijCOs) molecular weight, 73.87. 
 
 History. — This'salt is never prepared by the pharmacist. It is made 
 bj- pouring a concentrated solution of chloride of lithium (LiCl) into 
 a solution of ammonium carbonate, in ammonia water, continuing the 
 process until the precipitate ceases to form upon heafing. It fuses at a 
 high temperature, and colors an alcohol flame crimson when held within 
 it upon a platinum foil or wire, that has previously been moistened with 
 muriatic acid. It is but slightly soluble in water, one hundred parts of 
 water, at 13° C. (55°.4 F.), dissolving but 0.769 parts of the carbonate 
 {Kremers). In this respect it difi'ers from the carbonates of the other 
 alkali metals (potassium and sodium being the common examples), 
 approaching the carbonates of the next group. It is dissolved, with 
 effervescence, by diluted acids, forming the respective salts, and which 
 are mostly very soluble^ When dissolved in hydrochloric acid, the re- 
 sultant chloride is very soluble in alcohol, and likewise in mixtures of 
 alcohol and ether, in equal proportions {Hoffmann). This test serves to 
 distinguish it from the more probable impurities, carbonates of po- 
 tassium and of sodium, the chlorides of which elements are not soluble, 
 especially in the latter of the menstruums named. Sometimes carbonate 
 of lithium is fraudulently adulterated with sugar of milk; this may be 
 detected by its i-eduction of the copper salt in Fehling's test-liquor; also, 
 by the adulteration emitting a caramel odor, and turning black when 
 exposed to a heat for calcination. 
 
 Hydrogen Lithium Carbonate, or the acid lithium carbonate (HLi 
 CO3), is formed when freshly precipitated normal carbonate of lithium 
 is suspended in water and exposed to a current of carbon dioxide. This 
 salt is more soluble than the common carbonate, about five parts dis- 
 solving in one hundred parts of water. It readily decomposes by ex- 
 posure, forming normal carbonate of lithium, carbon dioxide, and 
 water, thus: 2HLiC03 = Li-^COj -|- H.;0 + CO2. The acid salt is never 
 found upon the market, and is not used in medicine ; although it is, very 
 probablj', the form in which it exists in certain mineral waters. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Carbonate of lithium is considered a diuretic, 
 and an energetic alkalizing agent of the urine. Administered inter- 
 nally, it causes the insoluble urates of the blood to form soluble urates 
 of lithium, and hence has been advised in gout, and in urinary deposits 
 of uric acid and urates, the same as the benzoate and the citrate of this 
 alkali. The action of these agents may fail under certain conditions of 
 the system, which, after having been ascertained, should be removed by 
 appropi'iate measures previous to the administration of the lithium 
 salts. The dose of carbonate of lithium is from one to four grains, in 
 a gill or so of hot water, repeating it three or four times a day. Garrod 
 and Charcot advise it to be taken as follows : Water, charged with car- 
 bonic acjd, one pint, bicarbonate of soda three grains, carbonate of 
 lithium a grain and a half; mix, and keep well stoppered. This quan- 
 tity is to be used daily, in wineglassful doses, continuing to prepare and 
 use it for two or three consecutive weeks. — K. 
 
110 Materia Medica. 
 
 LITHII CITEAS. 
 
 Citrate of Lithium. 
 Formula, LijCeHjO, ; molecular weight, 209.57. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of carbonate of lithium one part ; citric acid, 
 in crystals, two parts, or a sufficient quantity ; distilled water, a suf- 
 ficient quantity. Mix the carbonate of lithium with two parts of water 
 heated to the temperature of 180° F. (82°. 22 C), in a" capacious glass 
 or porcelain vessel. Then dissolve the citric acid in four parts of water, 
 at the same temperature, and gradually pour a sufficient amount of the 
 acid solution, with'constant stirring, into the mixture of carbonate of 
 lithium and water, to dissolve the carbonate. Then raise the tempera- 
 ture to 200° F., and cautiously stir into the solution a few grains of 
 carbonate of lithium ; if effervescence ensues, continue adding more of 
 the carbonate until it is in slight excess; now filter the solution, evap- 
 orate, at a gentle heat, to the consistence of syrup ; then dry in a warm- 
 air closet, until the salt will pulverize, and inclose it in a well-stoppered 
 bottle. 
 
 History. — As usually made, citrate of lithium is a very unsatisfac- 
 tory preparation, from its proneness to deliquesce. To a great extent, 
 this property is derived from the excess of citric acid usually present. 
 We will call attention to the fact that, by reversing the process of the 
 U. S. Pharmacopceia and adding the solution of citric acid (q. s.) to the 
 carbonate of lithium, better results appear to be obtained by us than 
 with the process of the Pharmacopoeia. Citrate of lithium, as prepared 
 according to our process, may contain a slight proportion of carbonate 
 of lithium, an unimportant contamination. It is liable to contain all 
 the impurities present in both the citric acid and the carbonate of 
 lithium employed in its preparation. It is a very white powder, per- 
 manent in a dry atmosphere, and becoming moist when exposed to 
 damp air. It is very soluble in water. — L, 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Citrate of lithium is employed in the same 
 affections as the carbonate, and in the same doses ; being the more 
 soluble of the two, it has been preferred. Its dose is the same as that 
 of the carbonate, and like this it may be carried to, from fifteen grains 
 to even half a drachm; but, these large doses are apt to occasion car- 
 dialgic dyspepsia. The iodide, salicylate, and sulphate of lithium, have 
 occasionally been employed therapeutieally, but no especial advantage 
 has yet been derived from their use. — K. 
 
 LITHOSPBEMUM OFFICINALE. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Borraginacese. Tribe. — Borragese. 
 
 The roots and seeds of Lithospermum officinales, Linn. 
 
 Common Name. — Common Gromwell. 
 
 Illustration.— Fbodj;jKe's Med. Bot., Plate 105. 
 
 Description.— This is a large, rough, hairy weed, a native of Europe, 
 and very common in some parts ; it is rarely naturalized in the eastern 
 section of the United States, and is found growing in dry and gravelly 
 soils. The stem is from one to two feet high, erect, much-branched, and 
 covered with small, stiff hairs. The leaves are numerous, veiny, al- 
 
Manoipera Indica. Ill 
 
 ternate, sessile, ovate, and acute at the apex. They are covered with a 
 close, grayish pubescence, which is rough and stiflFon the upper surface, 
 but softer beneath. The flowers appear in June, and are small, in axil- 
 lary or terminal, revolute, loafy spikes. The calyx has five acute lobes. 
 The corolla is salver-form, slightly exceeds the calyx, and is of a pale- 
 yellow color. The fruit consists generally of one or two smooth, hard, 
 shiny, gray, ovate nutlets, which are attached to the persistent calyx by 
 the base. A native species of Lithospermum, L. latifolium (Mich'x) 
 closely resembling the L. oflScinale, especially in the smooth, polished 
 nutlets, and considered a variety of it by Willd., is common in open 
 woods of the Middle States. It has green leaves, and is more loosely 
 branched than the introduced species. Neither of the plants have been 
 
 analyzed, according to authority at our command L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This plant is diuretic, possessing properties 
 analogous to those of the Onosmodium Virginianum, and deserves 
 further investigation. It has proved efficacious in both acute and 
 chronic cystitis, and likewise in certain calculous affections. A strong 
 infusion of the dried root, one ounce to water one pint, may be given 
 every three hours in tablespoonful doses. The seeds, in powder, ai-e 
 used in half-teaspoonful doses, every four or five hours. — K. 
 
 MANGIFEEA INDICA. 
 Nat. Ord. — Anacardiacese. Tribe. — Anacardieae. 
 The inner bark of the root and tree of Mangifera Indica, Linn. 
 Common Name. — Mango. 
 Illustration. — Bot. Mag., Plate 4,510. 
 
 Description. — This is a tall tree, native of the Bast Indies, but culti- 
 vated in most parts of the tropics, on account of its edible fruit. The 
 leaves are alternate, lanceolate, entire, from six to eight inches long, 
 and one-quarter as wide. They are petioled, and borne in clusters near 
 the end of the branches. The flowers are small, yellowish, and dis- 
 posed in large, loose, terminal panicles. The calyx-lobes and petals are 
 five. The stamens are five, alternate with the petals, and all but one 
 abortive. The fruit is a reddish-yellow drupe, about the size of a quince, 
 and kidney-shaped ; it consists of a hard, fibrous nut which is sur- 
 rounded by edible flesh in a manner like the peach, and is known as 
 " mango fruit." It is largely consumed in tropical countries, and forms 
 one of the most highly esteemed fruits. The natives of India use the 
 leaves and leaf-stalks to harden the gums ; the wood, together with 
 sandal wood, is used by the Hindoos for burning their dead, and an 
 infusion of the bai-k is employed for various skin diseases. When incis- 
 ions are made into the bark of the tree, a soft, reddish-brown gum- 
 resin exudesj which hardens by age, and resembles bdellium; this dis- 
 solves in spirits and partly in water, forming milky solutions; wlicn 
 chewed it softens, adheres to the teeth, and gives a pungent and slightly 
 bitter taste (Boxb). 
 
 History. — In 1877, Dr. M. F. Linquist, New Haven, Conn., introduced 
 the bark to the medical profession, having found it beneficial in a num- 
 ber of diseases. The bark was imported under the name " mango" for 
 the purpose of removing incrustations from steam boilers, it having 
 been stated that when a small amount of a strong solution of the bark 
 
112 Materia Medica. 
 
 is added to the water within the boiler, the saline deposit quickly 
 separates. The bark is very astringent, and this, property suggested to 
 Dr. Linquist, its appropriate application in a therapeutical sense. As 
 found in market, it is a coarse powder, of a deep brownish -red color, 
 none of the bark, entire, having come under "our observation. The 
 odor is peculiar, being, in a very slight degree, terebintheous. The 
 taste resembles that of rhatany. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Mango bark has been recommended in the treat- 
 ment of nasal catarrh, diarrhea, dysentery, vaginitis, metritis, diphthe- 
 ria, hemorrhages, etc. Dr. Linquist, in writing to me concerning its 
 use, makes the following statement : " 1 have used it for upward of 
 eight years, and have largely experimented with it. It is an astringent 
 of peculiar power upon the mucous membrane. I first employed it in 
 certain uterine diseases, with marked benefit. In catarrh, with the 
 spray-atomizer, I have used it with better success than any other agent. 
 In diphtheria, and other malignant diseases of the throat, its eflfect has 
 been truly marvellous. During last year I have had several cases of 
 diphtheria, that I have treated exclusively with the fluid extract, pencil- 
 ing the fauces with it, of fall strength, and also using it as a gargle in the 
 proportion of two fluidrachms of the fluid extract to four fluidounces of 
 water. As an internal remedy in hemorrhages from the uterus, bowels, 
 or lungs, or in muco-purulent discharges from either the bowels or 
 uterus, I know of no agent equal to it. It a^ppears to have the following 
 advantages : The dose is small, is easily taken, has no disagreeable taste, 
 does not derange the stomach, is rapid in its action, and more cei-tain 
 in its effects than other medicines." 
 
 Professor A. J. Howe, M. D., writes me as follows : " During the 
 past year I have prescribed a tincture of Mangifera Indica on many 
 occasions ; and I find it most useful in lessening leucorrheal discharges, 
 and in diminishing too profuse menstrual evacuations. The agent 
 exerts an astringent action, but not to the extent of constipating the 
 bowels. It assuages catamenial pains to an appreciable degree, and 
 corrects menstrual disorders in general. I consider the medicine as a 
 valuable adjutant to gynsecoiogical therapeutics. I have also prescribed 
 it in the treatment of chronic diarrhea, and in obstinate gleet, and have 
 obtained quite satisfactory results, though not better than from the use 
 of the extract of logwood, or Pinus Canadensis. In a case of albuminaria, 
 the remedy, lor a week or two, greatly lessened the amount of albumen 
 discharged ; yet it made no decided change for the better." 
 
 The dose of the fluid extract is from fifteen minims to a fluidrachm. 
 Dr. Linquist adds from two to four fluidrachms of the fluid extract to 
 four fluidounces of water, and this mixture he administers in tea- 
 spoonful doses, repeated every hour or two. — K. 
 
 METHBNE DICHLORIDE. 
 
 Bichloride of Methylene. 
 
 {Syn. — Methylene Bichloride ; Monochlorinated Chloride of Methyl ; Chlo- 
 rinated Chloride of Methyl ; Dichloromethane ) 
 
 Formula, OHjClj; molecular weight, 84.71. 
 
 History. — This substance may be considered the second substitution 
 product of the action of chlorine upon methane (marsh gas), CH«, the 
 
Methene Dichloride. 113 
 
 first product being methyl chloride, or chloromethane, CE3CI ; or it 
 maj^ be considered, as we prefer, a dichloride of methylene (methene}, 
 CHj; or we may call it a derivative of methyl, CH3. It was discovered 
 in 1840, by Eegnault ; Dumas and Peligot having prepared chloride of 
 methyl about five years previously. It is diflScult to prepare, and is 
 seldom found in commerce. It is formed when chlorine gas is passed 
 into di-iodomethane covered with water, the retort containing it being 
 at the same time heated; iodine separates in crystals, and an oilj' 
 liquid (dichloromethane), with impurities, passes into the cooled receiver. 
 This is purified by prolonged contact with chlorine, then distilling from 
 solution of potash, and afterward agitating with calcium chloride, and 
 redistilling to separate water. It may also be made (Eegnault's pro- 
 cess), by chlorination of methyl chloride (CH3CI), bringing the gases 
 together in the sunlight, and afterward separating the methene dichlo- 
 ride by fractional condensation ; also by the action of chlorine on 
 methyl iodide thus : -CHsI -f- Clj = CHjClj -(- HI. It was formerly sup- 
 posed that two isomeric compounds existed of the composition CHjClj, 
 but the idea is now generally abandoned, although some hold that the 
 preparation made by Regnault's process is, properly, chlorinated methyl 
 chloride, CHjCljCl. And it has been likewise stated that the products 
 of the two processes differ in regard to their boiling points and specific 
 gravities. 
 
 Dichloride of Methene is a colorless liquid, of a sweet chloroform-like 
 odor, of specific gravity l.:^60 at 0° C. (32° F.); boiling at 40° C. 
 (104° F.) (Buttlerow), 40° C. to 42° C. (104° F. to 107°.6 F.) (Perkins). 
 According to Watts and others, Regnault's boils at 30°. 5 C. (86°.+ F.), 
 has a specific gravity of 1.344 at 18° C. (64°. 4 F.), is very volatile, and 
 resembles Dutch Liquid: It is dissolved by alcohol or ether, does not 
 aifoct test-papers, and emits a vapor that is readily combustible. 
 
 It is stated that chloroform has been substituted for methene di- 
 chloride, but the fraud can be readily detected by the specific gravity, 
 unless the adulterating liquid be reduced to the gravity of methene by 
 addition of ether. In this case, the odor of ether will be apparent. 
 Should a mixture of chloroform and absolute alcohol be prepared and 
 substituted, agitation with cold distilled water will separate the alcohol, 
 and the difference in bulk will reveal the fraud, while the specific 
 gravity of the heavy liquid will be found greater than 1.360. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — -Bichloride of methylene has been proposed by 
 Eichardson, Wells, and others, as an anesthetic. The inhalation of its 
 vapor is rather agreeable, its influence occurs without any unpleasant 
 sensations, and the return to consciousness is rapid and without any feel- 
 ing of prostration. Vomiting frequently accompanies its administra- 
 tion, and, occasionally, a very obstinate period of agitation and strug- 
 gling. It has been considered less dangerous than chloroform, though 
 Richardson states that it is one of a dangerous family of chemical 
 substances, involving more or less risk, unless used with great care. 
 Spencer Wells, the celebrated ovariotomist, having employed it in nearly 
 one thousand cases, in the course of a surgical practice of ten years, 
 recommends it as more effective and less dangerous than any other 
 known anesthetic; yet, notwithstanding these commendations, and 
 their confirmation by several other surgeons, the substance has not 
 come into general use in surgical practice. The quantity required for 
 inhalation varies from twenty to forty minims; and ten or twenty 
 minims subsequently, if required, whenever symptoms of a return to con- 
 sciousness begin to manifest themselves. The use of this vapor, undiluted, 
 99 
 
114 Materia Medica. 
 
 is unsafe; it should always be inhaled in association with a certain 
 quantity of atmospheric air; and for this purpose, a hollow cone, of 
 metal or pasteboard, perforated with numerous apertures, has been ad- 
 vised. The material upon which the liquid has been poured, is to be 
 placed within the cone, and the vapor be inhaled therefrom. Wells re- 
 commends Junker's apparatus for this purpose. — K. 
 
 MIMULUS PILOSUS. 
 Nat. Ord. — Scrophulariacese. Tribe. — Gratiolese. 
 The plant Mimulus pilosus, Watson. 
 Common Name. — Hairy Monkey -flower. 
 
 Description. — This is a small annual plant, a native of California, and 
 found growing in damp situations. It has an erect, angular stem, less 
 than a foot high, and much branched from near the base. The entire 
 plant is covered with soft and sticky hairs, whence tlie specific name. 
 The leaves are opposite, from one to two inches long, sessile, and entire. 
 The flowers are small, bright-yellow, and are borne on short axillary 
 peduncles; they appear in July and August. The corolla is about one- 
 fourth an inch in length, and two-lipped ; it has a broad tube, a two- 
 lobed, erect upper lip, and a three-lobed lower lip, bearing two purple 
 spots. The calyx is bell-shaped, slightly shorter than the corolla-tube, 
 and has five unequal teeth. The fruit is a dry two-celled capsule, con- 
 taining many seeds. This plant has never been examined chemi- 
 cally. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This plant is of recent introduction to the pro- 
 fession, and deserves further investigation. A local application of the 
 plant, in the form of a cataplasm, made either by bruising the leaves, 
 or by steeping them in hot water, is very efScacious in local inflamma- 
 tions, and painful affections, as in rheumatism, neuralgia, erysipelas, 
 burns, etc. A tincture of the plant will likewise be found beneficial in 
 rheumatism, neuralgia, and other painful disorders, in the dose of from 
 three to ten minims, repeated three or four times a day. In cardiac 
 affections, the sequence of rheumatic' attacks, it has proved very ser- 
 viceable in several cases. In obstinate bronchial and laryngeal affec- 
 tions, I have derived much benefit from the use of a tincture, made with 
 diluted alcohol, in the form of spray. It is probable that some of the 
 other species of Mimulu-s possess similar properties. — K. 
 
 MONBSIA. . 
 Nat Ord. — Sapotaceae. 
 
 Extract of the bark of Chrysophyllum Glyciphloeum, Casaretti. 
 (_Syn. — C. Buranhem, Riedel.) 
 
 Common Name. — Monesia. 
 
 Description. — Chrysophyllum Glyciphloeum is a common Brazilian 
 tree, known locally as Buranhem or Guaranhem. It is often from forty 
 to fifty feet in height. The genus Chrysophyllum comprises several 
 species, mostly South American trees, with milky juice. The leaver 
 are alternate, entire, and furnished with a golden-yellow pubescence 
 
MONESIA. 115 
 
 underneath, hence the name. The flowers are small, and in fascicled 
 umbels in the axils of the leaves. The corolla is bell-shape, and has five 
 stamens. The ovary has ten one-ovuled cells, and bears a peltate ten- 
 lobed stigma. T\\& fruit of C. cai'mYo, and other species, are called "star 
 apples," and are eaten by the natives. Chrysophyllum Glyciphlceum 
 is of interest from the fact that an extract of the bark is used in medi- 
 cine, and known as monesia. 
 
 History. — The bark is in fragments, nearly smooth, and einnamonicol- 
 ored internally. The pieces are thin, about one-fourth or half an inch in 
 thickness ; at first, a sweetish taste is imparted, which subsequently be- 
 comes acrid and astringent. It has no odor. Shortly after the intro- 
 duction of monesia bark, Derosne and Henry examined it, and found 
 it to contain chlorophylle, vegetable- wax, ^?!/c!/rrAz2m, tannin, and red 
 coloring matter. The supposed active principle is acrid, and has been 
 named monesin; although it is probable that the tannin and other 'sub- 
 stances are of therapeutic value. 
 
 Monesia, the extract of the foregoing bark, was introduced to notice 
 in 1839, in an article written by Dr. St. Ange, and published in the 
 Paris Medical Gazette} The extract appeared in the form of brown, 
 brittle cakes, of about one pound each, insoluble in ether, partly soluble 
 in alcohol, but more so in water; forming, with the latter menstruum, a 
 frothy soap-sud like solution. (Monesin is perhaps identical with 
 saponin, hence the froth.) Monesia extract is said to be found, at the 
 present time, in Brazil, much more pure than formerly, and in the shape 
 of yellowish-white plates. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Monesia appears to possess slightly stimulating 
 and astringent properties. In doses of from two to ten grains, re- 
 peated two or three times a day, it acts as a gentle excitant of the 
 stomach, improving the appetite and the digestive functions. In larger 
 closes, it causes a burning sensation in the epigastric region, gastric 
 uneasiness, and costiveness. It has been found advantageous in certain 
 atonic forms of dyspepsia, as a stimulant and tonic; likewise as. a 
 tonic and astringent, in diarrhea, and hemorrhages, as from the lungs, 
 stomach, and kid^neys. In hemorrhoids, and in profuse menstruation. 
 In chronic bronchitis, attended with considerable expectoration, and in 
 the catarrhal affections and winter cough of persons in advanced' years, 
 it has proved useful. As an alterative, it has been advised in scrofulous 
 and scorbutic affections, though it is somewhat doubtful as to its good 
 effects in these cases, although it is stated to have been effectual in the 
 purpura of scurvy. As a local application, in the forto of powder 
 sprinkled upon the parts, in aqueous solution, tincture, or ointment, it 
 has proven valuable in obstinate, indolent ulcers, in anal and buccal 
 fissure, in scorbutic or other unhealthy condition of the gums, in vaginal 
 leucorrhea, and in nasal hemorrhage ; it may be applied on lint, as a 
 wash, by injection, or by spray. 
 
 The dose of monesia is from two to ten or fifteen grains ; of monesin, 
 from one-fourth to one-half of a grain. These may be given in pill or 
 powder, and in some syrup or other convenient vehicle. The tincture 
 may be made of any desirable strength, from one to four ounces of 
 monesia extract to a pint of alcohol. The ointment may be made by 
 triturating one drachm of the extract with seven drachms of cerate, or 
 purified lard. — K. 
 
 ^Briiish Pharm. Jmrn., Vols, iii and iv. 
 
116 Materia Medica. 
 
 NARCISSUS. 
 Nat. Ord. — Amaryllidaceae. 
 The bulb of Narcissus pseudo-narcissus, Linn. 
 Common Name. — Daffodil. 
 
 Description. — This is a perennial bulbous plant, native of the central 
 and northern parts of Europe, and a common plant in moist woods in 
 England. It is often cultivated in this country, especially the form 
 with double flowers, and is among the first of spring flowers. The 
 bulb is globular, white internally, and has a blackish coat. The leaves 
 are all radical, linear, and about a foot long. The scape, which is a 
 little longer than the leaves, is erect, and bears a large, terminal, nearly 
 nodding flower of a yellow color. The /hotter is inclosed in bud in a 
 membranous spathe, which splits lengthwise when the flower expands, 
 and remains persistent at its base. The perianth has a funnel-form tube 
 and six acute segments, about an inch long ; near the mouth of the tube 
 is borne a large bell-shape cup, about the length of the perianth seg- 
 ments, and with a crisped, six-lobed margin. The stamens are six, at- 
 tached to the perianth tube, and included in the flower. The pistil con- 
 sists of a three-celled, inferior ovary, a slender style, and a three-lobed 
 stigma. The seeds are numerous. 
 
 Narcissus poeticus {Linn.) is an allied species, native, of Central 
 Europe, and naturalized in many places in England; it is one of the 
 most common of spring flowers in cultivation in this country. The 
 ovate bulb has a brown skin, and possesses medical properties similar 
 to the bulbs of N. pseudo -narcissus. The perianth-segments are spread- 
 ing, and of a pui-e white color. The cup is very short, and has a 
 crenate, crimson margin. There have been no satisfactory chemical ex- 
 aminations made of these plants, though M. Jourdan has described a 
 white, deliquescent active principle, possessing emetic properties, which 
 he named "narcitine;" and M. Caventou obtained from the flowers an 
 odorous, 3'ellow coloring matter which he termed "narcissine." — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The flowers and bulbs of this plant are the parts 
 that have been employed, and the recent, wild plant, appears to possess 
 more active properties than the cultivated. Internallj% in large doses, 
 it is an active and even dangerous article, occasioning severe emeto- 
 catharsis and gastro-intestinal inflammation ; and its local application 
 to the surface of ulcers and wounds is stated to occasion similar results, 
 and, in addition thereto, serious depressing effects upon the nerve cen- 
 ters. As a medicine, it is rarely employed in this country, but is said 
 to possess emetic, cathartic, antispasmodic, and narcotic properties. It 
 has been used in epilepsy, in hysteria, and other spasmodic affeetfons. 
 Laennec employed it with success in pertussis, and other European 
 practitioners have accorded to it an efficacious action in intermittent 
 fever, diarrhea, dysentery, worms, etc.; it has likewise been found of 
 prompt benefit in severe catarrh. The dried flowers or bulbs, in pow- 
 der, have been administered in dSses of from ten to sixty grains, and 
 of the bulbs even to two drachms; the aqueous extract provokes vomit- 
 ing in the dose of from one to three grains. A syrup, an ethereal oil, 
 and an acetous tincture have also been employed. — K. 
 
Nitrobenzene. 117 
 
 NITROBENZENE. 
 
 NiTROBENZOL. 
 
 Formula, CjHjNOj ; molecular weight, 122.75. 
 
 Preparation. — This article is prepared (impure), in q'aantities for the 
 purpose of manufacturing aniline colors, by acting upon benzene with a 
 mixture of nitric and sulphuric acids; or, by decomposing nitrate of 
 sodium in contact with benzene, by means of sulphuric acid (^Perkins). 
 In .the former case, the sulphuric acid seems to concentrate the nitric 
 acid, by abstracting water from it; and, in the latter case, it liberates 
 nitric acid from its combination with sodium. It was discovered by 
 Mitscherlich, and was originally made by slowly adding benzene to 
 warm, fuming nitric acid. An oily liquid separates on cooling, which 
 is washed with water, and then distilled from chloride of calcium. 
 
 History. — Nitrobenzene is a yellowish, oily liquid, having the odor of 
 bitter almond oil, and a sweet taste. Its specific gravity is 1.1866 at 
 14°.4 0. (59° F.) {Kopp); 1.20 at 0° C. (32° F.). It boils at 213° C. 
 (415°.4 F.) {Mitscherlich) ; 219° to 220° C. (426°.2 F. to 428° F.) {Kopp) ; 
 is insoluble in water, but dissolves in all proportions in ether and alco^- 
 hoi. It forms acicular crystals at 3° C. (37°.4 F.) ; dissolves in fuming 
 nitric acid and in concentrated sulphuric acid, and, upon heating, it is 
 then converted into dinitrobemene C6H4(N02)2. 
 
 Nitrobenzene is used in the arts for preparing aniline, and by soap 
 manufacturers for scenting soap, under the name, oil or essence of mirtane. 
 It is also called artificial oil of hitter almonds, and has been used to adulter- 
 ate the genuine bitter almond oil. Professor J. M. Maisch has proposed, 
 the following method for detecting the presence of nitrobenzol in oil of 
 bitter almonds : Dissolve one part of the suspected oil in two or three 
 parts of alcohol, then add half a part of pure fused caustic potassa, and 
 heat gently to dissolve the potassa, and evaporate the mixture to about 
 one-third its original bulk. Set this aside, and when cool, if the oil ofi 
 bitter almonds be not adulterated with this agent, it will remain fluid ; 
 but if nitrobenzol be present, a greater or lesser amount of crystalline 
 deposit will be observed, according to the degree of adulteration. 
 Am. Journ. Pharm., November, 1857. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Nitrobenzol is a very poisonous agent, causing 
 death in very small doses ;' and, whether its toxical effects be due to 
 internal or external employment, — occasioning vertigo, nervous and 
 muscular prostration, spasms, convulsions, dilatation of the pupils, 
 dyspnoea, irregular action of the heart, and eventually death; con- 
 sciousness being retained the most of the time. These symptoms vary 
 in severity and in rapidity of appearance, according to the amount of the 
 dose employed, and are supposed to be owing to the conversion of the 
 nitrobenzol in the system into aniline. The pathological conditions after 
 death are, congestion of the lungs, heart, and brain, and a dark, tarry 
 appearance of the venous blood. It should never be employed in thera- 
 peutics, thongli it has been advised as a local remedy in the treatment 
 of itch and parasitic cutaneous maladies; but even in these affections 
 dangerous .symptoms have followed its employment. The best means 
 to employ in cases of poisoning by this agent, are stimulants internally, 
 as carbonate of ammonia, etc , and externally, electro-magnetism, fric- 
 tions, and baths as hot as can be used without impairing the integrity 
 
 ^Lethehj, Land. Pharm. Journ., Sept., 1863. 
 
118 Materia Medica. 
 
 of the skin, together with the application, at the same time, of cold 
 douches to the head and along the vertebral column. — K. 
 
 PANCEEATINUM. 
 
 Pancrbatin. 
 
 History. — The pancreas {all flesK) is a long, flat, conglomerate gland, 
 analogous in its structure to the salivary glands, and which is situated 
 transversely across the posterior wall of the abdomen, behind the 
 epigastric and the two hypochondriac regions. In animals it is called 
 the sweet-bread. It secretes a fluid termed the pancreatic juice, which is 
 injected into the duodenum, and there mixing with the bile from the 
 liver, and the chyme from the stomach, it helps to convert the latter 
 pulpy substance into chyle. The pancreatic juice is a colorless, strongly 
 alkaline liquid (specific gravity 1.008 or 1.009), of which the soluble con- 
 stituents are from 1| to 2^ per cent, of several albuminous matters re- 
 sembling ptj-alin in action. It has the power to emulsify fats (some be- 
 lieve also to convert them into glycerin and fatty acids), to convert 
 Btarchy matters into dextrin and glucose, and to dissolve albumen and 
 fibrin. 
 
 Preparation. — Pancreatin is the name given to the purified dried juice 
 of the pancreas, or to the precipitated albuminoids of this juice. Pro- 
 fessor B. Scheffer recommends, in order to obtain pancreatin, that the 
 recent beef pancreas be chopped very finely, and be digested for twenty- 
 four hours in water acidulated with muriatic acid; this is then strained 
 and the fluid filtered. To the filtered fluid, carbonate of lime is added 
 to neutralization, when it is again filtered, and then mixed with an ex- 
 cess of alcohol; the resulting precipitate is carefully dried. 
 
 Mr. E. V. Mattison proposes a process similar to that of Professor 
 Seheffer for obtaining pepsin, viz.: Precipitate the acidulated solution 
 of the pancreatic juice with a saturated solution ot sodium chloride; 
 skim this, and press the precipitate, mixing the magma with milk sugar 
 in such proportion that ten grains of the mixture shall emulsify one 
 hundred and twenty grains of cod-liver oil. For this preparation he 
 suggests the name saccharated pancreatin. The process emploj-ed by 
 the Paris Pharmaceutical Societj- is, to bruise the pancreas, digest it in 
 water containing a little chloroform (to prevent decomposition), press 
 and filter the liquid, and then evaporate it in a current of cool air. 
 This is, in reality, the dried pancreatic juice. 
 
 Pancreatin possesses the power of emulsifying a very large amount 
 of fat or oil. When dried, it has a yellowish color, is brittle, odorless, 
 and almost transparent, forming a neutral, yellowish solution in cold 
 water; if it has the odor of animal matter it should -be discarded. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses — Pancreatin has been recommended in atonic 
 dyspepsia, due either to impaired secretion or defective composition of 
 the juices secreted ; in acid dyspepsia, the result of the abnormal trans- 
 formation of the food in the stomach, from morbid condition of the gas- 
 tric juice; in flatulent dyspepsia; and in the dyspepsia of children who 
 are fed chiefly upon milk and amylaceous diet, and who often suffer 
 therefrom, with emaciation and diarrhea. As natui-e has furnished the 
 pancreatic juice to effect the conversion of chyme into chyle, in 
 the duodenum, and probably with the aid of the presence of bile; 
 and as the pancreatin must certainly undergo some change from 
 the action of the juices of the stomach previous to its entrance in the 
 
Pemhorum. 119 
 
 , duodenum, it is somewhat puzzling to clearly understand the utility of 
 pancreatin in the stomach, at least until the food has been wholly con- 
 verted into chyme ; besides, when digestion is sluggish or becomes 
 difficult, this is not entirely owing to the deficiency of the gastric, pan- 
 creatic, or intestinal juices, but generally to a more radical change in 
 the secretion and composition of these juices, dependent upon an abnor- 
 mal condition of the organs secreting them. However, pancreatin is 
 an inoffensive agent, and may be conveniently tested in the cases in 
 which it has been advised ; and if, after ten or twelve days, no benefit 
 is derived from it, its use should be suspended. Its dose is three or 
 four grains, about an hour after meals. It may be made into pills of 
 three grains each, with a sufficient amount of honey; or one drachm of 
 it may be mixed with fifteen grains of phosphate of lime, and the mix- 
 ture be divided into ten doses. — K. 
 
 PBNTHOEUM. 
 Nat. Ord. — Crassulacese. 
 
 The whole herb of Penthorum sedoides; JJinn. 
 CommSn Name. — Virginia Stone-crop. 
 
 Description. — This is an erect perennial herb, about a foot high, found 
 growing in creeks and wet situations throughout the United States and 
 Canada. The stem is smooth, round at the base, but angular above, and 
 often branched. It has numerous scattered, thin leaves, from two to 
 three inches long, about one-third as wide, and attached to the stem at 
 an acute angle. They are lanceolate, smooth, finely and sharply ser- 
 rate, tapering regularly to an acute apex, and at the base to a very 
 short leaf-stalk. The }?oiyers are small, inconspicuous, and arranged in 
 terminal naked cymes, consisting of from two to four slender, simple, 
 one-sided branches, which unroll as the flowers expand. The flowers 
 are supported on short peduncles about an eighth of an inch long, and 
 consist, each, of a five-parted calyx, ten stamens, and five pistils, which 
 are united at the base. The petals are generally wanting. The fruit 
 consists of five dry, one-celled capsules, beaked with the persistent 
 stylo, and united at the base. They open, when ripe, at the summit, 
 and are filled with numerous minute seeds. The genus Penthorum, 
 which differs from its allies of the Crassulacese in not having fleshy 
 stems, consists of only two species, — the one described above, indigenous 
 to North America, the other found only in China. 
 
 Sistory. — Penthorum sedoides was mentioned by some of the older 
 authorities, but its recent introduction into medicine may be ascribed to 
 Dr. F. H. Briggs.^ The fresh herb has an astringent, slightly acid 
 taste, and, when bruised, an herb-like odor. The properties of the 
 fresh plant are best extracted by alcohol, and seem chiefly to depend 
 upon a form of tannin which, in alcoholic solution with ferrous sul- 
 phate, first turns blue and then precipitates black. With ferric sul- 
 jihate, it forms a deep-green solution. Neither the tincture, nor the 
 tincture freed from tannin, show the slightest indication of an alkaloid 
 wiili the ordinary reagents. When the herb is distilled with water, 
 the distillate is free from volatile oil. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Dr. Briggs states that "the older authorities 
 
 ^E. M. Journal, 1875, p. 479. 
 
120 Materia Medica. 
 
 gave this agent as a demulcent and laxative, and it does not seem to 
 exert the astringent action common to agents containing tannic acid. 
 The impression upon the mouth is that of an astringent; but on exam- 
 ining the mucous membrane, it does not seem corrugated, but very 
 fresh and rosy, and it would undoubtedly prove a valuable tooth and 
 mouth wash." The fluid extract has been employed successfully in the 
 treatment of cholera infantum, diai-rhea, and hemoirhoids. Prof. J. M. 
 Scudder observes that mucous membranes, especially when they have 
 suifered from inflammatory action, are peculiarly influenced by this 
 agent, which gradually removes irritation, promotes normal functional 
 activity, and restores the tissues to their normal condition. He has 
 found it not only an excellent remedy in diarrhea, but likewise in chronic 
 nasal catarrh, in chronic pharyngitis, in chronic bronchitis with in- 
 creased secretion, and in chronic vaginitis with or without leucorrheal 
 discharge. He employs it internally, and locally, when this can be 
 effected, in spray ; also as a topical application to chronic ulcers. The 
 dose of the fluid extract is from ten to sixty minims, repeated every 
 three or four hours ; of the ^ecific tincture, two or three minims, in a 
 teaspoonful of water. — K. 
 
 PEPSIN. 
 
 Pepsin. 
 A constituent of gastric juice. 
 
 History. — Pepsin is related to the proteids, and is found in the gastric 
 juice. It was supposed to be a protein body, until Mulder obtained 
 digestive fluids free from proteic reactions. It possesses the power, dn 
 connection with hydrochloric and some other acids, of dissolving co- 
 agulated albumen and muscular fiber, converting them into what is 
 known as peptones. The name pepsin was first used about ,1836, by 
 Schwann, who obtained the " digestive principle " by macerating 
 cleaned stomachs in acid-water, precipitating the liquid with mercuric 
 chloride, and separating the mercury with sulphide of hydrogen. Com- 
 mercial pepsin was first prepared by drying the glandular layer of the 
 stomach of the pig or calf, at low temperatures, and powdering the 
 product. Boudault's process (Squire) is to open the rennet-bags of 
 sheep, wash them in a gentle stream of water, then scrape the mucous 
 membrane with a, knife, digest the scrapings or pulp twelve hours in 
 cold distilled water; filter, add to the filtrate solution of acetate of lead in 
 slight excess, collect the precipitate, decompose with sulphide of hy- 
 drogen ; again filter, and wash the precipitate slightly with distilled 
 water; evaporate the filtrate, at a temperature below 100° F., to the 
 consistence of a syrup, and add starch, in such proportion, that one part 
 of the mixture will dissolve four parts of fibrin. In 1862, Mr. Burk 
 suggested the use of lime-water as a precipitant. 
 
 Prep(9*tion.— In 1872,' Prof. E. Scheffor announced the formula for 
 making saccharated pepsin now generally used by manufacturers, a 
 process that is easy and practical. We can not too highly commend the 
 principle which induced Mr. Scheff'er to make public that which cer- 
 tainly was valuable private property, and we feel that pharmacists 
 and the medical profession generally acknowledge their indebtedness for 
 the act. 
 
 ^Amerieam. Journal of Pharmacy, 1872, p. 49. 
 
Pepsin. 121 
 
 Saccharated Pepsin. (Scheffer's process)— Dissect the mucous mem- 
 brane from well-cleaned hogs' stomachs, chop it fine, and macerate it 
 for several daj's, in water acidulated with hydrochloric acid ; strain the 
 resulting liquid, and mix it with its bulk of saturated solution of 
 chloride of sodium. The pepsin now separates, will rise to the surface, 
 and must be skimmed off, drained upon a muslin strainer, and submitted 
 to strong pressure to rid it of salt; then, while still moist, it is to be 
 mixed with milk-sugar, in such proportion that ten grains dissolved in 
 one fluidounce of water acidulated with hj'drochloric acid, will dissolve 
 one hundred and twenty grains of coagulated albumen, at about 38° C. 
 (100° F.), in from four to six hours. 
 
 Chemical Properties. — Pepsin is only active in an acid solution, more 
 so with hydrochloric acid than lactic or other, acids ; from 0.08 to 0.20 
 per cent, of the former acid being more suitable. Neutralization sus- 
 pends the action of pepsin ; alkalies and alcohol injure it; boiling de- 
 stroys it. Precipitated dry pepsin, exhibited by Mr. Scheffer, resem- 
 bles parchment paper, or, as he states, "sole leather," the color ranging 
 from light-straw to brown. The colored article contains a small pro- 
 portion of calcium phosphate, and sodium chloride, which do not inter- 
 fere, in the least, with its digestive powers; but,_on the contrary, are 
 beneficial, as pure pepsin, reprecipitated by means of alcohol, failed to 
 dissolve as much albumen, in Mr. Scheffer's hands, as the crude or 
 colored article. 
 
 Pepsin, after having been dried, swells in water, dissolves slowly, but 
 in small proportion. When freshly precipitated, it is very soluble. 
 Solution of pepsin is almost neutral, yields a transparent gelatinous 
 precipitate with alcohol, and coagulates on boiling. Bichloride of mer- 
 cury and nitrate of lead give white precipitates with it. Aqueous solu- 
 tion of pepsin will scarcely dissolve coagulated albumen, but the addi- 
 tion of a few drops of hydrochloric acid renders it at once an active 
 solvent; the cause of its action is not understood. Pepsin is not 
 destroyed by the process of digestion. After it luis ceased to act, the 
 addition of .-mother supply of acid apparently regenerates it, and ren- 
 ders it capable of again performing the part of a digestive agent; and, 
 according to Mr. Scheffer's experiments, the alternate addition of hydro- 
 chloric acid and coagulated albumen, resulted in a complete solution of 
 fifteen hiindred grains of the latter substance by means of one-half 
 grain of' purified pepsin, slightly acidulated. Pepsin curdles eighty 
 thousand parts of milk. 
 
 Pepsin is officinal in the British Pharmacopoeia, the process -being to 
 simply scrape the washed mucous lining of the fresh stomach of a sheep, 
 calf or pig, with a blunt instrument, place the pulp in a thin layer on 
 glass, and dry at a temperature not to exceed 100° P. This, of course, 
 contains animal matter. Pepsin should be odorless, or nearly so. If it 
 gives a disagreeable odor, the specimen should be rejected. 
 
 Liquid Pepsin (_Scheffer) — "Take of Saccharated Pepsin sixty-four 
 grains, water five fluidounces, muriatic acid one fluidrachm; after solu- 
 tion, add glycerin three fluidounces, then mix and filter. One fluid- 
 ounce dissolves ninety grains of coagulated albumen." — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Previous to the introduction of pepsin, it was 
 a common course among several nations, and in domestic practice, to 
 collect the gizzards of chickens, ducks, turkeys, pigeons, and other birds, 
 remove their inner mucous membranes, dry them, and then reduce 
 them to powder; and this powder, now called ingluvin, either alone, or 
 in combination with other substances, was administered in derange- 
 
122 Materia Medica. 
 
 merits of the digestive organs. Pepsin, properly prepared, answers a 
 much better purpose, but to be of efficacy, it must not be united with 
 starch, bismuth, wine, alcohol, or other substances that impair or de- 
 stroy its peculiar properties. The articles with which it may be com- 
 bined without injury are, in the form of powder, sugar of milk, or 
 silica, and in fluid form, glycerin, or acidulated water and glycerin, 
 which will preserve it for a considerable period. Pepsin, while aiding 
 or correcting digestion, exerts no influence upon the various lesions 
 upon which the impaired digestive process depends; though it may, in 
 certain cases, afford such relief to this process as to permit the natural 
 recuperative energies of the system to effect recovery. It frequently 
 affords relief in various forms of indigestion, or of dyspepsia. Infants 
 of delicate constitution, suffering frum gastric derangements either pre- 
 vious to or during the period of dentition, as manifested by tumid 
 abdomen, emaciation, diarrhea, and often a tendency to vomit, will de- 
 rive much benefit from its use, during the administration of which 
 these symptoms will disappear, and the sufferings from dentition will 
 be greatly mitigated. Among those infants raised artifically, upon 
 cow's milk, and with whom this fluid does not readily digest, pepsin has 
 likewise been recommended ; it may be serviceable in some instances of 
 this kind, though it appears to me that liquid rennet would answer a 
 much better purpose. 
 
 In eases of sick headache due to gastric acidity, large doses of pepsin,, 
 taken shortly after meals, will tend greatly to postpone or prevent the 
 cephalalgic attack. It will also be of value in the feeble or tardy di- 
 gestion attending convalescence from exhausting febrile or inflammatory 
 maladies, and that present during long-standing chronic diseases. Ac- 
 cording to M. Liebreich, pepsin is contra-indicated in carcinoma, and 
 ulceration of the stomach, in which its administration would tend to 
 hasten the process of thinning the diseased portion of the gastric walls. 
 M. Castro (1868) has successfully used hypodermic injections of an acid 
 solution of pepsin for the removal or diminution of tumors, passing the 
 injection directly into their substance. Pepsin, to be of service, must be 
 pure and reliable, and the more recent its preparation the more satis- 
 factory will be its effects. The dose of saecharated pepsin is from ten 
 to sixty grains, taken shortly after each meal ; it may be taken 'alone 
 in the mouth, and then washed down with a draught of water, or it 
 maybe mixed in equal parts of water and pure glycerin; 'of pure 
 pepsin, from two to ten grains; of liquid pepsin, from two fluidrachms 
 to two fluidounces. — K. 
 
 PILOCARPUS PBNJSrATIFOLIUS. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eutacese. Tribe. — Xanthoxylese. 
 
 The mature leaflets of Pilocarpus pennatifolius, Lemaire. (^Syn. — P. 
 pinnatus, Martius.) 
 
 Common Name. — Jaborandi. 
 
 Illustrations. — B. and T. Med. Plants, No. 48; Pharm. Journ. and 
 Trans., 1875, p. 582 ; our Fig. 6. 
 
 Description. — Jaborandi was first introduced to the medical world by 
 Dr. S. Continho, of Pernambuco, in 1874. The leaves were examined 
 by Prof Baillon, and the plant referred to the Pilocarpus pennatifolius 
 of Lemaire, which is a Brazilian shrub, described by Engler as having 
 
PiLOCARpns Pennatifolius. 
 
 123 
 
 pilose leaves. The leaves of the commercial Jaborandi are perfectly 
 smooth, and E. M. Holmes, who investigated tlie subject in 1875, and 
 figured the leaves and fruit in the Pharmaceutical Journal and Trans- 
 actions, found them to correspond with the description of Pilocarpus 
 Selloanus (Engl), as mentioned in the Flora Braziliensis, excepting that 
 the pedicels ai-e not so slender. The Jaborandi shrub is a native of 
 Brazil, and grows to the height of from four to six feet. The genus is 
 represented by about a dozen described species, natives of South America 
 and the West Indies. The flowers are small, and disposed in terminal, 
 slender, spicate racemes. The petals, sepals, and stamens are five, and 
 the ovary has five carpels, partially 
 inclosed in a fleshy disk. The fruit 
 consists of five (or, generally by abor- 
 tion, of two or three) two-valved car- 
 pels, each of which contains a single 
 hard black seed. The leaves are al- 
 ternate, exstipulate, with two or three 
 pairs of opposite leaflets, and an odd 
 one. The leaflets (see Mg. 6), as found 
 in commerce, are thick, leathery, en- 
 tire, and of a light-brown color. They 
 are oblong, slightly tapering at the 
 base, and refcuse at the apex. (The 
 engraving in Bent, and Trimen's Med. 
 Plants represents them as acute.) 
 The raid-rib is very prominent under- 
 neath, and extends to the notch in 
 the end. The veins are reticulate, 
 and confluent near the margin of the 
 leaf When, the leaflet is held be- 
 tween the eye and the light, numer- 
 ous, small, pellucid oil-glands can be 
 seen, scattered irregularly through- 
 out the leaflet. 
 
 History. — Commercial jaborandi is 
 usually mixed with leaf-stalk,s, twigs, 
 and bark. The leaflets are almost 
 odorless when entire ; at first have a 
 slightly aromatic taste, which is fol- 
 lowed by a persistent acridity, at- 
 tended with an increased fiow of 
 saliva. In 1875, Byasson found, in 
 the specimens sent bj' Dr. Continho, 
 a small quantity of volatile oil, and 
 an alkaloid, for which he suggested 
 the name jaborandin (Repertoire de 
 Pharmacie, March 25th, 1875). In 
 May (1875), Mr. A. W. Gerrard re- 
 ported iin alkaloid, and named it 
 pilocarpin. a name pi-eviously sug- 
 gested by E. M Holmes, in anticipa- 
 tion of an alkaloid from the plant. 
 Subsequent examinations gave Mr. 
 Gerrard uncrystallizable salts; also sulphate, hydrochlorate, and nitrate 
 of pilocarpin, in crystals. Since that time, several other crystallizable 
 
 Jaborandi leaflet. 
 Natural Size. 
 
124 Materia Medica. 
 
 salts of this alkaloid have beeii obtained, some being very deliquescent. 
 Hardy likewise succeeded in crystallizing tlie hydrochlorate. Both 
 Gerrard and Hardy report the existence of a second alkaloid, which 
 crystallizes (^Gerrard) from the mother solution, from which pilocarpin 
 has been separated, upon the addition of an excess of nitric acid, but 
 this requires confirmation. 
 
 Pilocarpin may be obtained by extracting the leaves with alcohol, 
 distilling, dissolving the residuum in water, filtering after twenty-four 
 hours, evaporating the filtrate to the consistence of syrup, adding 
 ammonia water in slight excess, agitating the mixture with chloroform, 
 and evaporating the chloroform. It may bo |)urificd by resolution in 
 chloroform. Pilocarpin is amorphous, of a yellowish or greenish color, 
 and of a thick gummj' conNistencc. Kingsett {Journ. Chem. Soc, Oct., 
 1876) reports that it is the only alkakud present in the leaf, and ascribes 
 to it the composition Cj,*H3^N40j. and to a platinum compound of it, 
 C23H5jN4042HCl,PtCl4. According to the same authority, when dis- 
 tilled with caustic potassa, it yields trimethylamin. The hydrochlorate 
 of pilocarpin js the form of the alkaloid generally used by physicians; 
 it occurs in colorless crystals. 
 
 Hardy's process for obtaining the hydrochlorate of pilocarpin is as 
 follows: Coarsely powder jaborandi leaves and make an infusion of 
 them ; strain, and evaporate to the consistence of an extract ; then treat 
 this with alcohol, and again evaporate. The product thus obtained, 
 and which contains the active principles of the jaborandi, in a Small 
 volume, is again taken up with water, and the resulting solution, after 
 being decolorized by acetate of lead, is treated with corrosive sublimate ; 
 a precipitate is obtained of the double chloride of mercury and of the 
 p,lkaloid soughtfor ; this precipitate is collected, thoroughly washed, then < 
 mixed with water and decomposed by sulphureted hydrogen, which 
 precipitates the mercuiy, and sets the alkaloid free, in the form of 
 hydl-ochlorate. Filter, evaporate by a gentle heat, when a^slightly col- 
 ored crystallized salt will be obtained, which is the hj-drochlorate of 
 pilocarpin. 
 
 Nitrate of pilocarpin was first made by Petit, and noticed by him in 
 Repertoire de Pharmacie, August, 1875. It is soluble in eight parts of 
 water, at 15° C. (59° F.), in Seven parts of boiling alcohol, and slightly 
 soluble in cold alcohol. The solution of this salt is precipitated by 
 chloride of gold, in fine needles, and by chloride of potassium in pris- 
 matic crystals. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses — Jaborandi acts upon the glandular system, in- 
 creasing the secretory action of the glands; however, its influence is 
 more especially exerted upon the sudoriparous and salivarj- glands. A 
 drachm or two of the powdered leaves and smaller branches infused in 
 a cupfuU of boiling water, and the whole taken at a draught, will, in- 
 about ten or twenty minutes afterward, occasion a tingling sensation 
 with redness of the cutaneous surface; this sensation is at first experi- 
 enced in the face, but soon extends over the whole surface, and is 
 quickly followed by an abundant perspiration, which is apt to continue 
 for four or five hours. Almost simultaneously with the sweating, the 
 secretion of saliva increases to such an extent as to greatly embarrass 
 speech, the party being often obliged to assume- an inclined position 
 that the escape of the saliva may be facilitated. During its salivary 
 action a pint or two of saliva, and even more, may be secreted, iind, not 
 linfrequently, there will be, in addition, an augmentation of the bron- 
 chial and lachrymal secretions. At times the mucous glands of the in-' 
 
Pilocarpus Pennatifolius. 125 
 
 lestines will be so influenced as to occasion a diarrhea, and it is not a 
 rare circumstance tlitit tlie submaxillary glands enlarge. After the ad- 
 ministration of jaboranJi, ])alients are often attacked with nausea, 
 vomiting, vertigo, hiccough, heaviness of the head, and contraction of 
 the pupils. According to S. Ringer and A. Gould, the temperature of 
 the body becomes greatly lessened during the sweating, falling to 1°.4 
 F.; on the other hand, Green, Rabuteau, Gubler, Robin, Ambrosoli, and 
 Riegel, state that it becomes considerably elevated.- As the rule, at the 
 termination of the diaphoresis, the temperature becomes the same as it 
 was at time the jaborandi was administered; in a few cases, it has 
 been slightly lower, but returned to the normal degree in the course of 
 from twelve to twenty-four hours. From the commencement of the 
 perspiration, the face becomes pale, the pulse fuller and more frequent; 
 the pulsations of the heart become irregular, and, with persons laboring 
 under some cardiac affection, a kind of asystolia is observed. The 
 effects of this agent have been found to occur more readily with adults 
 than with children. In the exhibition of this article as a diaphoretic, 
 the use of warm drinks, and other aids toward facilitating the sweating, 
 are not required. 
 
 During the sudorific action of jaborandi, the quantity of urine is 
 lessoned, to a greater or lesser extent, and micturition frequently proves 
 painful. As urea exists to a large extent in the saliva and sweat caused 
 bj' jaborandi (no uric acid being found), a diminution of it occurs in 
 the urine voided : but, after the sweating, it gradually returns to its 
 normal figure, in the urine, and from this jt would appear that the drug 
 does not increase the combustions of the economy. Experiments with 
 the sphygmograph, made at various periods during the action of the 
 drug, have shown an almost complete asystolia with a very considerable 
 diminution of vascular tension. M. Robin is ledtobelieve that jaborandi 
 has an especial action uj)on the vaso-motors, which it paralyzes; from 
 whei'ce results the. cardiac asystolia and the copious secretions of sweat 
 and saliva. M. Gubler, while admitting this paralyzing action upon 
 the vaso-motors, maintains that it has, in addition, a special irritating 
 influence upon the sudoriferous and salivary glands, and upon the renal 
 glomerules, which stimulates their functional activit}'. Dryness of the 
 moutli and throat, with a sense of fatigue and depression, most usually 
 follow the cessation of its active effects. Administered in divided doses, 
 jaborandi, instead of acting as a diaphoretic and sialagogue, becomes 
 an active diuretic. When given in cases where there is a diminished 
 secretion of milk, contrary to what might be anticipated, it increases the 
 quantity of this mammary secretion. Martindale dissolved extract of 
 jaborandi in glycerin, and applied it around the eye ; a marked contrac- 
 tion of the pupil ensued. A similar result, with impaired vision, is apt 
 to follow its internal admin isti-ati on, but which disappears on the cessa- 
 tion of the medicine. Pilocarpin is evidently the active principle of 
 jaborandi, having an action nearly identical; however, it causes less 
 salivation, less vomiting, and is more certain in its effects, — the hydro- 
 chlorate, and the nitrate of this alkaloid, are used ; they may be em- 
 ployed internally, or by subcutaneous injections. 
 
 Therapeutically, jaborandi has been found of value in the removal of 
 serous eff'usions, as in hydrothorax, anasarca, ascites, chronic pleurisy, 
 etc., whether these be due to maladies of the heart, liver, kidneys, to 
 chronic inflammatory conditions, to albuminaria, or exist as a sequence 
 of exanthematous affections, etc. While in certain of these effusions it 
 acts as a curative agent, in others it will prove useful as affording tern- 
 
126 Materia Medica. 
 
 porary relief, from time to time, until otlier indicated remedial agents 
 have been enabled to overcome or to modify the abnormal conditions 
 giving rise to such effusions. In cardiac diseases, from its tendency to 
 diminish the contractility of the heart and arteries, and to favor their 
 dilatation (diastole), thus conducing to dyspnoea and even to asphyxia, 
 if used at all, great care and prudence should be observed. In those 
 maladies, in which its employment from time, ..to time is followed by 
 persistent debility, it is contra-indicated. 
 
 Jaborandi has been used with more or less success in the following 
 maliidies: Asthma, bronchitis (with or without emphysema), albuminous 
 diabetes, dropsies, in cases of poisoning, and diseases due to miasms or 
 morbid poisons (puerperal septicemia?), eruptive fevers impeded in their 
 evolution, etc. (Gublef); in metastatic orchitis (Czernicki); in polyuria 
 (^Laycock); in chronic rheumatism, syphilitic rheunnatiBm. and in acute 
 articular rheumatism, but in which the endocarditis was aggravated 
 {FereoV) — this author has also observed an attack of gout, and an in- 
 crease of the intensity of hemicrania, in cases where it was adminis- 
 tered; in the albuminaria of pregnancy its use was followed with 
 hematuria {Langlef) ; in acute albuminous nephritis (Bloch) — this author 
 likewise states that jaborandi will be found eflScacious in chronic par- 
 enchymatous nephritis, especially when the renal lesions are not of 
 long standing; that the existence of uremic phenomena is not an ab- 
 solute contra-indication of the drug; that it is seldom of service in 
 intprstitial nephritis ; and that it should be employed with the greatest 
 caution when cardiac lesions are present. Petithau advises its employ- 
 ment in all subacute or chronic catarrhal or rheumatic affections ; in 
 dropsies, when there is no morbid change of the kidneys, and anemia is 
 but slight; in pernicious intermittent fevers ; in psoriasis and other dry 
 forms of cutaneous maladies; in chronic syphilitic affections, etc. The 
 effects of this drug in the diseases named have been denied by many 
 writers, and fui'ther experiments are necessarj' before medical men can 
 venture to confidently rely upon it, except as a diaphoretic and siala- 
 gogue. 
 
 Its alkaloid has been used in the form of hydrochlorate, and iiitrate 
 of pilocarpin, and which have been employed in the same diseases as 
 the infusion of the leaves. The effects of the alkaloid are said to be 
 more certain than when the leaves ai'e used, and the tendency to nausea 
 and vomiting is greatly diminished. Beranger considers the hydro- 
 chlorate of pilocarpin of great value, therapeutically, in certain eye 
 diseases; he uses it in instillations, and in subcutaneous injections, two 
 very distinct effects being obtained, according to the method employed. 
 By injections, profuse discharges follow, accompanied with a diminution 
 of ocular tension, and a more rapid renovation of the media of the eye; 
 this form of use he considers indicated in acute and chronic glaucoma, 
 iritis, floating bodies in the vitreous substance, certain opacities of the 
 cornea, and in poisonings. Sometimes complete recovery will ensue; at 
 1)1 hers, great relief follows. His solution was made by dissolving three 
 grains of the hydrochlorate of pilocarpin in seventy-five minims of 
 cherry-laurel water, of which solution from ten to fifteen drops were 
 injected at a time. By instillations, he employs it as a powerful myotic 
 in mydriasis, and prefers it to eserino, as it is accompanied with no ir- 
 ritation. He likewise prefers it, in instillation, to eserine, in disturb- 
 ances of vision associated with secondary paralysis and characterized 
 by asthenopia, with feebleness of the intrinsic muscles of the eye, and 
 also in certain cases of presbyopia which is hot constant but returns at 
 
Pilocarpus Pennatipolium. 127 
 
 different periods. Dr. Landesberg, of Piiiladeiphia, lias found both the 
 fluid extract of jaborandi, internally, and the hydrochlorateof pilocarpin, 
 by subcutaneous injection, more effective and reliable than any other 
 known remedy, in intraocular hemorrhages, and in opacities of the 
 vitreous and aqueous fluids; but he prefers eserine to pilocarpin as a 
 myotic, on account of the increased action of the lachrymal and salivary 
 glands, occasioned by the latter, when absorbed. Gillet de Grandmont, 
 of France, lias used the nitrate of pilocarpin, by subcutaneous injec^ 
 tion, in the forearm, of from one-seventh to one-half of a grain, in 
 solution ; and has found surprisingly good results to follow in speciflc or 
 rheumatic iritis, either simple, or complicated with alterations of the 
 cornea, in the keratitis of Hutchinson, in dimness and hemorrhage 
 of the vitreous body, in glaucoma, in atrophy of the choroid, in hem- 
 orrhages and plastic exudations of the retina, and in commencing 
 atrophy of the optic nerve. In all the above-named maladies, the agent 
 produced its usual results, as sweating, increase of the cardiac pulsa- 
 tions, etc. 
 
 M. Armaingaud considers this agent as one that will eventually be of 
 great benefit in therapeutics ; at pi-esent, he deems it the remedy of the 
 future, the proper action of which is not yet fullj' known. He cites, 
 among his patients, one case in which a tumor of the ej'e was, prev^ious 
 to his attendance, treated with subcutanous injections of pilocarpin by 
 an eminent oculist in Paris, and which produced so much weakness and 
 emaciation as to require a treatment of more than two montiis to effect 
 a recovery, the tumor all the time remaining intact. And he especially 
 cautions against the abuse of this remedy, which, though powerful and 
 efScacious in many cases, may, with certain patients, occasion serious 
 and even fatal effects. M. Badal concurs in these views. 
 
 The dose of jaborandi in infusion, forty-five grains to two fluidounces 
 of water, is one fluidounce, which may, if necessary, be repeated every 
 ten or fifteen minutes; of the fluid extract, from ten drops to a drachm 
 and a half; of pilocarpin, or its salts, internally, from one-fourth of a 
 grain to three-fourths of a grain; bj- subcutaneous injection, one-six- 
 teenth of a grain to one grain, in solution. In eases where the internal 
 exhibition of jaborandi by mouth, occasions nausea or vomiting, this 
 may be avoided in giving the dose, by rectal enema. 
 
 According to M. Habuteau, coffee is an antagonist of jaborandi ; wlien 
 given concurrently with it, it will prevent the nausea and vomiting, 
 and likewise appears to diminish the perspiration as well as the excre- 
 tion of the urea. The effects of jaborandi upon the human system are 
 also counteracted by subcutaneous injections of solution of atropia ; while 
 those of belladonna or atropia are overcome by subcutaneous injections 
 of pilocarpin.' But this antagonism does not invariably appear, as the 
 symptoms following the administration of one of these substances, are 
 not always counteracted by the employment of the other ; besides while 
 the dose of jaborandi or piiocarpin may always be readily determined, 
 that of belladonna, and especially of atropia, is so diflScult to regulate, 
 that extreme circumspection is required. — K. 
 
128 Materia Medica. 
 
 PIPER MBTHYSTICUM, Miq. 
 Nat. Ord. — Piperacese, 
 
 The root of Piper Methysticum, Forst. (Syn. — Macropiper Methys- 
 ticum.) 
 
 Common Names. — Ava, Kava-kava, Intoxicating long pepper, Ava 
 pepper shrub. 
 
 I)escripfion. — This is a shrub about six feet high, a native of, and 
 comnioii in cultivation in, the Pacific Islands. The leaves are alternate, 
 cordate, with a wavy, entire margin, and an abrupt, acute point. The 
 petiole is about an inch long, dilated at the base, and furnished with 
 , linear, erect stipules. The veins are prominent, about twelve, diverg- 
 ing from the base of the leaf-blade. The flowers are small, apetalous, 
 and arranged on slender spikes. Those bearing male flowers are axillary 
 and solitary. The females spikes are numerous. 
 
 History. — This shrub is known, in its native country, the South Sea 
 Islands, under the names, Kava, Ava, Anca, Ava-kava Kava-kava, etc., 
 and is the " Intoxicating Long Pepper," from which a disgusting drink 
 is prepared by the natives, and even by the whites, of these islands.' 
 This drink is invariably made by chewing the root of the plant to a 
 pulp, covering this with water, macerating a short time, and then strain- 
 ing it. The taste is said to resemble soap-suds and tannin.' The leaf 
 is used to chew with the betel-nut, and the dried root, under the name 
 pipula moola, forms an article of commerce in India. 
 
 The root is the part recommended for use in medicine. Of the lot 
 inspected by us, the main root seems to have grown horizontally beneath 
 the surface of the ground, sending up stalks at intervals of from two 
 to four inches. Each stalk is from half an inch to three inches in 
 diameter at the base, and is hollow. The cavity extends through the 
 main root, thus giving to a longitudinal section of the root the appear- 
 ance of several separate roots having grown together. Externally, the 
 main root is brown, and covered with a thin bark. From the sides and 
 lower part are secondary roots, about one-half or three -fourths of an 
 inch in diameter ; these appear to be arranged about the bases of the 
 stalks; in some cases they ai-e quite long, and commence to send out 
 rootlets at a distance of six inches from the main root. Internally, the 
 large root is covered with a net work of fibers beneath the bark. Coarse 
 medullary rays compose the body. The root breaks with a fibrous 
 fracture; it is frequently much worm-eaten internailj-, though, to an 
 external examination, apparently sound. After chewing a little of it, 
 it imparts a peculiar acrid, benumbing sensation to those, parts of the 
 mouth with which the pulp comes in contact; this property is possessed 
 in a much greater degree by the small rootlets. 
 
 From an analysis made by Gobley (1857), we learn that Piper methys- 
 ticum root contains an acrid, aromatic resin, gum, extractive matter, a 
 large proportion of starch, and other organic and mineral constituents 
 common to most plants, besides a peculiar crystalline body named 
 mMhystidn. This latter substance is colorless, odorless, neutral, and 
 tasteless ; fuses at 130° C. (266° P.), and decomposes at a higher tem- 
 perature; it is very soluble in hot alcohol and volatile oils, and only 
 
 'For descriptions of use by the natives of the various Pacific Islands, see Gentleman's 
 Magazine, Sept., 1879; Johnson's Ghmiistry of Common Life; and Dr. Seeman's letter* 
 from the Feejee Islands, in the AtHenaium, 1861. 
 
Piper Methysticum. 129 
 
 slightly so in the above menstruuras when they are cold, and scarcely, 
 if at all, soluble in water. It dissolves in hydrochloric acid, with a 
 yellow, in nitric with a red ; and in sulpburic acid, with a blood-red 
 color. M. Cuzent obtains methysticin or kavain by directly treating the 
 coarsely -powdered root of l^ava with alcohol, in a displacing apparatus, 
 filtering the yellow liquor obtained, concentrating it by distillation, and 
 then leaving it to crystallize. Separate the crystals formed, and place 
 lliem in a glass funnel, lightly tamponed with soft cotton ; wash them 
 with weak alcohol, and then re-disaolve in alcohol of 84° When tlie 
 solution is completed, add washed animal black to decolorize it, then 
 boil it for a few minutes, and filter the liquor, which, as it cools, allows 
 the kavain to be deposited in white crystalline tufts. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The root of Piper methysticum has a pleasantj 
 somewhat lilac odor, and a slightly pungent, bitter, and astringent taste, 
 and which augments the salivary discharge. It has been employed as 
 a pleasant remedy in bronchitis, rheumatism, gout, gonorrhea, and 
 gleet, and has also been recommended as a powerful sudorific. It ap- 
 pears to exert its influence more especially upon diseased mucous mem- 
 branes, and may be found useful in chronic catarrhal affections of 
 various organs, and in chronic inflammation of the neck of the bladder. 
 The action of the root varies, according to the amount taken ; in small 
 doses, it is tonic and stimulant; while in large doses it produces an in- 
 toxication, which, unlike that from alcohol, is of a reserved, drowsy 
 character, and attended with confused dreams. The natives who use 
 its infusion as an intoxicating beverage for a considerable length of 
 time, are said to become affected with a dry, scaly, cracked, and ulcer- 
 ated skin, and vision becomes more or less obscured. M. Dupouy, who 
 has given considerable attention to the therapeutical virtues of this 
 drug, arrives at the following conclusions: Given in drink, kava is a 
 sialagogue, but it is not sudorific. In medicinal doses, it acts upon the 
 stomach, similar to the bitter stimulants, increasing the appetite, with- 
 out occasioning diarrhea or constipation, and may prevent catarrhal 
 affections of this portion of the digestive tube. It exerts a special stimula- 
 tion upon the central nervous sj'stem, differing essentially from ethylic 
 intoxication ; and as its taste is agreeable, one soon becomes a proselyte 
 to it. It has a very powerful action upon aqueous diuresis, and may bet 
 classed among the most efficacious diuretics. It does not occasion pri- 
 apism ; but, on the contrary, antagonizes it. It is endowed with re- 
 markable and prompt blennostatic properties, augmenting the discharge 
 previous to effecting its cure. It is of undoubted efficacy in acute va- 
 ginitis or urethritis, allaying the inflammation, causing the pain during 
 micturition to disappear, when dysuria is present, and suppressing the 
 muco-purulent catarrh from the vesico-urethral mucous membrane. It 
 has, over other blennostatic agents, the marked advantages of being 
 pleasant to take, of augmenting the appetite, of occasioning neither 
 diarrhea nor constipation, of alleviating or entirely' subduing pain dur- 
 ing urination, of completely changing the character of the discharge, 
 and of effecting the cure in a very short time — ten or twelve days. 
 Ho can not too highly recommend its employment, especially in the 
 treatment of gonorrhea. The anti-catarrhal action is probably due to 
 the resin present, and the diuretic effects to the neutral crystallizable 
 principle, methysticin or kavain. There may likewise be present some 
 other active principle, not yet detected, to account for certain other in- 
 fluences following its employment. Sixty or seventy grains of the 
 scraped root, macerated for about five minutes in a quart of water, 
 100 
 
130 Materia Medica. 
 
 may be taken in the course of twenty-four hours, repeating this quan- 
 tity daily, as long as required. The dose of the fluid extract of the 
 root is from fifteen to ninety minims, in a glass of water, repeating the 
 dose every three or four hours. — K. 
 
 POLYMNIA. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Composite. Tribe. — Senecionideae. 
 
 The root of Polymnia TJvedalia, Linn. 
 
 Common Name. — Bearsfoot. 
 
 Description. — This is a large perennial plant, from three to six feet in 
 height, and found, in ravines, on the edges of woods, etc., in the Central 
 States, from Illinois to Florida. The stems are erect, stout, branched, 
 and covered with a rough, hoary pubescence. The leaves are large, 
 thin, opposite, deltoid in outline, and abruptly contracted at the base to 
 short dilated leaf-stalks. They are three-lobed, with acute, sinuate- 
 angled lobes, bright-green on both surfaces, and studded below with 
 numerous rough points. The flower-heads appear late in summer, and 
 are disposed in loose, corymbose clusters. The involucre is double ; the 
 outer consisting of about five ovate, obtuse, leaf-like scales, which are 
 cjliate on the margin; and the inner, of the smaller thin bracts of the 
 pistillate flowers. The flower-heads are radiate, and the receptacle 
 chaffy.. The ray flowers are about ten, in a single row, each being 
 nearly an inch in length ; they are oblong, of a bright-yellow color, and 
 equally three-toothed at the apex. The ray flowers are pistillate, and 
 alone fertile, as the disk -florets, although perfect, do not produce fruit. 
 The fruit is an obovoid, black achenium, slightly flattened, and ribbed 
 lengthwise. 
 
 Polymnia Canadensis is a smaller plant than the preceding, and is 
 found in similar localities The stems are clammy, pubescent, and have 
 long internodes. The lower leaves are pinnately-parted, the upper 
 ovate, five-lobed, abrupt at the base, sub-regularly sinuate-toothed, and 
 on slender, horizontal leaf-stalks. The flower-heads are smaller than 
 those of the P Uvedalia, and have acute involucral scales. The rays 
 are of a pale, sulphur-yellow color, and are not longer than the involu- 
 cre, they are three-toothed at the apex, the middle tooth being longer 
 than the others. The two plants we have just described, are the only 
 indigenous species of Polj^mnia, and, together with a few South Ameri- 
 can species, constitute the genus. 
 
 History. — Polymnia Uvedalia was introduced as a medicine about 
 1874 by Dr. J. W. Pruitt, the root being the part employed. This, 
 when dry, is from six to twelve inches in length, and from a quarter of 
 an inch to half an inch in diameter at the base of the plant. It extends 
 downward into the ground, and running parallel with it sevei'al small 
 roots springing from the base of the plant are often observed. The shape 
 is somewhat like that of dandelion, but longer, not so tapering, and 
 more flattened from the effect of drying. Toward the lower end it 
 often divides into several fleshy rootlets, and secondary roots frequently 
 spring from the main root. The outer surface is of a leather-color, and 
 very much wrinkled longitudinally. Internally, it is white, or of a 
 greenish cast, and soft, with the exception of a few woody fibers near 
 the bark. It contains a large amount of resin, and exhales an unpleasant, 
 animal -like odor when broken. There is no published analysis or the 
 
PoLYMNIA. 131 
 
 plant. Alcohol extracts from the root all its medicinal principles, 
 the extractive matter mainly consisting of glucose in considera- 
 ble proportion ; a form of tannin wiiich precipitates ferrous sulphate, 
 black; an odorous principle, soluble in water and alcohol; and a 
 mixture of two resins, which is present in greater amount tlian any 
 other of its characteristic constituents; this resinous compound is 
 heavier than water, and lighter than chloroform, is of a brownish-yel- 
 low color, soft and sticky at ordinary temperatures, and possesses the 
 odor of the root. It dissolves completely in chloroform, ether, and 
 alcohol, imperfectly in benzine, which separates it into: — 1st. A dark- 
 brown, hard regin, of an acrid taste, which remains undissolved; 
 this is insoluble in cai-bon disulphide, but freely dissolves in chloro- 
 form, ether, and alcohol. 2nd. A light-straw colored, balsam-like, 
 resinous body, rather thicker than Canada balsam, which it other- 
 wise very nearly resembles, and which dissolves quickly in ether, 
 alcohol, benzine, chloroform, and carbon disulphide, is heavier than 
 water, ether, alcohol, or benzine, and lighter than chloroform and car- 
 bon disulphide ; it has the odor of polymnia root, and likewise an 
 acrid taste. 
 
 Undoubtedly, polymnia depends upon these resinous bodies for its 
 medicinal virtues. The aqueous solution of the evaporated tincture 
 yields a precipitate with phospho-molybdate of ammonium, but not 
 with other alkaloidal re-agents, and after precipitation of the tannin 
 with either ferrous sulphate or gelatin, the filtrates give negative results 
 with the phospho-molybdate of am#ionium. Polymnia Uvedalia is used 
 in medicine in form of tincture and ointment. 
 
 Ointment of Polymnia. — Take of fresh Polymnia root eight troy 
 ounces; lard or mutton-suet sixteen troy ounces; cut the root into 
 small pieces, and, having added the lard, heat the mixture until wa- 
 ter ceases to evaporate, and then strain while hot. The ointment is 
 of a light-greenish color, and possesses the disagreeable odor of the 
 root. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Polymnia was introduced to the medical profes- 
 sion, in 1870, by Dr. J. W. Pruitt, although it had several years previ- 
 ously been highly lauded, under the name of beafs foot., as a remedy in 
 rheumatism. Dr. P. recommended it in the form of ointment, as a 
 local application in mammary and other glandular tumors or abscesses, 
 in splenic enlargement, and, indeed, in all painful swellings and local in- 
 flammations. Subsequently, he employed a tincture of it internally, in 
 connection with its external use, and found its efficacy to be thereby 
 augmented. The tincture alone, was likewise found efficient in the treat- 
 ment of chronic intermittent fever, ozcena, scrofulous ophthalmia, and 
 similar affections. According to Dr. P. it maybe considered a specific 
 in splenic enlargement from malarial influence. Professor J. M. Scud- 
 der has used it with good effect in chronic gastritis, chronic hepatic 
 enlargement, and in hypertrophy of the cervix uteri ; according to liim 
 the indications for its use are full, flabby, sallow tissues, impaired cir- 
 culation, atonic impairment of function, and glandular enlargement. 
 The efficacy of this drug in the maladies named has been corroborated 
 by many other practitioners who have tested it. White swelling is stated ' 
 to have been cured by the use of this agent both internally and as a 
 local application, but we know of no authentic cases. The ointment 
 appears to be a stimulating diseutient. The properties of the drug 
 when taken internally, have not yet.been satisfactorily determined. The 
 
132 Materia Medica. 
 
 dose of the tincture is from ten to sixty minims, two or tiiree times a 
 day. — K. 
 
 PEUNUS LAUEO-CBRASUS. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eosacese. Tribe. — Prunese. 
 
 Tlie leaves of Prunus Lauro-cerasus, Linn. iSyn. — Cerasus Lauro- 
 cerusus, Lois.) 
 
 Common Name. — Cherry-laurel. 
 
 Illustrations.— .Bent and Tri. Med. Plants, Plate. 98; Woodville's 
 Med. Bot., Plate 185 ; Artus' Sand Atlas, Vol. I, p. 205. 
 
 Description. — Cherry-laurel is a small evergreen tree, native of Asia 
 Minor, and often cultivated as an ornamental shrub in the Southern 
 part of Europe. The flowers are small, white, and disposed in axillary 
 racemes, which are shorter than the leaves. The fruit is an ovate, acute, 
 purple drupe, with a globular stone. The leaves are very thick and 
 leathery, about six inches in length, and one-third as broad, tapering at 
 the apex to a sharp point, and at the base to a short leaf-st^lk. The 
 margin is denticulated with sharp, appressed, rathei- distant, serrate 
 teeth. The upper surface of the leaf is of a bright-shining green color ; 
 the lower, pale and dull. The tree belongs to the section Cerasus (Juss.), 
 which, by many botanists, is considered distinct from Prunus, chiefly 
 on account of the globular fruit-stone. 
 
 History. — The leaves are employed in medicine. When fresh and 
 bruised, they evolve hydrocyanic acid, but the unbroken fresh leaf is odor- 
 less. We may conclude that this acid is a product of the natural con- 
 stituents of the leaves of cheriy-laurel, instead of an educt from the 
 leaves, and Wittstein has said that " hydrocyanic acid probably does 
 not exist, as such, in the living vegetable organism." If the perfect 
 leaves are dried and then powdered they do not give rise to hydrocyanic 
 acid, but the addition of a little water at once develops the acid (^Han- 
 bury). At a meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Paris, December 
 6th, 1871, Mr. Marais stated that a temperature of —22° C. (7°.6 F.) ap- 
 plied to the leaves and twigs prevented subsequent formation of hydro- 
 cyanic acid, although other volatile products were produced. In 1847, 
 Mt. Maher called attention to the fact that cherry-laurel leaves bruised 
 and rubbed within a mortar or other vessel which was contaminated 
 with the odor of substances such as, oil of cloves, cod-liver oil, balsam 
 copaiba, etc., completely removed the odor. It is necessary, however, 
 that all grease or resin be first removed by means of some alkali, or jby 
 alcohol. This property is also possessed by fi-esh peach leaves, and by 
 bitter, as well as sweet, almonds. 
 
 The leaves of the Cherry Laurel have been analyzed several times, 
 the most interesting constituent being ami/jrrfaZm,' which is present in 
 both the leaves and seed. From the leaves it is obtained in an amor- 
 phous form, and from the seed in crystals (Wittstein). Amygdalin has 
 the composition C2oH2,NOu, and decomposes under the influence of 
 
 'Lehmann states that cherry-laurel contains a principle which differs from the 
 amygdalin of the almond, and proposes for it the name Laurocerasin. This statement 
 is accepted hj Pharmacographia, and the molecule of laurocerasin (C4(|H5,N03o) is 
 considered as composed of- amygdalin (CjoHu^NOn), amygdalic acid (Cj " ^ 
 and water (TH^O).— L. 
 
PsOKALEA. 133 
 
 emulsin and moisture into oil of bitter almonds,' grape-sugar, and liy- 
 drocyanic acid. Tlie act of bruising the leaves and distilling them in 
 contact with water produces an oil (identical with bitter almond oil), 
 and a little hydrocyanic acid, which substances constitute the medicinal 
 agents of 
 
 Aqua Laurocerasi, Br. (Cherry -laurel Water), prepared as follows, 
 according to the British Pharmacopoeia: 
 
 " Take of fresh leaves of cherry -laurel, one pound; water, two and 
 a half pints (fifty ounces) ; chop the leaves, crush them in a mortar, 
 and macerate them in the water for twentj'-four hours; then distil one 
 pint (twenty fluidounces) of liquid; shake the product, filter through 
 paper, and preserve it in a stoppered bottle." — Br. 
 
 The French Codex emploj's cherry- laurel leaves ten grammes, water 
 forty grammes, and by a moderate fire distils until fifteen grammes have 
 passed over. The proportion of hydrocyanic acid contained in the 
 cherry-laurel water is determined by means of a titrated solution of 
 cupric sulphate, containing twenty-three grammes .09 of this salt, in 
 crystals, to one» thousand cubic centimetres of distilled water. The pro- 
 cess is as follows: A flat-bottomed glass beaker is placed upon a sheet 
 of white paper, and ten cubic centimetres of cherry-laurel water, with 
 one cubic centimetre of aqua ammonia, are poured into it. The 
 titi'ated cupric solution is placed into a burette divided into tenths of a 
 cubic centimetre,' from which it is gradually dropj)ed into the liquid in 
 the beaker, and, as soon as complete decolorization ensues, the number 
 of divisions read upon the burette of the cupric fluid employed, will 
 give exactl}', in milligrammes, the proportion of hydrocyanic acid con- 
 tained in ten grammes of the cherry-laurel water experimented with. 
 
 In this country, cherry-laurel water is often substituted by oil of 
 bitter almond water; as that which is imported is quite variable in 
 strength. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This water is employed in the same conditions 
 and maladies as those in which hydrocyanic acid is indicated, in doses 
 of from five to thirty minims, administered with prudence and caution ; 
 but on account of its uncertain strength it is rarely used in this country, 
 bitter almond water being preferred, as it can readily be prepared as 
 wanted for use. It may be made by rubbing together bitter almond oil 
 four minims, with carbonate of magnesia fifteen minims, then adding, 
 while continuing the trituration, distilled water eight fluidounces ; when 
 all are well rubbed together, filter, and preserve in close stoppered bot- 
 tles. The dose is from ohe to three fluidrachms. — K. 
 
 PSORALEA. • 
 
 Wat. Ord. — Leguminosse. Sub. Ord. — PapilionacesB. Tribe. — Galegeae. 
 
 The root and leaves of Psoralea melilotoides, MicKx. 
 
 Description. — The genus Psoralea comprises an extensive family of 
 plants, mostly found in America, and in the neighborhood of the Cape 
 of Good Hope. It consists, generally, of glandular-dotted herbs, with 
 from three to five foliate leaves, and short, thick, indehiscent, one-seeded 
 
 ' In 1875j Mr. W. A. Tilden examined two and a half ounces of the oil that arose 
 upon the surface of cherry-laurel water, and concluded that it consisted chiefly of bit- 
 ter almond oil, accompanied with less than two per cent, of hydrocyanic acid, a small 
 portion of another volatile oil, and traces of an odorous resin. — L. 
 
134 Materia Medica. 
 
 legumes. The flowers, which are white or blue, are disposed, in all our 
 indigenous species, in axillarj- spikes or racemes. The tubular calyx is 
 five-parted, with the lowest lobe longest. 
 
 PsoRALEA MELiLOTOiDES (Mich'x.) (P. eglandulosa, ML) is the most 
 common native species, found in open woods from Ohio and Ken- 
 tucky, southward. The plant is pubescent and nearly glandless. The 
 pale-blue flowers are borne on peduncles about four inches long. The 
 leaves are trifoliate, with entire lanceolate leaflets. 
 
 PsoEALEA ESCULENTA (PuTsh), is indigenous to the elevated plains of 
 the North West. It has five leaflets and capitate spikes of blue flowers. 
 The root is bulbous, and is said to act as a diuretic, although, when 
 boiled, it is used as food by the natives. 
 
 Under the name, Jesuit's tea, the leaves of a Chilian species, Psoralea 
 glandulosa, are used as a substitute for Chinese tea. Lenoble' obtained 
 from this latter species, tannin, volatile oil, other constituents of plants, 
 and a white crj'stalline substance, which he named psoralein, and which, 
 according to the above authority, is soluble in water, alcohol, and ether, 
 and yields timmonia as a product of destructive decomposition by 
 heat. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The root and leaves of these plants appear to 
 possess the properties of a mild, stimulating, bitter tonic, and have 
 been advantageously employed in cases of languor or feebleness from' 
 mental or physical exertion, in certain forms of chronic dyspepsia, to 
 relieve anorexia, and as a stimulating tonic in strumous affections of 
 the mesentery accompanied with diarrhea, tumid abdomen, etc. The 
 P. meliiotoides is the plant emploj-ed in this country, in infusion, 
 or made into a tincture. — K. 
 
 EHAMNUS PURSHIANA. 
 
 Nat Ord. — Rhamnese. Tribe. — Rhamnese. 
 
 The bark of Ehamnns Purshiana, D. C. {Syn. — R. Alnifolius, Pursh. 
 Frangula Purshiana, Cooper.) 
 
 Common Name. — Chittem Bark. 
 
 Illustration. — Hook. Flora Bor. Am., Vol. I, Plate 43. 
 
 Description. — This is a small tree, found in the Rocky Mountains, and 
 westwardly to the Pacific Ocean, and extending north into British 
 America. According to Mr. Jas. G. Steele, the country producing the 
 tree extends over one thousand miles in length. Thet branches are'round 
 and pubescent. The leaves axe from three to five inches long, about one- 
 half as broad, and are borne on leafstalks nearly an inch in length. 
 When j^oung, they are covered with a dense pubescence on the under 
 surface, but become glabrous and bright-green when old. In outline 
 the}' are broadly elliptical, obtuse, and entire at the base, and generally 
 with a blunt, acute apex. The margin of the leaf isregulai-ly dentate, 
 with numerous small, serrate teeth, except at the base. The lateral 
 veins are many, sub-parallel, prominent underneath, and proceed from 
 the mid-rib at an acute angle. The leaves closely resemble, but are not 
 so slender as, those of the Alder-buckthorn of our Southern States 
 (Frangula Caroliniana, Gray). The flowers are small, white, and appear 
 after the leaves have matured; they are bOrne in close, umbellar 
 
 ^Jawm. de Pharm., Sept., 1850. 
 
Rhamnus Pcjrshiana. 13S 
 
 clusters, on pubescent peduncles, slightly longer than the leaf-stalka. 
 The pedicels are short, about a quarter of an inch in length when in 
 flower, but, in fruit, elongate to an inch or more. The calyx is small, 
 five-cleft, and pubescent on the outer surface. The petals are five, 
 minute, white, shorter than the calyx-lobes, and two-cleft at the apex. 
 The stamens are five, opposite, and embraced by the concave petals. 
 f\\Q pistil, which is much shorter than the calyx-tube, consists of a free, 
 three-celled and three-ovuled ovary, a short style, and a three lobed 
 stigma The fruit is a small black drupe, obtusely three-angled, about 
 the size of a large pea, and contains three black, shining seeds. The 
 genus Rhamnus is represented by six native species, and all excepting 
 R. lanceolata {Pursh.') and R. alnif'olia (^L'Her.'), are found on the Pacific 
 coast. A few of the Western species have evergreen coriaceous leaves. 
 
 History. — The bark is the part used in medicine, and has long been 
 known in domestic practice among Western people, as a mild cathartic. 
 It is found in the market, in ciirved pieces from a few inches to two feet 
 in length, and from one-sixteenth of an inch to the eighth of an inch 
 in thickness. Externally, it is gray; internally, it is yellowish, and 
 the inner surface ranges in color from that of a light-yellow to that of 
 leather. It imparts an insipid, sweetish, slightly astringent taste when 
 chewed, scarcely marked by any promihent characteristic. Professor 
 Prescott, of Ann Arbor, Mich., made a careful analysis (1879), the result 
 of which is practically as follows: In structure the bark consists of 
 three layers. The outer bark or epidermis is corky ; the middle consists 
 of parenchymatous cells filled with starch grains, a few cubical crystals, 
 and occasional clusters of thick-walled yellow cells. The inntr bark, 
 principally consists of yellow medullary rays, separated by bast paren- 
 chyma, through which occasional yellow bast fibers are found, and 
 which are often surrounded by small cubical crystals. The inner bark, 
 and portions of the middle bark, are turned cherry-red by solution of 
 potassium hydrate. The entire bark yields : Ist. A brown, resinous 
 substance, bitter to the taste, soluble in alcohol, chloroform, benzol, and 
 carbon disulphide ; insoluble in ether ; slightly soluble in water. Solu- 
 tion ' of caustic alkalies dissolve it with purple-red color, from which 
 solution acids precipitate it. Concentrated sulphuric acid colors it 
 blood-red. 2nd. A red resin, insoluble in water; slightly soluble in 
 ether, chloroform, and carbon disulphide ; soluble in alcohol, and in 
 caustic alkali solution, with the production of a brown color in the 
 latter case. Sulphuric acid deepens the color to brownish-red. 3u. A 
 light-yellow resin; neutral, tasteless, insoluble in water, soluble in hot 
 alcohol, chloroform, and carbon disulphide. 
 
 In addition, Mr. Prescott obtained a tannic acid, oxalic acid, malic 
 acid, a yellow fixed oil, volatile oil, wax, starch, and a neutral crystal- 
 lizable body. This latter substance separated, from solution in abso- 
 lute alcohol, in the form of white double pyramids, which were almost 
 insoluble in ether, chloroform and benzol. They melt and sublime, 
 unchanged, at a temperature little above the heat of a water-bath, con- 
 densing into crystalline form. Professor Prescott sums up his investiga- 
 tions by stating that the chemical constituents present a great similarity 
 to those of Bhamnus frangula, though not identical. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This is one of the many new medicines recently 
 presented to the medical world, under somewhat equivocal circumstances. 
 It has been highly recommended as a certain remedy in cases of habit- 
 ual constipation, and in some forms of indigestion. If further trial of 
 it will sustain these assertions, it will, undoubtedly, become a valuable 
 
136 Materia Medica. 
 
 addition to our list of therapeutical agents. It is commonly prepared 
 in the form of a fluid extract, the dose of which is from ten to sixty- 
 minims, repeated, as required, two or three times a day. — K. 
 
 EHUS AROMATICA. 
 Nat. Ord.— AnacardiacesB. Tnfte.— Anacardiacese. 
 The bark of the root of EhHis aromatica, Ait. 
 Common Names. — Fragrant Sumach, Sweet Sumach. 
 Illustration. — Gray's^ G-enera, Plate 160. 
 
 Description. — This is a small, bushy shrub, growing from two to six 
 feet high, and found in clumps throughout sections of the Eastern 
 United States, in rocky situations. The leaves are trifoliate, and on 
 stalks about an inch in length. The three leaflets are sessile, and cov- 
 ered with a short velvety pubescence when young. The terminal 
 leaflet is considerably larger than the lateral leaflets, from an inch to 
 two inches in length, and about two-thirds as wide. They are entire 
 and tapering at the base, acute, and have eight or ten crenate teeth a.t 
 the apex. The flowers are small, greenish -yellow, and open in April 
 before the leaves; they are in stalked, spiked, ament-like clusters, and, 
 before flowering, have the appearance of an unexpanded catkin. The 
 sepals, petals, and stamens are in fives, and the pistil is a one-ovuled 
 ovary, with three short styles. The fruit is a small red drupe, about 
 the size of a pea, covered with dense white pubescence. They are pro- 
 duced in clusters of about a dozen, and are on stalks about half an 
 inch long; each one contains a single flattened seed. A variety (var. 
 trilobiate. Gray) with small, smooth leaflets, generally less than an inch 
 in length, is common throughout Texas and the Western States and 
 Territories. 
 
 History. — The pai't employed in medicine is the root, or the bark of 
 the root. It has attained some little local reputation heretofore, but 
 was unknown to the medical profession until introduced bj' Dr. 
 McClanahan, in 1879. When dry, the root is from one-fourth of an 
 inch to an inch in diameter, and appears in the market in pieces of 
 from six inches to two feet in length. The bark is of a dark rusty- 
 brown color externally, and a pink or walnut color below the cork. 
 It is about one-eighth of an inch in thickness, and throughout the inner 
 bark of a prime article are little cavities containing a transparent bal- 
 sam, somewhat resembling balsam of fir. The vpood is white or yel- 
 lowish. When fresh, the wounded bark exudes a turpentine-like balsam, 
 or solution of a resin in some volatile oil, which dries to a glossy tear 
 or layer. The bark is astringent; but, undoubtedly, the turpentine-like 
 balsam likewise possesses considerable medicinal value. Alcohol ex- 
 tracts this substance, and the addition of water to the tincture, pro- 
 duces a milkiness. In making the tincture of either the fresh or dry 
 bark, klcohol alone should be used, and any addition of water is objec- 
 tionable. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This exceedingly valuable addition to our Ma- 
 teria Medica, was introduced by J. T. McClanahan, M. D., Booneville, 
 Mo.' At first, the use of this remedy was confined to the treatment of 
 
 > Eclectic Med. Jmrnal, 1879, p. 317. 
 
Sabbatia ElTjIottii. 137 
 
 diabetes, and other excessive discharges from the kidneys and the blad- 
 der, as well as to cases of incipient albuminaria. More recently, it has 
 been employed by numerous practitioners, who, in addition to the above- 
 named maladies, have found it advantageous in urethral irritations; 
 hemorrhage from stomach, lungs, kidneys, bladder, or uterus; uterine 
 leucorrhea; cholera infantum ; diarrhea; dysentery; chronic laryngitis; 
 chronic bronchitis ; and especially useful in the enuresis of children and 
 of aged persons. We are aware of the value of this agent in several 
 of the diseases referred to, and should subsequent experiments prove its 
 efficacy in the earlier stages of albuminaria, it will rank among the first 
 therapeutical remedies of our Materias. It is now preferred in the form 
 of fluid extract, of which the dose varies from five to sixty minims, re- 
 peated every three or four hours; it may be taken in water, in glycerin 
 and water, and in solation of pure gelatin, or in syrup, when these 
 vehicles are not contra -indicated 
 
 Since writing the above, we have received a letter from A. G. Spring- 
 steen, M. D.. of Cleveland, Ohio, in which he refers to a patient suffer- 
 ing, for several years, from catarrh of the bladder, and hypertrophy of 
 the prostate, with excruciating pain during micturition, necessitating 
 the continued use of the soft catheter, the introduction of which in- 
 variably proved painful. After exhausting the employment of all 
 recognized remedies for the patient's condition, together with the use 
 of the water at the Hot Springs of Arkansas, etc., without the least 
 benefit, as a dernier ressort, he placed the patient upon teaspoonful dbses, 
 three or four times dailj^, of the fluid extract of Khus aromatica; in 
 three weeks' time the symptoms were all removed, and the prostate 
 so far reduced that the use of the soft catheter became unnecessary. 
 The patient is sixty-five years old, and at this time voids urine as freely 
 and as painlessly as a boy of eighteen years. — K. 
 
 SABBATIA BLLIOTTII. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Gentianacese. Sub Ord. — Gentianese. 
 
 The herb of Sabbatia Elliottii, Stevd. (8yn. — S. paniculata. Ell.) 
 
 Common Name. — Quinine Flower. 
 
 Description. — This is an erect herb, about twelve inches in height, and is 
 common to the pine barrens of the Southern United States. It does not, 
 probably, occur farther north than the Carolinas. The stem is smooth, 
 slender, round, with but few leaves, and alternately branched. The 
 leaves are small, opposite, entire, without leaf-stalks, and from half an 
 inch to an inch in length ; the upper leaves are very narrow and linear, 
 the lower are broader ; they arc attached at nearly a right angle to the 
 stem. The flowers are white, nearly an inch broad, and quite showy ; 
 they are borne on slender peduncles, and appear late in the summei-. 
 The calyx has a short tube, and five linear lobes about one-third , the 
 length of the corolla segments. The corolla is flat, rotate, and has five 
 obtuse lobes. The stamens are five, and attached to the corolla-tube. 
 The fruit is a dry, one-celled capsule, opening by two valves, and con- 
 taining many small seeds. 
 
 History. — This plant was noticed in the Am. Journ. Pharm., 1876, by 
 Dr. Palmer, of Monticello, Florida It had been previously used in 
 domestic practice, and during the civil war. Some little demand was 
 
138 
 
 Materia Medica. 
 
 created after the publication of Dr. Palmer's article, but the remedy has 
 since almost fallen into disuse. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This plant, as the name " quinine flower " would 
 show, was supposed to possess tonic and antiperiodic properties, some- 
 what analogous to those of quinia. It was lauded as a remedy for all 
 miilarial fevers, as a tonic during convalescence from exhausting dis- 
 eases, and in various forms of debility. It is seldom, if ever, employed 
 at the present day. The dose of the fluid extract is from five to sixty 
 minims, repeated every one, two, three, or four hours, according to cir- 
 cu m Stan ces. — K. 
 
 SCTJTBLLAEIA. 
 
 Nat. Ord.— Labiatse. Tribe. — ScutellarineaB. 
 
 The mature leaves and flowering tops of Scutellaria lateriflora, Idnn. 
 
 Common Name. — Scullcap. 
 
 IiiLUSTKATioNS. — Strong's Am. Flora, opposite page 100 ; our Fig, 7, 
 
 Scutellaria Lateriflora, Linn. (True Scollcap.)— Natural Size. 
 
 We introduce this plant, accompanied with illustrations, to overcome 
 the confusion that has existed in commercial circles regarding the plant 
 ordinarily sold as scullcap. The oflScinal species is the Scutellaria 
 
Scutellaria. 139 
 
 lateriflora, but the larger part of the drug sold upon the market under 
 that name is derived from two other species of Scutellaria. — K. & L. 
 
 Description. — The genus Scutellaria is well characterized by the calyx; 
 which in all the species consists of two round lips closed in fruit, the 
 upper lip of which has a helmet-shape appendage, giving to it the ap- 
 pearance of a mask or cap; hence the common name, scullcap. 
 
 Scutellaria lateriflora (Linn.), the ofiBcinal scullcap, is the most 
 widely-distributed of the species. It is common in every section of the 
 United States, and is found growing in damp places on the banks of 
 streams, and in similar situations. Inasmuch as this is the proper scull- 
 cap to use in medicine, and as it is often confounded with other species, 
 we will give a close description of the plant (see Fig. 7). The stem js 
 slender, herbaceous, four-angled, much branched, and from one to two 
 feet high ; it is smooth, green when the plant grows in shady situations, 
 but turns brown on exposure to the sun. The leaves are small, from one 
 to two inches long, and about one-half as wide, ovate, rounded at the 
 base, and acute at the apex. They are smooth, crenate, and are borne 
 on opposite leaf-stalks, which are about an inch long. The flowers ap- 
 pear late in summer, and are born6 in numerous, slender, simple, one- 
 sided racemes, from the axils of the leaves; they are small, opposite, 
 and have short pedicels, sub-tended at the base by small bracts. The 
 cali/x is about the length of the pedicel, and has the peculiar helmet- 
 shape characteristic of the genus. When the fruit is mature, the calyx 
 splits to the base, the upper lip falling away, the lower one remaining. 
 The corolla is small, blue, about a quarter of an inch long; it has a 
 slender, exserted tube, and two sub-equal lips, the upper of which is 
 arched, the lower, spreading. The stamens are four, and included in 
 the corolla. The fruit consists of four small nutlets. 
 
 Scutellaria versicolor (Nutt.), and Scutellaria canescens (JVutt.), are 
 the species generally collected by herbalists, and substituted for Scutel- 
 laria lateriflora. We present an engraving of Scutellaria versicolor, 
 and both this and S. canescens can readily be distinguished from ofiicinal 
 scullcap, by their being much more robust, having thicker stems, and 
 growing from two to four feet high. The flowers are large in both, 
 being an inch long; and instead of being borne in very slender, lateral 
 racemes, as with S. lateriflora, they are borne in a single, large, ter- 
 minal, branched raceme. The leaves are also much larger than those 
 of S. lateriflora, being from two to four inches long, and nearly as broad. 
 They are cordate at the base, and acute at the apex. The leaves of S. 
 versicolor are thin, softly pubescent, and of a bright-green color; those 
 of S. canescens are thick in texture, light green, and often variegated 
 with a purple line around the margin. — L. 
 
140 
 
 Materia Medica. 
 
 Scutellaria Versicolor, Null. — Natural Size. 
 
 Properties and Uses.— See King's American Dispensatory, 8th edition, 
 p. 758.— K. ^ 
 
 SEDUM ACEB. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Crassulacese. 
 
 The plant of Sedum acre, Linn. 
 
 Common Names. — Mossy Stonecrop, Biting Stonecrop, Small House- 
 leek. 
 
 Description. — This is a low, moss-like, fleshy plant, native of Europe, 
 but very common in cultivation, and sometimes naturalized in this 
 country. It has a spreading, thick, green stem, from one to three inches 
 high. The leaves are fleshy, small, sessile, erect, and numerous, almost 
 entirely covering the stems. Ihe flowers are bright-yellow, sessile, and 
 arranged in three-parted, terminal cymes. The sepals, petals, and carpels, 
 are in fives in the central flowers of the cyme, and in fours in the 
 others. The stamens are in number double the other parts of the 
 flower. There are about half a dozen native species of Sedum, mostly 
 found in dense patches, in rocky woods, throughout the United States. 
 They all have white or light-purple flowers, which appear in June or 
 July. Sedum ternatum is the most common species in Ohio and the 
 neighboring States. 
 
SoDii Benzoas. 141 
 
 History. — Sedum acre was analyzed by Mylius, who found it to con- 
 tain wax, ehloropbiyll, acrid resins, mucilage, sugar, an alkaloid, and 
 other substances common to plants. He describes the alkaloid as un- 
 crj'stallizable, acrid to the taste, not volatile, 8oluble_in ether, alcohol, 
 chloroform, and water ; it unites with acids to form soluble salts. The 
 hydrochlorate, in solution, is precipitated by axcess of ammonia, or the 
 hydrate, or carbonate of potassium. Rutin or Butic acid is also present, 
 according to the aforementioned authority. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Sedum acre has little or no odor, and its taste, 
 at first herbaceous, is followed by a persistent acrid pungency. The 
 leaves pounded and applied to the surface of the body will occasion a 
 troublesome vesication. Taken internally, the plant, or its expressed 
 juice, has anemeto-cathartic action, and was recommended in scrofulous 
 affections, malarial fevers, and even in epilepsy ; however, it is rarely 
 employed at the present day, except occasionally, as a local application 
 to glandular enlargements, to scrofulous ulcers, and to some chronic cu- 
 taneous maladies — the fresh leaves only, bruised, being used— rthus 
 applied to warts, corns, or similar growths, it is said to ultimately effect 
 their removal. Internally, the expressed juice has been used in doses 
 of from one to two flaidrachms, taken in beer or wine. — K. 
 
 SODII BBNZOAS. 
 Benzoate of Sodium. 
 Formula, NaCjHjOaj molecular weight, 139.20. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of benzoic acid (made from gum benzoin) eight 
 parts; bicarbonate of sodium, five and a half parts; distilled water, six 
 parts. Mix the benzoic acid with the distilled water, in a capacious 
 porcelain capsule ; raise the temperature, by means of a water -bath, 
 to 150° F.; then add the bicarbonate of sodium, stirring constantly with 
 a wooden Or porcelain spatula. When a clear solution is produced, and 
 effervescence ceases, filter ; then evaporate the filtrate upon a water- 
 bath, with constant stirring, until a dry salt is obtained. The yield 
 will be twelve parts. 
 
 History. — Benzoate of sodium came into use during the latter part of 
 1879. The calculated proportion of bicarbonate of sodium to benzoic 
 acid is about eighty-four parts of the former to one hundred and twenty- 
 two parts of the latter. Benzoate of sodium is a white powder, odor- 
 less, and permanent. It dissolves freely in water, but is insoluble in 
 ether and chloroform, and almost, if not absolutely, insoluble, in stronger 
 alcohol. The solution in water is decomposed by the mineral acids, 
 benzoic acid being precipitated in the form of crystalline flakes. This 
 precipitate, when washed with a little water, pressed between folds of 
 blotting paper and dried, should dissolve completely in ether, chloro- 
 form or benzine. It should not have an odor like urine, and, if sucli 
 is the case, benzoic acid prepared from hippuric acid was emploj'ed in 
 making the benzoate of sodium. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses — Benzoate of sodium has recently been intro- 
 duced into therapeutics as an antipyretic and an antiseptic. It is said 
 to reduce fever less rapidly than quinia, and more permanently. It 
 has been employed not only as a prophylactic against diphtheria, but 
 likewise as a curative agent. In Germany, many cases of this disease 
 have been recorded, in which it proved successful. Klebs and Hoffman 
 
142 ' Materia Medica. 
 
 have derived great benefit from its administration in erysipelas, in al- 
 buminaria, and in some cases of acute rheumatism, Petersen succeeded 
 in recovering a patient from an almost hopeless puerperal fever, giving 
 it in daily doses of one hundred and fifty -four grains in solution ; he ad- 
 vises its further trial. Mf)re recently it has been recommended in all 
 malarial and infectious fevers. Dr. J. B. Berkhart reports' the cure of a 
 case of syphilitic lupus from its use. From the statements made by 
 many physicians who have experimented with this agent, it appears to 
 have valuable therapeutical virtues; and, if the statements referred to 
 are hereafter sustained by the testimony of other medical men testing it, 
 it will become an important remedy. The salt prepared with the nat- 
 ural benzoic acid should only be employed. Its dose varies from ten to 
 twenty grains in solution, repeated every one, two, or four hours; large 
 doses', even when continued for a long time, give rise to no unpleasant 
 after-effects. A five per cent, solution of this salt, inhaled into the lungs, 
 has been advised in the treatment of phthisis {Bokistansky) ; but further 
 trials are necessary before sufiicient confidence can be placed in its in- 
 halation as a remedial means in this disease. — K. 
 
 SPEEGULAEIA EUBEA. 
 Nat. Ord. — Caryophyllese. Tribe. — Alsinete. 
 
 The roots and plant of Spergularia rubra, Presl. (Syn. — Arenaria 
 rubra, Linn. Lepigonum rubrum. Fries. Spergularia rubra, var. cam- 
 pestris, Gray's Manual.) 
 
 Gomroon Names.- — Sand-spurrey ; Eed-sandwort ; Spurrey-sandwort. 
 
 Description. — The Spergularia rubra is an inconspicuous annual weed, 
 found both in the United States and in Europe, in dry, sandy situations, 
 more commonly near the coast, but not in brackish places. The sterna 
 are many, and from the same root, matted, much branched, from six to 
 twelve inches in length, and lying prostrate on the sand. The leaves 
 are linear, fleshy, and about an inch long; they are opposite, and have, 
 generally, smaller leaves clustered in their axils; they are surrounded, 
 at the base, by two dry, triangular, scale-like stipules. The flowers are 
 small, numerous, axillary, and appear throughout the summer; they are 
 borne on slender peduncles, about half an inch long, which are reflexed 
 in fruit. The calyx has five scarious-edged sepals. The corolla has five 
 rose-colored, entire petals, about the length of the sepals. The fruit is 
 a dry, many-seeded pod, opening by three valves. 
 
 S. salina (Presl.) and S. media (Presl), the only other native species 
 of Spergularia, are found in brackish sandy places; they closely re- 
 semble the S. rubra, and have, probably, the same properties. Sper- 
 cula arvensis (Linn.), a naturalized weed, has a similar appearance to 
 Spergularia rubra, but can be distinguished by having whorled leaves. 
 
 Spergularia rubra has of late been recommended as a remedy, and, it 
 is said, has long been employed in Sicily. It was analyzed by M. Lo- 
 gout, of Algiers (where the plant is very abundant); by Dr. Jacqueme, 
 of Marseilles; and by Vigier, of Paris. It yielded to water one-fourth 
 its weight of extract (when dried). This was deliquescent, and yielded 
 from three to four parts of nitrogen ; it left, upon calcination, an ash 
 of which about one-fourth the weight was soluble in water, and con- 
 sisted, mainly, of salts (carbonates and chlorides) of potassium and 
 
Spilanthbs. 143 
 
 Bodium, besides which, insoluble silica and alumina were found/ Ether, 
 alcohol,'and chlorotbrm extracted from the plant, in addition, an aro- 
 matic resin ; and when the plant was distilled with water, ammonia was 
 evolved, supposed bj- the investigators to exist in the plant as free 
 ammonia, for muriate of jimmonium was obtained from the fresh plant 
 by means of dilute hydrochloric acid. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This plant was employed in Sicily and neighbor- 
 ing countries as a secret remedy, for many years, in the form of a tisane, 
 and sold at exorbitant prices. A specimen of the plant having been 
 obtained by an individual who had been benefited by the use of tlic 
 tisane, was analyzed by M. Logout, a pharmacist, and its therapeutic 
 action tested in some of the Paris hospitals, by M. Bertherand, and 
 others. It has been found very eflScacious in the treatment of gravel, 
 having been experimented with, in Europe, in numerous cases. The 
 best preparation for administration is a decoction, which exerts a stim- 
 ulating action upon the circulation and the secretions, especially those 
 of the urinary organs ; the discharge of gravel through the ureters is 
 facilitated under its use, and nephritic colic, when present, is promptly 
 relieved. Five drachms of the plant to a pint of water is the medium 
 dose, to be taken daily ; it may be sweetened, if desired. Pills or syrlip 
 may be substituted for the decoction, in doses of fifteen grains every 
 one, two, or three hours. M. Vigier advises the following powder as 
 preferable to the other preparations : Take of aqueous extract of sper- 
 gularia rubra one hundred and fifty-four grains, powdered white sugar 
 (free from glucose) four hundred and sixty-one grains; mix thoroughly 
 together, and divide into five equal papers or packets; one of these to 
 be added to a quart of water, and to be drank during the day. A similar 
 quaiitity of extract in afluidrachm and a half of pure glycerin and three 
 fluidounces of distilled water, gives a solution that keeps well, and of 
 which the dose is a teaspoonful, to be repeated five times a day — equiv- 
 alent to a quart of the decoction. With regard to this plant, as a 
 therapeiitic agent, a writer observes: "We can understand that a plant 
 so rich in constituent elements, in chloride of potassium and sodium, 
 in alkalies, and in aromatic principles, must have a powerful action 
 upon the animal economy. Combined with the albuminous juices of the 
 vegetable, the chlorides must act otherwise than in the free state." — K. 
 
 SPILANTHBS. 
 Wat Ord.— Corapositag. Tribe. — Senecionidese. 
 The herb and flower-heads of Spilanthes oleracea, Jacq. 
 Common Name. — Para-cress. 
 
 Description. — The genus Spilanthes is a tropical family of, mostly, an- 
 nual weeds, with opposite leaves, and terminal, stalked, flower-heads. 
 It is closely allied to Bidens, differing, chiefly, in the achenia, which arc 
 plano-convex, with a membranous winged margin. The pappus consists 
 of two short awns. The recepticle is conical and paleaceous. 
 
 Spilanthes oleracea is a native of South America, and is often cul- 
 tivated in tropical countries, where it is used as a salad. It is known 
 under the name Para-cress. It is a small, erect herb, of rapid growth, and 
 has cordate stalked leaves. Thefloviers are small, yellow, and solitary, on 
 
 ' It is likely that the alumina was derived from soil attached to the plant. — L. 
 
144 Materia Medioa. 
 
 terminal peduncles. The Chinese derive a blue coloring matter from 
 Spilanthes tinctoria (Loureire) similar to indigo. 
 
 History. — Spilanthes oleracea has an acrid, aromatic taste, resembling, 
 but more powerful than, peppermint. Analyzed about fifty years ago, 
 with the exception of an odorous volatile oil, nothing was found beyond 
 the organic substances common to most plants. When chewed it occa- 
 sions a copious flow of saliva. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses — Spilanthes is an acrid, aromatic sialagogue, and 
 which, like the galanga root, has been recommended in flatulence, to 
 improve the appetite and digestive functions, and to overcome nausea 
 and vomiting. The natives of the countries to which it is indigenous, 
 are stated to have employed it advantageously in gouty and rheumatic 
 affections, in uric-acid gravel, in dropsical effusions, and even to remove 
 intestinal worms. A tincture of it on cotton, and introduced into the 
 cavity of a decayed tooth, will, it has been remarked, promptly remove 
 toothache. It is not employed in this country. — K. 
 
 SULPHOCAEBOLATBS. 
 
 SULPHOPHENATES. 
 
 History. — Sulphocarbolates are salts prepared respectively from ortho- 
 and jjam- phenolsulphonic acids. When concentrated sulphuric acid 
 and carbolic acid are mixed together in equal proportions, and the mix- 
 ture is digested at from 40° C. (104° F.) to 50° C. (122° P.), the former 
 (ortho-) acid, is mainly formed. ' When the temperature is increased 
 to 149° C. (300° P'.), this acid changes to the -para- phenolsulphonic 
 acid. Neither acid is known in an absolute state. In commerce, dis- 
 tinctions are not made in the salts derived from the two, and, perhaps, 
 their therapeutical actions are identical. The para- sulphocarbolates 
 are very easily prepared, and consequently are found almost exclusively 
 in the inarket. The composition of each of the two acids is, CcHgSO,. 
 Their salts are all soluble in water ; generally soliible in hot alcohol ; 
 but insoluble in ether. Most of the ortho- salts are more soluble than 
 the corresponding para^ salts. Commercial sulphocarbolates are made 
 very easily by mixing equal parts of sulphuric and carbolic acids, and 
 heating the mixture to 149° C. (300° F.}. The mixture, upon cooling, 
 is diluted with water, neutralized with the necessary carbonate, and 
 evaporated to crystallization. Adhering sulphates are removed by 
 simply dissolving the salt in warm water, and then recrystallizing. This 
 forms the para- sulphocarbolate, which crystallizes in nice large crys- 
 tals. The process is much less tedious than that for the following or 
 ortho— sulphocarbolates. — L. 
 
 CALCII SUIjPHOCAEBOLAS. 
 
 SULPHOCAEBOLATE OF CalCIUM. 
 
 Formula, Ca2C6H5S04; molecular weight, 385.18. 
 
 Preparation. — Melt sixteen troy ounces of carbolic acid, in a porce- 
 lain dish, and, with constant stirring, pour into it sixteen troy ounces 
 of concentrated sulphuric acid, and then apply the heat of an expanded 
 steam or water -bath for twenty-four hours. Dilute the mixture with 
 eight pints of cold distilled water, and gradually stir into it powdered 
 
SODII SULPHOCAEBOLAS. 145 
 
 carbonate of calcium, until effervescense ceases ; then permit the mix- 
 ture to stand for a few hours, filter, wash the precipitate with water, 
 and evaporate the mixed filtrates to dryness over a water-bath. The 
 product (about twenty troy ounces) will be impure sulphocarbolate of 
 lime, usually of a pink color. To jjurify it, redissolve it in water, filter, 
 and again evaporate to dryness. 
 
 When the sulphuric and carbolic acids are mixed, the result is a 
 deep-pink colored liquid, or often brownish-red, from impurities in the 
 latter acid, This coloring matter adheres most persistently to the 
 salt. The yield is never as large as theory would indicate, mainly re- 
 sulting from the fact that a certain part of both the sulphuric and car- 
 bolic acids remains free ; for, when diluted to a certain extent, they do 
 not unite, and it seems that the formation of the sulphocarbolic acid, 
 at a certain point, completely retards the reaction, for this acid acts as 
 a diluent in proportion to its bulk. Sulphocarbolic acid increases the 
 solubility of carbolic acid in water, therefore, the subsequent addition 
 of water does not separate an excess of carbolic acid by precipitating 
 it from solution as might be supposed. To purify the salt, uncombined 
 sulphuric acid is thrown out as sulphate of calcium, upon addition of 
 of the carbonate of calcium, and the subsequent heat, evaporates the 
 free carbolic acid. Sulphocarbolate of lime may be used to prepare the 
 other sulphocarbolates. The more expensive barium carbonate may 
 be substituted for calcium carbonate in the foregoing operation, and 
 sulphocarbolate of barium be formed in like manner as the sulphocar- 
 bonate of lime. Nei ther sulphocarbolate of calcium nor sulphocarbolate 
 of barium are used as medicines. — L. 
 
 SODII SULPHOCAEBOLAS. 
 
 Sulphocarbolate op SoDiirM. 
 Formula, NaC6H5S042HjO ; molecular weight, 195.63. 
 
 Preparation. — Dissolve two parts of sulphocarbolate of calcium in 
 four parts of distilled water, and stir into it solution of sulphate of 
 sodium until in slight excess; rather more than one and a half parts of 
 crystallized sulphate of sodium will be required. Permit the mixture 
 to stand a few hours, then filter, and wash the precipitate with distilled 
 water until the runnings are nearly tasteless. Evaporate the filtrate 
 to dryness, on a steam or water-bath, and dissolve the residue in boil- 
 ing alcohol (about ten parts), then filter, and place it in a cold situation 
 to crystallize. In case a trace of sulphate of sodium is not objectiona- 
 ble, the crystallization from alcohol may be dispensed with. The 
 aqueous solution should then be evaporated until a skim forms upon 
 the surface, and then be allowed to cryst^allize. 
 
 As thus prepared, sulphocarbolate of sodium is in the form of small 
 needle-like crystals, white, very soluble in water, less so in alcohol, and 
 insoluble in ether. It does not form precipitates with barium chloride ; 
 if a small crystal be boiled with nitric acid, and the liquid be then neu- 
 tralized with solution of caustic potassse. a yellow color will result 
 (carbazotate or picrate of potassium). This test is not distinctive as it 
 applies to carbolic acid and carbolates as well as sulphocarbolates. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — See Zind Sulphocarbolas. 
 
 101 
 
146 Materia Medica. 
 
 ZIJSTCI SULPHOCAEBOLAS. 
 
 Sulphocarbolate of Zinc. 
 Formula, Z112C6H5SO4; molecular weight, 410.18. 
 
 Preparation. — Sulphocarbolate of Zinc is made by exactly neutraliz- 
 ing a solution of sulphocarbolate of calcium with sulphate of zinc, 
 filtering, and evaporating. In like manner, other sulphocarbolates may 
 be prepared as desired. The zinc and sodium salts of sulphocarbolic 
 acid only are in use. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Sulphocarbolate of soda is simply a disinfectant. 
 At one period it was highly extolled as an efficacious internal remedy 
 in scarlatina, diphtheria, typhoid fever, in septicemic diseases generally, 
 and even in phthisis pulmonalis, but well conducted trials of it in these 
 aifections have not sustained such marvellous assertions. It has been 
 found more useful as a local application, employed in aqueous solution 
 in form of spray; used in this manner it has been sometimes beneficial 
 in gangrenous conditions, and in the removal of the pseudomembranous 
 exudations encountered in aphthse, scarlatina, and diphtheria; and, in 
 these cases, it owes its properties to the phenic acid present. Its dose 
 internally is from five to twenty-five grains in solution. 
 
 Sulphophenate of zinc is rarely used internally. As a local application 
 it has proven, in many instances, to be superior to the soda salt. It 
 possesses both antiseptic and astringent properties, and is less irritating 
 in its effects than phenic acid. As a spray or wash, it will be found 
 useful in surgical dressings, in certain pseudomembranous exudations, 
 in gangrenous conditions, and in chronic ophthalmia ; in injection it will 
 prove useful in chronic gonorrhea, leucorrhea, and gleet. As an astring- 
 ent it may be advantageously substituted for sulphate of zinc in urethral 
 injections, possessing all its benefits without any of its inconveniences. 
 The strength of the solution in water, will vary from one to five parts of 
 the salt to one hundred or more parts of water. — K. 
 
 SUMBUL. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Umbelliferse. Tribe. — Peucedanese. 
 
 The root of Euryangium Sumbul, Kauffman. {Syn. — Ferula Sumbul, 
 Sook.,fll.) 
 
 Common Names. — Sumbul, Musk-root, Jatamansi. 
 
 Illustrations. — Bot. Mag. Plate 6196 ; Tri. and Bent. Med. Plants, 
 Plate 131. 
 
 Description. — The plant that produces the snmbul-root of commerce, 
 is an herbaceous perennial, with an erect milk -bearing stem, and is a 
 native of Central Asia. The leaves are mostly radical, large, and ter- 
 nately decompound, with the ultimate segments narrow and toothed. 
 The upper stem leaves are reduced merely to the sheathing bases of 
 the petioles. The flowers are small, yellow, and disposed in compound 
 umbels. The terminal umbels are perfect, the lateral, only staminate. 
 They have five stamens, five petals, and a two-carpeled pistil. The 
 fruit consists of two dry, seed-like carpels, compressed laterally, and 
 each carpel having three dorsal ribs, and two narrow lateral wings. 
 
 History. — For thirty years after sumbul (musk-root) had become an 
 article of commerce, nothing was known concerning its botanical source. 
 
SUMBUL. 147 
 
 In 1869, Kauffman, from plants collected in Russian Turkestan, and 
 grown in the Moscow Botanic Garden, established it in a now genus, 
 Euryangium, closely related to Ferula, and differing chiefly in the broader 
 vittsB.' The plant has since, however, been ascribed to Ferula by Pet- 
 ournikoff, and by Hooker, fil., after an examination of the ripe fruit 
 sent from Russia. 
 
 Euryangium sumbul, or musk-root of commerce, reaches our market 
 through Russia. It occurs in pieces or sections, often branched, and 
 from half an inch to four inches in thickness, the diameter of the root 
 ranging from half an inch to three inches. It is brown externally, the 
 bark, in some instances, scaling off in tough, paper-like pieces, resem- 
 bling birch bark, and again adhering closely to the root. The lower 
 part of the stem is frequently attached to the root, and usually, in such 
 cases, it is broken into a fibrous mass. The cut parts of the roots are 
 covered with a dirty resinous layer, which exuded while fresh. A fresh 
 section of the root shows a very porous, spongy texture ; in many 'cases 
 the fibrous substances being saturated with resinous matter, especially 
 near the bark. There is much difference in the color, some pieces being 
 almost white internally ; these we find to contain a comparatively small 
 proportion of resin, and to be of light weight, when compared with the 
 specimens of a brown color. This latter quality of the root is to be 
 preferred, although it is customary, we believe, to select the former. 
 Choice sumbul has a strong odor of musk, is resinous internally, and ia 
 aromatic and bitter to the taste. Its medicinal principles seem to be 
 mostly extracted by strong alcohol, the addition of even a small amount 
 of water being objectionable. 
 
 An examination of sumbul was made about 1843, by Reinsch, who 
 found it to contain wax and a balsam ; both are extracted from the root 
 by ether. The balsam has a faint musky odor, strengthened by soaking 
 in water; it dissolves in sulphuric acid, with the production of a blue 
 color, and, it is said, when distilled in a retort, yields two oils— the first 
 a clear yellow, followed by the second, of an emerald-green. When the 
 root has been previously extracted by ether, alcohol dissolves from it 
 an aromatic resin and a bitter substance, the latter being soluble in 
 water. The root also contaips Angelic acid (Wittstein's Org. Const, of 
 Plants), and a volatile oil, the other constituents seeming to be unim- 
 portant. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Sumbul is a stimulant and tonic to the nervous 
 system; it has been recommended 'in low typhous fevers, in gastric 
 spasm, hysteria, delirium tremens, diarrhea, dysentery, leueorrhea, gleet, 
 chlorosis, asthma, chronic bronchitis, and other maladies accompanied 
 with an asthenic condition. In nervous diseases of a low, depressing 
 character, it has been found very useful. Dr. Murawieff, a Russian 
 physician, considers the balsamic resiu as the active part, and has pro- 
 posed its use, in the form of pills or tincture, in pulmonary maladies. 
 The drug is seldom used in this country, but it certainly deserves fur- 
 ther investigation. It is prepared in the form of fluid extract, the 
 dose of which is from ten to sixty minims, every two, three, or four 
 hours. — K. 
 
 ^Treamry of Boiany. 
 
; 148 Materia Medica. 
 
 TAXUS. 
 Nat. Ord. — Coniferse. Tribe. — Taxincas. 
 The leaves and fruit of Taxus baccata, Linn. 
 Common Name. — Yew tree. 
 Illustration. — Bent, and Tri. Med. Plants, Plate 253. 
 
 Description. — The common yew is a large evergreen tree, native 
 throughout Europe, and very commonly planted as an ornamental tree 
 in church-yards, cemeteries, etc., especially in England. It is of very 
 slow growth, and has a hard, close-grained wood that is much used by 
 cabinet-makers. The branches are long and horizontal, the lowest ones 
 proceeding from the trunk at only a few feet from the ground. The 
 bark is of a dark-brown color, and does not split longitudinally, like the 
 bark of most trees, but scales off in thin plates. The flowets appear in 
 early' spring, and the male and female are borne on separate trees. The 
 male are in axillary aments, and consist, each, of a thickened axis, 
 having anther -bearing bracts on the upper half, surrounded at the base 
 by imbricated scales. The female flowers are, each, a single sessile, 
 naked, ovule, without either style or stigma, surrounded at the base 
 by a circular disk, which becomes fleshy in the fruit. The fruit is 
 a single oval seed, covered, excepting at the apex, by a thick, fleshy, 
 red cup, and resembles an abortive acorn surrounded by its cup. The 
 cups of the yew fruit are sweetish, though unpleasant to the, taste, often, 
 however, being eaten by children. The leaves are very numerous, linear, 
 about half an inch long, and one-twelfth of an inch wide, sharp, dark- 
 green above, lighter beneath, alternate, and are curved outwardly and 
 upwardly. 
 
 An American variety (var. Canadensis, Gray), of the Taxus baccata, 
 is a small shrub found growing in' shady, mo|st places in Canada and 
 the noi'thern parts of the United States. 
 
 History. — Excepting the pulp of the fruit, all parts of the yew tree 
 are poisonous. Pliny, Dioscorides, and other ancient writers, mention 
 the poisonous properties of the leaves and seed, and it has been recorded 
 that wine, preserved in casks made of its wood, has occasioned the death 
 of those who S.rank it. Strabon states that the Gauls used the juice of 
 the leaves as a poison for their arrows. Recent observations have con- 
 firmed the statements as to its toxic character; and we frequently read 
 of animals and birds that have been poisoned by the leaves and berries. 
 It is likewise ^stated that the exhalation emanating from the tree may 
 Qccasion vertigo, lethargy, and a kind of drunkenness • and that even 
 death may ensue to those who carelessly sleep beneath its branches. 
 Prof. Eedwood read a paper before the Pharmaceutical Society of Great 
 Britain (1877), citing the fiatal result from drinking a decoction of the 
 leaves. 
 
 Lucas and Mavine have discovered an alkaloid in it, taxin. It is yielded 
 by both leaves and seeds, as an amorphous, white powder, bitter to the 
 tasl.e, soluble in alcohol and ether, nearly insoluble in water, but giving 
 uncrystallizable solutions with dilute acids. It is precipitated from its 
 solution by tannic acid, caustic alkalies, and tincture of iodine. Con- 
 centrated sulphuric acid produces a purple-red colored solution, that is 
 decolorized by water.' This alkaloid is not used in medicine, and, as 
 far as we know, has not been examined as to any poisonous properties 
 it may contain. — L. 
 
Thalictkum. 149 
 
 Properties and Uses.— The symptoms occasioned by the juice or extract 
 of the leaves, vary according to the quantity that has been taken. In 
 large doses, there is pallor, vertigo, spasm, and symptoms of collapse, 
 with gastric and enteritic irritation, enfeebled and deranged cardial 
 action, coma, and death. Not unfrequently, very l9,rge doses are fol- 
 lowed by a prompt diminution of the vital forces, or by positive syn- 
 cope, in either case speedily terminating in death, without any of the 
 severe symptoms of irritation being manifested. Post-mortem investi- 
 gations have found some indications of inflammation of the stomach and 
 bowels, of active renal congestion, and of diminished heart-power, with 
 a gi-eater or lesser deprivation of the coagulable quality of the blood. 
 The red berries are not injurious; Percy, in former times, prepared 
 a jellj' and a syrup from them, which he used in cough, chronic bron- 
 chitis, and to relieve the pain in calculous nephritis. The leaves have 
 likewise been recommended in certain maladies, which it is unnecessary 
 to name, as we have no satisfactory evidences of their efficacy. In cases 
 of poisoning by the ingestion of this article, it should be promptly re- 
 moved from the stomach by emesis, after which milk or other bland 
 drinks may be administered, at the same time sustaining the strength, 
 if necessary, by the prudent exhibition of stimulants. — K. 
 
 THALICTEUM. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Eanunculaceaj. Tribe. — Anemonese. . 
 
 The herb of Thalictrum Anemonoides, Mich'x. (/Sj/w.— Anemone Tha- 
 
 lictroides, Linn.') 
 
 Common Name. — Rue Anemone. , 
 
 Illustration. — Bot. Mag., 866. 
 
 Description. — This is a little plant about six or eight inches high, 
 common in open woods throughout the Middle and Eastern United States. 
 The root consists of a cluster of oblong tubers, bearing a few radical bi- 
 ternate leaves, and a flowering stem. The eauline leaves are clustered in 
 a whorl at the top of the stem, forming an involucre at the base of the 
 flowers. The flowers, which are centrifugal in development, have from 
 eight to ten colored sepals, varying in color from a pale-pink to a pure 
 white. This pretty little plant is one of the earliest spring flowers, bloom- 
 ing in March and April. It has been the subject of considerable diver- 
 sity of opinion among botanists, concerning its position in the Natural 
 System, being intermediate in character between the two genera. Ane- 
 mone and Thalictrum ; with the flower of the former it has the fruit of 
 the latter, and while the arrangement of the leaves is like that of the 
 genus Anemone, their shape accords with that of the difierent species 
 of Thalictrum. Linnaeus, who was the first to give the plant a specific 
 name, called it ''Anemone Thalictroides," which name it retained until 
 Michaux transfered it to the genus Thalictrum under the name Thalictrum 
 Anemonoides. This change was accepted by De Candolle, and is now 
 adopted by Gray, Bentham, and Hooker. Pursh described a one-flow- 
 ered variety, but it is not generally considered distinct. Nothing is 
 known of the chemical nature and constitution of any part of the 
 plant. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — But little is known concerning the therapeutical 
 properties of this plant. Dr. S. E. Barber, of Connsville, Mo., informs 
 
150 Materia Medioa. 
 
 Tis that he has found it to be a valuable remedy in external and internal 
 hemorrhoids, not accompanied with hemorrhage. The method of using 
 it is to simply eat three or four of the small root-tubers, three times a 
 day. We used some of the tubers, which he sent to us, in two cases of 
 blind piles, and with apparent success. If further and more extensive 
 trial of these tubers should confirm these conclusions as to their eflBcacj^ 
 it is probable that a fluid preparation could be made from them, pos- 
 sessing the same properties, and in a more convenient form. — K. 
 
 THAPSIA. 
 Nat. Ord. — Umbellifera3. ■ Trihe. — Laserpitiese. 
 The root and prepared resin of Thapsia Garganica, Linn. 
 
 Description. — This plant is a perennial herbaceous plant, from two to 
 four feet high, and a native of Spain and other parts of Southern 
 Europe, and also found in Northern Africa. According to Dioscorides, 
 it derives its name from the island of Thapsos, in which it was first 
 discovered; in the time of Theophrastus it was found in abundance on 
 the promontory called Gargano, hence its epithet of Garganica. It has 
 a round, smooth stem, and three-pinnately compound leaves, which are 
 borne on sheathing leaf-stalks. The flowers are in large, compound 
 umbels, and the yellow petals are elliptical, and with an inflexed point. 
 The fruit consists of two dorsally compressed carpels, which are nine- 
 ribbed, with the two side ribs winged. The root is large, from one to 
 two feet long, and from two to three inches in diameter at the thickest 
 part. 
 
 History. — It contains an acrid milky juice when fresh, and yields a 
 resin when dried. The root is the part empioj'ed in medicine, and has 
 long been in use with the Arabs. The resin of the African variety is a 
 strong irritant, both the resin and the dried root being exported from 
 Algeria in considerable amounts. The resin is obtained by extracting 
 the dry root with alcohol, distilling the tinctui'e, and washing the resi- 
 due with water.' It is soluble in alcohol, ether, and carbon disulphide; 
 becomes plastic at 16° C. >(60.°8 P.), has an amber-yellow color, and a 
 specific gravity spmewhat greater than that of water. It is said to be a 
 component of a plaster made in France and sold under the name Thap- 
 sia plaster. Desnoix prepares this plaster as follows: Rosin fifteen 
 parts, elemi twelve and a half parts, yellow wax eighteen parts, turpen- 
 tine five parts, resin of Thapsia three and a half parts; melt the rosin, 
 elemi, and wax together, and then add the turpentine and thapsia resin ; 
 strain through linen, and spread upon leather, Dorvault, L'Officine, 1872, 
 p. 883. Thapsia also contains an irritating volatile substance, which 
 affects the exposed skin of those distilling the alcoholic tincture, and who 
 have, consequently, to exercise much care during the operation. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — The properties of this plant reside in its resin, 
 which has been employed as a vesicating or irritating plaster in rheu- 
 matic, neuralgic, and other local pains, and in all cases in which a counter- 
 irritant is indicated. According to its mode of preparation, and the 
 length of time it is allowed to remain upon the part, its effect may be 
 varied from that of a slight redness to the production of an intense 
 irritation with formation of vesicles; its action being, in this respect, 
 
 ^Reboulleau and Beriherand, 1857. 
 
Thymol. 151 
 
 similar to that of euphorbium, croton oil, mezereon, and other counter- 
 irritants. It is more commonly employed in combination with other 
 agents, to modify its more active effects. The tincture of the resin may 
 be painted upon oil-cloth, adhesive plaster, or other material, and used 
 as a local counter-irritant. Internally-, this agent is not employed, 
 though it is stated to possess emeto-cathartic properties. — K. 
 
 THYMOL. 
 
 Thymol. Thymic Acid. 
 Formula, CioHj^O; molecular weight, 149.66., 
 
 Thymor was discovered by Caspar Neumann, in 1719. It was puri- 
 fied in 1853,' by M. Lallemand, who gave it the name " thymol," and 
 ascribed the formula (old notation) CjoHuOj, the same being accepted 
 at the present day as correct, corresponding to CjoHiiO of the new nota- 
 tion. Thymol is a phenol of the ten carbon series, and is isomeric with 
 carvacrol.^ It is found in oil of thyme, oil of horseraint, and oil of 
 Ptychotis Ajowan (a plant from the East Indies); the thymol of com- 
 merce being derived from thyme oil. Thymol exists in oil of thyme, 
 associated with two substances of greater volatility, cymene, CjoHu, and 
 thymene, CjoHig. Thymol may be obtained by distilling the pure. oil of 
 thyme ; cymene and thymene pass over, and afterward the thymol', 
 which may be received in a separate receptacle, and purified by crys- 
 tallization from alcohol; or, the thyme oil may be agitated well with 
 solution of caustic soda, the liquid which rises decanted, and the lower 
 solution neutralized with hydrochloric acid, when thymol will rise upon 
 the surface, and may be purified by crystallization from its alcoholic 
 solution. 
 
 Thymol, when pure, crystallizes in large transparent crystals, of a 
 peppery taste and pleasant odor, although that found in our market is 
 usually somewhat colored, and strongly possesses the odor of oil of 
 thyme.' Thymol melts at 44° C. (111°.2 F.), and boils at 230° C. (446° 
 F.). It is soluble in from one thousand to twelve hundred parts of cold 
 water; in its weight of alcohol; in one hundred and twenty parts of 
 glycerin ; and in less than its weight of caustic alkaline solution; and is 
 rery soluble in fats and oils. It is likewise soluble in ether, chloroform, 
 disulphide of carbon, milk, and acetic acid. Its specific gravity is given 
 at from 1.028 to 0.980 and 0.990, the variation being ascribed to diiference 
 of origin. The specific gravity 1.028 is generally accepted as accurate, 
 and agrees with that of the thymol we have made from oil of thyme. 
 
 In making solutions of thymol with glycerin and water, it is best to 
 triturate the thymol in a mortar with a small portion of alcohol, until 
 it is dissolved, then add the desired menstruum. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Thymol is an antiseptic and disinfectant, and is 
 considered by many, who have experimented with it, to be superior, in 
 
 ^Comptes Rendus, Sep., 1853, and Pharm. Jom-n. and Trans., Vol. xiii. 
 
 ^Carvacrol, Oxycymene, or Cymenol, was recently known as cymyl alcohol ; it may be 
 made by heating camphor with iodine; also. by heating carvol (a constituent of oil of 
 caraway) with phosphoric acid. It is not used in medicine. — L. 
 
 'Oil of origanum of commerce is usually the oil of thyme, often largely adulterated 
 with spirits of turpentine. It has been stated that a large proportion of the oil of 
 thyme now brought to this country is deficient in thymol, and recent practical experi- s 
 ments of the writer corroborate the assertion. 
 
152 Matekia Medica. 
 
 these respects, to phenic acid. By destroying the vitality of organized 
 and living ferments, it prevents the. occurrence of putrefaction, and 
 arrests it when it has commenced. A small quantitj' of thymol added 
 to albumen, milk, solutions of gum, or of gelatin, will preserve them 
 for several months; and urine will be kept intact for several weeks. In 
 contact with putrid pus, it promptly removes any odor emanating from 
 this substance, and keeps it without change until complete dessication 
 occurs. Applied to wounds, ulcers, or abscesses, in the form of a weak 
 solution, it promptly modifies their condition, and accelerates cicatriza- 
 tion. Fifteen grains of thymol dissolved in two pintsof distilled water, 
 forms an invaluable disinfectant; this has been found effective in disin- 
 fecting sick rooms, and as a local application to prevent septicemia dur- 
 ing the parturient period, as well as at other times when there is reason 
 to fear its development. M. Paquet has preserved viscera, portions of 
 limbs, etc., free from the least trace of putrefaction for several months, 
 by means of the following solution : Take of thymol, tannin, each, one 
 drachm, aniline half, a drachm, glycerin three ounces ; mix. When 
 employed in the dressing of ulcers, etc., the following solution has been 
 recommended by M. Giraldes : Take of thymol from half a drachm to 
 a drachm, alcohol three fluidounces, distilled water thirty fluidounces ; 
 mix; this has been found to act efflcaciously, even in cases in which 
 iodine and other analogous topical applications had been fruitlessly 
 enlployed. It is not necessary to employ too strong a solution, as pure 
 thymol possesses caustic properties. M Paquet has derived great benefit 
 in dressing ulcers by the following ; Take of thymol half a drachm, 
 alcohol (85 p. c.) two fluidrachms, distilled water thirty -three fluid- 
 ounces; mix. These solutions maybe applied on lint, or by spray. 
 Concentrated thymol may be advantageously substituted for monohy- 
 drated nitric acid, or nitrate of silver, in cauterization of the dental 
 nerves ; it does not leave so disagreeable an odor in the mouth as is the 
 case with phenic acid. 
 
 Thymol has been employed in inhalations, by Bouillhon, Paquet 
 and others, in bronchial and other affections of the respiratory organs, 
 attended vpith gangrenous exhalations. The respiratory mucous mem- 
 branes become excited, the expectoration is diminished, becomes thin- 
 ner and less tenacious, contains a much smaller amount of mucin, and 
 is more freely passed. It suppresses the gangrenous odor, and pre- 
 vents the diseased bronchial surfaces, and the abnormal secretions cov- 
 ering them, from undergoing butyric fermentation, thus checking a 
 poisoning of the blood. Ten drops of a thick, concentrated solution of 
 thymol are placed in a small glass flask, furnished with a cork, through 
 which passes two bent glass tubes, one descending nearly to the bottom 
 of the flask, the other being short. This latter is held in the patient's 
 mouth, who will aspire the air charged with the vapor of the thymol. 
 These inhalations should be continued for four or five minutes, each 
 time, and be repeated eight or ten times per day. Ten drops of the so- 
 lution will suffice for inhalation during foui- or five days. If, during 
 the inhalation, a slight sense of pricking is experienced in the posterior 
 region of the pharynx, the inhalation should be suspended until this 
 sensation passes off, and then be again continued. M. Lewin considers 
 thymol very useful in diphtheria and other similar diseases dependent 
 upon the action of living organisms; also in arresting the hypersecre- 
 tion of various mucous membranes. In cases in which fermentation 
 occurs in the stomach with dilatation of this organ, he states that 
 
Thymol. 153 
 
 thymol acts promptly in arresting the accompanying vomitings, and 
 gradually effects a contraction of this dilated cavity. 
 
 M. Baelz, who has made some comparative experiments with thymol 
 and salicylic acid' (in the service of M. Wunderlich) upon persons in 
 health, and also those aflfected with typhoid fever, articular rheuma- 
 tism, phthisis and pyelitis, states that in doses of one-sixth of a grain, 
 repeated several times, no effect was observed ; in order to obtain an ap- 
 preciable therapeutical result, it was necessary to give daily from 
 twenty-five to thirty grains. Upon coming in contact with the bucco- 
 pharyngeal mucous membrane, the medicine occasioned a pricking sen- 
 sation and a disagreeable taste; there was seldom any nausea, and vom- 
 iting occurred but once among thirty-six persons. Upon increasing 
 the dose, a slight, but transient, sense of heat was ' experienced in the 
 epigastrium ; and, in some cases, a diarrhea analogous to that in typhoid 
 fever. In the majority of cases, half an hour or an hour after the in- 
 gestion of thymol, more or less limited and profuse sweats appeared, 
 but in all cases less than those occasioned by salicylic acid or juborandi. 
 An increase in the quantity of urine was frequently noticed ; and the 
 urine presented a dark, greenish color, as if it contained blood, and ap- 
 peared a yellowish-brown when illuminated by reflected light. A so- 
 lution of perchloride of iron added to the urine rendered it cloudy,. and 
 of a whitish-gray color. When the gray predominated, it reminded of 
 an icteric urine, or even of a nephritic urine mixed with blood ; the ab- 
 sence of albumen, however, prevented any mistake as to the latter 
 cause. The nervous phenomena were represented by tinnitus aurium, 
 deafness, and a sense of constriction at the temples.'' 
 
 Dr. B. Kussner has found that from three to five drops of a one per 
 cent, solution of thymol was beneficial in diarrhea of children. Thymol 
 injected into the veins lowers the temperature and induces stupor. An- 
 imals poisoned with it pass into a deep coma ; after death their blood is 
 dark and fluid, but no fatty degeneration of internal organs is observed. 
 Med. Press and Circ. 
 
 The preferable forms for the internal administration of thymol are 
 either to dissolve it in an alcoholic drink, or to form it into a thick, 
 emulsioned fluid; but, thus far, the employment of this agent has been 
 confined chiefly to its use as a topical application, and to utilize its an- 
 tiseptic properties. The advantages derived from its internal adminis- 
 tration have been very limited. The following has been advised as a 
 method of preparing it into pills, the soap being indispensable to assure 
 the division of the thymol: Take of thymol, three grains; medicinal 
 soap, six gvains ; exdpient, i\ sufficient quantity; mix thoroughly, and 
 divide into twenty pills. An ointment has likewise been advan- 
 tageously employed, by thoroughly triturating together from two to 
 twenty drops of a thick, alcoholic solution of thymol with one ounce of 
 vaseline or pure lard. This has been used as a local application in 
 burns, eczema psoriasis, tinea, lichen, and other cutaneous afl'ections, 
 and as a parasiticitU;. When much hyperemia is present, it must not 
 be applied until this has been allayed. Avery powerful antiseptic may 
 be made thus ; One part of thymol and twelve parts of chloral hydrate 
 are triturated together, and then an equal quantity of camphor added, 
 
 ^In- doses of from thirty to sixty grains, M. Baelz considers its action, as an antipy- 
 retic, decidedly inferior to that of salicylic acid. — K. 
 'Archiv. der Heilkunde. Bd., xiv, 3, 4 Heft. 
 
154 Materia Medica. 
 
 when the mixture assumes a liquid form ; these proportions may be va- 
 ried, if deemed necessary. — K. 
 
 TEIGLOCHIJST. 
 Nat. Ord. — ^Alismacese. Sub Ord. — Juncaginese. 
 The herb of Triglochin maritimum, Linn. 
 Common Name. — Arrow-grass. 
 
 Description. — This is an herbaceous plant, found in marshes and other 
 damp situations throughout the United States, especially near the sea 
 coast. It has numerous narrow, grass-like, but fleshy, leaves, all radi- 
 cal and sheathed at the base. The flowers are very small, greenish, and 
 borne in slender, spicate racemes on erect scapes; which are from one 
 to two feet high. The sepals are three, ovate ; the petals are also three, 
 and colored green like the sepals, The pistil consists of six united 
 ovaries, which divides, in fruit, into six dry, linear, one-seed carpels. 
 
 Triglochin palustre, a smaller species, with only three carpels, is found 
 in similar situations. Both species grow in Europe. We have not 
 been able to find a report of its constituents and think it has never been 
 examined chemically. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Triglochin maritimum is said to be much sought 
 after by cattle in its vicinity, especially subsequent to frost ; they thrive 
 upon it, and grow fat ; while, with cows giving suck, it greatly increases 
 the quantity and richness of their milk. Dr. E. P. Jones, of Colorado,, 
 reports it to be an active diuretic, of considerable value in kidney and 
 bladder affections. To be employed in infusions. — K. 
 
 TEIMETHYLAMIN. 
 
 Formula, N(CH3)3 ; molecular weight, 58.92. 
 
 Description. — Trimethylamin is isomeric with propylamin, under 
 which name it was described by the older works ; it was discovered by 
 Wertheim (1850), and first employed in medicine by Awenarius, a phy- 
 sician of St. Petersburg (1854). It may be obtained from ergot, rust 
 of wheat, and the flowers of some species of Eosacese, also from fish- 
 brine, and crude cod-liver oil, the latter substances furnishing the 
 " propylamin " of commerce. Codein and narcotin yield it, when de- 
 composed by distillation with caustic-potash. It is most readily pre- 
 pared, with economy, from fish-brine, by mixing the brine with excess 
 of slaked lime, distilling, then saturating the distillate with hydro- 
 chloric acid, and evaporating. Exhaust the residue with alcohol, filter, 
 evaporate the filtrate to dryness, and distil carefully from an excess of 
 slaked-lime made into paste with water. As thus obtained, it contains 
 ii little water, from which it may be mostly freed by shaking with 
 ether, decanting the ethereal solution and evaporating in a vacuum. 
 
 Trimethylamin, l^(Gn,\, is a colorless fluid of a strongly alkaline 
 character, has an odor similar to that of herring-brine, boils at 9.°8 0. , 
 (49.°6 P.), is soluble in every proportion in alcohol, water and ether, 
 and forms soluble salts with bases. 
 
 Hydrochlorate of Trimethylamin is chiefly used in medicine, and is 
 often known under the improper name "Chloride of Propylamin." It 
 is made by decomposing the crude hydrochlorate, obtained from brine, 
 
TURNERA. 155 
 
 with caustic lime or potash, passing the vapor of trimethylamin, that 
 is given off, into dilute hydrochloric acid, evaporating this solution, thus 
 obtained; and recrystallizing the residue from stronger alcohol. It is a 
 white, deliquescent salt, of a slight odor, a saline taste, and soluble in 
 alcohol and water. (When heated to 260° C. (500° F.), it decomposes 
 into ammonia trimethylamin and methyl chloride, Allen.) 
 
 Propylamin (normal) CjHaN, is obtained by hydrogenation of pro- 
 prionitril (C3H5N), or of cj'anide of ethyl; and may also be prepared 
 by other chemical processes. It is a strongly alkaline liquid, boils at 
 50° C. (122° P.), 'has the specific gravity 0.7283 at 0° C. (32° P.), and 
 forms a platinochloride which crystallizes in orange-yellow monoclinic 
 prisms (Fowne). It is not used in medicine. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Trimethylamin has a depressive action upon 
 the pulse and the temperature, reducing the former from two to eighteen 
 beats per hour, and the latter from one to three degrees ; depending 
 upon the dose administered, and the condition of the person experi- 
 mented upon. It appears to exert no action upon the suj-face of the 
 body unless applied with friction, when it occasions rubefaction. Upon 
 mucous membranes it has an irritating and caustic action, on which 
 account it is necessary, in administering it, to employ it in mixtures. . 
 It appears to possess no diaphoretic or diuretic effect, and, properly 
 given, occasions no derangement of the digestive organs. According 
 to M. Peltier, the physiological action of trimethylamin is, a gentle 
 excitant of the skin, a caustic to the mucous membrane, a sedative to 
 the nervous system, a hyposthenizant to the arterial system, and a 
 modifier of urea in the urine, diminishing its amount considerably; 
 therapeutically, it calms the pains in rheumatism, diminishes the articu- 
 lar congestion, at the same time rapidily reducing the fever. The 
 hydrochlorate of trimethylamin occasions the same effects, and is gen- 
 erally preferred for therapeutical use, on account of its taste and odor 
 being more agreeable. These agents have been highly recommended 
 in acute articular rheumatism, in which they promptly allay the pain, 
 and eifect the cure in a very short time, from four to twelve days. They 
 have likewise been found promptly eflScacious in the treatment of 
 chorea. The method pursued by Awenarius is probably the best for 
 the administration of trimethj'lamin, as follows : To six fluidounces of 
 peppermint water add two drachms of white sugar, and twenty -four 
 drops of trimethylamin. The dose of this is half a fluidounce, to be 
 repeated, according to the urgency of the case, every two, three or four 
 hours. The dose of the hydrochlorate of trimethylamin is from five to 
 fifteen grains in the course of twenty-four hours. It may be prepared 
 for administration in a very agreeable form as follows : Mix together, 
 hydrochlorate of trimethylamin one hundred and fifty-four grains, tinc- 
 ture of the yellow rind of orange one fluidounce, syrup two pints : the 
 dose of this is from half a fluidounce to one and a half fluidounces. — K. 
 
 TUENERA. 
 Nat. Ord. — Turneracese. 
 
 The leaves and top of Turnera Aphrodisiaca, Ward and Vasey. 
 Common Name. — Damiana. 
 
 History and Description. — This drug was introduced in 1874, by Dr. 
 F. O. St. Clair, and first appeared in the form of a fluid extract, from 
 
156 
 
 Materia Medica. 
 
 the firm of Messrs 
 Fig. 9. 
 
 Mr. Wellcome's figures of Damiana, 
 {Chicago Pharmacist.) 
 
 Helmick & Co., of Washington, D. C. Three dis- 
 tinct varieties or species of plants under 
 the name of Damiana, are now found 
 upon the market, and are derived from 
 as many different sources In connec- 
 tion with the history of this drug, it may 
 be stated that Mr. H. S. Wellcome, read 
 a paper upon the subject, before the New 
 York Alumni Association of the Phila- 
 delphia College of Pharmacy, October 
 15th, 1875, af the same time exhibiting 
 cuts of leaves, which were known upon 
 the market, at that time, as "Damiana," 
 reproduced by us (Fig. 9). 
 The true Damiana, the kind originally introduced by Dr. F.O.St. 
 Clair,'who, we are informed, obtained it from Mr. Eugene Gillespie, the 
 "U. S. Consul at Cape San Lucas, is derived from Mexico (see Fig. 10). 
 
 The botanical source of the drug 
 has never been definitely ascer- 
 tained. It is evidently from a 
 Mexican species of Turnera, sup- 
 posed, by E. M. Holmes, to be a 
 smooth -leaved variety of T. micro- 
 phylla, D. C. Prof Lester F. VVard, 
 B on the examination of authentic 
 specimens obtained from Dr. St. 
 Clair, concluded that the drug is ob- 
 tained from an undescribed species 
 of Tiirnera, which Prof Vasey and 
 himself designated Turnera Aphro- 
 disiaca, and this name we shall ac- 
 cept for the Mexican Damiana, until further light is thrown upon the 
 subject. The result of Prof Ward's examination can be found in the 
 Virginia Med. Monthly, April, 1876. 
 
 The genus Turnera is a small family of chiefly tropical American 
 plants allied to the Passiflorese. The flowers are small, j-ellow, and, in 
 the species that produces Damiana, subsessile near the end of the short 
 branches. The calyx is tubular, hairj' externa,lly, colored like the 
 petals, and five-toothed at the apex. The petals are five, yellow, and 
 inserted on the tube of the calyx. The fruit, specimens of which are 
 often found with Damiana leaves, are dry, one-celled, globular, and 
 about the size of a large hemp seed (Fig. 10, B B). They are warty 
 and rough externally, open by three valves, and contain from three to 
 six kidney-shaped seeds (Fig. 10, C, magnified) attached to three parietal 
 placentae. Mexican Damiana (Turnera aphrodisiaca} as found in market, 
 consists of broken leaves mixed with fragments of the branches, and, 
 sometimes, with seed-pods. The branches have a reddish-brown bark, 
 and are covered, when young, with white, cottony hairs. The leaves 
 (Fig. 10, natural size) are less than an inch long, obovate, wedge-shape, 
 
 Turnera Aphrodisiaca, Ward and Vaaey. 
 Damiana.) Natural Size. 
 
 'We extend our thanks to Dr. St. Clair for the aid given Uf3 in our endeavor to ob- 
 tain the complete history of this drug, as well as for the specimens of original dami- 
 ana so kindly furnished by himself. In this connection we can say that the leaves of 
 {Fig. 10), marked A A are drawn from the original lot of damiana imported by Dr. 
 St. Clair in 1872— L. 
 
TURNERA. 
 
 157 
 
 and taper at the base to a short slender leaf-stalk ; when young, they 
 are covered with a slight pubescence, but become smooth when old. 
 They are distinctly pinnate!}- veined, and the margin is toothed with 
 from eight to ten teeth. 
 
 A variety of Damiana, closely resembling the. preceding, is derived 
 from California. It was ascertained by Mr. B. M. Holmes to be obtained 
 from Turnera microphylla, D. C, a small shrubby plant, native of Lower 
 California and Northern Mexico. The leaves resemble the Mexican, 
 but are broader, and covered with white hairs on both sides (Fig- 9, A). 
 
 A second kind of California damiana (also a species of Turnera) has 
 lately made its appearance, in the market. We are indebted to Mr. Jas. 
 G. Steele for the fact tliat this lot of damiana came from San Diego, 
 California, and grew in- 
 land, at the southern part 
 of the State. The leaves 
 have the shape of the Mexi- 
 can damian a, but are larger, 
 and very hairy, and espe- 
 cially underneath {Fig. 11, 
 natural size). 
 
 The most common drug, 
 however, that is sold on 
 the raai'ket under the name 
 of (iami'ana is obtained from 
 
 AplopappHS diSCOideUS, J). C, California Damiana. (Species of Turnera.) Natural Size. 
 
 a Compositse plant of the section Asteroidece. It is one of the few rayless 
 species of Aplopappus, and is referred by some to the genus Linosyris. It 
 has no botanical relation to the 
 true damiana, and can only be 
 considered a sophistication. The 
 leaves {Fig. 12, natural size, and 
 Wellcome's Fig. 9, B) of this 
 plant, as found on the market, 
 are thick, firm, and not so much 
 broken up as the Turnera; the 
 surface of the leaf is rough, res- 
 inous, dotted, the mid-rib being 
 prominent; but the veinlets are 
 indistinct. The teeth are toward 
 the apex of the leaf, and are rather remote and sharp. This plant can 
 readily be distinguished from the true damiana by the presence of nu- 
 merous flower-heads, which are common in all the specimens examined 
 by us (Fig. 12, A). They are borne in axillary clusters of from four to 
 six heads. The involucre is bell-shape, and consists of numerous cori- 
 aceous imbricated scales, pubescent on the tips. The achenia (Fig. 12, 
 B, magTiifled)is covered with a dense appressed pubescence, and bears a 
 tawny, scabrous, spreading, unequal pappus. 
 
 The sensible properties of the leaves of all the varieties (or species) of 
 Turnera found upon the market, under the name of Damiana, are sim- 
 ilar. All have a fragrant odor, resembling lemon balm, and a pleasant, 
 slightly aromatic taste. The leaves impart their virtues readily to hot 
 water, as well as to mixtures of water and alcohol. When distilled 
 with water, the distillate from the leaves yields an essential oil ; this 
 oil is lighter than water, possesses the characteristic odor, and imparts 
 to the plant its fragrance. 
 
 Aplopappus Discoideus. (Spurious Damiana.) 
 Natural Size. 
 
158 Materia Medica. 
 
 The spurious damiana, Aplopappus discoideus {Fig 12), is entirely 
 different. It resembles more nearly |;he Grindelias, both in odor and 
 taste'. It is veiy resinous, and imparts its cTiaracteristic properties most 
 freely to strong alcohol. Water hardly affects it, and mixtures of water 
 and alcohol imperfectly exhaust the reSinous principles, and do not per- 
 manently retain in solution such portions as are extracted. This 
 spurious diimiana need never be unintentionally employed, as both the 
 general appearance of the leaf, and the sensible characteristics, are en- 
 tirely different from all the species of Turnera. According to our ex- 
 perience, however, it can be purchased in the market at half the price 
 of true damiana, and those who simply regard cheapness, and the name 
 "damiana," may, when purchasing, expect, as the rule, to receive the 
 spurious article. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This drug has been almost eulogized for its posi- 
 tive aphrodisiac effects, acting energetically upon the genito-urinary 
 organs in both sexes, removing impotence in the one, and frigidity in the 
 other, whether due to abuses or to age. Many physician^ who have 
 tried it, deny its possession of such' virtues, but the friends of the drug 
 attribute their failures to the use of the spurious articles. It will very 
 likely be found to possess laxative, tonic, and diuretic properties only; 
 arid the aphrodisiac effects following its use, no more prove that these 
 belong to it, than the same effects, that not unfrequently appear after 
 the employment of many other agents, prove that such agents possess 
 similar excitant virtues. The dose of the fluid extract is from half a 
 flui|drachm to half a fluidounce. — K. 
 
 VERBESINA. 
 
 Nat. Orrf.— Compositse. Tribe. — Senecionidese. 
 
 The leaves and tops of Verbesina Virginica, Linn. 
 
 Common Names. — Crown-beard ; Gravel-weed. 
 
 Description. — This is a j^all, perennial plant, found growing in open 
 situations in the southern part of the United States. It has a pubes- 
 cent, branched stem, which is winged by the decurrent leaves, and 
 grows from three to six feet high. The alternate leaves are ovate, 
 downy beneath, and irregularly toothed or lobed. They taper at the 
 base to a winged leaf-stalk, and the lower ones are decurrent on the 
 stem. The flower-heads are numerous, and borne in dense, comj)ound, 
 terminal corymbs. They have pale-yellow disks, and a few white, 
 oval, fertile rays. The fruit is a flattened, narrowly winged, achenium, 
 bearing a couple of erect awns. The genus Verbeisina,, is an extensive 
 family of American plants, mostly in Mexico and South America. 
 Two species are indigenous to the United States, V. Virginica and V. 
 SiegesbecMa, both natives of the Southern States. Of their chemical 
 constitution nothing is known. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This article has not until now been introduced 
 into our Materia Medica. According to Dr. J. C. Kendrick. Texas, who 
 has made extensive use of it in his practice, a strong decoction proves a 
 certain diuretic ; he has found italmo.st a specific in gravel, and in vesical 
 tenesmus. He believes that it exeits a t-olvent effect upon calculi in 
 the bladder, but it will require repeated and careful trials before such a 
 belief can be accepted; nevertheless, it certainly deserves to be tested 
 in the cases he has named. The decoction may be used freely. — K. 
 
SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 PHARMACY AND PHARMACOPEIA. 
 
 If. B. — The reader is referred to the Materia Medica, Part I, of this 
 Supplement, for the medical properties and uses of preparations, when 
 not named under their respective heads in the present Part. — K. & L. 
 
 EXTBACTUM MALTII. 
 Extract op Malt. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of fresh barley malt any desired amount, water a 
 suflS^cient quantity ; heat the water to a temperature of from 100° to 150° 
 F., and moisten the malt with a portion of it. Pack the moisteiied 
 malt, loosely, in a cylindrical percolator of suitable size, and then add 
 more of the water, at the same temperature, until the percolate appears 
 at the exit. Now close the exit with a cork, and allow the whole to 
 macerate, in a warm place, for from three to six hours. At the expira- 
 tion of this time, unclose the exit, and allow the percolation to proceed, 
 adding fresh supplies of heated water, until the percolate has yielded, 
 in weight, an amount equal {.o twice that of the malt employed. Lastly, 
 evaporate at a temperature ranging from 80° to 94° C. (about 180° to 
 200° F.), with constant stirring, to the consistence of a soft extract. 
 
 History. — In the preceding process, if the operation of the -percola- 
 tion be neglected, or if the percolate be allowed to stand a short time 
 previous to evaporation, fermentation will speedily ensue, and the re- 
 sulting extract will have an acid, disagreeable taste. If the temperature 
 be permitted to rise above the boiling point of water, after the extract 
 has become somewhat concentrated, a burnt flavor will be imparted to 
 it. Genuine extract of malt is a translucent, reddish-brown, adhesive 
 substance, of an agreeable, somewhat sweetish, but not positively sac- 
 charine taste. An infusion of pure malt has the correct flavor peculiar 
 to fresh malt,and evaporation does not appreciably increase its sweetness; 
 therefore, should any extract of malt have a decidedly syrup-like taste, 
 
 (159) 
 
160 Pharmacy and Pharmacopceia. 
 
 it may be suspected that some sweetish substance has been added to it, 
 either to overcome the effects of fermentation or to increase the con- 
 sistence of the extract without the proper evaporation. Glucose appears 
 to be peculiarlj- adapted for these purposes, and if the fermentation be 
 not excessive, the addition of this substance will accomplish both ob- 
 jects. This is, probably, the only adulterant that will be found. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This article was introduced into this country 
 from Germany, where it had been used for some time as a tonic and 
 nutrient in anorexia, chronic bronchitis, phthisis, asthma, dyspepsia, 
 convalescence from exhausting maladies, and in all diseases accompanied 
 by general debility and impairment of the vital powers ; its beneficial 
 effects in these diseases appear to be due to the diastase and the nutri- 
 tive principles entering into its composition. It forms an excellent 
 substitute for malt liquors in those cases where even a gentle stimulant 
 is contra-indicated. At the present time our manufacturers have thrown 
 many malt preparations upon the market, into which, iron, cod-liver 
 oil, pepsine, quinia, iodides, etc., enter, and apparently without regard 
 to the compatibilities or incompatibilities of the articles thus thrown 
 together; and it is doubtful whether such mixtures exert as beneficial 
 results in the diseases for which thej' are recommended, as would ensues 
 were the drugs taken separately, and alternately, with the malt extract. 
 The dose of extract of malt is from one to four fluidrachms in milk, or in 
 soup, repeating it three times a day. — K. • 
 
 EXTRACTUM MALTI COMPOSITUM. 
 Compound Extract of Malt. Extract of Malt and Hops. 
 
 Preparation. — To one-part of fresh Hops, ground, add nine parts ot 
 Malt (one in ten), and make an extract in the same manner as directed 
 for the simple Extract of Malt. 
 
 The odor of the hops is not observed in this preparation owint; to the 
 subsequent evaporation, but the bitter taste remains quite distinct. 
 There are many mixtures at present upon the market that contain a 
 grea,ter or lesser amount of extract of malt, but it is not in accordance 
 with our purpose to describe them. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation differs from the preceding only 
 in the presence of hops, which may impart to it a slight hypnotic in- 
 fluence. It may be used in the same cases, and in the same doses, as 
 named for the extract of malt. — K. 
 
 , FLUID EXTRACTS. 
 General Directions. 
 
 Eecognizing the necessity for good and reliable concentrated prepa- 
 tions of our various therapeutical agents, we here introduce formulas 
 and processes for making Fluid Extracts of all the drugs described in 
 this Supplement, of which such fluid elaborations are demanded ; and 
 we are confident that if these processes be carefully conducted, liquids 
 will be produced that will represent (with two exceptions, chestnut and 
 malt), for each troy ounce (very nearly) of the material employed a 
 corresponding fluidounce of finished Fluid Extract. The variation 
 from this standard will not be greater than might be expected from 
 crude materials that are gathered at different seasons, or that are ob- 
 
Fluid Extracts. 161 
 
 tained from various sources. We are assured, from practical experience, 
 that each formula and process is correct and practical. The menstruum 
 employed in each instance, is believed to be that which is the best 
 adapted for the extraction, and subsequent retention in solutions of those 
 principles of the drug that are considered its active therapeutical con- 
 stituents. 
 
 It will be observed that maceration is employed in some instances 
 where percolation is objectionable, as in Fluid Extract of Chestnut, and 
 of Mangifera Indica; and, likewise, that where the application of heat 
 to a reserved tincture, would be apt to destroy or evaporate its thera- 
 peutical properties, the heat is dispensed with, and we obtain the 
 desired result by other means, as in the prej>aration of Fluid Extract 
 of Eucalyptus. 
 
 We are satisfied from actual experiment that the processes generally 
 adopted by works on Pharmacj', failed in producing Fluid Extracts 
 that fully represent the drugs employed ; that is, a pint of finished 
 extract corresponding to sixteen troy ounces of the drug. This diffi- 
 culty, we believe to have overcome, by directing sixteen troy ounces, 
 of material to be employed, — the product being a liquid extract, varyT 
 ing in bulk from ten to fourteen fluidounces as the character of the 
 drug requires. In every case, we have considered the menstruum 
 simply as to its power of dissolving and retaining the therapeutical 
 principles of the various drugs subjected to its action, without any re- 
 gard to coloring matters, guma, etc. This being our only object, it will 
 be noticed that formulas and processes have been furnished that will 
 yield light-cblored, or greenish and mobile preparations, in instances 
 where other menstruums acting upon the same material would result, 
 in thick, gummy, or mucilaginous, and, perhaps, nearly black liquids 
 from the presence of inert extractive matters; in the latter case, the 
 extract being deficient in the genuine medicinal principles. 
 
 Fineness of Powders. — Very fine (duste^,) powders are those that 
 have been passed through a silk sieve of eighty or more meshes to the 
 liiied,r inch, or, powders in the form of dust, produced where the ma- 
 terials ai-e pulverized in a chaser ; powders are termed moderately fine, 
 when passed through a wire sieve of forty meshes to the linear inch; 
 coarse, when passed through a wire sieve of twenty meshes to the linear 
 inch ; and bruised, when articles which agglutinate and refuse to be 
 sifted, are crushed as fine!}' as possible by concussion in an iron mortar. 
 The powders generally sold upon the market are such as we desig- 
 nate by very fine (dusted), being usually dusted by means of a chaser. ■ 
 
 Moistening the Powder for Percolation. — Place the powder in an 
 evaporating dish of ample capacity, and pour upon it the amount of 
 menstruum directed in the formula, stirring the powder constantly, then, 
 when the balance of the menstruum is added, rub the mixture between 
 the palms of the hands quickly and thoroughly, until the lumps dis- 
 appear and a smooth mixture is produced; lastly, pass this mixture 
 through a sieve of from ten to twenty meshes to the linear inch, and 
 then transfer' it immediately to the wide-mouth bottle as directed, that 
 it may undergo maceration. 
 
 Object op this Maceration. — It is often found that after a percolator 
 has been packed, the menstruum, when added, passes in considerable 
 proportion between the powder and the glass. This results from the 
 fact that the menstruum, used in moistening, has not been absorbed l?y 
 the powder, and hence, after the powder has been packed in the per- 
 colator, the menstruum penetrates the powder, contraction results, and 
 102 
 
162 Pharmacy and Pharmacopceia. 
 
 the material separates from the surface of the percolator, thus presenting 
 a crevice into which the menstruum passes more rapidly than it does 
 in permeating the material. Previous maceration of the moistened 
 powder of half an hour overcomes this difficulty. 
 
 The Percolator should be of glass where moderate amounts of ma- 
 terial are operated upon. Large quantities require tin or wood. In 
 all cases they should be nearly cylindriciil, slightly conical, and of such 
 diameter that the powder would occupy at least twelve inches in per- 
 pendicular height when properly packed. 
 
 To Prepare the Percolator for Percolation, — Provide a tapering 
 cork which will perfectly close the exit or discharging aperture, so that 
 when the percolate appears, the flow may be at once arrested. Then 
 slice one side of the cork wedge-shape, commencing at the small end, 
 
 _. as shown in Fig. 13, care being, taken that the cut does not 
 
 ^^^_ extend beyond that part of the cork which closes tightly 
 J^^"^ tlie exit of the percolator. Now, place a layer of cotton 
 III \ \ "P°'^ t^® bottom of the percolator, as shown by Fig. 14, A; 
 Mi \ A and, if convenient, a smooth layer of silver sand upon the 
 
 ■ /' ' '11^ '^^^ sixteen troy ounces of powder intended for per- 
 '&! ijW^ eolation should, as soon as it is ready, be placed into 
 — the percolator, about one-fourth its bulk at a time ; the 
 
 surface should be smoothed after each addition, and then pressed as 
 directed, for each drug. It is necessary that the pressure be even 
 throughout the entire mass, otherwise the liquid will select the more 
 porous portions, and thus yield a defective percolation. 
 
 It is best to select some flat circular body or disk to use in pressing 
 the powder, and for this purpose a circular stick of wood, with a smooth 
 end, in thickness about two-thirds the diameter of the inside of the 
 percolator, answers very well, care being taken that all portions of the 
 surface of the powder are submitted alike to the pressure. 
 
 By moderately, we understand the pressure of fro ui five to ten pounds; 
 firmly, from fifteen to twenty pounds; and very firmly, the convenient 
 pressure of one hand, not to exceed fifty pounds. Some little practice 
 with a pair of spring balances will enable the operator to form an idea 
 of the pressure required.' Having the powder properly packed, and 
 the surface smooth, cut a piece of filtering paper to fit closely within 
 the percolator, and place it upon the surface of the powder, and upon 
 this place a few fragments of glass to retain it in position. Then add 
 the menstruum, as directed, and cover the percolator with a plate or 
 disk of ground glass ; and, when the percolate appears, close the orifice 
 tightly with the cork, and proceed according to the process given for 
 making the particular extract. It must be observed that the cork is 
 not inserted in the exit of the percolator until the percolate has appeared. 
 When the period of maceration is over, gently twist and slowly with- 
 draw the cork until the slit previously cut upon its side permits the 
 liquid to pass in drops, without running in a stream. The object of the 
 
 'Dr. E. E. Squibb, in New Remedies, Jan., 1879, suggests " moderately " as a press- 
 ure of forty- five pounds; firmly, sixty pounds; and hard, seventy-five pounds, or 
 more. This will answer very well for large quantities, or where the pressure is exerted 
 upon a considerable surface, as with " both hands," thus, in reality, reducing the actual 
 pressure upon each square inch to, or below, that given by us, which is intended to apply 
 to only sixteen troy ounces of material. We are assured, from experience, that the 
 operator will work to disadvantage if a greater pressure is employed than advised by 
 us with our menstruums, and in like quantities of material. — L. 
 
Fluid Extracts. 
 
 163 
 
 repealed macerations and fractional percoUtions, as directed by us is 
 to overcome imperfect moistening and packing of the powder, and 
 to subject the same to the most 
 thorough maceration. We object 
 to filtration of the finished fluid 
 extract, as the rule, and seldom find 
 it necessary where care is taken 
 in packing and otherwise prepar- 
 ing the percolate and the material 
 for percolation. 
 
 In conclusion, we will state that 
 the weight of a fluid extract can 
 not in the least determine its thera- 
 peutical value, unless the gravity 
 can be increased or diminished by 
 the therapeutical constituents of 
 the drug employed. The gums of 
 most of 'Our plants are valueless 
 in medicine, and yet their pres- 
 ence determines, to a great ex- 
 tent, the thickness and gravity of 
 an extract. A drug may be rich 
 in gums, or other extractive mat- 
 ters, and deficient in characteristic 
 medicinal principles; or, the men- 
 struum may be adapted to the ex- 
 traction of the inert elements that 
 will give gravity and color to the 
 extract, and yet be utterly unfit 
 to dissolve the active principles 
 of the plant. For these reasons, 
 we can not accept that the weight, 
 or specific gravity, of a fluid ex- 
 tract is a criterion of therapeutical 
 value, and we, therefore, do not 
 /give gravity as a test. — L. 
 
 EXTEACTUM ALSTONI^ CONSTRICTiE FLUIDUM. 
 
 Muid Mrtract of Alstonia Oonstricta. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the inner bark of Alstonia constricta, in very fine 
 powder, sixteen troy ounces; Alcohol, a sufficient quantity. Moisten the 
 powder with eight fluidounces of alcohol. Cork tightly in a wide-mouth 
 bottle, and permit the mixture to stand an hour in a warm situation. 
 Then introduce it into a cylindrical percolator, three inches in diameter, 
 previously prepared for percolation, according to directions given on page 
 162, and press very firmly. Cover the surface of the powder with a 
 circular piece of filtering paper, held in position with a few fragments 
 of glass or marble, and add alcohol until the percolate appears at the exit. 
 Then cork the exit tightly ; cover the percolator, and place it in a warm 
 situation. After twenty-four hours, loosen the cork, and permit the 
 percolate to pass as fast as it will drop, without running, in a stream, 
 until four fluidounces are obtained. Again close the exit, macerate 
 twenty-four hours, and, in a manner like unto the preceding, draw four 
 fluidounces of percolate. Eepeat the maceration, and, in like manner, 
 
164 Phaemacy and Pharmacopceia. 
 
 draw a third portion of fpur fluidounces. Eeserve, and mix the three 
 ^ percolates ; then continue the percolation until eight fluidounces are 
 obtained. Evaporate this latter portion until reduced to the measure 
 of two fluidounces, and mix with the reserved twelve fluidounces. The 
 surface of the powder must be constantly covered with alcohol from 
 the commencement, and until the end of the percolation. 
 
 Fluid extract of Alstonia constricta is of a dark -yellowish red color, 
 odorless, and possesses the intense bitterness peculiar to the drug. 
 When prepared according to the foregoing formula, it seems ^to rep- 
 resent very nearly the entire sensible properties of the bark em- 
 ployed, troy ounce to eacli fluidounce of the finished extract, although 
 reports from practitioners favor the employment of the inner bark 
 in substance. — L. 
 
 EXTEACTUM ALSTONIjE SCHOLABIS FLUIDUM. 
 Fluid Extract of Alstonia Scholaris. 
 
 Preparatiori. — Take of the bark of Alstonia scholaris, in moderately 
 fine powder, sixteen troy ounces; of a menstruum of Alcohol three parts. 
 Water, two parts (by measure), a sufficient quantity; moisten' the powder 
 with eight fluidounces of the menstruum. Cork tightly in a wide-mouth 
 bottle, and permit the mixture to stand an hour in a warm situation. 
 ,Then introduce it into a cylindrical percolator, three inches in diameter, 
 previously prepared for percolation, according to directions given on 
 page 162, and press very firmly. Cover the surface of the powder with 
 a circular piece of filtering paper, held in position -vs^ith a few fragments 
 of glass or marble, and add fresh menstruum, until the percolate appears 
 at the exit. Then cork the exit tightly ; cover the percolator, and place 
 it in a warm situation. After twenty-four hours, loosen the cork, and 
 permit the percolate to pass as fast as it will drop, without running in 
 a stream, until four fluidounces are obtained. Again close the exit,' 
 macerate twenty-four hours, and, in a manner like unto the preceding, 
 draw four fluidounces of percolate. Repeat the maceration, and, in like 
 manner, draw a third portion of four fluidounces. Eeserve, and mix 
 the three percolates; then continue the percolation until eight fluid- 
 ounces are obtained. Evaporate this latter portion until reduced to the 
 measure of two fluidounces, and mix with the reserved twelve" fluid- 
 ounces. The surface of the powder must be constantly covered with 
 the menstruum from the commencement, and until the end of the pro- 
 I cess of percolation. 
 
 Fluid extract of Alstonia scholaris is of a reddish color, odorless, 
 possesses a bitterish taste, and as thus prepared, represents very nearly 
 the quality of drug employed, troy ounce to each fluidounce of the fin- 
 ished extract. — L. 
 
 EXTEACTUM ANEMOPSIDIS FLUIDUM. 
 
 Fluid Extract of Anemopsis, or of Yerba Mansa. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the root of Anemopsis, in very fine powder, six- 
 teen troy ounces; Alcohol, a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with 
 , six fluidounces of alcohol. Cork tightlyin a wide-moutb bottle^ and per- 
 mit the mixture to stand an hour in a warm situation. Then introduce 
 it into a cylindrical percolator, three inches in diameter, previously 
 prepared for percolation, according to directions given on page 162, and 
 press very firmly. Cover the surface of the powder with a circular 
 
Fluid Extbacts. 165 
 
 piece of filtering paper, held in position with a few -fragments of glasfe 
 or marble, and add alcohol until the percolate appears at the exit. Then 
 cork the exit tightly ; cover the percolator, and place it in a warm sit- 
 uation. After twenty-four hours, loosen the cork, and permit the per- 
 colate to pass as fast as it will drop, without running in a stream, until 
 four fluidounces are obtained. Again close the exit, macerate twenty- 
 four hours, and, in a manner like unto the preceding, draw three fluid- 
 ounces of percolate. Repeat the maceration, and, in like manner, draw 
 a tliird portion of three fluidounces. Lastly, mix the three percolates. 
 Tiie surface of the powder must be constantly covered with alcohol 
 from the commencement, and until the end of the process of perco- 
 lation. 
 
 Fluid extract of Anemopsis is of a reddish color, possesses the odor 
 and taste of the plant, and as thus prepared, represents very nearly 
 the quality of drug employed, troy ounce to each fluidounce of the fin- 
 ished extract. — L. 
 
 EXTRACTUM APLOPAPPI FLUIDUM. 
 
 Fluid Extract of Aplopappus. Fluid Extract of False Damiana 
 
 (Aplopappus). 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the leaves of the Apolappus, in very fine pow- 
 der, sixteen troy ounces; Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the 
 powder with six fluidounces of alcohol. Cork tightly in a wide-mouth 
 bottle, and permit the mixture to stand an hour in a warm situation. 
 Tiieii introduce 'it into a cylindrical percolator, three inches in diameter, 
 previously prepared for percolation, according to directions given on 
 page 162, and press very firmly. Cover the surface of the powder with a 
 circular piece of filtering paper, held in position with a few fragments of 
 glass or marble, and add alcohol until the percolate appears at the exit. 
 Then cork the exit tightly ; cover the percolator, and place it in a warm 
 situation. After twenty-four hours, loosen the cork, and permit the 
 percolate to pass as fast as it will drop, without running in a stream, 
 until four fluidounces are obtained. Again close the exit, macerate 
 twenty-four hours, and, in a manner like unto the preceding, draw four 
 fluidounces of percolate. Repeat the maceration, and, in like manner, 
 draw a third portion of four fluidounces. Reserve, and mix the three 
 percolates ; then continue the percolation until eight fluidounces are 
 obtained. Evaporate this latter portion until reduced to the measure 
 of two fluidounces, and mix with the reserved twelve fluidounces. The 
 surface of the powder must be constantly covered with alcohol from 
 the commencement, and until the end of the process of percolation. 
 
 Fluid extract of Apolappus is green or yellowish -green in color, as 
 prepared by the foregoing formula, and possesses the balsamic odor 
 and taste of the plant. It represents very nearly the quality of the 
 drug employed, troy ounce to fluidounce. 
 
 Water is objectionable in a fluid extract of this plant, as the resinous 
 principles, so abundant, are thereby largely lost. When a menstruum 
 is used, which in composed of mixtures of water and alcohol, the re- 
 sultant fluid extract is of a reddish -brown color, and of a much thicker 
 consistence. It must be remembered that this plant is a spurious 
 damiana (see page 157). — L. 
 
166 Pharmacy and Pharmacopeia. 
 
 , EXTRACT QM BEEBEEIS AQUIFOLII FLUIDUM. 
 
 Fluid Extract of Berberis Aqnifolium. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the root of Berberis Aquifolium, in moderately 
 fine powder, sixteen troy ounces ; of a menstruum of Alcohol three parts, 
 Water two parts (by measure), a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder 
 with six fluidounces of the menstruum. Cork tightly in a wide-mouth 
 bottle, and permit the mixture to stand an hour in a wai'm situation. 
 Then introduce into a cylindrical percolator, three inches in diameter, 
 ]M'eviou8ly prepared for percolation, according to directions given on 
 page 162, and press moderately. Cover the surface of the powder with 
 a circular piece of filtering paper, held in position with a few fragments 
 of glass or marble, and add fresh menstruum until the percolate appears 
 at the exit. Then cork the exit tightly; cover the percolator, and 
 place it in a warm situation. After twenty-four hours, loosen the cork, 
 and permit the percolate to pass as fast as it will drop, without running 
 in a stream, until four fluidounces are obtained. Again close the exit, 
 macerate twenty-four hours, and, in a manner like unto the preceding, 
 draw four fluidounces of percolate. Repeat the maceration, and, in like 
 manner, draw a third portion of four fluidounces. Eeserve, and mix 
 the three percolates ; then continue the percolation until eight fluid- 
 ounces are obtained. Evaporate this latter portion until reduced to the 
 measure of two fluidounces, and mix with the resei'ved twelve fluidounces. 
 The surface of the powder must be constantly covered with the men- 
 struum from the commencement, and until the end of the process of 
 percolation. 
 
 Fluid extract of Berberis Aquifolium is of a yellowish-red color, 
 odorless, or nearly so, and very bitter to the taste, and as thus prepared, 
 represents very nearly the quality of the drug employed, troy ounce to 
 6ach fluidounce of the finished extract. — L. 
 
 EXTRACTUM BRYONIA ALB^ FLUIDUM. 
 
 Fluid Extract of Bryonia Alba. 
 
 V Preparation. — Take of Bryonia root, in moderately fine powder, sixteen 
 troy ounces; Alcohol and Water, each a sufficient quantity. Moisten the 
 bryonia with three fiuidounces of water, and permit the mixture to 
 stand one hour in a well-corked wide-mouth bottle. Then intimately 
 rub it with six fluidounces of alcohol, and allow the mixture to macerate 
 an hour as before. Introduce this, with moderate pressure, into a 
 cylindrical percolator, three inches in diameter, that has been pre- 
 viously prepared for percolation, according to directions given on 
 page 162. Cover the surface of the powder with a circular piece of 
 filtering paper, held in position with a few fragments of glass or mar- 
 ble, and add a mixture of Alcohol, by measure, three parts, with 
 Water, by measure, two parts, until the percolate appears at the exit. 
 Then cork the exit tightly; cover the percolator, and place it in a warm 
 situation. After twenty-four hours, loosen the cork, and permit the 
 percolate to pass as fast as it will drop, without running in a sti-eam, 
 until four fluidounces are obtained. Again close the exit, macerate 
 twenty-four hours, and, in a manner like unto the preceding, draw four 
 fluidounces of percolate. Eepeat the maceration, and, in like manner, 
 draw a third portion of four fluidounces. Reserve, and mix the three 
 percolates; then continue the percolation until eight fluidounces are ob- 
 tained. Evaporate this latter portion until reduced to the measure of 
 
■ Fluid Extracts, 167 
 
 two fiuidounces, and mix with the reserved twelve fluidounces. The 
 surface? of the powder must be constantly covered with menstruum from 
 the commencement, and until the end of the process of percolation. 
 
 Fluid extract of bryonia is dark -red in color, and, as thus prepared, 
 represents very nearly the quality of drug employed-, troy ounce to each 
 fluidounce of the firjished extract. The preliminary use of water in 
 moistening this drug brings it to a condition which favors the ready 
 permeation of the menstruum. — L. 
 
 EXTEACTUM CASTANEjE FLUIDUM. 
 Fluid Extract of Chestnut. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Chestnut leaves, bruised, sixteen troy ounces; of 
 a menstruum of Alcohol, six parts ; Water, ten parts (by^measure), a suf- 
 ficient quantity. Moisten the bruised leaves with ten fluidounces of the 
 menstruum, press moderately into a wide-mouth bottle, and add men- 
 struum until the surface of the powder is covered with it. Then cork 
 the bottle, and place it in a warm situation until four days have passed, 
 when it must be removed and pressed until liquid ceases to pass. The 
 matter within the press should now be rubbed through a coarse sieve, 
 and then covered with menstruum as before, be again placed in the 
 widefnouth bottle, and, after maceration, submitted to pressure. Six 
 fluidounces of the liquid obtained by means of the first part of the op- 
 eration must now be reserved, and the remainder be mixed with that 
 obtained from the second maceration, and this mixture be evaporated to 
 the measure of four fluidounces, by means of a water -bath. This is to 
 be mixed with the six fluidounces of reserved liquid, and to this mix- 
 ture two fluidounces of alcohol must be slowly added, with constant 
 stirring. The resulting fluid extract will represent about two troy 
 ounces of chestnut leaves in three fluidounces of the finished prep- 
 aration. 
 
 Fluid extract of Chestnut leaves is a thick mucilaginous liquid, of a 
 reddish-brown color, and an astringent, sweetish taste. It can not well 
 be prepared by percolation, unless the alcohol be in excess, and in this 
 case the mucilage of the leaves is not dissolved. It is consequerltly de- 
 sirable to employ only sufficient alcohol to prevent fermentation during 
 the operation, and afterward to act as a preservative. (See remarks on 
 page 61.) A characteristic of reliable fluid extract of chestnut is its 
 mucilaginous nature, and, if this peculiarity is wanting, it may be in- 
 ferred that the preparation under consideration is defective. — L. 
 
 EXTEACTUM CONDUEANGO FLUIDUM. 
 
 Fluid Extract of Gondurango. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Condurango bark, in moderately fine powder, 
 siodeen troy ounces ; of a menstruum of Alcohol, three parts ; Water, two 
 parts (by measure), a sufficient quantity. Moisten the Condurango with 
 six fluidounces of the menstruum. Cork tightly in a wide-mouth bottle, 
 and permit the mixture to stand an hour in a warm situation. Then 
 introduce it into a cylindrical percolator, three inches in diameter, pre- 
 viously prepared, for percolation, according to directions given on page 
 162, and press moderately. Cover the surface of the powder with a 
 circular piece of filtering paper, held in position with a few fragments 
 of glass or marble, and add fresh menstruum until the percolate appears 
 at the exit. Then cork the exit tightly ; cover the percolator, and 
 
168 Pharmacy and PharmXcopceia. ^ 
 
 place it in a warm situation. After twent3''-fotir hours, loosen the cork, 
 and permit the percolate to pass as fast as it will drop, without running 
 in a stream, until four fluidounces are obtained. Again close the exit, 
 macerate twenty-four hours, and, in a manner like unto the preceding, 
 draw four fluidounces of percolate. Eepeat the maceration, and, in like 
 manner, draw a third portion of four fluidounces. Eeserve, and mix 
 the three percolates; then continue the percolation until eight fluid- 
 ounces are obtained. Evaporate this latter portion until reduced to 
 the measure of two fluidounces, and mix with the reserved twelve fluid- 
 ounces. The surface of the powder must be constantly covered with 
 the menstruum frotn the commencement, and until the end of the process 
 of percolation. , 
 
 Fluid extract of Condurango is dark reddish-brown in color, of an 
 aromatic taste, slight odor, and, as thus prepared, represents very 
 nearly the quality of drug employed, troy ounce to each fluidounce of 
 the finished extract. — L. 
 
 EXTRACTUM GOTO FLUIDUM. . 
 
 Fluid Extract of Coto. 
 
 Preparation. — Take Coto of bark, in very fine powder, sixteen troy ounces; 
 Alcohol, a sufficient quantity. Moisten the Coto with six fluidoutfces of 
 alcohol. Cork tightly in a wide mouth bottle, and permit the mixture 
 to stand an hour in a warm situation. Then introduce it into a cylin- 
 drical percolator, three inches in diameter, previously prepared for per- 
 colation, according to directions given on page 162, and press very 
 firmly. Cover the surface of the powder with a circular piece of filter- 
 ing paper, held in position with a few fragments of glass or marble, and 
 add alcohol until the percolate appears at the exit* Then cork the exit 
 tightly; cover the percolator, and place it in a warm situation. After 
 twenty-four hours, loosen the cork, and permit the percolate to pass as 
 fast as it will drop, without running in a stream, until four fluidounces 
 are obtained. Again close the exit, macerate twenty-four hours, and, 
 in a manner like unto the preceding, draw four fluidounces of percolate. 
 Eepeat the maceration, and, in like manner, draw a third portion of 
 four fluidounces. Eeserve, and mixthe three percolates; then continue 
 the percolation until eight fluidounces are obtained. Evaporate this 
 latter portion until reduced to the measure of two fluidounces, and mix 
 with the reserved twelve fluidounces. The surface of the powder must 
 be constantly covered with alcohol from the commencement, and until 
 the end of the process of percolation. 
 
 Fluid extract of Coto is of a reddish color, possesses an aromatic odor 
 and a hot taste, followed by a numbness of the tongue, and, as thus 
 prepared, it represents very nearly the quality o'f drug employed, troy 
 ounce to each fluidounce of the finished extract. A mixture of alcohol 
 and water will produce a much darker fluid extract; but alcohol is the 
 best solvent for the characteristic medicinal principles of the drug, and 
 the coloring matter observed in the aqueous extract is undesirable. The 
 addition of water to the menstruum also renders the finished extract 
 more prone to precipitation. — L, 
 
Fluid Extracts. 169 
 
 EXTKACTUM EEIODICTYONIS GLUTINOSII FLUIDUM. 
 
 Fluid Extract of Eriodlctyon Glutinosum. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Eriodictyon glutinosum leaves, bruised, siocteen 
 troy ounces; Alcohol, a sufficient quantity. Moisten the bruised leaves 
 with six fluidounces of alcohol. Cork tightly in a wide-mouth bottle, 
 and permit the mixture to stand an hour in a warm situation. Then 
 introduce it into a cylindrical f)ercolator, three inches in diameter, 
 previously prepared for percolation, according to directions given on 
 page 162, and press very firmly. Cover the surface of the bruised 
 leaves with a, circular piece of filtering paper, held in position with a 
 few fragments of glass or marble, and add alcohol until the percolate 
 appears at the exit. Then cork the exit tightly , cover the percolator, 
 and place it in a warm situation. After twenty-four hours, loosen the 
 cork, and permit the percolate to pass as fast as it will drop, without 
 running in a stream, until four fluidounces are obtained. Again close 
 the exit, macerate twenty-four hours, and, in a manner like tfnto the 
 preceding, draw three fluidounces of percolate. Eepeat the maceration, 
 and, in like manner, draw a third portion of three fluidounces. Reserve 
 and mix the three percolates ; then continue the percolation until twelve 
 fluidounces are obtained. Evaporate this latter portion until reduced 
 to the measure of two fluidounces, and mix with the reserved ten fluid- 
 ounces. The surface of the bruised leaves must be constantly covered 
 with alcohol from the commencement, and until the end of the process 
 of percolation. 
 
 Fluid extract of Eriodictyon glutinosum is dark brownish-green in 
 color, and possesses the exact odor and taste of the plant, and as thus 
 prepared, represents very nearly the quality of drug employed, troy 
 ounce to each fluidounce of the finished extract. It should never be 
 made with a menstruum which contains water as a constituent, alcohol 
 being best adapted to extract and to hold in solution those resinous 
 principles of the plant to which its therapeutical virtues are generally 
 considered to be owing. — L. 
 
 EXTRACTUM EUCALYPTI FLUIDUM. 
 
 Fluid Extract of Eucalyptus. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Eucalyptus leaves, in moderately fine powder, 
 sixteen troy ounces ; Alcohol, a sufficient quantity. Moisteirthe Eucalyptus 
 with six fluidounces of alcohol. Cork tightly in a wide-mouth bottle, 
 and permit the mixture to stand an hour in a warm situation. Then 
 introduce it into a cylindrical percolator, three inches in diameter, pre- 
 viously prepared for percolation, according to directions given on page 
 162, and press very firmly. Cover the surface of the powder with a 
 circular piece of filtering paper, held in position with a few fragments 
 of glass or marble, and add alcohol until the percolate appears at the 
 exit. Then cork the exit tightly; cover the percolator, and place it' in 
 a warm situation. After twenty -four hours, loosen the cork, and per- 
 mit the percolate to pass as fast as it will drop, without running in a 
 stream, until four fluidounces are obtained. Again close the exit, ma- 
 cerate twenty-four hours, and, in a manner like unto the preceding, 
 draw three fluidounces of percolate. Repeat the maceration, and, in 
 like manner, draw a third portion of three fluidounces. Lastly, mix 
 the three percolates. The Surface of the powder must be constantly 
 covered with alcohol from the commencement, and until the end of the 
 process of percolation. 
 
170 Pharmacy and Pharmacopoeia. 
 
 Fluid extract of Eucalyptus is dark brownish -green, or green, in 
 color, and ^jossesses the odor and taste of the leaves, and as thus pre- 
 pared, represents very nearly the quality employed, troy ounce to each 
 fluidounce of the finished extract. It should never be made with alcohol 
 diluted with water or glycerin. — L. 
 
 EXTKACTUM GALANGAL FLUFDUM. 
 Fluid Extract of Galangal. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Galangal root, in fine powder, sixteen troy ounces ; 
 Alcohol, a sufficient quantity Moisten the galangal with six fluidounces of 
 alcohol.' Cork tightly in a wide-mouth bottle, and permit the mixtm-e to 
 stand an hour in a warm situation. Then introduce it into a cylindrical 
 percolator, three inches in diameter, previously prepared for percolation, 
 according to directions given on page 162* and press very firmly. Cover 
 the surface of the powder with a circular piece of filtering paper, held 
 in position with a few fragments of glass or marble, and add alcohol 
 until the percolate appears at the exit. Then cork the exit tightly; 
 cover the percolator, and place it in a warm situation. After twenty- 
 four hours, loosen the cork, and permit the percolate to pass as fast as 
 it will drop, without running in a stream, untjl four fluidounces are 
 obtained. Again close the exit, macerate twenty-four hours, and, in a 
 manner lik.e unto the preceding, draw four fluidounces of percolate. 
 Eepeat the maceration, and, in like manner, draw a third portion of 
 four fluidounces. Eeserye, and mix the three percolates ; then continue 
 the percolation until eight fluidounces are obtained. Evaporate this 
 latter portion until reduced to the measure of two fluidounces, and 
 mix with the reserved twelve fluidounces. The surface of the powder 
 must be constantly covered with alcohol from the commencement, and 
 until the eind of the process of percolation. 
 
 Fluid extract of Galangal is of a i-eddish color, and possesses the exact 
 odor and taste of the drug. It should not be black, or thick, and if 
 such is the case with any specimen, it may be inferred that the men- 
 struum used was a mixture of alcohol and water, instead of alcohol. 
 Alcohol freely extracts all the sensible properties of galangal, and the 
 admixture of water or glycerin is objectionable. — L. 
 
 EXTEACTUM GENTIAN.<E QUINQUEFLOR^ FLUIDUM. 
 
 Fluid Extract of Genttarf,a Quinqueflora. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the root of Gentiana quinqueflora, in mod- 
 erately fine powder, sixteen troy ounces; of a menstruum of Alcohol three 
 parts. Water two parts (by measure), a sufficient quantity. Moisten the 
 powder with six fluidounces of the menstruum. Cork tightly in a 
 wide-mouth bottle, and permit the mixture to stand an hour in a warm 
 situation. Then introduce it into a cylindrical percolator, three inches 
 in diameter, previously prepared for percolation, according to directions 
 given on page 162, and press moderately. Cover the surface of the 
 powder with a circular piece of filtering paper, held in position with a 
 few fragments of glass or marble, and add fresh menstruum until the 
 percolate appears at the exit. Then cork the exit tightly; cover the 
 percolate, and place it in a warm situation. After twenty-four hours, 
 loosen the cork, and permit the percolate to pass as fast as it will drop, 
 without running in a stream, until four fluidounces are obtained. Again 
 close the exit, macerate twenty -four hours, and, in a manner like unto 
 
Fluid Extracts. 171 
 
 the preceding, draw four fluidounces of percolate. Eepeat the macera- 
 tion, and, in like manner, draw a third portion of four fluidounces. 
 Keaerve, and mix the three percolates; then continue the percolation 
 until eight fluidounces are obtained. Evaporate this latter portion until 
 reduced to the measure of two fluidounces, and mix with the reserved 
 twelve fluidounces. The surface of the powder must be constantly 
 covered with menstruum from the commencement, and until the end 
 of the process of percolation. 
 
 Fluid extract of Gentiana Quinqueflora is of a yellowish-red color, 
 odorless, and very bitter to the taste; and thus prepared it represents 
 very nearly the quality of drug employed, troy ounce to each fluid- 
 ounce of the finished extract. — L. 
 
 EXTRACrUM GBINDELIiE ROBUST^ FLUIDUM. 
 Fluid Extract of Grindelia Robusta. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the leaves and flowering-heads of Grindelia ro- 
 busta, bruised, sixteen troy ounces ; Alcohol, a sufficient quantity. Moisten 
 the Grindelia with six fluidounces of alcohol. Cork tightly in a wide- 
 mouth bottle, and permit the mixture to stand an hour in a warm sit- 
 uation. Then introduce it into a cylindrical percolator, three inches in 
 diameter, previousl}' prepared for percolation, according to directions 
 i>;iven on page 162, and press very firmly. Cover the surface of the 
 bruised herb with a circular piece of filtering paper, held in position 
 with a few fragments of glass or marble, and add -alcohol until the per- 
 colate appears at the exit. Then cork the exit tightly ; cover the per- 
 colator, and place it in a warm situation. After twenty-four hours^ 
 loosen the cork, and permit the percolate to pass as fast as it will drpp, 
 without running in a stream, until four fluidounces are obtained. 
 Again close the exit, macerate twenty four hours, and, in a manner like 
 unto the preceding, draw three fluidounces of percolate. Repeat the 
 maceration, and, in like manner, di"aw a thii-d iportion of three fluid- 
 ounces. Eeserve, and mix the three percolates ; t\ien continue the per- 
 colation until twelve fluidounces are obtained. Evaporate this latter 
 portion until reduced to the measure of two fluidounces, and mix with 
 the reserved ten fluidounces. The surface of the bruised herb must 
 be constantly covered with alcohol from the commencement, and until 
 tha end of the process of percolation. 
 
 Fluid extract of Grindelia robusta is yellowish -green, or green in 
 color, and possesses the exact odor and taste of the plant, and as thus 
 prepared, represents very nearly the quality of drug employed, troy 
 ounce to each fluidounce of the finished extract. 
 
 It will not do to use a menstruum composed of mixtures of water 
 and alcohol, even though the water be in small proportion. The resi- 
 nous substances of this plant mainly possess its characteristic medi- 
 cinal principles, and any addition of wnter prevents their extraction 
 in direct proportion to the water employed, and subsequently renders 
 the extract liable to a continual deposition of matters that can not be 
 permanently held in solution. In this latter case, the fluid extract 
 will be of a dark reddish-brown color instead of greenish. — L. 
 
 EXTRACTUM GRINDELIiE SQUARROS^E FLUIDUM. 
 Fluid Extract of Grindelia Squarrosa. 
 Preparation. — Take of the leaves and flowering-heads of Grindelia 
 
172 Pharmacy and Pharmacop(eia. 
 
 squarrosa, bruised, sixteen troy ounces; Alcohol, a sufficient quantity. 
 Moisten the Grindelia with six fluidounces of alcohol. Cork tightly in 
 a wide-mouth bottle, and permit the mixture to stand an hour in a 
 warm situation. Then introduce it into a cylindrical percolator, three 
 inches in diameter, previously prepared for percolation, according to 
 directions given on page 162, and press very firmly. Cover the surface 
 of the bruised herb with a circular piece of filtering paper, held in po- 
 sition with a few fragments of glass or marble, and add alcohol until 
 the percolate appears at the exit. Then cork the exit tightly; cover 
 the percolator, and place it in a warm situation. After twenty-four 
 hours, loosen the cork,, and permit the percolate to pass as fast as it will 
 drop, without running in a stream, until four fluidounces are obtained. 
 Again close the exit, macerate twenty-four hours, and, in a manner 
 like unto the preceding, draw three fluidounces of percolate. Repeat 
 the maceration, and, in like manner, draw a third portion of three 
 fluidounces. Eeserve, and mix the three percolates; then continue the 
 percolation until twelve fluidounces are obtained. Evaporate this latter 
 portion until reduced to the measure of two fluidounces, and mix with 
 the reserved ten fluidounces. The surface of the br.uised herb must be 
 constantly covered with alcohol from the commencement, and until the 
 end of the process of percolation. 
 
 The remarks regarding the fluid extract of G. robusta, are equally 
 applicable to the present preparation.^ — L. 
 
 EXTEACTUM MALTI FLUIDUM! 
 Fluid Extract of Malt. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of fresh Barley Malt, thirty -two parts; Water, a suf- 
 ficient quantity. Heat the water to a temperature of from 100° to 150° 
 F., and moisten the malt with a portion of it. Pack the moistened 
 malt, loosely, in a cylindrical percolator of suitable size, and then add 
 more of the water, at the temperature of the preceding, until the per- 
 colate appears at the exit. Now, close the exit with a cork, and allow 
 , the whole to macerate, in a warm place, for from three to six hours. At 
 the expiration of this time, unclose the exit, and allow the percolation 
 to proceed, adding fresh supplies of heated water until the percolate 
 has yielded, in weight, an amount equal to twice that of the malt em- 
 ployed. Evaporate the percolate at a temperature ranging from 180° 
 to 200° P. (80° to 94° C), until the liquid is reduced to twelve parts, 
 by weight. Allow this to cool, and then add four parts of alcohol, by 
 weight, and filter. 
 
 Fluid extract of malt possesses the taste of fresh malt, but is not 
 Bweet, and as prepared by the preceding process, will not ferment. It 
 represents in each fluidounce the soluble principles of one and a half 
 troy ounces of malt. — L. 
 
 EXTEACTUM MANGIFEE^ FLUIDUM. 
 
 Fluid Extract of Mangifera. 
 Preparation. — Take of the bark of Mangifera Indica, in moderately fine 
 powder, twenty troy ounces ; of a menstruum of Glycerin, six fluidounces, 
 Water, ten fluidounces (by measure), a sufficient quantity. Add the powder 
 to sixty-four fluidounces of the menstruum, in a suitable vessel, and let it 
 macerate for twenty-four hours, with occasional stirring. Then place it in 
 a muslin strainer, and express ; filter the expressed liquid through paper. 
 
Fi^DED Extracts. 173 
 
 Eeturn the material within the muslin. strainer to the vessel, add thirty- 
 two fluidounces of water, and allow this to macerate for twenty-four 
 hours; when it must be expressed and filtered, as at first. Mix the two 
 filtrates, and, by means of a wat^r-bath, evaporate until the fluid js re- 
 duced to thirteen fluidounces, when three fluidounces of alcohol is to be 
 added. ^ 
 
 Mangifera Indica is one of the most difficult substances we have ever 
 examined to extract by percolation, pj-oviding the menstruum is adapted 
 to take up the tannates with which the bark abounds. In such a case, 
 the menstruum will seldom penetrate beyond an inch or so into the 
 powder, even if it is very coarse ; therefore, we prefer and employ ma- 
 ceration. Fluid extract of Mangifera is of a dark ruby-red color when 
 in thin layer, of a peculiar odor, and a sweetish (glycerin) and very 
 astringent taste. — L. 
 
 EXTRACTDM PEUMl BOLDO FLUIDDM. 
 Fluid Extract of Peumus Boldo ; Fluid Extract of Boldo. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Boldo leaves, in very fine powder, sixteen troy 
 ounces; Alcohol, a sufficient quantity. Moisten the boldo with six fluid- 
 ounces of alcohol. Cork tightly in a wide-mouth bottle, and permit the 
 mixture to stand an hour in a warm situation. Then introduce it into a 
 cylindrical percolator, three inches in diameter, previously prepared for 
 percolation, according to directions given on page 162, and press very 
 firmly. Cover the surface of the powder with a circular piece of filtering 
 paper, held in position with a few fragmentsof glass or marble, and add 
 alcohol until the percolate appears at the exit. Then cork the exit tightly ; 
 cover the percola,tor, and place it in a warm situation. After twenty-four 
 hours, loosen the cork, and permit the percolate to pass as fast as it will 
 drop, without running in a stream, until four fluidounces are obtained. 
 Again close the exit, macerate twenty-four hours, and, in a manner like 
 unto the preceding, draw four fluidounces of percolate. Repeat the ma- 
 ceration, and, in like manner, draw a third portion of four fluidounces. 
 Reserve, and mix the three percolates ; then continue the percolation until 
 eight fluidounces are obtained. Evaporate this latter portion until re- 
 duced to the measure of two fluidounces, and mix with the reserved 
 twelve fluidounces. The surface of the powder must be constantly cov- 
 ered with alcohol from the commencement, and until the end of the 
 process of percolation, 
 
 Fluid extract of Boldo is dark green in color, of a disagreeable worm- 
 seed-like odor and taste, and as thus prepared, represents very nearly 
 the quality of drug employed, troy ounce to each fluidounce of the fin- 
 ished extract. — L. 
 
 EXTEACTUM PILOCABPI PENNATIFOLII. 
 Muid Eztract of Pilocarpus Pennatifolius ; Fluid Extract of Jaborandi. 
 
 Preparation.— Tsike of Jaborandi leaves, in very fine powder, sixteen 
 troy ounces; of Alcohol and Acetic Acid, each, a sufficient quantity. 
 Moisten the powdered leaves with a mixture of six fluidounces of alco- 
 hol and two fluidrachms of acetic acid. Cork tightly in a wide-mouth 
 bottle, and permit the mixture to stand an hour in a warm situation. 
 Then introduce it into a cylindrical percolator,' three inches in diam- 
 eter, previously prepared for percolation, according to directions given 
 on page 162, and press very firmly. Cover the surface of the powder 
 
174 Pharmacy and Pharmacopceia. 
 
 with a circular piece of filtering paper, held in position with a few frag- 
 ments of glass or marble, and add alcohol until the percolate appears at 
 the exit. Then cork the exit tightly ; cover the percolator, and place it 
 in a warm situation. After twenty-four hours loosen the cork, and 
 permit the percolate to pass as fast as it will drop, without running in 
 a stream, until four fluidounees are obtained. Again close the exit, 
 macerate twenty-four hours, and, in a manner like unto the preceding, 
 draw four fluidounees of percolate. Eepeat the maceration, and, in 
 like manner, draw a third portion of four fluidounees. Eeserve, and 
 mix the thi-ee percolates ; then continue the percolation until eight 
 fluidounees are obtjlined. Evaporate this latter portion until reduced to 
 the measure of two fluidounees, and mix with the reserved twelve fluid- 
 ounces. The surface of the powder must be constantly covered with 
 alcohol from the commencement, and until the end of the process of 
 percolation. 
 
 Fluid extract of Jaborandi is dark-green in color, almost odorless, 
 possesses the taste of the drug, and, as thus prepared, represents very 
 nearly the quality of drug employed, troy ounce to each fluidounce of 
 the finished extinct. If the fluid extract be made with mixtures of 
 water and alcohol, the dark-colored extractive matters of the leaves are 
 dissolved, and the extract will have a dark reddish-brown color, but 
 will not be as satisfactory as though made with alcohol, either from a 
 pharmaceutical point of view or a therapeutical.- The addition of the 
 acetic acid favors the extraction of the pilocarpin, and, by using it in 
 connection with alcohol, both the volatile oil and alkaloid of the drug 
 are dissolved. — L. 
 
 EXTR ACTUM PI PERIS METHYSTICI FLUIDUM. 
 Fluid Extract of Piper Methysticurn. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the root of Piper Methysticum, in moderately 
 fine powder, sixteen troy ounces; of a menstruum of Alcohol, three parts, 
 Water, two parts (by measure), a sufficient quantity. Moisten the pow- 
 dered root with six fluidounees of the menstruum. Cork tightly in a 
 wide-mouth bottle, and permit the mixture to stand an hour in a warm 
 situation. Then introduce it into a cylindrical percolator, three inches 
 in diameter, previously prepared for percolation, according to directions 
 given on page 162, and press moderately. Cover the surface of the 
 powder with a circular piece of filtering paper, held in position with a 
 few fragments of glass or marble, and add fresh menstruum until the 
 percolate appears at the exit. Then cork ithe exit tightly; cover the 
 percolator, and place it in a warm situation. After twenty-four hours, 
 loosen the cork, and permit the percolate to pass as fast as it will drop, 
 without running in a stream, until four fluidounees are obtained. Again 
 close the exit, macerate twenty-four hours, and, in a manner like unto 
 the preceding, draw four fluidounees of percolate. Eepeat the macera- 
 tion, and, in like manner, draw a third portion of four fluidounees. Ee- 
 serve, and mix the three percolates ;' then continue the percolation until 
 eight fluidounees are obtained. Evaporate this latter portion until re- 
 duced to the measure of two fluidounees, and mix with the reserved 
 twelve fluidounees. The surface of the powder must be constantly cov- 
 ered with the menstruum from the commencement, and until the end of 
 the process of percolation. 
 
 Fluid extract of Piper Methysticum is of a reddish-brown color, and 
 imparts the taste of the root. It is odorless, and, as thus prepared, rep- 
 
Fluid Extracts. 175 
 
 resents very nearly the quality of drug employed, troy ounce to each 
 fluidounee of the finished extract. — L. 
 
 EXTRACTUM POLYMNI^ UVEDALIJ; FLUIDUM. 
 Fluid Extract of Polymnia Uvedalia; Fluid Extract of Bear's -foot. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the root of Polymnia Uvedalia, in moderately 
 &ne 'po-wdav, sixteen troy ounces; Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten 
 the powder with six fluidounces of alcohol. Cork tightly in a wide- 
 mouth bottle, and permit the mixture to stand an hour in a warm situ- 
 ation. Then introduce it into a cylindrical percolator, three inches in 
 diameter, previously prepared for percolation, according to directions 
 given on page 162, and press very firmly. Cover the surface of the 
 powder with a circular piece of filtering paper, held in position with a 
 few fragments of glass or marble, and add alcohol until the percolate 
 appears at the exit. Then cork the exit tightly; cover the percolator, 
 a,nd place it in a warm situation. After twenty-four hours, loosen the 
 cork, and permit the percolate to pass as fast as it will drop, without 
 running in a stream, until four fluidounces are obtained. Again close 
 the exit, macerate twenty-four hours, and in, a manner like unto the 
 preceding, draw four fluidounces of percolate. Eepeat the maceration, 
 and, in like manner, draw a third portion of four fluidounces. Re- 
 serve, and mix the three percolates ; then continue the percolation until 
 eight fluidounces are obtained. Evaporate this latter portion until re- 
 duced to the measure of two fluidounces, and mix with the reserved 
 twelve fluidounces. The surface of the powder must be constantly 
 covered with alcohol froim the commencement, and until the end of the 
 process of percolation. 
 
 Fluid extract of Polymnia uvedalia is reddish-brown in color, of a 
 disagreeable fcetid odor and taste, and as thus prepared, represents 
 very nearly the quality of drug employed, troy ounce to each fluidounee 
 of the finished extract. Any addition of water or glycerin to the alco- 
 hol composing the menstruum, is to be avoided, as they occasion loss of 
 resinous constituents. — L. , 
 
 EXTRACTUM RHAMNT PURSHlANiE FLUIDUM. 
 
 Fluid Extract of Rhamnus Purshiana ; Fluid Extract of Cascara 
 
 Sagrada. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the bark of E,hanTnus Purshiana, in moderately 
 fine powder, sixteen troy ounces ; of a menstruum of Alcohol three parts, 
 Water two parts (by measure), a sufficient quantity. Moisten the pow- 
 der with six fluidounces of the menstruum. Cork tightly in a wide- 
 mouth bottle, and permit the mixture to stand an hour in a warm ,situ- 
 ation. Then introduce it into a cylindrical percolator, three inches in 
 diameter, previously prepared for percolation, according to directions 
 given on page 162, and press very firmly. Cover the surface of the 
 powder with a circular piece of filtering paper, held in position 
 with a few fragments of glass or marble, and add fresh menstruum, 
 until the percolate appears at the exit. Then cork the exit tightly ; 
 cover the percolator, and place it in a warm situation. After twenty- 
 four hours, loosen the cork, and permit the percolate to pass as fast 
 as it will drop, without running in a stream, until four fluidounces 
 are obtained. Again close the exit, macerate twenty-four hours, and, 
 in a manner like unto the preceding, draw four fluidounces of percolate. 
 
176 Pharmacy and Pharmacopoeia. 
 
 Eepeat the .maceration, and, in like manner, draw a third j)ortion of 
 four fluidounces. Eeserve, and mix the three percolates ; then continue 
 the percolation until eight fluidounces are obtained. Evaporate this 
 latter portion until reduced to the measure of two fluidounces, and mix 
 with the reserved twelve fluidounces. The surface of the powder must 
 be constantly covered with menstruum from the commencement, and 
 until the end of the process of percolation. 
 
 Fluid extract of Ehamnus Purshiana is dark yellowish-red in color, 
 almost odorless, of a disagreeable, bitterish taste, and as thus prepared, 
 represents very nearly the quality of drug emj)loyed, troy ounce to 
 each fluidounce of the finished extract. — L. 
 
 EXTKACTUM KHUS AROMATIC^ FLUIDUM. 
 Fluid Extract of Rhus Aromatica. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the bark of the root of Ehus ai-omatica, in 
 fine powder, sixteen troy ounces; Alcohol, a sufficient quantity. Moisten 
 the powder with six fluidounces of alcohol. Cork tightly in a wide- 
 mouth bottle, and permit the mixture to stand an hour in a warm situa- 
 tion. Then introduce it into a cylindrical percolator, three inches in 
 diameter, previously prepared for percolation, according to directions 
 given on page 162, and press very firmly. Cover the surface of the 
 powder with a circular piece of filtering paper, held in position with a 
 few fragments of glass or marble, and add alcohol until the percolate 
 appears at the exit. Then cork the exit tightly ; cover the percolator, 
 and place it in a warm situation. After twenty-four hours, loosen the 
 cork, and permit the percolate to pass as fast as it will drop, without 
 running in a stream, until four fluidounces are obtained. Again close 
 the exit, macerate twenty-four hours, and, in a manner like unto the 
 preceding, draw four fluidounces of percolate. Eepeat the maceration, 
 and, in like manner, draw a third portion of four fluidounces. Eeserye, 
 and mix the three percolates; then continue the percolation until eight 
 fluidounces are obtained. Evaporate this latter portion until reduced 
 to the measui-e of two fluidounces, and mix with the reserved twelve 
 fluidounces. The surface of the powder must be constantly covered with 
 alcohol from the commencement, and until the end of the process of 
 percolation. 
 
 Fluid extract of Ehus aromatica is of a brownish color, and possesses 
 the disagreeable turpentine-like odor and taste of the root. It should 
 not be made with a menstruum containing water, or glycerin, as these 
 bodies prevent the resinous constituents of the root from dissolving. 
 As prepared by the foregoing formula, the extract represents very 
 nearly those constituents of the root soluble in alcohol, troj^ ounce to 
 fluidounce. — L. 
 
 EXTEACTUM SABBATIC ELLIOTTII FLUIDUM. 
 
 Fluid Extract of Sabbatia Elliotti ; Fluid Extract of Quinine Flower. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of the herb and root of Sabbatia Elliotti, in 
 moderately fine powder, sixteen troy ounces; diluted Alcohol, a sufficient 
 quantity. Moisten the powder with six fluidounces of diluted alcohol. 
 Cork tightly in a wide-mouth bottle, and permit the mixture to stand 
 an hour in a warm situation Then introduce it into a cylindrical 
 percolator, three inches in diameter, previously prepared for per- 
 colation, according to directions given on page 162, and press mod- 
 
Fluid Extracts. 177 
 
 ei ately. Covei' the surface of the powder with a circular piece of filtering 
 paper, held in position with a few fragments of glass or marble, and 
 add diluted alcohol until the percolate appears at the exit. Then cork 
 the exit tightly ; cover the percolator, and place it in a warm situation. 
 After twenty-four hours, loosen the cork, and permit the percolate to 
 pass as fast as it will drop, without running in a stream, until four 
 fluidounces are obtained. Again close the exit, macerate twenty-four 
 hours,, and, in a manner like unto the preceding, draw four fluidounces 
 of percolate. Kepeat the maceration, and, in like manner, draw a third 
 portion of four fluidounces. Reserve, and mix the three percolates; 
 then continue the percolation until eight fluidounces are obtained. 
 Evaporate this latter portion until reduced to the measure of two fluid- 
 ounces, and mix with the reserved twelve fluidounces. The surface of 
 the powder must be constantly covered with diluted alcohol from the 
 commencement, and until the end of the pi'ocess of percolation. 
 
 Fluid extract of Sabbatia is of a dark color, odorless, of a disagree- 
 able bitter taste, and as thus prepared, represents very nearly the quality 
 of drug employed, troy ounce to each fluidounce of the finished ex- 
 tract. — L. 
 
 EXTRACTUM SUMBUL FLUIDUM. 
 
 Fluid Extract of Sumbul. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Sumbul root, in moderately fine powder, six- 
 teen troy ounces ; Alcohol a sufficient quantity Moisten the powder 
 with six fluidounces of alcohol. Cork tightlj' in a wide-mouth bottle, 
 and permit the mixture to stand an hour in a warm situation. Then 
 introduce it into a cylindrical percolator, three inches in diameter, 
 previously prepared for percolation, according to directions given on 
 page 162, and press very firmly. Cover the surface of the powder with a 
 circular piece of flltering paper, held in position with a few fragments of 
 glass or marble, and add alcohol until the percolate appears at the exit. 
 Then cork the exit tightly ; cover the percolator, and place it in a warm 
 situation. After twenty-four hours, loosen the cork, and permit the 
 percolate to pass as fast as it will drop, without running in a stream, 
 until four fluidounces are obtained. Again close the exit, macerate 
 twenty-four hours, and, in a manner like unto the preceding, draw four 
 fluidounces of percolate. Eepeat the maceration, and, in like manner, 
 draw a third portion of four fluidounces. Eeserve, and mix the three 
 percolates ; then continue the percolation until eight fluidounces are 
 obtained. Evaporate this latter portion until reduced to the measure 
 of two fluidounces, and mix with the reserved iwelve fluidounces. The- 
 surface of the powder must be constantly covered with alcohol from 
 the commencement, and until the end of the process of percolation. 
 
 Fluid extract of Sumbul has a dark reddish-brown color, a disagree- 
 able and acrid taste, and possesses the musk-like odor of the root, and 
 as thus prepared, represents very nearly the quality of drug emploj-cd, 
 troy ounce to each fluidounce of the finished extract. Water or glycerin 
 are detrimental, inasmuch as either will prevent the solution of the 
 resin of the root, and can not, in return, dissolve a single therapeutical 
 constituent known to us, that is insoluble in alcohol. When the fluid 
 extract is made with mixtures of alcohol and water, it is verj' much 
 darker in color than when alcohol only is employed, but is inferior as a 
 therapeutical agent. — ^^L. 
 
 103 
 
178 Pharmacy and Pharmacopceia. 
 
 EXTEACTUM THALICTEI ANEMONOIDIS FLUIDUM. 
 Fluid Extract of Thalictrum Anemonoides. 
 
 Preparation.— T&ke of the herb and root of Anemone Thai., in mod- 
 erately fine powder,, sixteen troy ounces; Diluted Alcohol, a sufficient 
 quantity; moisten the Anemone with six fluidounces of the menstruum. 
 Cork tightly in a wide mouth bottle, and permit the mixture to stand an 
 hour in a warm situation. Then introduce it into a cylindrical percolator, 
 three inches in diameter, previously prepared for percolation,, according 
 to directions given on page 162, and press moderately. Cover the surface 
 of the ppwder with a circular piece of filtering paper, held in position 
 with a few fragments of glass or marble, and add diluted alcohol until the 
 percolate appears at the exit. Then cork the exit tightly; cover the per- 
 colator, and place it in a warm situation. After twenty-four hours, loosen 
 the cork,' and permit the percolate to pass as fast as it will drop, without 
 running in a stream, until four fluidounces are obtained. Again close the 
 exit, macerate twenty-four hours, and, in a manner like ,unto the preced- 
 ing, draw four fluidounces of percolate. Eepeat.the maceration, and, in 
 like manner, draw a third portion of four fluidounces. Eeserve, and mix 
 the three percolates; then continue the percolation until eight fluid- 
 ounces are obtained. Evaporatctbis latter portion until reduced to the 
 measure of two fluidounces, and mix with the reserved twelve fluid- 
 ounces. The surface of the powder must be constantly covered with 
 the menstruum from the commencement, and until the end of the pro- 
 cess of percolation. 
 
 Fluid extract of Anemone is of a reddish -brown color, and impartsthe 
 taste of the plant and as thus prepared, represents very nearly the 
 quality of drug employed, troy ounce to each fluidounce of the finished 
 extract. — L. 
 
 EXTRACTUM TURNEE^ APHRODISIACS FLUIDUM. 
 
 Fluid Extract of Turnera Aphrodisiaca ; Fluid Extract of Damiana. 
 
 < Preparation. — Take of the leaves of Damiana, in moderately fine 
 powder, sixteen troy ounces; of a menstruum of Alcohol three parts, 
 Water two parts (by measure), a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powdered 
 leaves with six fluidounces of the menstruum. Cork tightly in a wide- 
 mouth bottle, and permit the mixture to stand an hour in a warm situation. 
 Then introduce it into a cylindrical percolator, three inches in diameter, 
 previously prepared for percolation, according to directions given on 
 page 162, and press very firmly. Cover the surface of the powder with 
 a circular piece of filtering paper, held in position with a few fragments 
 of glass or marble, and add fresh menstruum until the percolate appears 
 at the exit. Then coi-k the exit tightly; cover the percolator, and 
 place it in a warm situation. After twenty-four hours, loosen the cork, 
 and permit the percolate to pass as fast as it will drop, without running 
 in a stream, until four fluidounces are obtained. Again close the exit, 
 macerate twenty-four hours, and, in a manner like unto the preceding, 
 draw four fluidounces of percolate. Repeat the maceration, and, in like 
 mianner, draw a third portion of four fluidounces. Reserve, and mix 
 the three percolates ; then continue the percolation until eight fluid- 
 ounces are obtained. Evaporate this latter portion until reduced to the 
 measure of two fluidounces, and mix with the reserved twelve fluidounces. 
 The surface of the powder must be constantly covered with men- 
 
Gltcerites. 179 
 
 struum from the commencement, and until the end of the process of 
 percolation. 
 
 Fluid extract of Damiana has a fragrant, herbaceous, balm-like odor 
 and taste, and as thus prepared, represents very nearly the quality of 
 the drug employed, troy ounce to each fluidounce of the finished 
 extract. — L. 
 
 GLYCERITA. 
 
 Glyceritbs. 
 
 By this class of preparations is generally understood solutions of 
 medicinal substances in glycerin, although in certain instances the va- 
 rious Pharmacopoeias deviate to an extent. 
 
 GLYCEEITUM ACIDI CAEBOLICI. 
 Glycerite of Carbolic Acid. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Carbolic Acid, in colorless crystals, one troy 
 ounce; Gly oer in, four fluidounces. Melt the carbolic acid by the heat of 
 a water-bath, then add the glycerin, previously warmed, and stir or 
 agitate together until a transparent solution is obtained. The propor- 
 tions of the above are in accordance with tho^e of the United States 
 and the British Pharmacopceias. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This has been beneficially employed as a local 
 application in several forms of cutaneous disease, attended with intense 
 itching, as prurigo, psoriasis, etc., likewise in parasitical affections of 
 the skin, as tinea, pityriasis, itch, etc. — K. 
 
 GLYCERITUM ACIDI GALLICI. 
 Glycerite of Gallic Acid. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Gallic Acid, one troy ounce; G\jcerm, four fluid- 
 ounces. Powder the gallic acid in a mortar, then gradually add the 
 glycerin, rubbing the mixture constantly, until an even mixture is ' 
 effected. Transfer this to a porcelain evaporating dish, and warm gently 
 upon a water-bath, stirring constantly until the acid dissolves. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation has been taken internally, in- 
 stead of gallic acid in substance, in the several varieties of disease in 
 which this acid is indicated, and is supposed to be more promptly ab- 
 sorbed when, used in this form. Its dose is from ten minims to a flui- 
 drachm. Externally, it has been applied to the scalp, in cases of alo- 
 pecia. — K. 
 
 GLYCEEITUM ACIDI SALICYLICI. 
 
 Glycerite of Salicylic Acid. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Salicylic Acid (made from winter-green oil), 
 Borax (in fine powder), each, sixty grains; Glycerin, two fluidounces. Trit- 
 urate the acid with the borax, in a mortar, until thoroughly mixed; 
 then add the glycerin, and rub until a clear solution is obtained. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation will be found very useful in 
 all maladies in which salicylic acid is indicated. It may be used in- 
 ternally, as well as externally, and constitutes a useful local application 
 in several diseases of the motith and pharynx, in gangrenous ulcers, 
 leucorrhea, offensive discharges, pediculi, pruritus, etc. The dose in- 
 ternally is from half a fluidrachm to two fluidrachms. — K. 
 
180 Pharmacy and Fharmacopceia. 
 
 GLYCEEITUM ACIDI TANNICI. 
 
 Glycerite of Tannic Acid. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Tannic Acid, one troy ounce; Glycerin, four 
 fluidounces. Powder the tannic acid in a mortar, then gradually add the 
 glycerin, rubbing the mixture constantly, until an even mixture is 
 effected. Transfer this to a porcelain evaporating dish, and warm 
 gently upon a water-bath, stirring constantly until the acid dissolves. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This forms a useful local application in bleed- 
 ing from cuts, leech bites, epistaxis, sore nipples, anal fissure, chronic 
 coryza, spongy gums, vaginal leucorrhea, and chronic mucous inflam- 
 mations in which the mucous membrane is relaxed. Chronic diseases 
 of the skin, as eczema, impetigo, tinea, lichen, etc., have also been 
 greatly benefited by its application. — K. 
 
 GLYCERITUM AMYLI. 
 Glycerite of Starch. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Starch, one ounce; Glycerin, eight fluidounces, 
 Eub them together until they are intimately mixed : then transfer the 
 mixture to abright, iron dish, and apply the heat of a sand-bath, grad- 
 ually raised to 280° P., stirring the mixture constantly until the starch 
 particles are completely dissolved, and a transluscent jelly is formed. 
 Care must be taken to. continually remove the solidifying mass from the 
 bottom of the vessel with a spatula, and, as soon as the entire masfe be- 
 comes translucent, to remove it from the fire.' Glycerite of starch is 
 a translucent mass of the eonsiBtence of an ointment. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — Glycerite of starch forms a bland preparation, 
 very useful in cases in which it is desired to apply mild, non-irritating 
 dressings, as in the burning heat of eczema, in excoriated surfaces, in 
 erythema, and in several other irritated or inflamed conditions of the 
 skin. It likewise forms a vehicle for the application of other agents 
 with which it ma}'^ be mixed. — K. 
 
 GLYCERITUM PICIS LIQUID.^;. 
 Glycerite of Tar. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of Tar, one troy ounce; Glycerite of starch, eight 
 troy ounces. Transfer the tar to a mortar, and gradually add the gly- 
 cerite of starch, stirring constantly until an even mixture results.^ It 
 is advi.sable to previously warm the glycerite of starch. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation forms a very useful local appli- 
 cation in lichen, prurigo, pityriasis, psoriasis, lepra, herpes, erythema, 
 eczema, tinea, pruritus, and alopecia; also in indolent and gangrenous 
 ulcei'S. It maybe rubbed upon the affected part, or be spread on a 
 piece of linen and thus applied. It is very apt to afford more or less 
 relief, even when it does not remove the disease. — K. 
 
 GLYCERITUM SODII BORATIS. 
 Glycerite of Borate of Sodium ; Glycerite of Borax. 
 
 Preparation. — Take of crystallized borate of sodium (Borax), one troy 
 ounce; Glycerin, eig'^ fluidounces. Rub the borax in a mortar until it 
 is finely powdered ; then gradually add the glycerin and rub together 
 until the borax is dissolved. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — This preparation is employed, locally, in aphthae, 
 
 iSee New Bemedies, 1879, p. 199. 'New Bemedies, 1879, p. 200. 
 
Fluid Extracts. 181 
 
 thrush, and other forms of stomatitis, in.flssured and ulcerated nippieSj 
 in eczema, lichen, intertrigo, in parasitic cutaneous diseases, and especi- 
 ally in pityriasis of the scalp. It is also useful in aphthous and ulcera- 
 tive conditions of the vulva. It most generally relieves the burning 
 and itching attending many cutaneous. maladies.— K. 
 
 LIQUOE OF EEGOTIN. 
 
 M. Yvons Solution of Ergotin. 
 
 Preparation. — -Coarsely powder ergot, and deprive it of its fixed oil 
 by washing it with rectified disulphide of carbon ; then dry it in the 
 open air and protected from the light until the odor of the solvent has 
 entirely disappeared. Introduce this powder into a cylindrical percola- 
 tor, and exhaust it in the cold by distilled water, to every one thousand 
 ^rams (thirty-three fluidounces) of which, two grams (thirty troy grains) 
 of tartaric acid have been added. Heat the liquid obtained, so as to 
 coagulate any albuminous matters that may be present in it, then filter, 
 and by meanfe of a water-bath, evaporate it to about one-third of its 
 volume. When cool, filter, digest the filtered liquid with a slight ex- 
 cess of recently precipitated carbonate of calcium so as to saturate the 
 excess of tartaric acid. Filter, evaporate to the consistence of thick 
 syrup, and precipitate with alcohol of sp. gr. 0.822, added in such 
 quantity as to furnish with the aqueous liquid an alcohol ofsp.gr. 
 0.871. Again filter, and then evaporate to drive off the alcohol. Ex- 
 haust the residuum by the addition of distilled water in quantity 
 slightly less than that of the weight of the ergot employed, a little animal 
 charcoal being used. Again filter, and to the filtered liquid add, for 
 ■each one hundred grams (three troy ounces one drachm) of ergot em- 
 ployed, fifteen centigrams (two and a third troy grains) of salicylic 
 acid. Complete the process by adding distilled water, in such quantity 
 ias to obtain a weight of liquid equal to that of the ergot employed in 
 the preparation of the solution. Allow this to rest for several days 
 in a cool place, and then pour it into small vials, having well fitted 
 ground stoppers. 
 
 ^istori/. -Hypodermic injections of ergotin are rapidly coming into 
 favor with the profession, being employed in various forms of disease. 
 One great objection, heretofore, to their employment, has been the irri- 
 tating quality of the solutions used, occasioning abscesses, and indura- 
 tions. M.. Yvon has succeeded in forming a solution wholly free from 
 irritating principles, the process for preparing which, as described by 
 himself, we have deemed proper. to present to our readers. The liquid 
 obtained by this process is of a fine amber color, clear, non-fermentable, 
 and keeps well ; all the re-agents of the alkaloids form abundant pre- 
 cij)itates with it. One gram of this solution represents one gram of 
 ergot, and it contains the obstetrical and hemostatic principles of this 
 drug. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses — The facility with which this solution may be 
 employed in hypodermic injections, its rapidity of action, and its effi- 
 cacy, render it superior to any other mode of administration. When 
 it is properlj- made, it is innocuous, and occasions neither pain nor 
 inflammation. It has been successfully employed in post partum hem- 
 orrhages, the only unpleasant symptom observed being a sudden head- 
 ache with vertigo, nausea, and syncope, winch pass off in a few minutes 
 by placing the patient in a horizontal position — but no symptoms re- 
 sembling that of poisoning. Its effects are bettor manifested in passive 
 hemorrhages due to inertia or atony of the utei'us. The use of this 
 solution b}- subcutaneous injections has likewise been found efficacious 
 
182 Pharmacy and Pharmacopceia. 
 
 in excessive menorrliagia, epis.taxis, bemoptj-sis, and other profuse and 
 obstinate hemorrhages, as gastrorrhagia, enterorrhagia, cerebral hem- 
 orrhage, and in secondary hemorrhages following surgical operations. 
 They have likewise been of service in uterine fibroma; the soft, vascular, 
 hemorrhagic tumors, of rapid development during the sexual life, being 
 more readily influenced by the ergotin ; while, on the contrary, the 
 long-standing, hard, voluminous, stationary tumors, and which have 
 formed adhesions or undergone fatty degeneration, especially with 
 females who have reached or passed the critical age, are hardly, if at 
 all, influenced by it. Subcutaneous injections of ergotin have also proved 
 effective in prostatic enlargement, goiti-e, prolapsus of the rectum, pur- 
 pura hemorrhagica, internal aneurism, diabetes insipidus, paraplegia, 
 paralysis of the bladder, and enlargement of the spleen, especially when 
 the result of malarial influences. 
 
 Vidal states that ergotin has a special influence upon the fibers of the 
 smooth muscles. M. Benard, who has given considerable attention to 
 the subject, sums up his conclusions as follows : 
 
 Subcutaneous injections of ergotin act upon hemorrhages by causing 
 contraction of the smooth fibers of the blood-vessels, or of those of the 
 organs enclosing thera. They appear to act locally at the point where 
 the ergotin is in contact with the tissues, but this action does not appear 
 to be independent of the influence of the nervous system. Contraction 
 of the smooth vascular fibers acts especially by modifying the tension 
 of the blood ; contraction of the fibers of the organs containing them 
 acts especially by efi'acing their caliber — compressing them. Injections 
 of ergotin appear to act eflScaciously, even in hemorrhages of organs 
 deprived of smooth fibers, or presenting few of them in their structure, 
 as in gastro-intestinal hemorrhages, hemoptysis, and epistaxis. Hemorr- 
 hages of organs in which the smooth fibers predominate; that is to say 
 metrorrhagia, are almost constantly cured or ameliorated by injections 
 of ergotin. Their influence is especially manifest in the gravid con- 
 dition of the uterus, or in conditions approaching it, as moles, intra- 
 uterine fibromae. It is likewise very energetic every time the mus- 
 cular fiber of the organ is healthy, even when a portion of the organ 
 is already destroyed, as by cancer. In cases of metritis, and especially 
 of fungous growths, their influence is about null. When carefully 
 made, and a properly prepared solution employed, no serious symptom 
 results. 
 
 The dose of ergotin. by hypodermic injection, varies according to 
 circumstances, from one-sixth of a grain to five grains per day. Some 
 practitioners have even exceeded this quantity, using from three to ten 
 grains daily. The quantity of Yvon's solution of ergotin will, therefore, 
 be from one-sixth of a minim to five minims per day. The fractions of 
 a minim may be made by adding water to the solution, thus : To obtain 
 one-sixth of a minim, add one minim of the solution to twenty-three 
 minims of distilled water ; four minims of this mixture will equal the 
 sixth of a minim of solution. The injections should be made in the 
 neighborhood of the diseased part, and be repeated, according to cir- 
 cumstances, every two, three, or four days. In uterine myoma, M. 
 Gerard prefers to inject directly into the uterine tissue. In profuse 
 hemorrhages, from three to five or ten minims may be used at a time, 
 and, if necessary, may be repeated every four, eight, or twelve hours, 
 according to the urgency of the case, and the efl'ect of the agent. In 
 enlarged spleen, from one to five grains of ergotin have been injected 
 daily. — K. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Under this head we shall briefly refer to several articles that have 
 recently been introduced (or re-introduced) to the profession, some of 
 which, undoubtedly, possess valuable therapeutical qualities. — K. & L. 
 
 ADONIS VEKNALIS. 
 
 This is the most common of the cultivated species of the genus Adonis, 
 being a very reliable early spring flower. It is found, growing wild, 
 throughout Southern Europe, and is sometimes employed in medicine 
 on account of its drastic properties. Mr. P. Linderos recently obtained 
 a yellow crystalline substance from the leaves and identified it as 
 aoonitic acid, G^'H.fi^. Pallas attributes to the plant emmenagogue prop- 
 erties. — L. 
 
 ^THYL BROMIDE. 
 
 ^ Bromide of Ethyl ; Hydrobromic Ether. 
 
 Formula, CjHsBr.; molecular weight, 108.69. 
 
 Bromide of ethyl was discovered by Serullas, in 1827, who made it by 
 acting upon phosphorus with bromine, in contact with alcohol. In 1852, 
 Mr. E. Eobin experimented upon birds with this agent, and was pleased 
 with its action as an anesthetic. He stated that it produced rapid 
 effects, without any subsequent suffering or distress. In 1865, Dr. Nun- 
 nelly experimented farther; and afterward. Dr. Eabuteau (1876) made 
 some careful investigations regarding its action ; while still more re- 
 cently, Drs. Lawrence Turnhull and R. J. Levis, of Philadelphia, have 
 brought the agent prominently before the medical profession, and to 
 them belongs the credit of its recent introduction into medicine. 
 
 Preparation. — The original process for making bromide of ethyl was 
 troublesome and dangerous. It was improved upon by De Vrij, bromide 
 of potassium being decomposed in contact with alcohol, by means of 
 sulphuric acid. This is the favored process at the present day, and we call 
 attention to the two >practical modifications of it given in the Am. Journ. 
 Pharm., May, 1880.' Take of Bromide of Potassium, in crystals, fifty- 
 eight parts; Sulphuric Acid, forty-four parts ; Alcohol, forty-four parts ; 
 Water, twentyrcight parts. Introduce the mixed water and sulphuric 
 acid'' into a tubulated retort of one hundred and sixteen parts capacity, 
 and when the mixture has become cool, add the Bromide of Potassium. 
 Then place the retort on a sand-bath, and fix in its tubulure a funnel- 
 
 'The articles were written by Lawrence Wolflf; M. D , and Prof. Jos. P. Remington. 
 We prefer that of Prof. Remington, from the fact that he addi? the alcohol slowly to a 
 warmed mixture of the sulphuric acid, water, and bromide of potassium, although the 
 formula of Dr. Wolff will give satisfactory results. — L. 
 
 'Observe precautions given in note on page 10. — E. 
 (183) 
 
184 Recent Articles. 
 
 tube, and connect the exit with a condenser ; heat the mixture to 116° 
 C. (240°.8F.), and then slowly supply alcohol, until the forty -four parts 
 are consumed. The heat, during the reaction, niuHt be maintained be- 
 tween 100° C. (212° F ) and 116° C. (240°.8 F.), and be continued after 
 the alcohol is added, until it reaches 116° C, when the operation must 
 be discontinued. The distillate, crude ethyl bromide, must be very care- 
 fully purified, as follows : Mix it with an equal bulk of distilled water, 
 previously rendered distinctly alkaline with caustic soda or caustic 
 potash, and agitate the mixture violently. After it has separated into 
 two layers, marked by a clear line of demarcation, syphon the lower 
 liquid into a retort, add a little chloride of calcium, and distil the mix- 
 lure upon a water-bath. This distillate must be redistilled from a clean 
 retort, by means of an expanded steam, or water,, bath. 
 
 Bromide of ethyl is transparent, colorless, volatile, has an agreeably 
 ethereal odor, and a penetrating, sweetish taste. It is not inflammable, 
 and its vapor will neither burn nor explode. Its specific gravity is 1.420 
 {Remington), and its boiling-point 40° or 41° C. (104° and 105°.8 F.). It 
 dissolves freely in alcohol and ether, but is comparatively insoluble in 
 water. It should, in all cases where intended for use as an anesthetic, 
 be perfectly volatile at ordinary temperatures, and, when evaporated 
 from a clean glass or porcelain plate, by exposure, it should not leave 
 a stain, and the plate should be devoid of all odor. — L. 
 
 Properties and Uses. — We have noticed the remarks of Drs. Lawrence 
 Tarnbull, and R. J. Levis, of Philadelphia, Pa., relative to tiie safety 
 and efficacy of ethyl bromide as an anesthetic. These gentlemen have 
 employed this agent in a great number of cases without any serious 
 accident occurring, and consider it fully as safe an anesthetic as ether, 
 decidedly more so than chloroform, and superior to either ; but a pure 
 article must always be employed. Br. Levis states that its action is 
 rapid, and the patient quickly recovers from its effects. Its vapor is 
 non-inflammable, and not irritating to the respiratory passages, in- 
 fluencing respiration but slightly, if at all; the circulation is not affected 
 by it, except sometimes a slight augmentation in the rapidity of the 
 heart's action, and perhaps a trifling increase of arterial tension or 
 pressure. Nausea and vomiting occur less frequently than with ether 
 or chloroform, and its inhalation does not occasion cerebral anemia or 
 fatal syncope from cardiac depression, so frequently following the em- 
 ployment of chloroform. — K. 
 
 BAEL FEUIT. 
 
 Bael fruit, or Indian quince, is known in India as Bhel and Bela. It 
 is the fruit of ^gle Marmelos and belongs to the Aurantiacece. The 
 fruit resembles the orange in appearance, has a delicious flavor and. 
 pleasant odor when ripe. The thick rind of the unripe fruit is astrin- 
 gent and is used in India for dysentery and diarrhea. A yellow dye is 
 prepared from the rind when the fruit is ripe. — L. 
 
 In Malabar, the root, bark, and leaves of this plant, have refrigerant 
 properties attributed to them, and are considered of great value, in 
 hypochondria, melancholy, palpitation of the heart, and in asthma. 
 The ripe fruit is very agreeable to the taste, and is used for the removal 
 of habitual constipation. A fluid extract of the rind of the unripe 
 fruit may be given in diarrhea and in dysentery, in doses of from thirty 
 minims to two fluidrachms every two or three hours. K. 
 
Appendix. 185 
 
 BALSAMUM DIPTEEOCAKPI. 
 
 Wood Oil; Gurjun Balsam. 
 
 This oil, according to Dr. Masters, is mainly derived from BipterocaT' 
 •pus Icevis, although authorities agree that many trees of the genus Dip- 
 terocarpus yield it also. This genus consists of lofty trees which abound 
 in resinous juices, and wliich are natives of the Indian Islands and 
 neighboring countries. The source of the balsam was first announced 
 byEoxburgh, and the process for extraction as then given is employed 
 by the natives at the present day. To obtain the balsam, the trees are 
 notched near the ground, and the notch chari'ed by means of a fire, 
 when the liquid oozes out and is collected. Eoxburgh states that a 
 single tree will yield from thirty to forty gallons In a season. This 
 liquid is a thin balsam, somewhat resembling balsam of copaiba, although 
 different specimens of it differ considerably as regards consistence, in 
 accordance with the source from which it is derived. Its common name 
 is wood oil, and, in its native country, it is employed extensively as a 
 varnish and in painting houses and ships. According to Dr. Wight, 
 when mixed with dammar, it is valuable as a coating to preserve timber 
 from the attacks of white ants. 
 
 Gurjun Balsam dissolves in benzol, chloroform, disulphide of carbon, 
 and essential oils, the solutions being fluorescent (greenish). It is com- 
 posed of a volatile oil, a resin, and an acid named gurjunic acid (gur- 
 gnnic, Warner). The oil may be obtained by distillation with water, 
 to the extent of thirty-seven per cent, of the balsam employed, and, 
 when pure, has the specific gravity 0.915 (Pharmacography) ; 0.944 
 (Warner). The resin has not been satisfactorily examined chemically. 
 It contains the gurjunic acid, Cit3.^0«, which forms a soluble salt with 
 anAmonia, and may thus be separated fi-om the resin by triturating the 
 resin with dilute ammonia water, filtering the solution, adding muriatic 
 acid in excess, collecting the precipitate, and purifying by crystalliza- 
 tion from boiling alcohol. 
 
 Wood Oil of China. — An article extensively used in China under the 
 name wood oil, is obtained by pressure from the seed of Aleurites cor- 
 data (Tung tree), a large tree of the Nat. Ord. Euphorbiacese. The 
 oil is used in painting boats, varnishing furniture, etc. As it is not ex- 
 ported it can not be confused in market with gurjun balsam — L. 
 
 Guijun balsam has been advised as an eflBcacious substitute for bal- 
 sam of copaiba, in chronic gonorrhea, gleet, and chronic affections of 
 the mucous membrane of the bladder. It has likewise been reputed 
 beneficial as a stimulant to obstinate ulcers, when added to the oint- 
 ment employed in dressing them. — K. 
 
 CALYCANTHUS FLORIDUS, Unn. 
 
 Florida Alspice. 
 
 Wat. Ord. — Calycanthacese ; a shrub, native of the Southern States, 
 and common in cultivation both in this country and Europe. The stem 
 is from six to eight feet high and much branched. The leaves are 
 opposite, entire, coriaceous, oval and borne on short leaf-stalks. The 
 entire plant is pervaded with an aromatic camphoraceous odor which is 
 especially the case with the bark and roots. The flowers are nearly 
 sessile and borne near the ends of the branchlcts. They are of a brown- 
 ish-purple color, and exhale, especially when wilted or crushed, an 
 abundant fragrance compared by some to that of the sti-awberry. — L. 
 
186 Appendix. 
 
 This plant has recently been suggested for us^e in medicine as a stim- 
 ulant and aromatic ; its virtues in these respects are, very probably, in 
 no way superior to the many agents already named in our Materia 
 Medicas, possessing similar properties. — K. 
 
 CEDEON SEED. 
 
 The fruit of Simaba Cedron, a species of SimarubesB, closely allied to 
 tlie tree that produces quassia bark. This is a small tree, native of New 
 Granada and neighboring parts of South America. It is characterized 
 by having large pinnate leaves, consisting of numerous narrow leaflets 
 and very large panicles of flowers. The fruit is about the size of a 
 "swan's egg," and contains a single seed. The seeds are intensely 
 bitter, and are esteemed by the natives as an antidote to the bites of 
 poisonous snakes, insects, etc. — Xi. 
 
 The seeds appear to possess tonic and febrifuge properties, and are 
 recommended for malarial diseases, and to improve the condition of 
 the digestive powers when enfeebled, and in dyspepsia ; for these pur- 
 poses, an infusion may be employed ; or a fluid extract may be taken, 
 in doses of from one to ten minims, repeated three or four times a 
 day.— K. 
 
 CEECIS CANADENSIS (Linn). 
 
 Nat. Orrf.— Leguminosse ; the Red Bud, or Judas Tree, is a small tree, 
 growing in rich woods in the Middle States. The flowers expand in 
 early spring before the leaves come out; they are borne in lateral 
 clusters and are of a pale-reddish color. They have an agreeably acid 
 taste, and are often eaten by children. The leaves are simple, acute, 
 cordate, and are supported on slender stalks. The fruit is a dry, brown 
 flat pod, which hangs on the branches during the winter. L. 
 
 It has been stated that the leaves and bark of this tree, especially 
 the bark of the root, possess astringent properties, and may be admin- 
 istered in cases in which this class of agents are indicated, as in 
 diarrhea and dysentery, and in chronic catarrhal conditions ; also recom- 
 mended as a local application in chronic gonorrhea, gleet, leucorrhea, 
 and chronic conjunctivitis. — K. 
 
 DIOSPYEOS EMBEYOPTBEIS (Pm.), 
 Or Indian persimmon tree, is found in India, Java, and neighboring 
 tropical islands; but is not valued highly for its fruit, which is insipid. 
 When green, they are very astringent, and are employed in tanning 
 The inspissated juice has been used in diarrhea ; it is thick and viscid 
 and has been employed in India as a preservative for coating fishing 
 nets, and the seams of boats. The unripe fruit was admitted into thi 
 Pharmacopoeia of India in the year 1868. 
 
 DiosPTROs Kaki, the Chinese Date Plum,' or Japanese Persimmon, is a 
 native of China and Japan, and is cultivated in India. The fruit is of 
 a bright-red color, about the size of an ordinary apple and when ripe 
 18 eaten by the Chinese, and, when dried, is made into sweetmeats! 
 The bark of this probably resembles that of other species of Diospvros 
 and is an astringent. — L. ■ I'n > 
 
 The ba,rk of the D. Kaki has recently been advised as an astringent 
 in chronic mucous affections, as in certain forms of dyspepsia in 
 diarrhea and dysentery, m mucous diseases of the bladder and urethra 
 
Eecent Articles. 187 
 
 and as a local application in leucorrhea, gleet, chronic conjunctivitis, 
 and catarrhal affections. The fluid extract, diluted with water, may be 
 applied locally, by injection, or by spray. — K. 
 
 DUGONG OIL. 
 
 The Dugong (Halicore Sugong) is an herbaceous mammal found in 
 shallow waters throughout the Indian Seas. There are two species 
 of tliem — the Malay, or Indian Dugong {Halicore Indicus), and the 
 Australian (Halicore Australis). They are from six to sixteen feet in 
 length, and weigh from four hundred to six hundred pounds upon an 
 average ; occasionally, however, they are found of larger size. They 
 frequent the neighborhood of ocean inlets where sea-grass, algae, and 
 fuci abound, and the water is shallow. They are called sea-hogs, and 
 their flesh (intermediate in flavor between beef and pork) is esteemed 
 a great delicacy by the natives of the islands and countries near which 
 this animal abounds. Underneath the skin (which is about half an 
 inch in thickness, and is often made into gelatin) is found a layer of 
 adipose tissue, which yields from four to sixteen gallons gf oil, accord- 
 ing to the size of the dugong. This oil is very palatable, and is accept- 
 able to the most sensitive stomach, and of late has attained somewhat 
 of a reputation as a substitute for cod-liver oil. — L. 
 
 The oil is fully as nutritious as cod-liver oil, and may be administered 
 in all forms of tuberculous, and wasting diseases, and, with equal ad- 
 vantage, in cases where there is a decided repugnance to the cod-liver 
 oil.— K. 
 
 EUPHOKBIA HYPEBICIFOLIA. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Euphorbiacesej. 
 
 The entire plant Euphorbia hypericifolia {Linn.). 
 
 Common Name. — Gnrden spurge. 
 
 Euphoi-biii hypericifolia is a common weed, found in gardens and on 
 cultivated hindj in all parts of the United States. The stem is from one 
 to two feet high, ascending, and much branched; it is smooth, and 
 when the plant grows in sunny situations, is of a purple color. The 
 branches are alternate, and proceed from opposite sides of the stem, 
 giving the plant a flat appearance. The leaves are about an inch long, 
 opposite, unequal at the base, and supported on very short' leaf-stalks; 
 they are oblong, obtuse, triple-veined from the base, and serrulate, with 
 numerous small, appressed teeth. The larger leaves have large purple 
 spots near the center, which is very characteristic of the plant. The 
 flowers are small, inconspicuous, and appear late in summer. They have 
 the peculiar structure of the genus Euphorbia, and the involucrate clusters 
 ' are borne from the forks of the branches on slender stalks, about a 
 quarter of an inch long. The fruit is a three-lobed carpel, containing 
 three wrinkled, blackish seed. The plant is described in King's Dis- 
 pensatory, but has lately attained such a reputation among Eclectic 
 physicians as to justify 'further notice. Dr. H. L. True brought it for- 
 ward in the K M. Journal, 1874, since which time numerous articles 
 have appeared in various medical journals, and, at present, the plant is 
 in regular use among Eclectic physicians. There has been no further 
 analysis or chemical examination.^ — L. 
 
 This plant is highly recommended in diarrhea, dysentery, cholera 
 morbus, and cholera infantum, and to remove gastro intestinal irritation, 
 and is certainly deserving the attention of medical men. The dose ot 
 
188 Appendix. 
 
 a strong infusion of the plant is, for a child, from fifteen minims to two 
 fluidrachms, every hour; for an adult, from a teaspoonful to a table- 
 spoonful every hour. Dose of the Specific Tincture, one or two drops 
 in water, every hour or two. — K. 
 
 FIE-LEAF OIL. 
 
 Oleum Folii Pini Sylvestris. 
 
 This oil is in use throughout various portions of Europe, and is dis- 
 tilled from the leaves of Pinus Sylvestris, or "Scotch Pine," which is 
 found in the highlands of Scotland, where it occurs, as tree or shrub, 
 according to the locality of its growth. The oil was admitted to a po- 
 sition in the Pharmacop(Bia of the Throat Hospital, London (1872). It 
 must not be confounded with oil of turpentine, which is abundantly pro- 
 duced from the trunk of the same tree. It is said that fir-leaf oil is 
 largely sold in England and on the Continent, as a patent liniment for 
 the cure of rheumatism. In maladies of the throat it may be admin- 
 istered internally, in the dose of a few drops, diluted, and likewise be 
 locally applied to the throat and chest. — L. 
 
 FEANKENIA GRANDIFOLIA. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Frankeniacoas; now known throughout the Eastern United 
 States as the drug " Yerba Reuma." This is a small shrubby plant, with 
 a prostrate, much-branclied stem, about six inches long. It is a 
 native of California, and is found in abundance in sandy localities near 
 the coast. The leaves are opposite, entire, obovate, tapering at the 
 base, and ending in a small mucronate point. The flowers are sessile, 
 between the forks of the branches, small, and of a bright-pink color. 
 The calyx is tubular, five-angled, five-toothed, and hairy externally. 
 The petals are five, slightly longer than the calyx and attenuated to 
 slender claws. The stamens are six or seven, and about the length of 
 the petals. The pistil consists of a one-celled, many-seeded ovary, and 
 three slender styles, united for about two-thirds of the way, and stig- 
 matose along the inner surface. This plant is very salty to the taste, 
 leaving an astringent after-taste. — L. 
 
 This plant has been lately recommended as a mild astringent, having 
 a favorable 'HCtion upon diseased mucous membranes, and serviceable, 
 in diarrhea, dysentery, vaginal leucorrhea, gonorrhea, gleet, and catarrh. 
 The dose of the fluid extract is from five to twenty-five minims; when 
 diluted with water, it maybe applied locally by injection, or spray. — K. 
 
 GAECINIA MANGOSTANA. 
 
 This is a tree of the Wat. Ord. Guttiferse, found in the Malay Islands. 
 It was grown in the gardens of the Duke of Northumberland in 1855, 
 and produced both blossom and fruit (see illustration in Bot. Mag. t., 
 1847). The fruit of this tree is the famous Mangostan or Mangosteen, 
 said to be among the most luscious of tropical fruits. Its rind is about 
 the fourth of an inch in thickness, contains a very astringent juice, and 
 from which, during wet weather, a yellow gum exudes, which is a 
 variety of gamboge. The Chinese use the bark of the tree to produce 
 a black dye, and it is also used in dysejitery. — L. 
 
 The rind of the fruit is highly recommended for dysentery, and has 
 been extensively employed in India for that disease. A few years ago 
 the rind was introduced into Europe by Gruppe, of Manilla, who pre- 
 
Eecent Articles. , 189 
 
 pared an extract which was administered in the Vienna Hos23ital8, as 
 an astringent, with success in catarrhal conditions of the throat, blad- 
 der, urethra, and uterus, etc. The dose of the solid extract is one grain, 
 repeated six or eight times per day, in pill form, or rubbed up with 
 syrup. — K. 
 
 GYNOCARDIA ODORATA {R. Br.). 
 
 This tree belongs to the Nat. Ord. Bixinese, Tribe Pangeise, and is a 
 very large and handsome Bast Indian Tre^. The leaves are glossy, en- 
 tire, and alternate.; the flowers yellow and sweet-scented. The fruit iw 
 round, ash-colored, and, when mature, averages in weight from ten to 
 twenty pounds. The numerous seeds are imbedded in its pulp, and 
 contain an oil, which, according to Roxburgh, is mixed with fresh but- 
 ter and used by the natives as a remedy for cutaneous diseases. They 
 are known as Ohaulmoogra (or Chaulmugra), and are said, when pow- 
 dered, to have been used with advantage in scrofula, skin diseases, and 
 rheumatism; the dose being about six grains. 
 
 Chaulmugra Oil is obtained by pressure from the seeds, and of late years 
 has attracted some little attention outside of India where it has long been 
 used. It is said that, in consequence of its high price, it is extensively 
 adulterated by the natives of India, and so adroitly as to cause even 
 the physicians in India to discontinue its use.' This oil {J. Moss) is 
 granular, melts at 42° C (107°6 F.); but, after melting, may be reduced 
 much below this point without Bolidifying, and has, at 42° C, the 
 specific gravity of 0.930. It has an acid reaction, an acrid taste, and a 
 slight scammony-like odor. It is insoluble in water, partly soluble in 
 alcohol and ether, and, excepting impurities, seems to perfectly dissolve 
 in chloroform, cai"bon disulphide, and benzine. Mr. Moss found it to 
 yield, upon the application of appropriate reagents, ■palmitic add ; a new 
 acid, to which he gave the name, gynocardic acid; hyjpogoRic acid (named 
 from the seed of Arachis hypogoea), and cocinic acid. Of these four 
 acids palmitic constitutes the largest proportion, altogether making 
 eighty-one per cent, the weight of the oil. Gynocardic acid, O,, H,, O, 
 however (11.7 per cent.), is the important constituent, and which gives 
 the burning taste to the oil. Chaulmoogra oil strikes a green color with 
 sulphuric acid. — L. 
 
 Chaulmugra oil is used both internally and externally in leprosy, 
 secondary" syphilis, rheumatism, scrofula, and in phthisis. The dose for 
 an infant is one or two drops daily ; for an adult, from two to four minims, 
 repeated three times a day. Drachm doses are said to have been given 
 without any unpleasant results. Externally, it has been successfully 
 applied in the above-named diseases, likewise in herpes, tinea, stiffness of 
 joints, ulcers, and various cutaneous eruptions. It is usually triturated 
 with from four to six parts of simple ointment, and thoroughly rubbed in 
 with the palm of the hand, or with the finger's ends. Moss recommends 
 the following formula for its economical use: Take of Chaulmugra Oil 
 two parts, ParaflSn Wax, at 106° F., one part, and Ozokerine'' five parts, 
 and triturate thoroughly together. He also advises, as a more pleasant 
 mode of administration, the use of perles or capsules, each containing 
 the required dose. Children may take it in a little warm milk. Salt 
 meat, sweetmeats, spices acids, and tobacco, are sttictly forbidden while 
 taking this oil. — K. 
 
 ^New Bemedies, 1879., 
 
 ''Ozokerine is produced from ozokerite or earth-wax, and forms a tasteless and odor- 
 less basis for preparing ointments. 
 
190 Appendix. 
 
 MICROMERIA DOUGLASSII (Bentk). 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Labiate; the Yerba Buena of California, is a labiate plant 
 of the Tribe Satureineae, closely allied to the common garden thyme 
 (Thymus vulgaris). It is a native of California, and has a slender, creep- 
 ing, perennial stem. The leaves are opposite, nearly round, and are 
 borne on slender stalks. The flowers are small, pUrple, and in axillary 
 clusters of from one to three. — L. 
 
 This plant, it is stated, is not only a febrifuge, but also possesses 
 emmenagogue and anthelmintic properties. It is very probable that 
 its virtues are simply those of a stimulating aromatic and tonic, and 
 that its effects p,re due to these qualities. It may be employed in de- 
 coction, or in doses of from fifteen to ninety minims of the fluid ex- 
 tract. — K. 
 
 MIKANIA GUACO {WiUd.). 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Compositse. This is a South American climbing vine, closely 
 allied to the Bupatoriums. The leaves are supposed, by the natives, to 
 be a remedy for the bites of poisonous serpents, a property which they 
 also attribute to Bupatorium Ayapana. The leaves of Mikania scandens, 
 an herbaceous twiner, common to the Eastern United States, proba- 
 bly possess similar properties. — L. 
 
 This plant has been employed in scrofula, in certain cutaneous mala- 
 dies, in chronic rheumatism, in diarrhea, and in cholera-infantum. It 
 has been administered in decoction, in syrup, and in fluid extract; the 
 dose of the latter being from fifteen to sixty minims, three or four times 
 a day. Age impairs the virtues of the plant. Dr. Hancock denies that 
 this is the correct counter-poison, guaco, which he states is an Aris- 
 tolochia. — K. 
 
 PISCIDIA ERYTHBINA {Limn.). 
 
 Ndi. Ord. — Leguminosse. This is a small tree, native of the West Indies, 
 and known as Jamaica Dogwood. ' It is rarely found in Southern Florida. 
 The flowers are in lateral clusters, appearing in profusion before the 
 leaves. They have a broad, bell-shaped, five-toothed calyx, and a 
 papilionaceous corolla, of a dirty white color tinged with purple. The 
 leaves are unequally pinnate, with entire, oval, acute leaflets, resembling 
 those of the coffee-nut tree. The fruit is a four-winged legume. The 
 bark of the tree is very astringent, and is said to have been used in 
 tanning. It is much employed in its native country as a fish poison 
 (whence the generic name of the tree). It seems to act as a poisonous 
 narcotic. For an illustration of the tree, see Nuttall's North American 
 Sylva, Plate 52. — L. 
 
 Dr. Hamilton {Burnett's Outlines, p. 684) states that a tincture of the 
 bark of this tree is, the same as the bark itself, astringent and irritating. 
 He also observes that it is most powerfully and remarkably narcotic 
 and diaphoretic, and th&,t its local application is a specific in removing 
 toothache. We have no positive knowledge as to its therapeutical vir- 
 tues. It is, undoubtedly, possessed of energetic qualities. The fluid 
 extract has been used in doses of from two to twelve minims. — K. 
 
 PLANTAGO DECUMBENS (Farsh). 
 (P. Ispaghula, Roxb.) Spogel, or Ispaghul Seed} 
 This little plant is common throughout Northwestern India, Arabia, 
 
 'For an illustration of this plant, see New Remedies, 1878, p. 68. To this journal, 
 and PharmMography, we are mainly indebted for our notice of this plant.— L. 
 
Eecent Articles. 191 
 
 and neighboring countries, The seeds are the part used; they are 
 about one-eighth of an inch in .length, and half as broad, concave upon 
 one side, and convex upon the opposite ; and, according to the Pharma- 
 cographia, are so light as to require one hundred to weigh a single 
 grain. Spogel seed have long been employed in India; and, in 1868, 
 were admitted to a position in the Fharmacopceia of that country. — L. 
 
 Spogel seeds are very mucilaginous, and form a thick jelly with 
 water. They are employed, in India, for treatrhent of diarrhea and 
 dysentery, either in substance or in decoction. In chronic diarrhea, 
 they are often given whole, in doses of from one to two drachms, mixed 
 with a little syrup, or powdered and mixed with sugar and water. 
 When bruised and moistened with water, the seeds are often used by 
 physicians, in India, as an emollient poultice. — K. 
 
 QUILLAYA SAPONAEIA. 
 Nat. Ord. — Eosacese. Oommon Name. — Soap-tree. 
 
 This tree is a native of Chili, and is known as Cullay, Quillilia, Quil- 
 laja, and Soap-tree. The bark is the part employed; it is rough, dark- 
 colored externally, and very tough. It has no odor, but workmen 
 dislike to powder it, in consequence of the irritating properties of the 
 dust. The taste is acrid and disagreeable. Quillaya bai-k is said to be 
 used in its native country for washing clothes, and removing grease- 
 spots; and in this country it is employed for cleaning delicate ribbons 
 and wool. It depends upon saponin for its value in this respect, foam- 
 ing when rubbed with water. It is also used by the natives of Chili 
 and Peru for washing the hair, thus : Soap-tree bark, in powder, one 
 hundred parts ; Alcohol, four hundred parts ; Essence of Bergamot, 
 twenty drops ; mix. Saponin is a very energetic sternutatory, and acts 
 as an emeto-cathartic and diuretic. — L. 
 
 EHObODENDEON MAXIMUM (Unn.). 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Ericaceae ; Eose Bay Tree, or Great Laurel, is a tall ever- 
 green shrub, or small tree, found growing along mountainous streams 
 in the eastern section of the United States. The leaves are very thick 
 and leathery, e.ntire, oblong, acute, smooth, and borfie on short wrinkled 
 stalks. The flowers appear in midsummer, and are very large and 
 showy, in terminal, umbellate clusters. — L. 
 
 This agent was introduced to the profession by Dr. J. M. MiilhoUand, 
 of Penn., 1877, as a remedy for obstinate cough in elderly persons, in 
 diphtheritic croup, and for the cure of those cutaneous affections in 
 which arsenic is frequently prescribed. In cough, he found it more 
 efficacious, when this was severe without expectoration, and was accom- 
 panied with a sweetish or mawkish odor of the breath, and a tremulous 
 pulse. The dose is a teaspoonful every hour, of a mixture of twenty 
 minims of the fluid extract with four fluidounces of water. — K. 
 
 SOPHORA JAPONICA. 
 
 This is a fine tree,a native of China or Japan. The flowers, under the 
 name Wai-fa, or Wai-hwa, are used in those countries for dyeing silk a 
 yellow color, and to produce a beautiful green, when mixed with a 
 proper proportion of blue. AH parts of the tree are purgative, and 
 persons who prune it, as well as workmen who are engaged in turn- 
 ing the dry wood, are affected by it. 
 
 S. Speciosa (Benth.) yields a bean which, it is said, is sometimes em- 
 ployed as a medicine iy the Indians of Southwestern Texas, producing 
 
192 Appendix. 
 
 delirious exhilaration, and subsequent sleep of two or three days. Not 
 more than half a bean is taken, it being asserted that an entire bean 
 will kill a man. Dr. H. C. Wood prepared, from specimens of the bean, 
 an organic substance, which is, probably, an alkaloid, as it possesses 
 alkaline properties, is insoluble in alkaline solutions, soluble in ether 
 and dilute acids (presumably forming a soluble salt in the latter case). 
 He named it sophoria. Of this substance a mere speck paralyzed a frog, 
 and one-twentieth of a grain caused a cat to sleep many hours. From 
 an overdose, death followed in a few hours. Its action is similar to that 
 of calabar bean. It appears to be a spinal sedative, and occasions death 
 through the respiration. — L. 
 
 SOYMIDA FEBKIFUGA. 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Meliacese. This is the Bohuna or Rohun tree of Hin- 
 dostan, and is known, on the Coromandel coast of India, as Eedwood- 
 tree, and is the only known species of the genus. The bark is very 
 bitter and astringent, and was recommended, by Eoxburgh, as a 
 ,, substitute for cinchona; it was admitted into the Edinburgh Pharm- 
 acoposia, in 1803, and, in 1807, into the Dublin Pharmacopoeia. It is 
 used as a tonic, and also as an antiperiodic ; but, according to Ainsle, 
 if given beyond the extent of four or five drachms in twenty-four 
 hours, will derange the nervous system, and occasion vertigo and sub- 
 sequent stupor. It is said to have been employed in India with success 
 in treatment of gangrene (?) ; and in Great Britain, as an astringent, 
 and in the treatment of typlius fever. Waring, who has employed it, 
 considers it to be a bitter tonic, and not a febrifuge. — L. 
 
 TYLOPHORA ASTHMATICA, 
 
 Or Indian Ipecac, is a twining, shrubby species, a native of the Indian 
 Peninsula, Ceylon, and the Moluccas. The root has long been used by 
 the Hindoos as a medicine ; and, in small doses, is cathartic — in large 
 doses, emetic. In consequence of its use as a substitute for ipecac, in 
 India, the plant has acquired the name " Indian Ipecac." It has been 
 successfully employed as a remedy for epidemic dysentery, and has also 
 been recommended in humoral asthma. Kilpatrick reports the admin- 
 istration of the leaves, in a great number of cases, with entire satisfac- 
 tion. The dose of the powdered leaves, as an emetic, is twenty-five or 
 thirty grains; as a diaphoretic and expectorant, from three to five 
 grains. — L. 
 
 UMBELLULARIA CALIFORNICA {Nutt.). 
 This is a large evergreen tree, which is found growing in the moun- 
 tainous regions of California. It is known by various common names, 
 of which the following have been recorded; Mountain Laurel, Cali- 
 fornia Laurel, California Spice-tree, Sassafras Laurel, Cajeput Tree, and 
 California Olive. There has been some considerable difficulty in deter- 
 mining its precise botanical position, and it has been variously described 
 as Umbellularia Californica, Oreodaphne Californica. Drimophyllum 
 pauciflorum, Tetranthera Californicum, and Laurus regia. The flowers 
 appear in April, in lateral clusters, and are of a greenish-yellow color. 
 The leaves are alternate, lanceolate, entire, and of a firm texture. They 
 are borne on short leaf-stalks, and end in slender, acuminate points. 
 The fresh or dry leaves are odorless, unless broken or bruised, when they 
 exhale a pungent, aromutic odor, somewhat resembling cajuput oil 
 They are sharp and biting to the taste, and we find that both the odor 
 
Recent Articles. 193 
 
 and taste depend upon the presence of a volatile oil, which we obtained, 
 in the proportion of six fluidrachms to the pound of green leaves, by 
 distillation with water. This oil is the characteristic principle, and 
 was previously examined by Mr. John Hearney, of California {Pacific 
 Med. and Surg. Journ., 1875), who obtained four per cent, from the 
 leaves. He states that the exhalation from the fresh tree occasions 
 headache ; and this statement is supported by a communication received 
 by us from Dr. L. Mann, although we perceived no ill effects when dis- 
 tilling the oil. The oil has a sharp, biting taste, an odor resembling 
 cajuput and nutmegs, and is of a greenish -straw color. — L. 
 
 Dr. L. Mann sent a specimen of this plant to Mr. Curtis Lloyd, who 
 forwarded to him its botanical name, with description. Dr. M. states 
 that it is a valuable remedy in nervous headache, cerebro-spinal 
 meningitis, bilious colic, and atonic diarrhea. According to his expe- 
 rience with it, it certainly (remands a careful investigation by medical 
 men. Dose of the fluid extract of the leaf is from five minims to half 
 a fluidraohm, repeated three or four times a day, or as may be re- 
 quired. — K. 
 
 XANTHIUM SPINOSUM (Unn.). 
 
 Nat. Ord. — Compositse. Xanthium spinosum is a weed known as 
 " spiny clot-burr," and! is naturalized in the United States, in many 
 places near the sea-coast, the seed having been introduced in ballast. 
 The stem is an annual, froni one to three feet high, much brahched, and 
 armed with numerous spines. The spines are of a light straw-color, and 
 are divided, about a quarter of an inch from the base, into three slen- 
 der, sharp, diverging branches. The leaves are lanceolate, acute, taper- 
 ing to a short leaf-stalk at the base ; they are entire or have two teeth, 
 or often lobes, near the base. The under surface is covered with a 
 close, white tomentum. The flowers are small, monoecious, the sterile 
 being borne near the apex, the fertile at the base, of the branchlets. 
 The fruit is a rough oblong burr, armed at the apex with a short beak, 
 and densely covered with equal hooked prickles. In 1876 Guichart 
 thought to have discovered an alkaloid in the alcoholic extract, but 
 Yvon afterward failed to identify it, and considers the substance to 
 have been a resin, which, in acid solution, precipitates certain reagents 
 for alkaloids. — L. 
 
 This plant was recommended as a specific in the treatment of hydro- 
 phobia, by Dr. Grzyvala ; the assertion being made that in one hundred 
 cases, and upward, of persons who had been bitten by rabid dogs, the 
 administi-ation of this article effected recovery without a single failure. 
 The dose was ten grains of the plant, in powder, repeated several times 
 a day. Experiments by other physicians have failed to sustain this 
 assertion, and the plant has passed into disrepute. — K. 
 
 104 
 
194 
 
 Apvkndix. 
 
 Table of the MtmenUiry Bodies used im, Med'wine and in CombiiWiion; with their AUrniie 
 
 Weights* and SynAoh. 
 
 Name. 
 
 Aluminum 
 Antimony.. 
 Arsenic... 
 
 Barium 
 
 Bismuth. ... 
 
 Boron 
 
 Bromine... 
 Cadmium- 
 Calcium.... 
 
 Carbon 
 
 Cerium t"-. 
 Chlorine.... 
 Chromium. 
 
 Copper 
 
 Gold.., 
 
 Hydrogen.. 
 Iodine 
 
 Symbol. 
 
 Al 
 
 Sb 
 
 As 
 
 Ba 
 
 Bi 
 
 Bo 
 
 Br 
 
 Cd 
 
 Ca 
 
 C 
 
 Ce 
 
 CI 
 
 Cr 
 
 Cu 
 
 Au 
 
 I I 
 
 Atomic 
 Weight. 
 
 27.3 
 
 122.0 
 74.9 
 
 136.8 
 
 210.0 
 11.0 
 79.75 
 
 111.6 
 39.9 
 11.97 
 
 142.2 
 35.37 
 52.4 
 63.0 
 
 196.2 
 1.0 
 
 126.53 
 
 Name. 
 
 4 — 
 
 Iron 
 
 Lead 
 
 Lithium .... 
 
 Magnesium. 
 
 Manganese. 
 
 Mercury — 
 
 Nickel 
 
 Nitrogen.... 
 
 Oxygen 
 
 Phosphorus. 
 
 Potassium.. 
 
 Silver 
 
 Silicon 
 
 Sodium 
 
 Sulphur 
 
 Tin 
 
 Zinc 
 
 Symbol. 
 
 Fe 
 Pb 
 Li 
 
 Mg 
 Mn 
 Hg 
 
 Ni 
 
 N 
 
 O 
 
 P 
 
 K 
 
 Ag 
 
 Si 
 
 Na 
 
 S 
 
 Sn 
 
 Zn 
 
 Atomic 
 Weight. 
 
 55.9 
 206.4 
 7.01 
 23.94 
 54.8 
 199.8 
 58.6 
 14.0 
 15.96 
 30.96 
 39.04 
 107.66 
 .28.0 
 22.99 
 31.98 
 117.8 
 64.9 
 
 *Atomic weights after Roscoe and Schorlemmer. 
 
 tThe atomic weight of Cerjum, as given in most Chemistries, is 92, which does not agree with the 
 periodic law of the elements. MendeljeS' proposed to make it 140, but the careful investigation of Burie 
 gives I4i.a,-TL. , 
 
ABBREVIATIONS, 
 
 OF THE PRINCIPAL NAMES OF AUTHORS AND OF WORKS REFERRED TO 
 IN THE SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 Ait. — Aiton. 
 
 Am. Disp. — American Dispensatory. 
 
 Am. Journ. Pharm. — American Journal of Pharmacy. 
 
 Ann. der Chim. — Liebig's Annales de Cliimie et de Physique. 
 • -Be»<A.— Bentham. 
 
 Bent, and Tn. Med. Plants; {B.-and T. Med. Plants). — Medicinal Plants, by Bofaert 
 Bentley, F. L. S., and Henry Trimen, M. B., F. L. S. 
 
 Bot JWap.— Botanical Magazine. 
 
 Bot. Beg. — Botanical Register. 
 
 Br. P. and B. P. — British Pharmacopoeia. 
 
 Canad. Pharm. Journ. — Canadian Pharmaceutical Journal. 
 
 Chem. Gas. — Chemical Gazette. 
 
 Chem. News. — Chemical News. 
 
 Compt. Bend. — Comptes Eendus. 
 
 D. C— De CandoUe. 
 
 Drug. Oirc. — Druggist's Circular and Chemical Gazette. 
 
 E. M. Journal. — Eclectic Medical Journal (Cincinnati). 
 £!;.— Elliott. 
 
 Engl. — Engelmann: 
 
 F. V. M. and F. Muell. — Ferdinand von Mueller. 
 Qcert. — Gsertner. 
 
 Hook. — W. J. Hooker. 
 
 Hook, and Am. — Hooker and Arnott. 
 
 Hook,fil. (filius) — J. D. Hooker. 
 
 Hook. Flora Bar. Am. — Hooker's Flora Boreali Americana. 
 
 Jacq. — Jacquin. 
 
 Journ. Ghem. jSbc;— Journal of the Chemical Society (London). 
 
 Journ. de Chap,. Ifed.— Journal de Chimie Medicale de Pharmacie et de Tozicologie. 
 
 Journ. de Pharm. — Journal de Pharmacie et de Chimie. 
 
 X;— King. 
 
 L. — Lloyd. 
 
 Lag. — Lagasca. 
 
 Jjam. — Lamarck. 
 
 L'Her. — L'Heritier. 
 
 lAnn. — Linnseus. 
 
 lyind — Lindley. 
 
 Mich'x. — Michaux. 
 
 Mieh'x Sylv. — Michaux's North American Sylva. 
 
 (195) 
 
196 Abbreviations. 
 
 M?;.— Miller. 
 
 N. Y. Med. Joum. — New York Medical Journal. 
 
 Nai. Ord. — Natural Order. 
 
 Neu) Rem. — New Remedies (Wm. Wood & Co.). 
 
 JVittt.— Nuttall. 
 
 Org. Const, of Plants. — Organic Constituents of Plants (Wittstein). 
 
 Pharm. Jawm. and 2Vaj!«.— Pharmaceutical Journal and Transactions (British). 
 
 Phil. Trans. — Philosophical Transactions. 
 
 R. Br. — Robert Brown. 
 
 R. and S. — Roscoe and Schorlemmer's Treatise on Chemistrjc 
 
 Roxb. — Roxburgh. 
 
 Strmig's Am. i^Vo-a.— Strong's American Flora. 
 
 Sub Oi-d.— Sub Order. 
 
 &/n. — Synonym. 
 
 U.S. P.— Pharmacopoeia of the United States. 
 
 Var. — Variety. 
 
 Walt— Waiter. 
 
 Willde. — Willdenow. 
 
 Wood. Med. BoL — Woodville's Medical Botanjr. 
 
INDEX TO SUPPLEMENT, 
 
 A 
 
 Abreviations 195 
 
 Acid, aconitic 183 
 
 amygdalic (note)... 132 
 
 anacardic ..■ 37 
 
 angelic 147 
 
 antirrhinic... 98 
 
 bombec ■... 7 
 
 carbolic, glycerite 
 
 of 179 
 
 clirysophanic 5 
 
 cetic 75 
 
 cocinic 189 
 
 cresotic 13 
 
 eucalyptic 91 
 
 formic 7 
 
 gallic, glycerite of.. 179 
 
 gratiolic 98 
 
 gurjunic 185 
 
 gynocai-dic 189 
 
 liydriodic 8 
 
 hydriodic, solution 
 
 of ._ 9 
 
 hy drobromic 9 
 
 hypogoeic. 189 
 
 isocetic 76 
 
 laburnic 106 
 
 lithium carbonate. 109 
 
 palmitic 189 
 
 paracotoic 73 
 
 paullinitannic 102 
 
 rhabarberic. 5 
 
 rutic 142 
 
 salicylic 11 
 
 sa;licylic, glyc'te of 179 
 
 salicylous 12 
 
 sebacic 76 
 
 tannic, glycerite of 180 
 
 thiocarbonic 56 
 
 thymic 151 
 
 Acidum chrysophani- 
 
 cuni 5 
 
 formieum 7 
 
 hydriodicuni 8 
 
 hydrobromicum.... 9 
 
 salicylicum 11 
 
 Aconitic acid 183 
 
 Adansonia digitata 16 
 
 Adansonin 17 
 
 AdoiHK vernalis •• 183 
 
 ^gle marmelos 184 
 
 ^ther metliylioiin.,. 17 
 
 ^thyl broniide 185 
 
 jEthyleiii bichloridum. 18 
 (197) 
 
 Ailantlius glandulosa... 20 
 
 imberberifolia 20 
 
 Ailanto 20 
 
 Akazgia 22 
 
 Akazza 22 
 
 Alcohol triethylphos- 
 
 phine 56 
 
 Aletria farinosa 23 
 
 Aleurites cordata 185 
 
 Alkanet 22 
 
 Alkanet red 23 
 
 Alkannatinctoria 22 
 
 Alpinia galangal 95 
 
 officinarum 94 
 
 Alspice, Florida 185 
 
 Alstonia constricta .' 25 
 
 constriota, fluid ex- 
 tract of 163 
 
 Bcholaris 27 
 
 scholaris, fluid ex- 
 tract of 164 
 
 Alstonicine 26 
 
 Alstonin 26 
 
 Aluminii sulphas 29 
 
 Aluminum, sulphate of 29 
 
 American cowslip 77 
 
 Ammoniacal vitriol 
 
 (note) 33 
 
 Amponii nitras 30 
 
 picras 32 
 
 sulphas 33 
 
 Ammonium, carbazo- 
 
 tate of 32 
 
 nitrate of 30 
 
 picrate of 32 
 
 sulphate of 33 
 
 Amygdalic acid (note).. 132 
 
 Amygdalin 132 
 
 Amylnitris 33 
 
 nitrite 33 
 
 valerianate of 34 
 
 Amylene 36 
 
 Amylenum 36 
 
 Anacardic acid 37 
 
 Anacardium occident- 
 als 36 
 
 Anchusa tinctoria 22 
 
 Anchusin 23 
 
 AndiraararobaAguiaur 42 
 
 fraxifolium 42 
 
 Anemone, rue 149 
 
 thalictroides 149 
 
 Anemopsis Californica. 37 
 
 Anemopsis, fluid ext. of 164 
 
 Angelic acid 147 
 
 Antirrhinic acid 98 
 
 Aplopappus discoideus. 157 
 
 fluid extract of 165 
 
 Apocynura androsa?mi- 
 
 folium. 39 
 
 cannabinum 40 
 
 hypericifolium 40 
 
 Appendix 183 
 
 Aqua laurocerasi 133 
 
 Arenari;i rubra 142 
 
 Aracliis hypogaja 189 
 
 Araroba 5,41 
 
 Arrow grass 154 
 
 Artanita? cyclaminis. ... 77 
 
 Arthanita 77 
 
 Artificial oil of bitter 
 
 almonds 117 
 
 Australian fever bark.. 25 
 
 Ava 128 
 
 Ava pepper shrub 128 
 
 Bael I'rnit 184 
 
 Bahia jiowder 41 
 
 Balm, mountain 86 
 
 Balsam, gurjun 185 
 
 Balsamum dipterocarpi 185 
 
 Baobab 16 
 
 Barbadoes nut 76 
 
 Barium dioxide 43 
 
 hydrated dioxide of 43 
 
 peroxide of. 43 
 
 Bastard turnip 47 
 
 Bean trefoil 105 
 
 Bear's foot 130 
 
 fluid extract of 175 
 
 Benzoate of lithium 107 
 
 of sodium 142 
 
 Berberis Aquifolium 43 
 
 fluid extract of 166 
 
 Fendleri 44 
 
 Fremonti 44 
 
 nervosa 44 
 
 pinnata 44 
 
 repens 44 
 
 Bevilacqua 103 
 
 Bibromide of camphor. 51 
 Bichloride of ethylene. 18 
 
 of methylene 112 
 
 Bignonia catalpa 61 
 
 Bisulphide ot carbon..- 55 
 
 Bisulphite of lime 51 
 
 Bis\ilphuret of carbon.. 55 
 
198 
 
 Index to Supplement. 
 
 Biting stone crop 140 
 
 Bitter root 39,40 
 
 Black bryonia 47 
 
 Blazing star 23, 63 
 
 Blue gum tree 90 
 
 Boldin 46 
 
 Boldo 45 
 
 fluid extract of 173 
 
 Boldoa fragrans 45 
 
 Boldus 45 
 
 Bombec acid 7 
 
 Borate of sodium, gly- 
 
 ceriteof 180 
 
 Borax, glycerite of 180 
 
 Brazil powder 41 
 
 Bromide of .calcium 48 
 
 of ethyl 185 
 
 ofiron 93 
 
 ayrup of 94 
 
 of lithium 108 
 
 Broom, common 106 
 
 Bryonia alba 46 
 
 fluid extract of 166 
 
 dioica 46 
 
 black 47 
 
 Bryonin 47 
 
 Bryonitin 47 
 
 Bryony 46 
 
 Bryoretin 47 
 
 c 
 
 Cajuput tree 192 
 
 Calcii brom idum 48 
 
 monosulphidum.... 49 
 
 sulphis 50 
 
 sulphocarbolas 144 
 
 Calcium, bromide of.... 48 
 monosulphide of... 49 
 
 oxy bromide of 48 
 
 sulphide of 49 
 
 sulphite of 50 
 
 sulphocarbolate of. 144 
 
 California laurel 192 
 
 olive 192 
 
 spice tree 192 
 
 Calycanthus Floridus... 185 
 Camphor, bibromide of 51 
 
 monobromata 51 
 
 monobromated 51 
 
 Camphorated chloral... 67 
 Capsella bursa-pastoris 53 
 Carbazotate of am- 
 monium 32 
 
 Carbolic acid, glycerite 
 
 of 179 
 
 Carbon, bisulphide of.. 55 
 
 bisulphuret of 55 
 
 disulphide of 55 
 
 Carbonate of lithium 
 
 (normal) 109 
 
 Carbonei disulphidnm.. 55 
 
 Cardol 37 
 
 Carica dodecaphylla.... 58 
 
 jaracatia 58 
 
 papaya 58 
 
 spinosa 58 
 
 Caricine 59 
 
 Carvacrol (note) 151 
 
 Cascara sagrada 134 
 
 fluid extract of 175 
 
 Cashew apple, 36 
 
 nut 36 
 
 Castanea pumila 60 
 
 vesca 60 
 
 Catalpa bignonioides... 61 
 
 cordifolia 61 
 
 syringsefolia 61 
 
 tree 61 
 
 Catalysis 62 
 
 Catalytic action 62 
 
 iron 63 
 
 Cedron seed 186 
 
 Cerasus lauro-cerasus... 132 
 
 Cercis Canadensis 186 
 
 Cetie acid 75 
 
 Chamajlirin .'... 65 
 
 Chamaelirium luteum... 63 
 
 Chaulmoogra oil 189 
 
 Cherry laurel 132 
 
 water 133 
 
 Chestnut 60 
 
 fluid extract of 167 
 
 China wood oil 185 
 
 Chincapin 60 
 
 Chinchumchulli 103 
 
 Chinese date plum 186 
 
 Chittembark 134 
 
 Chloral 65 
 
 alcoholate 67 
 
 camphorated 67 
 
 hydras 65 
 
 hydrate 65,66 
 
 Chlorethane 113 
 
 Chloric ether (note) 19 
 
 Chloride of propylamin 154 
 Chlorinated chloride of 
 
 methyl 112 
 
 Chloromethane 113 
 
 Chrysarobin 41 
 
 Chrysatobine 41 
 
 Chrysophanic acid 5 
 
 Chrysophyllum Buran- 
 
 hem 114 
 
 cainito 115 
 
 glyciphloeum 114 
 
 Cigar tree 61 
 
 Citrate of lithium 110 
 
 Clematine 69 
 
 Clematis, wild 69 
 
 vitalba 69 
 
 Clotbur, spiny 193 
 
 Cocculus toxiferus 74 
 
 Cocinic acid 189 
 
 CofTeenut 88 
 
 Colicroot 82,94 
 
 Collinsonia Canadensis. 83 
 
 Colloid,s 78 
 
 Common broom 106 
 
 gromwell. 110 
 
 Compound extract of 
 
 malt 160 
 
 Condurango 69 
 
 Condurango, fluid ex- 
 tract of 167 
 
 Consumptive weed 86 
 
 Coriamyrtin 70 
 
 Coriaria myrtifolia 70 
 
 myrtle-leaved 70 
 
 sarmentosa 71 
 
 Goto bark 71 
 
 fluid extract of 168 
 
 Cotoin 72 
 
 Cream of tartar tree.... 16 
 
 Cresotic acid 13 
 
 Crown beard 158 
 
 Crystalloids 78 
 
 Cundurango 69 
 
 Curcas purgans 76 
 
 Curare 73 
 
 Curarin 74 
 
 Cyclamen Europseum... 77 
 
 hederifolium 77 
 
 Cyclamin 77 
 
 Cyclamiretin 78 
 
 Cymene 91, 151 
 
 Cymenol (note) 151 
 
 Cytisin 106 
 
 Cytisis laburnum 105 
 
 scoparius 106 
 
 D 
 
 Daffodil 116 
 
 Dalbergia miscolobium 42 
 
 Damiana 155 
 
 fluid extract of 178 
 
 Date-plum, Chinese 186 
 
 Dephlogisticated ni- 
 trous gas (note).. 31 
 
 Devil's bit 64 
 
 Devil's turnip 47 
 
 Dialyzed iron 79 
 
 Dialysis 78 
 
 Dichloride of methy- 
 lene 112 
 
 Dichloromethane 112 
 
 Dicotoin 72 
 
 Didelphos cancrivora... 74 
 
 Dioscorea glabra 82 
 
 villosa 81 
 
 Diosfcorein 82 
 
 DiospyroK embrvopteris 186 
 
 kaki ." 186 
 
 Dioxide of barium 43 
 
 hydrated 43 
 
 Dipterocarpus Isevis 185 
 
 Directions for fluid ex- 
 tracts 160 
 
 Di.sulphide of carbon... 55 
 
 Dita bark 27 
 
 Ditamin 28 
 
 Dodecatheon media 77 
 
 Dogsbane 39 
 
 Dogwood, Jamaica 190 
 
 Drimophyllum pauci- 
 
 florum 192 
 
 Drooping starwort 64 
 
 Duboisia Hopwoodii.... 83 
 niyoporoides 84 
 
Index to Supplement. 
 
 199 
 
 Duboisin 84 
 
 sulphate of 85 
 
 Dugoiig oil 187 
 
 Dutch liquid 18 
 
 Dyer's bugloss* 22 
 
 green weed 96 
 
 E 
 
 East India root , 94 
 
 Echicaoutschin 28 
 
 Echicerin 28 
 
 Eohiretin 28 
 
 Eohitein 28 
 
 Echitin 28 
 
 Emodin 5 
 
 Ergotin, Yvon's solu- 
 tion of 181 
 
 Ergotin, liquor of 181 
 
 Eriodictyon Californi- 
 
 cum 86 
 
 glutinosum 86 
 
 fluid extract of 169 
 
 Erythrophloein -.... 89 
 
 ErythrophlcBum afzel- 
 
 ius 88 
 
 Guineense 88 
 
 judiciale 88 
 
 Essence of mirbane 117 
 
 Ethene chloride 18 
 
 Ether chloric (note) 19 
 
 hydrobromic 185 
 
 hydrochloric 19 
 
 methylic 17 
 
 Ethyl, bromide of 185 
 
 chloride 18 
 
 Ethylene, bichloride of. 18 
 
 Eucalyptic acid 91 
 
 EuCalyptol 91 
 
 Eucalyptus globulus ... 90 
 
 fluid extract of 169 
 
 volatile oil of 91 
 
 Euphorbia hyperici- 
 
 folia ■. 187 
 
 Euryangium sumbul... 146 
 Extract of Alstonia 
 
 eonstricta, fluid-. 163 
 of Alstonia schol- 
 
 aris, fluid 164 
 
 of anemopsis, fluid. 164 
 of aplopappus flu- 
 id 165 
 
 of bear's foot, fluid. 175 
 of berberis Aqui- 
 
 folium, fluid 166 
 
 of boldo, fluid 173 
 
 of bryonia alba, 
 
 , fluid 166 
 
 of cascara sagrada, 
 
 fluid 175 
 
 of chestnut, fluid... 167 
 of condurango, flu- 
 id 167 
 
 of coto, fluid 168 
 
 of damiana, fluid.. 178 
 of eriodictyon glut. 
 
 fluid 169 
 
 Extract of eucalyptus, 
 
 fluid 169 
 
 of false damiana, 
 
 fluid 165 
 
 of galangal, fluid.. 170 
 of gentianaquinq., 
 
 fluid. 170 
 
 of grindelia ro- 
 
 busta, fluid 171 
 
 of grindelia squar- 
 
 rosa, fluid 171 
 
 of haplopappuB, fl.. 165 
 of jaborandi, fluid. 173 
 
 of malt 159 
 
 of malt, compound 160 
 of malt and hops... 160 
 ' of malt, fluid--.-- 172 
 of mangifera, fluid 172 
 of peumus boldo, 
 
 fluid 173 
 
 of pilocarpus penn. 
 
 fluid - ... 173 
 
 of piper methysti- 
 
 cum, fluid 174 
 
 of polymnia uve- 
 
 dalia, fluid 175 
 
 of quinine flower, 
 
 fluid 176 
 
 of rhamnus Pursh- 
 
 iana, fluid 175 
 
 of rhus aromatica, 
 
 fluid 176 
 
 of sabbati'a EUi- 
 
 otti, fluid 176 
 
 of sutabul, fluid.... 177 
 of thalictrum an- 
 
 em., fluid 178 
 
 of Turnera aphrod., 
 
 fluid... 178 
 
 of yerba mansa, 
 
 fluid 164 
 
 Extracts, fluid 160 
 
 directions for 160 
 
 Extractum Alstonise 
 
 constricts; fl'nm. 163 
 Alstoniee scholaris 
 
 fluidum 164 
 
 anemopsidi? fluid- 
 
 idum 164 
 
 aplopappi fluidum. 166 
 berberis Aquifolii 
 
 fluidum 166 
 
 bryonise albse fl'um 166 
 castana; fluidum.... 167 
 condurango 'fl'um.. 167 
 
 coto fluidum 168 
 
 eriodictyonis gluti- 
 
 nosii fluidum — 169 
 eucalypti fluidum.. 169 
 galangal fluidum 170 
 gentian* (juinque- 
 
 florsB fluidum 170 
 
 grindelia; robust* 
 
 fluidum.... 171 
 
 grindelia; squar- 
 
 rosa; fluidum 171 
 
 Extractum liaplopappi 
 
 fluidum 165 
 
 malti 159 
 
 malti eompositum. 160 
 
 malti fluidum 172 
 
 mangifera^ fluidum 172 
 peumi boldo fl'um 173 
 pilocarpi pennati- 
 
 folii fluidum 173 
 
 piperis methystici 
 
 fluidum ... 174 
 
 polymnia; uvedalia?, 
 
 fluidum 175 
 
 rhamni Purshiana; 
 
 fluidum 175 
 
 rhus aromaticffi flu- 
 idum 176 
 
 sabbatia; EUiotti 
 
 fluidum 176 
 
 sumbul fliiidum.... 177 
 thalictri anemono- 
 
 idis fluidum 178 
 
 Turnera aphrodis- 
 iacse 178 
 
 F 
 
 Fagus eastanea 60 
 
 False damiana 157 
 
 fluid extract of 165 
 
 False unicorn root... 23, 63 
 
 False wild yam...., 82 
 
 Ferri bromidum 93 
 
 Perrum dialysatum 79 
 
 Ferula sumbul 146 
 
 Ficus infernalis 76 
 
 Filloea sauveolius 88 
 
 Fir leaf oil 188 
 
 Five-flowered gentian... 97 
 
 Florida alspice 185 
 
 Fluid extract of Al- 
 stonia eonstricta... 163 
 of Alstonia scho- 
 laris 164 
 
 of anemopsis 164 
 
 of aplopappus 165 
 
 of bear's foot 175 
 
 of berberis Aqui- 
 
 folium 166 
 
 of boldo.... 173 
 
 of bryonia alba 166 
 
 of cascara .sagrada. 175 
 
 of chestnut; 167 
 
 of condurango 167 
 
 of coto 168 
 
 of damiana 178 
 
 of eriodictyon glu- 
 
 tino-sum 169 
 
 of eucalyptus 169 
 
 of false damiana... 165 
 
 of galangal. ..-, 170 
 
 of gentian a quin- 
 
 queflora 170 
 
 of grindelia ro- 
 
 busta.. ..;i 171' 
 
 of grindelia squar- 
 rosa 171 
 
200 
 
 Index to Supplement. 
 
 Fluid extract of haplo- 
 
 pappus 165 
 
 ofjaborandi 173 
 
 of malt 172 
 
 of malt 'and hops... 160 
 
 of mangifera 172 
 
 of peumus boldo... 173 
 of pilocarpus pin- 
 
 natifolius 173 
 
 of piper methysti- 
 
 cum 174 
 
 of polymnia uve- 
 
 dalia 175 
 
 of quinine flower... 176 
 of rhamnus Pursh- 
 
 iana. 175 
 
 of rhus aromatica. 176 
 of sabbatia EUi- 
 
 otti .'.. 176 
 
 ofsumbul 177 
 
 of thalictrum ane- 
 
 monoidee 178 
 
 of Turnera aphro- 
 
 disiaca 178 
 
 of yerba mansa.... 164 
 
 Fluid extracts 160 
 
 di rections for 160 
 
 Formiate of ammon- 
 ium 8 
 
 Formic acid 7 
 
 Formica rufa 7 
 
 Fragrant sumach........ 136 
 
 Frangula Caroliniana.. 134 
 Frangula Purshiana.... 134 
 
 Frankenia grandifolia.. 188 
 
 G 
 
 Galanga 94 
 
 Galangal 94 
 
 fluid extract of 170 
 
 Galega ofiicihalis 96 
 
 Garcini a mangostan a . . . 188 
 
 Garden spurge 187 
 
 Genista anglica 96 
 
 pilosa 96 
 
 purgans 96 
 
 tinctoria 96 
 
 Gentian, five-flowered... 97 
 Gentianaoccidentalis... 97 
 
 quinqueflora 97 
 
 fluid extract of 170 
 
 Glauber's secret sal- 
 ammoniac {note}... 33 
 
 Glycerita 179 
 
 Glycerite of borax 180 
 
 of borate of sodi- 
 um 180 
 
 of carbolic acid.... 179 
 
 of gallic acid 179 
 
 of salicylic acid. ... 179 
 
 of starch 180 
 
 of tannic acid 180 
 
 of tar 180 
 
 Glyceritee 179 
 
 Glyceritum acidj car- 
 bolici 179 
 
 Glyceritum acidi gallici 179 
 
 acidi salicylic! 179 
 
 acidi tannici ;- 180 
 
 amjrli 180 
 
 piciR liquidse 180 
 
 sodii boratis 180 
 
 Glycyrrhizin 115 
 
 Goa powder. 41 
 
 Goat's rue 96 
 
 Golden chain 105 
 
 Gratia Dei 98 
 
 Gratiola centaurioides.. 98 
 
 oflScinalis 98 
 
 Virginica 98 
 
 Gratiolin. 98 
 
 Gratiolic acid 98 
 
 Gratiosolin 98 
 
 Gravel weed 158 
 
 Great laurel 191 
 
 Grindelia, hardy 99 
 
 latifolia 99 
 
 robusta 99 
 
 fluid extract of... 171 
 
 scaly 100 
 
 squarrosa 100 
 
 fluid extract of... 171 
 
 Gromwell, common 110 
 
 Guaco 190 
 
 Guarana 101 
 
 Guaranin 101 
 
 Gurjun balsam 185 
 
 Gurjunic acid 185 
 
 Gymnocladua Canaden- 
 sis 88 
 
 Gynocardia odorata 189 
 
 Gynocardic acid 189 
 
 H 
 
 Halicore dugong 187 
 
 Haplopappus discoi- 
 
 deus 157 
 
 Hardy grindelia, 99 
 
 Hairy raonkey-flower... 114 
 
 Hedge hys.sop 98 
 
 Helonias dioica 63 
 
 lutea 63 
 
 Hemp, Indian 39, 40 
 
 white Indian 40 
 
 Herb of grace 98 
 
 House-leek, small 140 
 
 Hydrate of chloral. ..65, 66 
 Hydrated dioxide of 
 
 barium 43 
 
 Hydriodic acid 8 
 
 solutioft of 9 
 
 Hydrobromic acid 9 
 
 ether 185 
 
 Hydrobryoretin 47 
 
 Hydrochlorate of pilo- 
 
 carpin 124 
 
 of trimethylamin.. 154 
 
 Hydrochloric ether 19 
 
 Hydrocotyle Ameri- 
 cana , 103 
 
 Asiatica 102 
 
 gummifera 103 
 
 Hydrocotyle interrupta 103 
 
 ranunculoides 103 
 
 repanda 103 
 
 unibellata 103 
 
 vulgaris. 103 
 
 Hydrogen bromide 9 
 
 dioxide 104 
 
 lithium carbonate.. 109 
 peroxide of 104 
 
 Hydniret of salicyle .. 12 
 
 Hypogceic acid 189 
 
 I 
 
 Ikaja 22 
 
 Indian bean-tree 61 
 
 Indian hemp 39, 40 
 
 white 40 
 
 ipecac 192 
 
 persimnaon tree.... 186 
 Intoxicating long pep- 
 per 128 
 
 Introductory remarks.... 3 
 
 Iron, bromide of 93 
 
 syrup of 94 
 
 catalytic 63 
 
 dialyzed 79 
 
 Isoceticacid 76 
 
 Isopentene 36 
 
 J 
 
 Jaborandi 122 
 
 fluid extract of 173 
 
 Jamaica dogwood 190 
 
 Japanese persimmon... 186 
 
 Jatamansi 146 
 
 Jatrppha curcas 76 
 
 Jesuits' tea 134 
 
 Judas tree 186 
 
 K 
 
 Kava Kava 128 
 
 Kavain 129 
 
 Koempherid 95 
 
 L 
 
 Laburnic acid 106 
 
 Laburnin 106 
 
 Laburnum 105 
 
 Laughing gas.. 31 
 
 Laurel, cherry 132 
 
 great 191 
 
 mountain 192 
 
 sassafras 192 
 
 Laurocerasin (note) 132 
 
 Laurus regia 192 
 
 Lepidium Virginicum.. 54 
 
 Lepigonum rubrum 14'.^ 
 
 Leucotin 73 
 
 Lime, bisulphite of 51 
 
 sulphite of 50 
 
 sulphocarbolate of 144 
 
 sulphuret of 49 
 
 Liquid pepsin 121 
 
 Liquor of Ergotin 181 
 
 Lithii 107 
 
 benzoas , 107 
 
Index to Supplement. 
 
 201 
 
 Lithii bromidum 108 
 
 carbonas 109 
 
 citras 110 
 
 Lithium 107 
 
 acid carbonate 109 
 
 benzoate of. 107 
 
 bromide of 108 
 
 carbonate of (nor- 
 mal) 109 
 
 citrate of. 110 
 
 hydrogen carbon- 
 ate 109 
 
 Lithospermum latifoli- 
 
 um... Ill 
 
 officinale 110 
 
 tinctoria 22 
 
 M 
 
 M'Boundou 22 
 
 Mahonia Aquifolia 43 
 
 Malt and hops, extract 
 
 of 160 
 
 compound extract 
 of 160 
 
 extract of 159 
 
 fluid extract of.... 172 
 
 Mam^o 58 
 
 Mam^iro..... 58 
 
 Mancona bark 88 
 
 Mangifera Indica Ill 
 
 fluid extract of 172 
 
 Mango Ill 
 
 Mangostan tree 188 
 
 Methane 113 
 
 dichloride 112 
 
 Methoxylmethane 117 
 
 Methyl chloride 113 
 
 chlorinated chlor- 
 ide of 112 
 
 ethylic ether 18 
 
 monochlor'd chlor- 
 ide of i 112 
 
 oxide 17 
 
 Methylene, bichloride 
 
 of 112 
 
 dichloride of 112 
 
 Methylic ether 17 
 
 Methysticin 128 
 
 Micromera Douglassii.. 190 
 Mikania guaco 190 
 
 ecandens 190 
 
 Mlmulus piloBUs 114 
 
 Mlrbane, essence of 117 
 
 oil of 117 
 
 Monesia. 114 
 
 Monesin.. 115 
 
 Monkey-bread tree 16 
 
 Monkey-flower, hairy... 114 
 Monobromated cam- 
 phor k.... 51 
 
 Monoohlorat'd chloride 
 
 of methyl 112 
 
 Monosulphide of calci- 
 um 49 
 
 Monoxide of nitrogen... 31 
 Mossy stone crop 140 
 
 Mountain balm 86 
 
 grape 43 
 
 laurel 192 
 
 Musk root 146 
 
 Myrtle-leaved coriaria.. 70 
 
 N 
 
 Narcissine 116 
 
 Narcissus poeticus 116 
 
 pseudo-narcissus... 116 
 Nitrate of ammonium 30 
 
 of pilocarpin 124 
 
 Nitrite of amyl 33 
 
 Nitrobenzene 117 
 
 Nitrobenzol 117 
 
 Nitrogen monoxide 31 
 
 Nitrous gas, dephlogis- 
 
 ticated (note) 31 
 
 oxide 31 
 
 Nitrum flammens (note) 30 
 
 Nuces Barbadenses 76 
 
 Nucis catharticse Amer- 
 icana; 76 
 
 Oil, chaulmoogra 189 
 
 dugong 187 
 
 fir-leaf 188 
 
 of bitter almonds, 
 
 artificial 117 
 
 of China (wood)... 186 
 of eucalyptus, vol- 
 atile 91 
 
 of mirbane 117 
 
 wopd 185 
 
 Ointment of polymnia.. 131 
 
 Olefiant gas 18 
 
 Oleum folii pini sylves- 
 
 tris 188 
 
 Oreodaphne Californi- 
 
 ca. 192 
 
 Oregon grape 43 
 
 Oxybromide of calci- 
 um 48 
 
 Oxycy mene (note) 151 
 
 Oxyd of azot (note) 31 
 
 Oxygenated water. 104 
 
 Oxyleucotin 73 
 
 Ozokerine (note) 189 
 
 Palicurea densiflora 
 
 (noU) 71 
 
 Palmitic acid 189 
 
 Pancreatin 118 
 
 saccharated 118 
 
 Pancreatinum...... 118 
 
 Papaw., 58 
 
 PairCcoto bark 72 
 
 Paracotoin 72 
 
 Paracotoic acid 73 
 
 Para-cress. 143 
 
 Parmelia parietina ... . 5 
 
 Parsnep-turnip 47 
 
 Paullinia sorbilis 101 
 
 PauUinitannic acid 102 
 
 Penthorum sedoides..;.. 119 
 
 Peppergrass 54 
 
 Pepsin 120 
 
 liquid... 121 
 
 sacharrated 121 
 
 Peroxide of barium 43 
 
 of hydrogen 104 
 
 Persimmon, Japanese... 186 
 
 Peumus boldo.... 45 
 
 fluid extract of 173 
 
 Pharmacy and Phar- 
 macopoeia.; 159 
 
 Physic nut 76 
 
 Picrate of ammonium.. 32 
 
 Pilocarpin 124 
 
 hydrochlorate of... 124 
 
 nitrate of 124 
 
 Pilocarpus pennatifol- 
 
 ins 122 
 
 fluid extract of. 173 
 
 pinnatus 122 
 
 selloanus 123 
 
 Pine, Scotch 188 
 
 Pinus sylvestris 188 
 
 Piper methyeticum 128 
 
 fluid extract of 174 
 
 Piseidia erythrina 190 
 
 Piturin 84 
 
 Pitury 83 
 
 Plantago decumbens. ... 190 
 
 ispaghula 190 
 
 Polymnia Canadensis... 130 
 
 uvedalia 130 
 
 fluid extract of 175 
 
 ointment of 131 
 
 Propylamin 155 
 
 chloride of 154 
 
 Psoralea eglandulosa... 134 
 
 esculenta 134 
 
 glandulosa 134 
 
 melilotoides 133 
 
 Psoralein..., 134 
 
 Prunus lauro-cerasus... 132 
 Purging nut 76 
 
 Quillaya saponaria 191 
 
 Quinineflower 137 
 
 fluid extract of...... 176 
 
 of Australia 25 
 
 R 
 
 Red bud 186 
 
 Bed sandwort 142 
 
 Redwood tree 192 
 
 Rhabarberic acid 5 
 
 Rhamnus alnifolius 134 
 
 lanceolata 135 
 
 Purshiana 134 
 
 fluid extract of 175 
 
 Rheine 5 
 
 Rheumine 5 
 
 Rhododendron maxi- 
 mum 191 
 
 Rhubarb, yellow 5 
 
 Rhus aromatica 136 
 
202 
 
 Index to Supplement. 
 
 Rhus aromatica, fluid ex- 
 tract of 176 
 
 coriaria 70 
 
 trilobiate 136 
 
 Ringworm powder 41 
 
 Eohuntree 192 
 
 Rose bay-tree 191 
 
 Rue anemone 149 
 
 goat's 96 
 
 Ruizia fragrans 45 
 
 Eutic acid 142 
 
 Rutin 141 
 
 S 
 
 Sabbatia Elliotti 137 
 
 fluid extract of 176 
 
 paniculata 137 
 
 Saccharatedpancreatin. 118 
 
 pepsin 121 
 
 Salicyle, hydruret of... 12 
 
 Salicylic acid 11 
 
 glycerite of 179 
 
 Salicylous acid 12 
 
 Sand spurrey... 142 
 
 Sandwort, red 142 
 
 Saponin 78 
 
 Sassafras laurel 192 
 
 Sassy bark 88 
 
 Scaly grindelia 100 
 
 Scotch pine 188 
 
 Scullcap 138 
 
 Scutellaria canescens... 139 
 
 lateriflora 138 
 
 versicolor 139 
 
 Sebacic acid 76 
 
 Sedum acre 140 
 
 ternatum. 140 
 
 Semen curcadis 76 
 
 Semina ricini majoris... 76 
 
 Sheep rot 103 
 
 Shepherd's purse 53 
 
 Simabacedron....; 186 
 
 Small house-leek 140 
 
 .Snakeweed 47 
 
 ■ Soap tree 191 
 
 Sodii benzoas 142 
 
 Sodium, benzoate of.... 142 
 sulphocarbolate of. 145 
 Solution of ergotin, 
 
 Yvon's 181 
 
 Solution of hydriodic 
 
 acid .• 9 
 
 Solution of quinia in 
 hydrombromic 
 
 acid 11 
 
 Sophora Japonica 191 
 
 speciosa 191 
 
 tinctoria.. 191 
 
 Sophoria 192 
 
 Sour gourd tree. 16 
 
 Sow bread 77 
 
 Soy mida f ebrif uga 192 
 
 Spergularia campestris. 142 
 media 142 
 
 Spergularia rubra 142 
 
 salina 142 
 
 Spilanthes oleracea 143 
 
 tinctoria ^.. 144 
 
 Spiny clot burr 193 
 
 Spirit of magnanimity.. 7 
 Spiritus formicarum.... 8 
 
 Spogel seed 190 
 
 Spurge, garden 187 
 
 Spurrey sandwort 142 
 
 Star grass..., 23, 64 
 
 Starch, glycerite of 180 
 
 Stone crop, biting 140 
 
 mossy 140 
 
 Virginia 119 
 
 Strychnos castelnae 74 
 
 Sulphate of alumin- 
 um 29 
 
 of ammonium 33 
 
 ofduboisin 85 
 
 Sulphide of calcium.... 49 
 
 Sulphite of calcium 50 
 
 of lime 50 
 
 Sulphocarbolate of lime 144 
 
 of sodium 145 
 
 of zinc 146 
 
 Sulphocarbolates 144 
 
 Sulphophenates 144 
 
 Sulphuret of lime 49 
 
 Sumach, sweet 136 
 
 Sumbul 146 
 
 fluid extract of 177 
 
 Sweet sumach 136 
 
 Syrup of bromide of 
 
 iron. 94 
 
 T 
 
 Table of symbols and 
 
 atomic weights... 194 
 
 Taja 74 
 
 Tamus communis....... 47 
 
 Tannic acid, glycerite 
 
 of 180 
 
 Tar, glycerite of 180 
 
 Taxin 148 
 
 Taxus baccata 148 
 
 Canadensis 148 
 
 Teli 88 
 
 Tephrosia Virginiana.. 96 
 Tetranthera Californi- 
 
 cum 192 
 
 Thalictrum anemono- 
 
 ides 149 
 
 fluid extract of 178 
 
 Thapsia garganica 150 
 
 plaster 150 
 
 Thiocarbonic acid 56 
 
 Thlaspi buraa-pastoris.. 53 
 
 Thymen 151 
 
 Thymic acid 151 
 
 Thymol 151 
 
 Toucan's tongue 74 
 
 Traveler's joy 69 
 
 Tree of Heaven 20 
 
 Triacetylcotoin 72 
 
 Tribromcotoin 72 
 
 Trichloraldehyde . 66 
 
 Triglochin maritimum 154 
 
 palustre 154 
 
 Trimethylamin 124, 154 
 
 hydrochlorate of... 154 
 
 Tung tree 185 
 
 Turnera aphrpdisiaca... 155 
 
 fluid extract of 178 
 
 microphylla.... 156 
 
 Tylophora asthmatica.. 192 
 
 U 
 
 Uabano 101 
 
 Uaranazeiro 101 
 
 Umbellularia Californ- 
 
 ica 192 
 
 Unicorn root 63 
 
 false.I. 23, 63 
 
 Urtica dioica 7 
 
 urens 7 
 
 V 
 
 Valerianate of amyl... 34 
 
 Vellarin..... 103 
 
 Verbesina siegesbeckia. 158 
 
 Virginica 158 
 
 Virginia stone crop 119 
 
 Vitriolic sal-ammoni- • 
 
 ac (note): 33 
 
 Volatile oil of Euca- 
 lyptus 91 
 
 W 
 
 Wai-hwa 191 
 
 White Indian hemp... 40 
 
 Wigandia Californica.. 86 
 
 Wild clematis 69 
 
 yam 81 
 
 false 82 
 
 Wood oil 185 
 
 of China 185 
 
 Woodwaxen 96 
 
 Woorari 73 
 
 Wourali 73 
 
 X 
 
 Xanthium spinosum.. 193 
 Y 
 
 Yerba buena 190 
 
 mansa 37 
 
 fluid extract of..... 164 
 
 reuma 188 
 
 santa 86 
 
 Yew tree 148 
 
 Z 
 
 Zinci sulphocarbolas... 146 
 Zinc, sulphocarbolate 
 
 of 146